Conversations

After rushing for an entire day through these killing fields, Red sat down at the edge of the cliff looking at the night sky. The young woman was huddled in the corner sobbing. The two hadn't spoke a word since they had begun running.

Red didn't disturb her, because he knew she needed time to deal with her grief. So he took out his sword and began practicing the same slash again and again. But his movements were very slow and he was trying to perfect his form.

The young woman was watching the mysterious man strike his sword. She didn't even know his name, and she was trapped on a hellish planet. While she was quiet, she was wrecked by madness inside as well as panic and pain. She kept seeing the strike of sword until she fell asleep.

Red was mentally exhausted as well, but he saw that the young woman was asleep so he just sat back on the cliff and looked into the sky. He saw that below the cliff, Zergs were already gathering. Sighing, he quietly made his way down and began slaughtering them.

The constant bloodshed was really helping him with the Bloodline Art. He was almost reaching Blood Condensation realm. He had also finally begun to see some minute improvement in his elemental affinity. However, he was worried that the density of Zergs was increasing as they went in the direction of the Human base.

He returned to the cliff after slaughtering a the Zergs and saw that the young woman was now awake. When she awoke she was momentarily panicked, but then she saw Red coming up, stains of greenish blood of the Zergs on his body.

He saw that she was awake and asked her. "I want to rest for a bit, can you keep a lookout for a bit?"

The young woman nodded. Red then went and slept beside a rock. She looked around and saw that a lot of Zergs in the area had been killed. There was nothing to do, so she kept a lookout, thinking about many things.

After a few hours Red woke up. He looked fresh and stretched his body. He nodded to the young woman in thanks. "Thanks."

The young woman suddenly spoke. "That woman... was my mother." Red nodded. "I figured." Then the young woman was silent for some time. Red beckoned her to get moving. The two left the cliff and continued to make their way.

The second day too went by running through wasteland, slaughtering Zergs. However, it was becoming harder as now leader Zergs were often sighted. Leader Zergs were stronger zergs who led a platoon of their zerg minions and were harder to kill and slowed the two down further. The woman was beginning to get tired, but Red was as if filled with a boundless energy and kept killing zergs with his sword.

They found a similar safer spot to rest on the second day. The young woman spoke some more. "From the moment I was born, I was heralded as the sect's holy child. I wasn't able to live a normal life with a family. The sect kept me away from my parents in the name of training my mind. And this time when I finally managed to get to spend some time together in the name of acting as my guard, she lost her life because of me."

"I don't think she lost her life because of you. She gave up her own to protect you." Red said.

"You wouldn't understand." The young woman shook her head. Red nodded. "That is somewhat true. I was born an orphan and so it is indeed hard for me to sympathize."

The two didn't say anything further. The next day they continued their journey. Surprisingly, the geography began to show slight signs of change. The barren wasteland was starting to show signs of plant life. Yet, their journey kept getting more difficult. It felt like the zergs were adapting to the fighting techniques of the two and Red and the young were having to constantly improvise and use different tactics to trick the Zergs and slaughter them.

At night they stopped to rest at a relatively safe spot. The young woman asked Red about his sword. "What sword art is it? The form seems crude, but it feels very profound at the same time."

Red had a bitter smile. "The form is crude because I haven't really learned how to use the sword. The essence, I've been trying to imitate a strike that I once had the luck of observing." When the young woman heard that she was speechless. "You say you haven't learned the sword, yet you display such a profound strike?" Red simply shrugged to say he wasn't lying. "I cannot even imitate one thousandths of the essence of that strike. As it stands my move is nothing but a dishonest imitation."

"Such a powerful strike? He must be an extremely famous and powerful individual." The young woman commented. Red didn't comment on her analysis, but he was sure that the Sword God had definitely ascended Godhood.

Red asked her some things about the Radiant Sect. The young woman had earlier thought that the man had been bluffing when he claimed he didn't know about Radiant Sect, but hearing his questions it really did seem like he didn't know anything about it.

Radiant Sect was one of the top 10 sects in the human alliance and wielded enormous power. It had many pinnacle experts as well. Their cultivators practiced a unique art that harnessed the light in the universe.

The young woman thought that Red was most probably a genius in some sacred ground who had come to explore the galaxy. Even with a much lower cultivation than her, he was able to easily best her in combat and his stamina was remarkable as well. He was like a god of death on the battlefield.

The two continued to move ahead. However, Red had some other things on his mind. He had no news from Shuli nor any sight of her.