Chương 19: Call Of The Masquerade (IV): Darkness Descends

[Insurmountable odds are something you have to deal with every time as a cultivator. It could be anything from a bottle neck in your cultivation, or not being able to get enlightenment about a technique, or failing to concoct or master an alchemical recipe. But there's also times when there's an enemy you can't beat. Your strength is never enough, and death knocks right on your door. The odds of you winning is ten to one, and you're left with a choice. Stay and fight to your death, or run away and live to fight another day.

The answer is simple, and that's to run away. But sometimes life is a whole lot more complicated than running away from your enemy. There are some enemies you can't run from, some fights you have to complete no matter what. It's not bad to run away when you know you can't win, but if you keep running away...…then no matter how hard you try....you will never gain victory]

Unknown Speaker.

Alex struggled to his feet as the masquerade approached him with slow methodical steps. He could feel blood dripping down from his back, soaking his shirt as it also flowed down to his legs in a line of red life liquid. The first level of the open meridian realm, there was absolutely no way to defeat this masquerade, especially with how dire of a condition Alex now found himself. But it seems that there's no escape.

The masquerade held it's spear with both hands as it thrust outward, aiming straight for the middle of Alex's forehead. It was by sheer luck that Alex slipped on the pool of his own blood underneath his feet, and stumbled, almost falling backwards. The spear flew over his head, completely missing him, and the displaced wind from it's strike ruffled the top of Alex's hair. The spear was rapidly pulled back as the masquerade spun in a pirouette and whipped the spear like a whip towards Alex's chest.

Alex sent out a palm, hoping to deflect the incoming attack.

But the moment his palm came in contact with the body of the spear, it was pushed back to his body, leaving him helpless as the shaft of the spear slammed into his chest and threw him off his feet, straight to one of the still lit fire drums. Alex felt a foreign Qi invade his body as his organs were rattled from the previous onslaught of the spear. There was a huge red welt on his right palm, as blood gathered and clotted at a point. Due to the Qi in his body, his bones shook vigorously with every move his body made, and his palm stung.

Alex had to take multiple steps back, as he spat out blood and clutched his chest, a burning sensation began to spread from them as even the very clothes he wore cause abrasions over his skin. The open wound on his back bled harder at the aggravating movements he has been forced to make, all in all everything looked completely hopeless. The masquerade twirled the spear in it's hands and pierced if forward again, this time aiming for Alex's chest, it's speed and strength were twice his own, so it was very hard to come up with a counter, to it's crisp and ferocious moves.

Alex had no choice but to still use the [Viper Evades Buddha] palm strike to deflect the spear, he was barely successful as he slapped the spear away from his chest, but not far away enough from his body as the entire seven inch head of the spear pierced into his left arm, going so deep that it's tip pushed through his skin to come out the other side. Alex screamed as he took rapid steps backward in an attempt to pull the spear from his arm, but the masquerade was giving no quarter as it stuck close to Alex, pushing the spear, hoping to completely shove it's entire blade through his arm.

Seeing that he would soon hit the wall, Alex attempted to fall backwards.

The move was sudden enough that the spear was safely pulled out of his arm as he fell down to the ground. Even with his pain, Alex understood that it would be signing his own death warrant, if he stayed on place and provided a stationary target for the armored spear wielding masquerade. He rolled over and move back up, but he stopped his ascent leaving himself in a half crouch as the masquerade swung the spear over his head, taking a substantial part of his black hair with it.

The masquerade had left itself wide open, as the strike left it's reach extended and it's body unbalanced.

Alex tackled it, using his shoulder to slam into it's body as he grabbed it's legs with a massive scream, and picked it up with a heave. The body of this masquerade was a lot heavier than Alex expected, and not to mention the masquerade had the body of a full grown man, while Alex was just five feet tall and rather lanky fourteen year old. But regardless, he was not going to let that stop him as he carried the masquerade all the way to one of the fire drums, and proceeded to dump it's body over the blazing flames.

It was rather effective as the masquerade actually caught on fire, but it was not enough for it to get destroyed as the brightly lit masquerade picked itself up from on top of the drum. Alex knew he could not let that masquerade regain it's proper footing and balance, even though it was on fire, it seems as if it's completely immune to it's effects. Alex ran towards the masquerade hoping to catch it off guard, but he was completely helpless to dodge when the masquerade suddenly shot out it's spear, and ended up lodging the long weapon inside Alex's gut.

For a second he couldn't register what had happened. He was a little shocked by the sudden turn of events. That's when the pain finally hit him, the feeling of cold steel within the interior of your own body was very uncomfortable, but it was also painful. There was a fear that suffused Alex's heart as he wondered if he was going to die here. He had been fighting In this trials, but not once had he thought of his death as an outcome, or of how worried the people waiting would be. He hadn't thought about anything at all, he just fought.

There say when you're about to die, your entire life flashed before your eyes. Alex did not see such flashes, in fact the only thing he could see was red, as a hot burning fury coursed through his vein with the advent of his blood.

He had gone beyond being angry at his current situation, he was absolutely furious and wrathful. Everything that's happened so far has been a prime example of chance and fate, he's had no control, neither did he have a choice about being swept up into this bizarre and very random situation. His father would not be happy with his use of curses, but this was all kinds of fucked up.

But there was nothing he could do now. However he wouldn't just keel over and die for this masquerade or whatever ancestral force that was playing with his life. If he has to die, he's going to take this bastard straight to the grave with him. At least this way he could die with a defiant smile on his face. Alex pushed forward with all of his might, letting the spear pierce through his body completely.

Then he kept moving forward, causing more and more of the spear to be lodged into his body as copious amount of thick red blood, flowed from his fatal wound. Alex swung his injured left hand with all of his strength, using the [Iron Viper Strike] to shatter both the bones on his left arm, but the sturdy jaw of the masquerade.

His aim was actually successfully, too successful even as the masquerade's helmet flew off it's head, and it was forced to turn it's head to the side due to the force of the punch. It was completely unguarded and open. Fighting through the pain, Alex drew condensed all of his strength to his right arm, and shot it forward again.

"Iron Viper Strike!, Arrrgggghhhhhhhhhhh!"

"BOOOOOOM!"

The air was displaced by this punch as a clump of wind gathered around Alex's fist. He had performed a perfect execution of this move, and was in no danger of hurting himself, even more so he had pushed it's a ability to the next level causing a peculiar occurrence to the move as the essence of wind suddenly encompassed his fist, increasing his penetration power, and given it not just a crushing effect, but a shredding effect.

The moment Alex's fist landed on it's head, it's head and body exploded into tiny strips of white wood, it was as if someone had grated the entire masquerade into pieces of paper. Those pieces reformed, and turned into a mask that went on to hover over it's own drum.

The spear that was lodged in his stomach disappeared, and Alex fell to his feet, gasping for breath as he held onto his stomach. Now that the spear was no longer staunching his wound, blood flowed out in sift rivulets, seeping in between the cracks of Alex's fingers. He looked pitiful, and no doubt very close to death. A drum started to beat once again, and another masquerade appeared. He was also armored, but he was holding twin long swords that gleamed in the brightly lit arena. This masquerade was at the second level of the open meridian realm.

The masquerade crossed it's swords as it pointed them at Alex. Alex could not help but chuckle, this was a completely hopeless situation, and there was no way he could defeat this new enemy. He could not even get up from his kneeling position, if the blood loss did not kill him, then the masquerade in front of him will.

Either way, he had done all he could, he had fought with all of his strength, and even now as his vision faded to black he still wanted to fight, to live. He was young but he had so many regrets, but none of that mattered now anyway, death has come calling.

Alex looked up in time to see the twin long swords of the masquerade rapidly descending on top of his head. Those gleaming silver blades left a lasting impression on him as he wondered how cool it would be, if he wielded twin swords. He should probably add that to his memo, in the next life, if there was one, he would be a fearsome swordsman who used two swords. And then darkness fell.

SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
Anone

Restarting this novel has been somewhat slow and exhausting since I still have to keep writing my other novel. But I think everything turned out fine (I hope). Anyway this is the final chapter for the week(maybe). I'm trying to create a schedule. So on average there would be four to six chapter a week. That way I can have a day to rest. I treat this like a full time job, but I'm not getting paid. So I need to rest. Thanks for reading and God bless you.

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