Three Months Later
A lot has changed after the Crimson Slayer Sect's last battle. People who were initially uninterested in the war, believing in the Battle Maiden Sect's swift victory, began directing their attention toward it.
This wasn't just the case for the Major Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions but almost all medium powers and families as well. With every battle, Aelina lost more disciples, and her territory was continuously ruined. The Sect's losses weren't nearly just people but resources. Lots and lots of resources.
Of course, Aelina and the Elders swooped in and gathered as much as they could before each battle, but even with their strength, there was a limit to what they could do.
Many thought that she was crazy for not just ending this war in one fell swoop, saving countless deaths and resources. There were even some that thought the Battle Maiden Sect would soon be a large, fat piece of meat waiting to be sucked dry.
For any Major Sect, Branches were equivalent to their status, strength, and potential, but that wasn't all. They were also a source of revenue.
The Ancient Beast Mountain Range might have higher-graded resources, but for lower-graded herbs, minerals, and Spirit Stones, Branch Sects are a necessity.
However, despite knowing this, Aelina didn't seem to care about her Branch Sects.
To those major powers, this was akin to cutting off her future. How many years' worth of resources has she lost already? How many disciples has she lost? Who knows how many decades or centuries it would take for her to establish her continental dominance again? In fact, she might never recover from these losses.
At least, that's how outsiders saw it. Even those that knew Aelina personally had no idea what she was thinking.
Still, nobody thought about joining the war or invading her territory, as the true powers of the Battle Maiden Sect had yet to make a move, staying strangely quiet. Even after three months, they hadn't made a move, allowing the Crimson Slayer Sect, Toxic Blade Sect, and Shadow Necromancer Sect to run rampant.
Because of how passive they were, more and more disciples from the latter two Sects began accepting commissions to join the war effort, seeking to dismantle the Battle Maiden Sect while they were down.
Not to mention, the war itself had become a spectacle, attracting spectators from near and far. It was an opportunity for those with discerning eyes to grasp the level of abilities, cultivation, and power of each Sect involved.
While the Crimson Slayer Sect took advantage of the opportunity, ruthlessly pressing their attacks on the Battle Maiden Sect branches, the Toxic Blade Sect and Shadow Necromancer Sect's involvement couldn't be understated.
They provided a formidable supporting force to the Crimson Slayer Sect, the former with their deadly poisons and the latter with their controlled Revenants. This trilateral alliance had proven devastatingly effective.
The Battle Maiden Sect branches were seemingly caught between a rock and a hard place. While the invading forces faced casualties, the toll on the Battle Maiden Sect seemed far worse in their opinions due to the still overwhelming numbers of the opposing army. However, the survivors did not falter; they grew stronger, their will harder than ever.
Aelina's decision to refrain from engaging in direct combat bewildered everyone. However, those who had been at the forefront of the battles, those who had witnessed the growth and resilience of the Battle Maiden Sect disciples firsthand, began to understand her intentions.
They could see the steel resolve in the disciples' eyes, the unyielding spirit they carried with them into battle. Each of these disciples had faced death, and with every battle, they grew stronger and more determined. The war was molding them into formidable cultivators, hardened by the crucible of life and death struggles.
Rewarding them after every tempering session caused the survivor's cultivation and strength to skyrocket, making them relentless on the battlefield.
In fact, as the months went by, the Battle Maiden Sects started losing fewer and fewer disciples while their invaders lost more soldiers with every battle, diminishing their overall strength.
At the heart of the resistance was Skye. Over the past three months, she had been at the forefront of every battle, her sword always ready, her spirit unbroken. Her leadership and relentless pursuit of the enemy had saved countless lives and boosted morale when it was most needed.
Her growth over the past three months had been astonishing. Aelina had been right about her potential; Skye was a natural-born leader. The adversity she faced only seemed to polish her, bringing out her innate talents and honing her skills.
Skye had become something like a beacon of hope for the Battle Maiden Sect disciples. She was the personification of their indomitable spirit, a symbol of their resolve. Her presence alone was enough to ignite their fighting spirit, a catalyst that spurred them into action.
Every time they thought of retreating, they would look at Skye, her relentless figure slicing through enemies like a valiant knight, and their fears would vanish. Her leadership wasn't just about words and strategies; it was about leading by example, fighting on the front lines, and sharing their hardships and sorrows.
Everyone saw how the tides began to shift in the 3rd month, where the Crimson Slayer Sect could no longer brute force their way in, having to come up with intricate plans and strategic retreats just to keep their advantage.
People began to believe that maybe Aelina would be able to win this war without even getting the main Sect involved.
That is until a handsome, black-haired young man with an Ouroboros robe declared, "From this day forth, I will take the life of a Battle Maiden Sect disciple. Each day henceforth, the number of lives I take will double. This relentless massacre will only cease once all the Battle Maiden Sect members have perished or until Mira, Nova, Seraphina, Everly, Rayna, and Eden show themselves and die by my hands!"
At first, nobody paid attention to that maniac. Who was he kidding? Battle Maidens died every day! Why does he feel the need to announce it in such a fashion?
However, over time, everyone's thoughts began to change.
On the first day, he marched around with a single Battle Maiden's head and Sect badge.
On the second day, he marched around with two.
On the third, there were four bodies.
On the fourth, he had killed eight.
.
.
.
It wasn't until the 11th day after he showed off 1024 dead Battle Maidens to the world, did people start to take him seriously.
After the chilling declaration of the ebony-haired young man in the Ouroboros robe, the atmosphere in the Crimson Slayer Sect's camp shifted drastically.
Their initial dismissal of his audacious claim quickly transformed into grim acknowledgment as his chilling threat took tangible form with each passing day.
On the twelfth day, he held aloft the heads and sect badges of 2048 fallen Battle Maidens, his cold eyes promising of more to come. The mere sight of it was a slap in the face of the Battle Maiden Sect's morale.
While the morale of the Battle Maiden Sect was shaken, it was far from broken. Instead, they just became more careful, doing their best to get stronger every day so as not to succumb to his threats.
Unfortunately, he didn't always obtain his kills from the Sect's main army. So, tracking him down and preventing the man from killing any more of their sisters wasn't feasible, as he was just too fast, too stronger, and too unpredictable.
Standing in front of all those dead bodies, the young man, Zehir, stood before both opposing armies, imbued his voice with Qi, and yelled to the world, "Maybe if those cowards, who hide behind the deaths of their juniors, would show up and face me, you all wouldn't have to go through so much pain! There would have been no reason for these needless deaths! However, I guess this is all the Battle Maiden Sect can amount to! They'd rather let all the fodder die before they swoop in and deal with everything themselves! I'll be here tomorrow at the same time! If those that I initially named don't show up, I'll kill another four thousand of you!"
Then, after making such a bold declaration, he disappeared.
"That bastard!"
"I swear! Once I get a bit stronger, I'm going to rip his guts out!"
"Come, sisters! We need to prepare for the next time that asshole shows up! How dare he spit on our Sect right before our eyes!"
"That's right. We can't let him speak like that toward us anymore!"
The Battle Maiden's eyes burned with rage as they stared at the position Zehir stood at, along with the maimed figures of their dead sisters!
***
Meanwhile, a certain fox's ears twitched, her eyes slowly opening to reveal a glinting set of crimson orbs. "It seems someone is calling for me."
Exhaling a breath of turbid Qi, her eyes narrowed into slits as she stared at the side of a massive serpent before her, "With how fast this guy's progressed, it shouldn't be much longer before I can leave this place.
