Hunter and Prey
The Bloodbath situation was forced on Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, and they were in a disadvantageous situation.
Obviously, the acolytes belonging to the two enemy camps would certainly chase them as if they were rats trying to avoid the cat's paws.
Nevertheless, the three academies' acolytes were scattered within the secret plane, and the two enemy groups' acolytes had also not gathered. This was certainly fortunate timing for an opportunistic individual to gather sufficient contribution points.
Two hours later after Leylin left the scene of his latest murder, another acolyte stumbled upon the girl's body.
"It's Lisa!" -After seeing the corpse on the floor, the acolyte's pupils shrank.
He came from the same academy as Lisa. Seeing his comrade lying on the ground, this acolyte's expression turned pale white, as if wanting to puke.
"Too dangerous! This mission is too dangerous! I am only a level 2 acolyte... I've come to this secret plane just to die... If I knew earlier, I wouldn't have taken up this mission!" -He muttered. Regret filled the face of this acolyte.
"Looking at this precision wound, it should have been caused by a heavy physical attack with some kind of Earth or Wind element spell… Poor Lisa didn't even manage to cast a defensive formation, judging by the lack of expression on her face."
It was not scary if the enemy was strong alone, but if the enemy was strong and shameless enough to leave the body lying around, it meant he was prepared to go all out.
After understanding this reasoning the acolyte felt his scalp tingle. He felt as if a pair of bloodthirsty and greedy eyes was eyeing him from the shrubbery, locking on its mark.
"No way, I have to leave now!" -He then bowed toward the corpse on the floor. "I'm sorry. Although we used to be good friends, I am unable to give you a proper burial… Or it may be that the fate of magicians was to die along the path of the pursuit of truth."
The acolyte made a prayer for his friend and prepared to leave.
"Hehe... What a cold-blooded person, not even caring about his comrade's corpse." -A female voice sounded from the air above.
"Wh-Who is that?!" The acolyte jumped back several meters, and in his hands, there was a black scroll tightly gripped.
"Look at him, like a pathetic bunny that has nowhere to escape in front of a predator!" -The girl's voice sounded again.
The crown of a nearby treetop shuddered, and a grey-robed girl appeared in front of the acolyte. She was a very attractive lass with tan skin and a pair of blue braids falling on her shoulders.
This female acolyte wore the uniform of Whitewoods Castle just as him, and the acolyte who was prepared to fight for his life heaved a sigh of relief.
"Hmph! Trash!" -Another male voice appeared from the surrounding, and a young man walked out from the shadows. He wore the insignia from Sage Gotham's Hut, and his right hand was silver in color throughout. It radiated a mellow yet brilliant color and reflected the shadows of the nearby vegetation.
"This appearance..." -The acolyte's hand trembled, and the scroll dropped to the ground. "Silver-Claw Saurun! You are Silver-Claw Saurun!"
Silver-Claw Saurun was considered one of the most vicious existences amongst the circle of Sage Gotham's Hut's acolytes. Rumors have it that for a piece of a rare ingredient needed for an experiment, he had massacred a whole village of regular humans.
Although this was only a rumor, this acolyte did witness the way Saurun treated his enemies. Undoubtedly, he was a devilish existence.
While Sage Gotham's Hut was a Light Magi faction, there were bound to be some talented acolytes with outstanding abilities in battle. Evidently, this Saurun was one of them.
Saurun did not bother about his junior who was frightened off his wits, and immediately walked to the corpse to inspect it.
"A very shrewd and ruthless assassination method. Considering the placement of this girl's remains, her killer should have activated the spell from 20 meters away. This distance is the limit of Ground Spear. The enemy possesses an extremely high talent in his ability to use and calculate his Rank 0 spells. Clearly, this was done by a level 3 acolyte." -The female acolyte with blue hair judged.
Saurun licked his silver right hand, giving off a sinister grin. "Then, he is mine. I will hunt and kill him personally, and let the world know the consequences of incurring the wrath of Sage Gotham's Hut."
"As for you." Saurun looked at the trembling junior distastefully. "Scram."
"Yes! Yes, sir!" The acolyte nodded his head and hurriedly scampered away like a frightened little deer. In the blink of an eye, he traversed over several hundred meters and even used a hastening spell on his body.
Watching the figure of the leaving acolyte, Saurun frowned, "What a useless piece of trash. If not for the agreement between our academies, I would have killed him long ago."
"Compared to him, our new objective is quite interesting... I can't wait to fight this acolyte from Abyssal Bone Forest Academy."
Saurun licked his lips, and the crimson-red tongue seemed to be like that of a snake's, twisting and writhing. "I am already anxious to know what the fresh blood of that acolyte tastes like."
Meanwhile, a hooded figure sneered from the shadows of a distant cobblestone ruin. 'Well, I am a level 3 acolyte. They are not absolutely stupid.'
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Four hours went by in the blink of an eye, and a group of Sage Gotham's had taken positions within a crumbled edifice of white rock and rotting wooden beams.
This group was formed by 25 males and 14 female acolytes. The male acolyte in the center seemed to have reached the cultivation of a level 3 acolyte. He also commanded the rest of his peers.
At this point, this small group was heading towards the garden which was the main hall of the ruins.
"Do we really have to take such a risk, Elliot?" The male acolyte who was behind the leader began to grumble. "We had better reunite with the other Whitewoods acolytes! As long as we activate that spell formation, then there is nothing to be fearful of."
"Shut up." -The male acolyte in the middle did not turn his head. "If we go together with the main force, how many contribution points can we hope to get? I have made inquiries about this place before entering the Bloodbath."
Hearing his words, everyone gathered around Elliot to listen carefully to what he was about to reveal.
"You see, this was a deserted secret plane of magicians previous to the war. If we are able to dig up any remnants of treasure or ingredients, then our lives in the future would be without worry. Also, we might even be able to advance into official Magi."
Once he finished saying the last line, the acolytes showed signs of longing and avarice.
"If you are unwilling to, then you can very well return. Look at Marie and the rest, they haven't said a word."
"Alright! Alright!" -The acolyte behind Elliot stopped complaining. As a level 2 acolyte, he could not go against him even if he wanted to. He had to agree with the logic of his senior.
"That's right, we also need to…" The acolyte in the middle suddenly pointed ahead without even completing his sentence. "Look, quickly! What's that?"
On a patch of empty grass in front of them, a grey-robed Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolyte was looking back at them with frightened eyes. In his hand, there was even a purple flower with spikes. From the center of the flower, there were several strands of feelers that extended to the ground.
Noticing the group of so many opponents staring in his general direction, this Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolyte was unmistakably frightened when he ran as fast as he could.
"He's an Abyssal Bone Forest acolyte. A level 1 acolyte at that. And he's carrying a… Wolf Whisker Flower?" -Elliot's mouth gaped open and it seemed like several eggs could be stuffed in it.
"Kill him! Everyone, go after him! The Wolf Whisker Flower is a valuable ingredient worth close to 1000 magic crystals!" -The level 3 acolyte roared and gave chase directly.
The Sage Gotham's acolytes behind the fleeing person were too far away to catch him using their normal speed. They followed Elliot and employed their one-time-use magic artifacts. A gust of green whirlwind appeared around their legs, increasing their speed by multiple folds as they rushed towards the direction of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolyte.
"Put down the Wolf Whisker Flower, and you may yet live!" -Elliot spared no effort in chasing and shouting until his throat turned hoarse from the excitement.
'This is only a level 1 acolyte. I will definitely be able to kill him. The Wolf Whisker Flower is mine!' -At this moment, a seed of insatiable greed and craving sprouted in the young level 2 acolyte's heart.
"Don't let him hide inside the brush or we'll lose him!" -A level 2 acolyte commanded.
"Alright!" -Marie replied with determination.
The young acolytes steadied their hearts and chased the acolyte in front of them.
100 meters.
50 meters.
30 meters.
20 meters.
10 meters.
The distance between both parties got smaller, up until the point where the young acolyte could see his enemy's frightened face.
"Great job, guys! The Wolf Whisker Flower is ours now! Even if we divide the revenue between all of us, the pay shall be at least several hundred magic crystals each." -Elliot declared with a gleeful tone.
The young level 2 acolyte held a fervent gaze, and looked at the escaping acolyte in front of him in the same way as he would to innumerable magic crystals.
But what happened then, shocked the group and robbed them of their joy.
The Abyssal Bone Forest acolyte turned around, and a malevolent grin adorned his ugly and chubby face. It was unexpected, indeed, but the chief source of their bewildrement was that the precious flower had suddenly turned into a dim-glowing dagger.
"Welcome to my trap, friends. Who wishes to die first?" -The fatty acolyte in grey robes asked. His voice was so relaxed and his posture so casual that it made it seem as if his fear in the early chase was a hallucination from the pursuers.