Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 131: One Strike

Jin's eyes mirrored the fear in his horse's.

"Get behind me," Wuyi commanded. Facing the direction they had come from, Wuyi calculated the distance and positioning.

"I'm going to dismount," Jin announced.

"Silence," Wuyi snapped, gathering his mental faculties to access the sacred chamber. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, shutting out the cacophony of crashing sounds from the eastern ridge.

"Virtus adiuva me," he chanted, invoking the Valor to aid him.

The horse beneath him went frantic, its hooves pounding the earth as if trying to escape the very ground. Down the hill, a monstrous creature was seen moving, more like charging, snapping branches on either side of the trail as its taloned feet dug into the earth. Wuyi couldn't bring himself to look at its head; the sight was too terrifying.

Just then, the Red Daoist emerged from the forest, taking large strides that closed the distance between them. He stood in front of Wuyi and Jin.

Jin sighed in relief. With the Red Daoist present, it felt as if an entire army had come to their aid. He chided himself for ever doubting that their young master would be without his Daoist protector.

The Red Daoist wielded his massive halberd. Wuyi wasn't concerned about the charging creature anymore; he knew the Red Daoist would handle it. His worry was about a second, hidden entity that might launch a sneak attack while the Red Daoist was engaged.

If a battle with a second entity were to commence, he would be at a disadvantage. The untrained horse, already a bundle of nerves and skittish on its best days, was now on the verge of bolting.

Jin's crossbow twanged, and the bolt found its mark under the creature's shoulder. It shrieked and slowed its charge. Thirty yards—Wuyi measured the distance, knowing the timing had to be perfect. The creature, which Wuyi assumed was one of the fabled Demons, leapt over a brook, its hooked mouth aimed straight for him.

The Red Daoist sprinted forward, his halberd poised for the strike. As the Demon crossed the water, it seemed to slow down, as if afraid.

"You had better be," Wuyi thought to himself. After all, he had yet to meet a person or beast who survived an encounter with the Red Daoist.

Perhaps in a future encounter with immortals, they could pose a challenge to the Red Daoist, but the beast before them fell short of such a formidable opponent. It wasn't an immortal or even a Qi lord. Yet, its appearance was the stuff of nightmares—wings flurrying in a chaotic dance, jaws snapping viciously, all enshrouded in a sinister veil of dark Qi.

In a flash, the Red Daoist transformed into a red blur. With a resounding crash, his halberd struck the Demon, sending it flying into a boulder some distance away. The creature scrambled to its feet, collecting the last remnants of its power. It took a few steps, then collapsed. Wuyi realized he had overestimated the Demon.

The Red Daoist's strike had been a bit too powerful, and the creature was down for the count.

After the Flying Serpent incident, Wuyi had assumed each of these creatures were physically stronger and would be able to take two to three strikes from the Red Daoist, but it seemed that was not the case.

Wuyi glanced at Jin. "Be cautious! It's still not over. Another lurks nearby." Jin moved toward him deliberately, his loaded crossbow expertly cradled in his arms. "I've recited an entire cycle of spiritual chants. This was the first time I've come across a real demon," Jin said, trembling.

"I don't think the other entity is approaching."

Upon hearing Jin, Wuyi realized this was his first demon encounter as well. He had met many demonics, but they were either humans or beasts. This was a true demonic being, neither human nor beast. Wuyi exhaled deeply. "Fortunate," he finally said, struggling to find the right words. "Very fortunate."

"We must proceed," Jin insisted. They arrived near the demon's corpse. With a swift motion, Jin severed the demon's head. Neither Jin nor Wuyi wanted to carry the head with them, so they fastened it to a rope and dragged it along. The journey back to their encampment was going to be long.

The Red Daoist walked behind them quietly for some time, waiting for the second demon to approach, but when it did not appear after fifteen minutes, the Red Daoist disappeared into the forest.

An hour later, a haunting howl echoed behind them, causing the hairs on Wuyi's neck to stand on end.

Hidden in the shadows, a second demonic entity named Zinni observed the slayers of her cousin as they slowly mounted their horses and rode away. Unlike her cousin, she was a hunter, not a berserker. The death of her kin filled her with dread, and until she could fully comprehend it, she had no intention of confronting the men below.

She moved cautiously from boulder to boulder, well out of their sight, her keen eyes trained on their movements.

Once they had distanced themselves from the battle scene, Zinni descended the ridge. Her cousin, Nixi, lay in a pitiful heap, his once-mighty form now lifeless. Birds had already begun to gather around the corpse. They had decapitated him. The sight was unbearable. Zinni tilted her head back and let out a series of mournful howls.

After her third howl, her brother arrived, accompanied by four demonics, all armed with heavy war-axes or swords. Jianfeng looked at his fallen kin and shook his head. "Savages," he muttered.

Zinni nuzzled her brother's shoulder. "A single man defeated him. I chose not to engage. He dispatched our cousin effortlessly, in one strike."

Jianfeng nodded. "Some of their battle masters are formidable, little sister. And you lacked the weapon to penetrate his defenses."

"He wore strong armor," Zinni said. "But that was not the problem; he wielded Qi power. Red Qi, powerful. It was demonic."

Jianfeng paused, sniffing the air. He then walked to the edge of the stream and back several times, while his companions remained perfectly still. "Potent," Jianfeng remarked. He paused to scratch his shoulder where an insect had pierced his armored skin. How he despised these insects. Swatting futilely at the swarm gathering around his head, he then channeled his Qi over his cousin's lifeless body.

With a swift motion of his talons, he incinerated the corpse in a flash of light.

As they sprinted through the forest, Jianfeng shared his thoughts with his sister Zinni. "This situation isn't as Luding believes," he said.

Zinni flicked her talons dismissively at the mention of Luding. "You aim to assert your dominance over him, and he over you. But since he's not of our kind, your efforts are in vain," she retorted.