Genius Mage in a Cultivation World

Chapter 31 - Al's Clan (Part 1/2)

***********

Great Central Plains, two days later.

***********

"Huh?" Opening up his eyes, Al couldn't believe what he saw. Staring wildly at the lush forest all around him, he quickly blinked his eyes in an attempt to tear off the illusion.

But stubbornly enough, the sight before his eyes refused to fade away.

Shaking his head, the warrior rose up to his knees then to a standing position, all in one, fluid motion. His fingers tightly grasped the long handle of his beloved axe. In this strange world around him, only the familiar feel of the trusty darkwood could put his mind at ease.

"Al! Are you okay?! Where are you?!" The sudden appearance of voice instantly drew the man's attention. Turning on the spot, he rushed towards the source of the sound. Cutting the plants on his way with quick swings of his trusty weapon, Al hurriedly made his way over to one of his friends.

"Uffer! Over here!" Even though only a few steps separated them, only when Al started swinging his axe high above his head did the other party notice him.

"Thank the great spirits!" Rushing towards his friend, Uffer soon grabbed his leader in a bear-like hug. Patting each other's back, both of the men slightly relaxed. At least they weren't alone in this mad vision.

"How nostalgic," A sudden rustling alerted both of the men. But even before neither of those two experienced warriors could even take a stance before a surprisingly young man appeared right in front of them.

"Lessen!" Rather than fighting off with the thrill that their friend had served them, Al could only release a sigh of relief.

'No matter what's going on, at least those two morons are with me.' This time turning Lessen into a victim of an overbearing hug, Al quickly got rid of this moment of weakness in his soul.

"Now then, where in all hells are we?" Distancing himself from the two of his sworn brothers, Al looked around once again. While the distances that initially separated them seemed to be roughly the same as their positions on the battlefield, the fight was going on right in the middle of the great plain, not in some kind of dense forest!

"Someone struck us unconscious and moved us somewhere else?" Uffer was the first to offer a suggestion. "Even if the time of the day is different, it proves nothing in that case."

Raising his head to the skies covered by the tops of the trees, Uffer summarised his idea.

"It could be that…" Moving his eyes from the old, massive beardie to the youngest of the three of them, Al could feel a strange shudder moved down his spine.

'It's not his shaven face,' looking to the side, the leader of the tribe attempted to pinpoint this strange feeling of his, yet to no avail. 'Just what in all hell is this feeling?'

Placing his hand on his massive chest, Al caressed the furry coat that served him ever since he stepped on that path of the warrior. A surge of memories appeared in the man's mind, filling him with nostalgia after the long lost home and…

And hope for building a new one.

'No matter what is going on, what I need to strive for doesn't change' Reinforcing his conviction, Al curled his fingers to a fist.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Forcing the man to regain his situational awareness, Lessen didn't spare Al the annoyed, lecturing look. "Dang, you oldies can be really senile at times." Shaking his head with a nonchalant look on his face, Lessen wrapped his arms around his mostly exposed torso.

Contrary to the two burly companions of his, the youngster of the group was more of a lightweight. While that didn't stop him from being the most lethal of the trio, lack of proper, warrior's fur-armour seemed to be at his disadvantage right now.

'Wait, how could it be so cold?' With another piece of the puzzle falling into its place, Al suddenly brought his head up, looking at the shivering youngster.

"If it's so cold out here… The distance from the plains had to be enormous. We were out maybe for a few hours, days at most. You can only travel so far in that span of a time." Shaking his head, Lessen's face suddenly tensed up.

'It seems that he starts to feel uneasy too.' This sudden thought appeared in Al's head out of nowhere. And in that single moment, the background of this thought that his sharp mind promptly provided, allowed the leader to finally connect the dots.

To finally pinpoint that annoying feeling that made his deepest innards shiver.

"Brothers…" Attempting to share his guess with the rest, Al's voice ended up stuck in his throat. On the other hand, hearing their leader addressing them in such a formal way, both of the warriors instantly caught up on how serious the situation was.

"It's not that we were moved in place…" Before the warrior could even finish, a sudden buzz erupted in his head. As if someone was splitting his brain in two, this powerful warrior couldn't stop his knees from giving up.

Falling on his knees, he then rolled on the ground while a powerful force seemed to rip his entire mind apart.

Then, it ended.

Just like that, without any foretelling, the torturous event was over.

"What the hell happened…" Raising weekly from the ground, Al looked around. Then, his eyes widened.

What was relatively empty forest before, with the three of them talking things out, suddenly had some guests.

Consisting of two bloodied groups, a party of about twenty people suddenly came awake amongst the trees.

"Kill!" It took only a second before the first shout shook the air. Ignoring the change in their surroundings, both groups shook awake upon the first sight of the other. If not for the same drive that prompted the trio to jump into the fray, they wouldn't be even able to react to the situation.

Soon, the fighting came to a close. With all the red-coated oppressors now fertilising the forest bed, the remaining group instantly formed around Al.

"Leader! What are your orders?!" Rather than swarming like some amateurs, the warriors of Al's clan properly formed up. Their request was passed by a single mouth of the officer that happened to appear amongst the group.

"For now…" Alternating his sight between the place where the scene just took place and the location he came from, an unrelenting thought shook in Al's head. Adding how he could roughly recognise the face and the name of the officer, yet another puzzle fell into Al's palm.

"What the hell happened here?!" Out of nowhere, a voice appeared. Before Al could give any orders, a bright figure suddenly broke through the tree crowns, heavily landing on the soft floor of the forest. Seeing the aura around the figure, Al's insides tightened.

Finally, he found the answer he was looking for. With all the clues that he got, he would have to be an idiot not to figure it out. But figuring out his situation didn't mean it was any good.

Tightening his fingers around the handle of his axe, Al made his first step.

"A celestial…" Staring daggers at the man, Al continued his approach.. By the time he made his second steep, the rest of his clansmen shook the surprise off, properly taking the fighting stance. 'I have no idea how did you survive until now, but I will be sure to help you see your end!"