Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Midnight Riders

Yaihan looked at the woman’s attire. Despite the heated battle and the apparent thinness of her robes, her clothing remained unscathed. “Are you familiar with the druid, Lysa?”

Koya squinted at the cultivator. “Everyone is.”

“I know. But I meant are you close friends with her?”

“Yes,” the kunoichi replied.

“Your outfit. It’s both peculiar yet elegant. Just like hers.”

“We’re Purifiers. That’s why,” Koya said. “If you don’t know what that is, I can fill you in later. But right now we’ve got more important things to do than give you a lesson on magical transformations.” She turned away from the camp. A multitude of other skirmishes occurred all across the vast expanse. “We need to make sure none of the Oni-Zhen survive. If even a single one gets away, there’s a good chance they’ll tell others of our camp’s location.”

“Then that means we’ll have to stop the furthest brigade first. Then I can intercept the others that try to retreat.”

“During our scavenging run, we had to cross a bridge over a chasm to the north,” Koya said as she pointed in the distance. “That’s where they started following us. If I had to guess, they’re going to go back that way too.”

“So the plan is to stop them from crossing that bridge?”

“Easier said then done,” Koya replied with her arms crossed. “Think you could leap to the other side of the battle? You landed with enough force to crush that Oni. That means you must have some fierce legs. If you and I both go, we could cut off their escape route and take out the remaining Onis on our way back to the camp!” the kunoichi said eagerly. 

The cultivator squinted towards the horizon. “It’s possible. But it’s difficult for me to gauge where to land the further out I have to jump. Besides, I doubt you’d survive the landing.”

“Damn.” Koya kicked the still twitching demon in the leg. “Then we’ll have to traverse the old fashion way.” She put her fingers to her lips and made a high-pitched whistle. 

“Summoning something?”

“Yeah. My horse.” A black steed came galloping towards the pair in the distance. “I don’t like Midnight being too close to battle. These Oni bastards will eat him alive if given the chance.”

As they waited for Midnight to arrive, the two demons laying on the ground continued to moan as their heads pressed against their wounds. 

“Do me a favor, mister,” Koya said while keeping an eye on her stallion. “Can you finish off these two demons for me? As much as I’d love to do it myself, you seem to get the job done a lot faster.”

“You have no need for prisoners?” Yaihan asked as he walked towards the Oni with the boulder embedded in his chest. 

Koya shook her head. “Nope. Fei-Lu has ordered us to kill every last one of them on the spot.”

“I see.” Yaihan lifted one foot above the demon’s head. The Oni stared at the bottom of Yaihan’s shoe with terror. His lips trembled, ready to plead for mercy until the cultivator followed through with his stomp and crushed the demon’s skull in a single movement. “Are these demons not ones to reveal vital information?”

“Your average Oni Marauder isn’t given any intel. They’re just told to band together and cause as much death and destruction as possible. Not to mention that they make for terrible prisoners. They do nothing but scream and make as much of a fuss as possible when captured. Think of a toddler throwing a tantrum except they’re three times your size and could crush your head like a grape.” Koya turned her head from her oncoming horse to watch Yaihan pry the stone out of one demon’s chest and hurl it at the other surviving Oni. The rock landed on the demon’s neck, severing his head from his body. “Well, maybe they couldn’t crush your head like a grape. But the average Xiwaoan doesn’t stand a chance.”

Yaihan dusted his hands and stood next to Koya. Midnight stopped his gallop in front of the kunoichi, standing on his rear his legs and gave a loud neigh. Koya balanced on the tips of her toes and brushed the shining black mane of the horse. “Thanks, Midnight,” she whispered into the stallion’s ear. 

“That’s a fine steed,” Yaihan said as he examined the horse’s body. Unlike the men inside the camp, Midnight looked to have a healthy weight. “Seems to eat better than some of the people inside the camp.”

“This is my and Lysa’s horse.” Koya leapt onto the saddle and pulled the reins back. “He loves me, but he loves Lysa even more. Probably something in that water she gives him. But we don’t have to keep Midnight in the stable like the other mounts.” She gave the horse a friendly pat on the neck and he neighed again. “We let him roam freely. Somehow he finds his own food and stay healthy. And he always seems to come back when we need him.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Come on.” Koya patted on the horse’s rear. “I know there’s not much room, but if we’re going to get on the other side of the battle, we have to leave now!”

Yaihan nodded. After stepping on the bottom rung of the saddle, he mounted the horse and placed both hands on Koya’s shoulders. With the cultivator seated, the kunoichi flicked the reins and Midnight darted off. 

“So. What can you tell me about yourself, huh?” the kunoichi asked calmly yet loud enough to overcome the sound of battle and Midnight’s hooves clomping over dirt. “Someone with your strength could have been a tremendous help to our cause a few months ago.”

“I didn’t know there was a war going on,” Yaihan shouted. 

“What? You didn’t know about the war?” Koya took her eyes off navigating Midnight to give Yaihan a baffled glare. “Have you been living on an island or something?”

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“Yes,” Yaihan said with a straight face. “That’s exactly what I was doing.”

Koya shook her head as she faced forward again. With some tight maneuvering, she weaved the horse away from oncoming Oni’s that turned their attention from Xiwaoan infantry to them. The steed’s nimbleness proved too much for the lingering demons to catch up with. 

“If we somehow survive this... and if by some miracle this plan actually works... we’re going to need to have a talk with Fei-Lu.” Koya said. 

“I’m more than willing to discuss with your leader,” Yaihan replied. “But for now, I have questions to ask of you.”

“Ask away.”

“What can you tell me about these demons? Any strengths or weakness I should know about?”

“You’re pretty good at killing them already,” Koya shouted back as she guided Midnight to take a sharp right and avoid a thrown spear from an Oni. “But there’s one thing you’ve got to know. The only way to slay them for sure is to destroy either their heart or their brain.”

The cultivator nodded. “Easy enough.”

“Yeah. For you maybe. But getting a blade through their thick skin and dense bone is nearly impossible for a lone Xiwaoan to do in combat. Usually takes four or five regular men to just be on par with a single Marauder.”

“What about you and Lysa? You two are... Purifiers? Correct? Are you able to deal with the Oni alone?”

With her eyes focused on the path ahead, Koya shook her head. “Lysa definitely can’t. She can stop one from doing too much damage. Maybe even incapacitate them. But there’s no way she could actually kill one. I can handle one by myself. Maybe even two. But as you saw, it takes me a bit more effort than a single punch.”

“I see. So you are your army’s most powerful warrior.” Yaihan could see Koya smirk from the side of her face.

“I wish I could say that. But if I’m being honest, that honor would go to Fei-Lu.”

“Your leader is also a formidable warrior?”

“Yes.”

“I have great respect for men that can fight in the same battles that they devise tactics for.”

Koya looked back at the cultivator. “What about a woman that could do that?”

“Fei-Lu is a woman?” Yaihan said with a twinge of surprise. “I recognize the Lu name. It belonged to one of the Xiwaoan’s most prominent family of tacticians! Never before has a woman commanded a Xiwaoan army.”

“Times have changed. But the Lu name still belongs to Xiwao’s most brilliant tactician. Fei-Lu is the last to bear her family’s name. And she lives up to it.”

“I assume she’s a Purifier like you and Lysa.”

“Now you’re getting it! As much as I’d like to explain the whole Purifier thing to you, looks like that bridge is right up ahead.” Koya took one hand off the reins and pointed at a long wooden arch that connected one barren plain to the other. Up ahead were three Onis, all lumbering towards the arched structure. “If they get across, then every Oni is going to know our camp’s location within a month!”

“Can Midnight go any faster?” Yaihan asked. “I have an idea to stop them from advancing any further as well preventing any other Oni from escaping.”

“You got it.” Koya snapped the reins. Midnight neighed again and picked up speed. The Onis stood at the foot of the bridge and turned around after they heard the horse’s bray. They all stared at the oncoming pair, laughing hysterically as the horse came to an abrupt halt several yards away.

“Sorry, this is the furthest Midnight will go. He’s not fond of getting too close to the Oni-Zhen.”

Yaihan jumped off the side of the horse and faced the demons in front of the bridge. “This is fine.” He cracked his knuckles and sauntered towards the demons. They continued to laugh as Koya followed behind the cultivator. 

“These dumb bastards,” Koya whispered into Yaihan’s ear, unable to hide her gin. “If they weren’t so evil, I’d almost feel bad for them.”

The closest demon walked away from the other two, this brandishing a long, shining piece of flat metal in place of hand. He slammed it against the ground, crushing a boulder to dust before advancing closer to Yaihan while maintaining a wicked grin.

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