Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  The day went by as Hui Yue ordered. Although the soldiers and the Saints were curious why he came up with such an order, no one questioned what he said; they all did what was expected of them. Hui Yue spent the entire day in the infirmary. He saw how one beast after another was returned to active duty, and he felt that their strength was soaring to the heavens. Even if they were to run into the Crusaders, Hui Yue’s forces should be able to overpower them. Should be able to defeat them with numbers, a tactic which the Siban Empire also tried yet failed miserably. “We are not the same as them,” Hui Yue promised himself as he shook his head. “They were far weaker than we are. They were not strong at all while my soldiers are all highly skilled.” He assured himself time and time again.

  While Hui Yue was stressed and feeling the pressure of the war weighing down upon him, the rest of the beast army was the most relaxed they had been since they left the Shenyuan forest. They spent their time training, cultivating, and conversing about the war. Talking about why they had still not rushed into the city and what exactly their Grand Marshall was wasting time doing.

  The Saints were as curious about what went on within Hui Yue’s mind as all the other soldiers, yet none of them asked him. They all seemed to trust him unconditionally, and they decided to take the day to relax much like the soldiers chatting the time away as they enjoyed the break. They felt that if they were truly needed for something, then Hui Yue would no doubt impose on them.

  Only Hui Yue knew what he was waiting for. One of these things was Wan Qiao and as the day went by she got better and better until she finally was able to leave the infirmary. Seeing this, Hui Yue had a great smile on his face. He knew that what he did was not only a benefit to him but also an advantage for the Siban Empire. Much like he had time to train and heal, the wounded soldiers of the Siban Empire also had enough time to heal and recuperate. Although this was true, Hui Yue felt like he needed to make his decision as he was worried about how the final battle against the Siban Empire would turn out.

  Sighing deeply, he looked at the many Saints around him saying, “Gather up,” With a low voice. Every Saint instantly left their peaceful surroundings to stand right in front of him, awaiting the orders he was to give.

  “I am sorry that it took this long,” Hui Yue said with an apologetic smile on his face. Although the Saints shook their heads in disagreement, or to say that it was no problem, Hui Yue still felt that he had taken too long. Sighing he continued, “Tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow we will get ready for the final battle.”

  The words were spoken calmly with a low voice, yet the words seemed to travel through the entire camp. Every beast heard them. Every beast stood up in surprise. The many faces turned to astonishment; happiness and eagerness quickly shone forth. This was what they had waited for. This was the final stretch. Their freedom was within their grasp.

  Chapter 285 - The Final Clash

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  Chapter 285: The Final Clash

  The night passed by quickly and every beast was restless in the camp. Some tried to train, yet they were incapable of focusing on refining the essence of the heavens and the earth. Others tried sparring, but they were all too cautious. No one wished to be wounded just in time for the final clash.

  Hui Yue was seated within his tent. Next to him was a table and the small space was covered with chairs as all the Saints decided to wait in Hui Yue’s tent. Some were drinking wine from crystal glasses, others were deep in discussion about the outcome of the war, while yet others were busy eating snacks as if nothing major was going to happen soon.

  Although it was Hui Yue’s tent, the Grand Marshall seemed to be the only one who was left alone this is what he preferred. He was standing in a corner with part of the table next to him full of maps made by his soldiers, maps that showed the layout of the city. They were made by flying beasts who purposely flew above the city while memorizing the layout of streets, houses, and the castle’s location within the city.

  Looking at the map, Hui Yue knew that his troops had to be split up when they rushed the city. Getting rid of all the enemies within the city would be no easy task, and even more so because he needed to reach the Imperial Palace and take the emperor prisoner. Only then would they win this war.

  Unfortunately, Hui Yue was not certain if it would be easy for them to storm the city. The Crusaders awaited them as well as their Saints. If one of his armies ran into the Saints without Saints in their own group, then they would be wiped out easily.

  Thinking about this, Hui Yue positioned a lord to travel with each group of soldiers. This way no one would be without Saintly protection. He would move with Wan Qiao’s group. Their job would be to rush towards the emperor’s quarters while the rest would wreak havoc in the city. Their orders were simple if anyone tried to escape then let them escape. If anyone tried to fight back, then they were to kill them. Hui Yue wanted to be fair to the humans, but he was not willing to sacrifice his beasts to do so. The Siban Empire had already proven that although they were humans, their view on human life was far inferior to the one the beasts had.

  Planning the routes for each and every one of the armies at his disposal made Hui Yue feel calmer. Even more so when he knew that a Saint would be in each army protecting them. Even if they ran into Crusaders, Hui Yue could only hope that they would not be overrun as now all the armies had somewhere between five thousand and eight thousand people each. Although the army had almost halved in size from casualties, the beast army had seen far fewer losses than the human side. Even if there had been a surplus of humans before, they were now running low on soldiers. They were at the point where they had to rely heavily on their Saints to fight.

  As Hui Yue placed the final army on the map, he saw how the Saints were all looking at him expectantly. This caused a smile to appear on his face. He was not completely certain that they would win, but he knew that he had done everything he possibly could to make the war fall in their favor. Although no one could say much about the final clash, Hui Yue was satisfied with all he had done; he was incredibly relieved when he saw the entire army awaiting him when he opened his tent. All their faces were filled with excited expressions. Some were completely focused while others sprouted grins and smiles, unable to contain their emotions.

  Hui Yue, knowing that they were all excited, climbed a tower which was in front of the army. Standing on top and looking out at the many beasts, Hui Yue felt pride swell up within. All these beasts were aware that this might be their final day alive, yet their faces were not filled with doubt or worry; instead, they were filled with excitement and a will to fight. They had all lost brothers and sisters in arms. They had been comrades and friends. Some had known each other for life, others had become friends recently, yet no one was grieving, all felt that dying for this war was one of the most honorable ways to end one’s life. This itself was enough to make Hui Yue feel both proud and grateful. All these experts placed their lives within his hands hoping that he would make the right decisions.

  “Brothers! Sisters!” Hui Yue called out as his sharp voice silenced all the beasts. They looked at him, their eyes filled with great reverence because they had seen him battle time and time again, and the war had gone quite well compared to what they had expected. Everyone felt that they owed Hui Yue a great deal. He was not a pure beast, but neither was he a human. He was an enigma. Someone they could truly not understand. He had surprised them time and time again with his strength. He rose from being nothing but a mere one star King ranked expert to an eight star king. During the war, he even raised his power to the Saint level. What his actual strength was, no one knew, but everyone knew he was full of secrets.

  “We have gone through a lot together,” Hui Yue continued, his voice was low, gentle, and warm as he spoke to every single beast in front of him. “We have fought by each other’s sides time and time again. With your help, we have all managed something incredible, and now it is time for the final part of the puzzle. It is time for us to finish this war o
nce and for all!”

  His words caused the beasts to roar louder than ever before. After they had quieted down, Hui Yue made all the Saints stand in front of their armies after which he handed each saint a map with a highlighted. The paths took the armies through the entire Imperial Capital, and together, they would get rid of the many soldiers hiding in every nook and cranny of the city. These armies should be capable of defeating even the Crusaders if they ran into them. A few of the armies were doomed to run into the Crusaders.

  Finishing his speech, Hui Yue jumped down from the tower and looked at his beasts. Nodding once to the Saints who were standing in front of him, Hui Yue turned around and started marching through the old battlefield. The battlefield where they had battled time and time again. Towers were pulled forward by the bisons as the tall constructions slowly rolled closer and closer to the city wall. After a short while, they latched onto the wall and let the beasts rushing through the tower to enter the city wall.

  Reaching the top, the beasts were astonished to see not many soldiers blocking their way. The soldiers were packed around the stairs leading into the city itself. The beast army split into forty smaller armies and headed towards a set of stairs each, fighting their way through the soldiers.

  Hui Yue, seeing the army split into smaller sections instantly headed towards Wan Qiao to follow her army. His body started swelling as his limbs grew longer and muscles grew taut. Red fur sprouted from his skin and his blue eyes slowly turned red. Hui Yue took the form of a wolf-man causing his physical strength to soar to the sky. The red wolf instantly jumped into the fray starting to fight the soldiers blocking the set of stairs they decided to use. They chose the set of stairs closest to the Imperial Palace.

  The number of soldiers at these stairs was only a few hundred, and none of them managed to do much against an army filled with Kings and Emperors. Wan Qiao had the army with the most Emperors of any army. Neither he nor Wan Qiao needed to do much before the soldiers perished; their lives lost and their corpses tumbled down the stairs closely followed by Hui Yue and the rest of the army.

  No one walked in straight lines, and no one followed the rules of an army marching. All were eager to enter the city. Everywhere Hui Yue looked, he saw the same eagerness, the same excitement and the same loss of discipline. He expected this. The beasts were now focused on only one thing, defeating the enemies that came their way. They were focused on taking over the capital and winning the war.

  Hui Yue could understand their eagerness, but he was also painfully aware that more beasts would die due to their lack of alertness. They were drunk on success and had become complacent. Something, sadly, he could not change right now. Instead, of filling himself with regret and guilt, Hui Yue decided to let it be. Beasts who died, would perish because of their own carelessness, was not something that he could easily change.

  Following Wan Qiao’s army, Hui Yue saw how one ambush after another killed many unprepared beasts. Soldiers were hidden everywhere waiting for the beasts and hitting them hard. Despite the humans ferocity when they ambushed Hui Yue’s soldiers they were fought back time after time. At first, a whole group of five died when they were startled by an ambush, but slowly fewer and fewer died from lack of attentiveness. The beasts, although incredibly eager to reach the Imperial Palace, started to become cautious on the way. Eventually, they were so aware of the ambushes that they could predict them and had their abilities blazing before the ambush.

  While Hui Yue was headed for the Imperial Capital while the army belonging to Lord Pan was headed for the house on the city wall. Their task was to capture the Grand Marshall. Hui Yue knew that there was a chance this man had taken a large portion of Saints to protect himself, and he allowed three armies to head towards the house, hoping that he had no more than three Saints by his side.

  Fighting the human soldiers was a simple task. They were beaten almost instantly, and their bodies flooded the city walls. The beasts were eager to prove their worth, eager to finish their task, and show that they too were capable of completing the task they had been given.

  Fighting one army after another, the closer they came to the house the more soldiers they came across yet none of the soldiers seemed to be of a rank higher than King. This made them simple to deal with them. The beast soldiers were like a tsunami crashing upon the beach; no one had a chance of surviving. The beasts were simply too strong and too numerous.

  Having battled against this final group of soldiers, they finally reached the house where they expected the Grand Marshall to be waiting. But as soon as they reached the house, they took a moment to settle down. A moment to get rid of their overeagerness which was likely to cause them to make mistakes. Lord Pan took a deep breath before he gestured for the other Saints to stand next to him. All the Saints breathed heavily as they knew they were likely to battle other Saints as soon as they opened the door. Their focus was fully on the enemies in front of them, their faces stern and their eyes focused.

  Chapter 286 - A Strange Encounter

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  Chapter 286: A Strange Encounter

  Opening the door to the house, Lord Pan summoned all his mist energy and shrouded his body with it as he entered the house. The small house was filled with windows all around, and sunshine shone into the small house. A few tables and chairs were in the room and on one of the tables multiple maps had been placed together with small pins showing the various locations of the armies, but the house was abandoned.

  There were no soldiers, no Saints, and no Grand Marshall. Looking at the empty building, Lord Pan felt rather awkward knowing that he, and the two Saints behind him, had barged in fully alert trying to capture the Grand Marshall, who wasn’t even here. Looking through the house, they found no other ways out than the way they entered. Rushing outside they found a few soldiers who were still alive, but asking about the Grand Marshall left them as confused as the beasts were.

  “We need to move,” Lord Pan finally said while his eyes roamed across the city in front of him. Small fires had been lit here and there, and beasts could be seen flying above the city. Other places humans were seen fleeing through the gates which had been opened by either the beasts or soldiers who thought of escaping.

  Honoring Hui Yue’s promise, no beast attacked any humans who fled, yet every human who fought back was killed without exception. Soon the humans noticed that as long as they did not fight back, they could flee without being stopped. This caused a flood of humans who were seen running towards the city gate; the only exit they knew about.

  “The only place I can think of the Grand Marshall being, if not here, is the Imperial Palace,” Lord Pan said with a sigh. He and the two Saints who followed him left the house and headed for the closest set of stairs. All the steps were filled with dead humans and a dead beast here and there.

  As they entered the city, they saw more and more dead beasts; beasts who had been far too sure of themselves and were killed in ambushes. Fortunately, fewer and fewer beast corpses were seen the further into the city they went, and Lord Pan decided to bring his forces towards the Imperial Castle. Every soldier they met on their way had long since forsaken their weapons and started fleeing the citizens they swore to defend.

  Just as Lord Pan turned past a corner, he suddenly found himself looking at a whole street littered with dead beasts. In the distance, he even saw a dead Saint and between these dead beasts were two black cloaked men.

  Both of them seemingly as dead as the Saints. Lord Pan instantly became hesitant as he slowly moved towards the two cloaked corpses. He knew that the Crusaders could not be far away, yet his curiosity about what the Crusaders looked like won out against his careful nature. Just as he reached the Crusader and lifted his hand to remove the clothing, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, the cloaked Crusader lifted its hand, a hand which seemed to have pierced his chest. A black bone-like hand extended from the covers of the cloak. The scent of death reached Lord Pan’s nose as his eyes slowly turned
dim and his soul dissipated into nothing.

  Standing behind were the two Saints who stayed back with the soldiers, and as they saw Lord Pan collapse to the ground, the soldiers who were loyal to Lord Pan instantly roared in grief. They rushed towards the two lonely figures who slowly rose from the ground. The Saints called their men back, but they could do nothing to stop the soldiers of the now deceased Lord Pan from rushing forward. The Saints were uncertain what to do.

  Both of them felt uncomfortable about the fact that Lord Pan had been killed so simply. To kill him like that meant that they were obviously Saint ranked, but how many of them were Saints? When they had seen them earlier on the city wall they seemed far weaker yet here they had a sudden increase in strength.

  “We have to tell Wan Qiao. We have to warn her!” The two said at the same time as they looked at each other. With a glance at the warriors they could not stop, they closed their eyes in shame. When they opened them, they were filled with a new strength as they took off, leaving while hearing the sound of the Crusaders fighting the beasts. One roar of anger after another slowly died out as they left while not looking back. All of them fearing that they would never again see any of the beasts who followed Lord Pan. They feared that they all followed him to the grave.