10 THE HEART DOES NOT GROW OLD (1/2)
The thunder came swiftly like Ulr himself striking his hammer from Aesiron and light filled the hill.
And with it comes the roaring sound of lightning.
Lancel was deflecting the Mad Fairy attack with his famous red sword, producing spark of light all over the top of the hill.
Like a void in an illusion, the Mad Fairy moves in very difficult and cryptic way, pouncing madly towards Lancel with her sword strikes.
Lancel met Mad Fairy attack with the sturdiness of a mountain, unmoving and unmovable
'Xintong, stop this madness of yours!' Lancel shouted as the sound of their swords clashing produce thunder roaring sound,
Both are master of the sword. The famous Red Sword Lancel and the Mad Fairy Xintong is known to have some bad blood in Jianghu.
It's more than just bad blood at least for Xintong.
Not many knows the inside story of these two expert but from rumors in Jianghu, during his youth, Lancel managed to make Xintong fall in love with him only to be rejected.
There are also other rumors of course.
All of them involved some kind of romantic entanglement story between them.
They clashed on the top of the Hill, fierce like dragon and tiger. Red sparks and white spark tangles and destroy each other.
The tribesmen seeing that the man with the medallion is being attacked quickly jump on their horses and rides towards the hill.
In this small tribe there is no one that masters any martial arts that allows them to fly like the Mad Fairy.
This kind of lightness skill is not something the barbarian tribes of the Western Plains could comprehend.
They prefer the straight way, brute force or imposing strikes.
Lightness skill requires understanding many of the underlying principles of movements which many Western barbarian feel hard to understand.
And their literacy is low compared to the people of Aeropa and Midgard.
They could not leap over tents and reach the Hill just by jumping like her.
But the tribesman of the Western Barbarian is proficient and each of them is a master in horsemanship.
They arrived almost a few candle times after the fairy and the Red Sword began fighting.
The bulkiest of the tribesmen called Ogedei wanted to help but immediately was stopped by the tribe chief.
The chief looks at the battle between Red Sword and Mad Fairy and drew a large breath in shock and awe.
'Look at that sword strike! Ogedei if you enter their range of attack you will be minced meat!' Ogedei look again and he had to admit his tribe chief is right.
Everyone witnessed the two expert exchange blows, producing thunderous roaring just by the reverberation of their swords.
Sparks of light illuminate the top of the hills. The land beneath their feet was slashed apart in huge chunk.
The Mad Fairy fighting styles were extremely ingenious and sinister.
It was also very fast. In over a dozen exchanges, each and every one of her moves was attacking and required precise defending.
Her attack was as dangerous as fire and as fast and unpredictable like the wind.
They spun in circles, strangely not truly touching the ground, like immortal beings treading the clouds.
The two fought ferociously, whirling over and over in the space of four meters causing all the tribesmen to be dazzled.
The sound was thunderous while the killing auras of the Mad Fairy were unleashed by her sword strikes was heavy and powerful pressuring Lancel.
Lancel could not entirely focus hi thought because he was worried about his nephew.
Hiding behind a boulder.
Even though the Mad Fairy attack was ingenious and sinister, unpredictable and heavy, Lancel moves were as serene as an undisturbed lake, every one of his sword strike were gentle and soft, neutralizing almost all of the mad Fairy attack as effortlessly as flourishing a sleeve.
But while it seems that Lancel was at ease in deflecting and parrying the Mad Fairy sword strikes, it was not something easy to do, it requires his full attention and focus.
Blast of winds was generated as these two exchanges become longer and deadlier.
While the Mad Fairy attacks seems imposing and unstoppable, her face looked frustrated while Lancel expression was aloof and composed
Even after all that relentless attack, the Mad Fairy is still not able to make even a scratch to Lancel clothing.
The tense tribesman looking not far away from their battle has also relaxed.
The reason they could not help is because of the sword strike of these two experts that prevented them from helping Lancel.
And there is also a risk in distracting Lancel so the tribe remain unmoving from their spot and watch this great battle.
But this does not mean the tribesman will not do anything.
If it looks like Lancel is in trouble, as the holder of the medallion, the tribes will rather sacrifices their lives to save Lancel.
The crowds could all see that as the exchanges become longer, it seems Lancel has gained the initiative.
Lancel was smiling in satisfaction as he already found her patterns of attack.
She was employing the 36 Strikes of the Blood Gale of the Red Snow Palace martial arts.
In the middle of their exchanges she then changes her moves to the brutal and vicious Devil Maiden Sword Arts.
Lancel has known the Mad Fairy for a long time.
Usually she would come with Purple Deity but Lancel did not see her this time which is odd. Those two have always been together.
'Enough of this, Xintong! Begone from here!' He said as he once again deflecting her attack with ease with his red sword like he was waving his hand to disperse the wind.
Then he found a hole in her defense.
'This is it!'
Lancel was about to dispatch the Mad Fairy sword from her wrist when suddenly a needle was shot to him from behind.
He could hear the sound of the wind ripping because of the shot.
The reason he knows it was a needle is because he could determine a weapon travelling through the air according to its sound.
This kind of slow sounding but shrieking sound travelling through the air could only be a needle.
'Cheh' He complained and taps his foot towards the ground as he somersaulted up and retreated back as he lands on a rock like a crane.
'Another one is joining' he said and he could no longer be calm as he was when he was facing the red fairy.
'Who is there hiding in the shadows! This is not the behavior of a gentleman.'
'I'm not a gentleman, Lancel!' shouted a voice.
The voice was hoarse and grating to hear.
And then jumping out from a nearby tree is a woman wearing a blue robe with a metal whip straightened by her internal energy, attacking him.
The woman has scars all over her face, making her look very hideous.
The wind was ripping apart as she trusted out her straight metal whip.
'Nanhua!' Lancel said as he recognized the woman attacking him.
Lancel dodges the piercing attack of the whip and the whip struck a large stone behind him and the stone exploded turning the stones into rubbles.
'I could not let Charles get caught up with this.' Lancel knows he could not fight these two people and at the same time worry about his nephew.
'Ogedei!' he yelled and he yelled
'Bring Charles away.' Ogedei hearing this understood what Lancel was trying to say.
Ogedei remember the bright kid that accompanies Lancel.
Now that Lancel has spoken Ogedei remember that there is a kid that always follows Lancel. As the holder of the medallion, the tribesman must offer any help they can give.
They all know he was the famed Red Sword Lancel but that is a different matter. True, Lancel kill the barbarians when they came down the mountains.
But the Barbarians do not hate Lancel. They fear him. They admire him.
But they do not hate Lancel.
The strong wins.
That is the creed of the Western Barbarians.
Which is why the Western Barbarians is perplexed at the animosity they felt when they came down the mountains.
Because as they killed and rampage through villages they don't see it as something wrong. They are hungry. They don't have resources.
So, they pillage the nearby places.
And if they died that's just means they are weak.
The same could be said for the people they pillage.
The Western Barbarian has no fixed home. They lived where the wind brings them. The Wind Mother and the Skyfather guides them and make the Plains their home.
Where the grass grows, that is their land.
Ogedei jump on his horse as he search the area. He rides down the hill and when he reached the area nearby the rock he was shocked and amused.
He found the boy waiting for him, hand behind his back, looking calm and composed. The wind flutters the boy sleeve, making him look unnatural.
Because at the top of the hill a great battle is occurring but the boy with his hand behind his back, was as calm as an Immortal, as graceful and as noble.
The aura around the boy was something like of the aura of great personage. But that couldn't be true. Ogedei mused.
He is just a kid.
The boy was calm and there is no trace of fear inside his eyes which impresses Ogedei. Approaching the boy on horseback, Ogedei then said
'Kid, your unc-'
'My uncle sent you to bring me far away from the battle, right?' Charles said calmly as Ogedei could only nod.
'Let us go then. My uncle could handle himself.'
Ogedei feel this matter is too weird. The boy is certainly remarkable not to feel any fear while his uncle is fighting the Mad Fairy.
'Do you know how to climb a hor-' he was about to say that when Charles quickly jump to the horse.
Even though Charles doesn't have any internal energy, his physical body is fit and is stronger than normal kid.
To jump into the back of a horse is an easy thing for him.
'Let's go' Charles said and Ogedei smiles.
He then quickly rides down from the hill, with Charles on the back. Reaching the settlements, Ogedei brought him to one of his tribesmen tent.
Entering the tent, Ogedei tap his chest are, a kind of salute among the Western Barbarian.
'Gioro, watch this child for me. The man with the medallion is fighting bitterly on top of the Hill. I must see if our tribe could help him.'
Gioro looked at Charles and sighed. But he nodded as a sign of assent.
Gioro is an old man with lame leg.
He uses a wooden crutch made by a wandering scholar to help him in walking. Even though the Western barbarian values strength they also value bravery.
Gioro in his younger days fought the Han dynasty troops and was an accomplished martial artist before the martial artist in the Central Plains of Aeropa hunts him down and inflict such injuries on him.
When Gioro was being wasted one of the Grandmasters aid Gioro and sent him back to the tribes.
Since then, the tribe has always protected Gioro as appreciation for his past heroics achievement for the Plains People.
'Wait here' Ogedei said to Charles.