125 Do what you have to

The wooden bolts pierced through thick, blue-black skin. It splintered as it etched into legs, arms and shoulders. Even the Fallen Gods that were pierced through the skull with the bolts continued to advance with a calm visage. Some of them stumbled. Some fell. Some moved forward wearing bolts like it was part of their fashion, unconcerned that they left a long trail of glossy blood that coated the land like a layer of grease.

"I-Ivory Sword Saint," one of the disciples ran up to him with sweat upon his brows, eyes darting nervously, "We're already down to a few rounds left."

And the Fallen Gods were already at their doorsteps. The vanguard's large statuesque faces could be made out by the spirit lights that danced along the length of the wall. If Liu Sumeng were to estimate, he would say that Chen Gaoyong was not even halfway through his incantation. There was still much time to stall, they had to fell even more of these devils to ensure the safety of the city.

"Aim for the rear," the Ivory Sword Saint commanded. "I will set out."

"O-okay," The disciple lowered his head and returned to his station.

It was finally time. Liu Sumeng held Mingshui in one hand, a spear strapped to his back and ready for use. He pulled out some of those talismans that Yuan Xuelan had tirelessly slaved to perfect and trusted in their integrity without even testing them out.

In his mind, he had not a shadow of doubt.

Armed as such the Ivory Sword Saint commanded a small troop to descend the city walls. They were forty strong. Liu Sumeng was not doubtful about the odds. He bore an aura of confidence and trust(). The others could do nothing but believe in and follow this man's lead, quelling their anxiety with thrumming adrenaline and the promise of glory and honor.

Fearlessly, the Ivory Sword Saint unleashed talismans upon the Fallen God that was only 2 li away. There were two wooden bolts sticking out of his body, one embedded just below the right shoulder and the other deep in the right thigh. Even if the God did not show much reaction to these protrusions, his thigh muscle seemed to tremble with each step.

The talismans were guided with a precise course that attacked the wounds created by the bolts. They cluttered around the wooden spear like eager insects, creeping and crawling to be soaked in the sheen of viscous, oil-like blood. The more they congregated, the more blood poured out, gushing like from a broken dam.

As the talismans swarmed around the wounds, stray pieces() of talisman tuck on around the heels of the God's feet, slowing its movements.

Fallen Gods were not so easily daunted by injury, however they had no ability to heal. Their blood gives them power and energy. Exhausting it would help even up the match up.

Satisfied with the talismans, Liu Sumeng quickly raised his sword and rushed forward. But he did not move to cut, slice, nor thrust. Instead he jumped up, narrowly avoiding a thick hand that attempted to push him aside.

With the momentum of the jump, he used the Fallen God's extended arm to jump off of and yanked the spear at the shoulder free.

The glossy dark blood poured out like wine.

Liu Sumeng moved aside to protect his robes from the filth.

The bolt that he yanked out was already corroded by the blood and mostly useless. However there was still a small bit at the end that remained untouched by blood.

He did not hesitate to throw it like a spear, at the God's face, aiming for one of those all-black eyes.

But the Fallen God reacted quickly and knocked the thing away.

While most of the Fallen Gods moved at a speed difficult to follow, it became apparent that there was a lag between each of their movements. This lag slowed and became more and more pronounced as the creatures lost their fuel-like blood.

More Fallen Gods approached behind the one that the Ivory Sword Saint fought.

Seeing that he hadn't time to waste, Liu Sumeng dashed toward the giant and this time aimed for the thigh. When he yanked the bolt free, he instantly used the uncorrupted butt of the spear to block against the palm that came down at him.

The strength of the Fallen God made his body tremble and tense with protest but Liu Sumeng only clenched his teeth, ignoring the pain. He took Mingshui and wedged it into that god's wounded thigh, cutting it open with the help of the talismans that allowed the wound the fester despite the usual nigh-indestructible skin.

The entire leg was soon severed. The Fallen God was now forced to hobble on only one leg, but it still maintained perfect balance.

However, with the blood that gushed out of the leg, creating a deep wet pool beneath them, the creature's movements became laughably slow until it could be barely considered moving at all. Only then did Liu Sumeng shift his focus on other foes.

By then there were already three more Fallen Gods surrounding him.

The other cultivators finally swallowed down their apprehension and fear. After watching the Ivory Sword Saint's flawless display of martial skill of power, a sparkle of inspiration flicked in their eyes. They charged as well, following Liu Sumeng's example and engaged the row of Fallen Gods that now marched upon them.

Above, large bolts still flew and rained down. Spell work erupted in the sky as peach wood spears shot through the bodies of Fallen Gods.

Someone screamed, a careless mistake was all it took for the Fallen God to tear a cultivator apart, ripping their body in two. In the midst of chaos, there was no helping such errors. They could only do as they could, trying not to make the same mistakes and stay alive.

The cultivators defended the main gates of Reling with fervent will. But the bolts that powered the ballistas were fast running out. More and more Fallen Gods were joining the fray, faster than they were being felled.

Liu Sumeng could only grit his teeth.

Chen Gaoyong had to finish his incantation fast!

…

On the other side of the city, the north wall was being bombarded as well. The groups of Fallen Gods, as suspected, were smaller in number, which was of great relief to the thinner troops stationed at the northeast and northwest roads as well as anyone that manned the stretch of wall in between.

With that being said, it did not mean the battle was any easier.

The road was uneven and narrow with trees that spotted the landscape with their thick burly trunks. While the damned Fallen Gods was barely impeded by the geography, it didn't make things any easier for the cultivators.

Even worse, whoever was the fool manning the ballistas did not know to aim.

"Fuck!" Yuan Xuelan swore when a bolt whizzed by his ear, nicking off enough skin for a trickle of blood to fall down his neck. He didn't even have the time to shout in complaint because a giant blue black fist was coming for his head and about to smack his skull apart.

He dodged it, deflecting the blow with the edge of Silei.

'Pay attention, fool.' Huo Tang chided in his mind and Yuan Xuelan really wanted to shout at her to deal with things instead.

There were not one but two towering giants in front of him and Yuan Xuelan couldn't remember jumping into the vanguard with Elder Hanli behind him casting spells. Was he just some sort of idiot that jumped in without thinking? Weren't Elders supposed to be looking out for their disciples?

The Fallen Goddess lagged in movement, there was a collar around her neck made of talismans that hugged a wooden spear that had pierced through the jugular. Before long the entire ring of talismans were soaked black and even more blood was gushing out. It was truly ugly.

But just because the beast was slowed did not mean she couldn't kill him with a single decisive strike. When she finally recovered from her long stagger, Yuan Xuela saw her leg muscle twitch. It was all the time he had to react before a large boot shot toward him.

Barely making it to safety, the Fallen God next to her slammed downward with his fist.

Stupidly, Yuan Xuelan had Silei raised to catch the blow, uncaring if it was going to sunder all the bones in his wrist and arm.

Luckily the blow was slowed. Elder Hanli sent a blanket of talismans that caught the giant fist, giving Yuan Xuelan the time to wind up and slice a deep cut that split the fist in half. While normal swords would have little to no effect when breaking the Fallen God's skin, the essence replicating talismans could mimic the effects of the peach tree wood, and along with Silei's raw power he was able to deal quite a lot of damage to these terrible beings.

"It will do you well to pay attention," this time, it was Elder Hanli scolding him and Yuan Xuelan would have rolled his eyes if it wasn't for the fact she probably just saved him there.

"Sorry," he said, a little breathless when catching the movement of the Fallen Goddess that was chasing after him.

Behind them, Zhu Qiang's bow was wound. Even though his arms were shaking he enchanted the arrow with a spell, propelling it toward the Fallen Goddess's eye.

Still recovering from her last movement, she couldn't block the blow in time.

The arrow wedged itself into her eye socket and Zhu Qiang took a shuddering breath as he quickly drew another arrow into the string. It found its place next to the first, deep in the skull. It was only on the third arrow that the Goddess was able to swat it away.

Her recovery time was so slow that Yuan Xuelan could approach her fearlessly without much worry. He used Silei's power, the blade glowing bright as it sliced into the flesh of her neck. Though the blade caught on the spine, the head hung loosely on a mere thread of flesh after Yuan Xuelan was done with it.

The blood lost was enough to coat the floor and make it slippery, wet each time they took a step.

With one Fallen God felled, at least two more caught up to join them in their battle.

Annoying.

But now that Yuan Xuelan knew the trick he wasn't so daunted by them. All he had to do was ease the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind so that he may properly narrow his focus on all the details before him.

'If you so allow, I can help you with that.'

He took in a deep breath, "Alright. Do what you have to."