piratefiction Chapter 123 Stormhawk
Chapter 123 Stormhawk
Chapter 123 Stormhawk
Xia Tong slightly bent her knees, then suddenly leaped up and landed steadily on Kura's elastic umbrella-shaped body.
The latter slowly swayed, detaching itself from the rugged rocky ground at the edge of the cliff.
It extended several tentacles, gripping tightly the cracks in the cliff face, carrying Xia Tong on its back, and climbing upwards little by little against the fierce wind.
The wind here is incredibly strong.
If Kurala doesn't hold on tightly to the rock wall, she could easily be swept away by the turbulent current.
Otherwise, one can simply float slowly upwards based on the instinct of a soul jellyfish to float.
As the altitude continued to rise, the air became increasingly cold and biting.
Finally, at the height of the howling wind, Xia Tong arrived at an ancient stone terrace that jutted out from the cliff.
"Thank you for your hard work, Kurara."
He recalled the latter.
Then, like a nimble black panther, it silently vaulted over the stone railing and gently stepped onto the paving stones high up in Stoneville.
After landing, Xia Tong quickly lowered her body and disappeared into the shadows.
Standing at the highest point of the fortress, Xia Tong looked down.
Under the cover of night, Xia Tong held her breath and could vaguely hear the sounds of fighting and screams coming from afar.
"They must be those 'Faded Ones' who infiltrated the city like me. That's fine, at least they're helping to ease the pressure on me," Xia Tong couldn't help but think.
Stoneville is built on a cliff, and its terrain is more precipitous and its defenses more formidable than those of Moen in the south.
Xia Tong is currently located in the very heart of the entire defense system, at the very top layer.
Looking into the distance, flames soared into the sky at the main gate of the fortress.
Between the main gate and the central courtyard, there is a dense network of barricades and military camps.
A cold wind carrying a slight stench swept over him. Xia Tong looked in the direction of the stench and, with the Faded One's extraordinary eyesight, he could vaguely see a huge pile of wreckage, as large as a small mountain, in the courtyard of a building.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Xia Tong felt her way down the wooden suspension ladder inside the city wall.
Just as they rounded a blind spot, a soldier dressed in a dark red robe suddenly appeared in front of them.
The guard was dozing off, leaning against the stone wall, his hand loosely gripping the heavy crossbow.
Xia Tong held her breath and gently pulled out the barbed thorn from her lower back, quietly approaching it.
Then, his left hand suddenly shot out, tightly covering the guard's mouth and nose, while his right hand ruthlessly plunged a short blade into the guard's throat.
Blood gushed from the blood groove, and the soldier convulsed violently a few times before succumbing to his injuries without making a sound.
To avoid attracting the patrol team, Xia Tong decisively dragged the heavy corpse to the breach in the city wall and threw it directly into the bottomless abyss outside.
Continuing to explore, before long, a warm golden light flickered at the edge of their vision.
Following the directions, Xia Tong slowed her pace and stepped into a hidden tower room, where she finally saw that the source of the light was a blessing.
He cautiously surveyed his surroundings, and only after confirming there were no ambushes did he slowly step forward, reach out and touch the golden aura, before continuing deeper into the spiral staircase.
As Xia Tong descended the steps, she restrained her strength with every step, trying not to make a sound.
As they went deeper, the pungent smell of inferior pine resin in the air became increasingly strong.
Rodrigo had mentioned those horrific rumors that executioners in the city often soaked their fellow citizens who had been cruelly amputated in this inferior resin in order to slow down the decay of their remains, so that Grik could later perform a blasphemous limb-reattachment ritual.
This crude method of preservation may temporarily preserve the body, but it can never mask the stench of decay.
As Xia Tong passed through an openwork corridor in the middle layer of the defense line, she paused and hid in the shadow of a stone pillar, looking down.
Inside the deep, vertical atrium, several exiled soldiers were laboriously cranking a heavy sliding lever. Accompanied by a screeching sound, a huge wooden elevator covered in dried blood slowly lifted them up.
Riding this conspicuous elevator would be too noisy and would undoubtedly be suicidal, so Xia Tong immediately dismissed the idea.
He turned around and leaned half his body out onto the outside of the corridor, trying to find a hidden scaffold to climb down.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from behind!
An exiled soldier, who had been lurking in the shadows on the opposite platform, suddenly spotted Xia Tong.
With a sharp shout, four or five of his companions pulled the triggers in unison, and several crossbow bolts shot straight at Xia Tong's face like venomous snakes spitting their tongues!
At the critical moment, Xia Tong drew his brass shield with a backhand.
His gaze was fixed on the flying arrows carrying violent penetrating power, and his mental energy was instantly poured into the shield.
Then he swung it sharply to the left, the shield drawing a semi-circle in front of him.
Combat Skill - Storm Barrier!
A violent, invisible vortex suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
The moment those incredibly sharp crossbow bolts touched the storm, their momentum was violently shattered and twisted, falling helplessly onto the stone slab.
This battle ash was obtained by Xia Tong after killing a dung beetle on the way to the shortcut along the cliff in the back mountain.
Since he had already mastered the Iron Wall Shield Defense and Shield Impact techniques to perfection, he could use them without engraving Battle Ash.
So after obtaining the Storm Barrier, he immediately had the new War Ash engraved on his brass shield.
Seeing that the volley had failed, a soldier on the opposite high platform hurriedly reached for the warning horn at his waist.
Xia Tong's leg muscles suddenly exploded, and he leaped more than ten meters like an arrow released from a bow, while his right hand pulled out the hound's long fangs.
Combat Technique - Hound Sword Technique!
The curved, sharp blade severed the soldier's right arm as he tried to blow the horn in an instant, the severed limb flying through the air amidst a spray of blood.
Then Xia Tong charged forward again, the hounds' long fangs sweeping across, and the crossbowmen were powerless to resist, screaming as they stumbled backward.
Deep lacerations, exposing bone, ran across their torsos, staining the stone slabs crimson with blood.
Without delay, Xia Tong continued to slash and finish off the soldiers, who finally fell silent.
To avoid being noticed by the patrol, he kicked the corpses one by one into the deep courtyard.
"Exploring this place alone is a bit presumptuous."
Xia Tong decisively rang the soul-summoning bell.
The towering, homeless knight Oreg materialized.
Among Xia Tong's three generals, the Knight of the Lost Land, Oreg, is the most skilled in killing and, like Ruthel, has the ability to teleport.
He stood guard on Xia Tong's flank, occasionally teleporting to blind spots to check for potential hazards.
With Oreg's cover, Xia Tong climbed onto a wooden scaffold on the outside of the corridor and used both hands and feet to climb down.
After about ten minutes, we finally arrived at the edge of the outer wall, which was more than ten meters away from the ground of the inner city.
Finding a foothold, Xia Tong leaped down and landed steadily in the courtyard.
"Hey——!"
The moment their feet touched the ground, a mournful eagle's cry suddenly rang out.
A storm eagle with bloodshot eyes swooped down!
The Stormhawk's original talons had been chopped off and replaced with sharp, long blades, which, accompanied by a gust of wind, aimed straight for Xia Tong's throat.
"Clang!"
Just as the blade was about to slit Xia Tong's throat, Oreg teleported in front of her like a ghost.
Two broad, lost-home knights' greatswords were crossed and raised high, firmly blocking the warhawk's long-awaited dive attack, sparks flying everywhere.
Not only that, Oreg stomped the ground, and a fierce, swirling storm arose beneath his feet.
"Step back!"
Oreg let out a majestic low roar, and an astonishing scene unfolded. The storm eagle, which had been so arrogant and determined to tear Xia Tong apart, fell silent as if struck by lightning after sensing this familiar and terrifying aura.
It obediently folded its wings and landed on a discarded wooden barrel nearby.
Seeing this, Xia Tong seemed to be deep in thought.
It should be noted that these Stormhawks were originally descendants of the ancient king's subordinates, and the Lost Knight Oreg was one of the Stormwings under the ancient king's command.