The Tale Never Ends Chapter 164 Battle in the Blind

A myriad of padding thuds followed almost immediately as soon as its howl broke the silence. I jerked my head back in time to see a gigantic hound in mid-air towards me, the saliva dripping from its fangs with a savage glint in its bloodshot eyes.

Would that Father had not so meticulously trained me himself, I would have been on the ground with blood spouting uncontrollably from my neck as life slowly ebbed away. But I was expertly trained with an adroit flair with my sword that few of my peers could ever hope to reach. I bent down quickly and leaned back, evading the hound's pounce while stabbing my weapon ruthlessly into the neck of the dog and it crumbled to the ground, fading into dust.

With a quick, long breath, I got up and continue my jog down the slopes. I had barely gone far when I suddenly heard long whistling noises like something being hurled at high speeds into the air. But before my mind registered anything, a pebble smashed into the bark of a tree just over my shoulder. I spun just in time to see the carcass of a dead hound dissipating into dust. It was Chongxi, although I could not see from which direction he was aiming from. I raised a hand and flashed an "OK" signal to him and plunged into the darkness of the smog once more.

By now, the light from the sun had all but been blotted out by the thick hazy mist. Darkness prevailed in this deaden hillside battlefield now fraught with carnage and the sporadic screams of agony from any corner everywhere. Even I did not expect the dark noxious mist to have such a powerful effect. Suddenly, I caught sight of three blobs of Yang energies! They blazed proudly in the darkness, as seen from my Spirit Sight, huddling together before they split up. These must be actual people! But their movements resembled nothing like Lin Feng's, so they could only be the three captains of the host of weasels!

Anxious, I rushed to the spot where the three men who hiding just moments before. But once I got near, I smell the same acrid herbal stench and quickly covered my nose and mouth. The experience with Aunt Ulan had taught me enough to be careful of anything with strange and peculiar scents, faint or thick. We simply knew too little about our enemies while they clearly know a lot more about us than we possibly did about ourselves. From the magic they had been using: the conjurations of spirit familiars and the restorative magic with the flying paper cranes, suffice it to say, these were all calculated strategies being aimed specifically against us.

I crouched on the ground, hoping to find if the three had left any trails. A voice rang suddenly and I felt my Spirit Gourd shaking. "Let me help, Young Master!" The voice had caught me unawares and I was stunned before I recognized the voice as the Forest Sprites! "How can you help?" I asked at once. But before waiting for an answer from it, I said a quick spell and released it into the open. The Forest Sprite got to its feet and made a face that resembled a grin. "I am a Forest Sprite with amphibious properties. This forest is the perfect place for me to show what I am capable of, dragging people to drown to say the least!"

I was stunned by its confidence before I realized it was telling the truth. I nodded; the Forest Sprite was more than capable in jungle warfare. With my nod, the Forest Sprite gave a blood-curdling scream before it vanished. Forest Sprites were able to flit unseen in forests and underwater like shadows without so much of a rustle or ripple that could give away its trace. But I had no idea if this Forest Sprite was skilled in magic, hence I could scarcely say if he would prove to be useful.

The Forest Sprite left to help and I barely got up when I heard the whinny of a horse to my left, followed by the forceful gallops of a horse! Edelweiss must be fighting some enemies somewhere in that direction! I ran towards the noise but I halted when I heard something wheezing through the air. I raised my sword instinctively and a loud, ringing clang tremored through the air as something struck my sword. It fell to the ground and I looked, finding a wooden bolt. A chill crept down my back. I looked and saw the demonic aura of the Forest Sprite circling above the boughs of trees far away to a corner. It would mean that it was not it who had shot this wooden spike at me, assuming it was even capable of hurling throwing weapons from its distance. But there was no way it would even dare to attempt to assassinate its own master, not after knowing who I truly am.

Nevertheless, the bolt was fired from a distance and it must have been a stray shot. Could this be formerly intended for Edelweiss? But it must have missed her and hence it came this way and no one knew that I was just around, at tens of meters away from Edelweiss.

I hastened ahead; Edelweiss might hardly be your average womenfolk, but she was still an ordinary human nonetheless. The force of the flying bolt was still very strong even despite missing its target by tens or even hundreds of meters! That said much about the strength of the person who had hurled it and Edelweiss could very well be in danger!

I ran for another fifty meters until I saw movements ahead and I raced as quickly as I could. Then I heard the crack of a whip resounding from in front. Is that Lin Feng instead of Edelweiss? But I did not stop running. Sure enough, there was Lin Feng, flailing his whip in his fight against an enemy whose appearance was shrouded in the shadows. The enemy was armed with a long spear, and he drove his weapon at Lin Feng who easily sidestepped it. But another shadowy silhouette appeared from just behind him and lunged for his neck! It was another huge hound familiar! Before I could even think, I shouted the magical words of command and the Shiyan Blade came to life, streaking through the air with blinding speed and impaled the black hound before it could sink its fangs into my friend.

They both turned towards me, realizing my presence for the first time. Then I realized that I had shouted too loudly and they had heard me. I ignored the suffocating haze around me and twirled my fingers, controlling the Shiyan Blade to turn back. Another cold whistle broke the silence in the air and the Shiyan Blade charged back, heading straight for the enemy!

The Shiyan Blade lanced through the man with astounding force. But to our astonishment, the man burst into dust; no more different than the black dog I just skewered! "He's also a magical familiar!" The thought came to me instantly, "a magical contrivance just like the dog!"

Realizing it was me, Lin Feng came to me. "I heard the neighing of a horse just now, so I thought it was Edelweiss. I never expected to find you here, Brother," I said, my forehead contorting into a frown. Lin Feng breathed heavily. "I know. I am also here because I heard her horse too. But when I came here, I found nothing. Only to be ambushed by this shadow." I nodded. "This noxious haze has impaired all our vision. I'm sure they are the same now. But there's no one else but Chongxi who would be able to make something out of this now!"

"This is too reckless!" Lin Feng complained. "I might have been defeated earlier if not for your timely arrival." I shook my head. "There's nothing else we can do for now. The enemy is better than us with magic. Going head-on is hardly the right thing to do now!" Lin Feng gave no reply, but he tacitly agreed.

A heartbeat of silence passed until we heard a loud thud not far from us as if something had fallen from a tree. We snatched our things and ran towards there to find the figure of a person rubbing his shoulder as he cursed, "What the hell?!" It was Chongxi. He got up and examined the wound on his shoulder and saw the stub of a wooden bolt sprouting from his shoulder as we ran to him. Hearing the brushing of our shoes he spun immediately and realized that it was us, and he relaxed.

We got near him quickly and I examined his wound. Fortunately for him, the wooden spike had driven through his flesh but narrowly avoided his sinews and bones. Biting his teeth, he pulled out the spike plugging the gash and burst with a flurry of expletives in addition to trickling blood once the spike was dislodged. "One of the three was taken by Edelweiss," he reported, "But I immediately lost sight of them because of the thick haze."

Chapter end