FIRE AND BLOOD
1197 Words
The valley erupted into chaos.
"Break their line!" Zhao Yun's voice rang through the gorge like thunder.
Without hesitation, he urged his horse forward.
The Dragon Spring Sword flashed as the first assassin rushed toward him. Steel met steel with a deafening clang. The masked warrior barely had time to react before Zhao Yun twisted his wrist, knocking the man's weapon aside.
One clean strike.
The assassin collapsed onto the rocky path.
Seeing their prince charging into battle, the imperial guards let out a deafening roar.
"For the Great Tian Empire!"
Captain Lu Feng led the charge from the left flank.
Despite the deep wound on his shoulder, his movements remained swift and powerful. Every swing of his sword forced the assassins back.
"Protect the prince!" he shouted.
The narrow pass became a battlefield of flashing blades and flying arrows.
Shen moved silently through the confusion.
Unlike the imperial guards, he knew the Black Wolf Society's formations by heart.
Their front line was only bait.
The true killers always hid above.
His eyes searched the cliffs.
"There..."
Half-hidden behind a cluster of jagged rocks, nearly twenty archers prepared another deadly volley.
Without warning, Shen sprinted toward the cliff face.
Using narrow footholds and twisted tree roots, he climbed higher with astonishing speed.
One archer finally noticed him.
"The traitor!"
The warning came too late.
Shen's sword flashed like silver lightning.
The first man fell before he could draw another arrow.
A second reached for his blade.
Shen spun, striking with the hilt of his sword before sweeping the man's legs from beneath him.
Within moments, the hidden position had descended into panic.
Below, Zhao Yun noticed the rain of arrows suddenly cease.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Shen has found them."
Nearby, Mei Lian knelt beside an overturned supply cart.
Instead of hiding, she calmly opened her medicine chest.
Her delicate hands worked quickly, mixing powdered herbs into two small clay jars.
One young guard stared at her in confusion.
"My Lady... what are you doing?"
Without looking up, she answered,
"My master taught me that medicine and poison often grow from the same root."
She sealed the jars carefully.
"The difference lies in the hands that prepare them."
Just then, Shen leaped down from the cliffs and landed beside her.
"They're regrouping."
Mei Lian handed him both jars.
"When I give the signal..."
"Throw these toward the rocks above."
Shen weighed one in his hand.
"Smoke bombs?"
A faint smile appeared on Mei Lian's face.
"No."
"Something much more unpleasant."
Before Shen could ask another question—
A long horn echoed through the valley.
Every assassin immediately withdrew several paces.
The sudden retreat puzzled the imperial guards.
Captain Lu Feng frowned.
"They're planning something."
High above the battlefield, the silver-masked assassin stepped onto the edge of the cliff.
His cold gaze swept across the valley below.
"The prince has survived longer than expected," he said quietly.
One of his lieutenants knelt beside him.
"Should we begin the second phase?"
The assassin looked toward several strange piles of loose stones scattered along the mountain road.
Hidden beneath them...
Were dozens of sealed oil jars.
A cruel smile slowly appeared beneath his silver mask.
"Yes."
"Light the fire."
Far below, Zhao Yun looked up just as several enemy archers emerged from concealed ledges.
But this time...
Their arrows were burning.
The first flaming arrow streaked across the sky.
Then another.
And another.
"They're using fire!" Captain Lu Feng shouted.
The burning arrows struck the loose stones scattered along the mountain road.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then the valley exploded.
BOOM!
The hidden oil jars erupted in a wall of fire, sending shattered rocks hurtling through the air. Horses reared in terror as the ground shook beneath their hooves.
A section of the cliff collapsed with a deafening roar.
"Duck!" Zhao Yun yelled.
He threw himself from his horse just as a massive boulder crashed onto the road behind him.
Dust swallowed the battlefield.
The air filled with smoke, screams, and the smell of burning oil.
When the dust finally began to settle, Zhao Yun forced himself to his feet.
"Lu Feng!"
No answer.
He looked behind him.
A mountain of broken stone and blazing flames now divided the valley in two.
Captain Lu Feng and nearly half of the imperial guards were trapped on the opposite side.
"My prince!" Lu Feng's voice echoed faintly through the smoke. "Are you safe?"
"We're alive!" Zhao Yun called back.
"But the path is blocked!"
Lu Feng slammed his sword against the fallen rocks in frustration.
"We'll find another way to reach you!"
Zhao Yun knew there was no time.
The assassins would never allow it.
He turned to count those still with him.
Mei Lian.
Shen.
Eight imperial guards.
That was all.
Across the burning barrier, Lu Feng had the remaining soldiers—and the tax records hidden in his saddlebag.
The enemy had succeeded in separating them.
High above, the silver-masked assassin watched with satisfaction.
"Exactly as planned."
He slowly descended the rocky slope, each step calm and deliberate.
Behind him came twelve warriors dressed unlike the others.
Their black robes were embroidered with crimson wolves, and each carried a pair of curved blades.
Even Shen's face paled.
"The Crimson Fangs..."
"The Society's execution squad."
"They only appear when their target must not escape."
The twelve warriors spread out in a wide circle, surrounding Zhao Yun and his companions.
There was no opening.
No route of escape.
Only enemies.
The silver-masked assassin stopped a few paces away from Zhao Yun.
For the first time, the two men stood face to face.
"You disappoint me, Fourth Prince," the assassin said, his voice calm beneath the silver mask.
"I expected fear."
Zhao Yun slowly raised the Dragon Spring Sword.
"Fear is a luxury I surrendered long ago."
The assassin chuckled softly.
"Good."
"I prefer worthy opponents."
With one smooth motion, he drew the long black sword hanging at his waist.
Its blade reflected the flames, glowing like dark crimson blood.
The air around them seemed to grow colder.
Mei Lian instinctively stepped back.
"There is... something strange about that sword."
Shen nodded grimly.
"It is called Blood Moon."
"I've heard stories about it."
"They say no one who has crossed blades with its master has lived to tell the tale."
The silver-masked assassin lowered his stance.
"I have spent years waiting for this moment."
"Show me whether the Dragon Spring Sword truly deserves its legendary name."
Without another word—
He vanished.
The imperial guards gasped.
"So fast!"
A flash of black raced through the smoke.
Clang!
Steel met steel as Zhao Yun barely blocked a strike aimed at his throat.
The force of the blow drove him back several steps, his boots carving deep grooves into the rocky ground.
For the first time since leaving the capital...
Zhao Yun realized he was facing an opponent whose skill rivaled his own.
Around them, the Crimson Fangs tightened their circle, ensuring there would be no escape.
Above the battlefield, dark clouds gathered over the Valley of Death.
The duel that could change the fate of the Great Tian Empire had begun.
- Writer
