Chapter 21: Attack of the Spear Clan Chi Users
"I have finally mastered the First Sense of the Sword," said Daemon. "And you have healed your chi core. It seems we are even now."
"Even," Luna repeated.
A silence settled between them.
"I no longer have any excuse to try to keep you here a little longer," Daemon said finally.
"And why would you?"
Daemon smiled but said nothing.
"Do not neglect your training," Luna said as she walked toward the door.
Daemon felt his heart tighten. "Luna!" he called.
"Will we have a chance to see each other again?"
"The next time we see each other, we will probably be enemies," she said in a neutral voice. "I fully intend to avenge my family."
Daemon nodded. "I hope you will start with the Sword Clan."
She walked out into the snow with a slight smile.
"I fully intend to... I will stab you first."
Daemon waited until she had disappeared, then closed the door.
...
That evening, as Luna was descending the mountain, she saw them.
They were moving in formation, about twenty men armed with spears. They were heading straight for the cabin. Luna hid against a tree trunk.
’Should I go back and warn Daemon?’ she wondered.
She hesitated because even for her it would be difficult to escape from all these chi users, let alone Daemon who had no real combat experience.
...
Daemon was stubbornly continuing his training, repeating the same movements over and over until his muscles were exhausted. Night had fallen for a while when he sensed presences. Several Chi converged around him, encircling his position.
"They are at least twenty..."
He grabbed his katana with one hand and got into a fighting stance.
A silhouette broke away from the group, a spear in hand. The man approached without haste, a smile on his lips.
"It is surprising... so Lord Daemon has unlocked his energy center?"
Daemon did not answer.
"Kill him."
Daemon immediately recognized their emblem: the Spear Clan. Chi users specialized in the spear had come to eliminate him. Without giving him time to think, the first three attacked at the same time.
Daemon plunged into the fray and activated his First Sense of Sword. The world slowed down around him. He saw the trajectory and the exact angle of each blade a fraction of a second before impact.
He freed himself as best as he could. His nape brushed against the first spear, then he pivoted his torso so that the second passed one centimeter from his ribs and only tore his sleeve. The third, he dodged by raising his knee, the tip grazing his calf. In the same movement, he struck while pivoting on his axis.
His blade sliced through the first man’s neck. The jet of blood splashed the second lancer’s face. Daemon immediately took advantage and delivered a blow to his sternum. The tip of the katana sank between the ribs, perforated the lung and came out in the back. The lancer coughed blood and collapsed while holding his chest.
The third lancer had already pivoted his spear for a thrust in the back. Daemon did not see the tip, but he felt the displacement of air caused by the chi. He dove to the ground, rolled on his right shoulder and planted his katana upward. The blade penetrated the man’s groin, went up through the pelvis, tore the internal organs along the entire length of the abdomen and came out near the sternum. The man screamed, dropped his spear and collapsed while holding his spilling entrails.
Daemon got up, breathing heavily, his fingers sticky with blood. Daemon himself was surprised. It was the first time he had taken a life, but strangely he did not feel disturbed in the slightest. Or maybe because he was more concerned about his survival.
"I am not that easy to kill, you bastards."
The leader chuckled as he watched the effort Daemon was making.
"Your father has humiliated us on multiple occasions. You will reap what he sowed."
Without waiting, the leader made a hand signal. Four other lancers advanced together, two on each side. Daemon took a step back to keep some maneuvering space. The first attacked with a direct thrust toward his throat. Daemon deflected the tip with the flat of his blade, then advanced a step and slashed horizontally.
The katana cut the lancer’s throat over ten centimeters wide. The blood spurted in regular pulses while the man brought his hands to his wound and fell to his knees.
The second lancer took advantage of the opening and aimed at Daemon’s left flank. The tip pierced the flesh just under the floating ribs, entered five centimeters and came out.
"Damn it!"
Daemon grimaced in pain but continued his movement. He pivoted on himself and brought down his katana on the lancer’s shoulder. The blade severed the clavicle, cut the muscles and sank all the way to the bone. The lancer’s arm hung limply, almost detached. Daemon withdrew his blade with a sharp pull and struck again at the face. The tip entered through the cheek and came out through the back of the skull.
The other two lancers attacked simultaneously. One aimed at the legs, the other at the torso. Daemon jumped over the first spear, felt the second brush his stomach and open a superficial cut. He landed off balance, rolled to the side and got up immediately.
’Even if I can anticipate their attacks, I am not yet an expert in real combat... Fortunately, the leader wants to have fun. Otherwise, if they all attacked me together, I would have no chance.’
He counterattacked immediately. He grabbed the shaft of the nearest spear, pulled the man toward him and stabbed his katana into his abdomen several times.
Daemon used his body as a shield against the last attack. The fourth man’s spear went through the corpse and planted itself in Daemon’s shoulder for three centimeters.
"Ahhh! Fuck!"
Daemon roared, pushed back the corpse and sliced the last lancer’s arm at the elbow. The man screamed and retreated while holding his stump that was spurting blood.
Daemon breathed deeply. Five corpses already lay around him.
"I am completely exhausted..."
The leader of the group clapped slowly.
"Not bad, you are truly worthy of being Lancelot’s son."