Chapter 3: Shen Hwa's encounter! The mighty Sonic Blow
"BASH!"
Shen Hwa, the two-handed swordsman, delivered a crushing blow towards an unsuspecting desert wolf. Having being struck by surprise, the poor critter was too stunned to do anything, as Shen Hwa once again hit the creature on its head. With a sick, cracking sound, its skull split into two, and it lay on the floor, dead.
Shen Hwa watched as the monster slowly disappeared in a sparkle of gold light, hoping that it would perhaps leave behind something valuable. As the carcass slowly vanished, Shen Hwa spotted an unusually long object lying in the sand. He quickly thrust his greedy hands into the sand, and his fingers wrapped around solid steel. A grin slowly formed upon his face, as he pulled the artifact up. Within his palms was a long, curved dagger, one he was all too familiar with – a stiletto.
Grinning broadly, Shen Hwa threw the dagger into his backpack, which was full of other stuff from the nearby monsters. Cartons of milk lay in a heap, beside a pile of rumpled feathers and scorpion stingers. His entire loot wasn't worth much, but it was enough to fill his stomach and sharpen his blade. The stiletto, however, made great difference. Many thieves and rouges would pay quite a sum for it, for it was both durable and efficient. In fact, many rouges preferred to use a stiletto in place of their much more expensive cousins, the gladius, for their dagger throwing arts – it was cheaper to fling stilettos around than to hurl gladiuses through the air.
As he looked around, Shen Hwa found himself gazing at a large bird. Orange feathers lined its body. It large, sturdy blue beak was decorated by various patterns, which coursed through it like a kaleidoscope. It had strong feet made for running, and also keen eyes to spot any hodes which poked their tiny heads above the ground. Once it spotted its prey, it would attack savagely until the enemy went down in defeat. It was a Peco Peco, a large animal commonly used by knights as a form of transport. They were usually bred by the Prontera Knight chivalry for battle purposes, and were rarely found it the wild.
Shen Hwa drew his sword and licked his lips hungrily. The reason Peco Pecos were scarce in the wild was partially caused by the frequent capturing and taming of this species by the knights, but the main reason was due to their delicious meat. Peco Peco meat was widely regarded as a delicacy throughout the world, and only the rich could afford to salvage them. Shen Hwa's stomach began to grumble, and only then did he realize he hadn't had any breakfast at all.
"Today must be my lucky day," Shen Hwa chuckled. "First a stiletto, now a good meal. Thank you Odin, for blessing upon me such luck!"
Slowly but steadily, Shen Hwa crept up upon the creature, who was apparently oblivious to the danger it was in. Whipping his sword out, Shen Hwa struck the beast with all of his might and roared, "BASH!" His sword connected with the Peco Peco's large bulk, and his sword tasted blood. The Peco Peco let out a shrill cry, as Shen Hwa withdrew his sword and prepared for a second blow.
Boiling with anger, the Peco Peco lunged forward at Shen Hwa, at the same time crying loudly, as if issuing a battle cry. Shen Hwa gracefully avoided the creature's jaws, before making a skillful maneuver around it and once again stabbing it in its back. As he pulled his sword out, he could sense the large bird losing consciousness from the loss of blood. Moving in for the finishing blow, he aimed directly at the Peco Peco's eyes, and planted his sword right between them. Blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain, as the dying creature let out a final cry, before falling down to the ground. Satisfied, Shen Hwa sheathed his sword and prepared to carry the bird right to the desert oasis of Morroc, where it would hopefully fetch a high price.
Suddenly, he felt a killing instinct approach him from his back. His well trained muscles immediately sprang into action, bringing him out of harm's way and away from the danger. He looked behind him, only to find another Peco Peco there, its beak planted deep in the sand, the exact same place he had stood just a few seconds ago.
From his right he saw another shadow approaching him, and he immediately brought up his sword to parry the blow. There was a sharp clang as an object, bearing the force of a jackhammer, struck his slayer. The impact of the blow was so powerful that he was knocked back, falling onto his rear. He glanced up, only to see another similar Peco Peco there, next to the one who had previously assaulted him. As he looked to his left, he saw two more Peco Pecos approach the two and joined them, forming a formation of four.
"This is bad," he thought. He had no idea what had caused this sudden attack of Peco Pecos, but he had a slight hint that it had something to do with their now lifeless comrade, which now lay on the floor. He also guessed that the Peco Pecos were nothing more than wild beasts – beasts which obeyed the law of nature.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What goes around comes around.
Shen Hwa slowly stood up, facing the four attackers. He had no choice. It was kill or be killed. It was time for him to prove his worth!
With a cry of fury, Shen Hwa charged at the herd of Peco Pecos, sword raised high. The Peco Pecos responded by emitting a shrill cry, before charging at Shen Hwa. Flailing his sword wildly, Shen Hwa sent multiple slashes in random directions, some hitting the Peco Pecos on their beaks, some grazing their bodies, and some missing the target completely. This only served to make the Peco Pecos even angrier. They retaliated by driving their sharp beaks right into the frail body of the lone swordsman, who was trying desperately to defend himself against his four assailants.
Finally running out of energy, Shen Hwa collapsed onto the ground, too tired to even move. He gazed into the clear, azure sky, so peaceful and beautiful. How he wished he had stopped to enjoy these moments longer! "Darn…" he said, as the Peco Pecos closed in for the killing blow. "Dead before I even become the next Lord Knight…." He looked into the giant, glowing sun, which was gradually being shielded by a rare cloud. "Oh Odin," he lamented, as the desert was plunged into a momentary darkness. "Have you lost your sight in your one good eye too?"
Closing his eyes and bracing for the worst, Shen Hwa closed his eyes, and braced himself for the pain. He heard the whooshing of the air, and he knew that the Peco Pecos were bringing their beaks upon him. He would feel the pain any moment now.
There was a sharp clang, as the Peco Pecos let out a shrill cry. It was, however, different from the previous cries. It was a cry of agony, mixed with a emotions of anger and confusion. Curious, Shen Hwa opened his eyes.
Before him, clad in a jet black robe, was a large figure, which had apparently moved in and intercepted the blow. "You find, kid?" The mysterious figure asked as he turned his neck to look at him. The figure had snow white hair, juxtaposing his dark outfit. His mouth was covered by a black mask, and upon his hand he bore a strange weapon. It resembled an iron glove, only with blades jutting out from the tip.
It was a katar. And the only profession which could wield the katar was the assassin class.
Too shocked for words, Shen Hwa merely nodded. This satisfied the assassin, as he turned back towards the Peco Pecos. "Good," he said, "In that case, sit back, relax, and watch me deal with these guys, the professional way."
Shen Hwa didn't know what to do, except nod his head once again. This however, seemed to be enough, as the assassin raised his katars above him. "By the way," he said, "My name is Sky Zanryuu, one of the assassins of the assassin guild. Now behold my power."
Sky counted the number of Peco Pecos. "One… Two… Three…. Four in total…. That's not a very nice number…." He muttered. His mind flashed back to the brown letter he was sent to deliver. "I'll have to make this quick…"
With a sudden flash, Sky was gone. The Peco Pecos stood there in surprise. They had, after all, never seen a human disappear before their eyes before. Not knowing what to do, they stood there blankly, as if waiting for Sky to reappear.
Suddenly, the ground below one of the Peco Pecos ripped open, as Sky once again resurfaced beneath them. Lunging forward, he swung his katar high into the air, below the beak of a single Peco Peco, and roared, "Grim Tooth!" His katar penetrated the creature's beak, and ripped apart its brain. The bird was dead before it even fell on the floor.
Upon seeing this act of cruelty carried out towards one of their kind, the remaining three Peco Pecos cried in rage as they charged at Sky. Sky, however, was ready, as he swung his katars skillfully in a circle, hurling the Peco Pecos back. As they were knocked back by the impact, Sky glided towards the nearest one and impaled his katar deep in its belly, drawing blood and killing the creature.
The remaining two Peco Pecos did not give up, though. Mustering all their remaining energy, they leapt at Sky, threatening to crush him beneath their feet. Sky knew he had to act fast, before he became another hole in the ground. Making a sudden sprint backwards, he retreated to safety while crying "Back Sliding!" The Peco Pecos landed on the ground, just as Sky moved in for the final blow.
"SONIC BLOW!"
There was a crimson red flash, and Sky was gone. A split second later, eight supersonic strikes could be heard, and sky soon reappeared behind the Peco Pecos, katars stained a deep red. He had just performed his ultimate skill, the Sonic Blow. A skill which was so powerful, it couldn't be seen with the naked eye. In a fraction of a second, Sky would perform eight super-fast, super-deadly blows, which would pierce the eight weakest parts of the body – the brain, the eyes, the throat, the heart, the elbows, the wrists, the stomach, and the groin. The skill usually resulted in death, and in rare cases, severe injury.
Behind him, there were two loud thuds, as the remaining two Peco Pecos fell to the ground, dead.
