103 Rocs Coming (2/2)
The killers were frightened, yet for the fame of Golden Roc Fort, they did not retreat.
The roc did not give them chance to retreat, either. It spread its wings and flew up about six meters high, hovering above them. After several screams, the killers lost their eyes. They dropped their daggers, covered their faces with both hands, and screamed. From another angle, they looked like strays who had slowly been trekking for a long time, or tipplers who had drunk so much that they could barely control their bodies and staggered forward. They were seemed summoned by the fate, which led them to the abyss.
The two teenagers had toughened their hearts through many killings, yet witnessing this scene, they stood transfixed with fright, completely forgetting to react.
In the blink of an eye, the roc finished its slaughter. It folded its wings and faced the boy whose life it had just saved.
It looked even stronger than its parents: those golden-crowned rocs. It stretched its spindly neck freely, seemingly showing how nutritious those corpses were that Gu Shenwei threw out in these past months.
The only thing unusual was the feathers on its head and eyeballs. They were all crimson, sparkling even in the deep dark night. If the golden-crowned roc was the prideful king, then this one must be the devil descending to earth.
It only restrained its murderous intent when it sat next to this familiar boy. Tilting its head and sizing up Gu Shenwei, like the squab it used to be, it wanted to peck at his insteps again.
”We have to move quickly.”
Maid Lotus reminded Gu Shenwei, who was almost deaf now. He looked up and observed the roc, unable to restrain himself with wild joy. ”Is this really the squab that I raised up?”
The roc jumped by his side and sniffed him with its beak rubbing his body.
Maid Lotus stepped backward and reminded him again. ”If you stay here a second longer, then the roc will also be in danger.”
Her words drew Gu Shenwei's senses back from the excitement of reunion. He hugged the roc hurriedly and pushed it to the edge of the cliff. ”Go, leave this place and never come back.”
The roc understood how serious the situation was. It jumped at full tilt and flew upward again. Like a gust of wind, it dashed into the cloud and disappeared.
The two teenagers hastily dropped the corpses down the cliff; the wounds and cuts, which were not caused by the roc, would raise doubts. They quickly hid in the Woodensaber Alley.
This was a remote location as anyone who heard the scream would take some time to find this place. The moment they found the shelter, countless men arrived and reached the cliff. Thus, they grabbed the opportunity and left soon after, missing the later scene.
The next day, they heard a rumor. Supreme King thought this incident was unbelievable, for the killers there barely used the tool they prepared. In addition, they were foolish enough to fight with the roc openly. Shangguan Fa was so annoyed that he arrested the counselors who organized this mission, sent them into the Heart Cleansing Yard, and interrogated them with torture.
These counselors included Mister Guo, more or less comforting Gu Shenwei. This was the prelude to his vengeance.
This incident dwarfed the influence of the dead killer in the black market. The investigators even blamed the dead one for this failed mission. They thought he over drank and ran to the cliff, which shocked the roc.
Supreme King felt disgraced. He forbade anyone from mentioning the roc anymore. Yet he still arranged men on the tower and equipped them with the strong bows and crossbows, which should be operated by several men. The arrows were connected with the ropes, so once anyone saw the roc they could shoot it down immediately.
Shangguan Fa now changed his mind: he wanted the roc, dead or alive.
The number of guards patrolling the border of the fort was increased. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had to abandon the assassinations. The magical thing was, the giant red-crowned roc seemed had vanished without any trace. In these three months, after claiming so many lives, it seemed to only have wanted to see its old acquaintance.
The battle with the killers proved the effectiveness of swordplay, but it exposed another problem as well. When Maid Lotus stabbed the chest of her opponent, who at that time was wearing a breastplate, her strength failed to pierce through, thusly breaking the dagger. She almost died.
This led them to the flaw of this swordplay which Gu Shenwei originally considered. What if the enemies were wearing an entire set of armor, and were invulnerable? According to the sword book, when the practicer reached a level of Internal Strength, with the help of a unique method, they could break through anything. However, Internal Strength was precisely these two's weakness.
Finally, they both agreed that an extremely sharp sword was necessary if they wanted to inherit this art.
But in Golden Roc Fort the dagger-users could hardly find a chance to forge a sword.
After several days, when the summer came, Gu Shenwei discovered that he was sixteen years old. It left him with less than two years to the day of his doom. The approaching death terrified him. He used to think he did not care about his own life, not to mention the direction of ”self-deconstruction” in the book. Yet he still imagined often what would he do if he could live a longer, and more normal life.
In this period, he thought that he had achieved the highest level of the swordcraft. Considered his short life, he thought of many assassination plans, with targets including Shangguan Nu, Shangguan Fa, Shangguan Chui, Shangguan Yushi, Shangguan Fei, and Mister Guo. The last one was Shangguan Ru.
He considered these plans every day. But even if he had planned them well, the image of the ghost-like black-masked assassin would appear in his mind.
He could not ensure his victory once he faced this assassin. This was a heavy blow to his mind.
However, the mixture of the swordcraft and saber skills was useful and made Gu Shenwei's life much easier. His victory in the next monthly test was remarkable, making him the outstanding one again. He was looking forward to the second competition with Wildhorse, but normally competitors would not be arranged in the same team again.
As for what Tie Hanfeng did when he found out Slave Huan's weak point in the counterattack in the rear of the flank, this time, he lost his temper in a period, and accept his apprentice's change again. He did not ask Slave Huan to increase the killing intent anymore, yet he was still unsatisfied with the drifting skills.
After several tests, Tie Hanfeng had to admit that this saber skill his apprentice ”comprehended on his own” was effective, so did Gu Shenwei. His kung fu was still significantly weaker than his Master Shifu since he could not beat him down even with pure swordcraft.
Internal Strength was the most important thing to worry about. If one had issues in this area, no matter how fierce the skill was, one would reach their limitation soon.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were eager to practice the new swordcraft they invented, to ensure that their weakness would be neutralized. Luckily, after the roc vanished, a fresh batch of apprentices came to the Pyrowork Academy a month later. Hundreds of teenagers with murderous hearts appeared in their vision.