Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

His head rolled away, revealing an expression of shock and horror. In the end, he didn\'t realize that he had been killed. Xue Yue looked down at him, grabbing his head and body to bring back. She dragged the corpse along the ground, slowly making her way back.

With the black water receding, the demons and the craftsmen looked in the direction it came from. 

"What happened?"

They heard Ming Yue\'s steps, quiet but firm, as she appeared with the dead demon. 

Her armor had reverted to the robes, slowly repairing itself and cleaning the blood off. Still, it did not do away with the blood and injury on her body, more so the blood on her face. She walked towards Guardian\'s Keep with the dead demon in her hands, ignoring the other demons who looked at their leader in shock. 

"The Tide King is dead?"

"Our leader died to a human?"

"What do we do now?"

"Retreat, retreat! Run back to the ships!"

Panic and fear had set in as they backed away, preparing to turn tail and run.

"Whistle Wind."

As soon as they took their first steps to run, a blade of wind came and cut their necks off cleanly. Those who saw their comrades end up like that stopped in their tracks only to hear that whistling sound come for them. 

The sound of heads and bodies falling was a simple but haunting sound. 

This wasn\'t Ming Yue after all, it was Xue Yue and she wasn\'t going to let any of them escape. She didn\'t even look back, she walked to the gates and dropped Hai Zhu\'s body before entering. 

The craftsmen looked at her, wary of her presence. They knew that she was not their enemy but at the same time, the feeling Xue Yue gave off was frightening. A cold aura that which caused Shen Varuna to hide behind Commander Yu Zhen. 

The commander herself, put away her saber but also studied Xue Yue. 

"You... Who are you? You aren\'t that girl, you look the same but you\'re different."

Xue Yue smirked. 

"If she wants to tell you then she\'ll tell you. But right now, I\'m in control and I\'m leaving."

She then turned to go only for the commander to stop her. 

"Wait, you are in no condition to fight, where are you going?" she asked. 

Xue Yue turned and pointed at the little demon, who clung tight to the commander, looking at her with fear. 

"She\'ll tell you but there is no time, I need to cross the lake to the other side. Oh. and my two beasts will stay here." 

After speaking, Xue Yue walked out and flew off, lifting herself with a sword of wind. Both Xiao Yin and Hei Yue walked back into the Keep and stood by the little demon, watching as she left. Everyone else watched her go before looking at Shen Varuna. Commander Yu Zhen turned and knelt down to look at the little girl eye to eye. 

"Did something happen?" she asked. 

Shen Varuna looked at her and nodded. Moments later, everything was revealed and everyone had grave expressions on their faces. 

"We should make haste! Who knows how long those children have left?!"

"But the Keep! It\'s going to need repairs! Without the Tower to help us with protection, we\'ll need everyone."

"How are we going to divide the work?"

As everyone brought out their own suggestions, someone came out of the keep itself. They were limping forward while supporting themselves with a stick. 

"You all go repair the Keep! Commander Yu Zhen and I will bring the girl across the lake on my personal boat! Is that clear!"

Standing in front of them was Zi Jing, still injured but awake. Hearing his voice and commands made everyone nod quietly and go off to work. 

"Hmph." 

He hobbled forward, clutching his side while gritting his teeth. A single day of recovery wasn\'t enough to heal everything. 

"Are you okay?" asked Commander Yu Zhen. 

She looked at him with concerned eyes but he nodded and took a deep breath. 

"Yeah, yeah. The bones have already been pieced back together, they just need some time to mend. It\'s just... a bit... annoying."

He grunted in pain holding his rib cage as talking too much would agitate it. 

"Ah, you are in no shape to go out, you should stay back", she said.

The young commander shook his head as he pointed at his bracelet. 

"If what that demon girl said is right, then we don\'t have any time to waste. We\'ll be going on my personal ship, which only I can control."

He explained while hobbling towards the gate. Stepping outside, Commander Zi Jing looked around and surveyed the damage. 

"Ah, this is going to be annoying to fix" he muttered. 

Taking off his bracelet, he tossed it out before chanting a few words and it began to glow and shimmer. Then it transformed into a small silver ship equipped with gem cores, cannons, and sails. It was a rather fancy ship, accented with obsidian lines and built with the utmost care and precision. Every detail on it was precisely carved or forged onto it, befitting of his personal ship. 

Although it was a small ship, it was still a ship, large enough to hold a dozen people. 

"Get on!"

He shouted to the other two and they boarded the ship. The two beasts followed as well, sticking to the little demon dutifully. 

"With this, we should be able to catch her and cross the lake within two days."

There was no cabin on the deck, only a captain\'s wheel, equipped with several other buttons and levels. He stepped up to it and dropped his walking stick to the ground before holding the wheel. 

"But this is a ship... on land", said Commander Yu Zhen. 

He looked at her and chuckled. 

"It\'s my personal ship. Do you think I wouldn\'t have accounted for this?" he replied. 

Looking to the side, he pressed a button, activating the ship. The cores shined and hummed as power coursed through the ship. He then pressed another button and the ship took flight, going higher and higher until it was above the Keep and the trees. 

"Whoa..."

The little demon looked around her, watching as they took off. It was the first time she\'s ever been or even seen something like this. The excitement overcame her as she let go of Commander Yu Zhen to the side fence, looking at the ship in wonder. 

Meanwhile, the two commanders discussed with each other. 

"As strong as she is, that girl isn\'t going to be able to cross the lake like that. She wouldn\'t have the stamina nor the energy for it. It\'s more than likely that she\'ll fall to her death", said Zi Jing. 

He continued to steer the ship, taking it towards the lake. 

"If that\'s the case, we have to catch up to her quickly. She\'s an important figure and has been a tremendous help to the armies. Her death would be a great loss."

Commander Yu Zhen glanced at him before stepping forward to the bow of the ship. 

"Say, is what the girl said true?\' he asked. 

She was silent before nodding. 

"She had the same markings as some of those chained demons. More than likely, her parents are ready dead. But it seems that we still have a chance to save the children."

"I see... In any case, we have to seize the opportunity. With those demons dead as well as that damn king, we can take full control of the lake", Zi Jing said. 

"Easier said than done. We don\'t have the manpower to keep the lake ours. We have to wait until reinforcements from the others come. At the very least, we can start a foothold there."

Commander Yu Zhen turned back to meditate and heal her injuries.. She had to be prepared for anything.