A intense heat started to melt the houses that were near the plaza in from of the palace, while the gigantic building that belonged to the merchant guild turned the ashes, having taken the full brunt of the fire's breath.
"Shaaaaaa...." Hircen hissed as smoke escaped his mouth. After unleashing such a powerful fire breath, his Qi core was nearly emptied and he had to take a few pills to resplenish a little bit of energy. That energy was enough for him to counter the attacks of the surviving Zhao Warriors who had all rushed him as soon as the heat dissipated.
A dagger found it's way in his left shoulder, while a golden staff hit his ankle with a tremendous amount of strengh and brought him down. A powerful swing from an axe coated in Qi would've left him beheaded, if not for the buddha guards who formed a circle around him.
"Hircen ! Thank god we arrived in time ! What the hell is happening ?! We just came back from a mission and we find the capital up in flames !" A tall woman wearing a heavy red armor spoke to him. He had trouble hearing her due to all the noises around and the fact that she was wearing a helmet with only a few minuscules holes for the air to enter and exit.
"Daiyu, what a pleasure to see you. Wouldn't have ever thought you would be the last face I would see." Hircen said as he coughed up blood. Jin Daiyu quickly removed her helmet, her long white hair falling out as she showed her beautiful face to Hircen who was already starting to see his end. She was a relatively young and pretty woman, with a pair of sharp yellow eyes and lips colored in yellow too. She also seemed to be quite strong with how easily she moved around in her heavy armor.
"She won't be."
Both Jin Daiyu and Hircen looked behind them as Zhao Shu showed up. The guards were instantly ready to gut him alive since he was a Zhao Warrior too, however Hircen called out the disciple's name and motioned for the guards to stand down.
"I lost sight of you after that damn woman threw me away like some sort of rag. What happened ?" He asked the young disciple who had a somber look. Judging by his rage filled eyes, he wasn't very content with what his fellow tribesman have been doing. However an angry Zhao Warrior wasn't exactly a good thing.
" I had to....Retreat for a moment. This whole mess revived some bad memories, and I had a hard time with those. However now I'm back to normal....If this can be called normal."
"You seem to be quite angry. I think it's safe to assume you are against what those guys are doing, right ? " Hircen asked as Daiyu helped him up.
"Angry ? Hahahah...No i'm not angry..." Zhao Shu said as he closed his hand before tightening it into a fist that was soon coated in a shining orange Qi. Hircen watched in fascination as the fiery Qi danced on the hand before spreading to the entire arm. It quickly did the same with the other arm, before it also appeared on Zhao Shu's legs.
"Oh.....I've heard of those, the Zhao Warrior's Ten Pillars, right ?" Daiyu asked. However she received no answers from Zhao Shu who had already gone past the point where he could think of anything except his bumbling rage.
"Well, this isn't good...For them. Alright men ! Take Hircen away and regroup with the 4th and 6th divisions ! They are going after the rest of the Zhao Warriors, so have fun and punish those monsters !" Daiyu yelled, before her men followed with a war cry. They quickly grabbed Hircen and tried to take him away, but he refused.
"Zhao Shu, you should have some pills for me, right ? An inner disciple can afford to buy some, and you most likely never had to use them. I'll just take them and I should be back to a state where I can fight in a minute.....I won't be able to move a single muscle tomorrow though." He said. Daiyu looked worried for him, but he smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. He said something to her that left her blushing, before she dashed away.
Her men still had their orders so they left to regroup with the other divisions. Daiyu tried to join the fight, however she was grabbed by Zhao Shu who looked behind, in the direction of the gates.
"Seems like we're going to have some reinforcements. "Zhao Shu said while glaring at the gates that could be seen in the distance. Daiyu wondered what he was talking about, but her attention was quickly grabbed by a woman who crashed through a house before landing right in front of them.
"ZHAO SHU ! " Daiyu exclaimed. The young warrior gasped as he saw the woman again, despair showing in his eyes.
"Been a while Shu....You doing good ? I sure hope not ! Hahahah !"
She continued to laugh while Zhao Shu grit his teeth and let go of Daiyu.
"This ain't good...Even with the reinforcement it will be bad." He said. Daiyu wanted to ask why as the woman seemed to be strong, but not strong enough to stop the three of them with whoever the reinforcements were. However she understood when a hundred of Zhao Warriors appeared.
'How ?! I thought the rest of them left the city and went in direction of the Wukong Empire. If there are that many left....How...JUST HOW BIG IS THE REST OF THEIR ARMY ?!' She thought in panic. She trusted her fellow soldiers, but she knew that if the rest of the warriors the Zhao Tribes had sent were more than a thousand....It would be a slaughter.
Those were basic warriors of the tribes, but even they were quite strong and they were also experts at war.....Something that her fellow soldiers weren't since they didn't have to face any real threats in more than a decade.
As the woman slowly approached, her men licking their lips as they eyed Daiyu, Zhao Shu also began to walk towards her.
They stare into each other's eyes as Zhao Shu repressed a shudder. This wasn't any woman to him after all.
"It has indeed been a while, master." He said. She started to laugh once again as Daiyu's eyes widened in horror.
'That's his master ?! A woman who trains the shining stars of the tribes.....A woman who fights with a draconic halberd.....'
"Indra Qiang ! " She couldn't help but yell. Said woman flashed a savage smile at Daiyu who quickly looked away.
'This is bad ! This is really bad ! A member of the Indra family....Dammit !' She thought.
" I understand your fear, miss. However fearing her will only make this battle more difficult. Brace yourself. If we win we get covered in glory for killing a member of the infamous Indra family...If we lose, our heads will put on spikes at the gates of this city." Zhao Shu said. He tried to hide his fear as best as possible. However it was quite difficult.
Zhao Shu was an arrogant man. He had little respect for most people, and wouldn't take a step back in front of any ennemy....Except if that ennemy was the thing that made his life a nightmare when he was just a little boy. The creature that stole one of the most precious thing he ever had, his innocence.
"You stole my innocence, master. You made me into what I am today....So after I destroy you, I'll steal something you consider precious...Your honor." Zhao Shu said, before flashing his own savage smile at her. A vein popped on her forehead as she seemed to get his message, while Daiyu wondered what he meant by innocence. Before she remembered that Zhao Warriors were supposed to remain innocent until they chose a partner or were chosen by someone to be their partner.
'Oh...THAT innocence....' She thought as her face went red.
" Hahaha ! Seems like the lil lady soldier got the meaning !"
As Zhao Shu prepared to attack Qiang, Hircen came back and took out a zhao warrior as soon as he appeared. For some reasons his entire body was fuming and his hair were burning.
"Hircen ! This could kill you in your current state !" Daiyu yelled. He merely shrugged her off before getting to Zhao Shu's right and staring at Qiang.
At the same moment a howl was heard in the distance, and from the other side of the plazza a diamon fanged wolf appeared.
"This is hilarious.....Truly hilarious. Maybe you'll be able to put up a fight like this." Qiang said as she grabbed her halberd and smashed it on the ground.
The Diamond-fanged wolf disappeared as soon as it arrived in front of the warriors. Jian and Uma landed on their feet and quickly went to Zhao Shu's left, also staring at Qiang.
"Let me guess....You met the guards and they told you about this, huh ?" Zhao Shu asked. Jian merely glared at him, while Uma sighed.
' Godammnit...Just had to meet a freaking Indra here...I guess I'll have to fight to survive...Just like old time.' Uma thought.
The intense staredown came to an abrupt stop when Qiang swung her halberd in an attempt to take out Daiyu. However Hircen kicked the halberd while it was swinging, putting Qiang off balance.
Daiyu followed by running past Qiang and engaging her army. Uma did the same, jumping high in the air and landing on a warrior before unleashing a sequence of deadly palm strikes.
Qiang was sent flying away by Zhao's Qi-coated fist, but unfortunaly she had the time to block the hit with her weapon.
Jian took out his sword and lunged at her, immediately stunning her by the sudden revelation.
'Red...Red Sky Sword ?!'
"What the hell ?! Why does this kid have this sword ?!" Daiyu yelled as she too recognized the sword.
" This was perhaps the worst thing to do Jian....." Zhao Shu said before sighing. Jian looked at the two, utterly confused, until Hircen appeared beside him.
"This woman is part of the Indra Family. The same Indra Family that happened to have been searching for this weapon for the past two decades." He said.
Jian barely had the time to understand what Hircen had said, that Qiang was already in front of him, her eyes gleaming with greed as she salivated.
"Nice.....If I take this, father will surely see my worth...Finally...FINALLY !" She screamed while swinging her halberd. Yet Hircen stopped it once again.
"HIRCEN ! A little help would be appreciated !" Daiyu yelled while pushing back two warriors. A third warrior came from behind and hit her head with a mace. The force behind the strike was so great Daiyu saw the world spinning around her for a second. Hircen quickly went to help her and Uma, while Jian nearly got impaled by Qiang.
Luckily enough he blocked the thrust attack and followed with a flying kick to the head. Qiang groaned and spat a bit of blood, before smiling. Jian shivered as he saw her smiling with blood trickling down her mouth, but focused again as Zhao Shu re-entered the fight by grabbing the woman by her arms.
"Well played kid ! But that ain't enough !" She said, trying to free herself with pure strengh. And it worked as she lifted Zhao Shu in the air. She was about to slam him down, but Jian unleashed a powerful downward slash.
"GAHHHH !" Qiang screamed in pain as she clutched her right eye, blood pouring out of the gash.
"You.....Hahahahah ! WELL PLAYED !!"
Surprisingly enough it was all an act, and Qiang merely licked the blood that trickled down to her mouth before going back to laughing and swinging her halberd left and right.
Those were just random attacks, however they seemed to work quite well as proven when Jian failed to dodge at the right time and...
"My...Arghhhhhh !"
He bit his lower lip to prevent a scream from leaving his mouth as a puddle of blood formed under his feet. Zhao Shu looked at him in shock and so did Uma who had witnessed the scene while strangling a warrior.
On the day of his first battle, the orphan Jian had lost an arm.