The Almighty Ring

A few minutes later, all thirty Scarlet Hunters gathered at the scene of the “crime”.

“What a sight…” Blood Baron cringed when he saw how it had turned out for Ye Tianshun and the others who betrayed the alliance.

Including Ye Tianshun, there were forty-five Chinese martial artists that were headless. The severed heads were all piled up together next to the bodies they were once part of. Judging from the scene of the incident, it was obvious that none of these dead people had put up a fight before they were killed. It was undoubtedly the work of the Level 5 Metahuman.

“Looks like the Level 5s have been keeping an eye on this war,” said Blood Baron. Even though one of them had come and done something, it was only to kill the betrayers of their own brothers. Indirectly they were involved but not so much that it would tip the balance of the war.

“What’s next?”

“Dig a hole and bury them nicely. It is the least we can do. They were our allies for a brief moment,” said Blood Baron.

“Yes, sir,” said the Scarlet Hunter. With a wave of his hand, the man blasted the ground with a powerful deep red beam of energy and created a hole so big that one could say that a meteor had landed there.

All the Scarlet Hunters worked together and buried all the deceased in the hole. With another blast of energy, the hole was covered nicely with rocks and dirt.

“Let’s go.” Blood Baron dusted himself off and left the make-shift grave without a tombstone. The grave of betrayers did not deserve to have a tombstone for the crimes they had committed.

That was the end of Ye Tianshun, the once respected and feared Grand Elder of the Soaring Cloud Sect, buried in a land far from his birthplace, along with the others who joined his cause, without anyone mourning them.

Blood Baron and his fellow Scarlet Hunters headed out to track down Jiang Fei and the other surviving martial artists. They did so slowly and quietly since they were scared of the Level 5 Metahuman. They could not be sure if that Level 5 Metahuman was still in Japan aiding the martial artists or had already left them to fend for themselves.

Just when they were slowly walking along the canyon, Blood Baron received a call from Lincoln.

“What’s going on there? Why am I receiving news about the appearance of a Level 5 Metahuman?!” Lincoln barked.

“It’s Ye Tianshun. They had failed their act and exposed themselves. I saw the aftermath and concluded that a Level 5 Metahuman had come to clean out the rats. Every martial artist that came to our side had been killed,” Blood Baron reported.

“…” Lincoln kept quiet for a while.

“I understand the situation…” Lincoln said, with a heavy heart. “If any of you betrayed the brotherhood, it would not be strange if Level 5 Mutants were dispatched to kill you.”

“Never, sir! We will never betray the brotherhood! We swore our undying fealty to the brotherhood!” cried Blood Baron, frightened. He did not know that Lincoln had only said that at the spur of the moment.

Even though the Scarlet Hunters were all Pinnacle stage Level 4s, none of them could fight the vice-president of the Mutant Brotherhood, Lincoln. Like what he had said, there were Level 5 Mutants that acted on their own accord. They could simply blink and the entire corp of Scarlet Hunters would be killed.

“Do not do anything just yet. The Level 5 Metahuman might still be within the vicinity. Even though they were not allowed to participate in the war, they might still kill one or two of you in the name of self-defense. Do not try it,” said Lincoln. He had the same thought as Blood Baron.

“I understand!” said Blood Baron.

“Stay put. We are coming to you,” said Lincoln before hanging up. The best time to strike was while the martial artists had their morale at its lowest.

While the Mutants were organizing their attacks, Jiang Fei was trying to remotivate the solemn martial artists. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as nothing seemed to be working.

“How can we fight when even the Soaring Cloud Sect had already betrayed us!” cried Zhu Tianfei as he flung his sword before it plunged deep into the ground and he himself fell, fatigued mentally and physically. He had lost the motivation and his senses. Even he could not tell what they were fighting for.

Bai Wanli sighed heavily.

“What do you think we should do now?” said Ganyang Zhenren. The sects that were second to the Soaring Cloud Sect were the Snow Mountain Sect and the Rainbow Longsword Sect.

“Brother Jiang Fei… We…” Bai Wanli turned to Jiang Fei and tried to speak.

“You are thinking of backing away from the fight,” said Jiang Fei, blatantly.

“We are in no position to continue this war. Look at our disciples. None of them are willing to fight anymore! We are a lost cause!” Bai Wanli cried.

“That is true. I have always thought that the alliance was just a playground for the Soaring Cloud Sect. Right now, the owner of the toy has gotten sick of it and decided to throw it away. I bet you wouldn’t want to play anymore too! I understand! You can go back to China and disband the alliance for all I care. You should take care of it since the name “China Martial Art Alliance” is nothing but a disgrace to you lot!” Jiang Fei barked, trying his best to provoke the others in hopes they would not give up the fight. That was the last method. If treating them nicely did not work, he might as well resort to trickery.

Bai Wanli sighed even heavier upon hearing Jiang Fei’s words. Even though they were angry and mad they could not muster the strength to make a comeback.

“Heh. Let’s say I have no problem in letting you go, would the Mutants be as kind as I am?” said Jiang Fei. If trickery and provocation were not enough to rattle them, perhaps a threat to their own lives might work.

“Brother Jiang Fei! Couldn’t the military soldiers escort us home?” Bai Wanli asked.

“Heh.” Jiang Fei scoffed. “Don’t you know that if you tried to leave an active warzone, it is considered as an act of treason? Even if you don’t consider yourself under their command and do not obey their rules of war, do you think they would just send someone over, risking their lives so that you could go home?”

“Ugh…” Bai Wanli shrank away. Jiang Fei did not hold anything back. The term “treason” was painful to hear.

“Since none of you want to continue this fight, you may do as you please. Do not think that others will understand,” said Jiang Fei as he waved his hand, gesturing the martial artists to go away and leave him alone.

“…”

Everyone froze. They did not know how they would fend for themselves should they choose to go on their own. Not only did they have to face the problem of being hunted by Mutants, they would also have to deal with food problems once they were cut off from Jiang Fei and the military.

Although China and Japan were just across the sea from each other, only Level 4 Pinnacle stage martial artists were capable of skipping on water to travel across the sea. No one else could do what they could.