"Elder Xu, how much longer... before the sect's people arrive?"
Inside the gate tower, a young disciple asked in a low voice.
Elder Xu looked toward the voice. Blood still stained the disciple's face, and unease filled his expression. Elder Xu could not help but sigh.
The attack just now had plainly pushed these young disciples close to their limits.
"Word has been sent. The sect won't abandon us."
"But what if the Formation breaks before reinforcements arrive?"
The young disciple regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth and hurriedly lowered his head.
The others nearby fell silent.
They had wondered the same thing. None of them had wanted to be the first to say it.
Elder Xu did not blame him.
He glanced outside the city and thought of the fellow disciples who had died in battle. Anger surged up in him again, and his grip on his sword tightened.
"Then we'll fight them to the death!"
The ferocity in Elder Xu's voice shook the disciples. The fighting spirit he stirred in them pushed back some of their fear.
"But the Formation still stands, and I'm still alive. Hold your positions. Don't throw yourselves into chaos before the enemy even gets in!"
The young disciple nodded firmly and returned to the other side of the wall.
Elder Xu channeled his true essence again, though his face had grown paler.
The wounds to his chest and abdomen had yet to heal, and the lingering power of law kept eating into his flesh. Yet the attacks outside had not stopped, and the entire Protective Formation depended on him. He could only suppress his injuries while continuing to hold the Formation.
The two stewards beside him watched anxiously but could do little to help. Their cultivation was nowhere near