Chapter 21 Life-and-Death Battle
In the dim twilight filtering through the towering trees, Li An emerged from a narrow crevice nestled in a craggy formation where she hides to escape the ambush of the wolf-like creature. She has learned from Seedee that the creature is called Lorang.
She breathed a cautious sigh, convinced the coast was clear. The Lorangs, ferocious silver-backed wolves with menacing, four-eyed stares, had seemingly vanished from the outskirts of the dark forest. She'd waited, still and silent, for what felt like hours as their growls echoed ominously through the undergrowth. Now, as she moved toward the cold palace walls that loomed distantly through the fog, the weight of lurking threats felt lighter.
Her pace quickened, each step quiet against the fallen leaves and packed earth, years of disciplined training in stealth apparent in her graceful movements. The cold, damp air pressed heavily around her, chilling her fingertips. Though she was young, she held herself with a resolute, almost regal determination, accustomed to facing dangers far greater than herself. She couldn't afford fear or hesitation.
A sudden rustle in the shadows stilled her, each hair prickling along her neck. She narrowed her eyes, slowing her breath to a whisper. Then, one after another, they emerged. Their spiky fur shimmered like steel in the dim light, and their snarling mouths revealed rows of jagged fangs. Fifteen Lorangs materialized from the forest's depths, their four cold, luminescent eyes fixed on her with a deadly intelligence.
She could not understand how these creatures could find her with her almost perfect assimilation with the environment. Her conjecture was broken by the words of Seedee in her mind.
"They can smell you…" Seedee's voice was calm.
Li An realized it and could only nod her head. She then looks at the creatures in front of her.
"More of you?" she murmured, her voice almost swallowed by the forest's silence.
Li An tightened her grip on her sword, she took a lot of it from the assassins who intruded the cold palace, feeling the familiar hum of its blade, attuned to her strength. Her mind spun with calculations and strategies, but deep down, she knew this was a battle she couldn't simply evade. She inhaled deeply, centering herself, allowing the frigid air to sharpen her senses. Seedee, her invisible companion, whispered inside her mind, urging calm and precision.
As if sensing her intentions, the lorangs circled closer, a chilling growl rolling between them. They prowled with a predator's confidence, calculating their strike.
Li An felt her muscles tense, strength coiling within her limbs like a spring. She could summon strength equivalent to two grown men, and now, she would need every ounce. She took a single step forward, her feet rooted firmly against the cold ground, her heart steady. She channeled her strength, focusing it into her sword hand.
"Celestial Descent," she whispered, invoking the first of her secret techniques.
In one swift, practiced motion, her blade swept through the air, a graceful arc blazing toward the first lorang that lunged at her. Her sword glinted briefly, and then the lorang crumpled mid-air, felled by a single strike. Li An didn't pause; she pivoted, the momentum of her movement carrying her toward the next attacker.
Two more lorangs sprang at her simultaneously, eyes glinting with predatory hunger. She danced backward, evading their snapping jaws, and invoked her next technique: Void Strike. Her blade blurred as it tore through the air, slicing with precision so refined that her sword seemed to disappear momentarily into thin air. When it reappeared, two more lorangs collapsed, their spiked fur shivering in the final throes of death.
Yet even as she cut through their ranks, the wolves adapted, their movements quickening, surrounding her with a relentless hunger that transcended mere survival. Their growls grew louder, echoing through the mountain, a grim reminder that she was outnumbered, her petite figure dwarfed by their hulking forms.
Li An's breath quickened. Her sword skills were formidable, but even she would tire in a battle of attrition. The lorangs were powerful creatures, and she hadn't yet gauged their full strength. These creatures were not only persistent; they were cunning, coordinating their movements with a chilling precision.
As another lorang lunged toward her, she raised her free hand, and a strange brush appeared, channeling her concentration into a new skill she had been refining in secret — the Air Glyph. Her brush danced through the air, tracing complex symbols that glowed with an ethereal light, a binding magic that could trap or weaken foes. A silvery glyph flashed into existence, shimmering with power. She touched the glyph and cast it at the charging lorang, the glyph exploding in a flash of light as it struck.
The beast staggered, momentarily immobilized, giving her enough time to slice through it with another swift Void Strike. One more fell, but her momentary victory didn't slow the rest. The remaining wolves snarled in unison, their eyes narrowing with a flicker of rage.
Li An backed up, her senses acutely aware of every surrounding detail. Her strength and skill were formidable, yet even she felt a tremor of doubt creep in as the lorangs' formation closed tighter around her. Her fingers tingled from the intense energy, and her breathing became ragged. But she couldn't relent — to hesitate here was to die.
Her heart pounded, each beat fueling her focus, her eyes blazing with an indomitable will. "You leave me no choice," she muttered under her breath, gripping her sword hilt until her knuckles whitened. Her legs crouched, preparing for another burst.
The lorangs didn't give her a moment of respite. Three charged at her in a deadly formation, their silvery backs gleaming under the moon's faint glow. She slashed in quick succession, her blade flashing as it met their claws and fangs, each strike resonating with her inner energy. She forced them back, but one managed to rake its claws across her arm, slicing through her tunic and leaving a thin line of blood in its wake. She hissed in pain, but grit her teeth, the sensation only sharpening her determination.
Just as two more lorangs lunged, Li An spun on her heel, performing an intricate series of glyphs in the air. She'd never tried combining glyphs with her sword techniques before, but she was out of options. Her brush traced the symbols, faster this time, each stroke infused with the energy around her.
"Bind and Shatter," she whispered, releasing a glyph with a touch of her finger that flashed with an intense white light.
The glyph expanded in a dome around her, trapping the nearest lorangs, their snarls muffled within the glowing boundary. Without a moment's hesitation, she followed up with Celestial Descent, her sword plunging into the dome's heart. The glyph exploded outward, and when the light dimmed, four more lorangs lay lifeless on the ground.
Panting, Li An staggered back, her strength dipping dangerously weak. Sweat slicked her brow, and her arm throbbed from the claw wound. But her resolve held firm. She glanced around, assessing her opponents. Only six remained, their aggression now tinged with a wary caution. They were learning, watching her every move with a newfound hesitation.
Then, a thought occurred to her. She would use the forest to her advantage.
With a sudden, deliberate movement, Li An bolted toward the denser thicket of trees. The remaining lorangs gave chase, growling with renewed vigor. She wove between the trees, her slender figure darting gracefully as she counted the beats of her footfalls, the wolves close on her heels.
As she reached a large oak, she leaped, grabbing onto a low-hanging branch and pulling herself up in one smooth motion. The lorangs skidded below, growling and snapping, momentarily disoriented. Taking advantage of her elevated position, Li An traced a massive glyph in the air, her arms trembling from the exertion.
"Ensnare," she whispered, pouring all her concentration into the glyph.
After touching the glyph, it pulsed and expanded, weaving down like a net around the lorangs below. It entangled them, binding their movements with threads of light. Trapped within her snare, the lorangs thrashed, their silvery fur flickering as they struggled against the binding magic.
Li An's vision swam from the sheer strain, but she couldn't stop now. This was her chance to finish it.
Channeling the last of her strength, she descended from the branch, her blade gleaming as she prepared for the final strike. She leaped down, her sword slicing through the entangled lorangs in a series of swift, relentless strokes. The gleam of her blade was a blur, each strike swift and merciless, leaving no room for retaliation.
One by one, the lorangs collapsed, their fierce growls fading into the cold, still air. When the last lorang lay still, Li An sank to her knees, her breath shallow, every muscle in her body trembling from the overwhelming exertion. Her chest heaved, and she clenched her hands, feeling the faint burn of the cut across her arm, her heart pounding as she realized the battle was truly over.
The night had deepened, the faint glow of dawn still hours away, and silence enveloped the forest once more. Li An stayed motionless for a moment, allowing the gravity of her survival to settle in. Despite her exhaustion, a glimmer of pride sparked in her eyes.
"Thank you, Seedee," she whispered, knowing her unseen companion had been with her, lending her strength in the form of calm and focus.
She rose slowly, gripping her sword and turning toward the cold palace walls. Though her body ached, her mind remained sharp, and her spirit unbroken. With a final glance at the fallen lorangs, she walked back toward the palace, carrying the weight of a hard-won victory and the knowledge that, no matter the odds, she would not falter.
As she walked back to the cold palace boundary walls, she did not notice that something was missing in her person.
Concubine Su has given Li An a hair ornament shaped like a rose. This ornament means a lot to Li An because it was the first gift that Concubine Su has given her on her 6th birthday.
However, the hair ornament laid on the ground is obscure from her views. Li An's figure slowly disappeared through the dark forest not knowing that she had lost something very important to her.