The messenger nodded hard in acknowledgment, grabbed his bloodstained saber, and turned to charge back into the breach in the city gate.
Luo Xia Gudeng drew a deep breath and looked up at the demons surging toward him like a black tide, veins bulging along the arm that held his trident.
As one of the first great sea-race generals Yun Che had subdued, he had followed Yun Che all the way to this day without ever taking half a step back. This time, too, he would never let the demons cross the coastline he guarded.
Deep-blue divine power erupted along his trident. Towering waves surged out of thin air, smashing dozens of demons at the front to pieces. The salty sea breeze carried the scent of blood into the distance as Luo Xia Gudeng leaped up and charged fiercely into the demon horde with his remaining personal guards.
The sharp clash of blades erupted amid the demons' howls. Blood splashed onto his deep-blue battle robes, and a demon's claws tore a wound in Luo Xia Gudeng's shoulder deep enough to expose bone. Yet he seemed utterly unaware of it, thrusting his trident back through the demon's throat and forcibly gouging out its Demon Core to clutch in his palm.
Every inch of the coastline was soaked in blood. The Mermaid Clan's warriors stepped over their comrades' corpses and held fast at the breach in the city gate. Not one retreated.
Black demonic qi steadily corroded their divine bones. Many warriors' skin had already begun to blacken and fester, yet they still gripped their weapons and refused to fall.
Just then, Luo Xia Youyou, a mermaid whom Yun Che had likewise devoted great effort to nurturing, suddenly flew into the air.
As she formed hand seals, vast waves surged forth, finally