Chapter 32: The Night Raid

"Young Master, something terrible has happened in the Kingdom of Blazing Fire!"

Amidst the cacophony of explosions outside, Niu Jin haltingly recounted the chain of events. During the two years Lei Xiang was secluded in cultivation, the Black Bear Fiend, wounded by Lei Xiang's Heavenly Crystal Bomb, led the elite beasts of the Black Wind Stronghold in relentless raids against the Kingdom of Blazing Fire. In the past three months, they laid siege to the kingdom itself, finally breaching the last line of defense. The crown prince and his men could do nothing but make a desperate stand at the imperial city.

"Why wasn’t I notified sooner?"

Niu Jin managed a helpless smile. "It was His Highness the Crown Prince’s decision. He said you were at a critical stage in your cultivation—foundation building is no small matter. If you were interrupted and something went wrong, the consequences could be disastrous."

Lei Xiang felt a warmth surge in his heart. This brother—strikingly similar in appearance, though not related by blood—had truly put his cultivation above all else.

He drew a deep breath, then suddenly threw his arms wide and roared, "Crown Prince, my good brother, I have come!"

His voice rang out like a bell, shaking the heavens. For a moment, even the sun seemed to dim.

The thunder of battle beyond the walls fell silent; from the ramparts came a clear whistle, "Excellent! Brother, hurry!"

Lei Xiang and the others had not used secret voice-transmission. These shouts were meant for the Black Bear Fiend's ears—a temporary means to overawe the enemy. The Black Bear Fiend seemed to play along; after Lei Xiang’s shout, all attacks ceased. Not a sound remained.

Silence.

Was this the calm before the storm?

Lei Xiang now stood beside the crown prince, embracing him in a fierce bear hug. The blood of two passionate young men surged; in that moment, they felt their very veins intertwined.

"Good brother!"

"Brother!"

With just these simple greetings, all words seemed superfluous. True friendship is revealed in adversity.

Lei Xiang was convinced that this crown prince, whom he'd not known long, was truly a brother to whom he could entrust his all. The affair of the Black Bear Fiend had already proven as much.

"Are you two mad? Two grown men getting all sentimental! Lei Xiang, come out and die!"

This touching scene was shattered by a braying, hoarse shout. Lei Xiang didn’t need to look—he knew the Black Bear Fiend had arrived.

Lei Xiang flashed a faint smile, revealing his little tiger tooth. "This is what we call human feelings. Beasts like you wouldn’t understand."

The Black Bear Fiend licked his right paw, and only then did Lei Xiang notice: the fur and flesh of his right arm were red and sparse. It appeared the Heavenly Crystal Bomb had blasted off his original limb; this one had grown anew in recent years.

"Lei Xiang, if you have any courage, come out! By the order of the Blood Fiend Alliance, I'm not only to destroy the Kingdom of Blazing Fire and claim the brains of every last soul, but also to avenge the humiliation of that Heavenly Crystal Bomb!"

Lei Xiang ignored his raving and turned to the crown prince, "He suffered last time, but now he comes boldly—he must have something to rely on. My foundation building failed; just holding him off won’t be easy."

The crown prince sent a secret message, "I've received reliable information. The Black Bear Fiend’s siege has failed after a year—Blood Fiend Alliance is furious. They’re dispatching a late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator, due to arrive any day. But I’ve also summoned powerful allies; the soonest they can arrive is the day after tomorrow."

"Then we must hold out for three more days. This grand formation…" Lei Xiang gestured to the colossal shield enveloping the imperial city.

The crown prince nodded. "This is the Nation-Guarding Grand Array, laid by an ancestor’s late-stage Core Formation friend. Two hundred men maintain it in shifts, constantly replacing spirit stones. It’s enough to ensure the array functions properly."

"One more thing. You said they’re sending a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, but the Black Bear Fiend is already a fifth-rank beast—equivalent to late Foundation Establishment."

The crown prince shook his head. "I used to think so too, but look at him now—he’s at most mid-Foundation Establishment. I suspect he used some secret art to forcibly boost his cultivation for the sake of taking human form."

Outside the city, the Black Bear Fiend, irked by Lei Xiang’s disregard, grew even more violent. Blood Fiend Alliance was displeased, and further failure would bring harsh punishment.

With a wave, fifteen lesser fiends emerged from the barracks, pushing an iron cart ten yards long, piled with three heaps of massive stones. Soon, nine more identical carts were rolled out from other barracks and lined up twenty yards from Lei Xiang.

From the northwest barracks, ten fourth-rank beasts strode forth, each massive, weighing over a thousand pounds. They took their places before the iron carts.

Ninety lesser fiends followed, each trio carrying a single ironwood beam—a total of thirty beams, arranged in three ranks beside the carts.

The crown prince sucked in a cold breath. "This formation… The Black Bear Fiend is going all out. Everyone, defend the city with all your might!"

Even as he spoke, the Black Bear Fiend let out a bizarre shriek that made their eardrums ring. He licked his paws, then thrust both forward with a shout. A semicircular black-and-red halo condensed between his palms.

He spat a plume of black smoke into the halo, which swelled and deepened in hue, then slammed onto the backs of the ten fourth-rank beasts. They convulsed briefly, then grew alert and energetic, stepping up to the carts and forming hand seals.

The stones on the carts began to tremble. Balls of black-and-red energy, each the size of a tabletop, floated up. The lesser fiends hurried to place the ironwood beams atop the energy masses.

The fourth-rank beasts finished their incantations, then pushed with all their strength. The energy masses, carrying the beams, shot out with a whistling sound, slamming into the grand array.

Ten beams struck the same point!

The grand array’s shield dented slightly under the repeated impacts, but instantly rebounded.

But the attack was relentless; the lesser fiends returned for more beams, and the cycle continued. The grand array suffered continuous bombardment; its light flickered. The crown prince ordered two hundred more to replace spirit stones, and a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators sat cross-legged, pressing their palms to the shield. Only then did the array stabilize.

Before Lei Xiang and the others could catch their breath, the next wave of ironwood beams came crashing down.

Night fell. Lei Xiang stood alone atop the city wall, gazing at the endless enemy camp across the plain. Suddenly, his little tiger tooth flashed in a grin. The crown prince approached. "Brother, why did the enemy suddenly stop the assault?"

"Spirit stones," Lei Xiang replied firmly. "Their relentless attacks today—just the cost of ironwood beams would run over ten thousand top-grade spirit stones, enough to fund an ordinary sect for a year. No one can sustain such consumption. That’s why the Black Bear Fiend only now resorted to the ironwood siege carts."

The crown prince nodded. "What were you grinning about just now?"

Lei Xiang pointed at the enemy camp. "I'm going to launch a raid."

The crown prince blinked in surprise. "How many are you taking? When will you go?"

"Just me. Now."

"Alone? You— Hey, brother…" The crown prince wanted to stop him, but Lei Xiang had already vanished.

Southeast corner of the Black Wind Stronghold’s camp. A second-rank fiend, the Golden-Crowned Boar, was on patrol when a gentle breeze brushed past. All his spiritual power was suddenly sealed. The air shimmered; a hand materialized from nowhere, and a blue spell shot into the boar’s skull.

Moments later, all the boar's memories were seized by the hand. His neck twisted, and he was gone. The breeze drifted on.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, that same breeze swept past the ten main barracks. Beside each, a faintly glowing white stone appeared.

Then, a sudden gust rose in the southeast. A Celestial Comb soared into the sky, its thirteen teeth gleaming amber. It swept over the ten barracks, sprinkling them with a fine white powder, each stream linking to a white stone at the barracks’ edge.

"Look—a monstrous comb!"

"Enemy attack! Report to the commander!"

In that instant, the Celestial Comb drew ten misty lines, all converging at the southeast.

A vast spiritual sense blanketed the camp, scanning frantically in all directions. The Celestial Comb vanished, leaving only a single white line stretching on—out of the camp, all the way to the moat.

"Show yourself!"

A furious shout rang out. At the end of the line materialized a black chariot drawn by eight horses. A boy of eighteen, an ordinary youth with a tiger tooth grin, sat at the reins.

The rage-filled voice thundered again, "You again, Lei Xiang! A mere concealment talisman can't fool me! I’ll grind your bones to dust!"

Dozens of lights shot from the camp toward the moat. But Lei Xiang stomped the chariot’s floor; with a whoosh, he shot across the ten-meter-wide moat.

The Black Bear Fiend reached the moat just as Lei Xiang escaped. Lei Xiang cast him a nonchalant smile, raised his right hand, and conjured five fireballs, hurling them behind him.

"Tricks," the Black Bear Fiend scoffed, batting the fireballs aside as he continued his pursuit.

But then he exclaimed in alarm. Of the five fireballs, four came at him, but the fifth veered sharply, striking the white line on the ground.

Instantly, the pale line ignited with a strange sizzle, racing forward, burning through the point where all ten lines met, then splitting into ten lines surging toward the ten barracks.

In a single breath.

The Black Bear Fiend realized too late what was happening. He spat a thick cloud of black smoke at the spreading fire lines, but he was a moment too late.

Boom!

The ten barracks exploded in unison, flames soaring into the night. The air filled with splinters of ironwood; beasts scattered in chaos.

From atop the wall, the crown prince shouted, "Open the barrier! Let my brother in!" Two seals struck the array, opening a yard-wide gap. The black chariot blurred into a shadow and shot through.

The array promptly closed. A howling black gale crashed against the closing gap, making it shudder violently.

Seeing his wind spell blocked, the Black Bear Fiend howled in fury and turned to see the ten barracks reduced to ashes, black smoke curling upward. "It’s over… All ten siege carts are destroyed. Only the Blood Fiend Alliance reinforcements can break the grand array now."

On the city wall, the soldiers and citizens cheered. They knew Lei Xiang had destroyed the enemy’s greatest weapon. The crown prince clapped Lei Xiang on the shoulder. "Brother, you’re incredible. How did you come up with such a plan? What was that white powder?"

Lei Xiang flashed his tiger tooth grin. "I ground up the Heavenly Crystal Bombs and scattered the powder as fuses. That way, I could detonate them from a distance. But it took twelve bombs this time—really… Ow…"

Before he could finish, he suddenly collapsed, his body seized by violent convulsions.