Chapter 72: The Aftermath
Ning'Er stood over the pale corpse of the Demon Lord, feeling a heaviness in her heart as she looked at the bloody face of someone who had been an ally in her past life. Although she had never trusted him, he had fought alongside her and her closest friends against an even greater enemy, the Sage Emperor.
It had been a difficult decision to make, and had tested her conviction about whether the ends justified the means. Should she have allowed this man consumed by evil, and his need for revenge and power, to escape so that he could be a future support to the unstoppable enemy that lay ahead?
No.
Even if it cost her the ultimate battle against the Sage Emperor, she would not abandon her principles in the journey towards this end goal. She would do everything in her power to protect those she cared for in every single day that passed.
She looked around and saw that the chaotic battle was coming to an end. The result was predictably determined from the moment that Ye Shuo freed himself from controlling the array, and with Ye Xiu supporting Liangshu, three Legend Ranked experts had no problems rounding up the twenty over Black Gold experts from the Dark Guild.
They had even managed to capture seven of them alive to be interrogated in the near future. Ning'Er knew that once they investigated the identities of those in this group, they would find some from the Sacred Family.
Her eyes glimmered with cold intent as she thought to herself, 'It's time to tighten the noose on this backstabbing family.'
"Liangshu, Ye Shuo! Stay in the city to coordinate the damage and injuries from the bombs that have gone off, and stay alert for any other secret actions by the Dark Guild. Ye Xiu, check with Ye Zong on the status on the frontlines if he's available to update us." Ning'Er instructed.
There was a tinge of surprise from Liangshu at the direct tone this young lady was taking with three of the most powerful men in the city but when he saw that Ye Xiu and Ye Shuo had no problems with it, he shrugged with a grin and went along with what she said.
After a few minutes, Ye Xiu had contacted Ye Zong and shared with Ning'Er the information he had received.
"The Southern wall is effectively repelling the demon horde and there doesn't seem to be any more Legend Ranked demon beasts attacking, so Ye Zong and your grandpa are cutting through them easily. They've already cleared 60 percent of those attacking there, and the beasts look like they're ready to turn tail and run!"
He continued, "The other three walls have been successfully defended as well. Interestingly, the Eastern defences retreated a few layers inwards and quite a bit of infrastructure was destroyed. Apparently, the Sacred Sect's forces were far weaker than they were supposed to be…They didn't have a lot of casualties but had a lot of buildings and walls destroyed."
Ye Xiu sighed. "Looks like the greatest casualties came from our Southern walls. The demon horde seems to have focused around 80 percent of their forces there, along with their Legend Ranked beasts. It's the most accessible point for them, fortunately we managed to hold them off."
He turned to her and bowed his head in honour. "Thank you, Ning'Er…for your part in today's deadly invasion. You played no small part in our efforts to defend our city."
She looked at him directly in his eyes with an unwavering gaze. "We all did our part. Many gave their lives. We owe every soldier our gratitude today."
She looked towards the direction of a building still had smoke pouring out from the bombs that had gone off, and spoke to no one in particular, "There's so much more we have to do…"
After a moment, she suddenly snapped her gaze back to Ye Xiu, "I'm going to head over to the medical center to check on my friends. There were heavily injured."
He nodded and replied, "I'll accompany you and then head back to support Ye Zong once you're there. It's on the way."
…..
"Zhang Ming, how're they doing?" Ning'Er asked her friend. The five lying in the beds were all knocked out from the medication they had taken, and from the exertions of the day.
"Ziyun has a concussion and fractured skull. Yang Xin and Duan Jian both have broken ribs which pierced their lungs, in addition to his dislocated knee. Du Ze has a shattered collarbone and dislocated shoulder, and Linjian has multiple fractures on his arms and legs." Zhang Ming grimly updated.
He continued, "But they're all out of the danger zone, there's no risk to their lives. It was fortunate that they all had Nine Transformation Pills within a short time of their injuries, and I managed to treat them soon after as well with my Azure Stingray. They will need a recovery period of one to three months before they can be back in action."
"Thanks, Zhang Ming. How are you doing?" she asked, seeing his pale and tired face. He had obviously exerted a lot of soul force and focus to treat their friends.
"I'm OK...I just need a few nights of rest and cultivation to replenish the energy and soul force that I've expended. Our friends...they sacrificed far more than me." He said wistfully, wishing that he could have fought more on the front lines with his close comrades.
"Don't worry Zhang Ming, we each have our part to play. You have already saved so many lives with your treatments, and you are an invaluable part of any team. A medic is as important in battle as a warrior, and your battle capability is not too low either. Don't compare with these guys, you're already far ahead than your other peers in the Orchid Institute." she assured him.
His face showed a renewed resolve as he thought fiercely to himself, 'I'll grow strong enough to both battle to protect my friends and family, and treat them as a medic!'
At this moment, Nie Li and Lu Piao ran in, out of breath, with worried expressions on their faces.
"How're they??"
Zhang Ming updated them on the state of their friends, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief as they heard that no lives were at risk.
"Nie Li, how was the situation at the northern border? Did you notice anything unusual?" Ning'Er asked after their inquiries were answered.
"The preparations you had put in place were more than enough to defend the two million demon beasts that attacked from the north. Those Du weapons are amazing...and the alchemist concoctions were incredibly effective against the Snow Wind beasts!" Nie Li excitedly told her.
Lu Piao chipped in proudly, "We didn't lose a single soldier. The demon beasts couldn't even get close before we wiped them out. Any stronger beasts that slipped through were handily destroyed by Nie Li and yours truly...as well as the Black Gold experts of the Huyan Family and the Alchemist Association. They couldn't last a second against my banshee scream."
Ning'Er couldn't help but giggle at Lu Piao's unashamed boasting. Despite the losses they had faced today, she was reminded that she still had those she treasured most around her. She slapped Lu Piao jokingly at the back of his head, "You're just lucky none of the Legend Ranked beasts attacked your section, if not you'd be in a whole world of trouble!"
Nie Li and Lu Piao's eyes turned serious as they looked at the broken bodies of their friends lying in the hospital beds. They knew how powerful their friends were, and knew that Ning'Er's words were not spoken in jest. There was a fire in their eyes as they realised once again that they needed more strength.
Absolute power was the only guarantee to protect their loved ones!
.....
That night, Ning'Er sat on her bed, feeling completely exhausted from the day. A 20-million strong demon beast horde was beyond her expectations, on top of the invasion coming far sooner than in her life's timeline.
She had an important decision to make.
In around six months, the next disciple selection for the Lord of Nether would take place. This was a key window that she was afraid to miss, but from past experience, she knew that Glory City had many more strong enemies that she had not properly prepared the city for yet. Even Nie Li had not built up the city's strength sufficiently in the past before placing his attention on the Draconic Ruins Realm.
There were still the five hidden demonic beasts exceeding Legend Rank which had attacked the city after the seal on Tiny World was broken. There were the immensely powerful clans and families in the fifteen cities of the Nether Realm waiting in the wings to swoop in if they ever discovered the existence of Glory City...and they inevitably would.
There were also the savage vagrant tribes of the Eastern Desert that stretched many times larger than the St. Ancestral Mountains. And there were the giant races occupying the Barren Lands and Plains far to the West.
Her head hurt to think about the threats which existed to those she cared for. She had helped to build a foundation for many more strong experts to develop from the younger generation, with the sects, high level cultivation methods, and ancient alchemy recipes.
She had started the process of developing powerful weaponry through the blueprints she had given the Du Family. Even the existing Legend Ranked experts had broken through in some way because of her contribution.
And in absolute emergencies, the Ten Thousand Demonic Beast Array provided a place to retreat to, as well as a convenient location to escape to the Abyss Prison Realm. But ultimately, Ning'Er knew that it would require experts who were well beyond Legend Rank in order to give Glory City a better chance for long-term survival.
Should she take the time to build up the defences and strength of the city to a safer level, but risk missing the Lord of Nether's disciple selection? She could still enter into the Draconic Ruins Realm five years later when the portal between Tiny World and this realm opened, and find a different method to join a sect.
The only problem was that the path would not be straightforward, and would definitely be far more complex. The benefit was that in Tiny World, the powerful seal in place would hide any of Ning'Er's activities from the Sage Emperor no matter how strong she became, which would help her avoid a considerable amount of attention while growing in power.
In the grand scheme of things, these five years were insignificant. There were still 500 years left before the Sage Emperor would refine this realm according to the Winged Lightning Dragon. And she had already started to significantly splinter away from her previous life's timeline by killing the Demon Lord.
As much as she knew she needed to walk her own path, this would fully set her on a completely different trajectory than Nie Li's decisions had in the past, and knowing this frightened her greatly.
The image of her friends lying the hospital bed came to her. The memory of her beloved grandma stabbed her heart. The sickly body of her grandfather before he recovered stuck in her mind.
She knew what she should do.
From this day onward, she would blaze a completely new trail!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AerynSun
AerynSun Thinking to take the story in a different direction. What do you all think? :)
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