Emperor's Reckoning

Under the peaceful night, sparks could be seen inside the forest. The sound of clashing metal broke its silence. A cry of a divine bird, echoed as the figure danced her sword to find an opening.

Though it was two against one, she didn't back down in the slightest. Though there was a gap in their strength, her cool demeanor and steady breathing help her control the battle. However, she knew that she had to act fast because time was not her best friend right now.

"Tch!" One of the assassins spat his blood to the ground before saying, "Hey, where is that rookie? Why hasn't he come yet?"

(There is another one?!) thought Biane and Clemora as they both grew cautious.

"He is supposed to be here by now, killing that witness shouldn't take this long!" said the assassin frantically.

Both of the ladies could connect the dot as to who the witness identity belong to, there was only one other person besides them that was on the journey back to Luderia.

Gripping her sword tightly Biane chuckled before she smirked at the assassin albeit fatigue was clear on her face. With sweat was clearly appearing on her forehead she gulped and let out a breath before saying, "Despite the cold blood running in your vein, you are too naive,"

The assassin furrowed his eyebrows as he said in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

Wiping the sweat with her other hand, Biane said, "You just send your rookie..."

She paused her sentence before her eyes opened with a hint of ridicule, "To the strongest cultivator in the forest right now!"

.

.

.

The assassin laughed as he heard her statement, "What are you talking about woman? The strongest in the forest right now you say? He was only at peak Soul Realm at best!"

"Oh, I get it, you must be imagining things right now, you know there can only be one outcome of this and your mind delude you to make a fake hope! HAHAHA!"

Suddenly a familiar black figure leaped on him with blinding speed.

"Hmph! You think I would fall from the same trick, you little animal!" said the assassin as he slashed his sword toward the incoming attack.

*splurt

To his surprise, his blade didn't even scratch the target like what his brain told him. Instead, the hand that he used to swing the sword had a thin claw wound spiraling from his palm to his arm.

Fenrir landed on the other side while dragging the soil with him to add friction. He was a cautious beast and taking every little detail in the battle. A split-second distraction was enough for him to launch an attack.

"Raah!" shouted Clemora as the cry of Blue Phoenix followed.

*boom

The two assassins were blown back with their cloak tattered and blood was trickling from their arms which held their weapon.

Clemora was taking a distance while catching her breath. Though she has the upper hand because of her sister's gravity skill, she was still a Soul Realm fighting two cultivators of a higher level than her.

The talkative assassins wiped the blood off his arm before saying, "Just stall for time, no need to engage them seriously, the girl with the gravity skill is about to hit her limit."

Then the four assassins grouped together facing the three of them, making Clemora furrowed her eyebrows. (I guess they are not just a bunch of fools huh, shit!).

Clemora retrieved her weapon as her vitality was greatly reduced. She clenched her teeth as she glanced at her older sister who slumped and had her forehead prop up by her hand that gripped the hilt.

The assassin chuckled, "Any time now boys! By the way, we need to punish that rookie too for taking too long."

The other three assassins nodded in agreement. In their mind, if the rookie showed up, this mission will be over already since he wouldn't be affected by the gravity skill Biane performed.

Biane slowly grabbed the hilt with her left hand as she looked down toward the cold soil. As her vitality was drained to sustained her skill continuously it was a miracle that she was still conscious.

"Hehehe, you can't punish someone if they were dead," said Biane under her breath.

The assassin twitched his mouth as he heard what she just said. Just a moment ago he was also saying the same thing but now she used the same insult. "You!"

Even Clemora couldn't help but chuckle despite her fatigue.

"Hmph! Do you still believe in that delusion of yours? Hahaha, what a joke," smugged the assassin.

The smiling Biane suddenly twitched as she felt something was building up from her stomach to her throat.

*splurt

Biane vomited blood while her eyes gradually lost its focus. She tried to blink a few times to regain it but to no avail.

The skill gradually evaporated as the source was diminishing and the assassins stretched their limbs to get their feelings back.

(This is bad!) thought Clemora as she tried to move but felt her legs froze.

"The strongest cultivator in the forest, you are going to make my head bigger than a mountain haha." A sudden voice suddenly broke the silence.

The four assassins opened their eyes wide with full of caution, they quickly swept through their surroundings with their gaze but notice nothing.

With one last smile, Biane finally let go of her hand and fell backward before a warmth chest received her.

"Sorry, I'm late, but it's fine now," said Lyon as she put her on top of the swaying grass. He looked at the beauty and adjust her hair that was covering her face.

The four assassins gulped their saliva as they saw the young man, no to be exact to the thing behind him. There was a magic brand as big as a person standing vertically, but what surprised them the most was the middle of it.

"A-a-a Spatial Crack! A Space attribute cultivator!" blurted the four of them together.

Lyon stood up and faced the stunned assassins, "Now then," his voice suddenly turned cold "Let me show you the greatest irony an assassin could have!"