Chapter 447

Chapter 447

Lifting Peace into my trembling hands, I hold my breath and commit this image to memory, how the iridescent dewdrops scatter the sunlight over the flat of my blade, a deluge of melded pinks and blues with hints of yellows, greens, and purples which shift with every bump and jolt of my unsteady grip. So reminiscent of my latest attempt at a Keystone, I watch the colours and reflect on what emotions they evoke for future reference, though I should go over this again when Im not woozy with delight. Too afraid to blink for fear the Water Chi will dissipate, I stare until my eyes grow dry and cheeks strained, wearing a smile so wide I can hear the wind whistling between my teeth.

So this is what success feels like. Its nice. I should succeed more often.

After circumstances and biology conspire and force me to blink, my joy redoubles when I find the Water Chi still there and I find the courage to stand in place. Doing my best to keep Peace level, my careful efforts prove unnecessary when my leg cramps up and I stumble in place. Despite a near vertical dip, the glimmering beads remain affixed to the sword as if magnetized in place, a scattering of droplets across the metal surface rather than coming together as a whole. Seems odd that my Water Chi is peaceful and tranquil but not united like Id envisioned it, but Ill take two out of three for now. Maybe I didnt put enough Chi in the effort, though I lost a good tenth of my Core in crafting this half-teacup of water. The important thing is I can manifest Water Chi, and while it took a lot of effort to produce so little liquid, not to mention how it has no real applicable use (yet), this is merely the first of many steps towards becoming awesome.

Next up is to do what Guan Suo suggested and figure out how to use Chi to manipulate my Water Chi, then work on using Chi-infused water, but all things in good time. For now, I should share my success with Yan and Song.

Tearing my eyes away from my sword, I glance around in search of the lovely ladies, but they are nowhere to be found. Viyan, Birca, and Argat stand in a loose triangle around me, their heads sweeping back and forth to keep me safe while I parse through the mysteries of the Martial Path. Not to be outdone, four Death Corps soldiers also stand guard a little further out, while soldiers continue to train and spar on the fields behind me. BoShui is still hard at work, now trading pointers with Dastan and looking good while doing it. Though Dastan has improved by leaps and bounds over this past year, BoShui has come into his own since binding his third and fourth Spiritual Weapons, a pair of honest to goodness combat boots. Well, greaves would be the technical term, a pair of fitted, metallic footwear complete with sharp edges, barbed spikes, and most importantly, shin protection. Using his equally pointy gauntlets to defend and devastating kicks to attack, BoShui fights like a different warrior now that he doesnt have to risk losing a foot every time he kicks out, a minor change which makes him a warrior to be reckoned with. Where he once ranked amongst the weakest in our little clique, hes closed the gap significantly and could probably give Zian and Song a good run for their money considering how deftly he dismantled my offensive rush during our spars earlier today.

In my defence, Im a slow learner and still suck at duelling with Unity. I might do better with Peace and Tranquility, but if Im being honest, probably not by much.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

Double-checking to make sure the Water Chi is still there (it is), I check the sun and only now realize its been hours since I sat down. Yans probably having lunch now, a hot meal cooked over a portable stove instead of the hardtack and dried jerky Ive been eating all week. Kind as she is, she wouldve offered to share with Song who wouldve happily accepted since she hates eating travel food even more than I do, and Guan Suo wouldve undoubtedly joined them along with Ping Ping and the rest of my pets. The big turtle is much less clingy of late, probably because Im overfeeding her with Chi Tea, but thats neither here nor there. I should wait until after lunch before showing off my new skills, because if I go see Yan and Song now, I wont be able to turn down a hot meal or trying to partake in a different kind of treat.

What a pair Yan and Song make, one pale and angelic with a devilish personality while the other is a busty, bronze-skinned goddess who appears aloof yet is bursting with nurturing affection...

Taking a deep breath to cool my ardour, I flex my leg muscles and wait for the swelling to subside before coming to my feet with Peace still held flat in both hands. Though I know the Water Chi is stuck fast to the metal, Im still irrationally worried about spilling it before someone else sees and then never succeeding ever again and wondering if Id imagined the whole thing. Unfortunately, before I can give voice to my achievements, Argat Sends, Good, youre conscious. Though casually spoken, his words are laced with tension. Possible trouble. Check the approaching soldier to my left, the one marching like hes on parade. Hes wearing Sentinel leathers, but I dont recognize him. Do you?

Usually prone to distraction, the monkey brothers are surprisingly professional once theyre separated, but its possible Argat is taking things a little too far. So he doesnt recognize a soldier, we have over two-hundred new arrivals, and not to be racist or anything, but most of them look alike. While its possible to distinguish the people of the Empire by province, the newbies all hail from Sanshu and share a few key similarities, namely being black hair, broad faces, and squarish jaws, all of which amounts to sharper, more angular features than the people of Central. Add in the definitive marks of perfection that separate Martial Warriors from mundane citizens, not to mention the near identical uniforms, and you end up with a lot of faces blending together, even with the picture perfect memory of an Expert.

Deciding its best not to dissuade Argats uncharacteristic vigilance, I slowly move to look but get distracted by the sight of Chun Yimu Junior scurrying over with a terror-stricken expression, his shirt soaked with sweat at the collar and pits. Usually, his truncheon hangs from his belt, dangling from the sword-catcher jutting out from its hilt, but today, he clutches the slim, square-headed weapon in a white-knuckled death grip as he moves towards me like a man possessed. If it were anyone else, I would assume he was here to spar, but Junior is a typical entitled noble, a lazy bum who half-asses everything he can get away with and more than he shouldnt. I dont think Ive ever caught him training when he could be dicing instead, but Im reluctant to come down hard on account of his namesake. I wasnt the best underling back in Sanshu, and while most of my insults were unintended, I feel like I owe Chun Yimu Senior a lot for not taking my words to heart. Besides, I misjudged the new Guard Captain of Sanshu; back then, I thought he ordered me out on a suicide mission, but I now know he set me up for success. Its almost laughable how I thought two-to-one odds were unfair. Id kill for those odds now, and anything less than five-to-one feels like a walk in the park.

A long, exhausting, deadly walk in the park, but a walk nonetheless.

Regardless of his worth, theres something about Juniors demeanour that throws me off, but I cant quite put my finger on it. For some reason, I find my gaze sliding away when I try to study him, but its like trying to track an erratic fly even though hes human and moving directly towards me at a hurried walk. Keeping him in my line of sight, I scan the surroundings to check for threats and spot not one, but three unfamiliar soldiers all converging on my position. Opening my mouth to speak, the words freeze in my throat as my peripheral vision picks up a previously unnoticed detail.

Gasping like a fish, Juniors reply is too quiet for me to hear, but at least hes talking. When his voice dies down, I keep talking, as the important thing is to keep him engaged and conscious. That was a damn close thing with the Wraith poised behind you. Didnt think Id save you, but youre faster than you look. Damn fine awareness soldier. Proud to have you with me. Cutting away his shirt reveals a nasty gash on his flank, not deep enough to be life-threatening on its own but already blacked and necrotic from the poison. Knowing his Healing skills are too shitty to save him, I pull a leather strap out of my pouch and tuck it into his mouth. That said, Id like to keep you around a little longer, so bite down and dont move.

Because this is going to hurt.

Grabbing my wrist with more strength than expected, Juniors eyes go wide with a mixture of fear and determination. Spitting out the leather, he croaks, Protect him. Swallowing hard, he closes his eyes and shouts, Protect Falling Rain!

Gotta say, Im pretty moved by his loyalty there. Injured and struggling to breathe, yet he still has the strength to tell his comrades to look after me. Dont you worry, Ill be fine, I say, gently tucking the strap back into his mouth and signalling Birca to help hold him down. Now lets get you fixed up before this poison spreads. Without waiting for an answer, I wait until Birca is ready before using Peace to carve off a strip of blackened flesh and toss it aside before the poison can spread to my fingers. No one knows where they get their poison from, but it probably has something to do with Demon Ichor.

Huh... Could I neutralize Wraith poison with counterfeit Heavenly Water? Sheepishly grabbing my waterskin, I use a quarter of the Chi inside my Core to turn it into Chi-infused water, then focus and turn it into (what should presumably be) counterfeit Heavenly Water. Pouring it over Juniors bleeding wound, I see no change in his condition, so I also rinse my hands while holding them over the strip of removed flesh. Again, I spot no obvious changes, but the poison burns itself out quickly with nothing to feed on, so this isnt definitive.

Leaving Viyan to finish patching Junior up, I move on to the next wounded soldier for more testing. While there are no immediate results, I figure it couldnt hurt to keep trying, and when my waterskin runs dry, I rinse a few more soldiers wounds with just regular water and leave the remaining ones untouched. If Junior and the others who got the counterfeit Heavenly Water treatment recover faster than the others, then Ill know theres an effect. If Juniors group and the rinsed group both recover faster than the unrinsed, then it probably means regular water helps counteract Wraith poison, and if they all recover in the same time frame, then Ill know my efforts were futile.

While Ive been rinsing wounds and offering words of encouragement, the rest of my retinue has remained motionless and alert, but seeing as there have been no further sightings of Wraiths, I figure its okay to stand down and send messengers to check on the other camps while telling Rustram to write a report for Colonel Hongji. Though Argat mentions he has an issue he wants to talk about, I beg him to leave it for a few minutes as I rush to my poop tent to do what one does. Its not an uncommon reaction to the post battle stress, and while I usually try to wait until the post-battle rush has come and gone, theres no holding it in today. Honestly, this is one of the worst parts of being a soldier; a diet of jerky and hardtack does horrible things to my insides, and while eating enough pickled vegetables can take care of blockage issues, its a little too effective, if you know what I mean.

Overruling Argats concerns and leaving him with my Death Corps escorts outside, I awkwardly shuffle into the tent with butt-cheeks clenched and do a quick sweep for hidden assassins. Overly paranoid thanks to Argats warnings, I poke around the tent for a bit and almost leave things too late, forcing me into a desperate scramble to drop-trou and squat over the hole. At this point my intestinal tenant decides it is not, in fact, going to come shooting out, and instead takes its sweet time vacating the premises. Knowing how sensitive Martial Warrior ears are, I close my eyes, choke back a groan, and give a hundred and ten percent effort, but alas all is not well and I soon grow light-headed from pushing too hard.

Long seconds later, my stubborn tenant only halfway out and I decide this is a good time to hit pause and take a breather. Opening my eyes, I mop my brow and realize my legs arent trembling with effort, but rather the ground is shaking beneath my feet. Not two meters away, the dirt floor splinters apart and a creature of nightmares emerges from the ground with a terrible shriek of victory, its pale, wrinkled flesh covered in what I pray is mud. Shouts sound from outside the tent, but seeing how Ive literally been caught with my pants around my ankles, I know that even if Akanai herself were standing guard outside, she wouldnt be able to move fast enough to save me from this mole-Demon.

Well... at least Im not constipated anymore.

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