Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"Seven Gate Pagoda Stance."

He placed his palms together as if praying and his legs were planted to the ground. Nie Xia stood still, waiting for Shi Hou to move. The air had grown heavy around them as no living thing dared to enter their path.

For the weak, it was out of fear. 

For the strong, it was out of respect. 

Neither warriors wanted any interruptions. 

"One hit, you say... Then prepare yourself!"

Shi Hou lowered his head, pointing his obsidian- colored horns at Nie Xia.  They crackled and buzz with energy, threatening to impale the commander with all eight points. 

"Thrusting the Titan's Trident"

The Roaring King shouted as he charged forward, only the power behind each step left deep imprints on the ground. Opposite to him, Nie Xia did not move, he was perfectly still with his palms pressed together. 

He waited before suddenly shouting out. 

"Open!"

Like a gate, his arms flexed out as his hands split apart and grabbed the two closest horns. Shi Hou felt himself stagger as he was caught. 

"So he can stop this much but that is not enough!"

A second passed before, Shi Hou prepared to lift his head along with Nie Xia but the Commander wouldn't allow such a thing

"Reject!"

Grasping the horns even tighter, Nie Xia was the one that lifted him just a few inches above the ground. With his physical prowess, he pulled the demon closer before pushing back, releasing the horns.

"Wha-"

He was only pulled back an inch but Shi Hou found himself flying back into the demon army. There was so much force behind it that he rammed into twenty other demons and they all flew back with him. Tumbling through the ground, Shi Hou got up with little injury while the men behind him had their bones broken and their bodies smashed down. 

*Crack*

He heard that small little crack and then went to feel his horns before ultimately finding one. It wasn't very large or noticeable but to Shi Hou, it was as clear as day. On one of his horns was a small fracture, his fingers ran along it constantly as he was stupefied. 

"He cracked it. He actually managed to crack it. Good, good, finally a worthy opponent."

Smiling, the Roaring King took out his weapon of choice, a pair of metal rods that were four feet in length and thicker than a man's arm. They featured a simple spiral pattern and were well maintained as gave a black glint. 

He looked at his weapons with excitement as if happy to finally use them again. Then he looked towards the small figure of Nie Xia, slowly walking to him with his twin shields. 

"Perfect! Finally, someone that can match my strength!"

And Shi Hou ran off to do battle once again.

But with everyone busy at the frontlines, no one could aid Ming Yue as she sought to protect the Matron. Killing the first wave of demons had forced everyone to step back from the small group as Xiao Yin and Hei Yue went to check on Matron Shuang.

"Matron Shuang!" she shouted

Ming Yue looked at the demons coldly before glancing over at the Matron.

"Oh, girl, you're here. I didn't expect you to be protecting me."

The dragon coughed out as her body writhed about, trying to shake off the impact of Kong Zhi's strike.

"But you must go, you aren't strong enough yet. You cannot face him for he is a Vajra now."

As she spoke, Matron Shuang struggled to stand up, supporting herself one step at a time. 

"The beast is recovering! Quick, bind it before it can fly again!"

Desperate, the demons swarmed around them, trying to capture the Matron but Ming Yue was there, all of their attempts were in vain.  As her eyes swept around her, she suddenly whistled as Hei Yue's black fog billowed from his body. 

It spread out, concealing everyone and covering their eyes. 

"What happened?!"

"This black fog! Clear it now!"

"Charge forward, they couldn't have moved so quickly!"

The demons were unperturbed by this development and moved with chains and weapons on hand. But with this black fog, their senses were tampered with and soon enough, they were lost. 

"Where are they?! Where is the human?!"

"This fog! What kind of fog is this?! Why won't it vanish?"

The fog only grew more and more, enveloping demons by the hundreds. They weren't exactly helpless but in this situation, Ming Yue had the absolute advantage. Within this black fog, death was unavoidable. 

Ming Yue didn't even bother with defending and swung freely. Drifting Sky was swift, cutting through flesh and bone like nothing. But she did more than that. 

"Blasting Gale."

From outside the fog, those trying to peer into it saw nothing as Blasting Gale's flew out wildly. Shockwaves and explosions happened everywhere as there were simply too many to account for. Furthermore, they were both fast and unpredictable, striking randomly.

She didn't bother aiming and just shot them out without a care. There was no need to aim when only enemies surrounded her. 

"Where are the other kings?! We can't deal with this human!"

"Damn it, there's only the Roaring King but he's fighting somewhere else!"

"Where is the lord?!"

They cried out in fear as it finally dawned on them that they could not deal with her. No matter how many bodies charged at her, she did not seem exhausted in the slightest. The sense of helplessness grew within them as the demons hesitated to come forward. 

But all of that changed as another Hel-Fire Dragon landed down from Kong Zhi had arrived. 

He stared at his fearful men before looking at the fog. 

"Fog? You are afraid of fog?!" he shouted out. 

Three of his fists glowed with a white color as he punched out and blew the fog apart. Revealing Ming Yue and the others, Matron Shuang was up and alert now. With the fog gone, they stared at the one who did it as he stared back at them, specifically he looked at Ming Yue with interest.

"Lord Kong Zhi is here!"

"The Lord is here! Human, you are dead!"

All around them, the demon soldiers shouted out and taunted them, fully believing that it was the end. 

But Ming Yue did not hear any of this, she only looked at Kong Zhi. 

"That is him?" she thought, "The one leading these demons, waging this war... Kong Zhi."

With his large stature, his gray stone skin and his six arms, he was an intimidating figure. But his eyes stood out the most as if clouds of magenta were within his pupils, paired with sparks of golden lightning. 

There was something strange about him. The pressure he gave off was heavy but it was not unbearable. It did not fit his appearance for she expected it to be worse. 

"No, he's stronger than this."

It took only instinct for her to see this. She then glanced at the Hel- Fire Dragon he controlled, smaller than the Matron but whose body was scarred. No doubt, this beast had been tortured and forced to do battle. 

There was no doubt that this beast was the Matron's child. 

She took note of the chains that wrapped around the beast's neck and wings. She saw how Kong Zhi held onto it so tightly. 

Ming Yue thought carefully about her next decision.

"To use Pale Moon or not?"

It was then that something else happened. Horns blew out as an army of human soldiers emerged from the forest. It had only been a few days* but soldiers from all of the bases had arrived. 

And who else was leading them but Du Xiu, the commander of the North Fort. Accompanying him was Gao Ri of Demon's Gate and Yu Zhen of the Southern Tower. 

Reinforcements had arrived.