The cultivator leapt and landed on Valiax’s gut. The Oni hunched forward and wheezed on impact. Despite the abrupt pain, Valiax kept hold of his sword as Yaihan walked along his chest. “I’ve been told that destroying an Oni’s heart is just as effective as annihilating their brain. But I haven’t seen that for myself yet.” The cultivator raised one foot over the demon’s chest ready, to stomp.
“So... you are a cultivator!” the winged demon muttered.
“That’s correct.” Yaihan hoisted his knee a bit higher as his eyes scanned the Oni’s body to look for the proper location to crush with his heel.
“Then that must mean one thing!” Valiax moaned. Yaihan shifted his eyes to the demon’s head, waiting for him to follow through with his statement. Instead of a proper response, Valiax gathered a fist full of dust and hurled it at Yaihan’s face.
The cultivator lifted one hand to cover his eyes but only deflected a small bit of the dust from obscuring his vision. During the moment of confusion, Valiax propped himself up with a flap of his wings and sent Yaihan back to the ground feet first.
“It means you’re a fool!” the winged demon cackled as he hovered several feet above the cultivator. Yaihan wiped the sand out of his eyes with the palm of his hands while still facing the demon. Valiax’s flapping created a torrent of dust as he hovered above Yaihan, slowly ascending with every movement of his wings. “So desperate for any kind of praise that you’re willing to spare your enemies the moment they notice your power!”
“I’ll admit you caught me off guard,” Yaihan replied with his fists clenched. He brought his legs to a crouch, ready to pounce again. “I still depend on my innate senses, so that trick you pulled managed to save you. For now.” Yaihan propelled himself with a leap, hurling himself at Valiax’s chest. With ease, the demon dodged Yaihan with a swift sway to the side. The cultivator missed grasping onto the demon and fell to the earth with a resounding impact.
“One of the most important things that a general has to understand is when to retreat. Something your leader Fei-Lu knows all too well!” Still flying high the air, Valiax scoured the ground and gazed at the dismembered crimson bodies that littered the battlefield. “And now seems to be as good of a time as any!”
The demon flew higher and towards the bridge to the north. Fei-Lu caught up with Yaihan and shot another blast of wind with the slash of her swords. The magic spell hit Valiax in the foot, slowing his escape. Despite the damage, the winged demon leveled his flight path after a few seconds.
“Hand me one of your swords,” Yaihan said to Fei-Lu with an open hand.
“You’re making an order of me?” the tactician said with disgust. “After you let him get away?”
“Trust me. If you don’t want the location of the camp revealed, let me have one of your swords.”
“I’d rather try my luck casting Slashing Tempest again!” Fei-Lu faced the fleeing demon and crossed her swords once again. As she raised both blades above her head, Koya’s rope wrapped around one of them. The kunoichi gave her weapon a tug and yanked the blade out of the tactician’s hands.
“You’ll get it back once you transform again!” Koya said as the sword flew in her direction. She snatched the hilt out of the air and looked at the cultivator. “Here, Yaihan.”
“Thank you,” Yaihan said as he grabbed the sword after Koya tossed it. He brought it back with his right arm while his left angled up his thumb and pointer finger serving as a guide for his aim. Yaihan closed one eye and squinted at the floating black shadow in the distance. With an overhead fling, Yaihan sent the sword soaring at Valiax. A few seconds passed as all three watched the weapon vanish from sight. Valiax continued to fly in a straight line until one of his wings fell off.
The demon’s wing fell straight down while the rest of his body spiraled out of control. He flailed his limbs as he careened uncontrollably away from the direction of the bridge and towards the direction of the mountain range to the east before disappearing from view.
“Nice shot, Yaihan,” Koya said as she gave the cultivator a pat on the back.
“This isn’t a cause for celebration,” Yaihan replied quietly.
“You’re right it isn’t!” Fei-Lu said bitterly. Both Yaihan and Koya turned around to face a furious tactician. She threw her remaining sword straight into the ground so that it stood straight up as it pierced the dirt. She crossed her arms before a brilliant white light engulfed her, showing only her silhouette. Once the beam dissipated, Fei-Lu remained in the same pose with the same frustrated look but in a completely different outfit. Instead of her elegant dress, she wore a gray romper with loose sleeves and a long pair of boots. “I am more than certain that Valiax will survive that fall! He’s going to reveal our camp’s location now that Yaihan let him escape!”
Another white light shrouded Koya. Once it vanished, her mask was gone and instead of a set of robes, she wore a cropped black top and a pair of long baggy pants. She put both hands on her hips and gave Fei-Lu an equally annoyed glare. “Let him escape,” the kunoichi said in a mocking tone. “You act like Yaihan was working with the Oni-Zhen!”
“Clearly he has the power to annihilate any demon as he so pleases!” Fei-Lu said as she pointed towards the cultivator but her kept her eyes on Koya. “Then why did he hesitate to finish off their leader? He managed to get on him and was about to crush his chest!”
“I apologize, Fei-Lu,” Yaihan said with a bow of his head. “Did you hear my conversation with the demon?”
“I did. You let your pride get the best of you, didn’t you?”
“Not quite,” Yaihan said somberly. “I... just wanted to hear what he had to say.”
“Well, now you understand why I’ve ordered for all Oni to be executed on the spot. Never have they proven to have anything of value to say! It’s all either inane ramblings on their hatred of Xiwao or how much they appreciate their new, evil forms! From what I gather, it seemed like you were itching to hear a bit of praise!”
Koya looked at the cultivator and shrugged her shoulders. “You do let Oni talk a lot, Yaihan,” the kunoichi said with a whisper. “We’ll have to work on that.”
“I would have crushed him once he finished his next sentence,” an embarrassed Yaihan replied.
“But you didn’t!” the tactician snapped. “And now he’s deep into the Hujang Canyon, ready to march towards the heart of Oni-Zhen territory. Not to mention that he’ll probably reveal our location to countless Onis! If you thought we were in a terrible situation now, it’s going to get a lot worse!”
“Take a breath, Fei-Lu,” Koya said as she pressed a put a hand on the tactician’s shoulders. She jerked her arm back, making Koya retreat her hand.
“Both of you. Come back to the camp immediately. I need time to come up with an appropriate punishment for such... insubordination!” The tactician clapped her hands and called Zephyr’s name. The horse came galloping to her. She mounted the steed immediately and ventured towards the encampment.
“I’ll fight to my last breath,” Yaihan said to Koya once Fei-Lu left hearing distance. “I will stand guard at the very gates of Hell if I have to.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Koya said with a sigh. “You know how many times we’ve lost a ‘final’ battle?” She whistled and Midnight came trotting closer. “We’ve suffered causalities today, which is always tragic. But I can’t recall the last time we actually had to make the Oni-Zhen retreat.”
“Are you not worried about the Oni-Zhen finding the location of your camp?” Yaihan asked as he got on Midnight’s back.
“We’ve been on the run ever since the war started.” Koya held onto the reins as she stared out into the distance. Beyond the miles of desert was a dreary purple horizon as the sun set. “It will have to come to an end eventually. Maybe it’s time that we stop retreating. Not like we have anywhere else to go.”
There was a brief silence as both watched a cloud block the sliver of sun that lingered in the distance. “Perhaps it’s time to change plans. We start bringing the fight to the Onis.”
The kunoichi stroked Midnight’s black mane and sighed. “Maybe. It’d be nice to have the Oni-Zhen be on the defensive for once. Who knows? Maybe with your strength and Fei-Lu’s intellect, we could get a proper counter-attack going.”
“Fei-Lu seemed upset. Almost like she’s ready to accept defeat.”
Koya pulled the reins back and made Midnight head towards camp with a steady trot. “I’m sure she’ll come around. She just needs a bit of time to think of something. Fei-Lu always does.”
Art Spotlight: Fei-Lu Yong (Standard Form)
