Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

A vicious hissing sound came from her mouth, spreading into their ears, causing their hearts to shudder. It was a chilling noise that made them feel as if they were being chased by a monstrous serpent. 

"You can't avoid the inevitable! Even if I do not kill you now, it will happen soon enough!" she shouted. 

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her heart and clutched her chest. 

"No, my daughters! Are they all dead?" 

Upon this thought, she grit her teeth before releasing a thundering roar. The mask that covered her mouth had long been broken and abandoned. Compared to her kin, Qing Chai's mouth had several times more fangs, longer and tipped with black ichor. 

Expanding and returning to their true form, she showed a hideous grin. 

"You will not get away from killing my daughters! I am the Red Empress of Kong Zhi's army!"

The Vore Demon hissed out, commanding the Stoneguise Lizards to move even quicker, chomping their jaws at the soldiers. 

"Shit! The flares! Signal the others!"

As everyone continued their escape, Zi Jing yelled out for the flares before taking one out himself. Several of them were lit up and thrown into the air, bursting out in a bright light. 

"What is this?! Another distraction?!"

She was not impeded in the slightest, going quicker and quicker as the lizards inched closer. 

"Aim for the ground! Use the bombs!" Zi Jing yelled. 

Ya Lang and the others retrieved a bag from which they began to toss out spiked balls onto the ground. They were just like the ones that the Tide King used, only simpler. 

The moment the six lizards stepped on them, they exploded into a fiery blaze, cracking their stone-like skin. But these were adults not unlike the children, it wasn't enough to cripple them but at least, it slowed them down. 

Qing Chai screamed as the lizards lashed out in pain, she clung tightly and hissed at them. 

"Ignore it! Kill them!" she commanded. 

Zi Jing looked back, looking at her until their eyes met. And then he smirked, giving her the finger before sending a paper talisman at her. 

Her face contorted in rage as she swatted the talisman away. 

"Sniveling little humans, they think they can just treat me like this? They serve only one purpose, to be my meal!"

QIng Chai leaped forward, activating her bloodline in midair. 

Her jaws grew even larger expanding like a snake's mouth. The difference being the jagged fangs in her mouth took on a black sheen, growing several more inches in length. 

"I'll eat you! I'll eat you all!"

As she dropped down, ready to chase them on foot, a lance of wind flew out and struck her in the stomach, throwing her into the murky swamp waters. Following that lance was Ming Yue, who looked to Ya Lang and mouthed several words to him. 

He watched and nodded carefully before running off. 

"The Fairy will stall the Vore Demon, we have to take care of the lizards! Once it is done, we come back for her!" He shouted. 

The others all looked back, watching the bodies of Ming Yue and Qing Chai soar across the air. 

"Are you sure?" One of them asked, looking at both their captain and the commander. 

Ya Lang and Zi Jing exchanged looks and nodded. 

"If this is what she wants, then let her do it. However, we will finish this promptly and aid her! If she dies, then it will be an irremovable stain on our reputations. It is a dishonor to ourselves! Now let's gut some lizards!"

With his axes in hand, he leaped up at the beasts, landing on the front most one, the strongest one no doubt. 

Without the Red Empress, they had no leader and no one to listen to, and so they ran rampant, crushing everything in their path. 

With both axes, he summoned forth a great wind, encapsulating his weapons. 

"Raghhh!"

He shouted and swung down, digging deep into the rock-like skin. But the fearsome captain didn't pull them out, instead, he drove them further in and twisted them. 

The beast he rode roared in pain before changing directions. Its cries grabbed the attention of the others who followed it. And with Ya Lang at the helm, he led them through the designated path, right into a trap. 

"Now! Get off!" 

As Zi Jing shouted, the captain pulled his axes out and dropped down before joining the others. 

The chase continued until they reached the most dangerous part of the marshes. 

"Do not forget! There is only one path here, everything else is water! If you slip and fall, you die! We just have to bring them back past the waters and into the clearing. The other groups should be preparing the next formation!"

From here, Zi Jing led the way, following the markers he placed weeks before. 

The six lizards charged through before wading into the waters and delving in. Just like that, they were gone but they were not done chasing. In fact, in water, they were much quicker. 

The silence was terrifying, they ran through this open space as quickly as they could. 

"Watch out!"

From the right, a pair of jaws shot out of the waters snapping at them as the beast jumped over the path. Then, another one jumped out and over and over again. Jaws snapping and crunching, trying to get one of them inside. 

"Oh shi-"

And the inevitable happened, someone slipped, nearly falling to the water before Zi Jing pointed his hand backward. Two of his swords flew out and pushed the soldier back onto his feet. 

He was shocked for a moment, his heart beating wildly before recovering and running off. The others turned to look and one of them smirked at him. 

"Why is it that you're always the one slipping?" She called out, reminding him of his last accident. 

"Shut up, you know how hard it is to run here?" he retorted with an annoyed expression. 

But his comrade scoffed. 

"For you it is!"

As the banter continued they felt a cold stare on them as Ya Lang glared at the two soldiers. 

"Do you think it is time for you to be joking?!" he yelled. 

His shout was met with silence as they both shut their mouths and focused on the task at hand. Still, it certainly took quite the nerve to be able to joke at a time like this. With beasts biting at their tales and danger all around them, it would be difficult to keep calm. 

But the end drew near for several flares flew up into the skies. 

"They're ready! Just run past this point and the rest will finish itself!" the commander shouted. 

Everyone felt the anticipation rising as they sped up, running with newfound energy. That thin path slowly widened, allowing everyone to spread out. 

"Just run past this clearing!" 

None of them even seemed to listen as they just ran for their lives. The lizards emerged from the waters, running on land but such actions had cost them their lives. 

The ground hummed as those of the support groups finished placing down their talismans. 

Zi Jing raised his hand up to the air, sending his swords into various different directions. They flew out, striking the ground and forming a pentagon. Making several hand symbols, his energy erupted as the five swords connected to him. 

As soon as everyone made it out, he activated the formation. 

"Cage of the Maitreya!"

The ground lit up before trembling as the formation created a pushing force, bringing down the lizards. It was as if a giant palm had pushed them into the ground. Forced down, they could not move or even struggled under their own weight. And that force continued to grow and grow, slowly crushing their organs. 

Zi Jing's face was covered in sweat as his body trembled, trying to keep the formation going. But he smiled as if victory was his. 

"Your skin might be thick and tough but it is also heavy!"