Tian Zhiyun's fist smashed the head of the last cursed warrior, the ground beneath her feet suddenly trembled. It wasn't an ordinary earthquake; the tremor carried a sticky, malicious force, rising from the depths of the earth, as if something was gnawing at the rock with its teeth.
"What the hell is that noise?" She spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, and just as she was about to lean down to listen more closely, she heard a crisp "crack"—the ground beside her feet cracked open, and black mist emerged like eels, carrying a putrid, fishy smell.
As Tian Uguisu's Susanoo swept away a group of Star Ninja, she caught a glimpse of the crack out of the corner of her eye, and her pupils contracted sharply. "Not good! It's Moryo!"
Before the words were even finished, a muffled chewing sound came from the depths of the earth, a smacking, smacking sound, like someone gnawing on bones. Then, more cracks spread across the plain, and black mist spewed out from them, instantly obscuring half the sky. The scattered puppet remains tumbled and reformed within the black mist, quickly coalescing into a new puppet army—this time, the puppets were no longer broken skeletons, but uniform stone golems, each clad in heavy armor, with a ghostly green Soul Crystal embedded in its chest. The Chakra fluctuations were chilling, approaching the Super Kage Level.
"My god, these things can evolve?" Just as Tian Muyan's ice arrow froze three stone golems, the Soul Crystal on their chests lit up, and their ice shells shattered instantly. "What the hell is this?!"
The stone golems moved forward with heavy steps, each step causing the earth to tremble. Their movements were slow, yet they carried an oppressive sense of world destruction—the living were torn apart by their stone arms, blood trickling down between their fingers; the souls of the dead were forcibly pulled out by the Soul Crystal, burrowing into the crystals like Fire Fly, emitting sharp wails; even the spirits of the Ghost Legion were not spared, their eerie blue flames extinguished like candle flames when absorbed by the Soul Crystal, leaving not even a wisp of smoke.
The cursed warrior's black mist was as brittle as paper in front of the stone golem, disintegrating with a single blow from the stone palm; the Star Ninja's purple flames, when they touched the stone armor, not only failed to burn through it, but were instead completely absorbed by the Soul Crystal, leaving not even ashes behind.
Tian Uguisu's heart sank as she looked on, suddenly remembering the White Snake Sage in the east. She turned her head and saw that the place where the battle had taken place was now only a black mist, and the Kageko of the eight giant snakes were struggling and shrinking in the mist, while the pale golden light of the Senjutsu grew dimmer and dimmer.
"The old man can't hold on much longer!" Tian Uguisu shouted urgently. Susanoo turned around and tried to rush east, but was stopped by Tian Yueqing.
"Don't go! You can't save it!" Tian Yueqing's mirror was still tightly locking onto the Golden Crow, sweat streaming down her face, forming small streams. "That's the true form of the Moryo! Look at the sky!"
Tian Uguisu suddenly looked up and saw a strange thing hanging under the dark sun—like a giant baby, with a mouth that stretched to its ears and a thick umbilical cord hanging from its navel, piercing straight into the earth. With each contraction of the umbilical cord, a muffled sound of a city collapsing could be heard in the distance, as if a city had been sucked into a dead city.
"Not enough... not enough..." The thing's voice was like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, shrill and hoarse, sending chills down one's spine. "More souls... more flesh and blood..."
Suddenly, a mournful hiss erupted from the black mist to the east—the voice of the White Snake Sage. Tian Uguisu saw a golden-blue serpent shadow rush out of the mist, most of its scales missing, one of its heads gone, and the flesh at its wounds being slowly corroded by the black mist.
"The old thing has lost!" Wind God Saku's wind barrier suddenly shifted eastward, the sand and black mist colliding and emitting a sharp, metallic whistling sound. "It's trying to escape back to Ryūchi Cave!"
With its last ounce of strength, the White Snake Sage twisted and writhed in the black mist. Its remaining seven snake heads frantically spewed out Senjutsu Chakra, barely managing to tear open a gash. But the black mist of the Moryo seemed to have a life of its own, tightly coiling around its tail, and the green light of the Soul Crystal seeped into its scales, instantly dimming the pale gold Senjutsu wherever it passed.
"Hiss... wait... I... will come back..." The White Snake Sage's voice was filled with unprecedented terror. It suddenly broke off half of its tail that was entangled in the black mist, and with the force of the recoil, it flew like a golden meteor, then turned into smoke and fled back to Ryūchi Cave.
The smoke changed direction and rushed towards Iwagakure. Iwagakure raised a runic barrier, but the barrier was violently shaken by the black smoke as soon as it was raised, and it obviously wouldn't last long.
"The barrier won't last even for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!" Tian Uguisu's heart sank to the bottom. She turned to look in the direction of Iwagakure, where only the last ruins remained. "We must retreat!"
Tian Yueqing's mirror suddenly emitted a crisp sound, and several more cracks appeared. "The seal can only last for three incense sticks!" she gritted her teeth, rapidly drawing talismans on the mirror's surface with her vermilion brush. " The Golden Crow will break free soon!"
"Retreat to Iwagakure!" Tian Uguisu made a decisive decision, Susanoo's spear into the ground. "Have the last 100,000 ninja use Earth Release to rebuild the city walls! Coordinate with the barrier defense!"
"Alright!" Tian Zhiyun punched down the ridge beside her, sending boulders crashing down and temporarily blocking the stone golem's pursuers. " Muyan, build a bridge!"
Tian Muyan's ice bow flashed repeatedly, and the ice arrows fell to the ground, instantly forming a smooth ice bridge that led straight to Iwagakure. "Quick!" She fired arrows as she retreated, her ice-blue wings flapping behind her, bringing with them gusts of cold air.
Wind God Saku's wind barrier slammed forward, separating the stone golems from the remnants of the allied forces. Yellow sand swirled with black mist, crashing together like two walls colliding, emitting a piercing shriek. "I'll cover your retreat! You retreat first!"
"Let's go together!" Tian Uguisu's Susanoo out and grabbed Wind God Saku's arm. "Stop trying to be a hero!"
The four humans and one god fought and retreated, rushing towards the Iwagakure on the ice bridge. The stone golem's Soul Crystal emitted a green light, and waves of energy shot over, grazing past them and blasting the ice bridge into craters.
As soon as she rushed into Iwagakure, Tian Uguisu shouted at the top of her lungs, " Earth Release ninjas! Form ranks! Build walls!"
Behind the ruins, countless ninjas struggled to their feet. Most were wounded; some had broken arms, others were blind, but upon hearing the command, they gritted their teeth and formed Hand Seals. " Earth Release: Rock Castle Walls!"
The earth trembled violently, and a hundred-foot-high city wall suddenly rose from the outskirts of Iwagakure. Layers of stone bricks and mud were stacked upon each other, as hard as a single block of granite. Tian Yueqing followed closely, leaping onto the wall. With a stroke of his vermilion brush, countless runes lit up and merged with the wall. "Runic Barrier - Impregnable!"
The city wall was instantly enveloped in a layer of golden light, and the energy waves from the stone golems only caused a ripple when they struck it.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a deafening crashing sound came from outside the city. The stone golems surged down to the city wall like a tidal wave, slamming their stone palms against the wall. The green light of the Soul Crystal reflected on the city bricks, giving them an eerie glow.
Tian Uguisu leaned against the inner side of the city wall, looking at the dark mass of stone golems outside, and suddenly felt all her strength drain away. She looked around and saw that less than half of the 100,000 ninjas remained. The rest were either lying motionless on the ground or leaning against the wall, panting heavily. Their faces were covered with a layer of ash, indistinguishable between dirt and blood.
The Land of Earth once had a million ninjas, but now only a handful remain.
Tian Yueqing walked over and handed her a clean strip of cloth. "Wipe yourself off." Her voice was a little hoarse, and sweat was still dripping from her forehead. "At least... we've held on for now."
Tian Uguisu took the strip of cloth but didn't wipe her face. She looked up at the outside of the city. The black sun still hung in the sky, the Kageko of the Golden Crow struggled wildly in the mirror, the black mist of Moryo crashed against the city walls like a tide, and the sound of stone golems colliding was incessant.
"Did you hold out?" she asked softly, her voice as light as a sigh. "I feel like... this night has only just begun."
Tian Zhiyun slammed her fist on the city wall, sending stone chips raining down. "Who cares about night or night," she grinned, revealing a bloodied tooth, "As long as I'm breathing, I'll fight them to the bitter end!"
Tian Muyan nocked another arrow into her ice bow, her gaze coldly fixed on the area outside the city. "Let's see who can hold out the longest."
Wind God Saku stood atop the highest point of the city wall, gazing at the distant sky, the wind pattern between his brows flickering slightly. "The barrier trapping the Immortal Golden Crow is about to break; we need to think of a way..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a deafening cry from outside the city— the Golden Crow had finally broken free from the mirror's shackles, and the black sun shone brightly in the sky again, even more scorching than before.
Tian Uguisu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, only a cold, resolute look remained in her eyes.
"Then... let's keep fighting."
Outside the city, the clanging of the stone golems grew louder; inside, the surviving ninjas helped each other to their feet, gripping their weapons tightly. The night in the Land of Earth was indeed long, seemingly endless. But as long as one person stood, the city had not yet fallen.