[fieldbox= Rizen, #00ffa5, solid]
[Month of Renewal, 15th - Evening / Jiaojing Province, Maolan Forest, Worn-down Shrine]
The crisp sound of bolts shot straight from their contraptions echoed throughout the woods.
And followed soon was a blunt sound of flesh being pierced, Black and Yuan were shot.
Crossbowmen, 4 of them.
"What the hell!"
Rizen's instinct was right, nothing would have worked in that scenario, and it certainly didn't.
Everyone scrambled away from the open field, avoiding further potential hail of arrows.
Some backdashed into the bushes, some crouched near the trees. Rizen, for one, instantly took cover near the shrine steps.
He tried to locate the shooters with his limited sense. After all, it would be easy for "the wind" to tell him where they are from their bloodlust.
"Crescent formation... jumping around trees... Good lord! Where are those bastards now?! Focus, Rizen! Focus!"
What by right, should be an easy task for him, proved to be extremely hard.
With the pressure Tsukaha emanated and the ensuing panic from his friends, the crossbowmen's bloodlust quickly faded away, their aura became one with the forest.
What next? Should Rizen blast the trees by summoning a raging typhoon? Not likely.
By the time he located their position, a few crossbow bolts would have landed on his chest.
But what was Tsukaha doing with those people? What is going on? Are those bandits? Mercenaries? Are they here under Tsukaha's orders? Was the old geezer plotting with these people? Are those the same people that guarded the river border according to Tsubaha's report? Are they from the army? Why? Tsukaha doesn't seem to be a figure who needs help?
Rizen felt helpless. Mad, rather, as he witnessed the sudden chaotic development right in front of him.
So many questions in his head yet there are no answers, and now everyone fell into further disarray after Tsubaha got taken away.
As his frustration peaked, Rizen yelled a crisp scream that pierced the air.
"Tsukaha-chan!!! What the hell were you thinking?!"
That was not just an angry exclamation, Rizen wanted to know what is in Tsukaha's mind. He wanted to make sense of this chaos.
And there's only one way for him to get the answers, confront Tsukaha right here and right now.
The harsh reality however, snapped him out from his momentary impulses, as Saburo snatched Tsubaha away and led the others to fall back.
He needed to stick with his friends, he needed to regroup and strategize with them.
It is far greater a risk for Rizen to be alone in the woods no matter how good of a combatant he is.
Now his friends are getting away one by one, further by the second.
Wiping cold sweat off his brow, Rizen winced. He must make a very precise split second decision here, it's 50/50.
He needs to think and not rely on his instincts, and thinking is sadly, not his forte.
"MMmmmmmrrrthhhh!!!! Think, Rizen, think!!!"
What if he stays then? Perhaps he can have a civil discussion with Tsukaha, perhaps even an unavoidable confrontation. The other 4 crossbowmen however, might not be so cooperative.
And everyone knows these hidden crossbowmen would shoot faster than any of the group's current ranged attack options.
And what if it's not 4 crossbows even? 5? 6? Perhaps a dozen?
What if he retreats? If he follows his teammates, he can regroup and morale will eventually recover.
The group will stick close together and hopefully plan their way to get out of this mess.
However, everything will still be left unanswered. He will never know what was Tsukaha doing with the crossbowmen, he will never have his answers, at least for now.
The very thought of it made Rizen clicked his tongue hard,
"Gatdammit!!!"
as he joined his friends to run away.
[Month of Renewal, 16th - Morning / Jiaojing Province, Maolan Forest, Crypt of the Sacred Blood]
"Kekekekeke! Look at these filthy humans!"
"I know! Why don't we have some fun with them?! Hyehyehyehyehyeh!"
"KILL! KILL! KILL! AHYAHYAHYAHYAH!!!"
"W-what?!"
Rizen woke up from his slumber, his body drenched in cold sweat, his heart beating faster than a eurobeat rave.
A few seconds were needed for him to assess his immediate surrounding.
Gravestones, as far as the eyes can see. Unkempt, with moss and various vegetations growing wild on top of cracked granite.
It's the crypt. Rizen briefly saw this crypt while he gathered timber with Runara.
As he turned his head around, he saw familiar figures arguing,
"Saburo what are you doing!? Those Blades are...!"
"You filthy dog of Shang!? ..... It is you who won't be missed!"
It was his teammates, but their words seem so far away. Rizen couldn't hear them well as his heartbeat overpowered their voices. He's still in a daze, still adjusting himself to the lack of sleep and the sudden jolt of awakening.
It slowly came back to him. Rizen was the nightwatch, guarding the camp while his teammates were sleeping.
A tiresome job, but not like he could sleep anyway in this godforsaken creepy graveyard.
Rizen has always hated places where restless souls might congregate. His acute sense sometimes caught up on these souls and their shenanigans, like accidentally tuning into a different radio wavelengths. While most of them are mischievous and harmless, a few might grew to be malevolent.
And true enough, when he did sleep, a very unpleasant nightmare struck him. In fact, he can still hear the creepy voices in his head.
"Heeeeeeey... This is the boy who was touched by the elements! Hehehehh!"
Like that voice, for one.
.......... Wait, that's a bit too real...
"Uuuuuhhh....."
Rizen didn't dare to turn his head around, his face remained still like a robot, he didn't even want to find the source of the voice. He stood up slow, dragging his body laterally like a crab, one step at a time towards his friends, at a snail's pace.
"Kekekekeke! He's in a daze now! His mental strength dropped!"
"Hey... Um, guys...?"
Rizen slowly turned his head towards the source of the scuffle, trying his best to call his friends with a pleading face. It seems like Saburo and Rumiko were clashing, reasons still unknown to him,
"But, Saburo... Saburo is.... TOO STUPID!"
"Hey! Can we... Uh, get out of here first?"
and the voices are getting closer now, yet the group are still engaged in their scuffle, as Saburo had his hands full with Yu Ri and Runara, and now, falling off to the ground.
"Kyakakakaka! Awesome! We can possess his body and rule the mortal realm! Even better, let's possess all of them here!"
"Yuan, catch me up. Why is everything a literal pile of trash."
"Now what's the big idea here hmm?"
"Come now, boy! Close your eyes..... this won't hurt! Only a bit, maybe! Ahyahyahyahya!"
"CAN YOU PEOPLE KNOCK IT OFF?!"
Rizen roared, his voice echoing throughout the empty graveyard, a sudden gust emanating from his whole body swept like a small hurricane off the ground, blowing pebbles away. At last, he managed to get the attention of his friends.
"Ahahahahahaha! Look at him, trying so hard to ward us off! Ooooh, scaaaary!"
Brows furred, mouth scowling, it was rather surprising and quite uncharacteristic for Rizen to display such a menacing face. But that menacing face soon turned blue,
"P-please I beg- You guys sense- I mea- I-I sense horrible things around here! Y-you guys sensed it too, don't you?! Can we stop, please?"
as he panicked and stuttered at his friends, with a pleading face.
He then turned his gaze at the one who might understand his plea the best, the priestess Rumiko,
"R-rumiko-shishou! You feel it, right?! M-maybe you can perform a cleansing ceremony here?!"
And he slumped on the ground, staring back at his friends, addressing their curiosity with a tense, serious face,
"There are restless spirit here trying to latch on us!"
@Ehb
@RedArmyShogun
@everyoneelse
#shift2ndgear[/fieldbox]
