Chapter 38: Chapter 38- Three Sides
Chapter 38- Three Sides
"Hm." The man squinted his eyes. His playful expression vanished completely as he stared directly at the attacker. He could’ve never imagined someone could ambush him in such a manner and succeed. What shocked him even more was that the attacker wasn’t even an older person.
’A kid?’ His eyes widened slightly. In front of him was a teenage boy, no older than 18, with a sword in his hand and a cold look in his eyes. ’How was he able to dodge my senses? For someone to do that, they must have perfect control over their Essence to hide it completely from tracking. That can’t be achieved early on, not by this kid.’
The man immediately knew that something was very wrong. But, even more importantly. He was badly injured. Even as he was speaking, blood was seeping out of his body profusely. He looked down and clenched his teeth. Then, he smiled coldly and stared up.
"Now this is completely unexpected. I didn’t think we would have visitors at this time. Especially not you two." The man said. "If I’m not wrong, you’re... Hm, you’re the Heavensoul girl. Cipha if I’m not wrong?"
Watching as Cipha joined Zen, the man could only break a sweat. ’What the hell is Heavensoul doing here? Did they get info about the rune? And they sent her, of all people? If Heavensoul is really here, then this is bad... really damn bad.’
The man didn’t expect any conflict with another clan, let alone a pillar clan. He simply cannot afford such a fight now, and that was a strict order from the higher-ups.
’But, who is that kid with her? I can’t recognize him. He can’t be from Heavensoul. Something about him is weird.’ He thought. All of those thoughts manifested in his head within a split second, and he already had a clear idea of what was happening.
"You two..." The chief was completely speechless when he saw the two kids appear out of nowhere. ’Why are they attacking this human? Weren’t they the ones who led him here?’
His mind was completely confused. He thought the two were spies who led the hunters to their village, but the fact that they attacked him had completely destroyed that thought. They weren’t working with this man.
"You do realize the gravity of what you just committed, right? Attacking a member of the Nar clan. I’m sure your family won’t be happy with this."
"..." Cipha didn’t reply as she kept her fighting stance.
"We should be the ones asking what someone from the Nar clan is doing here. This territory isn’t a part of your clan, is it? Nor is this forest a place you could just walk into, however you wish." Zen replied coldly. "It seems you’re the one whose looking for trouble."
’This bastard.’ The man didn’t react visibly, but Zen’s words didn’t sit well with him. He just couldn’t believe a kid was even speaking like that in the first place.
"And who are you, boy? You talk like you have authority. As far as I’m concerned, this matter isn’t something that you should be nosy about."
"Well, you’re claiming we will be in big trouble for attacking a Nar member. But I’m sure the Nar clan will have a harder time explaining why you were here. I’m sure when asked, they will know what the perfect response is." Zen smiled coldly. "I’m sure you wouldn’t want to put your clan in that kind of position, no?"
The last few words struck a nerve in the man’s mind, and Zen could tell immediately that he was right. This was a very secretive mission, and he probably didn’t want any eyes on it. After all, he was breaking the relations between the two clans by trespassing like this.
’He definitely wouldn’t dare to tell the higher-ups, or he would be in deep trouble. He wants to bluff his way out of this. Or, kill all of us and hide any trace of this ever happening.’ Zen squinted his eyes. ’I can already tell which option he will choose.’
Staring into the man’s eyes, he could see the anger and bloodlust building up rapidly as the idea formed in his head.
Meanwhile, all around them, the battle continued without stopping. Zen could see fire wherever he looked. However, it wasn’t green but rather a normal red. The two sides didn’t spare each other a second.
"Well, if that is the case." The man said. "Then, I have no other choice but to do this."
"Zen," Cipha whispered.
"I know."
’We can’t fight him head-on, or he will kill us. That is why...’
"Can you move, chief?" Zen yelled. "We need a hand here."
"..."
The Wood Man heard him and slowly stood up with a grunt. "Of course I can, boy."
"We will use the chief to ambush this man. He can definitely beat each one of us individually, but he definitely can’t beat us all at the same time. Not when he’s injured." Zen said to Cipha. "I want you to use your lightning abilities to zone him out and restrict his movements as much as possible."
"I can do that. What will you do?"
"I will try to attack him when he least expects it. He can’t sense my presence so he won’t be able to react in time." Zen channeled his energy. "We will take him down if we work perfectly."
"Be careful... He could kill you with one hit."
"I know." Zen nodded. "But, he will definitely have to work hard for it."
"Hmmm..." The man looked over his shoulder and then ahead of him. He was surrounded from three directions. The chief used that opportunity to form several wooden pillars. At the same time, Zen and Cipha channeled their Essence and activated their abilities.
"Isn’t it a bit unfair that I have to fight three at the same time?" The man said with a cold smile, trying to hide his concern. The pain he was feeling from the sword wound wasn’t light. He could even feel energy seeping out of him. ’I can’t waste essence healing myself. Tsk, annoying.’
With the three sides ready to attack, he had no other option.
For a second, the entire world froze around them with no side making a move. It was as if they were waiting for a sign. The wind swept through the grass plain, whistling loudly. Leaves flew everywhere around them, and for a moment, one of them became the center of the entire conflict.
It swayed left and right as it gently descended to the ground. Then, the moment it touched it, everything was submerged into chaos again.
*Swish*
The chief launched the wooden pillars toward the Hunter. At the same time, Cipha activated her lightning as she sent a shockwave flying through the air toward him. Zen, on the other hand, dashed to the side, creating some distance between him and the Hunter.
’Let’s see how you will deal with the three of us.’ Zen thought. ’What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?’
He knew that the man would definitely do something unexpected. What it was... would define the entire battle. Just one singular mistake was the difference between killing him or getting wiped out.
