The Serpent Master Takes Action - 721

Although there were surely poisons within the Empire, there weren't necessarily any that could cause large-scale destruction, such as the few of Skymender's poisons. Even if there were, they were most likely being saved for a defensive battle. That way, they could be used the most effectively with minimal losses on their side.

Skymender, however, did not have any such concerns. The Emperor could worry about the future battles, as this was surely not the last, but Skymender decided to focus on doing as much damage as possible during this battle.

He fought his way into the enemy lines, slaughtering them as they came. Compared to Sword Master's, he actually had the advantage of sight. He could see in every single direction around himself, allowing him to slaughter enemies at all angles without having to worry about being stabbed in the back.

In addition, he noticed every arrow that flew past him.

Despite that, the sheer amount of enemies caused him to slowly accumulate enemies. Fighting with all of his might, he managed to make his way so far into enemy lines that he could not sense any allies within the area of his sight.

Skymender threw three vials of mist poison into the air. As they hit the ground, mist sprouted all over the battlefield. In just a few moments, hundreds of soldiers were killed. Skymender moved around freely, not hindered by the poison at all.

Both sides had noticed the poison sprout up, and even the Sword Master's began to slowly move their fights over.

After all, such large-scale destruction was unacceptable. The Faceless Empire's Sword Masters saw that the damage was affecting the Ancient Empire's side, and did their best to restrict their opponents from getting closer. 

However, there was one fight where this could not happen. Blurs appeared as two figures stood on each side of Skymender.

His eyes widened as they exchanged tens of attacks before they disappeared elsewhere. 

Skymender had been unable to react, and spat out blood. The mere shockwaves had rendered him injured. Luckily, it was clear that Sword Master Shang tried to protect him.

Otherwise, there would no longer be a Skymender in this world. Despite his injuries, he was still in the area of mist, which meant that he would not be harmed by charging soldiers. Unfortunately, arrows flew at him from all directions. He began to move around, doing his best to dodge. He was scratched a few times, but was able to remain unharmed for the most part. 

He began to throw even more poisons around. He had already seen the consequences, and was willing to risk it.

On the side of the Ancient Empire, a young looking man stood next to the Emperor. Despite his youthful look, he was actually in his thirties.

The Emperor assessed the situation before speaking.

"You may need to take action." 

The young looking man surveyed the land, his eyes spotting Skymender. "Is that the new Imperial Scholar of the Faceless Empire, Skymender?"

The Emperor nodded. "It seems so. Beware of him. Since he had been placed in such a position while Fei Luzi is alive, it means that Fei Luzi approves of his talent and skill. In addition, it means that he should already have been taught everything that Fei Luzi knows, even if he hasn't deeply comprehended it. It would be better if you could kill him today."

The young looking man nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

He leaped off of the moving cart and ran forward. Although he was only slightly faster than the average soldier, everyone he passed looked at him with respect. 

As he got closer to Skymender's position, which was in the sea of Ancient Empire soldiers, the ground began to shake.

Snakes began to slither out, covering his body.

The young looking man pulled out a flute and began to play.

Although it sounded as if no sound was coming out to a human, the snakes heard it perfectly.

They stopped crawling on him, and looked over at Skymender.

In an instant, Skymender sensed a multitude of snakes crawling towards him. He sensed around him, and spotted a person with a flute and snakes on his body near the end of his sensing range.

He turned his head towards the young looking man, who was surprised to see the blindfold on his face.

"They said that the new Imperial Scholar is blind, yet can see. It seems that it is true." The young looking man muttered.

Skymender began to run towards the young looking man, who began to back up. If Skymender had relied on eyes, he would have never found the young looking man, but through sensing vibrations, he could easily pinpoint him.

The young looking man began to move backwards while playing his flute.

Skymender struggled to move towards him due to the soldiers blocking his way, causing him to stop giving chase and continue the slaughter. Potions flew, but from the ground three snakes attacked in unison. 

Although Skymender easily killed all three with three sweeps of his sword, they had served as a new variable.

There was a limited number of people that could attack Skymender at the same time due to the size of human bodies, but with the snakes added, Skymender had more opponents in that same range, causing him to instantly suffer a scratch.

Skymender knew that it would be impossible to ignore the young looking man, and began to once again give chase. 

He knew who this was, as he had already learned from the Imperial Scholar not too long ago. This was the Serpent Master of the Ancient Empire, someone considered equal to Sword Masters.

It was said that he had mastered some sort of long lost, impossible to practice art, giving him this ability. Skymender too had learned such an ability, which was the very technique that allowed him to see through vibrations.

Despite the constant fighting, Skymender was able to slowly close in on the Serpent Master.

Suddenly, he sensed something below him and hurriedly shot to the side, crashing through multiple figures.