In the black of night, a bedraggled figure was hurtling forward.
His armor had long been discarded, leaving only a thin layer of clothing, stained with congealed blood, not knowing if it was from the enemy, himself, or a comrade.
He had no idea how long he had been running, his True Qi... had long been exhausted.
Suddenly, he saw the towering signboard of the Divine Sword Sect in the distance.
Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
He could never have imagined that this battle would end in such a devastating defeat.
The victory had seemed certain, but then a horde of terrifying creatures burst in, disrupting the entire formation. Caught in a pincer attack, even a desperate resistance could not sustain the Martial Arts Army.
He could only watch helplessly as one by one, those around him fell, torn apart by monsters, limbs and severed body parts scattered everywhere, the scene was too gruesome.
Then, he heard the commanding officer roaring out the order to retreat.
So without a second thought, he retreated, kept retreating, always retreating... with only one conviction, to return to the Divine Sword Sect.
At that moment, a figure beside him stopped.
Disheveled.
An arm severed, a massive claw mark on the back, flesh blurred... drenched in blood.
Looking up at the Divine Sword Sect’s signboard, the man let out a long sigh before collapsing stiffly to the ground.
Pang Bai hurriedly went to help him, only to see that this Innate expert had already breathed his last.
He had returned to the Divine Sword Sect on his last thread of conviction.
"Senior Brother Zuo."
In Pang Bai’s eyes, a fierce gleam of hatred suddenly emerged.
Then, he picked up the corpse of Senior Brother Zuo and steadily walked toward the interior of the Divine Sword Sect.
...
The Divine Sword Sect was in chaos.
Escaped martial artists were returning in a steady stream, not only from the Divine Sword Sect but also from the Night King Mansion and various other powers.
According to the established plan, the Divine Sword Sect was to serve as the most critical defensive stronghold.
Everyone was to retreat towards the Divine Sword Sect.
The Sect had previously called upon its Innate martial artists to prepare for a prolonged defense.
Moreover, a massive evacuation had long since started over at Lijian City.
After all, more than ninety percent of the city’s inhabitants were associated with the Divine Sword Sect.
If the rebel forces of the Night King Mansion attacked the Divine Sword Sect and could not break through, they might vent their frustration on Lijian City to undermine the morale of the disciples.
Not only that, inner sect disciples who had been with the sect for less than three months, along with some staff from the Pill Workshop, Hundred Herbs Garden, Exotic Beast Breeding Farm, and other non-combat divisions, were arranged to retreat along with the residents of the Lijian City.
Li Qian had been constantly busy.
With so many wounded returning, even an Innate martial artist like him had to assist in treating the injured.
Only the higher-level martial artists who had Innate ability or above had the strength to make it back to the Divine Sword Sect.
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