sensed disturbances in the aura recently coming from the west, and everyone felt the tremors in the earth, but Dreadgods were several levels beyond what he had expected. At worst, he had thought it was Heralds coming to blows.
“The Wandering Titan?” he guessed, and Lindon nodded.
“The Akura clan has provided a fleet of cloudships for evacuation, and they’re waiting at the eastern entrance.”
“What is a Dreadgod?” the Fallen Leaf Jade asked sharply.
Lindon looked surprised, but he bowed to her over fists pressed together. “Forgiveness, please. I assumed the other elders had warned you. My friends and I have come to warn you of a monster of unimaginable strength making its way to Sacred Valley. Think of it as an insane sacred beast as tall as a mountain. We have plenty of room for you and your whole School to evacuate before its coming.”
She did not look like someone who had just heard that her home was going to be destroyed. She wore an expression of deep skepticism. “Have the elders decided to flee before this threat?”
Lindon sighed. “They are still making their decision.”
He turned back to the Jai siblings and dipped his head. “Apologies.”
“I hope you can save your home,” Jai Chen said.
“So do I.” He gave her a sad half-smile. “I wish you could stay here in peace. When the threat of the Dreadgod has passed, perhaps you can return.”
“Thank you for the warning,” Jai Long said, “but I’m not foolish enough to ignore an open door now for the promise of one later.” He lifted his spear. “If there is a Dreadgod out there, all the more reason to leave as soon as we can.”
It wasn’t as though the Wandering Titan was crouched on the other side of this pass with its mouth open. It must be hundreds of miles away, and far to the west. They had witnessed the Bleeding Phoenix back in the Blackflame Empire, and Dreadgods were hard to miss.
They could leave through this entrance to the north, and then—if it turned out Lindon was telling the truth—they could take a cloudship anywhere they wanted.
Besides, he wouldn’t trust a ship given to him by someone whose limb he had chopped off.
Life madra flowed out from the Fallen Leaf Jade, and thorns came to life behind her. Vines slithered over the ground even as his own white madra came to life in the form of serpents, hissing at their opponent.
“Please don’t do that,” Lindon said quietly.
Jai Long moved for one of the Irons first. Take out the weakest, reduce the numbers on the enemy side.
His Striker technique, in the form of a white snake, blasted out to protect him from the thorns as he lunged for the Iron.
He aimed for a shallow cut on the boy’s calf. He would probably have to slap the Iron around a few times to get him to give up, but this would at least keep him out of the fight for a moment.
A blue-and-white figure stood between them.
It was Lindon, his eyes made of blue crystal with white circles for irises. He held Jai Long’s spear in his hand of flesh and a sword in his right. The Iron had swung a blade to try and intercept Jai Long, and though the blow would never have landed, Lindon gripped the weapon by its blade with no apparent discomfort.
Thorns wrapped around his leg, but he ignored them, turning his disquieting gaze on Jai Long. “We’re trying to negotiate with the Fallen Leaf School. Please don’t kill them.”
Jai Long filled himself with his Flowing Starlight technique, which Enforced his entire body. White madra filled his limbs, standing out on his skin like shining serpentine tattoos.
With all the strength he could muster—what was left to him in this cursed valley—he pulled at his spear. Lindon didn’t budge.
For the first time, Jai Long scanned Lindon.
And his heart ran cold.
He released his spear, staggering backward. He pushed his sister away. “Run!” he shouted.
She was the picture of confusion. Even her dragon flew in aimless loops in midair. More importantly, she didn’t run.
“Underlord!” Jai Long screamed.
It was the worst-case scenario. One of their enemies had tracked them down from the world beyond, and had found them before the curse drained their power.
Lindon only gave off the spiritual strength of a Truegold, but Jai Long didn’t know what kind of advantages a Lord’s body would retain in this place.
Even if he was down to Lowgold, he had more strength left than Jai Long could call up. And