The idea of using the fog became more of a hindrance than a help as the Troodon escalated their attacks. If I was only fighting Nero, the strategy may have helped, but with the dozens of animals attacking him, my perception wasn't able to compensate for and track each of the unique targets.

I wasn't able to increase the effectiveness of my perception enough to keep some of them from being obscured by the thickening blanket of fog, especially those next to Nero. It made my ability to target them problematic, and I was just as likely to skewer Nero with an arrow as I was one of the Troodon.

My normal senses had advanced, but with my sight obstructed I was able to compensate somewhat with my hearing. My auditory organs had advanced somewhat as part of the process of honing my internal organs. Although my progress with Body Refinement Realm had increased my senses exponentially, it still was not enough to allow me to fire blind. I had no choice but to swap back to my Tessen and disperse the fog, trying to reabsorb the Qi that I had expended.

The mist was still connected with and permeated by my Qi, as such I maintained enough control that the energy used to create the fog, responded to my will. It was only a matter of seconds before the scene below me cleared and chaos was revealed. Nero had taken additional damage, nothing as drastic as a missing leg, but deep gashes had been opened. One of the Troodon's had opened a slash close to his jugular, severe enough to leave a gaping wound. Just the smallest deviation in placement for that attack and he would have had his carotid arteries severed.

Once the fog was dispersed, I re-equipped my bow, as I pulled back the string, I began channeling Qi. The [Water Pierce] skill allowed me to split my focus, imbuing both bow and arrow with different elemental affinities. The bow became powered by air, allowing me to shoot farther and my attacks to punch harder.

The arrow was constructed entirely of water, water molecules slowed so that they expanded and formed an ice shaft. The ability to create elemental arrows meant that I would never need to replace any mundane ammunition. As long as my Qi held out, I could create an endless supply.

The ice arrows I had created were designed to explode on impact. I laced the crystalline structure of ice with pockets of air. The damage using arrows formed like this included a piercing modifier, but the real damage was the kinetic force that was released when the ice shattered. Each ice splinter was hardened by Qi so that in the shattering process, the damage was multiplied.

The head of the arrow that had pierced the skin would explode causing internal damage, damage that could well become life-threatening. A well-placed shot was a force equalizer. It was the reason I had invested so much time learning to form ammunition that resonated with the elements I controlled.

The problem with relying on wood or metal arrows was the natural armor that beasts gained as they honed their skin and bones. An animal might be powerful enough that the arrow rebounded without piercing the hide. The damage my arrows did could be resisted, but not as easily as an arrow made of natural materials and fletching.

Nero had managed to do some damage, even as wounded as he was. The Troodon that got within range paid a price as he returned attacks. They were able to hurt him, but he gave as good as he got. It was the wounded beasts I prioritized as my targets. His attacks had left gaping wounds that I could exploit, breached tough leather hide, and open wounds that would allow me to ignore the natural armor the Troodon possessed.

In time the animals would have made a meal of Nero, crippled as he was, he had almost no chance for escape. Why he hadn't retreated into the upper tree branches was puzzling, but I could only assume that the leg that he hadn't lost was still injured.

Shooting as fast as I could, embracing the [Dao of Movement] so that my muscles and actions were smoother and my arrows flew truer, I began to whittle the injured animals down. My arrows passing through gaping wounds taking advantage of the opportunities Nero had created. The pack was so focused on him, certain that they would have a meal, or angered at being hurt, that they failed to notice the deadly rain of arrows that began to thin their numbers.

A few of the more seriously injured Troodons were killed with one shot, but for most, I needed between three and five arrows to damage them enough that they died. Once I had thinned the flock enough that Nero was able to stand on his one leg, he maneuvered so that his back was pressed firmly against a tree. This left the Troodon with only one avenue of attack, while he made effective use of his spear to keep his attackers at a distance.

Now that he was relatively safe and out of the line of fire, I began shooting even faster. With no need to worry that a stray arrow might be deflected or that Nero might roll into the path of an arrow already released, I turned the clearing below me into a killing field.

There had been three dozen or so of the animals alive when I'd arrived, Nero had managed to kill a dozen, and was more than capable of killing all of them if he hadn't been injured so badly. It had been his bad luck to blunder into such a large herd, tripping when he tried to barrel his way past.

I had reasoned the only way that he could have ignored the pack's existence was if he had narrowed his Qi perception, focusing exclusively on me during our mad dash. It was a technique that Elder Shadow had explained existed but refused to allow me to use it.

A Cultivator could fine-tune perception and exclude and ignore anything except their target. It was an effective strategy when dueling because protection arrays were used. The barriers from these arrays were robust enough to protect the duelists from outside interference, as well as those watching from accidental damage from those fighting. Once an array was triggered nothing could get in or out until the duel was decided. But to use this Qi exclusion technique, except in that rare instance, was insane.

A Cultivator would be courting death out in the open, without the protection of those arrays. To blind yourself to the dangers of the world around you were skirting death. It may work time after time if you were lucky, but all it took was one time for your inattention and ignorance of the real dangers that walked the planet for your luck to run out.

"Do you have restorative pills?" I asked Nero once the last Troodon had been slain. I remained where I was, probing the clearing and the area around to make sure that the Troodons were all dead and that the sounds of the battle hadn't attracted the attention of any other beasts. There were beasts, even this close to the sect, that were even more deadly than a pack of Troodon.

"No," he answered weakly, "I used what I had already. It's the only thing that allowed me to live."

"Have you got the bleeding under control?"

"Mostly," he admitted. "I have a tourniquet around my leg, I don't want to seal the wound in case the leg can be re-attached. It will be a bitch if I have to regrow it."

I had jumped down into the clearing once I was certain it was safe and began harvesting. It might have seemed callus on my part, to ignore his health over whatever profit I might make from beast cores, leather, and vital organs, but he and his brother would have killed me if they were given the opportunity, so I refused to ignore profit over the health of an enemy.

I would help him, get him back to the Sect, but he could wait until I was ready. I was merciless about my harvesting, even claiming the material from the dozen Troodon he had killed. He could consider it payment, a bonus for saving his life.

"You can forget about re-attaching the leg," I called out to him when I finally found what was left of his limb, "the foot is all they've left for you to attach."

"It figures," he sighed wearily. "That takes me out of the competition in two months, it will take at least a year to re-grow and strengthen the new leg enough to be useful."

Walking towards the tree he was leaning on; I gave a cursory examination of his attempts at bandaging. He'd done an adequate job. He'd even begun channeling his Qi to close the stump so that the tourniquet was no longer be required now that he knew the leg couldn't be re-attached.

"We aren't far from the Sect," I pointed out, "do you want to send a message to Elder An and have him detail a rescue party for you? Or have me carry you back?

"I can get you back in a couple of moments, but it's up to you," I offered. I really didn't want to carry him, but leaving him here, abandoning him to his fate would only come back to bite me in the ass. His father was already gunning for me because of Braun, I didn't need him pissed that I left Nero to be eaten by some wayward animal that might stumble upon him.

Plus, I had harvested over thirty matched beast cores. The cores themselves weren't worth all that much if it weren't for the fact that they came from the same pack. There was some esoteric variable at play for pack animals, something that resulted in the cores forming identically.

Matched cores were highly prized no matter what the level, so even though the Troodon were level one pack animals the cores would be worth much more than that level suggested.

Unfortunately, matched cores couldn't be farmed from domesticated animals, enough beast tamers and farmers had tried and failed. I didn't offer to share, even from the animals that Nero had killed. I had saved his ass, and he knew it.