Chapter 57: Masquerade in the Mist
The black viscous impurities that had come out of Lidien oozed and sizzled as his blood-like verve burned them from overheating.
Lidien gripped his hands, his crimson eyes staring at Xyon who gulped and felt a shiver run down his spine.
Xyon immediately knelt and bowed down to Lidien, who was exuding black miasma and crimson haze that made him look as if he had just emerged from the pit of hell.
"F-Forgive me, Master... I-I didn’t mean to disturb you..."
Lidien’s bored eyes slitted, then as his boiling blood calmed down, the released verve was absorbed back into his body. He closed his eyes and eased his gripping hands.
"Prepare me a new set of clothes..."
Xyon smashed his forehead against the floor once more in a final gesture of respect, then scrambled to his feet and immediately went to fetch a new set of clothes from Lidien’s room.
’Those Skinless Leopards really don’t choose their enemies... How dare they use Lily’s skin?!’
Minutes later, Lidien emerged from the carriage, now clad in fresh clothes.
The Bone Orchards had now returned to their misty appearance, signifying the sun was already up in the sky, though its blinding light couldn’t penetrate the gloomy forest of death.
The sound of fighting didn’t stop at the caravan’s rear end, however... nothing could be heard at the front.
Lidien’s heart skipped a beat, adding to the agony of his strained sparkline.
’Has the frontline already been wiped out? Damn it... I haven’t heard any disturbances... Alva didn’t report either, is she... safe?’
Coming from the center carriage, Lidien rushed towards the front... activating his Blood Form and Incite of Blood to their limit.
As only the sound of his footsteps against the damp earth echoed, Lidien’s eyes widened when he saw his people prostrating towards the beasts surrounding them.
While Mad Dog was at the forefront, with Alva, kneeling in front of the woman... wearing a black cloak covering her striking figure only showing her face, embracing a dark whip.
When the woman saw Lidien rushing, she smiled gently as she said.
"Hi, Lidien... why did you leave me in the cave without saying goodbye?"
Mad Dog’s ears perked up as he listened to the woman in front of him talk.
However, unexpectedly... Lidien’s domineering verve made everyone bow their heads deeper, afraid of even glancing up.
Even the beasts around them whimpered, as the verve, twice as potent as a Hell Stage Demon’s, embraced them.
"How are you, big sis? How’s your scouting at the Dark Wolf Clan?"
Lidien pretended, betting on his shallow understanding that the Skinless Leopard loves to play the role of the owner of the skin they’re wearing.
"Scouting?"
Then...
It was just a moment, too short to notice, that if not for his Incite of Blood, he wouldn’t have seen the changes in Mad Dog... smirking, hiding his lips curling sinisterly as he bowed.
"Attack! Kill all the beasts!" Lidien shouted, jolting everyone back to fighting.
Mad Dog, with his Great War Axe, immediately heaved it up slashing upward towards Lily, making her clothes fly up as she tried to escape from the sudden chaos she hadn’t expected.
A single glimpse of the skin beneath was all it took. Every one of Mad Dog’s dark speculations crystallized into horrifying reality.
"Fucking Ski--!"
Lidien with his morphed claws stopped Mad Dog’s shout as he pointed them at his neck, slowly pressing... till a single drop of blood dripped from his neck down to his shoulder blades.
"Make your choice, Mad Dog... Follow my commands till I wipe out the Dark Wolf Clan, or die here with all the soldiers in the Bone Orchard..."
Mad Dog gulped, his eyes slowly scanning the chaos of men and beasts fighting blurring in the mist.
"Remember... I could make you something even greater, far from a disposable pawn, if you serve me."
Mad Dog gripped the Great War Axe tightly, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Yet, he chose to drop his axe and kneel in front of Lidien.
Seeing his submissiveness, Lidien smiled... then his eyes penetrated the mist, looking at the blood that couldn’t hide itself from his eyes... staring at the woman, running, climbing the gnarled trees with her whip.
"Proceed... wait for me outside the Bone Orchards, let Alva lead some of the troops... you know what to do..."
As his hand rested on Mad Dog’s shoulder, he added.
"General."
Mad Dog gripped the Great War Axe tightly, bowing deeply towards Lidien who had already vanished into the mist, before taking hold of the command.
"Kill the beasts! Protect the Slaves and the Carriages!"
Then as his glance caught Alva, elusive... sublimating with the mist with her silver fur, he added.
"Alva! Command the Rear! We will rush out of the Bone Orchards and wait for the Prince!"
Alva then looked at Mad Dog, nodding slightly, before pulling Xyon to go to the rear end of the caravan still fighting.
***
Hours passed and stretched slowly, as Lidien started his hunt... chasing the Skinless Leopard who used the skin of Lily’s corpse he left as bait inside the cave.
The Skinless Leopard used her innate agility and whip to climb and swing, escaping Lidien, while Lidien with his Blood Form and Incite of Blood used his rapid thinking and transformation, efficiently finding a better foothold to chase as if he was traversing a plain field.
The chase continued until Lidien felt his Sparkline tingling, while the Skinless Leopard’s escaping slowed down, yet... no one stopped, even the Skinless Leopard knew that if she got caught by Lidien, being skinned alive would be the easiest way to die... for she could see the unquenchable thirst for blood in his crimson eyes.
Till, suddenly, both of them knew... they were in the uncharted zone of the Bone Orchards... that even the Skinless Leopards and Beasts didn’t dare enter beyond the wall of Dark Mist that seemed to swallow sound and light, a place even the bones of the orchard feared to tread.
Lidien slowed down, as he stared around at the Dark Mist. His Incite of Blood ability to detect blood flickered and faded, its perception of blood shrinking from a hundred meters to a mere dozen, then to nothing.
The sudden silence in his senses, and the loss of that constant crimson map behind his mind, made him stop his track.
Yet... it didn’t stop Lidien’s boiling blood, as long as he was not able to kill the beast he would not stop.
"No matter where you are... You will not be able to escape from me."