CHAPTER 76.2: MOON MAIDEN HOLDS THE SWORD, KILLING THOUSANDS IN THE SNOW

Ten days passed in a blur. The snowfall only grew heavier.

By now, even the Ancient Qichun Tree was buried beneath white. A thick sheet of ice covered Seventh Moon Lake. Qi Yuan sat alone by the lakeshore.

Suddenly, a deep rumble shook the earth. It was like the pounding of a colossal drum upon the heart. The ice on the lake trembled, as though ready to shatter.

Moon Maiden came rushing out of the wooden hut. She wore only a thin dress, her small face anxious.

Qi Yuan looked into the distance.

Through the blizzard, snow was trampled down and scattered by massive footsteps. Behind the swirling snow rose towering, armored figures, growling low. Three thousand towering warriors, clad in heavy armor, advanced slowly upon Seventh Moon Lake.

This was the Hundred Cities Alliance's Iron Cavalry. Every one of those hulking giants was a martial warrior. The strongmen bore more than twenty sedan chairs upon their shoulders, each bearing a Peak Emperor. They lounged lazily in their seats, utterly carefree.

The fat man with the Buddha's smile let his jowls shake with mirth. "Don't underestimate him. We will strike together and take him down."

"Relax, Fat Emperor. Do you think we have grown careless just because we have lived till this age?"

"Sacrifice the Saintess to the heavens, and we should earn ten more years of peace."

"And the other Saintess?"

"Capture this one first. The second can wait."

With just a few words exchanged between them, Moon Maiden's fate was sealed.

Qi Yuan remained seated upon his stone.

He glanced at the girl. "Are you afraid?"

She looked at the advancing army, then shook her head. "Go. Draw my sword and hold it tight."

Her gaze hardened.

The army thundered closer, flattening the snow with each step.

Moon Maiden's slim figure walked slowly toward the sword planted a hundred meters away. She treaded into the wind and snow, leaving behind neat, steady footprints.

One of the Peak Emperors smirked from her sedan. "What's she doing? Throwing her life away?"

The fat man's smile froze. "Another fool who doesn't know her place."

Since the appearance of the Black Army in the mortal zone, Peak Emperors were the strongest beings in the world. Anyone stronger dared not reveal themselves, for Flesh-Hooks would descend from the heavens and reduce them into nothing but skin.

With twenty-five Peak Emperors and three thousand Iron Cavalry, what was there to fear?

The snow was thick and deep. The girl reached the sword, grasped it with her pale hands, and pulled it free. The giant sword was nearly taller than her. She clutched it tightly to her chest.

Facing the Iron Cavalry, her eyes shone stubborn and bright. The rumbling grew louder. Snow leaped from the ground and fell from the trees.

She cried, clear and youthful, "Whoever crosses this sword, dies without pardon!"

Her words were drowned in the thunder of three thousand armored steps.

Of course, the Peak Emperors registered her words. Some chuckled, some smirked.

The Fat Emperor was dumbstruck, then sneered. "Even a Heaven realm expert would not dare to boast so wildly."

"That faceless man must be frightened. He's tricking the Saintess."

"Hahaha, the Saintess is just a child. How foolish."

Their laughter rang loud and clear.

High above, Cold Moon stood among the tree branches. Seeing this, her eyes filled with despair. "Saintess... forgive me."

Her heart sank, thinking the Faceless Sword God had lost his nerve.

The army pressed forward without stopping. "Iron Cavalry, kill them!"

Three thousand warriors charged like stampeding elephants.

Moon Maiden hugged the sword. Snow blinded her eyes, but her legs stood firm.

"Cross the sword and you will die!"

Her sweet, ringing voice traveled as the blade suddenly drew itself. A tide of blood-red aura erupted, vast and oppressive. Killing intent surged skyward, blotting out the snow. The sword rose, and became a crimson dragon, roaring at the three thousand Iron Cavalry.

Where it struck, hundreds of armored warriors were thrown high into the sky. Their bones shattered and their organs crushed.

Screams tore the air.

"Devil!"

"Aaah!"

The invincible Iron Cavalry broke in an instant. Many wailed for their fathers and mothers, fleeing in terror. The once-mighty army was reduced to chaos.

The blood-red dragon sword split into countless arcs, reaping lives without end. In just a dozen breaths, all three thousand Iron Cavalry lay dead.

Qi Yuan didn't even spare a glance at the battlefield. He simply called out, "This is the game version of Radiant Sword that I created these past few days. How much have you learned?"

The girl's pupils turned blood red. "About thirty percent."

From their sedans, the twenty-five Peak Emperors stared with utter dread and disbelief. How could such a being exist?

The three thousand Iron Cavalry warriors had been wiped out by a single sword!

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan smiled at Moon Maiden's answer. "Not bad. With the remaining NPCs, you should be able to grasp seventy to eighty percent."

As his words fell, the sword surged toward the twenty-five Peak Emperors.

Their souls shook with terror. They didn't see a sword. What they saw was a blood dragon slaughtering billions.

"No!" cried a Peak Emperor cultivator in rainbow plumes, as blood-light grazed her.

Half her body was sheared away, the rest shriveling, her boiling blood screaming.

"Devil!"

The rest of the Peak Emperors panicked. No one dared to step forwards.

After all, they only survived this long because of two things. Was it bravery? Or strength? No, it was sheer cowardice and shamelessness.

However, the blood dragon spared no one.

"Nooooo!"

Their roars and pleas for mercy drowned in the snowstorm.

Beams of crimson fell, like grinding millstones of the blood moon, cutting them down one by one. All twenty-five Peak Emperors died. Lastly, the sword pierced the Fat Emperor's body.

He collapsed, cloudy eyes still twisted in a grin. "The Black Army... the gods beyond the realm... they won’t spare you."

With those words, he perished.

The sword returned, sinking into the lake, washing itself clean before sliding back into its sheath.

Under the trees, Cold Moon trembled with awe. This... this power surpasses the Peak Emperors!

The black-veiled woman was equally overwhelmed. She whispered, "Master..."

Moon Maiden brought the sheathed sword back to Qi Yuan's side.

Qi Yuan smiled at her. "This is your first time facing so many enemies. Tell me, how do you feel?"

Her small face beamed. "Very strong. Very, very strong."

She meant him, of course.

Qi Yuan said lightly, "Then, it's my turn for a comment."

It seemed he had asked that just to deliver this line. Moon Maiden looked at him seriously.

"I haven't farmed monsters this low-level in ages. Enemies like these shouldn't even be on my map."

What kind of foes had he faced until now? Heaven realm foes by the thousands. Even Divine realm enemies were nothing, as he had faced three thousand of them.

What were these three thousand Iron Cavalry and twenty-five Peak Emperors if not common mobs?

Qi Yuan asked her earnestly, "I'm off to grind some higher-level monsters. Want to come watch?"

The Moon Maiden nodded, eyes resolute.

Qi Yuan took her hand. "Come. Let's see if the Black Army are worthy of being called elite mobs."

He was a player. How could he sit around like an NPC, waiting for enemies to farm him? To strike first, that was his style.

He had found the answer he was looking for at Seventh Moon Lake. Now it was time to move on, to face the final boss and gather the Heavenly Dao Fragments. But before that, the Black Army—scourge of the mortal zone—had to be erased.

How dare they act so arrogant when they were just mobs! Qi Yuan wouldn't allow it.

Hand in hand, he and the Moon Maiden vanished into the blizzard.

***

Hundred-Cities Alliance. The Ten-thousand Tomb Pit...

Bones and half-rotted corpses stretched everywhere.

Though the ground was thick with flesh, no vultures circled, and no wolves prowled. The place was deathly still.

It was the alliance's deepest, forbidden, and the most feared land. No cultivators dared approach. Even Peak Emperors would tremble when they saw it from a distance.

Now, a masked man walked in, leading a girl of about seven or eight years of age.

The silence remained unbroken.

The man's voice was flat, sounding neither sorrowful nor joyful. "This map really doesn't cut it... Not even a hair compared to the Four Great Forbidden Zones."

That masked man was Qi Yuan.

He had slaughtered his way through the Hundred-Cities Alliance.

King realm? Emperor realm? Peak Emperor realm? They were all fodder, not even worth a single sword. After all, he had killed gods and Buddhas, soaking the land in blood.

At last, he stood before the dreaded lair of the Black Army.

Sword in hand, he said softly, "I'm here to clear the dungeon."

His words fell, and the great, blood-colored sword roared into the tomb pit. At once, a swarm of Black Army burst out like bats from a cave.

Qi Yuan’a eyes flashed with cold amusement. "Alien demons, you're truly mad. Devouring flesh is one thing, but to stitch human skins to form the Black Army? A final boss like you... No wonder you'll never be discharged. Oh, correction. It is more likely you'll die in the asylum."

With that, his sword blazed into the horde. Blood light surged. Slaughter filled the skies.

One by one, the Black Army fell.

Others called them ghosts, not knowing that Qi Yuan was the true ghost.

Still holding the Moon Maiden's hand, he asked softly, "How much have you learned now?"

"Ninety percent."

"Good. Once you master it fully, I'll be gone."

Her little hand squeezed his even tighter.