72 Stepping Into Danger

Yun left the sect early in the morning and boarded the ferry to cross the river and go all the way to Ka-Broshiwar, the port south of them on the river. This town was nowhere near as large as Myhrrwar, nor did it have walls, but it was tucked away in a thick forest where the Volvaka raiding parties rarely went. Most of the larger raids would go north from the Wild Wind Mountains due to the open land and the presence of Myhrrwar on the other side of the river, this was a much better military target as it housed a vast majority of the militant force in the center of the continent.

After six days on the boat to reach Ka-Broshiwar the entire boat disembarked and the ship itself was left in port. Every single person on the boat was a disciple going into these woods to accomplish their missions, and the ship would stay until the larger group returned. Smaller ships would be sent down when the larger vessel returned to Myhrrwar to pick up the remaining groups on their return.

Yun and Long Wuying stayed the majority of the day at an Inn in town, resting after the long boat trip and getting some good food to eat before their journey. Their task would take them very close to the Wild Wind Mountains Volvaka hive, into a cave that had been discovered some few centuries ago that was used for operatives and fighters to rest in a secret location close to the hive. The mission was simply to scout the cave and make sure it was still secure and hadn't been discovered by any of the Volvaka patrols or cave-diggers, and to eliminate whatever local animals had decided to take up residence.

The cave they were traveling to was about 2,000 kilometers away, so at a walk it would take nearly fourteen days, but running it would only take a little over a day. If they ran for half of each day it would only take three days and they could still rest and recover each day to maintain their battle strength. Wuying hoped for an uneventful trip, but Yun was expecting to encounter at least some trouble.

After a restful day they set out at night, taking advantage of the cooler air to help them travel faster and avoid Volvaka patrols. In the dark of the forest they traveled at a fast jog, keeping their eyes open for any signs of Volvaka activity along the way.

After a day and a half of travel Yun gave a sideways glance at Long Wuying as his face scrunched up in a grumpy way.

"Told you we'd run into some sooner or later. Looks like there were four or five that went this way, tracks are a little muddled so it's hard to get a good read."

"Yun we don't have to pursue them, our mission is to arrive at the cave and scout it's safety. We're not on a cleaning mission."

"You're right, Wuying, but I also know that we're the two strongest the Sect sent out to this side of the mountains, in spite of our lower overall cultivation levels. Any other group would have trouble with five or so of the lizards, but we shouldn't have any trouble with so few."

Wuying sighed in resignation. He was aware of Yun's desire for revenge, which was why he insisted on being her companion on missions. Only he would be able to keep up with her high speed and the fights she was likely to get herself into out of all the available disciples in the Hunting Hall. Xing Zhenya and Fang Niu would also be able to accompany her, but they were both fighting on the front lines near the hive in the Volcanic Ridge Mountains.

"Fine, but if there's more than six of them we're not fighting them."

Yun smiled fiercely, "No promises, let's go."

At that they began to carefully track the Volvaka that had passed through here not long ago, preparing to take them down.

After nearly three hours of following the tracks they finally found a small cave in the side of the mountain where a raging fire was burning, providing enough heat in the cave that even the sentry at the entrance would be warm enough.

"Stupid lizards never bother to try and hide their fires do they? Too bad for them they're cold blooded, but it sure makes our jobs easier."

Yun was ready to move in and take out the sentry when Long Wuying put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Let me. There's one sentry and plenty of shadows, with my Darkness Laws I'll have no trouble dragging him out of there."

"Fine, take care Wuying. Don't take too long, this Yun isn't nearly patient enough to wait all night."

"Understood."

Long Wuying faded from existence. His body, smell, even sound all disappeared into the surrounding darkness so perfectly that it was impossible to know where he was if he wasn't using any Qi to strike. This was an ideal technique for this mission, as it gave him a very powerful tool for all sorts of situations in these dense forests.

Before long he was standing in the shadows less than a meter away from the Volvaka sentry at the front of the cave without the lizard even sensing him.

Smash!

With a dull thud Long Wuying smashed his gauntlets down on the base of the enemy's skull, knocking him out in an instant. Stepping forwards he used his powerfully built body to lift the unconscious guard and swiftly padded into the darkness before setting him down a short distance away and tying him up. He had intentionally avoided killing the Volvaka, as these creatures had a strange communal sense that would alert them if one of their own suddenly died nearby.

Returning to the cave entrance, he then began to edge his way inside to get a glimpse of the enemy forces and their layout. As he came to the final corner before the massive fire he stopped and took out a small reflective piece of metal, then used it as a mirror to see inside without revealing his body. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock, and his hand loosened as well.