"Kill him," Garret ordered. He didn't want to do it himself. It was beneath him to kill a non-cultivator. "Jareth, finish what you started this morning. Toss his body into the ravine. No one will care if a cripple goes missing in the forest."
Jareth swallowed hard. "Right. Yes, Brother Garret."
Jareth stepped forward, raising his sword. "You idiot," he hissed at Kaelen, trying to build up his own courage. "You should have stayed in your hole. Now you die!"
Jareth charged. He used the "Gale Wind Slash", a basic technique of the Silver-Iron Clan. It was fast, aimed directly at Kaelen's chest.
Kaelen stood still.
To Jareth, Kaelen looked like a scared statue.
But to Kaelen, Jareth was moving in slow motion.
'Too many unnecessary movements. His footing is unstable. His breathing is erratic. He is afraid.'
When the sword was just inches away, Kaelen moved.
He didn't block. He stepped into the attack.
It was a move of pure madness. If he miscalculated by a millimeter, he would be impaled. But Kaelen didn't miscalculate. He slid past the blade, his body brushing against the cold steel.
He was now inside Jareth's guard, face-to-face.
Kaelen saw the shock widen in Jareth's eyes. He saw the sweat on Jareth's upper lip.
"Sleep," Kaelen whispered.
Kaelen's hand, hardened by the Dragon Blood, chopped down violently onto Jareth's neck.
CRACK!
It wasn't the sound of bone breaking, but the sound of consciousness snapping. Jareth's eyes rolled back into his head. He crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
One move.
Just one move.
Leo stopped laughing. His mouth hung open. "H-He... He defeated Jareth? But he has no Qi!"
Garret's expression hardened. The boredom was gone. He sensed a faint fluctuation of energy from Kaelen.
"You hid your strength," Garret said, his voice cold. He drew a long, silver sword from his waist. "Rank 1 Body Refining? No... you are physically stronger. Interesting."
Garret wasn't Jareth. He was a Rank 5 Apprentice. He had real combat experience.
"Leo, flank him," Garret commanded.
Leo hesitated, terrified, but he pulled out a dagger and moved to Kaelen's left.
Kaelen took a deep breath. He knew this was dangerous. His body was strong, but his stamina was low. He couldn't fight a prolonged battle against two people, especially since Garret could use Qi blasts.
He needed a distraction.
Kaelen's eyes flicked to the wounded Spirit Fox. The creature was watching him, its eyes intelligent and pleading.
'Let's make a bet, little one,' Kaelen thought.
Kaelen suddenly kicked a pile of dirt and rocks straight at Garret's face.
"Childish tricks!" Garret sneered, shielding his eyes with his sleeve.
But the dirt wasn't the attack.
In that split second of blindness, Kaelen didn't attack Garret. He spun around and threw his rusty sword.
Whizz!
The sword flew through the air—not at the enemies, but at the vine holding a massive Hornet's Nest in the tree above Leo's head.
Thwack!
The nest fell.
BZZZZZZZZZ!
Hundreds of angry Black-Needle Hornets swarmed out instantly.
"What?!" Leo screamed as the hornets engulfed him. "Garret! Help me! Argh!"
Chaos erupted. The hornets didn't care who was who; they attacked anything moving.
Garret cursed loudly, swinging his sword to create a barrier of wind to protect himself. "You crazy lunatic! You'll kill us all!"
Kaelen didn't waste a second. He ignored the stinging pain of a hornet grazing his cheek. He dove toward the rocks.
He grabbed the Starlight Soul Grass.
Then, he grabbed the scruff of the wounded Spirit Fox's neck.
"Go!"
He sprinted into the dense darkness of the forest, using the chaotic buzzing and Leo's screams as cover.
Garret cleared the hornets around him with a burst of energy, his face red with fury. He looked at the empty spot where the herb used to be.
"KAELEN!" Garret roared, his voice echoing through the night. "I will hunt you down! I will tear you apart!"
...
Half an hour later.
Kaelen collapsed inside a small, hidden cave near a river. His lungs were burning. His legs felt like lead.
He sat against the cold stone wall, gasping for air. He checked his body—three hornet stings. His arm was swollen, but the Dragon Blood was already neutralizing the poison.
He looked down.
The Spirit Fox was curled up next to his leg. It was still bleeding, but it looked at him with a strange calmness. It nudged his hand with its wet nose.
Kaelen looked at the creature, then at the glowing purple herb in his hand.
He let out a tired, dry chuckle.
"I used to command armies of millions," he muttered to the fox. "Now, I am running away from bees with a dog."
He tore a piece of his sleeve and wrapped the fox's leg. The animal winced but didn't bite him.
"Stay quiet," Kaelen said softly, a hint of genuine fatigue in his voice. "We survive tonight. Tomorrow... tomorrow they pay."
For the first time since his rebirth, Kaelen didn't feel like a God or an Emperor. He felt like a human fighting against the odds. And strangely, he felt more alive than he had in centuries.