Siege on Yongtein (9)

His sword curved down, hooked, and pulled everyone's swords to the ground, as his second sword swooped in for the kill. He was both quick and smooth, showing his masterful swordsmanship. It was truly a work of art to witness! However, a battle between Perception Realms was complicated since both sides could anticipate and react to their opponent's moves. Snatching the blade with their hands, a soldier willingly sacrificed their body to paralyze Protector Chang. The other two soldiers responded with Martial Energy gathering in their bodies. They planned to use point-blank flying strikes to cleave his body in two! It looked like a fatal situation, yet the protector reacted with grace. He ducked down low and shuttled his sword up the three blades, cutting through their hilts instantly. Fingers flew as blood rained. In one strike, he disarmed three Perception Realms! Chang then knocked them out with three sharp strikes from his pommel. He exhaled painfully because despite winning, the physical and mental tax was great. He looked at Lady Mingyu wryly. Only monsters like her could continue fighting Perception Realms without stopping!

Princess Xiuying and Ming stood with their backs touching, facing three Perception Realms. Since they were the prime minister's target, the soldiers could not afford to go too heavy-handed on them. Martial Energy was out of the question. Nonetheless, the soldiers viewed them as nothing more than simple, weak girls, prey to become nobles. It should be trivial to deal with a Half-Perception Realm and a Fundamental Realm Master! The soldiers then attacked from three directions, aiming at non-vitals. It was a pincer attack! But what they failed to realize was that the princesses developed a unique combat style that complimented their strengths and covered their weaknesses. Xiuying failed to showcase this in the Battle of Liguang, since her sister was unable to fight, but now they could. Together, their power multiplied many times over!

Ming's spear shot out like bolt of lightning. Her long reach meant she could attack without fear of retaliation. Furthermore, her strikes were unexpectedly sharp and heavy like a bull! Her opponent raised their guard in a hurry to fend off the brutal blow, only to be pushed back in a contest of strength. Metal screeched as sparks bloomed! She remained focused and without missing a beat, she twirled her spear in her hands and fended off another soldier in similar fashion. The third soldier was a step too fast for her to stop, but this was where Xiuying stepped in. Her timing was sublime, accounting for her sister's weakness. Ming ducked while Xiuying parried the incoming blow overhead. The two were perfectly synchronized! Xiuying replied with her own attack, heavily wounding and forcing her opponent to retreat. The soldier was astonished because they could see her every movement, but they were too slow to respond. Their body could not keep up! Right as they stepped back, Ming swooped in with her spear. The two formed a powerful combination!

The three soldiers restarted their assault, but the princesses remained steadfast. Their perfect offense and defense as they alternated between one another created a beautiful symphony of sisters. They were like performers on the center of a stage while the soldiers could only play a supporting role. Their weapons seemed to have eyes of their own as they gracefully engaged their opponents at the same time. Despite being Perception Realms, the three were shocked to discover they could not break through. It was not a question of physical prowess, but of skill! They were overwhelmingly dominated by Xiuying and Ming's combat style! Clang! Two soldiers dropped to their knees, covered in blood, while the princesses remained almost untouched. It was unbelievable! The sight terrified the third soldier. The girls used this opportunity to render them unconscious. Although it was close at times, they prevailed against three Perception Realms!

Meanwhile, Cardinal Hui kept a close eye on everyone, while he stayed close to Imperian Qiang. The patriarch was the only one who could not fight, so he needed to be guarded. On a battlefield filled with Perception Realms, anyone could sense and capitalize on the slightest opening! Normally, guarding would have been left up to his actual protector, Lady Mingyu, but they needed her strength. They would be crippling themselves if they forced a powerful fighter like her back; therefore, it made the most sense that Cardinal Hui took on that role instead. This made Imperian Qiang ashamed. It was the same in the Battle of Ligaung. He could only depend on them as they fought! 

Despite his passive placement, Cardinal Hui was like a fish in water as he stood on the backlines. This was where he excelled! Multiple mid-air collisions were heard as arrows fell from the sky. The enemy archers had slack jaws from sheer amazement. Whenever they loosed arrows at Imperian Qiang or Cardinal Hui, no matter the direction or angle of attack, their arrows would miraculously fall mid-flight. It took their Perception Realm senses to realize they were not just falling for no reason. No… It was because the cardinal kept intercepting them mid-flight! He could instantly identify the enemy, the trajectory of attack, the optimal way to neutralize it, and potentially a counterattack all within a second. His instincts, reaction speeds, and quick thinking were absurd! Furthermore, he tracked every battle unfolding with his senses. Anytime someone fell behind, he would step in with his arrows. His monstrous Martial Perception was on full display here. If the Imperial Princesses were performers, then Cardinal Hui was the conductor! He had complete control over the battlefield!

Using this many arrows would ordinarily run him dry, but he accounted for this. By only intercepting arrows within a certain range, he could pick them up as they moved along. His arms never stopped as even his bowstring seemed to blur into nothingness. That was how fast he was loosing arrows! Wherever he aimed, a fury of arrows would follow! Bang! Two died, then three, then four… His kills mounted rapidly as he terrified the enemy archers. They did not want to fight this monster of a man! Some soldiers wanted to close the gap, but Lady Mingyu, Protector Chang, the Imperial Princesses, and everyone else stood in their way. He was unstoppable! 

In the blink of an eye, the odds tilted in their favor, leaving the prime minister and captain in sheer disbelief. They had more than a hundred Perception Realms on their side, Perception Realms who represented the absolute apex of human potential and who gained transcendental abilities that allowed them to do the unthinkable… They were truly living breathing legends! And a hundred of them together was likely the strongest concentration of combat power anywhere in the human world. A trump card above trump cards, they were the strongest force the Imperial Council could field at the moment! They should be invincible! That was how it should be except… they were struggling and losing against a handful of people now. It made no sense! No matter how Prime Minister Pon-Wai viewed this, he could not fathom why. Had their enemies grown strong enough to overcome a hundred Perception Realm? Or were their soldiers simply that weak? Both seemed illogical. What went wrong? He could not understand.

This could not be helped. He was a non-combatant through and through, having never picked up the sword before, much less trained in martial arts. His viewpoint was naïve, and a battle between Perception Realms was much more complex than one between Fundamental Realms. For example, why did the Lady Mingyu, Protector Chang, and the Imperial Princesses cut down the bamboo forest? At first glance, it might look meaningless, but it actually had a great impact on the battle. Perception Realm meant an evolution of the body, pushing their five senses to transcendental levels. They could sense their surroundings with absolute clarity. However, this sudden increase in sensory capability meant a vast increase in sensory information. As the saying goes, ignorance was bliss. At best, this information overload could delay decision-making and reaction time. At worst, it could cause serious mental damage. Masters like Cardinal Hui and Lady Mingyu trained their body and mind to the point they could use their Martial Perception with little strain. Novices like these soldiers though lacked that refined control. Therefore, by saturating the battlefield and creating a complex environment to process, it could paralyze a novice's Martial Perception. It was a simple, but efficient countermeasure!