'What the heck's going on here?' The vice leader thought, having discovered the sight of where the disturbance was. Flames licked hungrily at the trees, casting eerie shadows that danced in the moonlight. The vice leader, a stern-looking man with a commanding presence, surveyed the scene with a mixture of concern and determination.
His gaze fell upon the burnt corpse of Jin Mo, his expression darkening with anger and sorrow. Jin Mo had been a trusted member of their squad, a skilled assassin whose loss would be keenly felt.
But also, he was like family to them. Almost every member of the Shadow Cat Army were orphans, they were chosen for such a department, which only had at least 150 people, because they were also called the Suicide Army. They were for infiltrating enemy territory, carrying out covert operations, and eliminating high-value targets. Jin Mo had been one of their own, and his death struck a deep chord within the vice leader's heart.
However, they were still on a mission. They could mourn the loss of a brother afterward, the mission and vengeance comes first.
"Report," the vice leader ordered, turning to one of his subordinates, the one with silvery wings of a crane; the latter had found him and followed him to the scene.
The subordinate stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Vice leader, it appears that Jin Mo was ambushed and killed most likely by those brats."
"Those brats?" The vice leader muttered in disbelief, incredulous that a bunch of kids with just three-two soul rings had managed to kill a Soul King like Jin Mo.
But considering they were Shrek students, outer courtyard core disciples, they probably do have a trick or two to kill a Soul King.
By his guess, it probably was a high level soul tool that reflects attacks. If so, it was probably at least a rank 5 defense-type soul tool.
He coldly snorted. "Whatever trick they might have, it won't last long. I'm more worried that they'll be running to either the city or the academy for help, we can't let that happen. Everything would be ruined. And judging for how long it's been since we last saw them, it wouldn't be long for them to get help."
He pondered for a moment and said, "20 minutes. If we still haven't found them by then, we are retreating."
'The leader might've owed the duchess, but he would understand my decision. We follow the general first and foremost, not his wife.' he thought.
"Yes, sir!" the subordinate bowed, then with the flap of his wings, he flew to the sky once more to search for their targets.
Watching as his subordinate flew off, the vice leader narrowed his eyes and gripped his dagger tight.
'I have a bad feeling about this...'
He shook his head, almost scoffing to himself. Their targets were just a bunch of brats, so what they managed to get a lucky shot at one of them? They were a proud squad that operates in the darkness and went through hell and back, these kids were just around 12 years old! If they couldn't even take care of such easy targets, then they would retire from shame after this.
With that in mind, he sprinted deep into the woods with lightning speed, his senses on high alert as he searched for any sign of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao. Every rustle of leaves, every shadow shifting in the moonlight, he scrutinized them all, determined to fulfill his mission and exact vengeance for Jin Mo's death.
For the mission, for his blood brother, and for his pride.
They will die.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of reddish-gold eyes were watching his and everyone else's movements in the forest.
'Should I step in now?' Huo Yuhao thought, leaning against the tree. After he increased his cultivation to Soul Ancestor and absorbing the 4th golden seal of Skydream, all his first soul ring's abilities increased by several fold. Spiritual Detection now has a range of around 600 diameters, Spiritual Sharing can now be linked to 45 people, Flame Control could increase the heat of a flame to around 2,300 °C(4,172 °F), and lastly his Absolute Domain now has a range of 125 inches.
With his eyes, he could see every movement in the forest, every flicker of emotion on the vice leader's face, and every step taken by his friends as they proceeded to get their third kill, not knowing that the assassin with silvery wings was coming to his comrade to regroup.
As he watched the vice leader dart through the trees with lightning speed, a sense of urgency washed over Huo Yuhao. He knew that if he didn't intervene soon, things could spiral out of control, and his friends' lives could be lost.
But at the same time, he hesitated. Stepping in now would lose all the progress his friends were making and would create a sense of dependency on him that they didn't need. Huo Yuhao knew the importance of his friends learning to handle dangerous situations on their own.
However, the situation seemed to be escalating rapidly. The vice leader's determination to avenge Jin Mo's death was palpable, and Huo Yuhao could sense the danger looming over his friends.
After his little... experiment on their leader and with his own sense, the vice leader is a skilled fighter that wouldn't lose out to an average Soul Emperor. If he gets the girls in the open, it was a certainty that they would die.
'Remember little Yuhao, whether they're a Shinobi or a Soul Master, those who pursue the path of strength will dirty their hands and be on death's door.' His Ancestor's voice rang in his mind, surprising him. 'It's better they learn this lesson when someone can help them nearby than when they face it alone in the future.'
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, weighing his options carefully. Despite his hesitation, he couldn't ignore the urgency of the situation. His friends were in imminent danger, and he couldn't afford to stand by and watch as they faced off against the vice leader and his skilled assassins.
"... I'll stand by, for now." After deliberating for a while, he came to a decision. He had faith on the girl's skills and their luck to survive this whole ordeal.
But he held more confidence on taking care of the assassins.
Closing his eyes, his body turned into snow flakes and flew swiftly through the forest, moving with silent grace as he approached the vice leader from behind, the latter none the wiser. His senses remained alert, scanning for any sign of danger as he positioned himself strategically, ready to intervene at the right moment.
'Oh? Dong'er and Xiao Xiao is about to get their third target.'
.....
"You little bastards, I've got you!" The assassin yelled, their sparrow wings curled for a moment, their purple(4th) soul rings shone, before unfurling and it released hundreds of purple feathers that shot towards Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao in the trees with deadly precision. The feathers whizzed through the air like projectiles, aimed to pierce through their defenses and inflict serious harm.
Their eyes widened, and without any hesitation, they fell back to the ground and rolled to the side of the trees, narrowly evading the deadly barrage of feathers.
Wang Dong'er's mind raced as she quickly analyzed their options. With a swift motion, she performed a series of hand seals and asked Xiao Xiao, "You think you can bring him to the ground?"
Xiao Xiao smirked. "Easy. How long do you need?"
"A minute or two."
Xiao Xiao nodded.
Wang Dong'er then pressed both her hands onto the ground, channeling her soul power, causing the tough earth to become fine sand; Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique. Without any hesitation, she then began digging into it and the ground slowly began to cover up.
'Okay, bringing the enemy down to the ground.' Xiao Xiao then released her martial soul, Threelives Soul Cauldron, then separated into three smaller versions of it up the trees, momentarily concealing them. 'Should be easy enough, it's not like they're a Soul King or anything.'
Chuckling nervously for a moment, Xiao Xiao then steeled herself and dashed forward up the tree and then jumping to another, her daggers gleaming as she closed in on their airborne assailant. With lightning-fast movements, she deftly maneuvered through the barrage of purple feathers, her keen reflexes allowing her to evade each deadly projectile with precision.
"Stupid brat," The assassin coldly grinned, staring down at the brat with contempt. As someone with higher cultivation and with the literal high ground advantage, they felt confident in their ability to defeat their young opponents.
'But where's the other one...? Did they ran off?' He narrowed his eyes, suspicious of what they're doing. But he shook his head, nonetheless, he was still going to get them.
His first to third soul rings lit up; coating his projectiles with wind to increase their speed and piercing capability, his hands turned into sharp talons and he slashed down to send out sharp wind blades, and his vision sharpened so that he could clearly track Xiao Xiao's movements.
In the face of an all-out onslaught of the assassin, it was inevitable that Xiao Xiao would get injured, numerous cuts and grazes marked her skin as she continued her daring assault. But despite the pain and the overwhelming odds against her, Xiao Xiao remained undaunted.
With a fierce determination burning in her eyes, she pressed on, using Tang Sect's movement technique, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, her movements becoming even more fluid and agile as she danced through the air like a phantom. Each calculated step brought her closer to her target, her daggers flashing with deadly precision as she deflected the projectiles.
"Hmph!" The assassin coldly snorted and his soul power surged.
As the assassin unleashed a barrage of wind-coated projectiles and sharp wind blades, Xiao Xiao's reflexes kicked into overdrive. With lightning-fast reactions, she dodged and weaved through the onslaught, narrowly evading each deadly attack with split-second timing.
But even as she fought with all her strength and skill, Xiao Xiao knew that she couldn't keep up this relentless pace forever. With each passing moment, fatigue began to weigh heavily on her limbs, and the wounds she had sustained began to take their toll.
"Give up kid! This is the end for you!" The assassin yelled, launching a fierce double wind blade attack straight at Xiao Xiao.
Death
That was what Xiao Xiao understood in the split second when she saw the deadly wind blades manifesting before her. And her life flashed before her eyes.
'Xiao Xiao!' A familiar voice snapped her back to reality.
Without even thinking, her hands executed hand seals at lightning speed.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
Her soul power started draining at a rapid speed as a powerful gust of wind was exhaled out of her mouth, colliding with the incoming wind blades and projectiles. The two forces clashed with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.
It was at that moment, three black objects flew out of the thick leaves, hurdling themselves from all and onto the distracted assassin.
Kuk!
The assassin gasped as the Threelives Soul Cauldrons, which had been on standby, crushed him tightly together. His wings let out a terrible crunch, and he let out a pained cry as the impact forced the air out of his lungs. Trapped between the relentless pressure of the cauldrons and the sheer force of Xiao Xiao's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, the assassin found himself momentarily immobile.
'Chance!'
Xiao Xiao's eyes shone, and without any hesitation, controlled the Threelives Soul Cauldrons to fly into the ground.
She didn't completely crush the assassin to death because her soul power was rapidly draining, and there were still more assassins coming after them.
Boom!
Sending the assassin into the ground, the Threelives Soul Cauldron dissipated as Xiao Xiao unsummoned them.
It didn't take a second before the assassin unsteadily rose to his feet, his body trembling with pain and exertion. Despite his injuries, he glared defiantly at Xiao Xiao, who slowly landed on the ground with grace, his resolve unbroken despite the odds stacked against him.
"Y-You bastard... How dare you, how dare you injure me to this extent! Unforgivable!" His sparrow wings spread out, with the wingspan of two meters but looked crooked and broken after being crushed by between the Threelives Soul Cauldrons, giving a comical sight.
However, his purple(fifth) soul ring shone and a powerful surge of soul power began to emit from his wings. Powerful gales of wind gathered around him like a tornado.
The assassin looked completely wrathful, veins bulging around his face and his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Xiao Xiao.
"DIE! WRATH OF-"
Pfft
It was at that moment, that a hand burst out of the ground beneath him and grabbed his leg.
Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation
Before he could even react, he was swiftly dragged into the earth, quite injured and was in the middle of using his soul skill, the assassin couldn't resist as he was almost completely buried into the ground with exception of his head.
"I'm hurt that you forgot about me," Wang Dong'er cold and low voice rung in his ears, as she burst out of the ground a few inches away from where the assassin was. She walked up to his head, her eyes cold and indifferent.
Before the assassin could speak, Wang Dong'er raised her right foot.
"Say hi to your friends for me in hell, scum."
Just as she was about to stomp the assassin's head like a watermelon, wind began to act up around them with the sound of thunder, with bolts of lightning suddenly appearing.
It was then, a different foot appeared before Wang Dong'er's.
Xiao Xiao's eyes widened.
"Wang Dong, run!"
"What do you think you're doing?" The assassin with silvery wings coldly glared at Wang Dong'er, silver electricity crackled around him.
....
AN: I got Acheron's light cone and Neuvillette's weapon!! Booyah! It only took a very, very hard pity for me to get them(at least 75).
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