Chương 31: "Close meant nothing when you ended up with a claw to your neck"

Ch 31: "Close meant nothing when you ended up with a claw to your neck" With that, less than reassuring, statement, Gaarch turned and strode from the room. Zhen followed, having to walk faster than normal to keep up with the tall War Leader. They moved through tunnels and caverns with dim crystals lighting the way. After about five minutes they passed through a second mining cave where langren miners again worked veins of ores that Zhen didn't recognize.

It was clear that mining was a significant part of what the Duskmane Clan.

Gaarch didn't slow down as he weaved between equipment, and as soon as they saw him, the miners moved out of their way without being asked. The tunnel that led from there sloped upward into what looked like a langren town. Homes had been carved into the rock face and young langren cubs played in the street under the watchful eyes of elders. A shop displayed armor and weapons in its window, and another sold tools.

Zhen caught sight of a building where older cubs sat in neat rows, reciting something in unison under the guidance of a grey-muzzled instructor. They passed enormous caverns where thick moss carpeted the walls, glowing faintly with qi. Other caves held neat rows of mushrooms, each as tall as Zhen's knee. In another, strange six-legged creatures grazed on moss, their hides mottled grey and brown. After around half an hour of walking, the residential and farming area gave way to a compound surrounded by stone walls.

Guards flanked the gate, their lacquered armor in the same crimson as the armor Gaarch was wearing. In unison, they snapped their fists to their chests and Gaarch returned the salute without breaking stride, as he strode in. The military encampment beyond was laid out in neat rows with barracks and mess halls interspersed with training grounds. Hundreds of langren warriors trained and marched past them as they made their way through the camp.

Everywhere they went, soldiers paused what they were doing to stand to attention and salute. Gaarch returned their salutes but didn't stop, as she led Zhen to their destination They rounded a low stone barracks and on the other side was a training ground that stretched wider than the village square in Zhen's home. Fifty langren, leaner but also more muscled than the other warriors they had seen, were perfectly synchronized as they moved through various combat forms. They were led by a female officer in black armor.

As she caught sight of Gaarch she called out to stop the training.

"Halt! Atten-tion!" The langren paused mid-movement, then snapped into formation.

"At ease," Gaarch said. The formation relaxed slightly, though every eye remained forward. Gaarch turned to the officer." Mane-Guard Sill. At the request of Lady Zie this human will need to be accompanied through the Deadlands to the Veinwalker's border. Over those two days he will need to be trained as a scout to help him succeed in his mission." His lip curled.

"I need to assess what we're working with. Assign your weakest Stone-Arm to spar with him." He paused.

"Tell them to be gentle. Breaking him on the first day would be inconvenient." The female officer, Sill, turned to scan the formation.

"Stone-Arm Kames, front and center." A langren broke from the ranks. He stood shorter than his fellows, though he still towered above Zhen. His dust-brown mane hung in neat braids, and his amber eyes were serious. Zhen watched him approach, his controlled movements suggested he was someone who had spent long hours in training. Zhen stepped forward to the center of training ground to meet him. There was no way to avoid this so he may as well make the best of it.

"This will be a match to knockout or submission." Mane-Guard Sill looked fro one to the other.

"No killing blows. Begin when I give the word." Zhen activated the Eye and could see the earth-attuned qi flowing through Kames. The langren's cultivation was sound, with well-developed meridians. But as he shifted his weight, the Eye revealed a weakness in the left knee. If Zhen had to guess, it was a recent injury that hadn't quite finished healing. As the officer stepped back, Zhen made a decision. Relying on his endurance against trained soldiers would lose him this fight.

So would trying to trade blows with someone whose fist could cave in his ribs. One solid hit, and Zhen would be done. He wouldn't win a war of attrition, but a lightning-fast attack to exploit the damaged knee might give him a quick win.

"Begin!" Zhen exploded forward in a low, flying kick. Shuo had drilled it into him until he could execute it without telegraphing his intent. He drove his boot toward Kames' left knee with every ounce of force he could muster. Kames spotted the attack and pivoted, trying to step back, but he was too slow. The impact sent a satisfying crunch through Zhen's boot. Kames' knee buckled sideways, the joint giving way with a wet pop. The langren collapsed forward, bringing his head down to Zhen's level.

Zhen didn't hesitate. He uncoiled and drove up with his legs, directing his momentum into an uppercut. His fist connected with Kames' jaw. The langren's eyes glazed over as he crashed, unconscious, to the ground. As the sand settled back into place, the training ground was silent. Zhen straightened, shaking out his hand. The impact had jarred his knuckles despite the qi he had used to reinforce it. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

A rough cough from the ranks broke the silence.

"Lucky swing, human," the voice that called out had a sneering edge.

"Even a blind cub can beat an injured soldier." Gaarch ignored the heckling and studied Zhen, his tail swishing slowly.

"Interesting." He turned to Sill.

"Let's see how the human does against Jatrix." The officer's ears flattened for just a heartbeat before her discipline reasserted itself.

"Medics, get Kames to the infirmary. Scout Captain Jatrix, you're up." There was a ripple through the formation as Jatrix's name was called. Then she stepped forward. Even among langren, Jatrix stood tall. She topped Gaarch by two inches, her frame packed with corded muscle that suggested years of training. Her brown and white dappled fur had been cropped short, and a scar bisected her left eyebrow. While Kames had exuded confidence, Jatrix moved with certainty. Zhen looked at her and winced.

His knuckles still throbbed from the uppercut. Kames, it turned out, had been the warm-up. The Eye revealed the true difference as Jatrix approached. Earth-attuned qi moved through her meridians in flows that dwarfed what Kames had possessed. Of the langren around them, only Gaarch's cultivation was stronger. The density of her qi spoke to years of dedicated cultivation. Zhen searched for any weakness as they faced each other across the sand.

The Eye suggested that her left shoulder sat a fraction higher than her right and that she favored her rear leg by the smallest margin. But it was slim pickings. Those minor imperfections might provide an opening if he were as skilled as she was. But, despite months with Shuo, he was no trained soldier. Unlike with Kames, these weren't the kind of weaknesses he could exploit for a quick victory.

"Begin!" As Mane-Guard Sill called the start of the fight, Zhen used Elementary Pulse to flood his meridians with qi. His muscles strengthened and he moved into a guard stance. Jatrix closed the distance but was clearly sizing him up as she did so. Despite her superiority, she was treating this professionally and not succumbing to hubris. It suggested she had brains as well as raw muscle. Her first strike came fast. Zhen twisted aside, feeling the rush of air as her claws swept past his ribs.

He countered with a low kick at her front knee. She shifted her weight, and his boot connected with what felt like an iron pillar. The impact jarred up through his leg. They continued to exchange blows. Zhen kept moving, refusing to let her trap him where her superior strength could overwhelm him. He had a fraction more speed, but when he was forced to block her strikes, her power sent shocks through his arms. Shuo's training had prepared him for this. Fighting stronger opponents meant never trading blow for blow.

Keep moving, don't take too many hits, and stay alert for any opportunity. Jatrix pressed forward with a combination that forced Zhen to retreat. Her claws carved through the space he had occupied heartbeats before. He ducked under a high swipe, rolled beneath a follow-up slash, and came up already moving. From the edge of the training ground, the same voice from before let out a mocking snort.

"Looks like a wild dog dancing for its dinner. Give him a proper fight, Jatrix!" Zhen ignored them and used the Eye to track Jatrix's movements, constantly looking for any weakness he could exploit. And then his patience paid off. Jatrix's forward momentum carried her a step too far, and for a second she was over extended. Zhen drove forward, all his qi-enhanced speed focused into a strike at her exposed ankle.

In the moments while he moved, he saw Jatrix's eyes widen and then the qi within her flared bright through the Eye. Her fists slammed into the ground." Earthen Citadel!" Rock erupted between them, a wall of compacted stone pushing through the sand and rising up from the cavern floor. But Zhen was already committed, his body heading toward the opening that no longer existed. He twisted in mid-air, leading with his shoulder forward instead of his fist.

The impact drove the air from his lungs and pain exploded through his shoulder as momentum carried him into unyielding stone. The wall cracked. Fractures spiderwebbed across its surface.

Zhen bounced off and hit the sand, rolling with the impact. Pain lanced through his shoulder but better that than a shattered hand. He came up on one knee, ready to move. Jatrix stood on the other side of the shattered wall. She let out a low growl and pressed a paw to her temple as she shook her head. The Eye mapped the backlash rippling through her meridians after the technique violently collapsed. Zhen pushed to his feet.

Qi swirled within Jatrix as she restored her equilibrium with a discipline Zhen couldn't help but admire. Her circulation stabilized into a controlled flow even as he watched. She lifted her head and looked down at him, then let out a growl. The sound punched into Zhen. It wasn't an ordinary growl, instead it was infused with qi that smashed through his body. His vision blurred and he fell to the ground as he lost his sense of balance.

His sight returned and Jatrix loomed over him so close that he could feel the heat radiating from her fur. Her breath came hard, her chest heaving. But one claw rested against his throat, the razor-sharp tip dimpling his skin. Frustration burned inside Zhen. He had been so close to finding an opening. But close meant nothing when you ended up with a claw to your neck. He raised his hand"I yield." At a nod from Sill, Jatrix offered Zhen her large paw-like hand.

He gripped it, and she hauled him upright with a yank that made his injured shoulder protest anew.

"See? Told you he was only good for a lucky hit." The mocking langren's voice drifted over, loud enough to be heard but not quite a direct address.

"Waste of good training time, making Jatrix fight a human." Gaarch approached Zhen and Jatrix with the officer at his side. Both studied Zhen in silence, their eyes tracking over him.

"Assessment," Gaarch said in a low voice that did not carry to the Stone Arms beyond. Mane-Guard Sill's ears swiveled forward, her attention sharpening. She matched Gaarch's tone.

"Better than I expected. Not many in the scouts would last that long against any Scout Captain, never mind Jatrix." She paused.

"Even fewer could have forced her to use both Earthen Citadel and Growl of the Crushing Maw." Gaarch's tail swept once through the air.

"And?"

"The boy has potential." The officer's muzzle wrinkled.

"He can clearly circulate qi through his meridians, but that leads to my biggest concern." Gaarch nodded.

"I know what you're going to say. That is exactly the issue I had." He turned, his full attention settling on Zhen.

"Human. You knew you were going to lose. Why didn't you use your techniques?" Zhen met his gaze.

"I don't know any techniques." That wasn't strictly true. The Eye of Xiezhi would remain his secret. Shuo and his parents had warned him about revealing it, and Zhen saw no reason to hand the langren that information after only knowing them for a few hours. Gaarch shook his head impatiently.

"Of course you do. You don't have the inherent cultivation of the langren, but I know enough of the ways of humans. Your sects teach techniques as soon as a disciple opens their first spirit gate." That was news to Zhen. He would be having a very pointed conversation with Shuo the next time he saw him. For now, though, he told the truth.

"I'm not in a sect, I just had one teacher. He hasn't taught me any techniques." Sill looked at Zhen incredulously.

"How do you get to the point where you control that much qi without having any techniques?" She turned to Gaarch, her muzzle pulling back in a grimace of professional disbelief.

"Permission to speak freely."

"Granted."

"If this is true, we have a problem." Her words were clipped.

"We can adapt our training to work with human techniques, but it's not possible to train him effectively if he has no techniques at all." Gaarch shook his head slowly.

"That's not strictly true. There is one option." His expression hardened.

"The Ordeal of the Ancestors."