299 A Near Miss

Azure Cloud Sect was a martial arts organization, known even to some Southerners. It was the equivalent of another association or guild, but it had no actual influence in the Southern Land. If it had any influence in the Southern Lands, even Godsfall cult would have to nurse a headache.

However, who exactly was this "forsaken student"? According to the northerner, he was once the Chief of the Azure Cloud Sect. He once had a little disagreement with another member of the sect. This member practiced a deviant style of cultivation whereby he ate others to their power. Additionally, the member had been taught by many old masters, causing his innate capabilities to soar to new heights in a short amount of time. Unfortunately for the northerner, when that member had gotten strong enough, he sought to make the northerner pay for their old feud, so he waged a war against the northerner's family. In order to protect his family from further harm, the northerner left the sect. After leaving, he was only able to support himself by working as a watchman for the wealthy. The northerner kept advancing in the business until he found himself working as one of the most trusted bodyguards of a powerful noble.

Although the northerner was not a member of the Godsfall cult, his boss, and it was his boss who had ordered him to come and help out in the cult's business by leading this team. The Godsfall cult was not as pervasive in the North as it was in the South, so the cult appreciated a powerful ally from that continent.

With the Northerner taking the lead, the rest of the team quickly followed suit, in introducing themselves. The large, muscular third cloaked figure called himself "the Mage Reaper". Hailed as the very best in the military's sniper unit, the third cloaked figure was adept in assassinated mages using a bow.

Next was the knives-savvy second cloaked figure. He called himself Nergal; he was an outcast from Umbra. He had also received training in Umbra's assassination techniques. Although he had not actually mastered the organization's ultimate technique, after joining the Godsfall cult, he later became a force to be reckoned with. The cult had bestowed on him immense power, which was specifically for assassinating sorcerer. Now, he considered himself an expert that field, boasting that more than a hundred sorcerers had died by his hands!

As for the ancient fourth cloaked figure, who spoke like a corpse, he was actually a lich! He proclaimed himself to be the Demigod Lich, just like the very famous, nightmarish lich of old. However, the fourth cloaked figure's power was not even close to the power of the real Demigod Lich of old. He had only taken up the title because he was a major fanboy of the real deal, and he hoped to be as great and glorious as the original one day.

One thing about the fourth cloaked figure stood out from the other liches, however; he was incredibly proficient in fighting sorcerers. He had been defeated by a sorcerer during the civil war of old, and a thirst for vengeance was what made him turn himself into a lich.

However, the fourth cloaked figure had no idea that his most respected idol was still alive, and only because of his target's help. He also did not know that his idol was now meek, for fear of being muted in the Void. 

The first cloaked figure was the last man to introduce himself; he quietly referred to himself as "the Sorcerer Terrier". In truth, he was a man hunted by the Sorcerer Association. Although he was a sorcerer, he was incredibly adept in some other skill-sets, such as tracking, trap-setting, protective barrier-breaking, and the arts of illusions; in short, he was a special sorcerer. The team was only able to break into Baiyi's mansion because of his expertise. 

As for why he was being hunted by the sorcerers association, it was because he could not keep it in his pants whenever he was around the spouses of other members; therefore, he had elicited the anger and killing intent of other members. He only managed to survive the hunt because of his talents, and the Godsfall cult eventually took him in.

Judging from his sordid past, the first cloaked figure was probably better off calling himself "the Sorcerer Ted", instead.

Judging from the identity of the members of this team, one could easily tell how desperately the cult desired Baiyi's head. Every member of the team that the cult had sent out this time were all specialized in killing mages — the type of elites who could get the job done. 

Forget Baiyi — who had displayed competence, not invincibility — this five-man team was probably capable of taking down a Demigod-level sorcerer.

However, how far they could fare if they faced Baiyi wielding some of his hidden powers, was something that remained to be seen.

"Alas, we now ken whence our comrades come. I hope this will suffice in setting up th' foundation o' trust among each ither. Th' foe we face is gey powerful; we will only persevere tae th' end, 'n' prevail, if we trust each ither." Although the northerner was the only Holy-level fighter in the team, he had not shown any sign of looking down on his target. His refusal to relax was evident that he held Baiyi in high regard. 

"Pfft. It doesn't matter how 'powerful' that guy is; he's still just a sorcerer. Look at us! We are all experts at dealing with that lot. His death is assured already, mates. Especially when you take into account the fight between him and that Association's VP. The entire time while I was watching, I could only think, 'gods, if that's the weaksauce we're supposed to take down, they should have just sent only me," the second cloaked figure, Nergal, remarked with a sneer.

"Don't underestimate him!" Sorcerer Terrier said. "How skillfully he had set up his barriers made me realize how close our levels are. The barriers were designed with such impeccable precision; I'm very sure he had put in a lot of thoughts into it. Which, of course, goes to show that he must be a very vigilant man, who may not even fall for your assassination techniques. In fact, our superiors already told us that he alone defeated a master assassin from Umbra, who had mastered their ultimate technique and had marks carved on his gauntlet."

"Puh-lease. You can't hope to reliably measure the worth of an assassin by the number of marks they possess on their gauntlets," Nergal retorted defensively. "If we adopt their stupid measurement, then all the kills I made in my missions so far should have earned me even more marks than that useless Umbra assassin, at least by ten, even!"

"Perhaps so. However, vigilance is— more often than not— a lifesaver," the muscular archer said. "Problem is, he's not here. What shall we do? Give chase, or stay put for an ambush?"

"The materials he purchased from the Sorcerer Association suggests the construction of a trans-realm transporter portal. As a matter of fact, I can sense fluctuations from the recent use of a transporter portal. I think he took his students to some other realms. If we were to give chase, we might find ourselves in a little bit more trouble than we expected," Sorcerer Terrier answered. "A small-scaled transporter portal like his is common for realm pioneering. I guess he may have taken his students out on an exploratory trip to a no man's realm."

"'No man's realm'?" The leading Northerner mulled over the phrase in his head and slowly nodded in agreement. Then, in a tone of certainty, the northerner added, "Mercy… Mercy indeed! 'Tis th' best steid fur us to complete our mission. Na Church hounds on our tail, n' na ither ar th'ere unneeded forces blocking th' way. All o' ye gentlemen kin even play with our prey ow ye like; this is fortune's smiling on us, 'n' it will be a fool'ish nae tae seize th' chnce. However… Ye mentioned students? How tough are they?"

"One hit is all it takes," Sorcerer Terrier replied, licking his lips as if he could taste the students already. "They are just some cute, gorgeous little girls, except for two of them. These two seem to be Elder Dragons. They could pose some trouble."

"Dragons? Most brilliant. I was just fretting about how I needed a dragon's bone as a material, and now, here they are on a silver platter!" the lich said excitedly, looking ready to jump into the portal.

"Splendid. Let's depart immediately. Kin ye operate th' portal?" the Northerner asked.

"Piece of cake," Sorcerer Terrier confidently replied.

On the other side, Baiyi had no idea that his house had been breached and that his pursuers had chased him all to way to this unpopulated realm. He was too busy enjoying the fun of traveling and exploring; he did not know that danger had followed him this time.

Baiyi had built the basic type of transporter portal, and because of its cheap nature, the transporter portal teleports its users to a random spot in the desired destination. The landing spot would only be fixed if he constructed a portal here that led to Isythre, just like those used by the Association. For the time being, he planned to treat the location they ended up as a lucky bet.

They were lucky. They were teleported onto a small hill, at a location close to its peak. The hill was situated in the middle of a lush forest. Meandering between the slopes, which could be seen from their location, was a clear creek, which further beautified the location's picturesque ambiance.

The eldest and the youngest students quickly forgot their earlier worries as soon as they saw the beautiful scenery. The temperature in this realm was meeker than Isythre's, so the girls quickly kicked off their shoes and socks before wading into the creek to play. Their laughter echoed through the woods.

Baiyi sat down and watched the kids have fun, and Aya was busy setting up their picnic as lunch; it was a typical family scene.

After laying out the food she had prepared the previous night on top the picnic blanket, Aya boldly strode towards the soul armature and sat right next to him, then she leaned softly on him. As she watched the kids playing, she muttered in a low voice, "I really love going out like this. It makes me happy… It makes me remember those times back in Gouve, you know, when you brought me along on all kinds of crazy trips. Those are such precious memories, huh?"

'Cough, cough. Flirtatious words with a very specific tone to them, such as yours, is just asking to get it from the two "hmph-ing" piggies in the Void, you know.' Baiyi could only awkwardly distance himself from Aya and explain, "Er, we shouldn't be seen like this by the kids."

"I… I know. Just… a little while longer." She curled her lips into a coy smile.

She sat up straight, then, with an even lower voice, she whispered, "You and I can also have some fun at night. Just so you know, Mordred really likes Mia, so I'm sure she would want to have a sleepover with her."

The underlying meaning of that observation was clear...

"Cough, cough!" Baiyi could only cough awkwardly in reply. "We're outside, Aya. This can't be appropriate."

"Huh? I didn't know you're actually this reserved!"Aya replied, visibly disappointed.

'If I don't act reserved, the two piggies in the Void are gonna huff and puff and blow my house down, then cut me up into pieces!' Baiyi thought. He stood up from the ground quickly and started scanning the surrounding with his psychic energy.

He did not find anything amiss. Only harmless critters were within a 10-mile radius from the group. 

It was at this time that the assassination team from Godsfall arrived. It was not known if this team were lucky or not, for they had arrived quite far from where their target was, and more importantly...

They had landed in a barren gobi.

"Fie me. This is a crap steid tae land on," the Northerner cussed as he eyed that small patch of green under his shoes — which was the only "oasis" in this place.

He added in dismay, "We git tae reach oor target as quickly as possible. Oor rations wan sustain us fur lang."Hoo boy! An archer!Ted, as in the goddamned horny teddy bear!