Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Last Minute Preparations

The crowd roared. Men and women alike all clapped and cheered as Yaihan’s eyes slowly gazed at them. The cultivator glanced over his shoulder and saw Fei-Lu slowly nod her hand. With his speech done, he returned to the tactician’s side and stood with his arms behind his back. Fei-Lu then returned to the center of the stage. With a raise of her hand, the ruckus simmered down to a quiet murmur.

“Now, we have a very important task. Yaihan, Lysa, Koya and I will have to embark on a mission. As some of the survivors of the latest battle may know, one of the Oni-Zhen’s scouts managed to escape from the fight. Our party will be leaving to search for Valiax. Tonight.”

The Xiwaoans all gasped. The confidence that Yaihan instilled moments before turned to worry and confusion. “Who will lead us in the meantime?” one soldier towards the front asked.

The tactician lowered her head and sighed before replying. “You’ll have to make do without me. If things go right, we should return within a few days. With the bridge to the north having been destroyed, the Oni-Zhen don’t have an easy route to the camp’s location.”

“Leave Yaihan here to protect us! Or at least Lysa so she can help with the injured!” one woman shouted. “You four are our most powerful fighters! Without you, we’re defenseless!”

“There is no room to cut corners on this mission!” Fei-Lu replied sternly. “If Valiax escapes, then this camp is as good as gone!”

Despite her words, fear still permeated throughout the audience. The tactician crossed her arms, but instead of looking frustrated she carried an expression of disappointment as she watched her weak, tired and wounded constituents all enter a panic. Her lips lingered as her mind stumbled to come up with a proper response until Yaihan stepped to the front again.

“I’ll personally see to it that Fei-Lu’s mission is successful,” the cultivator said. The Xiwaoans turned quiet, awaiting Yaihan’s next words. “I have faith in her decisions. Anyone who has helped you to survive this long against a threat as deadly as the Oni-Zhen must know what she’s doing.” Despite Yaihan’s attempt to subdue the audience’s doubts, their looks of desperation remained.

“I understand you have your doubts, your frustrations,” the tactician continued. “But time isn’t something that we can spare. If this plan is to work, we must leave tonight. That’s why before we depart, I’m giving one final command; carry on as if I were here. Continue doing the usual tasks. Keep guards on look out. Maintain the food supply. As I said before, we should be back within a few days.” Audible grunts of frustration travelled throughout the group of listeners. Fei-Lu clapped her hands twice and the noise of the crowd simmered.

“You are now dismissed.”

The Xiwaoans turned around with their heads low as they funneled out of the camp’s center and back to their original locations. After a few minutes, only the three Purifiers and Yaihan remained around the fire.

“They didn’t seem too happy,” Koya said as she watched the stragglers return to their tents in the distance.

“My job isn’t to make them happy,” Fei-Lu replied. “It’s to make sure they live.”

“Did you figure out who you wanted to bring along?” Lysa asked.

“Yes. I’m bringing our lead scout along.”

“Cyrus?” Koya asked.

“He knows how to gather information and has the stamina keep up with us. I’m going to inform him now. I want you three to gather supplies for the trip. Only bring what’s required. No need to waste space by bring water since Lysa can make some with Mending Storm.”

The druid bowed her head. “Understood.”

“I’ll meet you three at the stable within half an hour. The sooner we depart, the sooner we can return.” Fei-Lu then headed towards the barracks at the opposite side of camp, leaving Yaihan with the remaining two Purifiers.

“You’re not too bad with words,” Koya said to the cultivator. “The only other person I’ve seen get the Xiwaoans so emotional was Fei-Lu!”

“I just told them the truth,” Yaihan replied with a whisper as he followed the others towards his right.

The kunoichi winked. “True. Must be easy when you have god-like strength at your disposal.”

Yaihan shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps.”

Together, they arrived a long wooden hut placed against the camp’s fence. A pair of armored Xiwaoan men stood by the entrance, their eyes zeroing in on the trio that approached. Koya and Lysa bowed and the pair of guards did the same. They stepped to the side, granting access to the storage room.

“The most important room in the entire camp,” Koya said once she stepped inside. Despite its size, the space was mostly barren save for a few sacks and crates stacked against one of the walls. “Not like we have much though.”

“That’s why we only take what we need,” Lysa replied. “We don’t even have enough to last another two weeks.”

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“You won’t have to bring much for me,” Yaihan said as he stood next to a sack of rice. “Just tell me how much I should carry.”

The kunoichi walked to his side and examined the assorted piles of grains. “I think this one should be enough.”

Yaihan reached down and picked up the opened bag with one hand, curling up the opened seal so it didn’t leak. “Is there anything else we need?”

“We’ll have to get a few weapons too,” Lysa said.

“You three are powerful warriors already,” Yaihan said as he followed the two women out of the tent and towards the armory right next to the food storehouse. “Don’t you have your own weapons?”

Koya turned around and pulled out a purple stone from underneath her top that was attached to a golden necklace. “These things are called Beacons,” she said. “They’re the reason we can transform into our Purifier forms.”

“Unfortunately, it does not last forever,” Lysa said. “We need to take time to recharge our magic.”

“We carry weapons at our side in situations where or Purifier forms aren’t accessible.”

“I see.”

“However, we’re not particularly powerful fighters without them,” Lysa said. “We’re... about as strong as we look...”

“Speak for yourself,” Koya replied with the raise of an eyebrow and a coy grin. “You seem to forget that I was an assassin before the Oni took over. And Fei-Lu has taken her fair share of combat classes during her time in the tacticians’ academy.”

“But can you cut through the demons like you did back on the battlefield?” Yaihan asked as the group stopped in front armory.

“No. But it’s not like we’re completely defenseless. All I know is that it couldn’t hurt to have a spare weapon on me.” The kunoichi disappeared into the weapon stash before emerging with a set of swords still in their sheaths. “I went ahead and grabbed a spare one, just for you.”

“You know I don’t need one of those.”

“No, but I saw you throw one of Fei-Lu’s swords. You’ve got the power of a catapult in those arms of yours. Maybe with a good enough shot, you could sever that other wing of Valiax from all the way over here.” Koya walked past Yaihan and headed towards the stable. “Fei-Lu said that we need to pack light, so I think we’ve got everything. Food. Weapons.” The kunoichi glanced at Lysa. “And water. Can you think of anything else, Lysa?”

The druid shook her head. “No. I think that’s all we need.”

“All right. That means we better meet up with Fei-Lu. As you can you have probably figured out by now, she’s not the kind to wait.”

Yaihan followed Koya while Lysa trailed behind the cultivator. Together, they made their way to the stable where Fei-Lu stood by her horse, ready for departure.

“Did you find our scout?” Koya asked as she prepared Midnight’s saddle.

The tactician turned her head towards the inside of the stable. A brown horse emerged, guided by a man in a leather hood. “Greetings!” the man said with a friendly wave once he stepped into the warm glow of the camp’s fire. He had a lean frame but was built enough that his toned chest muscles were visible through the tattered top he wore while a holstered rapier dangled from his hip. The scout then jaunted towards Yaihan and eagerly stretched out one hand and gave the cultivator a big smile through his unkempt beard. “The name’s Cyrus. Pleasure to meet you!’

Yaihan accepted the offer and gave a firm shake and looked into the man’s big, round and blue eyes. His complexion was fair, almost pale, and stashed underneath his leather hood were unruly brown locks of hair. “Likewise.”

“You saved my skin back there, good sir,” Cyrus said. “Would have been Oni chow if you didn’t show up.”

As Yaihan prepared a response, Fei-Lu stood at their side and grabbed the attention of both men. “We can do introductions once we start heading out,” the tactician said sternly. “Valiax isn’t going to wait. And neither shall we.”

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Art Spotlight: Cyrus Trogford

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