Molting the Mortal Coil

Sage was very impressed now. Certainly, the kid was ballsy, but the impressive part was actually the sword and movement techniques he used. His sword would glow like the sun and blind his enemies, at the same time it was so hot it cut through their weapons and armor like they weren’t even there. On top of that he had a movement technique that gave him explosive speed like a shooting star. Wow, I’m jealous of such good moves.

Sage hadn’t ever practiced using a sword before. Back in the Lang Clan, just like everywhere else, it was one of the most commonly used weapons. They called it the ‘Gentleman of Weapons’ and it was known to take the longest to learn and had the strongest offense. The spear and saber were the weapons of the battlefield, but the sword was the weapon that whole sects were based around. It wasn’t as simple to learn or use as the other weapons but the versatility and single minded focus created so many legends that others wished to follow. It was said to gain competency took ten days for a saber, a hundred days for a spear, and a thousand days for a sword. Hearing this, Sage choose to use the longer weapons and gain the ability to strike from a distance. Everyone in the Clan was required to train with a staff, so learning spear techniques at the same time was much easier. He had wanted to devote as much time as possible to increasing his rank, but even then he was never a standout.

Seeing this youth in front of him that seemed so devoted to his sword, Sage was quite jealous. Perhaps if he had been so single-minded in training a single weapon he could also be so skilled. Heh, I’d also need to have such a great Sword Technique as well.

Not letting himself get depressed it was also a bit eye opening. Just like he’d noticed a few times before, focusing on your strengths and enhancing them could be quite useful. As it was right now he had so many different directions he could go in it was hard to decide. I don’t want to give up all of my options. That’s the opposite of having dozens of secret weapons. I also can’t just keep going in every direction without end or else none of my weapons will even be effective. I have to maintain a balance.

Feeling a bit better about his choices, Sage focused back in on the fight. He’d missed a few moves while he was thinking and he saw the kid get hit by a couple rocks before cutting down another one of the guards. At this point half of them had been killed and another one was missing an arm. The merchant and porters finally realized what they were up against. One of the porters actually just turned around and sprinted off into the woods. The other two seemed ready to follow before the Merchant glared at them and told them to pick up their packs. The Merchant even put on a greasy smile, “Young Hero, please stop! We had eyes, but couldn’t see the Mountain right in front of us. We didn’t intend to offend such a promising young man! Please, put your sword away. Come now, why don’t you join my caravan? I’m missing a few guards, so why don’t you take their place and I’ll pay you all their wages and even double it to show my appreciation for your skill.”

The youth didn’t even acknowledge the Merchant’s words. The three remaining guards actually let down their guards a bit as they smiled at the young man and nodded at him. As a response the kid suddenly stepped one foot back and pivoted on it. His arm swinging his blade in a huge and blindingly bright arc as the guard who was missing an arm was now missing a head. Seeing no quarter the other two guards took off running. One of them was cut down even as the Merchant fell to his knees and started begging. The two porters with him throwing down the bags and running just like the first porter did. The last guard was a dozen yards away when the kid’s sword flashed through the air like a javelin, stabbing him through the back and pinning him to the ground.

The Merchant, who was kneeling and begging, seemed to see this as an opening. His empty hands were suddenly filled with a fully loaded crossbow that he pulled out of his storage bag. The tip of the bolt had a green glisten to it, the poison dripping from it as he fired it at the swordless swordsman. The youth spun back towards the Merchant with lightning speed and brought up his hand. Holding the index and middle finger together, he used a move called ‘sword fingers’. Normally it was just a way for swordsman to practice their sword moves while open handed, but in this case his two fingers started to glow just like his sword did and the bolt was knocked aside and sliced in half at the same time. Darting forward with that strange movement technique again, the youth fell forward till he was nearly laying on the ground face down before he leaped forward and dashed to the Merchant.

He pulled to a stop and his fingers flashed across, slicing the Merchant’s throat just like the others. After that, Sage was surprised at how ruthless the kid was. He didn’t let a single one of the porters go. Sage would have done the same to make sure there wasn’t any evidence, but Sage figured the kid for a ‘hot-headed hero’. He didn’t think he’d be smart enough to pull up the problem at the root and make sure nobody came after him for this later. Once that was done, the kid came back and looked through the storage bags of the Merchant and his eight guards. He picked out a few treasures, ate a few pills, and then took the spirit stones before walking off down the road again.

Sage followed him for a while before he doubled back and exited the Chameleon Mantis. He sent the Mantis forward to make sure the kid didn’t return as well, while Sage went through the rest of the dead peoples belongings. The youth had only grabbed their storage bags, he didn’t even bother to check any of them for hidden belongings, nor did he even open up the backpacks the porters had dropped. Having worked with these caravans before, Sage knew most of the guards and Merchants would hide their true valuables in different places. Of course, Bandits also knew this, so it became a game of hide and seek. Because of this reason, and also to encourage ‘repeat customers’ most bandits liked to leave their targets alive and became toll officers. They would try and guess a merchant’s worth and exact a fee to let the merchant pass.

Sage found a storage ring on the Merchant’s toe, chuckling as he washed it off first before taking it. The ring was the size of a closet, about four times larger than the cubic yard in most storage bags. This is where he kept his real valuables, just like how Sage found a few Spirit Jades in the boots of two guards, a leather necklace strung with gold rings on one of the porters, and a hidden second storage bag under the shirt of another guard. Stacking up the bodies, Sage cremated them and met back up with the Chameleon Mantis again before catching up with the ‘Young Hero’. He went through his spoils while following the swordsman. He found quite a few spirit stones, some spirit jades and pills, as well as a few more low level techniques. It was just like the bandits he’d found.