135 The Other Side (1/2)
Under the faint bluish-white glow of the distant moon, Hartley and Zhi Ruo stood on a outcropping of rocks observing the large beast-men village.
It was a quiet night, the whispering wind swept gently through the cold night air. There wasn't much movement in the village except for the patrolling beast-men.
”We have to go there,” Hartley pointed towards the huge weather-beaten statue situated on the other side of the village.
Zhi Ruo tensed involuntarily, the gentle wind fluttered a few strands of her loose crimson hair.
She watched the distant beast-men patrols weave through the many wooden structures and thought of the battle with Drago.
”Can all those beast-men use the elements like Drago?” she asked as the patrols of the gigantic beast-men snaked through and around the periphery of the wooden buildings and disappeared from sight.
”I think so,” Hartley replied, ”it's called spell-weaving, but Drago seemed to be limited to using only the wind and earth elements.”
Zhi Ruo turned her head to look at Hartley with concern. The soft glow of the moon outlined her beautiful profile, brightening the silhouette of her face exposed to the soft beams of moonlight.
”You mean those beast-men down there might be able to use more elements than Drago?” she asked with a hint of nerves.
”Maybe, but I think they're definitely stronger than Drago. ” Hartley solemnly answered as he turned to meet her eyes, the profiles of both their faces were inches apart and outlined in the soft glow of the moonlight.
The beauty of the husband and wife standing face to face in the dark wilderness was a spectacle out of place with the dreary backdrop of the desolate barren lands.
Hartley smiled at her lovingly, instantly releasing the tension he could sense within her.
”Do you believe in me Ruo?” He asked.
Zhi Ruo inhaled the crisp night air and her whole body relaxed, she trusted Hartley with her life, how could she doubt him after coming this far?
She leaned in with a kiss.
”Of course I do.”
*****
The couple stopped at the edge of the village, stretching out his awareness Hartley led them east towards a flaw in the patrol pattern.
They halted at a small building, waiting for a team of beast-men to move north on what he determined was their predestined route.
From Kang, Hartley had learned that the beast-men had no natural affinity to the elements so he wasn't worried about them discovering Zhi Ruo through her elemental fluctuations.
They continued stealthily on a winding path through the dark village and towards the statue.
After half an hour of lurking between buildings, timing the patrol routes and avoiding any random encounters with the villagers. The couple finally set foot onto the huge rocky basin and faced the huge beast-man statue in the dark.
It was eerily empty and silent, the patrols didn't dare to encroach on this part of the village. This was their sacred grounds.
The antiquity of the statue could not be denied, being open to the weather for countless years had taken a toll. The face of the statue was not recognizable, clearly worn down by the wind over a passage of time.
The beast-man statue stood with pride, chest out and chin up with a large crown perched on his head while grasping a long sword in its right hand.
Hartley carefully looked around for the entrance to the pocket dimension.
It was nowhere in sight. He searched around the statue and out in the open but nothing seemed out of place, worse of all there were no elemental fluctuations anywhere that he could sense.
Just as he began a second sweep of the area.....
Fooststeps sounded out, ”How dare you violate our sacred grounds!” A voice thundered out from the dark.
A beast man covered in black scales made his way onto the rocky basin. He was huge, bigger than Drago by a couple heads.
The beast-man made some quick finger gestures with his left hand. A white orb flew upwards from his right hand and the world exploded with brilliant light. A shadow of the royal beast-man statue was casted back over the length of the village.
Zhi Ruo gasped as she tured away from the blinding light, unlike Hartley this was her first time witnessing a light rune.
The light almost turned the night to day and reflected off of the beast-man's jet black scales.
He had a face like a Rhino with massive overgrown horn sticking from his forehead measuring at least 8 inches in size.
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Black interlocking scales covered the length of his body like a full suit of black plated armour.
This beast-man who carried no weapon was leaps and bounds above Drago's capabilities.
The air tingled with power as he strode across the basin. It was as if the elements in the air were dancing with glee around the beast-man.
This was a gold tier spell-weaver, this beast-man had power comparable to an elemental saint....
Hartley's mood was bleak, he suddenly understood why no one crusading into the barren lands trying to eradicate the beast-men ever returned.
It was because the beast-men had hidden warriors who were above the xiantian realm.
Only a collection of saints would have a chance of eradicating the beastmen, a few hateful and overconfident xiantian experts would only venture to their demise in the barren lands.
Hartley was sure that if he had been in the barren lands killing beast-men wantonly, he would have been confronted by one these powerful beast-men long ago...
Zhi Ruo quickly had her daggers out, ready to confront the threat. She was about to move forward.
”Ruo let me handle this.”
Hartley stepped out quickly and stood in front of her.
She snorted and retreated behind.