Capítulo 39: Chapter 39 - Mercury viper.
Xin scanned the battlefield, pointing his crossbow from the window.
He had an urge to shoot the first creature he saw, but a reload would take more than thirty breaths. Need to pick the target carefully.
There were several more creatures like that nearby, and even more were approaching from all sides, mud dropping from their torsos. Did they sleep under the ground this whole time?
Xie Taowei shouted:
"Scan the surroundings, fight carefully, pull them slowly, let me do the heavy lifting!" He then consumed a handful of spirit stones, looking around nervously.
Xin stood in the house, together with outrider Lu.
"There might be a hidden master somewhere there, controlling the plants! Master Taowei, preserve your energy!" Lu shouted. He had to exert his voice quite strongly, as it was still rainy and windy outside
"Noted! Everyone, take the fight outside until they collapse on us, circle and poke them!" - Xie Taowei answered, as he activated his crystal mallet and earth skin techniques.
Yao Nang ran outside together with the others, front kicked the first creature she saw, making it fall back and lean on its back leg-vines, then deftly dodged a counter-attack. She was armed with a hatchet, and was looking for a good angle to strike.
Tu Qiang, who wielded an earth qi reinforced halberd, flanked the off-balance creature and slashed at its body. The halberd went in pretty deeply, and the creature cried out in pain, revealing thorn-like teeth inside of its mouth.
"Everyone, they can shoot stings at you! Those might be qi infused! Avoid them!" Xin warned everyone, he remembered the notes that Feng Chonglin gave him. They didn't warn about this particular creature, but generally speaking, if you saw a thorn on an awakened plant, it could be unleashed as a missile. "Master Lu, should we barricade in the house? We have plenty of ranged firepower!"
"We are more mobile, and we still need to identify the threat! We'll back off when they encircle us, let's use our numbers to our advantage for now! Fucking shoot, I'll handle the tactics!"
Rui Ming trusted his instinct, set his bow aside and stepped out of the inn, unsheathing his blade and infusing it with wind qi.
He looked at the creature in front of him. Doesn't look intelligent. Weak points: joints, neck, mouth. Its vines might be deceptively hard to cut off, his instinct told him. He saw Lei run past him, joining Murong Zhan in a combat formation. Where do I engage?
Murong Zhan collected his chakrams into a chain link to get some reach, and reinforced them with the golden glow. He was wearing his elegant noble armour, but he wasn't sure these creatures wouldn't just smash him into the ground if he failed to evade a hit. There is still no measure of their strength and durability, need to probe them. He disconnected one of the chakrams from the link and threw it at the head of one of the plant creatures.
The glowing chakram pierced the head, and the creature hissed in pain, but kept moving towards him, walking on its vines like they were stilts. He spent some energy to recall the chakram back and quickly reconnected it with the link. As he did it, a warm wind landed at his back.
"Thanks, Windsplitter!" He shouted out. "Lei, can you hold the creature? I'll flank!"
"Fine, pussy!" Lei was just finished activating his Molten Heart. He felt like the rainy and muddy environment was slightly inhibiting his qi flow, but it was bearable. He jumped towards the grassy area of the homestead, where he'd have more mobility, and invited the creature to attack.
It expanded its back vines and became even taller, all while raising its front two wines for an overhead smash. There were some roots dangling from behind its back, it probably used them to sustain itself as it slept underground.
Smash! It crushed upon the location where Lei stood, the force of the blow strong enough to kill a horse. Lei wasn't a horse, and nimbly avoided the hit, his dodge augmented by fire qi.
"LEI, STOP!" Xin called out to his friend, who was about to deliver a counterattack, and Lei instinctively jumped back, instead of forward as he originally intended.
The creature opened its mouth, protruding an ugly flower that looked like a deformed rose from behind its thorn-like teeth. A larger thorn emerged from under the flower, pointed at Lei.
Swish! Xin's arrow, augmented with metal qi, shot the creature right into this "rose". The creature was stunned, and didn't even cry out in pain.
Murong Zhan instantly flanked the monster and began beating it with his chakram link, his strikes cutting deep enough to chop pieces of the creature off. Xin was delighted, even though they were still mortals, their metal element abilities gave them a massive advantage.
Lei tried attacking the creature, but it suddenly twitched, and tried grabbing Lei with a vine, in a manner that Xin found eerily human-like. His friend barely avoided it. This sudden change of behaviour alerted Xin, is this the work of an enemy master?
He hung the crossbow on his back, grabbed the glaive, and scanned the surroundings, infusing his senses with qi. Master Taowei was fighting a vine creature alone, slowly beating it into submission with his sharp crystal edge mallet. The creature was unable to harm him, but it was still weird seeing a rank two master take so much time to kill such a low ranked opponent. He is trying to preserve qi, Xin concluded. How much did he even regenerate tonight?
Master Lu was showering the creatures in arrows, trying to shoot their weak spots, but he barely did any damage. Does he not have more effective methods? He's Foundation stage, why is he so useless?
Su Xing was nimbly dancing around, covered in a barely visible layer of qi infused water. The creature he was fighting was undamaged, and there was another one approaching him and Wu Xiaoyun, who just poked at the creature with a longspear, from behind Su Xing. Both of them aren't dealing any damage.
There was an opponent approaching every group, and they all needed to be reinforced, but who needed it the most?
Xin noticed Rui Ming. The Windsplitter was fighting outside of the formation, hoping to best a flytrap monster single-handedly.
This is it! Xin rushed towards him, as the wind warrior elegantly avoided the monster's blows. Still, he was losing ground. The monster was about to press him against the well in the center of the courtyard, denying him space to maneuver!
Rui Ming knew that he was being pressed, but he had a trap card just in case. The creature swung both of its arms, creating a pincer-like swing, making sure that Rui Ming had no way to dodge.
Xin was nervously charging the creature, preparing to deliver the Woodcutter's Downswing, and was anxious about Rui Ming getting crushed to death. Please, friend, endure for just a moment!
Rui Ming had no intention of getting crushed. Instead, at the last moment, he jumped upwards, a wind path technique elevating him, and the creature's vine-arms hit the wooden pillars that held the well's roof.
Smash! The pillars were destroyed, and the vine-arms collapsed together. If Rui Ming's body had been there, his chest would have been squashed. Boom! The well's metal circular roof fell on top of the vines, and Rui Ming landed on it, trapping the creature's arms under his weight. The creature instinctively opened its mouth to shoot a sting at him, but it was already too late.
Rui Ming's elegant, long black hair waved with the wind, and there was a spinning tornado gathering around his blade. Stab! His blade pierced the flower in the creature's jaws, and it instinctively closed its mouth, trapping his blade inside.
Xin finally got to Rui Ming, raising his glaive for the Woodcutter's Downswing.
To Xin's shock, Rui Ming dropped his double-grip, and pointed away from himself with a freed hand:
"Go away! Help Su Xing!" His other hand was still holding the blade in the monster's jaws, and it produced a swirling sound.
Swish, swish, swish! The creature's mouth twitched, but then exploded in several wind gusts, dropping the pieces of its head everywhere.
The fuck? Is he actually a mortal? Xin was astonished, but then he heard a cry behind his back!
"Agh! My arm!" Su Xing was badly injured, and his opponent was cornering him as another one was approaching from the flank. Xin was overwhelmed, he couldn't focus on the whole battlefield at once.
Fine, I'll immerse myself into one situation, and make the most out of it, he thought as he rushed to reinforce Su Xing.
"Helping!" He alerted him.
"Brother Xin, I am healing, but we can't damage them!" Wu Xiaoyun had grown a thin wine between her pointing finger and Su Xing's neck, pulsating with energy. Mortal level healing techniques were helpful, but they won't be able to restore serious injuries fast enough, Xin analysed.
Woodcutter's Downswing! Xin flanked the creature, as it lazily tried to parry his chop with its vine. A fatal mistake. It now had no wine, and had a hole in its torso. It immediately changed its focus, trying to protect itself from Xin's strikes, but it was too late, as Xin delivered a second Downswing, into the same location, creating even a bigger hole.
Su Xing reinforced his glaive with water path qi and delivered a series of rapid slashes at the creature's "tendons". Together, they slashed the creature well enough, and it soon fell on the ground and stopped moving. Just in time, as the second one engaged them, and now it was Xin who was taking the brunt of the action.
Xin felt his qi reserves dwindle. He needed to eat a spirit stone to recover. He also needed to look around and scan the battlefield, he felt like a headless chicken, running around aimlessly. Being intelligent creatures, our party has to impose our conditions on the enemies, and not the other way round.
"In the mud! Back!" Rui Ming shouted from afar, as he led another vine monster away from them. Xin thought that it was addressed to him and jumped backwards.
"Agh! AAAAAGH!" Someone screamed out in pain. Outrider Lu!
A tall plant monster, bigger than the others, emerged from the mud and started cackling with the voice of an old hag.
"Rank two aura! Everyone, retreat into the house, support me as I engage the enemy!" Xie Taowei barked his order out as he killed another plant creature. He got a hang of it and methodically dispatched three such creatures by now.
Xin jumped backwards and started sprinting, and the creature quickly switched back to attacking Su Xing.
"Come back! We won't manage without you!" He shouted.
"Just retreat into the house!"
"I'll try!" Su Xing responded, but his voice was very nervous.
Xin ran into the inn as several more plant monsters were closing on their location. Their numbers significantly dwindled, but he suspected that his group was running low on qi. He quickly ran up to master Lu, who was wriggling on the floor in agony.
"Where?" Xin asked.
"Shouldah... Aaaagh!" He exerted himself tremendously to respond.
Xin quickly pressed his knee on the master's chest to fixate him, and investigated his shoulder. Indeed, his armour was pierced, and there was a twisting vine of spiked metal burying itself into his body, as thick as two arrows. Its point looked like a snake head.
Shit. Is that what I think it is? Xin sniffed the air. Smells like mercury vapour. This is terrible.
Smash! A big rock hit the roof on the second floor, and the whole house trembled. It seems master Taowei was fighting the rank two aura creature, who was probably a wood path master using a transformation ability. I can't do anything in a fight of two rank two masters, Xin thought. Saving master Lu is the highest priority.
Young hunter had already identified the method — it was a Mercury Viper Arrow. This was a rare metal and poison path method, used by demonic cultivators. Xin was lucky to happen upon its description in some book he read as a kid. It wasn't the strongest method, but it was still rank two, and it countered master Lu's armour and elemental nature. And, unless neutralised, it would spread along his meridians and invade his core, tearing his meridians apart and killing him. That's not counting the physical injury.
Xin tried to come up with a healing method, and stared at his wriggling master as he thought. Outrider Lu's eyes were expressive, contrary to his usual aloofness, and conveyed many emotions at once.
Regret. This man looked like he already accepted his death now, and his wriggling was getting slower.
Anger. Anger at what? At whom?
Resentment? Is he resenting... me?
"Master Lu, I'll now isolate the forceps with a paste, and pull the snake out. I'll then cut a huge piece of flesh out with a knife. No painkillers. I'll then start melting it with fire path materials. Brace yourself."
"Ughhh... just let... me..."
Smash! The earth outside shook, master Taowei probably used another earth path method. It was answered with hysterical cackling. Bone-chilling.
Xin applied an ice-element paste to his forceps, and pulled the snake. It broke where he held it, and a lower half remained inside of master Lu's shoulder. The blood in the place of the wound was turning watery white.
"Shit." Xin cursed as he poked around the wound.
A group of fighters ran into the inn. Xin didn't look at them, but he heard them talk.
"Report!" Tu Qiang said.
"I am injured, wrist broken, several ribs, probably, too." Su Xing answered.
"I am out of qi, already ate a spirit stone." Wu Xiaoyun reported.
"I am fine, but low on qi." added Murong Zhan.
Xin asked without looking:
"Lei and Ming?"
"Lei is on the rooftop, Ming — no idea!" Tu Qiang held the door closed, as one of the creatures tried to break in. "Yao Nang, help!"
"Alright, but I am injured!" Her voice was quite desperate.
Xin focused on master Lu again. A wood path demonic master, using a metal path method. What a coincidence. Maybe this is my lucky day, a chance to use my unique combination of natures to save master Lu? Think, Xin!
Master Lu was breathing slower, and his bleeding was also slowing down. Wu Xiaoyun ran up to them.
"Can I help somehow?"
"You've got no qi. Can you eat another stone? Got any non-wood path methods?"
"No, sorry."
"Then go splint Su Xing's wrist and reload my crossbow."
"Yes!" She instantly submitted to his orders. Xin realised that he was one of the few people exuding confidence here (along with Tu Qiang). The monsters were now banging at their closed door, and another one was trudging toward the window shutters, if Xin's hearing was to be trusted. He continued his procedure.
"Hold the door! Get ready to jump to the second floor! We might have to climb the roof!" Tu Qiang tried to organise the defence as he held the door.
A shriek was heard from the outside. One of the creatures cried out in pain again.
"I'll lead them away! I am breaking through! Help Lei and master Taowei!" Rui Ming shouted confidently.
Breaking through? While fighting?
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder