At the same time Andrea and Emily were fighting the rank 7 and rank 8 warriors, Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia were running towards the cave.
As they ran, they caught sight of the cave. Seeing it in front of them, Nathan spoke in a strained tone, "It seems we will be safe."
When they were only about 200 meters away from the cave when they heard the sound of 5 or 6 silhouettes approaching them at a speed 2 or 3 times faster than theirs.
Seeing the approaching silhouettes, Eldryn cursed at Nathan, "Nathan, can't you just shut your mouth?"
Before Nathan could retort, Eldryn carried Amelia and Nathan and started running towards the cave. As he had mastered the Faint Float skill, his speed was faster than Nathan's, allowing them to close in on the cave.
Noticing their increased pace, the silhouettes behind them attacked by throwing their weapons with star power imbued. Eldryn's speed decreased slightly as he had to dodge the incoming projectiles.
Just when they were about 50 meters from the cave, a chilling voice sounded behind them: "You guys won't be able to escape. Just meet your death."
Without turning his head, Eldryn threw Nathan and Amelia towards the cave and faced the incoming attack of a rank 4 warrior.
Since the warrior didn't know their destination was the cave, he attacked Eldryn with full force. Eldryn used the attack's momentum to propel himself toward the cave.
As soon as Eldryn landed near the entrance of the cave, he saw Nathan and Amelia looking at him with astonishment. Eldryn, noticing their expressions, said with a puzzled tone, "Let's go inside. What are you staring at?" He then moved inside the cave using their token.
The rank 4 warrior who attacked Eldryn was visibly surprised to see Eldryn walking towards the cave after taking a punch from him. Despite not using his full strength with star power infused, the rank 4 warrior's body strength alone should have caused significant damage to a rank 3 warrior. Yet, Eldryn seemed to have suffered only minor injuries and from the star power he released its just rank 1 ,so it's impossible to withstand his attack unless he is rank 3 warrior and trained more on his body.
Once they were inside the cave, Nathan asked Eldryn with surprise, "How were you able to suffer just minor injuries after getting attacked by a rank 4 warrior?"
Eldryn replied, "Maybe he didn't use his full power. I've tempered my body extensively, so my physical strength might be close to yours right now."
Eldryn thought the rank 4 warrior hadn't used his full strength. As a rank 2 warrior himself, and with his body tempered by 4 elements it should be equal to to the level of a rank 3 warrior, he reasoned that the rank 4 warrior hadn't used his full physical strength.
Nathan nodded, but Amelia asked anxiously, "Are Mom and Aunt going to be okay?"
Nathan smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry. They're rank 8 warriors. No one can match them." However, he felt a bit uneasy himself.
While the trio was talking inside the cave, seven silhouettes arrived at the entrance. One of the rank 4 warriors asked, "What should we do? It seems there's an array protecting the cave."
"Indeed, it's protected," said the rank 4 warrior who had attacked Eldryn. "If I had known the cave was their hiding place, I would have used my full strength."
"Let's inform the leader that we've found the three kids and their location," one of them said. He tried to communicate with their leader but failed, which made him uncomfortable.
"I can't contact either of the leaders," he said, looking at the others.
"Why don't I help you?" a melodious voice suddenly sounded beside him. He nodded subconsciously, but before he could turn to see the source, he fell to the ground, decapitated.
Emily surveyed the seven dead bodies and said, "It's finished, finally." She then looked at the cave and called, "Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia, come outside and help me search their bodies."
The trio walked outside the cave with relief after hearing Emily's voice. Seeing only Emily, Eldryn asked with a worried expression, "Aunt, where is Mom? Is everything okay?"
Emily nodded, "Don't worry. Everything is fine. She has some minor injuries that will heal in a week. She'll be here soon." She then looked at the dead bodies and instructed, "Search for any storage bags or other cultivation-related resources."
Seeing the corpses, Nathan and Eldryn felt uncomfortable, while Amelia began to vomit at the sight of the blood.
Emily, with a chilling tone, said, "What are you doing? Search now, and Amelia, you need to get used to this." She then added, "Have you wondered why we don't let you go on missions outside? This is why."
She continued, "Do you know that 100 4th rank warriors, 4 7th ank warriors, and an 8th rank warrior came to kill us from the capital city? But we haveonly entered the mountain yesterday. So,if you choose a mission it is easy for them to kill you guys,so If you want to roam freely, you need the power to protect yourselves. ,So cultivate well "
after saying that she looked at the seven dead bodies and said" Now, do what I told you."
After searching the bodies, they found seven 6th rank weapons, 15 8th rank weapons, 4 7th rank weapons, some miscellaneous pills and ointments, and a total of over 20 star stones.
Once they finished, Eldryn asked Emily, "Aunt, are the enemies you're talking about from the Royal family?"
Emily looked at Eldryn for a moment before replying, "Yes, they are."
Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia were taken aback and felt anger surge within them.
Emily continued, "These are death warriors from the Royal family. The ones who participated today are just a tiny fraction of their total death warriors—less than one in a thousand. The losses of rank 7 and 8 warriors will barely make a dent for them."
Emily continued, "So you can guess how powerful they are."
Nathan asked, puzzled, "Mom, if they are this strong, then why haven't they attacked us while we were in the town?"
Emily smiled and replied, "Once you go to the academy, you'll learn more about this. We don't know the exact reason, but in Eclipta, there is a rule to protect young warrior s : if a younger generation is attacked or killed by an older generation and there are witnesses, both the attacker and their family will be killed. This rule applies only to those under 50 years of age. However, if a younger warrior tries to kill an older one, the older warrior can kill him in self-defense."
"So, the Royal family would hunt us if we were in a place far from a city or town," Emily explained.
Hearing this, their mood was a bit subdued. To ease their minds, Emily began discussing cultivation topics. Throughout the conversation, neither Eldryn, Nathan, nor Amelia asked about the reason for the grudge against the Royal family.
They discussed many topics, including the rules of Eclipta concerning the younger generation. Emily explained that warriors under 50 are considered the younger generation and are divided into nine micro-generations. Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia belong to the 1st micro-generation.
Emily clarified that if a warrior from a higher micro-generation, such as the 2nd or beyond, kills someone from a lower micro-generation like the 1st, it is considered a breach of the rules. In this way, even if a 50-year-old warrior kills a 20- or 25-year-old, the situation is judged based on the micro-generation hierarchy and the specific context of the confrontation.
While they were having their conversation, Andrea returned and smiled at them. "Let's go. We'll talk more once we get home."
At home, Andrea handed each of them a storage ring, saying, "This is a gift for today's training, as it's your first time training outside the town. There are also some spirit stones inside. You can check them out after binding the storage ring."
The trio quickly bound the storage rings with their soul power and eagerly looked inside. Their eyes lit up at the contents.
Seeing their excitement, Andrea said with a smile, "There are 1,000 low-grade star stones and 100 element star stones of the affinity you've awakened . Also, from now on, we will have a two-day training session every two weeks ,So try your best and improve your skills and cultivation"
The trio nodded in agreement. Eldryn, looking a bit hesitant, then said, "Mom, I have awakened wood affinity. Could you also give me wood star stones?"
Given the royal family was their enemy, Eldryn decided to reveal his wood affinity to receive 100 wood star stones, which would help him reach rank 3 in wood affinity and enter the trial at the Legacy Gate.
Everyone looked surprised, but Andrea handed him 100 wood affinity stones and asked, "When did you awaken your wood affinity?"
Eldryn replied, "About a week ago."
Andrea nodded and said, "Good."
Emily, Nathan, and Amelia then congratulated Eldryn on awakening his wood affinity.
Emily took out 11 books from her storage ring and said, "Here are battle 11 skills. You can choose any 2 suits you and your affinity."
Afterwards, each of them chose 2 skills. Eldryn selected the 7th rank arrow skill, Inferno Shot, and the 7th rank fist technique, Inferno Fist.
Andrea and Emily said to Eldryn, Nathan, and Amelia after they had selected their skills, "You should practice these techniques diligently during this period."
Emily then handed Eldryn two books, saying, "Eldryn, these are the second parts of the Faint Float and Fingerstrike Cleave skills. Try to reach the beginner level by the next two weeks."
Eldryn nodded, and Emily and Andrea continued, "Now you guys can go and rest. We will be in seclusion for the next two weeks."
After that, they went to their rooms, exchanging good nights.