Headed by a Snake

A sound reverberated throughout the battlefield... over the shouts of men and women dying... over the merciless thunder and the crashing waves.

It was... a snap?

It bored into Wang Lei's brain, almost loud enough to bleed his ears.

Something struck him in the stomach. It took him nearly a second to even register the pain.

It was...

Li Jing? She... had kicked him.

But... why?

Wang Lei became... weightless... flying backward through the air-- powerless to stop himself. Three flying swords made of moonlight had hooked onto his robes and were carrying him away.

Bile in his gut rose as he felt himself fall. He crashed into the ground, far away from the murderous waves of the beach.

...Safe.

His head throbbed as he struggled to think. A gash on his head stung painfully where salt water and sweat still kissed his wounds.

He flailed about, forcing himself to look back towards the crimson shore.

Li Jing, his one and only love, continued to fight... weaponless.

Over two dozen of the creatures had made it onto the beach.

Cultivators in over twice that number laid dead.

Silhouettes twice that still swam in the waters, illuminated by errant lightning.

...The enemy had taken injuries... but no casualties.

Wang Lei's eyes shot open as Li Jing turned back to him... and mouthed a single word.

'Go.'

Her meaning was clear.

The beach was lost.

Avenge her.

The peach-colored stone creature emerged from the waters behind her-- a merciless tower of hate and violence.

Wang Lei... had cut it down. He delivered what should have been a mortal injury, piercing its throat and nearly severing its thick torso in half.

Yet still... it stood.

It... grabbed onto her arm.

She fought back. She stabbed. She kicked. She used ancient techniques passed on from the Venerable Ancestor, himself.

It was useless.

The creature hacked its heavy axe blade into her abdomen.

"LI JIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!"

Wang Lei scrambled to his feet... half-blinded by the rains... watching in horror.

The creature placed its hands into her wound.

Like a children's wooden doll... he tore at her flesh, ripping her apart.

"No..."

Wang Lei collapsed to his knees and stared at the sky...

The sounds of battle raged on the beach below him... cries of despair echoing in his ears.

"How can evil triumph over our sect?!"

"Why won't they die?"

"The gods have forsaken us!"

The moon glowed through the clouds... watching every moment... every cry for mercy... every crippling injury.

She watched every cultivator blessed by her light die without a complete corpse...

And she did nothing.

Through the tears and sobs... Wang Lei watched the creature drop Li Jing... then turn to engage another enemy.

His wife's two halves bled in the shallows...  still connected by viscera... painted ever-crimson by the unholy light in the sky.

Wang Lei... had spoken to her only breaths prior... and never again would he hear her voice.

He had not yet awoken. The nightmare still continued...

"ALRIIIIGHT!!" A human voice cut through the din of battle, "LISTEN UP, ah-- ...whoever the F*CK YOU GUYS ARE!!"

Wang Lei wiped the tears and rain from his face... hardening his spirit with the desire for vengeance.

There was... a human on the beach, a man wearing the green garb of a naval Captain. He was being actively supported by four of his monster slaves... invincible... peerless.

"My NAME is Captain Krysaos of the Neptune's Revenge!!" He instilled chi into his voice as he cut down arrows and icy blasts with his rapier, "and all you sea god worshippin' SHITE-BAGS are gonna get GANKED, your treasures, LOOTED, and any hot, big-titty women, f*ckin' EN-SLAVED!!!"

"Your heart is filled with evil incarnate, Outsider!!" A defiant voice boomed in return, "We of the Hidden Lake sect will NOT yield Moon Crescent Isle to you!!"

Wang Lei's heart skipped a beat.

Hope. There was hope, after all.

Elder Zhou-- Jun Ping's father had rallied the north side of the beach to face the enemy leader.

He spun his halberd, drawing a line in the sand, "Sea God watch over us... we shall not allow you to cross this line."

It was a domineering bluff. The enemy leader reached the Nascent Profound Realm, at the very least...

However, the Hidden Lake sect had an advantage. Crescent Moon Isle was their home. The cultivators that fought on the beach were friends and family.

Wang Lei immediately started sprinting towards the Elder. Together, they'd be able to turn the tides with coordinated attacks... if the heavens were willing.

"BOYYYYS!!" A gargling voice roared in the distance, "LIGHT 'EM UUUUP!!!!!"

What? What... could that mean?

**BOOM**

An unfamiliar sound resounded... a horrifying crack that whispered death and smelled of sweet smoke.

He didn't know what it was... but from what he'd experienced, it was yet another of the Outsiders' wicked magics.

**BOOM!! BOM-BOM-BOM BOM BOM!!!!**

With another series of pops and bangs, the woods inland lit up in tiny flashes of gold and white.

A number of enemy magicians... had flanked them.

Elder Zhou fell, his face to the sand, before he could swing his weapon a single time.

The Martialists that charged towards the enemy leader were cut down by axe and sword. The ones that ran east towards the forest were cut down by an invisible force, along with the loud, smoky explosions. Those that fled anywhere else... they too, died... no enemy in sight.

Wang Lei slipped, tumbling in the mud and skidding on his elbows and knees...

His hopes for vengeance were rekindled... but that moment... was far too brief.

No... He slapped his own face as hard as he could.

No, there was still hope.

Even without Elder Zhou... nothing had changed.

The path for victory remained the same... defeating the enemy Commander.

The man who called himself Krysaos... his death would be pivotal towards turning the tide of battle.

Yet... Wang Lei was no hero.

In his moment of doubt... he wondered... what would Ying Yue do?

He clenched his eyes shut, crying the last of his tears.

He'd never been envious of his sister's status as the Chosen One.

He was never strong enough to do what she could do... to be what she was...

All he wanted to do was grow old with his wife... a wish that could no longer be granted.

Ying Yue... whatever she would do... she would cast aside her fear.

Wang Lei might have been a weakling... but he was no coward.

He needed to stand tall against the nightmare... the minions of whatever dark gods that threatened all he held dear.

He just hoped... that in the afterlife... Li Jing would forgive him.