"Who is it?!"
"Who dares attack the territory of the League of Shadow Assassin?"
"I don't know. We paid our taxes to the Demonic Sword Sect this month too."
"They can't be the one doing this siege, right?"
"If they are, then there's no hope for us!"
"Rookie, check for the enemies' identity!"
"Check it yourself, you dumb fuck! I'm not going out there alone!" The soldiers stationed near the city walls were conflicted in how to handle the situation.
They saw no one out there who could have caused this disturbing onslaught. The moonless night remained ever indelible in its stance.
But then these armed men and women were not born yesterday. They were anything but never dumb!
One look at the outcome of the city's devastated gates and one could easily conclude that this was no mortal army but a siege conducted by revered cultivators!
Alas, only someone stupid would face this kind of enemy head on. These mortal soldiers were really not suited for the task at hand.
"Let's just wait, Commander. I think the Elders of the Guild would be here, soon enough.
If the parties outside have anyone they're searching for inside the city, I think they could only be after those darned assassins and would probably not harm us normal people who are only living peacefully inside this City of Cresa."
A soldier tried to apply reason towards his superior. This smart one knew that their lives hang in the balance and was conscious enough to remain alive rather than dead after this evening.
"His words make sense, Commander!" Another soldier cleverly agreed.
"Okay. Let's wait a few moments but don't let your guards down! Soon, an Elder will surely appear to check what has happened out there."
The commander of the mortal soldiers could only assent his men's suggestions. He was also not that foolish to charge into certain death.
For death was the likely result that they would only face if they fought in battle against a true blooded cultivator.
Less than 2 minutes elapsed and a new group of uniformed people rushed towards the scene.
They arrived in showy spectacles of shadows and when these figures materialized into form, not one soldier raised his or her head to gaze at this dangerous crowd.
They were a dozen strong at first and their numbers only kept increasing with time.
Before long, there were tens of them on the scene and quickly surmounted about a hundred strong cultivators all garbed in dark robes.
It was so weird because only their eyes shone in the night as these Shadow Assassins wore masks to hide their identities. Only their leader was brave enough to show his face. He earned this perk already!
"COWARDS!" Fan Ru roared at the group of soldiers who had hidden far behind the concrete rock shields of the walls.
Silence pervaded the place as no one was brave enough to talk back towards Fan Ru. Far more eloquent men have fallen in the cruel hands of this very Master Assassin.
"I will show you how it's done then, you bunch of useless meat shields!" Fan Ru admonished the mortal soldiers around him and gazed at the damage of the gates.
It did not take him long to realize that the power behind this strike was probably caused by a magical tool.
'A Foundation Establishment Expert?' Fan Ru mused.
"Stay here!" he commanded his able assassins and the order was received in silence. They were professional murderers and knew the importance of unquestioning obedience from their leader.
Even so, all of these hundred or so killers were still on the Mortal Shedding Realm.
And although some of them were already at the peak of the said cultivation stage, they certainly could not do anything against someone who was already at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Even ten thousand of them combined would get eaten alive by someone of that caliber.
This strike from the magical tool would be fatal if one underestimated it but it was curious enough that he could not sense the familiar spiritual flow from anyone outside.
Nevertheless, Fan Ru still rushed through the gates without care. The angry embers brought about by the initial attack resisted the lullaby of the wind.
But even the hot hues by the gates could not hide the rippling waves of darkness over the full figure of Fan Ru.
"A Foundation Establishment Master? I am honored to have your company tonight. I am Clark." a man in blue cultivator's robes greeted his earnest host.
'A brave or a foolish man. Which one is it? Nah, perhaps this suicidal maniac has both of these rare traits indeed.' Fan Ru decided at once as he calmly looked at his unexpected guest.
Particularly at the tattooed crimson sword on the boy's possession.
"THIS IS THE PRIVATE DOMAINS OF THE LEAGUE OF SHADOW ASSASSINS! STATE THE REASON OF VISIT!" Fan Ru roared in a voice brimming with authority. He did not even give his name out of spite.
His figure was tall and commanding. He had long white hair which was tied with a silver string and a grandpa beard that would seem doting and kindly if not for the ferocious face that he wore right now.
"I HAVE COME TO COLLECT SOME INTEREST LONG PAST ITS DUE!" Clark replied succinctly and our good gamer was also not about to lose when it came to voice quality over his opponents.
And so he shouted the words back with equal vehemence. Although he was affronted by practically millions of foes behind the city gates but Clark did not let the number intimidate him one bit.
In fact, the idea of conquering these impossible numbers fueled his intense desire for battle instead.
"HAHAHA! You must be dreaming! You?! A lowly 4th Stage of Mortal Shedding Realm... wants to destroy the League?
Wake up, boy!
I don't know from what family you are from or what kind of revenge plot you are here for. But as your wise Elder, i can still give you a way out of this aside from certain death of course."
Fan Ru was confident that he could effortlessly subdue this delusional boy.
It was obvious at first glance that the only reason this unknown stupid child could do this much damage was because of the magical sword in his possession.
Although there were hidden rich families around these parts that could afford to forge a mystical tool that a Mortal Shedding Brat could use but they were in fact a rarity on their own.
This was also the reason why Fan Ru, this aged expert, wanted to seek for a peaceful conclusion to this matter rather than go beyond the point of no return by offending someone he shouldn't have to.
"Oh... really? Even after I destroyed your home, your gates, and perhaps thrown ridicule at the honored name of the League of the Shadow Assholes or something and yet...
You could still persevere and just as easily forgive me for my faults. Quite unbelievable, don't you think?" Clark paused to offer Fan Ru his signature smile
"But let's say that i'm interested in buying my life. How much would it cost me?" Clark ended with this question.
"Since you have not taken a life from my own people, I would only limit the penalty to this much." Fan Ru raised two fingers to indicate the price that he wanted paid for the gate's demise.
"What?! You're offering to grant me safe passage with only two spirit stones?
I did not know that aside from being a master assassin that you are also very much accomplished in the ways of honest negotiation also. We have a deal then! Here!"
Clark agreed abruptly and threw two perfect white little objects into the night. These cute things were of course launched by an expert and it was pretty simple for Clark to be precise about it.
Three breaths later, the spirit stones landed on the hands of Fan Ru. The old man gazed at them pebble like existence which belied the spiritual essence inside them.
'This are real spirit stones indeed!' a wide smile of greed and glee masked this old man's countenance.
'So he is really from the ancient families that have chosen to remain hidden from the mundane eyes of the world!' Fan Ru concluded in surprise.
"You have mistaken me, Master Clark. I wanted not mere 2 spirit stones but 2 million of them! What do you think? Isn't it a real bargain to give me this number of spirit stones in exchange for your life?"
Fan Ru asked immediately as he pocketed the spirit stones in an instant. He checked the surrounding with his spiritual sense and could not find anything out of place within 30 meters of his perception.
'This boy is really as alone as he appears!' Fan Ru cheered inside with this observation.
"Two million fucking spirit stones?! HAHAHA! You must be out of your mind, Master Assassin. A treasure trove of that pile could even birth a single Foundation Establishment Expert already!"
"You must really think me dumb to agree to that kind of terms!" Clark laughed at the absurd price he was given and offered a piece of his own mind.
"Why don't we do it this way instead. I look at you and then you willingly die for me. Would that perhaps suffice as a counter offer?"
Clark raised his left hand and the magical sword vanished from his palms. After a half breath, a strange glow sprouted from our bored gamer's eyes.
At first, golden rays of light could be observed from them but in the next second, Clark's eyes instantly changed into inescapable pits of pure darkness.
Two orbs bled black and everyone in the City of Cresa felt that chilly coldness of the air touch their skin.
It started with a single blade of wind, until the breeze that followed next seemed to seep down the unto the marrows of their bones.
"You... are not... at Mortal She.." Fan Ru could only look at these changes with wide eyes. His heart almost rushed out from his as he realized the outright implication behind this epic transformation.
'RUNNNNNNNN!' Fan Ru only has this single goal in mind.
"PANICKING ESCAPE OF A STREET DOG!"
Fan Ru used his secret technique and he blinked several times in erratic fashion as he tried to squirrel back into the safety of the city.
He did not even use his magical weapon to resist because he knew for a fact that it would avail him far too little at this moment.
'How did the guild ever offend such a person?' Fan Ru could not fathom the answer to this question at all. Not like he could, given that he was busy running for his life right now.�
The brilliant darkness totally embraced Fan Ru's body as he tried every trick in the book to survive tonight's tribulation.
"WHOOSH!" the formless unbiased wind took shape and spit out one of its deadly invisible projectiles. It was as if an illusion took place because this unnatural event just materialized instantly without notice.
'DODGE!' even by evading blindly, Fan Ru's experience earned him a new lease on life. But for how long, that was a good question about to be answered very soon.�
"BANG!" The ground was torn in two and amongst its sad wreckage was a separated limb that recently belonged to someone else on the scene.
"SENIOR! I HAVE EYES BUT FAIL TO SEE!"
"PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE!" Fan Ru who was now missing a shoulder kowtowed in place for leniency.
"A GOLDEN C..."
"Noisy." Clark interjected midway.
"SPLASH!" and fresh blood watered the earths amidst the silence of an entire city.