The military ships did not retreat.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMu0y9JMiZ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu37gwViXqZ
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsaOdFLZhTK
Five ships became seven. Seven became ten. The emperor had not sent only five. He had sent a fleet.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5XdXkGpwn
General Feng Jian stood at the railing, counting. "Twelve ships," he whispered. "Twelve warships, fully armed."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpCdvpRzNt
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLvW3lGTWh
"General."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuOLdADKaM
Feng Jian spun. "Master. You should not speak. Save your strength."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4UhK8dThj
"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."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4VsUPYwgH
"Then what do we do?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTe5OBqJPSd
Liang Wei opened his eyes. They were tired, but they burned.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc00Rna7i1p
"We fight."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnIE7FgImN
He rose.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDhfNGBgMm
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdZcGUXdXW
He stood on the deck, sword in hand, facing the twelve warships.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAP7V3HVsbg
"Everyone below deck," he said. "Now."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPKEbbNjpG
"But Master—"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpAwLgOkHY
"Now!"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiBlJWerdH
The servants scrambled for the hatch. The crew followed. Only General Feng Jian remained.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxkRmuE2m5
"I stay," the general said. "I fight beside you."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QCRm62Xic
Liang Wei did not argue. There was no time.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcmGabKpcy
The first cannon fired.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAg8x6V3oP
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPy0kSRcP9
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRiRV7ZCXt
Two more cannons fired. Liang Wei's sword danced. The balls split. The junk rocked but held.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOvpIqQvPO
Four more cannons. Six. Eight.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHGASxf4xd
The Phoenix Wings could not cover everything.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeSnt2C42Q
A cannonball struck the railing, splintering wood. Another tore through the sail. A third hit the mast – not breaking it, but cracking it deep.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYY57CSZhl1
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcwhCNUufC
The ships were closer now. He could see the crews loading cannons, lighting fuses, aiming.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7rlt36PXq
Another volley. Twelve balls at once.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NA0WnbpUL
The Phoenix Wings met them. Eleven split. The twelfth slipped through.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jECBB6tZr
It struck Liang Wei in the chest.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbddDAWkx0P
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZDfcFpM5r
"Master!" General Feng Jian ran to him.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkdnvu69e9
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0svKMF3RiA
He looked up. More ships were arriving. Fifteen now. Twenty.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaAFip88Gx
He knew then. He could not win. He could not save the junk. He could not save the crew.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmU5EaopEan
But he could give them a chance.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0k4ag1jLGU
He grabbed the rope.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjZgKPmkUL
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxOuhXVhZB
He did not jump. He launched.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DfgnSdUDg
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAA0gWiZjCS
At the apex of his arc, he looked down.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MjGyCu1e6
Twenty warships. Fifty cannons. A hundred archers with purple flames.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RaQj4rU4i
He let go of the rope.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuGWiQATTR
He fell.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVl6de8BKAG
Not toward the junk. Toward the sea between the junk and the fleet.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PpXSmqn6O
He hit the water like a meteor.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSxwtszICq
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibma4hYtUO
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXH4NeiHsmU
And the wave pushed the junk.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QNxXsh7IA
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXu2VsnpaWG
The wave carried them a mile. Two miles. Three.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmb06OWMPD
Then it subsided.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqZdNcErFh
The junk slowed. The sea grew calm.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuTODXThuC
Behind them, the fleet was a scattered mess of broken ships and drowning men.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7QFILEnkx
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXl8t75jTf
Liang Wei was hanging onto the rope.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kF7mYL0hu
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4FgANxlBa
The general reached down and hauled him aboard.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BnER7x7i1
Liang Wei collapsed on the deck.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACa6rRBakI
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUCzpKdNsc
He was not breathing.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrqXZ6sKLA
No – he was breathing. Shallow. Slow. But breathing.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFXAzbW1yP
"Master," the general whispered. "Master, can you hear me?"
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeg3RJfVuy
Liang Wei's eyes fluttered. He tried to speak, but only blood came out.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3DU1tadsI
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.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfUX3X4jDi
"He saved us," she said. "He saved all of us."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4mdkwYahM
General Feng Jian looked at the empty horizon. The fleet was gone. The purple flames were gone. Only the sea remained.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKYFYI78lN
He turned back to Liang Wei.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdE3q6MrCTO
"Master, you fool," he said softly. "You absolute fool. You could have run. You could have saved yourself."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCPwUb4yep
Liang Wei's lips moved.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhTJ5XuLgA
The general leaned close.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnGtxiSnGq
"…not a fool," Liang Wei whispered. "A teacher. Teachers do not run."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDcUZyH5b3
Then his eyes closed.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykdY3VCKEc
His chest rose. Fell. Rose. Fell.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQ3M3VXUn6
The general sat beside him, his sword across his knees.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAuvKCTUSS
"We will protect you now, Master," he said. "As you protected us. Rest."
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NFM8sb4Vy
The sun set over the water.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaTpmZt1IM
and then Add to home screen.