Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Wicked and Winged

Fei-Lu flicked her dress, sending a bit of flesh splatting on the ground. She blinked twice, looked at the corpse in front of her and then at Yaihan. “What... did you do?” she muttered.

“It wasn’t magic if that’s what you were thinking,” the cultivator replied, shaking his hands dry of black blood. 

“Then what was it?”

“A standard jab.”

The tactician stomped in front of the cultivator and crossed her arms. “Is this all a joke to you?”

Yaihan raised an eyebrow. “I was being honest. It’s one of the first techniques anyone learns in the most basic of martial arts training.”

“You might not want to get too assertive, Fei-Lu.” Koya appeared in a purple cloud, placing herself between the tactician and the cultivator. She pointed at the obliterated remains of the Oni to her side. “You’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

“So you brought an assassin into my presence?” Fei-Lu snapped. “That’s what you consider to be reinforcements?”

“I was just making a joke, Fei.” Koya rolled her eyes.

“Fei-Lu!” The tactician pointed a finger at Koya’s face. “That’s my full name! You know to always refer to me that way! You’re only calling me that now to get me riled up in front of a new recruit!”

“If I might intrude,” Yaihan said as he stood to the side of both Purifiers. They turned to him, with Fei-Lu still angry. Koya’s expression contrasted with a look of understanding. “I didn’t mean to stir discord among your ranks. I was only following Koya’s instruction. She knows more about this war than I do.”

“And Koya follows my orders!” Fei-Lu pointed towards herself with her thumb. “And if you are to join the Xiwaoan forces, the same goes for you. Whatever I say supersedes hers. Is that understood?”

The cultivator bowed. “Yes, Fei-Lu.”

“Good.” Fei-Lu crossed her arms and tapped a foot. “Now. I want a proper answer. We’re in a battle and people are dying, so a quick response is crucial. How did you annihilate that Oni’s head with a single strike? Even I can’t do that, and I’m our army’s most capable warrior.”

“I’d say we’re at least on par,” Koya muttered under her breath. “You wouldn’t have all those kills if it weren’t for me bringing them—”

“Shush!” Fei-Lu pressed a finger against the other kunoichi’s lips while keeping her eyes focused on Yaihan. “Explain it to me in one sentence.”

“I am a cultivator,” Yaihan said bluntly.

The tactician smacked her forehead with the palm of her head. “Oh no. Not another one of those.”

“But he’s the real deal!” Koya said as she rested an arm on Yaihan’s shoulder. “You saw it for yourself! And I’ve seen him do even wilder things with my very own eyes! Dismemberment. Decapitation. Pulverizing. He’s the only one I’ve ever seen able to do to Onis what they’ve been doing to humans for the past year!”

“Not once have I seen a so called ‘cultivator’ prove to be anything other than a weight on our army.” Fei-Lu started counting on her fingers. “They’re arrogant. Cocky. Self-centered. Incompetent. Stubborn.” She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Yaihan. “Need I say more?”

“He’s not like the others!” Koya protested. “Trust me, he can turn the war in our favor.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Fei-Lu turned her back towards the other two before clapping her hands twice. “Zephyr!” the tactician shouted. After a few seconds, another horse ran through the ravages of the battlefield, leaping over slain Oni. The white stallion was clad in lustrous silver armor that glistened with each step he took. Zephyr stopped in front of Fei-Lu, standing on his hind legs and letting out a neigh.

“This is your ride?” Yaihan asked as he looked at his reflection on the horse’s helmet.

“Yes. As the commander, I need a way to travel swiftly across the field.” Fei-Lu leapt and landed on Zephyr’s saddle with ease. She then holstered her blades onto the horse’s side sheaths “If you are truly as powerful and Koya claims you are, prove it.” The tactician took hold of her horse’s reins while putting one hand over her eyes to block the sun as she scanned the war zone. Despite the Oni-Zhen’s shrinking numbers, they continued to clash with Xiwaoan forces in a single, large clash in the middle of the battlefield. “There. Let’s see if that ‘jab’ of yours is as effective on enemies that are still living.”

Without another word, Fei-Lu lashed Zephyr with the reins, making him sprint across the barren land. As Yaihan watched Fei-Lu charge into battle on the back of her steed, Koya nudged him in the arm with her elbow. “She’ll grow on you,” the kunoichi said quietly.

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“I understand her temperament. A lot is at risk. She can’t afford to make mistakes. Or to put her faith in someone she’s only just met.”

“Yeah. But she has high expectations of everyone. It comes from her upbringing. As a general’s only child, Fei-Lu was put through a lot. She’s had that Tactician’s Academy attitude ever since I’ve known her.”

“Seems like she was getting frustrated with you,” Yaihan replied as she walked towards Midnight. “I hope I didn’t put a strain on your relationship.”

Koya giggled. “Oh? That little back and forth we had?” she said with a flick of her wrist. “That was nothing but a little friendly disagreement. If we were losing the battle, things could have gotten a lot worse.” The kunoichi hopped on her horse’s back. Yaihan sat himself on the rear of the saddle, his eyes still focusing on Fei-Lu as she headed towards the fight. 

“I’m ready to end this battle if you are,” Yaihan said as he braced himself for Midnight to move. 

“I’m always ready to kill some Oni bastards!” the kunoichi said with a wink. “Ride on, Midnight!” She pulled on the reins and kicked her heel against the stallion’s side. Midnight whinnied before galloping towards the fray. 

The scent of blood filled the air again as they sped towards the final skirmish. Human and Oni alike screamed as they clashed metal against metal. Fei-Lu dismounted her horse first, propelling herself high into the air before descending in front of a club-wielding Oni. He raised his weapon high, ready to smash the tactician until she back flipped out of his club’s range. Fei-Lu crossed her blades, forming an ‘X’ shape with them in front of her body. She then followed through with a downwards slash of both weapons. 

A gust of wind shot out from her slash, making a thunderous boom as the magical projectile flew towards the demon. The Oni placed his weapon in front of his chest to block the attack, but the stone bludgeon did little to mitigate the blast. The rush of air collided with his body, cutting a large ‘X’ shape into his skin that stretched from his shoulders down to his waist. He dropped his club to clutch onto the gaping slashes that covered the front of his body. 

With her enemy wounded, Fei-Lu leapt in the air again, this time spreading her arms apart with her swords extended out. The tactician spun sideways, turning her body into a blur as a fierce wind encompassed her body. Fei-Lu’s swords cut through the demon’s skull with ease as she passed overhead. She landed behind her foe and took a glance behind to watch the Oni fell backwards with his head split vertically down the middle.

“That was impressive,” Yaihan said to Koya as they approached the battle. 

“It took her two spells to take out that Oni. Impressive, yes. But I want to see her reaction when she sees you kill a demon with your bare hands!” 

The cultivator looked away from Fei-Lu and scanned field. Various Oni dueled with numerous Xiwaoans, only to be overrun. The human soldiers stabbed and slashed with their superior numbers, bringing their demonic foes to the ground and finishing them once they were incapacitated. 

Only one Oni stood confident enough to continue taking on Xiwaoans. Standing a few feet taller than the other Onis, he wore a plated belt that protected his waist with a demonic skull serving at its buckle. He stood at the furthest side of the battle, swinging his jagged sword with enough velocity to sever multiple Xiwaoans in a single slice. After dealing the fatal blow, he laughed with a wicked smile. “Is there no Xiwaoan that can rival me?” he cried loud enough for everyone in the area to hear. 

Koya made Midnight come to a halt and then looked at Yaihan. “I think he’s talking to you.”

“I’ll see if I can make our conversation a brief one.” The cultivator dismounted the stallion. He readied his legs for a leap while his eyes focused on where he wanted to land. After a moment of concentration, Yaihan high above the fighting and towards the towering demon on the other side. 

The Oni looked up and saw Yaihan careen towards him. With a leap, he avoided getting crushed underneath the cultivator. “What?” the demon said with shock as he staggered back from the shockwaves made from Yaihan’s impact. “Have you come to challenge me?” 

Yaihan brushed off the dirt from his pants. He looked at the surrounding area, wincing when he the bodies of the bisected soldiers that littered the ground. “You asked for a rival.”

With a worried face, the demon took a battle stance. He held his sword in one hand while angling his body so that only one side of his body faced the cultivator. “I see. That was an impressive trick you just performed. The closest I’ve seen a human fly was with your leader. But your leaps are nothing compared to what I’m able to do!” The demon spread his legs and flexed his bulging arm muscles. Two black wings shot out from behind his back. Once fully spread, the scaly appendages stretched to almost twice his arm span. He pulled them back and then flexed them forward, sending a gust of wind at the cultivator.

“Before you die, I want you to know that it was Valiax who slayed you!” The demon cackled again as he flapped his wings rapidly. A rush of wind blew towards Yaihan, sending the mutilated corpses tumbling like loose blades of grass. As dust and blood swirled around him, Yaihan remained still. He lifted one hand to cover his eyes from the flurry of dirt as he waited for the Oni to finish the attack. 

“S-Still standing?” the demon said, perplexed. Yaihan took a few steps forward and cracked his knuckles. “And... you don’t even have a weapon! Y-You must either be the most foolish warrior in all of Xiwao... or the legends of mythic cultivators must be true!”

“I’ll give you one thing,” Yaihan replied as he continued towards the Oni. Valiax backed away with his hands trembling as he clutched his weapon, only to stumble backwards over the body of a dead demon. Now on his back, the demon stared at the cultivator as he inched closer. “You’re the first to get that part correct.” 

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Art Spotlight: Valiax

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