This chapter contains scenes of non-consensual sex. Reader discretion is advised.
Comments and feedback would be most appreciated!
*****
The forest around them was quiet... too quiet. There wasn't a single bird call to disturb the silence. Fuyun focused himself and closed his eyes. The faint sound of rustling leaves was coming from all around them, but to the west, he could just make out the sound of padded feet crushing the thick forest mulch.
The key to defeating an encirclement is to strike at the weakest point in the enemy formation. The group to their west was ahead of its allies, it was the most vulnerable.
"Follow closely and prepare for battle!"
Without waiting for their replies, Fuyun began running. He held himself low to minimize his profile, his left hand holding his staff parallel to his body, his right hand held out in front to shield himself from low-hanging branches. He heard the girls' soft footsteps as they followed his instruction.
Fifty paces. Fuyun focused intently, scanning the vegetation before him. One hundred paces. Fuyun had accelerated into a full sprint. Two hundred paces. There! A flutter of black cloth among the screen of leaves.
With a roaring battlecry, Fuyun crashed like a thunderbolt through the undergrowth. The men in black and yellow were utterly caught by surprise. Three of them fell to his staff before the rest fanned out in a defensive formation. As Fuyun shift into a more cautious stance, two silhouettes flowed past him on either side. The girls had joined the fray.
Silver steel cut through the black clad figures. Cries of pain and death rose as crimson blood splattered in all directions. Fuyun waded in on the girls' heels, laying about him with righteous fury. Within moments, over a dozen black-clad bodies lay on the forest ground.
"We have to keep moving." Fuyun said.
They had broken through the encirclement but the hunt was now on.
* * *
Snake looked at his brother Fang - together they were known as the Snake Fang Brothers - sitting on a tree a stone's throw away from his own. He was bored out of his mind, but Fang seemed to be enjoying the view.
"Hey dipshit, see anything?" He called out. His brother answered by giving him the finger.
Snake settled back into his post. This job had sounded like easy money, but he hadn't known it would involve spending the night on a tree. His brother might be the tree hugger type, but he preferred the cities, where booze and cooze were always plentiful.
The Man had found them in a seedy tavern in Moyan three days ago. He offered them an astounding amount of silver to help hunt down two wenches. Seeing as how they were almost broke and running up long tabs at almost every bar that let them drink on tab, they accepted without hesitation. That these wenches were supposedly skilled fighters only added to the appeal of the job.
Snake was just starting to doze off with a daydream of cornering a busty barmaid in a dark alley when the amberite ring on his finger began to throb. He started in surprise and looked toward his brother. Fang was already on his feet, moving into a more concealed position. With a muttered curse, Snake pulled himself up and readied his spear. Their quarries were near.
* * *
"Look out!"
Ziyi's warning came almost too late. Fuyun acted on instinct, throwing himself to the side as a brace of throwing knives whistled past, missing him by mere inches. As he rolled back to his feet, two figures landed on either side of them. One was holding a short silver spear, while the other was wielding a pair of knives.
"Well fuck me like a duck!" The spear holder said. "It's that monk that ruined our contract in Moyan! Small world, ain't it, Fang?"
"Yup, and payback's a bitch!" The knife wielder - Fang - replied.
"Do you know them, Fuyun-
dag'e
?" Ziyi asked.
"They call themselves the Snake Fang Brothers. My Wuzen brothers and I came upon them attacking a merchant caravan, and drove them off."
"I see," Meiya said. "So they're just common bandits."
The spear wielder almost choked at Meiya's words.
"Common bandit? I'll make you eat your words, wench!"
He spun his short spear and charged at Meiya. Fuyun raised his staff to deflect the spear thrust, and the two began a deadly dance. The short silver spear darted and probed like a rattlesnake, moving with the agility of a striking cobra. Fuyun swung his staff in blurring figure-eights, using its reach to keep the spear wielder at length. Behind them, he heard the chime of clashing steel as Ziyi and Meiya engaged the knife wielder.
Fuyun's staff moved with blurring speed, but somehow the spear wielder was faster, and Fuyun was unable to land a single blow. The spear wielder bobbed and weaved through his attacks, seeking to close in with his shorter weapon. Fast as he was, however, he was not able to penetrate the staff's defensive arc. The two combatants could only keep the pressure up against each other, unable for the moment to gain an advantage against the other.
On the other side, the knife wielder was being pressed by Ziyi and Meiya. He fought defensively, buying time for himself with the occasional thrown knife that forces one of the girls to break off her attack to parry or evade. He seemed to have an endless supply of those knives, for every time he threw one, another appeared in his hand as if by magic.
Fuyun made several attempts to disengage, but the Snake Fang Brothers were too skilled. The spear wielder easily matched him in speed, and Fuyun dared not slow his attacks. Though they pressed the knife wielder hard, Ziyi and Meiya could not take him down just yet. So they fought on, knowing full well that with each passing moment their pursuers were getting closer.
Soon enough, a dozen men in black and yellow flooded into the area. Fuyun and the girls were forced to fight back-to-back as they were surrounded. The Snake Fang Brothers pulled back to watch and wait for a weakness.
"When I give the command, you two must go. I will hold them off." Ziyi said.
"No
jiejie
! I will not leave you by yourself!" Meiya cried.
"Hush,
meimei
. You must believe in me, I will be fine." Ziyi replied.
"I will hold them off," Fuyun offered. "You two go first!"
"No, Fuyun-
dag'e
, you are not able to do this. You have to trust me. Now get ready!"
Without waiting for further protests, Ziyi leaped into the air. A sudden, brilliant flash of light momentarily blinded their foes. When it cleared, a whip of golden light lashed down from above, crashing into the encircling formation. There was a thunder clap and three men in black were knocked off their feet, creating a momentary gap in the formation.
"Now! Go now!" Ziyi's shout came from above.
Fuyun looked up in astonishment. Ziyi hung suspended in mid-air, wearing a silver and violet armor of silk and lacquered wood, and in her hand she held a long whip seemingly made of pure light.
"Go! You must both go right now!" Ziyi cried again.
Fuyun grabbed Meiya's hand and began running through the breach. They ran fifty paces before turning around. They saw Ziyi, still suspended in mid-air, ripping through the ranks of men in black with her whip of light. The Snake Fang Brothers were nowhere to be seen.
