Purple Night and Death Sword had fled the Snow Lion region. They turn around to see Jagged coming from behind them. Death Sword and Purple Night could only glance at each other with shock. Before Death Sword could say anything, he sensed something approaching quickly. It couldn't be Snow Lion. Even those given Snow Lion late-stage earth realm prowess and realm.
Despite its strong body, the Snow Lion lacked the speed to go as quickly as this object that was approached.When the figure appeared, it was Sifir. Who was currently short of breath and exhausted? It required all of Sifir's might to activate the Instant Wrap talisman. Jagged was surprised to see Sifir arrive out of nowhere.
"How is that possible? I seized your..."
"That mid-grade swift talisman, right? It was lucky that I was prepared."
"What means did you use, Fall Night?" Jagged narrowed his eyes on Sifir's body."
"You want me to tell you? The same person who almost got me killed! How did I escape from that late-stage earth realm monster? Are you slow, or are you special? You don't have to answer because you're somewhere in between both, Jagged."
Both Death Sword and Purple Night just look at Sifir as he belittles Jagged. They can't be mad at Sifir, either. Because they would have taken a pound of flesh out of Jagged for putting on a stunt like that.
"We have no time for arguments. We need to keep traveling before the icy snow and ice invade our bodies and make it challenging to move."
"I agree with you, Death Sword. This cold and harsh weather will only make our travel worse the longer we stay idle." Purple Night spoke hurriedly. "
Everyone nodded. "It is about another four to five hours until we get to the third peak, and the peak has an element of earth with a secondary element of metal. It will be easier for us to move around in the outer area. However, there are still monsters and different magical beasts that will be stronger than us. Most of the monsters will start at the peak of the human realm."
Sifir was still catching his breath and his energy after using the Instant Wrap talisman. Everyone else was prepared to use as little energy as possible while moving through the harsh weather. Sifir took out a low-grade swift talisman and took off to catch up with the rest of the group.
Unit 04 encounters several groups of middle-stage earth realm monsters. Lucky for them, they were barely out of the monster range of sensing. Since they stay away from all monsters and battle-like situations in the fifth peak. After three hours, Unit 04 had to take a quick break to force out the ice and snow from their bodies. During this time, Sifir took some time to keep studying fighting methods and tactics.
The group started to traverse through the snow and cold ice rain while battling the elements of the fifth peak. Two hours passed, and Unit 04 was forced to battle their way out of the fifth peak. Sifir sustained heavy injuries, while Death Sword and Purple Night had some light injuries. Jagged's injuries were not as bad as Sifir's. That was because Sifir was covering up Jagged's blind spots during their attempt to break out of the fifth peak.
How Unit 04 determined the benefits based on strength; Sifir got the lowest benefits. However, what Sifir's gained in those battles were Purple Night and Jagged patterning and habits.This will allow Sifir to make more plans against this group of people if they dare to try to take his life in the future. In the cultivation world, there are no such things as friends or foes, just the degree of the benefits to be had.
If those benefits are worth the risk, then all bets are off. This was another principle that the Midnight clan instilled in Sifir. While the Night clan instills dominance over everything. When Unit 04 was making their way through the third peak, they were fighting with the peak stage of the human realm monster and the earlier stage of the earth realm in the outer regions. Sifir felt like the third peak was his home, and everything was a boon for him and his cultivation.
It is known that most magical beasts develop their elemental affinity early in their initial understanding; both the Midnight and Night clans have told their cultivators not to awaken their elemental affinity until they are ten years old. The reason for this is unknown, but it seems to have its own advantages. Death Sword and Purple Night were very keen on Sifir action in the third peak compared to the first and fifth peaks. Jagged, who is a metal user, was like a fish swimming in water.
Jagged displayed an amazing ability to kill off the monsters and take their core as his own. No one bothers to argue with Jagged about how he split up the spoils of battles. It took Unit 04 two and a half days to get past the third peak. They didn't venture into the inner regions of the third peak. Only making a small killing in the outer regions. They fought against Earth Snake, Golden Twin Snakes, Rock Golem, Golden Roc, Earth Void Bear Cub, and several others.
All of them were in the early stages of the earth realm, and their battle prowess was just barely in Flowing Water. Death Sword only took the Golden Twin Snake and Golden Roc core, while Purple Night took the scales of Earth Snake and Golden Twin Snake, and Jagged took Rock Golem core, Earth Void Bear cub core, the meat of Earth Snake, and the majority of the meat of the Golden Roc. Jagged wanted to take more, but Death Sword said, "Being too greedy will lead you to death."
Jagged allowed Sifir to take the remaining spoil, which wasn't much. Sifir took the Earth Void Bear cub body, the Golden Roc claw and feathers, and the fangs from Earth Snake and Golden Twin Snake. It seems like a lot to some, and cultivators with no background would be happy with the majority of these spoils. Sifir wasn't happy about this spoils, however, being the weakest in a group that respect might. One can only adjust with the times.
Fighting more battles, Sifir started to learn to pick his spots, and Jagged found out the hard way that when Sifir stopped covering his blind spot, he would suffer for his lack of care for his surroundings. Before leaving the third peak and making their way to Silver Lake City, they decided to rest close to the base of the third peak in the outer region.
"What are you planning to do with your spoil, Fall Night?"
"I don't know yet. Purple Night."
"Since your cloak is almost destroyed, why don't you make a new cloak with an Earth Void Bear cub?"
"That might be a good idea. I will think about it, Purple Night."
"Why didn't you suggest anything to me, Purple Night?"
"That is because you are an idiot and you don't listen to anyone, Jagged."
"That is so unfair!"
A faint glow came from Jagged's mask, with a slight killing intent. Truly, Jagged love for killing makes him a prefect candidate for the Slaughter Dao and the Killing Dao.
"You act like a child who doesn't get their way. Underneath that act lays a deadly killer who loves murder and mayhem."
Purple Night looked at Jagged with a cold and unfeeling look in her eyes.
"Fall Night, you have been making great progress over the last couple of weeks. Knowing when you should advance and when you should retreat in battle. This has allowed you to take advantage in many battles. My question is, When are you going to break into the next realm?"
"Death Sword, I don't know yet. I am close, but still too far for a breakthrough."
"I see. After we make it through Silver Lake City, the battles will only get fiercer from this point on. These battles will be difficult for your cultivation base. The better you can bring out your battle prowess and increase your cultivation, I really don't care how you feel about this team, Purple Night, Jagged, or me. What I do care about is finishing this smoothly and quickly. For your own good, Sifir. I would recommend you breakthrough in Silver Lake City before we leave for Black Port." Death Sword spoke unhurriedly.
However, there was a slight hint of a threat from Death Sword to urge Sifir to breakthrough. It has to be known that Death Sword wanted to increase the cards in his hand like any other leader. Sifir frowned a little bit when he heard the Death Sword words.
After Unit 04 finished resting, they made their way to Silver Lake City to properly restock items and potions. While Unit 04 makes their way out of the Seven Elements Peak Mountain Range, somewhere close by Unit 05, they were watching and studying Unit 04 movements.
The leader of Unit 05 "We will make a contract with Unit 04 in Silver Lake City. I don't want what happened in Cold Steel City to happen again. Do I make myself clear?" With a cold stare at the rest of the Unit 05 members. All of them nodded without making any noise.
"Good! move out!" As Unit 04 was getting close to Silver Lake City, it was a very impressive medium-sized city with about 2.5 million civilians and cultivators. What made this city one of the best in the Midnight Territory was the silver lake that it was near.
In the vast world, there are only a few silver lakes. What makes Sliver Lake special is that Emerald Yin-Yang Coi Fish can only survive in this environment. The Emerald Yin-Yang Coi Fish is extremely rare and can be used in almost every pill and meal. That is one reason why the silver lake is precious. Another reason why Sliver Lake is very important is because it can host an abundance of herbs and spiritual plants like the Three Savory Dew or the very rare Purple Cloud Dew. Hence, the city is called Silver Lake City.
"Fall Night, pay the entrance fee for us." Sifir just looked at Death Sword for his command instead of listening to Jagged's order. Death Sword nodded. Sifir walked up to the guards in front of the city gate. "How much is it for the entrance fee?" The one guard looked at Sifir and laughed.
"That would be a hundred purple coins. Since there are four of you, that would be four hundred purple coins. Plus tax. That would be 1400 purple coins."
Out of nowhere, Sifir swiped his hand across that one guard's neck. That guardhead rolled on the ground silently. The other guard was so shocked and was about to pull his weapon out. The guard saw 1400 purple coins toss on the ground.
"Grared is such an ugly thing. One should cherish their lives more than wealth." Sifir just walked past the still-breathing guard, and the rest of the Unit 04 members continued to walk into the city as well.
"I am going to find a cultivation chamber for my breakthroughs into the next minor realm."
"That good. We will be here in 72 hours. I am heading to the blacksmith to sharpen my swords. We will meet at the inn by City Lord Manor."
"That is fine with me. I will head to the market for materials. Fall night, find me after your breakthrough." Purple Night giggled.
"Sigh. Why does no one love me?"
No one replied, and they just went off in their own direction to carry what they needed to handle. Jagged, standing there like an abandoned puppy. Jagged was delighted not being by Death Sword side. Death Sword words enter Jagged's ears: "If I were you. I would lay low since the City Lord wants your head." Jagged's mood became very ugly instantly, and sour taste found its way in Jagged's mouth. "He definitely knows how to kill one person's joy and mood!"
----
Somewhere in Silver Lake City, Unit 05 was having a meeting with all its members.
"Yes, leader. From what I have seen from Fall Night. The Midnight clan has given Fall Night many key treasures. From using that Instant Wrap talisman, controlling his temper, and not willing to take a loss."
"Mhmmmm. This is a little troublesome. What else is the Fall Night action or behavior that we should be watching out for?" Placing one of his hands on his chin and pondering a few things.
"Fall Night is very cautious and has trust issues. We can exploit that and keep him away from truly integrating into Unit 4. However, when Fall Night does act. He is extremely aggressive and a close-range fighter. We can also exploit his limited range of action."
"Keep causing trouble for Fall Night. Make sure to not anger Death Sword. He is a very ruthless individual and has a very short bottom line. The reason why I am telling you this is because the intel I do have on Death Sword is quite shocking. He has killed a warrior two minor realms higher than him. You must know two minor realms is nothing to joke about." The leader of Unit 05 voice got low while speaking on this.
"Anything else that I need to know?"
"No leader, I will be a thorn in the side of Fall Night."
The leader of Unit 05 placed his hand on the chin again. Thinking about a few more things. "Don't be reckless. Know your mission. Know your purpose. Don't forget that the Elder is not a forgiving person."
"Yes, leader. I will keep that in mind."
As that person disappears in front of the leader of Unit 05. Shaking his head with a taint of bitterness. "Unfortunately, you picked the wrong unit this time. The life of a pawn is always to be played with like a toy in a child's hands."
The leader of Unit 05 sweeping a look over the remaining members of Unit 05. "As you know, our mission is different than Unit 04. Our mission is simple. Seek and destroy if the target will not yield and become a pawn or useful tool to our Lord." None of the other members said anything and only agreed with their silent, cold look in their eyes.
"Again, Death Sword is too good at killing, and Purple Night is good at laying down multiple traps and formations. If they know we are following them. They will do everything in power to shake us or kill us. The latter is more than possible, and with Death Sword mentality. Killing everyone outside of Purple Night is completely reasonable. I don't plan to lose my life on this mission or any other mission our Lord, the Elder, gives us." Everyone vanished after the leader finished speaking and not leaving a trace; they were even there.