He walked into the forest calmly and picked a direction: North-East. He knew for a fact that the idiot prince was waging war straight north while there were mountains to the north-west. It's not like going to the mountains was a bad pick but that it wouldn't provide enough cover in some locations. He had to act subtly.

Soon, he had walked far enough that there was no longer anyone close-by. Most people who desperately chased after the thieves probably picking the straight path to the North... And so, he took off his robe and put it back in his pouch before taking another one out and donning it.

This robe was of a design he picked himself. A camouflage-kind of design like those worn by the diverse armies in his past world. True, it was a cultivator robe but the mix of green and dark specks made it perfect to blend in the dense forest. It wouldn't turn him invisible but it would no doubt help him move unseen if required.

He took out one of the two masks as well and put it on. This one was the python-style one. It was just that, an animal-mask of a python you could imagine being worn by kids at festivals. His was special though. If he spoke a pre-defined sentence, the eye-glasses would activate and enable him to see in heat-mode. What did it mean? It was like having a life-detecting sight. And the perfect tool right now.

He didn't activate it yet though as it was still very bright in the afternoon. There was no reasons to yet as visibility was optimal. And then, he began to move soundlessly and at a calculated pace inside the foliage. From now on, he was no longer part of the Empire team.

After a few hours of walking and as the sun was setting, he encountered a group of cultivators. There were four and around fifteen in age. It was unfortunate that he couldn't detect their cultivation stages as he had yet to be able to learn such a skill. It was after all something that belonged to the realm of spirituality and spiritual warriors. Yet, it was obvious that those weren't the pinnacle of warriors.

They wore similar robes and were likely part of the same sect. He couldn't recognize the sect so it was likely a minor one. He moved closer to the group that was resting, sitting on the ground, while remaining hidden behind trees and bushes.He could easily make out their conversation:

"Sucks that some thief managed to get our crystal"

"Yeah, and we can't even leave this darn place because of the traitor-rule, fuck"

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From that moment on, Jin kept listening as the four prepared to camp here. They belonged to a minor sect indeed and were all at the fourth stage of refinement with no hopes to breakthrough to the spiritual realm. Just like Jin, they learnt and knew of the situation. To them, it was hopeless. They believed the Empire had lost too. However, they were rather nonchalant about it, complaining about it but not much more.

Haven't they realized they would be killed? No, they didn't. They strongly believed they would become war prisoners that would be ransomed away. Jin shook his head at the poor delusional kids. If the Empire cared, they would have ordered a full-retreat yet they abandoned them. As for the Empire paying a ransom? They could only dream on! As for their own sect paying ransom? Even less likely! Finding kids to train wasn't difficult as every kid dreamt of becoming a cultivator. Even a small minor sect wouldn't care if a dozen or even a hundred disciples under spiritual realm died.

Regardless of all this though, those kids wouldn't live to see the sun rise again...

Jin waited until they had finished to prepare their camp and were going to bed. They were smart enough to have one of them remain as a look-out. But did it matter? Nope.

Jin waited and waited until the look-out began to doze off and then waited some more. As the look-out kept watching the crackling fire in a state of half-awakeness, Jin acted. He moved silently behind him and grabbed his head before turning it beyond what should be possible. Simply put, he broke his neck. There was a resounding snap sound that was created from this but it was not enough to wake the others.

After all, it wasn't unusual for cracking sounds to be heard through the night in a forest. What's more, there was still the fire burning. Basically, this sound was not enough to wake the other three.

Jin picked up the weapon of the look-out which had been a simple sword and silently moved to the other three. One by one, they died to a sword stabbing their necks. None managed to react. It was a perfect assassination. From there, Jin began to loot them. There was nearly nothing.

He got four short swords and a few coins. He didn't plan to get their bloodied robes and their food would only take more space from his pouch. He was disappointed that they had none themselves...He still proceeded to eat something that belonged to them on the spot. He wouldn't waste his own food if he could help it...

What truly mattered though were the four plate with three marks on them. The proof of faction belonging of the Empire. After all this time, the enemies had noticed that all the warriors from the Empire had those and they took those from the dead bodies as proof of kills.

In a similar way, the Empire had taken the item that proved belonging to their opponent faction. That country had used a short wristband instead of a plate.

What Jin wanted to do was simple: get as many plates and wristbands as he could. Since he was going to join the opponent, he would need a wristband to prove his belonging there. Once there, he would exchange the many plates for rewards and benefit from the opponents. Finally, when he came back home, he would exchange the wristbands. Of course it wouldn't be that simple and easy but it was the gist of it...

He planned to make quick bucks from hunting both factions without them finding out!