Ambush Mid Battle

Shui's team made the journey on foot. Shui thought it would just be Lute, but all of his team members behaved amiably towards him along the way to Malirin Forest. It was useless because he could occasionally see malice and disdain in their eyes, but he could tell that whoever thought of this plan had a bad personality. He sometimes swept the vicinity with his spiritual sense, but he didn't find anyone following them. Still, as his suggestions to pick up the pace or take a different route had been kindly refused, danger was likely waiting ahead.

It took a little over a week for them to reach the northern region of Malirin Forest. The outskirts of the forest didn't fall under any of the great beasts or beast lords, but if they went a little deeper into this region of the forest, they would be in the territory of the crown panthers. 

Once they entered the forest, all of the other four stopped trying to talk to him. He could detect several presences in the Earth Realm and even a Sky Realm expert several cales ahead, but since they were within a tier 3 concealment array, he pretended not to notice. If the concealment array had been one tier higher, he would have missed them without using his eyes, so this was a blessing for him.

Rather than approach the hidden force, the team went to the location described in the mission outline, where beast spirits were said to be gathering. The mission didn't appear to be a complete lie, as there was a pack of rot hyenas at the location. This type of evolved beast looked just like a normal hyena, but their teeth had the corrosion attribute, so whatever they bit quickly decayed as they sucked out the liquefied flesh and bones. They had a tendency to hunt in other beasts' domains, so in the relatively organized ecosystem of Malirin Forest, they were a nuisance to both man and beast.

It looked like this pack had settled outside the influence of any of the beast lords or great beasts, so the population of evolved beasts was small in the vicinity. However, they frequently attacked passing caravans and nearby villages. The nearest villages would take them over a day to reach at their top speed, but judging by the reports, they didn't mind the journey. The most recent report before they left the manor stated that three villages and five caravans had been attacked, leaving a few lucky survivors in each case. 

'Even if this is a trap, I should get rid of these mutts before visiting my brother.'

Shui sensed the members of the pack far sooner than the other members, but he kept quiet on this detail. While he didn't plan on letting any more villages be attacked, his teammates weren't targets of protection. 

The team stopped tens of trees away from where the pack gathered to discuss their plan. A rot hyena had a terrible sense of smell, but its sense of hearing was exceptional, so they had to be careful to avoid being detected.

"We have two main objectives in this mission: killing the hyenas and ensuring that none can escape. Usually, we could just surround them, but their teeth are too dangerous to block continuously, so I brought a spirit-rank sealing artifact with me. With this, we trap the hyenas inside a barrier and then engage them as we like."

The man who proposed this strategy was Gilse. He appeared to be the eldest among them and used a spear. The artifact he showed looked like a ball of yarn, but he wasn't lying when he said that it could be used to trap the hyenas. 

"Junior Brother Shui, do you approve of my plan?"

"I don't have a problem with it."

Gilse didn't ask anyone else for their opinion, but Shui didn't let that bother him. Once they settled the details of the plan, they slowly crept closer to the hyenas until Gilse made the hand signal to stop. He then threw the artifact into the mix of rot hyenas. The evolved beasts noticed the ball of yarn before it landed, but it rapidly expanded and captured them in its embrace before any of them escaped. With the ball of yarn, now a yarn dome, occupying the space that the hyenas were in, the team dashed towards the artifact. 

"As I said, it'll be hard to check what's happening inside from outside, and the same is true for checking outside from inside. As agreed, I'll stay out and keep an eye on everything."

The rest of the team showed their understanding by nodding and then entering the artifact. As soon as they were inside the ball of yarn, the hyenas charged at them in a frenzy. To face them, Shui chose to use a sword of ice made with the Four Elements Technique. While the other three that had entered with him stayed on the defensive, Shui defeated each of the hyenas in at least two moves. They weren't stronger than expected, but he didn't want to seem too at ease. 

Thanks to his offense, the number of hyenas quickly went down from the initial thirty-two to less than fifteen. However, a large amount of presences suddenly entered the space of the artifact. While inside the artifact, only yarn could be seen at the edge of the space, and even spiritual sense was limited, so Shui wasn't able to detect what was happening outside without focusing. 

The presences that appeared were the same ones he found hiding on the way here, so he expected them to be on the same side as his team members, but surprisingly, they attacked them first. The new group had them completely beat in terms of cultivation, so they were quickly subdued, leaving Shui as the only one left standing. He had dispatched the remaining hyenas during that time, so only human enemies remained. Usually, this would be where he started fighting them, but the assailants weren't hiding their faces and his team members were still alive, so they were either confident in erasing their traces or weren't acting as assassins.

"You're Shui of the Heaven clan?"

While Shui was pondering their intention, the sole Sky Realm expert stepped forward and asked him a question. He had short grey hair, but his bulging muscles were filled with vitality. Unlike most of his group, he only wore a simple, albeit expensive, gi and seemed to exude an air of violence. Even his question was filled with a strong intent that could shake a weaker foe's internals.

"Former Heaven clan, but you're not wrong."

"Good. I'll be straightforward. Were you the one that killed my child?"

"You'll have to be more specific than that. An introduction would help."

"You arrogant little-!"

One of the other members began to criticize Shui, but the old man raised his hand to silence him.

"Quiet, he's right. I am a grand elder of the Wailings clan, accompanied by my juniors and elders of the Gus clan. Do those names mean anything to you?"

"Yes, though I must admit, I didn't expect to meet you here."

"We usually wouldn't interfere in matters involving the three big forces, but this time there was no choice. Can I take it that you admit to being the killer?"

The pressure the old man forced on Shui increased as he reiterated his earlier question. The ground beneath Shui's feet cracked, but his expression remained serene.

"Would you even believe me if I said no?"

"That depends on your sincerity."

"Sincerity? I didn't take you for a jester. That aside, I have some business to take care of after this mission, so would you mind coming at me all at once?"