"You've been awfully quiet since we've brought you back; I was expecting you to make a ruckus, but this is pleasantly surprising." Said Boss as he exited the large tent while glancing at Vanye, who was hanging from a stake, her hands and feet having been nailed through.
"Huh, not even going to respond? Rude." Asked Boss with a raised eyebrow as he approached Vanye, who simply glanced at him with lifeless eyes before lowering her head.
"Anyway, let's start questioning. Why did you kill my Brother? It clearly wasn't that wimpy child who did it, so it must've been you." Added Boss as he narrowed his eyes at Vanye, who continued to ignore him, causing him to click his tongue while reaching into his pocket and grabbing a reddish-black stone.
Flexing his arm, Boss tightly clenched the reddish-black stone, causing waves of pain to spread throughout my body as I screamed in agony; this persisted for several seconds before he finally let up, giving me a brief respite as I gasped for breath.
"Ready to talk, or must we do this again?" Asked Boss with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Vanye, who continued to ignore him, which only further irritated him.
"Hmph, alright, if that's how you want to be, so be it; I've got things to do, so I can't waste my time with you. LINANA!" Stated Boss in annoyance as he eyed Vanye before shifting his focus to a woman in the distance, causing her to quickly approach him.
"Yes, Boss?" Asked Linana respectfully as she stood beside Boss while glancing at Vanye, only for him to hand her a reddish-black stone, surprising her.
"Here, torture her, do whatever you want. Just remember she can't die, and if she does… I'll kill you as well." Stated Boss solemnly as he narrowed his eyes at Linana, who nodded, causing him to glance at Vanye with a huff before turning around in annoyance and entering his tent.
Watching Boss leave, I shifted my eyes to Linana, who sadistically smiled at me, though it was no surprise since nearly every woman hated me among the Yamen Mercenaries. Not only was I stronger than every single one of them, but I was also more beautiful as well. I never cared about that, so I tended to wear a helmet, though not like it mattered anymore.
"Oh, how I've dreamt of this moment happening; ever since you've arrived, my pay has ever so slightly decreased. I will ensure I get every stolen coin from out of this." Said Linana with a sinister expression as she violently clenched the reddish-black stone, causing Vanye to scream loudly from the intense agony coursing through her system.
'Ahh, just let me die already. Let this cursed life end.' Thought Vanye softly as she used the brief respite to regain her bearing while she gasped for breath, only for Linana to resume the torture that would continue well into the night.
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Standing within the canopy of a tree, Lazuli and I overlooked the large encampment down below, which was surrounded by large wooden walls and filled with people; just at a glance alone, there were at least a hundred people, and given that it was night, there were probably more within the many tents either sleeping or doing who knows what.
However, just as I was about to speak to Lazuli, that voice of agony resounded throughout the encampment and into the forest, causing me to furiously clench my fist; only after numerous seconds did Vanye's voice finally die down, though the same couldn't be said for the anger that coursed through my veins.
"What shall we do?" Asked Lazuli curiously as she turned and glanced at Alexander, who released a deep breath while snapping his eyes open.
"We should infiltrate silently; I do not wish to deal with a large Mercenary group if we don't have to. Also, when I mean by 'We,' I mean you; I'm not exactly built for silent infiltration. Besides, if something happens to go wrong and you are spotted, I can run into the base and create a distraction, allowing you to safely escape." Remarked Alexander as he glanced at Lazuli before pointing to his large body, causing her to raise an eyebrow before nodding in agreement, only to furrow brows afterward.
"How will you escape if that is required? [Teleport] requires concentration, which isn't possible to achieve amidst battle." Asked Lazuli in slight concern as she glanced at Alexander, who opened his mouth to reply, only for Vanye's scream to fill the night air once more.
"Tsk, I'll be fine, Lazuli. Don't worry." Replied Alexander firmly as he narrowed his eyes at the encampment, his gaze resting upon Vanye before leaping off the branch.
Falling to the ground, I used wind mana to slow my descent before landing on the ground beside our prisoners, one being Vanimo; we had to imprison him since otherwise, he would've given away our location, though it's not like I can be upset with him or anything.
"Hey, I'm going to remove the muzzle, so please be quiet. I know you want to save your sister, but anything you want to do will only make it harder for us to save her." Said Alexander softly as he stared at Vanimo, who was bound to a tree with earth while a stone muzzle covered his face.
Although he seemed reluctant, Vanimo eventually nodded, prompting me to forcefully remove the stone muzzle that covered his face, though the timing was terrible since Vanye's faint screams once again reached our ears. Staring intently at Vanimo, I saw his face morph into several different expressions while he gnashed his teeth, tears streaming down the sides of his cheek.
Seeing that he was managing to hold one, I sliced the stone chains that bound him to the tree, causing him to collapse onto his knees while clutching his ears, though how much it got rid of Vanye's scream was questionable.
"P-Please, A-Alex… P-Please h-help her." Said Vanimo pleadingly between his sobbing, his words causing Alexander to bite his lips while nodding.
"I had promised to help if you ever needed me." Stated Alexander firmly as he patted Vanimo's shoulder before glancing at Lazuli, who landed right beside him.
"Whenever you're ready, Lazuli, I'll watch from above." Said Alexander as he glanced at Lazuli, who nodded before pointing at the woman bound to another tree.
'I had nearly forgotten about her.' Thought Alexander lightly as he glanced at the woman, only to summon Zartha before slashing at her, using [Wind Blade] to decapitate her, killing her instantly.
"I shall be going then." Said Lazuli with a nod as she glanced at Vanimo and Alexander before exiting the forest, using the cover of night to approach the encampment.
Watching Lazuli leave, I grabbed Vanimo and put him on my shoulders before leaping from branch to branch, ascending higher until I had returned to the tree's canopy, where he and I kept a close eye on Lazuli.
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Peeking my head from out of the ground, I looked around, only to snap my head to the left when I heard Vanyes screams; with the help of earth mana, I slowly but silently moved through the earth while approaching Vanye's location; her screams proving to be a real help in this regard.
'I'd prefer if I was the one torturing her.' Thought Lazuli lightly with a faint frown as she suddenly submerged herself back within the ground.
"Man, I know Linana hates her, but this is ridiculous! I'm trying to get some fucking sleep, and every minute all I hear is that woman's screams!" "Hmph, yeah, so fucking annoying; some of us have work in the morning! Tch, such a fucking bitch." Said two Yamen Mercenaries, respectively, as they glanced behind them while walking throughout the encampment, their conversation being overheard by Lazuli, who hid directly underneath them.
Emerging from the ground, I glanced at the backs of the two guys as they walked away before continuing towards Vanye, though the closer I got, the more I was forced to hide from random mercenaries that walked by, slowing my already snail-like movement down. However, after nearly twenty minutes, I finally arrived near where Vanye was, though I also spotted who I could only assume was Linana; getting closer, I looked around, waiting until the coast was clear, which didn't take long as there weren't many people in this area to begin with, most likely from the constant screams.
Since Linana was too focused on Vanye, she didn't even notice when I had touched her, causing a small piece of my body to stick to her before seeping into her skin. Controlling my body, I had my millions of tiny nanobots enter her bloodstream until they arrived at her heart, which they began immediately ripping to shreds.
"Eh?" Muttered Linana as she grasped her heart while coughing blood, the reddish-black stone dropping onto the ground.
Before she could scream or alert her fellow mercenaries, I quickly emerged from the ground and decapitated her after morphing one of my arms into a blade.
With her dead, I quickly approached Vanye and wasted no time as I removed the nails from her feet and hands; I didn't bother to be gentle as I knew Alex could easily heal her.
"W-What are you doing here?" Asked Vanye in pure exhaustion as she looked at Lazuli, who removed the final nail, causing her to fall.
"Helping you since Alex asked. Now be silent." Replied Lazuli indifferently as she caught Vanye before closing her eyes and focusing.
Although I wasn't as quick as Alex since I didn't have an affinity for space mana, I was also able to utilize [Teleport] and [Mass Teleport], and I did just that; after nearly twenty seconds, I snapped my eyes open, only to reappear in the air beside Alex.