The solitary youth laughed at the hundreds who had surrounded him. He didn’t seem to care how badly he was outnumbered, instead he just swung his black saber to the right, the left, and then bent over backwards and swung his sword over himself. The three cutting arcs were completely invisible to those facing them, but from behind they were very easy to see as glowing black trails. The cuts smashed against the front lines of the three shield walls and knocked them all back a few feet. Armored boots slid across the dirt, the shields suffering heavy cut marks on their fronts as the second row of troops caught the first and took a few steps back until the third row of shields caught them.

Dozens of troops with shields locked together and supported by defensive Formation Array were blasted backwards in one strike. Just then, the formation caught up with what had happened. Many glowing scale-like shields faded away, having been instantly defeated by the blade attack a moment ago. The many soldiers let out a yell and the shattered scales instantly reformed, showing the adaptability and strength of the Million Scale Formation. The youth didn’t seem to care, his actions being extremely casual so far. After pushing back the forces on three sides he faced towards Qian De and thrust his arm straight up into the air. The black blade was extremely eye-catching, somehow looking more like a shaft of solid shadow than a piece of metal. He brought the blade down quickly and the Hoplites in front of Qian De braced themselves. On the opposite side, the members of the Jade Horde saw that no black line had formed and they wanted to call out, but they didn’t have enough time. The young man brought the saber down and then flicked his arm back upwards.

The troops in front of him were expecting an attack from the first downward slash and they braced themselves to defend against it. Many of them squeezing together to stop the vertical beam coming their way. Unfortunately for them, the slash did not come. The first downward stroke was only a feint and the tiny upward flourish at the end was the real attack. The arc of black light was much smaller than the earlier attacks. Instead of being a hundred yards wide to smash against a whole shield wall at the same time, it was now a vertical cut only a meter tall. The upward slash almost looked like it threw the black arc upwards, passing over the heads of the soldiers.

Like a ball being tossed, it followed an upward trajectory and then came right back down again. It passed harmlessly over the heads of the Jade Horde and then fell down onto the overly prideful groom. It sunk into his shoulder and split the man down to his waist. It penetrated halfway through Qian De, spilling blood everywhere, but not quite having enough force to tear him into two pieces. The youth with the saber cursed and then held up his thumb and index finger with just an inch between them, “Aww, I was -this- close to your heart. Shame!”

With how ruthless this enemy was, the Jade Horde stepped up their game. A few dozen of them squeezed in around Qian De, locking their shields together and building a turtle shell. Their shields were lifted up and locked over their heads to build a makeshift fortress. More of them formed up outside that core of shields and reinforced their Million Scale Formation. The youth swung his arm a few more times and the arcs of power smashed against this newly reformed formation without destroying it. Instead, Hoplites started to cycle in and out of the formation around Qian De, swapping places as their energy reserves were depleted.

“A battle of attrition, huh? Pathetic.”

He knew they were trying to use their numbers to overwhelm him. Even as strong as he was, his energy was limited. How could one person alone compare against hundreds of defending soldiers? It’s just too bad that none of them were strong enough. Numbers could only do so much. That said, this was just the sort of thing the Jade Horde was created to face off against. Using quantity to face quality. A wall of shields, formations, and strict discipline. The saber wielding youth was getting annoyed by the enemy. When he slashed his saber, the ones behind him would call out to those who couldn’t see the arc of energy and tell them where it was going.

Fed up and feeling the pressure from all sides, the youth escaped from the gradually tightening wall of shields. He leapt into the air and then kicked his foot. It was like there was something there that nobody else could see, his foot stopped in mid-air and then his body was launched higher. Then, he did it again. Then again after that. Kicking off nothing but empty air and leaping into the sky. The Jade Horde got noisy again and many near the back rows pulled out large crossbows. They use their halberds as a stand, propping up the fronts and aiming into the air at the youth leaping upwards.

Thrup! Thrup! Thrup!

Bolts flew into the air in waves, covering the sky with fast moving projectiles. The youth in the air changed the strength of his ascent and stuttered in mid-air, dodging the first couple volleys that were aimed at where he was going. At the same time he slashed at the air beside him. Just like the world itself was nothing more than a painting, it tore wide open. A rough rip was torn in the sky, revealing a black emptiness, one to which the youth kicked his foot and dove into. The crossbow bolts flew past the rip as if it wasn’t there, like they were part of the painting and the rip was in the canvas. For them, it was like the rip wasn’t even there. A few more volleys shot into the sky, and then there was a strange trilling cry when ten winged silver lizards flew over from afar and started to circle around the tear. The flying geckos had riders on their backs, dressed in the standard black and green of the Jade Horde.

Down on the ground, things were still in chaos. The enemy had disappeared, but no one knew where he’d gone. Qian De was sliced open and his ribs nearly cleaved through. Others were wrapping him up with Blood Drinking Silk and shoving a handful of medicinal pills into his mouth. Hoplites were surrounding him in many layered circles, overlapping Formation Arrays, physical shields, and even their own bodies. Half of the troops had already started to disperse into smaller squads to patrol the grounds, breaking up the beautiful scene of falling purple flower petals with armored soldiers in a bold green color. Unable to figure out what was going on, one of the Vulture Geckos in the sky flew into the rip.

Crossbow bolts went past the rip without any effect, but the Vulture Gecko was luckier. Or unlucky, as things went. When it flew into the rip, its wings were shorn clean off. The lizard larger than a horse was too big to fit and that unlucky Hoplite’s friends gasped at the result. Giant silver scaled gecko feet, leathery wings, and a single tuft of hair tumbled from the sky. The rider was too tall to fit through and the top half of his head had suffered the same fate as the Vulture Gecko’s wings. It made for quite the gruesome scene, the body parts splattering onto the ground and leaving the other gecko riders terrified. Of course, orders were orders and the second rider was more cautious. He ducked down, laying tight against the gecko’s back, and the gecko pulled in its wings and feet, diving into the rip like a missile.

The second rider was gone. After a few minutes, another rider was sent inside and then the rip suddenly closed. One of the Jade Horde on the ground timed it as being open for exactly 8 minutes. After the rip disappeared things gradually began to calm down. The wedding reception had been thoroughly ruined and the person who caused it all had disappeared without a trace. The guests received apologies and the whole event was delayed a few hours while the forest grove was cleaned up and the groom’s wounds were tended. They arrogantly declared that no one would be allowed to stop the wedding reception of the Great Qian De, one of the Seven Stars!