A Failure's hopeful Journey

You Xi Wang sat in his room in the Elven royal palace. In front of him, a monitor flickered constantly. A series of words were written on the display monitor and You Xi Wang's fingers hovered over the keyboard. Though there was one peculiarity, the characters printed on the screen and the keyboard were not in either of the languages of Metropia. The Maestro was writing codes in Elven language. 

A rhythmic clicking sound rang in the room causing the mood to be strangely serene. At this moment the system spoke in his mind, [Master, you sister is here.] 

You Xi Wang responded, "Let her in."

The door of the room opened just when his words dropped. You Zhichi, dressed in her white and blue battle suit walked inside. She looked like a goddess of war with her sword tied to her waist. She spotted her brother typing something on a computer. It felt weird to her so she silently walked beside You Xi Wang to see what he was doing.

She only noticed that he was coding but after a moment her eyes widened in surprise. She spoke, "Gougou, how did you learn the Elven language so fast? Now you can even code in it?"

You Xi Wang shook his head with a faint smile and changed the topic. He asked, "Are you all ready for the raid?" 

You Zhichi nodded with a serious expression on her face. She spoke in a solemn tone, "You dare to ask this question? Yesterday, because of you Yuki almost broke her dao heart." She held his ear between her finger and thumb.

Her brother grimaced and said, "Chichi, would you prefer me to avoid her mistakes? If I do that then will the battle bots spare her? The level of bots you people faced is nothing but a toy compared to the one inside that fort. I would rather have her resent me instead I lose her."

His words were true. Yesterday was when he tested the teams. Yuki, who was assigned as the critical blow dealer acted with all her strength yet she was limited in her technique. You Xi Wang stopped the test in between and dueled with her. He did not use spirit energy and took 5 moves to defeat Yuki.

Then he lashed out verbally. He knew that this lashing might break Yuki's dao heart at least he will be able to keep her safe and sound. he did leave a sentence, 'The Yuki I know is strong enough to stand up from this fall.'

Yuki did not utter a single word to anyone and just stood like a statue in the field as she glanced at the leaving You Xi Wang. Only after midnight, she exhaled heavily. A strong sword intent rushed out from her. Due to the pressure put down on her by the lashing of You Xi Wang her potential turned and she comprehended the intent of the sword. In the morning she and the whole team again practiced one last time. Their performance increased significantly. 

Yuki smiled and wanted to tell You Xi Wang about her achievement but she hesitated. You Zhichi saw this consoled her, "Don't worry, let me fix that brat for you" and thus the current situation took place. You Zhichi heard his serious voice and let go of the ear in her grip with a sigh. She understood that even if her brothers need to push away people to keep them safe, he would do it. She patted his shoulders and said, "Just go and talk to her. She comprehended the intent of sword last night and her technique also improved significantly."

You Xi Wang nodded and said, "Yes, don't worry. I will fix it. Even without you coming over I would have done that. I cannot live without her as well. Come, let's go. My work here is done."

He took out the data cube from the slot of the computer and led his sister outside the room. The two walked to the entrance of the palace where all the related parties were gathered. The team was already and so were the few elven members selected by You Xi Wang to help You Zhichi and her team tackle the battle bots. They all stood in attention when they saw You Xi Wang arrive. 

You Xi Wang nodded and spoke in a sonorous voice, "Stop thinking about whether you can help others. Stop thinking about your own life. Look at the standing beside you. This person is the one you need to do your best for. If any of you want to play hero or are hesitant, walk out now. I will not stop you or blame you at all. You all need to know that if it keeps you safe, I will not hesitate to even push you away from me, because as the captain. I am responsible for you people while you people are responsible for each other as well." he paused and looked at the people in front of him. He saw that none of them flinched at all. 

You Xi Wang spoke again, "So, are you guys ready?"

The team shouted, "YES."

You Xi Wang spoke with a smirk, "Let's go, we have a fort to take down."

The team again yelled in affirmation. They all were arranged a two people hoverboard for fast travel. You Xi Wang came behind Yuki who stood with her back facing him while everyone took a surfing stance on the board. Yuki also jumped up on a levitating board and when she was about to look who was her partner she felt two strong arms around her waist and a warm cheek against her own. 

You Xi Wang spoke in a soft voice, "I heard someone comprehended the intent of the sword. I wonder how valiant that person is. What do you think sweetheart? Should I pursue her?"

Yuki snorted and spat, "Bloody womanizer."

You Xi Wang kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I apologize, Yuki. I was selfish last night. I cannot afford to lose any one of you. Forgive me for being so rude to you."

Yuki did not speak for a while and then slightly rubbed her cheek against his face. She spoke, "Only at one condition."

You Xi Wang asked softly, "Anything."

Yuki spoke, "Stay at my place at night when we get back. All the other sisters get to spend the night with you but I do not."

You Xi Wang smiled and tightened his grip around her waist, "Okay, I promise. After we get back I will stay at your place for a night."

Yuki finally smiled after hearing his words. The hoverboard was set to follow the Elven General, who took it on himself to guide them all to the fort. So the young couple talked to each other while traveling ignoring everything. They traveled for thirty hours before reaching their destination. The fort was located in the middle of the rocky plain. The hover boards were faster than the flying swords as they used a better material and a better technology.

The fort was covered with glass panels. The onlooker can not look inside. It was surrounded by thick and tall metallic walls on the four sides. Gigantic canons were visible from a distance. It was a majestic building. Everyone has practiced in the model but the original thing was indeed original. You Xi Wang spoke, "It looks exquisite."

General Miles led them all to the border of the minefield. He spoke to You Xi Wang, "Sir, this is where the land mines start. You can walk on the ground normally for another 500 meters before the phasor canons start shooting." after the test last night he did not dare to address You Xi Wang as 'young friend' anymore. The way You Xi Wang broke the elves last night, it was horrible to even call it horrible. He even wanted to yell the M-word. 

You Xi Wang nodded indifferently and turned to Neo, Hercules, and Illahi, "Chain reaction around the minefield. Do not leave any potential dangers."

The trio nodded and walked ahead of the team and kneeled on one knee. They touched the ground and started to dig create tunnels inside the ground. Soon the ground started to vibrate and a long winding network of tunnels formed around an area of the mines. Hercules spoke as he wiped off his sweat, "Boss, You guys back off a little. It will be loud and shaky."

You Xi Wang nodded and retreated fifty meters with the rest of the crowd. Neo exhaled heavily and willed the tunnels to change. He shifted the whole tunnel itself. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM...

A series of explosions sounded not far from him. Only then did he retreat with Hercules and Illahi. They dug the tunnels in such a manner that they would collapse from the shockwaves and that is what happened. A network of trenches appeared in the rocky plain. What they counted on was not their strength but the rocky plain's ability to restore its form. 

When the trenches moved to regain their original form again, the moment will cause tremors, and Tada those shockwaves will cause a chain reaction in the mines. This strategy was simple and effective. Just as Neo, Hercules, and Illahi regrouped with the team, the rocky plain moved and tremors originated from the movement. What followed the tremors were explosions. The chain of blasts lasted for 20 minutes and the rocky substance where the explosions took place were charred and the carbonized rock was unable to regain its original form. 

Some of the explosions were as deep as a hundred meters beneath the surface. Physics 101, more pressure equals more impact. Those explosions made chunks as big as a human fly up in the sky and land back on the terrain. Those chunks would be used by Hercules and Neo as obstructions in the phasor beams. Although it won't make any significant difference, even a blink is enough to save a life at a critical movement. These chunks won't be used as a cover directly, because the phasor beam would just pass-through as if a hot knife through butter. 

When they were discussing, Hercules proposed to use these chunks as projectiles thrown at the canons. His idea may sound like a pure muscle for brain thing but it was applicable and practical. The objective was to disrupt the aim of the canon. Neo and Hercules were two strong people, they can easily throw an average human to a distance of 2 km. They were cultivators after all. Plus they came with the boost of the earth element. 

You Xi Wang took out a helmet from his space ring and wore it over his head. He spoke to his sister, "Wait for me to shut down the guns before you come chasing behind me. Okay?"

You Zhichi promised. Yuki and the others cheered as You Xi Wang turned and walked through the messy 500-meter former minefield. 

Allan spoke, "I wonder how long would it take him to do this." this casual remark set off another wave of gambling. 

You Zhichi spoke, "I wonder if he could pull off something like his dance of the war god."

The Elven guard stood beside them looking at the scene with a numb scalp. They wanted to shout, 'What Dance of the War God, this fucker is a monster from hell.'

'You bitches dare to bet on something like this. Do you look down on the high elves technology. You Boody Country Bumpkins.'

...

Two hundred meters away You Xi Wang strolled as if it was his backyard. The system spoke, [The elven guards are looking down on us.]