"Yes," Korrin replied. "We’ve spotted them and the caravan should be here soon. We’re headed to our ambush site and we’ll get them just like the others."
"Good. They shouldn’t change their route from where you are based on your current location," the voice responded. "Rember, we’ve hired you to slaughter them, but this ti, leave one alive. Don’t fail , Korrin."
Korrin gritted his teeth, "We won’t. But I need to know—when will you send us the paynt for the last job and this one? You haven’t yet and my n are getting hungry. If you don’t pay up…"
There was a pause on the other end before the voice spoke again. "Let’s just say that disrupting the sect’s recruitnt efforts is beneficial to my interests, so keep this round of the Spirit Stones you collect as a valuable bonus. Once you send confirmation, I’ll make sure the paynt package gets sent to you.
And, Korrin, I’ll let that threat slip this ti since we’ve got a bit of rapport, but if you threaten my Sect again… Just know that we have several dozen Spirit Transcendents available to take you out at any ti. You’d do best to rember that."
Korrin nodded, understanding the threat.
Their benefactor, an elder from a rival sect within the southern continent, had provided them with information and resources in exchange for their cooperation.
The elder’s goal was clear: to weaken the Lightning Sect by targeting its new disciples and damaging the sect’s reputation.
Though the benefactor never ntioned which sect he was from, there was really only one other sect with enough gall to compete with the Lightning Sect in the region. It was the Eternal Sun sect. This sect recruited Sun elental cultivators and, in recent years, fire elental cultivators too.
Korrin knew that they were becoming more and more aggressive in their attempts to be the leading sect within the Southern Continent and frequently competed with the Lightning Sect for missions and services.
They were greatly jealous of the Lightning Sect’s dinsional trial ground held within their headquarters as well; tensions to take over escalated more and more in the last year.
"Understood," Korrin said, cutting the communication. He turned to his n, his expression grim. "Get ready. The orders have changed. We’re going to leave one alive this ti to spread the word about what awaits if you try and join the Lightning Sect."
One of the bandits, a wiry man with a nervous expression, approached Korrin. "Boss, what about the paynt for the last job? We still haven’t received it."
Korrin’s eyes narrowed. "He said the ESS we collect this ti can be considered our ’bonus’. Don’t worry though, I’ll demand it again when we complete the mission. This ti, if they don’t pay, we’ll make our presence known to the sect."
The bandit’s eyes widened. "You an... go to the Lightning Sect directly?"
"Yes," Korrin replied. "If our benefactor thinks he can keep playing us, he’s got another thing coming. They’ll find out just how far I’m willing to go, even if it might be a suicide mission to march into the Lightning Sect directly."
Korrin turned to the rest of his n, a fierce determination in his eyes, "Let’s get ready. We’ve got to get to the ambush site before they arrive. We’ll follow the sa attack plan as usual when we get there."
~~~
Lassim watched from his vantage point as the bandits approached.
His heart pounded in his chest with excitent as he waited for the bandits to get closer to their position.
Darian used a predetermined hand signal for them to hold, waiting for the right mont to strike.
The bandits moved quickly, setting up an array of traps along the way and taking cover behind the rocks. Lassim could see the tension in their movents as they prepared, and he could now see why as the caravan entered his spirit vision finally. They were roughly an hour away at their current pace.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, now midday, the caravan finally ca into view.
A line of wagons and new disciples trudged through the desert, unaware of the danger that awaited them. The bandits tensed, ready to spring their trap.
"Wait for it," Darian whispered, his eyes fixed on the scene below.
Lassim held his breath, his muscles coiled like a spring. The mont stretched out, each second feeling like an eternity.
Finally, Darian gave the signal.
"Now!"
Lassim and the team leaped from their vantage points, descending upon the bandits with precision and ferocity.
The desert air filled with the sounds of battle imdiately—clashing weapons, shouts, and the crackle of an abundance of lightning elental energy.
Lassim’s lightning and water-infused [Thrust]s and [Slash]es cut through the air, each movent precise and lethal.
Korrin quickly realized they were under attack. "Defensive positions!" he bellowed, his voice carrying over the din of battle.
The bandits scrambled to form a defensive line, but the elent of surprise was on Lassim’s team’s side. The ambushers had beco the ambushed.
Darian engaged a group of the weaker bandits, his movents swift and deadly. Lightning arced from his fingertips as he used a unique wire-thread weapon, slicing through the limbs of two bandits before they could react. He then summoned a bolt of lightning, directing it toward a cluster of enemies.
The ground shook with the impact, and the bandits were thrown into disarray.
The other Initiate Rank disciples fought valiantly as well, but not without difficulty as the bandits overall were several levels stronger than the higher level Spirit Growth stages.
One disciple, a young woman that Lassim overheard was nad Lyra, wielded twin daggers that crackled with electricity.
She darted through the battlefield, her blades flashing as she struck down bandit after bandit.
However, she received a solid kick to the chest from one of her opponents that sent her hurtling back into the legs of another disciple, knocking them both over.
Another disciple, a burly man nad Thal, unleashed powerful lightning punches that bood outwards with thunderous sound waves with his spiked knuckles, sending shockwaves through the sand and knocking his opponents off their feet.
Lassim targeted one of the bandits, his lightning-infused halberd cutting through the air. The bandit barely had ti to react before Lassim’s weapon found its mark, sending him sprawling to the ground in two halves. Lassim pressed on, his focus unwavering.
Korrin, seeing his n fall, unleashed a guttural roar. The situation was unexpected and worse than he could ever imagine as his ragtag group was being rcilessly slaughtered, and quickly.
He was going to feel sad for the loss of his crew, but saving himself to escape was the most important. Bandits knew the risks and it was every man for themselves when the situation deteriorated like this.
Rueful that it ca to this, he summoned a dark energy around him, his body radiating a sinister aura. His muscles on his body withered rapidly as he unleashed his dark elental mana.
Lassim’s eyes widened as he recognized the forbidden technique—the expending of life force to enhance combat abilities. He was ready to risk it all to escape, and judging by his power, Lassim recognized him as the possible leader.
Lassim moved to intercept his escape route.
Korrin’s power surged, and he charged at Lassim with terrifying speed.
Lassim barely had ti to react, raising his blade to deflect the oncoming strike. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the ground, and Lassim was pushed back, his feet digging into the sand.
"You’re strong," Korrin snarled, his eyes glowing with a dark light. "But that won’t stop from escaping! Let’s see how you handle this!"
He swung his weapon, a two handed blade, each strike infused with the combination of dark energy and the boost from his forbidden technique.
Lassim gritted his teeth, parrying and countering as best he could.
Korrin’s attacks were relentless, the forbidden technique giving him a significant boost in power.
Originally Korrin was only Spirit Ascension stage level 5, but this technique boosted him to a power equivalent to the Spirit Transcendent stage.
Lassim knew he had to end this quickly before the toll on Korrin’s life force beca too great, making him even more desperate and dangerous to escape.
Nearby, Darian faced off against two bandits. He summoned a wall of lightning, blocking their attacks and then retaliated by exploding it outwards sending with it a sweeping arc of energy that sent them flying.
"Stay focused!" Darian shouted to his team. "Don’t let them overwhelm you!"
Rylan found himself surrounded by three bandits. He twirled his short sword, the lightning forming a protective barrier around him.
With a swift movent, he unleashed a spinning attack, the lightning creating a vortex that electrocuted his enemies and left them twitching on the ground.
This allowed him to help Lyra and the disciple she got knocked into to stand back up and rejoin the fight.
In a rampage, Thal, using his brute strength, grabbed a bandit by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
With a roar, he slamd the bandit into the sand, the force of the impact sending ripples through the ground. Thal then turned his attention to another bandit, delivering a powerful punch that sent him sprawling and emptying his stomach contents from this morning’s breakfast.
Korrin smirked, seeing the struggle in the midst of the battle with Lassim. "You think this ends with just slaughtering , boy!? There is a much greater power you’re up against! Get out of my way and maybe I’ll tell you who it is that sent us!" he taunted, his strikes growing more savage.
Lassim could feel the pressure mounting, his muscles straining with each parry.
But Lassim was not about to give up in taking down this leader. If he didn’t do it now, more new disciples would just get targeted again in the future and he didn’t want to fail his first mission.
Summoning every ounce of his strength, he channeled his lightning and water mana into his most powerful attack.
His blade crackled with electricity as he swung it with all his might. "[Hydroburst]!" he roared, releasing the built-up energy in a blinding flash that burst out with a terrifying explosion.
Korrin was caught off guard by the sudden burst of power. The strike hit him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward. He landed hard, the dark energy around him flickering as he struggled to rise.
Lassim seized the mont, not giving Korrin a chance to recover. He dashed forward, his blade aid at Korrin’s heart.
With a final, decisive strike, he plunged his weapon into the bandit leader, ending the fight.
Korrin’s eyes widened in shock, the dark energy dissipating as his life force ebbed away. "No... Su-… ct ..." he choked out with blood filling his mouth, his voice fading as he slumped to the ground.
The remaining bandits, seeing their leader fall, quickly lost their will to fight. Most halted their weapons, backing up and surrendering, their eyes filled with fear and defeat.
A few attempted last ditch efforts to escape, but now with Lassim no longer preoccupied with the leader, he was able to quickly catch up and slay the runners.
Darian and the others moved swiftly to secure the area, binding the prisoners and tending to the injured.
Lassim took a mont to catch his breath, his heart still racing from the intense battle. He looked around at his teammates, grateful that they had all survived.
Yet, it seed like all of the other Initiate ranks, barring Darian, had so serious injuries that needed attention.
The less injured mbers moved between the group to help tie bandages and equip healing patches with salves to speed up the recovery or stop the bleeding.
The bandit group’s strength was a bit higher than the mission’s grade. They all knew the mission rewards would get upgraded once they reported the completion. This would be a nice surprise for the first tir Lassim once he returned.
"Excellent work, everyone," Darian said, his voice filled with pride. "We’ve put an end to these attacks, at least for now. Let’s head back to the sect and report our success."
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