The military ships did not retreat.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1D96wr0S3
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1cEl6aXJk
For a moment, after the purple shockwave, they had hesitated. Their masts had swayed. Their crews had shouted in confusion. But now, under the cold gaze of their commanders, they formed a new line.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpymBSuRyG0
Five ships became seven. Seven became ten. The emperor had not sent only five. He had sent a fleet.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjHkONavUs
General Feng Jian stood at the railing, counting. "Twelve ships," he whispered. "Twelve warships, fully armed."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyp0SnRVYbC
Behind him, Liang Wei lay on the bloody deck, his left arm limp, his chest stained red. His right hand still gripped the sword the general had given him. His eyes were closed, but his lips moved.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLObaHl0G9
"General."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXF5JNsnfnn
Feng Jian spun. "Master. You should not speak. Save your strength."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBAJJtCIih
"They will not stop," Liang Wei said, his voice quiet but steady. "The emperor wants me dead. He will sink this ship with everyone aboard. You, the servants, the crew – all of it swept away so no witnesses remain."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYK2pfYgGwo
"Then what do we do?"
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY65oS528gJ
Liang Wei opened his eyes. They were tired, but they burned.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUDI8wChY6
"We fight."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhQjf1EDnF
He rose.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwY3NuxnxJq
His body screamed. The arrow in his chest ground against bone. The arrow in his back pulled at muscle and he ached with every breath. But he rose.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6zz78GA42
He stood on the deck, sword in hand, facing the twelve warships.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QewQoxCOe
"Everyone below deck," he said. "Now."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNy7ZP8Ndz
"But Master—"
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6eo4XyVMn
"Now!"
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lNHGNdVdo
The servants scrambled for the hatch. The crew followed. Only General Feng Jian remained.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyAd7UfQZY
"I stay," the general said. "I fight beside you."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXSn2LErTm
Liang Wei did not argue. There was no time.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMc1GhRrsw
The first cannon fired.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vM1jgzb4g
A ball of iron, trailing smoke, flew straight for the junk's mast. Liang Wei's sword moved. It became a blur – not a single blade, but a hundred, a thousand. The Phoenix Wings technique: endless slashes, each one cutting the air, each one deflecting death.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcII7vzjE9H
The cannonball struck the sword's invisible wall and split in two. The halves flew past the junk, splashing into the sea on either side.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pwRlydtfP
Two more cannons fired. Liang Wei's sword danced. The balls split. The junk rocked but held.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP75xWN06OE
Four more cannons. Six. Eight.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoUpiZ4kn3
The Phoenix Wings could not cover everything.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTPB8R4IP7
A cannonball struck the railing, splintering wood. Another tore through the sail. A third hit the mast – not breaking it, but cracking it deep.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBm41QLqio
Liang Wei moved faster. His sword became a golden blur. Sweat mixed with blood. His left arm hung useless, but his right arm never stopped.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkMfvb6lBc
The ships were closer now. He could see the crews loading cannons, lighting fuses, aiming.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4gwArMmKl
Another volley. Twelve balls at once.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6whcFrDDV
The Phoenix Wings met them. Eleven split. The twelfth slipped through.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RLIBQKpA5
It struck Liang Wei in the chest.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjQKJqPkUJ
The impact lifted him off his feet. He flew backward, slammed into the mast, and fell to his knees. The sword clattered from his hand.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8m7EzPfceY
"Master!" General Feng Jian ran to him.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUvGP7PRSx
Liang Wei looked down. The cannonball had not pierced his skin – his cultivated body was too tough for that. But the dent was deep, pressing against his sternum. Every breath was agony.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHGBxRQfbN
He looked up. More ships were arriving. Fifteen now. Twenty.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ305WUjoBYU
He knew then. He could not win. He could not save the junk. He could not save the crew.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpJFWb93DH
But he could give them a chance.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXJxSHKD0Z
He grabbed the rope.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeBJ5mRRQa
It was thick – the main rope that ran from the mast to the bow. He wrapped it around his right hand, once, twice, three times. Then he pushed off the deck.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJmjeNJiza
He did not jump. He launched.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKjeZnPjRJ
His body flew into the air, trailing the rope behind him. Up he went, higher than the mast, higher than the clouds of smoke from the cannons. The rope pulled taut. The junk lurched forward.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1akGP510u
At the apex of his arc, he looked down.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeESKqV6W4I
Twenty warships. Fifty cannons. A hundred archers with purple flames.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopiRuElg0n
He let go of the rope.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeGpM2cyc9
He fell.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHhQ5C7V6S
Not toward the junk. Toward the sea between the junk and the fleet.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUc62vgfTt
He hit the water like a meteor.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodUYsw0gCf
The impact was not a splash. It was an explosion. A wave rose – not a ripple, not a swell, but a wall of water fifty feet high. It surged outward, away from Liang Wei's body, pushing against the fleet.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdh1yvOPUG
The warships were tossed like toys. They spun, they crashed into each other, they lost their masts and their anchors. The wave rolled over them, dousing their cannons, washing their crews overboard.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdu8g75b8V
And the wave pushed the junk.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnHPegM7Pq
The junk shot forward, riding the crest, skimming across the water faster than any sail could carry it. The crew held onto anything they could. The servants screamed. General Feng Jian grabbed the railing and held on.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHzukEZIjX
The wave carried them a mile. Two miles. Three.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRW85wI4Ap
Then it subsided.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAFkUF4T8Y
The junk slowed. The sea grew calm.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn19RlAJdiu
Behind them, the fleet was a scattered mess of broken ships and drowning men.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6erd0pGrhw
Aboard the junk, the crew rose shakily to their feet. The servants crawled out of the hold. General Feng Jian ran to the railing and looked over the side.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgox8jWB7Zb
Liang Wei was hanging onto the rope.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxC7666bV3B
He had pulled himself up, hand over hand, despite the dent in his chest, despite the arrows in his flesh. He climbed the rope slowly, painfully, until he reached the railing.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAbmunAdx3
The general reached down and hauled him aboard.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXC5QoRn8B
Liang Wei collapsed on the deck.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSKAKMj4qy
His robe was soaked red and blue – blood and seawater. Arrow shafts stuck out of his chest and back. A deep purple bruise spread across his ribs where the cannonball had struck. His face was burned – blackened by the purple flames, raw and blistered.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEf9f1B6Qz
He was not breathing.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNP5exuQfd
No – he was breathing. Shallow. Slow. But breathing.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IA5yTBlVo
"Master," the general whispered. "Master, can you hear me?"
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PTFvvrf8x
Liang Wei's eyes fluttered. He tried to speak, but only blood came out.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPitvYPBvay
The servants gathered around, weeping. The crew stood in a circle, their heads bowed. The young woman who had first seen the purple flames knelt beside Liang Wei and pressed a cloth to his wounds.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoH3lNiKNR6
"He saved us," she said. "He saved all of us."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq108RUdU8d
General Feng Jian looked at the empty horizon. The fleet was gone. The purple flames were gone. Only the sea remained.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLojGAd6ru
He turned back to Liang Wei.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnf9U7mxKsx
"Master, you fool," he said softly. "You absolute fool. You could have run. You could have saved yourself."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgS35eJSDu
Liang Wei's lips moved.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVtOuXbb0U
The general leaned close.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtM0PZAdVk
"…not a fool," Liang Wei whispered. "A teacher. Teachers do not run."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLDkoBVsLY
Then his eyes closed.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKQsXrBAeV
His chest rose. Fell. Rose. Fell.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqy6rqh1lis
The general sat beside him, his sword across his knees.
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7Y12iIdr3
"We will protect you now, Master," he said. "As you protected us. Rest."
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrqSdRjXZN
The sun set over the water.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaHj81ASmk
and then Add to home screen.