Back at the city guard's headquarters, Alden's intuition continued to ring alarm bells. With a heavy sigh, he tried to shake off the feelings of discomfort when a sudden flurry of panic outside the window made his heart skip a beat.
A crowd had gathered in the square, pointing and gasping at the sight of Norrick and his team methodically killing innocent-looking citizens who would transform into various beasts upon their demise.
His eyes widened in disbelief, his heart pounding in his chest. This sudden act of violence in broad daylight, executed by his own guards, was something he had never imagined.
'What is going on?'
Rushing out of his office, he called out, "What the hell are you doing, Norrick?!"
Norrick paused, a lifeless look in his eyes as he turned to Alden, "Following orders, Boss."
Without further explanation, Norrick resumed his hunt, leaving a stunned Alden behind. This wasn't his command. He never ordered such a massacre. Yet, his guards were claiming otherwise. The pit in his stomach grew larger, the events that unfolded too chaotic for him to wrap his head around. His mind raced to find a plausible explanation.
"Stop! Stop it now!" He yelled, amplifying his voice with Qi, causing some of the guards to stop and look up in confusion.
However, seeing Norrick ignore Alden and continue to run around killing beasts, there were many who kept killing. No, rather, this was exactly what they were waiting for!
The whole point of living in this city was to fight! Now that they could finally release some pent-up stress, naturally, they didn't want to stop.
Alden's expression darkened, and he sent out a wave of Qi into Norrick, but the man acted like he didn't feel anything despite his bones creaking.
'Just what the hell is going on?!' Alden internally screamed.
However, just as he was about to stop Norrick personally, the situation went from bad to worse. The beasts, knowing that their cover was blown, changed back into their original forms and went on a rampage to try and exit the city.
This sudden turn of events shocked the city's populace. Buildings crumbled, and the air filled with cries of terror as the powerful beasts charged through the streets, causing havoc in their wake. The city guard, initially confident in their suppression of the beasts, was now scrambling to contain the situation.
Although most of these beasts weren't necessarily the strongest in terms of combat ability, they were still Rank 8 beasts back in their original form. Only talented Nascent Soul Realm or Soul Transformation Realm cultivators stood a chance.
Alden, witnessing the chaos, made a quick decision. "All available guards, prioritize the safety of the citizens! Evacuate everyone to the city center! Those who can fight, rally to me!"
His voice rang out, powered by his Qi, effectively reaching every corner of the city. Alden, without wasting another second, charged towards the rampaging beasts. A determined look flashed in his eyes as he drew his long sword, the 'Serpent's Tongue', and leaped into the fray.
Meanwhile, Norrick and his subordinates continued their relentless pursuit of the beasts. Despite the terror and destruction, they kept executing their orders, appearing unaffected by the turmoil surrounding them. Norrick's lifeless eyes displayed a chilling calm as he continued his bloody path.
Back at the mansion, Maria and Mira were suddenly alerted by a sudden shift in the atmosphere. The once peaceful city was now filled with terrified screams and the violent roars of beasts.
Maria's face turned serious as she stood up abruptly, "What's happening?!" she muttered, glancing outside a nearby window to see a massive bird-like beast soaring over the rooftops, leaving destruction in its wake.
Mira also stood up, her face serious, but inwardly she was smiling. She looked at the chaos outside, then turned to Maria, "Why don't you and the girls go down and take care of the injured? I'll go help take care of these nuisances."
"But-" Maria started, wanting to join the fight, only to be interrupted by Mira.
"Think of this incident as my present for you. After this, I'm sure your reputation will soar. Isn't this the whole reason you moved here? To learn how to take advantage of the chaos?"
Maria couldn't refute any of Mira's statements and just nodded, her eyes glinting with determination.
'She's right. There's no reason for me to join this fight. With Mira joining, it'll be over before it even begins. However, if I can leave a lasting impression in the hearts of the people…' Maria grinned just thinking about it. She already made a small fortune by merely offering her healing services, but if she did it for free? And if more people can experience it?
She can only imagine the amount of Spirit Stones she'll make in a few months to a year's time!
"Alright. But be careful out there. Who knows if there's something stronger than Rank 8." Maria nodded but still cautioned.
Mira just smiled before she disappeared alongside Rhydian, who began hunting down her prey like she'd been starved for weeks.
As Mira raced through the city, she could see the damage caused by the rampaging beasts. Her mind, however, was calm as she assessed the situation. 'It seems like my plan worked better than expected,' she thought to herself, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.
Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a skinny feline-like beast wreaking havoc in a market square, scattering people and stalls in its path. Mira didn't hesitate, immediately jumping into action.
She might as well make a name for herself while she's here.
With a swift surge of Qi, Mira propelled herself toward the feline beast. She leaped high into the air and descended upon it, her Qi-enhanced strike crashing down like a meteor.
The market square echoed with the impact, causing the beast's spine to snap. Then with a save of her hand, she sent a wind-infused ice blade at its neck, chopping off its head in one go.
After absorbing its remaining Qi and vitality, she stored it and moved on to the next beast.
Spreading out her Soul Sense, she discovered that even though the destruction was quite large, there weren't actually that many beasts remaining in the city.
'I guess I took care of most of them before all this.' She speculated. 'Though, that would make sense. Surely, the beast Clans can't spare thousands of Rank 8s into cities like these for reconnaissance. Even if they could, there's not really a reason to.'
Although she didn't know the level of power these Beast Clans had, she was trying to be generous, considering they had basically conquered an entire mountain range that spans longitudinally across the entire Continent.
It didn't take long for Mira to spot the next creature, a massive bull-like beast charging down a city street, citizens fleeing in terror from its path.
Mira quickly maneuvered herself towards the beast, her body moving fluidly as she employed her wind-infused Qi to increase her speed. With a swift jump, she landed atop the beast and drove her hand through its back, using her Qi to pierce its heart. The beast roared in agony before falling lifelessly to the ground.
Simultaneously, Maria and the girls had started doing their part, moving through the city to tend to the injured. Maria, with her abundant healing Qi, was like an angel amidst the chaos, comforting and healing the citizens in need. Word quickly spread about the 'Saintess', and many citizens began to direct their injured towards her.
Back at the city guard headquarters, Alden continued his attempts to regain control. But Norrick's ruthless and unfathomable actions had left Alden feeling like he was wading through mud.
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed through the city. Alden turned in the direction of the sound, his eyes growing wide at the sight. An enormous serpent-like beast had emerged from beneath the city, towering over the nearby buildings. It hissed and thrashed, causing further destruction.
Alden's heart sank. He had never seen a beast of this size before. It was clear to him now that this was not just a random beast attack. Something was terribly wrong. He sent out a wave of Qi, desperately calling out to all the available cultivators in the city.
"Attention all combat-capable guards and cultivators! Rally at the city center! We have a large-scale beast to deal with!"
While Alden coordinated the city's defense, Mira had already sensed the emergence of the enormous beast. A smirk played on her lips as she felt the beast's powerful Qi.
'Head over toward the Rank 9 beast outside the city. Latch onto its head and blow yourself up.' Mira sent a command to Norrick.
'......Yes, Mistess.'
Upon receiving the order, Norrick's eyes glazed over momentarily before regaining focus with a more resolute look.
Without hesitation, he turned and started heading in the direction of the monstrous serpent. Norrick's subordinates, seeing their leader break off from their current targets and head towards the larger threat, followed suit.
Mira, feeling the shift in Norrick's direction, couldn't help but chuckle, 'Oh, this will be a sight to behold.'
As the scene of chaos continued to unfold, Alden was putting his full effort into coordinating the city's defense. Upon seeing Norrick and his group heading toward the enormous beast, his heart pounded in his chest. 'Are they insane? They're only at the Soul Transformation Realm! How could they fight against a Rank 9 beast?' He thought.
The scale of the beast was enormous, towering over even the tallest buildings in the city. Its scales were a deep green, with menacing yellow eyes that seemed to flicker with an unholy light.
Norrick and his team had reached the base of the massive serpent. Ignoring the beast's attempts to squash them, they swiftly maneuvered around the city's structures, using them as cover. Norrick's eyes flashed with a ruthless light as he neared the beast's head.
Norrick didn't have the strength to fight against a Rank 9 beast. He was aware of it. But when he received the order, he didn't hesitate. To him, it wasn't a matter of life and death but rather of obedience.
Reaching the beast, Norrick leaped into the air, summoning every bit of his Qi to enhance his jump. Seeing Norrick approaching, the beast let out an ear-shattering roar, its jaws opening to swallow him whole.
Norrick didn't falter. Instead, he smiled.
And then, there was a blinding light.
*BOOOOOOOOOM!*
The explosion echoed throughout the city, momentarily silencing the chaos. The beast let out an agonized roar as it thrashed about, a chunk of its head missing. In the aftermath of the explosion, Norrick and his team were nowhere to be seen.
Alden, witnessing the spectacle from afar, felt a lump in his throat. He could not believe what he had just witnessed. Norrick, his trusted subordinate, had just sacrificed himself.
The battlefield fell into a momentary silence, shocked by the act of sacrifice. But the silence was broken as the beast, enraged and in pain, went into a rampage, thrashing wildly and causing even more destruction.
Alden quickly collected himself and amplified his voice with Qi, "Norrick and his team have sacrificed themselves to weaken the beast! Now, let's honor their memory by finishing the fight! All capable cultivators, kill the remaining beasts!"
Mira, observing the scene from a rooftop, smirked as she saw the effect of her plan.
Alden took advantage of the snake's weakened state and dove straight in at full power, layering himself and his sword in Earth Qi. The snake felt danger from above, but because half of its face was gone, it was unable to gauge the threat as well as it would've, giving Alden all the opening he needed.
"Die!" He yelled. Thrusting his sword into one of its empty eye sockets, it went straight through the snake's skull, into its brain, killing it instantly.
After it was killed, it wasn't long before the rest of the beasts were taken care of. A few were able to escape, but before they could get far, Rhydian intercepted them.
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