The air, heavy with damp earth and dark energy, now held a faint scent of fresh blood.
Ayra’s berserker fury from dispatching the two thugs had mostly subsided, settling into a dangerous simr.
Lia stood with her Verdant Lifespring Staff-Sword held loosely at her side, watching Daniel with calm, perceptive grey eyes as he knelt beside the fallen ambushers.
The sixty-two Yin cards they’d collected from the previous, larger group of Savage Blades felt like a significant victory, a massive step towards their Class Transition goals.
Daniel had ntally tallied the count; over twenty Yin cards each, more than enough to aim for advanced, perhaps even hidden, classes if they could secure a similar haul of Yang cards.
"Alright," Daniel said, pocketing the Yin cards Ayra had tossed him earlier.
"New plan. We sweep this sector of the Yin region thoroughly. There are likely more... ’opportunities’ like Damon and Marcus lurking about.
Lia, Ayra, you two stick together for now. Your combined strength and healing should handle most isolated threats.
"Nyx will keep up the aerial survey." He gave a ntal nudge to his Shadow Wolf Pup, likely still struggling not to face-plant while practicing wall runs in the canopy.
"I’ll cover a wider area solo. We regroup at the edge of the Whispering Mire in three hours. Conserve your strength, pick your battles wisely."
Lia nodded, her expression serene. "A sound strategy, Daniel. We will be cautious."
Ayra, however, grumbled. "More sneaking around? I thought we were here to crack skulls and collect shiny things, not play hide-and-seek with glowing mushrooms!"
Despite her words, a grudging respect for Daniel’s tactics was showing.
Lia and Ayra gave their newly acquired Yin cards to Daniel for safekeeping, a silent acknowledgnt of his role as the group’s strategist and growing powerhouse.
As they set off in one direction, Daniel turned to begin his own sweep, his [Aura Sense] already mapping the surrounding terrain.
He was about to take his first step when a new set of signatures flickered at the edge of his perception.
Three of them, moving with a hesitant, almost furtive energy, erging from a dense thicket of pulsating dark vines.
Daniel paused, his hand instinctively going to the A-Grade Phantom Edge Striking Wraps he wore.
He recognized these three. Alex Cross, a lanky youth with shifty eyes who had tried to sell him a ’slightly used’ F-grade defensive charm back on Platform Alpha.
Ben Carter, a stocky individual with a perpetually nervous expression, and Chloe Davis, a quiet girl who seed to blend into the background.
He recalled that he had briefly assisted them during the chaotic Purge, fending off a pack of lesser Purge Beasts that had cornered them.
They had seed grateful then, if a little overwheld.
Now, their expressions were different. Alex Cross had a greedy glint in his eyes, Ben Carter looked nervous but resolute, and Chloe Davis clutched a crudely sharpened piece of tal.
They had clearly seen Ayra’s brutal takedown of Damon and Marcus, and more importantly, they had likely witnessed the exchange of nurous Yin cards.
"Well, well, Aspirant Vance," Alex said, his voice attempting a casual drawl that didn’t quite mask the underlying greed.
"Fancy eting you here. We, uh, saw your little scuffle. Impressive. Very impressive."
He gestured vaguely towards the direction Lia and Ayra had departed. "Those two lovely ladies with you, they looked like they could handle themselves. Especially the redhead. But you, all alone now... that’s a lot of cards for one person to carry, isn’t it?"
Ben Carter shifted nervously, his hand tightening on his own rusty vibro-dagger.
"Yeah, Vance. We were thinking, maybe you’d be willing to... share the wealth? For old tis’ sake? You know, us helping each other out back on the platform?"
Chloe Davis just stared at Daniel, her expression unreadable but her grip on the sharpened tal unwavering.
Daniel’s face remained impassive, but a cold disappointnt settled in his gut.
"Share the wealth?" he repeated, his voice dangerously calm. "Alex, Ben, Chloe... is this how you repay a helping hand? By attempting to strong-arm soone you believe is weakened or outnumbered?"
He rembered their furtive glances when he’d acquired his Apex Vanguard Cache, the whispers he’d overheard about his ’luck’ rather than his strength.
Their gratitude during the Purge had clearly been shallow, easily overshadowed by greed.
Alex Cross’ greasy smile widened. "Repay? Aspirant Vance, this is the Taiji Basin, not so charity picnic. Survival of the fittest, rember? You got lucky before. You got a mountain of those pretty Yin cards. We just want our fair share. Hand them over, and maybe we won’t have to get... forceful. We outnumber you, three to one. Don’t be a fool."
He and his companions spread out slightly, attempting to surround Daniel.
Their F-grade weapons, Alex’s rusty sword, Ben’s chipped dagger, Chloe’s crude spear, looked pitiful, but their intent was clear.
Daniel sighed softly, the sound nearly swallowed by the oppressive silence of the Dark Forest.
"I see," he said quietly. "It seems so lessons are only learned the hard way."
He had hoped to avoid more conflict, to conserve his energy for the real threats of the Yin region. But betrayal, especially from those he had offered aid, however minor, stirred a cold anger within him.
He wouldn’t go all out, no S-Grade Solar Flare Fist Art was needed here. A controlled demonstration would suffice.
His hands, already covered by the A-Grade Phantom Edge Striking Wraps, now also glowed faintly as he slipped on his A-Grade Kinetic Void Gauntlets over them.
The combined power felt imnse, a barely contained storm. He flexed his fingers, the air around his gauntlets crackling with suppressed kinetic energy.
"You had your chance to walk away," Daniel stated, his voice now devoid of any warmth. "You chose poorly."
Alex scoffed, mistaking Daniel’s calm for fear.
"Big words for a lone wolf! Get him!"
He lunged forward, his rusty sword aid in a clumsy downward slash.
Ben and Chloe charged from the flanks, their movents telegraphed and awkward.
Daniel didn’t even bother with [Ghoststeps].
He faced Alex’s attack head-on, raising his left fist to channel a small portion of the power from his Kinetic Void Gauntlets.
"Boom!"
The sound was like a small thunderclap!
The wind shrieked as Daniel’s gauntleted fist intercepted Alex’s sword.
There was no clang of tal on tal. Alex’s F-grade rusty sword, upon contact with the overwhelming kinetic force, didn’t just break; it vaporized into tallic dust.
The resultant shockwave slamd into Alex, sending him flying backwards with a choked scream, his arm shattering from the impact.
He crashed into a thick, dark tree trunk with a sickening crunch and stayed still. The ground beneath Daniel’s feet shook slightly.
Ben Carter, witnessing his leader’s instant, brutal demise, froze mid-charge, his eyes wide with terror.
Chloe Davis let out a small, horrified gasp and stumbled to a halt.
"One," Daniel said calmly, his glowing fist still smoking faintly.
Ben, realizing the monstrous power gap, turned to flee, his earlier bravado forgotten.
"Monster! He’s a monster!" he shrieked, scrambling back into the undergrowth.
Daniel just sighed. He raised his right hand, palm open. He focused, channeling a small, controlled burst of his S-Grade Solar Flare Fist Art.
A miniature sun, no bigger than his fist, ignited in his palm, its heat intense even from several ters away.
The wind shrieked again as the air around his hand superheated.
"Two options, Ben," Daniel called out, his voice resonating slightly. "You co back here, drop your weapon, and accept whatever fate the Academy deems appropriate for attempted robbery and betrayal.
Or," his glowing fist pulsed brighter, "you can try to outrun a miniature star. Your choice."
Ben Carter stumbled, tripped over a root, and fell face-first into the black moss.
He lay there, sobbing, clearly understanding the futility of escape.
Chloe Davis reacted differently; her fear turned into a desperate, wild look in her eyes.
With a wild scream, she lunged at Daniel, her crude tal spear aid at his chest.
Daniel simply sidestepped her clumsy attack.
As she stumbled past, he brought his glowing fist down in a swift, precise chop to the back of her neck.
"Boom!"
Another small, contained explosion of force.
Chloe collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, unconscious before she hit the ground.
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