His gaze was almost apologetic as he took back the now empty crystal flask from Yan’s unresisting hand.
“Yan?”
Yan’s eyes widened as he began coughing and desperately trying to clear his throat, face taking on a sickly pallor. “Alex, the poison’s still in my system. It’s fading, but...”
“I know.”
The man flashed an anxious smile. “I don’t suppose you have another healing potion you’d mind sparing for your friend who’s far more of a fool than you, it seems?”
His hopeful smile turned to a deadpan stare when Alex hacked and spat into the flask, holding it out to a now definitely displeased looking Yan.
Alex smirked. “I know what you’re going to say, so don’t say anything. Just drink it.”
“Yan! Master Yan, are you alright?” said Tung, now bursting into the clearing and racing to their side after sparing a quick furtive look for hostiles. He was quickly shaping into a far more cautious lad, which Alex approved of wholeheartedly. Far better to be fearful and among the living than mourned as a brave corpse. Because unless your fate was twisted around a fox god, there was nothing at all wrong with a slow, cautious life.
People forced to live life at Alex’s mad pace tended to wind up dead.
Yan chuckled softly, patting Tung’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine, I hope. I just wish our newest friend wasn’t one for practical jokes.” His eyes widened as he cleared his throat, anxiously rubbing his neck.
Tung jerked up in alarm. “Master Yan!” He turned to Alex. “Alex, what’s wrong?”
“Please, Alex, now’s no time for games,” Yan pled.
“I’m not playing any games. Just drink what I handed you!”
Yan furrowed his brow, then his eyes lit upon the dagger. “You jabbed yourself with it, and took no injury. Even the cut closed.” His gaze flickered between Alex and the vial before he took a deep breath and forced himself to swallow the contents, the expression of disgust on his face quickly turning to awe, just seconds later.
“Alex. My throat! It feels... by fortune’s favor, it feels better!”
Alex smiled. “Glad to hear it. Now let’s get going. Fangsu still has that ring, and the sooner we get rid of it, the better.”
Tung scowled. “What ring?”
But Yan instantly understood. “Alex... are you sure?”
He shrugged before his stride turned to a jog, then a run. “Pretty much, yes. Now come on. No time to waste!”
Alex felt a wave of relief when all four of them were united at last, now sensing the Red Prince’s entire company making their way toward them, though thankfully most were still sufficient miles away that they were more a vague impression than a flood of hostile red dots pouring through the forest.
But the frightened look Fangsu flashed him before racing to Yan’s side immediately quenched his smile. Alex furrowed his brow, refusing to even look their way as the three consulted in hushed anxious tones as he headed toward the massive Silver’s corpse, frowning at the sight before him. The body was already desiccated, and his armor rusted and pitted, as if it had been left in a damp crypt for countless decades, the grass lifeless all around the remains.
He was relieved to find that the pair of strangely-heavy metal rods were intact, as were the dao and small squared-off shield that had been hooked to the Giant’s side, both radiating powerful spiritual energies. He furrowed his brow, surprised he couldn’t immediately sense their makeup, but dared waste no more time, consigning them both to the storage pouch he had claimed, now utterly full.
The man wore a neck pouch underneath his armor that contained a small fortune in gold and platinum. Yet what brought a fierce smile to Alex’s nervous lips, now definitely feeling the press of time, was the silk pouch at the man’s hip, containing seven spirit pearls and five beast cores. A true fortune in the type of wealth that mattered most to any cultivator.
Alex turned to Yan and his two students, or perhaps he should say the royal princess and her loyal coterie, all of them looking at him with the strangest mix of awe and fear.
“Alright, we have to get going. Our enemies are still heading right for us. We’re lucky we moved so fast, and that whoever’s leading those men is wise enough not to push themselves to exhaustion in potentially hostile territory. Especially if they’re certain their lead scouts have already caught us.”
He caught Fangsu’s gaze. “I’m sorry, Fangsu. I think your storage ring is what they’re using to lock onto us.”
She paled, then forced herself to nod. “I... I’m afraid you’re right, Alex. That monster demanded I take it off immediately. As if he knew.” She suddenly shuddered. “Why do you think he wanted me to remove it? Do you think he was going to steal me away from the others? Ransom me?” Her eyes widened. “Violate me?”
“No way of knowing,” Alex said, glancing at the visibly-decaying corpse. “And he sure as shit isn’t saying anything.”
Yan and Fangsu exchanged a solemn glance. “You know what that means,” she said, taking off the ring.
“I’m afraid I do,” Yan said, gazing sadly at his charge.
She lowered her head. “Why would she do this to Mother and I?”
“Power, child. Idealistic dreams of nobility, virtue, and familial love triumphing above all else are fine for the storybooks. But you know the world is a far darker place than that.”
“I know,” she whispered, taking off the ring and placing it in Yan’s hand. “But I’m still her flesh and blood. I thought she loved me!”
Yan glared at the ring. “So did I.” He cocked back his arm, getting ready to throw it as far as he could.
“Wait,” Alex said, reaching out his hand for the ring. “I have an idea.”
Yan halted in the middle of his throw, now gazing Alex’s way.
“Give me the ring. I’ll lead the Red Prince’s men on a merry chase while you three head for Baidushi.” Alex pointed his hand unerringly southeast. “It’s eighty-five miles that way. I’ll slowly turn southwest. If I sense them heading your way, don’t worry, I’ll double back and cover your rear.”
“Alex?”
“Yes, Fangsu?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but how the hell could you possibly know where we’re going to be? Or where the Red Prince’s men are? And when that monster was approaching me and you popped out of nowhere to rescue me... how did you even do that?” Anxious eyes peered into Alex’s own. “Just who are you?”
Alex flashed a maverick grin. “Favorite sidekick of the most dashing inspector in all of Yidushi who never failed to catch his mark.”
Fangsu and Tung both exchanged confused glances.
Yan frowned. “You don’t seriously expect us to believe that, do you, Alex?”
Alex smirked. “You guys can believe whatever the hell you like. Now give me that storage ring and get going. We’re running out of time, and the sooner we split up, the more likely you three will make it to Baidushi alive.”
Fangsu plucked the ring from Yan’s grasp, presenting it to Alex before solemnly bowing her head. “We will never forget what you have done for us, hero.”
Alex wink. “Always happy to help a princess in distress.”
Her eyes twinkled with momentary bemusement. “Help a lot of princesses, do you?”
“You’d be surprised.”
She tilted her head, naive country girl act long since left behind. “Maybe not so surprised as all that, hero. I did see you cut down a Silver with a technique that even my limited senses could tell put you halfway into the realm of the dead.”
Yan paled. “Please mention nothing of your gifts, my lady. Not under any circumstances!”
Alex nodded. “Your mentor is right. I already know this world is filled with dark sages and powerful wujen. No telling what secrets they can pluck out of the air.”
Fangsu tilted her head. “Yet sometimes I hear you speak of your own oddities so freely.”
Alex smirked. “That’s because I’m protected by a divine
Fog of War card.”
“What does that even mean, Alex?”
“It means that when you hear the rattle of dice like thunder in the heavens above, howling winds that sound like the laughter of the gods, best you flee the storms of nature and man, lest you get swept completely from the board.”
She shook her head, gazing at him so strangely, though Yan looked more and more like he was seeing a ghost when he looked Alex’s way.
“Go, Fangsu. Make it to safety as fast as you can. May your future be sweet, and may you avoid all the machinations of your enemies.” Solemnly, Alex slipped her all but one of the magical healing potions he had claimed from the fallen soldiers.
Not saying another word, still feeling the weight of their stares upon his back, he leaped for the trees and was soon racing through the forest as fast as the falcon he could just make out flying overhead.
19
For a few moments Alex reveled in his triumphs that day, even as he was humbled by how close he had come to death yet again. Had that Silver’s strike been just a bit more true, had Alex’s desperately warding arm block not shifted that deadly metal rod just a few inches off target, saving his skull... he wouldn’t have just suffered a fatal wound. His head would have exploded from the impact and he would surely be irrevocably dead.
And even in the extremis of his desperation, he had noted how his second Soul Cleave had cost not eight but sixteen points. He hoped the additional cost was additive, not multiplicative, but either way, the mounting risk and cost of using his trump card more than once per encounter was something even he couldn’t ignore. Still, it was damn effective.
Then Alex’s eyes widened as he broke free of the trance-like daze so reminiscent of the weeks he had spent being one with the wilderness, and truly focused on the board before him, all the pieces in play upon the woodland map in the matrix of his mind.
He hissed with the sudden lurch in his gut.
The reds hadn’t taken the bait.
They were still following Fangsu.
Save for a separate handful that were now trailing him.
Why?
Alex forced calm through his sudden jolt of panic, immediately turning around and reorienting.
Within minutes, the quartet had shifted pace too, matching him once more. But they weren’t closing. Alex was moving too fast for that.
Still.
Alex glared, trying to figure out what was wrong.
He was almost certain his enemies were cued into the magical storage treasure that a hidden dagger in Fangsu’s camp had given her. It was the only explanation for how they were following him still, unless the Red Prince was so paranoid that every spiritually-enhanced treasure owned by his men were somehow linked to a finder in his party.
Unless...
Alex felt a sudden jolt as it all clicked, suddenly understanding his mistake.
He had been thinking of only a single means of hunting down one’s prey.
The storage ring had clued them in. But once the Bronze and Silver had engaged the target, perhaps another pawn had been keeping tabs on their prize.
And Alex was suddenly certain he knew just how they were doing it.
Bullrush! Bullrush!
Instantly leaping above the woodland canopy, looking in the very direction he knew his friends were racing towards, he saw the faint black speck in the sky.
Thunder rumbled off in the distance, clouds having formed in just the minutes Alex had been busy racing away from his friends.
A brooding storm matching Alex’s own growing frustration as he leaped for the heavens, embracing the sweet rush of Storm Flight as he raced through the air, buoyed by Storm and Forest Qi both.
And moments later, as the heavy clouds finally let loose their downpour, Alex spied his target.
Flashing a fierce smile at the hawk which still hadn’t caught on to his presence.
And if Alex had his way, never would.
Bullrush successfully chained 10 times!
You have caught your target by surprise!
Find Weakness skill check made! You sense the cords binding your target to its master below!
Adderstrike!
You have slain Mystic Familiar!
Enemy Wujen has suffered Severe Backlash!
You have claimed one pristine lesser beast core!
Your foes are now blind to your allies’ movements!
Alex felt a fierce moment’s triumph before crying out as his world became one of crackling fire.
You have been struck by Qi Lightning!
Damage mitigated by Rank 4 Qi Absorption! You have taken 1 Medium Wound and 40 Damage!
You have saved versus Stunning Blow!
“There he is! Get me that wujen’s head!” roared a voice that Alex sensed more than heard.
Dazed as he was, he wasn’t stupid, darting for the trees a hundred yards below in five quick blinks, reducing his Qi total to just over a hundred. And how bizarre it was, he thought, that burning through twenty Qi would tap only a sixth of his available reserves.
Still, he couldn’t hold back the icy surge of fear he felt, wondering just how powerful the Red Prince’s company truly was, to field multiple wujen, one wielding an elemental art not even formally recognized in Yidushi. But of course, that was just one city of a single province. He had no idea what skills wujen from neighboring principalities, or even neighboring kingdoms, might be able to bring to bear.
He only knew that he needed to get under cover as fast as he could, unable to spare even a moment Power Healing the lightning damage he had suffered, embracing Forest Flight and darting about in a zigzag pattern that did absolutely nothing to mitigate the enemies now rapidly closing the distance. Unfortunately, Alex’s Forest Sense was much less acute with targets racing through the air directly above it, and that’s when Alex realized he was being a complete idiot.
He was still holding onto the ring!
He hadn’t even had a chance to empty it of whatever prizes it held.
He took a quick moment to center himself, resisting the temptation to just throw it haphazardly.
There!
Up ahead, he could sense rapids and a waterfall just beyond, leading into a steep ravine.
Now if he could just keep ahead of his foes...
Qi Perception check made!
You have successfully dodged Steel Dagger Storm!
You have been struck by Qi Lightning! Save versus Cardiac Arrest made! Save versus Stunning Blow made!
An alarmed Alex sensed the sudden buildup of pressure, hairs on the back of his neck prickling as he felt his enemies’ gazes upon him, focusing their Qi for death’s deliverance.
He immediately darted and dodged between the trees, both Liu Jian’s remembered advice and his own half-remembered afternoons spent watching documentaries a lifetime ago making it clear that the best thing any target could do against sniper fire was move in a zigzag pattern as fast as they could, especially behind cover.
It worked beautifully for the storm of steel daggers so like the Qi attack mastered by the first soldier he had cut down that day.
But whether random chance or brilliant timing, lightning lanced into his flesh the split second he was vulnerable.
And were it not for the fact he had Tier 3 Bronze Vitality and Rank 11 in a regenerative body cultivation technique, he wouldn’t be surprised if such a deadly attack would have sent him into instant cardiac arrest.
As it was, all he felt was pain and fury, realizing that he was playing this game all wrong.
All that fleeing like a mad fool for countless minutes had done was gain him multiple burns, two near cardiac arrests, a full third reduction in his health, and sufficient familiarity with their ruthless tactics, their hunger to kill him, that they finally pinged perfectly like blinking red dots in his mind’s eye. As did their voices, carried by the verdant foliage as if they whispered directly into his ear.
With the advantage of flight, rare as he had been led to believe that gift t
ruly was, along with ranged attacks, his foes could track him and snipe him just as effectively as bombers obliterating ground troops in any battle his former home country had almost always won.
Save when the enemy did the absolute unorthodox. Such as turning the tables and attacking from angles unseen.
He was outgunned and outnumbered with an enemy that could snipe him at their leisure.
They weren’t stupid.
It didn’t even matter if he dumped the ring at this point. They already had him in their sights.
He had only one chance of making it out of this situation alive.
Even if it was sheer suicide, he had to take the fight to them.
“I see him, commander, he just darted behind that great oak!”
“Alright, Lu Cai, Jia Wei, circle around and strike at will! When he darts back around, I’ll be ready for him. It’s time we ended this!”
Bullrush chained five times!
Find Weakness check made! Dark Qi gauntlets in play!
Black Swan!
Faces locked in predatory grins, the pair of thinly-armored aerial scouts darted around, both with a swarm of double-headed daggers swirling about their hands, ready to blast their target in a heartbeat.
Only to be distracted by a desperate cry, turning around just in time to see their commander’s head explode into crimson paste, gazing at death staring back at them in the form of a cold-eyed Ruidian whose ridge hand strike had radiated such terrible Qi as to be able to rupture potent wujen wards and a cultivator’s flesh as readily as the wickedest of warhammers.
But not before the lieutenant got in his retributive strike.
Vitality check made. You avoid collapsing due to shock! You are down to 50% of maximum health!
Their foe flashed a killer’s grin, for all that his abdomen had just been cut open with their commander’s final blow. “You know you two assholes are next, right?”
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Redeemed: A LitRPG/Wuxian Novel - Book 5 Page 35