Murim Recurve

Burkurel City; to the south of the city existed a hill that had been made into a temporary stronghold. Towers of wood had been erected to serve as a lookout; soldiers were stationed atop it.

Among them was a bulky man, possessing ripped arms that exuded strength. His beard was cleanly trimmed, accentuating his sharp jaw while his eyes looked sharp. The gem on his Tikka jewellery glowed bright blue, showing his power as a Harmoniser. He was Burkurel Re'Rak, the father of Burkurel Re'Kha.

He had been stationed at the Bura Fort, located southernmost of their state that bordered their enemy, the race of Treka. The moment news of his daughter's disappearance reached him, he led the army Bura Fort had dispatched and returned to Burkurel City in hopes of tracking her down.

He placed his right hand before him, touching the tip of the index finger to the thumb's, making the shape resemble a circle. He peered through it as blue radiance condensed into it, forming a lens of sorts. The image perceived within was magnified a little.

He then did that same using his left hand, adjusting the length between both as the image of Burkurel City became clear in his vision. "Hmm, they are managing to hold on without many casualties. But it won't be long before the walls come crashing down."

'Re'Kha, where are you?' His brows trembled as his stoic face continued to gaze farther, inspecting the city's condition. The walls sported cracks all over, with large portions of it had fallen out under the relentless breath attacks of the beasts.

The beasts conforming to the water element took the lead, condensing their breath attacks before shooting them at the walls. In the meantime, a hail of arrows landed on them, killing some animals while injuring the beasts.

The injuries of the beasts were only surface scratches, for they were blessed by tough skin that resisted normal arrows. Even among the animals, most of them only went down after being pierced by more than 10 arrows.

Whenever a beast charged towards the wall, the soldiers focused their arrows on it, trying their best to whittle it down. If it charged forth even after all that, then the crossbows stationed on the city walls were employed.

Just the arrow used in such crossbows spanned the height of a person. They were made using the Ju Clan's Metal Qi, so they were tough and were the best counter to the beasts. Every time such an arrow was released, a thunderous lashing sound would be produced.

The arrow would then slam into the beast, mostly killing it. It was what they relied on to kill the beasts other than the close-ranged combat by the Harmonisers. But even it failed to kill the beasts all the time and was sometimes even deflected.

Re'Rak focused on a Punou that was twice bigger than the rest. It sauntered through the battlefield, leading a group of Punous as it headed towards the walls. It led more than 100 Punous, a significant force that could easily breach through the walls without much effort if left alone.

The moment they appeared, the soldiers on the wall clamoured, relaying distress signals to the ones in charge. Within a couple of breaths in time, a group of Harmonisers arrived. They were part of the Vi Clan, possessing the smallest statures of the lot. Most of them just resembled the kids of Re Clan in terms of height.

Though, the moment they appeared, the soldiers calmed down a little. They focused a crossbow on the Punou at the front, lacing the arrow with poison as they launched it. The arrow sped forth before they could blink, arriving before the Punou.

The Punou had been focusing on the crossbow the moment it was pointed at, condensing a sphere of water within its mouth. The sphere elongated and turned into a cone as it opened its mouth, reacting the moment the people behind the crossbow moved their hands, an action it had seen numerous times. It was what they used to launch the arrow.

Its breath attack—shaped into a cone—flew and collided with the arrow. The water within splashed forth while the arrow lost all momentum behind it, falling to the ground. A Punou that was nearby picked it up with its tail.

It brought the arrow closer to its nose, sniffing it once as it cackled, gazing at its leader that was twice bigger than the rest. With a start, the leader Punou sprinted towards the city, followed by all the Punous.

On the other side, the Harmonisers from the Vi Clan condensed a violet sphere before them, summoning their Pranic Avatars that dropped to the ground and sprinted towards the Punous, planning to intercept them. Even though their attacks were weakened in the rain, they had no other choice.

The Re Clan was already hard-pressed as is for having to defend their large city. This was just the scene happening on one side of the city. Similar fights happened all around it. Re'Rak adjusted the distance between his hands and zoomed in further, looking at an army marching from farther away, "The troops from Burfuna City are finally here. They were supposed to arrive by morning but are arriving only now."

"My lord," A soldier saluted from behind as he addressed, lowering his voice, "We found traces of my lady Re'Kha in the Ju Clan's western settlement. But, we haven't managed to find her yet. And…"

"And," Re'Rak frowned, seeing the soldier's hesitation, "Please continue."

The soldier gulped as he took in a deep breath, "There were traces of her in the eastern portion of the settlement. And, we tracked the house where her presence was the most concentrated only to find…"

"Speak!" Re'Rak stared without blinking his eyes.

"Yes," His voice shivered as the soldier finally spoke with great difficulty, suppressing his fear, "We found a lot of Rhipa within that house. Unfortunately, since we had gone in preparation against the Kalhas, we weren't able to deal with it and had to retreat."

"The Ju Clan…" Re'Rak closed his eyes. The rain droplets falling around him trembled, avoiding him, falling a foot nearby. He opened his eyes, "I'll deal with them later. Re'Kha comes first."

He looked at the soldier, "Prepare a horse for me."

He had just spoken when the rain drizzled down and stopped. He immediately saw black shadows emerge from numerous crevices and from within sheltered places, "Dammit, we have to annihilate these Kalhas first."