The two of them didn’t depart the sect just yet. As both Red and Domeron knew, just because they could avoid the imperial’s magical tracking method, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t be pursued in other ways. As such, after some consideration, they decided on an exit plan from the town.
“We will ask Hector for help.” Domeron said. “As long as he shadows us, even if he’s noticed, no one will be brave enough to try to follow us into the forest.”
Red frowned. “What about that presence that was stalking him? Should we be worried?”
“Since you left town, he hasn’t felt it again. Either they have given up and left, or they have been assigned to something else.”
Red would have preferred for this stalker to still be keeping tabs on Hector, since at the very least, they would know of their location. He couldn’t complain, though, since this meant their elder had the least bit of freedom to act in town.
Hector accepted their offer with no protest.
“I will take you to the edge of the forest.” the elder said. “I won’t be able to keep guarding you after that, but at the very least, I should be able to notice if someone’s trying to follow you out of town.”
With their final exit plan concluded, they only needed to prepare their supplies before leaving. Red and Domeron were handed two healing pills each, as well as a handful of defensive and offensive talismans.
It was far from enough to make Red confident in any conflict, but he knew this was all the sect could provide. The youth himself was almost tapped out after his fight with the ghouls and thus didn’t have much to help from his own personal stash.
Domeron seemed to notice his hesitation and smiled. “Don’t worry. If this dagger is really as strong as Rimold says, no amount of talismans will keep us from harm if something bad happens.”
Red frowned. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Domeron laughed. “No, it’s supposed to temper your expectations. We are pretty much delving into the abyss here, so there’s no room for mistakes, and even if we do everything perfectly, there’s no guarantee of success. Which is why you have to follow my lead.”
Red sighed but still nodded in the end.
They were both preparing the last of their equipment in the meeting room in the middle of the night, the day after Rimold arrived. Red was packing up his travel bag when he noticed Domeron strapping a sheathed longsword along his waist.
“Is that the sword you spoke about?” Red asked.
Domeron frowned. “What sword?”
“You told me you also had a sword when we first began training.” Red said. “Is this the sword you spoke about?”
“Ah, you still remember that?” Domeron looked surprised. He shook his head. “Yes, this is the sword I told you about, but you shouldn’t hold your breath. It’s just a normal sword, not a Spirit Weapon like Hector’s sword.”
Red frowned and examined the sheath of the blade. Like the man said, there didn’t seem to be anything special about it other than how old and worn the leather seemed to be. Yet, the youth couldn’t shake off the feeling that the sword hiding inside this sheath was somehow not ordinary.
Before he could say anything else though, Hector walked downstairs into the room.
“Are you ready?” The elder went straight to the heart of the matter.
“We are.” Domeron nodded. “The real question is, are you ready, old man?”
Hector scoffed. “What is that supposed to mean? You really think anyone will be silly enough to try and attack one of our own inside of town?”
“Well…” Domeron exchanged glances with Red. “Let’s hope not.”
The elder frowned for a second, but waved the matter aside. “Just go at your own pace. I will be shadowing you from afar.”
Right on cue, Hector waved his hand and an icy mist sprang forth from beneath his feet, surrounding his body and his immediate vicinity. Red couldn’t see anything in front of him, until, a few moments later, the mist dissipated.
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When the room became clear again, there was no sign of Hector anywhere. He completely disappeared from his senses, and this ability of his seemed to be more than enough to fool any cultivator below the Lesser Ring Realm. That was, every cultivator except for Red.
The youth felt the elder’s presence out of the building, faint as it seemed to have become.
“I believe you are smart enough to recognize this, but make sure not to look in his direction while we’re sneaking through town.” Domeron said, strapping his light bag around his back. “So, do you need to do something to disguise our presence?”
Red shook his head. “No. Just stay within 50 meters, and everything should be fine.”
By now, the imperials probably already knew that Red’s sect had a way to disguise their Spiritual Emissions, so they would probably try to follow them through some other methods. Still, Spiritual Tracking was the most effective one when it came to mortals. At least, that was what Aurelia told him.
The youth asked earlier if Hector needed to be disguised too, but the old man told him there was no need. He had his own disguising technique, although it couldn’t be applied to others like Red’s.
They both started to leave the sect at the dead of the night. No one had left the premises of their courtyard since Rimold arrived, and as such, it was unlikely their plans to leave town had leaked. However, the Imperials had proven their resourcefulness time and time again, so Red and Domeron weren’t willing to take a risk if they could help it.
For instance, Red decided to take a different route through the town than he was used to. They would first go west, towards the Great Serpent Canyon, before making their way around towards the dead forest in the northeast. That way, even if someone noticed them leaving town, they might be misled on the direction they intended on travelling to.
The sneaking part wasn’t hard at all with Red and Domeron’s skills. They weaved through alleys, climbed buildings, avoided patrols, all without any accidents. Hector followed behind them very closely, but just as Domeron suggested, the youth never looked in the direction he sensed the elder to be.
Everything seemed to be going to plan, and the duo had almost arrived at the edge of town. That was when Red heard a voice in his ear.
“Someone is following you.” Hector said.
Red and Domeron exchanged glances of surprise. The youth himself couldn’t sense anyone following them with his crimson sense.
“The disguising method is still working.” Aurelia said. “If they’re tracking you, it’s through some other means.”
This confused Red even more. Of course, if both Red and Domeron’s Spiritual Emissions disappeared from the imperials tracking devices, it was more than enough to tip them off that the sect was on the move. However, even with that, they wouldn’t be able to track the duo’s move if they didn’t have close eyes on their movements.
‘Could it be that they are closer to the sect than we thought?’
The elder continued. “Don’t stop walking. I will deal with them.”
The youth thought better of asking what Hector planned to do. He looked over at Domeron, and the man simply nodded at him. They walked for another half-a-minute, before arriving at the edge of town. Here, the field was rather wide open, and the only cover they would be able to find was in the tree line hundreds of meters away.
“You can move on my signal.” Hector’s voice reached their ears again.
“What signal?” Red asked.
“When you hear the screams.”
This was all the elder said before the youth felt him move in his crimson sense. He looked over at Domeron with a frown, but the swordsman just shook his head with a helpless smile.
“He has been eager to act.” the man said. “As much as he likes to keep a passive stance with important matters, he can’t help himself if he sees someone challenge him and his sect in front of him.”
Red sighed and waited as the elder indicated. A few minutes passed by, during which the youth wondered if something went wrong. However, that was when he saw a while light emanating from within the town.
An explosion of ice crystals echoed around town as a white mist was blown sky high, some hundreds of meters behind the duo.
“Now!” Domeron started to run.
Red followed his lead. The two started to run at extreme speeds towards the tree line.
Just as he thought Hector was done causing a commotion, he heard several more sounds of explosions behind him. Red took a glance behind him as he ran and saw at least three more spots of glowing ice mist reaching for the sky around the area where the first explosion happened.
‘Is he fighting someone?’
The youth couldn’t tell, but the explosions ceased soon after he and Domeron reached the tree lines.
In the past, Hector had agreed with the Baron not to fight inside of town. However, it was clear that when he was pushed too far, no rules or conventions would be enough to stop the elder from doing what he wanted.
Red and Domeron continued to run deep into the forest for almost ten minutes. Only when they were far enough from town did the two of them stop.
Domeron patted his dusty shirt with his one hand as he caught his breath. “Well, that was certainly something.”
Red looked at him with curiosity. “You’re fast.”
Domeron smiled at him. “Are you surprised?”
“Yes.” The youth nodded.
No one in the sect, barring Hector, should be able to keep up with him in a sprint, much more so after he opened his Storm’s Blessing acupoints. Red was sure that he surpassed even Narcha and Eiwin from back then.
To his shock, however, Domeron was able to keep up with him with seemingly no issues.
The man continued to smile at him. “You’re not the only one with secrets. Now come, we can’t stay here for too long.”
Red nodded and followed behind the swordsman. Still, while walking, he focused his crimson sense on Domeron’s fluctuation. It was pulsating like everyone else’s, but now and then the fluctuation seemingly disappeared from Red’s crimson sense for a split second before reappearing as if nothing had happened.
It was too fast, almost impossible to pick up if the youth wasn’t focusing on it. Yet, over the years he spent at the sect, this strange phenomenon continued to happen every time Red focused on Domeron.
He tried to pry secrets from Domeron in the past, to no avail, so he had no choice but to let the matter go. Now, however, his curiosity was sparked once more under this situation.
It was clear that Domeron was not as simple as Red or anyone else in the sect imagined.