Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Ming Yue stopped and breathed out, easing herself before putting the branch into her Spatial Ring. While she had certainly gotten used to using it as a weapon, she made no progress in Realm of Hundred Swords. Hei Yue and Xiao Yin had long gone to sleep though they awakened as she stopped.

"Hah, I knew trying to advance into the next stage without completing the last would be difficult. Still, I was hoping for something..."

She sighed before walking off of the sand and heading into the camp. The two beasts followed her and any of her spectators quickly scattered, going back to their own tasks. 

"Where to go now?" 

Looking around, the young cultivator noticed that all of the soldiers, save for a few guard patrols had gathered at the center. Standing before them was Commander Yu Zhen along with what could only be the captains of each squad. 

There were ten of them, each wearing more decorated armor complete with ribbons and elaborate patterns. 

Making her way there, Ming Yue stood in the back as the Commander began to talk. 

"Alright, there are ten groups of you. Seven will be outside to hunt and to explore while the remaining three will help patrol the barrier. Of those seven, four will focus on hunting and the other three will focus more on exploring. I've already informed the captains of their responsibilities and our objectives for today. I expect for all of you to come back, none of you are to die under my command. That is all."

"Yes, commander!"

They shouted in unison and saluted before separating into their groups and standing with their captains. Thus leaving Ming Yue standing there with only the two beasts. 

Commander Yu Zhen looked to her and chuckled. 

"You want to join right?" 

Ming Yue was about to respond but Yu Zhen didn't even give her time to speak as she looked at the ten groups. 

"So which one of you want her?" she asked. 

In an instant, all ten captains raised their hands to which the commander smiled and looked back at her. 

"So then, Ming Yue, what do you feel like doing?" 

Without hesitation, she answered. 

"Hunting." 

"In that case, you can go with Ya Lang's group."

Commander Yu Zhen pointed at the group closest to her where the captain was a much older man, whose hair was beginning to gray. But he was certainly not fragile as he wore the biggest armor out of the other captains and carried a pair of axes on his back. 

Ming Yue nodded and walked to his group, giving a discreet bow. Ya Lang nodded in acknowledgment and stepped aside to let her join the group. 

Apart from him were twenty others, some of whom stole glances and others gave curious looks. She gave small bows to them all which they returned in kind. Though all of them took a good look at Hei Yue, who wrapped himself around her leg.

While the Mistral Fox wasn't afraid of the soldiers, he certainly didn't want to leave her side. And Xiao Yin was long gone, flying high up above them. Without Drifting Sky to perch onto, there wasn't much else she could land on other than Ming Yue's shoulder. 

After giving them a moment, Commander Yu Zhen looked at them and shouted out. 

"Get going! There's only so much sunlight given to us, don't let it waste away!"

Everyone shouted another hurrah before leaving. 

Ya Lang looked over his group before leading them towards the barrier. While walking he briefed everyone on their objectives. 

"Our goal is to hunt for food, our supplies are running low so we have to get more. We will be going into unknown territory, past our previous mark. It will be dangerous but now that we have the Fairy with us, success will be guaranteed. Does everyone understand?"

His soldiers nodded as did Ming Yue. 

Together, they left the camp and entered the wet marshes. It was much warmer in the day and especially humid. Trekking through all of this made for a tiring and miserable experience. Despite that, everyone seemed to be in high spirits now that Ming Yue was here. She felt looks on her back and all around but they weren't of ill intent. 

It wouldn't take long before someone spoke up.

"What was it like?"

A young soldier, a man around her age, walked up to her and asked abruptly, looking at Ming Yue with anticipation. 

The cultivator hesitated as she looked at him before seeing all of the glimmering eyes on her. She was somewhat dumbfounded at this display. 

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Oh you know, in the battle for the Boundless Beast Forest. You rode a dragon, a fully grown Hel-Fire Dragon! What was it like?"

"Um..."

Before she could answer, another soldier spoke out. 

"What? Why are you asking her about that? She spoke and rode on the Cerulean Serpent! How could you not want to know about that?"

"But flying in the skies? Fighting Kong Zhi himself? How can I not ask?" 

"Or the Hundun Clan! I heard from the others that they saw that last attack you made. It was like a crescent moon, they said!"

Suddenly, it grew into a discussion about what to ask Ming Yue. Some questions were about her experiences in the war, others focused on the background, her techniques. 

Overcome with so many of them, she wasn't sure where to begin. 

"Oi, you lot! Stop losing your focus! Just because she's here with us doesn't mean that we're going to be coming out of this without a scratch. Lower your guard and you might lose a foot!"

Ya Lang turned at them and glared, chastising them in the middle of the wet marshes. His stern tone coupled with a loud and tough voice made for a fearsome combination. 

"Yes, captain!"

Everyone immediately straightened up, their faces no longer carried any excitement but one of alertness. 

Ming Yue silently sighed a breath of relief as she and the captain both shared a look. Evidently, he knew that she was not comfortable with all of the sudden questions. 

Making their way through this place, it was a quiet trip. The buzzing of insects, water rippling constantly, a breeze would come once in a while, causing the grass to sway. But it was hot and it was humid. Even for trained soldiers and for Ming Yue, light sweat formed on their foreheads. 

"It woun't be long until we reached our farthest point! From there it will be unknown land, tread lightly and tread carefully!"

Ya Lang shouted to the rest of the group, who responded with a shout. Compared to everyone else, Xiao Yin was practically running around the area, scouting for them. With the fox's speed, he didn't have to worry about falling in. 

And Ming Yue kept herself wary. 

Although this was her second time outside, she was very much in the dark as to what beasts and dangers lurked about. But it wouldn't be long before she would find out. 

It was midday and the sun was at its highest point. 

Finding a bit of shade, everyone stopped and sat under one of the sparse trees, drinking water and chewing on some dried meat. 

"We've gone this far but no sign of anything, I wonder what's going on?" 

One of the soldiers looked around, scanning the area as he ate. Ya Lang agreed, watching their surroundings carefully. 

"It is strange", he replied. 

"Normally, we'd see some of those rabbits or frogs and what have you but... there's nothing. Just bugs and only bugs... How strange."

The captain knew that something was up, a feeling of dread began to build up but he wasn't sure where it came from. 

Something changed or perhaps, something is here. 

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