A rain of medicine

Those icy stares stabbed at him like frozen daggers. Merely feeling them made his scalp prickle. Cobert looked up at those five pairs of eyes and felt as though he were facing five tigers. His features stiffened, and he no longer dared even breathe too loudly.

They turned back to watch the two of them. Yetos's chest rose and fell, sweat began beading on his forehead, and his features twitched slightly, as though he were enduring tremendous pressure. Meanwhile, Ma Linya's hands moved faster and faster. Each time she rubbed her palms together, a little more potion accumulated in the jar before her, its color gradually changing. The six onlookers could also smell the changes in its medicinal scent.

Two minutes later, Yetos finally opened his eyes.

"Chief, are you all right?" Xibizete asked worriedly.

All six could see that his eyes were red and bloodshot. Five of them could also see the exhaustion deep within them. Clearly, he had endured a great deal.

He shook his head and struggled to stand, saying with some relief, "Whew, I'm fine. At least my efforts weren't wasted. I just didn't expect it to be so much harder than I'd anticipated. I almost couldn't finish."

"Lord Yetos, I'm curious. What were you doing to the Wind Elemental Artifact? It certainly didn't look easy," Cobert asked with interest.

Yetos nodded, looking down at the teacup-shaped Wind Elemental Artifact swirling before him. The other five also leaned in eagerly to listen as he explained, "Of course it wasn't easy. I was repairing the Wind Elemental Artifact. It was damaged in the past and has quite a few cracks, like a porcelain bowl that was once smashed."

"Repairing an Elemental Artifact? Isn't that something only the very few artifact masters capable of crafting Elemental Artifacts can do?" Kanni asked in surprise.

"There's nothing surprising about it. The damage is very minor. Even an ordinary Elementalist of the lowest rank could manage it, though it would cost them even more stamina."

"No wonder you never brought it out to use before. So it was because it was damaged," Zeng Mu drawled.

Yetos nodded again. "Yes. If I used it in a head-on clash with Idiveer, it would shatter completely within five exchanges at most. That's why I can only use it as an aid in everyday matters."

A minute after their conversation ended, Ma Linya's potion also reached its final stage. Another minute later, she suddenly jumped up, raised both hands high, and cheered, "Wonderful!"

"Girl, is it done?" Cobert eagerly looked toward the jar. The potion inside was blue-green, with a hint of crimson.

Ma Linya answered, "Yes, Uncle Bert. The Fragrant Herb Potion is finished."

Despite her words, none of them could smell its distinctive fragrance. Seeing the confusion on all seven faces, Ma Linya turned and went to the stove. With a pair of tongs, she picked up a piece of glowing charcoal, returned, and placed it in the jar.

With a piercing hiss, billowing white steam rose as the potion rapidly heated. More and more bubbles gurgled up, then burst together a dozen seconds later. White vapor surged outward, carrying an unusual fragrance into their nostrils. It was like strolling through spring fields where a hundred flowers bloomed. The scent was intoxicating.

Aikimu couldn't help praising it. "What a rich, pure fragrance. This is the finest Fragrant Herb Potion I've ever smelled."

William nodded, looking straight ahead as he added, "The potion is ready, but there's so little of it. Will it be enough to disperse the flock of Black-Feathered Sparrows covering all of Sand City?"

Ma Linya smiled sweetly and tilted her head. "That will depend on Lord Yetos."

Yetos raised a hand, and the Wind Elemental Artifact flashed with blue-green light as it landed in his palm. "Don't worry. With this treasure, dispersing the flock won't be a problem."

"You lot, bring the potion out carefully." Yetos strode toward the door, clearly ready to act now that everything was prepared.

"Bring the used herbs along too," Ma Linya reminded them.

After putting the lid on, they carefully lifted the corners of the carpet. Cobert supported its center with his head, and they walked steadily out the door together.

Outside, black clouds churned amid a deafening cacophony of piercing shrieks. Clearly, the birds were growing restless and wanted to charge down despite the dangerous aura within the blue-green wind.

A foul smell permeated the air. Many bodies littered the ground, their deaths gruesome. As far as the eye could see, not a single corpse had an intact face. Only their battered breastplates offered any way to identify them.

Yetos looked up at the flock, a keen edge entering his normally steadfast, imposing eyes.

He knew the flock wouldn't attack without reason. Judging also by the direction it had come from, Yetos concluded that this was most likely the work of the Seven Kingdoms Coalition.

Fortunately, they didn't know he possessed a Wind Elemental Artifact. Otherwise, even with his abilities, he couldn't have temporarily sheltered all of Sand City. Countless subordinates would have died before he could scatter the flock, and once their strength was severely depleted, it wasn't hard to imagine the Seven Kingdoms Coalition immediately launching a siege.

Once everything was ready, Yetos raised his hand to signal the others to retreat a hundred paces.

Yetos sat cross-legged on the ground. The Wind Elemental Artifact placed before him floated up and spun on its own.

He extended both arms, his hands open. Blue-green light suddenly surged from his forehead and eyes, rushing into the artifact with a howl.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The wind intensified, whistling in repeated bursts. Dust flew and pebbles spun across the ground. Then a small tornado formed, sweeping up the entire carpet and beginning to rise into the sky.

As it climbed, the tornado grew larger and spun faster. The Black-Feathered Sparrows in the air hastily dodged, but many were still caught within it and gruesomely torn to shreds.

A streak of blue-green light rose from the ground, slicing through the sky. Accompanied by the howling tornado, it shot toward the heavens and pierced the black clouds.

The sight kindled fervor in their eyes, most intensely in Zeng Mu's. Perhaps because the others understood the limits of their own talent, a trace of gloom mingled with their ardor. Yet that did nothing to diminish their admiration for such power. All of them held their breath, not daring to speak loudly.

In the blink of an eye, the blue-green light easily pierced the black clouds and hovered in the sky. At the same time, Yetos's face grew slightly pale below, a clear sign that his stamina was draining rapidly.

He closed his eyes. Once he had sensed and confirmed the artifact's position, he shouted, "Wind Vortex, expand!"

With a boom, the tornado spread into a ring in the sky. The immense, instantaneous force tore apart everything within it, including the carpet. At its center, the "teacup" spun so frantically that its shape blurred. Blue-green light moved with the wind like smoke and clouds, enveloping the Black-Feathered Sparrow flock beneath it in barely a dozen seconds.

Earlier, many knights hiding inside the stone houses had already glimpsed the blue-green currents outside through cracks in the doors or walls. Most had stayed inside out of caution, but Yetos's shout just now told them he had brought the situation under control.

Beneath a sky where black clouds churned alongside blue-green light, many knights opened their wooden doors and stepped outside, looking up together at the dark mass overhead.

They had no idea that high above, the warming blue-green clouds were furiously mingling and intertwining with the layer of cold air above them.

Three minutes later, no fewer than a thousand people stood in the square. By then, Yetos had risen to his feet. Pale-faced, he lowered his arms, and the blue-green pillar of light in the sky gradually contracted. Soon, the teacup-shaped Wind Elemental Artifact returned to his palm.

Zeng Mu gazed up at the sky. Suddenly, a rumble reached his ears.

"It's going to rain," Kanni said with a smile, evidently understanding how the potion's effect would be maximized.

Plip. As soon as he finished speaking, a bean-sized droplet fell past Zeng Mu's eyes and splashed into a circle on the ground.

More and more crystalline droplets fell, growing denser by the moment. Soon, they covered the ground and soaked everyone's hair.

A floral fragrance filled the air, as sweet as fine medicine on the tongue, washing away the knights' mental fatigue. Some thought it smelled like a woman's hair on their first night together. Like Livre, whose taste in scents was the opposite, they could never get enough of it.

The rain fell heavily, yet more and more people gathered in the square. Comfort suffused their faces, and their entire beings, their very souls, seemed to relax as they savored this rare rain of medicine.

Cracks appeared in the once-dense black clouds, soon widening into silvery holes.

The noisy Black-Feathered Sparrows were now unusually silent, unwilling to open their beaks to make even a sound. They beat their wings frantically and swiftly fled that stretch of sky.

The medicinal rain soon ended. Then the silver disk of the moon emerged, its light falling softly on their shoulders, on the square, and across all of Sand City.

"Wonderful! The flock is leaving!"

"Lord Yetos's valor is unmatched!"

"We are sheltered by the glory of the Holy Temple!"

The knights shouted loudly, savoring the joy of this peaceful moment.

The others hurried over to Yetos, and two of them anxiously supported him. He was actually unharmed, merely somewhat exhausted. Half an hour of rest would fully replenish the Elemental Power within him.

Yetos looked at William and issued a stern command. "William, immediately dispatch two flying riders to scout the Seven Kingdoms Coalition's encampment. Have them also investigate the Black-Feathered Sparrows in the caves of the surrounding hills."

"Yes." William accepted the order and withdrew.

Watching his hurriedly departing figure, Cobert asked in surprise, "Huh? Lord Yetos, are you saying the Seven Kingdoms Coalition was behind this attack by the Black-Feathered Sparrows?"

Yetos nodded solemnly in confirmation.

"So that's it. I was wondering why it was so strange. A flock of Black-Feathered Sparrows dared to overrun a capital city, and in such terrifying numbers. It turns out they were pulling the strings," Ma Linya said with a hint of malice. To someone as familiar with the birds' habits as she was, this was something rarely seen even once in a century.

The remaining four showed no surprise, clearly having already considered the possibility.

"I'd wager this scheme was proposed by that rabble from the Han Kingdom. They love playing these dirty tricks," Aikimu speculated.

Xibizete said, "That's certainly possible, but we can't rule out Qin Zihui either. That fellow has an exceptionally quick mind. Otherwise, he couldn't have risen so high at such a young age. During the Vanguard Battle, it was precisely his strange tactical formation that cost us so many men and officers."

Kanni added, "However capable those fellows are, when the day of battle comes again, I won't spare a single soldier within reach of my Silver Sword."

"Don't worry. It'll be soon, though probably not tomorrow," Zeng Mu said, turning to look beyond the city as though trying his hardest to find their hidden scouts.

On the outskirts of Sand City, two pairs of eyes lay hidden in the grass on a slope amid the dense woods. Like eagles hunting prey, they had been watching keenly for a long time.