Chapter 982 Something Stronger Than Beasts
Ricar’s quick display of his power had blinded the beasts, and the warriors, knowing this might be their opportunity to get out of a tough situation, took it and all ran deeper into the jungle.
It was sporadic; although mainly warriors from the same clan ran with each other, many were just running into the forest with those closest to them. The groups were mostly made up of tens or so, some with even fewer people.
On top of that, the startling flash of light didn’t last long. As the monkeys were getting their bearings, they started to run towards the groups that had run into the jungle.
“Come on, Beatrix!” Ricar shouted. “We’re going in as well.”
Beatrix nodded and followed Ricar’s lead as they both dived headfirst. Ricar didn’t run a straight path; instead, he jumped side to side slightly, and even swung his blade in the air, emitting Qi from his strike, hitting a few of them on the back.
It didn’t take long to notice what he was doing or why he was doing this, so Beatrix followed his lead, and before they knew it, when they had entered the jungle, there were around ten monkeys that were following them.
Agilely running through the forest as they swung from tree to tree. With four arms, some had even grabbed large solid fruits that looked similar to a coconut, only darker on the outside, and hurled them toward the two of them.
Beatrix quickly spun her body as she leapt off a tree branch and cut right through the coconut, splitting it in two. With another hand, she grabbed half of it and hurled it back towards the others.
‘I know we led most of the monkeys away to protect the other warriors, but this might just be too much for us to handle,’ Beatrix thought when she saw the monkeys completely avoid her throw, and just how powerful and hard the black coconut was that she had cut through.
The coconuts continued to be thrown at them; thankfully, they both seemed to be traveling at just as fast a speed as the monkeys were. With them having to deflect countless coconuts, they weren’t so sure how long they could keep up, though.
That was when Ricar leapt up ahead and landed on the ground; he had landed in a slightly darker area of the jungle. The thick trees were spread further apart here, and there was more ground to fight on.
While in the jungle, Ricar thought the monkeys had the advantage; here at least he believed that they would be able to fight more fairly. When he turned back, he saw Beatrix landing on the ground as well, skidding across the floor and turning, readying her weapon to fight.
That’s when the two of them saw it.
“The monkeys… did they give up?” Beatrix asked.
The monkeys had paused for a moment, standing in the trees, but only after a few seconds they decided to turn and head back where they had come from.
“Beasts are territorial, remember, and it seems that we might have entered a territory of another beast, or type of beasts,” Ricar said as he looked over his shoulder and around him. “For now, we appear safe, and I hope it will be the same for the others as well.”
Rather than placing her sword in its guard, Beatrix decided to hold onto it, as did Ricar. When arriving on the island, the last thing the two of them thought they would be doing was running away from beasts.
At least not beasts that were so small and so large in number. These two were some of the strongest in Pagna. Who would have thought such an island would exist? There was a thought in the back of Ricar’s mind that perhaps they should retreat and come back with more reinforcements; the issue was seeing the other ship.
This mission was one that they couldn’t fail. It had the fate of the whole clan riding on it.
“Come on, I think it’s best if we keep moving. We’ll continue our search on the island, and we’ll try to locate some of the others,” Ricar stated.
The issue was the island was incredibly vast, and with the panic, he was sure that everyone had run off in different directions. Originally, the meeting point for all of the groups that were to split up in threes was back at the ship.
However, he wondered how any would even want to go back there when there were bunnies and monkeys protecting the place. Just trying to get to the ship would be death for most, unless they had those powerful by their side.
Both Beatrix and Ricar decided to head deeper into the dark green part of the forest. While moving ahead, Beatrix had used her sword to carve the clan’s symbol of a crescent moon into the trees.
This was a way for her to find a way back, and also a way to tell their clan members where they were heading, as it would be safest for them if they were next to elders. Originally, the clan thought that everyone would be fine going off on their own even in small groups of three, but it would need at least five people to take out one of those monkeys.
As they continued to move though, Ricar eventually placed his hand out, telling Beatrix to stop. He then started to ascend one of the trees as he ran up on it and stood on top of a thick branch.
Not long after, Beatrix did the same, and the two of them were squatting side by side, looking at what was in front of them from above.
“It’s like you said, we’re in the territory of another beast. No wonder those monkeys left,” Beatrix claimed.
A giant body that had to weigh a few tons, along with large scales on its back. It somewhat looked like a crocodile, only having curved horns on its front, and the sheer size of the thing.
However, there was something more that stood out. The beast, even though large in size and clearly something fierce, wasn’t moving due to the large hole that was in its head—a single large hole that allowed one to see from the top of its head onto the ground.
“What I’m more concerned about is who was able to kill such a beast and is on this island,” Ricar claimed.
“Who? You don’t think it’s another beast?” Beatrix asked.
“No,” Ricar replied. “That wound—it looks like it was done by a fist, and I don’t think those monkeys are capable of doing something like that.”
Chapter 983: The Strongest On The Island
It wasn’t just the regular warriors that had acted as soon as Ricar had given the order. The higher and more talented warriors also saw this as an opportunity to get on with the job. Dealing with the beasts was troublesome.
Seeing how one of the Elders from the Dawnblade Clan had already dealt with one of the monkeys was enough to motivate the rest to do the same. So they too had headed into the forest with people on their trail.
The man leading the group known as Gelgar from the Illumination Clan was one of them. Following behind him were four other men from the same clan, including one particular individual, Red from Alter.
Gelgar was slowing his pace down for the others to get ahead, and in doing so, he was using powerful fist techniques from the clan to hit many of the monkeys at once that were on their tail. It wasn’t enough to completely stop them but to injure them and send them back.
What Gelgar didn’t know was that at that point, Red was ahead of everyone else and was taking a particular path. The others followed him until they eventually reached a flowing river with a bed of rocks before it.
Red had stopped at this point and turned around. The rest of the warriors thought the man was crazy and were ready to run right past him, until Gelgar had come out and turned as well.
“WAIT!” Gelgar called out to the others.
When they stopped running just by the river, they too turned and noticed that it was quieter. The monkeys had stopped their pursuit.
“It seems we have left their territory. That was lucky of us to enter a new place,” Gelgar said, as he took count of those that were with him. He clicked his tongue, hoping that there would be more.
“Lucky?” Red smirked. “There was no luck involved.”
After looking around for a few seconds, it was quite clear that Red was getting ready to leave and head further up the river.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gelgar said. “You saw those beasts and how strong they were. We will do better together, and we will be able to search for the item.”
Red immediately shook his head.
“I agree with one thing-it would be better for you guys if I was to stay with you. Not the other way around; I would do perfectly fine on my own. Maybe your luck will get you out of this place.”
“We are to support each other. You heading off will make it so more of my men will die,” Gelgar claimed. He saw a part of the strength of Red and knew he was at least the same as that of the Elders from the Light Faction.
They did need him more than the other way around, but this was just a person from Alter, while he was leading the Illumination Clan. In Gelgar’s mind, his position was much higher compared to the others.
“I’m doing my own thing and finding the item myself,” Red turned his head. “And by the way, it was me who led you guys to this safe place. It wasn’t luck, so I’ve already done more than I originally intended.”
With that, Red had run off and was out of sight. The other warriors weren’t too worried since they had Gelgar, but it was only Gelgar himself who felt like there was now quite a loss to their group.
“I’ll have to report on his actions when I get back. Come on, let’s move from this place,” Gelgar said as he pointed to the other side of the river where the greenery was darker but the trees lessened, giving them more space.
In Gelgar’s mind, it was an easier place for them to fight.
“Sir, are we going to head deeper into the jungle? What if there are even more powerful beasts? Shouldn’t we go and try to team up with the others before progressing?” one of the warriors asked.
“Do you really think that there would be so many powerful beasts on this island? Those monkeys are a one-off,” Gelgar said as he jumped to the other side.
The warriors had conflicted looks on their faces. Was it really a one-off? Did Gelgar already forget about the extremely powerful bunny they had come across as well? Regardless, they had no choice, as they felt like they were safer with Gelgar rather than without him.
So they too jumped onto the other side of the river and headed into the forest.
The group of six, including Gelgar, had slowed down their pace. They were trying to figure out where they were or where the center of the island was for them. This was where Gelgar thought the item would most likely be.
At the same time, they tried to recall which way they had come from so they could head back. If there weren’t so many powerful beasts, then it wouldn’t be so much of a problem for them to just run around the area and find where their ship was.
Things were different now, and they were carefully going through the jungle not to attract attention. As Gelgar broke through a few large leaves, he immediately readied himself in a stance upon seeing something up ahead.
A blond-haired man, wearing a strange blazer a person he hadn’t recognized and a person who was on his own.
“Who are you? What are you doing here on this island!” Gelgar immediately shouted.
The other warriors stood by his side and drew out their weapons immediately, and started to surround the man.
“Me?” the man said, pointing at himself. “I’m just an… explorer if you call it that. You don’t have to pay me no trouble.”
As the other warriors had the strange man surrounded, one of them eventually felt their leg kick something. When they looked down, they could see the heavy round weight-it was a human head.
“A clan member, a member of the Aurora Clan!” the warrior shouted.
It wasn’t just one body though; the other warriors had also discovered two more as well.
“It’s an enemy! Everyone, ready your positions!” Gelgar shouted.
The man in the center looked up in the air and sighed.
“The last group of people made the same mistake in attacking me. I was hoping that you guys wouldn’t do the same. I’m starting to wonder if the Divine Realm or here is worse… but at least here it’s a bit more fun,” Mosak said with a smile.
Chapter 984: Not Alone
Deep in the jungle, there was one group who had been moving through slowly, and that was Krynic currently leading the Aurora Clan with ten members and one of the Elders of the
Dawnblade Clan, Impress, who had another five with them.
They were one of the largest groups that had managed to group up together. This was because of the two skilled individuals fighting against the monkeys. Although from different clans, both of them were skillful with the swords and were blocking several attacks.
‘I saw what Ricar and Beatrix did!’ Impress thought as she spun her body and blocked an attack from five of the monkeys, slicing and cutting several of their hands. She then spun her body a second time and pushed them all to the ground.
“Keep moving further in, don’t stop, let us two deal with this!” Impress shouted.
While the monkeys had fallen, it was Krynic who was taking advantage of the situation. He threw his spear towards one of the monkeys on the ground and pierced right through their body. He was relatively far, around ten meters, and after throwing the spear, he was somewhat able to lift his body and pull himself towards it like it was attached by a piece of string.
Hurling himself towards the spear, he pulled it out from the dead monkey and then quickly threw it at another one, repeating this process.
‘It’s thanks to Ricar and Beatrix gathering a large amount of monkeys that we can make it through. We aren’t like the other factions; we also look after and protect our clan members!’
After the constant fighting, they noticed that the monkeys retreated as they had entered a new section of the jungle which was darker in color. Impress leapt back along with Krynic as they both watched the monkeys’ retreat.
“You did a good job,” Krynic said. “I thought the Dawnblade Clan was in fallen times, but with Elders like you, I would say those were nothing but rumors.”
“I also didn’t know the Aurora Clan had skillful spear users. I thought nearly all their techniques were to do with the sword,” Impress replied back.
“Correct, but there are always exceptions, those placed in a clan through fate that they don’t really believe in themselves,” Krynic replied back, and the two of them looked at the warriors.
They were exhausted, although they had thankfully managed to all survive, it wasn’t without injuries. Some had black coconuts chucked at their body parts, injuring an arm or leg. Others had even their skin ripped by claws before others had arrived.
Thankfully, knowing the danger of the beasts, the warriors stuck together and fought side by side, and if there was one thing the Light Faction was exceptional at, it was teamwork and formations.
Impress looked around the darkened color and noticed it was quite strange. To her left and right, like a curved circle, she noticed there was a cut-off point. It almost looked like a line had been drawn in the grass rather than a general natural pass-through.
Seeing this didn’t give her high hopes for what was to come.
“I think we should prioritize finding Ricar and the others rather than exploring the island,” Impress said.
“I have no problem with that,” Krynic immediately replied. “The Dawnblade Clan was given control of this mission, and honestly, we were told to prioritize the objective over helping the other clans, but those above have no idea about the situation at hand. So I am happy to comply.”
The two from opposing clans in the same faction looked at each other and nodded; they were happy that at least the two of them could work well together.
While the few that were injured were being treated with Qi pills and basic herbs, Impress had made another observation, that the safest places for them were the territory borders. The monkeys wouldn’t even get close to the borders, and whatever beasts were on the darker side of the jungle probably wouldn’t do the same to the other side as well.
Leaving a safe vantage point for them. That was if it worked the way she hoped. It could possibly also be that on the darker side the stronger beasts didn’t care so much about going into the weaker’s territory; thankfully they were at least fine for now.
“Alright, now that everyone is ready, let’s move, remember your formations and stay close to me and Krynic!” Impress ordered.
Rather than walking straight into the jungle, Impress was pacing to the left for a while and then pacing to the right before advancing deeper. She was covering more ground of the jungle this way.
She didn’t care about advancing deeper due to the fear and was more concerned with trying to find the others they had split up with. Judging by them being the slowest group, she thought they would be behind the others and see some sort of sign.
It wasn’t long until she saw splatters of blood on one of the trees. Seeing this, she lifted her
hand up.
“I’ll go up ahead, you guys stay back and keep your wits about you, make sure you’re covering yourselves from all directions,” Impress stated.
“Let me come with you,” Krynic said. “With what we’ve run into so far, there might be something that needs the both of us.”
Usually, as an Elder and in a higher position, Impress would have declined but in the current situation she agreed, and the two of them moved forward. They saw more blood splatters as they moved slightly ahead and eventually on the ground they saw body parts.
An entire arm was on the ground looking to have been ripped off. They continued forward, ignoring the arm for now, looking at the destruction and eventually stopped in their tracks in an open area.
“What… did this?” Impress said.
Several warriors’ bodies were lying on the floor lifeless. All of them on the edge pointing towards something. However, there wasn’t much destruction for the forest itself, showing signs that there wasn’t much of a struggle for whatever it was that they were fighting against. Quickly, Krynic jumped as he recognized the individual in the center.
“This is Gelgar from the Illumination Clan, even he was killed. What type of beast did they run into?”
“They did not run into any beast,” Impress answered. “Can’t you see the wounds, they were done by martial arts. It’s clear that there is someone that is very dangerous on this island.”
Chapter 985: I Can Kill You?
Ricar and Beatrix, since it was just the two of them traveling, had decided to take it upon themselves to try and locate the item first as quickly as possible. Although this might have been seen as a selfish act in the eyes of many others, for them it wasn’t.
The quicker they found the item, the quicker they could focus on taking everyone back.
‘If I could, I would let everyone know not to progress beyond the darker green part of the jungle. There is something incredibly dangerous, but finding and locating everyone would take too much time,’ Ricar thought.
‘Finding the item and heading back is the best thing that we can do!’
There was another issue that he wasn’t sure the others were aware of, but it was the fact that since they had entered the island, the artifacts that the Light Faction had no longer worked. Ricar hadn’t told the Light Faction that he had obtained the artifact from the arena-one that was able to change the battlefield through input of one’s Qi. He had tried to use it when the groups of monkeys had attacked but it didn’t work, and he had tried to use it again when he had gathered the others but there was still no effect.
It was as if the artifact wasn’t responding at all, and if his guess was right, that strange feeling they all felt when they had landed on the island could very well be part of the cause as to why the artifacts weren’t working.
They traveled through the dark green area and something had surprised the both of them. Up ahead they could see the jungle ending, and part of the river that was leading to a large waterfall and open caves.
There were vines on the side of the waterfall making it easier to head up, but it also worried Ricar about how open the area was, including the flying beasts that were up in the air. Looking at one of the flying beasts though, he saw it diving down to the ground in front of them.
As it dived down, a red laser appeared to be shot out and ripped right through the beast’s wing. It caused the beast to fall at an angle, and then crash into the ground.
“What was that!” Beatrix said.
“…That might just be the person who had killed the beast from before!” Ricar announced and gathered his Qi in his blade.
Beatrix stayed by Ricar’s side as the two charged forward. They ran across the open area and saw the beast lying on the ground as well as a person standing right next to it. When the person turned their head, they then moved both of their hands in the direction of the two, and just like the red laser that was used to shoot at the beast, two red lasers shot out of the man’s hands.
They came out too fast for them to dodge, and both Ricar and Beatrix needed to swing their swords in a crescent shape using their Qi. Eventually, they managed to deflect the energy- Ricar into the air for it to hit nothing, while Beatrix had deflected it into the side of the jungle, crashing into a tree and destroying the area completely.
“That was a warning shot!” the man said. “Running up to a person means bad intentions… and considering you’re both from the Light Faction, I can confirm that you have bad intentions.”
Both Beatrix and Ricar had come to a stop. They didn’t have the upper hand in delivering a surprise attack against this individual, so now it was best if they were to talk it out. When taking a moment, it was then that they both seemed to recognize each other.
“Wait, I know you, you were with Raze and the others from the Martial Arts Tournament!” Beatrix exclaimed.
Now Ricar also recognized the man. When they saw him, they were unaware of what he was capable of doing since they didn’t see him act directly, but judging by how strong the beasts were on this island and how easily he had dealt with one, it was clear this person was very strong.
The real question was though, why was this individual on the island as well? Was Raze, the Dark Magus, and the rest of the Dark Faction on the island? Was that the ship that they had seen that had landed filled with those from the Dark Faction?
If that was the case, then this would be big trouble for them.
“What is your reason for being on this island?” Ricar claimed. “Is it just to gather beast crystals from these beasts?”
Although Ricar asked this, he doubted that it was the answer. The island had just become safe to travel to. They had learned this was going to happen from Alter, so how did the others know about it?
“I am here for the same reason as all of you,” Zon answered. “I am here to search for the item. My guess is that you are here for that reason and aim to hand over the item to the Light Faction. If that is the case, then I am afraid it would be easier for me to get rid of you now.”
Zon energized two red blades into his hands and held onto them tight. He knew he was quite deep into the jungle ahead of the others, but with only him here, he needed to stop anyone else from getting close.
Elsewhere on the island, Lince was rolling his shoulder as he walked through the island.
“That giant monkey was strong, really strong. I didn’t even beat it in the end; I just ran away from it, it would have taken up too much time.” Lince then started to shake his head. “Maybe I made a mistake teaming up with that Zon guy.”
“He just abandoned me, and judging by what he said, he’s not completely on Raze’s side with all of this in the first place. This whole thing is becoming frustrating, and where even is Raze? According to Belil’s plan, shouldn’t he be here by now?”
Lince then pushed a large leaf out of the way and noticed the ground starting to change; it was hard, more like a desert. The terrain on the island was certainly weird, and up ahead he could see piles of ruins, buildings as if they had fallen, but more equally he could see a man standing there looking through the ruins, with red hair.
The man then stood up and looked back at Lince.
“You’re not from the Light Faction? Which means I can kill you, right?” Red said with a smile.
Chapter 986: Zon’s Struggle
Zon had energized two red blades in his hand, and the ragged cloth that was covering his body seemingly disintegrated, revealing the hardened black suit he was wearing on his body. It was no time to keep up appearances.
Zon didn’t care who saw him on the island, because the only important matter was getting the item.
“Beatrix, focus on defensive maneuvers, I’ll focus on attack!” Ricar said with urgency in his voice.
Usually, he wouldn’t dare to command a high-level warrior, especially one that was skillful enough to earn the rank of an Elder, but in the current situation they were in, he had a really bad feeling about their opponent, and doing things this way might be the only way they could survive.
Placing one hand over his sword, Ricar’s weapon started to light up, and he charged forward, thrusting the weapon. Zon avoided the attack with ease, moving to the side and allowing it to go under his arm, but the attack didn’t stop there.
After the thrust, a bright white light shone in the area. The attack was filled with Qi and had the effect to blind one’s opponent.
“That doesn’t work on me!” Zon said as he swung his sword right for Ricar’s head. Before it reached, Beatrix swung her sword upward, performing the Crescent Moon Block. It had knocked both of Zon’s swords surprisingly well.
Usually, she would follow up with another attack, but she hadn’t done so, focusing on what Ricar had asked, for her to focus on defense. She felt like it was a good thing as well, as Ricar and herself retreated slightly back. She could see that Zon’s eyes were looking straight at her, as if he was ready for her next move.
“Is this person even human?” Ricar asked. “How was he not blinded, and was still able to throw an attack? This is the first time something like this has happened.”
It wasn’t the first time someone had deflected or come up with some counter to the attack, but more so just taking it straight on and ignoring it. Ricar and Beatrix both had the same thought as they looked at this person: they didn’t know why, but he heavily reminded them of the man that had come with them from Alter.
Zon then charged forward, moving at an incredible speed, and then in an arc shape he swung both of his swords from above. Both Ricar and Beatrix had no choice but to use defensive techniques as they blocked the attack from above.
Their feet sunk into the ground beneath them slightly as it broke, and they were trying to skim the sword away, but instead they were in a struggle for power.
“Do you two even know why you are fighting, why you are risking your lives?” Zon said as he scraped the swords and then started to attack again. He was swinging his weapon at both Beatrix and Ricar, who were blocking.
What was even more startling to them was that each individual arm seemed to be performing different techniques, meaning that both of them would have to counter them in different ways.
“The Light Faction is just blindly following the doings of Alter, and for what? The item that you are after-do you even know what they wish to do with it?”
When swinging with his right arm, Zon’s blade had suddenly disappeared, and instead he had blocked with his arm. The sword had hit his black suit, not leaving a single mark. Then opening up his palm, he fired a laser, hitting Beatrix in the stomach and sending her away. Quickly, Ricar struck the ground, breaking the flooring, and leapt back to check on Beatrix, who had been hit, but there was no physical wound left on her.
“I have a real reason to go after this item, while the two of you are just blindly following orders,” Zon said, and he paused as if he wanted to say more, but some memories started to resurface in his mind.
He was once the same in the Red Fortis army, not asking questions and just following what came from above.
“This item is clearly something valuable to all,” Ricar claimed. “A powerful artifact-if it falls into the hands of the Dark or Demonic Faction, then all will be lost for all of Pagna.”
“So you believe you and Alter are the only ones that have good intentions for such an item?” Zon asked. “Do you truly believe the words that are coming out of your mouth? You have teamed up with the ones who wishes the downfall of Pagna.”
“But your faction has been so caught up in not losing against the Dark and Demonic Faction that you can’t even see it. Right now, only the Light Faction is an enemy of Pagna. You are the only ones that are going against the flow.”
Although the exchange had been small, and Ricar and Beatrix still hadn’t fought with every last fiber they had, they felt like this was a fight they would lose, because it was the same for their opponent-he hadn’t been pushed to his limit either.
‘How… how is it that the Dark Faction managed to find someone so powerful and have them by their side?’
Immediately though, Zon had turned his head as he saw a giant serpent appear from the nearby river. It was dark green in color, and as it opened its mouth, strange gills looked to appear by the side, spreading out and vibrating widely.
Before they knew it, the giant serpent dived, heading straight for Zon and hitting him directly in his body, pushing him away.
“Let’s get out of here, head up by the waterfall now!” Ricar shouted.
Beatrix agreed, and the two of them used all of their Qi to move as fast as possible. The beast seemed powerful, so they knew it might keep the man busy for a while. Some might have thought it was a chance to get rid of a powerful enemy, but the beast was a beast and wasn’t working for them-it just happened to help them out in this current situation.
While running though, and escaping the area, Beatrix did have a strange thought running through her head.
‘There was a lot of truth to what that man said though… we don’t even know what we’re getting. What if bringing this item to Alter really does harm all of Pagna…?’ she thought.
Chapter 987: Red’s Struggle
In particular, Lince was worried that after running away from the giant white-furred monkey, he might run into an even more dangerous beast. Instead, he had come across a man with dark red hair.
While travelling through the jungle, in order not to gain the attention of others that might be here including other beasts, Lince was using his light footwork technique. It would be next to impossible for someone to detect him or his Qi, even if they were a highly skilled middle- stage warrior.
Yet as soon as he had entered the strange desert sand-looking area among the ruins, the red- haired man had stared directly his way, and had an unsettling smile on his face.
“What did you say?” Lince asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did you say you wanted to kill me? And people say we from the Demonic Faction are unhinged.”
Right after finishing his sentence, the red-haired man had disappeared from his sight, who had been at least thirty meters away.
The red-haired man then swung his arm trying to catch Lince, but had hit nothing but air. The man seemed confused as he looked at his hand and nothing was in it.
“My, you are a fast one. I was quite shocked there that I had to move on instinct,” Lince commented, who was now standing on the edge of one of the ruins, out from the sand. “I didn’t know there was someone in the Light Faction as fast as you. That is where you’re from, right?”
Immediately, Red smiled, and then quickly moved from his position again. The leftover ruins were crushed and ripped through, broken down, and the man was startled as he looked around for the mysterious person.
“Such bloodlust, this doesn’t feel like someone from the Light Faction, more like someone from the Demonic Faction,” Lince said.
This time, Red moved again, but Lince was unable to get away, and both of their faces were staring right at each other.
“You’re right, I’m nothing like them!” Red bashed his head trying to headbutt Lince, but he had already disappeared and was behind Red. Now Lince struck with his dagger from behind, but Red quickly stopped the hit.
Lince pulled away, and the two were in a situation where they were constantly moving to each other’s strikes, trying to take the other one down. In the end, Lince then unraveled one of the bandages on his arms and used it to swirl in the sand, creating a dust tornado.
He was hoping it would block the sight of this stranger from him, but once again, it seemed to not affect the man as he charged right through and headed toward the ruins where Lince was hiding.
Lince continued to jump back and eventually stayed on top of one of the ruins that were at the highest point.
“Wait, think about this, do the two of us really have to fight?” Lince asked.
Immediately, Red had stopped the chase and looked up at Lince. Although he hadn’t managed to catch him yet, he could tell that he was getting close. It felt like he was getting closer each time.
The fact that they had that little scuffle and exchange was proof of that as well. Red had figured the person in front of him was someone who was skilled in foot techniques, which was why he was betting once the two of them fought head to head, that it would be a battle he could easily win.
“If you are not from the Light Faction, and some sort of inhabitant of this island, then I will leave you be,” Lince said.
“I’m not an inhabitant, and I’m not with the Light Faction,” Red answered.
“Then who are you?” Lince asked.
Red straightened himself.
“I’m a man from the Red Fortis army, and my name is Red, so that might give you a clue as to who I am.”
“Right, right, so if you’re not with the Light Faction, there’s no reason for us to fight. I will be on my way.”
“No,” Red said. “I know who you are. No one from Pagna is allowed to get their hands on the item, and all of those that are here for the item must be eliminated-that is my job as a Deleter!”
Lince was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. He was confident in his strength; he was, after all, the head of a clan, and not just any clan but one of the three major clans in the Demonic Faction.
The Faction was known for having far fewer people and caring about power above all. To reach his position, there was no one that could call him weak, but there was one trait everyone knew about Lince.
Seeing the situation, he let out a big sigh.
‘I really can’t be bothered with this one!’ Lince thought as he gathered his Qi into his dagger. He saw Red charge right at him, moving at his fast speed again. Then Lince hurled his dagger right at Red.
Like a bullet, it had knocked him out of the air, and his body was skidding across the sand. Two large waves of sand were created due to the large force of Qi that was used.
As for what Lince was known as to those in the Demonic Faction, he was known for being incredibly lazy, wishing to take the simplest route in things, and in this situation, he thought the simplest thing to do was to finish this battle in one go.
‘Red Fortis army, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of them, and judging by his name being Red, was The the leader or something?’ Lince wondered.
When the sand settled through, he saw Red hunched forward, the cloth he had on his body had disappeared, and now his black tight skin suit could be seen with red energy pulsating through his entire body.
As for the dagger, it had pierced through his suit, hitting the top of his shoulder. Blood was drawn but it hadn’t sunk in too deep. Red pulled it out with a big smile on his face.
“You might be the first person I’ll have to go all out on,” Red said as he lifted his hand in the air. “I’ll show you why I was considered the strongest in the Red Fortis army!”
