Chapter 14: Shadows of Fear
The night air was thick with tension as Kael Varian moved like a shadow through the dense forest, his crimson eyes gleaming with anticipation. His first target was a smaller branch of the Serpent's Fang Sect—one of their outer strongholds that served as a training ground for lower-ranking disciples. It wasn't heavily guarded, but that wasn't the point. This wasn't a battle; it was the first step in a psychological war.
Jin Mu had already begun his part, spreading whispers in the underworld circles. The story taking root was simple yet devastating: Luo Yuantang had abandoned his men. He had sent the Blood Fang Enforcers to their deaths, knowing they stood no chance against Kael. And now? More assassins were being sent—not to kill Kael, but to silence those who questioned the sect's decisions.
Fear was a parasite. Once it took root, it spread fast.
Kael perched on a tree branch overlooking the stronghold. From this height, he could see the disciples within the encampment, laughing and drinking, oblivious to the storm creeping toward them.
Jin Mu crouched beside him, whispering, "We don't need to hit all of them. Just one or two, and let the rest turn on each other."
Kael smirked. "Exactly."
With a flick of his fingers, he disappeared into the darkness.
The first kill was silent. A guard, barely at the Qi Condensation First Realm, slumped forward, his throat slit before he could even react.
The second was messier. Kael deliberately let the man cry out before snapping his neck, letting his corpse hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Disciples scrambled for their weapons, shouting over one another.
Kael stayed hidden, watching. He wasn't here to massacre them. Not yet.
He was here to make them see ghosts where there were none.
A few bodies, a few carefully placed whispers—and their own fear would do the rest.
Jin Mu, hiding in the foliage, watched as the confusion spread. They didn't even know what they were fighting.
One of the senior disciples, his nerves already frayed, lashed out at a fellow member, thinking he saw an assassin.
Steel met flesh.
The man's blade sank into his own brother's chest.
The entire stronghold froze.
Then came the accusations.
"You fool! What have you done?!"
"It wasn't me! I saw movement—there! We're being watched!"
"Shut up! Do you want to die?!"
Kael grinned in the shadows. This was what he wanted.
By the time dawn came, the branch would be abandoned—not because he killed them all, but because they would destroy themselves.
Jin Mu exhaled. "You… are terrifying."
Kael only chuckled. "And this is just the beginning."
They moved on, leaving behind a stronghold drowning in fear and paranoia.
The next target awaited.
The forest was eerily silent as Kael and Jin Mu left behind the smoldering ruins of the first Serpent's Fang Sect outpost. The lingering fear they had planted would spread like wildfire, infecting the hearts of those who remained. Kael had seen it before—fear wasn't something that could be easily undone. Once doubt settled in, it was only a matter of time before a sect crumbled from within.
The night was still young, and they had more work to do.
Jin Mu adjusted his cloak, glancing sideways at Kael. "I have to admit, that was… efficient. We barely lifted a finger, and yet by dawn, they'll be ripping each other apart."
Kael smirked, stepping lightly over a fallen log as he moved through the dense underbrush. "A sect isn't destroyed when its strongest warriors fall. It's destroyed when its weakest members lose faith."
Jin Mu exhaled slowly. "And here I thought you were just a battle junkie."
Kael chuckled. "There's no fun in a battle that's already decided. What's more entertaining is watching your enemies destroy themselves—without even realizing you were the cause."
Jin Mu shuddered. He had followed Kael long enough to know that he wasn't just an overwhelming powerhouse. He was a walking catastrophe—a cultivator who understood the battlefield on a level few ever could.
Their next target wasn't far. Another outpost lay deep within a valley—a supply hub that provided food, weapons, and medicinal pills for the Serpent's Fang Sect's outer forces. Destroying it wouldn't just weaken their supply chain—it would sever their ability to regroup.
As they reached the ridge overlooking the valley, Kael crouched behind a thicket of blackwood trees, scanning the outpost below. Unlike the first stronghold, this one was more fortified, with wooden palisades and defensive formations etched into the ground.
Jin Mu narrowed his eyes. "This one's got proper defenses. At least three Core Formation elders, not to mention the formation guarding the entrance."
Kael didn't seem concerned. "Good. A little resistance will make things more interesting."
Jin Mu sighed. "You say that like we're not completely outnumbered."
Kael didn't answer immediately. His gaze was fixed on the formation sigils carved into the ground, glowing faintly under the moonlight. This wasn't a simple barrier—it was a Defensive Spirit Lock Array, a formation that strengthened the sect members inside while suppressing any outsiders who entered.
Jin Mu followed his gaze. "That formation is trouble. If we step into it, we're as good as dead."
Kael smirked. "Who said anything about stepping inside?"
Before Jin Mu could ask what he meant, Kael vanished, his figure blurring into the darkness as he moved like a ghost toward the supply hub.
Jin Mu cursed under his breath but followed.
Kael approached the wooden palisades, placing a hand against the rough surface. His fingers traced invisible patterns along the bark, feeling the pulse of the formation's energy.
Then, he grinned.
Jin Mu swallowed. "That smile usually means someone is about to have a very bad night."
Kael didn't deny it. "I just figured out how to collapse their entire defense system."
Jin Mu blinked. "Come again?"
Kael tapped the wooden fence. "The formation is anchored to this structure. They used the palisades as a foundation to channel Qi through the earth. If I break the anchor points…"
Jin Mu's eyes widened. "The entire array collapses."
Kael nodded. "Not just that. The moment it fails, all the suppressed energy stored within will backlash onto the sect members inside."
Jin Mu let out a low whistle. "That's… cruel."
Kael chuckled. "Cruel would be letting them live long enough to fix their mistakes."
Without another word, he moved along the palisade, his fingers glowing faintly with Qi as he traced each sigil. Jin Mu watched in fascination as Kael's unparalleled comprehension came into play—what should have taken a formation master hours to analyze, he understood in mere moments.
One by one, the anchor points crumbled, their energy dispersing into the night.
Inside the supply hub, the elders and disciples sensed something was wrong.
A middle-aged elder shot up from his meditative stance, his expression shifting. "The formation—"
Before he could finish, a deafening boom shook the valley.
The Defensive Spirit Lock Array shattered.
And the backlash began.
The energy that had been carefully controlled within the formation turned against its own people, surging into their meridians like a rampaging beast.
Screams filled the air.
Disciples convulsed as their Qi spiraled out of control, their meridians bursting from the sheer force of the feedback. Elders tried to suppress the reaction, but it was too late.
Jin Mu watched, stunned.
He had expected them to sneak in, maybe assassinate a few key figures. But Kael had just turned their own defenses into a weapon against them.
Kael stood at the edge of the destruction, his crimson eyes glowing ominously.
"The supply hub is finished."
Jin Mu exhaled. "And we didn't even have to step inside."
Kael smirked. "Efficiency."
The few who managed to survive the backlash were too weak and disoriented to fight back. Kael walked into the outpost like a specter of death, cutting down any who still resisted.
By the time they were done, the supply hub was in ruins, and the survivors had fled—carrying the message of terror back to their sect.
Jin Mu looked at the smoldering wreckage and shook his head. "I almost feel bad for them."
Kael raised a brow. "Do you?"
Jin Mu thought for a moment. Then, he shrugged. "Not really."
Kael chuckled, stretching his arms. "Two down."
Jin Mu sighed. "And how many more to go?"
Kael's grin was predatory. "Enough to make sure the Serpent's Fang Sect doesn't exist by the end of the month."
Jin Mu gulped.
Far away, at the sect's main headquarters, Sect Master Luo Yuantang sat in his private chamber when an urgent messenger burst through the doors, his face pale.
"Sect Master! Disaster! Our supply hub has been completely annihilated!"
Luo Yuantang's expression darkened. "What?"
The disciple trembled. "It was him… Kael Varian."
Silence fell over the chamber.
Luo Yuantang slowly clenched his fists.
"Enough." His voice was cold, deadly. "Summon the Grand Elders. If he wants war…"
His eyes burned with killing intent.
"Then I will bring it to his doorstep."
But what Luo Yuantang didn't realize was that by the time he mobilized his forces, his sect would already be on the brink of collapse.