The Lopin Clan Leader then ignored Rean and Roan's disappearance and stepped forward to talk with the newcomers.
"I'm the head of the Lopin Clan, Rovan Lopin. What do these friends need?"
Rovan kept his guard up since the opposite side had the power to kill his group. If they really attacked, he wasn't sure if he could even escape, let alone his son and the other two.
As mentioned before, the Umbral Sect had separated into four groups. Two groups had six members, while the other two had five. The one at the Middle Stage of the Core and Soul Fusion then asked them a question.
"We are looking for two teenagers that have entered this part of the Core Region. They are twins with different hair colors, one white and one black. Have you seen them?"
Rovan and the others' expressions didn't change. They were all experienced enough to not give clues. Still, they didn't expect that such a high-level group would be looking for those teenagers. However, Rovan thought it to be strange. No one would openly look for members of the Dalamu Sect like that. After all, if you lived in the Dalamu Sect territory, it wouldn't be a good idea to pick a fight against them. Anyone who decided to attack those twins would only do so if they could guarantee that they could get rid of the evidence later.
"Who are you? Are you members of the Dalamu Sect?"
Obviously, the Umbral Sect members wouldn't tell the truth.
"That's none of your business. Have you seen them or not?"
Rovan then received a Spiritual Sense message from his son.
'Father, this is not a group we can mess with.'
Rovan nodded as he looked back at the guy.
"This friend is right. I was too harsh. I haven't seen them, but I'll keep it in mind if I notice a duo like that."
Rovan might not want problems, but it didn't mean he would say anything either. They couldn't prove that his group had seen Rean and Roan to start with. Besides, considering the Core Region's size, the chances of them seeing the twins were meager as well. It wouldn't be strange if they didn't see anything.
Rean didn't expect the guy to not tell the truth. Why would he hide it? However, Roan understood very well.
'You have the wrong idea. They were not trying to protect us. Instead, the Rovan guy just doesn't want any problems. The best way to do that is to pretend that he doesn't know anything. As soon as the guy from the Umbral Sect finishes his questions, Rovan will immediately take his members and get the hell out of here.'
Rean sighed but nodded in the end.
'What do we do, then?'
Roan then showed a cold smile as he looked at the two sides.
The Umbral Sect guy snorted in response after hearing that answer.
"Is that so? Then so be it."
Umbral Energy began to gather around the guy's hands as he immediately used his Movement Technique. The Umbral Sect's presence in this place was a secret. When Rovan stopped to ask who they were, showing his doubt, they had already decided to get rid of this group.
"Not good! It's the Umbral Sect!"
Rovan reacted as fast as possible, but he got attacked by the Initial and Middle Stage Umbral Sect members. Besides, he wasn't part of a sect. His own combat power was already lower than the Initial Stage guy.
'Extreme Titan's Palm!'
'Umbral Heavenly Finger!'
*Bang, Bang!*
Rovan already vomited blood as he was sent flying back. At the same time, Umbral Energy began to invade his body and affect his organs.
The other members of the Umbral Sect didn't stay put either. They also attacked the very moment the two Core and Soul Fusion Realm members acted.
"Fuck! Run!"
The Lopin Clan members tried to flee, but how could the Umbral Sect members allow them?
"Hahaha! Do you think you can escape?"
Several flags were shot in various directions. In just a second, they created a circular zone around the battlefield. Suddenly, they began to shine with yellow light as Spiritual Energy linked them. Right after, something that looked like a yellow dome appeared in that area.
Rovan's heart sunk after seeing that. Those were Flag Formations that allowed one to use them even without having to build anything. Those things were very expensive and hard to make. However, if it was the Umbral Sect, it made sense that they could have some of those. Without breaking the barrier, none of them would be able to leave.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Umbral Sect members attacked with all their might.
"Old geezer, die!"
'Umbral Extermination!'
'Earth Convergence!'
Rovan quickly regained his bearings as he tried to resist. He pulled out his Saber, trying to use it to block the attacks with his own skill.
'Rise of the Flames!'
Fire Element gathered around his body as he slashed against the two-pronged attacks. He knew he wouldn't be able to fend them off, but it would at least give him some chance. He would then need to think about a way to escape this place after that.
However, he noticed something in his field of vision approaching his two attackers at high speeds. He couldn't tell what it was since it looked more like a distorted spot. The weird thing was that that distorted spot wasn't appearing in his Spiritual Sense. If he wasn't seeing it with his own eyes, he wouldn't even know it was there.
Obviously, the distortion was due to Rean's camouflage effect. As for the Spiritual Sense concealment, that came from the Hidden Radar Skill.
Roan stopped Rean from acting when the Umbral Sect members attacked first. He saw that they were acting complacent due to their numbers advantage. That was what he exactly wanted. After those two Core and Soul Fusion guys connected their attacks on Rovan and the Flag Formation activated, they got even more complacent. Only then did he and Rean began to move.
Because of the Flag Formation, those Umbral Sect members didn't think they would be attacked by anyone else. That being said, they completely dropped their guard as they were sure they had to only pay attention to Rovan's group.
'Life Style, First Form, Enhancement!'
'Death Style, First Movement Form, Shadow Steps!'
'Death Style, Third Form, Three Claws of the Dragon!'
The moment Rovan was about to receive a potentially fatal strike, that distortion in mid-air changed into a cloud of Dark and Light Elements and Spiritual Energy. From inside it, Rean and Roan appeared in a flash as their swords changed into claw-like attacks.
As shocked as Rovan could be, he would need to be an idiot to let such a change to pass. He understood what Rean's group was doing, so he increased his Fire Element and Spiritual Energy output as much as possible. With that, his defense display got even more appealing, creating the perfect moment for a sneak attack.
Sure enough, no one was expecting that someone was hidden inside the Flags' Protection Formation. By the time those two Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivators noticed it, the six swords were already right on their backs! Besides, they were also in the middle of releasing their own skills, so they couldn't simply stop it that fast.
'What?! Where the hell they came from?!'
Both of them tried to change the course of their attacks, but how could Rovan let them do so? Instead of retreating while using his Rise of the Flames, he immediately pounced forward! That forced the Umbral Sect Members who were already in front of him to defend against his attack first.
*Bang!*
Still, those two's attacks were a lot more powerful than Rovan's. Not to mention that Rovan forced himself to take them head-on! Because of that, Rovan received severe injuries as his body was once again sent flying, crashing against the Flags' Protection Formation. Yet, if one looked at his face, they would see a smile appearing.
The Umbral Sect enemies tried to use their Spiritual Energy to create a barrier to block Rean and Roan's attack as much as possible. However, they were utterly underestimating Roan's Dark Element effects. Rean and Roan's Six Swords cut through their barriers like a hot knife on butter, landing all the attacks in the most critical points!
*Swish, swich, swich, swich, swich, swich!*
Two heads and hearts were pierced through as two necks were slashed clean. They didn't even have time to scream before they were killed on the spot!
Because it was a sneak attack, the twins did not release the Mirage Assault. After all, Rean couldn't hide the two of them plus the clones at the same time from others' Spiritual Sense.
The rest of the Umbral Sect Members were shocked when they saw their two strongest members falling and immediately gave up attacking the Lopin Clan members. They moved in a different direction from the twins and tried to rush out of the Flag Formation. Since they were the owners, the Flag Formations could be deactivated anytime they wanted to.
*Creeeee!*
However, it was at this moment that they heard a loud cry as a Light and Dark Flame Meteor came crashing down from above them.
*Boom!*
Kentucky had entered the action, immediately blasting the area in front of the Umbral Sect Members! Without another choice, they could only step back while defending against the Minokawa's attack. Once again, they changed direction, trying to flee in another direction. Unfortunately, the king of the underworld's voice sounded in their ears at that moment.
'Did I give you permission to leave?'
Their hearts froze as they saw six black and white-haired twins appearing. Not to mention that the Lopin Clan members wouldn't let them simply go like that either. Their fates were sealed at that point.
