Mining Troubles [Job/Solo]

ingyi stretched out her legs as she rode in the back of a cart that would act as a shipping supply for when they arrived at the mine and receive their loads. Scooting closer to the edge, the redhead dangled her feet out of the back of her ride, swinging them back and forth. Her beloved sword laid in its sheath, clipped to her side as to prevent the air-head of a soldier from losing it.

Flopping onto her back, Jingyi allowed her legs to dangle as she stared at the top of the caravan. Closing her eyes, the soldier took a deep breath and simply laid there as she waited for the time to pass. She understood the reason why she was always being sent on missions such as these since she was such a good fighter, but she wanted a taste of actual combat. To help her brothers in arms on the battlefield and see what it's actually like. If she wanted to become a general, she needed to know what it's like down in the dirt first.

Opening her red eyes, Jingyi laid an arm across her face as she yawned deeply. Her eyes fluttered closed once more as she concentrated on the rattling of the vehicle. Moments passed before the soldier pushed herself back up into a sitting position and withdrew her legs onto the car.

An hour passed before the mine sight finally came to view. Another thirty minutes leisurely rolled on and then Jingyi finally reached her destination. With a friendly but loud goodbye to the driver, the redhead jumped off the still moving cart and made her way to the biggest tent on site. There, she found the head manager of the facility and explained to him that she was the soldier sent to deal with their troubles.

The man looked a little disgruntled that a single, short woman was sent to fix their situation, but it wasn't like they had the time to argue. With a heavy sigh and some diagrams, he explained exactly what was up. Four something or others were in the tunnels, and each time the miners tried to get in, they would attack. It was troubling due to the fact that they couldn't send the ore that the Gao military was requesting, which meant that sooner than later, they would be punished for it. Especially if their mining base fell into the hands of the Yoshirou army.

Jingyi just smiled and nodded along to his explanations, with about eighty percent of his information going in through one ear and out the other. She already knew that they couldn't get into mine, and the redhead already understood what it meant if they couldn't get in. All she wanted to know was about the monsters, but those who escaped their grasps couldn't give any pointers in killing the darn things.

With an itch in her hand, the manager finally released Jingyi to get to work. For some reason, he sternly warned her to be cautious, as if she needed to be told! But, he was just being nice, and it's not like it mattered in the long run.

There was an excited look in the eyes of Jingyi Hou as she laid her palm on Windcutter's hilt, her fingers curling around the grip. She was quickly led to the troublesome mine by a worker, the man scrambling off as soon as they were in sight of the entrance. It was time for her to get to work.

ingyi stared into the depths of the tunnel for a moment before unsheathing her sword. She could spot some lanterns lighting up the innards of the mines, but not enough to supply steady source. Putting on her face of confident, the redhead took a deep breath and smiled. She wasn't going to let some hole scare her. Nor would its monsters.

Walking down the path, Jingyi stayed in the middle as the tunnel engulfed her. Looking straight ahead, she kept her eyes on the prize; her gaze scanning for any potential danger. Deeper and deeper she walked, the lanterns keeping some of the darkness at bay.

It wasn't long until she ran into trouble. She heard the monsters before she saw them. Their loud groans echoed down the tunnels, the sound of shifting rocks and moaning as creatures lumbered ahead of her. Walking into a larger, cavern like space, Jingyi looked around the room. Jingy's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she saw nothing, her brows furrowing together in confusion. Again she heard the strange noises, and another look around the dim room brought nothing.

Walking further into the cavern, she was able to spot discarded tools. Pick axes, trollies, lanterns, even a pair of boots. But no monsters. Turning around, Jingyi faced the entrance before looking above her head. Still, there was nothing despite the sounds of groaning all about her.

Turning once more, Jingyi was met with the sight of moving rocks. From the ground, boulders seemingly held together by dirt and clay began to rise. Their forms were encased in some sort of shell, and Jingyi couldn't discern any eyes. They unleashed a mighty roar together, the sound bursting in Jingyi's eardrums. The girl almost let go of her sword in favor of clasping her hands over her ears. As she stood there, frozen by the sound, one of the golems begun to pick up a boulder.

Red eyes widened in horror, her muscles tensing for a moment before her body went into overdrive. Stepping back, Jingyi prepared her for the incoming boulder, the heels of her combat boots digging into the earth. The Young Mine Guardian unleashed his Rock Throw, the boulder sent flying at her. But, in the seconds it had taken to throw, Jingyi readied herself. With a well-executed Power Step, she launched herself out of the way of the boulder.

Landing on her feet, Jingyi tensed up the muscles in her feet before rushing at the young mine guardians with all of her speed. Her smaller and un-rocky form allowed Jingyi to move much faster than the golems. She got close enough to the one on the left of the trio and launched herself at it. She stabbed her sword into the joint of the Guardian's knee, the beast wobbling before starting to topple forwards. Jingyi struggled as she tried to pull out her sword, managing to withdraw it and jump out of the golem's way as it crashed to the floor.

Its two brothers, seemingly uncaring that their fellow Mine Guardian was on the floor, advanced towards Jingyi. The red head bent her knees and jumped onto the extended hand of the closest one. Despite her perching spot, Jingyi kept her balance about her as she began to hobble run up the arm of the earthen construct.

The "floor" vibrated as the golem slapped the spot she was previously on, but Jingyi continued moving. At the elbow, Jingyi jumped forwards, her sword extended. She stabbed Windcutter into the neck of the Golem, her feet pushing against the creature's chest so she wouldn't dangle in the air. Looking over her shoulder, Jingyi's eyes widened as she saw that it was beginning to charge.

Looking back up at her sword, Jingyi wiggled the blade and withdrew it. The redhead took a deep breath and quickly jumped off the guardian as she began to fall. Twisting her body, Jingyi managed to land on her feet*, but tremors traveled painfully up her body at the landing. But she didn't have time to move for the last remaining Young Guardian was still charging. Ducking down, Jingyi put her arms over her head as it rushed over her, slamming straight into its brother.

They both went down, but the runner picked itself back off the ground. Its body turned as it spotted Jingyi and begun to advance towards her. The soldier, now recovered from her jump, pointed her blade at the creature. This time, Jingyi stampeded forwards, launching her own attack on her foe. It swiped its hand in an attempt to bat Jingyi aside, but the girl stepped away from the attack and continued forwards. With a stroke of her blade, Jingyi used Windcutter to slice horizontally against the golem's knee, causing it to collapse.

Jumping out of the way, Jingyi's chest heaved as she took in deep gulps of air. Sheathing her blade, the redhead smiled proudly at her work. Turning on her heel, she was about to head out the exit when the sound of something rolling caught her attention.

ingyi turned around, her red eyes widening to the size of saucers as something rolled out from a separate tunnel she didn't see during her fight. That was right, there were four creatures that had attacked the miners!

With hands shaking from adrenaline, Jingyi withdrew her blade and jumped out of the way of the rolling titan. It crashed into the wall behind her before uncurling itself, revealing a body seemingly older than the other three guardians. The Old Mine Guardian's form was larger, yes, but it was much slower and the sap that held it together was cracking from age. Jingyi narrowed her eyes as she faced the new form, a smirk crossing her face. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, after all!

Like its children prior, the Old Mine Guardian lifted a boulder in the preparation of a Rock Throw. Meanwhile, the redhead dug her heels into the loose dirt of the cavern's floor, Windcutter raised as she watched the golem. So predictable, Jingyi thought as it launched the rock at her, her sword spinning. Her blade caught the rock, parrying it and throwing the attack away from her body as Jingyi performed Spinning Block. The creature was trying to dig up more rocks to throw as Jingyi launched herself forwards. She stabbed her sword into the knee of the guardian, its sap shell snapping against the piercing force of her weapon. It groaned and stumbled back, taking Windcutter with it as it collapsed.

Jingyi was forced to stumble back lest she was hit by the creature's feet, an arm covering her eyes as the crash sent dust flying into the air. Coughing for a moment, the soldier groped the air as she realized that her precious blade was still in the monster. With a heavy sigh, Jingyi began to climb onto its form to retrieve her blade. At least she was going to get to go home soon?