Out across the open wilderness a column of horsemen came swiftly from the southeast, seven or eight riders all told. Dust billowed up behind them as they galloped; from a distance, only three of the horses carried riders — the rest were spare mounts.
Judging by the shape the column made at the gallop, one rider led at the point, with the others spread out behind him in a wedge.
The moment the column appeared in the distance, the goblins began to stir uneasily. They shrieked urk-urk at the top of their lungs, and Mr. Consort soon dealt a few of them some flat-blade slaps — but he was plainly frightened himself, and kept shooting uneasy looks at Xia Ya.
Xia Ya hitched up his belt, pressed the wretch down behind the rock, and said in a low voice, "Don't come out unless I call you!"
He turned and glared at Mr. Consort. "You too!"
"But—" The wretch was clearly in a panic. "They'll kill you!"
"Not necessarily." Xia Ya's eyes flickered. "Maybe they're just a party of adventurers passing through."
"But—" The wretch gritted his teeth. "They must be the ones who slaughtered that goblin tribe. You know it!"
"Trust me — there's still a way out of this!" Xia Ya's eyelids drooped, and a beast-like cruelty flickered through his eyes.
Out in front, the goblin staked out as bait was still struggling, though it had no strength left; terror and loss of blood had brought it close to fainting. But when the hoofbeats rang out clear and near, it snapped awake at once and began to scream with all its might.
The column's objective was plain enough: they were coming straight for this spot.
The charging riders closed to within a hundred paces — then did not halt, nor rush in, but abruptly wheeled their horses, slowed, and went trotting around along the flank. These men clearly had sharp instincts and hard experience; they would not dismount lightly. Circling kept their speed up while holding them at a distance from their target until they had a clear picture of the situation.
The riders handled their horses with real mastery, turning mid-gallop as if it were child's play, working the animals with the lightest touch. They swept a half circle around that pitiful bait goblin, and only then did they slow and halt at a good distance.
The lead rider was mounted on a black horse — tall, powerful, the sort of first-rate animal rarely seen even in the Wildfire Town horse market. All the mounts were equipped alike, carrying grain bags, water skins and bows and weapons, and the spare horses behind bore bundles of wilderness gear. These men had clearly come prepared.
The lead rider wore his hair short and wiry, curling close to his head, and his features were those of a typical Byzantine; he was tall and broadly built, and sat his horse with his back ramrod straight, a long saber gripped in one hand.
His eyes came out from beneath his brows like knife edges, fixed murderously on the goblin in the middle for a good while. He wore a superior grade of knight's leather armor — light cavalry kit — with a medium military bow slung across his back and two quivers of goose-feather arrows hanging at either side of his saddle.
His arms were bare, muscles ridged, the skin rough and sun-blackened, the knuckles of his fingers thick. Lean, hard competence radiated from every inch of him.
"A goblin? Hmph..." A cruel smile twisted the corner of the knight's mouth.
"Captain, there's movement behind that rock. I can smell them from way back here, haha!" One of the riders behind him laughed loudly, a note of swagger in his voice. Another had already drawn his bow and pulled an arrow, holding it ready, his face all wariness.
The lead knight gave a cold laugh and nudged his horse's belly with his heel. The hooves moved slowly forward, closing the distance a little. His eyes never touched the goblin, already frozen senseless with terror on the ground; they were fixed hard on the rock where Xia Ya and the others were hiding, and his grip tightened on the saber. "Come out."
Xia Ya stepped out from behind the rock and strode forward, halting while fifty paces still separated them. The bait goblin lay exactly between the two men.
"An adventurer? Or a bandit?" The knight looked Xia Ya over. His height gave the man a moment's surprise, as did the great shield and battle-axe in his hands — to his eye, both weapons were finely made but showy and impractical. No truly experienced warrior made his weapons quite so exaggerated; even those known for brute strength did not choose gear of that size. A bigger, heavier weapon may add killing power, true enough, but it also costs you quickness in action, and an overly heavy weapon is no good for a drawn-out fight.
Only a fool who loved showing off would pick weapons of that size.
"I'm a demon hunter," Xia Ya answered loudly. He had noticed the man eyeing his weapons and deliberately raised the shield a little higher.
"A demon hunter?" The knight smiled, though the smile was still full of menace. "What's a demon hunter doing out here on the Red Wilderness? There's nothing here but goblins and Corpse-Eaters."
"That's my business." Xia Ya put on a hard front — out in the wild, show weakness and your enemy will only take you for easy prey. "Who are you people?"
The knight didn't answer. He drew his gaze back and looked at the goblin, having seen through Xia Ya's purpose at a glance. "Mm. Using it for bait, are you? Shame. Goblin blood stinks too badly; it won't draw much game. And the cut you made is too small — not enough blood."
A cruel grin surfaced at the corner of his mouth. "Here, let me help you out, rookie."
As he spoke, he whipped a short spear from his saddle. The moment the weapon was in his hand, killing intent burst from every line of his body — the kind of instinct that only came from bathing in blood more times than anyone could count. He bent low over the saddle and snapped his waist straight: a spear-throwing stance so crisp, so handsome, so textbook-perfect it looked carved.
With a shrill rip of air, the short spear became a streak of white light and flew at the goblin!
The instant Xia Ya saw the man move, his wide-open eyes narrowed to slits. He took one great stride forward and flung his left arm out, hurling the huge shield...
BANG!!!
The spearhead smashed into the shield in a burst of brilliant sparks — sparks so clear and vivid they showed plainly even in broad daylight!
The goblin had already come apart with terror when the white streak flew at it; then came the enormous crash, and it saw that the shield Xia Ya had thrown had stopped the spear — and it shrieked.
"Eh?" Something strange flickered in the knight's eyes. This fellow had actually thrown his shield out and blocked his spear?
Xia Ya was already jogging forward quickly. He reached the goblin, watching the knight warily, and snatched the shield up.
The part of the great shield where the spear had struck was dented in, with a short, deep gash scored into it. It made Xia Ya's heart ache — this was the best weapon he had ever owned.
"Demon hunter, you've got some skill." A dark edge crept into the knight's tone, and his hand tightened on the saber again. "But you've refused my kindness."
"Even a goblin is my suosuo," Xia Ya said, chin lifted. "If a man can't protect his own spoils, he's got no business running the Wildfire Plain."
"Let me ask you something." The knight walked his horse in a circle on the spot. "You came up from the south, didn't you? Have you seen any other humans?"
Xia Ya shook his head. "Only you."
"Hmph." The knight gave a cold laugh. "Really?"
Xia Ya said nothing, only watching him coldly.
"All right, then." The knight muttered something under his breath, and suddenly a thirst for blood flashed through his eyes. "Kill him."
Before the words died away, another rider behind him had spurred his horse forward! The horse had gone barely two strides when the rider raised his saber; with hooves flying, the man bent low and fast over his mount, man and horse become one. The saber's edge was sharp, still blotched here and there with old blood, and in the sunlight it gave off an eerie, chilling sheen!!
Whoosh — man, horse and blade arrived all at once!!
The rider was already upon Xia Ya. The saber rose and slashed down!
Behind the rock, the wretch's legs had gone to water with fright!
From the moment the man charged, Xia Ya's eyes had narrowed into two slits, cold light shifting in them. His feet carried him back in small, quick steps, his body still facing the oncoming horse, yet he deliberately turned a little sideways and dropped his center of gravity...
BANG!!!
A dull, heavy crash as man and horse crossed — and there was Xia Ya, meeting the cold gleam of the other man's qi-wreathed saber, suddenly thrusting his shield up in front of his head in that single instant!
The rider was formidable to begin with, and with the momentum of the gallop behind him, man and horse as one, the force was tremendous. Xia Ya's shield was struck and sent flying, splitting in two in midair!
Xia Ya's body rocked violently. Taking the charge of a galloping horse like that was more than he could easily stomach: his chest seized, his breath would not come, the arm that had held the shield screamed with pain, his whole body shook, and his vision swam.
But he still moved.
He forced himself to turn, twisting his body aside, and pressed his back against the horse as it thundered past him. He could even feel the rider's lower leg and saddle scrape across his back — then Xia Ya let out a huge roar and threw the whole weight of his body into a shove!
A long, squealing scream, and the rider felt his mount stagger — then it went down with a crash!
With one shove, Xia Ya had actually brought a galloping horse down. He was none the better for it; his strength all drained away at once and left him short of breath. But he could not let up now — he spun, leaped, and charged in, axe in hand!
The rider hit the ground, and had barely rolled to his feet when white light filled his vision overhead: Xia Ya's axe was already there!
The knight flung up his saber. With a clang of steel the blade caught the axe — but the enormous force buckled his legs. In the end he never made it upright; he got one knee to the ground and could only throw himself into a roll to the side.
Xia Ya gave the man no quarter. He pressed after him and swung twice more.
Two heavy clangs, and the knight's saber finally snapped. His palm was slick with blood, and he lifted his eyes to stare at Xia Ya in astonishment.
Xia Ya was raising the axe to split the fellow open when hooves sounded behind him. He whipped around and saw a black shape already charging down on him!
The riders' leader, saber in hand, his face hideous, had come right up to him! The blade swept up and around — already at Xia Ya's head!
Xia Ya desperately threw the axe up to block. With a thunderous boom, his whole body felt as though it had been struck by lightning! The other man's edge bit into the fine steel of the axe, and in that instant the blade shivered and erupted in a blaze of gray qi!
Wreathed in that gray blaze, the edge sheared clean into the axe blade!
Xia Ya's body was hurled up by that tremendous force and came down on the ground several meters away. His mouth was full of dirt and his whole body one mass of pain. Pushing himself up, he spat hard several times — blood and dust together — and felt his hand strangely light. He looked, and saw that half the head of his fine-steel battle-axe had been sheared clean away!!
The riders' leader reined in. There was no triumph in his expression; instead he looked at his saber with something like surprise — a chip half a palm wide had broken out of the blade! The discovery startled him. He knew his own strength very well, and he had used battle qi in that blow; he had expected to split the fellow clean in two with one cut, and never thought the man would take the strike head-on — and he had had the horse's momentum behind him, too!
"Not bad, demon hunter." The leader hung his saber back on the saddle and gave the companion on the ground a cold look. "On your feet, you waste of a man! You've shamed us!"