I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

He clutched the wound under his armpit and retreated to the rear of the army. "You three killed three thousand of my men?"

Qin Yuan rose from the ruins, a chunk of his chest caved in, his right arm trembling, but he stood up. Muddy crawled out of the pile of bricks, half his face covered in blood, his right hand still clutching the black knife. Yuan stood rooted to the spot, his hand empty of powder, his fingers still trembling.

Qin Yuan said, "Let's give it a try."

In the distance, torches lit up the darkness. Not just one, but hundreds. They formed a line, moving closer and closer. Leading the way was Li Qing; her crutch was gone, her left leg was weak, and she hopped forward on one leg, leaning on a shovel in her right hand. Behind her were miners carrying picks, hoes, and shovels; they wore no armor, no helmets, some were barefoot. Three hundred miners—some dug coal underground, some mined ore underground, and some dug out to fight.

The Eternal Night Army stirred slightly, but did not descend into chaos. He raised his hand in a gesture of respect, indicating that the army should remain calm.

Flames also lit up the flank. Lin Qing'er led the Mutual Aid Society members out from the right, her short sword covered in black blood, her face splattered with blood, and bandages hanging from her ears, fluttering in the wind. She had a fever, and the wound on her ear was inflamed, but she didn't stop.

The members of the Mutual Aid Society used a strange weapon—a net woven from taro roots. The net was rough, with large holes, but extremely resilient. They hurled the net at the feet of the Eternal Night Army. The black blades could absorb spiritual energy, but not the taro. The Eternal Night Army's feet became entangled, causing them to fall. Those behind stepped on them, while those in front struggled to their feet, only to fall again.

The miners rushed forward. Li Qingyi slammed her shovel into the neck of a Night Elf soldier; the blade became stuck in the bone and couldn't be pulled out. She dropped the shovel, picked up a black knife from the ground, stood on one leg, and swung the knife. Her left leg was dripping blood, and the scab from an old wound had burst open.

Qin Yuan gripped his sword again. His left arm was completely immobile, and the web between his thumb and forefinger of his right hand was split open, making each grip of the sword feel like a knife cutting into him. He held the sword with his right hand, the tip pointing towards the void.

"Your opponent is me."

Hollow ignored him. He grabbed a wounded member of the mutual aid society—the man's leg had been severed, and he was crawling on the ground. Hollow grabbed him by the neck with one hand and lifted him up. The wounded man kicked and struggled, making gurgling sounds in his throat. In front of everyone, Hollow snapped the wounded man's neck. The sound of bones breaking was crisp and clear, heard by everyone on the battlefield. Hollow threw the body on the ground like a piece of trash.

Qin Yuan charged forward. He wasn't fast, and his right leg ached, but he pressed on. The sword blade clashed against the Void's scales, sending black sparks flying. The Void struck Qin Yuan's left ribs with a palm strike; Qin Yuan blocked it with his left elbow, but a fragment of his shoulder blade pierced his muscle, causing him excruciating pain. He didn't retreat.

Mud Egg scrambled to his feet, picked up a rock, and smashed it into the back of Xu's head. The rock shattered, Xu's head lurched forward, and all six of his eyes closed for a moment. Qin Yuan's sword pierced Xu's neck, the blade penetrating two inches. Xu slapped him away and stepped back.

Black blood flowed down Xu's neck. He touched his neck, looking at the blood on his fingers. "Retreat."

The Night Army began to retreat, not in retreat, but in a neat and organized manner. They carried the wounded, gathered the corpses, and retreated into the darkness like a tide.

Qin Yuan knelt on the ground, his sword embedded in the soil in his right hand, supporting his body. Mud Egg sat beside him, blood from his chest already soaking down to his waistband. Yuan stood behind them, his grey-rimmed eyes fixed on the direction where the Eternal Night Army had disappeared, his fingers still trembling.

Li Qing limped over and tossed the black knife at Qin Yuan's feet. "They'll be back."

Qin Yuan said, "I know."

Mud Egg lay in the makeshift tent, his shirt cut open, the wound on his chest resembling an open mouth, revealing the bone inside. Three ribs were broken, the cuts white with sharp edges. His lungs protruded from the wound, contracting with each breath.

Lin Qing'er squatted beside him, her fingers reaching into the wound. Nidan bit down on the stick. She reset the broken bone, pressed her hand against his lung, and pushed it back in. A sound came from Nidan's throat, not a scream, but a muffled growl like a cow.

There was no anesthetic. Only a bowl of strong liquor. Lin Qing'er washed her hands with the liquor and then used it to disinfect Ni Dan's wound. The alcohol seeped into his flesh, and Ni Dan bit through the first layer of the wooden stick, his teeth sinking into the wood. He passed out. He woke up a few breaths later because Lin Qing'er was using a red-hot iron to cauterize his wound and stop the bleeding. The iron hissed against the flesh, emitting a puff of smoke. Ni Dan passed out again.

When she woke up for the third time, the wound had already been stitched up. Lin Qing'er was tying a knot; the thread was ordinary cotton thread, taken from the mutual aid society's tent. Her fingers were trembling, but her knotting movements were steady.

Muddy's lips were white, chapped, and streaked with blood. "Who cares about the taro fields?"

Li Qing sat in the corner of the tent, peeling taro with one hand. She held the taro between her knees, and with a knife in her right hand, she peeled it slice by slice. The skin was thick, and a lot of the flesh was peeled away, but she didn't care.

"I don't care. You lie down."

Mud Egg closed his eyes. His chest was wrapped in bandages, with blood seeping out in circles, like the rings of a tree.

Qin Yuan entered the tent, his body wrapped in more bandages than Ni Dan's. He sat down next to Ni Dan, picked up a taro that Li Qing had peeled, and instead of eating it, twirled it in his hand.

"Are you still going to hit me?"

Mud Egg opened his eyes. "Attack."

The airship was small, unable to hold thirty-one people. Qin Yuan stood at the bow, Lin Qing'er beside him, and Yuan squatted at the stern. The twenty-eight suicide squad members were crammed in the middle, some sitting, some squatting, and some leaning against the side of the ship. No one spoke.

Li Qing stood on the shore, his cane under his arm, watching the flying boat sail into the Void Sea. The flying boat went further and further away, and the people on the shore became smaller and smaller. Li Qing remained standing there until the flying boat became a black dot.

The Void Sea was calm, without wind or waves. The water was black, unreflective, like a giant inkstone. The flying boat glided across the surface, leaving no trace. Yuan crouched at the stern, his eyes closed. His senses stretched forward like a thread, piercing the Void Sea, through the darkness, pointing towards the City of Eternal Night.

"How much further?" Qin Yuan asked.

"Three days," Yuan said, opening his eyes. "If the sea serpents don't eat us."

The sea serpent appeared first. Its underwater shadow emerged, ten, a hundred, a thousand times larger than the flying boat. The shadow swept past the hull, causing the flying boat to lurch and several people nearly falling into the sea. Qin Yuan held onto the side of the boat to steady it.

The sea serpent's head emerged from the water. It had seven eyes, arranged in two rows; the top eye was red, and the six below were green. Its mouth was wide open, large enough to fit an entire airship between its upper and lower jaws. Its teeth were black, barbed, and each was as long as Qin Yuan's arm.