Chapter 13: Ambush
Damon pulled out the map he had received from his storage pouch. Inspecting the crude drawings and reviewing the descriptions, he compared the map to the mountain pass he saw ahead.
"This seems to be about right. Night will fall soon, so I had better make my camp near the entrance to the pass."
Damon had trekked through the mountains for three days now. He had not encountered any troubles yet, but the exciting adventure he was picturing soon turned monotonous. He was wearing the cloak his Master had left behind to shield himself from the weather and cover his face with the hood.
"It is very lonesome to travel alone. Perhaps I need to find a new party to adventure with."
Damon arrived at the entrance to the mountain pass and set up camp next to it, while fantasizing about exploring new lands and fighting extraordinary creatures with a trustworthy party. He withdrew a few food ingredients from his storage pouch. He decided there was no longer a need to hide the pouch, as he was now alone. It was much more convenient to have everything stored in his pouch, with the exception of his bow and quiver of arrows. These were always attached to him just in case.
Damon ate a light meal and then studied some of the notes Master Silas had left behind. After a while, he decided to retire for the night. He bundled up against the mountain wall and closed his eyes. Although he appeared to be sleeping, he was actually meditating with his Mindsense activated. He understood that if anything were to attack him, whether man or beast, it would most likely be during the night. Therefore, he had never properly rested during the night and had always maintained his peak vigilance.
He meditated through the night, and soon dawn arrived. Damon opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw dense, dark clouds filling the sky. It appeared as though rain would pour down at any moment. Though the sun had risen, the surroundings remained gloomy, seeming to mirror his feelings. This deepened his melancholy, causing him to move sluggishly as he collected his belongings and cleaned up the camp.
Damon bent over to pick up his bedding when the hairs on his body rose. He immediately activated his Mindsense while looking up, and saw a frightening scene. Over a dozen fireballs were hurtling in his direction. Shit! It's a Flame Barrage spell! Damon thought, panic surging. I only let down my guard for a second. How did they get so close without detection?
Although taken by surprise, Damon was prepared for such a scenario. He leapt to the side, rolling across the stones scattered on the ground, before stopping in a crouched position, facing the direction the fireballs had come from. The hem of his cloak had become slightly singed, and one of his feet burned with intense pain.
"Who's there? Why did you attack me?" growled Damon in anger and pain.
Damon could see a figure walk out from behind a large boulder. He was clad in a thick, black cloak, the hood pulled down low to hide his features. He did not reply to Damon, instead raising his staff to cast another spell.
"Not going to identify yourself? Okay. You can have a taste of this then!" Damon yelled as he swung both of his arms at the hooded figure, as though he was clawing at him. Several of the stones that he had rolled over earlier drifted into the air before speeding toward the man. In response, the figure cast a regular fireball, which intercepted the stone projectiles mid-air and exploded. Beneath the hood, the man was smiling in elation. He had just proven his hunch.
For a brief moment, the hooded man's vision was obscured by the roaring flames. As the flames dispersed, he saw Damon with his bow drawn tight, an arrow nocked on the string. With a shout, Damon released the arrow. The hooded man initially channeled his arcane power to cast another fireball when he noticed nine additional arrows closing in on him from various directions. Caught off balance, the hooded man did not have the capacity to cast a defensive spell in time. Instead, he withdrew a scroll and activated it. Just as the ten arrows reached him with uncanny precision and coordination, an earthen yellow barrier of light formed around him. The arrows all bounced off the barrier without leaving so much as a scratch.
Damon's pupils constricted at the sight. He immediately turned around and started running, even as the pain in his foot worsened. The hooded man was taken aback, not expecting Damon to flee so decisively. He gave chase right away, leading to the scene of two figures zooming down the side of a mountain, through a forest, and into a valley. Unfamiliar with the nearby terrain, Damon eventually became trapped at the bend of a wide river. Although it did not run too deep or fast, it would definitely hinder his movements were he to attempt to cross. This would allow the hooded man to catch up and target him quite easily with his spells.
Uncertain about what to do, Damon hesitated as he looked around for an alternate route. Alas, this short pause was long enough for the hooded man to catch up, as his speed was lowered by the injury to his foot. He had been cornered. With a scowl, Damon withdrew the small golden sword from his storage pouch. He had difficulty grasping the small sword's hilt, even with his slender, youthful hand. This would be his first time using it since acquiring it alongside his Master's inheritance. While glaring at the hooded man, he crouched low, ready to leap in any direction in response to an attack.
The hooded man, still enveloped by the yellow barrier, ceased attacking momentarily. He finally said in a gruff tone, "You are no ordinary child. To think you have managed to survive combat with me for this long. You are not an Arcon, as you do not possess the ability to utilize arcane energy. Nor are you an Auron, as you do not use aura. That means you can only be a Psion. How did you manage to cultivate this ancient path?"
Damon became startled at the man's words. He crouched there, his eyes wide open, and his mouth agape. Psion… Ancient path? This must be the title of a mind cultivator. I thought this path had become extinct. How does he know of it? Is that why he attacked me? Was he able to see through my cultivation?
Suddenly, thick roots erupted from the ground under the stunned Damon, first entangling around his feet, before rapidly slithering up to restrain his torso and arms. He dropped the small golden sword as the roots tightened their hold on his arms and legs, spreading them out. A look of realization spread across his face at the sight of the entanglement spell, before grimacing at the pain in his limbs.
The hooded man approached Damon and stood a dozen feet away. He had been secretly preparing this spell while distracting Damon. Without saying another word, he raised his hand and started to chant and channel his arcane power. As the fireball spell drew close to completion, Damon let out a guttural roar. An unbearably sharp pain instantly pierced the man's head, causing him to yell out in suffering. The fireball fell apart as he staggered back, clutching his head with both hands.
While Feylis was incapacitated, Damon channeled all his mental power into his golden sword. It had materials that allowed him to continue to channel power into it from a distance. The dropped sword turned into a ray of golden light, as it flew straight at Feylis, piercing straight through the barrier and then his chest.
At this moment, the man felt another agonizing pain in his chest. He opened his eyes to see the perforated barrier and then, looking down at his chest, a jagged hole punctured all the way through the center of his torso, where his ribcage joined. This was also the location of the Arcane Node. He did not expect Damon to still have such powerful trump cards up his sleeve. He had failed.
Although the pain in his head quickly subsided, the strength in his body escaped just as swiftly. He fell backwards, raising a cloud of dirt which settled over his body. He coughed up several mouthfuls of blood as his blood began pooling beneath him. Along with his Arcane Node, his spine and major blood vessels had also been severed.
The roots binding Damon fell apart as the arcane power maintaining them dissipated. A golden light flashed as his sword flew into his hands. He shook the blood off the sword and placed it back within his storage pouch. He then walked toward the man lying in the dirt while massaging his bruised wrists. He looked down at the bloodied and soiled body of the dying man with sadness and loss. All of his previous anger and doubt had disappeared when he had realized who the assailant was earlier. The hooded man now had his face laid bare, as blood continued to trickle down from the sides of his mouth. It was Feylis.
Meeting Feylis in the eyes, Damon asked only one question, "Why?"
"I… Desired… Inheritance…" Feylis attempted to respond, as he regurgitated his own blood. "I wanted… More time… Damon… Sorry…"
Disregarding the blood covering Feylis's face, he looked sincere as he gurgled his final apology. His eyes looked at Damon with apology and regret. His face, especially those eyes, made Damon recall the several months they had spent together not long ago. During those months, they had grown very close and bonded like a real family.
With tears streaming down his face, Damon stood motionless and watched Feylis's chest rise and fall weakly, before it finally came to a stop.
Grandpa Feylis… You were like a real grandpa to me… You were my friend, and my mentor… Just for a cultivation inheritance… Is this the way of the cultivation world? Should I kill my loved ones for resources? Must I be ever wary of being stabbed in the back by my allies? This manner of living… It is even worse than a beast's!
As Damon kneeled beside Feylis's body, lightning flickered across the dark sky, and thunder exploded with a mighty rumble. Torrential rain poured down upon them, washing away the dirt and blood. Feylis no longer looked like a corpse, instead looking as though he was deep in slumber. Damon tightly grasped Feylis's robes and cried in sorrow for a very long time.
By the time his tears no longer fell, the rain had also stopped, and the moon was high above his head. When Damon stood up and raised his head, he was unrecognizable from the boy he once was. His features had not changed, but the look in his eyes and his demeanor had completely shifted. His eyes now held a deadly coldness, the dark blue irises leading into the depths of the abyss that was his pupils. His expression was so impassive, as though nothing could ever move him.
Crouching back down, Damon rummaged through Feylis's robes for his storage pouch. He remained apathetic as he found the pouch, storing it within his own robes. He then picked up the staff Feylis had dropped and placed it in his storage pouch. Finished with gathering everything he needed, he began walking away, pausing just once to look back at Feylis one last time. This last glance had completely sealed his determination to pursue his path of cultivation without any hesitation. Feylis had given him one final lesson. He would henceforth let nothing, especially not something as paltry as emotions or connections, ever get in his way. As Feylis had taught him previously, there was no good or bad. Only survival.
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Half a day later, two figures appeared near the area where the battle took place. One was a delicate-looking young girl, and the other was a broad-shouldered young boy. They were none other than Raina and Jon.
"Are you sure we're going the right way? Why did Grandpa Feylis even leave you a letter, informing you to track him down using your connected artifact, in the first place?"
"Yes! The pendant I have is a set with Grandpa's pendant. As long as within a certain range, it can detect the other and direct you to its exact position. As for why he left me that letter, I am no wiser than you."
"Okay, okay. I believe you. How far away does it say we are from him?"
"This… It looks like it's just up ahead. The pendant is pointing toward that large oak tree on top of that hill. How strange, I don't see him up there…"
"Let's quickly go and find him so we can return to the tower. Our Masters will not be happy if they find out we have already ditched our lessons on the first day."
The boy and girl pair hurriedly ran up the hill and arrived at the tree. After searching for a good while, they discovered a small hollow in the trunk, near the top of the tree. The pendant was contained within this hollow.
"Why did he hide the pendant here? What is he trying to tell me?" Raina could not make sense of the cryptic riddle her grandfather had left her.
From the vantage point where they were currently standing, Jon could see signs of battle in the forest below, leading toward a bend in a river.
"Look, there! There appears to have been a battle. Let's go check it out!" Jon pointed out before jumping down from the tree.
They hurried through the forest, passing by the initial battlefield. Raina noticed a few details, the type she did not want to believe. She paused in her tracks momentarily to bend down and pick up a broken arrow. It was one of Damon's.
Why is there Damon's arrow here? Raina mused. There was not enough evidence or clues to know exactly what happened. However, her suspicions began to grow.
When the two arrived at the bend in the river, they froze in horror. They had found the body of an old man lying in the mud. It was Grandpa Feylis.
Raina collapsed next to his body, disregarding the mud soiling her clothes. Screaming and bawling incoherently in despair, she embraced the old man. Jon remained by her side, in silent condolence. After crying her eyes out through the night, she finally managed to stifle her sobs and raised her head to look at Jon. With murderous intent pouring out, she said
"He betrayed us. He killed Grandpa. It was him. It was Damon."