A feeling of numbness invaded the motionless body of the Third Elder who was lying completely sprawled on the floor. Upon opening his eyes he was able to witness the terrifying scene of the disciples being completely imprisoned in electric cages. They all had gags in their mouths, thus preventing any of them from screaming.
"Mmmm" "Mmmm" Everyone looked at him with teary and at the same time pleading eyes, waiting for a miracle that they knew was not going to happen.
"I'm sorry big brother."
"I'm sorry second brother."
"I'm sorry, little brother... It seems I've failed you all"
"I also failed our Sect that welcomed us since we were children," the Third Elder murmured in a low voice as tears fell from his eyes.
"I wouldn't say you failed them… After all you fought bravely, old man."
"You should not go with shame to meet your ancestors" said Ruvan at that moment, who was crouching next to him, stripping him of his space ring.
"Isn't it a bit shameless to give you words of comfort while you loot my body???" The Third Elder complained with a painful laugh, after all this young mercenary was the most shameless person he had ever met in his life.
"Oh, really? My grandfather and my parents always say that I am shameless" the young man said with a smile before removing the ring.
"Do you want some water?" At that moment Ruvan asked while taking out a gourd full of wine.
"Did you feel sorry for me now? If you want me to forgive you. You can let some of the disciples go…"
"DENIED. Sorry old man, but I won't let you abuse" Ruvan while shaking his head.
"Why are you doing this boy? I'm sure you're not an evil person…" The Third Elder asked with some curiosity, after all, in his extensive experience as a cultivator, he knew how to differentiate normal cultivators from evil ones. This young man standing in front of him did not give him the impression of being someone evil, however, he did not seem to be a charitable soul either.
"Hmm, I don't know… I just follow my own path and it just so happens that it brought me here..." Ruvan said with a relaxed attitude as he poured some wine into a small glass he was carrying.
"Boy, but if you continue like this, sooner or later you will be framed as an evil cultivator and when that happens you will be persecuted by everyone" Said the Third Elder as if he were lecturing one of his disciples. The situation was certainly quite ironic at the time.
"Hey old man… That thing about righteous path and evil path cultivators is a big farce."
"Every person who decides to follow the path of cultivation knows that sooner or later they will have to stain their hands with blood… Even the disciples you protect so much are not exempt from conspiracies and intrigues, after all the environments within the Sects are terrifyingly intriguing" Ruvan said as he gave the dying Elder some wine to drink.
"Sigh~ So what's your idea about it? Should all cultivators be evil and participate in massacres as if it were normal? The Elder contradicted as he took a few sips of the wine.
'Shit, at least the last wine I'll taste in this life is pretty good'
'Mmmm this guy at least has good taste in wine' thought the Third Elder as he waited for Ruvan's reply. For their part, Lira and the rest of the mercenaries waited patiently for their captain to finish talking.
"Hey Old man, it's not me who has to decide what is right and what is wrong…"
"The only thing I'm saying is that most cultivators are quite hypocritical... There will always be one or another weirdo who starts killings just for fun but the rest do it for their own convenience... Or are you going to tell me that you never killed any cultivator for some cultivation resource?"
"At the end of the day all of us act based on our selfish desires," Ruvan said before standing up.
"I see~ I can't deny what you say... It seems that all my life I lived with a rather erroneous way of thinking" said the Third Elder as he took his last sip of wine.
"It's never too late to learn, Old man... When you are reincarnated, become that bastard you always wanted to be... Don't hold back again and live your life as you always wanted," Ruvan said with an honest smile.
"Mmm I see… Thanks boy! I promise that in my next life I will kick all your ass" said the third Elder with a smile before dying.
"I'll look forward to it" Ruvan murmured.
"You two. Make a small makeshift grave and bury him" Ruvan said to two mercenaries who were standing nearby.
"Today the captain was quite the philosopher" Lira mocked when she saw him appear among the soldiers supervising the caged Elders and Disciples.
"Hahahaha I must admit that I woke up a little nostalgic today…" Ruvan said with a smile as he took a good look at the space ring that he had snatched from the Third Elder.
"And how was our day of fishing? It was worth it?" Lira asked impatiently after all, she was sure that they would get a good scolding from Commander Aaron when they returned with the rest of the captains.
"Mmmm, not bad… It is a treasure worthy of a Sect that is more than five hundred years old."
"There are several earth grade techniques… Including some low grade weapons"
"There are also a lot of quite rare cultivation resources… I'm sure it has been our most profitable mission since we were part of this gang" Ruvan said with a smile.
"GREAT!!… I can't wait until I can return home" Lira said with an excited expression after all, she already had in mind how she would spend her share of the loot. The rest of the mercenaries around her were the same as they gloated.
The Blood Wolves Mercenary Group had a rule and this was that each squad owned the loot they found when carrying out a mission. Only the original payment for the mission would be the one that would be divided equally between each squad of soldiers.
"Did you find someone with a affinity for the lightning element among the disciples?" Ruvan asked curiously.
"No, captain… This time we were unlucky," Lira said with a grimace.
"Well, surely next time we will find a couple of good recruits." Ruvan said with a smile before heading to where Commander Aaron and the rest of the Captains were.