The Ashes Sovereign

Chapter 10

Fighting raged across multiple mountain approaches.

Elite sect squads fought hard to force their way through the hidden side paths. Valley defenders held them off. It was brutal close‑quarters combat on narrow cliff ledges. One wrong step meant a deadly fall.

The warriors bearing fragments of legacy power fought bravely. Yet the ghostly whispers of the old sovereign pressed heavier upon them. A few began to show signs of strain. Their movements turned colder, harder. The dead ruler’s influence gnawed at their minds. One young fighter briefly lost control, unleashing wild, indiscriminate mist‑blasts that nearly struck their own allies.

Lin Yue saw this danger. He ordered those showing heavy mental strain to pull back from front‑line combat. They needed rest, to reaffirm their own will before returning to fight.

Back among the sect command ranks, the council elders saw this weakness. They realised the shared power came with its own cost. Even divided, the old sovereign’s echo still corrupted minds over time. They devised a new cruel strategy. They would keep throwing wave after wave of attacks. Wear the defenders down. Force them to use their legacy fragments again and again. Let the ghost‑whispers break the valley’s fighters from inside.

The assaults did not stop. Fresh enemy units kept rotating into battle. The defenders grew exhausted. Sleep was almost impossible.

Inside the valley, Lira worked frantically. She mixed special herbal brews, trying to ease the mental pressure on those haunted by the ghostly voices. The medicine could not remove the whispers completely, but it softened their sharp edge, giving the warriors a little more strength to resist.

Even with this help, the situation grew grimmer. They were holding the line, but how long could they keep enduring endless assaults?