Chapter 57: Liu Qiyue

"Go to Scorching Sun Fortress, everyone!" the Dean urged. All residents of the Scorching Sun Academy quickly hurried towards the fortress.

Scorching Sun Fortress was a large stronghold within Scorching Sun Academy, serving as the usual living quarters for the academy's disciples.

"Everyone below the Marrow Cleansing Realm, enter the tunnels!"

"Hurry, hurry!"

Inside Scorching Sun Fortress, a large number of academy disciples divided into dozens of teams, quickly rushing into the tunnels. The construction of Scorching Sun Fortress incorporated some of the best elements of rural fortresses, yet it was far more lavish. The imperial court had spent a vast sum of silver to hire master craftsmen for its design and construction.

Thousands of academy disciples entered dozens of tunnels.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!" Inside each tunnel, heavy mechanisms began to seal themselves shut. They could only be opened from the inside; it was impossible to open them from the outside. Even if the monsters wanted to break in, it would take them a considerable amount of time.

"Ballistas, prepare!" Large ballistas were positioned at every window of Scorching Sun Fortress. Academy disciples began turning the winches, securing each ballista bolt. These Marrow Cleansing Realm disciples, possessing over a thousand pounds of strength, had to exert all their might to crank the winches. Each ballista bolt resembled a long spear, capable of collapsing a wall upon impact.

"Fire!" a soldier commanded. Those responsible for firing the ballistas were experienced soldiers or veterans who had sufficient experience using ballistas during their military service. The Marrow Cleansing Realm disciples primarily performed manual labor, such as turning winches and transporting supplies.

Following the command, huge ballista bolts shot out. Any ordinary Greater Demon or Lesser Demon hit by them would have a gaping hole torn through its body. However, the monsters dodged frantically, one by one scaling the walls of Scorching Sun Academy and charging towards Scorching Sun Fortress in the distance.

"Break open Scorching Sun Fortress!" ordered a monster as tall as a two-story building, a bull demon wielding a trident. Though its size wasn't particularly striking among the entire demon army, it was the most powerful and served as the Grand Commander of this demon force. As soon as the Bull Demon Grand Commander gave the order, the other commanders immediately took the lead, and a large number of monsters charged furiously towards Scorching Sun Fortress.

"Whiz." A streaking arrow of light shot across the sky, moving much faster than the ballista bolts. A demon commander tried hard to dodge but still had an arm severed.

"Huh?" This demon army had only ten commanders in total. Although the ballistas were powerful, their bolts were large, like long spears, and their flight speed wasn't exceptional. At least at the commander level, they could easily evade them. However, this particular arrow was as powerful as a ballista bolt, yet ten times faster. It covered a hundred zhang in a flash, making it extremely difficult for the commanders to dodge.

"A human divine archer."

"Be careful," these demon commanders all noted. The archer was Dean Zhong Qianhe of Scorching Sun Academy, the only divine archer in Dongning Prefecture at the Seamless Realm who had mastered 'momentum.'

"Hmph," the Bull Demon Grand Commander snorted coldly, charging forward first.

"Fire." Dean Zhong immediately fired arrow after arrow at the Bull Demon Grand Commander, and thirty percent of the ballistas also targeted the Bull Demon Grand Commander.

"Bang, bang, bang." The Bull Demon Grand Commander gripped his trident with both hands, swinging it to deflect the arrows, but he struggled significantly. At the same level, a divine archer's relentless assault was terrifying! Dean Zhong's current barrage of arrows was comparable to Meng Chuan's frenzied close-quarters blade attacks, forcing the Bull Demon Grand Commander to focus solely on self-preservation for a time.

With Dean Zhong, the divine archer, holding back the Grand Commander, Scorching Sun Fortress could withstand the demon army's fierce assault with its weaponry.

However, everyone's expressions soon changed.

"More demons are coming."

"A demon army."

From atop Scorching Sun Fortress, they could see countless monsters approaching in the distance, clearly another demon army. With the arrival of the new demon army, the morale of the existing monsters surged! After all, they had been in a stalemate and had suffered significant losses.

"Poisonous Flood Dragon, quickly come and help me! Let's kill that divine archer together!" the Bull Demon Grand Commander roared.

"You bull demon, you still need my help, do you?" A Flood Dragon Demon Grand Commander moved with extreme speed. It was in human form, covered in emerald green dragon scales, possessing sharp claws and powerful legs, along with a dragon tail. Its figure was incredibly swift, heading directly towards the Bull Demon Grand Commander.

"This is bad." Dean Zhong, the divine archer, saw this and his expression changed. It was already remarkable to barely hold back one Grand Commander. Two demon Grand Commanders working together? And a group of demon commanders? If these monsters managed to breach Scorching Sun Fortress, human casualties would be catastrophic.

"Stop them!"

"Buy time!"

"As long as the Godfiends win, we'll win!" The soldiers roared, their faces grim, as they continued firing the ballistas. At the same time, they urged the somewhat panicked academy disciples beside them, "Hurry up and turn the winches! Don't just stand there!"

Liu Qiyue was also a divine archer, positioned alongside twelve other divine archers. Those twelve archers were either regular soldiers or veterans returning from military service, most of whom possessed Seamless Realm strength. Liu Qiyue was the only academy disciple among them. She had only become a part of this group after reaching the late stage of the Mortal Transformation Realm and comprehending a secret technique.

"Whiz, whiz, whiz..." Liu Qiyue and the other twelve divine archers were aces; their arrows were incredibly fast and posed a significant threat to ordinary Greater Demons. Often, two or three divine archers would coordinate to slay Greater Demons. In an instant, over fifty Greater Demons had fallen by their hands. However, their arrows found it difficult to threaten the 'demon commanders,' let alone the two Grand Commanders.

"This isn't good," Liu Qiyue thought anxiously. Their numbers had doubled. Previously, they could hold a stalemate, but now they were completely overwhelmed. Led by the two Grand Commanders, a large group of demon commanders roared, and countless monsters surged forward.

"We can't hold them, we can't hold them!" Liu Qiyue frantically fired arrow after arrow, even attempting to target the demon commanders. The weakest of these demon commanders could manifest demon energy externally, and some had even formed demon cores. They easily blocked her arrows. Despair filled Liu Qiyue as the monsters drew closer and closer to Scorching Sun Fortress.

"How can two armies be attacking?" Dean Zhong also felt a touch of despair. His arrows were directly blocked by the combined efforts of the Bull Demon Grand Commander and the Flood Dragon Demon Grand Commander, who continued to advance relentlessly. In truth, there were only eighteen Grand Commanders in total among the invading demon forces this time. Some were sent to massacre humans, some to attack Godfiend families, and others to assault imperial court yamens. While the Eight Great Academies were important, most were attacked by only one demon army. Only three academies faced attacks from two demon armies, and Scorching Sun Academy was one of them.

"No," Liu Qiyue muttered, her eyes suddenly turning red as she watched the increasingly close and ferocious demons. Faint flames seemed to rise in her eyes. Streams of True Qi emanated from her hands, burning like flames. This fiery True Qi also infused her arrows.

"Whiz." With an arrow released, a streaking flame of light flew with unbelievable speed.

"Boom." The fiery streaking light directly pierced through one Greater Demon, then successively through two more Greater Demons and three Lesser Demons behind it. After being struck, the flames burned on these monsters, incinerating them all to ashes. One arrow created a fiery trail of death, turning six monsters into ash.

This scene drew the attention of many monsters, including the two demon Grand Commanders.

"A human with the Phoenix bloodline?" the Flood Dragon Demon Grand Commander exclaimed in surprise.

"A Phoenix Divine Body?" The Bull Demon Grand Commander also looked distantly at the divine archer who had fired that arrow—a young girl whose eyes faintly glowed with rising flames.

"That child, Qiyue, possesses the Phoenix Divine Body bloodline?" Dean Zhong was also shocked. There were many types of human Godfiend bodies. Some Godfiend bodies could be gradually cultivated, while others, being very special, could not be acquired through cultivation. For instance, the 'Phoenix Divine Body' was a unique type of divine body inherited through 'bloodline.' The demon Grand Commanders all possessed top-tier Demon King bloodlines. However, Liu Qiyue's 'Phoenix Divine Body bloodline' was even stronger than theirs.

"Qiyue, quickly, come and help me deal with those two demon Grand Commanders. Stop them!" Dean Zhong ordered consecutively.

"Yes," Liu Qiyue replied. She felt her entire body growing hot, as a powerful force emerged within her, causing her True Qi to undergo a qualitative transformation. With flames rising in her eyes, she immediately and without hesitation shot arrows towards the two demon Grand Commanders. Her arrows, like streaking flames, were in no way inferior to Dean Zhong's. Dean Zhong also fired arrow after arrow with all his might. Under the furious assault of their arrows, the Bull Demon Grand Commander and the Flood Dragon Demon Grand Commander could only try their best to defend themselves.

"Poisonous Flood Dragon, our chance has come!" the Bull Demon Grand Commander, surprisingly excited, transmitted. "A human possessing the Phoenix Divine Body bloodline has appeared! If we capture her alive, the merit will be far greater than destroying three to five academies!"

"Hehehe, this human girl is still very young, and her Phoenix Divine Body bloodline power is still weak. As long as we break through this fortress, it'll be easy to capture her alive," the Flood Dragon Demon Grand Commander said, also filled with anticipation.