Sam had only just moved his family from the monster-infested farms and settled them in the more rundown part of Ashfallen City when he was abruptly hailed back to White Stone Peak alongside every other cultivator under the Ashfallen Sect.
Heart beating like a drum in his chest, Sam rushed up the steep staircase lined with demonic trees that twisted and turned up the mountain’s edge. He was not alone in ascending these fog-covered steps, passing dozens of other black-robed cultivators on the way to the top.
Finally arriving at the top, he discreetly took a moment to catch his breath while standing under the shadow of the grand archway with the words White Stone Peak engraved on it.
“Been a while since I’ve seen you out of breath, kid.”
Sam glanced up and scowled at Hugo, who was grinning at him.
“Shut up, Hugo. I had to run from the southern wing of Ashfallen City to here,” he said between breaths. “What’s the situation…” he trailed off as a massive shadow passed overhead.
Both of them glanced up in stunned silence alongside many other cultivators as a floating island passed overhead. It was so close that it almost clipped the top of the archway, and he felt bits of soil rain down on him. Sam grew more worried as he recognized the white bark and blue-leaved tree atop the Bastion.
“Isn’t that the Blacktide tree?” Sam asked Hugo.
He slowly nodded, “The guardian tree of Ashfallen City is on the move?”
Tracing its slow arc through the sky, he gulped as he heard reality cry out, a massive swirling desolation rift forming before it, leading to heaven knows where and swallowing the island like a portal to hell.
They exchanged a look. Whatever they had been called to White Stone Peak for, it had to be serious if a tree they had never seen move was now floating off to a distant battlefield.
A gong sound reverberated across the peak, signaling that a meeting was being held in the courtyard of the White Stone Palace—home to the noble Redclaw family.
“Let’s go,” Sam said to the gentle giant and ex-gang member who had taken him in like a brother when he had nowhere to go. Rushing past the man, Hugo was quick to follow behind him. His Soul Core thumped in his chest as he cycled Qi to his tired muscles, keeping his body moving.
The paved roads of White Stone Peak were abuzz with cultivators as they all swiftly left their pavilions and made their way to the palace that loomed over the town. It was a truly monumental building, standing ten stories high and supported by pillars that seemed capable of holding up the sky. Compared to the sea of two-story pavilions surrounding it, the palace was impossible to miss.
Reaching the entrance to the palace’s courtyard, which was typically closed to outsiders, today the door was open, with two members of the Redclaw family standing guard. Their striking crimson hair and eyes only added to the presence their higher cultivation afforded them as they lazily watched the cultivators shuffle past into the palace’s courtyard.
Sam had mixed opinions regarding the Redclaws, as did everyone. As direct subordinates to the Patriarch of the Ashfallen Sect, despite their noble blood and strength, they were often given insignificant jobs like guarding Ashfallen City or distributing food to mortals. While many of those jobs were now forced upon the lower-ranking members of the sect, such as Sam and Hugo, the younger and more arrogant members of the Redclaw family liked to look down their noses at other cultivators for doing the same jobs they had once done.
Thankfully, it’s only the younger and weaker members of the sect that act like this, Sam thought as he passed by a crimson-haired beauty who was guarding the left pillar of the entrance with a smirk. If the Elders looked down on everyone like this as well, we would be in for a rough time.
In fact, he had been told that in other sects, it was apparently common to be treated like trash by any cultivator stronger than you. It was a perpetual cycle of being treated like trash, so you treat those below you like trash to repair your damaged ego.
Sam shook his head as he passed. Having seen truly powerful people like his master Stella, the arrogant members of the Redclaw family came across as nothing but spoiled kids with unearned egos.
I wonder how long they can keep that up? Sam mused as he took his place in the courtyard alongside Hugo and a hundred other cultivators. They gained access to the pills and resources of the Ashfallen Sect a few months before anyone else, so their cultivation is understandably superior to everyone else’s. But what happens when their lack of talent fails them and everyone catches up and surpasses them? Will they hold onto their arrogance then?
Only time would tell. If the Ashfallen Sect was one thing, it was fair. Everyone had nearly equal access to resources, except for a few notable cases—Jasmine being one such example. As the only disciple of the sect’s Princess, she got everything she wanted, including personal tutoring. There was also Ryker, the godlike prodigy. In his case, Sam wasn’t convinced it had much to do with the resources or training provided to him, as some claimed—no amount of pills could turn a five-year-old into a Star Core cultivator.
The Ashfallen Sect is filled with hidden monsters like that—you never know who you can’t mess with, Sam pondered, glancing around. Other than people, a few demonic trees lorded over the peak. Legend had it that a few Redclaws became too greedy, resulting in the deaths of other family members in the process. The Patriarch turned the killers into trees as a punishment, and they serve as a reminder to the Redclaws. He wondered if they needed another reminder…
More cultivators shuffled into the courtyard until it was nearly full. Just as everyone was getting restless, discussing among themselves the reason they had been gathered, a second gong went off, and the door to the palace flung open.
Sam had been expecting the Redclaw Grand Elder to emerge, and while some Redclaw Elders walked out, they were not flanking the Grand Elder. Instead, it was a woman with long, rose-gold hair that seemed a vibrant pink under the sunlight, tied in a ponytail. Stylish glasses adorned her face, which matched her perfectly maintained black cloak. On her chest was the logo of the All-Seeing Eye, but it was gold, unlike the usual dark red.
Despite her almost cute appearance, there was a chilling aura around her.
“Who is she?” Hugo whispered, a sentiment that seemed to be shared by some of the other people present.
“She’s one of the sect’s Grand Elders,” Sam said, having seen her before. “She’s also Grand Elder Douglas’s girlfriend.”
“Wait, that’s her?” Hugo’s eyes widened slightly. “She looks different from the last time I saw her.”
Sam thought back to when that could have been and then remembered the incident during the Night of Reckoning, when they had been holed up in a temporary earth shelter made by Douglas to ward off the crazed citizens who were trying to kill them. Elaine had been there that night with them, nursing a wounded cultivator. Back then, her face had been covered in blood and dirt after an intense night of fighting.
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“What a catch,” Hugo said, a hint of respect on his face.
Sam was a little puzzled by Hugo’s sudden change in expression, but he knew the man greatly respected Grand Elder Douglas after the two had fought back-to-back on the wall alongside the Mudcloaks against the beast tide. He had only recently recovered from the ordeal, and large scars were still visible down the side of his neck.
According to Hugo, it had actually been Stella who showed up and saved them all from the brink of death on the wall. A truth Douglas had apparently requested he keep secret, but he had let it slip one night while drunk.
“Greetings, cultivators of Ashfallen, my name is Elaine,” the woman said, her eyes scanning the crowd. “As the other Grand Elders are busy, I’ve been given the task of informing you all of the situation.”
Her tone was impossible to pin down. It wasn’t arrogant nor commanding, but everyone listened to every word in absolute silence. Perhaps it was her Star Core Realm cultivation that gave her presence an unmistakable gravity, or the chilling aura that surrounded her. Sam wasn’t sure.
“The Patriarch has met and discussed a solution with the leader of the beast tide,” Elaine said, and seemed to surprise the two Redclaw Elders standing beside her.
Sam’s jaw was ajar from shock, as were those around him. How could she say something so casually? The beast tide had a leader, and it could be spoken to? Was this real life, or just a fantasy?
“I’m sure many of you have questions, but it’s not my place to answer them. The deal is as follows: the storm that once blanketed the monsters, making them almost impossible to stop, has been lifted. The leaders of the beast tide are also standing down and will not attack our lands. The threat of us being wiped out by the beast tide has been overcome—Ashfallen will live.”
A cheer erupted through the crowd, including Sam. Before he knew it, he and Hugo were exchanging a handclasp and grinning at each other. He felt relief, as that meant his family could return to their old life sooner than he had anticipated, and Hugo’s relief was understandable, having stood on the wall and faced the beast tide.
“Quiet,” Elaine said, empowering her voice with Qi.
Sam literally felt a chill go down his spine as he snapped his mouth shut.
Pushing up her glasses, Elaine cleared her throat. “Celebrations can await, as the battle is far from over. While a deal was struck to remove the storm, the monsters still march on and are en route to Red Vine Peak as we speak. Now, the good news is that the Patriarch and the Grand Elders of the sect will be handling the majority of the monsters. The bad news is that some monsters will sneak through or around our defenses, and we need people to collect monster corpses. That’s where you all come in.”
“No…” Hugo whispered under his breath, his eyes trembling with fear. “I can’t go back there…”
“You will all be heading to the battlefield,” Elaine explained. “Spatial rings will be distributed for corpse collecting, and you will be handsomely rewarded with pills for every corpse you return to the sect.” Her eyes narrowed. “This will be your first golden opportunity to prove yourselves to the sect. Do your best.”
Elaine then took a step forward and seemingly vanished into the void in the blink of an eye. In her sudden absence, the air immediately warmed up as the two Redclaw Elders stepped forward to take center stage. Sam was aware of both of them, Elder Margret and Elder Brent.
Bringing out boxes filled with spatial rings, they set them down.
“As Grand Elder Elaine said, it’s time for war! Take a spatial ring and get ready to move!” Elder Marget shouted, her voice booming through the courtyard. Compared to the chill of Elaine’s presence, Elder Marget’s carried a burning passion. It was infectious, making him feel ready for battle.
Sam slapped the stunned Hugo on the back. “Come on, there’s no need to be so afraid. We won’t even be on the front lines.”
Hugo gave him a weary smile. “Right…”
I wonder if Stella will be there as well, Sam thought, a smile blooming on his face. A chance to see his Master at war—what a treat that would be. While his own battle with those wolves near his house had been intense, he was excited to get out there and fight again. Perhaps it was the earth Qi corrupting his soul and turning him into a blockhead, but he genuinely wanted to try to make a difference.
Standing in line, he retrieved a spatial ring just as a dozen portals were torn into existence.
“Pick a portal and go through it. We have a large area to cover, so some portals lead to areas that may be months of travel away. The portals will remain open for the next week, so please keep track of them as nobody will come to save you,” Elder Brent explained.
Sam met up with Hugo, and they chose a portal nestled in the corner of the courtyard. It didn’t seem popular, which was why Sam gravitated toward it. He wanted to collect as many corpses as he could, as he needed pills to advance his own cultivation and to hopefully support his family’s cultivation journey too.
“Wait up!”
Sam paused and glanced over his shoulder as an unknown girl called out to him. Her long, sky-blue hair and bright eyes would be unforgettable, so he was unsure why she was calling out to him of all people.
He looked her up and down in confusion. “Yes?” he asked. “Do I know you?”
The girl winced at his response. “My name is Ray,” she said hesitantly. “I was there with you in that stone bunker with Grand Elder Douglas, remember? He had to use a golem to carry me to safety as I was too injured…”
Sam’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, it’s you! I remember you blasting those people with water jets, only for them to effortlessly heal the damage and almost maul you to death—sorry,” he quickly added, noticing her discomfort.
“No… It’s fine,” she laughed nervously while looking at the floor. “I-I was quite useless that night.”
Sam scratched his head, unsure of where to go from here. “So, Ray… did you need something from me?”
She glanced up, her gaze turning serious. “I was wondering if I could come with you.”
“Um,” he exchanged a glance with Hugo, who shrugged. “I don’t see why not. It’s not like I decide who goes through which portal or anything.”
“Great!” she beamed. “You see, I don’t really know anyone else here,” she said, glancing around the bustling courtyard. “After getting injured that night, I spent the last month or so recovering in my pavilion, so I haven’t had time to make any friends.”
In Sam’s eyes, Ray was granted the status of an abandoned cat. While still a little suspicious, as it never hurt to be cautious even with your own sect members, he felt Ray would be fine to have around.
“Let’s go before anyone else comes this way,” Hugo suggested, wreathing his body in earth Qi and taking the lead. Sam nodded and followed with Ray close behind.
“Thank you, really,” Ray whispered as blue soul flames ignited across her skin.
Sam merely nodded in response, his focus entirely on the portal. Having fought with monsters so close to home, there was no doubt in his mind that this portal would drop them very close to a lot of monsters.
Passing through, they were deposited on a rocky outcrop overlooking a forest of demonic trees. Despite being far from home, their presence made this place feel oddly familiar. The aura coming from the trees was also comparable to that of Elaine and the Elders.
“What in the nine realms,” Hugo muttered as he looked to the horizon.
Intrigued, Sam and Ray came to stand beside him. While the trees were impressive, he wondered what had warranted such a confused response from Hugo.
As he crested the outcrop and saw what Hugo did, his shock made sense.
What surprised him wasn’t the literal wave containing thousands of monsters he could see on the horizon; no, it was what was happening to them.
“Are they the monsters, or is the Ashfallen Sect the true monsters?” Ray muttered under her breath, and Sam had to agree.
The monsters weren’t coming toward them—they were in full retreat. Looming overhead was the Blacktide Bastion he had seen earlier. A bubble of black water protected it from the desperate attempts of the monsters to fight back. Yet their attacks all fizzled out before they could penetrate the black haze blanketing the area and reach the Bastion.
Meanwhile, the monsters struggled to traverse an expanse of ruined land shrouded in a black haze as a horde of tree-like abominations tore through them, brutally ripping the creatures limb from limb and causing them to cry out in pain with beastly roars.
The world suddenly lit up with orange light, pulling Sam’s gaze away from the suffering monsters and to the sky, where a cultivator who looked like a living inferno was unleashing waves of hellfire down upon the monsters, scorching them alive.
It was an utter massacre.
“Are we really needed here?” Hugo said, scratching the back of his head.
Sam tightened his jaw as he watched the powerful Redclaw cultivator in the sky. Whoever it was, he strived to be that powerful one day.
“Come on,” he said, jumping off the side of the outcrop. Landing hard and cracking the ground, he rose and began to walk toward the battle. “We have corpses to harvest.”
His confidence quickly wavered as he heard a girl’s scream from above, followed by Hugo’s body tumbling down the rocky slope behind him with a dull thud.
Hugo let out a pained groan—he was alive, but not in good condition.
“Wait here,” he said, throwing some pills at the grass beside Hugo. Then, drawing his sword from his spatial ring in a flash of silver, his Soul Core, roared as he quickly ascended the slope to reach Ray.
Sam’s stomach churned as he took in a lungful of the monster’s putrid breath. It snarled and lunged to bite at his face, but he barely managed to wrestle it in place by hooking his legs around its head and gripping its maw. He strained as his fingers, coated in earth Qi, barely found grip among the beast’s teeth and lips.
“Ray! Are you ready?!” he grunted as his muscles greedily absorbed his Qi and became empowered.
“I’m ready!” Ray shouted.
“Fire now!” Sam shouted, straining every muscle as he forcefully pulled the monster’s jaw open. Moving his body to the side just in time, a concentrated blast of water shot down the monster’s throat. Through his legs around the monster’s neck, he could feel the sheer force of the water churning through the beast’s insides and wreaking havoc. It let out a desperate gurgling sound as it gasped for air. Sam tightened his grip around the monster’s neck as it thrashed a few more times before its eyes rolled into the back of its head, and it fell limp.
Sam waited a few seconds before confirming it was dead.
All the strength left his body, and he collapsed onto the floor, panting for air. His blonde hair had darkened and was stuck to his forehead from the sweat, and he felt terrible.
“That was awesome, Sam!” Ray said, standing over him and partially blocking out the sun. “How did you learn to fight like that?”
“I’ve fought monsters before,” Sam said between breaths.
Ray nodded approvingly. “I was right to follow you,” she said, holding out her hand. “Let me help you up.”
“Give me a second,” Sam said, unable to even lift his hand to accept the offer. He was exhausted to the bone after fighting a single monster. It must have been nearing the Star Core Realm, and if not for the corrupt land it had passed over, weakening and rotting its flesh, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.
“Okay,” Ray said, glancing around. “Where did Hugo go?”
“He was thrown off the rock outcrop, down the slope behind me,” Sam said, gesturing with his eyes. “I left him some healing pills. Do you think you could check on him?”
“Sure, leave it to me,” Ray said, smiling and walking off. “Don’t die while I’m gone.”
“I’ll try,” Sam weakly replied. Left alone for a moment, he watched the clouds lazily go by as he calmed his breathing. He had genuinely thought he was dead for a moment there. If not for the crazy idea of having Ray blast its insides, they would have been finished. That monster had not only been strong, but it seemed to possess boundless stamina as it just kept going and going, with no signs of slowing down.
Yet, despite his body being sore from the ordeal, he could feel it—the improvement that came from a life-or-death battle. His killing intent was sharpened, his body had pushed more Qi into his muscles than ever before, and he now had more confidence in himself. This wasn’t something that could be gained by meditating on the heavens’ whispers or by competing in tournaments that had rules against killing.
Is that how Stella got so strong? Sam wondered. He had felt her killing intent before, and it was on another level. Forget a few days or weeks, she must have spent years fighting for her life to sharpen it to that extent. In fact, most of the sect’s Grand Elders seemed to have killing intent far beyond what cultivators of their apparent age should possess.
“Even Jasmine can be scary,” Sam chuckled, but stopped after feeling a pain in his ribs. Groaning, he slowly sat up and looked around. He was alone on the rocky outcrop with the monster’s corpse.
You know, Grand Elder Elaine had made the task sound far easier than it is. Just pick up some corpses, kill the stragglers, and get rewarded. I suppose that to the Grand Elders, a monster like this is nothing but an afterthought, but to mortals and cultivators like myself, this is a town-ending threat.
Shaking his head and finally feeling well enough to stand, he pushed his body up and hissed as he straightened his back. While trying to get a chokehold on the monster, it had slammed him quite a few times into the rock to try and shake him off. At the time, he had hardly registered the dull pain due to the earth Qi coursing through his body. But now that it was fading, the pain turned out to be real. Thɪs chapter is updated by n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Pulling up his cloak, he inspected his leg and hip. Wow, just a bruise after all of that? If it had been a few months ago, I’d be dead or a broken mess. He smiled. It was quite cool to see the direct results of his hard work and cultivation in real time.
“What are you doing, kid?”
Sam dropped his cloak to cover his leg and glanced at Hugo cresting the edge with Ray. Despite the terrible fall and hit he had suffered, Hugo seemed to have somewhat recovered.
“Just checking my injuries. How are yours?”
Hugo grinned. “I’ve suffered worse before.” He then looked at the monster. “I’m impressed you managed to kill it, though. You’ve gotten stronger, Sam, possibly stronger than me.”
Sam shook his head. “You were just caught off guard. If I had been the one to suffer the monster’s first strike, I’d have been the one flying.”
“That may be true,” Hugo chuckled.
“I—I can heal your injury if you will let me see it,” Ray said hesitantly, her gaze lingering on his leg.
Oh, right, water Qi is renowned for its healing properties. Sam looked down at his body, and after remembering where the injury was, he shook his head. “I’ll be fine, it’s just a bruise. But I appreciate the offer.” Switching the topic, he looked down at the corpse. “So, what should we do with this?”
“Didn’t the Ashfallen Sect tell us they would give rewards for corpses?” Ray said.
“That’s right,” Sam agreed. “But what about its beast core?”
“Aren’t beast cores what those demonic sect cultivators use for strength, which drives them all crazy?” Ray asked.
Sam nodded. “Yes, but being driven crazy isn’t as much of a concern anymore. The Ashfallen Trading Company sells a pill that removes heart demons, though it is one of their most expensive ones.”
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“I’ve heard of that heart demon pill,” Hugo said, crossing his arms. “But it’s sold in limited supply, and every time I’ve gone to buy one, they’re sold out. I wonder if that’s because the ingredients are rare, or because they don’t want people abusing beast cores for power.”
“Whether they want it or not, we have no choice,” Sam said, gesturing to the fire cultivator high in the sky, unleashing hellfire on the ruined land below. “We will never reach that level of strength by not taking advantage of every opportunity. The Ashfallen Sect said they wanted corpses but didn’t specify anything about the beast cores. I say we absorb the beast cores from the monsters we personally kill to replenish our spent Qi and then sell the rest later to get heart demon pills. This way, we can keep fighting for longer while progressing our cultivation.”
Ray’s expression hardened. “What if we don’t get the heart demon pill?”
“Then you will have to battle your own heart demons or get driven crazy. Look, I admit this plan has a lot of risks, but think about it. Did the Grand Elders get as strong as they did by taking the safe route?”
Perhaps it was the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, but battle was calling to him. He wanted to fight and get stronger. But if he blew all the Qi stored in his Soul Core after killing one monster, he would have to spend a week cultivating it back. That was wasted time. Yes, beast cores carried risk, but some risks were worth taking.
“He’s got a point, and I can hardly shame him for wanting to use beast cores,” Hugo said, shrugging. “However, until I get that heart demon pill, I’ll have to refrain. Especially the beast core from a monster this strong, that might be further tainted by that ruined land. It will send me over the edge into madness. I’ll leave it to you two younglings with fresh and unburdened minds.”
“I’m not sure I want to…” Ray said, her hands balling into fists.
“Well, we killed this monster together, so this feels unfair,” Sam said, taking out a knife. “How about I get this one, and after seeing the effects from absorbing it, you can decide if you want the next one?”
Ray thought for a moment and eventually nodded. “Okay.”
“Great. Can you two keep watch while I gut this thing? It will only take a minute,” he said, pouring some Qi into his arm and slashing at the mutated bull’s stomach. The stench of rotten flesh that hissed out of the wound was indescribable.
I wonder if the farmers shoveling shit and taking care of animals ever thought that being one of those lofty cultivators who walked around all high and mighty in pristine robes actually had to experience something like this. I know I certainly didn’t.
Wincing and doing his best to hold his breath, he plunged his hand into the corpse and fished around for the beast’s core. Guided by the faint flow of Qi, he eventually found it. Ripping it free, he retracted his arm. Shaking off the blood and guts, he grinned as he held a small blackened marble in his hand that was brimming with demonic Qi.
A beast core—one containing the Qi from a high Soul Fire Realm monster.
Hugo took a step back, holding his nose.
Sam laughed. “Come on, it’s not that bad. You’ve clearly never worked on a farm before.”
Ray hesitantly stepped closer, water coiling around her arms.
Sam eyed her with caution. “Hey, what are you—” he was cut off as a blast of freezing water hit his arm, washing off the muck and almost knocking the tiny beast core out of his hand. “Oi! I almost dropped it.”
“Stop complaining,” Ray said, rolling her eyes. “Were you really planning to spend the next week walking around smelling like a rotten corpse? You will attract every monster in a five-mile radius.”
That was a fair point, although he wouldn’t admit it. Instead, he simply nodded and thanked Ray for the cleaning. The smell had been pretty bad. Waving his hand over the mutated bull’s corpse, it vanished in a flash of silver light alongside the stench.
Sitting away from the bloodstained ground, he analyzed the beast core. Excitement was brimming, as this was one of the strongest beast cores he had ever had the honor of holding.
“Are you really going to be fine? That thing reeks of tainted Qi,” Ray said, crouching down before him and looking at it curiously. “You’re not going to mutate into a monster, are you?”
“No. But there’s a chance I’m driven to madness by my own Qi and start to think I’m invincible, leading to my inevitable death at the hands of a monster or cultivator,” Sam said with a straight face. It was true. That was what accepting demonic Qi into one’s soul could do. It also caused heart demons to fester, which created bottlenecks and stopped a cultivator from progressing.
Ray blinked, possibly waiting for him to say he was joking. But he was dead serious—absorbing this beast core was a risky idea and outright bad if he didn’t get his hands on that heart demon-expelling pill in the future. After all, he had already absorbed a few to get to where he was now, but he didn’t want to end up like Hugo, one step away from madness.
“You might want to step back a bit,” Sam said, holding the beast core closer to his chest. The stone was oddly cold to the touch, and it made him feel sick. After Ray had sufficiently stepped back, he opened his soul and pulled on the stone. A black miasma poured out, flooding his spirit roots. He could feel it crawling through him, blackening his insides like tar. Yet the ecstasy of the Qi injection almost made him throw his head back and moan. It was a feeling like no other and almost addictive.
After an hour or so, he had finished absorbing it. The stone had grown dull and now felt like nothing special. Discarding it, Sam stood up, his body brimming with power. Rolling his shoulders and cracking his back, he grinned. “This feels amazing.”
Ray squinted at him. “Are you still Sam?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sam said, picking up his sword that had fallen to the ground during the fight earlier. “Let’s get to monster hun—”
“We’ve got a problem!” Hugo shouted as he peered over the rocky outcrop.
Sam rushed past Ray to Hugo’s side, and sure enough, the ground below was teeming with monsters. Since they were merely on an outcrop and not a mountain, the slope wasn’t that steep, and only a few meters of height separated them. They seemed to be a small horde of insect-like creatures, and if he squinted at them a little closer, their bodies were rotting. They had likely managed to cross the ruined lands, but their bodies were significantly weakened.
Maybe we can win.
A hand clamped on his shoulder, and Hugo shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t. There are too many of them. Relax, let’s retreat through the portal.”
Ray nodded furiously in agreement. “This is beyond us, there are a dozen of them at least.”
Sam gritted his teeth. He was sure of it—if he went down there and fought to the death, he could win. It was possible, with the potential for growth, corpses, and beast cores… it was too much to give up. Yet these two were holding him back, convincing him to leave.
Maybe they had a point… There was no reason to throw his life away. As he was mulling over what to do, a sudden presence behind him caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw someone walking through the portal.
It was a girl with green hair filled with white flowers and snake-like yellow eyes. Everyone in the Ashfallen Sect knew this girl, either in person or from the rumors.
She was the slaughter princess’s one and only disciple.
Jasmine met his gaze, and her eyes widened ever so slightly.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said, recognizing him. “I thought this portal was unused, sorry. I’ll pick another one.”
“No, wait,” he called out. His mind was racing for what to say. He knew from firsthand experience that Jasmine was strong, and the sect would always back her up, making her the perfect teammate. He didn’t want to use her per se; it was just that she was a good person to hang around and be friends with. He saw her as a rival, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t stand shoulder to shoulder sometimes.
“What’s up?” Jasmine asked, her body half-turned to leave.
“Jasmine…” he trailed off, but then the perfect words came to mind. He was talking to Stella’s disciple here. “Would you be interested in joining a slaughter?” he asked, giving her a crazed smile. “I’ve gathered quite the offering here and was pondering if I should head in alone,” he vaguely gestured to the monsters that were climbing up the rocky outcrop behind him. “But if we were to team up, I think it would be fun.”
“A slaughter, huh?” Jasmine said, sounding interested. She walked forward, sickly green soul fire flickering across her body. “My Master said this was a good opportunity to get some fighting practice in and told me to survive out in the wilderness by myself. But I suppose a quick warm-up wouldn’t hurt.”
Sam grinned.
He had finally found someone to whom he could leave his back in a life-and-death battle.
Stella’s one and only true disciple. She summoned her whip, and after exchanging grins, they jumped into the monster horde with a battle cry.