Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

An emerald glow emanated from the tree, beating back the destructive power coming from the mountains and the skies. Small orbs of green light floated out of the tree, getting into a formation' The light flashed out before connecting to each other, creating a lattice pattern resembling that of a net. 

The moment it took form, the net was released, flying up at the spinning clouds. Landing squarely over it, the emerald net clashed with the sky, restricting the lightning and stopping all of it from coming down. 

Just like that, the Hundun Clan was deprived of their source of power. 

But they soon made their appearance, rising out of the mountains to meet with their enemy. 

"NUWA!" 

Their distorted voices called out to this clan, facing the fairies. And the spirit of the tree responded with a simple word. 

"Leave.."

Her voice was calm but cold, this would be her only warning. Even the fairies had angry frowns on their faces. Despite this show of force, the Hundun Clan wasn't swayed so easily. 

"WE WILL NOT LEAVE! THE IDOL WAS LOST! VENGEANCE MUST BE HAD!"

They answered back with both determination and anger.

"If you wish", the spirit replied.

Just like that, the two clans squared off against each other. The power from both sides began to rise, clashing against each other and pushing forward. The clouds above crackled with lightning, trying to tear the emerald net apart in vain. The pressure coming from these two clans was violent, so much so that it caused waves on the lake. 

Everyone in the Cerulean Fortress watched from the ground in awe. They had all learned of the Nuwa Clan through Xuan Yin and Ming Yue but it did not prepare them from seeing it with their own eyes. 

Zi Jing watched for another moment before waking from this small trance. 

"Man the cannons! We're destroying those mountains while the Hundun Clan are preoccupied!" he shouted.

Everyone else seemed to have been knocked out of their dazed state, immediately rushing to their stations. And then the fortress began to shift and transform. Gears clanked and ground, revealing dozens of weapons through the walls. 

The fortress itself was a massive castle with towers and spires. Aside from the barriers, there were thick stone walls fitted with metal bearings. With its transformation, the towers opened up as a line of cannons came out from each of them. All of them were the same, large and powerful enough to destroy a ship in one shot.

Their obsidian bodies were adorned with gold and silver linings. In addition, were the red cores embedded on their barrels.

In total, there were thirty of them, six cannons split into five towers and they were all unmanned. All there needed to be was a crew of three people on the top floor of each tower. One person to aim, one to shoot, and one to reload the cannons, all of which could be done through a panel of buttons.

Zi Jing had entered the main tower where there was an extra apparatus, a medallion which he took ahold of. 

"Ready and take aim!"

The commander shouted into it, sending orders to the other four towers, who followed them faithfully. 

The red cores slowly activated, emanating with a fiery red glow as the cannons all hummed with power. And then the towers all began to turn, facing towards the mountain to their south. The air around each cannon started to tremble as more and more power gathered at the barrel. 

The Hundun Clan were too focused on the Nuwa to notice what was happening. And even if they realized now, it would be too late. 

Zi Jing stared at the southern mountain, glancing at the other towers. 

"Fire!" 

As soon as he yelled into the medallion, thirty fiery crimson rays shot out with an explosive roar! Passing through the Hundun Clan, they arced through the air before reaching the mountain. The trail of light it left behind lasted a moment before there was complete silence. 

Then the mountain erupted from the attack! Smoke and ash spread into the skies as rocks flew out! Parts of it had melted, turning into streams of molten rock. 

That was enough to break the stalemate between the two clans as the Hundun had turned its attention to their former home. They looked in horror while it began to crumble down on itself, reduced to shattered stone. 

"NOOOOOO!" 

Taking this opportunity, the Nuwa Clan struck out, releasing a powerful shockwave of their power. The small sprites, protected in their aura of lightning, faltered from the attack. 

"YOU WILL PAY WITH THIS! YOU WILL SUFFER IN THE CHAOS!"

Their voices began to distort even more, slowly growing out of sync as the anger and rage pushed them further. The lightning faltered for a moment before crackling out as their auras burst out, pushing back at the Nuwa Clan. 

The blackened clouds above shot down hundreds of lightning bolts, striking the emerald net with even more fury. The net was stretching back, holding all of the power that the Hundun Clan called forth. 

"The other mountain quick! Destroy it!" 

Zi Jing shouted into the medallion again and the five towers started to turn to the other side. 

"ARROGANCE!" 

The Hundun Clan shouted, zipping away towards the other mountain. A barrier soon formed before the Cerulean Fortress but the commander was undeterred. 

"Fire away! Break through the barrier!" he yelled out. 

Moments later, the cannons roared out, releasing a barrage of fiery rays at the barrier. But succeeding a second time was far too good to happen for the barrier of lightning had eradicated the attack. 

Even then, Zi Jing continued to shout out, firing again and again.

The soldiers below could only take on a defensive stance as they awaited the fight. With the Nuwa Clan pushing back the Hundun, they could only be ready. The clashing became more and more violent as both sides produced one shockwave after another. 

The lightning above continued to strike at the net constantly, slowly stretching it further and further until it could no longer hold. And when that happened, the net snapped and broke away. All of the energy that it kept back was finally released raining down on everything.

A massive wave of lightning crashed down on the Nuwa Clan, the fortress, and the lake. And while the clan and the fortress protected themselves, the lake seemed to absorb all of that power. 

As for where it went, the lightning collected at one spot, the epicenter of the lake, as if something was attracting it. But no one noticed it, they were all too focused on this new crisis. 

Once all of that power was released, the Nuwa Clan countered it. 

"Back from where you came from!" 

The spirit's voice shouted out as the fairies entered the tree and merged together. It began to grow larger and larger. It was no longer of a similar size to the fortress but towering over it. The branches extended and protected the soldiers below. A shining green glow emanated from the tree as it effused a pleasant earthy smell. 

Its aura expanded, coming in waves as it covered everything and forced the Hundun Clan back. 

These little sprites could do nothing but retreat. 

"Your Idol of Chaos is no more! Do you really think that you are a match for us?!" the spirit yelled out. 

"CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU! THIS ISN'T OVER!"

The Hundun Clan retreated into their mountain as the churning clouds shifted over to it as well. The tree continued to release its aura before stopping and shrinking back down. 

At this moment, the spirit spoke to the soldiers. 

"Are all of you safe?" she said. 

For now, everyone released their breath for that suffocating pressure was gone.

But for how long? The answer was too difficult to tell.