Chapter 3: Interwoven Blades, Unite to Shatter the Siege
The ground shook violently, as if they were standing on a drumhead. Chen Jin had just stepped onto a tilted concrete slab when it gave way beneath him with a boom. Three fissures exploded open, dust clouding the air as over a dozen rats surged from the ground, their teeth blackened, eyes glowing green, moving with a uniformity that felt unnatural.
He didn't stop.
His arm snapped forward, sword light sweeping horizontally. Low-frequency sword energy erupted along the ground, slicing the rat swarm in half. Blood mist sprayed across his face; he wiped it away with the back of his hand and charged on. Yan Wuyue was tucked against his chest, her head resting over his heartbeat, her breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. Her left hand still clutched the crystal, its blue light flickering unpredictably.
The entrance to the overpass was twenty meters away, but the ground was carpeted with dead rats and bloody mud. Every step felt like wading through glue—a moment's delay would trap them.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward with all his strength.
A giant rat leaped down from a broken wall, claws aimed at his throat. He twisted sideways, pulling Yan Wuyue tighter against him with his left arm while his right hand swung upward in a reverse slash. Sword energy cut diagonally, severing the rat mid-air. Its remains thudded to the ground.
No sooner had he landed than the ground shook again.
Fissures multiplied, rats swarming out in waves. Instead of chaotic charges, they moved in formation, closing in from all sides. They didn't lunge or bite—they piled atop one another, layer upon layer, building a wall of flesh and blood that blocked their path completely.
Chen Jin's pupils constricted.
This isn't right. This wasn't instinctive chaos—it was coordinated. Someone was directing them.
He understood instantly: these creatures had a leader, and they were using numbers and terrain to trap him alive.
A direct assault was no longer an option.
He bent down, hoisting Yan Wuyue onto his back, his left arm locking around her waist. His right hand gripped his sword, his spine arched like a fully drawn bow. The power granted by the Reverberations of the Ember Abyss still flowed through him—muscles taut, old injuries aching—but he knew it wouldn't last much longer.
He sprinted toward the nearest broken wall, kicked off the ground to leap onto a billboard frame, then launched himself onto a utility pole. The metal groaned and bent under his weight, but he was already airborne, landing on the edge of the ramp.
The moment his feet touched down, three giant rats climbed up from beneath the bridge, fangs dripping black fluid, lunging at his back.
He pivoted, his sword still sheathed, and slammed the hilt downward. A shockwave exploded outward, hurling two rats away. The third lunged at his face; his left hand drew a dagger, plunging it into the rat's mouth. A sharp twist, and brain matter splattered.
Catching his breath, he felt Yan Wuyue stir slightly on his back, a faint groan escaping her throat.
"Awake?" he asked quietly.
No response, but her fingers twitched, the crystal's blue light flashing for half a second.
He didn't press, continuing upward. The slope was steep and slick, rubble loosening underfoot—every step had to be precise. Yan Wuyue's body temperature was dropping, her breathing growing weaker. If they delayed any longer, she wouldn't make it.
Halfway up the slope, a scraping sound echoed from above.
He looked up.
Behind three broken pillars, a dozen larger rats were climbing upward. Their fur was iron-gray, limbs thick as metal rods, eyes gleaming with a cold, metallic light. The leader had a scar splitting its forehead, as if it had been cleaved by a blade and healed.
Not ordinary ones.
The leaders.
The moment they appeared, the rats below ceased their agitation, splitting into two columns to flank him from left and right, forcing him toward the edge of the bridge.
Chen Jin smirked coldly.
Do these things really think there's no way out from up here?
He stopped, gently setting Yan Wuyue down against the wall. Her head lolled, eyelids fluttering as if struggling to stay conscious.
He drew his sword, holding it horizontally before him, his gaze fixed on the rats above.
The first leader leaped down, landing soundlessly on all fours, slowly advancing. The rest of the swarm remained still, awaiting orders.
He didn't move.
He waited.
Just as the rat's front claws left the ground, poised to lunge, a faint hum sounded behind him.
Wind blades took form.
Without turning, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Three o'clock," he growled.
Before the words fully left his mouth, a wind blade shot out from his left rear, tearing through the air toward the rat's neck. It reacted swiftly, twisting to evade, but the blade still sheared off half its head. It collapsed instantly.
He launched forward.
Sword light flashed as he plunged into the swarm, targeting joints and spines. One rat leaped; he smashed the sword hilt into the ground, shattering its hind legs. Another tried to ambush from behind; he reversed his grip, gutting it open.
But the remaining two leader rats had reached the top of the bridge, looking down coldly on the battlefield.
They didn't attack. Instead, they threw back their heads and howled.
The rat swarm below shifted formation again, began piling corpses—layer upon layer—building a "blood bridge" to reach the heights.
Chen Jin's eyes turned icy.
These creatures really know how to organize?
He was about to charge up and break it when he felt a lightness behind him.
Yan Wuyue was standing.
She leaned against the broken wall, her left eye open, pupil contracted to a pinprick. Her right hand was poised, three wind blades spinning before her palm. Her lips were pale, body trembling slightly, but she stood straight.
"How long can you hold?" he asked.
"Two minutes," she replied, voice hoarse but steady.
"Enough."
He raised his sword, pointing at the tallest leader rat.
"Kill it. The rest will fall into chaos."
She didn't respond, her right hand closing as the three wind blades merged into a thick, solid blade of light.
He moved.
Charging left, sword light flashing, driving back the rats in his path. The moment he drew their attention, Yan Wuyue struck.
The wind blade螺旋飞而出, piercing through the leader's chest. It roared, raising a claw to block, but the wind blade was too sharp, tearing straight through and pinning it to a concrete pillar. It convulsed several times before going still.
The final leader turned to flee.
He gave it no chance.
Leaping into the air, sword light like lightning, he chased it down, severing its head with one clean strike. The head thudded to the ground.
The rat swarm instantly collapsed, formation dissolving into chaotic self-devouring.
He landed, turning to catch Yan Wuyue as her knees buckled. He caught her before she fell.
"Go," he said.
She nodded, leaning against him as they limped upward.
After a few steps, a crack sounded ahead.
The entrance was blocked by the corpses of giant rats, flesh and blood fused into a wall half a person tall. Worse, new rats were still emerging from fissures below, crawling beneath the pile of corpses, attempting to flank them.
Chen Jin stared at the wall of flesh, his expression grim.
Can't stop.
He released her, hoisting her onto his back again. Both hands gripped his sword, tip pointed downward, all his力量压于脊椎. The countdown of the Reverberations of the Ember Abyss flashed in his mind, a deadly reminder.
He took a deep breath, muscles straining to their limit.
In the next instant, he leaped, sword slashing downward from overhead.
A crescent-shaped wave of sword energy exploded outward, tearing through the air in a horizontal arc. The blood wall shattered instantly, fissures in the ground ripping open alongside it. Blood mist sprayed everywhere; the shockwave hurled surrounding rats aside, debris flying in all directions.
Without pausing after landing, he kicked off the ground, sprinting and leaping onto the bridge's summit.
A fierce wind whipped ashes against his face, his视野骤然开阔. The wilderness stretched ahead, scorched earth endless, the crimson fissure in the sky still glowing, countdown suspended in the air.
He stopped, gently setting her down on the ground.
She leaned against a broken railing, gasping for breath, the crystal's blue light nearly extinguished. She looked up at him, lips parting slightly.
"Who... are you?"
He didn't answer.
Looked down at his sword, blood droplets falling one by one from the blade.