172 Trump Cards

Several hours earlier, right after Ed and Flair had left the Mount Dongling battlefield. Haru flashed past three Purple Origin Sect members, easily beheading them all with his green longsword. His eyes were dull, and he was like an emotionless killing machine on the battlefield. Fortunately, his powers were well suited to close-combat, and his Water Nightmare chimera flesh easily healed most injuries. Additionally, the various sect leaders were all caught up in their own battles, giving him free-range to act as he pleased.

So far, the Purple Origin Sect and Fire Dragon Sect were dominating the battlefield except for a few small pockets that held especially powerful espers. However, this momentum was about to change. The ground trembled as the sounds of a marching army echoed throughout the mountains. Shocked, the various cultivators all turned towards the east only to see nearly 5,000 unknown people appear on the horizon.

'Has the Earth Dust Sect made their move?' Haru wondered as he glanced towards the incoming army. If so, then he needed to be even more cautious. No one truly knew what side, if any, the Earth Dust Sect was on.

As the army of 5,000 got close, they stopped moving. A whitish-black glow covered each of their bodies, seeming to drastically increase their strength. Each one had an eye turn black and an eye turn white. Then, they were like horses released from the starting gates in a race. The ground beneath their feet was crushed as they rushed forward at incredible speeds. They attacked from the Fire Dragon Sect's flank, devastating their numbers with the surprise attack. Interestingly, each of the newcomers' strength was about even, and none seemed to have any powers beyond physical combat.

A loud and arrogant laugh echoed from the skies. "How do you like my Yinyang Warriors? I put a lot of effort into cultivating them!" Sect Leader Wan bragged.

"Truly vile." Sect Leader Fang sneered in disgust.

Just at that moment, a change took place throughout the Fire Dragon Sect's ranks. Nearly a thousand individuals transformed into hideous monster-like beings, their bodies becoming covered in scales. These were Tai's chimeras that had been holding back for such a moment! They were outnumbered by the Yinyang Warriors, but they more than made up for it in overall power. Each chimera was an even match for a Yinyang Warrior in strength, but they also had their various powers. With their help, the battle had become a stalemate.

"Haha!" Chonglin mocked. "How's that? Your special warriors don't seem all that special!"

"Tch." Wan glared at the chimeras before returning her concentration on her own fight.

Haru glanced at the Yinyang Warriors and Fire Dragon Sect chimeras before deciding not to interfere. His personal battle today was only with the Purple Origin Sect, and he had no desire to muddy the waters. He returned to his killing, however, the battle was growing more and more difficult. The weakest cultivators had been weeded out in the earlier stages, and now only the stronger ones remained.

Purple origin elements, something that was usually very rare, could be seen all over the battlefield. Each sect held at least ten members that could use it, and some held many more. The Purple Origin Sect in particular had over 100 individuals that could utilize it, which was equal to all of the other sects combined! Granted, this was only logical, as they had spent decades recruiting the best talents from both China and from the other sects themselves.

In addition to the various elemental powers, law powers were starting to come into play more frequently. This would have been the norm in another country, but in China, law powers were far rarer since cultivators usually started from the bottom and worked their way up. Several areas of the battlefield were dominated by these law-using cultivators. Some of these laws were simple, merely giving a small edge to a cultivator that could blind his enemies or heal himself. Others were simply terrifying, destroying everything for dozens of meters around them and even shredding space apart.

Haru was becoming more and more outclassed as he continued fighting. He had already lost count of just how many Purple Origin Cultivators he had killed, but he felt it had to be at least twenty. He was slowly losing track of time as the battle dragged on. Fortunately for Haru, the Light Tiger Sect's trump card was not the end, as the Wind Hawk Sect, Lightning Eel Sect, and Dark Phoenix Sect still hadn't played their hands.

Suddenly, Sect Leader Xia stepped away from his fight with Chonglin. Like previous times, he shot a bolt of lightning into the sky, creating one of his tribulation clouds. However, this time he did something different. Over a thousand lightning bolts crashed down towards his own sect's cultivators instead of towards the enemy!

Lightning sparked on the various Lightning Eel Cultivators, but they didn't seem to mind it. Instead, their strength increased, as did their speed. They easily matched up to the chimeras once again, and the stalemate was broken. The Seven Sect Alliance, which now consisted of only five sects, was beginning to take the upper hand.

Striking while the iron was hot, Sect Leader Dongfeng revealed his own trump card. He pulled out a small flute from his coat and began playing it while avoiding Sect Master Long's attacks. A beautiful melody echoed across the battlefield. Wherever the sound travelled, enemy cultivators grew dazed and confused while Wind Hawk cultivators seemed to become stronger and faster. It seemed the strange artifact had control over some type of law that could both aid and harm others. Unfortunately for Dongfeng, he was still caught up in his fight with Sect Master Long, which repeatedly interrupted his stream of music. Such breaks allowed the cultivators to take back their senses and fight their enemies properly.

Sect Leader Li was the only one that had yet to use her trump card. She appeared hesitant to do so, but she finally pulled out a strange whistle from her robe. It was pure white and appeared to be made of bone. "I'm sorry, Chonglin." She sighed before blowing into the whistle. A dark-yellow miasma spread from the whistle and covered the entire battlefield. Shockingly, all of the deceased cultivators' bodies on both sides started standing up.

...

Haru stared in shock as the dead rose all around him. Fortunately, he had been killing the Purple Origin Sect members, and the dead seemed to recognize him as an ally. The dead cultivators were crude in their fighting, unable to even control their elements from when they had been alive. However, they made up for that in two ways. First, their strength had increased drastically, likely as a result of nothing holding them back. After all, why would the dead care if they tore a muscle or broke a bone? Two, they didn't seem to die unless entirely destroyed. Even an arm left behind would manage to attack on its own, which made for a truly terrifying battle. With one advantage after the other stacked atop each other, it seemed it would only be a matter of time before the Seven Sect Alliance won.

'Should I go warn sensei that the Purple Origin Sect and Fire Dragon Sect are going to lose?' Haru wondered. 'No.' He shook his head and his eyes as his will grew resolute. 'I already made my choice.' He dived back into the fight, accepting a water arrow in his shoulder in order to behead another Purple Origin Sect cultivator.

...

Chonglin calmly watched the battlefield below while he occasionally threw attacks at the three nearby pests that called themselves sect leaders. He smiled. "It seems you've finally finished pulling out all your trump cards?"

"So what if we have?" Xia grinned. "Your formation was broken, and even if it wasn't, it's really only useful for defense and attacks from within. Those elemental giants it sends out aren't even worthy of being cannon fodder.

"Naive." Chonglin shook his head, almost seeming disappointed with the foolishness of his enemies. Their incompetence as sect leaders made him look bad by association. "Well, I suppose it's time we wrap this war to a close." He sighed as he stared at the moving dead bodies on the battlefield. All of the dead were China's cultivators, and their country's overall strength was bound to drop after the war. He would have no choice but to further centralize power and seek additional alliances to properly account for the changes.

Chonglin rose a fist in the air, and a purple shock wave spread in all directions. This seemed to be a signal, as nearly 500 foreigners flew out from the Purple Origin Sect. Shockingly, nearly a fifth of them were using purple origin elements, and the ones that weren't all seemed to be in control of laws.

Xia's eyes widened in shock. "SHAMELESS!" He yelled. "You'd bring foreigners into our civil war?!"

"They are allies of the Purple Origin Sect." Chonglin scoffed. "I had hoped for them to assist China should we ever need the help, but instead I'm forced to use them for a civil war. Do you think I'm any happier about this than you?" He turned towards the various cultivators. "Go. Try to cripple them instead of kill them if you can, but don't take any unnecessary risks."

Several of the leading foreign espers nodded before passing orders to their men. The battlefield became even more chaotic as they joined the ranks of the Purple Origin Sect and Fire Dragon Sect. Their power easily tipped the fight towards Chonglin's side, as each one of them could be considered an elite esper.

Xia frowned as he watched the tides change. However, his stubbornness wouldn't allow for him to surrender the battle. He didn't speak as he created more clouds of tribulation lightning and launched his attack.

...

Back on the battlefield, Haru met an enemy he least wished to fight. A feminine man with long white hair, a white robe, and bright blue eyes stood in front of him. This was none other than Chonglin's adopted son, Fang Bai.

"Trash like you has some nerve, biting the hand that feeds you." Bai taunted. Blood covered his body, creating a knightly suit of armor and a large sword. "Well, it's my job to clean up the sect's trash from time to time."

Haru frowned, knowing he was unlikely to win such a battle. He didn't hesitate as a blue glow covered his body and he sprinted in the opposite direction of his opponent. He had wisely chosen to escape as fast as possible!

"Not only trash but also a coward." Bai scoffed as a corrosive quagmire formed around him. He rode a wave over the quagmire, extending the bog further as he moved forward. Unfortunately, he was having a hard time catching up to Haru, much to his frustration. His eyes turned red in anger as he calmly continued his pursuit.