A Song For A Summer’s Night - Chapter 128

…

“You all are no match against the Flock,” The Cloak taunted.

Xun Zichen didn’t expect him to betray them. But, it made sense. Ever since Yu Haoran mentioned he was a Wang鈥攂lood-related to Han Ru鈥攖here was no doubt that they would conspire together, even though Han Ru left the Wang’s to fend for themselves.

Han Ru wanted Song Luli, and the Cloak wanted the Flock. The Cloak must have delayed the response from the Dragons because he didn’t spread the word of Long Jie’s ascension. That’s why no one might come. It may be too late for any of them to come, but they wouldn’t go without a fight.

Both Xun Zichen and Long Jie gripped the hilt of their swords firmly. To them, there was so much they had to fight for and to protect.

The sky darkened, and the post lights lit up like a stadium.

“Give up,” The Cloak said darkly. “And I promise painless, quick deaths for each of you.”

Xun Zichen scoffed, and Long Jie glanced behind him at Song Luli. They both gave each other a weary grin, offering each other some assurance, even though there was no guarantee that all of them were going to make it out of this upcoming onslaught.

“No,” gritted out Xun Zichen.

“All right, then,” The Cloak replied, turning around to approach Su Xiang.

Xun Zichen watched as Su Xiang wriggled her chains in fear. Her muffled cried increased. The masked person who held her, released Su Xiang’s chains, freeing her before removing her mask. Song Meiling unveiled herself. She stepped forward to kick the Cloak’s torso so hard that he staggered back and fell.

Song Meiling and the others had put on fake tattoos and changed into dark clothing. It was a risk, but they snuck into the enemy base, pretending to be some of them. No one considered who they were, and no one cared who they were when they put on masks to conceal their faces.

At once, Song Zhen, Zhang Enyu, and Lan Shufen removed their masks and began to attack members of the Flock.

Long Jie, Xun Zichen, Song Luli, and the others who volunteered to be there had already begun to charge, joining them.

Within less than a minute, there was a clash of swords, an exchange of punches, a bloody mess. They tried to avoid using guns, knowing that the booming sound would alert the authorities and locals.

But people on both sides were already dying, and they were losing, losing badly.

It did not take long for half their team to go down. They defended themselves as hard as they could, and though Long Jie and Xun Zichen felt like giving up, there was a sudden tremor on the ground of thunderous footsteps heading their way.

Behind them was a large group of people with exposed tattoos鈥擠ragons, Tortoises, and White Tigers in the mix. Long Jie saw his father leading them at the front, his mother at his side. He saw his mother-in-law and father-in-law, too, along with extended family, all charging their way to help them.

Long Jie watched in awe before he glanced at Han Ru with a death stare.

Amid the crowd, Han Ru had picked up the sword the late Xun Yaozu left behind before he ran towards Long Jie and steel met steel.

Long Jie parried the attack Han Ru imposed. He felt a bit rusty from the years he last picked up his blade, since the last time he had practiced in his late grandfather’s home.

But it was all coming back to him. The rush of the wind when he moved, the swift ease he felt wielding the blade, willing it to do what he wanted. Han Ru was having difficulty warding him off, and Long Jie knew that. He lunged, nicking cuts on Han Ru’s arm, shoulder, and cheek. But even though Han Ru was less experienced than him, his determination to run Long Jie through was greater. So Long Jie had to focus on deflecting every strike Han Ru made.

Meanwhile, Xun Zichen eyed the Cloak, ready to end this, right now. The Cloak brought his own weapon, a long curved sword meant for executing people.聽He lunged forward, aiming for Xun Zichen’s neck. Xun Zichen swerved out of the way in a full circle, cutting the Cloak’s leg as he moved. But, the Cloak then counter-attacked, running over Xun Zichen’s arm, over the same spot he was bleeding from earlier.

The Cloak relished in his undeniable pain, sneering. “I trained you, Zichen鈥?#34; he began to say.

Xun Zichen聽grunted, moving forward, and the Cloak deflected it by twirling, hitting him in the stomach with the hilt of his sword. “鈥擨 know every move you’ll make,” he finished.

Xun Zichen realized that the Cloak was playing him. He had many openings, many opportunities to kill him on the spot, but he took his time as if he was an easy target.

Bloodied and bruised, Xun Zichen tried to keep his ground.

“I thought of you as a friend,” Xun Zichen said. “But what about Long Yuntian?” he asked while clashing swords. He then kicked at the Cloak’s chest, knocking the breath from him. The Cloak regained his composure.

“That Old man didn’t know he was part of the plan, but I did respect him as my Master,” the Cloak responded, tripping Xun Zichen’s footing, as he fell back. The Cloak swung his sword on him like an axe, and Xun Zichen rolled on the ground, standing up promptly, regaining his stance.

“Then why betray us?” he shouted.

“I can’t win the Flock, not until all Xun’s are dead. You should have kept your mouth about your identity shut.”

Xun Zichen gritted his teeth. He moved his sword vertically to deflect the Cloak’s next move. “Let me guess. When you went to visit Xiang at the ball, warning her that someone was looking for me, It was you, but you had already found me.”

The Cloak sneered. “Precisely,” he replied.

Xun Zichen then pushed forward, trying to finish him off.