-43-

Bodies of the dead security forces lay strewn outside the cave in a bloody mess. Some were utterly mutated, while some were limbless. Parts of Payon that were treaded by the cave demons became ravaged; trees were felled, houses were razed and everything that came in their way was exterminated instantly. Families which returned to stay after the first round of attack had to be evacuated once again, but this time with fewer survivors. Now, they had to seriously consider the option of a temporary migration.

The batch of demons was similar to the previous round; there were sohees, bonguns, munaks and more zombies than ever. The only significant difference was that the demonic forces were about twice the amount of the last. This could only spell trouble. The two rangers, Pay and Elemire, brought down the incoming mass of demons, while the literally invincible monk, Tien, tore through the groups with ease.

They had to buy the town some time, so as to allow enough time for the remaining residents to flee. In fact, the sohees were the ones people had to look out for, since these ghostly ladies tend to float noiselessly behind their quarries and slit them with their daggers. First of all, the three of them needed to target the sohees, and kill as many as possible.

The Elite Hunter forces had long gathered upon learning the wiping out of the entire security forces. Volleys after volleys of silver arrows flew overhead, and landed in a rain of death. Bows were strung quickly, and the town seemed to be filled with endless humming of bowstring being pulled. As if to avenge the death of Sir Rockfist Senior, they shot with more fury, putting an end to the ceaseless horde.

His eyes flaring an unholy green again, Tien undertook the two jobs of punching the demons and aiding the residents in their escape. When busying himself with the latter, the monk had to instruct the two to provide him with support. The demons had crowded the bridge leading to the exit once again, to stop anyone's escape and prevent passer-bys to lend help. If they did, they were immediately slain.

Although Tien had always been the rash warrior he had been all these while, he knew that it was not wise to do so. He hoped that a group of warriors, or even the Elite Hunter forces, could be arrayed against the demons on the bridge instead of those rampaging the town. Seeing the Elite Hunter forces so caught up in their attack, it was best to rally a small group of warriors of his own. Moreover, the hunters were less likely to listen to his ramblings, for they heeded their commander solely, and in such a time like this, nobody in their right mind would set aside some time to listen to him.

"Hey!" Tien called out to his two companions. "To the bridge!"

The two complied as they battled off the group they were tackling. Along the way, Tien requested for men he deemed sturdy enough for a battle to follow him. Soon, he had about six men under him, not including Pay and Elemire. The group ran for the bridge, only to find the large group torturing a few men and those who intended to help the town.

Pointing a finger to his two companions, Tien instructed, "Shoot at them now!"

The monk gathered the small group of six, who were wearing simple armour and wielded a spear, and led them into the demons. While the demons guarding the bridge were stunned by a sudden attack of arrows, Tien and his band of warriors crashed through them, pooling them over the bridge and into the river deep below the gorge.

Streaks of electricity appeared and circled the monk, his skin turning a fearsome scarlet. His fist swelled with twice as much power, as did the Kaiser Knuckles he wore on them. Roaring a cry, Tien bashed the demons apart despite the injuries he was receiving in the charge. More arrows coming from the back felled a great number, as half of the bridge was cleared.

Pay, together with Elemire, fired relentlessly at the mob though their quivers were fast diminishing by their speed of withdrawal. But, it was well worth the effort after all, otherwise Tien and his men had might as well charge into their doom. Dark, demonic blood flew everywhere as arrows, spears and fists punctured their bodies, even ripping them apart. The group of six and Tien did not bother to kill the remaining demons, for exhaustion crept up to them. Rather, they flung them over the bridge, and let them fall to their death. It was tremendous work to drive them away, let alone killing them one by one.

With the last few demons remaining, Tien decided to bother the six no more.

"Your job is done! Go back!"

Summoning every ounce of energy he had left, Tien screamed his rage and pounded his fists right into the ground. A bright light flared as the energy snaked through the ground, finally erupting all over the demons, erasing their visages completely. Not one bit of their hide was seen left behind. The bridge was finally cleared, but not without damages caused by Tien's Asura Strike. Those who had wanted to help now streamed into the village, while Tien leaned against the railing, wheezing for breath. Then, as if the air was choked out of him, he collapsed onto the broken tiles.

The six who had been ordered to return to town did not do so, however, when they saw their "leader" fell, but they hoped that he must not die. They scampered back to the bridge again, supporting his unmoving form to a standing position.

"Get him out! Don't let him in even after he awakes," Pay instructed the men, before hurrying back into town with the huntress.

The odds were now tipped against the demons following the defeat on the bridge. Those who had been barred outside Payon previously now reinforced the current numbers, fighting alongside the Payon army valiantly. As their minds were only bent on driving the demons back into the cave, they had totally forgotten about residents who were trapped in their houses, some even caring less about them.

Another volley of silver arrows flew across the skies, and down onto the demons. The undead army had long identified their major threat as the Elite Hunter forces, which was damaging their numbers immeasurably. A large portion of the demonic forces went for the hunters even though arrows rained heavily on them. The silver arrows executed a dramatic effect on them, since these holy enchanted arrows were the key to counter the undead. Most fell upon the first hit, whether it did pierce into vulnerable spots or not. The hunters had to finish off this big group fast, otherwise they would be able to engage in a close-quarter combat with them. And partly because their forces were multiplying from the cave, there was no reason that they should not do it quickly.

After making sure that Tien was under proper care, Pay and Elemire returned to what might be a rout if the flow of demons was not put to an end.

"There! The demons are closing in on the hunters!" Pay shouted when he spotted the Payon forces.

Elemire was already on the run. Pay followed as she manoeuvred to the rear of the large demonic force marching to the hunters who were firing at them desperately. Finding a large pile of stone and straw from a collapsed house, the two crouched low behind it, and began taking down the undead from behind. They kept their operations in low profile, for they hoped to confuse them, and not alert them at the same time.

Arrow after arrow whistled out of nowhere, killing the demons marching at the back. The demons began to thinner, but at a rather slow speed. The two had to come up with something to delay their march towards the outnumbered hunters. Even if they had to divert their attention to them, there was still a chance that the hunters could counter without pressure.

Pay looked desperately around him, hoping to find something of use. He even dug among the pile of straw, and pushing aside slabs of stones to find items that was kept in this house once. His hands touched something that looked like a piece of cloth attached to a wooden pole. He tugged at the pole that was clamped tightly in between a crack in a large slab of stone. After a few futile tries, he pushed and moved the stone to another side. The cloth that was hidden underneath now revealed, and Pay muttered a single Chinese character written there.

"What's that?" Elemire asked the slightly surprised hunter.

"Do not stop! Focus on them!" came the sharp reply.

Pay remembered this character as the last name of a neighbour who was notorious for collecting potions, ranging from berserk potions, medical potions, concentration potions, almost everything under the sun. His face lit up up suddenly, as he began prowling madly at the straw, alerting a couple of zombies. But they were swiftly taken out by the sharp huntress.

"What are you doing? My efforts alone are not enough!" Elemire almost wanted to cry out to be heard, for Pay was literally submerged into the thick pile of the collapsed house.

Knowing that Pay would not bother replying her, or whether he heard her or not, she turned back to the battle. The Elite Hunter forces were drained, but kept a constant pace of attack nonetheless. Payon must be saved no matter what. A small group of demons shifted their focus onto Elemire when a loud shuffling of the straw and scraping of stone was heard. Elemire thought she heard a triumphant cry from Pay inside the pile, as she worked her fingers quicker than before.

"Hurry!" she shouted to the hunter.

Her fingers were all blistered and cut from the frequent drawing of bowstring, and her wrist threatened to fall off her forearm. But in order to save her skin, bleeding was nothing as compared to death. Bracing herself, Elemire willed herself as she pulled out more arrows to shoot off the demons.

Five fingers came out first, then slowly two hands appeared. Pay crawled out of the pile, but not without a spoil. He threw out a couple of cases, and began opening them.

"Hang on just for a moment," Pay reassured the huntress who had expended her energies. "Help is along the way."

Finally prying open the two cases, Pay almost gasped when he saw the contents. But there was no time for marvelling, for he had to help the huntress. In the case rested a large variety of potions of different colours. There were medical potions that was in red, green, blue, white and yellow, invigorating potions in beige and a dark red, and some other herbs that were supposed to be mixed into some potions.

"Drink this! As much as you can!" Pay said hopefully as he tossed Elemire a few bottles of greenish potion. "It's just the awakening potion. Don't worry."

The awakening potion, popular among everybody, was a drink that could improve one's reflexiveness and speed during a fight inconsiderably. Though he was tempted to drink the dark red berserk potion, he wrestled with it and reminded himself of the effect. This drink that was banned to everybody else except for those in the knighthood, would cause one to lose their sanity if they were not professionally trained as a knight, or a crusader.

"Yikes, tastes like lime juice," Elemire grimaced as she swallowed the sour mixture.

"This tastes like lemonade," Pay commented when he downed the bottle of concentration potion.

Feeling a surge of power in them, the two fought with renewed hope and madness. For strange reasons, the potion made them worked their hands by a speed that exceeded their usual by tenfold. Their eyes could not even see their fingers; it went to their quiver and back to their bow in a haze, and demons fell at an astounding rate.

The Elite Hunter forces tried to hide their befuddlement of the phenomenon. Arrows came out of nowhere, striking the demons faster than the forces could work in unison. But they took it in their stride; at least the demons were delayed, giving them time to clear the large group before they were forced to either flee or fight them in a melee combat.

"Damnimusthavetakenanoverdose!" Pay rumbled quickly.

"Whatareyoutalkingabout?" Elemire shot back equally fast.

Pay only sighed in irritation, not expecting the potion to even enhance the speed of his speech. Concentrating on the task ahead, the two rangers finally cleared off the demons till only a couple of dozens remained. Nocking another silver arrow, the Elite Hunter forces sent the finishing volley to end their advance.

-

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Tien grunted as he forced himself to sit up. He expected more demons to appear before his sight, but instead the same six who had accompanied him in the bridge battle tended to him.

"We've… we've won?" Tien asked almost inaudibly.

"If you are referring to the battle of the bridge, sir, we did. But demons still lurk among the town," a younger man among the six answered.

"I did not expect Sir Rockfist Senior's son was just as efficient!" another commented with a wide smile.

"Help me up," Tien said. "They need me."

A hand held him back.

"No, sir. You must not. The two said you're to rest."

"Just let me go!" Tien shouted, frustrated at being restrained.

Shaking off the group, the monk half ran over the bridge and into the town. Though he did not recuperate completely, Tien struggled to participate in the battle. He wanted to put up a fight to anyone, be it a sohee, a zombie, or maybe even Moonlight Flower herself. He wanted to prove that he was no man to be trifled with, despite his depleted energy.

Tien wanted to evolve back into that critical state just prior the devastating Asura Strike. Try as he might, an unnerving pain wrecked his body in the transition. He could not risk further wreckage on his body, but he felt powerless in such a condition like this, weak and exhausted. Maybe I should listen and rest… he thought.

Something inside him objected strongly, telling him to bring out whatever that was in him to put up a fight. Even though he needed more effort to deal with a demon, he must fight. Beads of sweat dripped past his scarred cheek, his face glittering in a layer of it. Though his fists gave no hint of any power, he trudged on to seek out demons. The more, the better.

However, as far as he had observed, most of the demonic army was already killed. What was left were quickly taken down by the Elite Hunter force. Clenching his fist tightly, Tien grunted in disappointment.

Die, monk.

Tien's head suddenly spun, a wave of vertigo sweeping over him. He turned three hundred and sixty degrees, trying to detect the source of the inhuman voice. But the Payon warriors were the only thing he saw.

Look no further, monk. Doom has come.

He endeavoured to listen intently this time as he overcame the brief blurring of his mind. Apparently, his vision was similarly affected, and his senses numbed gradually. Everywhere became a swirl of things that did not make sense. Throughout the short speech, he thought he detected a feminine tone to it. Then, a shrill voice rang in his ears, forcing him to cup it with his hands.

"Whoever you are, fight me! Stop your antics and we'll get it on!"

What came in reply seemed to be an even more shrill laughter that tormented him mentally.

As you wish, monk.

Then, as if concluding her mental torture and her speech, the numbness in his body left him. But weakness continued to plague him, along with fatigue. He seriously needed a good rest, otherwise he suspected that he might just pass out for long.

When the Payon defenders thought that this was over for the time being, another wave of demons moaned and screamed as they spilled out of the cave. A new army of sohees and zombies, including other undead, charged forward with whatever weapon they had extended, ready for a massive bloodshed. The warriors cried out in utter surprise as they were overwhelmed, and swept away. The beleaguered Elite Hunter force could no longer put up further resistance for the equally large force of demons as the recent ones. But among the din though, some managed to make out a rather faint noise of a bell jingling in the distance…