*Huff*Huff*Huff*
"We can't…go on…like this…" Hyson murmured dejectedly.
He was covered in blood and sweat, some his own, some his friend's.
"What choice do we have?" Hou Chin asked from the side, with the same disheartened expression as all the others around her.
"We can't give up! As long as we're alive, there will be a way!" Rong Li stood up and shouted with clenched fists, but only got a few contemptuous looks in return.
"Just sit down, don't…make a fool of yourself," Kramson tugged at his shirt to make him sat back down.
It had been almost a full month since the horde of undead monstrous creatures from beyond the grave started their chase.
At first, it was easy to make a stand and fight back. The Ma and Shi Clan folks even used it as an opportunity to train some of the youngsters in the group. But soon, things took a turn for the worse.
As they reached the location of the next rift opening, they realized that it was in a valley which was an entrance to the underworld.
A massive black gate stood tall in the middle on the basin, pouring out monster after monster without end.
Zeng Yu had the foresight to know they wouldn't be able to hold this place for more than a few minutes in case of a head-on attack, so he ordered a full retreat.
They moved away several hundred thousand kilometers in the span of two weeks. Only stopping once every three days to rest.
It seemed like every nook and cranny of this horrid place was filled with freezing Yin Qi that made fighting harder every day by slowing down the group's reaction times and affecting the flow of Qi in their bodies.
Out of the initial 110 people left alive, only 60 or so were left now. The biggest loss included a fight in which both Ma and Shi Clan had lost one Spirit realm warrior each.
They found a hidden cavern after several days of continuous travel and decided to rest there for a couple of days. That night, an army of about a thousand undead warriors surrounded them.
All these creatures were of the same type (Pic in Author's notes). With three empty sockets where the eyes should be and multiple horn-like protrusions jutting out from their heads, these were the smartest creatures the group had come up against so far.
They didn't fight head-on, instead choosing to slowly lure away and kill more than 30 people before being discovered.
The female spirit realm cultivator from the Ma clan and one of the old men from the Shi clan lost their lives trying to break out of this encirclement.
During this fight, Ma Yu also blocked several attacks with her body when she tried to protect another random person. She was poisoned and could barely move her body ever since.
Of the initial Six spirit realm cultivators, only four were left now. And almost all of them attainted severe injuries since they always took the lead in every fight.
Zeng Yu, Zeng Wu, along with the two remaining Spirit realm cultivators which were named Ma Qigang and Shi Long were sitting on a table, discussing their next moves.
"What other choice do we have?" Shi Long whispered with a crestfallen expression.
"None," Zeng Wu shook his head.
"All our devices are saying the same thing. The last rifts will close within the next two days. Yin Da managed to fix the device enough to find the location of the closest rift. We checked it's the same one from the valley. The only other one is more than Six Million miles away. Even if we traveled at full speed, there is no way to cover such a vast distance. Not to mention the undead blocking the path and our own injured…"
Ma Qigang's expression turned worse. He had lost his wife not too long ago, and now the princess was in such a serious condition. She wouldn't survive long if the poison wasn't treated soon.
Shi Long let out a deep sigh. He had also lost his only living friend in that encounter. Even Shi Chun was barely hanging on. He was exhausted and injured himself, but still insisted on taking take off Ma Yu.
"What about that man? Can he pull something off again?" Shi Long looked at the person sitting in front of the cave's entrance with closed eyes.
Zeng Wu shook his head again, "No. If not for him, god knows how many people we would have lost to those devilish creatures. He also took several hits on the way out and still hasn't completely recovered."
Zeng Yu who had his eyes closed finally opened them to take a look at the young man they were talking about.
'Jin Wang…'
Yes, it was Jin Wang that had been helping the group all along. He noticed the undead warriors' presence and actually saved Ma Yu's life. If not for him, she would have died from those attacks.
"It's decided then. Rest now. We will make our way back to the valley. There is no other option. This….place, it is not fit for the living anymore…" Zeng Yu said before getting up and walking towards Jin Wang.
"I'll take over, go rest," he said lightly.
Jin Wang didn't move or even open his eye, only smiling in return, "You're getting soft old man. I'm fine. Besides, you need the rest more. They might not notice, but I can smell the blood on you. If you keep going like this, you won't live past the next couple of days."
Zeng Yu scoffed, "I'm still doing much better than someone like you. Stop acting cool and go," he slapped Jin Wang's back, making him almost jump up with pain.
"God damn, alright alright. No need to be so violent!" he retorted while rubbing the spot Zeng Yu had slapped.
He picked up the plate of cold food that was beside him and walked deeper into the cave.
As Zeng Yu sat down at the same spot, Jin Wang's voice echoed in his ears, "Talk to your son while you can. The future is….unclear. This might be the last time you're able to. The fight ahead is not an easy one…."
****
Authors Notes:
undead monster: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/63/6a/43/636a43877d1876e3277609e5572099dd.jpg
Shortened URL: https://urlzs.com/dgGoH
