"Noah, why did we leave them? Working with their group could have hastened the time needed for this task." Leonel brought up his question with a slightly annoyed expression on his face.
Noah glanced at his friend and sighed. "You need to brush up your senses, Leonel. It was brief, but there was a moment when killing intent was released."
Argos and Leonel revealed surprised expressions as they heard this. Emery, on the other hand, sighed along with the transmigrator. Clearly, the dark haired boy had also noticed that brief killing intent.
"We'll go ahead with our task and also keep an eye on your cousin's group. That brief moment was quite short so I couldn't pinpoint who it came from. Still I could confirm that it was only a single person, which means the remaining 4 in the group are in danger." Noah explained, keeping a hand on the grip of his sword while glancing at the distance behind them. "For now, we'll continue using the same strategy as before."
Emery nodded, his Umbra Essence coating his body before he disappeared into the shadows of the trees surrounding them. The remaining three executed their respective stealth based Battle arts. Noah and Leonel seemed to be using the almost forgotten Crouching Tiger art, though the latter seemed to have given up on trying to emulate the former's method of using the art.
The four moved forward, their presences seemingly erased from the surface of the Earth. Their search for the terrorizing bandits lasted for a long time, spanning almost 6 hours, until, finally, the Star Records on their wrists vibrated, meaning that Emery had managed to catch onto a lead.
Noah immediately stepped out of his hidden state, dashing forward with incredible speed and meeting up with his teammate.
Emery stood, gripping his short sword while resting its blade on the neck of an individual that seemed to be sweating buckets. The man wore a tattered ash clothing, a two pieced training cloth.
"I'll get straight to the point." Noah unsheathed his sword, moving to the bandit's right and swinging down, separating the man's arm from his body. "Where is your group hiding?"
"Argh!!!" The bandit roared in pain, the unbearable pain being sent to his brain, causing his body to twitch uncontrollably. Still, a determined expression appeared on his face as he managed to stick out his middle finger at the transmigrator.
"Tch." Noah clicked his tongue and stabbed his sword through the bandit's left hand. "You don't wish to talk?"
A glare was all he received before the bandit abruptly clenched his jaw hard, breaking the hidden capsule in his teeth and releasing its content into his body. He weakly opened his mouth and spoke. "Fuck… you." After that, the drug achieved its goal, causing an Essence explosion near his heart and ending his life.
"Hmm. Who knew when bandits began to grow loyal?" Argos voiced surprised as he looked at the dead body.
"We keep on going forward then." The transmigrator didn't bother to spare a glance at the body and began walking forward.
But before they left the area, a shout caught the group's attention. Noah's eyes squinted and noticed that Asher's group of five were running towards them with panicked expressions, making the transmigrator to unsheathe his longsword.
The sight behind the group of five made him assume a stance and prepare for a battle. "Seems we don't have to fight anymore."
This was because behind them were a group of chasing bandits with malicious expressions on their faces as they pursued with raised blades.
"Help! We can't win against that number alone!" Asher pleaded the moment he reached their range. He then turned around, swinging at the air and thrust his sword, releasing a flaming blade that pierced through an attack from the pursuing bandits and cut through the attacker, easily ending his life.
Still, that was just one person among the entire hundreds that chased after them. The 9 students were severely outnumbered.
"How did you find them?" Emery asked while scales appeared on his skin as he assumed his Dark Harvester form.
Elaine shook her head. "They found us. We've tried hiding multiple times, but they seem to possess a unique equipment that can track us down."
"We're leaving." Noah spoke with his monotonous voice, scaring the group of 5. Emery and the others were also surprised. This was because he had told them that he could execute an art that could teleport them towards any marked location within 2 kilometers.
This was the Third Step of the Void Step Battle art, The Gate.
The main reason why they were surprised was his ready decision to leave the 5 behind and with no shred of remorse whatsoever. It really made one wonder what kind of past he had lived to possess little to no compassion to fellow humans.
"What?! You can't possibly leave us like this. If you have any method of escaping, you should be kind enough to share it!" Elaine spoke with a dumbfounded expression while she stared at Noah's stone cold expression.
"You five have nothing to do with me." His reply caused the group to be taken back. But they all grit their teeth knowing that the transmigrator was right. He really had nothing to with them at all, so why would he go out of his way to help them.
"You… are you really human?" Elaine asked with a dumbfounded person, shocked at how little humanity the person before her possessed.
"Noah. Please." Leonel looked at the Half-dragon, his voice breaking. The teenager really hated seeing this times when the transmigrator acted with his apathetic and placid expression on his face. Because it always meant that he had not managed to get over his possible past yet. "They have people waiting for them."
The transmigrator frowned hearing this before gesturing with his palm open. "You five, hand me your Essence cores."
"Our cores?!" A member of Asher's group yelled in exasperation. "Are you intending to rob us in such a difficult situation?!"
Noah's ice cold eyes glanced at the teenage boy who spoke and calmly replied. "I can execute an art that can teleport all of us out of here, but only through the use of a large amount of Essence, an amount that my Essence Core can't provide. So unless you want me to leave me here, pass me those cores."
The teenager shivered, quickly reaching into his World ring and handing his Essence cores to the silver haired boy. The remaining four agreed to the request too seeing Noah's aggressive nature.
The transmigrator summoned his Silver Dragon Emperor Battlesoul, its brilliance slightly stunning the approaching bandits. The now 7 meter Dragon opened its maw, feasting on the Essence core and fueling his Essence Core with power. Feeling this, Noah immediately circulated the Essence and placed his palm on the ground, permeating it with his Essence and creating an intricate rune that surrounded the 9 students.
Then the next moment, they were gone, causing the pursuing bandits to click their tongues in annoyance before cursing at the empty land.
But they all suddenly fell silent as a man suddenly appeared among them, crouching to feel the ground beneath him. He then stood up and brought out a device that displayed an Essence congealed arrow that faced the west. "They're not far."
Elaine had guessed right. The bandits could track them but their method still remained unknown.