It was almost dark and the team five journeyed stealthily through the darkened parts of the forest that led to the Huan dynasty. The little fireflies Daiyu had summoned lightened their paths in the dark until they heard the rustling of leaves and assassins clothed in black appeared out of nowhere.
"Phoenix flames!" Zixin commanded bursts of infinite flames that shielded them from the incoming attacks.
"Shufen!" Liling screamed as she plunged her twin blades into the side of the assassin that had appeared out of nowhere. "Behind you!"
Somehow, something had managed to break the barriers of their fire and the men begun to dash through.
"Dews of heaven."
She heard him burn his qi before sending the enemy flying with dew-like daggers.
Jumping down their horses the rest pulled out their swords and without any cue they charged forward and begun to slay the assassins that moved at the speed of light.
Taking two steps forward, Jiang twisted in the air in a way that made it look like he'd splitted into a thousand form, he clenched his fists, "Rings of lightening!"
Strobes and sparks of lightening appeared from his arms down his knuckles as he delivered a fatal punch that bounced back, shattering the other three assassins nearby.
Liling brandished her sword, leaning backwards to dodge an assassin's sword before driving hers through it's chest. Another charged towards her she hit him under the jaw but he swung at her. Daiyu shrugged her shoulder up and swinged her sword and cut its head off.
Jiang brought small daggers, throwing it at three to his left and the two at his right, aiming for the skull and pinning them against the nearest tree.
Shufen kicked an assassin hard in the face, punched through the lower bone of it's eye socket with the butt of his sword he staggered back with blood dripping down it's cheek, zixin aimed for their head, making it pop off with his phoenix force.
"Blades of lotus!" Daiyu swipped at five of them at a speed as quick as lightening.
The more they killed the more they multiplied it seemed like the endless cycle of fighting wouldn't come to an edn. Shufen turned towards her.
"Liling! Burn your qi."
She shook her head in disagreement, anxiety coursing through her. The mere thought made her steps falter, giving an assassin beside her the chance to cut through her shoulder. She whimpered in pain before flying through the air, levitating a nearby dagger she pierced it's heart.
"Burn your qi already! And let's get this over with." Jiang said agitatedly.
"I can't!"
"You can Liling. Focus," Daiyu said calmly.
Just when they'd thought the day couldn't get any more worse, the assassins ran back, falling in line when a loud hiss echoed through the forest and the icy fingers of ice held them in it's cold embrace she heard the team burning their qi.
Adjusting his footings and ready to attack, Shufen stretched out his hand to summon his qi. "Clouds of Mist!"
"Flames Ignite!" Suddenly a great mist surrounded him.
"Lotus shield." A flower-like shield appeared right in front of her.
"Whip of lightening," the lightening from his fingers form some sort of whip he held unto it with a menacing look plastered on his face.
From the cold fog that had covered them from the assassins, they heard groans and screams of pain before five people appeared. Liling squinted her eyes,
"Eun?!" She exclaimed. "Team five?!"
"Liling?!" Eun with brown air in a military attire and his sword swapped to his side rushed forward to meet her.
"Phoenix flames!"
Zixin aimed at Eun. Channeling every single energy into that one hit.
"Zixin!" They all exclaimed in horror.
Eun raised his brows amused at his abrupt move. Instead of it hitting him a shield of ice appeared right in front of him they saw darkness swallow Zixin's light extinguishing it.
"Ha ha. Nice try but not funny. You could have burned my hair!" He fumed in annoyance.
"He plans on burning more than your hair." Shufen scoffed.
The rest of the team ran forward and the ice and fog cleared.
"Daiyu!" A female with blue hair and blue eyes held her in a tight embrace, her twin with fiery red hair and an equally fiery red eyes joined them in a group hug.
"Chin-hwa, Chin-sun. Never thought I'd see you again. What brings the team five to this part of the kingdom?" She asked when she finally detached herself from the twin.
Ha-Neul who stared far off into space, like whatever they had going on was entirely none of his business strode forward. The cerulean silk robe he had on cascaded behind him in a flurry of waves, complementing the emerald slit in his eyes.
He was a goblin who had once terrorized the minor villages until the Northern master captured him, forcing him into submission and making him join the team five.
"Our trail led us here. The map is heating up and it could only mean that we're going in the right direction."
Bong nodded beside him, wearing his signature scowl on. When she tried to get near to them, Shufen appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her arms and pulling her till she was back in line with the team.
"Then I guess your business here is over. Run along and be on your merry way." he snarled at Eun, his snarky remarks doing nothing to affect the man standing in the opposite direction.
Daiyu gasped before doing a brief twist of her hands, summoning the map there was supposed to lead them to where the seal was taken.
"I think I'm getting something! And if I'm correct, I think we're in the right direction!!" she paused to pass several glances at us, "Bong, where did you say your map is pointing to?"
"South!" he unfurled the animal skin with several intricate markings engraved on it, the hilly landscapes the only thing left of the south provinces except,
"The Isle!"
They both exclaimed.
He sucked his teeth, his signature scowl finding it's way back to his face. He hated the Isle!