I ran and ran until I could barely stand anymore. The blizzard was covering my vision but I could still see a of couple meters in front of me, all of it being trees and snow. Jace followed close behind me, barely managing not to fall. We had been running for hours and we were exhausted.
The frost tigers were several meters behind us, but they were closing, crazed with the idea of another meal.
I could see the temple coming up in the distance but the frost tigers were closing on us. The rank 4 frost tigers, being a rank higher than me, would have little to no trouble taking care of me if they hadn't been distracted eating the corpses of my squad.
I made my way up the stairs and through the rotting wooden door of the temple before turning and waiting for Jace to catch up.
"Quicker, come on!"
I yelled to him, deciding whether I should close the door and let him die before discarding the thought.
'If I let him die and return alone, the elder will just think I've killed my squad to take all the rewards. I'd just get killed if I let him die and return alone.
Jace ran up the stairs, and I moved to let him through before shutting the doors. Jace quickly turned to help me look for something to barricade the doors with. The temple was somehow even colder than the frozen forest. It seemed to be the source. There wasn't much in terms of furniture either other than the occasional small table, but they wouldn't cut it.
The only thing I could think of that would work were the wooden pillars near the entrance of the temple.
'To cut a pillar of that size with my skill, I'll have to use almost all of my Ki.'
My Ki levels had always been low, no matter what level my Dantian reached. Even after achieving a higher stage at rank 3, my Dantian simply couldn't hold on to enough Ki.
I was born into a family of farmers and didn't receive the blessed body of a noble in a sect. In fact, my Ki levels were low even for a family without martial artists. Much lower. I had about a sixth of the Ki stored within the average martial artist's body.
The only reason I could become a captain of a squad in the demon sect was because I was skilled enough with a blade to make up for my lack of Ki.
I got into a low position with my knees almost touching the floor and put my hand on the hilt of my blade. I took a deep breath and let it out as steam rose from my lips.
My body temperature sharply dropped and my hands begun to freeze. I focused my Ki in my arms and blade and slashed into the pillar twice before kicking it out of its place onto the floor, with Ice covering the area I had cut.
Using most of my limited Ki, coupled with the exhaustion from running several kilometers, completely exhausted me. Jace noticed this and quickly rolled the pillar that was now lying on the floor to in front of the door, barely managing to put it there in time before the ice tigers slammed into the door.
"We made it," Jay said as he secured the pillar in place.
…
I just sighed. After losing my squad, it was hard to be happy, and I didn't think we would survive long in the temple.
"If I survive this, what should I tell the elder?"
I looked at Jace, confused. If we survived, I'd be the one to give the report to the elder.
"What do you mean?"
Jace looked at me, then answered after a couple of seconds of thinking.
"That door won't hold long. I'm just asking what you want me to tell the elder"
I looked towards the doors of the temple before answering him. Although rotting, the doors seemed tough, and with the pillar there, I doubted those frost tigers could get through. They hadn't managed to make any progress so far.
"First, I'll be the one to tell-"
Before I could look back, I felt a sharp sensation in my back. I'd been stabbed. I felt a blade being pulled out from my back, and I slowly turned to meet Jace's eyes while trying to hold my hand over the wound.
He scoffed and tried to swinging his blade at my neck. I barely managed to block it and used the rest of my Ki to swing back at him, but he blocked it with little effort. Despite our rank difference, I was out of Ki and exhausted, not to mention the blade wound in my back. He could easily take care of me.
He laughed at my attempt and kicked me to the wall of the temple.
Pain ran through my body and I could barely focus my sight on him.
I felt my fingers begin to freeze over from using too much Ki. As I sat against the wall of the temple, with my breathing becoming shaky, I looked toward the other side of the room. Jace looked at me with contempt before he approaching me. He knelt down to my level before punching me in the face, causing my nose to bleed. I tried to put my hands up, but grabbed me by the hair and brought my face to his.
"You bastard! You never should have brought me here!"