"Tch—!"
Twisting around, Dawn held her forearms crossed over her body.
Qi surged and flooded her arms, giving them strength. The warm flame of her Hallowed Shine was fluttering wildly.
Bam! The vortex slammed into Dawn's body with an incomparable force.
She struck the ground and lifted a plume of soil. Spilling a grunt from her lips, Dawn rebounded off the ground like a ball.
Another impact against her body sent her flying, smashing into a carriage.
Splintered wood flew as Dawn broke through the carriage's wall. Inside, warmth waned as cold pervaded, blankets flew, and people went flying as the carriage tumbled over.
"Foul Spirit!"
A fierce bellow shook the very winds as spears of red flew through the air, whistling faintly as they stabbed towards the vortex-like Spirit.
Heart Tethering Maiden unfurled her cocoon slightly, allowing her to take the offensive in this battle.
Like the very wind itself, the Spirit weaved itself through the strings, dancing through a newly created web of red.
Dao Art — Heart Struck Violence!
Pulled taut, the strings stuck into the ground began to uplift the earth.
Unfortunately, the Spirit was not actually intangible like wind or air. Having stuck itself in the very centre of this web, it was also stuck in the centre of the attack.
Two platforms were raised and slammed against one another, sandwiching the Spirit. They crumbled, but Heart Tethering Maiden was not yet finished.
She willed the strings to bundle around the lifted earth and formed the rough shape of a ball.
Without hesitation, she raised the Spirit, entangled in string and earth, and let out a low grunt.
"Begone—!"
Hearth Tethering Maiden hurled the Spirit, and the mass broke through the veil of howling winds and faded into the distance.
"Where did that thing come from...?! No matter."
Gritting her teeth, Heart Tethering Maiden hurried to restore the barrier.
She quickly pulled the Dao Art Medium representing the white tiger and instilled her Qi into it.
As it shone dimly, so did the other three Dao Art Mediums at the other corners of the convoy.
Once again, Four Corners Defensive Array shielded the convoy in a bubble-like veil.
Looking over the convoy, there were only two carriages implicated.
The carriage Maiden was standing above, and the tumbled carriage whose doors swung open.
"Dawn..."
Freeing herself from the newly strewn mess within, Dawn staggered out of the tumbled carriage.
Her complexion pale. Hallowed Shine was faint, no longer the strong, defiant flame of golden warmth.
Dawn spat out a mouthful of blood as she steadied herself.
"How are you faring?"
"Okay... I'm not so badly beaten as to be—ack... As to be taken out of the fight..."
"You are coughing up blood. Do you not have any Dao Arts to heal your internal injuries?"
"No... I do not..."
"..."
"Regardless, we need to get this carriage turned up and moving."
"Maiden... what will we do about these... 'steedless' carriages?"
Looking around, the beast that was supposed to be pulling this carriage was gone.
Not only that, but the head count of their beasts was smaller, too.
"It can't be..."
This convoy had eighteen carriages, with one completely destroyed and another tumbled.
However, of the initial eighteen beasts—of horses, oxen, tigers and bears—had dropped to fifteen.
"Maiden, Dawn, are you two alright?"
"Silver? Yes... I guess we are both doing fine..."
Silver Extreme's voice flowed into their minds.
"Dawn, find a Medical Expert who can treat your injuries. Maiden, I will have the Cultivators aid in reorganising the convoy. If you are injured, too, please do not hesitate to take a rest."
"Of course, Silver."
"Understood, Senior."
As the tickling in their minds left, the convoy was already beginning to kick into motion.
But it was not the chaotic motion of panic or fear, but order.
"I guess Silver has already given orders... huh. Even injured, he is still so useful~."
"...I guess so...? Well, I'll go seek medical aid. I leave this to you, Maiden."
Being spared a short nod, Dawn left the scene towards the middlemost carriages.
Pressing a hand over her chest, she breathed out turbid air.
'I am out of Qi... It feels like I am starving. When was the last time I had depleted so much Qi?'
'Not only that, but a lingering cold has seared my skin... This must be a Dao Art of sorts...'
Quickly examining her own condition, Dawn found nothing to be significantly dangerous.
'The moment I replenish enough Qi, I will allow Hallowed Shine to 'cleanse' this body.'
'If not for my True Human Physique... I would not be moving so easily.'
Dawn felt a little grateful to her Father, the person who helped her attain such a method.
"..."
"..."
'"...Ah..."
Dawn felt like she tripped over something.
Looking down, there was the dull brown of the soil beneath her.
Without the howling wind's obscuration, the ground beneath them, within the radius of the bubble-like veil, remained clear.
There were little stones embedded in the soil, but the ground was quite loose. There was no water content within this soil, so it remained cold and dry.
The soil resembled flakes, small flakes. Dawn could make out some fine details in each flake.
Such as how the flat surface was not completely smooth, how the edges resembled torn paper, and even the subtle differences in shades of colour.
"..."
Actually, Dawn felt as if she could taste the soil, too. Of course, she didn't, though it could be described as having a similar texture to sand.
As for the taste...
"..."
Dawn could not say what the taste was like, despite having her face in the soil.
"..."
She had tripped, or so she thought.
All that she remembered was the ground suddenly rising to meet her face. Or rather, her face fell to meet the ground.
Lifting a weak hand to her chest, she felt a terrible cold permeating through the fabric of her robes, the skin above her heart, and emanating from her Qi Core.
Like winter, or snow, or ice; like Night, lightless and abyssal; like a terrible sense of loss that one would experience at a grave.
A sickly feeling overwhelmed her.
And as Dawn tried to will her mouth to speak, her consciousness fell, instead.
Falling...
Falling...
Falling into a deep sleep...
...
...
...