Headed by a Snake

⟬ Many suns later... ⟭

Jiang Wang Lei's eyes shot open.

It was so quiet that he wondered whether he was alive or dead.

He got to his feet, his body responsive but his mind still fogged...

Looking out upon the bay, the nighttime waters deathly still, reluctantly reflecting the dim silver stars in the sky.

"No..." He whispered... "No no no... this isn't right."

For the first time in the history of the sect... the moon was nowhere to be seen.

It was an ill omen...

He worried if he-- or their sect, rather... if they'd done something to displease her?

What could have been so terrible that she forsake them in their time of need?

Wang Lei willed his numbed body towards the beach. He bounded over rocks, flipped and ran along the branches of a tall tree and landed amongst his allies.

His people... his sect... his brothers and sisters in arms, his peers, his underclassmen, his rivals... over a hundred Sect Martialists stood upon the beach... an unmoving, ever-vigilant line of battle-tested warriors.

Each and every one were tried in the Divine Realm underneath Moon Crescent Isle. Some veterans and elders had even adventured in the Outside world.

Wang Lei, himself, was no different.

The blood of hundreds of bloodthirsty beasts... raging ghosts... and many-limbed monsters were on his hands.

Men and women he'd fought alongside, trained with... and cared for-- too many were lost under his command.

The Hidden Lake sect was one of the most powerful Hidden Sects in the Realm... only rivaled by the Legendary Phoenix sect in the east.

The Martialists under Wang Lei's control had over five thousand years of experience...

Yet with all their power, he could not understand... why he was afraid.

"Yo... ho..."

A single male voice... sounded, deep and low... ten thousand ripples crossing the mirror-surface of the ocean waters.

"All... hands..."

The voice, then... it multiplied countless times.

Rumbling, gargling voices.

They sounded not of men... but of monsters.

"Hooooist... da co~lorrrs... hiiiiigh..."

Wang Lei felt the blood drain from his face... and from his quavering hands.

A cold burning gnawed a hole in the pit of his stomach.

They emerged from the sea.

Ten... then dozens...

"Heave... ho... thieves and sinners..."

Giant... brutes of men... their skin made of pockmarked stone.

...warriors, all of them... carrying wicked foreign weapons.

They walked over the surface of the water... like gods.

"Never... shall... we die..."

"Brothers and sisters of the Hidden Lake sect!!" Wang Lei circulated his chi, screaming at the top of his lungs, "The enemy has appeared at our shores!!"

None answered his warcry.

As loud as he shouted... as much panic as he revealed in his heart... his words came at barely a whisper.

They were drowned out by a hundred voices... the voices of the enemy.

"Yooooo... Hooo... ALLLL... HAAANDS..."

Wang Lei grabbed onto the collar of one of his men, waving a hand in front of their eyes, "Brother? Answer me!"

The man's dark eyes saw to the ends of the Realm. They were filled with fear... regret... and despair.

"HOOOOIST da COOO~Lorrrrs HIIIGH!!!"

They were the same emotions coursing through Wang Lei's heart.

Enemies approached their shores... monsters with stone bodies, steel weapons, and evil in their hearts.

It was a time when courage was needed most. Without it... their defeat was inevitable.

Lei snapped his head to the side-- Zhou Jun Ping! If anyone could break out of the enemy's spell, it would be him.

"Zhou!" He yelled his old friend's name as he approached... shaking the stunned Martialist by the shoulders, "Wake up! Where is my sister? Where is Ying Yue?!?"

Jun Ping only opened his mouth to babble... "We... can't win."

"It doesn't MATTER whether or not we can win!" Wang Lei shouted, "We need to buy time for the Venerable Ancestor to be summoned-- or for Ying Yue-- or my father!!"

Jun Ping shut his eyes... tears of cowardice streaming down his cheeks, "No, Wang Lei... escape from this place... Tell my wife... that I am sorry."

"Tell her your-SELF!!" Wang Lei shoved Jun Ping away.

"HEAAAVE HOOOO~" Came the song, "RAAAPE AND MURDERRRR!!!"

Wang Lei grit his teeth and snatched his ringed saber off of his back, "Fine! I will be the first to fight."

He pointed his blade towards the still waters... and at the most gargantuan enemy.

The bestial creature stood nearly two men tall, his intentions clear in his beady-eyed gaze.

"Never... shall... we die..." It grinned.

"GRAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Wang Lei dashed forward, leaping up into the sky... almost high enough to reach the stars.

He brought his sword... plummeting down with his strongest attack, "⌈Meteor DIIIIVE!!!⌋"

**CLANG**

The sound echoed painfully in Wang Lei's ears... his saber bent beyond recognition.

The monster's skin was of reef-stone... but it was blessed by dark gods to be stronger than armor.

The creature didn't even move. He kept walking... his bellowing voice still lifted... strengthening the wills of the enemy and sapping that of Lie's allies.

Wang Lei splashed into the waist deep water, landing awkwardly in the sand...

Flipping to his feet and sending the black waters high, he leapt up to strike the creature in the back, "⌈Moon Crescent KICK!!!⌋"

A magnificent wave shot up from behind the creature, such was the force.

But... it did nothing to cease the monster's stride... to soften its song.

One of Wang Lei's strongest attacks... was no more bothersome than the bite of an insect.

"Not enough!!" Wang Lei dashed to the creature's side and began to swing his fists with reckless abandon, "⌈Seven-Star Assault!!!⌋"

**PAP**

The creature didn't even use his weapon. A simple, straight-forward backhand launched Wang Lei back into the waters. With his face swelling, he choked and sputtered out the saltwater he took in...

"No... All... my training... is useless?" He sobbed.

The monsters made it to the beach... still singing their accursed dirge.

"NOOOO!!!" Wang Lei yelled, splashing through the waters... tripping and falling to his hands and knees.

The enemy lifted their weapons-- axes and swords... knives and clubs.

The Martialists of the Hidden Lake sect shut their eyes... and accepted their fates.

"FIGHT BACK, DAMN YOU!!!" Wang Lei punched at the waters...

The sounds of flesh being torn rang in his ears... of bones being broken... blood gargling in cut throats.

And still... the enemy sang...

"Never... shall... we die..."

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