Voss stumbled forward. His footing was unsecure, like that of someone trudging through a swamp. His head pulsed, the injuries from the previous fight still bleeding.
I have to go forward.
This was his only thought. He had to go forward and buy time for his team to survive. He had already accepted his fate when he had seen Tian Liao. The man had killed his master, someone who was skilled in various weapons and had decades of experience. Beside this Tian Liao was backed up by an entire team of hunters. It was a lost cause from the start.
He took another step forward. His body felt extremely heavy, and every step required his full attention to complete.
When his foot touched the ground, a sudden pang of pain assaulted him, bending him forward and forcing him to spat blood.
Voss stopped for a second, his eyes fixed on the blood-stained ground. He squinted. His blood wasn't completely red; instead, it had a purple shade to it.
'Poison'
Voss sighed as he stumbled forward, rage and indignation mixing in his mind as he resigned himself to a slow and painful death.
He corrected his movements, subtly changing his direction. The poison in his body would kill him no matter what, there was no reason to struggle uselessly. According to his killers, they wouldn't start their hunt unless they found him dead; they probably thought this an easy task. The poison would kill him in less than half an hour, and even a novice tracker could follow the bloodied trail he left on the ground.
However, Voss wouldn't make it that easy for them. Since the poison would kill him anyway, he had decided to move towards something that could move his lifeless body away from the sadistic hunters that followed him.
A few minutes later, the sound of running water entered through his ears, making him smile. The game was rigged from the start, there was no hope of survival. Tian Liao had planned everything so they could kill him, then turn around and track down Voss's team.
However, they had forgotten about the river that curved south toward the Rose Kingdom. In a moment of desperation, this river had transformed from a small natural feature into an improvised means of transport that was sure to waste Tian Liao's time.
A low, rough laugh echoed through the forest, then a splash. A wounded and poisoned Voss threw himself in the river.
Yun Qiang kept running, his wet eyes barely following Sun's figure as their group weaved through the thick forest and the bushes.
"We need to go back and call for reinforcements!"
The wind carried Lee's frightened voice.
"Just run!" Hai Ming was breathing heavily. "....Away from here."
"Follow me!" ordered Sun, his steady voice instilling security in the group.
Sun's blurry figure started accelerating, slowly but surely leaving Yun Qiang behind. Yun Qiang wanted to scream at them and tell them to slow down. However, he knew that they didn't have time to waste. If they could save Voss, they needed to run full speed ahead.
He forced down his chaotic feelings and accelerated, trying his best to keep up with the group. His muscles still burned from the crazy run he had before, but it didn't matter to him. He had only one chance to save Voss, he couldn't throw it away because he was tired.
As they approached the camp, the smell of blood and fire assaulted their nostrils.
Wait... This isn't right.
For a second, alarm bells sounded in Yun Qiang's mind, telling him to turn around and run away from the camp, yet he didn't. His mind was too focused on following Sun's figure to register the approaching danger.
Only when they reached the camp and Sun stopped did Yun Qiang realize what was going on in their main base.
Their base was under attack.
Their comrades in arms were engaged in a brutal fight against the Sacred Empire's forces. Corpses with the Rose Kingdom's uniform were scattered around the battlefield. Their tents were burning. The sound of metal weapons screeching against one another dominated the surroundings, only the pained screams of the dying occasionally covered it, adding to the weapons' twisted melody.
Hai Ming instinctively stepped forward, his spear drawn, ready to join the losing fight.
Then, just as Sun was about to stop him, a figure fell from the sky, hitting the ground like lightning does on a quiet night. A chill ran down Yun Qiang's spine, he could swear that the falling man was Commander Tang.
The following seconds confirmed Yun Qiang's worst fears.
The dust from the man's fall hadn't cleared yet when a booming voice swept the field.
"Commander Tang is dead!" A strong aura started sweeping the battlefield, promising death to all soldiers of the Rose Kingdom. "Take no prisoners!"
The group's movements were almost in sync. As the Sacred Empire's soldiers charged the remaining stragglers, they turned tail and ran.
Their base had been destroyed. Their only hope of survival was running away and retreating toward the Shard Fortress or some kind of friendly fortification.
They ran away in a chaotic way, splitting in four different directions. The enemy soldiers hadn't noticed them, but this didn't stop their hearts from beating as fast as trains. The pain from their burning muscles numbed as the adrenaline took over.
Yun Qiang rushed away from his old camp, his mind was chaotic, making him unable to think clearly. Too many things had happened today. First, he and Sun had killed a group of novices, endangering themselves, then a group of cultivators led by Tian Liao had come to kill Yun Qiang. After that, Voss had sacrificed himself in the hope they could save themselves or at least call reinforcements.
And now, their main base had been burned down and destroyed by the Sacred Empire's soldiers. He truly didn't know what to feel. Pride? Sadness? Fear? Determination? Desperation?
A series of voices came from behind him. Yun Qiang's pupils trembled as he cursed with what little voice he had left. He had spent at least two hours straight running at full speed, he couldn't last longer than this. His body was too tired to notice the slight slope upward of the ground.
As the voices drew closer, he started to understand what they were saying. They were calling to one another, ordering Yun Qiang to stop while calling for his death at the same time.
Yun Qiang cursed again, today the world really had it out for him.
Then Yun Qiang saw it. In the distance, he could see the start of a clearing. He smiled even if he didn't know why.
A clearing was bad news for him, it would make him more noticeable and easier to target with ranged weapons. Yet he still smiled.
He already felt his death approaching, he couldn't push his body anymore. His heart was beating extremely fast and his head pulsed painfully.
When he reached the clearing, he closed his eyes, letting his face bask in the sun one last time.
If I have to die, at least I want to die under the sun, not in a wet forest.
As he ran blindly, he half expected something to hit him, maybe an arrow or a spear from behind, however nothing came for his life.
Then he fell.
A few seconds passed, but the ground never came.
Yun Qiang opened his eyes, his pupils shrank, then a wall of water impacted with his body.
He had fallen into a river.