Land of Demons

1

In a hollow, hidden from the eyes of the sky pirates by overhanging trees, lay a man. His worn-out and patched clothes had turned into tattered, dirty rags at this point. Every inch of him was covered in blood or terrible wounds. His breathing was irregular. With each breath he took, an unnatural, painful whistle could be heard. Even an unskilled healer would’ve immediately known that his ribs were broken and his lungs had been punctured. He let out a soft groan. Every movement he made and every breath he took caused him terrible pain. Despite the fact he was a mid-stage Heaven Soldier, it was hard to imagine that anyone could’ve survived such a fall.

A tiger cub crawled out from the remnants of his shirt. She stretched, yawned, and looked at the poor man. The little tigress cocked her head to one side and let out a low growl. Streams of blue-white energy swirled around her. Flashes of blue fire and white lightning bolts could be seen within them. Suddenly, the vortex of power contracted and a huge tigress leapt out of it. Her fur was white with black stripes. She lowered her head. When she was almost touching the wounded man’s face with her muzzle, she frowned.

All the wild animals that had been stalking toward their potential dinner instantly scattered in all directions. They were afraid of the Ancient Beast aura that was emanating from the tigress, who lay on her belly on the cold, blood-drenched ground. As carefully as she could manage, she picked up the young man by the edges of his clothes. The man groaned again in pain but didn’t wake up as the tigress placed him onto her back. Once he was situated on her thick fur, the tigress coiled her tail. Wrapping it around the man’s torso, she held him tightly and snarled as she straightened up.

Her roar, meant to demonstrate her power, which was equal to the peak of the Spirit Knight level, reverberated throughout the valley. Like an avalanche, it swept away most of the predators that might’ve tried to fight her. The roar said: I, a mighty tiger, am coming through. Anyone who stands in my way will die to my claws and lightning bolts!

The weak beasts got out of her way. The ones that were stronger didn’t want to waste their time and energy fighting an Ancient Beast. If the core of a human Spirit Knight had been at stake, they would’ve considered attacking, but since it was just a Heaven Soldier’s core… The stronger beasts finally decided to go away and let this stranger leave their forest. The tigress didn’t intend to claim any of their territory or to hunt here, after all. She didn’t pose a threat to their power and authority. It was sometimes much easier for animals to reach a mutual understanding than it was for humans.

Making sure that her unfortunate, trouble-prone friend wouldn’t fall off her back, Azrea made her first leap. There wasn’t much time left — the Hunting Spirits would soon be coming for his soul. If she didn’t hurry, her two-legged friend would go to the eternal hunting grounds.

Lightning shrouded in blue fire raced through the forest. From time to time, one could catch a glimpse of a huge tigress within it.

***

A carriage drawn by six horses rolled steadily down the wide, well-kept Lascanian road. After a week of travelling, its passengers were sick of everything: the monotonous landscapes, the empty small talk and discussions about the way of cultivation, and, most of all, each other. Right now, they were immersed in deep meditation. They were disciples of the small ‘Red Mule’ school situated close to the border. They were heading to that very border with the Darnassus Empire to test their skills in real battle. According to their Masters and Mentors, this was the only way for a cultivator to become a true warrior and get a chance to advance further along the path of cultivation. However, none of them had warned their disciples that the journey to the border would be so boring.

“Damn it!” One of them, a young man, slammed his fist against the armrest of his seat. Fortunately, he didn’t put any power into it, otherwise, since he was at the initial stage of the Heaven Soldier level, he would’ve easily smashed it to pieces. “I’m going mad with boredom! Why don’t any sky vessels ever depart from our town?”

The two girls that had been keeping him company were roused from their meditation. They looked at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

“Derek,” the pretty brunette said with a tight smile. All three were seventeen springs old. “It’s probably because our Baron can barely maintain his own schooner, so having a fleet would be too expensive for our region.”

“I know,” Derek, the Baron’s son, murmured.

He stroked the hilts of his daggers and looked out the window. The forests and fields merged into a yellow-green blur. He looked at the cloudless sky and the merciless, scorching sun.

Derek hated Lascan’s western border. Even more than that, he hated Darnassus. That’s why, the moment the opportunity to visit the battlefield had presented itself, Derek had pounced on it. Gritting his teeth, he clutched the medallion that had been left to him by his mother, who hadn’t lived to see her son get accepted into the ‘Red Mule’ school, the best martial arts school in their Barony.

“Look!” The third member of their group suddenly exclaimed — a tall, slender girl with cloud-white hair.