Jin Chin heaved a sigh of relief at those words, but her worry didn't lessen as it was only a maybe, and that was only if there was nothing unexpected.
Currently, Mo Dang had a sour look on his face as he stared at the poisonous woman at his side when he spoke, "Why have you taken an interest in this bunch? It's not like they are anything special..."
Du Nuan's eyes flashed in a strange light as she stared at the inn in the distance in silence, Mo Dang narrowed his eyes but said nothing more, he knew that at the end of the day, any chance of him rising up again rested on her shoulders.
Much like those two, Hong Tu and Zi Lei of the unknown bloodline clans were observing from a different area, each of their eyes shining as they stared on in curiosity.
"Let's see how much of a tiger they truly are..." Zi Lei said with a competitive gleam in her eyes.
Hong Tu, on the other hand, shook his head while he watched on silently.
By now, the inn owners, along with a few other practitioners that had made lodgings, were no longer in their rooms as they had already abandoned it. They were watching from even further away as many of them gulped down their salvias as others shivered in terror.
Wuqi Shao and Yu Fu stood within the vicinity, one sat in his carriage as the other stood at the side of a husky individual.
'You dare to not give my Wuqi Clan face? Hmph! I will have them capture you first before I peel the skin from your flesh...' Wuqi Shao thought as his eyes shone sinisterly.
On the other side, Yu Fu also had a cruel look as he thought, 'No one who offends my Bandit Union deserves to walk away with their heads held high, they'll learn this lesson thoroughly over the next few years...'
They both made a hand sign towards their men as if they were both in sync as their eyes showed ruthless looks.
Both parties belonging to the duo seemed to have adequately prepared themselves, following the hand signs from their respective young master, the two groups charged towards inn as they shouted, "Kill!"
A series of swooshing noises resounded, as the sounds of cloth flapping in the soft winds became every so prevalent, the cold moonlight giving a baleful shimmer at the edge of each of their weapons that were destined to draw blood on this night.
All parties watch this scene in silence, as most showed looks of regret and pity, but it didn't take long for their faces to change to one of utter shock.
The instant the two groups entered the inn, a shocking scene occurred as a dazzling series of lightning bolts erupted from the windows, blasting each of the individuals that charged through them towards the outside.
If one looked at their bodies, they noticed that other than series wounds, many of them had scorch marks as if burned by flames as they fell on the ground before falling into stillness.
Other than those who died swiftly and were lucky enough to avoid the dangers, the others were currently screaming in pain as they twitched as if they were being electrocuted to death.
"Holy hell! How could so many of them be repelled by such an attack?" Cheng Ba exclaimed in alarm; he didn't think such a scene could occur.
"Amazing!" Jin Chin said with bright eyes as she knew how strong those men were, each gave off the auras of a Peak Aura Disciple and Early True Foundation realm practitioners.
Mo Dang, who was a bit skeptical, had flashing eyes as he saw this, but Du Nuan merely smirked as if she saw this coming.
"Ho... not bad..." Hong Tu uttered as she watched on intently, along with Zi Lei.
At this moment, the two leaders were unscathed, but they were still repelled by the explosion of lightning energy.
They did a skillful flip as they land on two nearby buildings, their bodies erupting with Sixth Stage True Foundation realm energies as they gripped their weapons and glared at the inn's windows that were now destroyed.
"Get out here!" Both leaders roared as they found it rather shameful to lost so many of their young masters forces to low-rank cultivators.
Their shouts echoed across the silent Dry Town, but oddly enough, other than rousing more wanders and practitioners from different areas, there was no response from the inn.
Both Yu Fu and Wuqi Shao were enraged, they shouted towards their men with anger on their faces.
"What are you doing? Hurry and drag them out of the inn!" The duo said.
"A-As Young Master Shao wishes!"
"Yes, Young Master Fu..."
The two group leaders said as they hurried to scour the inn with the survivors from the previous attack, a few moments later, they came out with sour and hesitant looks on their faces.
The onlookers looked at this with odd looks as people such as Mo Dang, Cheng Ba, Jin Chin, and the others were confused. However, their confusion didn't last for long as the leaders spoke with sweating faces, "T-They're already gone..."
Both Yu Fu and Wuqi Shao showed looks of shocks, as the face of Cheng Ba and Jin Chin along with a majority of those gathered around turned to one of excitement.
"Hahaha!" Cheng Ba laughed, unable to control himself before he bit his lips and tried his hardest to calm down.
"Hehe, oh my... Mr. Yu is truly gifted..." Jin Chin said with a giggle as her face showed relief.
"I really shouldn't underestimate anyone I see in the world, I'll learn from this, very much as I did from that bastard..." Mo Dang said as he no longer watched this scene, but recalled Feng Yu, who had a mocked him back at the Storm Rise Cliff.
Du Nuan, who had been silent for a while, spoke with a smile, "Such a curious set of characters they are... just like that guy."
Other than those few, Hong Tu and Zi Lei were currently staring at the comedic scene with baffled expressions.
"Huhu... I guess we've been had, we shouldn't underestimate these guys," Hong Tu said with a smile.
"Hehe, indeed, they could even escape without even alerting our senses, I truly look forward to meeting them again..." Zi Lei said as her eyes now shone with even more battle intent.
Unlike everyone, however, both Yu Fu and Wuqi Shao who had both recovered from their shocks, gazed at the inn with a boiling range as they shouted in a savage cry, "CRIIIISSSSSOOOONNNN MAAAASSSSKKK!"
The scene here, one of both rage and excitement as the night with Dry Town, continued in its excitement, yet, far away from this area, the party of fleeing suspects was already on a new journey.
Chapter 290
Venturing through the Dunes
A distance away from Dry Town, a group of desert clothed individuals could be seen traversing the desert on the backs of a few Desert Prowlers, they rapidly trotted away against the sands as they swiftly moved across the dunes.
Currently, the leading figure of this group being a young and handsome man with long red hair who wore a sinister red mask, glanced behind him at the extremely distant town which was now a patch of light, his eyes showing a cold glint as he turned around no longer paying it any mind.
The person who rode by his side wore a bluish desert style uniform and had blue hair with his mouth wrapped by black wrappings, a wide conical hat sat over his head as he glanced at the red haired youth and spoke, "Young Master, must we really leave like this? Such weaklings were worth hardly any effort in destroying..."
As if the group shared similar thoughts, everyone else began to speak their own ideas.
"Tsk, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth now that I am running away from such a fellow," A bulky fellow with silver hair in a similar colored and loose fitting desert clothes said while clicking his teeth.
"Hehe, Naughty Wolfie, you should worry about other things," A little brat said whose features remained shrouded by her enchanted robes as she sat between a pair of slender and gorgeous legs.
The group chuckled in silence at her words as the silver-haired bulky individual glared at her in annoyance, not saying anything further.
Feng Yu looked at Dai Lin before he glanced at Lang Kuang, who had an embarrassed expression as he shook his head and replied, "Like I said before, we can't afford to g
et into a major conflict yet. Let them be for now... if we come across them in the Five Element Mirage Zone, you guys can do as you see fit."
"Haha, that's even better, I can't wait..." Lang Kuang said heartily as he wanted to let loose a bit, he was eager for that Special Zone.
Miren Fei, Leon, Myria, and Toram plus Tira were also a bit curious; they hadn't had a good fight in a while, unlike Feng Yu and Dai Lin who traveled the most dangerous routes, it seemed that their journeys were rather peaceful.
Miren Fei glanced at Feng Yu and asked, "Young Master, how far away are these friends of yours?"
Everyone gave him a curious look as they too wanted to know where they were headed, Feng Yu thought for a moment while he replied, "Let's see here, we are still within the Northeastern Sectors of the Southern Wasteland, we've only recently left Dry Town. That makes us a little distant from the oasis, which should be the dividing path towards either that fabled Bandit Town and the Mind Daoist Faction. Based on the details given to me, the Weavers Enclave should be somewhere in between these two areas, hidden quite well."
"Weavers? You're talking about those who practices the Arts of Craftsmanship?" Leon asked with curiosity on his face.
Feng Yu pondered for a bit and replied, "I didn't think about it before but based on its name, it's likely that it has something to do with it, that or it could be that these persons are similar to that friend of mine, each of them having her very Special Trait."
'Oh... a Special Trait, well this should be quite something,' Dai Lin thought with lightning flashing in his eyes as he showed a look of anticipation.
Lang Kuang, Myria, and Miren Fei and the others also had similar looks of curiosity, Tiana seemed as if she couldn't keep her emotions at bay she asked with an innocent look, "Big Brother Yu, what kind of trait is it?"
Feng Yu smirked as he spoke in a mysterious tone, "You'll see it when we get there..."
"Hmph!" Tiana snorted and pouted her face; Toram sighed as she gave her look while Tira poked her daughter's cheek.
Feng Yu didn't say anything as everyone returned to calmness as they sped through the night towards a new tomorrow.
Time passed quickly, and they were now traveling for over one week, while the journey towards the Weavers Enclave was quite a peaceful one, it was not without its hurdles.
As their group was now moving through a series of steps edges within a ravine that went through a rocky mountain path, littered with dried up branches and dead weeds. A brush of sandy winds blew across their surroundings, covering most of their sights with a dusty haze.
Feng Yu narrowed his eyes at this as he raised one hand while urging his Desert Prowler to a standstill as if everyone knew his meaning, they each halted their mounts and stared at the scene.
There, one would see a cloud of dust that swept through the path below them, one with dense clusters of elemental energies. The sharp sounds of the wind, along with the devastating stray elemental powers, ravaged everything in their path before it faded only a few minutes later.
"So that's an Element Storm, it's good thing were too high up for it to reach us..." Dai Lin said as he glanced at the storm that passed underneath them.
"Indeed... I don't think I'd be able to resist it upfront like the young master did," Lang Kuang said with a hint of dread in his eyes, he could sense the chaotic energies from within it and knew it was beyond his current limits.
Tuzi Baoli also gulped as she held onto Lang Kuang from the back of his Desert Prowler, she had never seen anything like that before, and only heard rumors of the south's dangers.
Miren Fei shared similar sentiments, but unlike them, Feng Yu and the others were calm, as if this much wasn't nothing to worry over.
Suddenly, Leon furrowed his brows along with Myria who glanced down at the fade cloud of sand, Feng Yu and Dai Lin picked up later as their faces carried a tinge of unease.
"Everyone, get ready for battle!" Feng Yu shouted, waking everyone from their daze.
Miren Fei and the others promptly readied themselves, but at this time, their faces turned dark as they finally sensed the auras from below.
"Kreehh!" As if they knew they were discovered, a series of monstrous cries resounded as a collection of shuffling noises was heard.
Soon, a hundred peculiar creatures had appeared from out of the cover of those sands, they each seemed similar to giant versions of desert lizards being up to five to ten meters large with metallic tails and sharp nails.
"So they were actually Desert Lards, how troublesome, they're even attacking us as a group..." Feng Yu muttered as he sensed that each of their cultivation was at the peak of the Aura Disciple realm, with a few of them at the Early and Middle Stages of True Foundation realm.
Three unusually large Desert Lards was even larger than the others, reaching a size of a few dozen meters, their entire body gleamed like metal as they glared at them from below before shrieking.
As if this was a command, all of the Desert Lards accelerated towards the weakest in Feng Yu's group, none other than Tuzi Baoli and Tiana.
"It’s a total of three Warrior realms and over a hundred of the rest, we can't fight them in this kind of setting, hurry we must find a more advantageous terrain!" Feng Yu said as he slapped the back of the Desert Prowler.
As if it understood his intention, it cried out before jumping from the ledge, making a dive downwards before it fell towards the Desert Lards, its wings began to unfurl themselves as it began to glide through the narrow passage towards its far end.
"Hurry up, we can't fall behind!" Dai Lin said as his Desert Prowler acted similarly.
Lang Kuang and the others also perform the same act, as now their party had begun to glide through the rest of the pathway.
As if the Desert Lards were angry at this, each of them cried out before their backs sprouted wings, they jumped from the rocky edge and glided similarly towards their direction.
The three leaders of the Desert Lards also had cold looks in their eyes, they rapidly sped up and made big jumps performing the same act as they trailed behind everyone.
Feng Yu, who was ahead of everyone by a few seconds, glanced back and saw that the hundreds of Desert Lards were right on their tail, flying at a speed no less than the Desert Prowlers.
He shook his head while thinking, 'As expected, most of these desert essence beasts are quite adaptable, while the Desert Prowlers and the Desert Lards aren't flying creatures by nature. They still have a decent speed, even if it's only by gliding with the winds. It looks like we'll have to face them in the opening at the edge of this path...'
After wrapping up his thoughts, he glanced before him at the nearing dunes, there if one looked further beyond it, in the far distance, one would see a tinge of blues and greens, which was the oasis used as a resting port to other prominent grounds.
Swish! The scene here now one of chaos as the dreadful chase of beasts against man had pressed onwards to the distance.
Chapter 291
The Clash Against the Desert Lards
The day was a rather remarkable sight, as below the brilliant azure sky was a group of people belonging to different ethnicities. Most were of a deep brown skin tone while others had a lighter, more whitish hue; some having turbans with different colored cloth around their figures, as others merely wore looser wears.
Strapped around their waists and backs were various items, some having weapons as they had a warrior’s build. Nevertheless, most of the others only had luggage as they were merchants escorted by another party.
A simple-looking man with dark skin and a turban over his head garb in a string patterned robe walked at the back of this party. He had golden wristbands over his wrists and sharp looking eyes that eyed their surroundings as they moved towards the oasis in the distance.
The sounds of laughing and chattering from the merchants could be heard, causing him to frown due to their conversation.
"I say, the south couldn't be at a better time; business is booming in full du
e to all these recent arrivals."
"Haha, indeed, even though there's a bit more chaos here and there, it's nothing compared to the factional wars with those bandits. Heck, the recent batch of special cloth are double the profit due to the sudden influx of battles."
"Eh? Well, if that's the case, I might as well get myself a batch from the enclave during this business trip."
As the merchants chatted at ease, the dark skin men and women that escorted them frowned; they didn't like how they were making light of the south's current situation.
However, it was true that only through troublesome times can one earn a great deal of profit, they were naturally making double from doing escort missions to their adobe and even selling a few of their home’s specialties.
'Che! These darn merchants, if it weren't because of our current situation, we'd have never even considered selling our items to you.'
The man at the back of the group said inwardly as he glared at them and shook his head. He then paid attention to the route once more and prepared to raise his hand and shouted to the escort team, but right at this time, his eyes narrowed as he turned his head and looked behind him.
'Hmm, what's that?'
The man thought to himself with puzzled eyes. He squinted his eyes, but as it was too far away, he couldn't tell clearly; he had a bad feeling as he stared at one of the escorts and spoke, "Everyone halt! You there, I want you to scout what's coming from that direction!"
The person whom he pointed on was a dark-skinned escort with a blade on his back and a telescope-like artifact at his waist.
"At Squad Leader Tao’s command."
The man replied respectfully as he took off the artifact and placed it before his eyes. He then used it to peer towards the distant sky behind them. However, the moment he saw this scene, his face turned pale.
Within the distance, a change was noticed at the giant split between a massive cliff that was currently undergoing an Element Storm. He saw many Desert Lards soaring through the sky towards their positions as if they were chasing something.
Dual Sword God: Book 7: The Crimson Devil of the Redlands Page 5