The featureless face of the crescent moon peered out from behind the clouds, the cool night was progressing like any other.
Howls of roaming beasts could be heard sporadically, either clashing among themselves or prowling the darkness for prey.
On a quiet hill overlooking the scattered remnants of a destroyed town, two people were out in the open, one standing, the other in the lotus position with his back facing five medium sized tents.
Slithers of moonlight slightly illuminated the dark night, outlining the standing man's silhouette in a light bluish hue, though not bright enough to reveal his shocked facial features in full detail.
A viscous swing of the man's blade had just been nonchalantly caught by his seated opponent, not only that, he was struggling to pry the weapon free from the bare handed grip of the man sitting before him.
It felt as if he was a child weilding a harmless length of wood against an adult, panic started to bloom within him and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead nonstop.
Clang!
"Ahh!"
The sudden sound of metal shattering like glass disturbed the ambience on the hill, a desperate scream rang out in the dark.
Multiple spikes of sharp pain thrummed through the attacker's mid section, the stunned man stumbled back, holding onto the useless hilt of his sword, dangling it around in disbelief.
His left hand clutched at his stomach by reflex, finding that his robe was already soaked through with blood.
The flying shards from his destroyed blade had went flying out like bullets, puncturing his body in multiple places without his notice.
He tried to say something in shock, instead he collapsed from heavy blood loss, rolling a few meters down the hill after letting out a few terrified wails.
Another set of footsteps crunched over the terrain.
Soon a shadowy figure stepped over the sprawled body, taking the fallen man's place without batting an eyelid.
Hartley stood up, his awareness indicating that this new foe was much more powerful.
"Surrender! Be enslaved or die! Your choice."
The new assailant spoke a few lines in the same unfamiliar language, his tone and cadence fierce and threatening. The newcomer displayed a chilling lack of concern for his screaming colleague bleeding out on the floor behind him.
Fwoosh!
His words were cut short by two gleaming daggers suddenly sweeping at him from the darkness.
Six ruthless slashes were delivered from the glistening blades in the span of a heartbeat.
Zhi Ruo's smooth movements carried her around Hartley like waves around a rock, attacking as she snorted in contempt.
Hearing what the man had said, there was no need for further words between the two sides.
The always-alert members of Hartley's group were quickly roused from their light slumber, scrambling from the tents and ready to defend against the ambush.
Zhi Ruo just happened to be the first one out.
The man outlined in the bluish light of the half-moon did not panic. He summoned the dormant earth elements with quick and complex finger gestures.
Hartley could immediately feel the tingling movements of the elements dancing through the air.
The man's silhouette instantly went solid gold like plated jewellery.
His body glowed golden and he quickly took a defensive stance, multiple strikes from Zhi Ruo's gleaming daggers screeched across his raised forearms, the friction throwing up dancing flashes of golden sparks.
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The sparks lit up the darkness, exposing the face of an old man, Zhi Ruo's daggers viciously raked across his flesh, producing sounds similar to falling hailstones on a tin roof.
The old mans ear-length white hair wriggled back and forth in the residual wind, other than that, he was unarmed from the sneak attack, Zhi Ruo's rank 6 spirit daggers was unable to breach his golden armour.
The folds on his smirking face were illuminated by the quick flashes of light before his features were swallowed by the darkness again.
"Hmmp, you dare?" with a dismissive scowl he took a step forward, his golden fist rippled and warped the space around it, heading towards Zhi Ruo's abdomen.
Her reflexes and smooth elegant movements took her to the left,the silhouette of her curvy silhouette blurring under the moonlight like a phantom.
"Fall back Ruo!"
Hartley sprung into action, coming forward to meet the threat as Zhi Ruo retreated, he took a single step and blinked into existence in front of the man, meeting the screaming golden fist with his own.
Bang! Hartley's punch whistled like an armour piercing tank shell, the two fists met, producing a high pitched metallic chime, both combatants robes fluttered wildly and the loose dust beneath their feet sprayed into the air.
The attacker lurched backwards, stabilizing himself after half a dozen steps.
Hartley stood in place, his silhouette bathed in dust and the hazy moonlight, right hand still extended and clenched into a fist.
There was silence.
"Surround them, capture the woman alive, kill any man who resists. I will deal with this young man."
The old man with the golden silhouette issued orders to his unseen forces.
He fearlessly moved forward again, footsteps sinking deep into the earth, thumping down with force as he rushed to engage with Hartley once more..
A tide of indistinct figures, about a dozen in number, zigged zagged forward from the dark, streaking on puffs of wind element as they bounced up the hill like a group of crazed monkeys.
Their silent steps left green sparks as they launched themselves through the air, quickly closing the distance to the crest of the hill.
***
Nothing was left to chance in the pocket dimension, this camping site was chosen deliberately.
Hartley's group couldn't easily be outflanked or surrounded. Giving them the high ground and a strategic advantage in defending their position.
The group of dark figures fearlessly charged from the shadows, valiantly scaling the incline... But only to their deaths!
Slash!
Commander Genk's rank 6 spirit sword had long been prepared, it glistened under the faint moonlight, his towering frame transforming like a stone golem.
The sword separated an attacker in two pieces, two halves of the screaming body went flying back down the hill, leaving a line of entrails scattering in its wake.
While the gold tier spell-weaver could fight on level footing with Hartley, the rest were only mediocre spell-weavers, skilful in their use of the elements, but no match for the members of Hartley's group.
With a wave of his hand, Kang compressed the space around several attackers, without suspense they exploded like water balloons, turning into a burst of bloody mist in an instant.
Fragments of bones and droplets blood went flying everywhere.
Then a horrendous scream rose above the chaos, the chilling sound drew the attention of everyone, even the lesser beasts below scampered away from the hill. This cry of pain was because Qin Li's axe bit deep into the back of an attacker.
Not only did they face the brunt of Kang's direct spatial attacks, they also had to deal with opponents popping out from spatial cracks at their undefended backs. They were like lambs put to slaughter.
Boom!
The hill rattled again.
Hartley's second clash with the old man was even more violent.
A grunt escaped the old man's lips, he stumbled back again, this time in even worse condition.
Coiling smoke rose from the hem of his robe and the golden flesh on his fists sizzled loudly.
The black energy coiling and snaking around Hartley's fist was virtually invisible, the old man could only hear the eerie hissing and crackles in the darkness.
With a terrible expression the old man glanced up the hill. It was an unexpected carnage, the assault disintegrated into chaos, body parts and bodies were scattered all over the ground, the few remaining attackers were fleeing in dread.
Hartley kept the pressure on, this old man was obviously the leader of these disgusting slavers.
Hartley summoned his elemental long sword in his right hand. The blue flash exposed the shadows of the fleeing assailants and the gore all over the hill.
Black energy concealed by the darkness continued to crackle and hiss around his left hand.
Hartley was close to breaking through the 3rd layer of the saint realm. His full strength had yet to be put on full display.
The old man knew he was now fighting for his life, a golden scythe about two meters long appeared in his grasp.
His golden glow brightened and his movements became as slippery as an eel in soap water.
He zigged zagged forward. Slashing down towards Hartley's waist in a blur.
Hartley's blue eyes gleamed in the darkness, he took one step. The ground around him exploded, shaking the medium hill like an earthquake.
Left fist swinging forward to meet the golden scythe, black energy roiling and crackling. Upon contact, the golden scythe exploded like twinkling fireworks.
The earth shaking collision sent the old man flying back like a rocket, Hartley stepped off his right foot, cracking the ground with another boom, easily catapulting through the air, catching up to the airborne old man who was in a wretched state.
Hartley's blue elemental sword lunged forward, sliding into the old man's chest mercilessly, cutting through his golden defence like blue plasma.
Both men landed at the bottom of the hill with a boom, creating a ten meter deep crater and sending debris flying everywhere.
Hartley's sword nailed him firmly to the ground, still in his grasp as he stood over the battered man .
With his life's blood leaking away, the old man frantically pleaded for mercy in his unfamiliar language, only Hartley and Zhi Ruo knew for sure what he was saying.
Kang shook his head and muttered.
"To think that even after all this devastation, men would still not unite against beasts."
"Living without rules can make some men worst than beasts," Zhi Ruo whispered, she had already seen the atrocities committed in the pocket dimension, offering no mercy for the merciless.
Hartley would not let off these slavers, the harm they inflicted on the human race was worse than any beast.
***
The sun rose to reveal the outcome of the battle, Hartley and the others were long gone, leaving the beasts to feast on the remains scattered across the hill.
Another two years passed, the group were finally at the the forest leading to the Cambridge camp.
Hartley and Zhi Ruo led the group through the forest and towards the camp.
Hartley had no time to spare as soon as he got the others situated he would be headed straight for the Falcon mountain range, this was where he would attempt to refine the pocket dimension.