The next morning, Asura, Kallu, and Su Lin met at the agreed location just before dawn. They had packed light, bringing only the essentials for their secret mission.
"Is everyone ready?" Kallu asked in a hushed tone. The others nodded, determination in their eyes.
Using the coordinates from the encrypted parchment, they stealthily made their way out of the sect and toward the remote mountains. Moving under the cover of darkness and masking their energy, they were like ghosts in the night.
After hours of silent travel, hints of activity could be heard up ahead. Crouching low, they crept forward and saw flickering campfires in a concealed valley.
"That must be them," Su Lin whispered.
Observing from the shadows, they spotted around a few dozen cultivators bearing the insignia of the Xiao Sect's elite team and the same number of knights of the Royal Palace. In the center, poring over a map, were the two team leaders with their stern-face.
"The syndicate's base is less than half a day's travel from here," Sir Aric stated with seriousness. "We attack at first light."
The three companions exchanged thrilled glances. Their gambit had paid off - they had found the elite team. Now they just had to secretly follow them into action against the syndicate.
Settling in to keep watch, Asura, Kallu, and Su Lin prepared for the coming battle, eager to test their skills against the notorious Crimson Cobra Syndicate.
As the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon, the elite team began mobilizing. Checking their weapons and gear, they set out along a hidden mountain path. Asura, Kallu, and Su Lin tracked them from a distance, masking their presence.
After hours of steady travel, the syndicate's base came into view - a sprawling complex carved into the mountainside. Guards patrolled the perimeter, clad in dark uniforms bearing the crimson cobra emblem.
The elite team fanned out, preparing their coordinated attack. Asura caught Kallu's eye and nodded - it was time to make their move.
Brandishing their weapons, the elite cultivators launched their ambush, catching the guards by surprise. Asura, Kallu, and Su Lin joined the fray, finally able to utilize their skills in real combat.
Guards streamed out of the complex, but were no match for the elite team's cultivation and battle prowess. Asura relished testing his strength, felling foes with powerful strikes. Kallu and Asura fought in sync, complementing each other's techniques.
Pressed from all sides, the remaining guards fell back into the syndicate hideout. The elite team pressed forward, breaching the stronghold. Intense close-quarters combat erupted as they battled their way through the complex.
The good thing was that none of the sky realm cultivators made a move because they knew the real fight would start inside the complex, as the strong members of the syndicate resided inside the complex, so they couldn't be careless.
Asura, Kallu and Su Lin fought side-by-side with the elite team as they plunged deeper into the syndicate's complex. The dark stone halls and chambers were a maze, but the cultivators systematically cleared each one.
Captain Aric and the Vice Headmaster of the Xiao sect noticed these three people but didn't kill them because they saw that these three guys who were in disguise were helping them. So they told their subordinates not to conflict with them. If one could take a deeper look into their eyes, one could see that they knew the identity of these three people who were helping the Elite team.
Suddenly, a shockwave of energy pulsed through the complex, staggering the attackers. On the balcony overhead, a sinister figure wreathed in crimson flames looked down upon them.
"Pitiful fools. Did you think we were unprepared?" the syndicate leader snarled. With a wave of his hand, elite guards bearing the mark of the Crimson Cobra surged into the room.
The Xiao Sect cultivators and the Knights instantly arrayed themselves into a defensive formation. Asura found himself back-to-back with Kallu, facing down a pair of crimson-garbed guards. Their swords glinted with venomous green light as they struck.
Asura parried the flurry of poisoned strikes, impossibly fast. Beside him, Kallu lunged in a blur, dispatching one of the guards in a spray of blood. They shared a grin before turning to the next opponent.
On the balcony, the syndicate leader observed dispassionately. "It seems a demonstration is required." He raised his hands, crimson energy crackling.
The entire complex began to tremble. The stone walls cracked and debris rained down as a monstrous serpentine form erupted from below. Scaled crimson and thrice the size of a man, the snake demon hissed, baring knife-like fangs.
"Destroy them," its master commanded. The snake demon surged forward impossibly fast. The Elite Team cultivators scattered, barely evading the crushing sweep of its tail. Asura and his companions regrouped with the others.
"This is our time to make a move. This serpent is a rank 5 magical beast. All sky realm cultivators, attack!" the Vice headmaster of the Xiao sect shouted.
In response, the sky realm cultivators coordinated their strikes, unleashing sword beams and talismans toward that serpent, except for Sir Aric, who was staring at the leader of the syndicate so that he couldn't make a move.
Slowly but surely they battered the snake demon down in a series of intense clashes. With a final, thunderous blow, the vice headmaster cloves its head from its body. The monstrous form dissolved into crimson embers.
"Impressive," the syndicate leader said slowly as he clapped. "But the real fight starts now." After saying this, he snapped his finger and more members of the Crimson Cobra Syndicate appeared - more than a dozen. But the main thing was that they all were sky realm cultivators, so normal knights and senior disciples of the Xiao sect couldn't be able to participate in this fight, as if they joined, the only result could be they would die.
Asura, Su Lin, and Kallu all saw that the situation was no longer right - they could no longer participate in this type of fight, as their limit was fighting against normal sixth stage spiritual realm cultivators, despite being only third stage spiritual realm cultivators.
However, Su Lin was able to fight with seventh stage spiritual realm cultivators because she was a fourth stage spiritual realm cultivator. But still, it surprised both Asura and Kallu because they could see Su Lin's fighting power had increased a lot from the last time - otherwise, she would only be able to fight with sixth stage spiritual realm cultivators with her previous strength.