Chương 10: Chapter 56: Two versus Eleven

["So what are we dealing with?"] Cyrus asked.

"That's what I should be asking you!" Song countered, concentrating on the trail ahead of them; if he missed a single marmot hole or upturned rock, they'd die. Even at this distance he could hear the rumbling earth beneath the pony-sized foundation level grasswolf. He still had his trump card, but there were more grasswolves here than he had poison orbs. And he wasn't sure that it would work on the stronger one.

The initial group of wolves were coming up behind them at a wide angle, and Song shifted towards them; sometimes the best defense was a good offense. He took his slingstaff and stuck a stone in it, then started hooting and hollering at the top of his lungs as he sent a stone whistling through the air. It struck the grasswolf at the front of the pack straight in the nose with a crack! The demonic beast let out a yelp and came to a skidding stop, pawing at its snout.

The wolves behind it bunched up and tumbled around it. Horse and rider barreled towards them, and with a kick from his master, Bongbong leapt over the injured grasswolf, landing with a clatter on the loose dirt. Confused wolves nipped at the gelding's heels, but Song used his staff and the first form of the Stellar Crane to expertly keep them at bay long enough to ride clear. When they were through, Song pushed Bongbong back towards the main trail. ["That was amazing!"] Cyrus crowed.

There was a mournful howl behind them, followed by frenzied barking.

"Focus Cyrus! Are more coming?" Song snapped, eyes looking for the trail. He'd been afraid to lose it in the darkness, but he could see the path snaking through the grass just a short distance ahead. If he really wanted to lose the wolves he needed to get onto the flat ground where Bongbong could really show his strength. ["The foundation wolf's caught up with the group you just flattened. He's faster than the others, but he keeps dropping back to keep pace with them. It's pretty clear he's the leader."]"Bongbong can't keep up this speed for long," Song gasped. He could already feel Bongbong's laboured breathing even through the pounding of hooves on the packed soil of the trail.

"Will they catch us?" ["Mmm…. I think so. Soon. What's the plan?"]"I need to get them to bunch up so I can hit several of them with the poison at once," Song explained much more calmly than he felt at the moment.

"Can you keep them pinpointed?" ["Probably. Do you understand how angles work?"]"You mean the three hundred and sixty five du of the celestial sphere? Yes," At least Cyrus had some level of training in the classics. That would come in handy in the future if they managed to survive this. Unfortunately, the patter of feet, the pounding of hooves, and the howling of wolves made that prospect doubtful. ["Good enough. Zero is in front, and circling around clockwise."] Cyrus called out.

["There's two wolves at a hundred-and-four degrees – du – whatever. Three at a hundred-and… thirty, and the packleader with four more coming up behind. I don't know where the one you hit went."]"Hopefully that rock put it out of the fight," Song had to slow Bongbong briefly to go around a ridge, which allowed the wolves to close the distance. But he wanted them bunched up anyway, so it was fine. He smoothly inserted one of the poison orbs into the sling and when Cyrus called the angle, he let the glass sphere fly.

It arced through the air and shattered directly on the flank of one of the grasswolves on the right. Putrid orange fog immediately exploded outwards, filling the space around it. The four wolves were left stumbling and gasping when they finally emerged, their vibrant green tentacles turning black and the light dimming in their eyes. Two stumbled and fell, and the remaining two were quickly left behind. ["We did it!"] Cyrus cried with joy. ["They're out of the fight!"]"Not over yet," Song chided.

He fired off two more stones at the trio on the left, but the grasswolves were clearly expecting attacks now, and dodged in a zig-zag as they ran. ["Stupid, smart wolf-things,"] Cyrus complained. ["They aren't grouping up anymore. But the dodging is slowing them down, so let's pick up speed again. See if we can't leave them in the dust."] Song nodded, flaring his dantian and sending Bongbong back into a gallop. He smoothly socketed a stone into the staff while estimating the angles in his mind.

His arm whipped forward then back, sending a stone directly into the big stupid face of one of the grasswolves. It let out a yelp, and fell. ["Great shot!"] Cyrus crowed. Song smiled wickedly, slipping another stone into the sling. Great shot indeed. There was a frenzied bark behind them, and Song spared a glance over his shoulder. The packleader was gathering wood qi in its legs, making them glow with ethereal green light.

Then its legs snapped forward like a released branch and it rocketed towards them ahead of the rest. It looked identical to the Li family's Springleaf Charge, the novice foundation level technique of the Way of the Ram. Song cursed the damn beast in his heart once more. How dare this monster corrupt the noble techniques of his Lee family! It was seeking death! Song sat lower in the saddle to reduce the drag from the wind, and spurred Bongbong on. Pushing harder than he knew he should.

The little gelding ran as fast as it could, but it wasn't enough to compete with the packleader's qi-infused technique. It would be on them in seconds. Song closed his eyes and desperately shouted, "Cyrus!!!" Cyrus's voice was clear in his head. ["Flash your upper meridians behind you! NOW!"] Song thrust his palm behind him and surged qi into his upper Shaoyang, flaring his light as bright as he could. There was a raging snarl as the packleader howled in pain and missed its step.

Cyrus let out a triumphant shout, telling Song all he needed to know about his aim, but he couldn't stop and celebrate now. With all his light focused behind him, the trail ahead had gone dark for Bongbong. The horse whinnied with terror, and stumbled briefly, but the path ahead was straight and clear. Song guided Bongbong with a soothing touch and voice, and the gelding calmed quickly, trusting its master enough to resume the steady rhythm of a trot even while nearly blind.

The wolves howled as one, and a moment later, the patter of feet resumed. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Between his thighs, Song could feel the pounding of Bongbong's heart. The terrified gelding was barely paying attention to its master anymore, and Song knew that if he didn't do something soon, the horse would collapse.

"I don't think we're going to make it," Song whispered to Cyrus. Not that there was anyone else to hear him. Overhead, thunder rumbled, the roiling black clouds seeming to beckon him to his doom. In that moment, Song considered praying to the Dark Dreamer. He could slit his beloved steed's throat in sacrifice and let its lifeblood spill down as he raved and ranted to the Great One.

He'd strike his head against the stones and dive into endless dreaming, all the while begging and pleading that he be granted the power to slay his enemies. It was a tale as old as Tales. The one last survivor after an enemy ambush, casting aside their mortal shell and becoming a Demonic Cultivator, or a true demon, only to go on to slaughter those they'd sworn to protect. No. He, the proud Lee Song would never stoop so low. But it didn't mean he didn't think about it.

The whispered temptations of the Great Ones were sweet music to those at the end of their ropes. Behind him, the massive pony-sized beast that was the foundation level grasswolf loped along easily. It snarled, revealing that it still had wicked canines beneath the mass of thorns and vines. Two more of the pack had fallen behind a few moments ago, leaving just two at its side. Song tried firing another three poison orbs at the big demon, but it managed to narrowly avoid the billowing orange smoke every time.

["Hey, on the bright side it's now three-on-three! We did a pretty good job, eh?"] Cyrus said brightly.

"Counting you and Bongbong? Is that optimism or hopeless irony?" Song groaned. ["Both. Both is good."]"I can't keep Bongbong going. We need to fight." ["Can we win?"] Song laughed wildly at the thought of fighting a demonic beast at foundation level. They were faster than it, but it would crush them if it got close.

"None can overcome the tyranny of levels, remember?" ["Sure, but you've got poison. Will that work?"] Song hesitated. ["It should slow it down. But I doubt it'll be enough to kill it."] ["So, we only need to get lucky once, and then run, right? Do you have any more tricks?"] Song considered everything he'd learned, all the lessons of the past year. Of his time with Master Crane, and with Hunter An, and the techniques he'd learned from them. The hunting habits of grasswolves, and his staff arts of Changpo.

Then his entire life flashed before his eyes. Making dumplings with Mother, the lessons of his father, and playing in the fields with his brothers. Herding horses, riding horses, caring for horses, doing tricks with horses. There were a lot of horses. Slowly his eyes widened, as a plan took shape in his mind.

"I think I have an idea, Cyrus. But it's crazy, and it probably won't work." ["Hey, crazy's my middle name!"] Cyrus replied. ["Let's do it!"] Song blinked.

"Your middle name is crazy? What kind of dog-fart name is that? Were your parents stupid eggs?" ["Your dad's a stupid egg!"] Cyrus retorted. ["Uh, what did that all mean?"] Song sighed, and explained his plan. Cyrus responded with disbelief, then growing eagerness. When he was done, Cyrus exclaimed. ["If you pull this off, it's going to be the coolest thing I've ever seen. But can you really do it?"] Song grinned with his canines, wolflike.

For a moment he appeared as vicious as any grasswolf as the wind blew his short black hair over his ears and his mantle flapped in the wind.

"Of course. Who do you think I am? I'm Haksaekki! The son of crane!" Song slowed Bongbong down. His confused horse, foolish and trusting, dropped from a gallop to a trot as certain death came loping up behind. The great wolf blinked its six orange eyes first in glee, then in wariness. It barked at its two companions and sent them off to flank the prey and see what Song had planned. After all, even a cornered deer would fight. ["Damn stupid smart wolf things."] Cyrus groaned.

["I was hoping they'd come right at us."]"That's not how wolves hunt. They snap and harry, then tire and bleed their prey out," Song explained.

"They've done the first half, now they're trying for the second. But we're not a simple deer." When the two wolves were alongside, Song spurred Bongbong towards the left-most demon. It shied away, but Song suddenly dropped low off the side of the horse. His left leg squeezed tight between the gelding's churning legs, while his right hand gripped the saddle. Song's head and shoulders swept downwards until he was a mere handswith off the ground.

Rocks whipped past his face, and the sound of pounding hooves filled his entire world. It was a common form in trick riding, one of the first that every Lee learned. ["Holy crap!"] Cyrus shrieked. Song didn't have time to appreciate his Spirit Guide's awe. The extra reach afforded by the sudden maneuver brought him close enough to sweep his sling staff in a vicious arc at the grasswolf's legs. Just as if he was playing a game of kokpar, and the wolf was a particularly annoying defender.

With a combination of luck and skill, his staff managed to catch the wolf just as it tried to leap, and its legs tangled with the strings, snapping them. There was a crack and a yelp! and the demon came to a tumbling stop on the grass. Now there were two. The pack leader let out a howl of rage, and its legs filled with green qi as it prepared to launch itself at them once more. Simultaneously, green qi coursed to the quivering tangle of barbed vines that was its slavering maw.

Sap and thorns spewed forth in a deadly spray, and at Cyrus's shouted warning, Song lifted himself back onto Bongbong, narrowly avoiding the slimy projectiles. ["It's getting ready to jump!"] Cyrus called. Song acknowledged him with a nod, and did three things at once. First, he sent Bongbong into a smooth steady joroo gait. The bouncing of the trot smoothed out until it felt like Song was gliding on air. Then he rose to his feet, balancing with ease on the broad widths of the cantle and pommel.

Simultaneously, he unhooked his beltpouch and held it fast in his right hand. The wolf on their right turned in to snap at Bongbong's flank, but Song had no time to worry about it. His entire being quivered with anticipation as the monster behind him unleashed its movement technique. With a snap not unlike a green branch of spruce being released, the foundation level demon flew into the air. ["NOW!"] Cyrus shrieked.

The world went into slow motion as Song leapt backwards off the saddle, his body spinning in the air to face his nemesis. A dozen thorny tendrils stretched out from the wolf and reached towards Song's legs, a promise of terrible death. In that moment, Song hung in the air, appreciating the look of confusion that slowly took form on the wolf's face. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind! It'd let down its guard as it attacked, and in that moment of weakness, Song struck.

He tossed his belt pouch into the air, then swung his staff overhead in the basic Changpo staff arts, but his target wasn't the wolf. It was his pouch, halfway filled with orbs of seeping death. There was a shattering crack of spheres splintering, and orange gas ballooned out of his pouch, surrounding him and the grasswolf in an instant. Song had a bare moment to appreciate the look of horror on the monster's eyes as the squirming tentacles wrapping around his legs began to blacken.

Before the gas could fully swallow him, or the tentacles fully envelop him, Song reached back at Bongbong, laying the barest light from his upper meridians on his steed's saddle. He simply needed to step across it, and he was safe. Starlight Bridge. And then there was a moment of stumbling terror as he found his body tottering over the saddle. He flung himself over Bongbong's neck, hugging his beloved horse tight. Tears streamed down his face, and his lungs felt like they were burning, but that was the worst of it.

Behind him, the foundation wolf was fully enveloped by the gas of four poison spheres. ["WOOOOOOOOO!!!!"] Cyrus screamed, and Song joined him, raising his face to the churning black heavens.

"WOOOOOOOOO!!!! Cough Gasp" Behind them, as if in reply, there was a squelching, mournful howl, and the final remaining grasswolf swerved back. Song spared a glance, to see six baleful orange eyes staring at him from the darkness. Song felt a shiver travel from his heart down into his heels, as the words of Li Zhui's treatise on war came unbidden to him.

'Suffer not even the child of your enemy to live, lest they come back and enact their vengeance.' Then they were out of sight, the pounding of hooves bringing them ever closer to the waystation. And ever closer to hope.