The military ships did not retreat.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWUvgRMOe9
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7q1sUWRSnt
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFuPhOPPw9
Five ships became seven. Seven became ten. The emperor had not sent only five. He had sent a fleet.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjsMMGeL7C
General Feng Jian stood at the railing, counting. "Twelve ships," he whispered. "Twelve warships, fully armed."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMgYaomYCB
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWATy65ikJk
"General."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlDlqgcBjS
Feng Jian spun. "Master. You should not speak. Save your strength."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGL7zjhSHV5
"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."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIErXyLeqA
"Then what do we do?"
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7rNweqDrW
Liang Wei opened his eyes. They were tired, but they burned.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZHrkHutfA
"We fight."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHT8Hqswmz7
He rose.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJqYKf0P87
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlY0I6OJKe2
He stood on the deck, sword in hand, facing the twelve warships.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e3RP4oBB5
"Everyone below deck," he said. "Now."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAWCvBSDYt
"But Master—"
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoVuKw35XC
"Now!"
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8cEzvdiDJ
The servants scrambled for the hatch. The crew followed. Only General Feng Jian remained.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1wqoHQlSO
"I stay," the general said. "I fight beside you."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXsosim6wr
Liang Wei did not argue. There was no time.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCf2NK97taT
The first cannon fired.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGSlMP5bCN
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0f25BW6fXM
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRhHNn3jB1
Two more cannons fired. Liang Wei's sword danced. The balls split. The junk rocked but held.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0O7lNAy1Fy
Four more cannons. Six. Eight.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkNQXP1ogP
The Phoenix Wings could not cover everything.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLnN7qb6zs
A cannonball struck the railing, splintering wood. Another tore through the sail. A third hit the mast – not breaking it, but cracking it deep.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02yUdMVZXz
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfwNp8Jq6w
The ships were closer now. He could see the crews loading cannons, lighting fuses, aiming.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqw68RZSkj2
Another volley. Twelve balls at once.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsB9NUEiyo
The Phoenix Wings met them. Eleven split. The twelfth slipped through.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkG3wFNqiO
It struck Liang Wei in the chest.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9Q2e8Q7YA
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcq7uOEHaf1
"Master!" General Feng Jian ran to him.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZ5CYOs0nC
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZSjPuKMxV
He looked up. More ships were arriving. Fifteen now. Twenty.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eQGZxFT2S
He knew then. He could not win. He could not save the junk. He could not save the crew.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRaHl0BlRX
But he could give them a chance.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdpT6yVbMN
He grabbed the rope.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZ65SHuiZ3
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk2QjXuBvp
He did not jump. He launched.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EU1qAN3YH
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthRN2xo5xh
At the apex of his arc, he looked down.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zYa6Vbxg7
Twenty warships. Fifty cannons. A hundred archers with purple flames.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3lpxqlovC
He let go of the rope.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6KjUiuHsf
He fell.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbRbgJRR8X
Not toward the junk. Toward the sea between the junk and the fleet.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8wbl1z8QR
He hit the water like a meteor.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1OdpbfZM1
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkPrz3AFyp
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6oZLuTY34
And the wave pushed the junk.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAq2IWRvi3A
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cDy15e02H
The wave carried them a mile. Two miles. Three.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfS2HCnZXng
Then it subsided.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiNqSo4y1z
The junk slowed. The sea grew calm.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXbEeDskts
Behind them, the fleet was a scattered mess of broken ships and drowning men.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowUYW67iiU
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXmoJTrH0w
Liang Wei was hanging onto the rope.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywAaVK4Wd9
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQBYoBO43n
The general reached down and hauled him aboard.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qdzUK5Tad
Liang Wei collapsed on the deck.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85r5cgxial
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz32emMer6I
He was not breathing.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsezJoqAve9
No – he was breathing. Shallow. Slow. But breathing.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZSM0bySAB
"Master," the general whispered. "Master, can you hear me?"
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPLRcpgntV
Liang Wei's eyes fluttered. He tried to speak, but only blood came out.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ2fYxxayr
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.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTTf2oK4nY
"He saved us," she said. "He saved all of us."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzRN4lqjvs
General Feng Jian looked at the empty horizon. The fleet was gone. The purple flames were gone. Only the sea remained.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYtEX2lyR5
He turned back to Liang Wei.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYIbSshAnk
"Master, you fool," he said softly. "You absolute fool. You could have run. You could have saved yourself."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyxS5gjqKv
Liang Wei's lips moved.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxgInJm5p9
The general leaned close.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaHiWl8b4j
"…not a fool," Liang Wei whispered. "A teacher. Teachers do not run."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMRfEhHBRs
Then his eyes closed.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtBq1ekavp
His chest rose. Fell. Rose. Fell.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLl8oGNOTsi
The general sat beside him, his sword across his knees.
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWte697TYnO
"We will protect you now, Master," he said. "As you protected us. Rest."
130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbf4ZKrQchY
The sun set over the water.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiBnSuGvZq
and then Add to home screen.