"At most, you will be teleported 20 to 30 kilometers from here to minimize the chances of it being detected. Inero-ie will be in charge so both of you listen to him," Knrama said addressing Cile and Sline, and then continued while looking towards Inero-ie, "We will do our best to keep them entangled so you are to focus on running away, I am leaving both of them in your care. Make sure they are safe, no matter the cost."
Nod.
Only four of them were headed to the teleportation chamber to hopefully avoid arousing any suspicion from individuals who were, without a doubt, more powerful than all of them.
The teleportation chamber was small, not larger than a room, incomparably smaller than the ones he used to teleport from one settlement to another, but that was only given. This chamber had a different use case, at most it would have allowed them to teleport into the capital, a capability they could not use in this situation. The waves of Qi that erupted upon each teleportation were too noticeable and even with such a short distance teleportation, he had to wonder if they would really remain undetected.
"May you have a peaceful journey."
And the teleportation started. His head snapped towards the approaching being, he tensed, then relaxed, it was still far–
With a splitting headache, he violently crashed into the ground. Wave after wave of nausea hit him accompanied by headache and a screaming body. He had no time to care for them. Threads spread and awareness of the surrounding made his fears into reality, they were just at the edge of the valley.
[Follow,] he said after helping both of the get up. Despite the treacherousness of the route, he did not allow them to lower their speed, pushing them verbally and if needed, dragging them physically.
[Slow–]
The armor smashed into a protruding spike. Before Cile could even try to pilot it to stand up, he dragged it up
[What are–]
[They are closing in!]
It was like everything was gravitating toward the three different entities that were rushing toward them, just sensing them filled him with dread.
Three of them stood in front of a gaping hole that went deeper than the limit of their sensor.
[We will be scaling down. Can you do it?] Their performance had been good all things considered. He knew the ability of Sline from back when she had tried chasing after him but it was a happy surprise to see the princess lagging not too far behind.
Once he quickly explained the process they jumped down, around five meters away from the frozen wall of the hole.
[Stab,] Cile and Sline followed his instructions and stabbed. Three blades easily cut into the wall harder than steel, not hampered in the slightest. He could almost hear Fria-al's voice while gravity dragged them down, about how the Mus-Draik had originally crafted the blades, how hundreds of Seekers had improved upon the original design since then, stray thoughts they were but persistent. ‘Only one, thankfully,’ Inero-ie thought when he sensed only one being now heading towards them.
[Jump!]
Their momentum propelled them downward as they retracted and stabbed with their blades in a synchronized rhythm. They were almost there when he sensed the presence jumping down. He retracted the blade and the metallic limbs warped around his companions, thrusts activated throwing them aside. Just a moment after that whole section of wall was flattened.
The legs bent against the wall and cracks spread upon impact, thrusts pushed him downward. He zigzagged downward, barely able to avoid most attacks. Sline kept firing her rifle to the best of her ability but it was useless. The Qi bullets just unraveled the moment they got near the pursuer who did not even bother dodging them.
[Prepare for impact,] then he let go of the armors, kicked off against the wall, slamming into both, hurling them towards the cave carved into the wall. Thrusts pushed him aside as he dodged another strike and then he too followed them inside.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
The moment he stepped in, thrusts once again activated, the armor spun to face the entrance and a flurry of blade strikes demolished the entrance. He hoped it would give them a few moments to run further into the maze-like tunnels that existed further inside.
[Follow,] he commanded, leading them further inside.
***
"Jionic, after them," Meelion commanded, deflecting a barrage of attacks with a wave of her hand.
"Understood," her contracted jinn had just returned after successfully disrupting the teleportation. If they had sensed it just a bit earlier, the jinn could have controlled it with more precision. Still, those children were not far away.
She ran while Meelion tore open a path, guided by her jinn who had previously taken a sample of the target's Qi.
"Halt!" Livian's command spread everywhere and carried with it a power that affected everything living that heard it. She cough blood as her injuries worsened at the forceful use of her power despite being so injured and exhausted. The effect, though was equally powerful.
The horde of metallic armors that had been rushing towards them crashed into one another as their pilots lost control over their bodies, unable to so much as blink.
Meelion did not let go of the opportunity, each of her attacks rent a hole through the armor, then she effortlessly hurled the pilots towards Livian who instinctively absorbed their life force. There was barely any remaining, just a few embers as the gawing cold snuffed out most of the life force in the few moments it took for the bodies to land in front of her. Still, it was enough to maintain her power, affording Jionic an uninterrupted path to chase their target.
Jionic jumped down the hole, running vertically along its wall. She could sense the children who had yet to undergo even their first Shedding. Their attempt was admirable but it could not be allowed. She gathered her Qi and made a slapping motion. It should have embedded them into the wall but one dodged, dragging the other two with him. 'Curious,' she thought as she sent waves upon wave just to see how long he could keep dodging, decreasing the time in between each strike. He acted as though he already knew the trajectory of her attack, dodging by hair's breadth each time. It was something that should have been impossible even though she was not being serious.
Suddenly three of them disappeared into the cave carved into the wall and before she could make her way inside, the entrance crumbled, massive blocks of ice blocking her entrance. It took as much effort to clear the rumble as it took to wave her hand.
She surged, eating away the distance between her target who was just a moment away from entering one of the myriad diverging paths. She could sense one of the armors coming to a halt and turning to face her. A smirk curled on her lips. In comparison to the hulking armor made of metal, she appeared frail, but as she sidestepped the blade aiming to cut her into two, Qi enhancing the edge of her hand, she slashed, tearing through the metallic alloy unimpeded.
The battle, if it could be called that, proved exhilarating. His ability far surpassed what should be possible for someone of his cultivation. The threads of Qi that filled the space further evoked her curiosity but her objective lay elsewhere. She connected another blow, pulverizing the armor’s leg, rendering it useless, and she pressed forward, a wave of her hand crushing the legs of the remaining two armors on the run.
***
Inero-ie coughed up blood, his battered body protesting against any movement. Yet, compared to what he had endured many times before it was nothing. He forced his body to move, escaping from the now-useless armor. Cold rushed into wanting to snuff out his life force but before it could do so, he melded with the ice, temporarily staving off the impending doom that awaited him once he was forced out of this state. Concurrently, he melded with the all-encompassing darkness, ensuring his presence remained concealed, all the while maintaining the maximum number of threads. The cracks on his core began to reappear, minor, for now, yet inflicting a pain that would make one wish for death. However, this was nothing new to him.
He surged forward, tracing the trail of Qi left by the monstrous woman. She was not far away. Sline lay defeated, her armor in tatters, and he sensed the encroaching frost slowly enveloping her body, although it progressed at a much slower pace than would be considered normal—an ability inherent in bloodlines of nobility.
Passing by Sline, he hastened towards Cile, who attempted to flee but found her hand ensnared by the woman. Inero-ie didn’t hesitate. He had already retracted his Qi threads while opening Qi-location to ensure the woman did not detect his presence.
A smaller blade, suited for human size, sliced through Clie’s shoulder, severing her arm. With one hand covering Cile's mouth and the other firmly around her waist, he forcefully pulled her towards him, merged her with ice and darkness, and plunged into the icy depths of the mountain. Instantaneously, the fractures within his core accelerated, his control over Qi wavering for a moment resulting in an onslaught that made the ground tremble. Dodging several attacks with agile grace, he emerged in front of Sline, swiftly lifting her and delving back into the icy terrain.
"Why have the attacks ceased?" he pondered, but he dared not allow his threads to venture close to the woman. Rather he dived deep, searching for the path he had previously explored. Curiously, he noticed that the burden of maintaining the fusion with the ice had diminished significantly even though the burden should have been three times larger, at the very least.