Failure #1

One place, one after another several groups were sent out to investigate the status of the bases and the teams that were supposed to be carrying out tasks within the Blood Sect.

The first team to arrive knocked on the door to gain entry but found that it had nobody guarding.

After investigating and gaining entry to the passageway, they found traces of blood within as if an attack had happened or there was someone being dragged deeper into the passageway towards the main room of the base.

The passage was dark and poorly lit so they were limited to what they could see but they still could not hear anything inside of the main room.

Opening the main rooms door, they pushed it open and gained entry however those at the front were sprayed with some kind of powder and some of those behind them were also hit by it getting some on themselves.

Even small traces lingered in the air and entered their bodies when they took in a breath.

The man who was at the front was now beginning to be covered in inflamed skin and boils began to grow and rapidly expand until they popped releasing a yellow mucus or puss like substance along with some blood. "Aaahahhaahaaa! Poi..oison! Haaaaa…."

His body looked as if it did not know what to do and where to scratch or attempt to treat because too many places of his body were affected.

Many screams around himself followed as many that had breathed it in or had come into contact with it were struggling just as he was.

As his body was breaking down and becoming fragile and extra sensitive, the poison continued to irritate and cause pain to the body on the skin, within the wounds, in the nose and mouth going down the throat making breathing more difficult.

Those that had breathed it in were beginning to experience internal bleeding and damage to their internal organs.

Just as some reached into their pouches on their waist or inside their clothing, they took out and pill and stuffed it down their throat in a hurry but their eyes revealed fear moments later.

The poison itself was supposed to be suppressed or cured upon taking the sects anti poison pill but instead of doing so, it only continued to break them down.

Even those that begged the others to save them had unknowingly passed on the poison through direct skin contact and infected their companions that were previously unaffected.

One among the group had a look of madness in his eyes as he drew his sword upon those who tried to come near him.

With every slash he took the lives of his fellow sect members and was stained with their blood.

What he did not expect was that the blood that came into contact with him had been poisoned.

It was like a plague that could not be stopped from spreading within the Blood Sect base, it was a true calamity that came to claim many lives without warning.

The anti poison pills in the sect were always limited to what poisons they could be used to counter, they were usually used to combat lower ranked poisons or entering a poisonous mist in a dangerous area filled with poisonous beasts and plants for a short time but they could not stop a higher ranked poison designed by someone that knew the recipe to the anti poison pills.

Ki had known that some members would carry some of the sects or other sects anti poison pills so she specially prepared a more dangerous poison that they would not be able to cure so easily but she had also made sure to add some poison ivy and other things to the powder to make it more harmful to them.

Even they had a strong enough cure to halt the poison in their bodies and protect themselves, they would still have to deal with the allergic reactions.

This series of events happened within each of the bases resulting in many deaths, most of the groups had no survivors but among a small number of them there were a few survivors or just one sole person left alive.

As their companions were poisoned, the ones that lived only survived by luck after avoiding the powder and escaping quickly before it spread to them.

In order to save their own lives, a few selfish people even escaped outside but locked the door behind them leaving the rest to die a horrible death.

After closing the doors behind themselves they had to endure the screams and threats coming from inside until it finally became quiet once again.

Those few survivors lived purely because they had prioritised their own lives and abandoned everyone else around themselves while some may have been able to escape with their lives if they had been given the chance to exit with them.

However they still had a mission to complete so they had to be ready to cut some losses and make it back to report to the sect about what they had seen and experienced.

After travelling back at full speed to the sect and not knowing their own fates upon arrival, they entered and told their own tales about what happened.

If it had been the sect heir that had heard their reports then he would have lost his temper and killed them for bringing disgrace upon the sect but since he had restrained his true nature, he had went to report everything to his master. "…and that is everything that they have said master. How should we respond with this? It seems that we may have some traitors within or someone is working with a poison sect. They know too much about us to be able to set up an attack on our bases and still succeed in wiping out many recon teams."

The master stroked his long grey beard while laying back in a large pool of blood within his room and spoke. "Do not move yet, our enemies may be looking to take advantage of any rashness or weakness we may display. First investigate the sources of the targets for capture to find out if they had been killed or captured. Send another set of teams this time to enter the bases but make sure that they wrap their bodies up well and do not enter the bases until they are properly aired out and no more poison remains. We have too little information to go on right now so we cannot attack anyone too rashly as it may be what the enemy expects of us."

The heir bowed his head concealing the look of unwillingness in his eyes. "Yes master."

The sect leader waved his hand. "You can go now."