Roy glanced at the glowing eyes in the dark. "So, uh… do we fight, or…?"
"No," Yun said calmly, eyes narrowing. "We don't fight head-on. Not now."
Aric tilted his head. "Scared, Captain?"
"I'm smart, dagger-boy," she muttered. "And outnumbered. There's a difference."
Liora nodded, catching on. "If we charge into a swarm, we burn too much strength. But if we separate them…"
"We pick them off one by one," Yun finished. "Just like they planned for us."
Roy grinned. "Oho! Reverse uno, huh? I like it."
The group fell back into the shadows, moving swiftly but silently. Aric took the lead, laying traps—concealed tripwires, hidden runes, bait trails. Liora layered the trees with flammable dust, while Roy carried stones etched with small explosive glyphs.
Thirty minutes later, their playground was ready.
Yun stood atop a branch, watching the incoming beasts—and the disciples behind them.
"Tch. Looks like another hunting squad. Five of them… Thunder Valley again."
Aric gave a smug nod. "Perfect. First batch of unlucky volunteers."
She pointed toward the glade below. "We draw them here. Split them at the fork. Roy, start the fireworks."
Roy raised a hand—and boom! A rock in the clearing exploded in flame and smoke.
"Over here!" he yelled dramatically, before disappearing into the mist.
The enemies took the bait.
Three charged after Roy, two circled around. One stepped on a hidden rune—boom!—flung into the trees.
Another got tangled in Aric's web-like wires—just in time for Liora to whisper, "Burn."
Fwoosh.
The poor soul didn't even get to scream properly.
Yun dropped from a branch like a ghost, sword flashing once—crack—taking out a Thunder Valley disciple's badge mid-sprint.
Aric danced through the smoke, blades slashing tendons and kneecaps, leaving his targets helpless before he shattered their jades.
Roy? He was laughing while throwing rocks.
Big rocks. Exploding rocks.
In three minutes, it was over.
Five enemies. Gone.
The group regrouped, quiet but grinning.
"One squad down," Yun whispered. "We stick to this. No direct fights unless we have to. Control the battlefield."
Aric twirled a dagger. "Divide, isolate, and erase."
Liora nodded. "We're not just surviving anymore. We're hunting back."
Roy grinned wide. "And we're gonna make these top sects regret not inviting us to their little treasure party."
Above them, in the distance, a pillar of crimson light pulsed briefly in the sky.
Yun stared at it.
"...It's starting."
[To be continued…]