Interception

After smelling this scent, Chen Chuan fell into deep thought. He had heard before that the former imperial house possessed a breed of scout bird used for wilderness tracking. However, because such creatures were of little use in large-scale army clashes, the records had only briefly mentioned them. Based on what he had witnessed along the way, once a creature of the Confluence lost the ability to resist or became a corpse, it could rarely last long before being devoured. Yet this bird had been down for some time, and not a single insect or beast had come to tear it apart. The surrounding environment had been extensively ravaged by the insect quicksand, yet the Confluence's ecology recovered quickly, not to mention that this was a dense forest. Therefore, the smell on this creature likely served to drive away Confluence wildlife. This also indirectly explained how something that seemed to possess virtually no combat power could fly so far alone without falling prey to predators. Furthermore, it was likely trained to watch primarily for ground threats and probably never anticipated danger falling from the sky, which had allowed Chaoming to take it down in a single strike. He could not help thinking that if Chaoming could be coated with something similar, it could fly through the skies without reservation. Yet on second thought, this scent might be the result of consuming certain special concoctions. Moreover, there was no telling whether being tainted by the smell would turn one into a target tracked by the former imperial house. If so, it was better to keep one's distance. With that, he turned away, gathered some dry branches, scattered them around, poured over a bit of fire-starting fuel he carried with him, and set the scout bird ablaze. This was to destroy any traces of Chaoming's attack, preventing them from being on guard the next time. Of course, the former imperial house would become more cautious after a failure, but so long as they did not know the exact cause right away, they would be unable to deploy targeted countermeasures. The flutter of wings sounded as Chaoming descended from above, tossing its head high and letting out a chirping cry. Chen Chuan had deliberately not brought Chaoming along openly earlier, intending for it to trail behind and strike the scout bird when the opportunity arose. Now that the mission had been accomplished brilliantly, he walked over, took out a few high-energy nutrition beans to feed it as a reward, then patted it and sent it back into the sky to patrol. After cleaning up the traces below, he took his bearings and continued sprinting forward. This time, Chaoming flew ahead of him, both guiding his path and serving as an early warning. Roughly two hours later, Chaoming suddenly uttered several sharp, abbreviated cries overhead. Chen Chuan's gaze sharpened. This was a prearranged signal between him and Chaoming; it must have spotted something. But because it was flying quite high this time and the small field organism he carried could not reach that far, he could not see what it was. Judging from the specific call, however, the most likely threat was cavalry. Cavalry was the former imperial house's most common fighting force; these horsemen could advance swiftly and could assemble and maneuver through the Confluence with ease. And any unit that could arrive so quickly had to be an elite vanguard. At that very moment, the cavalry company that had intercepted Major General Therbill had drawn near, pulling up upon sighting the dense forest in the distance. The avian master responsible for relaying communications through the scout birds glanced up at the flock overhead. Seeing one of them let out sorrowful, mournful whistles, he immediately spurred his mount forward to the young Auxiliary General, clasped his fists, and reported loudly, "Reporting to the General, one of our scout birds up ahead has lost contact!" The young general asked, "Is it the one tracking the relic?" "No, sir." The young general replied, "Then pay it no heed." Their mission this time was to pursue and seize the relic; only the person guarding the relic demanded their primary attention. Nor did he intend to underestimate his opponents. According to word from the rear, they were facing an Investigation Supervisor from the Disposal Bureau, along with several enforcement captains. Normally speaking, figures holding such ranks might not appear overwhelmingly formidable. But the fact that they had repelled forces from both the Syndicate and the Linax Federation and wrested the prize into their grasp proved that the individuals dispatched by Center City were extraordinary. Yet their own force was far from weak. In addition to himself, he had an adjutant of comparable prowess, three titled commissioned warriors, and more than a dozen elite commissioned warriors. Even if they failed to overwhelm their quarry in a head-on clash, they could easily bog them down until more reinforcements arrived. Naturally, as a general commanding an elite vanguard, he much preferred to secure the artifact with his own cavalry rather than ceding the glory to other units. After exchanging a few words, they urged their dragon-nosed horses forward and galloped off once more. This time, they did not plunge into the woods, but rode along the edge of the forest instead. With the relic's rosy haze to guide them, they had no fear of losing their target. Chen Chuan then heard Chaoming give another series of sharp cries and veer off at high speed in a different direction. He immediately knew that the enemy must have altered their course. He did not rush into motion. Calling out, he prompted Chaoming to swoop lower. Once it entered range, he viewed the distant scene through the bird's mini boundary credential: a billowing trail of kicked-up dust stretched toward the horizon, confirming his earlier deduction. It was a small cavalry detachment, roughly several dozen to over a hundred riders, with birds circling overhead. After a brief deliberation, a plan formed in his mind. He immediately broke into a sprint along the cavalry's vector of travel. Moving along the forest fringe, he did not push his speed to the limit, yet even so, he soon overtook the cavalry and steadily pulled ahead of them. After bounding past a stretch of ground and confirming he was clear of their sight, he glanced to the side. Ahead lay an undulating expanse of terrain. Running a bit further, he spotted an ideal location. Darting out from the woods, he reached a slab of flat rock that seemed welded to the ground, fronted by a broken boulder cleft down the middle. The spot was perfect. Slipping into the fissure, he balled his fist and smashed it into the flat slab. With a heavy bang, large chunks of rubble sheared away, opening up a vertical niche just large enough to conceal a man. He turned and pressed his back into the alcove. The overhanging rock above shielded him like the eaves of a roof. Thanks to the angle, whether it was the birds in the sky or riders coming from behind, neither could see into this spot. Signaling Chaoming to pull back into the distance, he drew the Xuejun Saber from its sheath and drew a deep breath. His aura receded into stillness, his field sealed shut entirely, yet his spirit gathered with razor focus. Sensing his will, the Xuejun Saber hummed once before settling into tranquil quietude. By now, the mutated tissue within the blade functioned like an extension of his own body; whenever he swung it, it boosted his power in equal measure. With every foe slain in battle and each surge of spiritual intent, the mutated tissue would grow denser, allowing it to withstand greater measures of spiritual perception power. He did not have to wait long before the rumble of hooves reached his ears. Though he had never received formal training in estimating troop counts by sound, his intangible spiritual power could perceive a vast array of details. In a flash, he deduced that roughly two to three hundred horses were approaching, bearing approximately a hundred riders. For so many to ride together at breakneck speed while maintaining near-perfect sync in their stride—this was indisputably an elite of elites. Judging by their arrival time, this had to be the vanguard sent to intercept them. He held his blade, waiting in silence. A moment later, the thundering din drew closer, filling his ears with a unified roar as the ground and the stone behind him vibrated incessantly. As the rolling thunder washed over, several scouts at the tip of the formation leapt past above his flank, galloping forward without the slightest inclination to look back. Chen Chuan had no intention of wasting his blade on them for now. Leaning quietly against the rock, he already felt a potent aura sweeping toward him from the rear. Closing his eyes, he let the incoming field and the vibrations pulsing through the ground conjure a detailed picture in his mind: the approaching velocity, the combined weight of horse and rider, the rider's height, rhythm of movement, and approximate level of combat skill. As the target drew near, his eyes snapped open. He leapt forward in a single bound, planting a foot against the boulder opposite him and kicking off. The rock shattered with a booming roar as he blasted through the air with a deafening crack, hurtling like an artillery shell straight toward his quarry! Behind his metal visor, the young general's pupils dilated violently. His reflexes were swift; galvanized by extreme peril, he erupted into a burst of power in an instant. Not only did mutated tissue surge across the surface of his body, but the spear in his hands flared with brilliance, brought up just in time to parry. By then, Chen Chuan was already upon him. His saber traced a semicircular arc of light, slashing down in a vicious diagonal sweep! In an instant, spear collided with saber. The radiances from both sides dissolved on contact—yet while the light upon the spear faded to nothing, the brilliance along the blade blazed as bright as ever. In that split second, the young general's gaze met a pair of profoundly tranquil eyes. An instant later, the dragon-nosed horse beneath him shrieked in agony. The sound of splintering bone echoed through its entire frame before it collapsed into a limp heap. His feet slipping from the stirrups, the general crashed down onto the ground to the side. He held his spear raised at an angle, staring at the figure that had also come to a halt before him. Amid the churning dust and smoke, only a scarlet scarf fluttered in the wind as mounted soldiers streamed past on both flanks. A moment later, with a crisp snap, his helmet and visor split down the middle and clattered to the dirt, unveiling a pale, youthful face. A thin line of blood appeared between his brows. One breath later, his entire body tilted forward and hit the dusty sand with a dull thud.