In the skies above the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mine that Mira's group had just plundered, a middle-aged man with bushy eyebrows and a square face appeared. His expression became solemn as he noticed headless corpses littered about on the ground.
Most of the faces on the heads showed neutral expressions, indicating that they died without even knowing how.
"Whoever did this was quick, efficient, and skilled enough to kill almost all the disciples without alerting them. It seems they came here knowing everything about the mine, how many people were here, and even their strength."
He muttered before looking in the distance, sensing the corpse of Elder Dan, the person in charge of the mine.
The man stepped and soon appeared right above the dissected, shriveled corpse. He furrowed his brows, but no hint of remorse could be seen in his eyes.
He looked around and quickly noticed that the culprits seemed to have used multiple arrays. However, something was missing.
"Why was Elder Dan all the way over here, and how did he die?"
The distance between here and the mine was about 50 kilometers. Why was Elder Dan over here instead of guarding the mine?
"There weren't any signs of battle anywhere but this location. Meaning, something or someone had drawn him out all the way over here and then fought."
He also noticed that Elder Dan didn't even have a chance to fight back and was insta-killed as there was only one sword mark. Still, he couldn't deduct the cultivation of the attackers.
***
Mira's group quickly bulldozed through the other mines, which were similar in size and manpower, and used the same tactics as the first one.
As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
There's no need to change their strategy if it works. In fact, even if they wanted, they probably couldn't develop a better plan. Perhaps they could be more efficient when they actually raid the mine, but that's it.
Those from the Unorthodox Faction don't exactly have the highest IQs, and with how insane Mira's killing intent is, it's basically impossible for the Mortal Shedding Realm Elders not to be startled.
Right now, Mira's group was moving through the mountains to the last Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, but suddenly, they were struck with a bad premonition.
"Huh? Is it just me, or do you guys also feel like we're about to walk into a tiger's den?" Nova asked with a tight frown. As a high-level cultivator who has been through countless battles, her instincts have reached a supernatural level. Right now, she couldn't help but feel something was… off.
Rayna nodded and muttered a single word, "...Quiet."
"Hmmm? I guess you're right, Rayna. Things have been a bit quiet, haven't they?" Seraphine said as she looked around. Over the last day or so, the mountains have been quiet, as if something big was happening.
Mira nodded, "I feel it too. If I'm not wrong, the Unorthodox Faction has probably realized what we're doing and sent reinforcements."
"Then, what should we do?" Maria asked, worried they'd get caught in something they couldn't handle.
"..."
A heavy silence descended upon them. Their brows creased as they went deep into thought.
After a few moments, Mira spoke up, "If we assume that the Unorthodox Faction knows about us, I only see four options. One, we continue with the plan. Two, we find a different target, one that is a bit bigger and has more personnel. Three, we wait it out and try again later. Or four, we quit the mission and return to the Sect."
Each option had its pros and cons, some more than others, but they were all reasonable and should be carefully considered.
However, naturally, Nova and the others didn't want to quit the mission, especially not since they still had three weeks left!
"...I think we should wait for a while. Who knows? After a week or two, they might just think that we stopped at four mines." Everly said.
"I agree."
"Yeah, me too."
"Same."
Nova and the others agreed with Everly on this since they felt like if they were to continue the mission right now, they'd definitely die!
Hearing this, Mira sighed, "Fine, but before we do that, let's at least go to the nearest city and obtain some information. For all we know, the Unorthodox Faction hasn't caught on to us yet, and we're just overthinking things."
The others nodded along with Mira, as what she said was reasonable.
They all looked at Rayna, who pulled out her map, then ran off in a slightly different direction. Mira and the rest followed immediately after.
***
Not far away from Mira's position was a small city with only a few tens of thousands of people called Sunfield City.
There wasn't much to this place other than that it's mostly an agricultural town that's not involved in the world of cultivators. Although many of them still had some form of cultivation, they didn't make it past the 2nd Stage of the Core Formation Realm.
It's along the outskirts of the Ancient Beast Mountain Range in an area with less Qi and very few beasts.
However, because of this, the City was a great place to acquire information. What large Sect or Faction would care about some bumpkin village filled with weaklings?
Mira's group walked into town, strolling through the streets, listening in on the recent gossip. Mira had cast an illusion around herself to hide her tails, face, and ears as she didn't want to attract too much attention.
"Did you hear? Those bastards from the Blood Devil Sect seem to have gotten restless. I've seen numerous of them flying around the mountains!"
"Really? I also heard from a buddy of mine that the Unorthodox Faction has been pillaging more towns and villages, capturing the people and putting them in the mines."
"Sigh! When are those assholes from the Orthodox Faction going to deal with those bastards?! Don't they care about the common folk?"
Ruddy, you're too naive! The only reason they're called the Orthodox Faction is because they practice techniques that don't rely on the suffering of others. I bet most of them barely know we exist; if they do, they probably couldn't care less!"
"But still…! How can they just sit by as those demons kill and slaughter people for their own benefit?!"
Nova, Eden, and Seraphine had awkward looks on their faces as they didn't realize that the masses thought so low of them, but on second thought, it was understandable.
While they didn't know much about the other Sects, the Battle Maiden Sect has never proclaimed itself to be a harbinger of justice. It was and always will be a safe haven for women to focus solely on becoming stronger rather than having men approach them either for romance or nefarious reasons.
Still, they didn't feel good knowing that the common folk only thought of them better than the Unorthodox Faction because they did nothing instead of pillaging and enslaving them.
Mira, on the other hand, didn't give a damn what their opinions were and said, "It seems something is going on with the Unorthodox Faction. Although we can't be 100% that they've caught onto us and are acting accordingly, I think it's safe to assume they do."
Nova and the others pushed all unnecessary thoughts out of their head and nodded with serious expressions.
"There's no need to go and check. Even if they don't know or care about us, it's safer to wait things out. We don't know who or what we might encounter, after all," Nova said.
Seraphine smiled and giggled, "Then, it's settled! Now, let's go find an inn to stay at!"
As they were walking, a young man with a greatsword on his back and a beautiful woman walked into town.
Mira's ears twitched as she listened in on their conversation.
"Master, why did you bring us to this backwater town? I don't sense anyone above the Core Formation Realm here! Didn't you want me to conquer the world?"
"Hmph! How can you conquer the world if you don't even know of its inhabitants? What we're doing right now is broadening your horizons!"
"...Broadening my horizons? Are you sure it's not just because we, no, you angered too many people, and now we have to hide in this shithole?"
"Cough! Cough!"
*Smack!*
"Ugh! You know it's true, so why'd you hit me?"
"Tsk! You're so tactless, Little Ryuu! It's no wonder you're still a virgin even after dominating countless women and making them wet with your massive sword!"
"...Master, please don't say things that could be easily misunderstood."
"Haaa… I guess I should've picked a better City to hide-ahem-travel to. This place is filled with nothing but 4's and 5's! Totally unworthy of my Little Ryuu's divine sword!"
".........Please stop, Master. Everybody's looking at us."
"Hmph! I'm just speaking the truth! If the women here were prettier, maybe this would be the place you become a man-Oh? Wait. What do we have here?"
Suddenly, a chill ran down Mira's spine as she felt a terrifying gaze lock onto her.
She could instantly tell that the person looking at her was strong. Very strong.
