Going to the other guards, Hong Zhao completed the same process two more times. As he efficiently cleaned up after the mess, he stored the storage rings of all of the guards within his own. He didn't have time to look within any of them yet, he had to keep his mind on the task at hand.
After the guards were all eliminated, he went back to the tree tops. His eyes narrowed as he watched the movement within the camp. It could take moments, or hours for the men to realize the missing members of their team. Their realization would be crucial to the next part of his plan. He assumed either there would be chaos within the camp at the realization that the men were missing, the guards would be replaced, they would send out a search party or a scouting team to find who had been picking off their men.
Even with the assumption, he also had to believe it could be a combination of his thoughts. As he watched from the treetop, he could see the men continue with their games. Within the glint of the camp fire, he could also see some men trading trinkets they took out of their storage rings. He saw some gold, and pills that were traded, along with a few small stones he had never seen before. 'They must have looted more villages on their way here.' He thought as he continued observing.
As he watched, one man got to his feet from the fireside. Stretching for a moment, he scratched his head and began wandering over to the border of the small camp. "Shi Chang, Feng Hui! Your shift is over, go get some food." Hong Zhao heard the man call over to the empty space.
'Here we go.' He thought as he watched the man get closer.
"Shi Chang, Feng Hui, where are you?" The man called out, but only darkness responded. Instead of closing the distance, he went back to the campfire. "Has anyone checked on the guards recently?" He asked with alertness.
One man that Hong Zhao recognized looked up at the other. "I brought some food over to the east side watch a few hours ago. I thought they were relieving themselves."
"Go check and make sure they are back at their stations." The other man said. Hong Zhao could hear the slight tone of authority come from him. If he were a betting man, he would place this individual as a guard captain. As he spoke, the other man stood and walked back over to the edge of the camp. When he noticed no one was there, he went back and shook his head.
Without another word, the guard captain went into the center tent. Hong Zhao noticed the other tents seemed to be centered around this tent. 'That would be the boss then.' He continued watching as the cogs started to turn ever so slowly. Within ten minutes, the man exited the tent once more.
"It seems the guards have been taken, unless all six have decided to relieve themselves at the same time for an extended amount of time." The man said briskly. "I want three teams of twelve to search the area. Each team take a path through the areas the guards were watching. If you find anything, come back and report, or take care of the problem if it within your ability." Under his gaze, the men formed their groups. Hong Zhao could see alertness in some of the men's eyes, while others looked unsure. It was obvious that something like this had not happened to the camp before.
Hong Zhao did a quick estimate of their strength. It seemed that all of the men were of the ninth star student rank. If he were to succeed in his plans, he had to be certain to ensure not a single one survived.
"It is clear that someone or something is picking off the members of our camp." The man said as the others finally made their teams. "It is either a beast of some kind, or a group from Raje has decided to take action against us. The first two groups we have sent have not returned, and then there is the matter of the third star disciple ranked weapon we have uncovered. Whatever it is, keep your guard up." After saying this, he waved his hand, and the groups dispersed.
Deciding on a plan of action, Hong Zhao followed the first group. He noticed the path they were taking and went on ahead of them through the trees as stealthily as he could. If he rustled even a single leaf, it might alert them. This was something he wished to avoid.
With enough space between him and the group, he formed two qi balls and placed them at either side of the path. He then placed another two a hundred meters up. Another two sets of two on the left and right of the path. Doing this, he sat in the trees and waited for the team to show up. He silently prayed that none of the men had a detection ability. If they did, his plan would most likely fail.
It took ten minutes, but the team finally appeared. Their eyes were full of alertness. A group of two looked on at the front of the path. Two looked to the left, two to the right and the rest covered the rear. Even though this was something like an Edo time period, he was impressed to see that their tactics closely resembled those of soldiers he had known back on earth.
As they moved on, Hong Zhao held his breath. Inch by inch they brought themselves closer to his trap. When the first one finally was in range, he let out his breath. They continued on until the very last man was within his trap. Before he could hesitate any further, he activated qi explosion. Suddenly the qi balls lit up, and the qi inside exploded forth. A loud concussive bang reached out within the forest, followed by the cries of the wounded.
Hong Zhao dropped from the treetop to the group of men and activated devouring qi claws. Before anyone could gather their senses enough to know what was happening, he began slashing throats. Blood sprayed the survivors as they waited in agony as the claws found their next mark. Each man was injured to the point of being disoriented, so within moments, Hong Zhao was now the proud owner of twelve more storage rings and another pile of bodies.
Putting the rings in his storage ring, he activated vortex thrust and once more launched himself into the treetop.