While King was injuring himself showing off, and Ruanfu was triumphing against the odds, Sage was facing off the same number of enemies as the both of them combined. He was already cursing inwardly at how unreliable the bird folk were being. He’d thought having an audience would make them perform better, but it instead distracted them. King had let himself get injured against much weaker enemies by being careless, but Sage didn’t have that luxury. There were still people that needed saving and afterwards they still had to escape from this place.

He swept the Halberd around his body, rotating it in smooth circles to build a buffer around himself. The haft was currently around ten feet long, giving him a great amount of reach without restricting him too greatly. If he made it longer it would become too easy to catch on the ceiling and reduce his options. While spinning the polearm around, he was also using the Spirit Strings to puppeteer his wires, setting little snares and loops around him on the ground. The technique let him manipulate cable like it was the body of a snake, writhing and twisting through the air or across the ground, and it was something he had found in the auxiliary techniques of the Timeless Master’s library. It allowed him to use multiple whip and rope techniques at the same time, or as he was doing now, to use them without his hands. Instead of having to manipulate the rope with just the right flick of the wrist, twist of the hand, or twitch of the fingers; all the maneuvers could be completed with the infusion of Spirit Power.

He used the halberd to fight off the trio of rank 4 enemies while his cables snaked their way among the weaker foes. As the fight progressed the pressure they put upon him increased and he had to shorter the haft of the Halberd. They surrounded him and pushed closer, forcing him to fight at lesser and lesser range. If his weapon was too long they could rush past the business end and it would be useless. His enemies grew more bold as they pushed closer and closer, feeling it was only a matter of time until he ran out of room.

One of them had a large hammer, another had a saber, and the third carried a long knife glistening with a green liquid. The hammer wielder attacked directly, trying to knock him off balance. The one with the saber acted in unison with the hammer, attacking from the side to disrupt Sage’s attempts to block or dodge, his blade leaving a few nicks and cuts on Sage’s limbs in the process. The man with the dagger was the most dangerous, constantly circling around to Sage’s rear and looking for an opportunity to strike with his venomous weapon. The third man had not even taken a single attempt to attack yet, instead waiting patiently just out of range like a scorpion poised to sting.

What they didn’t realize was that they weren’t the only ones laying a trap. The three of them encircled him and their subordinates formed a ring around them, pointing their weapons inward and creating a small battlefield or arena. When Sage tried to escape the encirclement of the three powerful foes, he faced the wall of weaker enemies, forcing him to stay near the center of the circle where the trio of rank 4 cultivators could surround him again. It looked like he was very much in trouble, but that’s only because nobody noticed the wires snaking around their arms and legs. With a decisive look in his eyes, Sage shortened the Halberd and spun it once in a vertical circle catching the two wires and looping them around the haft. Then he stabbed the speartip into the ground, sinking it through the floorboards and anchoring it.

There was a low whirring sound coming from his bracers as they retracted the cable, pulling in the slack as he took a step back and rotated his upper body, spinning in place like a top. Doing a full rotation and then pulling with both hands like he was swinging a bat, the double handed spin pulling the last bit of slack in around his shoulder with violent speed to prevent his enemies from escaping the trap. The leading hands and legs of those surrounding him, all the weaker Slavers, were trapped in wire and then pulled together. Their elbows and knees were tied tightly, the thin cables digging into their flesh as half of them were knocked down.

The man with the hammer brought it down with a heavy overhanded smash, aiming for Sage’s now weaponless figure. Even though he looked like he was in a compromised position, Sage had already seen this series of actions with his Foresight and he smoothly somersaulted towards the hammer, rolling under the hammer and passing perfect by the man’s side. Then he lifted his arms, using Spirit Strings to perfectly catch the cables around the head of the hammer, using the man as another fulcrum along with the haft of the Halberd. He rolled a second time, avoiding the strike of the saber, but putting him closer to the man with the dagger.

The other two smiled, seeing the poisonous knife moving towards Sage’s back, but then suddenly the man froze in place. Venom coated dagger held out in front of him, but stuck in place like a statue. At least for an instant. In that instant, Sage dashed away, just before the man started moving again and struck thin air. Only he knew that he was currently undergoing a battle in his spiritual sea, Sage’s Twin Soul was assaulting him. The move gave Sage enough time to reach the Halberd and loop the cables around it a second time, completing a makeshift block and tackle between it and the other enemies hammer. He gave his enemies a little smile and then pulled hard, combining the retracting motors with his own strength and the multiplication of force from a set of pulleys to pull the cables clean through enemy limbs.

The man with the hammer thought Sage was trying to disarm him, feeling a force pulling the hammer out of his hands. He stood his ground and held tight. At the same time, the nearest Slavers in the outer encirclement were pulled towards the Halberd. When the man’s knee and elbow touched against the metal it was over. With the haft of the halberd as a block, the wire sliced right through his flesh and bone. The encircling enemies were all pulled tighter together, knocking into the stronger foes and turning the area into a pile of bodies.

Sage leaped into the air, flipping over and loosening his Human Seal. The symbol on his forehead lit up when his feet touched against the ceiling. The power of the Viridian Gecko kicked in and stuck him there. He turned his head back, tilting back towards the ground and opening his mouth. He used the same ability that he had back on Hei Bai, summoning a bit of the First Light and using Divine Breath to create a cone of white flames. Bathing the Slavers with a shower of fire. He had to pile them all together as closely as possible before doing this, because he wanted to prevent the flames from hitting any of the trapped prisoners. Pulling them into a big clump and firing a cone from above was the most controlled method he could think of.

The Steelsilk cables were already starting to melt in the flames, but he used the last little surge of spirit power in the wires to whip the ends of them back towards himself. The tiny claws on the end of each cable were small magic devices and after retrieving them he could attach it to new lines later. Each Web Bracer had more than one cable and launcher inside them, kept in a storage space and ready for the almost certain outcome of having a foe sever the wires in battle.

Each of the three groups: King and the five women, Ruanfu and Wanqian Lei, and Sage himself, had finished their fights. Unfortunately, a large group of new Slavers were already crowding in from the entrance on either end of the room.