Kunlun Mountain Part 4 - The Return

Chapter 19 - The Final Reckoning

They arrived within seconds of leaving the Peach Tree Woods.  Barely outside the the entrance, they stood behind a thick barrier to protect themselves from the hell fire which was sweeping across the tops of the trees, and the intense heat could be felt by everyone below.  

The Empress had never battled in her life, but she was no weakling, and nor was she afraid, though she was sickened by the sheer disregard for life.  She knew battles were ugly, they were never kind nor righteous, no matter how much one thought they were, the taking of life was repulsive but in battle, necessary.

Beside her, Zhe Yan visibly paled.  The sight that met them was so violent and horrendously sickening, the stench of death was so overwhelming, he was barely keeping to his feet, but like the Empress, he too was not afraid, just disgusted in the ugliness of it all.

The Demon and Ghost warriors dark energy was thick in the air, the terrified screams of the dying overrode the shocking roars of the dragons above them who were in battle with the Celestials dragon army.  It was clear, the Celesitals were outnumbered, thousands lay dead or wounded, while the demon hounds feasted on the bodies, regardless of whether they were alive or not.  

Throwing a burst of energy at a pack of wolves that had surround two young celestial soldier who were lying wounded among the dead, The Empress broke away from the group.

"Split up, we need to find Di Jun and Mo Yuan, only use your magic to kill if necessary, we are not here to battle unless we have to."  Bai Zhi ordered, before giving his wife a look that only they could interpret, but it was enough to put a smile on her face, and as he watched her clear a path towards the center using a wall of magic to sweep it clean, he too opened his magic as Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen moved stealthily but forcefully through the black energy.

In the center of the forest, Honghui was battling for his life.  He knew the moment the first strike of Mo Yuans blade hit, that he was no match for him, but he was there and he would give everything he had or he would die trying, he thought to himself as he blocked yet another strike of his blade.  He could also see the Mo Yuan was playing him, he was merely swinging the blade about without any real effort, though several times he felt an unknown energy come off his blade.  And several times, it felt as if he were battling someone else, this was not how Mo Yuan fought, he would have given everything and not held back, but he had no time to think. 

Breathing hard, and struggling against the roaring fire beating down above them, Honghui could barely see,  but he knew it was the same for Mo Yuan, the thick blanket of dark energy mingling with the intense flames of hell fire was roaring around them.  As Ghost and Demons fell, their energy rose up to join the roaring of the living.  Now and then, a flash of white robes would capture his attention, so he was aware that the Celestials had also entered the fray, but the moment his sight fell on Di Jun a wave of relief hit him.

He knew Di Jun was a righteous man, he was also one who would never allow Mo Yuan to overtake the Celestial Heavens or harm his people, so the moment Di Jun entered the center behind Qing Cang, he was momentarily distracted as Di Jun sword came up.

Taking a direct strike to his chest, Honghui went down in pain.  On the ground and severely wounded, he could only watch as Mo Yuan spun so fast, that Di Jun was forced back in order to block a strike against him.

Making their way towards the center where they could see an enormous battle was taking place, Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan battled hard against Demons, Ghost warriors and beasts alike.  Barely missing the fangs of a Demon hound, Bai Zhis body swung wide, before slashing its head off its shoulders.   Spinning back to take down two Ghost warriors who had sneaked up behind him, Zhe Yans sword flashed just as swiftly, taking out three more who had made a bee line for the both of them.   Their higher energy was a beacon to the dark warriors, they were too conspicuous, they all were, and within seconds both he and Zhe Yan along with Bai Zhen were surrounded.