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063 - Deadly Combination
🕑 Added 2024-08-13 00:20:04 +0000 UTC“As long as we destroy it, victory is ours!”
This cry was heard in the distance. Somehow, it seemed to originate from much too far away compared to the distance that truly separated them. Countless lines of light pulsed along the ground, joining dim runes inlaid among the stone tiles, just out of reach on the other side of the flickering barrier that separated them from the outside world.
Hearing their boss's order, the four masked individuals wished to rush to his position, yet a small woman in an orange dress barred their path. Each time they ran past her, they encountered a strange multicoloured light. Then, they changed course, only to collide with their own allies.
Sometimes, one would use the other threes as decoys, plunging into the purple mist only to emerge to the same sight as before, as if space folded onto itself, trapping them in a revolving prison.
"Let's take her down!" one intruder shouted, spurring his companion forward as he charged toward Feng Xia. "The client only wished for her to be alive; they didn't specify they needed her to have all her limbs intact."
Feng Xia frowned as she watched the remaining three rush toward her, weapon in hand. Even with her miraculous light, facing four individuals in the Void Core realm would strain her qi reserves. Fortunately, she wasn't alone.
Blades of wind emerged from the purple mist, aimed at the two rushing on Feng Xia's left. Although the wind was sharp and deadly, the two masked men reacted fast enough to evade. Yet somehow, a limb was severed, and blood rained from the wound.
A man clutched the open gash, somehow trying to staunch the bleeding, all the while screaming his pain. His voice echoed in the night air, creating a nightmarish rendition of this symphony of bloodshed and strife.
"It's just an arm," Lian Huiling said as she emerged from the violet mist. A purple lotus quickly rotated above her head, spewing its spores into the surroundings.
Her green dress was striking against the purple background, while the silver fan in her hands was slowly waved back and forth, creating a slow wind that dispersed the fog hovering near her visage, making her features clear for the intruders to see. Even while masked, Lian Huiling could see many emotions in their eyes, ranging from frustration to fear. Somehow, she couldn't help but show a content smile, which only made the masked assassins shudder.
Still, their consternation wouldn’t hold them back for long. In fact, one of them grinned and struck back just as soon as the opportunity presented itself. From the recesses of his sleeves emerged metal darts, and with but a flick of his fingers, they were thrust through space, slicing through the air, aimed straight at Lian Huiling's throat and heart.
The man couldn't help but sneer at his opponent's stupidity. Why did she emerge from the mist when she could have simply remained hidden? She only made herself a target. He didn't believe this woman possessed something as mystical as that girl in the orange dress. Unfortunately, reality would prove otherwise.
Lian Huiling made no indications of dodging. Furthermore, her expression didn't waver in the slightest, as if those darts aimed at her vitals were inconsequential. In fact, that was all they were. Those metal darts had been thrown with the expert marksmanship of someone who had spent his whole life doing so, and, as such, their aim was true.
They collided with Lian Huiling's body, yet, unlike what the man had expected, they didn't rip through her perfect skin but only passed through harmlessly. In fact, all the man saw was a slight purple shimmer at the point of impact before the metal object disappeared into the mist. A second later, a sound came back to them: the sound of metal hitting the barrier imprisoning them.
“You'll have to do better than that," Lian Huiling said with derision. Yet, the voice didn't seem to come from the body they could see but from behind them.
As they turned their eyes toward its origin, another Lian Huiling emerged from Feng Xia's right. Both women looked at each other, nodding slightly and then showed a radiant smile. The bird in the form of a young girl seemed confused for a moment before realization came to her. In fact, to not reveal her hand before their enemies were too deep to escape, Lian Huiling hadn't shared the intricacies of what her spiritual roots could achieve. Still, seeing two Lian Huiling was enough for Feng Xia to infer a few things.
“It’s just an illusion,” one of the men said, yet his voice was far from calm. “They’re not real! Don’t be fooled; she must still be hidden with the mist.”
“Are you sure about that?” both Lian Huilings said in unison, hiding their derisive smiles behind their silver fans. “Do you believe that enough to wage your life on it?”
Then, as if synchronized, both waved their fans, creating countless blades of wind from their edges. The wind cut through the purple mist, displacing it as they barrelled toward where the intruders were.
"Ignore it," the same man said as he propagated his qi outward to pierce through the purple veil. "I don't sense any qi within; they must be illusions. This is just a distraction for us to let down our guard and attack us from the mist!"
Nodding, the remaining men thought the same and used their own qis to prob the purple mist, trying to find the real Lian Huiling's location. Unfortunately, they would have to pay dearly for such hasty conclusions.
While most were busy probing the mist, a single man of the quartet felt dread rise in his heart. As such, he didn't devote himself entirely to the task and sought to block the incoming wind blades. This decision would prove to save his life.
He used his qi to erect a barrier around him, blocking most of the rampaging wind crashing into it. However, due to the hasty nature of this barrier, the man still felt most of the impact upon his body. Nevertheless, even as blood fell from the wounds where the wind had ripped his skin, the man remained alive and breathing. The same couldn't be said for all his companions.
Thinking his reasoning to be infallible, another man dismissed the blades of wind aimed at him. However, as they collided with his body, he couldn’t help but feel the sharp breeze containing a massive amount of qi that ripped into his being, invading organs through his wounds and wreaking havoc on his insides. The wind was like a poison, destroying everything it touched until nothing remained. Only a scream of agony escaped his lips until his breath of life ceased altogether to the consternation of his companions.
“How?!” one of them cried in frustration. “That’s impossible! How could an illusion possibly confuse our qi perception?”
“Denying reality won’t get you anywhere,” the two Lian Huiling say simultaneously. “You can only blame your own ignorance.”
In the distance, hidden by the mist, countless sounds of metal clashing against hard stones could be heard. The battle between Yun Jingfei and the intruder's leader had resumed. While these men wished nothing more than to heed his orders and help him overcome this formation, they had more pressing concerns. The two women before them were much more than they first appeared. However, not all hope was lost.
"Maintaining this illusion must be taxing on her qi reserves," one of the more cool-headed invaders said. "I don't believe she can maintain this scale for long, even with the help of this formation. We only need to hold out until she runs out of qi, and we'll win."
Lian Huiling’s eyes narrowed only for a brief moment before returning to normal.
"A praise-worthy analysis," she replied sincerely. "I would expect nothing less from professionals. Coldly abandoning your leader isn't something one sees every day."
She hid her smile behind her fan, yet she couldn't hide the derision in her words. More importantly, she had no intention to.
“While I must admit our leader’s opponent seems strong, unless they have reached the Golden Core realm, there’s no way they can be a match for him. You better pray their corpse is still intact after he is done with them.”
The intruders' expressions were laced with malice. They were fully confident of their leader's victory. Such confidence gave Lian Huiling a slight sense of unease. She had wished to grind them out slowly until they collapsed, but now she had to reevaluate her plans.
“If that's the case, it's time for plan B," she said, throwing Feng Xia a look from behind her fan.
Lian Huiling waved their fan from both sides of the trio, creating even more blades of wind headed for them. However, this time, these intruders had lost all their non-nonchalance; they would meet the incoming dangers with all the strength they could muster.
One retrieved an artifact from his storage ring that resembled a turtle shell. It expanded to envelop all three of them, shielding them from the deadly winds. Despite their sharpness, those wind blades only left shallow marks upon its surface before dissipating. However, as soon as they appeared, these marks would fade as the men poured their qi into the artifact, repairing it faster than Lian Huiling could damage it.
Although her fan was of a higher grade, she had to use too much qi to sustain the purple mist to effectively utilize it. She could barely use half of her fan's power at best, far from enough to overcome that turtle shell artifact.
“Give it up,” one of the men sneered within the safety of the turtle shell. “This is a Mid-Grade Profound Rank artifact. There’s no way you can break it with your current strength.”
Lian Huiling’s expression, however, didn't show any impatience or concern, as if the situation was in the palm of her hand. She waved her fan again, repeating the same motion that had once failed, not even infusing more qi into it than she once did. The only divergent factor was Feng Xia, following behind one of those sets of wind blades.
Just as the wind was about to collide with the hard shell, Feng Xia’s sleeve reached it first, bathing it in a multicoloured light. Blinded by the light, the men within had no choice but to close their eyes for a brief moment. Still, they did so without worry as they were fully confident in their defence, yet that proved just enough for Feng Xia’s purpose.
An instant later, as the light receded, a cry of agony pierced the heat of battle. The men opened their eyes but couldn't help but be shocked. One of their own fell limply on the ground, his body full of deep gashes and wounds. His human shape was no more. What they saw was akin to a mound of severed limbs and gore.
The remaining two knew in their guts what led to this; however, they couldn't conceive how it had happened. They raised their head, examining the turtle shell that should have protected them, only to see it intact and flawless, as if not a single wind blade had reached its surface. All they saw was Feng Xia next to them, looking at them with pity in her eyes as if their deaths were simply expected.
Fear took root in their hearts. After all, while they were professionals and were ready to face death at any moment, doing so at the hand of something they couldn't comprehend left them feeling helpless. Still, not all hope was lost. As long as they resisted until their boss could come to their rescue, they could turn this around.
"Only two remaining," Lian Huiling murmured, yet her voice couldn't help but be overheard by the two remaining men. Their hearts were heavy, and their courage was fleeting. Then, two more ladies in a green dress emerged from the purple mist, surrounding them on all four sides, all holding the same silver fan.
"Let's finish this," they all said simultaneously. Do your best to stay alive, as I have many questions and expect some answers.”
The two men couldn’t help but imagine the devilish smile hidden behind those fans.
