Grand Epic Elemental

Chapter 2: Leiyu's Travels

The caravan's hired guards had already been slain by the bandits and the remaining merchants huddled together in fear. One of them held up a sword, ready to defend his colleagues, but even he was shaking uncontrollably.

The bandits were shrouded in long black hooded robes and sat atop their horses. Their faces were hidden behind masks that only revealed their eyes. One of them wielded a scimitar and began to charge towards the merchants. The merchants screamed, thinking that today would be their last day.

A lone arrow suddenly whistled through the air and struck the scimitar-wielding bandit in the chest, knocking him off his horse. The other bandits were startled and looked in the direction where the arrow came from.

In the distance, Leiyu sat atop his horse, bow in hand. The veil on his weimao and his long brown cloak fluttered in the arid desert wind.

Angered at this intrusion, the other bandits pulled out their scimitars and began to charge. Leiyu reached for more arrows from his quiver. He pulled out three and nocked them against the bowstring at different angles. Holding the bow horizontally, he let the arrows fly.

Three bandits were struck down.

The merchants gasped in awe.

Suddenly, a scythe blade attached to a chain hurled through the air in Leiyu's direction. Leiyu pulled out his sword and blocked the incoming blade. However, the force of the impact knocked him off his horse. He landed on the desert sand and looked up through his veil.

A short distance away, Leiyu saw a wraithlike figure backlit by the desert sun. He wore flowing black robes and sat atop a horse. The flying scythe blade had returned to his hand. The figure wore a head covering and a frightening mask with black holes for eyes, stripes streaked across the cheeks, and a menacing painted grin with sharp teeth.

"Stranger, you should not have interfered," the figure bellowed. "Now that you've killed some of my men, you must perish as well!"

***

The masked man, who was the leader of the bandits, threw his chained scythe blade at Leiyu once again. As the talon-like instrument hurtled towards him, Leiyu spun out of the way. Laughing behind his painted smirk, the masked man hurled a dagger at Leiyu. As the dagger whooshed through the air towards him, Leiyu held out his sword and deflected it while in mid-spin. He landed deftly on his feet and his weimao slipped off and settled at his back, held there by the long chin cord around his neck. Freed from the hat, his long ponytail cascaded outward.

"You're quite skilled," said the masked man. "Let's see if you can handle more."

With a wave of his hand, he summoned the other bandits.

"Attack!" he bellowed.

The mass of bandits surged towards Leiyu, scimitars drawn. Leiyu glared at the oncoming horde. He then took his sword and plunged the blade into the sand.

The masked man paused, unsure of what Leiyu was up to.

Leiyu gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand. Wind began to swirl around it. With his left hand, Leiyu raised two fingers in front of his face and closed his eyes. His expression was serene.

The horde of scimitar-wielding bandits was approaching fast, accompanied by the deafening sound of their horses galloping and kicking up clouds of sand.

Leiyu suddenly opened his eyes. With his sword still plunged into the sand and his hand held before his face, he generated a whirlwind that radiated outwards towards the bandits.