Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

He screamed in pain, feeling every fiber of his being burning up. But the demon pushed forward, even as his gauntlets melted and the knuckles of his hands were revealed. He took one step after another and then, he faltered and fell. 

Unable to defend himself, Kong Zhi was subject to the rest of the technique, leaving him barely alive. The state of his body was more than horrifying, it was pitiful. 

Every inch of him was burned to the point of being barely recognizable. His gauntlets were gone and he laid in a puddle of melted flesh and bone. Despite all of that pain and suffering, he was still alive, just a step into the underworld.

One could see his chest rising ever so slightly as he stared at the sky. There was no way the Vajra Demon could survive this. Even if he didn't end up dying, no amount of medicine and treasure could restore what he had lost. 

"Hah, hah, hah. Do it, kill me."

His voice came out as barely a whisper as Du Xiu walked to him. He didn't say a word and only raised his halberd axe, pointing it down at the Kong Zhi's half-melted state. 

Within his thoughts, the commander was more than surprised by the demon. 

"To think, you'd be alive even after taking such a strike but this is the end", he said. 

Kong Zhi wheezed weakly as he cracked a small smile. 

"Ahahah, finally, and yet I still lost. I should've beaten you, it should've been an easy victory", he replied. 

"That's just it. You had the makings of a leader, you had both power and drive. You had people following you. You had a purpose and now you've gone and tossed it all away. That confidence you once had turned to arrogance and now, it became obsession."

"Suddenly, all I wanted was to defeat you. To prove that we are the superior race, to show that the suffering we endured was unwarranted. You are the strongest of the humans and to defeat you would secure our future."

"Even if you defeated me, there are plenty that can take my place but this is the end. We will end this war and rebuild this continent, with or without you." 

He then raised his weapon to execute Kong Zhi. 

And just as the blade came down, a booming voice echoed across the battlefield. 

"MY LOOORRRRD!"

Thundering through the battle, the Roaring King charged at Du Xiu with his horns pointed right at his stomach. And there wasn't enough time for the commander to get out of the way before being thrown through the air by Shi Hou's charge. 

Shi Hou stopped in front of Kong Zhi, carefully lifting him up to safety. But that charge alone had cost the demon his horns. All four of them had broken off, reduced to mere stumps of bone. 

"Lord Kong Zhi! I'll get you to safety! Just stay alive!" he shouted while running away. 

And there was no one to chase him, not even Du Xiu, who laid on the ground. 

"Ah, damn."

He groaned and grunted as he sat up looking down at his midsection which had been pierced by the four horns of the Roaring King. But under the heat from his body, they slowly melted away, revealing four holes several inches wide. 

He looked around before spotting Shi Hou running off with his lord and sighed. 

"I'm really getting too old for this." 

Shaking his head, the commander stood up and carried his halberd axe with one hand, holding it over his shoulder. Like a spear, he winded his arm back and sucked in a deep breath, taking aim at the Roaring King's back. His grip was loose but steady. 

Then it tightened as his arm shot forward, releasing the glowing halberd axe through the air. 

It shot forward, flying in a straight line as it headed towards Shi Hou, aimed at his very heart. 

"Stop that thing! Don't let it hit, King Shi Hou!"

The other Kings and Queens all diverted their attention to the halberd. The death of Shi Hou would spell doom for Kong Zhi and with his death, they could only retreat and hide. 

Suddenly, dozens of weapons struck the flying weapon, trying to stop it or take it off course. But no matter what they did, what attack they used, or how much power they used, nothing could stop the halberd. 

"Stop it! Do anything!" they shouted out. 

And like lunatics, they jumped in front of the halberd with their bloodlines activated, trying to stop it with all they had. 

"Shiji Clan! Mountain Formation!" 

As Shi Hour continued to flee, a hundred demons stood to cover his escape. Standing into the formation of a triangle, they placed a hand on each other's back as support. And these ninety-nine demons all activated their bloodlines, moving their energy to the one standing at the forefront. 

All at once, their bodies turned to stone as their feet merged to the ground. 

And the person at the front held out both hands to grasp the halberd. Like the others, they slowly turned to stone. Rather than their feet, their legs were fully merged with the ground, enveloped in white stone. 

"Hold the formation! Do not let it break!"

Floating above them was their clan leader, known as the Boulder King, Shiji Wu. Unlike the others, he was an old man whose face was wrinkled and in a permanent scowl. His hair was certainly different, shaved on one side while the rest was braided. Dressed in gray and muted green robes, he barked out orders to his clansmen. 

"Brace yourselves!"

The hundred Shiji clan members all shouted in unison as they steadied themselves, waiting to receive this strike. 

The halberd axe flew towards them without stopping and the demon that stood as vanguard held his hands out to receive the strike. As soon as it came within reach, she grabbed it by the spike tightly. 

There was a resounding clang as the halberd had been stopped. A shockwave burst out, causing the air to tremble slightly. However, just because the Shiji Clan stopped it in its tracks did not mean that it would just like that. 

It was like an unrelenting force, pushing a hundred demons back. 

There was a creaking noise and cracks as the footholds of this formation began to fracture under the mighty power of this throw. 

Every one of them grunted and groaned, trying to hold for as long as possible. 

"Hold it! Do not falter!" Shiji Wu shouted, spitting from his mouth. 

His hands were gripped tightly as he could do nothing but watch. As he was now, he did not have the power to help. As much strength as they mustered to stop this halberd, the weapon pushed back even more. 

The cracking grew louder and louder. The other demons charged to strike at the weapon only to be stopped by the soldiers of the North Fort. And Du Xiu watched carefully, placing his hand over his wound. 

The one that stood as the vanguard of the formation held onto the halberd as tightly as she could. But the pain was immense. Her hands were bleeding, they were burning, melting away. 

She couldn't help but scream out in pain and without even thinking, her grip slipped. 

The halberd pierced through her body, cutting through the entire formation before flying forward toward Shi Hou. 

Just like that, the formation broke and those that weren't killed suffered backlash instead. Their ankles were shattered, ripped out of the stone footholds. In the end, they only brought the Roaring King a few seconds. 

"Oh no."

The demons watched as the halberd flew towards Shi Hou, watching it come closer and closer. It took seconds for the distance to shorten. As it came to strike him down. he spun to avoid it. 

The halberd cut through, landing into the ground like a meteor. 

And from where the Roaring King was struck, an arm fell.