Within just a few minutes the wave was broken. The surviving arachnids realized they were fighting a creature that viewed them as snacks, chittered in terror and fled back into the deep fog. Tekton didn’t chase them because Li Yu told him not to.

  Tekton hovered back up to the ridge and was shaking green ichor off his legs. He let out a smug hiss and settled down behind the army, acting as a massive rear guard.

  "Alright," Li Yu said while turning to the stunned commanders. "Show's over. Let's find the survivors."

  He closed his eyes and expanded his spiritual sense again. The beast wave had come from a specific direction, likely drawn by the scent of blood. He pushed his perception past the lingering death energy, searching for the signature of human Qi.

  "There," Li Yu pointed to a narrow fissure some distance down the canyon. "Faint array fluctuations. Concealment type. They’re dug in deep."

  "Move out!" Zhou ordered. "Standard formation! Watch the shadows!"

  Tekton was left to manage this area from where he was. The army marched forward. They moved with confidence, buoyed by the sight of Tekton’s massacre. If the beasts came back they had a mountain on their side.

  They reached the fissure. It was a crack in the canyon wall, barely wide enough for two men to walk abreast. The entrance was covered by a shimmering distorted air—a high-level concealment array.

  Li Yu walked up to the distortion. He tapped it with his staff.

  "Open up," Li Yu projected his voice. "Alliance reinforcements."

  There was a pause. Then, the seal dissolved. The smell hit them first. It wasn't the clean metallic scent of the harvested cavern they had just left. This was the smell of festering wounds, fear and hopelessness.

  Li Yu walked in, followed by his commanders and then the rest of the army. The cave opened up into a large, damp hollow.

  It was a hospital ward from hell.

  Hundreds of cultivators lay on the ground. Some were missing limbs. Some were blackened by poison. Medics were running between them, their white robes grey with filth and their faces gaunt.

  In the center of the cave, a heated argument was taking place.

  The remnants of the Silver Sword Sect stood apart. They wore robes of silver and blue that were torn and bloodied but they still held themselves with a stiff but brittle arrogance.

  Facing them were the leaders of the smaller clans and vassal sects that had been assigned to this front. They looked furious.

  "You call this leadership?" a Clan Patriarch with a bandaged eye was shouting. He was pointing a shaking finger at a tall middle-aged man in Silver robes. "You led us into a nest! We told you the scouts hadn't reported back! We told you it was a trap!"

  "Silence!" the Silver Sword leader snapped. He was Elder Guo, a Mid-Stage Soul Formation expert. His left arm hung uselessly at his side. It was blackened by some sort of necrotic poison and his face was pale. Despite his injury, his eyes burned with defensive rage.

  "The Silver Sword Sect does not retreat!" Elder Guo roared. "If you cowards had held the flank as we ordered, the formation wouldn't have collapsed!"

  "Held the flank?" another clan leader screamed. "There was no flank! We were surrounded! You sacrificed my son’s unit to buy time for your own elites to pull back!"

  "Casualties are the price of war!" Elder Guo roared back. "And now you question my authority? I should have you executed for insubordination! You think you are the only one who suffered losses?"

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  The atmosphere was toxic. The "Broken Army" wasn't just defeated; it was devouring itself. The smaller clans huddled together and were eyeing the Silver Sword disciples with open hatred. The Silver Sword disciples looked defensive and bitter, blaming their "incompetent" allies for their losses.

  Li Yu stepped into the light of the cave’s illumination orbs.

  "Knock knock," Li Yu said as he walked closer.

  The argument died instantly. Elder Guo spun around with his hand going to his sword. When he saw Li Yu’s simple robes, he frowned. Then he saw Sect Master Zhou, Matriarch Su, and Commander Lei entering behind him. They were radiating the aura of fresh victory and intact power.

  "Reinforcements?" Elder Guo squinted. "Who are you? Where is the main relief force?"

  "I'm Li Yu," Li Yu said while walking past the arguing leaders to inspect a wounded disciple on the ground. "Alliance Commander. There is no other force. You got us."

  "Li Yu?" Elder Guo scoffed. "The new assignment? And you brought... what? A bunch of vassals? We need elites! We need Grandmasters! We are facing a beast tide led by intelligent commanders!"

  "We just cleared the Jagged Peaks," Commander Lei rumbled and stepping forward. He wouldn’t allow himself or his army to be looked down like this. Not from a force that was just defeated so brutally. He stood there defiant and with his massive arms crossed. He looked at the sorry state of the Silver Sword disciples and sneered. "And we did it without losing a single man. Maybe you should take notes."

  "Watch your tongue, mercenary," a Silver Sword disciple hissed.

  "Enough," Li Yu said. He stood up. He didn't shout but his voice carried a weight that silenced the room. It boomed across the entire area and carried weight that seemed to unnerve those that weren’t familiar with him.

  He looked at Elder Guo. "Status report. Numbers."

  Elder Guo bristled. He was the strongest elder of a Top Tier Sect. Being questioned by this young upstart was insulting. He had heard the stories of Li Yu defeating the Crimson Fang but the stories were so ridiculous that he didn’t believe it. "I am in command of this sector, Li Yu. You are here to support me. I will give you orders, not reports."

  Li Yu looked at the wounded men on the floor. He looked at the hatred in the eyes of the vassal clans. He looked at the necrotic rot on Guo’s arm that was slowly destroying his arm further.

  "You lost sixty percent or more of your forces," Li Yu stated flatly. "You walked into a trap. And now you're hiding in a hole, blaming the people you were supposed to lead."

  "I did what was necessary!" Guo shouted and his aura flaring erratically. "The beast numbers were overwhelming! We held on as long as we could!"

  "You failed," Li Yu said plainly. It was without any emotion or tone and because of that it hit even harder.

  He reached into his robe and pulled out his Alliance Token. He held it up.

  "Elder Ling at Strategic Command gave me the order. 'Secure the survivors. Hold the line. If possible finish the job and secure this area.' She didn't say 'Support the guy who got everyone killed.'"

  Li Yu stepped closer to Guo. He didn't release his aura. He didn't need to. Li Yu wasn’t about to listen or follow the commands of a defeated general. Especially one that clearly failed his own forces.

  "I am taking command of this sector," Li Yu said. "Effective immediately."

  "You can't do that!" Guo sputtered. "I am an Elder of the Silver Sword Sect! My sect master will—"

  "Your sect master isn't here," Li Yu cut him off. "I am. And I brought my own army. If your sect leader comes here he can talk to me. I have no time for you."

  He turned to the vassal clan leaders who were watching with surprise. They hated that man but they wouldn’t dare cut off all room for him. He was still a part of a top sect and one that might come after them once this war was over.

  "Get your wounded ready to move. We’re getting you out of this hole. My medics will assist with the triage." Li Yu spoke to them.

  He turned back to Guo, his eyes cold.

  "And you, Elder Guo. Sit down and treat your arm before it falls off. If you argue with me again, I’ll have you killed for insubordination. I was given command here."

  Elder Guo stared at Li Yu, his face turning purple with rage and humiliation. But he looked at the fresh and dangerous troops standing behind Li Yu—Zhou, Su, Lei—and then at his own broken and resentful forces. If he hadn’t lost his second in command and also three elders he might have thought of trying to force the issue. However, he had lost too much of his powerful force to talk back.

  He gritted his teeth and sat down.

  "Fine," Guo spat. "Take the command. But when the Beasts return... let’s see how long your arrogance lasts."

  "Longer than yours," Li Yu said as he turned his back on him. "Zhou, Su. Secure the perimeter. Let’s clean up this mess and fill our coffers a bit more."