BloodStar

Chapter 23: Knight in Shining Armor

It was a short march to Saber Canyon Falls with a distance of just over 5 miles. For a legion such as the Kodiak Legion this trip would take little time as they made a quick pace. The legion was armed with body armor, assault rifles, and hand grenades.

Xenia marched at the head of the group with Lord Heraklinos. While Jacek was keenly aware of their surroundings and focused on any potential ambushes, Xenia was much more aloof.

She walked alongside him with her hands behind her back and asked him, “So is our destination a pretty one? It sounds scenic, Saber Canyon Falls.”

Jacek kept his eyes moving as he answered, “On a normal day, yes. Beautiful roaring waterfalls of crystal-clear water running over the cliffside into a valley. On a day like today… probably less beautiful given the circumstances.”

She smiled and said, “Will you show me the waterfall after we’ve taken care of this small inconvenience?”

Jacek snapped, “This ‘small inconvenience’ could very well end with the loss of life of some or many of my soldiers. If you wish to stay for this encounter, please take it more seriously. Have you no experience in war time Xenia?”

She quipped back, “Experience in war time? Jacek my entire culture is war and fighting. It’s not that I am inexperienced. No, quite the opposite. I am most comfortable at war. Or did you already forget about our sparring match?”

Jacek grunted and looked away surveying the surroundings.

Xenia said, “Jacek, I know what will cheer you up. Let’s make a deal.”

Jacek grunted again, “Go on.”

She looped her arm around his and clung to him as she said, “I will personally ensure none of your men serving under you die during this encounter. In exchange, you have to let me practice my bloodbending on you later.”

He looked at her with uncertainty and asked, “Bloodbending?”

She nodded, “Oh yes, it’s a technique of my lineage. It doesn’t hurt, and I can even use it to show you a thing or two about ki manipulation by guiding your body.”

Jacek thought he was getting a good deal. The life of his men in exchange for training. He said, “You have a deal Xenia.”

She clapped her hands and shouted, “Deal! Yes!”

Jacek turned to her and said, “Shhh!”

She clasped her mouth and said, “Sorry!”

Jacek raised his closed fist to signal his men to stop as he surveyed the field leading into the canyon. The canyon was surrounded by large cliffs making it vulnerable to attack from above, and he wanted to be certain this wasn’t a death box he was entering.

He extended his ki in attempt to detect what laid beyond the cliffs and within the canyon. He detected five people, presumably two enemies and three hostages.

He turned to his men and said, “Everyone be on alert. But also exercise caution. We are here to save our comrades. Not get them and us slaughtered.”

The Kodiak Legion nodded as they followed him into the canyon.

They entered the canyon without resistance to find exactly what Jacek had detected. The evil man from the helicopter standing alone with another man holding three restrained hostages at gun point with a fully automatic machine gun.

The evil man welcomed them, “Good day gentleman! My name is Evo, and welcome to my negotiations!” Evo wore purple pants with purple body armor all adorned with a digital camo pattern.

Xenia had extended her own ki at the same time Jacek had. However, given her much more sensitive ki detection, she had found quite the different situation. She knew there were over 100 men waiting atop the cliffside to ambush them. By her estimations, they were all heavily armed with machine guns.

However, to her, this was just another walk in the park.

Jacek laughed, “Negotiations? How about you return my men and pay for the damages you have caused to my fortress, and I’ll throw you in prison instead of killing you right here!”

Evo laughed as he snapped his fingers. At the sound of his snap, one hundred men revealed themselves at the top of the cliffs and aimed down at Jacek’s men.

Evo laughed maniacally and said, “Now what do you think? Don’t do anything foolish! You may not be at risk of death, but all of your men certainly are!”

Jacek grit his teeth as he thought to himself, “Where did all of these men come from? Were they concealing their auras? Damnit!”

Evo danced around and laughed before continuing, “Now we start the negotiations! You raise anchor and leave the Saber Province entirely. Cede this land to the democratic rebellion, and I will let you, your men, and these hostages go at once!”

Jacek knew this was a raw deal. However, he also knew he was in a tight spot. He could kill everyone here, but not before his men perished as well. Furthermore, he was certain that Evo was a ki user, but what kind… he couldn’t ascertain.

As Jacek’s mind ran with anxiety, Xenia stepped forward, “Evo! Trust me when I say, your best bet is to run. Run as fast as you can. Only death awaits you here.”

Evo bellowed, “Jacek has brought an insolent bitch along with him! How offensive. Is she your new girlfriend? Tell her to shut up!”

Xenia took offense to his comments, “Bitch?! How dare you! I will torture you until-“

Jacek cut her off and said, “Xenia! Do not provoke him! This is a tense situation already.”

Xenia, still fuming, asked, “I can take care of everyone here without casualty to our own forces. May I?”

Jacek’s face relaxed and said, “Can you really? If so, yes! Just leave this Evo character to me. I would like to teach him a lesson in regard to insulting beautiful ladies.”

Xenia blushed, “Jacek. You would fight for me? How noble.”

She then stepped forward as she said, “You’ll know when to attack. Just wait for it.”

The Kodiak Legion was fraught with anxiety as they stared above at their would-be murderers. They had fallen directly into a trap. Their only hope was for Jacek to kill as many as possible before they were all slaughtered. Things were not looking good.

One of the men said, “Hey, look! What’s General BloodStar doing?”

Xenia walked ahead of Jacek and stopped. She sat on the ground assuming the lotus position as she collected a calm aura around her body. She then began to detect each and every one of the enemies in the cliffs while sparing her allies and Evo. She thought to herself, “120 men in total. Oh, how I wish it were more.”

Evo began to taunt as he yelled, “Ready to cede your land now? Your bitch certainly seems-“

However, Evo never finished his sentence. A vicious slicing could be heard in the cliffs above. He looked up to see the heads of his 100+ men spontaneously decapitating nearly all at once.

Heads began to tumble down the cliffside as his men fell dead in an instant. Evo looked to Xenia and thought to himself, “No! This can’t be! A BloodStar would never aid a Heraklinos! Who is this?!”

Just as he began to process what was going on, the head of the man holding the hostages at gunpoint ripped from his shoulders as well.

Xenia then began to collect the blood of her victims as blood snaked from the bodies forming multiple streams in the air as she formed a small BloodStar above. She extracted every ounce of ki from it causing the blood to quickly dry up, and she then flung her hand towards Jacek lining him with a glowing ki.

She stood up and blew him a kiss as she said, “Shining armor. For my knight.”

Jacek then smiled at Xenia and said, “Thank you.” Not only had she saved his men in one fell swoop, but she had also fortified him with defensive ki. She was amazing. She was a true warrior.

He then roared, “Evo! Prepare for battle!” He gathered huge amounts of aura in both hands as he created frighteningly powerful energy blasts much more powerful than any of the ones he demonstrated in the sparring match earlier.

He lunged forward towards Evo and launched both blasts directly at him. Evo screamed at the top of his lungs as he was instantly annihilated by the overwhelming attack.

As the smoke settled, not a single trace of him was seen. His men cheered as he walked over to the captured soldiers to unbind them. The freed soldiers profusely thanked him to which he said, “You also have General BloodStar to thank. She saved your lives more so than I.”

The three captured soldiers knelt before Xenia and gave her their thanks to which she said, “Think nothing of it. You would do the same for me, I am sure.”

One of the soldiers who was a captain asked, “Lord Heraklinos. General BloodStar is too modest. We will never be able to truly repay the two of you. Permission to return to base with the Kodiaks to prepare our thank you in earnest.”

Jacek laughed, “Permission granted! How much time will you need?”

The captain saluted Jacek and said, “Just a couple of hours. Sir!”

Jacek looked to Xenia and said, “Fine. A couple of hours. Xenia and I will take the opportunity to train in the canyon until then.”

The captain turned immediately and said, “Men! To the fortress! We have lots to prepare!”

Jacek turned and smiled at Xenia, and she immediately said, “Well, my knight in shining armor. Are you ready for me to teach you a thing or two about ki manipulation?”