Alex grimaced. “Then we do it another way.”
He held her gaze for long moments. “But there will be a very wide door behind all of us. If shit hits the fan, you don’t hesitate. Just turn tail and run through. No doubt your cousin will be happily waiting for all of us with most of my library at his disposal, and all the food and drink he can eat.”
Yan nodded. “The wisest commanders always have multiple backup plans, even if they never use them.”
“Because the one time you take your enemy completely for granted...”
“Is when the fates are happiest to see you fall,” Yan finished. “But if everything goes well, we’ll be before the palace and formally announcing our royal presence, at which point the Sovereign Princess must be informed and we must be granted immediate guest rights or safe passage out of the principality, or our would-be host risks offending the emperor himself.”
Princess Xian flashed a reassuring smile, looking just as beautiful as any heroine on the silver screen. Fully kitted in flexible armor that just happened to hug her curves to striking effect, as custom-made armor should. She wore an elegant silk qipao underneath her armor that wouldn’t hinder her movements, her hair plaited and face painted to exquisite perfection even as she readied herself for battle, prepared to switch roles from warrior to princess in an instant, once they broke through whatever barriers her uncle might have left to catch any unwary opponent, when allies weren’t looking their way.
And no one was expecting the princess at all.
Which made her piece all too easy to remove from the board, did they try any entrance save the one only Alex could give them.
Hesitating no longer, Alex opened his first gate between worlds. And for all that the benefits had been vague, he was grateful he had had the presence of mind to invest three full ranks in the Mastery tree. Because even with significant bonuses in play, it was everything he could do just to feel out the odd connections between worlds and somehow widen the size of the gaps and narrow the distance between them until that which had been impossibly vast distances apart was now just a single step away.
You are attempting to forge your first gate between worlds.
You have saved versus critical failure for enacting a skill you have never practiced before! Significant positive modifiers are now in play.
Congratulations! You have successfully summoned your first interdimensional gate. 30 Qi spent!
Summon Portal is now at Rank 1!
Alex took a deep ragged breath that was equal parts exhaustion and satisfaction when his door finally snapped into being, allowing his Qi reserves to refill before daring anything further, forced to wonder just how perilous was the skill so much was now riding upon, having felt what almost seemed to be his soul stretching out between realms, before everything snapped back into place.
The first thing to catch Alex’s eye was the ghostly wavering image of the royal palace itself, as seen through the eerie shimmering globe of Voidal, Spirit, and Fate Qi radiating from the moat, cutting off the palatial section of the Royal Quarter from the rest of the city.
At the moment, the area was empty of all prospective guests or supply trains, for all that it was near midday. No innocent bystander stood between a suddenly-manifesting Alex, his companions, and the handful of deadly-looking cultivators standing sentinel upon the silver bridge, the trio having timed their emergence in the instances wandering eyes had been looking anywhere but in the direction of the portal they were blind to, until Alex and his companions popped into existence before the palace.
Only then did the half dozen hard-eyed soldiers snap to attention, glaring at the potential guests that should never have gotten that close without being spotted seconds before.
Or so Alex read from their killing auras, each sentinel wearing lamellar of finest steel, and all of them glaring at the three intruders with iron hard gazes as they immediately unsheathed swords and spears.
“Who dares approach the palace of Cui Zhe, Sovereign Princess of Cuijing, loyal servant of Zhengtu nation?” roared the lead soldier, his dao crackling with Fire and Lightning Qi.
Summon Portal skill check successful. You have successfully forged Emergency Gate.
“To your knees, soldiers!” Yan roared. “Royal Princess Xian Hong stands before you! We formally declare guest rights as per the imperial accords. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that to interfere in royal affairs is a death sentence, so I suggest you inform Sovereign Princess Cui Zhe of our presence at once!”
The lead soldier paled at these words, gazing up at the scowling giant before him. Two of the men behind him had instinctively fallen into half bows. “I need to see your royal insignia,” he said at last. “Proof of your claim.”
Princess Xian Hong dipped her head. “Of course,” she said. Yet before she could retrieve her amulet, Alex’s Nemesis was suddenly before them, glaring furious hate through his one good eye, fully restored since Alex had filled it with caustic bile, though his other eye was still a mass of scarred, pockmarked flesh seared almost to the bone.
“Lies! These are the three assassins responsible for the death of Xian Hong, using darkest magic to wear her face like mask!”
The kitsune flashed the most twisted of smiles. “All shall be revealed the moment she falls to our blades. My Cultivator’s Oath upon it!”
The guard’s eyes widened with outrage and righteous fury, and Alex immediately understood. These daylight guards were as honest and upright as upright could be. It was only the night watch that the Red Prince’s agent was able to corrupt. But a convincing enough lie, and they could be manipulated all the same. And Alex knew how to twist truth as well as anyone, the bitter benefit of the mixed heritage both he and his enemy shared; one a kitsune, the other a disciple of Silver Fox himself, both of them skilled at twisting reality and truth to suit their needs.
For everything would indeed be revealed once the righteous princess was cut down by men that would no doubt be burned alive for their crimes, the kitsune mastermind long since hidden in Shadow’s embrace, laughing at so many fools dancing to his tune.
All this Alex understood in an instant, attempting to summon the golden door absolutely everything rode upon in the precious seconds his foe wasted flashing Alex and his companions the most vindictive of smiles, savoring their seeming utter helplessness, before giving the order that would seal their doom. “Well? Cut those assassins down, fools! The Ruidian is mine to kill alone!”
Skill check failed! (Automatic!) Potency check failed! Your Gold tier gate has failed to pierce Nether-Ward!
And Alex blanched, stumbling back in sudden horror, his foolproof plan he had thought certain to work, with no more than one person per city possibly having equal strength, crumbled to ash around him. Mystic doors able to pierce even a Gold cultivator’s wards, had failed. And not for lack of skill, but simple lack of power.
Which could only mean that no one weaker than a Jade Queen or Warlord could pierce that ward.
The powers-that-be in the palace beyond had actually channeled the power of the Underworld to form their unbreachable moat. Even as Alex fought against panic, he couldn’t help but wonder at the terrible price that would be paid for this dark working.
The only thing saving them all was how slowly the guards crossed the bridge, moving at a fast walk, never a run.
“Alex!” Xian Hong all but screamed in his mind, the three of them linked as a party, and how amazed his friends had been to find he could actually do that, purposely not even looking at Yan’s all too easily manipulated node, nor the princess’s, his face carefully showing nothing when he had found just how true was WiFu’s story about Long Wang’s son taking a Ruidian mate whose offspring went on to carve out a kingdom that would one day join the Golden Empire truly was. For her ancient bloodline was still running strong in the blood of royal cultivators so potent that Gold was well within their reach, as Xian Hong proved, and no elementalist’s jewels would ever touch their brows.
; Yet it made no difference, as far as Alex’s internal matrix was concerned, having connected with both their nodes with frightful ease the moment they accepted his party invitation. And how relieved he was that the princess didn’t suspect a thing, Alex having absolutely refused any deeper connection than a party link.
And Alex had absolutely no doubt that, no matter how sincere her earlier smiles and flirting, if the princess truly understood what their connection entailed… he was as good as dead. But he had absolutely no intention of revealing that ugly little secret. All that mattered was that he could sense his friend’s locations and communicate with them effortlessly, even without the Qi Perception that let him instantly sense where all his foes were presently located, just a split second before the half dozen charging men swarmed upon them.
“Yes, Commander Yuci! We will cut down those imposters at once!” roared the foremost guard, as all of them finally making it past the bridge’s edge, now racing forward at a fearsome sprint, and Alex finally knew the name of his sworn foe.
“Alex!”
Xian didn’t hide the desperation in her voice this time.
And Alex wasted no time with words, merely gestured with his fist, his friends immediately jumping through the gate leading not to the palace itself, but to the very beginning of the bridge, Alex pausing only long enough to drop one of the massive clay flasks he had made at the crack of dawn.
And the expression of surprised hate upon Yuci’s scarred features when Alex raced forward, seemingly onto to his enemy’s dao, before entering the door it had taken precious seconds to manifest, had been priceless. And Alex wasted only enough time to flip his enemy the bird as he and his friends popped into existence right at the entrance of the silver bridge now showing a path miraculously free of hostiles, so long as the foes just behind them could be kept at bay.
Yet Alex’s fierce surge of hope immediately faltered when his companions abruptly stumbled to their hands and knees the moment they were crossing directly over the River of Souls.
And much to Alex’s horror, Xian Hong’s faltering progression came to a complete stop.
Alex’s gut clenched, as the princess curled up in a fetal ball. “I can’t do this!” Xian Hong sobbed, eyes filled with unspeakable horror, as if caught and transfixed by every death she had ever experienced in every incarnation she had endured upon the wheel of existence.
“That’s right, fools. You can do nothing except die!” roared the furious kitsune, spinning around as half of his cohort stumbled and fell, screaming as their feet were burned off by caustic, sticky amoebic slime Alex had spent a grueling hour forcing himself to cough up, praying he wouldn’t need it, but now grateful as hell that he had made it.
And Alex instantly understood why the kitsune was grasping the silver amulet around his neck and proceeding so slowly forward.
An amulet shared by all the guards. Perhaps identical to the amulet he had seen on the scion representing the blue house as well.
It also explained why merchants had left their wagons full of supplies at the gate before, guards with their Silver-ranked strength acting as porters, because only those wearing those amulets could walk across the bridge. Unless, of course, one had experienced the deathly pull of the River of Souls directly, struggling with every ounce of their will to keep their soul intact.
For someone who had survived that crucible, the mild pressure and whisper of despair wasn’t even worth a second thought. Though Alex couldn’t deny that there was a part of him would have willingly endured hanging out on that bridge for however long it took to see if this echo of the true river would dare give him previous flashes of the deaths that had brought him low, every life before. He would embrace those bitter lessons with darkest thanks and learn whatever he could, so he could avoid those awful follies in this, his final life.
Just like a professional gamer studying every final boss fight he could, learning as much as possible from the mistakes of earlier play sessions, before choosing to play the game on permadeath mode.
But now was definitely not the time for that.
Strength check made with ease!
Almost effortlessly, Alex hoisted the princess up and sprinted across the bridge.
But not before shattering a second clay flask of amoebic slime behind him, smiling fiercely at the kitsune’s roar of outrage.
“Alex, you can’t leave him, please!” Xian Hong whispered desperately as Alex put her down on the other side of the bridge, quickly regaining her strength now that she was no longer directly over that projection of the River of Souls.
For a heartbeat, Alex took in the magnificent palace he could now see in all its glory, the noonday sun setting the shimmering stone alive with a dazzling display of colors, artfully muted to leave one feeling a sense of awe, without blinding one with the brilliant sparkle he would have expected.
But he spared only a moment for the wonder, making sure that no other guards had been alerted to what was going on at the bridge, and that the princess was really safe where he had sat her, before racing back onto the bridge, having absolutely no intention of leaving his friend behind.
Only to behold Yan crying out as claws of Shadow sprang from a furious-looking kitsune’s hand, manipulating Yan’s own noonday shadow as the assassin strove to force his way past the amoebic slime covering the bridge, sticking to his boots like glue even as they burned clean through.
“I will kill you for this, Ruidian, but not before I tear out your friend’s throat!” Yuci roared, making a claw of his hand, and Alex could feel Yan’s spike of terror, imminent death finally breaking the awful hold the river had had on him as he shook free of his paralysis and began crawling to the other side, one pathetic inch at a time. But it was too late.
A tiny claw of Shadow was already throttling Yan, now desperately grasping at his throat, unable to find purchase on the awful limb strangling him, his death all but assured.
Skill check made! Bullrush successful even on Silver Bridge of Souls! You have struck your Nemesis with Dark Qi-covered fist. Wards successfully pierced! Your foe has been sent flying back! Foe’s concentration has been disrupted.
But Alex paid a price for breaking the deadly grip on his friend, the roaring kitsune lashing out with a Shadowy tendril that effortlessly drew blood from a hissing Alex, cutting right through his Dark Qi gauntlet. Even if just a flesh wound, it was a potent reminder of just how vulnerable Alex personally was to Yuci’s blows, thanks to the Nemesis Card now in play.
“Come on! Move!” Alex roared at a trembling Yan who was going at a painfully slow crawl even as he gasped and wheezed. The massively powerful frame that had proven resilient even to Shadow’s deadly caress, for all that his friend was obviously suffering from a damaged larynx, now proved a detriment as Alex found himself completely unable to move the giant, let alone his fearsome staff that seemed as much living mountain as a six-foot rod of unbreakable stone.
“Yan, please!”
So much said with Xian Hong’s desperate words as Yuci roared, piercing Alex with his hot glare.
“Kill them! For the sake of our king, you must kill them now!”
Guttural commands compelling not just one but two of the still-upright Silvers behind Yuci trudging through Alex’s mixture of amoebic slime and alchemical adhesive to howl like berserkers, tearing free of boots that would not budge, the flesh melting off naked feet sizzling on contact with Alex’s caustic brew, inflicting ugly wounds that sadly did little to stop the wild-eyed Silvers now charging forth, one leading with his shield and flaming sword, the other his spear, both equally lost in the rapture of their fury, the pair aiming to strike their targets in tandem.
Alex, not so foolish as to take on a pair of rushing Silver berserkers, did the only thing he could, Bullrushing right off the bridge.
Which left Yan right in the path of the Silvers’ deadly charge.
Xian Hong screamed. “Brother!”
Alex met Yan’s hopeless gaze, seeing how utterly lost the tit
an was. And with the bloated general’s mocking laughter in the back of his mind, he knew there was only one thing left for him to do.
Pulling up the interface tab he swore he would never again even look at.
Not since the horrified stares his first Ruidian friends had given him, when they were made to understand exactly who he was.
What he was really capable of.
The real reason why the Ruidian peoples had flooded this world in a desperate campaign of conquest, over a thousand years ago.
Because it didn’t matter how many generations of True Bloods diluted the lines of the original invaders. The crystalline structures of their souls would forever have a single flaw they could do nothing to mitigate.
Only endure.
Master Matrix has detected two inert Slave Nodes. Master Matrix has detected two active Slave Nodes.
Active Slave Node Alpha Silver One has been successfully accessed. Full compliance protocols have been initiated.
“Alpha Silver One! Autonomy has been revoked! Pivot and strike NOW!”
Alex could sense his former friend’s howling scream.
And it meant nothing.
Nothing compared to the sudden crack of stone exploding against flesh and bone, Yan spinning around with inhuman speed despite his massive bulk that caused even Yuci to lurch back with a startled hiss as the pair of charging cultivators literally exploded before his eyes.
The powerful Earth wards that had been radiating around the Silvers meant nothing, shattering like crystal globes struck by a madman’s fist.
And the mystic shield resonating with the potency of a Dragon’s scales that the lead Silver had trusted his life upon was instantly torn free of the charging berserker as his body exploded upon impact with Yan’s terrible artifact, a weapon channeling the power of a meteor with his every swing, covering Yuci and the guards still behind him in a patina of blood and gore as chunks of ruptured flesh spun lazily through the air before crashing into the River of Souls, quickly sinking under the surface of waters churning with the promise of death to come.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Redeemed: A LitRPG/Wuxian Novel - Book 5 Page 55
