Chapter 19: Sunset Forest's First Answer
The first thing Sunset Forest did was giving the silence unlike the sound of a city.
The sound of leaves. Insects still hummed beneath the brush. Somewhere high above, the sound of bird cried.
Today different sound of rattling clothes, of twig broke and boot hitting the earth enter this place.
Renyu noticed it when entering this place. He still marvel with this world peacefulness, even though there not many convenience.
Yu Tianheng walked near the front beside Qin Ming with posture looking relaxed only on the surface. Dugu Yan kept slightly behind and to the left, eyes moving with cold impatience over every shadow. Ye Lingling stayed near the center, the safest in the formation.
Lin Su moved ahead at the front acting as the scouts. He know not to move too far away that it can split him from the group or too near that make his role ineffective.
He know the forest and know what to search and when to dodge from unnecessary trouble that can effect the journey.
That thought must have lingered too long, because Dugu Yan glanced at him.
"What?" she asked.
Renyu looked at her. "Nothing."
"You looked at him like you never saw people like him"
Lin Su did not turn around.
Renyu said, "Would you not?"
Dugu Yan mouth curved. "Hmph."
Yu Tianheng gave her a look. "Yan."
"What? I'm being honest."
Qin Ming raised one hand.
Everyone stopped.
The conversation died immediately.
That, more than their talent or their names, told Renyu why this group had been chosen. Dugu Yan could speak sharply. Yu Tianheng could carry pride in his bones. But when Qin Ming signaled to them after seeing Lin Su movement, they obeyed.
Good habits kept people alive.
Lin Su crouched by a patch of torn fern and pressed two fingers into the soil. "Fresh."
Qin Ming appeared at his right. "Three bodies. Maybe four. Low to the ground. Heavy forelimbs."
Qin Ming ask and looked at the broken stems. "Pack movement?"
"Likely," Lin Su said.
Yu Tianheng gaze swept the trees. "How about the age?"
"Not high. Six hundred to eight hundred years. Maybe one older."
Dugu Yan made a soft sound of disappointment. "Then it's not worth stopping for."
Qin Ming looked at her as most of them share the same thought.
Renyu almost smiled.
Then the wind shifted.
A sour, musky scent rolled between the trees.
Lin Su became more alert as he look around. Follow by Renyu. Then Qin Ming.
Yu Tianheng noticed next. His shoulders squared a fraction. Dugu Yan expression cooled at once. Ye Lingling fingers moved to the strap at her waist.
From the brush ahead came a low clicking grunt.
Then another.
Renyu turned his attention toward the sound.
Ground. Trunks. Air.
She Long old instruction returned without effort.
'Do not look everywhere. Pick a patterns.'
The brush in the bush moved on the right first, too low for a wolf, too heavy for a fox. Another shape pushed through on the left. Dark hides. Broad heads. Curved tusks wrapped in dull gray growths that looked more like bark than bone. Spines along the back, short and jagged, scraped against branches as the beasts emerged.
Four of them.
Each about the size of a small ox.
Qin Ming voice came calm and immediate. "Ironroot Tusk Beasts. Famous for defensive hides. Straight-line charge. Poor turning. Do not let them surround the center."
A fifth shape appeared behind the first four.
Larger.
Its tusks carried a faint green sheen.
Qin Ming eyes sharpened. "Leader is near one thousand years. Still not our target."
Yu Tianheng rolled one shoulder. Blue lightning began to flicker faintly around his arm as he released the martial spirit.
"Formation?" he asked.
Qin Ming answer. "Loose arc. Tianheng front. Dugu Yan left denial. Renyu right pressure. Lingling behind me. Lin Su rear and high watch. Show us the fruit of your training."
Lin Su vanished.
Not fully. Not from Renyu senses. But enough that the forest seemed to close around the place he had stood. Look like he is looking around the perimeter, probably making sure that other beast do not interfere.
Dugu Yan glanced at Renyu. "Right pressure. Can you manage that without your crown guard holding your hand?"
Yu Tianheng frowned. "Yan."
"No," Renyu said before he could intervene.
Yu Tianheng looked at him.
Dugu Yan eyes narrowed slightly.
Renyu continued, voice a little mocking, "If she has something to say, it is better said before a charge than during one."
Qin Ming did not stop him.
Dugu Yan crossed her arms. "Fine. You entered the academy under the crown prince banner, reached level forty before half the students there, and now a royal spotter follows you into Sunset Forest. Yet we are all supposed to pretend this is an ordinary field hunt."
"It is not ordinary." He look at Dugu Yan pensively while inside he thought, 'It is worse!'
"At least you know that."
"It is still a field hunt."
"And if something goes wrong?"
Renyu gaze shifted briefly toward the deeper trees, while giving a chuckle. "Then we survive it. If not, the guard send by the crown will make his move."
Dugu Yan smile sharpened. "That sounds brave just because you have protection."
Renyu said. "It's necessary."
For a moment, she did not answer.
Yu Tianheng studied Renyu more carefully now. Not friendly. Not hostile. Measuring.
Ye Lingling spoke softly from behind Qin Ming. "If you argue much longer, the beasts will charge first."
The group went still.
Dugu Yan turned her head slightly. "Look like our Lingling getting anxious."
Ye Lingling expression did not change. "You guys arguing too much, the beast already near." She pouted.
Qin Ming mouth twitched once seeing this.
Then the leader of the beast pawed the ground.
The fight began.
Yu Tianheng stepped forward, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon answered by manifest it fully.
Scales formed along his forearms. Lightning cracked across his shoulders and down his hands, turning the damp air sharp. The nearest Ironroot Tusk Beast lowered its head and charged at once, enraged by the sudden challenge.
Yu Tianheng met it head-on.
The collision shook the ground.
His fist slammed across the beast head in a burst of lightning, forcing its skull sideways even as the second beast hit his shoulder line. He did not fall back. His boots carved marks into the soil. His expression tightened, pride and control locked together in the set of his jaw.
'A captain, he need to show bravery then the others will follow.' Renyu thought.
The leftmost beast tried to cut around him.
Dugu Yan lifted one hand.
Green mist spread low across the ground, thin and poisonous, not enough to kill but enough to deny entry around her. The beast jerked back with a grunt, hooves scraping soil as instinct recoiled from the danger.
Dugu Yan smiled coldly.
"See? I have better control over my poison now."
"Good. If you can control it more, then there will be more strategy that can be integrate into our plan." Qin Ming said.
Renyu did not look at them again.
The right side moved.
One tusk beast had broken wide, using the trees to angle toward Ye Lingling's line. Its head lowered. Its shoulders bunched. The charge began.
Renyu inhaled.
The red converter crystal appeared before his chest.
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron"
He activate Ame no Habakiri. There no need to use others, this is just a test wanting to see how he fight and how he can coordinate with others.