The Third Cut - Chapter 14 preview (Patreon)

Wu Ying flexed his own aura, sending the wind to contest the falling earth dome. It shrieked through the surroundings, gale force winds pounding into the earthen walls, a cyclone forming as it scoured and diminished the earthen walls that enclosed them all. The air filled with dust, the waters beneath their feet churning.

To no one’s surprise, it was a losing proposition though he managed to slow the rate of the decrease down. However, each moment saw more earth pulled from the ground into the dome itself, adding to the weight that his wind had to press back against.

Meanwhile, Tou He used his staff to bat aside incoming earthen spikes, extending the size and length of the staff and loosing a concentrated beam of fire from the end at times. As the only source of illumination in the dark, the pair were easy targets for the remaining earth elephants.

“They’re going to kill themselves!” Tou He grunted out, forming a shield of flame moments before the shrapnel from an exploding earthen spear reached them. Fire was a poor shielding substance, especially against earth as the superheated fluid landed on the pair, burning through enchanted silk robes on their way to their flesh.

Wu Ying flicked the blobs off his body, hissing a little at the pain, rivulets of sweat forming on his forehead. As they were further constrained, his ability to call upon the wind was decreased, the strength of his connection cut-off from the world around.

“I figure they know they can survive this,” Wu Ying replied to his friend. “Or perhaps they are truly mad. We won’t be alive to find out, either way if we don’t find a solution.”

“Kill the matriarch?”

Wu Ying glanced over to where the matriarch was. The cow had been smart and shifted its location when the dome had enclosed them in an attempt to hide her presence. But she was not the only one with a spiritual and elemental sense, and even with the dirt clogging the wind, her large size was easy to track. In fact, she was so large, they could have stood under her feet and been protected from the shrinking dome.

“I have an idea.” Wu Ying hesitated, then added. “You’ll need to stay close to me and follow everything I do without hesitation.”

“Of course.”

If he called upon the winds from outside, utilized them to punch a hole through… perhaps. Wind against earth was not a winning battle, not in the short term. He could wear the monster away, tear the dome apart with a howling cyclone in time.

But not in time. Already, he could feel the energy within his core drop as he poured it into the surroundings, to keep him aloft, to battle the shrinking dome. The amount of space between them dwindled, even as the elephants themselves moved towards the deepening water.

“Then, follow me.”

Wu Ying released his hold on the winds, throwing himself and Tou He into a direct attack. No time to utilize and empower his sword for the second cut of the Wandering Dragon, but the Sword’s Truth was more than sufficient. He exited the nearest body in a welter of gore, Tou He flickering along behind him.

The shrinking dome collapsed inwards faster than ever, catching one of the elephants on the edges by surprise. The earth seemed to suck the creature into the dome itself, pulling the massive creature into the sky and swallowing it, even as the area around them further diminished.

Tou He, behind Wu Ying, swung his own weapon into an elephant. He caught the smaller creature in its chest, sending the middle-aged calf spinning through the air with a deep burn across its body. Off the ground, the grey-brown figure lost its connection to the earth and the environmental chi it manipulated, allowing a gust of wind to send it higher into the sky.

The dome continued to strengthen, the pair dancing amidst the herd and laying into them with sword and staff. Wu Ying had sheathed his secondary weapon, having to concentrate and manipulate the wind and control his sword, all while watching the thickening dome. Cracks had begun to appear across it, as the hastily constructed structure came apart, portions collapsing into the churning water that they fought nearby.

The lake had diminished in circumference, the very earth beneath its waves pulled away from it. The matriarch raised its head, releasing a trumpet growl of command. Immediately, the elephants suck into the ground, smaller globes of earth forming around them in defense. All the remaining creatures, even the only tiny cow had a dome created for it.

All but the matriarch whose attention was split amongst the dome it had created and the globe it created for the cow.

“Follow me!” Wu Ying commanded his friend, pulling his sword to him as he darted under the matriarch elephant. Tou He followed right behind, as the pair took shelter beneath the creature, even as the dome gave way, the massive unstable structure falling down around them.

A jagged portion struck the water, sending waves rolling. Moments later, the water exploded, liquid splashing around it. It was not the only section of earth that released its energy in this manner, filling the dome in an ear-aching level of noise that deafened them all.

The matriarch, sensing their presence beneath it even as it released control of the structure, sought to deal with them. At first, it bent its head to swipe at them with its trunk, only to flail backwards as Tou He’s burning staff battered it aside. Then, the earth bubbled upwards, seeking to grip and pull them down. That failed too, as Wu Ying formed a flowing current of air beneath the pair to stand upon.

Even as the dome collapsed around them, the matriarch stood unharmed. It had formed a small patch of protection around itself, thinned the earth around its body such that it could shrug off the tons of earth that collapsed around them.

At the same time, angered that the pests had ducked underneath it; it took the most viable route to squashing them. It lowered its own bulk, intent on squishing the pair. Wu Ying flew with his sword upwards, bracing himself as she squatted, only for the sharpened tip to enter her body all too easily. After all, the dao of the jian was not one of bracing or protection; but of piercing and sharpness.

Thankfully enough, there was another who had studied a protective technique, who wielded a staff. Burning weapon thrust into the ground, the staff took the weight of the massive creature as Wu Ying was pressed down.

Body tented, the matriarch screamed as the flame imbued staff caught on her lower section. Wu Ying smelled the charring meat, blood dribbling down his arm as his sword embedded itself in her body. Reactively she stood up again, pressing against the earth all around. Her aura flexed at the same time, pushing earth and the pair away from her, crushing them downwards.

If she could have jumped, Wu Ying assumed she would have. Instead, the pair were crushed to the earth itself, his own flowing wind flooring broken by the surge of energy used. The pair were compressed even as the falling pieces of the earthen dome flew away.

Backing off a little, the matriarch rose up on her hind feet, intent on pounding the pair aside. Wet earth stuck to the pair, holding them tight, only for Tou He to flare his own chi, burning and drying the soil. Even as she came down, a wind grabbed the pair and yanked them away, sending the two prone bodies tumbling away to safety.

A little too late, a little out of control, as a falling foot clipped Tou He. The cultivator spun away, his staff lost as he was dragged aside. Wu Ying on the other hand, more used to being moved by his own, tumultuous wind rolled and came to his feet. One sword was lost, embedded in the body, and so he conjured his other.

The matriarch’s eyes glowed with fury and hate, large ears flapping as she turned tiny eyes to regard the destruction. Rocks and dirt settled, the massive dome gone, the remnants of her herd hidden beneath the broken tile, jagged ruins all about.

Wu Ying could feel her core as it throbbed, jagged and twisted and hurting her. He could sense it sucking in energy in desperate need, as it attempted to fill the gap formed from the reckless use of energy its owner had wielded. She was exhausted, injured, barely able to output the energy required to keep the earthen foot and side in place.

He was not much better. Combating and slowing down her earthen dome had required a significant amount of his resources, his core throbbing at the pull of energy it had experienced. The Never Empty Wine Pot method helped refill his stores, but it was never meant to be anything but a supplement. In the dust choked surroundings, wind chi was mixed and corrupted, forcing Wu Ying to expand more focus and energy than ever to keep the cultivation technique working.

This battle was nearly over, in one way or the other.

As though the thought was the signal flag, the matriarch began to move. At first, her steps were slow and plodding, the ground trembling with each footfall. But as she picked up speed, the earth before them shifted and twisted, smoothing out to make her charge easier. It bucked and heaved with each step, throwing the creature forwards as it aided her run, moving faster than Wu Ying would have thought possible.

Sword held in the low guard on his right, the cultivator focused, pouring his own energy and killing intent into the blade. He could feel the dao intentions of the Heart of the Sword filling it, ideas and concepts of sharpness and swiftness, the need to cut and part, to flow elegantly while doing so. At the same time, he wrapped the cutting edge of the northern wind, the strength of the tropical storms of the east and the flexibility of the central wind into the attack.

Staring down the charging earth elephant, feeling the earth jump and twist with each movement, Wu Ying rode the shifts with ease. He lifted himself off the ground a little to reduce the shocks, his legs bending a little as he began to run. The wind picked up behind him, carrying him on wings of flame as he neared the other.

Two implacable forces, approaching one another. Corona of energy, grey and brown from the earth elephant, white and silver from Wu Ying formed between the pair. But Wu Ying was the wind, not hard bodied metal or unrelenting earth. It was but a question of timing.

When he would dodge.

When his opponent would react to his all too predictable dodge.

An eyeblink, an extra gust of wind and dust between the pair.

There.

He spun sideways like a top, his feet placing and rotating as he swung around. The central wind’s movement techniques influenced his footwork here, as he whirled around the creature’s charge. At the same time, his sword rose, the ring of metal striking earthen tusk shaking the air.

Up in a block, imparting energy to the turn, then down in a sideways cut. Chi engorged the blade, extending its length. Wind and sword intent bit into the flesh along unprotected neck, finding a tiny gap between earthen armour to allow the creature to turn its head.

Blood fountained as the attack struck deep, but energy unleashed and caught by stubborn earthen chi ran rampant through the weapon. Metal stressed to the maximum, dao intent and chi embedding insufficiently elegant, the powerful sword exploded. Shards were left within the earthen elephant, doing greater damage to it.

Other portions pelted Wu Ying as he spun away, one splinter tearing along his arm and leaving a gaping wound where the scale armour did not protect him. Another shard tore through the sky, clipping his ear and leaving it bleeding.

Then, Wu Ying was away and back in the sky, the elepehant stumbling a few further steps. Its turn of its head to attack him, the forward momentum and the sudden loss of its footing all combined to set the creature tumbling, falling and tearing up the ground. A deep trench formed in the earth as the beast bled out its life, its massive endurance and strength finally giving way.

The wind cultivator panted, wringing his aching hand out. The Third Cut of the Wandering Dragon was incomplete, a concept given form and tested in battle but a failure. An explosive, excruciating and expensive failure it seemed.

Dismissing the hilt of the weapon back into his storage ring, Wu Ying let out a low breath as he flexed numb fingers. Tou He on his feet stumbled closer, climbing the trench to stare at the dying matriarch. He offered Wu Ying a nod, and the man smiled.

At least the matriarch was down.

Around the destroyed clearing, earth trembled and twisted. Grey elephant heads poked out of the ground, pushing their shields apart.

Wu Ying’s eyes widened.

“Oh, come on!”