After the night of the massacre, Anxi Village was not immediately abandoned. Kael, the bloodthirsty leader, ordered his troops to stay for two full days. The houses still standing were turned into temporary headquarters, and the corpses were gathered in the center of the village for Kael to absorb. The cold autumn wind blew gently, carrying a pungent smell of blood mixed with the scent of rotting dry leaves.
Meanwhile, Duan Long, the assassin who was hiding Mei, took every opportunity to secretly check the wooden cabinet. The little girl was still alive, asleep in her illusory haze, unaware that the world outside had become hell. Beyond the broken window, the nearly bare branches swayed in the wind, as if dancing to witness an endless sorrow.
However, news of the attack finally reached the Spirit Hall branch. A combined force from the Spirit Hall branch and the Heaven Empire, led by Ma Xiunuo and the ruler of Nuoding City, Xiao Zhan (who had disguised himself as an ordinary soldier for a surprise attack), with Su Jin as one of the field captains, moved quickly toward Anxi Village.
On the second morning, a thin autumn fog still shrouded the ruins of Anxi. Cold dew dampened the weeds growing among the scattered rubble. Yellow leaves fell slowly, dancing in the cool, piercing breeze, then landed silently on puddles of murky, bloodstained water. Even so, the smell of blood remained strong, clear proof that bloodshed had only just occurred. At the same time, the combined force arrived and hid among the thinning trees, their branches like wrinkled fingers pointing at the gray sky. They paused briefly to devise a strategy and sent someone to investigate what had really happened.
"Captain Li Yewu, use your martial spirit to map out the area and count the enemy," Xiao Zhan ordered the intelligence gathering special forces captain. Li Yewu's martial spirit was a raven that could share its vision with him, making it ideal for scouting without raising suspicion. His breath formed a thin mist in the cold air.
Hearing the order, Li Yewu didn't say a word and immediately carried it out. He was indeed a man of few words. Three black ravens made of energy shot into the low gray autumn sky, parting the fog that still lingered.
The three black ravens divided their tasks: mapping the terrain, searching for survivors, and counting the enemy while estimating their strength. After a while, the ravens returned. Some vanished into energy and re-entered Li Yewu's body, while others merged with special paper sensitive to soul energy, useful for mapping the terrain and enemy positions.
"Good work, Captain Li. With this, we can devise a solid strategy," Xiao Zhan praised, taking the paper from a neatly cut piece of wood. But when his eyes caught the image on the map, he shuddered slightly. The autumn wind suddenly blew stronger, sending a few dry leaves flying into his face.
Seeing Xiao Zhan fall silent, Ma Xiunuo took the map. He immediately understood the reason for his silence. On the map, many red dots surrounded the village, and the center of the village was marked as a corpse area, with one large black dot in the middle. From the direction of the village came a faint smell of blood and damp earth, mixed with a cold chill that made one's hair stand on end.
"That's an Evil Soul Master," Ma Xiunuo murmured. His voice was almost swallowed by the wind, but the field captains gathered to discuss strategy could still hear it. Dry leaves rustled beneath their feet. The captains looked uneasy, because no matter who won the coming battle, many would surely fall, like the leaves falling in autumn, powerless against fate. But before the discussion could reach a consensus, Captain Li Yewu delivered crucial news. His voice was soft but firm, trembling slightly from the cold. "It seems the leader of the evil soul masters is trying to break through. I sense a pressure stronger than Lord Xiao Zhan's."
Hearing that, Ma Xiunuo and Xiao Zhan exchanged glances. The thin fog between them seemed to thicken for a moment. They immediately nodded and ordered the field captains to gather their members on high alert. Someone with soul energy pressure stronger than Xiao Zhan who was about to break through would surely reach level fifty. During that process, they could not be disturbed; if not, energy deviation would occur, causing severe internal injury. So now, on this quiet gray morning, as the autumn wind brought bone chilling cold and the last leaves fell one by one, it was the perfect time for a surprise attack.
After the captains returned, having given orders to assemble on high alert, Xiao Zhan quickly gathered them again to explain his strategy. Their breath rose in the cold air.
"We will divide our forces into two groups. One group of sixty will attack the evil soul masters surrounding the village. The other group will come with me and Deacon Ma to break through to the center of the village. As for the encirclement force, do your best to ensure no one escapes the siege," Xiao Zhan said, his voice firm, cutting through the silence. The autumn wind howled softly, as if giving a chilling blessing.
After that, the captains were dismissed again. Then, among the nearly bare trees, beneath the low, heavy gray sky, after discussing the attack plan, the field captains relayed the strategy and the threat assessment to the troops under their respective commands. The last few remaining leaves finally let go and fell slowly, as if a sign that something vast and dark was about to pass, or had only just begun.
To Be Continued...