33 Extrication

Inside the fort, the Dragon Army thoroughly controlled and suppressed the riots. Quite a few troublemakers were killed along the way.

General Yang was having a meeting with the other higher-ranked officers about their next plan as they proceed deeper into the Tiger Continent.

They laid out a map of the Tiger Continent and marked spots and places with some small figures as they strategized the best possible locations to head to. "General, the city of Shu and the city of Bai should be our next targets. Although they are a bit farther compared to the city of An, I believe we can gain the most out of these two. It is a very strategic location that surrounds four more cities with this stronghold." An imperial adviser was giving his thoughts about their next move. He had a very well thought out plan and it was fairly reasonable given their circumstances.

General Yang asked the others if they saw some flaws with the plan. Quickly, issues of their supplies, manpower, and enemy reactions were brought up. It would be quite dangerous for them if they could not conquer the two cities fast, as the other four cities can send their reinforcements without a hitch. They needed to divide their army by two and attack the two cities simultaneously.

It was doable and General Yang put in some of his inputs about the plan. It took them about 8 hours to finalize the first part of the plan.

Meanwhile, Caol went to the establishment where the Soaring Dragons detained the last leader of the Ravaging Wolves. He was led underground by two of his soldiers. This was an underground tunnel that was built as an escape route to go outside the city. There were hidden rooms as the makers built this with a purpose of staying in the tunnels for as long as they can before escaping.

The dagger guy was bound by a special metal used for martial practitioners. There were also patrols hanging around to guard the surroundings of any attempt to free him. Caol went up to him. The guy was unconscious as he lost a lot of blood, coupled that with severe injuries.

Caol needed to ask him questions, so Caol tried to wake him up. Caol nudged the guy's remaining feet lightly to get a response. A few seconds passed but there was still no reply. Caol was sure he wasn't dead as Caol could still hear him breathing. Caol then pried open his mouth and fed him a recovery pill.

Soon after, the guy woke up. He was still dazed, while he felt the pain from all over his body. The guy could not see well as there was a limited amount of light underground. Caol saw him waking up and directly asked him, "Where are you from?"

The guy was a bit surprised to hear someone ask him as he could not sense someone in front of him because of his light headedness. The guy did not answer Caol as he felt like he was going to die anyways.

Caol furrowed his brows, but he still remained patient. The blood within Caol was still not sated yet, and he was still feeling a little bit worked up. However, Caol knew the importance of keeping this guy alive as Caol needed answers. There was a lot of mysteries surrounding the Ravaging Wolves leaders' backgrounds. The last guy Caol fought also spoke about 'their place' after he used the Amplifying Art which almost killed Caol.

They were strong for their age and it was rare to have five young geniuses gather together. They must be from some place where geniuses are kind of commonplace. Caol was excited about this thought as he wanted to fight against people within his age bracket, but here, they were too weak compared to him. If that place could provide stronger enemies for Caol, then he needed to go there.

"Hey, I'm asking you." Caol nudged the guy again, this time with a little bit more force. The guy grumbled, "Why do I have to tell you? It's not as if you're letting me off alive.

"You're right. I won't let you live, but I can ask an immortal to search your soul. You do know that the consequences of them doing that will shatter your soul after they get the information, leaving you with no chance of being able to reincarnate again." Caol did not plan to let this guy off. He remembered about one of the mystiques Granny Yu told him regarding the searching of memories. It was a harsh mystique and is only used on enemies with a lot of intel.

Obviously, the guy was prepared to die but he wanted to reincarnate as there may be a chance at life again. "Even if I tell you and you go there, you will still be one of the weakest of the bunch." The guy looked at him in disdain, "In that place, the true essences of cultivation are practiced. The martial practitioners here have no right to call themselves one. The immortals in that place are way more powerful. That is why we left that place, we were strong here but there, the five of us were just ants."

"Then tell me. You don't need to worry about whether I become the weakest there or not. At least, I'm not some spineless cowards who feared the strong ones in their place that they had to leave." After hearing Caol's words, the guy felt like he was stabbed in the heart. Cowards. That was a brand they had to live with. The five of them were too afraid to face their stronger peers. That is why ever since they left that place, the five of them never advanced in their cultivations.

"Alright, Mr. Brave-fool. I'll tell you where that place is." The guy sat up straight and put his back against the wall. Caol listened to his next words intently. This is very important to Caol as this is part of his future path. He did not want to get stuck in this place if there was a better one, a place where Caol can have a meaningful life. "That place is called the Land of the Titans. There, geniuses are as common as the sands on a desert. The Continents you are in are small compared to that place. Of course, it is not the land mass that makes it big, but the different dimensions that are located in that place. The Land of the Titans is also the centermost place in this world and the different races are gathered there. We were lucky to travel by boat and go here."

Just the description of the place made Caol yearn. He needed to go there. "How long did you travel?" Caol asked the guy as he needed to make some plans for a trip.

"It took us about four months by a ship. The travel is not that perilous if you read the atmosphere correctly and not get yourself inside a storm." The guy took some time to think about the answer. "Now that I told you how to get there, are you going to uphold your promise and let me die in peace?"

Caol nodded, "I will. I won't torture your soul. Thank you by the way for letting me know." After saying this, Caol took the guy's dagger from one of the soldiers and handed it to him. The guy was clearly in so much pain and was miserable.

The guy held onto his dagger before looking at Caol. Gratitude can be seen in his eyes as he wanted to be at peace and not experience anymore pain. After all, he was the only one living out of the five of them.

"See you soon, brothers!" The guy thought about the faces of the other four, reminiscing about their journey and adventures together, before he stabbed the dagger into his heart.

The guy expressed a serene face, as if he had been liberated from all the burdens of the world. He then forever closed his eyes, joining his brothers into their ventures in the afterlife.

Caol asked the guards to give him a proper burial before leaving the underground tunnel. The scene earlier affected his mind a bit as he saw the peaceful face of the guy after death. Death was an extrication to the guy earlier and was better than being alive. He would have died sooner, unless Caol properly treated him, but he knew that Caol would not as they had been enemies.

Caol died once before and he knew it was just nothingness before he reincarnated. Caol could not vouch for the others' experiences. What he had to do now was to improve himself before setting out on the journey towards the Land of the Titans.