Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Deep within the confines of the marshes, where the Stoneguise Lizards laid dormant in the waters, There was Qing Chai, cleaning against the fence as she looked down at them lovingly. They were like the eyes of a mother and yet, there was something sinister about them. 

As if, she did not truly love them. 

"We greet, Mistress Qing."

Behind her were five other Vore Demons, all beautiful women with scarfs covering their mouths. They knelt on one knee, cupping their fists and lowering their heads as they greeted her. 

After a moment, Qing Chai turned around and looked at them with a smile before noticing something. 

"Where is my fourth daughter?" she asked. 

They looked at each other before one of them looked up. 

"We do not know, Fourth Sister said that she would be going out for a meal. Perhaps, she had found some difficult prey", she answered. 

Qing Chai\'s eyes sharpened as she gazed at each and every one of them. 

"I see, go out and search for her. If there is no sign or trace of her, then she must\'ve been taken by those humans."

Another one of the sisters giggled as she looked at her. 

"Will we be having a feast soon?" 

Qing Chai looked at her before smiling. 

"Yes, though we do need to wait a little bit, Lord Kong Zhi or rather Shi Hou has yet to let us do as we please. But..."

The Red Empress bend down, getting closer to all of them. 

"If you do find a snack out there, don\'t let it go to waste."

Her voice was very light and teasing but her words caused all of her daughters to let out a smile under their scarfs. Although it was difficult to see, one could catch glimpses of their jagged fangs. 

"Thank you, Mistress Qing."

They stood up and walked away, returning to their own abodes. And Qing Chai went back to looking at the Stoneguise Lizards. 

"So it looks like they want to play, don\'t they? A game before a meal is always fun."

She spoke to herself, revealing a contorted smile behind her mask. 

In light of that, the coming times were had grown much more dangerous. And for those at the camp, they knew that the time to act was arriving soon. 

Then a date was set and everyone gathered in the middle base. From the soldiers to the craftsmen and to sect disciples of the Jadewood Sect. All of them stood patiently, waiting for the words of Commander Yu Zhen and Zi Jing, both of whom were standing in front of them. 

There was murmuring among everyone as to what they wanted to talk about before Yu Zhen spoke up. 

"Alright, everyone! Some of you may know that on this side of the continent, we are deep within enemy territory. In the marshes near us are members of Kong Zhi\'s army, a small group of Vore Demons!"

Upon hearing those two words, everyone looked to each other, having long heard about these horrifying beings. 

"One of our hunting groups had come across them and nearly died escaping. That was two months ago and now, we are going to kill them. During this operation, Commander Zi Jing, as well as Captian Ya Lang, will be joined by twenty of our best and Fairy of the Moon, Ming Yue. I will be staying here with all of you in case things go awry. At the same time, we will have squads prepared for a rescue if needed. Those who have already been informed, have been briefed on the plans. As for when this will happen, it will be tomorrow. That is all, you are dismissed."

The two commanders left but those gathered in the middle of the camp were busy talking among themselves. 

"Vore Demons? Here? How unlucky."

"But the commanders said that they were going to kill them, no? I don\'t think we should be that worried."

"But they\'re Vore Demons. You\'ve heard the stories, haven\'t you? They can devour men by the dozens, hundreds in minutes. Imagine if they find us?"

Among them were the Jian Yi and her juniors, all of which looked around them curiously. 

"Vore Demons? Have you ever heard of such things?" asked one of the juniors. 

They looked at each other before shrugging as none of them had heard of a demon like this.

Moving up to one of the craftsmen, Jian Yi tapped him on the shoulder before greeting him. 

"I wanted to know about these Vore Demons, could you tell me about them?" she asked. 

He looked at her before glancing over behind her.

"Oh, you are all the newcomers from the sects, Vore Demons are rare and incredibly dangerous. They have these monstrous mouths that grow and can swallow up a grown man easily. Even worse is the sounds they make while hunting, a hissing sound that could paralyze you in an instant. They\'re like snakes, hungry snakes. It\'s best that we stay behind the barriers or else the last thing you want to see is rows of teeth", he warned. 

Jian Yi looked at her juniors with a surprised face before turning back to the craftsmen. 

"Thank you for the advice."

As the group left the area, they all looked at each other. 

"What do you think?" one of them asked, "Should we join in?" 

"Did you not hear what he said? It\'d be best if we stay behind the barrier and let the others take care of it. Besides, we\'ve never even seen or heard of these Vore Demons until now! What makes you think we can do it?"

"I mean, we don\'t have to go out and help kill them. We could just stand by the sidelines and watch. What do you think, Senior Sister?"

Jian Yi thought quietly, weighing her options but ultimately, she shook her head. 

"It would be too dangerous. You have all just recently made it to the Earth Realm while I\'m at the last stage. Not to mention, fighting isn\'t our forte. I might be able to survive but I cannot say the same for all of you."

She turned around to look at them all. 

"I understand that we are all looking to distinguish ourselves and bring back glory to our sect. However, there is no point if there you are dead. That is it. We should help where we can and let the others deal with the Vore Demons."

Her juniors all nodded. 

"Yes, senior sister, we will obey", they responded. 

However, one of them snuck glances at another, forming a plan with their eyes. There was no doubt, they were going to sneak out.

Early in the morning, Zi Jing, Ya Lang, and Ming Yue were the first to awaken and wait by the gate of the camps. Standing beside her were Xiao Yin and Hei Yue, both beasts were still somewhat groggy but they would be wide awake soon enough. 

The three people looked at each other, waiting for the squads to form up. 

And then, the rest of Ya Lang\'s hunting group came along with two other groups. Each one was equipped with a belt of tools, most likely used for distractions. 

Zi Jing looked at them all before whipping out a map containing a detailed drawing of the marshes. Placing it on the ground, he began to mark it up with circles and crosses as well as several winding lines connecting the Vore Demon\'s base to theirs. 

"Ya Lang\'s group will be in charge of leading the Vore Demon\'s through the marshes. The traps have already been marked and will be activated using these talismans. The other two groups will be on standby at these two points if something goes wrong."

He then took out a stack of paper talismans, handing some to everyone. 

"While they are distracting them, Ming Yue will be tasked with killing them all while they\'re unsuspecting. And if you don\'t believe in her strength, she\'s already killed one of them on her own. So I better not hear a word. "

He was quick and succinct, not letting the others speak. 

"We move and sunrise and strike at sunset.. Now let\'s go."