Chapter 156 - Battlefield
156 – Battlefield
She was hiding in the dark, her ears are buzzing.
What assaulted her ears is a cacophony of sounds, which contained shrill shrieks, angry shouts, wails, the ear-piercing sounds of swords colliding. It’s really noisy, to the point that she virtually cannot hear Shui Yun’er breathing beside her.
“This is…”
Qi Qiqi murmured in astonishment.
As the setting sun is disappearing behind the mountains in the distance, the last dark red rays of twilight have fallen on Mirror Moon Lake, underlining the fierce, bloody, and savage silhouettes.
The situation is worse than expected.
Maybe the thing that appeared in front of the two is hell.
In the distance, crimson blood splashed from time to time and drew strange arcs; some parts, that were forced to separate from the owners’ body, fell powerlessly on the ground. It appears as if you can hear the sound they make when they land on the ground.
Amid the flashes and shadows of swords, there is loss and death.
Qi Qiqi saw such a scene — war — for the first time.
Martial practitioners and martial demons are fighting each other in a small area next to Mirror Moon Lake.
Altogether, the both parties amount to hundreds of individuals. Isn’t fighting on such a scale a war?
The angry howls of humans and the roars full of hostility of martial demons were carried through the sky and echoed in the ears. Weapons struck, flesh collided, all in an attempt to claim life.
Their eyes are adorned with glaring red rays.
It’s blood-thirst! It is turbulent and berserk blood-thirst.
The blood-thirst intertwined, rushed towards Qi Qiqi like a huge torrent, broke into her senses and spirit, and invaded her heart.
Staring blankly at everything that is transcribing, the girl is deeply immersed in the scene before her eyes, unable to extricate herself.
Fortunately, I didn’t bring the disciples. She suddenly had this thought.
“– Big Sister Qi, be careful!”
Qi Qiqi has just lifted her head, when an impact assaulted her from the side.
“Ah? — boo…”
The girl was violently pushed aside all of a sudden, and plopped on her butt.
Immediately after, a black shadow passed by her original position and left deep marks in the grass and ground.
Along with the loud sound of wings flapping, several black and white feathers fell gracefully. In the afterglow, Qi Qiqi finally saw the thing that has performed an attack.
It is a large raptor with a figure similar to a falcon, but several times bigger; it ha three bright red eyes, with the extra one being located on the forehead.
“God Eye Eagle…” Qi Qiqi murmured the name of the martial demon.
God Eye Eagle.
It is a raptor-type martial demon with a formidable diving ability and flying speed and a fierce temperament. But it is quite rare. Qi Qiqi has only seen its drawings in books. This it is the first time that she has seen this rare martial demon in the flesh.
At this time, the God Eye Eagle is hovering in the air above Qi Qiqi, staring straight at the two people on the ground. It’s tensed up talons are shining with cold light.
Qi Qiqi suddenly had a chill go down her spine. If Shui Yun’er did not push her away in time, the consequences would have been too horrible to contemplate. The talons are enough to tear her in half.
“Little Sister Shui, thank you…”
Qi Qiqi looked at Shui Yun’er, who is sitting in front of her. A moment ago, Shui Yun’er has pushed Qi Qiqi away in time to let her escape.
“No problem. But how can you get distracted, Big Sister Qi?”
Shui Yun’er’s tone is a little harsh, clearly rebuking Qi Qiqi.
Aware that she is in the wrong, Qi Qiqi stayed silent. She stood up awkwardly, and then extended her hand to help Shui Yun’er stand up.
When Shui Yun’er grabbed her hand, a sense of moisture came from her palm. Qi Qiqi took a closer look and found that her palm is stained with red.
— blood…?
After discovering the source of the blood, Qi Qiqi held her breath.
The source of the blood is located on Shui Yun’er’s right arm. There are five eye-catching talon marks of different depths.
Red flesh is exposed, blood is flowing ceaselessly and dying the entire sleeve red. Judging by how twisted Shui Yun’er’s beautiful face is, it should be rather painful.
Qi Qiqi turned pale with fright. Such an injury can hardly be called a minor injury.
“Little Sister Shui, you’re hurt!”
Shui Yun’er glanced at the injury and pressed it with a hand to slow down the bleeding. She gasped, probably due to the pain that came with touching the wound.
“It looks like I’m not nimble enough…”
With great effort, Shui Yun’er showed a wry smiled. Qi Qiqi shook her head vigorously immediately after.
“No, it’s all my fault!”
The wound must have arisen when Shui Yun’er pushed her away. Unable to evade in time, she was scratched by the God Eye Eagle’s talons.
Really, how can I get distracted in this situation? Qi Qiqi secretly condemned her carelessness that led to Shui Yun’er being hurt. Although she and Shui Yun’er are outside the battlefield and are hidden in the dense forest, but that doesn’t mean they can lower their guard. With their sharp senses, it’s not surprising for martial demons to discover them. The God Eye Eagle eyeing them from above is the best evidence.
“Let’s hurry up and treat it!”
“We can’t, we still have a naughty bird above us.”
Shui Yun’er stopped Qi Qiqi, who was trying to tear off her sleeves and bandaged her arm. She deliberately used a mischievous and relaxed tone to ease Qi Qiqi’s remorse.
Since the threat from above is still unresolved, it is indeed not a good time to bandage.
“I got it, let’s do it…”
Her tone is dull.
There is a dejected expression on Qi Qiqi’s face. If she could, she would like to avoid a confrontation. But forced by the situation, she can’t help it. Shui Yun’er next to her is still bleeding. What’s more, she knows that this kindness of her is superfluous, and it will eventually harm herself and others.
“Well, there is no other way.”
She seems to say it to herself.
Then Qi Qiqi closed her eyes and lifted Sky Asunder.
Sky Asunder’s scabbard was destroyed earlier in the battle with Chihen, The magic lines on the exposed dark gray sword body are shining with dazzling brilliance.
When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were bright red like fire, as if they were really on fire — there is some kind of light spiraling deep in her eyes.
“Li [1] is fire. Fire sweep from the south! Gather, congeal, turn into arrows, and destroy my enemies –”
Countless flame tongues appeared out of thin air and gathered at the tip of the sword. With Sky Asunder as the brush, fire as the ink, Qi Qiqi drew in front of her. An arc of fire trailed behind Sky Asunder’s tip, which is shining with the light of fire.
“– Flying Flames!”
The order has been issued.
When the spell model was activated, the arc of fire shook unnaturally, split into several flame arrows, and shot out at once. To be honest, this is the first time that Qi Qiqi is using “Flying Flames”. But she unexpectedly succeeded.
With red light trailing behind, “Flying Flames” approaching the God Eye Eagle hovering in the sky from several directions.
The God Eye Eagle displayed nimble movement, that can hardly be associated with its huge body, and evaded Flying Flames. It screeched, turned, and dove towards Qi Qiqi.
Qi Qiqi has assumed a stance, ready to fight back, when a sphere of water suddenly intervened and hit the raptor attacking from above.
This is a spell that Shui Yun’er cast.
Water splashed about.
Hit by sphere of water, the God Eye Eagle cried in pain. It was drenched by water in a flash. Swaying, it landed far away. Once its feathers are wet, a bird won’t be able to fly due to the weight gain. Under these circumstances, landing right away is a wise choice. It seems that the God Eye Eagle isn’t stupid.
The threat has been dispelled.
While holding Sky Asunder in a reverse-grip and guarding against martial demons that might have possibly been attracted by the fight just now, Qi Qiqi walked up to beside Shui Yun’er and supported her.
“We shouldn’t stay here any longer. The fight just now might have attracted the attention of other martial demons.”
“Okay. Anyway, I’m not sure if I can hit a God Eye Eagle again.”
Shui Yun’er smiled wryly again and joked.
“Really, I really don’t know what to tell you. Are you still in the mood to make jokes?”
Qi Qiqi let out a sigh.
[1] – Li (離)