Readying their weapons and scrambling to flip their battle formation, Lin Songmei, Yan Mingqing, and Wang Taigang backed up as Han Youhong and Zhao Liying ran to the front. Channeling Qi to her gut, Songmei numbed herself to address the stabbing pain radiating from her lower gut.
Literally stabbing in this case specifically. At least the knife didn’t come out the other side.
With blood seeping through her clothes, Songmei took a few deep breaths, half-crystalizing her Qi to stem and protect the wound. Accepting the fact her Qi was just going to leak out of her, Songmei paused looking over towards Mingqing and Taigang.
Taigang had taken a knife to the chest and Mingqing had taken a knife to the leg. Mingqing, with a grimace, had just ripped the bottom of her shirt and tied it around her thigh. Similar to Songmei’s iridescent mist, there was also faint light-blue mist seeping out of her leg wound.
With Youhong and Zhao Liying holding off the enemies for a moment, Songmei bent to pick her bow back up while doing a quick visual check on Taigang. Taigang was... fine? Songmei couldn’t tell. With a golden radiance emanating from his chest, Taigang had his eyes closed, taking slow deep breaths.
Pulling her bow back, Songmei let loose a couple of arrows towards their now-inhuman enemies. With the exoskeletons still equipped, the few human combatants from the earlier battle were now... not.
With blank eyes, rocky skin, and tusk-like bone outgrowths, the enemies were now closer to the monsters and beasts Songmei and the others fought in the wilderness than the humans or machines in the city.
Watching her arrows bounce clean off of one enemy, Songmei grimaced as she watched Taigang and Mingqing rush past her, re-entering the battle. Watching more Qi pour out of Taigang and Mingqing’s wounds, Songmei shook her head and pushed herself forward.
It was a bit of a trade-off. More Qi loss meant less pain and more movement ability, less Qi loss meant bleeding out from a stab wound.
Channeling Qi into her arrows, Songmei let loose a couple of super-charged arrows while scanning the area for any more enemies. With the arrows only able to take chunks out of the natural armor of the enemies, Songmei shook her head, resigned to the grind the battle was about to be.
The four enemies coordinated just enough to stick together in a group. While making it easy to keep track of all the enemies, it made it hard to do the tried-and-true strategy of dividing and conquering.
With the battle beginning to fall into a stalemate, Songmei snorted as she heard Youhong try out some colorful language in an attempt to rile them up. Moments later though, Songmei spun when Youhong began cursing at the top of his lungs. With a roar, the inhuman combatant swelled up in size, cracking the exoskeleton as a new set of bone spikes pierced through the skin.
“I shouldn’t have taunted, I regret my life choices, I sincerely apologize,” Youhong called out, bolting towards Zhao Liying, “Liying! Help me out will you?”
Behind Youhong the monster was doing a mix between a run and a gallop. With its muscles rippling and swelling, a new system of spider web–like cracks appeared on the rock skin encasing the monster.
Letting out ferocious roar after ferocious roar, the original human appearance disappeared as the face began to deteriorate and the body began to morph. Confined to movement on four limbs only, Songmei cringed as she watched faint bits of human skin left on the face disappear. With the sides of the mouth splitting open and the lower jaw detaching, Songmei fired an arrow towards the mutating monster as she watched rows and rows of teeth begin to come in from all sides of the mouth.
Just... disgusting. Songmei wished she could have a conversation with the inventor of the catalyst of these transformations. She had no clue what triggered the transformation, but there was someone, somewhere, who needed to have their funding cut.
-----
Twenty minutes and several more wounds later, Songmei and the others managed to put down the last growling monster now mutated to the size of a small car. With her clothes and skin caked with blood and sweat, Songmei stared into the sky as she felt the adrenaline fade.
Feeling waves of nausea beginning to pound the back of her mind, Songmei leaned against Mingqing, hugging her from behind. With Mingqing leaning back and closing her eyes, Songmei gave a small squeeze as they plopped down onto the pavement below.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“How was the battle?” Songmei whispered, closing her eyes while concentrating on not throwing up. “Also, I’m not supposed to remove the knife, right?”
“No... don’t remove it,” Mingqing nodded, reaching up to pat Songmei, “I’m alright, I’m just tired. I got gashed on the other leg, so standing is just not going to happen for a hot second, otherwise I just got a lot of small cuts. You feeling okay?”
“Nausea...” Songmei murmured as she channeled more Qi into her stomach, “I’ll be fine, I only got some scrapes and cuts from shrapnel, nothing more... I hope Youhong, Taigang, and Liying are okay...”
With everyone splayed out on the ground close enough in case of an emergency, but far enough to allow people to rest in isolation, Songmei and the others took a few moments to contact emergency health services—for cultivators—while resting up.
Rest, however, did not come easy as they heard faint laughter begin to echo from the destroyed house nearby.
Snapping to attention, all five of the young cultivators scrambled for their weapons as they watched a tanned man walk out from a nearby house, clapping as he slid on some sunglasses. Wearing a mix between pajamas and beach wear, the man strode out, collecting a few pouches from the dead monsters strewn in the area around.
“Well done, well done... Exactly as I calculated,” The man laughed, wiping a tear as a large smile broke out on his face. “As I thought, four demon-pills would be enough. Ah, sorry, how could I forget to introduce myself, I’m Avarice by the way.”
“Yeah, we know,” Youhong retorted, clenching a chain blade in one hand as his other arm hung limp, many of the muscles practically shredded by the monster's attacks. “Why are you here?”
“To collect my prize,” Avarice grinned, pulling out a cigar as he flashed some jewelry, “I’ve had my eyes set on you all. The other collaborators don’t know I’m doing this, but I want it all. for. myself.”
“How exactly do you plan on doing this?” Liying asked, brushing her hair back as she pushed herself back up, grimacing as she flexed her slashed back muscles.
“None of your business?” Avarice asked, raising an eyebrow as he pulled out two swords. “Don’t try to make me monologue. I’m not a stupid villai-”
“Yes, you are a very stupid villain. You even admit you’re a villain.” A cold voice interjected, sending an icy halberd careening towards Avarice. “You dare show up in my territory?! With demons nonetheless?! Don’t you know the consequences of collaboration with them? I will spill your blood. I will use it to water the graves of my ancestors!”
Growling as she walked in front of the five on the ground, the short-haired blond woman in a full suit of plate armor extended her arm. Letting out a huge blast of Qi, she crouched into a combat position as her halberd flew back into her hand. “Prepare.”
Doing several flips back, Avarice pursed his lips, shaking his head as he pulled out his own set of leather armor. “No, no, you’re the one in denial. We’re the monarchs of the underworld, how are we not villains? And shut up about your ancestors, Wrath, no one cares.”
With his insult landing on deaf ears, Avarice leaned back and ducked as another Qi blade sailed over his head. It was time for battle, but he had to get the others somehow...
Sending a feint of a strike towards Wrath, Avarice leaned down, disappearing from his spot as he reappeared near the ruined mounds of rock, wood, and brick ‘repurposed’ from the dilapidated houses of the neighborhood.
With speed on his side, Avarice sent a flurry of empty Qi strikes towards Wrath who he had now pushed to another area. Giggling, Avarice bent down, picking up two clumps of rock, hurling one towards the two girls and one towards the girl and boy.
Tuning out the vengeful screaming coming from Wrath, Avarice dodged another icy halberd as he disappeared, picking up a third hunk of rock and pitching it towards the last boy.
That would keep them occupied. He just had to keep them in the area long enough for his subordinates to come and do some... collection.
------
Songmei, still stunned with the appearance of not one, but TWO leaders of the underworld, barely reacted to Avarice’s throw before being pushed to the ground. On the ground, biting her lip from the shifting pain in her gut, Songmei could only watch as Mingqing did a simple spin while on her butt, sending a weak Qi blade towards the rock, shattering it while diverting its course.
Why was Mingqing so hot?
Mingqing, on the other hand, apologetic she had to push Songmei, scooted back towards Songmei as one thought swirled around in her mind: Why did such a cute girl decide to date her?
Nearby, however, unbeknownst to the two lovebirds, a similar scene had played out, where Taigang had leapt up, shattering the rock with his barefists before turning back to check on Liying.
Watching Liying blush, Taigang felt a vein pop in his head as she murmured “Why do you have to be gay?!”
Facepalming, Taigang could only retort “Why aren’t you a guy?!”
Youhong, with his ever-empty red eyes, only shook his head, murmuring “Why do I always have to save myself?” before slapping the rock to pieces and popping a lychee jelly into his mouth.