This may be a little abrupt, but life is just full of twist and turns; nothing is ever as if seems... As Alex was enjoying his carefree life free of constant struggles and conflicts against others, a dark force was closing in on him from the shadows.
"What's the status of the child? Is it possible that the current Head of the 'Dragon Family' has started to pass on his inheritance to the next generation personally?" A great, authoritative man wearing black clothes with a skull on his back asked the four people who were before him. This was in a room not too far from Alex's current residence.
"The boy seems to be closely protected by Master mercenaries, there's no point even trying anything at all... and as for his physical abilities: I can only say that I'm absolutely sure that kid doesn't have the Dragon Family's inheritance yet." A tall woman with a sharp gaze, who had the White Tiger symbol embroidered onto her green clothes, replied meticulously. Her beautiful eyes secretly looking murderously at the man with a skull on his back.
"What about the target in question? Is there a chance he'll be able to slip out of our net?" The man in black turned to look at the blue clothed man who had an Azure Dragon embroidered onto his shirt. That calm person's triangular eyes made his handsome exterior nicer to look at. Though that blue-clothed man too didn't hide his disdain.
"It's nice you're focused, however... Before I answer that, I would like to point out that you're not the person who is in charge of this operation. You are just an extra who could be of use to us." A suppressive attitude was expressed from the blue clothed man's body as he glared this 'outsider' before him. Even though they was reluctant, the other 'Elders' had already agreed to include him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please: I have no interest in the Dragon Family's inheritance. The only thing I want to gain from this alliance is our target's flesh and blood...! My mouth waters as I think of how delicious his high grade corpse will taste like~" A twisted smile appeared on the black clothed man's face, causing the four of them to shudder...
It's a pity that a expert in martial artists was like this. The black clothes man was of such high calibre, but that didn't change his perception as a damn, disgusting freak! He really needed to die!
There feelings matched this look:（´艸｀＊）
No one wanted to be on the same team as this inhumane creature, but they had no choice.
"Cannibal..." The woman who was clothed in a crimson red dress that had a Vermillion Bird embroidered onto it muttered in disgust. The opal-like brown clothed man who had a Black Turtle symbol embroidered onto its back nodded his head in agreement without showing any emotions. He too thought that it was best to just kill the creep...
The people who were titled after their clan's ancient ancestral symbols didn't mind that one of them hadn't made any sort of input in this conversation, this was just how Black Turtle was. It was actually quite natural that brown clothed man would fade into the background due to his quiet nature... This was just how they operated.
There was a more pressing matter at the moment anyway: They started stalking Alex years ago..
"Fine, fine... We understand your position. There is no chance the target will be able to escape our net." Azure Dragon spoke in an exhausted tone. He decided to just move the conversation along again.
"Shouldn't we just kidnap the child and have him act as bait? Why go through all the trouble? Even if he is protected by mercenaries, this shouldn't be a problem for people of our stature." This time it was Vermillion Bird who asked a question.
"Do not underestimate the mercenaries sent to protect that boy. They are definitely members of all four of the Gemstone Squads, the most vicious and hardcore members of the Military Faction of the Western Hegemony. You'll start a war if you act carelessly against them...!" Azure Dragon reprimanded the woman in a threatening tone.
"I agree. There's no point in increasing our enemies right now. This is supposed to be a secret operation after all..." White Tiger nodded her head as she wholly agreed with Azure Dragon's thoughts. It was best to be fast and precise!
The greatest advantage they had over Alex was their higher number of strong martial artists on their side. They might not yet currently be Grandmaster martial artists, but they were still Master martial artists who have inherited supreme abilities through the bloodlines. The kind of power they could display when fighting together was higher than they could when apart.
They had planned the aftermath of thoroughly. As soon as they are able to kill him, a sealing technique will be placed on Alex's soul in order to force the information they needed out of him.
The techniques of the Transcendent Clans weren't to be looked down upon as they had many terrifying skills at their disposal to manipulate the entire 'existence' of a person like they were using magic...! None who offended them will be let off!
Even if they were Grandmasters...
It was then that White Tiger's ears pricked as she stood up. Everyone else followed suit as they were well-aware of her ability to communicate with her Clan members using a fusion of various different techniques only her clan members possessed.
The name of the martial art technique was called by others as the 'White Tiger's Third Eye'.
The man clothed in black who went by the title of Death Eater was also a little nervous as he wondered if the precious treasure he took out for this 'special' occasion would be able to affect one of the few legendary and unimaginably strong powerhouses of the Western Hegemony. He would only be confident of victory after their first step of their secretly planned ambush succeeded!
The people of this hidden room in a building next to Alex's residence were all the highest echelons of The Murim and were considered to be the most respected members of the eastern secret society.
In the 'Eastern Hegemony', one of the two halves which the Secret Martial Arts World consisted of, a place that no mere 'Mortal' could step foot in: They were sitting at the zenith of absolute power.
The place Westerners of the Secret World would consider the Eastern Hegemony was a place where those of The Murim ruled with a council consisting of four 'Elders' and one Grand Elder. Their respective titles were proof of the quality of their heaven-defying skills and accomplishments. Even though much was attributed to their background...
As for the cannibalistic martial artist titled Death Eater... He was more of an infamous existence that was part of a group that was similar to Western Hegemony's most terrifying 'Abyss'. The man was a member of the two Forbidden Clans, a group of psychopaths and killers who knew nothing about respect or honour. Only how to seek power.
On any other occasion, the four Elders of Transcendent Clans, which were part of The Murim, would try to eliminate the cannibalistic psychopath in their midst as soon as possible, but the agenda that baited them to ambush the current Head of the Dragon Family stopped them from taking action. He was needed for their plans...
They felt they were despicable, even Vermillion Bird wasn't happy with the current chain of events and only wanted them to efficiently finish their mission as fast as they could. The only reason she even suggested a more dirtier and underhanded method to take out the 'White Dragon' than they're using right now was because of how she didn't want their temporary alliance to last too long...
Their Clan was too loyal to the family of their Grand Elder and were wholly willing to go to war for that purple clothed old monster, yet also they were simply lusting for the technique Alex, the White Dragon, had personally created by himself. The modern Bone Tempering Blood Ripple supported with the ancient Flesh Purifying Skeletal Pulse was rumoured to hold the secret to eternal life!
Perhaps ignorant buffoons would laugh at the efforts of The Murim's highest echelons, speaking of how impossible it was to gain immortality with mortal techniques. As there was many factors that could lead a person to death. However, the intel they gathered about Alex's artificially refined Divine Physique wasn't anything to scoff at...!
Who didn't want to live forever among these ageing Masters of martial arts in this room?
Although they were fairly young right now, that wouldn't be able last forever as the years passed in their pursuit of the Dao. Training so hard only to slowly decay was a nightmare for them...!
"The target is making his way into position." White Tiger spoke as Alex used his amazing parkour skills to make his way to the rooftop a building that was high enough to give him a clear view of school his grandson went to. Their target's fingers were getting dirty as he was casually eating the donuts he bought yesterday like the foodie he was.
The winds were quite gentle today as he didn't have to worry about being thrown about by gusts at such a high altitude. The concrete jungle of Faustus City was a special place because the scenery could be considered one of a kind anywhere on Earth... Alex's superhuman sight watched over Jack's safety from a big distance.
It was quite unfortunate though that he failed to notice a colourless, tasteless and odourless mist infuse itself onto the food he brought along with him and accidentally allowed it to infect his circulation system. The special type of medicine in the air didn't trigger his extremely tough immune system due to its strange and mysterious qualities.
"Let's go." Vermillion Bird spoke as they disappeared out the black-tinted window door that had masked their secret room. They practically soared up the building near Alex's residence as they headed towards their vantage point.
Extremely powerful Masters like them didn't even need to walk up stairways since even ceilings were considered 'flat land' in their eyes... Each one of their Five Elemental Step Methods showed its prowess right here as they ignored physics.
Death Eater also wasn't left behind as he followed their movements. When he barely spotted Alex on top of a rooftop quite far away, he couldn't help but sigh helplessly at their 'exit'. How would he be able to catch up to these guys practically flying about?
Even if he wasn't scared of heights, he still felt uncomfortable being so far from the ground as he followed them... Those of his Forbidden Clan were all cannibals with strength proportionate to the quality and amount of corpses they ate. It was only natural that members of his Clan usually liked to hang around cemeteries and places full of death instead of high rooftops... Their skills weren't exactly built for pursuit, but purely for killing.
"Can you activate it?" Azure Dragon asked as he looked at Alex in the distance. The fact their target didn't notice them was due to the contributions of Azure Dragon's special bloodline heritage that helped him camouflage their bodies in mist.
The Arctic Ocean Dragon Clan literally had the bloodline of a Dragon from an ancient past. It was a mystical creature that once lived on Earth in humanoid form and left plenty of descendants.
Compared to Alex? who only used more basic and simplistic techniques that only made use of the body, Azure Dragon used a far more 'spiritual'-related technique to create a phenomenon which allowed him to use a magic-like mist. Then used it to make him and his allies transparent to the naked eye, as no ambush could be done out in open.
Although this only worked as long as they were standing still and didn't block out noise, he was able to speak more freely since White Tiger could control the element of wind with a big area. Their synergy came from having all the basic elements.
Everyone had their Role...
He understood quite clearly that one his trusted teammates had already isolated the sound of their voices, that's why he spoke freely towards their new 'ally'. The one he was planning to kill later...
He needed to know when it will take effect.
"Patience... 'Colourless Miasma' isn't formed of gasses, it's a ethereal poison almost like a natural element that acts on principles vastly different to that of fire. I have already spread it atop of the building he is currently standing on.
He should be feeling its affects any minute now.
The only problem we have right now is getting to that building over there before he notices our ambush and escapes!" Death Eater spoke while looking at the great distance between the two buildings. He IS NOT going to try jumping there no matter how hard they persuaded him. He'd rather abort the operation than to die needlessly...
"Vermillion Bird, Black Turtle. It looks like you two are up." Azure Dragon gestured towards his two allies who started radiating their 'Internal Qi' before moving their hands in intrinsic ways that seemed to connect with the elements they were trying to control. Both used high-level nature techniques in tandem to complement the powers of the other.
Vermillion Bird's movements were graceful and emanated a strange sense of inherent pride while Black Turtle moved with utmost stability in each motion. It was hard to distinguish who was doing what, but the result of their synchronisation was the section of the rooftop they stood on had lifted up before being shot like a rocketing meteor!
A flame boosted their speed in midair as they rocketed towards their unsuspecting target who was still fooled by the mysterious techniques they used to isolate sound and turn their bodies transparent. In fact, the old veteran only noticed something was wrong when he turned around to see a giant rock heading towards him a high speed!
'Oh for the love of- Am I unlucky enough to have a meteor suddenly fall on me...? Really?!!!' He was about to dodge out of the way, but for some reason, just as his mind raced, he felt a piercing headache and numbness that robbed him of his body's mobility...! He was completed stunned!
Alex's shock looked a little like this: Σ(ＴωＴ)
He was both in misery and frustration when he found that couldn't dodge the ambushing attack!
The concrete 'meteor' the five eastern Masters were riding on fully smashed into him sent him flying! A bone-chilling crackling sound could be heard as the meteor struck his back squarely.
The benign old man felt every cell in his body ache as he was thrown into the air, only to feel a gust of concentrated wind hit his back and smash him back down onto the rooftop. He coughed blood upon impact! The rebound's shock dazed him...
Someone hit him down like a pingpong ball!
White Tiger had her claw-like hands ready strike him after his body bounced off the ground, but the great opportunity she created was taken by Death Eater... who dropped towards Alex's powerless body. His fanatic eyes were filled with bloodlust.
"Don't hold this against me~!" Death Eater laughed sarcastically as he used all his strength to slam his target into the ground. He used a secret technique in conjunction with his attacks to strengthen the affects of Colourless Miasma that was stopping Alex from processing what was happening to him.
Death Eater had quite a large and muscular body which really wasn't suited for swift strikes.
However, he put everything on the line at this moment to strain his muscles and bring out his full potential in what should have been a singular burst attack! The Elders behind the cannibal didn't interrupt as his already bulky arms swelled up to become abnormally big like an abomination's.
He punched the so-called leader of the 'Dragons of the West' into the solid concrete below him so powerfully that the entire building shook...! The Dragon Family was quite a famous household.
Once, twice, thrice... even though his movements were slower than when he initially started pummelling Alex's body to the ground, his strikes only became stronger as he built his momentum.
The old man being beaten up could only feel his mind numbing as his clothes were tattered beyond recognition. His eyes dilated as Death Eater was ending his barrage, the two fists that were smashing him into the ground lifted into the air before coming down like two heavy iron hammers!
The crater made by Alex's old body finally became a gaping hole as it revealed that bystanders had already evacuated the building. If not, there would probably already be news coverage about this.
White Tiger had already made sure there wouldn't be any eyewitnesses by using the absolute full force of their Transcendent Clan. After all, they were all attacking their target in the afternoon instead of a great time like the dead of night.
When Death Eater finally stopped attacking to take a breath, he saw something unimaginable...!
A trace of fear appeared in his eyes as he saw the semi-conscious 'White Dragon' they ambushed sitting cross-legged atop of his abnormally large fist in a daze as the cannibal was retrieving it back.
It was almost like his opponent's body reflexively defended itself against his last attack...!
The four Elders shocked by this strange scene, but Death Eater was even more stunned as he noticed a significant detail. Alex's physique, although significantly injured, was still largely fine and not too grave despite the fact that he had given it his all to try and break their target's entire body! It was almost as if everything they did was for naught...!!!
As he was left in a daze, the 'old dragon' finally began to move... Initiating his own counterattack.
They would soon regret ambushing him...