Pathway

Chapter 137: The Desolate Ruins [2]

Once they entered through the main gates of the ruins, they discovered there were many entrances into the inner sections of the ruins. From their own entrance passage, Ju Feng and others from the Flying-Stars sect, opened the massive doors onto a scene of total chaos. Inside of the ruins was like a massive abandoned city on its own. There were creatures battling themselves everywhere. Dreadbeasts and daemons battled themselves fiercely. Pale and giant dreadbeasts, designed for battles and hunting, tearing into the mutant daemons who were built like solid hills.

Slowly but steadily, they moved away from the fights and headed towards the center of the ruins. They had only moved a few miles when a deafening roar came from their right. Even the battling daemons and dreadbeasts stopped for a second by its sheer force. As the disciples watched cautiously, they saw hundreds of mutated Ghostbeasts. Mutation of dreadbeasts and daemons. Their arms transformed into the limbs of topmost jungle predators, while their heads were things that would make dragons jealous. Claws and fangs like heaven's blade. 

They slashed a savage furrow through the army of dreadbeasts and daemons alike who came to confront them. A handful of daemons tried to stand against them, but were no match for the magically augmented Ghostbeasts. The surprise attack was rapidly turning into a slaughter.

Ju Feng and others hesitated, weapons already drawn. Their way forward was being blocked by fighting beasts and daemons. However, they would have to wait for the beasts to kill themselves before stepping in. They were cautiously strategizing, when something struck them from behind.

Ju Feng slammed face-first into the ground. Claws raked his shoulder, drawing blood. Teeth snapped for his neck. He twisted and saw he'd been knocked down by a ghostbeast. A tiger ghostbeast. Ju Feng loooked at the other cultivators and saw that they were also fighting other ghostsbeasts. It snarled, its breath hot with fresh blood on Ju Feng'face.

He screamed as he tackled the ghostbeast. Then, he pushed all the amount of chi he could muster, into his body, equal in volume to the shriek that wailed from his lungs. His body ache and jolt from the sheer force of the energy. The ghostbeast sprang back, ears flat, belly to the ground as Ju Feng's energy infused punch struck it. Ju Feng scrambled to his feet and started to back away but then realized he'd dropped the sword. It lay on the ground between him and the ghostbeast, which lashed its tail, trying to work up the courage to attack.

"Heavens tears."

With swift-steps, Ju Feng scooped up the sword using swiftsteps and cut off the beast's head. Then, an enormous flames from behind. The world burned. His skin was on fire. His breath was scalding steam. The sword was a brand of molten metal in his fist. The light in the ruins stamped white-hot patterns into his prickling eyes, and the cold grey shapes made from blue words and black iron.

Fear washed out of Ju Feng in sickly waves, but his robe absorbed most of the fire. Fear and pain were fuel on the fire, and the flames surged high, and higher yet. The world of that side of the ruins burned, and at its centre were the disciples of the Flying-Stars sect.

The great claws of the drahon lashed at the Ju Feng's face, who was the closest to the dragon. Its great hands snatched at Ju Feng's body, but he used the swift-steps to evade it. All the dragon caught was his afterimage. Ju Feng struck with his sword, but the dragon deflected it and attacked with his clawed hands. Ju Feng evaded again and the sharp claws bit into the face of one of the daemons who was trying to get away from the scene.

It's head burst apart and sprayed blood across another, a hole torn from the wall around the circle. The other daemons shuffled back, into the dreadbeasts. The dreads and daemons both of them swelling with their fear. They feared the dragons more than any other creatures in the ruins. And they were wise to. Everything that lived was its enemy, and when the dragon had made pieces of the daemons, he would set to work on them.

The dragon knew it was easier to strike with the burning fire. Easier to catch the rolling smoke. The circle was an oven. The blades of yellow grass were tongues of yellow flame beneath it. The sweat, spit, blood dripped onto it like gravy from cooking meat.

Ju Feng looked around and discovered that others were, heavily, battling the ghostbeasts. His throat released a growl, iron spattering from the forge. 

Ju Feng struck again, and the blade stayed true. The dragon pressed his blue hand to the pale side of his head, face squirming like a nest of worms. The blade of the weapon had missed the dragon's skull, but had somehow, stolen away the top half of its ear. Blood bubbled out from the wound, ran down the side of its great neck in two thin lines, and did not stop.

The great eyes went wide and the dragon sprang forward with a thundering bellow. Ju Feng rolled under its flailing claws and slid round behind him, saw the black iron on his leg flap away, the bright buckle dangling. The sword snaked out and slid into the gap, ate deep into the great pale calf inside it.

The dragon roared in pain, spun, lurched on his wounded leg and fell to his knees. But its great arms slid round Ju Feng's back, folding him in a smothering embrace. The edges of the black metal pierced his flesh in a dozen places. Closer the giant drew him, and closer, and a ragged spike slid into Ju Feng's face, cut through his cheek and scraped against his teeth, bit into the side of his tongue and filled his mouth with salt blood. The Feared's grip was the weight of mountains.

No matter how hot Ju Feng's rage, no matter how he squirmed, and thrashed, and screamed in fury, he was held as tightly as the cold earth holds the buried dead. The blood trickling from his face, and from his back, and from the great gash in the armoured robe soaked into his clothes and spread out blazing hot over his skin.

The World burned.