For now, three Suns were fighting the good fight. The battlefield was a maelstrom of energy and fury, a swirling vortex of power that threatened to consume all who were caught in its path. Tao Yang, who seemed to be healing considerably fast and fusing more and more with her own soul, was gaining strength with each passing moment.
She was a force of nature, a whirlwind of destruction that tore through the enemy lines with reckless abandon.
She never remained inside the protective walls of the Bastion but joined the battle alongside the cultivators that were retreating wounded soldiers and guarded them. Her golden Solarous helmet concealed her identity, but her actions spoke louder than any name. She wielded a sword of bright white flames, a blade that cut through the Rakshasa with ease.
Each swing was a symphony of violence, a dance of death that left nothing but ash in its wake. She was the protector and the guardian, and she displayed enough might and power that many realized she was far above the Heaven Stage. She took on a Golden Capped Brute with minimal injuries, a feat that few could claim.
"The Golden Sun!" she was named, a title given to her not by the Suns, but by the people she saved. Her presence was a rallying point, a symbol of hope that spurred the defenders to fight on even in the face of overwhelming odds. Her golden aura shone like a beacon in the darkness, a light that drove back the shadows.
Shen Bao's assistance didn't go unnoticed, either. Hundreds of thousands of his puppets had taken to the skies inside the Bastion, setting themselves all over the fortress and taking down faraway targets using their long-range weapons. They were a relentless force, a swarm of mechanical death that harried the enemy at every turn.
At first, their assistance didn't look that incredible or helpful, since each puppet could barely take out one or two Rakshasa at a time. But as time went on, the cultivators noticed something.
Whenever the puppets would shoot the round, flying metallic projectiles at a Rakshasa, it would turn them to ice. But at the same time, a bit of 'smoke' would emerge from their bodies. This smoke was slowly building up, creating a massive screen that no Rakshasa dared to walk into unless forced.
"Yes, this is the first spawn of the Rakshasa Broodmother..." Tao Yang's tone was grim, her eyes narrowing as she watched the creature approach. Her words carried the weight of a terrible truth, a realization that struck at the very heart of their defenses.
"This isn't even the big bad," the Red Sun said, his voice a low growl of frustration and anger. There was a sense of futility in his words, a knowledge that they were facing an enemy beyond their comprehension.
"It shares one thing with its spawn mother, so be careful," Tao Yang warned, her voice carrying a note of urgency. She eliminated several other foes with swift, precise strikes, her eyes never leaving the advancing behemoth.
"And what is that?" asked the Flamboyant Sun as he retreated slowly after clearing the majority of the enemy frontline. There was a flicker of fear in his eyes, a dawning realization that sent a chill through his soul.
"It's completely impervious to Qi..." she said, her words a death sentence that hung in the air like a specter of doom.
Her words sounded like an absurdity no one should utter. Qi was the essence of life, the very foundation of their power. To be impervious to Qi was to be untouchable, invincible. But the truth of her words was undeniable, as several of the Darkest Sun's materialized weapons simply puffed into smoke, their power nullified by the mere presence of the creature.
A hush fell over the battlefield, a moment of stunned silence that stretched into eternity. The defenders looked on in horror as the First Born approached.. It was a nightmare given flesh, a harbinger of doom that threatened to swallow the world whole.
The battle had only just begun.