"Brother Jingzong, where did you come back from in the middle of the night?"
"Zhenguan City", ten miles outside the south gate, a group of six men in black stopped an old man who wanted to use "Earth Escape" to enter the city.
"who?"
He had obviously been observing the surroundings for a long time, and if there was nothing unusual, he had to use the "Earth Escape Technique". Unexpectedly, he was stopped by someone before he could even cast the spell.
What's even more frightening is that the person who came here actually mentioned his name directly, which made Xu Jingzong, who had a guilty conscience, feel a little uneasy.
That's right, he used "Earth Escape" to sneak out of "Zhenguan City", and now the person who has just returned after finishing his work is none other than Xu Jingzong, the military recorder who accompanied Li Yaoshi's demon-suppressing army this time.
"Are you Li Yifu?"
Xu Jingzong was also surprised when he saw the face of the visitor clearly.
Li Yifu is a man of rare talent, but he can barely be considered to be such a prominent figure in Chang'an City.
In the eighth year of Zhenguan, he was recommended by Li Daliang, the inspection ambassador of Jiannan Province, as a provincial official because of his good writing skills. Later, he was recommended by Liu Jie, Ma Zhou and others, and was appointed as the supervisory censor.
A few years ago, through the recommendation of a friend, he had a rare opportunity to join the ranks of King Li Tai of Wei. He, who was born in a small family, was now firmly established in Chang'an.
It's a pity that King Li Tai of Wei lost power half a year ago, and he could barely protect himself, let alone his old disciples who sang about the wind and moon together every day.
Although Li Yifu has some talents, he is cold-blooded and has bad personal ethics. He is particularly fond of yellow and white things.
After the new emperor came to the throne, even if Li Zhi had no intention of rectifying the cronies of King Wei, the discerning ministers in the court would naturally take the opportunity to share the worries of his father.
Li Yifu was one of the unlucky ones. He was not very clean in the first place, and he was on the cusp of such a storm, so he became the first batch of people to be expelled.
As the Vice Minister of Zhongshu, Xu Jingzong had a photographic memory. He clearly remembered that Li Yifu had been demoted from Beijing long ago. How could he appear here now?
"Haha, Yifu thought that since Brother Jingzong was promoted to the military record office, he would not recognize my old friend. I didn't expect that you are really nostalgic."
Li Yifu smiled "haha" and looked at the uncertain-looking Minister of Zhongshu in front of him with great interest, feeling filled with emotion in his heart.
Compared with Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu is more than 20 years younger than him, and can be regarded as a complete junior. Xu Jingzong was one of the "Eighteen Scholars" of the Qin Dynasty, and his grandfather Li Yifu was just a scholar from Shehong County. Just the county magistrate.
With such a huge gap in background and experience, even if they were officials in the same dynasty, the two did not have much interaction, let alone the situation of "calling brothers" like now.
"Hmph, as someone who has been dismissed from your post by the imperial court, what qualifications do you have to call me a brother? I have important things to attend to, and I don't have time to rub my teeth with you."
Xu Jingzong's trip was an act of betrayal. When he was bumped into by Li Yifu, a man with bad behavior, his first thought was to kill and silence him.
Unfortunately, when he glanced behind Li Yifu, he completely dismissed this idea.
There were six people in Li Yifu's group. Except for himself, the remaining five people all wore black scarves, with only two eyes exposed.
One look at the figure of the four of them and the weapons in their hands, and they knew that they were not good people. But the one in the middle, with a tall figure and dark clouds on his head, was actually a woman?
"Keke, Mr. Xu has such great official authority. I wonder what will happen to you, a person who colluded with the demons and sold Tang army intelligence, if Marshal Li finds out about it?"
The tall woman in the middle walked over with three staggering steps. Before he reached Xu Jingzong, he felt that his magic power was imprisoned, and he could not even move his feet.
"You...who are you? I don't know what you are talking about. Please let me go quickly."
The woman's voice was very pleasant, like the cool breeze on a summer night caressing the earth that had been scorched by the scorching sun all day.
Unfortunately, hearing this in Xu Jingzong's ears made him break out in cold sweat in this mid-July weather.
"It doesn't matter who the little girl is, what matters is what Master Xu plans to do next? Continue to return to Zhenguan City and act as an internal agent for the demon clan? Or..."
The woman slowly approached Xu Jingzong and looked at the old Xu with gray beard and hair. There was no trace of pity in her eyes, and there was even a bit of teasing in her eyes.
"Or, can you change your mind from now on and serve our Datang together with this girl?"
Without letting Xu Jingzong wait too long, the woman revealed the purpose of her trip.
She actually left a way out for Xu Jingzong, or was she simply forgetting the past?
"Are you from the Tang Dynasty? Haha, don't think of me as a fool. This Li Yifu is a villain who was dismissed by the Tang Dynasty court. Are you doing this to atone for his sins?"
Even though Xu Jingzong's magic power was imprisoned, his brain was still moving normally, and he didn't believe a word of what the woman in front of him said.
"Sir Xu, there are many ways to serve the Tang Dynasty. With your status and cultivation, I am afraid that there are many things that you still cannot understand for a while."
"As far as this girl knows, it's because the black-robed protector of the demon clan kidnapped your most beloved grandson that you were willing to sacrifice your life for them?"
"From this point of view, even if you betrayed the Tang Dynasty, you can be considered excusable. However, you may not have thought that your fat grandson would have become a snack for those demons... .”
Being questioned and ridiculed so ruthlessly by Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu's face looked a little confused, but the woman remained unmoved and spoke steadily.
"No...impossible. The black robe said that as long as they can completely annihilate the army of the Tang Dynasty, they will let my grandson go. You evil woman, you must be scaremongering - —"
Hearing the woman say that something bad happened to his grandson, Xu Jingzong wanted to tear the woman in front of him madly, regardless of the fact that his cultivation was banned.
It's a pity that with his little cultivation, in front of this tall masked woman, he is like a worm shaking a big tree, not to mention that it is still difficult to move even now.
"Is this girl just being alarmist? You will see for yourself after the fact. Come to think of it, Master Xu has never seen your grandson from the beginning to now, right?"
"The northern demon clan has been defeated again and again, and it is certainly because of the Tang army's toughness, but the 'black-robed protector' shows the enemy that he is weak and wants to gather them together and annihilate them. I'm afraid that is his real purpose, right?"
"I guess that just now you went to meet with the demon clan and informed them of the plan and troop deployment in Zhenguan City. The next step is to make a plan, right?"
The woman walked three steps in front of Xu Jingzong, asking questions every step of the way. Xu Jingzong could no longer hold on and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
...
"Mrs. Wu, if you just let him go like this, will he listen to us honestly?"
The night breeze was blowing, and an unknown summer insect was singing softly. Li Yifu asked reluctantly, Xu Jingzong was no longer in the room.
"Li Yifu, you have tasted the heart-eating lock yourself. Do you think Xu Jingzong is stronger than you?"
It turned out that this woman with a black scarf and a mask was actually the wife of Wu Yue who once lived in the palace of King Li Tai of Wei.
It was at the residence of King Li Tai of Wei that Li Yi got acquainted with Lady Wu, and was immediately astonished that she was a heavenly being, and was willing to be driven by her.
"His grandson is dead. With the old man Xu's intelligence, he must have realized it, but he was just lucky and didn't want to believe it."
"This 'black robe' is really audacious. He actually wants to capture the thief and the king? It's hard for him. It seems that he is the only one of the northern demons here, but there are five Da Luo Jinxian in the Tang army." people."
From the mouth of Xu Jingzong
, Wu Niangzi got the plans of both the Tang Army and the Demon Clan. It was very simple to say that neither side wanted to continue wasting their money, so they just wanted to show off in "Zhenguan City".
However, what Wu Niangzi couldn't figure out was why the demon's "Black Robe" thought that he would be able to defeat the five "Da Luo Jinxian" in the Tang army with his own strength?
Could it be said that he was so sure of capturing Li Yaoshi and Li Ke, King of Liang in one fell swoop?
The question is, even if these two are captured, will the tens of thousands of mighty soldiers of the Tang Dynasty and thousands of practitioners be willing to be killed?
Is "Black Robe" too confident, or is Xu Jingzong not telling the truth, or is Xu Jingzong also kept in the dark?
"Li Yifu, you hide here and monitor both sides. If there are any new changes, notify me immediately. If there are no other changes in the past few days, you can return to Chang'an first when the war is over."
Li Yifu can be a little clever or run errands, but when it comes to such a big scene, with his cultivation in the "foundation building" stage, he is not qualified to be cannon fodder.
Today's Wu Niangzi is already at the middle stage of "Taiyi Golden Immortal", and the four Buddhist Vajra Warriors following her are all at the late stage or even the peak of "Taiyi Golden Immortal" to act as her protectors.
These four Vajra warriors also have a "Four-Elephant Vajra Formation". Once placed, the power is more than ten times that of the combined combat power of the four people, which is enough to rival a strong player in the "Daluo Golden Immortal".
"Since Black Robe's plan was to expel the people and attack the city from all sides, and then let all the demons concentrate their full strength on attacking the south gate, he himself took the opportunity to forcefully break in through the west gate."
"Then, we might as well just follow behind the black robe and act with camera. I, the daughter-in-law of the late Duke Ying, can also have a chance to serve the Tang Dynasty."
Lady Wu murmured to herself, but no one knew what she was thinking.
...
The anti-siege plan arranged by "Zhenguan City", from the perspective of high-end combat power, is actually that Nanmen Rutuoluo and Ximen Yuwen are relatively weak.
The east gate is occupied by the wolf master of "Tianlang Mountain" Yu Wenpo and the second elder Yu Wenhu. The two "Daluo Jinxian" are responsible for the encirclement, and they are led by the elites from "Tianlang Mountain".
Although there is only one "Daluo Golden Immortal" Indra in the North Gate, unfortunately, this one is currently the strongest in the Tang camp. Yan Chixia, Su Dingfang and Hou Junji are also not ordinary people.
It seems that this "black robe" still has some sense.
First, he used the four gates to drive away the people and confuse their minds; then he concentrated all the demons' combat power to attack the weakly protected south gate; finally, he himself was able to take advantage of the chaos and attack the west gate, which was also weakly defended.
If the south gate cannot withstand the attack, troops may be mobilized from other gates to assist. In this case, perhaps the "Black Robe" plan will be more secure.
Time flies, and three days fly by.
As soon as the genius dawned, the sound of trumpets sounded in "Zhenguan City".
The defense of "Zhenguan City" is mainly based on the Five Elements Defense Formation. According to the current personnel structure in the city, it is natural that Li Yaoshi is in the center to provide support.
The Cheng family brothers each led 10,000 elite troops to guard the left and right wings, that is, the east and west gates. Military advisor Xu Maogong supervised the rear formation to guard the north gate. However, Li Ke, the king of Liang, volunteered and personally led his troops to guard the south gate.
"Your Highness King Liang, no matter how the demons attack, you must remember not to go out of the city to meet the enemy. Keep this five-element protective formation. Except for the Da Luo Jinxian, other demons will really have to spend some effort to break the formation——"
The sound of horns came from the city tower, indicating that the traces of the demons had been discovered. After making the final arrangements, Medicine Master Li still felt that something was wrong?
The layout three days ago sent out almost all the people in the city who were at the level of "Xuanxian" or above. Now the one with the highest level of cultivation is Pharmacist Li who is in the early stage of "Taiyi Golden Immortal".
Yes, the early stage of "Taiyi Golden Immortal" is the true state of cultivation of Medicine Master Li.
It's just that there were no decent practitioners in the entire Tang Dynasty. As the "God of War" of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yaoshi always controlled the strength he showed.
Just at the highest limit.
Unlike today's Tang Dynasty, the Taiyi Realm is no longer a rarity. There are even a few "Daluo Golden Immortals", and Medicine Master Li finally no longer needs to hide his strength.
His true form in heaven could only barely step into the "Daluo Golden Immortal", relying only on the status of the Heavenly King and the "Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda" in his hand.
"Don't worry, Mr. Medicine Master. Now that Mr. Medicine Master is here and there are so many strange people and strangers here, this Zhenguan City is impregnable!"
No wonder Li Ke is so confident. The Five Elements Defense Array set up by "Zhenguan City" is really magical. It is a whole in itself. No matter which corner you attack, it is like attacking the entire Five Elements Array.
What is needed to maintain the formation is not only the mutual interaction between the five elements, but also the blessing of the cultivation of the person in charge internally.
Of course, as a border city, "Zhenguan City" was built with the enemy's strong attack in mind. Therefore, this Five Elements Defense Formation was able to gather the strength of all the defenders in the city to jointly support the Five Elements Formation.
For example, now, there are more than 20,000 troops garrisoned in "Zhenguan City", plus the 30,000 demon-suppressing army brought by Li Yaoshi, for a total of more than 50,000 troops.
These 50,000 people, even if they are only as strong as Houtian warriors on average, are powerful enough when put together, not to mention there are five generals guarding the formation.
"Your Highness Prince Liang, look, these...are these all my subjects of the Tang Dynasty?"
On the city wall of the south gate, Li Ke stood with a sword in his hand and saw a large, dark group of people coming from a distance, which must have numbered at least thirty thousand.
These people include men, women, old and young, and you can even see some carrying burdens and driving animals. They are not fighting at all. They clearly want to go to the city to make a living.
Li Ke's brows wrinkled, and he used his eyesight to look left and right. Sure enough, tens of thousands of people appeared outside the east and west city gates in the distance.
"Driving the people to attack the city? Damn it——"
Li Ke hit the city wall with his fist. Such a bad behavior made his teeth itch with hatred.
But what can he do?
"Your Majesty Prince Liang, these people seem to have lost their minds. Look, there were those who fell to the ground and didn't know how to get up, and others just stepped on them?"
In order to defend against foreign enemies, it is natural that there should be no preparations outside "Zhenguan City", and a lot of water and fire items are also prepared.
Unfortunately, these preparations can only deal with ordinary enemies. As for dealing with demons, they are much worse.
"Your Highness Prince Liang, what should we do? These people have already rushed over——"
Sure enough, the people who were walking slowly suddenly rushed towards the city gate like crazy, as if they had received some instructions.
The people were originally just ordinary flesh and blood, but they couldn't handle such a large number of people.
There seemed to be some powerful people among them. In an instant, rows of antlers were overturned, and in the blink of an eye, someone rushed to the moat.
The moat was naturally filled with water, and the suspension bridge had already been hung high at this time. But what Li Ke didn't expect was that the moat, which was originally gurgling with water, would be frozen into a glacier in an instant?
"No, there are demons hiding among these people——"
Li Ke shouted, and other soldiers naturally saw it.
"Your Highness, give the order to attack quickly, otherwise they will be in trouble when they reach the city—"
Li Ke also has the realm of "mysterious immortal", but unfortunately, he cannot tell who is a demon and who is a normal person among the more than 30,000 people in the city.
Besides, are there any normal people? What's the difference between the more than 30,000 people whose minds were controlled by the demons and the walking zombie puppets?
"Fire the arrows, and if there is anyone who dodges the arrows, the eight-oxen crossbow will be at your service—"
Now is not the time to talk about kindness. For the sake of the more than 30,000 people who have lost their minds in the city, is it in vain to care about the lives and deaths of more than a million people in "Zhenguan City"?
Not to mention Li Ke, everyone knows how to make choices.
However, how could it be that there were only 30,000 people? When the four gates attacked together, the number of people who were driven out actually reached 200,000. Suddenly "
Arrows rained down from Zhenguan City, and rivers of blood flowed from Zhenguan City.
"Haha, the blood of the human race can only create more people of our demon race. Rebirth, 'Wutian Buddha bestowed upon you the souls of the superior demon race——"
There was a huge black shadow in the sky, waving a black staff in his hand, and the people who were shot to death by bows and arrows actually stood up strong again?
"What...what's going on? Is the ghost of an innocent person coming back to claim his life?"
Li Ke is a "Xuanxian", so he will naturally not be afraid of this.
However, most of the officers and soldiers in the Tang Dynasty army were still flesh and blood at the acquired realm. Some of them had not even reached "Ming Jin" and were just ordinary strong people.
They had never seen such a scene before, and some of them couldn't even hold the weapons in their hands.
"Quiet - be still and concentrate. Don't be frightened by the illusions of the demons. This is not an innocent soul seeking life, but a trick played by demon thieves."
"I want to see whether these puppets can stand up again if they are crushed into powder and burned to death by rolling wood, thunder and stones, and burning oil by fire."
Li Ke also became fierce, and even shook the "Dragon Head Phoenix Tail Ding Tang Dao" in his hand, and slashed down the "Zhenguan City" layer by layer with sword energy.
The Dingtang Sword in Li Ke's hand was specifically asked for by Li Zhi from his father after he ascended the throne, and was then sent to Li Ke along with Li Yaoshi's army.
Li Zhi said, "I hope that third brother can hold this sword, contribute to the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, and establish the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of millions of people!"
This Ding Tang Sword has been with Li Shimin for many years. It was given to him by Li Yuan, then Duke of Tang, when he first entered the battlefield.
It's a pity that Li Shimin is more fond of Ma Shan. The symbolic meaning of this Dingtang sword is greater.
After discovering that even the Imperial Seal was an acquired meritorious treasure, Li Zhi thoroughly searched the arsenal in the palace, including his father's private treasure house.
Not to mention, he found a few good things, and this "Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail Ding Tang Dao" was one of them.
A high-level magic weapon cannot reach the acquired spiritual treasure level, but it is still a rare weapon.
The key is that this Dingtang Sword, when used in front of the three-army formation, actually has the property of boosting morale. In this way, Li Zhi, who has always been pragmatic, cannot let it be buried in the arsenal.
According to Li Ke's idea, as long as the more than 30,000 people who have lost their nature in the city are completely crushed, they will no longer pose a threat to the city.
Easier said than done! Someone had already scaled the city wall with bare hands, only to be shot down by the magic circle laid out on the wall.
At this time, hundreds of demons hidden among the people began to take action.
Either sweep up the arrows that fell on the battlefield and shoot them back to the city tower, or throw large swaths of people directly onto the city tower, or use magic to start attacking the city walls and gates.
This immediately made Li Ke panic. He hurriedly removed the ordinary soldiers on the tower, or retreated to the back to operate bows and arrows. Those in front were all replaced by practitioners.
It's okay to say that those ordinary people who have lost their nature are sometimes mixed with people from the demon clan. They pretend to be human beings. When they reach the top of the city, they suddenly launch attacks, making it difficult for people to guard against.
"Your Highness Prince Liang, it seems that the number of demons is slowly increasing?"
The battle had only lasted for more than an hour, and the 10,000 defenders stationed at the south city gate had suffered nearly 2,000 casualties. This was due to the advantage of the defensive formation.
Li Ke looked around, right?
On the south wall, there are already several demon clan members who are killing each other, each with a strange-shaped weapon. The key is that the cultivation level of these people seems to be higher than that of Li Ke.
But as soon as they landed on the south city tower, these people were restricted by the Five Elements Protection Formation. Not only were their cultivation levels suppressed, but they were also harassed by fierce flames and dark winds from time to time.
Either from the soles of the feet, or from behind, or from behind...
Tang Jun only focused on
Killing enemies, these demons have to deal with various changes, which greatly reduces the effectiveness of their attacks.
But even so, it would only be a matter of time for ordinary soldiers, and even some generals at the "Golden Elixir", "Nascent Soul", and "Transcending Tribulation" stages, to encounter such demonic casualties.
Only Li Ke, who was in the middle stage of "Xuanxian" cultivation, could barely defeat a "Golden Immortal" demon with his "Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail Ding Tang Dao".
"Quickly, let Marshal Li quickly reinforce the troops. The sons of the Tang Dynasty, the brave will win when we meet on a narrow road. Together with me, we will kill all these demon beasts-"
If a general serves his life, all three armies will be brave, not to mention that Li Ke is the prince of a country!
With the "Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail Ding Tang Dao" in hand, he is even better than Li Shimin who was galloping on the battlefield back then.
"Tang Tong, please stop being so arrogant, grandpa is here to take your life——"
At this moment, more than a hundred demons rushed up from the city. They had taken away the disguise of ordinary people, and the leader turned out to be a strong man at the peak of "Taiyi Xuanxian".
Of course, Li Ke couldn't see the other party's cultivation level, but he just shot and killed several Datang captains one after another. Li Ke felt distressed and twitched.
"Thief, take your life—"
It can be said that the ignorant are fearless. If Li Ke really knew that the person he was swinging his sword at was a strong man at the peak of "Taiyi Xuanxian" who was two levels higher than him, who would have known that our Highness, Prince Liang, would be like this? What do you think?
"Haha, you're good to come. Judging from your attire, you must be Li Ke, King of Liang, right?" The black-robed protector has spoken, and he will take you back alive. If you can exchange for three hundred years of cultivation, grandpa will be able to break through to "Taiwan" in one fell swoop. Yijin is immortal, tsk tsk tsk—"
Well, in the eyes of the demon leader, this Li Ke is not still a human being, he is clearly a great tonic for breaking through the realm.
"Hmph, if you want to take down this king, it depends on whether you have the life or not——"
With the "Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail Ding Tang Sword" in hand, even though it was the first time for Li Ke to use it, he became more and more courageous with each battle. The effects of years of practicing "Physical Art" also showed.
The power is powerful and the sword skills are exquisite, and every move and every style is in harmony with the aura of the king, as if there are golden dragons surrounding it?
This is what Li Zhi did.
Since the third brother Li Ke sincerely assisted him and was a blood brother after all, how could Li Zhi ignore the safety of his third brother who was far away in the north.
On this "Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail Ding Tang Dao", Li Zhi personally grabbed a trace of the national destiny from the golden dragon of national destiny.
With the blessing of national destiny, even if Li Ke is completely wiped out, he will retain a trace of his soul and return to Chang'an with this trace of national destiny.
Of course, if you live well, then the role of this trace of national luck lies in the blessing of this Dingtang Sword. If you use it well, it can even exert the power of acquired Lingbao level.
On the other hand, the demon at the peak level of "Taiyi Xuanxian" was first affected by the Five Elements Protection Formation, and his real-time combat power was directly reduced by half. Then he thought about taking Li Ke alive. The two are now compared to each other. At this time, despite the fluctuations, they managed to maintain a stalemate.
...
What Li Ke didn't know was that the offensive and defensive battles of the other three gates were much grander than his south city tower, and the number of attackers was more than twice as many as his.
In fact, the South City Gate was regarded as the main direction of attack, and nearly two thousand demons came one after another.
In the other three gates, there were about 200 demons each, mixed in the crowd, each driving 50,000 to 60,000 human civilians, and launched a leisurely attack on the three gates.
Soon, the news spread that Li Ke, the Liang King, was stationed at the South City Tower. The demons attacking the city from the east and west gates separated more than 10,000 people from each and moved to the South City Gate to fight. Is it possible to capture the South City Gate in one fell swoop?
At this time, the siege battle had been going on for nearly three hours, and the fighting between the two sides seemed to have reached a limit?
What's a little strange is that just outside the South City Gate where Li Ke is stationed, there are clearly more than a thousand demons, but they are just standing there driving the people forward. Could it be that their combat power is not as good as that of the mere 20,000 people? ?
"Mrs. Wu,
We have lost the trace of the black robes. Among the demons outside the south city gate, the most powerful ones are only the five late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortals. "
"If those Daluo Jinxian masters who were ambushed by the Tang Dynasty arrive together, I am afraid that none of these demons will be able to leave -"
At this time, high in the sky, Madam Wu was hiding in the clouds and mist with her four Dharma Protectors.
Fortunately, she had the "Floating Cloud Handkerchief", a secret spiritual treasure passed down from her master's sect, otherwise the "Great Luo Golden Immortal" might appear at such a close distance at any time, and the five of them would have nothing to hide from.
"Senior Brother Alai's thinking is too optimistic. The black-robed protector has not yet appeared, nor have the masters of the Tang Dynasty. Half of the siege forces have already concentrated on the south gate, and their purpose is to capture him alive. Li Ke, King of Liang."
"However, if the more than a thousand demons outside the South City Gate use their strength at the same time, it is entirely possible to capture the entire South Gate before the reinforcements of the Tang Dynasty arrive."
"So, what are the demons waiting for? Could it be that their goal is not Li Ke, Prince of Liang at all?"
The scorching sun was shining high, and the unique dryness of the northern border seemed to burn even the blood on the head of "Zhenguan City", but the ruthless killing continued.
Because, if you don't continue to wield the sword, you will probably die next moment.
Mrs. Wu, who always prided herself on being smart, could not figure out the mystery for a while. She could only continue to hide in the clouds and wait patiently...
