Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 145: Nock! And Loose!

Upon seeing the fifty Qi archers, Wuyi immediately recognized who these warriors were: the Demon Talons. The deceased individual they had found must have been part of this group—a demonic organization that was on friendly terms with the demonics of this forest.

While he contemplated his course of action, there were some screams off to the west—screams accompanied by a lot of noise. The noise grew closer. The Demon Talons across the stream noticed the noise too; they turned in the direction of the noise almost as one. Wuyi and his group also turned, witnessing a small horde of Swamplings and other demonic creatures bolting down the path from the west.

Behind them were Wuyi's group of Qi warriors and Red Daoists, giving chase. It was a rare sight to see the monsters of myth running.

The Demon Talon warriors began to shuffle. Several of them drew their great bows and prepared to shoot arrows westward, targeting Wuyi's group who was in pursuit.

The arrows might not bother the Red Daoists, but if Wuyi did not intervene, the chasing warriors of his would be killed.

Wuyi looked around and said, '"Follow me. Make a lot of noise." Baijian and Qi warriors nearby looked at him, and he signaled that they needed to distract the Demon Talons.

'One. Two. Three.' Wuyi broke cover and bellowed, "Warriors!" The effect was electric; all the Demon Talons got distracted by the sudden burst of noise.

In the meantime, the Red Daoist had already outpaced the fleeing Swamplings and demonic creatures, turning many of them into corpses in just a few moments. Before Demon Talon Archers realized it, he had arrived just behind them, forcing them to glance back to spot him. The sight of the red giant warrior on their trail seemed to drain their courage.

Almost immediately, they started to run, joining the Swamplings and the other creatures in their flight.

There were a variety of creatures trying to escape. Among these fleeing creatures, besides Swamplings, another creature that stood out were the Duskreavers—menacing creatures with dark, scaled skin that swallowed light, making them appear nearly invisible even in direct sunlight. This skin not only served as perfect camouflage in the shadows but also as armor against physical and minor Qi attacks.

Their piercing red eyes cut through the darkness, allowing them to see clearly in the absence of light and track down prey with terrifying efficiency. Armed with formidable claws and teeth that could slice through armor and bone alike, Duskreavers could be said to be near-perfect predators.

Seeing the archers of Demon Talon's trying to escape, the warriors behind the Red Daoist roared in a battle cry, and Baijian roared with them.

Wuyi understood it very well that there were different types of warriors. Some are trained to stand under fire, waiting for their turn to inflict death, while others, like hunters and assassins, slip from cover to cover. The Demon Talons were not inclined to stand and fight; it wasn't their way.

Somewhere far, someone from the Demon Talons, likely the leader of these fifty, launched an arrow imbued with deep baleful Qi. Anyone hit by it was sure to die. However, unlucky for these demonic cultivators, the arrow slammed into the Red Daoist without leaving a dent.

The arrow caught everyone's attention, but before they could look at the source, they realized the Demon Talons had scurried away behind trees into the deep forest.

Seeing this, Baijian's blood boiled. He prepared to give chase.

"Stop!" Wuyi roared. Baijian's eyes were wild.

"I have not wet my sword"' he shouted.

The Red Daoist appeared behind Baijian, placing a hand on his shoulder as if calming a favored dog. Wuyi whistled loudly, infusing Qi into the sound, which reverberated throughout the whole forest.

The warriors stopped. Many wiped their swords on dead things, and all of them drank from their water sacks. Wuyi wondered if they had seen enough of the demonics and the Demon Talons to consider it proof for Pavilion Mistress.

But before he could come to any conclusion, a long scream came from the east. It was an alien sound that sobered him and the warriors around him.

Wuyi frowned; they had to retreat. His instincts were telling him it was not safe anymore. "Up and over the summit. Straight back the way we came, tight and orderly. Now," Wuyi commanded, pointing up the summit.

"Stay by the stream!" he called.

There were deep, howling noises and terrifying screams coming from the east. Wuyi looked towards the east; he couldn't see much, only could hear noises. Then he noticed among the massive trees there was something else—a dark, monstrous, and fearsome specter, an entity taller than those trees, exuding a sense of dread and horror as it moved closer to them.

Wuyi turned to run up the summit. Baijian, still held by the shoulder, was roaring, "I have not killed a one!" he said. "Just let me kill one!"

The Red Daoist, seeing Wuyi leave, let go of Baijian's shoulder. Baijian smiled and raised his sword.

"Baijian!" Wuyi screamed. "This is not the time!"

The creatures that were making noise were now visible; it was an army. An army of Swamplings and Duskreavers was crossing the stream at the foot of the summit, led by a red-looking creature, a towering beast with a muscular build that exuded raw power. Its fur, a deep, blood-red, seemed almost ablaze in the dim light of dusk and dawn, casting an eerie glow in the shadows.

Despite its bulk, it moved with surprising speed and silence, a demonic predator.

"What in the heavens is that?" asked Baijian. "By god, I want a cut at that!"

The Red Daoist pulled hard at Baijian's arm. "That's a Crimson Shadowmaw. We do not have enough warriors to kill these things. This thing is not my concern, but that giant specter is. Follow me!" Wuyi ordered, and they started running. Grudgingly, Baijian turned to run as the Red Daoist would not let him go.

They made it to the top of the summit. The beast was not charging them; it seemed content to lead the Swamplings and the Duskreavers. But behind the Shadowmaw came something far worse, and much larger, which was disturbing to look at—the specter.

The warriors had waited for Wuyi a little way down the summit, an act of fine discipline and bravery. But as soon as he caught up with them, they turned and ran for the base and their horses.

Running was not an issue for Wuyi; he could escape at any time. He just wanted to make sure his warriors reached safety as their enemies were close.

The Red Daoist was the last man to leave, shoving his flagging warriors along before him by force. The young Qi initiates were having a hard time running. One young warrior, plumper than he ought to have been, stopped to breathe hard. The enemy was fifty paces away, getting closer with every heartbeat.

"Run!" roared Baijian. The plump Qi initiate, a level three young warrior, looked behind to check. Seeing him turning, a Swampling paused and shot him with an arrow.

The young Qi initiate screamed and fell, kicking.

Baijian heaved the writhing boy over his shoulders and ran. While he was picking the writhing boy, a Duskreaver arrived too close for comfort. Baijian's sword lashed out, catching a Duskreaver in the top of the knee. The creature screamed and fell, clutching at the wound.

The Red Daoist had paused his retreat; he was holding back most of the creatures while Wuyi and his group escaped. The creatures were trying to surround the Red Daoist. He punched at the nearest few Swamplings and crushed them. By the time he cleared two, hundreds of Swamplings appeared in moments.

They seemed to boil up out of the ground in terrifying numbers, moving like ants and covering the forest floor.

Some distance away, Wuyi heard a flute call and Meiying's voice, as clear as on parade, called, "Nock! And Loose!"

The Red Daoist was like a tiger amidst thousands of rats, keeping on killing the Swamplings as they doubled in number. Wuyi couldn't see but could sense it. The brown Swamplings were everywhere, clamping onto the Red Daoist. But the Red Daoist moved his halberd nonstop; with each swing, it was as if he was taking down fifty of them.

Meiying's group in the back let loose all of their Qi arrows, and the arrows hit more than a dozen times. The Red Daoist was hit by those arrows too. The Qi-infused arrows did not even make a single dent on the Red Daoist; it was as if he was immune to them, but the Swamplings trying to attack him were not.

When every one of Meiying's archers had loosed six shafts, nothing was left alive; only the Red Daoist was left. Meiying ordered her men forward to collect their shafts—most of the Swamplings were cleared around the Red Daoist.