Despite the temptation of killing all of them, earning enough experience points to level up, Michael chose not to kill them right out of the bat and gave them a chance to escape. He did not want to meddle with Alden as he wasn't completely aware of Alden's background.
Michael paid no attention to Alden anymore, he turned his gaze back at Nightmare who was standing on his shoulder.
"You got yourself into this mess, so clean out the mess"
"What do you want me to do?" Nightmare felt wronged by the way Michael talked.
"Take their bodies, put them on a horse" Michael felt no pity for Sabrina but he did feel pity for the guards who lost their lives because of her arrogance.
"Do it" Nightmare was taken aback by the seriousness of Michael's voice. This was the first time Michael talked to Nightmare without putting on a playful voice.
"Okay," Nightmare purred like a kitten before flying into the forest to find the horses that ran away when the battle started.
"What about the girl?" Gaya asked, seeing Michael walk away from Sabrina, turning his back on Alden and his group.
"Inferno Wave!" However just as Michael was walking away, he heard Alden scream, casting a spell to kill not only Sabrina but also him, a big fucking mistake.
"Lightning Dash" before the wave of blood-red fire engulfed Sabrina, Michael activated Lightning Dash.
The crescent moon-shaped flame did not stop when it hit the ground where Sabrina was but traveled unstoppably to the place where Michael was a second ago. The snow on the ground was instantly vaporized as the trees that were hit by the flame obliterated into nothing but ashes.
Whoosh!
Before Alden could confirm whether his flame wave hit the targets or not, an arrow pierced straight through his chest. It was so fast that he only felt the pain after a couple of seconds the arrow went through his chest.
"Boss!" the men scream, drawing their weapons and preparing to cast spells. They saw the young woman with the bow aiming an arrow at Alden.
"That was a mistake, buddy" Alden heard the youngster's calm voice again but now, it sounded from behind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 300 badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 600 badass points]
…
Continued notification sounds rang in his mind. Alden's men were so confused and shocked to see him appear behind them in a blink of an eye.
"I gave you a chance, something that most don't get. Yet, you chose to attack me, a big fucking mistake"
"Kill them!" Alden did not waste any moment. He yelled the order at his men while conjuring Arch energy to cast the powerful spell in his arsenal.
Alden witnessed firsthand what would happen when you underestimate your opponent when he fought Noah and he did not choose to make the same mistake again. Therefore, he chose to use his most powerful spell.
"Lightning Dash" Michael on the other hand wanted to end the battle quickly but also wanted to increase his mastery over the Ring of Fire.
Before Alden could finish his spell or his men could even start to attack him, Michael appeared at the center of Alden's men.
"Ring of fire" Alden and his men felt warm energy pulsate from his body.
With a booming and unearthly humming sound, a wave of fire many times brighter and hotter than Alden's inferno fire discharged from Michael's body, burning three bandits to a crisp instantly.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage level 9 cultivator. The reward is 36000 Experience points and 800 Badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage level 9 cultivator. The reward is 36000 Experience points and 900 Badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage level 9 cultivator. The reward is 36000 Experience points and 800 Badass points]
"Ahhhhh it burns!"
The remaining nine Body Strengthening warriors were squirming and screaming in agony on the ground.
"Don't let anyone escape"
Gaya nodded before rapidly firing arrows that pierced through the bandits' legs, making them unable to run.
Considering Michael's mastery with Ring of fire was at only 54%, there was no perfect ring around him or pulses of flame waves in circles. The waves of flames chaotically blasted the bandits away.
"Frostbite"
"Frost giant!"
"Crystal rain!"
From Michael's activation of Lightning Dash to Ring of Fire, everything happened so quickly. Only after Michael killed three of the men, the rest of them realized what just happened.
They rapidly cast spells, attacking him with all kinds of objects made of ice. Alden hand-picked thirteen warriors who specialized in ice spells that utilize the winter and the snow. However, the heat coming from the Ring of fire was so hot that it melted the objects created by his men to attack Michael, taking away their advantage.
Pulch!
"Boss!"
[Ding! Subordinate Gaya killed a Core Formation stage, level 4 Cultivator. The reward is 150,000 Experience points]
Just when Alden was about to attack Michael, an arrow layered with golden light pierced through Alden's head, splattering grey brain matter all over the ground and on everyone who stood closer to him, including Michael.
"What? He was about to cast a powerful spell"
Gaya shrugged, explaining the reason for her action. After Alden's body hit the ground, the rest of the men mostly lost their will to fight. They had no time to wonder how a Body Refining stage cultivator like her killed a Core Formation warrior like Alden except they knew this is no time to wonder.
"Damn you woman, you killed him because you are fucking hungry!" Michael shouted at Gaya before sending bolts of lightning through the bandits who were running away.
"It was you dumb fucker who forgot to get my traveling pack from Raylene" She yelled back while firing rapidly firing arrows at the bandits with deadly accuracy. Each arrow shot from her bow like a bullet from a gun.
In the middle of the snow-covered maple forest, screams of agony reverberated. Each time a bolt of lightning or an arrow fired, it took a life.
The splattered organs and blood had given the Maple forest its red color, only now, the red was not from red maple trees but from the bandits.
"I don't know how a cultivator could get hungry!"
"I do!"
Michael and Gaya were quarreling like an old couple as they moved around the area, killing the bandits mercilessly.
[Congratulations to the host for leveling up. The current level is Core Formation stage Level 3!]
"Now you're breaking through. Fuck you and your wargod body!" Hunger and envy of him breaking through by just killing people made her even more furious.
"Then why don't you go back to the sect and get your traveling pack?" Michael air quoted the two words 'traveling pack' which was nothing but all kinds of food prepared by Raylene for her.
"Maybe I will," she exclaimed. She put on her 'no talking with you' face while Michael decided it's not very healthy to argue with a hungry woman.
Neigh!
Michael turned his head towards the direction of the sound. He saw Nightmare leading a horse by pulling the rein using his mouth. Regardless of Nightmare's little body, he had several times more strength than an average human being.
"You two killed them all"
"Yeah no shit, burn the bodies before someone comes searching for them," Gaya said to Nightmare while avoiding eye contact with Michael.
While Nightmare was lifting the dead guards using his claws and mouth, Michael advanced towards Sabrina. Fortunately, he poured a healing potion when he initially used Lightning Dash to save her from Alden's spell. If not for his healing potion, she would have died due to blood loss.
"Wait a minute, I know that symbol" When he lifted Sabrina from the ground, Gaya noticed the blue jasmine decorated sword sheath.
Putting her anger towards Michael aside, she came to check Sabrina's sheath. Luckily, Alden's spell still messed up her organs as she was still unconscious.
"It's a sheath given to all Holy Trident disciples, where did she get it?"
"Yeah, she was using spells that had the words Holy Trident, " Nightmare said, putting the last dead body on the horse.
"Then she must be a disciple of Holy fucking Trident"
"I guess it's a big deal" after looking at Gaya's awestruck expression, Michael knew Holy Trident must be a very powerful place.
"Very. Holy Trident Academy is said to be the most powerful academy in Elon. They are so powerful that they would make Aragoth look like a declined sect"
"Interesting" Finally a slight smile appeared on Michael's face.
"Nightmare, did you find anything that could lead us to her home?"
While floating in the mid-air, Nightmare scratched his head recalling the conversation Alden had with Sabrina before his eyes lightened up.
"I heard that half-burned human say her brother's full name, Noah Winston"
"Noah Winston?!" Even Michael was surprised to hear the familiar name.
He couldn't believe that he just saved Noah's sister.
"Let's bug his home!" Gaya was excited and so was Michael. If he could bug Noah's home, especially Noah's room, he might give some valuable intel about Guardians and even make him carry the bug into Guardian guild headquarters.
"Next stop, Winston's"