Dragon Heart. Land Of Magic. LitRPG Wuxia Saga. Book 6

The landscape of the Wastelands was very different from that of the Sea of Sand. Both were deserts, but instead of forming huge, golden dunes the size of a frigate or a battleship, the sand here was spread out like a red blanket over the dry land. There had been almost no clouds visible in the Sea of Sand's sky, but plenty of them floated over the Wastelands. This place also had some vegetation, albeit not much, and most of it dry, as well as ancient ruins. The only feature the two places shared was lifelessness. There wasn't a soul in sight.

Because of this, it wasn't surprising that Tom cried out in alarm the moment he noticed a strange silhouette emerge from between the collapsed walls of an ancient building.

"Holy shit!" Hadjar exclaimed in surprise.

"By the Great Turtle!" Einen gasped in agreement.

"What is it?"

"Hush!" The two whispered in unison.

Dismounting, they took everyone's horses by the reins and led them in the opposite direction, trying to stay out of sight of the shadow meandering between the walls.

"We've seen this before," Hadjar whispered, trying to suppress his energy as much as possible.

"Seen what?" Anise asked, walking beside him.

The squad, despite their attempts to hide their auras, still looked tense and ready for battle.

"It's a Spirit," Einen explained.

"A Spirit?" Dora inquired. "I know more about Spirits than any of you, and I assure you that this isn't a Spirit."

After his adventure in Lascan, Hadjar could've argued that he was now the premier expert, but he didn't want to waste precious time on silly bickering.

Dora knew a lot about Spirits, yes, but what she was referring to were specters of nature, born from the World River. The creature that was roaming the ruins had very little to do with those. Maybe in the distant past, it had used to be one, but humans had apparently made it their servant, guardian, and weapon. Hadjar and Einen had encountered these spectral beings before, during their search for Mage City. They'd been lucky enough to survive the encounter, even if they'd been wounded. By the Evening Stars, they didn't want to go through that ever again.

"Don't try to touch it with your will or ener-"

The shadow came to a sudden halt, interrupting him. Like a broken puppet, it turned slowly toward the squad.

"What are you even afraid of?" Tom snorted. "It's only at the middle stage of the Spirit Knight level."

"Well-" Einen began, then gave up.

Both his Spear-staff Spirit and his Call manifested behind him. With a loud snarl, the armored ape grabbed the Spear-staff Spirit and assumed the same defensive stance Einen had taken. Following his example, Hadjar summoned his inner dragon and the Black Blade. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they watched the Spirit walk toward them.

"I'd get ready if I were you," Hadjar advised the others.

"Hadjar, Einen, if Tom disturbed it, let him-"

The Spirit shuddered. In an instant, it appeared right next to Einen. In the trail of blue flame it left in its wake, one could see the twisted faces of the damned. The Spirit itself looked like a tall, gray-skinned humanoid, except that it had no mouth. Its hair was living flame, and its long arms, protected by some kind of strange armor, reached all the way down to its knees. In its fingers, it clutched a sword covered in blue flame. Its muscular torso was b.a.r.e, and everything below the waist was hidden by an iron chain skirt. With a single swing of its sword, it sent Einen flying several yards back. The ground between them turned to glass at first, then to fine dust that glimmered like diamonds in the sun.

The Spirit's blow was easily as powerful as the 'Black Wind'. Whatever the creature was, it was clearly stronger than the monsters Einen and Hadjar had encountered in the Sea of Sand.

"'-deal with it," Dora finished.

"There's-"

"Don't talk!" Hadjar hissed through clenched teeth.

Black fog swirling around him, he ducked under the Spirit's sword and blocked it. Blue flames crashed against the dark blade with a loud boom. Hadjar drew a quarter of the power contained within his Core and distributed it throughout his body, making his expanded meridians flash brightly and flood his body with the power of the World River. If not for the Wolf Broth, the crushing power of the Spirit's strike would've shattered his bones.

Letting out a battle cry, he managed to keep the specter's sword back with the Black Blade. The ground beneath him cracked and then sank, forming a deep crater.

"-only one," Anise finished.

"Damn it!" Hadjar hissed.

Turning his wrist slightly, he let the specter's sword slide down his blade. It struck the ground, igniting the air and leaving an arc of blue fire in its wake. A long furrow appeared in the sand.

"Strong Wind!"

Hadjar, pushing off from the bottom of the crater, swung his sword in a wide arc. The black dragon struck the Spirit in the c.h.e.s.t with such force that it sent it flying through the ruins. The Spirit crashed into the old masonry and brought it down atop its own head.

"Damn it!" Hadjar breathed out.

Einen, having regained consciousness, was now standing alongside his friend once more, looking a little dazed.

"They never travel alone." Einen's tone was calm. "There are always at least a few of them… But why are they here?"

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked.

Hadjar was about to shush him, but was interrupted by Dora's whisper. Now clad in her Imperial level armor, she pointed her warhammer at the ruins.

"Look."

Blue lights flashed among the crumbled walls and fallen statues. They grew in size until copies of the Spirit emerged from them as if coming through a doorway. Tall and lightly armored, they dragged plumes of blue fire behind them, in which the twisted faces of the dead burned. They held broad longswords.

"What are they?"

Anise, holding her sword out in front of her, activated her armor. It wasn't quite as ornate and pompous as Dora's, but it looked sturdy and reliable.

"The legacy of the Last War," Hadjar spat.

All four of them turned to look at him.

"The legacy of what?" Einen asked.

"How do you know about the Last War? Commoners shouldn't know about ancient times!"

Hadjar looked at the Dinos siblings and Dora. They seemed more concerned about what he knew than the current situation.

Instead of answering, he ducked, avoiding the fiery attacks of dozens of Spirits.