Final Ash Seed

Boom—

The sword tore through the sound barrier. With a single strike, Xia Lun knocked the Holy Crusader Leader off balance, sending him and his mount skidding sideways. Deep furrows gouged the ground beneath them.

After stacking Flow for some time, Xia Lun's sword strikes had reached an almost unbelievable speed and force. He could break the sound barrier with ease.

The Holy Crusader Leader was now utterly outmatched. If his Door-Slab Sword had not been so broad and thick, and his plate armor so sturdy, Xia Lun would have killed him already.

Xia Lun could not read his opponent's mind, but he knew what the Holy Crusader Leader's original strategy had been.

He had meant to hold Xia Lun off until the Ghost Heavy Infantry closed in, then overwhelm him with numbers.

Now that plan had fallen apart.

Not far away, pure-white Holy Flame burned atop a spear. Rings of light spread from its heart like a pale, illusory battle standard. Beneath it, the refugees and militia marched forward!

At first, the Wraiths sent only a handful of troops to intercept them, but the pale standard kept advancing. As it pushed on, the Wraiths committed more and more troops.

Still, they could not stop it.

The standard never fell. It pressed forward without pause, while the militia and refugees—people who should have cowered like quail and served only as sacrifices—showed astonishing courage.

The militia and Baron's Guards were few compared with an entire Ghost Warband, but with the refugees among them, the two sides were evenly matched in number.

The Wraith Infantry surged forward like a tide, only to fall back again and again like waves breaking against a reef.

Screams and muffled groans filled the air. Blood stained the path of light red, yet the refugees kept pressing