Chapter 230: Shadows on the Road

The shipment had been traveling for nearly a week.

Six reinforced wagons rolled along the northern mountain road, their iron-rimmed wheels grinding over stone and packed earth.

Each wagon carried enough weapons to arm an entire battalion. Sword sealed in wooden cases, spears wrapped in oilcloth, crossbows packed beneath layers of canvas and crates of metal components whose purpose had been kept secret even from most of the soldiers escorting them.

The Imperial seal was stamped onto every wagon.

No one was supposed to touch the shipment or know exactly what was inside. And most importantly, nothing was supposed to happen before the convoy reached the capital.

The soldiers had begun to relax.

Ahead of them, beyond the stretch of pine-covered hills, lay Qingshui City. It was a fortified trading city that marked the final major settlement before the imperial heartland.

Three days. That was all that remained before they would get to the capital.

Captain Wei rode at the head of the convoy, occasionally glancing back at the wagons. "Keep the formation tight," he called at intervals.

The soldiers obeyed, though their movements lacked the urgency they had carried earlier in the journey. The road had been quiet...too quiet. But none of them wanted to say it aloud.

One soldier rode beside the second wagon yawned beneath his helmet. "A couple more days and we can rest," he muttered.

His companions smiled. "Then we can sleep for an entire week."

"If we’re lucky," another soldier snickered.

Captain Wei heard them and almost laughed. They had spent days expecting bandits, rebels, or enemy scouts. Instead, they had encountered nothing.

Not even a stray arrow.

The captain turned his attention back to the road ahead. Something was approaching.

At first, it was only a a dark shape against the pale road. Then the figure of a rider formed, moving quickly towards them.

Captain Wei narrowed his eyes. "Someone’s coming.:

The soldiers immediately straightened. Several hands moved toward sword hilts as the rider drew closer.

The horse was dark and the rider wore a long cloak that whipped violently behind them in the mountain wind.

Captain Wei raised one hand. "Hold..."

The convoy slowed down.

One of the soldiers squinted. "Could that be the Capital’s advance unit?"

Captain Wei studied the figure.

It was possible.

The capital had been informed of their route. A detachment might have been sent ahead to guide them through the final stretch of the imperial territory.

Except, the rider was alone. Maybe the rest of the soldiers were following behind.

"Probably our escort," someone said.

Captain Wei nodded cautiously. "Wait here." He dismounted.

The horses shifted nervously as he walked forward. The rider was still approaching.

Twenty paces...

Fifteen...

Ten...

Captain Wei stopped. "State your unit."

There was no answer. The rider’s face remained hidden beneath the hood. Captain Wei’s fingers tightened around his sword.

"Identify yourself!" he instructed. But there was still no response from the rider as he pulled to a stop a couple paces away.

The silence that followed was all shades of wrong. It wasn’t peaceful or natural. That was when the captain heard something behind him—

A faint scraping sound like claws dragging across stone.

He slowly turned his head.

A black tendril emerged from beneath the rider’s cloak. It moved slowly like smoke, but it was too solid to be smoke. It curled in the air, twisting unnaturally before sinking toward the groud.

Captain Wei froze. "What..."

The tendril snapped forward before he could wrap his head around what was happening. He barely had the time to raise his sword when the black tendril pierced through his chest.

His eyes widened—

For one terrible second, nothing happened. Then blood spilled across the front of his armor. The soldiers behind him screamed.

"CAPTAIN!"

Captain Wei looked down at his chest. The shadow had passed through him as effortlessly as a spear through the cloth. His sword slipped from his hand before he collapsed onto the road.

The convoy erupted into chaos.

"AMBUSH! PROTECT THE WEAPONS!!"

The horses panicked. One reared violently, nearly throwing its rider from the saddle. Another soldier drew his bow.

"FIRE!"

Arrows followed his command, flying through the air instantly. But the rider did not move. It was the shadows that did.

Three tendrils erupted from behind the horse. One swept across the road, knocking soldiers aside. Another wrapped around an incoming arrow and crushed it into splinters.

The third plunged toward the convoy, making the soldiers scatter.

"What is that?"

"It’s not human!"

"Protect the shipment!"

The order came again and again, but panic had already taken control. A soldier climbed onto the first wagon and ripped away his sword.

"Get the horses moving!"

The driver tried but the horses wouldn’t move. They were trembling so violently that their harnesses rattled.

Then the shadows reached them. The animals screamed and reared, the soldiers on them fell backward.

All of them stared in horror as darkness crawled across the ground beneath the wagons. It moved against the sunlight, and that was what frightened them the most.

The afternoon sun still burned overhead, but the road was already filling with complete darkness. Captain Wei laid motionless several paces away.

A soldier rushed toward him. "Captain!" He dropped to his knees and reached for the captain’s shoulder. "He’s dead."

The words spread through the convoy. Captain Wei was dead and whatever had killed him was still coming.

A low voice finally emerged from beneath the rider’s hood and it was surprisingly female. "Leave the wagons and I will spare your life."

The soldiers froze. It was a calm voice but also void of any emotions. Had they just been attacked by a woman?

"Leave," the rider repeated.

One shoulder shouted, "Who are you? Reveal yourself this instant."

The rider slowly lifted their head. The darkness beneath the hood concealed most of their face. But the soldiers could see two eyes reflecting faintly within it.

No one answered. No one needed to.

Another tendril rose behind the rider. Then another...and another. The soldiers finally understood. This was not an escort from the capital. It was an attack.