The base hidden within the vast, rugged valley stood beneath gathering winds, the Spirit-Gathering Flags hanging from its eaves snapping loudly in the mountain breeze.
Countless disciples in splendid robes floated above the base. They were all scions whom the various Lineages of the Guangfa Dao Sect had forced into the ranks.
They had come here for the idle, pampered posts in the base, so they would not have to risk their lives on the front lines.
After all, their Lineages had already made the necessary arrangements. As long as they survived this great battle, they could return and receive rewards under the name of having rendered meritorious service defending their homeland.
Yet these dandies, who normally spent their days cockfighting and running dogs, now stood frozen as if their souls had been yanked from their bodies. Fear wound around every heart like creeping vines.
At the edge of the base's valley, where the morning mist had yet to disperse, a dense mass of exotic beasts rolled over the hills like seawater at high tide. The eerie glow in their eyes shifted through the forest like evil stars fallen from the night sky.
Some of the beasts had nine heads atop serpentine bodies, their forked tongues flickering. Others bore eagle wings and tiger claws, scraping at the rocks with talons like steel hooks and sending sparks half a foot into the air.
None of the dandies from the various Lineages within the sect had expected the flames of war to reach the base in the far rear of the defensive line.
They had not gone to the front lines even once since the battle began. When had they ever seen anything like this?
If the base fell, they would all struggle to escape death before the endless tide of ferocious