BXBX NOVEL Chapter 823 Barracks Trip: First Beacon
"Are you almost there?" Keng\'s voice telepathically appeared in his head. Lee Seng and River blitzed through the forest, bobbing and weaving through the forest as they broke through the rooftop of the forest. The sounds of discordant melodies grew loud. Lee Seng\'s eyes focused on the beacon, pushing faster while River panicked.
"I\'m almost there." Lee Seng answered. "I don\'t like this one bit! There\'s a horrible noise and River smelled of fear."
"That doesn\'t sound good." Keng sighed. "River\'s intuition\'s never been wrong as long as I\'ve worked with him. Captain Zixin says to be ready for anything." Lee Seng nodded, coming up on the beacon.
"Hurry!" A male voice yelled. Armor clinked as two other soldiers pulled the badly injured ally behind them.
"He lit up the beacon, but they still managed to harm him!" A girl yelled. "Heal him!" Another male Fox Spirit moved over and lifted his hands. "We gotta hold out until—"
"Little wee Foxes!" The large orc lifted their club onto their shoulder as more orcs appeared around him. "It\'s our lucky day, boys. We\'re going to eat good, tonight!" The orcs shouted in unison before running past the largest orc.
"We-we\'re dead!" The first male Fox Spirit shouted. He shuddered as the girl stepped forward, brandishing her blade.
"Then die like a warrior!" The girl shouted. She charged forward, dodging the first club right into the second. The girl grunted, spewing blood from her mouth as she flew past her friends and bounced along the floor. The first male Fox Spirit whimpered. Fear froze him while the healer yelled at him. The scared Fox Spirit squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the impact of a harsh death.
A bright silver light fired downwards, blinding the orcs. Lee Seng tossed River into the fray, silver light breaking out of River as fear squashed in the presence of the calm aura. A silver sword appeared, piercing the first orc he saw. River pulled the sword out and kicked back, flipping and landing in front of the scared crew.
"We\'re saved!" The healer shouted. Lee Seng smiled as he pointed his hand down at the orcs. Bright golden energy flew outwards, piercing and instantly killing most of the orcs in one hit. The largest orc pushed his energy outwards, blocking a few attacks before his energy shattered, sending him into the ground.
"W-who\'s that?" The injured Fox asked. A murderous energy funneled into River\'s nose, pulling him to look behind him. He flicked his eyes over to the healer and the injured soldier, not noticing anything.
\'Where is it?\' River wondered.
"Voltoxic blast!" A bright orange and yellow light out of the forest, heading straight for the group. River\'s eyes widened. He began to rush forward, only to watch a golden energy wrap around the entire group. The voltoxic blast slammed against the shield, scaring the entire group and lighting them up in smoke. River threw his arms up, feeling nothing.
"River, deal with the large orc! I\'ll deal with the mage!" Lee Seng shouted. Lee Seng rushed out of the forest, reaching for the Fox Spirit and yanking her into the golden barrier. "Don\'t worry about the group!"
River stuttered as the Fox Spirit soldier flew straight into him. He grunted, grabbing her and sliding back into the barrier. The barrier shimmered brightly before releasing powder dust onto the group. The girl\'s bruised and broken body began to heal. River set her down and whipped his head around.
"Ahhh! More Fox Spirits!" The largest orc shouted. "I\'m going to kill you all!" He rushed onto his feet and ran straight for the barrier. River jumped out of the barrier, slashing the silver sword horizontally in the air. Silver energy flew outwards, slamming into the large orc. The orc chuckled as the blue Fox spirit ran at him.
The orc retaliated, swinging the large club downwards. River hesitated, watching the large club slam into him. The scared Fox spirit soldier peered out of the barrier, eyes widened.
"H-he\'s… He\'s dead." The scared Fox Spirit soldier stuttered. He fell on his butt, scooting away. The injured Fox spirit gritted their teeth together as they looked around.
"Get… a grip guys…" The injured soldier pushed themselves up.
"H-hey!" The healer yelled. "You\'re not fully healed yet!"
"Get a grip!" The injured soldier shouted. "Our job is to protect each other and come back alive, right?!?" The large orc\'s smile faded. He could feel River resisting the orc\'s strength. The club cracked as River pushed upwards, legs shaking. Blood spilled from his head as he grunted and pushed the orc\'s club away.
"Raki Stance: Energized Sting…" River lashed forward, slashing horizontally. Silver energy flew outwards, hitting the large orc and blistering itself all over the orc\'s stomach. The orc screamed in pain as River jumped backwards and lifted the sword, pointing it at the orc. The orc swung at River, slamming into the ground. The orc stumbled forward, rushing at River.
The large orc\'s energy blistered red. His entire body bulged with veins as he swung his fist downwards into the ground. The ground erupted in front of the orc, tearing everything in its path away. River yelped as he lost focus, flying into the air. The scared Fox Spirit screamed, awaiting their death. They watched as the earth slammed into the barrier, suddenly stopping.
The large orc jumped upwards, pulling energy into his fist. The orc sailed closer to River, swinging his charged fist at River. River gritted his teeth.
"Raki Stance: Piercing Sting!" River flipped himself and stabbed the sword straight into the charged fist. The two energies pushed against each other. The blisters sweltered, popping into small bursts of light. River pushed the sword into the orc\'s fist, piercing through its hand. He twisted the blade and kicked the orc, pushing himself backwards. River sailed backwards, landing in the golden barrier.
"Did he… kill the orc?" The healer asked. The three young boys watched the orc slam into the ground. River\'s energy fizzled away. The calm feeling lingered as he gathered himself.
"Are you okay?" River asked. The silver sword fizzled away. He looked at the unconscious girl and checked for vitals.
"Who are you?" The injured soldier asked. "H-how did you take that large thing so easily? Y-you look like you can\'t be more than twelve or thirteen…"
"I\'m almost fourteen." River smiled. He moved over to the injured soldier and knelt down. "I think Leader\'s barrier and your ally\'s healing will heal most of these wounds. As for her…" River turned and noticed the bruising was disappearing. "She\'ll probably need to get checked out…"
"Who did you come with?" The used-to-be-scared soldier asked. He looked over in the direction the golden Fox Spirit went off in.
"My leader." River answered. A light went off in River\'s head and he snapped his fingers. "I haven\'t even introduced myself! My name\'s River and I\'m part of the Saviors Temple. Nice to meet you all."
"Woah… Someone from the Saviors temple…" The healer gasped.
"T-that powerful guy who made this b-barrier is… your Le-leader?" The injured soldier asked. River nodded.
"I haven\'t interacted with him much. This is my first time going out with him." River smiled. "He seems nice, though."
"You haven\'t met him before?" The used-to-be-scared soldier asked. "Was he doing something else?"
"Mmm, I met him when he woke up a couple months ago…" River tapped his face. "He was in a coma for a bit. I don\'t know all of the details, but from what Fae tells me, everyone likes him a lot. I see why, too. He\'s nice, he thinks about others even if he has stuff on his mind. He looks like a guy who\'s always thinking about others before himself…"
"You\'re sure of all of this, already?" The injured soldier asked.
"I guess?" River shrugged. "Anyways, Leader Lee Seng should be here soon. Don\'t worry." River turned and smelled a strange nice smell akin to cologne. River knew this smell as Lee Seng\'s. "He\'s coming back." The eight tailed Fox Spirit appeared on the outside of the barrier without notice.
"What\'s the status?" Lee Seng asked without skipping a beat. Everyone grew anxious at the sight of Lee Seng. A powerful eight-tailed Fox Spirit was in front of them. The soldiers thought of him on the same power level of their Captain.
"The orc is dead. Two injured, one\'s conscious and is being healed. I don\'t think he\'ll need much medical attention. The girl passed out. I think she has an internal injury and needs to be checked out." River informed Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded and stepped into the barrier, pulling the energy back into him.
"Alright. Let\'s go to the temple." Lee Seng lifted his hand out and ripped the space around them, forming a portal. The young group gasped in unison, all freaking out over the powerful spell. "Alright, get in. I\'ll handle the girl." Lee Seng moved his hand over to the girl and flicked his fingers upwards, lifting her up. The boys all wore shocked faces.
"C\'mon." River motioned to the soldiers. He moved over to help the healer with the injured soldier while the used-to-be-scared Fox Spirit slapped his cheeks and stood up.
"I-is it safe?" The used-to-be-scared Fox spirit asked.
"Safe as can be. Go ahead. Your Captain and your seniors are waiting for you with my team." Lee Seng motioned.