Search for Sef (3)

Meanwhile, Shui's group had reached the edge of the mountain range that Sef was exploring. They were much closer to him so Shui should have felt more relieved, but his concern had actually grown along the way, though he never showed it to Serina or Fatty. He could still see Serina's fate connection to Sef leading deeper into the mountain range, but during the previous day it started going into the ground and early on this day, Shui could no longer detect Sef's exact position. He was still certain of his presence among the living, but nothing more.

He had tried peering deeper into Sef's fate, but an immediate sharp pain in his eyes warned against it. 

'Sef, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?'

With Shui's powerful perception, especially when it came to plants and metal, he could tell that the mountains were rich in ore deposits, but he also found that he wasn't able to penetrate the depths which Sef's had reached. Anything that could block his perception would certainly be extraordinary so Shui wondered if he should really bring the two with him, but it would hard to persuade Serina not to follow at this point.

'I suppose I'll have to be careful for now.'

Shui wanted to head straight towards Sef's location, but after a quick sweep of the surrounding area he realised that there was an issue he had to solve. As the mountains were a prime location for cultivation, it wasn't odd to see a few cultivators drifting about, but the ones that Shui sensed seemed to be lingering at the edge of the mountain range. They were all clearly strong enough to go deeper so the fact that they stayed at the edge meant that they were colluding for some purpose. It might not have anything to do with Sef or the Darino Gang, but Shui thought it was best to clear this matter up. 

"It looks like we're not the only ones here to handle some business. Follow me, we're going to ask some questions."

Serina and Fatty couldn't sense as much as Shui, but they were able to detect the group of eight people camping nearby. Since he wasn't planning on attacking first, Shui allowed for his group to be detected as they approached. The group appeared wary with their hands on their weapons, and though none of them had a cultivation greater than mid Soul Realm, they exerted a combined pressure that could compete with an Earth Realm expert thanks to their familiarity. Shui resisted effortlessly, but he allowed it to reach Serina and Fatty as he stepped forward.

"Sorry to bother you, I just have one question I want to ask."

To make them more 'cooperative', Shui took out a bag of one hundred spirit gems and opened it so that they could tell how much was in there. After confirming the amount of spirit gems, the eight people glanced at each other before the only woman among them came forward and took the bag. 

"What do you want to know?" she asked with a stern expression.

"Nothing much, I'm simply wondering if you people are working for the Darino Gang."

Before Shui had finished saying 'Gang', the woman attacked with her empty hand while the rest prepared their spells.

"Mmm!!!"

Shui grabbed and crushed the fist launched at him and while the woman stifled her scream, he looked at the ones behind her once more.

"Thank you for the answer. Now die."

Suddenly, the ground opened up like a pitfall and swallowed all except one of the men before closing again. Thanks to the prevalent earth elemental energy, it was much easier to use earth attribute spells, even ones like this that consumed more energy than average. As the rest of the group had been eaten by the ground, only two of them remained, but Shui didn't the final move. He took back the bag, shoved the woman away and then spoke to Serina and Fatty.

"I'll leave these two to you while I handle the other groups. Make sure to finish before I get back."

Shui could have easily killed these last two as well, so Serina and Fatty understood that this was his test for them. The woman was at the fifth level of the Soul Realm, while the man at the second level. There was a gap in cultivation but as they had been taught by Shui and seen his strength, it was hard to complain about fighting someone a level above them, especially when he was going to fight entire groups by himself.

"You can count on me Boss!"

"I'll do my best!"

After hearing their determined voices, Shui walked off into the forest. Once he was out of sight, the remaining two from the Darino Gang breathed sighs of relief. Although he didn't seem strong at first, his effortless massacre was enough of an indication that he was a true monster that they stood no chance against. If he stayed then they would have had to accept their deaths, but once he left and they looked at the ones he left behind, they felt much more confident in escaping alive.

The woman ate a pill to restore her hand and then took out her whip.

"We don't have much time to waste, but we can't have you running to your friend, so either kill yourselves or come accept your deaths."

In response to her threat, Serina and Fatty looked at each other, and then took out their respective weapons without a word. 

"Hmph, fine then."

The woman swung her whip at them while the man tried to bind them in place with wind. Fatty slammed his hammer into the ground to disturb the wind and then leapt towards the woman.

"Take this!"

Naturally her whip wasn't a good match against a war hammer, so instead of facing it head on, she evaded and lashed at his side. Fatty's defense was impressive for his level but due to the gap in cultivation and the suppression of the earth, the whip cut through his clothes and left a red line on his skin. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to cry over this much. After landing Fatty immediately charged at her once more.

Meanwhile, the man and Serina engaged in close range combat. The man used a heavy saber to smash down on Serina's daggers. Serina felt her hands becoming increasingly numb, but she gritted her teeth and held her ground. She had received some guidance from Shui at the manor and along their journey, but her dagger technique was only average. In the first place, her dagger technique emphasized on speed and flexibility so there was no way she would have an advantage in a battle of strength. However, the man continued to pressure her so that she wouldn't have time to step back and use her abilities to their fullest.

His persistent powerful attacks caused her to feel frustrated and impatient, but Shui's advice kept her calm.

'In battle, you can't expect for your opponent to give you a chance to fight back. You must be able to lead them to act the way you see fit. And when the time comes, strike with all your might.'

And so she tightened her grip, waiting for the moment to strike back.