The Martial Emperor

Chapter 10 - The Crow Siege

Behind the lush, blackened foliage on the outskirts of Chenglai Village, several figures in black robes stood frozen like shadows merging with the darkness.

Their eyes flashed with pure ruthlessness as they watched the group of Cloud Sword Sect disciples approach. One of them let out a low laugh while smirking, a sound that resembled the scraping of dry bones. "The fish have entered the net," he whispered while stroking a bone flute that radiated an evil aura.

They were not merely hunters, but demonic beast controllers who had long prepared a systematic ambush.

With subtle hand gestures, the mysterious men ordered the creatures under their control to remain still at specific spots within the forest. The scent of blood and dark energy began to fill the air, waiting for the right moment to explode and tear apart anyone who dared to step further into their domain.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng’s group walked vigilantly under a scorching sun that was beginning to be obscured by dark clouds. Beside them, the Village Head of Chenglai walked with trembling legs, his face deathly pale as if he had just seen a ghost. The old man only escorted them to the edge of the dense forest before stopping abruptly with ragged breath.

"This is far enough, noble Masters," the village head said with a voice broken by deep fear. "This forest is no longer a place for humans. May the gods bless your journey."

After giving a hurried bow, he immediately turned and ran away without looking back. Lin Feng stared at the man’s back, feeling a bad omen creeping up his neck, remembering the warning from the mysterious woman in his dream the other day.

"Why is he so terrified?" Gu Yanfeng said after the old man’s body had completely vanished in the distance.

Han Jian responded after scanning the forest for a moment. "It is only natural, he is not a cultivator, is he?" he said. "What we will be fighting are demonic beasts. Even if this village has hunters, it does not mean they can defeat them."

Then Gu Yanfeng’s eyes stopped on a horse and cattle stable that had collapsed. "I suspect those animals have already attacked the village. No wonder he is scared to death."

Led by Gu Yanfeng, who walked with his chest puffed out, the group began to penetrate the dense trees of the Chenglai forest. However, as two hours passed, the atmosphere grew into an unnatural silence.

There was no chirping of birds, no rustling of branches, only the sound of their own footsteps treading on dry leaves. This silence began to make several seniors feel bored and lose their vigilance.

Yan Huo, a senior disciple at the fourth level of the Marrow Refinement realm, snorted while wiping sweat from his forehead. His arrogant face showed clear dissatisfaction. "It seems Master Ye Jinshi was a bit too excessive this time," he grumbled dismissively. "Look around, there is nothing here but mosquitoes. Not a sign of a demonic beast since we entered."

"Then was the village head’s attitude earlier just an act?" countered Lin Feng, who was walking at the very back. All heads turned to stare at him. "That old man looked like he had seen death right before his eyes."

"Hahaha!" Yan Huo’s laughter was intentionally loud. "Then we must show them that the Cloud Sword Sect does not fear death."

"Arrogant bastard!" Lin Feng thought. "Have you ever almost died?"

Yan Huo’s laughter stopped, he looked on with interest. "Unfortunately, not yet. Perhaps because I am too strong?"

Involuntarily, a dismissive lopsided smile appeared on Lin Feng’s lips. "Heh, too strong? I hope you receive a great lesson today."

Although Gu Yanfeng was arrogant, he did not dare to be too reckless this time. He knew there was an abnormality within the surrounding forest. His sharp eyes kept glancing left and right to find any discrepancy, but all he saw were trees and shrubs.

After walking for a while and being rebuked by Lin Feng, Yan Huo continued to chatter about this and that with an annoying air. Several companions also reminded him, but he seemed not to care.

Gu Yanfeng, as the strongest and the mission leader, immediately stopped his steps and turned with a sharp gaze. "Watch your mouth, Yan Huo," he warned in a cold, firm voice. "The absence of monsters does not mean we are safe. It is precisely this kind of silence we must beware of. Do not be too reckless, or you will end up a corpse before realizing what hit you."

Lin Feng remained at the very back of the line, his eyes constantly sweeping the surrounding area thoroughly. He activated his Qi filtering technique slowly, trying to feel if there were any foreign energy flows hiding behind the bushes. Even as Yan Huo continued to mutter about what a waste of time this mission was, Lin Feng knew that the calm before the storm was always the deadliest part of a journey.

A few hundred meters ahead, as the trail began to narrow, a loud roar suddenly shattered the forest silence with immense force. Five giant-sized tigers leaped out from behind the bushes, baring their sharp, yellow fangs.

However, for the inner disciples of the Cloud Sword Sect, this threat did not yet feel fatal. Those tigers were merely ordinary wild beasts whose strength was equivalent to the first level of the Marrow Refinement realm.

"Just big cats!" Yan Huo exclaimed while smirking. With nimble movements, he took out his writing brush and began to scribble in the air very quickly.

Lines of golden light formed instantly, creating fire attack runes that exploded upon hitting the bodies of those tigers. Lin Feng and the others also moved, using rune power to push back the animals without having to expend much physical energy.

In just a short time, the five tigers lay lifeless with bodies scorched by the power of the runes.

Yan Huo boasted again while blowing on the tip of his brush as if cleaning off dust. "See? What did I tell you? This is nothing," he said with a satisfied laugh. He felt that his strength was far above the threats present in this forest, ignoring the fact that the battle had only just begun.

"Do not be reckless!" Gu Yanfeng barked, startling the four others. "We are already too far from the village, as if these animals were indeed waiting."

Han Jian looked back, confirming Gu Yanfeng’s words. "But if all the monsters are like this, I don't think there will be a problem, right?"

Gu Yanfeng gritted his teeth. "I hope so."

Without anyone knowing, Lin Feng, who had not let his guard down for a single moment, suddenly turned pale. He saw the blood splattered all around them.

"Damn it...."

Yan Huo turned. "What?"

"Sharpen your hearing, listen to the surroundings!"

The fresh blood splattered everywhere from the tiger carcasses began to spread a very strong fishy aroma into the air.

Shortly after, the sound of heavy wingbeats was heard from the darkening sky. Dozens of pairs of red eyes appeared from the high tree branches, staring at them hungrily. It was a flock of demonic giant crows whose numbers kept increasing every second.

"Damn it, Red-Eyed Demon Crows!" Gu Yanfeng shouted, his face starting to turn tense. This was the true difficulty they had to face. "The blood and these carcasses attracted them?"

"Or were they attracted by Yan Huo’s chatter?" Han Jian quipped.

However, the attack of the crows had already lunged. There were dozens, nearly hundreds, ganging up from above.

The six of them tried their best to form attack runes or accompany them with sword slashes, but they still became overwhelmed.

Even though individually the crows were weak, their blind attacks from the air and their numbers in the dozens threatened to break their formation. The six disciples were forced to close ranks, standing shoulder to shoulder to protect one another from the sharp beak attacks.

Lin Feng, who was considered the weakest among the group, was forced into the center position.

He continued to draw simple protective runes in the air, holding back every lunge of a crow trying to claw his face and his group.

"Damn it!" Han Jian painted a whirlpool rune toward a cluster of those crows. Once finished, a large surge of water rolled over the crows.

However, only a few managed to die from this attack. Han Jian cursed again. "Lin Feng, help us once in a while!"

"I am trying, damn it!"

Then Lin Feng drew a rune to create a sharp wind vortex around them. Instantly, a greenish wind moved around them, forming a dome that protected against outside attacks.

"Good!" Gu Yanfeng exclaimed. "Use fire runes."

Then those five people drew fire runes which were then blasted in five different directions. The result was quite satisfying as many fell, but quite a few survived.

The crows attacked relentlessly, some of them managed to scratch Yan Huo’s arm until he screamed in pain. The arrogance he had shown earlier was now gone, replaced by a panic that began to ruin his rune focus.

Gu Yanfeng continued to shout instructions so they would not separate from the defensive circle. "Stay in formation! Do not let them break our line!" he commanded while occasionally slashing several crows with a sword.

Lin Feng noticed that the attacks of these crows felt highly coordinated, as if someone were giving orders from a distance. He glanced toward the darkness of the forest and his eyes accidentally caught the silhouettes of several men on the tree branches.

His instinct told him that the tigers and crows were merely appetizers before the real trap closed. With a steady hand, he began to prepare a stronger rune, realizing that his life and his comrades' were now on the line.

"Someone is controlling them!"

Gu Yanfeng, hearing Lin Feng’s cry, immediately sharpened his eyes to search. "You bastards!" Finally, he could see those silhouettes.

Then his left hand scribbled in a fast motion, forming a lightning attack rune. "Come out!" and his lightning strike lunged.

Boom!

A large explosion was created, slightly startling the crows enough to make them break formation.

"Hehehe... you all turned out not to be fools, eh?"