Chapter 88: A Clean Sweep
As soon as Ain used Hex: Cursed Lullaby, his enemies immediately realized their carelessness. Although they couldn't immediately discern its effects, they responded nonetheless and released various attacks at Ain.
Already prepared for a counterattack, Ain weaved around the trees, stepping on the dead leaves, as he continued to approach one of the Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamers. All their attacks failed to touch him as a heavy shroud of exhaustion overtook their eyelids. This effect extended to all four spirit tamers and their spirit pets. Only the Smoke Raven above was unaffected. It realized the precarious situation below and immediately used Fireball.
Behind him, Frans, Paula, and Hugo turned around just as he used Hex: Cursed Lullaby.
A warning from Premonition appeared, alerting Ain of the incoming Fireball from above. It was difficult to target the Smoke Raven due to the large distance, but this applied both ways, granting Ain sufficient time to dodge. Just as he dodged the attack, his eyes focused on the other Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamer, who exhibited signs of awakening.
Ain wasn't surprised at the sight and fished out the offensive runestone from his pocket. He injected his spirit energy into it and tossed it out.
This Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamer was the contractor of the Smoke Raven, which used their mental link to disrupt the effects of Hex: Cursed Lullaby. He immediately snapped out of his slumber, with anger visible in his eyes. But before he could retaliate, a bright white light suddenly engulfed his vision. He felt a piercing pain in his forehead, which was followed by eternal darkness. In the skies above, a despairing screech rang out as the Smoke Raven, that was rushing toward the battlefield, plummeted into the trees like a puppet with its strings broken.
Maybe it was due to the piercing sound, or his own abilities, but the Advanced Spirit Tamer Ain originally targeted suddenly opened his eyes. The gravity of the situation instantly sunk in, and he immediately attacked Ain, who was before him.
The Wave Salamander beside the Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamer wasn’t far from awakening.
While using Possession, Hex: Cursed Lullaby's effects were essentially at Advanced Rank-1. These two Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamers should've remained slumbering for much longer. But spirit tamers were ultimately different from spirit beasts. Ain was already aware of this fact, thus he responded aptly. His eyes, devoid of light, suddenly narrowed as the haunting aura around him intensified. In his vision, the enemy's face suddenly contorted in fear as his movements completely halted. He was no different from a deer caught in incoming headlights.
Malicious Gaze!
After learning Hex: Cursed Lullaby, Malicious Gaze’s usefulness seemed to have diminished, but its split-second effectiveness couldn't be denied. Following Malicious Gaze, Ain wielded his dagger and slit the enemy's neck in one fluid motion. Beside him, the Wave Salamander had just recovered its bearings when its eyes suddenly lost their luster. It passed away in a daze, unaware of the circumstances surrounding its death.
Boom! Boom!
A few meters away, explosions suddenly erupted as Frans, Paula, Hugo, along with their spirit pets, released a hailstorm of attacks, all targeted at the Intermediate Rank-1 Spirit Tamers. The agonizing pain immediately nullified the effects of Hex: Cursed Lullaby. Unfortunately, the pair was instantly greeted by death, followed by their spirit pets.
Silence returned to the forest as Ain turned to ascertain the death of his enemies. The two Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Tamers had clearly lost their vitality. Their spirit pets accompanied them in death as well. He turned to look at the two Intermediate Rank-1 Spirit Tamers, whose end seemed even more miserable. Death by bombardment was more vicious than Ain's precise kills. Of course, Frans' runestone took most of the credit for the fingernail-sized hole in the forehead of the Smoke Raven's spirit tamer.
Hugo breathed out uneasily as he stared at the corpses with an ugly expression. Ain caught sight of this and offered some words of comfort, "You'll get used to it."
Hearing this, Hugo didn't feel any better and forced out a smile. Frans and Paula fared much better, but the frowns on their faces clearly expressed their thoughts. Ain thought back to his first trip. His reaction back then didn't match what his teammates exhibited. He found it only natural to eliminate those who wished to harm him.
He allowed them some time to digest their thoughts as he briefly searched the surroundings while gathering all the corpses. Nox appeared beside him and offered a hand, or rather, its claws. Ain muffled a laugh as he watched Nox point at one claw with the other, saying that it could help with these. He declined gently and offered it another task, keeping a lookout. Nox's eyes moved up and down before it began patrolling the area.
A few minutes later, under his teammates' watch, Ain crouched next to a corpse and said, "Let's search the bodies." Seeing this, various expressions colored their faces as Frans, Paula, and Hugo watched Ain's skillful movements. Eventually, they crouched down beside the other corpses and mimicked his actions. None of them found these actions to be excessive, but it still required time and experience for them to become accustomed to such things.
Ain searched through the bags, only discovering some common items. Although there were some medicinal pills, they were only medium grade pills. He could consistently concoct high-grade pills, so these were useless to him.
"Damn! Look at this thing!" Behind him, Hugo suddenly shouted, having regained some of his liveliness, drawing everyone's attention.
The others quickly gathered around and gazed at the item in Hugo's hand. It was an untitled book bound in cheap leather. From its rusty brown cover, it seemed very ordinary.
"What is it? It doesn't look anything special," Paula inquired curiously. With an uneasy expression, Hugo responded, "Well, what's inside is definitely special." He didn't keep them in suspense and immediately opened the book, revealing the first page. Words occupied the entire page, leaving little space between them. At the top, there were a few words larger than the rest.
"Blood Origin Technique. The meditation technique used by the Order of Blood Origin," Ain glanced at the text and spoke. The rest finally realized the reason for Hugo's alarm. Their ambushers were from the Order of Blood Origin!
"We really encountered the Order of Blood Origin," Paula stated nervously.
When Hugo heard this, he shook his head and said with a frown, "We didn't encounter them. We were targeted. Specifically, Ain was targeted." Ain, alongside Frans and Paula, widened their eyes at Hugo's statement. They saw him flip the book midway, revealing a small photo, a photo of Ain.
They all turned to Ain with stunned expressions. Ain stared at his face reflected in the photo. Judging by the background, this photo was taken in a hoverbus. They all fell silent, not knowing how to respond. If it was just a chance encounter, they could simply return to the city and move on. But if Ain was targeted by the Order of Blood Origin, he would no longer be safe, even within the city.
After a while, it was Frans who broke the silence. "Let's return first. It's dangerous to stay here now." Ain nodded silently, his thoughts moving concurrently.
Why was he targeted? The only link was the meditation technique he acquired during the tavern incident a month ago. It was currently stored within his storage ring. If that were the case, then Ain's actions back then had unknowingly been exposed. Moreover, it was exposed to the wrong party. If the law enforcement officers had discovered him, the mess at his hands would've been much easier to settle.
Amidst their varying thoughts, the group quickly sorted out the loot before handing it to Frans. Upon Ain's suggestion, they burned the bodies and planned their return. By now, the somberness in their hearts had eased a little. "The rover is destroyed. How do we return?" Hugo stared at Frans; expectations obvious in his eyes.
Frans shook his head, "I don't have another rover."
"We have to walk back?" Hugo deflated, clearly reluctant to walk such a long distance. Moreover, the recent experience made him wary.
"It's already evening. Won't it be dark halfway through?" Paula asked worriedly.
"It's too late to walk back. We need to find a place to set up camp for the night." Ain put aside his thoughts and responded to their worries.
The journey back required an hour with a rover, and they had only traveled for ten minutes before the incident. Considering the rover's speed, even at their quickest, it was a six-hour journey to return to the city. The sun was ready to set in about two hours, forcing them to travel through the night if they wished to return now. It was best to rest for the night.
Ain's explanation was reasonable, and their following course of action was determined.
"We have two hours to search for a suitable location." Ain said as he led the group to begin their search. Ace glided in the sky, scouting the area as usual. As they searched, Frans’ head injury was soon healed with Paula’s continuous efforts.
Twenty minutes later, Ace discovered something while scouting. Hugo pointed out a direction while informing the others, "There's a small hill up ahead. There might be a cave there."
"Let's take a look." Ain decided. A cave was preferable to staying out in the open.
As they moved, a small hill, covered in vegetation, gradually became visible in the distance. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the foot of the hill. After circling the hill once, they failed to discover the desired cave.
"Too bad." Paula sighed dejectedly. Although they possessed tents, she still hoped to set it up inside a cave for additional safety.
"We still have time, let's continue." Ain wasn't bothered and led the group to search elsewhere.
After some time, Hugo’s alerted them once again, "There's a small mountain up ahead. According to Ace, there's a giant broken tree trunk leaning against it. It can be used as a shelter."
Hearing this, the group discussed briefly and unanimously decided to move in that direction. Another half-hour later, just before the sun set below the horizon, the mountain finally appeared in their vision.
