Chapter 29: Use Your Head

The diverse extermination of Ginlin's five escort members was far from being subtle as conventional assassination. For Hagen, Zax and Mes, since neither of the five was their real target, as long as they could eliminate them quickly, being showy was tolerable.

On the other hand, due to the explosive signals and kills, and the radical fluctuations of mist energy, mostly Hagen's, the reclusive experts who cultivated their souls in the surrounding mountains of the first Savage Cave were awakened in trepidation from their meditative state.

Not just the reclusive experts took note from the one sided massacre. The savages who inhabited this mountain area also discovered the scent of blood, which aroused to a degree their killing intent.

Still, neither the reclusive experts nor the savages, in the end, sought to engage with the guilty three.

The reclusive experts, being ... well, sane in mind, knew better than get themselves involve in a brawl between second level Core Masters, much less crazy first level Core Masters who were willing to detonate their mist energy. Yes, the fluctuations of Mes's first meal were not discreet. Moreover, if one of the groups had relations with these reclusive experts, they would have most likely looked for them before the fight.

As for the savages ... Almost a year ago, when Zax descended the mountains of the first Savage Cave with the, back then, crippled Carl, he slaughtered on his way many of the bird type beasts living on the mountains around the entrance to the second Savage Cave.

Now, the several savages that remained or immigrated to the mountains, although simpletons due to their erratic state of mind, could still sense the terrifying fluctuation of mist energy of experts much stronger than them. Thus, if not mentally, then at least physically those savages felt oppressed and incapable of forcing their bodies to approach the scene of the fight.

...

Hagen, Zax and Mes regrouped outside of the boundary of the gravitational force, having a clean line of sight of the tunnel's entrance leading to the second Savage Cave.

"Big sister Hagen, aren't we going to proceed and wait beside the entrance?" Zax asked. His right hand and feet were a bit bloody, but it did not bother him. All it thought about was the readiness to intercept Ginlin like Hagen instructed.

Hagen, on the other side, still in her animalistic form, had her Hawk's legs completely red.

Contrary to the two, Mes was cleanly standing in his scaly bodysuit. The wound he received from the second yellow fox he ate was difficult to discern in his human form and was currently healing.

Hagen tilted her hawk physique in refusal. 'No need. I though it over after spectating your fights. Yours and little brother Mes's role in the killing is over. The rest is up to me'. Hagen's words were absolute and detached, hitting Zax and Mes like the ice at the bottom of a cold water bucket.

"Big sister Hagen, you mean the two of us joined you to watch and relay the results of the assassination to Master in case of-"

'Failure'. Hagen finished the frowning Mes. 'That's right. Uncle did not specify your purpose of coming with me because he could not know for certain in what position we would be by this point. I also had some hopes of the two of you at the beginning. Now, however, I've changed my mind'. From watching the two, Hagen realized that she was rushed. Even if they worked in combination with her, Hagen was not confident of all three of them returning home. And so, she resorted to the most probable plan that will give all three of them chance to go back and possibly kill Ginlin.

"But to constantly let our eldest Martial brothers and sister risk themselves..." By Mes's protestation Zax understood that this was not the first time he accompanied Hagen, Raroen or possibly Simel, only to look from the sidelines.

'Do you think yourself capable of lending any sort of help against Ginlin?' Hagen decided to lay the truth before her little Martial brothers.

Mes refrained from answering. It was an undeniable fact that both he and Zax were useless against an opponent at the third level of the Core Master realm.

'And you, little brother Zax?' Seeing that Zax did not resign himself to her query, Hagen asked him, too.

"Depends on how weak he would be after exiting the second Savage-"

'I said it before, when Ginlin will leave the second Savage Cave, the fatigue will weaken his soul and mist energy to about the Beginner phase of the third Core Master's level. Be that as it may, since his real cultivation level is at the Peak of the Core Master realm, even when worn out, his body fitness level still possesses the toughness of the Peak of the first realm. That is much stronger than your bodily cultivation, even if he doesn't have the same benefits that are only attainable by cultivation of a true bodily refinement technique'.

'Furthermore, little brother Zax, you also cannot use mist energy, and so can only rely on soul attacks. But, how much are you convinced in yourself that any of the soul attacks you cultivated can affect a tired Peak Core Master expert?' Hagen caught to the peculiar palm strike Zax used to transmit the Soul Binding formations to the weaker second level Core Master. When she saw the reaction of his opponent, she understood immediately that her youngest Martial brother has in his arsenal a decent soul attack. Yet, in her opinion it still was not sufficient. 'And that is if you managed to catch him off guard during his most crucial time!'

Ginlin did not venture to the second Savage Cave for a tour of the vista. He came to collect a fiery attribute liquid to ensure that he will break through the last bottleneck of the Core Master realm. Regardless of how weak he will be when exiting to the first Savage Cave, his state of mind would be in utmost vigilance.