Chapter 601

Chapter 601

As Alsantset rode out to meet the Defiled at a slow and steady gait, Surets low growl grew in volume and intensity until her entire body was trembling with barely restrained violence. Thousands of quins echoed her call, for this was their battle cry, their call to the hunt, and Suret led her fellow quins as surely as Alsantset led her Sentinels. With the scattered picket lines of garo outriders growing closer and closer, Alsantset readied her bow and spear before unleashing her animal instincts, for this was a job for the huntress within.

Deep down in her heart of hearts, she was loath to admit that these were the moments she lived for, these intoxicating seconds before joining battle and the freedom, violence, and bloodshed which followed. She did not kill or fight for the sake of violence or torment, but today, on the fields of Sinuji, she was ready to do righteous battle against the Fathers foul minions and throw them back from whence they came. There were no politics here, no social, civil, or communal matters to attend to, only bow and blade to wield as she saw fit. Out on the battlefield, she was wholly in her element, where everything felt natural and she rarely had to think twice, for this was the Mothers holy work and the sole purpose of Alsantsets existence.

As a demi-human, it was not within her purview to bear children or give them sustenance, nor was it in her nature to settle down and nest. She was a tiger, a predator, a killer, and here on the battlefield, she was free to unleash her true self. Make no mistake, she loved her husband and children more than anything in the world, but no matter how hard she tried to be a good wife and parent, it never felt easy or natural, not like it did on the battlefield. At home, she had to constantly refer to a mental checklist of societal norms to make sure she wasnt crossing the wrong lines, and while it was easy to love and cherish her family, it was difficult to always remember she had to also nurture and support them.

But today, none of that mattered, for there was blood to be spilled.

As the scattered perimeter of Defiled outriders entered into bow range, the huntress felt the urge to draw her bow and let loose, but she stayed her hand and waited for a better shot. These Defiled were not the crazed tribesmen of the wastes who welcomed arrows and pain with bared flesh and crazed grins, but more dangerous prey in the form of self-styled Chosen. Their armoured frames sat in loose formation with spears and shields at the ready, and even treated leather was enough to ward off arrows at this range, to say nothing of iron or steel. Even if she could pierce through their armour or aim between the gaps to deal a killing blow, these Chosen were fast enough to bat arrows out of the sky, a skill many of them had perfected over the past few battles. Whats more, their bipedal garos were comparable to quins in terms of speed and explosive power, and while their ability to change course on the fly left much to be desired, this was more than made up for by their armoured scales covering their heads, hearts, and legs, leaving no weak points to target from a head-on position.

All this meant the Enemy had grown far more formidable over the past year of conflict, but just as the Chosen had improved and adapted, so too had the huntress. She was no cow or goat to charge headlong at her problems no matter the circumstances, but a powerful and cunning tigress, a creature who rarely exerted more effort than required. This was her nature, for it would defeat the purpose of the hunt to expend more energy than the sustenance her prey provided. Fight smart where possible, and hard when needed, but always keep something in reserve for a life and death situation. This was not a lesson taught to her by Mama, Papa or even Grandma or Grand-Mentor, but a lesson ingrained in Alsantsets blood, and one she would always adhere to.

Thus, she waited until she was within five-hundred metres of the Chosen outriders before bringing Suret to a halt, at which point she turned the quin about. Ignoring the quins vocal complaints about turning her back to her prey, the huntress came to her feet and raised her bow while her fellow Sentinels followed her lead. In one fluid motion, she nocked arrow to string and bent her bow back as far as it would go, savouring the sound of so many bows following suit from behind her. Having long since picked her target, she loosed and smiled as the world came alive with the satisfying hiss of death delivered from afar. Thousands of arrows blanketed the sky, in the same general arc as her initial shot, and in the blink of an eye, a second wave followed, then a third, fourth, and fifth, all sailing through the air with ear-piercing shrieks full of the promise of doom and demise. The huntress hadnt set a steep angle, nor did she set a shallow one, and though her first arrow had long since been obscured by its fellow comrades and she never saw it land, it was easy to visualize the path it took. There it went out into the night, over the heads of the waiting Chosen outriders and into the packed masses of the unarmoured Defiled tribesmen almost three hundred meters behind them.

Let the Chosen waste their efforts lugging heavy armour and cumbersome shields about, for all it did was waste their stamina and overburden their mounts. Despite all their training, equipment and discipline, the huntress saw the Chosen as less dangerous than the Defiled tribesmen, whose crazed disregard for self-preservation made them difficult to guard against. Strange as it was, the Chosen were almost no different from elite Imperial troopers and actually a more familiar foe for most soldiers of the Empire, herself included. Thus, she was happy to put her limited arrows to better use thinning out the Defiled numbers, because there were easier ways of dealing with the Chosen.

This plan had been built upon another lesson shed learned these past few days, that the Chosen were so disciplined they couldnt even think for themselves. Were the huntress in their place, she would have ordered her skirmishers forward to meet the aggressors in answer to the obvious challenge, but the Chosen outriders had been ordered to screen for the Defiled tribesmen surging towards Sinuji to the east, and they were doing just that. The opposing commander was a controlling one, and foolish to boot, seeing the soldiers under his or her command as pieces on a chess board, but true battle was not carried out in alternating turns. Twenty volleys she loosed over the course of a minute, and only then did the outriders receive their orders to move out, but the huntress was ready and waiting with a response.

Hold fire and fall back, she bellowed, even as her blood burned to close in with spear and fang. Ghurda takes lead!This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

This was one aspect of leadership which neither Imperial nor Defiled commanders could grasp, and this was a lesson taught solely by Papa himself. A good leader knew when to lead, and when to follow, even if it meant turning command over to another. Where she once rode at the front, the huntress now rode at the rear and was in no position to guide them across the battlefield, so this was a task best carried out by another. This was the way of the wolf and quin pack, because while they followed a strict hierarchy, their favoured hunting method was to work in groups and shifts to wear prey down and run them to ground, which meant there was no feasible way for one leader to manage the hunt from start to finish.

Of course, this meant finding other leaders you could trust, but the huntress was spoiled for choice with so many Peak Experts and experienced veterans under her command. When she rode out for the front lines, Grandma requested she bring little Mila, Yan, and Huushal under her wing and offer them the guidance of her years. In truth, this was merely so Grandma could keep all her beloved younglings together and allow the hidden guards to look after all of them at once, so while the huntress chafed at the supervision, after almost a dozen engagements packed into a handful of days, she was grateful for the extra assistance.

True to form, Ghurda took the reins of command and immediately split the three-thousand riders into smaller, separate packs. Sumila took command of one, and Huushal another, and when they rode off with their retinues, the opposing commander demonstrated his inability to learn from his previous mistakes as the Chosen outriders followed suit. There were far more than three-thousand garos chasing them, but Alsantsets Sentinels had so much empty space to work with and the unflagging endurance of quins on their side. Scatter the enemy, wear out the garos carrying their heavy burdens, then pick off tired, isolated enemy groups with overwhelming numbers. Such was the tried and true hunting method of the People which worked well against Defiled, Chosen, and Imperial alike, a tactic learned from their beloved roosequin partners, and Alsantset had mastered it well under Fathers demanding tutelage.

In some ways, she felt like they spoiled Rain too much by not putting him through the same rigorous training regimen shed gone through, but her little brother was too brilliant to risk colouring his perceptions or stifling his creativity with preconceived tactics. No point asking the quin to teach a dragon to hunt; better to let the dragon learn on his own.

Milas retinue was the first group to close in for the kill, turning without warning to pounce upon their flagging pursuers. In the huntresss eyes, her Aunt turned sister-in-law was a tad overeager in her decision, but the results spoke for themselves as Mila led the charge against her unsuspecting foes and ripped through their ranks with ease. The fiery red-head skewered Chosen after Chosen upon her short spear while Tenjin and Tursinai rode at her flanks, and Milas borrowed mount, Zabu, demonstrated how even the most vicious garos were no match for the full fury of an alpha quin. They made a good team, and while it pained Alsantset to see the gruff, grizzled quin without her little brother upon his back, Mila had acclimated and adapted to his aggressive and frankly terrifying attitude with startling ease.

Next it was Huushals turn to show off his skills, seizing upon an opportunity to outmanoeuvre his pursuers and leave them trailing in his wake. Now free to join forces with his mother, they set upon her newly outnumbered pursuers with ruthless efficiency, and there was almost no sport in the ensuing skirmish. Honed spear tearing through mundane armour, the huntresss heart sang as Suret pounced upon one foe and then the next, ripping into the throats of Defiled and garo alike until her jowls dripped with crimson blood, and then there were no more Defiled close enough to pounce upon. Pursing her lips as Ghurda ordered them to split and retreat, Alsantset eyed the dead garos littering the ground and wished her husband were here with her. Garo flesh was an acquired taste for quins, and Suret did not much like it, but her mate Pafu and his litter-mate Mafu loved it dearly. Neither were present on the battlefield today, so Alsantset had a large stash smoked, packed and ready to bring back to the Citadel as a treat, though she still lamented at how she couldnt share this glory with the father of her children.

Each skirmish did not last long before they were forced to turn tail and run, but as the Chosen numbers dwindled and their garos grew sluggish, Alsantsets Sentinels grew in courage and daring. Mila angled her retinue to fire into the flanks of Huushals pursuers, while Ghurda led her pursuers to crash into Milas, sowing chaos and confusion amongst the enemy ranks. By the time both Sentinel groups were away, the Chosen were still milling about in confusion and arguing about who crashed into whom, which freed up close to two-thousand Sentinels to draw their bows and let loose on the huntresss command.

I wanted to thank you, Mila began, hugging Alsantset tight enough to squeeze the air out of her lungs, which was the mark of a good hug. For you know... giving me room to think.

Of course. Anything for you, little Aunt. Jokingly using the overly formal form of address, Alsantset shared a warm smile with Mila as they took a seat on the bed. But we are family. No thanks will ever be needed.

Thanks anyways. Falling silent in her embrace, Mila struggled to find the words she wanted to say, so Alsantset stroked her ruby ringlets and waited. After a long silence, Mila Sent, I dont know what to think. About Rain and...

Neither did Alsantset, truth be told, and shed been doing her best not to. Think that is, about the bizarre circumstances theyd left him in. Mila was the only one present from start to finish, and even she didnt understand what had transpired. One moment she was fast asleep, and the next, Rain was hollering for her to get combat ready and shouting about how they couldnt have her, who in this case, everyone assumed was the Guardian Turtle. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ping Pings vast bulk melted away, as did Guan Suos corpse, and left in their place was an adorable, wide-eyed turtle who responded to Ping Pings name, and a grouchy, cantankerous red panda who responded to nothing and refused to let anyone touch him, even Mila.

There were so many questions to be asked, Alsantset didnt even know where to start, and it didnt help that Rain had fallen asleep and refused to wake up. Her heart couldnt take it if he went into a long coma like Mother had, because this time, Rain wouldnt be around to wake himself up. Then there was the matter with Ping Ping and Guan Suo. Did Alsantsets little brother tap into the secrets of Divinity? Was he responsible for Ping Pings new form and Guan Suos... reincarnation? Was that even Guan Suo? The little red panda didnt appear to understand speech or care for pipes or alcohol, and he showed no signs of being able to use Chi in any way whatsoever. He could barely climb through the window to steal dried fruits to eat, and in doing so raised such a racket it had Papa scouring the manor for an intruder. All evidence pointed to the red panda being a red panda, and not Guan Suo returned to his previous form, but Ping Ping was undeniably still Ping Ping, only smaller, cuter, and far more willing to make friends than before.

It warmed Alsantsets heart watching the happy turtle roughhouse and make friends with the quins, when previously she restricted herself to appreciating them from a respectful distance. A shockingly intelligent and considerate beast, and according to Taduks experiments with her collected excrement, Ping Ping was now a Divine Turtle in truth.

Of course, little Mila was more concerned about her progenitor, so Alsantset tried to focus on the topic at hand. I can not tell you what to think, she Sent, still stroking Milas hair. Nor can I claim to know how you must feel. I too have yearned to meet my progenitor and dreamed of the things I would say, so I cannot even imagine what you are going through, but there is one thing I know you must do.

Whats that?

You must accept that Guan Suo is dead and gone. Seeing how much the words hurt poor Mila, Alsantset knew shed struck a chord. Even if that red panda is him reborn, reforged, or what have you, the Guan Suo we all knew is no more, and nothing we do can bring him back.

But... what if thats him? Mila asked, her lovely eyes filled with hope and anguish. How can I just ignore the possibility that its him inside that... furry form?

It might be him, Alsantset replied, In fact, I believe it is him, or rather his body at least. It hurt seeing Milas conflicted hope, yearning to hold onto some scrap of the father she never knew, but Alsantset had to drive the knife home. I think that when Ping Ping ascended to Divinity, she brought Guan Suo back, because he was her lifelong companion and she couldnt bear to lose him. However, I dont think she brought back the Guan Suo you and I know, but rather the one she grew up with, the gruff, red panda from inside her Natal Palace, who she no doubt knew for much longer than the Guan Suo we know even lived.

...But theyre one and the same.

No, Mila, they are not. Looking her in the eyes, Alsantset shook her head and said, The red panda Ping Ping brought back? He has never known the pain and anguish Guan Suo went through, for he is merely a beast, and nothing more. Sighing, she added, This is no real consolation, but I think Guan Suo wouldve preferred it this way. From what you have shared, it sounds like he was very unhappy in life, someone who hated himself for being neither man nor beastand turned to drugs and drink to escape from his suffering. He was a very troubled Divinity, but he tried to do right by you, and for this, I will forever be grateful.

Sniffling in Alsantsets arms, Mila cried until she had no tears left to her, but still Alsantset held her close. She was not so convinced as she sounded, but little Mila needed something to believe in. Alsantset too, for she clung to a single hope which she could not shake. When the Divine Turtle ascended to Divinity, she had been powerful enough to bring Guan Suos animal self back from the dead, and Rain had been right there with her, so was it too much to hope she somehow fixed his shattered Core? Perhaps even now, he was making ready to ride for Sinuji, with spear in hand and an army at his back to save the beleaguered front lines for the third time.

At some point, they both fell asleep like that, though for how long, she could not say, only that they both shot back to their feet at the haunting boom of a Defiled horn signalling yet another attack. Thankfully theyd followed protocol and were ready to ride into battle at a moments notice, but Alsantsets fatigue from the first battle had yet to wholly fade, and little Mila was no better. Then, Brigadier Hongjis Sending arrived to personally pass his orders to Alsantset, and her heart sank even further as she took in the dire news. While this morning had been some of the fiercest fighting yet, she suspected she would have to revise that statement soon enough. From what she could tell, there would be little room for tricky maneuvers or clever tactics during tonights battle, and they would simply have to rely on strength of arms and breadth of courage. Matters had grown desperate and all that was left was to kill or be killed, a clash of force in which only the strong would survive, and Alsantset worried that the Imperials might be in for a rude awakening.

For even as she stepped out of the yurt, she heard an inhuman cry which shocked the bustling camp into silence, a cry echoed by a chorus of Demonic throats to confirm what Brigadier Hongji just told her. The Fathers most foul minions were flocking to the battlefield and the Peak Experts of Sinuji were outnumbered and outmatched. Trials and tribulations indeed, as Alsantset had never defeated a Demon without assistance, but seeing as how she might have the chance to try her hand at it in the next few hours, she was more than eager to rise to the challenge.

After tonight, the Empire would know her as the Huntress of the Bekhai, and the Enemy would know her as death incarnate.

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