Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

After hearing such things, the Varuna Clan Head could not say anything. The flat tone that Hai Zhu spoke in was terrifying to him. A silent fury was what this commander had, all of his emotions bottled up, restrained, and pushed down. 

But those words he spoke, the Clan Head could not overcome the momentum and so he was silent. 

The Tide King continued to look at him, staring into his eyes with his fish-like pupils. 

"Hmph, get onto the smaller ships. Whether or not you want to see your children again is dependent on whether you survive."

He then turned and left, going back to his quarters before putting his trident away and sitting down. 

"Damn, I nearly lost control."

The demon sighed, cursing himself with a disappointed look. He took a deep breath and looked back at his table where pieces laid strewn across it. 

"Once this is over, It's time to get rid of them and their children."

He did not hesitate in his words, showing a lack of sympathy for the lives he had taken captive. When the night was over and the sun rose up once more, he stepped out, dressed in his armor. The large warship floated by the shore and waited for him. 

The smaller ships had already been filled with the chained demons. They all looked at him with weak gazes, waiting to set off. 

Hai Zhu boarded the ship and stood at the helm, looking forward. 

"Let's go."

The soldiers by his side nodded and signaled to the others, from there a small fleet of ten ships sailed for the Southern Tower. The trip would take less than a week to get there, maybe four days at its quickest. 

As for the mining ship, it had left, making its way back. They were only a day away. 

That meant three days to prepare for an attack but that was assuming they knew of it. By the time they were to spot these ships, Commander Yu Zhen would only have hours to prepare and Guardian's Keep was a day away. Still, they would not easily fall even against a surprise attack. 

However, nothing is certain, it would only happen once the battle commenced. 

And far from all of this was Ming Yue's little group, hurrying towards those said places. The sword of wind under their feet, flew swiftly, flying across the air at an incredible pace. The scenery around them blurred just slightly as they traveled above empty plains. 

They had long passed the field of tall grass and now, they were out in the open. 

Getting to the Southern Tower would be faster but there was no doubt that this would attract some unwanted attraction. Most of the time, they were quicker but this time, they could not outrun this beast. 

"Stay close to me!"

Ming Yue shouted as she held Shen Varuna and her two pets closely with one arm. The cultivator turned around and formed wind lances that were also imbued with lightning. These spinning spears crackled as light snaked across their bodies. 

"Storm Lance!"

With over five of them, they floated above her, shooting off with a thunderous crack. 

Up in the skies was a horrifying screech as a beast, flew over them, diving down to attack. It was a strange and terrifying creature, an eagle with three heads and a size comparable to Matron Shuang.* Brown feathers covered most of its body while the edge of its wings was white. Its eyes were fierce, gold and black pupils that followed its prey no matter how quick they were. 

And of all these things, there were the talons, long and gray, they were undoubtedly sharp and strong enough to tear bodies apart. 

There was no name for this creature for it was native to these lands and undiscovered by the Five Armies. Knowing this, Ming Yue had no idea as to its strength and powers. 

As the beast dove down, its wings retracted and barreled towards them at a blinding speed. However, it could not change course so easily and dodged only two of the Storm Lances. The other three struck its body, bursting out in wind and lightning, singeing feathers and cutting at flesh. 

It cried out in pain, slowed by the attack but its eyes continued to stick onto Ming Yue. Anger and rage filled it as it gave chase, recovering from the attack in moments. 

"Shit."

She saw it all happen, finding the situation difficult. After all, she had her attention divided between keeping her group safe and maintaining the speed of the giant wind sword that carried them. Not to mention, using these new techniques put a strain on her. She wasn't quite used to doing all this at once but the young cultivator was determined. 

Ming Yue looked at the three-headed bird fly after them before calling forth several more Storm Lances, sending them one by one. But the beast dodged them, choosing not to dive towards them. She only needed to slow it down but not even that was going to happen. It was agile and its pace only grew quicker and quicker. 

It screeched loudly, opening its claws to grab at them as it came closer. 

"Hmph, if I can't escape it then I can only kill it."

Ming Yue no longer shot those lances but took out Drifting Sky, wielding it with that same hand. Shen Varuna and the two beasts stayed close to her, daring not to move or they would fall off. 

Putting her power in the blade, wind and lightning encased, Drifting Sky in a thin but dense shell, making it even sharper and deadlier. 

"Grab tightly to me."

She looked to her passengers who nodded and did as she said. 

Ming Yue felt her energy drain even faster as the wind sword grew even faster, nearly tripling in speed. In an instant, they all felt a burst of wind push them and try to knock them off but she was unmoved. Rather, she watched the beast carefully. 

Seeing them move even quicker, it chased, speeding up as if flapped its wings vigorously. The wind sword slowed, allowing the beast to come closer. 

"Nearly there."

Tightening her grip on Drifting Sky, Ming Yue continued to watch the beast, waiting for it to come closer until it was only a dozen meters away. The three-headed bird looked at them with anticipation as it came closer to its next meal. Its talons were open wide and its wings were spread apart. 

Picking her target, Ming Yue forced the wind sword to stop and even reverse, heading straight for the beast. Drifting Sky was swung, cutting into the joint that connected the right-wing to its body. 

The distance was so close and the exchange was quick. By the time the beast realized what had happened, it felt a numbing pain in its wing as it limped to the side. Without it, the three-headed bird lost control, crashing into the ground. 

It twisted in pain before looking up, finding its prey flying off and disappearing from its sight. 

With its broken wing, the beast could not give chase. 

"Alright, we managed to get away from it."

Ming Yue eyed it until they were safely out of its sight. It was then that she was able to relax a bit, allowing the young demon girl and the two beasts to have a bit of breathing room. 

"That was a Cerberic King Gryphon! That creature would take at least a hundred demons to fend it off. I can't believe we managed to escape it, how strong are you?"

Shen Varuna had widened eyes as she stared at Ming Yue with both awe and shock. 

The latter looked at her before looking towards the direction of the Southern Tower. 

"It won't be too long before we reach the Southern Tower.. I just hope that we get there in time", she said.