Chapter 1261 The Eve of the Decisive Battle
Luo Li's voice was a little hoarse, but extremely resolute. "They used their lives to buy us time. We can't let their sacrifice go to waste."
Lan Xiaoxiao walked forward, holding a thick roster in her hand, which recorded the names of all the spiritual masters who died in the battle.
She took a deep breath and began to recite word by word. Each name was like a heavy stone, hitting the hearts of everyone present.
Di Xuanming stood beside Luo Li, his ink-black robe fluttering gently in the night breeze.
He raised his hand and waved it, and countless flowers condensed from black ice bloomed in the air, then slowly fell around the monument, forming a sea of white flowers.
"Rest in peace, warriors." Emperor Xuanming's voice was deep and powerful. "We will defend the City of the Gods, defend this land, and avenge you."
Ye Yichen and Mu Ze led the spiritual masters to pour cup after cup of liquor on the ground to commemorate their deceased companions.
The wine seeped into the soil, as if the earth was crying for these heroic souls.
Luo Li stared at the monument, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.
She knew that now was not the time to indulge in sorrow. Yan Ye could launch the next attack at any time, and they had to prepare as soon as possible.
"Everyone," Luo Li's voice rang out again, echoing throughout the square. "Sorrow cannot bring peace to the deceased. Only victory can comfort their heroic spirits. Let us wipe away our tears, never give up, and fight to protect our homeland!"
“Never give up!”
"Fight to protect our homeland!"
"Revenge for our fallen companions!"
Earth-shaking shouts rang out in the square, and the light of the soul lamps gathered into a dazzling beam of light in the night sky, shooting straight into the sky.
The next day, Luo Li entered the deployment state again.
This time, once the war starts, Yan Ye will not hold back and it will definitely affect the entire Continent of Gods.
The main battlefield will definitely be in the City of Gods. In fact, the threat of demons in the main cities of other forces will not be too great, but there is another place that needs to be vigilant.
That is, those continental forces that defected to Yan Ye would not come to the City of Gods, but would go to the main cities of other forces to serve Yan Ye.
There are many powerful people among them and they should not be underestimated.
After telling Feng Yan and the others about his guess, they all said they would pay attention and told Luo Li not to worry about them.
Luo Li still believed in their strength and just wanted to remind them.
She stood up and prepared to go into the city to take a look.
The high-pressure deployment in recent days and the grief of last night made her spirit like a taut string.
She needed to leave the council hall temporarily, measure the land she swore to protect with her footsteps, and give her heavy heart a break.
The gorgeous decorations originally used for the celebration had long been removed, replaced by reinforced fortifications and flashing energy nodes.
Teams of spiritual patrols marched in neat steps, scanning every corner with sharp eyes.
Most of their armor still had dark marks that could not be washed off, which were the marks of blood and fire.
When they see Luo Li, they will stop, put their right hands on their chests, and perform a solemn warrior salute.
Luo Li nodded slightly in response, drawing strength from their tired yet remarkably determined eyes.
She strolled up the tall walls of the inner city, the cold wind blowing her long, dark hair and clothes.
From here, the entire City of the Gods can be seen. While the atmosphere in the civilian area is tense, there's no panic.
Young people assisted in carrying supplies in an orderly manner under the organization, while older people spontaneously lit incense sticks on the street corners. The curling smoke expressed grief for the deceased and blessings for the living.
The entire city is like a huge and sophisticated war machine. Under the huge threat, every gear is running hard and tenaciously in its own position.
Luo Li let out a breath and walked down the city wall.
On the streets of the city, the sadness of last night has not yet completely dissipated, but has been replaced by a tense and solemn atmosphere.
Luo Li walked around the corner and saw several young children standing on tiptoe to hang wreaths woven from spiritual herbs on the base of the monument.
The youngest child's fingers were cut by the grass, but he bit his lips and refused to cry. He just used his little hands covered in mud to gently smooth out the wrinkles on the wreath.
"Sister, will they come back?" The child raised his head, and Luo Li's shadow was reflected in his clear eyes.
Luo Li squatted down and gently wiped the tears from his cheeks: "They turned into stars in the sky and will watch over us forever."
She moved her fingertips slightly, and a gentle spiritual power wrapped around the child's wound. "When you grow up, you must be as brave as them."
The child nodded, seemingly understanding, then turned and ran towards his companions. His childish voice spread in the wind: "I want to be the most powerful spiritualist and drive away all the bad guys!"
Luo Li looked at their backs, a faint smile appearing on the corner of her lips, but it was quickly replaced by solemnity.
She raised her hand and placed it on the sword at her waist. The cold touch of the sword reminded her of the weight on her shoulders.
In this war, they lost too many people, but it was these losses that turned into the sharpest sword, hanging in the heart of every survivor.
Luo Li walked slowly along the street. When she turned the corner, a familiar scent of elixir wafted over.
The door of the medicine cabinet was open. An alchemist was throwing rare spiritual plants into the alchemy furnace. Several alchemy apprentices were running back and forth holding pottery jars, all of them looking very tired.
"Lord Luo Li," the alchemist raised his head and wiped the sweat off his face, "the medicine reserves are enough to sustain three large-scale battles, but..."
He paused, lowering his voice, "There are fewer and fewer apprentices who can help with the selection of spiritual plants."
Luo Li followed his gaze and looked towards the backyard of the medicine house, where there were more than a dozen small earthen graves newly built. On the wooden plaques stuck on the graves were written the names of those who had been busy in the medicine house not long ago.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, the pain making her more awake.
Yan Ye is not only devouring lives, but also destroying all vitality on this land.
Night fell again, and the lights in the City of Gods were sparser than last night, but more tragic.
No one stopped that night.
Luo Li stood on the stone steps in front of the council hall, looking at the waning moon cut by dark clouds in the sky, when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
"What are you thinking about?" Di Xuanming walked to her side, his icy eyes reflecting a faint light in the night.
Luo Li turned to look at him and said in a low voice: "I'm thinking, we must not lose this battle."
Di Xuanming was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to smooth over her clothes that were blown up by the night wind. His fingertips felt cool, yet strangely reassuring.
"We won't lose." His tone was calm, yet reassuringly firm. "The cornerstone of the City of Gods has never been the walls, but every person standing here."
Di Xuanming's words were like a calm rock, falling on Luo Li's turbulent heart.
"The cornerstone is people..." She repeated in a low voice, her eyes sweeping over the tiny figures still busy in the lights below, the not-so-powerful spiritual masters transporting supplies, the spiritual masters reinforcing the formation, the alchemists refining pills all night long, and the spiritual masters guarding the city patrolling in the night.
Every figure carries the weight of this city and the expectations of the deceased.
"You're right." Luo Li's voice became clearer, carrying a kind of settled power. "As long as people's hearts remain united, the Continent of the Gods will never truly fall."
She did not return to the meeting hall immediately. Di Xuanming's company gave her tense nerves a rare sense of relief.
The two walked side by side slowly on the silent city wall, the night wind lifted their clothes, making them rustle.
"Yan Ye's silence is more disturbing than his anger." Luo Li broke the silence and looked at the boundless darkness outside the city.
Emperor Xuanming's dark eyes were as deep as the abyss. "When an enemy comes, we will fight him. If he tries to use those dregs in his hands to consume us, it will only make our swords sharper."
He moved his fingertips slightly, and a wisp of extremely cold air condensed into a small, almost transparent ice crystal snowflake in the air, which then dissipated in an instant.
"Your reminder is very timely. Feng Yan and his men are not reckless and have already taken precautions. The other main cities are not pushovers either."
Luo Li nodded. Feng Yan, Yun Yi and the others were all strong men who had been tempered by blood and fire. She really didn't need to worry too much.
However, as the leader of the alliance, she must take all possibilities, even the worst ones, into consideration.
"Let's go," Di Xuanming stopped and said, "You need to rest. When Yan Ye makes a move again, that will be the real beginning."
Luo Li did not refute. The exhaustion from the past few days was indeed eroding her will.
She took one last look at the city that was still operating tenaciously under tremendous pressure, took a deep breath, turned around, and walked down the city wall with Di Xuanming.
Luo Li walked down the city wall but did not return directly to the council hall.
Di Xuanming's words made her feel a little relieved, but the heavy feeling did not ease at all.
She needed to confirm with her own eyes whether every link in the city was tight enough to withstand the coming storm.
She deliberately avoided the brightly lit main road and turned into the relatively quiet back alley of the residential area.
There is less solemnity of the patrol team here, and more of the fireworks of urban life, although this fireworks has been diluted by the haze of war.
Under the low eaves, the light coming through the windows is dim and warm, and one can faintly hear suppressed sobs or whispered prayers.
The air was filled with the fragrance of elixir mixed with a subtle smell of blood.
She saw a woman carefully sewing dried hemostatic grass into strips of cloth by the light of a dim oil lamp.
An old man, nearing the end of his life, was hunched over, mending a torn piece of leather armor, his movements slow but meticulous.
There were also a few half-grown children who, instead of playing like they did during the day, sat together, clumsily sharpening short daggers with whetstones, with a seriousness and persistence that was inconsistent with their age on their little faces.
People are the cornerstone.
Emperor Xuanming's words echoed again. These tiny, struggling efforts were the force that kept this city from collapsing.
Luo Li's footsteps became lighter, but a warm feeling surged in her heart. Protecting them, protecting these ordinary yet tenacious lives, was her mission that she could not shirk.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
