WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
While they weaved through the trees, the rocks, and even the floating stone pillars, their behinds weren't free of assault.
"Take THIS! Traitorous little snake!"
Lu Pin's words were more screams of anger than commands as his crew unleashed an array of projectiles and venom. Their intent was obvious, to cripple and impede!
Large boulders, sharp stones, even dreadful fireballs were attacking, and Lu Jade couldn't evade them all.
"Big Brother, endure for a while longer, I… I think help is on the way. Qi Hawk promised he would send help."
His assurances went unheard due to the sudden barrage of attacks hitting their mark.
"ARGH!"
Raphael roared as a sharp rock clipped his mangled leg, sending another tremor of agony through his broken form. The attacks that landed on him were mere scratches to his monstrous size and immense power, but he was exhausted.
He'd already tasted the depths of despair and survived. There was no strength left for him to endure anymore.
"Little brother! YOU WON'T ESCAPE! Thiss time! I will finish you off!" Lu Ruby's voice had a tone of triumph that resonated with Lu Jade's anxieties that he had thought forgotten until now. Her declaration was terrifying.
"Oh, no…"
"Red Chariot – Grazing Mogul!"
BOOM!
BOOM!
Crackle!
From the sky above, a barrage of attacks came raining down. Eight crimson 'Circular Spell Diagrams' whirled rapidly as ruby-red energy blasts followed his tail like a hurricane. Each projectile, missed by millimeters!
"Dammit!"
Lu Jade was forced to push even harder as that searing heat almost clipped his scales.
They were gaining ground.
"Big Brother, I can't… I…"
He glanced back at the fiery beams that were just inches from engulfing them. He then looked ahead to discover that their escape route was getting narrower, and their hopes and promises from Qi Hawk were dimming.
"W-what's THAT?"
His gaze landed upon a familiar figure hovering amidst a cluster of floating rocks. Her viridian wings sparkled in the sunbeam as she serenely awaited their arrival.
"Fenwei?!"
Lu Jade's exhaustion, his terror and fear was washed away instantly by a glimmer of hope. He was saved!
"She's going to stop them!" He then hissed these comforting words to Raphael whose bloodied face was now centimeters away from terrifying fangs. "Don't worry Big Brother, we're almost there!"
As Lu Jade flew past, he saw Qi Fenwei draw a massive broadsword from her back. It radiated an orange aura of potent energies.
"Archon!" she spoke softly. It was more than just a name, a title!
She held the blade vertically before her. In its center was a strange orange eye. The air shimmered with potent energy and an ominous crackle emanated. Then as she muttered words they couldn't comprehend, the runes across its edges lit up.
"Thissss is…" Even Lu Jade who was speeding past felt a power resonating. He hoped the serpents would just turn back, but he was an optimist indeed, and life wasn't about to reward good intentions with happy results.
"DIE, BIRD!"
Lu Pin's arrogant scream could make even the softest heart turn hard and his eyes which were meant to seduce those he wanted favors from, well, they were pulsating rage that could easily make one pee oneself from fear, especially if you were a delicate bird in that emerald, azure, gold and red sky that now darken from projectiles raining down like hails.
"REDIRECT!" Qi Fenwei simply whispered, seemingly not fazed by those coming blasts.
WHOOSH!
And in a blink, the eight beams of destructive, crimson energy coming towards her Archon sword from above were effortlessly absorbed and then with another twist…
SLASH!
That energy was now aimed at the red serpent behind. She unleashed a diagonal slash that cut a path through the red 'Circular Spell Diagrams', and then continued towards Lu Ruby's chariot.
"WHAT?!" Lu Ruby watched, dumbfounded. She couldn't even react in time!
BOOOM!
Lu Ruby and her chariot were blasted backward hundreds of meters, leaving a trail of golden, ruby dust in the air. Her screams resonated throughout that area, causing a moment of bewildering terror in its wake.
"My CHARIOT!"
This confrontation, it had been too swift for any beast, serpent or bird to comprehend. But that's how the truly powerful beings moved.
"What the hell just happened?"
The other serpents stared in shocked disbelief. And for a moment, none of them could even hiss a word, until Lu Pin recovered from his stupor.
He felt shame. That arrogance, that pride. His plans of pleasing his father with this daring kill had vanished instantly like shadows before sunrise. This wasn't possible. They had been stopped by a mere bird! How humiliating!
"DAMN BIRD! How dare you attack us?! How dare you stop usss from claiming our prey?! And my sssissster… You'll regret thisss. Thiss… thissss insult… ten-fold… YOU HEAR ME?!"
Fueled by humiliation and anger, Lu Pin was about to order a coordinated attack to annihilate that winged menace that now hovered above them.
"Kill her!" He then gestured to those brave enough to strike.
But Qi Fenwei was faster.
She sheathed her magnificent sword 'Archon' and then unsheathed a slender blade with a white hilt that radiated a pale blue. It looked delicate, yet emitted a subtle vibration that was calming and yet... somehow… frightening!
"Lullaby…"
And with that word fading into the wind...
BOOM!
She vanished within a black streak of lightning and then those gathered below began hearing slicing sounds.
"Hmm… what's that? The ground?"
The whispers were abruptly halted as their bodies trembled with stings. They started swaying then falling in slow motions with confused hisses escaping their mouths. This was because they were severed in half, their body parts were scattering like firewood across the ground.
"Oh… What a mess…"
Raphael and Lu Jade paused mid-flight. They witnessed a spectacle unlike anything they had ever seen before.
Heads were rolling, tails were twitching. And blood? Well, there was so much! It splattered across the sky, painting it red with horrifying streaks as the stench of blood mixed with that faint fragrance of expensive perfume Qi Fenwei had bathed in earlier lingered in the air.
It was a macabre symphony of severed serpentine flesh!
They'd never forget this brutality, and anyone who lived to tell about it would tremble at the mere mention of 'Lullaby'.
Now that over a hundred serpent had been minced to shreds, Qi Fenwei reappeared above Lu Ruby who was crawling out of her destroyed chariot.
"Huh, you?" Lu Ruby looked up and noticed Qi Fenwei's presence; she also noticed the chopped meat of her fellow snakes ahead. This made her very bitter inside and upset, but just as she was about to say something to Qi Fenwei,
"Lullaby – Whisper!" Qi Fenwei flashed around Lu Ruby in a terrifying buzz of slashes. She moved so fast that Lu Ruby had to squint.
When her vision returned, a terrifying truth had her shivering with embarrassment.
She was naked!
Those scales that she'd prided so much were gone! Her tail felt cold! The humiliation of being stripped bare in front of her enemies, this wouldn't be forgotten.
"I'll spare you today. If you have the guts, face me in the Great Divine Tribulation." Qi Fenwei said with disdain.
She then vanished and reappeared beside Lu Jade and Raphael. "Come. We have wasted too much time." She turned and flew away with a grace that defied even the skies.
Raphael and Lu Jade followed while silently thanking this bird who they had once thought an enemy. It would appear fate's strings were truly impossible to decipher.
"Hiraah!"
Just below, Lu Pin emerged from a pile of chopped meat, surprisingly, he was still in one piece without any scratch. This shocked him as he looked around at the meat pile he was in.
Lu Pin, who'd magically survived Qi Fenwei's 'Lullaby' attack, slithered over to check on Lu Ruby's condition. He was even more shocked to see her naked hide.
"Sister! W-what happened… to… your… ss…s…scalesssss?"
Hearing this, Lu Ruby yelled, "SHUT UP!" She became extremely embarrassed and slashed him away with her tail.
The slap echoed across the sky as a serpent emperor's daughter cried!
"QI FENWEI! YOU'LL PAY FOR THISSSSSS HUMILIATION!"
And miles away, as she laughed softly, those words of vengeance, it was like music to Qi Fenwei's ears.