The bright torches shone brightly across. The young woman's eyes showed a look of disbelief. She shouted loudly, "We're at the back of the mountain, further beyond is a cliff, how did you guys manage to climb up?"
Hearing the young woman's voice, Pei Zi Yun gave a cold look at his oncoming enemies. They had extremely hostile appearances. Could it be the tribe's enemies, the other mountain tribes?
"Kill!"
More than twenty mountain people surrounded them, all of them with menacing killing intent. Their sheaths were all hanging from their waists, empty. Their blades were reflecting the light from their torches. As they started to cordon off Pei Zi Yun's escape path, they were shouting loudly, and it was an intimidating sight.
"Finish them!"
Pei Zi Yun drew his longsword and gave a cold laugh. His sword was glistening under the light. "Zhng" The tip of his sword burst into flames momentarily before a white strand of energy rested on the blade of the sword. He had imbued his sword with energy, as it shook vigorously under his firm grip, and he almost lost control.
"Pu" The nearest attacker was stabbed in his throat, where a wide gaping hole formed. Blood gushed out of his new orifice.
Pei Zi Yun then saw the shine of a blade about to fall upon him. Instantly, his shadow turned into a blur. With inhuman speed, he appeared at the right side of his next opponent. Unable to dodge, all he could do was watch in shock. He gasped at the absurdity of the situation, as he heard the sound of the longsword penetrating into his body without any resistance. Before he knew it, the entire length of the sword had buried itself within his body. Pei Zi Yun then pulled his sword out.
"Ah...." It took a much longer time to describe the situation compared to the speed in which it happened. He moved so quickly that both his victims fell to the ground at the same time.
"Fight, follow the Young Chieftain and repel our enemies!"
"Kill! Kill him!" Someone shouted. Immediately after, several blades were upon him.
"Blinding Light Technique!"
Immediately after he uttered those words, an entire screen of blinding white light formed in front of him. Everyone was temporarily blinded and stunned by the light, and could not see what was happening.
"Die!" Pei Zi Yun stepped to the left and lodged his sword into the left shoulder of the nearest enemy. He pulled his sword back out and dodged to the right before stabbing another person in the heart.
Shifting his stance after every step, his sword flew in all directions. The people who had surrounded him fell to the ground one by one. Some had their throats ripped out by the ferocity of the sword techniques and blood splattered in all directions.
As the Blinding Light Technique started to wane, the mountain warriors who had attacked him were astonished and horrified. They started screaming in fear, "Magical arts, the High Priest's magic arts!"
"Do not panic." At this point, a middle-aged mountain warrior charged towards him, "Give me your life!"
His sword then charged towards Pei Zi Yun, threatening his life.
"Be brave, be brave!" Several timid warriors started shouting, as if to regain their composure and bravery.
The sky was initially cloudy, but they had dispersed by now. The cold moonlight and the flickering of stars cast some light down from overhead. With the flash of the sword, this middle-aged mountain warrior's cap flew into the air. All of a sudden, he opened his mouth wide and let out an agonizing loud shout.
His shout lasted for less than a fraction of a second as he fell down to the ground from the ferocity of the blow. Using his palms, he pushed himself off the ground and managed to force himself to his knees. His cap was now missing, and in its place a large mess of red and white could be seen atop his head. Soon after, he fell to the ground, without a sound.
Up to this point, this was the first time that Pei Zi Yun ever had to retreat. He had to dodge two blows from him before returning one deadly strike.
To be able to make Pei Zi Yun retreat meant that he was not an ordinary fighter. The next two warriors before him had clear and sharp gazes. One of them was a young man. Although he had a big frame and a sturdy built, his face was still young and unseasoned. The other was a middle aged man, with high arching eyebrows, his face bore the numerous hardships he had to endure.
'These mountain warriors have developed a proficiency for sword fights through many years of massacre and killings.'
'Their style of fighting is very similar to those of the military men, except their is much more unorthodox and queer.'
They stood there sizing each other up for a very short time. In the next moment, the three of them charged forward, their shadows interlocking. When they broke apart, there was a "Pah" and a wrist was being flung up in the air, as it was hacked off with a fierce uppercut. The victim tried to catch his falling, severed wrist with both hands instinctively, but realized he was missing a wrist. His remaining hand flailed helplessly as his severed wrist fell to the ground.
"Zhng" Pei Zi Yun parried the strong blow dealt by the young man and broke away from him. The middle aged man who had lost his master hand picked up his sword with his left hand. The moonlight shone onto his face, and Pei Zi Yun took a good look at him. Not a trace of pain could be found on his face, although he did look somewhat distressed. He then wielded the sword and charged towards Pei Zi Yun.
"Pu"
This time, Pei Zi Yun's sword stabbed him in the left side. The middle-aged man's eyes gaped wide open. As blood spouted out from his wound. Pei Zi Yun withdrew his sword from within the cavity of the middle aged man, and raised his sword once again to block the timely blow from the young man.
'He's so young, and clearly doesn't have a reputable swordsman as a teacher, and yet his skills are already so impressive. This means that he's innately gifted.'
'It's a pity that he met me, as he shall die anyway!'
To force Pei Zi Yun to exert his utmost, these two men must've had a great deal of practice and experience with sword fights. They were considered extremely proficient swordsmen. However, speaking of proficiency, this young man was slightly better than his older partner.
Sword techniques involved a great deal of military strategies as well. Hence, Pei Zi Yun decided to kill off the weaker person first. In doing so, he eliminated their ability to attack together and cause him problems. Now this young man was on his own.
Within the next second, this young man's eyes bore a murderous look. His youthful exuberance had been replaced by a sinister and terrifying killing intent. In the next moment, the young man pounced up like a leopard, his sword moving as quick as lightning itself.
"Binding Technique!" The momentary pause earlier was probably for the young man to amass his hatred and energy and lash it out at Pei Zi Yun. It was a pity that Pei Zi Yun wasn't just a pure fighter. This pause gave him the chance to exhibit his Dao techniques as well.
The young man's body froze rigidly. Although this technique would only last for a fraction of a second or less, that would be the difference between life and death. In the next moment, the edge of the sword penetrated his skin and parted his flesh. Pei Zi Yun drove the sword through his chest and heart.
The young man had a strange expression on his face. His hands then released his sword as he fell to his knees. His face hardened as his hands touched the blade as if meaning to pick it up once more. The moment his palms touched the handle of the sword, he fell face down onto the ground.
"The Dajiu father and son are dead. The Dajiu father and son are dead!" Within a second, panic spread across the faces of the remaining warriors, most of them in shocked disbelief.
There was a mistake in the news that they had received. The mountain tribes were told that the High Priest's successor had come to succeed him. Hence, they used fire to contain the snakes so that the successor would not be able to call upon them. Doing this would supposedly weaken the successor, so that killing him was easy. However, they had just witnessed the fierceness of his sword techniques. He was so skillful that even the pair of renowned swordsmen had fallen to him so quickly.
"Follow the Young Chieftain, kill them all!" He Qing Qing paused after seeing everything unfold before her. She then snapped back to the present situation. Raising her blade, she charged through.
"To hell with you! We will never let the High Priest be revived." The mountain warriors were clearly so afraid of the High Priest's return that they were pushed to a corner and were driven crazy by fear. Their thoughts were interrupted by a warrior shouting as he charged towards them crazily.
As he got closer, He Qing Qing stepped forward, a smile was etched on her face, her blade raised as well. After several exchanges, the warrior lunged his sword out in a jab. He Qing Qing nimbly evaded the blow, which left the warrior open. She then stabbed his neck from the side. Clutching his wound, he fell to the ground and bled out soon after.
"How is it going on the Young Chieftain's side?" He Qing Qing turned her head to look. She saw Pei Zi Yun being surrounded by seven or eight warriors. His sword flashing as he jabbed out in assault continuously. He was holding his own against so many of them, and yet they were not a match for him. In the blink of an eye, he had subdued all of them. Every time his sword moved, be it in an attacking stance or a counter attacking stance, blood was spilt. Since he was up against so many people, he could not afford to be graceful and hold back. For if he were to hesitate in the slightest, even someone as skillful as himself would end up being killed. Hence, his sword moved in a crazed frenzy as he strove to subdue all of them within the quickest amount of time possible. Flesh and blood spilled in all directions.
Before a minute even passed, the entire ground was strewn with corpses and blood. The remaining warriors were either pressed to insanity by the sight before them, or they didn't even have the time to feel fear, as they kept attacking without a care for their own lives. With raised swords, their assault persisted. He Qing Qing witnessed a man's shoulder being severed from his torso.
The gleam of sword was unceasing and unabating. The number of warriors however dwindled rapidly. The last man standing revealed a grotesque smile before his head was split open. Two large eyeballs popped out from within his sockets as he fell forward.
There was no enemy left. Just as they were about to exhale a sigh of relief, they noticed one warrior standing before Pei Zi Yun, holding a sword. He was trembling violently in fear.
"Speak, who sent you here?" Pei Zi Yun used his hands to wipe the droplets of sweat. His entire body was full of enemies' blood and sweat. In this short span of killing, Pei Zi Yun's energy was almost depleted.
"Die!" Although this mountain warrior alone and trembling in fear, he managed to muster all the courage and charged towards Pei Zi Yun. Pei Zi Yun raised his sword lazily and disarmed him instantly. His sword flew up into the air, and landed on the ground a distance away from him. Pei Zi Yun then raised his sword and pointed it at the neck of the warrior. Just as he was about to question him, the warrior charged forward, killing himself at this point of Pei Zi Yun's sword.
"Pu!" A large stream of blood flowed out from the wound before he fell to the ground. There was so much blood on the floor that it was a sea of red, and the ground could not be seen. His eyes were gleaming, as if there was still hope for these mountain warriors.
At this point, they had defended themselves successfully and killed all their enemies. He Qing Qing's face was pale, clearly in a state of shock. The pair of mountain warriors who had accompanied them immediately fell to their knees and shouted, "Young Chieftain, the assailants have all been subdued."
Their bodies trembled, clearly at the point of exhaustion both physically and mentally.
He Qing Qing stood by the side. Her ears pricked as she hurriedly stepped forward, "Young Chieftain, I can hear the sound of drums and people shouting."
Pei Zi Yun immediately reacted to the sound as well, "Not good, more tribesmen have come to attack us. Hurry, retreat."
The four of them started running. From afar, they could see the mountain in front of them filled with people. In the dark, the mass of people looked like snakes on the mountain. They all carried torches. Based on Pei Zi Yun's estimate, there looked to be at least a thousand or two thousands men holding torches. They were extremely imposing and fearsome. As their own tribesmen saw the number of warriors they had, they trembled in panic.
"Hurry, hurry!" The four of them rushed back. When they were near their stronghold, they could see some warriors holding torches as they patrolled around. When the four of them were near, the patrolling warriors shouted from afar, "Is that the tribe leader and the Young Chieftain?"
"Yes, it's us." He Qing Qing walked up to acknowledge. When they heard the voice of a woman, the man patrolling the walls heaved a sigh of relief, "Hurry, lower the basket for the tribe leader and Young Chieftain."
Once they heard the instructions, the men atop the wall released a huge basket supported by vines. The four of them divided into pairs and took took turns to be raised up by the vines. Once they reached the top of the wall, they were greeted by familiar faces. He Qing Qing then heaved a sigh of relief, and was secretly overjoyed, "Thankfully we are all fine."
"Tribe leader, Young Chieftain, we don't know why. But the five nearest tribes started attacking us today, and wish to annex our entire tribe."
Even before Pei Zi Yun could reply, there were rushed footsteps coming from down below.
The footsteps came from all different directions. At first, there was no particular rhythm to their footsteps, but once they converged, their footsteps synchronized with each other.
In a very short amount of time, the top of the wall was surrounded by fellow tribesmen, visible under the moonlight. There were at least a hundred of them, men and women, young and old. Their once ragged clothing had been replaced by a unique set of robes, as though it was prepared for battle. Their eyes were all red with determination.
The old woman from yesterday who had wrinkles all over her face had dressed up in a nice looking set of robes. It looked like a sort of priestess attire. She waved a black flag and had a whistle in her mouth. The rest of the tribe, regardless of whether they were old, or whether they were women all stopped whatever they were doing. They then gathered around in three rows, in attention.
Following their complete assembly, the row of people on the right moved simultaneously and threw out a piece of cloth each. It seemed like the cloth was used as a sheath to their blades. Their blades resembled the Miaodao, except it was about a meter long and had no handle. The edge of the blade looked extremely sharp. They were all standing rigidly, waiting for orders.
'The killing aura that radiated from this group is extremely impressive, along with their fearsome formation.'
'Even if they starved, or if their clothes were rags, their war banners, their war uniforms and even weapons were being preserved and upkept extremely well.'
Pei Zi Yun glance at them and was astounded. A chill ran up from his spine to his head.
When he ascended the mountain yesterday, he saw a bunch of poor and starved mountain people. Hence when the young woman said that the remaining group of people within the stronghold were the most loyal, he did not think too much of it. All he thought was that he had to protect these people.
However seeing this scene unfold before him, he saw their true colors and understood what the young woman had meant.
"Young Chieftain, the Lumen Troops are all assembled and ready for orders." The old woman said loudly. The black flag was dancing in the wind, beneath the flag the entire tribe were assembled. Seeing the scene before them, the young woman opened her mouth in shock as well. Pei Zi Yun looked at them and understood.
'He Qing Qing was just in charge of the provisions and ensuring the tribe had enough food and necessities. The person who was truly in charge here was the old woman who was holding onto the flag!'
'For great senior uncle to call himself a King, I had found it funny. However based on what I'm looking at right now, in order for him to achieve that, he had an extraordinary way of doing things. He must've trained everyone within the stronghold to fight in formation.'
'It's been twenty years, and the remaining people still have the same unity and determination as before!'