Part 4 · Chapters
One Against Thousands
True protection gives everyone the chance to stand side by side.
One person stood in the gate. A thousand weapons on the walls pointed at him. Xiao Jin did not retreat.
Thousands of soldiers stretched to the horizon.
Lava war beasts wore heavy armor. Giant flame cannons stood before the ranks, and elite fighters of the Heroes' Academy hovered in the air. Banners formed a crimson sea. Every weapon aimed at the gray-clad boy in the center of the gate.
Xiao Jin walked outside.
Shuang Ya, Feng Ling, and Yan Pan tried to follow, but he raised a hand. “Protect the people inside. This mustn't become a real battle.”
A final command came from the army.
“Traitor! Stand aside!”
Xiao Jin planted the iron staff in the ground.
“No.”
The first cannon volley covered the sky.
The Guardian Field glowed like an upturned reddish lampshade, laughably small before the army. As the barrage struck, the earth sank beneath it. Cracks instantly covered Xiao Jin's Heartflame Armor. Blood ran from his nose and mouth.
He did not strike back.
Next came the lava beasts' charge. Xiao Jin used Ash Step to slip through them, cutting saddles and control cords, then sent their fire into the empty sky with Flame Return. Freed of their restraints, the beasts scattered to either side.
The elite heroes surrounded him. He knocked down weapons without injuring bodies. When the giant cannons aimed at civilians inside the city, he took their fire on his field.
Each time he blocked a hit, the armor shattered.
Each time it shattered, he lit it again.
“How long do you think you can hold us alone?” the commander shouted.
Xiao Jin propped himself up with the staff. “Until you're willing to listen.”
The army advanced again. The soldiers were not evil. They had been told the Frost people stole their home's warmth, and that the boy before them was a traitor. The more Xiao Jin refused to retaliate, the more their attacks faltered. Yet orders from the rear kept driving them forward.
A fire spear pierced the fractured field and entered Xiao Jin's shoulder.
As it struck, he saw the command tower at the back of the army light up again.
Orders came one after another.
“Advance.”
“Reload.”
“Disobedience will be treated as rebellion.”
A soldier in the front rank lowered his spear half an inch. A battle supervisor's fire whip immediately cracked against the ground behind him. The soldier raised it again, his hands trembling harder than Xiao Jin's.
Three short thunderclaps and one long one sounded from the ridge.
Lei Ze knelt on one knee and braced his lance. His line of aim passed over the army to the unmanned giant cannon turning toward the civilians inside.
“Star-Piercing Thunder Cannon.”
A blue-white beam pierced the cannon's core. Metal burst apart overhead. Not one bolt struck a soldier.
Lei Ze lowered the muzzle.
“I can stop the cannon for you.” His voice carried through the storm. “But whether they lay down their weapons shouldn't be my decision.”
Xiao Jin could hold himself up no longer. He sank to one knee in the scorched earth.
Just then, footsteps came from behind the gate.
Xiao Hui walked up behind him. He carried no weapon, only the black emblem.
“Go back,” Xiao Jin said quietly.
Xiao Hui shook his head.
“You used to stand in front of me.” Facing the army, his legs shook, but his voice carried far. “This time, I'll stand with you.”
The old craftsman came second.
Years earlier, Xiao Jin and Xiao Hui had dragged him from the ruins. Now, leaning on an iron walking stick, he took his place behind Xiao Jin.
Third came a worker from the coal-armored beast incident.
Then the Ash District's residents came through the gate, one after another. Some held shovels; others came empty-handed. They had no strength to withstand an army. They simply refused to keep silent again, as they had when Xiao Jin was trampled into the coal dust.
The Valley of Wind caravan raised a blue-green flag. Earth villagers brought stone shields. Rescued refugees gathered beside Shuang Ya. Even the storm eagle circled overhead.
Yan Tuo stepped from the crowd, leading his fire wolf.
“I'm not helping you,” he said stiffly. “I'm just not interested in fighting for liars.”
Xiao Jin smiled a little. “You can keep telling yourself that.”
Unease spread through the ranks.
Lie Ang climbed onto the wall. He wore his guard captain's badge, but turned his blade toward the council's military overseer.
“Flame Guards, cease the attack.”
The overseer bellowed, “You would defy orders?”
Lie Ang looked at the blood-covered boy who had still not harmed a single soldier.
“No,” he said. “I'm finally carrying out a guard's duty.”
When the first weapon lowered, no one had ordered it.
Then a second lowered. Then a third.
Gaps opened in the guard lines. Once-uniform spear tips gradually lost their direction.
No single person had defeated the army.
More and more people were simply choosing, for themselves, not to cause further harm.
At that moment, the Frost army's angry shouts rose from the border.
Years of fear, suspicion, and hatred between the nations passed through the earth and gathered in the sky.
The clouds split.
A giant hand made of black mist reached out.