BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sound of Krato and Rakash leading their legion through the underground tunnel in chase of their prey was blaring.
They smashed the tunnel apart loudly on purpose, with the intent of terrifying their victims before going for the kill.
Unfortunately for them, Rose was several steps ahead.
By her command, the Judgement Order split into groups of three and spread out through the black forest.
The Nox forces remaining here were thinly spread since a majority of High Commanders followed Valakos' order and entered the underground, however, their average strength had gone up significantly.
Valakos was in charge of the area they started in, but there were roughly ten more Executioners wandering the dark forest searching for them.
Executioners were off-limits.
Regardless of their personal or combined power, unless their entire group decided to work together in a prolonged battle, taking one down wasn't possible.
High Commanders, on the other hand, were different.
'The enemy doesn't know we aren't trying to escape yet. Right now, they think the diversion tactic was meant to cover our retreat.'
Technically speaking, back towards the Blood-Drenched Wilderness wasn't the only direction to escape in.
They could very well go east or west and escape into a new territory of Eien, where the shadow army camp wouldn't know of their existence.
At that point, retreat would still be difficult, but not as impossible.
Therefore, Rose's plan consisted of another layer of trickery.
The Judgement Order scattered and did as they were told.
In various parts of the dark forest, High Commanders quietly fell without even seeing the killers who brought their end.
The deaths were staggered strangely. 17 died one by one, and once they were felled, another 17 joined them with the same pattern.
The traces of these assassinations were hidden well in the darkened earth, especially after careful treatment was given by the killers themselves, but it wasn't too perfect.
After all, these tracks still needed to be discovered, albeit after a good deal of effort.
Shiing!
A barely visible flicker of sword intent traveled through the dark forest and sliced a High Commander's neck, causing it to spurt a fountain of blood.
The High Commander grabbed his throat with widened eyes and opened his mouth to scream, but at that moment, a blade found its way to his neck, severing what remained and cutting his head directly off.
A stream of greyish mana found its way into both parts of his bisected corpse and removed their ability to heal. In just a few seconds, the High Commander turned into an ink puddle on the ground.
"They should be finding it soon, yes?"
"Yeah, but this plan seems a little too easy. They might believe it for a while, but it's definitely not enough for them to drop their pursuit."
"That is because this is only a piece of the puzzle. This operation is to remove the attention of these Executioners in the field. I am certain sister-in-law has crafted something greater for us to progress into the encampment."
"Mm, I don't doubt her mind, it just feels a bit off. Maybe I'm overthinking things?"
"Perhaps you are."
Su Ren and Long Chen, the only group of two among the current units, finished their job and moved to the next.
Usually, when a practitioner felt something off, passing it over as mere coincidence or overthinking was the wrong move.
The constantly evolving perception of a practitioner never left room for coincidences. If something felt wrong, something was wrong.
However, this was a special case.
Because, unlike the rest, Long Chen hadn't had much contact with the Nox.
He participated in the Niflheim infiltration and fought Nox on Holy Light Star, but that was it. Outside of these instances, Long Chen did not interact with the invading race more than once or twice.
Because of this, his knowledge of the Nox's tendencies was lacking.
Yes, it was true that the higher beings of their race had powerful intelligence. They tricked the universe into believing they were smarter before pulling off an insane stunt in the Giant Domain.
Unfortunately, this event was not known to the members of the Judgement Order, nor did it apply to them.
In the current situation, they could use their base understanding of the Nox, at least, for the most part.
Because they were younger generation geniuses.
Even the oldest among them didn't exceed 150 years in age, aside from Aishia, whose age was irrelevant, and their combined experience likely couldn't match a single one of the Executioners currently hunting them.
What did this mean?
Naturally, it meant they were the underestimated party.
Their intelligence was the one under question.
As long as it looked like they were trying their hardest to act a certain way, what reason did the Nox have to think they were doing something different?
These geniuses were not Damien Void.
They were not the genius who attracted the ire of a Nox Emperor at a young age due to his skills.
They were just his "associates."
"Do you understand now?" Su Ren asked as he slashed his strange mana into another High Commander before looking at Long Chen.
"Mm, we're useless because we're just the 'friends.' That's what they think."
"Right. The only value we possess to them is our information about Damien. Sister-in-law is abusing this fact to mislead them."
"Tch. Maybe I really am dumb."
"Is this something that needs confirmation?"
"Dammit."
Su Ren grinned while Long Chen shook his head annoyedly.
He was always walking right into these insults, wasn't he?
Nevertheless, the duo looked out ahead of them and collectively sighed.
"We've already made it this far, huh? Come to think of it, why didn't we just take this route?" Long Chen said.
They were staring past a transparent barrier separating them from the Ghostly Plains. They were already at the boundaries of this territory.
However, Su Ren merely grinned.
"Tell me, swordsman. Do you not wish for glory?"
Long Chen's eyes widened.
His lips curled into a smile, a defeated expression on his face.
"Haa, when you say it like that, what am I supposed to do?"
"Haha! Let us not mind it then! We have finished our task. It is time to return to the group."
"Mm. I guess it's only getting wilder from here."
The duo concealed themselves and began moving.
Just like them, the stronger groups didn't have much of a problem executing the task this time, especially those talented in stealth.
Rose's orders didn't just account for the plan, but her members as well.
She didn't separate them in a way where "weaker" groups would exist.
If someone was weaker in one facet, they would be paired with someone who could complement them and boost their efficiency.
This was a requirement she focused dearly on when she was first creating the Judgement Order.
Above all else, the members needed loyalty, heart, and synergy.
Her expert leadership led to a situation where their group didn't lose a single member during this phase of the plan.
Though, they couldn't do it without any obstacles.
Around half an hour after they started moving, their traces were discovered.
The hunting dogs would be upon them soon.
