Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

As everyone charged out, they stayed together as a group, running towards the beasts. Even as they had prepared themselves for the carnage, there was still some shock to it all. 

On the ground were thousands of beasts from many facets of the forest, working together to repel Kong Zhi's army. From the weakest to the most ancient of beasts, they made their appearance for this fight. Their own home and livelihood were at stake. Most of all, Kong Zhi had done far too much for them to ignore him. 

"A Silver Fur Ape, Bog Serpent, Midnight Sun Tiger, they're all Rank 7!"

One of the soldiers shouted out, identifying all of the rare beasts. 

Among the countless beasts, there were dozens that were considered Rank 5 and above. Any one of these could destroy towns and cities, the amount of Earth Realm cultivators to stop this force would be astronomical. However, the most terrifying of them all was none other than Matron Shuang and Elder Shu. The Matron herself was Rank 7 but among the others, she was the most terrifying of them all.

She is one of the closest descendants to a True Dragon, her aura alone caused hearts to tremble. It did not bring about awe or wonder but despair. Her entire being exuded complete and utter rage as the three heads spewed out golden- red flames. Those who could not escape were simply burnt to a corpse. 

And her voice inspired fear within the demons. 

"Where is he?!  Where did you take my child, you wretches?! How many more will die until you learn?!"

She roared at the little demons below her, swooping through the air as she left behind trails of dead bodies. This Hel-Fire Dragon simply ruled the skies, killing dozens with each breath of flames. Matron Shuang rained chaos above this army.

"You little demonic bastard! Come out here, Kong Zhi!" 

Even after a night of battle, she only grew quicker and more furious. Even after the deaths of over a hundred thousand men, he still had not made his move. 

When Nie Xia's group came closer, Ming Yue saw Elder Shu up close. 

He was on the land fighting with the other beasts but compared to when Ming Yue saw him, his appearance was drastically different. His tree- like body had become much more monstrous as the Elder had grown thrice his size. Stones and boulders were wrapped into his body by tree roots, making him much bulkier.*

But this wasn't the important part, it was what the Elder did that in this battle that changed how she saw him. 

"He moves so slow but those tree roots... they're killing the demons and... Is he absorbing their life force?" she thought.

Apart from this bulky body of his, the Elder barely moved and instead sent out hundreds of roots and vines at the demon soldiers. Some wrapped around them, others pierced their bodies, the method of capturing and killing didn't matter. In the end, those struggling soldiers would grow lifeless, ending up as empty husks. 

Compared to his kindly demeanor, this form of his was more wicked than anything. But there was more to this than just sucking the life out of these demons. Elder Shu wasn't alone, in fact, he was surrounded by what she could only assumer were his own creations, wolves made from stone and wood. 

Was this his Dao? Flourishing Life?

But what did it mean for life to flourish? It was to grow, to blossom, to thrive. But for life to thrive, something was needed, food, energy, sacrifice. After all, life and death is a cycle, one cannot function without the other and this was the prime example. 

Using the lives of these demons, Elder Shu created life within these puppets of his. The more he killed, the more he created and that is a terrifying thought. 

Alas, he was the first to notice the approach of the humans. Among them, he saw Ming Yue and his gem-like eyes glowed in surprise.

"Humans are here! Do not attack them!"

He then shouted out at the other beasts, his voice was gravelly and deep, warning them. In response, the other beasts roared as if understanding his words. 

Nie Xia was shocked before looking at the others. 

Carrying a tower shield on each arm, he slammed them together, one edge to another. Ming Yue hadn't noticed it before but those shields were in fact two halves of one design. Each one had half of a bull's head, each one seemed more like a hunk of metal than real shields. They were thick and much too heavy for ordinary soldiers to carry. But in his hands, it was like an unstoppable bull's rush. 

"Separate into two teams, one on each side!" he shouted. 

Knowing what to do, the soldiers acted in an instant, splitting into two different squads lined up on both sides of Nie Xia. 

"Fairy of the Moon! You're free to move on your own if you'd like but If you find yourself in trouble, you can depend on us!"

Ming Yue nodded and whistled loudly for Xiao Yin and Hei Yue. 

"Keep watch, if someone dangerous comes, tell me."

She quietly spoke to the two beasts who nodded and immediately took off. Following this, her sword was unsheathed and her Zephyr Claws made their appearance. Her body turned into a blur as she took off, running straight into the thickest parts of the Demon Army. 

"So quick but we aren't going to be shown up by her, are we?"

Nie Xia yelled out and his soldiers responded in kind. 

"Come on then! Survive until the reinforcements come, soldiers of the Yan Fu Army!"

After speaking those last few words, Nie Xia leaped forward, raising his combined shields up high before slamming into the ground. The shockwave ruptured the ground, blasting apart a rift between the forces of the forest and Kong Zhi's demon soldiers.

The two shields rang out like a bell as Nie Xia's body flexed and bulged out. His power as a body cultivator made its presence.

Separating the two forces, he and his soldiers turned to face the sea of demons glaring at them with their weapons in hand. 

"Five Hundred Kilogram Bash!"

The ringing shields were filled with power as he pushed forward, pushing into the front lines. On impact, his shield exploded outwards as an illusory metal bull came out, blowing through hundreds of soldiers. The force of five hundred kilograms smashing bodies apart. 

And the battle was renewed with an even greater intensity as the beasts and the human soldiers worked together to fight this endless wave of demons. 

But Ming Yue was far deeper within this army, she was in the middle of it, surrounded at every direction and angle. However, these demons were surprised by her sudden appearance, killing several of their comrades in a single Phantasmal Wind.

"What? A human?! How did they get here?!"

"Kill them, kill them quickly!"

"So quick, where did that human go?!"

"Here!"

"No, here!"

"They're over there!"

Even if they knew of her existence, she was too quick and much too difficult to catch. Her sword was nothing more but a flash as she killed her way through this army. Chaos ensued as heads fell and bodies were left. 

"I have to be quicker, the more their numbers dwindle the weaker they become. "

Disregarding her own defense, Ming Yue fought with an even greater speed, reaching the upper limits of her physical strength. She moved only to attack now for each one she killed, ten more took their place. 

From above, Xiao Yin rained down various beams of starlight, helping to ease the pressure on her by just a bit. And Hei Yue was even quicker than her, bursting out with black fog as the Mistral Fox ripped necks apart. 

But they were surrounded, encircled. This was an army of one million demons, no matter how many died, even more came. 

That was the reality she faced. 

But the one who led this army, where was he?

The answer was in the skies as another Hel-Fire Dragon made its appearance and Kong Zhi rode on top.