1629 Barging into the Dragon Pool Alone
Deep in the night, White City…
Xia Geng was hugging Mei Mei, snuggling up on the soft velvet bed, enjoying blissful times.
Even if he was doing nothing aside from hugging the woman he loved dearly, Xia Geng was also feeling completely satisfied.
Spending time with a loving wife and child, what more could a husband ask?
!!
Perhaps it was because he had been wandering for too long, but Xia Geng enjoyed this peaceful life very much. He was very comfortable here in White City.
His other brothers also liked it here. They could window-shop during the day, share a drink or two at night, play cards, and sing songs. When the Skywings were not fighting, they would often be heading to a fight, so it was rare for them to have idle time like this.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle broke the night’s silence.
The originally lackadaisical Xia Geng lying next to Mei Mei suddenly jumped to his feet, his entire body tense. Like a wild wolf that had suddenly been angered, he gave Mei Mei quite the scare.
Speedsters did everything fast, and in the blink of an eye, he had donned on his war armor, his sword slung onto his waist. It was the G.o.d-killing blade Zero Deep Night Mallard, which their current patriarch Xia Fei had given him.
“What’s the matter? What happened?” Mei Mei was at a complete loss.
Xia Geng burst into laughter, but his eyes gleamed with energy. He gave Mei Mei a warm hug and kissed her lightly on her forehead.
“It’s Xia Fan. He has finally activated the Skywing Token, and we’re heading over right now.”
“Everyone?”
“That’s right. The reserve troops of the Skywings, all eighty-seven of us, will be embarking on this journey. No matter where Xia Fan is, we will arrive by his side as quickly as we can. That is the ironclad rule that has not changed in our clan.”
Mei Mei blinked uneasily, “Even Xia Di?”
“Of course.”
“But he’s just seven?”
“He’s a seven-year-old wolf cub of our Skywing Clan! The first time I went out to kill someone, I was barely two and a half years old! My mother said I was still sucking on a pacifier, when I joined my fellow clansmen on the battlefield and had a proper fight!”
When talking about this incident where he joined the fight while still sucking on a pacifier, Xia Geng did not appear to be in the least bit ashamed, and was even slightly proud of himself.
The men of the Skywing Clan would answer the call of battle the moment they were born. Going off to kill at age two and a half was not considered early, as there were some who could stab people in the back with a dagger the moment they learned how to run!
Mei Mei placed a hand across her cheek helplessly, rendered speechless by the men of the clan.
She actually knew about the maniacs that were known as the Skywings. It was just that as a wife, she would still be somewhat worried when hearing her man and son would be going out to kill!
“Then the two of you better be careful!” Mei Mei shouted at him.
Xia Gneg strode to the door, not once turning his head back. All she heard was a wild laugh that traveled to her ears.
“Wife, you must know that the Skywings will not even let an inch of gra.s.s remain when the Skywings set off. The ones who should be careful aren’t us, but our enemies!”
….
It was a windless night, and the moon was clear and bright.
The Skywing Reserve troops totaled eighty-seven members. They had all gathered in the plaza of White City. Most were from the Skywing Clan, as well as some friends who had sworn to follow the Skywings, including Star in Water and Moon in Water, as well as the G.o.d’s Chosen Tamu and so on.
As for those taking the lead, they were Xia Geng and Xia Yu. The two were actually brothers, and also partners. They had cooperated with each other for many years, and were the most trusted right-hand duo of the Patriarch Xia Fei. If they were not, the two would not have been the one leading these troops and carrying out dangerous reconnaissance missions.
Also, were it not for being tasked to do reconnaissance, they would not have been out of touch with the main force and been left behind on the first floor of the Lower Realm!
Xia Yu raised his head and looked into the distance.
“Remember the first time we used the Skywing Token?”
“How could I forget? We were fighting with those rascals of the Sandcloud Provincial Clan. There were so many of them and we couldn’t fight them all off, so in our anger, we used the Skywing Token.”
Xia Geng was reminiscing about the past as he chuckled, “In the blink of an eye, over a thousand Skywings arrived. Men, women, the young and old, they came from all corners of the world, all intent on desecrating the Sandcloud Provincial Clan’s ancestral grave, scaring the p.i.s.s out of everyone from that clan.”
“I was clearly the instigator of that fight, yet it was those rascals of the Sandcloud Provincial Clan that ended up taking a beating. After that time, the fifth son of the clan ended up being traumatized to the point where just hearing the Xia name would get him tongue-tied, a chronic problem that followed him for the rest of his life.”
Xia Yu nodded and sighed, “Yeah. That’s just how protective of the young our clan is, not to mention how unreasonable we get. But when we got back, we did end up getting beaten by the Old Ancestor quite badly; we were punished to kneel for an entire week for abusing the use of the token, our b.u.t.ts swollen from the beating, kneeling on that cliff.
“But it’s strange now that you mentioned this. Practically all the mischievous offspring of the clan would use the token when they got into trouble while young. It seems like getting into trouble is a habit of our clan, not changing after repeated teachings, generation after generation.”
Xia Yu turned now to look at his free and disorganized brothers. Xia Wanzhou was even munching on a leg of braised duck, looking not at all like he was about to go join a fight, but just an outing.
Xia Yu said in a deep voice, “Time for us to move out. This is the first time Xia Fan has used the Skywing Token since he returned to the clan, and the motto of our clan is to protect the young until death!
“Though we have no idea who Xia Fan’s enemies are, that will not stop us from desecrating the graves of their ancestors!”
…
The news of Icy Wind going missing very quickly spread to everyone. Traveling Buddha told Xia Fan that the last time he saw Icy Wind was when he bravely went to the moat that he excelled in defending, to hold off a large portion of the enemy.
“Had I known this would happen, I would have gone with him!” Traveling Buddha admonished himself.
“You can’t be blamed for this. Under the current circ.u.mstances, it is best if we search for him as soon as possible. It’s a pity that the battlefield is in too much of a mess; I can only use my Scent ability to about ten percent efficiency,” Xia Fan sighed.
“I got it, everyone will split up and search,” Dongfang He said. “Icy Wind is a Water Elemental, and he is very strong. Anyone that could capture him would have to put up quite the fight, so be sure to check for the traces of a fierce fight near the city moat.”
—
Thus, everyone made a thorough search along the moat, and though the fight had just ended and everyone was very exhausted, they knew very well what it meant if Icy Wind had been captured.
When Xia Fan rejoined everyone, he had told them about how the Scarlet Blaze Demon King Stanley was active here in the buffer zone, and the only reason he attacked Holy Spring City was so he could capture the Water Elemental brothers Icy Wind and Icy Rain. It could very well be part of the plot that the Thirteen Demon Kings had hatched, and it was very important.
But who would have thought that the foolish Icy Rain would be fine, and it was Icy Wind, who had been protecting Icy Rain this entire time, who would disappear without a trace after the battle.
Xia Fan did a quick check along the moat, but aside from the scattered few tribal warriors still fleeing, he did not see any Demonized Demi-dragons or White Bone Regiment warriors.
The situation was very bad. The tribal warriors were just fodder, while the Demon Demi-dragons or White Bone Regiment warriors were Stanley’s main force. Now that they were suddenly gone, it only proved that their job was complete and there was no need for them to remain there any longer!
“I found something!” someone yelled out loud, and Xia Fan immediately sprinted over in one breath.
He saw a huge gap in the approximately forty-meter-wide moat. The scars left from a fight were very prominent. Icy Wind clearly had put up quite a battle, breaking rocks and even fracturing the water channel.
But because of how intense the fighting had become and how quickly the enemy had captured Icy Wind, no one had even noticed something had happened over here.
Xia Fan squatted down and carefully examined the scene once more. He pinched a bit of the mud on the ground and sniffed at it.
“This is Icy Wind’s scent. He was captured,” Xia Fan confirmed.
Everyone was startled and perplexed.
“Who could have abducted Icy Wind? His combat strength is greater than my own by an entire level,” Traveling Buddha declared, still in shock.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve noticed this very strange smell, Rosemary of the Night, which is an ingredient used in very expensive perfumes,” Xia Fan stated.
“Perfume? A woman abducted Icy Wind?”
Xia Fan shook his head, “We can’t be certain. Mousse has already betrayed the Holy Spring City, or perhaps he was waiting for this very moment with his comrade-in-arms. I also caught his scent here.”
“Then can you track down these smells?”
“Yes,” Xia Fan nodded, before taking in his surroundings.
Everyone was mentally and physically exhausted, with wounds all over their bodies. Even if he brought them all along, he was uncertain if they could even be of any help in a fight.
Nikai and Lejiajia still had some energy left in them, but if the latter were to leave, the rest would be in grave danger. After all, she was the only one able to ward off the Demi-dragons!
“You’re not possibly thinking about abandoning me, are you? Don’t even think about it,” Traveling Buddha glared, shouting at Xia Fan loudly.
Unfortunately, the moment those words came out of his mouth, Xia Fan had already disappeared, leaving just one final statement:
“I’ll be right back!”