Rushing water flowed in a beautiful melody over and around rocks in the riverbed below. A cool breeze blew between the trees that provided shade, making the scene idyllic for a picnic or other relaxing activity. Had it not been for the current circumstances, of course.

Chidi could sense figures on the other side of the river, probably hidden behind trees. Their energy was restrained, such that he could barely discern them from their surroundings. If he were to approach closer he might determine more details- numbers, cultivations, and the like- but merely spotting them was the important part. He had to stay hidden himself, along with Aconite. Without Velvet’s training, they wouldn’t have gotten far… and Chidi wouldn’t be useful for anything more than being a foot soldier.

Not that combatants weren’t important, they were simply the most common, and it was difficult to stand out among them. That was especially so of someone with a cultivation like Chidi’s, merely in Spirit Building. He could step into Essence Collection at nearly any moment, but that was still relatively low by the standards of the upper realms. Fortunately, Yaitis wasn’t terribly important- that was why the war for control of it primarily involved weaker cultivators, and both sides were generally willing to let it play out. There were certainly stronger cultivators involved, but the vast majority were below Life Transformation. The group that the two scouts spotted seemed to be hovering around Spirit Building and Essence Collection.

That gave Chidi and Aconite a good reason to be leaving as soon as possible- outnumbered against people with matching or greater cultivations, they couldn’t hope to emerge victorious if a battle started. They might not even be able to run away quickly enough.

The two of them returned, reporting to Captain Tiras the approximate numbers and cultivations, as well as the location.

“Crossing the river there would likely be dangerous,” Chidi said, “Though the river itself is more dangerous elsewhere. We spotted beasts that could easily attack us and reveal our locations, allowing ourselves to be attacked in an even worse position.”

“We don’t need to approach them at all,” Captain Tiras shook his head. “We’re here to prevent enemy intrusion by defeating as many groups as practical… and getting ourselves killed along the way isn’t good for us or anyone on our side. The fact that they were in hiding indicates they knew we were near, but we’ll avoid that area for now.”

-----

Aconite was traipsing in the woods next to the trail the squad was following. Chidi was with her, keeping tabs on her as she dug up roots or plucked flowers, a delicate process for one without hands. There were various pouches dangling from Aconite that each type of thing went into.

“Are all of those really poisonous?” Chidi asked.

“To lesser or greater extents,” the growled wolfspeak sounded much friendlier to his ears than it would to most.

“How can you tell? Do you know all of them?” Chidi did his best to recognize all sorts of plants, but there were so many variations that he couldn’t always tell if he knew something, or if it was something he hadn’t encountered previously.

“Colors are a big hint… but you should also be able to pick them out with your senses. Sharp smells, oily leaves, and their taste as well.”

Chidi had to admit he didn’t make use of the latter as much as other senses. Taste was usually inferior to touch or smell, slower or less precise. And it was even more difficult to extend, as it was fully internal. Scents were processed inside the nose as well, but scents spread beyond a thing itself. Taste didn’t just float in the air- unless something was particularly bad. In that case, it was really more of the scent making a large component of taste than direct taste.

“I guess it’s better than trying to eat them,” Chidi admitted. “I’m sure it won’t be quite the same as actually tasting them, though.”

“Of course not,” Aconite agreed. “But it will be something.”

Chidi nodded, trying to experience more different things around him. Picking out what was poisonous was still difficult- and even Aconite got it wrong sometimes, chewing on things that didn’t count. Technically, anything could be poisonous- it just depended on what was interacting with it. Some things that would affect Aconite would be ignorable to Chidi, and the same in reverse- regardless of training and building resistance. But most things overlapped, and the edge cases actually made it more practical for Aconite to use certain things against humans. Building up an immunity helped, but she could never be truly unaffected by every poison that existed. Especially if she kept finding new ones. And the most potent were always the most difficult in every regard.

Determining poison by taste seemed easy at first- bitter or foul had to do it, right? But some things just weren’t good. Some poisons were more spicy, and some were sweet. But it was another avenue to judge them by, and any suspicions could allow him to probe more carefully with other senses, and it was usually possible to pick out poisonous or not with some effort. He just couldn’t focus on everything the same.

So focused was Chidi on that sidetrack that he almost missed the sound of a blade being drawn, and the swoosh of an arrow. “Ambush!” he called out, at the same time as Aconite howled. His warning would only make the difference of a fraction of a second to the squad, but that could save a life. Jumping behind a tree saved his own, as that arrow was headed for him. He still had to duck as it pierced through the tree- but it was slowed sufficiently to make that movement possible.

His own sword came out, and he did his best to assess the situation. He was glad he didn’t have to peek his head out to do so, instead listening and feeling for the action. Captain Tiras led a squad of two dozen, and the enemy seemed to be fairly closely matched in numbers and cultivation. That wasn’t good, as closely matched battles were dangerous.

Chidi angled towards Aconite and the target she had picked out- the archer. He felt fluctuations of her energy pulling various process or unprocessed herbs- and a vial of venom- out of her pack and along her fur towards her teeth and claws. Chidi didn’t know the logic behind the particular selections, except that the one on her teeth would be safer for her to ingest than the others. Hopefully it was the sort that only cause trouble in the bloodstream.

The wolf was swift, reaching her target in a few moments- but another cultivator was there to protect the archer. An older woman in early Essence Collection. She was likely past one hundred years old, while Chidi was barely twenty but he didn’t have the time or inclination to ask. He just had to fight. Aconite grazed the retreating heel of her target, and Chidi deflected the incoming blade of the older woman with his own sword.

The sharpness of the blade and the woman’s intent quickly redirected towards him, and he could feel it cutting before it touched flesh. He swayed, avoiding the slash while trying to counter with his own blade, but the woman dodged it with clear experience. Chidi knew he was in a dangerous position, not the actual terrain around him but simply allowing himself to get this close to a cultivator stronger than himself. But he wasn’t going to just leave Aconite to fend for herself.

Though now she was far off, chasing after that archer. Chidi could only do his best to defend himself, calling upon all the techniques he had been taught and pushing the limits of his cultivation. Perhaps he was skilled enough- perhaps his opponent was merely playing with him. Either way, he managed to survive for a minute without being injured. That had been his limit, as he received a searing cut on his cheek, just under his closed eyelids. He’d been injured before, even by blades, but the hostility behind the attack cut deep, slicing along the bones in his cheek.

“You think you’re something special, kid? Some sort of sword genius that can fight with his eyes closed?” the woman mocked. “You’ll find out that’s not true soon enough, if you don’t fight with all your strength.”

Sadly, that was what he’d been doing this whole time. None of his thrusts had connected with even a hair or the edge of the woman’s clothes. She wasn’t anywhere near as skilled as either of Chidi’s parents, or as strong, but they had never tried to kill or seriously harm him.

He’d have to go for surprise. “You want to see my full power? Then…” Chidi shifted his stance. He hoped that the leafy branches he felt in front of him were thick enough to provide some cover. He needed every slight advantage he could get from confusing his opponent’s senses. As for his full power? He’d already done that. But he had watched how the woman attacked and evaded, and he was familiar with the sound of her tensing muscles and the flow of her energy. It was several orders of magnitude slower than others Chidi had seen.

He stepped forward, thrusting out with his sword. His eyelids opened, hoping for the usual shock value. Perhaps in a battle it wouldn’t be as significant, since the woman likely didn’t care if she killed a ‘cripple’ or not. He was an enemy combatant either way. But it could distract her from his blade, and the scenery behind her. That was a weakness of people with sight, relying on it and focusing their senses so strongly in one direction.

She brushed against a tree and stepped on a slightly slippery patch of mud, and Chidi’s blade finally connected… just barely, the tip of it barely piercing into her shoulder as she continued backwards. And then Chidi felt another pain, not from a blade but an arrow. The archer.

Unlike the sword, which came and went, the barbed arrow cut deep into his thigh and then huhg there, an unbending rod that rubbed against his muscles even as he pulled back. The whistling sound of a sharp blade caused Chidi to duck, causing the arrow to bat against a nearby bush.

He wanted to just yank the arrow out, but the barbs prevented that. At least, prevented that being easy. Chidi thought about Aconite possibly being in trouble, and even though he doubted his ability to defeat the opponent in front of him he knew he couldn’t give up. He had to win… or at least delay until the squad could come help him. Though that also assumed them winning.

Chidi felt every bend of muscle inside his body, and widened the wound in his thigh with his energy to pull the muscle away from the arrow as he yanked it out. He didn’t quite do it perfectly, and the wound definitely got new cuts on the way out, but not as badly. Chidi just barely deflected an overhead swing with his other arm, leaping back to avoid being bisected as it turned into a horizontal sweep.

Such a large movement would give his opponent an opening to move how they wished, but it was the only way to save himself right then. Chidi breathed deeply, listening to his opponent walk towards him. And something else. A familiar and heavy plodding. Though it was only loud to his senses, familiar with it as he was. And likely more trained in his senses.

Chidi stepped forward, showing obvious hesitation. At least he couldn’t give away Aconite with his eyes- that was apparently a thing people did. Hopefully his ears didn’t twitch much as he feinted. The real attack was of course, the wolf from behind, and the woman realized it only after fangs sunk into her whole lower leg and she was yanked backwards. Chidi slashed out, and was surprised to find his blade passed her guard and cut into her ribcage, the woman’s defensive energy suddenly focusing on the wolf.

Whatever poison was on those fangs was fast acting, because Chidi could feel the woman slowing down even as she tried to slash at Aconite behind her. He stepped forward, grabbing her wrist to stop the counterattack as the wolf pushed down on her… and then the fangs were able to reach her neck.