56 The Truth 3

An hour later the troop has passed the border and entered the second layer. They kept walking south, evading any major cities or places that were filled with people.

The paths they took were either hidden or as barren as the border. Lia has never been outside the centre of the core. This was her first time she has set foot into another layer. To her surprise, it wasn't much different than what she was used to.

She continued to follow them and they showed no signs of rest. At this dark hour, they were trying to rush their way. Lia still couldn't figure out what they wanted but the feeling that they might have killed didn't leave her.

This night reminded her of her family's murder. Troops of soldiers led by the elders stormed to her place and this phenomenon occurred again. Except, it was only one family this time.

For the G family to dispatch even Elder G herself, it must be an important mission they received from Min. Although Lia wondered what use Elder G without any powers would be. She didn't seem to have any combat abilities. Was she only there to oversee and give commands?

The march drew out until the moon hung high in the dark and starry sky. Until now they have not yet come across any places with any people.

From the back, the troop was almost a tiny speck in Lia's eyes when they suddenly turned to the right and completely disappeared.

Lia who had relaxed until now tensed up and sped her pace. The troop entered an area that strayed further from any city. Past a forest, down a narrow path, the ominous soldiers stopped in front of a dark wooden house that resembled a temple from ancient times.

The house was large and surrounded by a platform. From the outside build, it could be seen it was a rectangle with an inner courtyard.

In front of the house was a huge, barren piece of land which would soon turn into a battlefield. Lia hid behind a rock and watched the troop scatter around the house. Only Elder G and three males in colourful robes stood further away from the entrance.

Lia couldn't remember how many children Elder G had but a faint memory told her it must be at least four. So, one of them wasn't here.

Lia guessed it might be the one who was part of Min's private army. The quietness of the night was soon destroyed by screams and brutal fighting noises. Soon the soldiers ran out of the house fighting people in blue robes. Parts of the house were destroyed and so the fight took place in the front area of the house.

Lia lurked behind the rock, her eyes fixated on Elder G and her three sons. They stood at the side and watched the ongoing battle. The people in blue had no weapons that could kill the soldiers of the G family but it was obvious their combat ability was high.

Soon they dominated the soldiers, took their weapons and started a slaughter yet Elder G seemed unfazed.

The fighting was dragged further away from the house and would soon reach Lia's hiding spot. Lia, crouched, made her way slowly backwards. She assessed her surrounding.

It looked bleak as there wasn't any other spot she could hide in. She silently endured behind the rock and hoped none of the soldiers nor the people in blue discovered her.

She had no idea why they were fighting and who the people in blue were and why the G family, or Min, was targeting them. However, it was clear with just one look that the people in blue were long prepared and overwhelmed the G family's side.

At long last, Elder G and her sons stepped into the fight. A few corpses fell next to Lia and she held her mouth to prevent any surprised noises.

Cautiously, she examined the situation. The fighting was still close to her. In case anything might happen, Lia quickly made the decision to infuse her soul pieces into the corpses that were close to her.

She could always retreat if she wanted to use the corpse. Since Kil already saw her powers, she was sure Min also knew about them, so it didn't matter if the G family saw it.

As long as her identity wasn't exposed, it was fine. Lia prepared to retreat a few steps. The night grew darker and she used the chance to find another place to hide.

She refused to leave as she wanted to witness if this was the G family's downfall. A weird thought crept into her mind. Was this perhaps what Noel meant?

The G family would be taken care of. So were these people in blue Noel's allies?

With this in mind, Lia crawled away until she was sure the ones fighting couldn't see her.

Yet, all of a sudden, one soldier flew next to her and they locked eyes. Lia, instantly, rolled to the side as his sword stabbed after her. Even though Lia wore a light purple dress, the soldier came after her. It was only one soldier and Lia deemed he wasn't worth revealing her power.

However, he was quite stubbornly chasing after her. For this one soldier, Lia was confident enough in her fighting skills. She stopped running and faced the soldier. As he raised her sword and attacked her, she dodged at the last second, fell to her feet and with a spin kicked his legs, causing him to lose his balance.

The soldier, while falling, aimlessly swung his sword, almost hitting Lia. She rushed up to him, grabbed his head and slammed it onto the ground.

Then she caught his sword with her bare hand and threw it into the air during the time she held him to the ground. A second later the sword came falling down. Lia used its speed to grab the handle and cleanly stab it through the soldier's chest.

Huffing, she got off him and laid on the ground. The soldier's limbs were twitching before they finally rested still. After catching her breath, Lia stood up and pulled the sword out of the dead body.

It would be useful later. The daggers she had, one she gave to Noel and the other she lost in the facility. She was basically unarmed.

She looked at the corpse and debated if she should turn him into an undead or leave him be. She decided against it as she wanted to watch the outcome of the fight.

The noises drew closer to her and Lia finally saw that in the few minutes she didn't pay attention, everyone was scattered. The weight of the battle has taken balance to smooth both sides out.

Lia could barely make out Elder G. She left the corpse on the ground and backed off as she didn't want a repeat of what just happened.

The fight has spread out more than she anticipated and soon she found herself back in the forest But even then, the clinks of the swords deflecting each other followed her.

She was now at least 200 metres away from the house with no awareness of what was going on. If things started to die down, she would go back and check on the battle.

She hid behind a tree at the beginning of the forest and looked into the distance. It was barely noticeable what went on. Lia was so absorbed and focused, she failed to notice the rustles of the trees behind her.

They drew closer until a female voice called out, "Young Master!"

Lia instantly spun around and faced a young boy with chubby cheeks and a lollipop. It was dark and she couldn't make out his face but somehow he seemed familiar to her.

The young boy stood in front of Lia until a female in a blue robe caught up," Young Master! It's dangerous, you can't just-"

Her view fell on Lia and she instantly pulled the young boy behind her. Holding up a dagger, her voice was on guard as she asked,

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Lia was tongue-tied. In the darkness, neither of their faces were visible to her and so hers wasn't recognisable to them too. Except for the young boy who previously was close enough for their noses to touch.

Lia calmed down. Judging by the female's clothes, she was one of the people from the house. Then this young boy, Lia narrowed her eyes, was the young master of the house? The leader? This little boy?

"Answer me now!" the female was on vigilance, so was Lia. It'd be best to settle this peacefully maybe then she could gain information.

"I'm simply a passerby," Lia held her hands up to show she didn't mean any harm. The sword laid beside her, leaning on the tree. She hoped they wouldn't see it.

"Nonsense! There's no way a passerby-"

"It's alright, Lily," surprisingly the boy's voice was mature and deeper than it fit his age.

"Young Master! She's definitely one of them! Lying here in wait for us. They even got so much info on us? What did M-"

"I said it's alright," the young boy repeated calmly.

"Yes, young master," Lily shut her mouth after that but glared at Lia.

"I'm not one of them. I simply passed by and saw the fighting. I didn't want to get involved, so I hid here," Lia refined her lie.

"Then you won't mind coming with us?" as the young boy spoke Lily moved and pushed Lia against the tree.

Caught off guard, Lia couldn't react as Lily tied her hands up.