578: A New Sword Art

A New Sword Art

"...Lunar Storm? The Lunar Storm Sword Art?" she muttered. 

Ming Yue repeated those words a few more times. The more she did, the more her expression seemed to relax, 

"That's not a bad name, Lunar Storm Sword Art or Lunar Storm for short."

Her face soon turned into one of satisfaction as she began to like the name even more. 

"Alright, Lunar Storm, the name of this new sword art!"

She thought proudly to herself until Xue Yue was about to say something.

"This..."

Ming Yue stopped in her tracks, waiting for her counterpart to say something. She was quiet.

"It sounds pretty good, Lunar Storm Sword, I like it."

Xue Yue told her this, giving the young woman relief. Ming Yue even audibly breathed out, able to relax. 

"Lunar Storm, it is!"

Finally coming up with a name, she had a bright expression and her eyes were filled with excitement. And the busy days continued, filled with nothing but training in the morning and cultivating during the day and night. 

However, she didn't forget her other duties, clearing out the underground roots, checking the border around their home, and tending to the garden. Ming Yue set aside time for all of this but it didn't take long for her to notice all the progress, she had made

Part of that reason was because of Hongyu and the daily sparring.

At the end of one session, Ming Yue looked at the branch she had been using against the little girl. 

"I didn't sense it before but I'm getting quite comfortable with this branch. I should move on to something different. Maybe a twig or a leaf?" she thought to herself. 

She then looked past the branch and down at the ground under her feet. Her eyes scanned the area before bending down, plucking something out of the dirt. Holding it up before her, Ming Yue studied it. 

"Grass... It's not called a blade of grass for nothing, I guess. Very different from a branch but..."

The blade of grass was thin and curved down, fluttering under a gentle breeze. In that moment, she raised a brow. 

"Is this even possible? It seems so fragile."

Ming Yue just stood there and looked, doubting herself but also wanting to try. She held onto the blade of grass with just her thumb and index finger, letting it sway in the wind. 

"No, I'm at the Sky Realm now, this should be doable."

Telling herself this, she went for it, slowly injecting the blade of grass with her own energy. Carefully, it barely trickled in and when it did, the blade of grass trembled before glowing. 

"Ah."

There was just enough time for her to utter the word before the blade of grass burnt to ashes, unable to contain her power. There was nothing but dust on her fingers that she merely blew off. 

"I knew it wouldn't be easy."

She sighed, looking around her before walking back to the house. 

"At least there's plenty of grass to practice with."

Muttering to herself, Ming Yue felt quite relaxed, unable to feel a little tremor in the ground. 

Just like that, her days continued in peace but they wouldn't last long. 

After all, time didn't wait for anyone and the beast-kin were hardly waiting. Their expansion was quick, vast, incredible! Just a few months after they fought the Devouring Goose, they rebuilt their cities and began to push the influence of the Savage Lands out of the continent. A few months more and they've set their eyes on a target. 

"It finally awakened! Quick! Ready the cannons! Slow it down!"

There was shouting on the ground as a bevy of cannons lay scattered across the forest. Groups of people stayed with each one, rushing to reload and fire. 

Standing at the back and shouting from the top of his lung was Qiuyu Bi, leader of the Preservation Division. Despite his short stature and obvious age, there was power in his voice as he continued to bark out at the others. 

"Keep it going! Don't let up! If we can't break through then nothing will! Do you want those bastards from the Reclamation Division to make the killing blow?!" 

Hearing those words, the barrage grew even fiercer as cannon shots soared through the air!

At the same time, there was a trembling roar as this fresh wave of attacks came. The sound of cracking stone and rumbling ground echoed and the ground shook. Suddenly, the mountain before them seemed to move before rising up. In fact, it wasn't just the mountain but a part of the forest as well! 

But with the onslaught of cannon fire, dust and debris covered practically everything. It was hard for anyone to see what it was but the silhouette of the beast was clear. 

As it arose, it let out a second roar as it stepped out of its sleeping place. 

"Don't let up! Keep at it!" Qiuyu Bi shouted. 

Awakened, the beast stood up and took one step forward, causing the ground to quake. The dust soon began to settle as the beast emerged from it making itself known. 

The moment, Qiuyu Bi saw it, he stopped barking out orders, awestruck by the size of the beast. 

"There it is, the Earthbound Snapper, another of the beast gods", he muttered to himself. 

Compared to the Devouring Goose, the Earthbound Snapper was much different. It was an enormous tortoise, whose shell carried a mountain and a small forest on top. Its skin was brown and rough like the earth, tough enough to take on this continuing onslaught with barely a reaction. 

All that the Preservation Division had done was force it to wake up. Now that it did, the Earthbound Snapper was far from happy to have awoken from its slumber. 

The beast looked around, searching for the cause of its rude awakening. 

"Quick, scatter! Change your positions!"

Qiuyu Bi shouted, ordering the cannons to move. 

Scanning the area, the Earthbound Tortoise walked forward, leaving craters in its steps. Its black eyes searched around before noticing a bit of movement. Turning to the right, it raised a leg and stomped down, causing the ground to shudder violently, rocking everyone off their feet. 

That is, except for those of the Reclamation Division. 

"Alright, everyone! It finally came out! You know what to do!" one of them shouted. 

Everyone else roared, growled, and snarled as their eyes revealed a silver glow. Each of them reverted to Primal Instinct, a few even went further, reverting to the second stage. 

Together, they sprinted towards the Earthbound Tortoise, flanking it from the side!

Brandishing their weapons, there were over a hundred of them, going under the belly of the beast. 

"Even if it's underneath, the shell is still tough! All we need is a crack! That's it! Focus on one spot while the Preservation Division still has its attention!" 

Ao Qin shouted out, leading them at the front.

The dragon-kin had reverted to the third stage, showing a more draconic appearance. Wielding his giant saber, he ran forth, grinding his blade against the beast's leg before leaping up to attack the belly of the tortoise's shell. 

Striking with his strength, sparks flew out as the saber hit the shell, leaving a very light scratch on it. But that was all they needed, attacking this one spot over and over again. All of this while the beast was still on the lookout for the Preservation Division cannon. 

"Hurry it up! Find different positions! Don't let it find you!" 

With Qiuyu Bi's shouting, every one of those cannons had several people pushing it desperately, lugging the ammunition along with them. Fortunately, the Earthbound Tortoise was slow but it was gigantic. It could cover over a hundred meters in one step. 

And with how massive the beast was, defeating it would be difficult, perhaps even more difficult than the Devouring Goose, 1

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