Chapter 18: Cliffside Roast

Essences flames were a living fire that held the story and will of the world. Potent weapons and cultivation tools, they were often sought as a means of breakthrough. Iris had needed them to cover the overwhelming amount of qi needed to advance.

She was the Rainbow sage for two reasons, the second was her array of essences flames.

She held seven.

A literal rainbow of fire had formed about her, fliting as she allowed her qi to flow into the world. It was accompanied by an immense wave of pressure, that removed plums from helmets and lifted skirts around the estate.

"Last warning." Iris spoke softly, her exotic features becoming less emotional as she hoped to not have to crush these fools.

"I don't know what you have, but nothing can stop the best troops in the kingdom!" Count Gerald wasn't making light of things. These were crack troops, ones that would successfully hold off two or three times their own number. Even at ten to one, they would make sure to take several times their number before being defeated.

"Now than, since the papers have been served captain move in and drag that disgusting bit-"

"Sir, your hair is on fire!" The captain interrupted. Before more could be said his whole body was engulfed in brilliant pink, red flames. Crack troops as they were, the guard captain started barking orders, his officers responded, and his noncoms got all three formations moving in short order.

Not that it mattered. Iris Xin was the Rainbow sage, a sword saint, an ascended deity. This was simply a case of a top ten master of the martial realm, crushing meaningless lives in another world.

A wave of arrows from the crossbow regiment fired in a tight grid to ensure they hit. Iris didn't even acknowledge them. Some quills that struck her bounced off and the ones that hit her orbiting fire were burned so complete no ash remained. A few flew overhead at the duke and heir in which the noble lady idly batted them aside.

There were servants and others approaching to see what was going on at the front gate. It wouldn't be due for them to get hurt; lady Valentine felt.

"Court death than trash!" Iris exclaimed. Her bow materialized and she loosed a maelstrom of shots. Unlike her, the armored guards had no way to stop the arrows from penetrating. Feathers danced from her bow as she pulled back the string made of qi. The burnished metal gleamed as the sun itself, as the qi thread ran through a set of pulleys on the composite bow.

Despite the total decimation of the crossbow element, they did not break or scatter. Royal troops won, that was it, even in defeat they still won, that was the depth of their strength.

The regiment of pikes surged forward, placing a lot of mass moving in her direction. Her own spear appeared, its ocean green tassel fluttering, deep azure and emerald rope threads bounced as she brought it to bare.

There was no need to block the spears or formation, so with a single arching sweep, she let her Celosia Verdant Moray Eel Flame do the work. Spiraling along the weapon about the crescent of the halberd, the toxic green flame leapt along the arc, washing over the entire pike formation in a wave. Like its namesake, flames wrapped and constricted the entire formation in radioactive manacles.

Despite this the formation of sword warriors split and moved around their bound compatriots, the back few failing to unbind them. There was much more caution in their approach. The thought counted.

Her axes generated in a soft sunlit fire. She had forged this pair with the Vast daffodil rock plain flame. The handles were carved from a polished sunstone, ghost iron had been the choice of mettled for the heads.

It was more for prides sake that she didn't allow a single blade to touch her. Despite the coordination and formation, she was against they didn't even come close. Turning the first lunge she kicked back. As several blades attempted to cut her appendage off, she simply hoped back. Spinning about, she tagged the ones attempting to encircle her, sending them flying in several directions.

Battering swords aside, she got close using the blunt ends to incapacitate rather than decapitate. These were soldiers, fighting on orders not because they had to not because they wanted to.

With that in mind she didn't let up. Systematically knocking and rendering helpless the forty-man unit. It had taken a very short time for such an outcome. Finishing with a cross slash she stood, axes splayed and looking far more lethal than she was acting, Iris took note of her opponents; a constricted mass of pikemen in the center of the carriageway, a scattered sword element in tatters strewn about the duke's front lawn, and a crossbow unit rendered useless. Letting her weapons dissolve she gently extend her had to make sure there was no doubt or stragglers.

The orbiting blue flame slid into place on her palm. Raising her hand, she blew gently on it.

"Abyssal combustion." Intoning the technique name there was a soft black azure blur that hit dead center of the group of crossbows. Once there everything within a considerable distance was sucked into the center. For a moment the armored gaggle of men weapons and debris seemed shocked at what was happening.

The giant sea urchin stood and grumped for a moment before the combustion stage kicked in. Instantaneously the polarity reversed scattering and flinging the compressed regiments to the wind.

The only thing left stand was the candle that was Count Gerald. Stepping gingerly over the myriad of weapons and unconscious men, Iris approached the lit man.

"Listen to me well." Withdrawing the sanguine flame back into its orbit.

"This old lady has been gracious enough to not end lives today. It's the only time, the next time someone attempts to harm my Valentine or that which she cares about, I will be…unkind."

"Be grateful for those minor burns and suffering." With that she swept away.

The gate closed behind her with a whisper of qi.

"Do consider this when you make plans concerning us." There may have been more to say but Valentine didn't say more. Instead, she waited until her martial senior approached and greeted her.

"Perhaps you should deal with that mess. Sir Duke." She walked forward, waving at a few of the maids that had come to see what the commotion was about.

"It's almost dinner time, lady Iris, would you care to join me?" The noble asked. Iris tried not to look to excited about the idea.

"Of course, my lady, I would be happy to. So, anything interesting happen this afternoon?" The two left the duke standing there completely ignoring the now infuriated man.

"Oh I was just speaking to father about my first cloth test with the formless blade sect."

"I haven't heard that story, mind telling it to me from the start?" She wasn't as driven to hear more about her crush than the noble was, but she still wanted to know more about someone who would be her daoist partner.

"Of course, so at first, we caught two juniors making out in the woods, and then there was the large 15-year rabbit and some mean guys on a cliff side…" So, Valentine regaled Iris with her story, slowly making their way to the dining hall. Eventually she caught to where she had left off with her father, two men on a cliff side and some nefarious words.

!@# !@# !@#

"Thank you, martial sister Xiao!" All four of the men, including walrus bowed in thanks to the tallest girl of the noble's team. There was something so important that only the big breasted eldest sister could do.

Cook.

"You really saved us; our prepared rations got swept away."

"We thought we would have to eat grain pills for the next week."

What had appeared to be menace had been unsatisfied bellies. They were even kind enough to let the ladies have the spirit core. Rights to a monster generally fell to whoever felled, depending on how much effort last hit was. Though they would have surrendered the core, it turned out roast meat was more important.

"Just smell that rabbit."

The small group knew each other and talked a lot while neither Xiao nor Valentine spoke at all. Standing back the noble just sat on a rock and watched her martial sister twist and turn the large spit, in which the rabbit roasted merely over a pit fire.

Game wasn't something that was taught by mothers but in general roast with herbs worked for almost any meat.

"What on earth is going on here?" Leader asked, still holding her shattered hand leaning on Ming Sei. At the very end of the row of boys the smallest of them noticed the look that the leader was receiving from the cook.

It was a mix of I'm not sure if I should speak up since the leader is hurt, but I don't want you hanging on my women. The kind of look a lover has when they want them to read their minds rather than say it aloud. Putting the pieces together, the martial brother quickly clasped his hands together in a prayer gesture.

Precious.

He had read, My Martial Sister won't Leave Me(female) Be, The Demonic Cultivator Made Me Her Mistress. Who could forget the classical, Lily Cultivator and Her Harem? His life had been completed thanks to the junior and senior sister. Having witnessed real life yuri his death was inconsequential.

Not that anyone else cared, but they managed to at least pretend that the shortest man on the team wasn't a raging Yuri fanatic.

Despite the quite nature of the girls, there was enough from the boys that it appeared to be a jovial scene.

"This roasted meat is amazing!"

"Who knew that spirt beast were so tasty!"

There was a pause as everyone present as everyone devoured the wild animal.

"All hail great martial sister!"

"Goddess Xaio, Goddess Xaio, Goddess Xaio!"

"Away. Senior sister is mine. The rest of you can go find someone else!" Meng didn't want anyone to take senior sister, so she glared at the boys. The shortie was completely unaware of how adorable the pouty glare looked on her.

"Se-senior?" the short girl was taken aback as the tall busty sister gently patted and ruffled her hair.

One look at the soft smile, her partner blushing enjoying her ministrations and the touch of embarrassment at being so intimate.

"Hey why is junior brother on the floor?"

"Is he ok?"

Smallest of the males present had fallen. His soul escaped at the cuteness he had just witnessed. As his brothers crowed around, Lady Valentine attended her party leader.

"Its surprisingly lively." Leader never was one to pull punches, which is why they were wrapping her hand as thickly as possible.

"Yes." Valentine said as she attempted to thread the bandages through. Cuts, bruises, and fractures were common with this level of activity. First aid was mandatory, and there was a wide variety of salves and pills which could heal virtually anything given time. Qi was also ideal at making everything work better. It was why most elders despite having survived unimageable life and death battles, still looked like pampered old noblemen.

"Don't say much, do you?" It was expected that there was no response.

"Well thanks for this, you two did really good today." Referring to the help she was receiving, her bones were shattered so first aid and the medicines they had weren't going to fix it. They would work well enough to get by, and her higher cultivation base would make it easier to recover as well.

"Its not like you couldn't have cut it off, or managed to take it down yourself mind you, but still good job." The noble stiffened for a second, causing senior leader to pause at her reaction. Mabey she was just oversensitive?

"Its…" She finished securing the splints in her hands. Taking a pill out from the pouch she wore at her hip.

"There's…" Looking into the curious eyes of her leader, nothing really could come out.

"Thanks" Leader said taking the pill offered. It seemed that the noble couldn't speak or get more out, so as her senior the right thing to do was put her out of her misery.

"Let's eat." Gently taking the noble by the hand, she led the child to where Xaio had set the various meats from the spirit beast. They had some portable dishes and some cloths to sit on.

Noble turned martial warrior still didn't say more but was close enough that no one took offense. Munching on wild game for the first time in her life, she had the strongest desire to share this with her maid.