Chapter 309 - Walking a Straight Path and Killing Along the Way

Crack! Crack!

The wind howled past their ears, blurring the landscape ahead. Black trees smeared into white moonlight like an unfinished oil painting. Tree trunks flashed by like fleeting shadows, moving at an unbelievable speed. One moment, they were in a dense forest, the next, they were in a grassy clearing.

The wind whipped against their faces like blades as they were carried at high speeds. Ossie could barely keep his eyes open. He had wanted to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the rushing air filled it, causing saliva to flow out uncontrollably. He couldn't utter a single word.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Three shadows flickered across the clearing. The bright moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by wisps of white clouds that rippled like water waves. The oval moon shone brightly, casting soft light over the mountain's surface. Shadows of the pine forest stretched across the soil until they became a flat black outline. The shadow extended into a stream, breaking apart as the shimmering water's surface reflected the moonlight.

Thud.

The boots of the three figures suddenly stopped, sinking heavily into the dirt beside a tree. They were finally standing still.

Everything around them was quiet, except for the sound of flowing water and the occasional chirping of insects.

Ugh~

Two retching sounds broke the silence. Ossie and Ice Blade, whom Cassius had just put down, were pale and almost green. Both had to lean against trees, keeping their heads down as they struggled to keep from being sick.

It took them quite some time to recover. They glanced at each other's ragged appearances with dazed, hollow expressions. The dense forest had not been kind to them during their sprint. Branches had inevitably torn through their hunting coats and turned them into tattered messes. Ossie and Ice Blade also bore red marks on their bodies.

Taking a deep breath, the two walked up behind Cassius.

Ossie said, "This is it. Follow this stream uphill, and you’ll reach the ritual site for the Blood of Immortality used by the Blood Race direct bloodline. But I'm guessing it's heavily guarded by now. We've already alerted them."

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"How far are we from the ritual site?"

Ossie carefully surveyed the surroundings before answering truthfully. "Not far, about one or two kilometers."

Cassius nodded. "Alright, the three of us will go ahead and clear out the Blood Race. You two follow at your own pace. Just make sure you hurry, or we’ll wipe out the Blood Race by the time you get there. I don't appreciate people wasting my time during an operation. Understood?"

Cassius didn't particularly want to bring these two along, but he was intrigued by the stronghold of the Blood Race direct bloodline. He also needed someone to lead the way.

"Un– understood," Ossie mumbled, a bit dumbfounded.

Boom, boom, boom...

The ground trembled as the three figures vanished like phantoms. Ossie turned to look up the stream, where he could see three tiny black dots moving rapidly.

"Wha... they just left like that?"

Ice Blade, who had somewhat regained her composure, rubbed her wind-whipped eyes and lowered the hand she'd been using to support herself against a tree.

"Based on what we've seen, those three clearly don't need us. We're more like dead weight..." Ossie wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth. "They even took down a direct bloodline elder of the Blood Race. We've seriously underestimated their strength. They kill Blood Race members like cats playing with mice..."

Ice Blade fell silent for a long time after hearing Ossie's words. After a while, she finally said, "So... we're completely useless?"

"Says who?!" Ossie instinctively retorted but quickly faltered. Standing there, he muttered, "At least... at least we can guide them, right?"

"..."

Ice Blade pursed his lips and said nothing.

Ossie coughed twice, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Never mind, let's catch up. Judging by their speed, they're probably already fighting over there."

Without further hesitation, the two, having recovered a little, dashed uphill along the stream. Their speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.

A minute later, just as they reached the halfway point, they saw a black-robed corpse floating downstream in the moonlit water. The corpse’s face was serene as it floated face up, hands folded over its abdomen.

It almost seemed peacefully asleep... if one could overlook the gaping hole in its chest.

As they continued running, more bodies began floating down the stream. These bodies, however, were in far worse condition. Most were missing limbs; some had arms torn off and others had necks twisted like pretzels. Some were missing their lower halves or heads entirely. The stream had already turned crimson with blood, staining half the water red.

Under the moonlight, the entire scene exuded a sinister and eerie atmosphere.

Both of them couldn't help but feel their eyelids twitch, and they increased their pace. As they sprinted upstream, the number of corpses piling up increased, almost blocking the flow of the water.

"Look, what's that?" Ice Blade suddenly pointed at the stream. Ossie turned to find something floating in the water.

A severed head.

The face was grotesque, unlike the typically handsome features of the Blood Race. Half of it was covered in scars, as if it had been scorched by flames.

"That's... Bloodblaze the Blood Race direct bloodline elder!"

Ossie's face betrayed his shock. He had participated in the battle three years ago between the blue-eyed hunters and the Blood Race. The Blood Race direct bloodline elders from the Alphama lineage who had appeared left a deep impression on him. Each one was exceptionally powerful.

It had taken coordinated effort and sacrificial tactics from multiple elite hunter squads to barely hold them at bay. A single mistake would have led to total annihilation.

Bloodblaze, the scar-faced elder, had been the strongest among them. He alone had slaughtered a quarter of the elite hunters. He had stood like a mountain as he guarded the altar for the Blood of Immortality, killing anyone who dared interfere with the ritual. Three years ago, the hunters had failed in that battle.

And now...

They were looking at the severed head of the very same elder...

Ossie and Ice Blade's breathing grew shallow, and they fell silent once more.

But then Ice Blade suddenly picked up speed.

Ossie hurried to catch up, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just think we should run faster."

"Those three are probably still waiting for us to show them the way..."

Half a minute later, the two completed the final stretch at a full sprint. They could hear faint high-pitched screams even from a distance.

By the time they reached the site, all the screaming had stopped. The only sounds left were the hoots of owls in the forest.

Ice Blade glanced around them, instinctively covering her nose. Ossie also halted, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air with discomfort.

The clearing before them was completely different from its surroundings. There was a clear red line marking the division. Within that line, the soil had absorbed so much blood that it resembled a sponge soaked in viscous liquid. The grass, too, was stained crimson, with blood-red dewdrops clinging to the drooping blades, glinting eerily in the night.

Bodies and limbs were scattered everywhere. In some places, the corpses had piled up into small mounds.

A golden-haired youth was sitting atop one of those mounds. His eyes were closed, as if he were taking a brief rest. His finely sculpted face looked even paler under the moonlight, exuding an air of nobility. Yet, the bloody aura swirling around him occasionally condensed into the shape of a bird of prey on his shoulder. The phantom's red eyes gleamed viciously as they gazed back at the two hunters.

Buzz!

Their minds went blank, as if it had been struck by lightning. Their hearts felt as though it had been seized by a massive hand, squeezing tightly enough to nearly burst it. Their forehead throbbed with veins and they clenched their fists. Cold sweat soaked through their backs.

"They're here? Late by a few seconds, but it doesn't matter," someone spoke from the shadows nearby.

Saint Feinan stepped out, casually twirling his Spiral Eye Sword. The grooves along the blade were stained with blood, making it look even more menacing. The hilt's eye-like pupil gleamed faintly, as if the sword had come to life.

Behind him, a tall figure leaned against a tree, holding a cigarette that flickered dimly between red and blue embers. The small glow stood out in the darkness.

It wasn't until this moment that Ossie and Ice Blade snapped out of their daze, gasping for air, no longer caring about the overpowering stench of blood in the air.

Huff...

The sudden whoosh of wind signaled the arrival of the blond figure, who had leaped down from above. Both boots hit the mud with a wet thud, splashing blood across the ground.

A few drops of blood rolled off the surface of his black leather boots, glistening briefly before they fell. In a blink, the figure appeared behind Ossie and Ice Blade.

Ossie sensed the danger, instinctively twisting his shoulder, but he wasn't fast enough. A hand clamped down on him like a steel vice.

"Wha–"

Swoosh!

The wind roared, and the sensation of swirling flesh filled Ossie's mouth. The clarity he had regained vanished again, his vision blurring until he couldn't open his eyes.

Fortunately, Cassius paused every now and then, allowing Ossie and Ice Blade to correct their position.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the mouth of a canyon.

"There’s a cave in the deepest part of this canyon, which is where the Alphama Bloodline's direct descendants have made their nest. However, they've set up numerous traps and alarms within the canyon. Getting in unnoticed is almost impossible; there are also many hidden sentries in the surrounding shrubbery," Ice Blade explained, recounting the intel hunters had died to obtain three years ago. Though that battle had ended in failure, it wasn't without value.

"Is the cave easy to spot? Is it straight ahead?" Cassius asked after hearing the details, his eyes calculating.

"It's directly ahead and hard to miss. The cliff face is entirely bare, with just one large cave..." Ice Blade responded.

"Good," Cassius nodded, leaning slightly forward.

The tips of his boots sank deep into the mud.

Ossie and Ice Blade exchanged glances, understanding immediately what the three before them were about to do. From the way they had traveled so far...

It wasn't hard to guess.

They were going to charge straight in and cut down everyone in their path. All they needed was the location. Traps, alarms, hidden sentries—none of that mattered to these three.

"Aaaaahhh!"

Boom!

Thwack! Crack! Rip!

"No..."

Sounds echoed through the canyon, growing more distant with each passing moment. Ossie and Ice Blade looked at each other in silence.

***

The canyon's undergrowth was torn up in a straight line, starting from the canyon entrance and stretching to the cliff.

Numerous traps had been destroyed through sheer force. Dozens of trees lay broken and collapsed along the path, and a few bodies were scattered haphazardly among the bushes. Mosquitoes swarmed over the corpses, waiting for decay to set in amid the humid air.

Cassius and his group came to a slow walk in front of the cliff. A wall of jagged rocks loomed above them. The cliff was bare, except for a five-meter-high tree that appeared nearly dead, its roots twisting through the crevices.

The tree's bark was wrinkled like scales and marked by the weathered erosion of time. The entire tree was gnarled and twisted, its roots coiling through the stone cracks like snakes.

At the base of the tree was an arched cave entrance. It didn't look naturally formed, and more like a passageway that had been carved out by hand. However, the passage had weathered so much over the years that its edges had merged with the cliff face.

Cassius approached and traced the faint ridges and grooves along the surface of the cave wall with his hand. Perhaps they were remnants of an archway's design.

Cassius pulled out the Book of the Devil from his coat and flipped to a map of the ruins. It detailed the entire inverted pyramid structure of Akaba Ruins, which spanned six layers. The first and largest layer covered over a thousand square kilometers.

The layers got progressively smaller as they went deeper. The structure was divided into two parts: the upper three layers, which were less dangerous, and the lower three, where danger increased significantly with more traps, toxins, and creatures.

Cassius sought the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance, which was located in the lower three layers.

They had mapped out two potential routes to descend from the first underground layer to the fifth. The first route was longer but bypassed many of the unknown dangers. The second was faster, but it passed through more hazardous areas.

Cassius studied the map for a moment and quickly found the location of the passage. It was on the western side of the ruins. The last time he had explored these ruins, it had been on the southern end. The relative positions were clear in his mind.

A map was certainly an advantage when it came to exploring. Without it, navigating the ruins would have been like wandering a maze. With clear direction, he could avoid dangers and significantly increase the efficiency of their search.

Tap, tap, tap... tap, tap, tap...

The sound of urgent footsteps echoed faintly from the depths of the cave. It seemed the Blood Race inside the lair had realized something was wrong and sent their elites to aid the hidden sentries outside.

They were preparing to attack from both sides to capture or kill the intruders.

"Hurry up, some trash has broken into the canyon!"

"Those blue-eyed bastards won't give up!"

"Kill them all, chop off their heads! Hahaha..."

Dozens of Blood Race members sprinted through the passage, their black robes billowing in the wind. The thrill of the hunt coursed through them as they advanced.

Crunch!

A black boot suddenly crushed a stone underfoot.

Around the corner, three figures stood like a wall, blocking the way forward.