Chapter 5 - Helpless

Long Xiaobo walked out of the crowd as his eyes glanced across the current mess. His eyes were sharp and his nose was curved like an eagle's beak; he was draped in a fur-coated jacket, with his hair tied up and a scar on his right cheek.

As the crowd parted he looked at them with disgust, "You couldn't handle two fucking animals," he sighed with disappointment.

As he stepped over the corpses and into the blood of those who rushed forward before him, his disgust soared.

He threw his fur coat towards the crowd he left behind as his right-hand man, Song Shan caught it.

Kong Xiaobo sneered as he got into position, his fingers forming two claw gestures as he used his famed [ Feral Crane's Agile Claw] movement.

This was a lower-end martial movement which made him famed among the 42 bandits of the Xiangyang Pass within the Barbaric South before he was captured.

Martial movements outside of sects and cults were so few that they were near non-existent; the Sects and Cults did this as a way to keep most of the martial power within their grasp.

Martial movements could be categorized into 5 ranks, with 4 tiers for each. The ranks were namely:

Black - Low tier, Mid Tier, High Tier & Peak Tier

Gold - Low tier, Mid Tier, High Tier & Peak Tier

Mortal - Low tier, Mid Tier, High Tier & Peak Tier

Earth - Low tier, Mid Tier, High Tier & Peak Tier

Heaven - Low tier, Mid Tier, High Tier & Peak Tier

The movement Kong Xiaobo was exhibiting, was a Black, Mid Tier martial art. Though qi was needed to utilize a martial movement to its fullest, through the sheer nigh perfect application of force, it could still be a dangerous tool in the hands of someone knowledgeable.

Long Xiaobo sneered as he inched forward, his eyes completely focused like a bird of prey, his movements taught as he cautiously closed the distance.

Yao Xiaofan dragged the pickaxe across the floor of the cavern as it slide through the blood which pooled on the floor. One of his eyes was destroyed and the flesh reaching from his lip to his jaw was torn apart.

His desperation and anger fueled him to go on as he inched forward.

Deng Li approached from the other side in a pincer attack, her claws at the ready, one of the tails was cut into a bleeding stump and she had gashes all around her stomach and a wound to her head and back.

She and Xiaofan closed the distance until they both dashed forward through the blood, attack from both sides!

Xiaofan swung at Kong Xiaobo's head while Deng Li aimed at his groin, looking to maim him.

As they approached full of killing intent, he breathed out a turbid breath as he said,

"[Feral Crane's Agile Claw First Movement: Wind Catching Wing]"

Kong Xiaobo's fingers closed as they formed a palm movement, the only defensive technique within the [Feral Crane's Agile Claw] martial movement.

As Xiaofan's pickaxe closed in on his head, he leaned towards Xiaofan bringing his head within the range of the handle and placed his palm on the inside of the sharp pickaxe's blade, while he raised his instep to block the wrist of Deng Li's attack.

Xiaofan and Deng Li both were in shock as Xiaobo quickly changed his martial movement as everyone heard him say,

"[Feral Crane's Agile Claw Second Movement: Flying Feral Claw]"

His palms returned to claws as his hand perforated Xiaofan's chest and his foot changed to a hook kick as it hooked the back of her wrist sending her hand towards the floor, before rising in a back kick, smashing into Deng Li's face, sending her flying.

Everything happened in the time it took for a spark to leave flint, the noisy mob cheered with gusto at the beautiful and diety-like movements of the Underground Boss, Kong Xiaobo.

Xiaofan kneeled in front of Xiaobo as he vomited up litre after litre before his eyes stared into the crowd around him, soon his eyes landed on a figure closer to the back of the crowd, lips bitten and trembling with hatred; it was Xiao LingYue, he hand gotten there shortly after their fight with Kong Xiaobo begun, he had seen Deng Li being kicked away and Xiaofan being gravely wounded, he felt completely helpless...

Xiaofan guessed what was going through LingYue's mind as he stared into his eyes from afar, his eyes filled with tears as he mouthed,

" Stay safe little brother, bide your time and avenge us. . ." before he took the pickaxe and swung it into the leg of Kong Xiaobo who was revelling in the crowd's praises.

"Arghhh!" He yelled as he turned to see the pick completely through the back of his knee, his scapula shattered as he fell to the floor.

Deng Li took this chance to rush towards him her only thought was to at least slit his throat if it was the last thing she did, everything seemed to slow as her feet raced through the bloodied remains amongst the poor lighting.

She saw the faces of shock amongst the once cheering and gloating crowd, the gasps of shock and anger they felt.

As she got above him she stretched her claws towards his throat, Kong Xiaobo's eyes opened in fear as he realized his carelessness.

Her claws closed the distance in fractions of a second as all her will and drive was aimed on this one moment. . .

*Spurt!!!*

Before she got her claws into Kong Xiaobo's neck, Song Shan had stepped in and stabbed her in the chest with a sharpened piece of Jadeite Iron.

Her blood pooled beneath her as she held her head up and smiled, even after all this, she still couldn't get him killed.

Her regret was palpable as she slowly slid onto the floor to join the corpses below them.

On this day both Yao Xiaofan and Deng Li had passed away. . .

LingYue stood rooted within the crowd as the hood hid his face, slowly he retreated into the shadows as tears slowly rolled down his face.

The was only one thing he knew right now.

That revenge was coming. . .