Chapter 20: Fighting the Scorpion-tailed Fox |
[September 7th, 2018] . . .
The scorpion-tailed fox breathed deeply as it went through the process of healing its wounds. It watched Shěn Lí closely, following her every move. The feathers on its body bristled up and down as it breathed in and out, expanding itself almost to the brink of explosion before abruptly contracting and shrinking in again.
Shěn Lí was also eyeing it carefully. She had used her red tasseled silver spear to take the lives of countless monster beasts. A direct hit would normally take a considerable amount of time to heal. This one though. . .
“Your Highness, be careful!” Mò Fāng yelled out from behind just as the scorpion-tailed fox whipped out its tail. Shěn Lí raised her spear and sliced the barb tip off, leaving behind the hardened the root. Focused, she rushed forward without stopping. She shouted out in surprise as her hand snatched at empty air. She had intended to grab the fox’s tail but it exploded before she could. The resulting spray of poisonous fluid shot out towards the troops. Shěn Lí reacted quickly and drew out a gale with a wave of her hand, pushing the spray back towards the fox.
“Hahaha!” The scorpion-tailed fox threw its head back and laughed up at the sky. The sound bearing a marked resemblance to a human voice. Shěn Lí wrinkled her brows. The closer a monster beasts resembled a human the more powerful and difficult it would be to deal with. This one could use poison and had incredibly strong healing powers. On top of that, the troops were fighting at a disadvantage in the miasma. The situation would only worsen with a prolonged battle.
The fox didn’t wait for Shěn Lí to come to terms with the situation. It interrupted her thoughts and said, “Didn’t expect the Demon realm to have such a good successor. Given time, you would surely become a force to be reckoned with. It’s a pity though you won’t get that chance.”
The fox stepped forward in Shěn Lí’s direction. The grievous gash cut into its paw just a moment ago had already healed with barely a scar left to discern the injury. It stuck its entire neck out and gave a ferocious roar before sucking in a deep mouthful of miasma. Before hissing sharply, it looked around with bloodshot eyes, as though it tasted something delicious. The soldiers behind Shěn Lí felt like their ear drums were being pierced. They cried out in pain as their legs trembled and they were forced to kneel down.
At the same time, a new sharper and firmer tip sprouted at the end of the fox's tail. Its body also underwent a change. With a whoosh, its gray feathers exploded outwards. The audible sounds of muscles and flesh expanding ripped through the air.
Its body completely transformed into a larger version of itself. Shěn Lí clenched her teeth, but smiled as Mò Fāng came up to her. “Your Highness, this monster beasts has strong regeneration abilities and is also very good at using poison. On top that it can also absorb magical attacks.”
Shàng Běi looked over in shock and horror at the monster in the center. He quickly regained his senses and shouted, “Battle formations!” Those soldiers that could move reacted immediately.
The fox watched them with hungry bloodshot eyes. It didn’t watch long as its vision was almost immediately blocked when Shěn Lí leapt up and lashed her spear out. With a loud “ding!” the fox’s newly formed tail clashed against Shěn Lí’s spear. This time, because she used most of her magical reserves earlier, her attack was weaker and failed to sever the fox’s tail. She knew she wasn’t qualified to be its opponent, so right after crossing blows with it, she retreated. Her intent was only to stall and give the soldiers time to ready themselves.
With the time she bought them, they were able to get in position, ready their crossbows and surround it on three sides. Every arrow notched was barbed at the tip with a strong iron chain attached at the end. The moment Shěn Lí retreated, they let loose a volley of arrows that embedded sharply and deeply into the flesh of the fox’s back. Soldiers on all three sides simultaneously yanked the trailing chain hard, forcing the metal barb to pull flesh away from bone and rendering the fox immobile. The only thing left was to find a way to decapitate it . . .
The scorpion-tailed fox sneered saying, “To think your formations haven’t changed even after a millennium.”
Shěn Lí had leapt up, but stopped mid-air when she heard this. The words made her uneasy. She watched as the monsters shook its body, risking everything to fling off its restraints. It forcefully tugged and pulled at the chains, exposing its pure white bone as its flesh pulled away. It howled and hissed in pain and swung its tail in every direction trying to hit a target.
The power of the restraint lay in the triangle formation. If any one point were to break then the monsters would be freed. Currently it was unbroken, but it would be difficult if any of the men holding the line were struck down. Shěn Lí tried desperately to think of a way to counter the problem.
While she was doing this, the fox swiped its barbed tail to the left side and sent some of the men there flying. Despite knowing that their bodies would be torn and their bones crushed, the men refused to let go and maintained their hold on the chain to keep the monsters contained.
Shěn Lí stepped forward, and in one swift motion, leveraged the spear between her body and her right arm to wrap the chain around the body of the shaft. She intended to use the spear as an anchor for the chain. Just as she was about to complete the action by driving the spear deep into the ground, the scorpion-tailed fox aimed its poisonous tail at her. She eyed it knowing its impact was inevitable, but she never felt the barb’s puncture. A figure had rushed out and pushed her out of the way. She ended up rolling out of the strike zone with the person on top of her.
“Mò Fāng?” Shěn Lí stared blankly at the man.
It was obvious Mò Fāng’s battered and bruised body had been pushed to the limit after so many days of fighting. He was exhausted beyond belief and was barely aware of his own wounds. The only thing he knew was that he needed to support Shěn Lí, so he had rushed in to protect her. Although there was a burning pain in his back, he was relieved to hear her voice and know she was safe.
He didn’t understand the shocked expression on her face until he saw the poisonous barbed tail in his back. It was embedded so deeply it nearly pierced through his shoulder blade. He hadn't even realized he was hit. Unable to endure anymore, his eyelids drooped and he promptly lost consciousness.
The image of Zi Xià’s discolored body lying in the coffin flashed through her mind and coldness gripped her heart. She turned her gaze to the sandy soil around her. Her eyes were greeted with the broken and mangled bodies of those already fallen. Every one of them had someone back home – a relative, a lover, a friend – waiting for their return. It was like that old lady in the Mortal realm, waiting day after day, year after year. But now none of them would return and the hope would be gone. So many deaths. . . it was an unforgiveable crime! It was all because the Ruins opened, because of the beast in front of her.
Shěn Lí turned her gaze to the scorpion-tailed fox. She watched, as with a whoosh, it sprouted a new tail just as sharp as the one it stabbed into Mò Fāng. Its eyes were next to change after its tail, gradually shifting from pitch black to crimson red.
Shěn Lí gently pushed Mò Fāng’s body off her. “Withdraw the troops.” Her voice wasn’t loud but it was clear and carried across the field like a wave.
Shàng Běi yelled, “Withdraw!” without hesitating.
The troops immediately retreated. This made the scorpion-tailed fox laugh, a sound that came from deep within its belly. “To still serve that incompetent monarch, a puppet of the Immortal realm for over a millennium. Instead of being tamed by that slave, be good and fill my tummy up!”
In a sinisterly cold voice Shěn Lí said, “You’ve insulted my monarch. You’ve killed my men. You’ve ignited the fires of my fury.” Her words echoed across the battlefield.
In response, the scorpion-tailed fox flung its head up. The motion caused droplets of saliva to spray outward.
Without bothering to brace herself, Shěn Lí grabbed the chain and twisted it around the shaft of her spear. In the blink an eye she had raised the spear and rotated it above her head spinning it so fast it became a blur, effectively creating a barrier against the poisonous saliva. Then she held her hand palm out above her spear and a golden light erupted.
Shàng Běi frantically shouted in shock, “Your Highness! Stay calm! This monster can absorb magical attacks and use it for its own!”
Shěn Lí opened her mouth and said, “Yeah? That’s great.” In a flash she jumped onto the fox’s back. “Let’s see it take this!” She rammed her spear right into one of the holes left from the crossbows, and ruthlessly injected it with her qi. It screamed out in pain as a golden glow shone from its belly. The spear was sticking out of its back like a skewer, and Shěn Lí was shoving and pulling left and right as if to cleave the fox’s body in half.
Eventually, the intensity of the golden light began to wane until it completely faded. Just as before, the fox’s body underwent a change, expanding so much that its muscles and tendons popped before shrinking and collapsing. Standing on its back Shěn Lí could see its muscles already reknitting around her spear and closing up the gash from earlier.
The scorpion-tailed fox let out a loud, “Hahahaha! You’re a child who still stinks of breast milk, yet you have such audacity.” It turned around and spread its bloody mouth wide open, while at the same time whipping its tail at Shěn Lí, trying to attack her in two directions at once.
Shěn Lí, forced to retreat several steps, sensed something above her head. A rotten, putrid smell rushed up her nose. She turned around only to face rows of sharp jagged teeth dripping with blood and poisonous fluid. The fox’s opened jaw came at her, and before she knew it, she was engulfed in darkness.
“Your Highness!” Shàng Běi cried out in alarm. The ground troops were left in disarray at the sight, the same thoughts ringing through their minds – the Azure Sky king. . . the invincible the Azure Sky king was just swallowed!
The scorpion-tailed fox’s body grew large again, and in an exceedingly smooth hiss, it began to speak in a tone that terrified the troops. “Hahaha! I will release my brothers and together we will shake up the Demon realm again! Hahaha!”
Suddenly it trembled from a violent pulse that erupted from within its body. Its stomach undulated in waves as the eruptions built up in crescendo. The soldiers were rooted to the ground as they watched with horror and panic in their eyes. The fox did not seem to have control over itself; its flesh continued to shake from internal tremors.
Shàng Běi’s gaze was drawn to the abnormal distention in the fox’s throat. It swung its claws angrily all around as if it was trying to get rid of some great pain.
Shěn Lí’s spear suddenly disappeared from its back and a thorn like protrusion appeared at its throat. A golden light radiated from the point, shining bright enough to illuminate the dulled eyes of the troops on the ground. The fox could not make a sound despite opening its mouth wide. It was struggling with the light inside it.
Finally the red tasseled spear jabbed through its throat, allowing a stream of intense golden light to escape untethered by flesh. This started a domino effect and a loud bang sounded. The fox’s head began lolling to one side. The spear punctured through severing muscle and tendon as it went, only stopping after achieving total decapitation. The scorpion-tailed fox's head fell to the ground with a "thump!"
Shěn Lí, with her clothes and body dyed red and her hair scattered loosely in the wind, stood standing through the hole in the fox’s neck. A murderous aura emanated from her as unknown fluids dripped from her skin. With a disdainful look on her face, she slowly made her way out of the fox’s body and over to its head. In the dense miasma fog, the red eyes were even more horrifying.
“Impossible. . . ” The fox could still speak.
“What? No one told you?” Shěn Lí stepped on its nose. “You should watch what you eat.” With that said she rammed her spear directly between its brows and watched impassively as its eyes reverted to its original color.
Its mouth trembled as it died. “ . . .a mere girl. . . ” It glanced at Shěn Lí’s red spear and finally understood. “Ah. . . so that’s . . . how it is. . . ”
Unexpectedly it was because of that.
Once the fox’s eyes closed, Shěn Lí pulled her spear out. Raising it to the sky she yelled, “The monsters is slain!”
The short silence followed by her proclamation was broken by the sounds of cheering and shouts. “The Azure Sky king! The Azure Sky king!” the soldiers jubilantly yelled at the top of their lungs.
Despite the raucous noise, Shěn Lí’s world was very quiet as her vision dimmed and blurred. She slowly turned around with the intention of heading back to camp. As she did, she glimpsed a figure in white robe staring intently at her.
Xíng Yún. . .
With great difficulty she walked forward to that figure in the fog. The skin on her cheeks had burned away from the venomous fluids and the bones in her left hand were broken from the battle. The grip that held her signature weapon loosened and her spear dropped to the ground without her realizing it. With every step she lost more awareness of her surroundings and the battleground around her faded away like an illusion. The only concrete thing in her world was the figure clad in snow white.
Xíng Yún. . .
Finally reaching her destination, Shěn Lí strained to raise her hand to move her fingertips and touch the body in front of her. Her fingers grazed his fair cheeks and left a smudged bloody print behind. Was someone speaking to her? She heard a familiar voice. In her mind she saw a soft smile.
“Shěn Lí, time to eat.” Yes, that’s right.
She missed eating his food and she missed his company.
Her fingers slid down and she fell forward into a warm embrace. The medicinal smell wasn’t there, but it was still just as comforting.
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