Yun Qiang stood still, keeping his breathing to a minimum. His grip tightened around his spear, ready to strike. Sun was beside him, the bush they were in barely wide enough to cover both of them.
On the other side, a small group of six Qi Gathering cultivators marched forward. Their steps were unsure, almost hesitant.
They're probably trainees…
Yun Qiang scanned the surroundings again, his ears trying to filter through the chaotic footsteps in search of other sounds. A six-man squad was too large for scouting, and every fighting squad had at least a Foundation Realm cultivator with them.
This doesn't feel right.
He carefully placed his hand on Sun's shoulder, silently signaling him not to move. Six people were too much for them, and the most important member of the enemy team was missing.
Sun nodded, he also noticed the problem.
Is he scouting ahead?
He kept watching as the enemy squad grouped together, likely discussing something. Maybe their captain was scouting ahead and they were meant to provide support if needed.
Suddenly, the group split into pairs, their spears probing the nearby bushes, searching for ambushers. A chill ran down Yun Qiang's spine.
Did they spot us?
He glanced at Sun. A stunned expression was etched on his face. He hadn't expected this either.
He cursed himself for not deciding on a "What to do" or a "retreat" signal, but quickly cleared his thoughts. Now wasn't the time for regret. He continued observing them, catching every detail, every movement. If he could locate the enemy captain, maybe they could still find a way to escape.
But no matter how closely he watched them, they looked like nothing more than inexperienced trainees. The way they gripped their spears was wrong, their movements insecure. And the way they constantly glanced at one another, clearly on edge.
It looked way too similar to how his team looked during their first night out.
Where is he?
One pair finished checking a cluster of bushes and began moving toward their side.
Yun Qiang's eyes frantically darted around them, searching for suspicious moves. He searched someone too competent, too clear-headed, too smooth. Maybe their captain was disguising himself as a Qi Gathering cultivator.
Another group finished checking and moved to a bush dangerously close to the one they were hiding in.
Yun Qiang tightened his grip on the spear.
He let out a silent breath.
In a matter of seconds he re-evaluated them again. None of them showed any sign of experience or the confidence that came with time. Even the soldier who had ordered the group to split up didn't look certain of himself. His eyes looked calm, but Yun Qiang could clearly see the turbulence hidden within them. He had faked confidence far too many times not to spot it in others.
He took in some air, then held it in, silencing every sound his body made.
He had made his decision.
When a pair came to inspect their bush, he would strike first and try to kill them quickly. If they truly were trainees, he was confident he could eliminate two or three of them before they formed a coherent formation. And if this was all an act, he felt he could still try to disseminate chaos and escape.
Either way even if this group didn't have a captain, their only option was to fight them. It was too late to change their hiding place or retreat.
A soldier moved towards them.
Yun Qiang's jaw locked, his grip tightened.
It was time.
Just as the soldier touched the bush, Yun Qiang sprang into action, his spear precisely hitting the opponent's neck, killing him on the spot. Sun followed suit, pouncing at another soldier with a small knife, a weapon more advantageous than a spear in close combat.
Panic spread among them.
Yun Qiang instantly attacked the closest soldier who was hurriedly falling into a fighting position, his footing still unstable. Like a flash, Yun Qiang drew closer; using his spear as a baton, he pushed on the enemy's weapon, forcing him to the ground.
Before the soldier could even hit the ground, Yun Qiang thrust his spear forward, ending his opponent's life. His movements were smooth and controlled, as if he had practiced for this exact moment his entire life.
Yun Qiang, however, never looked at the corpse at his feet. His attention was fixed entirely on the dead man's companion, gauging their reaction.
After witnessing the deaths of their companions, hesitation had crept into their movements. Their faces were filled with fear and panic. They looked like prey standing before a predator. None of them carried the determination or the strong spirit of a Foundation Realm cultivator.
They don't have a captain.
A cold smile spread across his face.
He could end them all.
He chose the closer pair, then advanced towards them, his opponents struggling to coordinate a defense against him.
First fight?
This single thought widened his smile.
He still remembered how brutal his first fight was. He had lost six teammates that day.
His movements sped up as he felt the fire of revenge burn within him. He faked a sweep for the leg, then stepped forward with a lunge, sending one stumbling backward. Seizing this chance, he kicked the man's weapon away.
Without wasting the momentum, Yun Qiang turned around, deflecting a desperate strike from the other soldier.
He closed in once again, locking his spear with his opponent, forcing him to fight in close quarters. Then he punched.
A punch straight to the face. When it landed, a cracking noise, followed by the sound of his opponent falling, rang out in Yun Qiang's ears.
His spear fell down once again, ending another life. He turned around, his gaze cold as ice. The soldier from before was slowly crawling towards his lost weapon, his fingers clawing at the dirt.
Yun Qiang didn't let him, kicking him back down without hesitation.
As he looked at his opponent's agonized and desperate expression, Yun Qiang felt a perverted excitement stir up inside him. He felt powerful. His enemy, desperately struggling at his feet, his body without a scratch. He finally felt in control of something.
And he liked it.
For a second he felt the urge to kick his enemy again, letting him squirm and struggle before finally killing him. However, the rational part of Yun Qiang's mind stopped him mid-kick. This feeling was wrong. He looked one last time at his opponent's desperate expression. Then he killed him.
He is just like me…
Yun Qiang knew that expression very well. It was an expression that he had made multiple times during the war. It was the expression of someone who only wanted one thing: survive.
He shifted his gaze around the battlefield. Sun was fighting two versus one, his figure expertly wielding both knife and spear to stop any incoming attacks. He let a turbulent breath escape his lungs.
I got lucky, huh?
Sun's opponents didn't look as inexperienced as his.
For a moment, he wondered if Sun could have finished this fight faster in his place.Then the thought vanished.
His gaze turned cold once again. He stepped into the fight.
Leng Yu struck at the blond man before him, but his blow was easily deflected. The man closed in, his knife precisely aiming for his jugular. Panic flashed in his eyes as he stepped back. His companion, Ye Fang, barely managed to cover for him with a quick lunge, forcing their opponent to retreat a step.
What are the others doing!
He silently cursed his teammates. Only a few minutes had passed since the fight began, yet Leng Yu already knew they couldn't last much longer. The man before them was extremely dangerous, expertly wielding both knife and spear. If Ye Fang hadn't stepped in several times to cover for him, he would have died already.
The blonde man kicked Ye Fang, forcing him back a few steps.
For a brief moment, the fighters found themselves too distant to strike, granting each other a few seconds of respite from the deadly exchange.
Leng Yu savored this moment. The pounding of his heart and the sound of his heavy breathing filled his mind, drowning out everything else.
He locked eyes with his enemy. The calm and determination within them sent a chill down his spine. It was the gaze of a trained fighter, someone who had honed his moves through relentless practice.
He tightened his grip.
I only need to wait for the others.
Determination burned in his eyes. Even if the man in front of him was an elite, he couldn't fight all of them at once.
Yes, I only need to hold on…
A small smile formed on his lips as a scream reached his ears.
It must be the blond man's companion. They finally dealt with him.
The sound of hurried footsteps across the grass caught his attention. Hope bloomed within Leng Yu as he slightly turned, ready to greet his comrades.
Suddenly, the blonde opponent acted, forcing Leng Yu to focus on the fight. His eyes only glimpsed a figure coming towards him. He instantly redirected the incoming spear and signaled Ye Fang to intercept the knife strike that was sure to follow.
However, Ye Fang's shocked expression told him a different story.
What hit him next wasn't a knife. It was a spearhead.
Leng Yu's pupils trembled as he finally turned towards the second aggressor.
Monster!
That was the only word that formed in his mind as he fell.
That crazed expression, the black hair drenched in blood. The dead bodies of his companions in the background. Their heads exploded, their bodies pierced. There was no way this man was human.
By the time Leng Yu hit the ground and death greeted him, Ye Fang's scream reached him.
A demon had come for them.
Sun sat down, his face slightly flushed from fatigue.
"Yes."
His gaze wandered across the battlefield, occasionally stopping on the soldiers Yun Qiang had killed. Each one of them had died brutally. Their wounds looked less like the work of a soldier and more like that of a butcher.
"Pause?" he asked, sounding absent-minded.
Yun Qiang grinned.
"Fifteen minutes?" He threw a hopeful look at Sun.
Sun closed his eyes, trying to hide the worry in his expression.
"Five minutes. You know the rules."
"Ten."
Sun slowly stood up, using his spear to steady himself.
"Five. Their captain is still missing."
A chill ran down Yun Qiang's spine. If that captain returned now, there was no way they could escape alive.
A few seconds passed before Yun Qiang spoke again.
"I'll search those three. You take the rest, okay?"
Yun Qiang didn't even wait for confirmation but directly moved towards a small group of dead bodies. After being reminded of the enemy captain, he had no intention of staying more than necessary.
Sun seemed to agree with him, and after letting out a weak "Yes," he started searching the bodies.
After barely three minutes, they were already on the move.
Their faces looked tired, and their occasional puffs betrayed their depleted stamina. However, they didn't stop on their way back. Instead, they only sped up, stopping only when they finally reached the rendezvous point where they had to regroup with Voss.
Still, they did not slow down.
Instead, they quickened their pace, their tired footsteps carefully sidestepping the dry leaves and scattered branches that littered the forest floor. Neither of them dared to talk, both of them too focused on walking without leaving any trace.
Only when they finally reached the rendezvous point, where they were supposed to regroup with Voss, did they let their guard down and sit on the ground, giving their tense minds a brief rest. Their heavy breaths gradually blending in with the normal sounds of the forest.
For a few moments, neither of them spoke. They simply focused on calming their breathing, letting the rustle of leaves and distant chirping fill the silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Sun broke the silence.
"Isn't it strange?" he said, leaning back against the trunk of a tree. "I mean… a group of six people just half a day from our camp? Isn't that a bit too close for a scouting team…"
There was a brief pause before Yun Qiang responded.
"Maybe they were just checking the terrain before a battle? I mean, the only reason for being this close is…" His gaze slowly moved toward the direction of their base. "Attacking our camp…"
Another moment of silence followed. Shock and disbelief slowly crept across their faces as they considered the possibility.
Yun Qiang let out a nervous laugh.
"There is no way. Right?" He started gesticulating with his free hand. "Lord Tang is still there. They can't attack our camp unless they have a—"
Sun finished his sentence.
"A Golden Core cultivator."
A chill ran down both their spines. Their faces darkened instantly.
"It's impossible…" Yun Qiang whispered. "Right?..."
Footsteps sounded along the path they had come from.
"What's impossible?"
Both Sun and Yun Qiang turned, their pupils widening in shock. At the end of the small path, a man was walking toward them. His black hair unmoved by the wind. His lips were curled in a sinister smile, his eyes filled with visible killing intent.
Behind him, a group of men followed in complete silence. They didn't wear any uniforms, just cultivator robes of varying shades of gray. They didn't look like soldiers from the Sacred Empire.
However, Sun and Yun Qiang didn't care about the group's attire. Their intentions were clear.
They had come to kill them.