"Hiss!" Leaning against a broken tree, Wuhan clutched the side of his waist. Blood seeped through his hands, which were tightly pressing on a gaping wound.
The wound was so deep that even the tissues deep within his body could be seen from the outside.
"Argh!" With all of his efforts, Wuhan tried to push himself to stand up, but his legs seed to be out of energy. Dark wisps of energy gnawed at the wound; fighting against it was a pale green energy.
"I have to get out of here and find others." Glancing at the wound, the emperor popped another pill in his mouth and directed it all towards the wound. But this pill, unlike the previous one, radiated even more energy.
Swoosh!
"Rargh!" And like the special presence it had, the dicine worked like a charm, and the wounds closed at a visible rate. From the broken tissue and the most dead cells, the energy of the pill revived it all.
Revitalized to life, the pale look on Wuhan’s face eased up a little. His bloodshot eyes gained more clarity. Removing his hand from the bloody tear, he glanced at his bare body, and only when he saw the wound closing did he let out a sigh of relief.
"The sun is up..." Glancing at the sharp light coming through the sh of leaves above his head, Wuhan mumbled through the pain, "They should be coming as well."
The grim reality in his voice made his breath tremble. Regaining the little mobility he had, Wuhan first looked around to analyze the area; at the sa ti, he spread out his Soul Sense.
He observed everything around him, as if searching for sothing. And it did not take him long before his senses picked up on sothing.
’There!’ As soon as he caught that thing, Wuhan flickered in that direction. His figure reappeared beside one of the broken trees with blood splashed on its bark.
But the blood was of no concern to him; what he focused on was a very small mark etched in the wood. It was a rough scar, almost impossible to notice unless soone was looking for it.
’These guys are really dependable.’ A small smile appeared on Wuhan’s haggard face as he moved past the mark and walked straight down the path until he encountered another mark.
So markers were the sa, while the others were different, and with each different one, Wuhan would change his direction.
...
On the other side of the forest, deep within the grand castle at the center of the continent, an army of people dressed in similar dark robes had gathered. Their faces were covered with a piece of cloth, but their movents showed that their vision was anything but compromised.
With practiced ease, this small army of hundreds moved towards the huge palace gates, where soone was waiting for them.
"Today, you only have one purpose." Dressed in a battle outfit sewn out of what appeared to be leather and several mysterious materials, Helena, the elven general of the Red Dawn cult, stood before them with her head held high and her chanical bow hovering beside her. The reflection of the bow could be seen in the tal plates guarding her vitals. "Capture those who dare to sully this land in mockery of our lord."
Clank! Thud!
Every one of the hundred soldiers raised their left feet in the air and slamd them down with enough force to shake the ground underneath.
"Since they have sinned..." Helena calmly raised her hand towards her face, and a piece of cloth appeared in her hands mid-motion. As she spoke, her lips curled up in a dangerous sneer before vanishing behind the cult mask. "Let us help them cleanse their souls!"
Her chilling declaration echoed through the area, and the soldiers once again recreated the battle cry with their feet before charging through the castle gates at Helena’s signal.
The rhythmic thunder of their steps reverberated through the forest, a relentless drumbeat that shook loose leaves from the canopy above. The Red Dawn cult’s army moved with a precision that belied their numbers.
Helena did not charge forward along with the rest; she stayed behind. As the army moved in the direction of the forest, Helena felt the shift in the air beside her and did not even waste a second before getting down on her knees.
"Your Holiness."
The person who had appeared behind her was none other than the priestess. The space around her was still rippling as if soone had thrown a pebble in a calm lake.
With a slight acknowledging glance, the priestess walked past Helena and looked in the direction of the forest.
"What is the status of the intruders?" After a mont of silence, she finally opened her mouth to ask.
Helena rose from the ground and flipped her hand, bringing out a rectangular device with a virtual panel.
"After using the deep scans, we have located their life energy signatures." Glancing at the nine dots that barely registered on the device, she pushed it towards the priestess. "They are exhausted from the battle with the lord of the night. Sending a force of the hundred core formation-level soldiers is enough to capture them."
"Injured tigers are the most dangerous tigers." Without even glancing in the direction of the device, the priestess comnted in a neutral tone. "Because when they have nothing to lose, they let everything loose."
Helena heard the cryptic words and tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Do you believe that we will fail in this operation? Should I join the group as well?"
She did not doubt the priestess’s words and already appeared ready to leave the place and capture the intruders herself.
The priestess exchanged glances between her and the castle. "It’s fine. Even if they fail, those people will co to us on their own. After all..." Her voice trailed in the gentle breeze as she continued, "We have the reason they ca to this place in the first place."
As those words drifted into the air, the figure of the priestess faded away as well.
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