Born in Blood



Instead of Border Guards stationed at the border wall, there were Spirit Beasts.

Eagle-eyed Tigers. Basically a beast with the body of a tiger, and the colors and astute eyesight of an eagle. They were placed there for a reason, capable of seeing through the darkness of the night for any approaching threats.

However, shadows worked as well underwater as above the surface. The ocean was a dark, dark place. Even darker than the surface.

Swimming through the Shadows was difficult. When he dove into the Sea of Darkness, he had to close his eyes and maneuver entirely through his Shadow Sense.

Liam bordered the cliff. 

Behind him were the hundreds of Shadows.

[Let me go in first,] Liam transmitted to Krel, who nodded after a short pause of reluctance. [I'll tell you when to come.]

Mental waves could pass through underwater just as they did through air. Albeit, it made them wobbly and unstable.

Liam turned his attention to the underwater stone wall, the surface above which was infested with the Eagle-eyed Tigers.

He had to be careful around these creatures. Even he, with his Shadow and perception altering abilities, wasn't infallible from being spotted.

There was a reason the keen creatures were placed on the cliff. Even a Rank 3 Magus couldn't hide from their sight.

With one wide motion that propelled him through the water, Liam cloaked himself with his Shadow and merged into the stone.

Then, just as he swam through an ocean of liquid, he did the same with the Sea of Darkness and its infinite Shadows.

Only, he swam upward instead of horizontal.

The acolytes watching Liam from below the water couldn't help but feel envy.

They couldn't accomplish such feats even though they had much more experience with the Ten Thousand Shadows Arts.

It was meant for the darkness element, after all.

Meanwhile, Liam felt ethereal ripples brushing past him from every direction. 

Even gusts of air had an effect on the Sea of Darkness.

And now that his Shadow Sense had gotten to a higher level, Liam could even sense faint growlings in the wind.

He ignored those.

Instead, he slowly reached the adjacent curve where the cliff turned into flat land, if not for the dozens of Rank 3 tigers vigilantly keeping watch over the small oceanside view.

Carefully swimming beneath them, Liam arrived just below where one of the tigers were, right under its belly.

SHINK!

A vicious blade tore through the Shadows for a split second, before entering back into the darkness. 

It had just entered through the throat of one of the tigers, killing it in an instant. 

Thud.

Nobody noticed how it silently thumped to the ground, blood spurting from its neck.

Like so, Liam continuously killed off the tigers one by one. 

Although by now, the thick stench of blood permeating the air would have already alerted the tigers of his presence, the Eagle-eyed tigers only had keen vision.

Their sense of smell was horrible. 

Even worse than a human's.

By then, there was no longer anything between the Temple and the unguarded walls of the Sect. 

Liam emerged from the shadows with his Dusk Blades in hand. He stood over the cliff with the moon behind him, illuminating his vague, ominous silhouette. 

[You can come out now,] Liam announced, and the Shadows burst through the waters and arrived where he was.

Liam shifted his attention towards the grand walls of the Sect.

They were tall, more than 7 meters in height, and made from a bony, jagged material. It was fitting, seeing as their entire Clan was centered around using Spirit Beasts.

The acolytes had a split second to admire how Liam had cleared away so many of the tigers before honing their expressions.

Using his Dusk Blades as usual, Liam climbed through the peak of the walls. As he did, his eyes began scanning the grand structures.

Now that he was up close, the giant structure of the monolithic lion statue was more grand and magnificent than he thought. 

Smooth-surfaced, it was striped with black streaks on its sapphire, metallic skin.

It was shaped and painted to resemble the colors of a real-life lion as much as possible, and it mostly succeeded in recreating the effect.

If only it wasn't so damn big! 

Half of its body could be classified as a skyscraper back on earth, and with its vicious claws outstretched to the sky, it nearly reached the moon.

Fitting for a Rank 5 existence to live in, all things considered.

Liam's attention lingered on that for a few seconds before his constricted pupils scanned the structures below it.

The first thing he noticed was the sheer number of Spirit Beasts just flying, slithering and running around.

They went this way and that, and the biggest buildings were centered around that massive statue. 

Around that, were accommodations and towers where disciples lived and indulged in day-to-day entertainment. 

Liam could also tell where the Beast Grounds were, and where the strongest of beasts were kept.

But in between them and those areas, were large and small ornate, beast-themed structures filled to the brim with Leash disciples. 

This was what the Oceanside group was responsible for. Releasing the beasts and killing the disciples on their path.

Upon its completion, the Cliffside and Direct teams would begin their jobs.

Officially, Krel was the leader.

Unofficially, he had put Liam in charge.

Everyone naturally trusted his calm and collected confidence. Krel held no bitterness in his heart at Liam's popularity.

"Your plan?" he asked Liam.

Liam's silent but dark gaze swept the Sect grounds. His eyes were performing a specific pattern, as though trailing through different paths and assessing each one.

"We can easily take down most of the bigger buildings. There's only three or four Rank 3's in them, and their beasts are on the outside," Liam said.

Krel raised a brow.

"Isn't avoiding them better? We can let the beasts do most of the work."

Liam gave him a blank look.

"It's not. The more threats we clear early on, the faster we can end this charade and get to the good stuff. I'll clear a path, so just wait here for a bit."