章節 28: - A Rushing Feeling
The canyon was long and wide, setting an uneasy feeling among his men, who marched forward in rows and columns of five each, making a total of twenty men. Enough to deal with one girl and any of her entourage.
Behind them, the group of ten miners, dressed head to toe in anything sharp and deadly, matched with lax and loose feeling and comfort.
'How can they be so calm?'
Wonders Alan, who stood at the front of the twenty men he had brought with him, leading them down the canyon that even sent shivers down his spine.
Perhaps it was due to the horrid scene they had just crawled away from, groups of tens of dozens of men who laid rotting in their own flesh, surrounded by the dead spiders whose husks did little to help with the smell.
The scene was so disgusting that nearly all his men had puked their own lunches over the floor. Or was it dinner? Honestly, being underground for so long, Alan couldn't tell what time was day and what time was night.
Alan could only guess, but he believed the same discombobulation that he felt while down here, was the same feeling these spiders were experiencing.
After all, before coming here he had done his research on the girl he was hunting, knowing full well that she was after the Silver Tail Spider, a common spider that was found in small caves and swamps. But nothing this deep underground. Which he obviously found strange.
'It's like their instinct is trying to fix their logical sense.'
On their way here, he passed by what looked to be a small scuffle or battle, possibly between the girl he was hunting, her group she took with her, and the spiders who, under normal circumstance, would have been asleep at this time.
But they weren't.
'Perhaps, because they can't tell the time difference, their bodies are trying to fall asleep, but their minds won't let them as it 'isn't the right time.''
He quickly shook his head, knowing full well that he couldn't distract himself with such thoughts. He had a goal and a mission to accomplish.
Regaining the honor he lost.
With him were the few men that had stayed loyal to him, the few that hadn't turned tail and run when word got out.
'Those three fools.'
In Morden, honor meant everything. Especially to tribal families that hailed from some prestigious tribal house, or some decedent to a powerful ancestor.
No matter what the case, honor meant everything to people in Morden. Though not many actually cared about honor, there were some who took it to new heights.
Including his mother.
In fact, his mother cared so much about honor, she was absent for a large portion of his life in the early stages. And when she did show up, she grilled him over and over again about the importance of honor, being cold to him whenever possible.
However, even with her actions against him, he still found himself trying to prove his worth to his mother, to make her love him as a son.
He had almost succeeded as well.
With the creation of the Baren Hunters, his fame as the son of a tribal chief, one of the five main tribal clans that ruled over Morden, had skyrocketed.
And for the first time, he could see pride in his mother's eyes, as he gave her the most recent report on his spoils as a Hunter.
That was, of course, until those three drunken fools, his officers of the Guild, broke into the room, just to rant about how that woman had beat them.
His mother, who heard it all, lost every ounce of pride for her son just as fast as it came.
The mistake those three fools made, was that they had picked a fight with the wrong person, and then had the gall to rant about how they needed to go after her, and rid her of the air in her lungs.
Word spread quickly, thanks to the many high class Hunters that were witnesses to the attack, and had watched the three's stupidity get the better of them. Another mistake they had failed to realize.
And just like that, Guilds stopped working with them, his soldiers left him after years of service, and his mother banished him, ashamed to have such a fool as a son.
Of course the real situation had been blown out of proportion, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter how much they exaggerated, the events remained the same.
Now, here he stood, before twenty men, fighting for what little honor he had left.
Of course this could have been seen as excessive, but he didn't care. In truth, he was hoping to kill two birds with one stone.
Killing that girl, and ridding these mines of the Silver Tailed Spiders. Doing so would offer him a number of chances at fame, and widen his connection with the underground, thanks to Sir Wallace.
'That man…'
When his mind crossed over Sir Wallice, Alan couldn't help but shiver.
In many ways he was somewhat normal, his actions were quick, and that's to the knowledge of his hidden weapon, Alan knew Wallace was in fact, weak.
His true might lied in his economic prowess and his connections to the underground, something Alan desperately needed if he was to squash the rumors that stood before him.
Smiling to himself, Alan's mind began to wonder, just what he would gain from this favor Wallace would owe him.
'Maybe my mother will even come back calling?'
He quickly shook his head, knowing full well that his mother would never take the initiative to apologize to anyone. Especially him.
That was just how she was.
Thinking about her, his mind became sad, as his expression drooped.
'Maybe, when this is all done, I'll stop trying to prove myself to her.'
"Sir, we've arrived."
Hearing his right hand speak up, Alan looked ahead, lying eyes on the large metal engraved door that looked far more ancient than he would have expected.
"Ready yourselves."
He ordered, his voice ringing out amongst the crowds.
"Be prepared for anything."
As the men readied themselves from the battle, Alan silently spoke inside his head, his words filled with emotion.
'I don't know who you are, or why you got mixed up in this in the first place, but I'm sorry. I know you were only trying to protect yourself, but your actions have caused my life to spiral downhill. So forgive me…'
He drew his blade, the metal sparking against the sheath.
'...this is where you die. Lia.'
But he couldn't have been more wrong.
***
The door creaked and groaned, the wood and metal rotten and rusted from time worn around its hinges.
Lia knew it would not last long against the intruders on the outside.
Though she had no idea who it could be, she couldn't get rid of the feeling of danger that prickled against her skin, like goosebumps warning her of the cold weather set to come.
Only this time, it was her entire body, warning her of the blood that had yet to be shed.
Glancing over at Cain, his calm expression set Lia's mind into confusion.
From the sound of the door cracking, she could guess that the number of men on the other side were large, yet he looked so calm.
His body was relaxed, his breath steady, and his eyes weren't focused or serious at all.
In many ways, she would have mistaken this as some experienced warrior's habit, knowing what a battle had to offer. But instead, she was just left dumbfounded by his calming appearance.
"Cain?"
Her voice broke the theater of the tense atmosphere, as her confusion got the better of her.
"Do you plan on summoning anyone else to come help?"
Raising an eyebrow, Cian casually glanced at Lia, before turning his focus back on the door.
"No, I don't."
Taken aback, the pointing on the door grew louder and stronger, the wood snapping and the groaning increasing. Enough that even Rian raised his gauntlets ready for a fight.
Opening her mouth, she tried to question Cain's reasoning, but was left interrupted before she could even speak.
"Otherwise, there wouldn't be any fun in this."
Smiling his devilish smile, Cain's eyes flashed red with a glowing hue, fading in the air like smoke and whisps.
Before Lia could question him, the sounds of wood snapping grew even louder, and the sound of metal hinges breaking through the rust, filled the atmosphere.
Not only that, but soon after Lia took notice of this, the door finally gave out, and in a cloud of dust and ash from the burned spiders fluttered in the wind, casting a cloud hiding the intruders from behind its smoke.
-Bang!
Silence.
Silence was all that lingered in the air, as the echoing sound of the door crashing against the floor faded out into the distance.
Suddenly…
-Fwhiiiip.
-Clang!
A spiraling ninja star flung from the dust cloud straight at Cain, who did nothing to avoid it, other than raise his hand spreading two of his fingers, and catching the swirling star between his two fingers.
The sight was somewhat straight from a dream, something a kid would normally brag about, while lying through his teeth.
Surprisingly, Cain didn't seem to mind the fact that someone had just thrown a ninja star at him, and simply brushed it off by tossing the star to the side, and smiled while looking deep into the cloud of dust.
For more than one reason, Lia had a suspicion that he was looking deep into the eyes of the person who threw the star, even though she could not see it.
The sound of swords being drawn and the bustling sound of dozens of boots hitting the ground simultaneously, warning Lia of the coming crowd.
But she didn't expect what happened next.
Dozens of men poured from the dust cloud in groups of three, one for Rian, one for Cain, and one for Lia, all of whom wore masks covering their entire face.
The attack was so sudden that Lia found it difficult to react in time.
But her senses did not.
Easily able to sense the incoming doom, her feet moved for her, quickly side shuffling from two simultaneous attacks. One from her left, and then one from her right, both centered with bringing their swords down on either side of her.
Taking several steps back, Lia could hear the pounds of weapons clashing in the distance, and what appeared to be the sounds of hand to hand combat. Cain no doubt.
Appearing before her, another masked man attempted a jab at her chest, which Lia instantly reacted to, raising her sword using the flat end to redirect the blade away from her, while also delivering a kick to the man's gut.
Whether they were trying to kill her or not, Lia could not bring herself to kill these men.
For one, she didn't even know who they were, much less why they were there. Secondly, their lax expressions and attacks proved to her that they weren't trying to kill her, merely trying to immobilize her.
For this hesitation, Lia faced the onslaught of over five more men, who, keeping a fair distance from one another, hacked at her from all sides.
In fact, if it wasn't for Lia's enhanced senses, she had no doubt that she would have already been in pieces against the ground.
Bobbing and weaving between each one of their attacks, she created a difficult situation for the men, who tried desperately not to hit each other, while also trying to hit Lia, dancing between each of them.
"Stop moving you dumb little - Ouff!"
Kicking the man in the shin, Lia delivered a harsh blow to his jaw, giving him one solid uppercut.
Creating an openg for herself , Lia dashed between the men, over the fallen soldier, just befroe the gap could be filled.
"Get bak here!"
Calling after her, the men began their chase after Lia, who proved to be faster than she had expected. Faster than even she expected.
As she dodged the dead carcasses of spiders, and hopped over those that she could, before she even knew it, Lia had made an entire 180 degree circle around the room, pillars and all.
'How am I moving this fast?'
A voice answered her inside her head, his tone serious and damning.
'Because I'm allowing it. Don't hesitate to kill these men. Their goal is your head.'
'How do you know?'
'For God's sake, because I'm fighting with their leader.'
Snapping her head in his direction, Lia's eyes landed on Cain, who was currently in a heated battle against a man with silver hair, his sword flashing with each swipe.
However, easily dodging the blows with simple movements of his hands, arms, legs, and even his head, Cain's lax attitude did little to calm the fueling anger of the man, whose rage was written across his face plain to see.
'Lia, listen to me. You can be faster if you want, but you have to focus.'
Still running, and running, Lia passed by the same group of men who were chasing her for the third time.
'How?'
'Listen to me. Focus on your feet, and the feeling of your soles against the floor when you push off. Do you understand?'
'Yes.'
'Good. Now, do so, and just focus on running. Once you pick up speed, then we'll continue this talk.'
Doing as Cain said, Lia focused solely on her legs and the burning sensation of her thighs and shins. The feeling of her feet against the ground, the feeling of her soles pushing against the hard stone.
The feeling was so vivid and so heightened that Lia wondered if she was stomping against the ground and not actually running.
But soon, she got her answer, as the world around her slowly began to tune down in speed, while she increased in it.
It wasn't slow enough to feel as though she was stopping time, but it was slow enough where she could vividly see the actions of each individual when fighting.
She felt no air brush around her, and felt no pain from her legs anymore. The speed at which she was going was so fast, that her own eyes began to burn with tears.
'That's it Lia. Now, head to the group of men you were fighting against.'
Doing as Cain said, Lia changed directions very quickly and sharply, speeding off to their area, a ways from the battle, but not too far. J
'Now, when you want to slow down, lean back, and brush your hand against the ground. But once you do, push off again in the direction you want to go in.'
As she neared the five men, she leaned back, her balance never berating her as time truly felt as though it was slowing down.
Reaching out behind her, Lia felt her hand brush against the cold, hard stone, and instantly the world around her looked as if it had returned to normal, but at a much slower speed. But not nearly as slow as when she was running.
'Now. Push off.'
Pressing her right foot against the ground, Lia's body shot forward like an arrow speeding through the air.
Instinctively, as she passed the five men, her hand raised and her sword was outstretched against the wind.
Before she knew it she had already passed by the five men, her blade covered in some wet substance.
'Once you're done, push off again, and waste no time. Otherwise it will take a while before you reach that speed again.'
Without turning around, Lia pushed off again, her hair fluttering in the wind, and her blade outstretched causing whips to form in the air.
She knew the five men were dead, yet she felt nothing when killing them.
In fact, she felt nothing. Her mind was solely focused on the adrenaline of battle, and her actions reflected this.
'Head towards Rian and helped him. He's dealing with more than you, so he'll need help.'
'What about you?'
For a moment she almost felt Cain smile.
'I'll be fine. Go.'
And just like that, she sped off into the distance, the blood once covering her face, lost within the wind of her speed.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票