Murim Recurve Chapter 20
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Chilly winds blew occasionally, bringing with them eerie sounds that made one shudder from fear. The rain had subsided now by a fair extent, no longer a heavy downpour. Re'Kha kept part of her focus on the direction the stampede proceeded towards, retaining the rest on the area around her.
She focused on the path she trod on, seeing the level of water cross her ankle by now. In some uneven places, the water level reached her knees. Thankfully, she now had her Water Qi perception to rely on, no longer having to tread blindly through all dangers.
"…sss…a.."
Suddenly, she heard faint sounds echo in the air; she focused on them, trying to make out the contents. But, the sound of the rain hindered her from hearing it clearly. For a moment, she thought it was the wind that made her hallucinate such noise.
Re'Kha stopped focusing on the stampede and perceived her surroundings. She soon noticed a lot of legs far to her front, after which was a large blank space. When she focused on the blank space, she noticed thin lines of blue span from the ground to high up in the air. The lines were arranged in order, equidistant.
It was a large wall spanning thrice her height. And, judging by the patterns the flowing water made, she recognised that it was a settlement. But, she dared not be hasty, after all, the walls of the Withered Courtyard also had the same patterns as their settlements.
She headed in the direction of the settlement, wishing to find out for herself if it was an actual settlement or something like the Withered Courtyard. She also noticed a place among the walls where the blue lines didn't exist. It probably meant the walls had been breached.
When she neared a fair distance, she could hear numerous screams, though the contents were still inaudible. The rain had thinned out considerably by now, turning into a faint drizzle, about to stop any moment.
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After making sure of her surroundings, she deactivated her Water Qi perception, taking a couple of breaths before activating her Wind Qi perception. She perceived the grey sand world once again, though with a lot of noise.
It seemed to still be recovering, as the rain hadn't fully stopped. But as rain intensity had almost died down, the wind wasn't fully cut off, allowing her Wind Qi perception to function fairly reasonably.
She noticed that a section of the walls had been breached as beasts and animals alike rushed into it. They only seemed a small portion of the stampede she had witnessed. She extended her senses further, noticing that the buildings were wholly intact, save for cracks and damages of small sections here and there.
After all, the buildings were carved from stone. So, unless the beasts unleashed their elemental attacks on them, the stone buildings wouldn't be damaged. Re'Kha noticed figures of large stature make a retreat from the other side of the settlement.
Soldiers holding spears made the back of the group while those that seemed to be the regular populace ran while carrying their bags. Some soldiers patrolled their march and acted as bait to lure away the nearby beasts and animals.
Using their swift horses, they shrug off their pursuers before returning to their station around the marching crowd. As they were being chased by the animals, with many beasts lingering amidst them, the retreating citizens were mostly on the run.
By the time she spotted them, they had already travelled a fair distance away from the settlement. She also noticed the blank space related to the rain fall on their bodies, sensing that their figures weren't damaged.
'So, they are actual people.' Re'Kha heaved a sigh of relief despite being unable to catch up to them. They were already on the run, and she was situated a fair distance away from them, by at least 4000-5000 paces. In her exhausted state, it was impossible to catch up to them.
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Even if she were to use all her might and barely catch up to them, she would be unable to keep up with them. After all, they were evacuating in panic. Instead of overexerting herself and be put in a situation where she would be chased by the beasts, all Re'Kha did was to note their escape route with respect to the settlement. Just through her observations, she judged that the settlement was a real one.
There was only a small fraction of the animals and beasts lingering within the settlement. The rest had begun chasing the escaping citizens. Even the ones that had stayed behind were looking around in panic, intending to join the stampeding crowd and escape.
'How grave was the poison plaguing master that it raised such a scenario?' Re'Kha seethed in rage, wishing to shred her master's enemies. But, she knew her powerlessness, suppressing the thought in her for now.
She took regular breaks and alternated between her Wind Qi and Water Qi perception, soon entering the settlement through the breach in the walls. Once she entered, she activated her Wind Qi perception, noticing the words carved into stone that made the top portion of the settlement's gate, 'Burkurel Ju Clan: Western Settlement.'
'This is the actual Ju Clan's Western Settlement.' Re'Kha heaved a sigh of relief, hiding behind a rock as she watched a beast move a fair distance away. Because of her Wind Qi perception, she didn't have to peek her head above the rock.
The beast sniffed some areas, roared a couple of times before exiting the settlement through the breach. Re'Kha surfed through the area using her perception and decided on one of the houses in the centre of the settlement.
It was the place where the Harmonisers from the Ju Clan lived. So, the defensive strength of the houses was the maximum there. It was not to mention the amenities that would have been stocked up within. Re'Kha planned to rest and recover there for the time being.
She stealthily roamed through the streets, skipping numerous corpses along the way. Most of the corpses were near the breach, followed by the areas around the walls. Further inward into the settlement, and there was barely any corpse.
Re'Kha soon barged into a house in the centre and made herself home. Now that she was in relatively safer territory, she could relax a little.
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The Foretold: Sun Child (Complete)
As a sixteen year old commoner, your future is bleak. Worse, your appearance sets you apart from others. Your only achievement so far, is befriending the second son of the Lord of the Keep. He has been your only friend for eleven years, initially partner in mischief and later your hunting companion and confidant. Now your friendship is being torn asunder, he has turned eighteen and is being sent away to become a Judge Knight Aspirant. What is to become of you? Before your friend leaves, there is murder and conspiracy! Magic left the land hundreds of years ago, all you have is your bow and hunting skills, nevertheless you must fight to survive and save another to have any hope of a future! Note: The graphic isn't mine; it is a re-imagining of a few separate images, any objections by original artists let me know. N.B. If you are looking for Sexual Content every chapter, or every second, third or fourth chapter this isn't the story for you - the Sexual Content is required for a plot device, not a way of life and the later chapters reflect that - please stop dropping Low Ratings when you feel I haven't met your idea of "fan service". This is finished as much as a multi book vision can be finished. At 750,000 words give or take and very little readership I can only blame myself. I have learnt a lot, possibly forgotten a lot as well! I will probably return to the Chapters at some point - a touch up here and a touch up there. The second book though will probably remain in my head for a very long time, so yes "cliffs" although I hope the characters and their motivations are developed enough that you can have a good guess at the content of Book Two and tell me so I can confirm or deny! This isn't a LITRPG where classes are developed, great foes are defeated by a hero of immense power. This is a story based within (I hope) a very real and consistent culture, that leaves breadcrumbs for the reader to work out what the heck is happening and why. This is a slow burn story as the MC is stumbling around discovering her new place and role. Author's Note (Apr 2021): I dropped the Fantasy Genre for the Mystery Genre, because while the setting mentions magic, is it about past glories and trying to return to them. Whereas the MC from Chapter One doesn't understand her predicament and the range of mysteries she must solve to survive. If I have this wrong PM me and I will change this back.
8 89Rekindle
My Newest, and at the same time, Oldest novel. This is a Rewrite of my very first novel that I begun when I was just starting out. It follows the story of Mark Floyd, a broken man who once tried to do what he thought was right... only to be stabbed in the back and thrown away.Now, pulled into a conflict that spans time and space, Mark has a choice to make; Stand up once more, even if it means facing an unknowable future, or let the Embers of his heart die and sink back into darkness. ----------------------------------- “For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity”. Once part of a Special Ops team in the US Army, Mark Floyd thought he had seen the worst that Humanity had to offer. That was until his final mission, one that would leave him a broken and shattered man, betrayed by the Country he served, and abandoned by society as a whole. His dreams filled with nightmares of the ones he failed to protect, mind and memories clouded by booze and more, Mark finds himself stumbling through life without purpose or desire. Life isn't done with Mark yet, however. For as long as even a single ember remains in a persons heart, here is still yet hope for the flames of Passion and Hope to be Rekindled. When the dying embers of Mark's heart catches the eyes of a Being far beyond his understanding, Mark finds himself thrown into a situation not even his years of training could prepare him for. Will this new chance be Mark's hope at both Redemption and Recompense? Or will it simply be the final nail in the coffin for a man already dead to the World? [This is a rework of my very first story. The general story will remain the same, however a few details have been tweaked, the chapters have be Edited better and some chapters have been broken down into smaller chunks for better flow and consistency. The biggest change will be to the System itself; It will be a lot less "Game-like", meaning no stats, levels or similar aspect, though skills will still be present in the form of "Programs". Instead, It'll focus more on the Sigil's nature as super-computers and how they change the world around them. This should make for a much more "natural" and less info-dumpy system.
8 118The Wanderer's Beginnings (Book 1: A Dark Tale.).
Tyler get his wish to disappear granted by a strange god, but the cost of granting his wish is that he is now a pawn for said god's amusement, join him as he tries to survive in this new world when he finds out that his perfect cheat isn't so cheaty, and everything has a consequence.
8 150Illusory
There was a girl whose feelings changed the world around her, and with every step little smoke clouds emanated from her feet. Her soul pulled right out of her chest like a long, blue comet with a tail, and swirled around her body like a protective blue flame. When she walked in a tight space the very metal itself around her melted and shifted so that she was walking in a cage of blue light, a cage of her own devising. Please read the original Tapas version for the best experience! Updates every day.
8 226The Merchant of the Golden Triangle
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8 201Return (TOG)
Eran is born from the passion of the people. As such, the moment their passion and feelings bloom, she becomes stronger. Yet, the moment their passion dims, she slowly gets weaker and weaker....From the very beginning, Eran has always been with he irregulars, even from outside the tower. As such, her presence have always been taken for granted. As Jahad and the rest climb the tower, their passion started to disappear and their feeling turned cold. As such, every second of every day, she turned weaker.Yet, she kept her weakening self hidden. The moment Arlene and V left, she couldn't hold her form anymore. Then, she disappeared quietly, alone.Now, after thousands of years, she finally gathered enough power to live independently, without being affected by the desires, passions and feelings of others affecting her.
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