Chapter 229 - Hunting

I give Guozhi a grateful look and say "We should go." Bai Lei nods in agreement and soon we're ready to go. "Remember... you're not alone. You have us and you have your power. Trust in yourself my dear and everything will fall into place." My mother says with a strained smile, full of worry.

I give her a knowing smile and say "Don't worry. I'll be back and better than before." My mother's smile widens but tears well up in her eyes before she quickly looks away and says "I just forgot! I need to feed Bun!" She turns to Zhen and nods at him once before taking off.

She runs from me and I can't help the helpless smile that takes over my face. I'm not good at goodbyes either... Bai Lei slips his hand into mine and gives me a gentle squeeze asking "Ready?" I nod my head and look over to Zhen in question. 

He gives me a slight smile and nods his head saying "I'm ready" I nod and turn to look for Ai. She still wasn't here so we decide to wait a little longer. Just as we're about to leave without her, she comes running around the corner saying "I'm here! I'm sorry I'm late! I had to take care of a few things. Let's do this!" 

She comes to a stop before me and does a double-take on my outfit. "What... What are you wearing?" She asks looking at me from head to toe. I raise my brows and look down at my silver and white dress with confusion. 

I look back up to her and ask "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She steps back and raises her arms before spinning around, showing me her battle gear. It looked like she was ready to go to war. I giggle and say "It looks good on you but I'll be able to kick this bastard's ȧss even in a dress."

Ai doesn't look too convinced but she shakes her head with a laugh and says "OKay, don't say I didn't warn you though." We turn to Bai Lei and walk over to him and Zhen. Bai Lei turns to us and says "Ren says there's a large open field and it may seem empty but that's only because there's a barrier. Be careful and stay close. I will break the barrier once we get there." 

We all nod as he lifts a hand, shifting all of us to the open field he just spoke of. I look up to the sky and see thick dark clouds overhead, completely blocking out the sun. Bai Lei stays close to me as we all walk forward. 

Bai Lei lifts his hand and all of us suck in at the sight that suddenly comes into view. The once green grass was no longer there. Nothing but the barren and dry ground remains. "It was an illusion... good job," I say turning to Bai Lei. Bai Lei keeps his eyes straight ahead as he says "That wasn't me. Eli removed it himself. It seems like he was expecting us and opened the door for us."

Oh... I look back to the barren field and see only one entrance into the large mountain on the right side. I take a deep breath and say "It looks like we'll have to let ourselves in..." We all carefully walk over to the cave opening but something doesn't seem right.

I slow to a stop and tell the others to do the same. They turn to me in question as Bai Lei asks "What is it?" I lift my head and begin scanning the mountains surrounding us completely with worry. He really picked the perfect place... 

"Do you feel that?" I ask looking back to Bai Lei. He frowns and tries searching for the source of my unease but his frown only grows as he turns back to me and says "Talk to me, little star. What are you sensing?"

I look back to the surrounding mountains and say "There's something in the surrounding mountains watching us. There's too many to count and they don't feel... human." Ai suddenly pulls out duel blades and says "They're wanting to ambush us!" 

She growls deep, completely surprising me. I guess that's the demon part coming out... I nod my head and say "I think it's too late to try something else. They know we're here." Zhen moves closer to us as he says "Well, there goes the surprise attack. I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way." 

I nod and say "It looks like we don't have much of a choice." As we move closer to the opening of the cave, hundreds of dark creatures with long arms and legs come into view. We move so that we're all facing back to back as Ai whistles low saying "This bastard is really giving us a grand welcoming ceremony... what are these things?" 

When one suddenly lands in front of us, crouched low, teeth bȧrėd, I can't help but recognize the creature. "The creatures from my dreams!" I say with realization. The others turn to look at me in question as I say "I guess it was Eli all along... I'm not really surprised."

Ai nods with a look of confusion but asks "Your dream didn't tell you how to kill these things, did it?" I chuckle a little and shake my head saying "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm ȧssuming they die like everything else." 

The one in front snarls at us and charges straight at us with his teeth bȧrėd, claws out and wanting blood. Ai is quick to step in and slice the creature in half within a split second! It falls forward in two pieces before falling to the ground in a black bloody pool of its own blood.

I look down at the thing lying at my feet and say "Huh... I guess they're easy to kill. This shouldn't be too bad." When I look up, I see the others looking up to the surrounding mountains. When I follow their gazes, I see more than hundreds... "Shit..."