The growls of the incoming horde carried over on the wind, frightening the already scared children even more. To them, Hao Xuan resembled just as much of a monster as they did with his disproportionate arms and most of the lower body that was covered by a water-like substance. His eyes shining so brightly that even the immediate surroundings were being illuminated by them.
The boy standing in front of Hao Xuan was completely terrified. Hao Xuan could hear his weak little heartbeat beating so quickly that it might explode any second but he still didn't move a single inch.
He looked Hao Xuan straight in the eyes, holding back tears yet still managing to bare his teeth with such hostility that he could easily be mistaken for a spirit beast cub.
"Are you scared?" Hao Xuan asked, surprising the boy. He hesitated for a short moment before nodding.
Hao Xuan noticed the blood around their ankles. There was a broken chain connecting the two smaller children but it had broken off, freeing the oldest.
"Then why don't you run away? You might live…"
The boy didn't take his eyes off from Hao Xuan, gesturing towards the two other children behind him that were crying silently.
Both of them were holding onto each other tightly with one hand and with the other, grabbing the shirt of the one standing in front of Hao Xuan. Their fingers had turned white from putting in too much pressure.
"They are hurt. I won't leave them!" he said firmly.
"But you will die," Hao Xuan retorted.
"Then we will die together!" the boy replied with a determination that could hardly ever be seen even in adults.
"They are your siblings?" Hao Xuan asked, thinking they were brother and sister but the boy shook his head, saying otherwise.
"And you would die for them?"
The boy nodded.
"Why?"
"Because I promised to protect them!" the boy shouted, "What do you want from us? We don't have anything to give you people!" he hissed vehemently, correctly assuming that Hao Xuan was an alien too.
The children at the back were startled by the boy's shouting that even grabbed the attention of some nearby undead. They quickly stood up with trembling legs that resembled twigs more than human limbs and hugged the boy from the back.
*Sssss*
The boy hissed again but this time it sounded more animalistic than something that was coming out of a human's mouth. A strange purple symbol suddenly lit up on his neck and a transparent image slowly took shape behind him. A rattling sound echoed in the surroundings, getting stronger and stronger by the second until the image became clear.
It was of a black and purple snake, a poisonous one if the two razor-sharp fangs that were clearer than the rest of its body were any indicator. Its lower body was completely wrapped around the children while the head weaved through the air threatening to strike.
It even loomed over Hao Xuan who was more than two meters tall right now.
Hao Xuan was taken aback by this sudden development, to say the least.
"Word of power!" he mumbled. The snake's image only stayed for a handful of seconds before flickering away into nothingness.
The boy staggered, almost falling to his knees but managed to keep himself upright with the help of the two behind him. It didn't look like this was the first time they had done this.
While all this was happening a small undead that had some rationality intact sneaked up behind the children before quickly leaping towards them. Hao Xuan managed to see it in time and grabbed it out of the air, holding it by its neck like a helpless chick as it tried to claw his eyes out.
"Kid, what's your name?" Hao Xuan looked at the boy who was biting his lip to stay awake. It looked like the toll on his body was too much, even for such a shortlived display.
"Why do you want to know?!" he barked back instead of answering.
A tinge of coldness flashed past Hao Xuan's eyes and he clenched his fist, killing the small undead like it was nothing.
It had the desired effect on the children since they started whimpering.
"S-Sokol!" the boy shouted forcefully, trying to sound threatening but the stutter did not help.
Hao Xuan nodded with satisfaction at his changed behavior and pointed at the purple mark.
"Then Sokol, where did you get that word of power? The thing on your neck?"
"Some l-lady gave it to me…"
"Some lady? What did she look like?"
"I…don't remember," Sokol shook his head innocently, seemingly telling the truth.
"Did she say why she gave it to you?"
The boy nodded reluctantly.
"Speak!" Hao Xuan ordered. The Horde was almost upon them.
"S-She said it would help me meet dad again!"
"What? Who is your dad? What's his name?" Hao Xuan asked with a frown. Why would anyone just give up a word of power like that? Especially one that was so powerful.
Earlier when the boy had tried to summon it Hao Xuan felt an old and threatening aura coming from the image, even though it was but a mere projection. The beast it belonged to was no simple creature and the image it had projected probably wasn't even its true appearance.
"He is a hunter," Sokol replied honestly sensing the urgency of the situation, "Everybody just called him Jax, he doesn't have a last name."
Hao Xuan's tightly knit brows shot up in shock. Was it the same Jax (Ch567) that Hao Xuan had met just a few hours ago? What were the chances of that?
