Chapter 58: A Plan

A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the final chapter of the week. Hope you enjoy and have a good weekend!

Chapter 58:

Despite seeing the fighting on the bridge, we didn’t just rush ahead and try to help. Our whole group was hardly at our best, and it would have been foolhardy not to take a moment and evaluate the situation. I knew that, and clearly so did Xing Yaling and Pan Song. Neither looked inclined to rush on ahead. Instead, we pulled back to use the hill we crested as cover and observe from afar.

That didn’t mean I was happy about staying in place, trying to see just what was happening while my friends were potentially fighting for their lives. My left hand clenched tightly by my side as I took in what was happening as quickly as possible. At the same time, part of me couldn’t help but wonder if this was our fault for asking for their help? Had someone actually intercepted our messages? The chances should have been slim, yet why else were these beast men attacking the city’s forces at such a terrible time?

“That doesn’t look good,” Pan Song muttered from beside me.

“Yeah,” I said, grimacing. That was a bit of an understatement. The battle on the bridge was a mess.

There seemed to be three groups fighting. The first and most obvious was the spirit beasts. They came from the south, and there were a lot of them, though not as many as I imagined when I heard about the beast tide. There were a couple of hundred at most, which was still a lot, but manageable for the people on the bridge with a clear choke point.

Despite how large the wooden bridge was, it wasn’t nearly large enough to let all the spirit beasts on at the same time. They couldn’t bring the full force of their numbers to bear. Especially since the river was too large and the current too treacherous for the beasts, forcing them to only attack from a single direction. If it had only been the city’s forces versus spirit beasts, there likely wouldn’t have been a problem.

Unfortunately, the people on the bridge were divided into two groups as well. One side, I was pretty sure, had my friends and some of the other people sent out by the city—a mix of robed cultivators and more practically dressed mercenaries. I couldn’t make out anyone in particular from so far, but I could see the familiar red and black robes of the Alchemist Guard fighting together. 

The city’s forces were being forced to fight both the spirit beasts on one side but also the final group on the other.

The last group resembled the people we’d fought camped out around the transport array. Men wearing rough clothing and armor that was more typical of mercenaries and bandits, who were also transformed into beast-like men. Even from afar, I could make out some of their animalistic features. And from how much trouble their group seemed to be causing, they were probably all at least as powerful as the ones we faced as well. 

Not good, but at least the beast men were smaller in number than the people from the city. There were maybe about two dozen of them at most.

Still, the smaller number of the beast-like bandits was made up for by the spirit beasts. It looked like if things continued as they were, then eventually the two enemy groups would ground down our allies. And, of course, that wasn’t the end of the problems I could see.

Beyond the bridge, towards the south, I could see smoke billowing up from the horizon. That was probably where the village Lin had mentioned before was. And in that direction, even from here, I could not only hear the sounds of high-tier combat happening, but see the shockwaves of those clashes affecting the air and surroundings.

Things were even more chaotic than I thought. And I was honestly confused as to just what the hell was happening. Why had the bandits, whom I thought were working with the assassins doing this? It didn’t seem like it was just about Xing Yaling and intercepting our help, as they’d even brought what I was pretty sure was Foundation Establishment Masters into this?

Foundation Establishment Masters fighting other Masters instead of hunting us down. The whole thing just didn’t make sense.

I shook my head, banishing the confusing thoughts for the moment. I had no idea what that was about, but none of it mattered right now. No, my main focus needed to be on the fight at the bridge. But was there anything I could do to help with that?

I couldn’t help but glance back at Xing Yaling and Pan Song before looking down at myself. Pan Song was probably the least injured out of the three of us. The pills seemed to have healed his arm. Unfortunately, he was also the weakest amongst us, and didn’t even have enough prepped flags for his defensive array anymore.

As for Xing Yaling… I wasn’t so sure about her, but given everything that had happened, and the tiredness and weakness I could see in her movements, she was not going to be able to turn the tide of battle any time soon.

Finally, there was me. My reserves were still only a bit above half, and I was all out of cores and enhanced foxfire. Without those, I could barely hit close the the strength of a weak mid-stage Qi-Gatherer. Against so many opponents of at least that strength, there wasn’t much I could do. That was an infuriating realization. Despite all my potential and possible growth, I was still too weak to do much when it really mattered.

Just what could I do in such a chaotic fight between so many fighters and beasts? I was just a single person, and even including Pan Song and an injured Xing Yaling, we were nothing when compared to the dangers involved. Practically an ignoreable force…

Wait a minute… An ignoreable force… And I actually still did have one more way to hit above my level. One that would take prep but…

I straightened up as a plan started to form in my mind. One that might just be able to take advantage of such a big, messy battle, where I could get away with something I normally couldn’t with less distracted foes. Especially when most of the foes would be spirit beasts. Still, it would require me to get close enough to actually do it, which would be pretty dangerous. Especially since most of the beast-like bandits were on our side of the bridge. 

But then again… I looked down at my fox tail, which I curled around myself to the front of my body. Getting close might not be an issue. Not when I don’t have to do it myself.

“I have a plan,” I said as everything came together in my mind. 

“I’m in no condition to wade through that battle,” Xing Yaling said, shaking her head. “As I am now, I can’t affect such a large-scale fight. There doesn’t appear to be any late-stage Qi-Gatherers there or spirit beast equivalents. But in these numbers, it doesn’t matter.”

“I am not sure there is much we can really do here either, Li Lan,” Pan Song said, his brows furrowed. “Plan or no plan. But I will try if you truly have an idea. Although keep in mind I can’t form any defensive formations.”

“I remember,” I said, smiling and nodding at him. Then I turned to Xing Yaling. “And it doesn’t involve us trying to rush into all that fighting. We just have to help turn the tide, and I think I know just how to do that…”

I spent the next minute explaining my plan to the two of them. I had to clarify some things for Xing Yaling as she didn’t know what I could do, which led to an improvement on my plan as I’d overlooked how I could use my tunneling ability to help hide our approach. That, combined with Pan Song’s obscuring formation that he could set up from a place of safety, further changed and improved the plan.

So much so, even Xing Yaling was on board by the end, if a bit reluctantly. She wasn’t so confident in me acting as the firepower of the plan, since Pan Song didn’t have the range, and she needed to conserve her strength in case the enemy got too close. But there really wasn’t a better plan, and we needed to do something. We still had no idea if our pursuers might be headed in this direction. I’d assumed at first that the bandits here were those people, but thinking of it now and the fighting in the distance, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Which meant that if we weren’t able to end this battle now and join up with our allies, then we might end up facing any possible pursuers alone. Not something we wanted to have to deal with.

I started things off by transforming my tail back into its fox form, splitting my view between the two of us again. Then I used half of the Qi I had to make seven balls of foxfire and stuck them to my fox's tail. Even dimmed, they stood out against the black fur of my fox, but thankfully, I was able to hide them away in its fluffy tail. It shouldn’t matter much anyway, but anything to help make the fox less noticeable would help with the plan.

With that done, and trusting Pan Song and Xing Yaling to help me watch out for dangers, I put all my attention into controlling the fox. 

I sent it rushing forward towards the bridge, pushing it to its limits. While the fighting was stalemated at the moment, the more time that passed, the worse off our allies would be. So speed was of the essence.

The fox cleared the land between us and the bridge rapidly, then paused for just a moment as it broke through some very tall grass. I took a couple of seconds to take in this side of the battle, and the beast men fighting off against the city’s forces.

Scanning the fighting, I saw just how intense it was between the more numerous forces from the city and the beast-like bandits. It was intense enough that I should be able to sneak through with my fox’s small stature.

Hopefully, anyway.

Not able to delay any longer, I sent my fox rushing forward, its claws clacking slightly against the cold stone road leading to the bridge. Thankfully, that was drowned out by the sound of clashing steel and people shouting as they fought.

I stuck to the edges of the large wooden bridge once I reached it, doing my best to remain unnoticed. Even then, without seeming to draw any direct attention, my fox was far from safe. As the people fought their destructive battles, elemental attacks and other ranged techniques were flung around. Just a single stray attack might’ve enough to destroy my fox.

It forced me to keep my fox’s head on a swivel as it continued across the bridge. Which let me see the errant fireball headed my way immediately. I had my fox jump away from it, letting it sail by and smash into the thick wooden railings of the bridge. The fireball was intense, but the bridge must have been made out of special wood or had other protections, as the person-sized fiery explosion only left scorch marks.

Not that I had long to pay attention to that. From up ahead, a bear-faced bandit smashed his massive hammer down on his opponent. He crushed one of the robed cultivators into paste before slamming into the bridge below. The force of the blow was immense, leaving a crater in the ridiculously sturdy bridge and sending wood shrapnel flying in all directions. Several large splinters got dangerously close to my fox, forcing me to make it leap back and avoid them.

My fox landed on all fours before rushing forward again, while I tried not to think about the gruesome death I had just seen. As it went, I also kept a lookout for my friends. Both out of concern, but also because I would need their help to finish my plan. It was doubtful I would be able to reach the other side of the bridge before my fox was destroyed by someone assuming it was just a normal spirit beast.

Thankfully, before that became an issue, I finally caught sight of Jianfeng, Lin, and Sun Yun. Jianfeng and Lin were facing off against one of the beastmen with the help of one more cultivator in Alchemist Guard robes. Jianfeng and Lin harried their enemy with sword and metal staff, while the third fighter used a bow to attack from range. 

Their numbers let them face off against the mid-stage Qi-gatherer on a much more even battlefield. But even then, they were struggling. Either the man was stronger than he seemed, or they had a much more difficult fight beforehand. Because all three had visible bloody wounds on their bodies. Jianfeng and Lin were also not fighting at their full strength, Jianfeng being slower than I knew he could be, while Lin seemed to be favouring her left arm instead of her right.

Sun Yun, meanwhile, dealt with three of the beast-like men herself. Despite being outnumbered by what should have been similarly strong opponents, she seemed to be able to keep them on the back foot. Fighting with a flurry of kicks, punches, elbow strikes, and knees, all enhanced by fiery Qi, she was unrelenting and ferocious.

It left me taken aback for a moment. Back in the Great Southern Forest, I hadn’t really had a chance to watch her fight. For the most part, everything we encountered was too weak. And during the fight with the Crystal Drakes, I’d been too focused on our own fight to watch her.

Now, though, I couldn’t help but be amazed. Especially since it looked as if it wasn’t for one of her opponents being stronger than the others, she would have already won. Two of the beast men trying to fight her were constantly being pushed back. Their attempts to block were shattered, and more than once, they barely dodged death by flaming strike. It was only the third beast-man that kept Sun Yun from killing them.

The third man was strange, I realized as I slowed and crept closer to my friends, trying not to draw attention or distract them. Unlike the beast-like men I’d seen before, he didn’t seem to resemble a mix between a human and an animal. At least, his non-human features didn’t match any animal I could recognize. Instead, he had two small horns pointing out of his head and a massive overbite with fangs pointing out of his lips.

It kinda reminded me of an orc or ogre. He had the muscles and extra height to match. It made it almost comical when he and Sun Yun clashed, usually while he was desperately trying to keep her from killing his fellows. Especially since he wielded a massive great axe against Sun Yun's bare hands. 

It looked like he should have crushed Sun Yun with ease. The reality, however, was that he had to use both hands to wield his axe, and even then, when Sun Yun met said weapon with a fist, he was the one sent skidding back.

Damn, I hoped I could be as strong as her soon. 

But I couldn’t spend too much time thinking about that or watching the fight. I had a plan to enact. So I continued forward, slipping between another group of alchemist guards fighting against two beast-like men until I was close enough to Lin and Jianfeng.

I waited for a short moment, debating whether or not to call out to them or jump into the fight. But my decision was made for me before I could decide. It happened in almost an instant.

Jianfeng had managed to stab his sword into the stomach of the bear-like man. But the man just snarled, gripping the sword before Jianfeng could pull back. The bear-like man’s muscles bulged before lashing out with a clawing strike. Jianfeng let go of his sword, but not fast enough to avoid the strike that extended out into a phantom bear paw. 

The Qi construct slammed into Jianfeng and sent him flying back towards the Alchemist Guard archer. The two of them crashed to the ground in a daze. That left only Lin to defend against the snarling bear-like man. With the sword still in his stomach, Qi exploded out of him as he lunged for Lin.

“Die!” he snarled as he lashed out with his technique.

I sent my fox charging forward, then, running behind the bear man as he tried to squish Lin with a phantom bear paw connected to his hand. She met the paw with a swing of her metal cudgel, Qi exploding out of her as she did. She was just barely able to hold him off,  but her feet dug into the bridge underneath her, and the strain was obvious in the way her left arm trembled. Her face was red with effort as she was slowly overpowered.

I lashed out with my fox’s tail, barely dodging a forceful reflexive kick from the bear man in return. My tail obviously didn’t do much against him, but in that brief moment, I sent all seven balls of my foxfire forward and onto him.

He didn’t seem to notice; far more focused on trying to crush Lin. I took advantage of that by leaping at his back as I conjured more balls of foxfire, using more than half of my fox's Qi to create 4 more balls of foxfire that I stuck to his back. 

Again, he lashed out with a reflexive strike with his free hand, but again, I managed to dodge as he barely put any effort into it. That was a mistake on his part. Because while my eleven balls of foxfire might not be able to do enough damage to matter against him, they weren’t only capable of burning things. They could also absorb Qi.

With a thought, I made all the balls of foxfire on him absorb Qi at their maximum amount all at once.

The effects I felt immediately. Despite not being on the bridge, I felt the Qi rush into my own reserves. But since it wasn’t that useful at the moment, I tried to redirect that Qi to my fox instead. I wasn’t sure if I could, but thankfully, it turned out to be possible. Qi flooded into my nearly depleted fox, allowing me to make more foxfire there.

I sent those at the bear-like man, who was starting to show signs of my drain affecting him. Where before he was on the verge of crushing Lin, now his bear paw construct was getting dimmer. At the same time, Lin, who’d been forced to her knees, was starting to get up as she overpowered him.

“What is this!” The ursine man snarled as he flared his Qi and tried to stop my draining. It slowed it down but didn’t stop it.

Caught between trying to keep Lin down and me continuing to use his Qi to make more foxfire to drain him quicker, he was fighting a losing battle. One he lost even faster when an arrow struck him right in the chest, followed by another that almost got him between the eyes.

My Qi drain maxed out again, and at the same time, Jianfeng returned to the fight in a rush of wind. He grabbed onto his sword, which was still lodged in the bear man’s stomach, and tore it out in one quick, vicious movement.

“Gah!” the bear man screamed in anger. 

But before he could do anything else, Lin shouted and pushed his phantom paw back. It sent him stumbling backwards, off balance. Which made it all the easier for Jianfeng to lash out with his sword. Jianfeng’s blade cut clean through the man’s thick neck, sending his head flying away.

And just like that, the fight was over. But the fighting all around us was still going on, and there was much more to do. So I quickly turned my fox to my friends, three pairs of eyes locking onto it as I did.