At midnight, the crescent moon hung thin and wan.
North Hollow County, Pingji Wharf.
Through the fine, drizzling rain, a lone, half-worn merchant vessel lay moored, its hold steeped in slumber.
Inside the cabin, William Chen awoke with a start from a nightmare, his hand instinctively clutching the long blade at his pillow, springing upright with a sharp "whoosh."
The hilt snapped open with a low, brittle clang, wrenching William Chen from the remnants of his dream.
He stared, stunned, at Lena Sanders, clad in tight combat gear, standing in the center of the cabin. He instinctively began:
"I—I had a bad—"
Before he could finish, Lena Sanders raised a finger to her lips, silencing him.
William Chen's face hardened. He loosened his grip on the sword, then immediately tightened it again.
Lena Sanders gestured for him to put on his shoes, moving silently toward the cabin door, melding into the doorway like a shadow.
Outside, the rain fell in fine threads.
On the opposite side of the cabin, Darren Chang, taller than most men and broader than the rest, secured the final strap of his leather armor. Jack Golden and Harris Ma flanked him, blades at the ready.
Harris Ma caught William Chen's gaze and offered a crooked smile in greeting, his black eyes gleaming in the dim light.
Darren Chang fastened his armor, lifting the massive black iron wolf-tooth club just as screams erupted from the bow of the ship.
Almost simultaneously, Lena Sanders flung the door open. Harris Ma and Jack Golden surged ahead, blades drawn, while Darren Chang stepped back, swinging the wolf-tooth club toward the stern.
A chorus of sharp, splintering wood drowned out the thuds of iron striking flesh, accompanied by stifled, agonized groans of death.
"Follow me!"
Without a backward glance, Lena Sanders leapt from the collapsing cabin, cradling a compact steel crossbow. Each mechanical click was followed by the dull thud of heavy bolts striking the deck.
William Chen, still dazed, tightened his grip on his blade and fell in step behind her, back to her as they advanced.
The seamless coordination between Lena Sanders and her three subordinates left him momentarily stunned. These were the bodyguards he had hired with a small fortune after his perilous encounter in Southland Riverford City. From Riverford City to North Hollow County, they had traveled safely for over a month. During that time, she had appeared as any ordinary woman: cooking, serving tea, drinking, blending seamlessly into the mundane.
Now, witnessing her ferocious, ruthless side, he felt a fleeting sense of disorientation.
"Fall back!" Lena Sanders barked.
Darren Chang roared, smashing his club onto the aft deck. Propelled by the force, he leapt to the foredeck, the planks cracking crisply beneath his feet.
"Keep up!" Lena Sanders called, vaulting ahead, landing precisely behind Darren Chang.
William Chen rushed to follow, crouching behind Darren Chang as Lena Sanders continued to fire bolts with her crossbow. Jack Golden and Harris Ma flanked Darren Chang, forming a moving shield.
William Chen fell back a pace, signaling he would cover the rear.
Darren Chang's club demolished everything in its path; planks near the water's edge shattered into splinters, bodies of black-clad assailants broken and scattered into the blood-red foam surrounding the ship.
After clearing the deck of the swarm of attackers, Darren Chang crouched, grabbed a rope, and heaved with all his might. The ship surged forward, and an unprepared William Chen collided with an oncoming assailant, blade in hand. Harris Ma yanked him free, pushing him along to follow Lena Sanders as they leapt to the shallow waters.
From Lena Sanders' command to the group gathering on the foredeck and leaping ashore, barely a few heartbeats had passed.
Through the shallow water, Jack Golden and Lena Sanders led, Darren Chang covered the rear with his club, and Harris Ma shielded William Chen in the middle.
William Chen glanced back at the water demons struggling ashore.
"Damn, they're rich! Each wearing fish-skin armor. Deadly in water, but slow on land!" Harris Ma, head and body streaked with blood, had the presence to explain while simultaneously hurling insults at the crawling water demons.
William Chen ignored him, sprinting to Lena Sanders' side. "Watch for ambushes!" he warned.
From the dark woods ahead, several torches flared. Lena Sanders and Jack Golden altered course slightly, charging into the eastern grove without hesitation.
"Intercept those behind!" Harris Ma leapt high, bellowing in a local North Hollow dialect.
At this late hour, with the dim crescent moon, the torch-bearing soldiers ahead could not distinguish friend from foe. Hearing the familiar tongue, instinct drove them to ignore Lena Sanders' group and charge past, giving the group precious seconds to vanish into the trees.
The pursuers split into two distinct waves: one, bright and armored, clanging with weapons, moved with loud, deliberate strides; the other, clad in black and ghostlike, moved with uncanny speed, indistinguishable from the water demons' fluidity.
The black-clad phantoms soon left the armored soldiers far behind, clinging like leeches to William Chen and his companions.
To the east, the forest melded into a range of hills. Jack Golden, leading the charge, prepared to enter the hills when a series of sharp twangs rang out behind them.
"Archers!"
"Take cover!"
William Chen and Lena Sanders issued warnings simultaneously. Jack Golden vaulted behind a massive tree, Harris Ma diving into nearby bushes. Darren Chang sprang forward, shielding Lena Sanders as they moved toward Jack Golden's cover. William Chen followed suit.
Seven or eight black arrows embedded themselves in the ground just where they had passed. Lena Sanders' heart raced. These were masterful archers—at least a stone in draw weight, and shooting dead-on in pitch-dark forest—one in a thousand, yet here were seven or eight at once.
William Chen, rolling beside Lena Sanders, issued precise commands, "Darren Chang draws them out, Harris Ma follows me to strike, you and Jack Golden cover!"
Plans were executed swiftly and silently. Lena Sanders issued a single caution: "Darren Chang, be careful." Harris Ma, elated to fight alongside the Wen family, immediately positioned himself beside William Chen, black face glowing with excitement.
Darren Chang charged forward, low and silent, club at the ready. Lena Sanders hurled a stone, drawing a volley of arrows to the spot, narrowly avoiding a deadly strike. She shrieked, leaping, feigning injury to lure enemies closer.
William Chen's strategic blade work was lethal. Darren Chang's club smashed opponents into the earth. Lena Sanders' crossbow dispatched foes with pinpoint precision. Jack Golden and Harris Ma engaged with raw, flexible brutality.
Amidst the dense forest, William Chen moved with an ease and grace that left the black-clad assailants scrambling. Lena Sanders noticed his striking elegance and lethal finesse for the first time.
Realizing their skirmish risked delay with pursuing troops behind, she adjusted her position, letting William Chen and her team execute a swift, coordinated assault.
When one of the black-clad assailants lunged for Lena Sanders, she deflected with her crossbow, dagger flashing like a serpent striking the throat. Blood spurted, bodies fell, and Darren Chang's club followed, crushing any who remained.
With her team securing William Chen, Lena Sanders administered antidotes and bandaged his wounds, stripping her own skirt into strips to wrap his back.
Bloodied but undeterred, the group sprinted toward the hills, emerging as if plucked from the carnage itself, their focus solely on escape and survival.