Those Who Stepped Forward

Those Who Stepped Forward

"We should retreat too..." Zhang Yan said, backing away slowly.

The collapsed section was only some twenty paces from Luo Tang's group. If another torch fell, they would be the first to bear the brunt of Mei's attack.

Yet Luo Tang showed no reaction. Her eyes drifted vacantly between the rear and Luo Qingqing not far away, clearly at a complete loss.

Zhang Yan had barely taken two steps back when he felt something hard pressed against the back of his neck.

He turned around to find Xia Fan holding a wooden sword to his throat.

"Y-you, what do you mean?"

"Stay where you are. Don't go anywhere, or I'll chop you off the wall," Xia Fan said in a low voice.

"Brother Yan!" Zhang Shi shouted. He grabbed a hoe and rushed forward, but Xia Fan did not yield an inch. Raising his sword as though to swing it down, he forced Zhang Shi to halt his charge.

"Xia Fan...?" Only then did Luo Tang seem to react. She looked at the three locked in confrontation, bewildered for a moment.

"Don't forget what you came here for!" Xia Fan suddenly raised his voice and shouted at her.

Luo Tang shuddered and finally came back to herself.

"I... We have to hold our own torch." She clenched her fists and addressed the Zhang brothers. "If we run, who will take in the companions retreating toward us? You two don't want everything behind you to become pitch-black either, do you? Besides, if everyone runs, where can they run to? This is the Great Desolation Evil Night!"

"But you saw it too... The reserve group has already fled. Mei will pour through the city wall in an endless stream!" Zhang Yan argued.

"I'll go replace the missing torch—"

"No. Your responsibility is to stay here," Xia Fan cut her off. "Let me go."

"You?" Luo Tang asked in surprise. "Don't you lack long-range Sorcery Arts?"

During the previous defense, Xia Fan had never made a move. Instead, he had watched over the torches, because he had no means of attacking Mei across the city wall.

Of course, the root of it all was his bargain-bin master. Of the seven or eight arts he had taught Xia Fan, precious few could attack. Most were meant for running away.

"The problem is, neither can you!" Xia Fan shot Luo Shang an irritated glare.

She was instantly at a loss for words. She had previously tried attacking Evil Spirits with the Life Bestowal she excelled at, but its effect had been negligible.

"Just do as I say! I may not have long-range attacks, but that doesn't mean I can't fight at close range." He withdrew his wooden sword and said coldly to Zhang Yan, "Don't forget that the Proctors are likely watching this final battle. If you abandon everyone and flee first, what kind of evaluation do you think you'll receive? If they write that down, forget three years—perhaps you won't have anything to do with the Bureau of Military Affairs for thirty."

"Uh..." Zhang Yan gritted his teeth. "Fine, I won't leave!"

"At least don't leave ahead of everyone else." Xia Fan turned to Luo Tang. "Get me a spare torch, quickly!"

Luo Tang looked deeply at him. Then she took out a paper crane. "Qian Art, Guiyou, Life Bestowal!"

The paper crane shot into the sky, plunged toward the small square, seized the wooden-shaft torch abandoned by the reserve group in its claws, then struggled back toward its owner.

After dropping the torch, Luo Tang's body swayed. Carrying such weight in flight had clearly consumed a great deal of Qi, and she would have difficulty doing it again anytime soon.

"Be... careful," she said, panting.

"You don't need to tell me that."

Xia Fan picked up the torch, lit it, slung it over his shoulder, and ran toward the break in the city wall.

He knew it was risky, but standing by with his hands tucked in his sleeves would only be more dangerous. Transforming the town to resist Evil Night had indeed gathered the strength of all the examinees, but it had also tied everyone into the same boat. If there was a flaw in the entire plan, it was that he had overestimated the resolve and ability of the examinees.

Xia Fan had thought that, having only dealt with minor Wang and Mei alongside his master, he was truly unimpressive in actual combat. To his surprise, most people were even worse than him. From Luo Tang's words, he could tell that even among disciples of prominent families, only the very best had the qualifications for practical combat training. Lack of experience, compounded by immature minds, meant the examinees could manage long-range exchanges with Mei atop the walls. But once it became close combat, the situation turned completely upside down.

The moment the West Wall collapsed, the reserve group responsible for it fled in a panic, showing that Qingshan Town's defensive ring could crumble at any time. It had held on so far only because communication was inconvenient and nighttime visibility poor. Although the defenders on the other three walls could see what was happening on the West Wall, they were less affected themselves and did not face Demon at close range, so there would not be too many problems for the moment. But if the torches on the West Wall went out one after another, even the dumbest person would realize something was wrong. Once they fell into adversity, how much courage would they have left to hold their ground without retreating? Xia Fan had no confidence at all.

In other words, if they did not act immediately to relight the torches and drive Demon from the breach, the West Wall's situation would only worsen. If someone fled first at this moment, it would likely trigger an instant rout. And without the city wall to rely on, individual strength would become extremely limited. Then, who lived and who died would be entirely left to Heaven's will.

They had to curb this dangerous sign before the collapse began!

Just as Xia Fan reached the edge of the collapsed section, Demon rose halfway upright again.

This is bad!

The thought had barely surfaced in his mind when its massive body came crashing down onto the city wall—

"Rumble!"

With a thunderous crash, he felt the wooden planks beneath his feet break apart amid violent trembling. Bricks and stones in front of him were even flung into the air!

The only thing Xia Fan could do was grip the torch tightly and leap with all his strength, keeping the burning end of the wooden shaft pointed upward.

This is bad—

The instant Demon pounced down, Luo Qingqing's heart sank to the bottom.

She was entangled by two Mei and had no way to stop it. She could only watch helplessly as the wall beneath her feet split into pieces. She too lost her footing and was about to fall from the city wall.

Beyond Demon so close at hand, Luo Qingqing caught sight of firelight approaching from the other side of the breach. Perhaps the reserve group had finally arrived, but the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse. A single torch could no longer illuminate the widened gap.

If only she could hold on a little longer...

Just then, azure ripples suddenly spread outward, enveloping most of the collapsed area!

"Kan Technique, Flower in Water!"

Her falling speed instantly slowed. Not only that, even the falling stones became clearly visible, as though every object around her had been wrapped in invisible water, their movements greatly reduced.

The only one unaffected was the caster—Fang Xiandao.

To her astonishment, Fang Xiandao moved with smooth steps through the falling rocks and shattered wood while shooting a Talisman at her. When the talisman struck the center of her forehead, the azure ripples' effect on her abruptly vanished as well.

Luo Qingqing immediately understood. She flicked her sword toward the nearest blue brick, using the force of the collision to adjust her posture. Then, imitating Fang Xiandao, she leaped back and forth among the floating stones, finally landing steadily as though walking down stairs.

"I didn't expect you to help me."

"Hmph. There are priorities in all things. Forgetting the greater plan over minor details is something only fools do." Fang Xiandao snapped open his folding fan and held it before half his face. "Since ground defense is already a settled matter, there is no need for me to go against the current. What the Divination Art excels at is finding the path with the best outcome for myself, no matter how the situation changes."

"You... divined again?" Luo Qingqing could not help asking curiously.

"That's right. And the hexagram was incomparably clear. This Great Desolation Evil Night depends entirely on me, Fang Xiandao. As long as we hold out until dawn, my Fang family will surely rank first among the three families!" The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "See? Isn't the situation proving it true already?"

As he snapped his fan shut, the spreading ripples vanished, and the falling objects resumed their normal speed, smashing down one after another before the two of them.

"Are you all right?" Fei Nian, who had been blocking Mei beneath the city wall, also rushed over. "This Kan Technique's effect is truly eye-opening!"

"The Fang family excels at far more than fortune-telling." Fang Xiandao pointed directly at Demon sprawled over the breach. "Now that the three families are gathered, it's time to take down this monster in one breath! Go!"

Yet neither of them moved. Both looked at Fang Xiandao in unison.

"Hm? What does that mean?"

"That technique just now... Aren't you going to use it again?" Luo Qingqing asked in surprise.

"Exactly." Fei Nian nodded in agreement. "If we can pin Demon down, victory will be in the bag."

"This..." Fang Xiandao froze. "Do you think that art can be cast whenever I please? The materials it requires are all rare treasures. Even I only brought one set!"

"Then right now..."

"I can hold the line for you," Fang Xiandao said with perfect confidence.

"Watch out!" Fei Nian suddenly warned.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. A black shadow fell from above and landed on Fang Xiandao with a thud!

Since Mei could not fly and the three were outside the collapse zone, few had paid attention to the air above them. The attack had come so unexpectedly that Fang Xiandao was knocked unconscious before he could make any response.

Luo Qingqing was astonished to discover that this uninvited guest looked rather familiar.

"Xia... Fan?"

Xia Fan coughed twice and struggled to prop himself up with the torch. That fall had truly been severe. If he had not been a Qi-Inducer, falling from seven or eight meters high would have broken at least one leg. Had it been a certain white-haired expert, dying from the fall would have been perfectly normal.

Fortunately, the torch had not gone out after all.

"I brought a torch to help. I hope I'm not too late."

Luo Qingqing could not help but stare. So the firelight she had seen earlier had been Xia Fan.

When the city wall broke and the nearby groups were fleeing toward places that still had light, he had gone against the flow of people, trying to fill that missing brightness.

She had fought him before. Precisely because of that, she knew he was not someone who excelled through martial skill.

Even so, he had come.

A complicated feeling could not help rising in Luo Qingqing's heart.

"Why... was it you?"

"The reserve group couldn't handle it, so I'm filling in for the moment." Xia Fan put on an easygoing act. "Can this torch alone still make up for the gap?"

"I'm afraid not." Fei Nian shook his head. "The light below has trouble reaching the city wall, and if we want to set the torch up there, we'll have to face attacks from Demon and Mei."

"All right, that's what I thought..."

"In any case, if we don't defeat Demon, we won't be able to seal the breach." Fei Nian paused. "But this torch has already helped us immensely—at least Mei won't be able to approach us easily now. Leave what comes next to Luo Qingqing and me."

"Just the two of you?" Xia Fan frowned.

"There's another one beneath you."

Xia Fan hurriedly jumped aside. Only then did he notice a Fang family man lying on the ground. "Uh, I didn't notice—"

"I know. It was an accident," Luo Qingqing cut in. "There are fewer of us, but numbers won't serve much purpose here anyway. As long as you guard this place, we'll have a safe retreat. Even if we fail, we can still withdraw unscathed."