The iron-willed and unyielding palace lord didn’t need to say a lot. His short speech was more than enough. The swordsages looked up at him, their eyes shining with determination, respect, and faith.4

“All of you remember the oath you took when you became swordsages. Defend humanity. Sever the doom of dawn. Cause the light of heaven and earth to blossom. [1]2

“It’s not just a slogan or a catchphrase. You spoke those words. I spoke them. And now... we will live them. Going forward, we must love each other like family, have each other’s backs, never waver, and never give in to defeat!5

“We will either live or die with Sea-Sealing County. We will fight to the end! Regardless of what chaos comes to grip our county... we will lead the armies of humankind into battle for the sake of our emperor. And when the time comes, we will take the flame of the Holytide’s legacy... and extinguish it!”3

The palace lord looked out at the 100,000 swordsages and continued, “And now, prepare to receive your orders! Xu Qing, keep a record of this.”3

Xu Qing took three steps forward, produced a jade slip, and somberly prepared to record information.2

“Notify all human sects from outside Emperor-Receiving Prefecture and Injustice Prefecture that they are hereby conscripted to quell the unrest in Forbidden by the Zombie and Forbidden by the Garment!4

“Notify all sects that we require complete loyalty. The Holytides have invaded us with the goal of exterminating the human species. Any sect who does not...10