The rest of the journey was tense. After their encounter with the corrupted beast, Rifi and his team moved quickly, keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. Rifi sending small amounts of his mana in pulses through the area around him in order to ensure nothing suspicious was closing in on him and his team.

The forest seemed to close in on them as they ventured deeper into the western region, the once familiar paths becoming overgrown and twisted. The air was thick with a sense of foreboding, the kind that made Rifi's skin prickle.

Signs of unrest were everywhere. They passed through an abandoned village, homes left in disarray, doors hanging from broken hinges. The fields, once rich with crops, now lay in ruin, overgrown with weeds and scorched as if set ablaze. Yet, there were no people. No bodies. Only the silence of a land left to decay.

Not far from the village, they stumbled upon remnants of skirmishes—shattered weapons, splintered shields, armour stained with blood but no sign of who had fallen. It was as if the very land had swallowed its dead. The stench of smoke and decay lingered in the air.

"They're gone," Kaelin muttered, his brow furrowing as he inspected an abandoned farmstead. "No signs of any dead bodies. I expect they managed to evacuate just in the nick of time."

Rifi didn't respond. His instincts were screaming at him, a deep, unsettling sense of being watched growing stronger with every step they took. He glanced toward Serra, who was just as alert, her pale blue eyes scanning the trees, fingers twitching at her blades.

As they neared their next destination, a mana vein assigned to the Clan Quirina. Rifi's senses flared. Something was wrong—very wrong. The air was too still, the forest unnaturally quiet. He wasn't picking anything up with his mana pulses no birds, no insects, not even the rustle of wind in the trees. His lightning mana crackled under his skin, urging him to be ready.

"Do you feel that?" Rifi whispered, coming to a halt.

Serra's eyes narrowed as she nodded. "It's too quiet. No life. Like everything's just… waiting."

Kaelin's hand instinctively rested on the hilt of his sword as he scanned their surroundings. "We're close to the Quirina clan, but it feels like we're walking into a trap."

Before Rifi could respond, a twig snapped—barely a sound, but enough to break the unnatural silence.

His muscles tensed, lightning mana surging in response. He turned sharply, his eyes darting to the dense undergrowth surrounding them, but there was nothing. Only the stillness.

"We need to move—" Kaelin started, but he never finished the sentence.

In the blink of an eye, shadows moved in from all directions. A dozen figures materialized from the trees around them, their forms cloaked in dark robes, faces hidden beneath deep hoods. They were fast, too fast, circling the team with deadly precision. Rifi barely had time to count them before they closed in, weapons gleaming in the dim light that filtered through the canopy above.

Rifi's heart pounded in his chest. The attackers moved like trained soldiers, each one stepping into position as if they had rehearsed this ambush a thousand times. The sound of metal scraping against leather filled the air as swords, daggers, and spears were drawn in unison.

Serra's blades were already in her hands, her posture low and ready. "Who the hell are they?" she hissed, her voice tight with tension.

"I don't know," Rifi muttered, his own swords at the ready, sparks of lightning mana flickering along the edges. His gaze shifted from one shadowy figure to the next, searching for any sign of who they were dealing with. Mercenaries? Rival city-state soldiers? Whoever they were, they had been waiting for them.

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"This is no random encounter," Kaelin growled, his sword glowing with the familiar flame of his fire mana. "They knew we were coming."

The figures said nothing, their faces obscured by their hoods. They moved with eerie coordination, their weapons gleaming as they tightened the circle around Rifi and his team. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the only sound the soft shuffle of boots on dirt and the low hum of mana in the air.

One of the attackers stepped forward, his movements deliberate and slow. His hood fell back slightly, revealing a scarred face twisted into a cruel smile. His eyes, cold and calculating, flicked between Rifi, Kaelin, and Serra with clear disdain.

"So, these are the famous Legionaries of Hepestus," the man sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "I have to admit, I didn't expect you to see through our little trap."

Kaelin's grip tightened on his sword. "Mercenaries," he muttered under his breath, his tone grim. "Looks like they've been waiting for us."

But Rifi wasn't so sure. There was something about the way they moved, the precision in their formation, that felt off. These weren't just ordinary mercenaries looking for a quick payday. They had purpose. Someone had sent them here.

Rifi couldn't get a grasp of their power, no matter how keep his mana senses were the enemy was good at keeping their secrets.

'Once they use their eye battle technique we will know.'

"Stay sharp, I don't think they are your regular mercenaries" Rifi warned, his voice low as he took a step back, his lightning mana flaring to life and now steam already evaporating from his body. "This isn't going to be an easy fight."

Without another word, the scarred man raised his sword, a signal to the others. The attack came swiftly, without hesitation.

Rifi and his team were outnumbered four to one. The enemy was experienced and coordinated, instantly long ranged attacks came at Rifis team while four of the close combat fighters surged forward at them. Fire crescents were flying at them, while one could feel earth mana closing in from underground, earth spikes were incoming.

Rifi barely had time to raise his sword before two of them were on him, their blades slashing at him from opposite sides. He moved on instinct, his body a blur as he jump dodged and rotated to the side, his sword crackling with lightning as he blocked the second strike, pushing himself away from where an earth spike appeared.

Kaelin met the onslaught head-on, his fire mana erupting around him as he deflected all fire crescents and blocking the path of the earth mana effectively destroying the incoming earth attack before it even had a chance to fully materialise, his sword then parrying the enemys sword with practiced precision. Serra danced between two fire crescents, her wind mana giving her the speed and agility to evade the strikes, her twin blades flashing as she countered the sword slash from the attacker.

Whoever these mercenaries were, they were trained—far better than the usual thugs you would encountered near the border. Each movement was calculated, their attacks designed as to isolate Rifi's team from one another.

The battle eyes technique now betraying all their stealth. With a quick glance Rifi already knew what he was against. Four red cores and eight green cores.

'This won't be an easy battle, I need to go all out.' Rifi's mind raced as he fought, his lightning mana surging through his veins. The surge of lightning within him was so intense that his skin began to darken, lightning like spot's appearing all over his body, a sign of the incredible power he was unleashing.

The scarred man noticed that something was off, so he himself now charged at Rifi in attempt to help his subordinates in eliminating Rifi.

Before the scarred man could intervene, his subordinate launched another brutal assault on Rifi. Wind Shear from one hands directly aiming at Rifi's heart, while instantly pushing himself with incredible force and wind mana in the only direction where Rifi could dodge, in order to slash at Rifi's head.

The green core mage, was too sure of himself and his speed.

Lightning mana already filling every muscle fibre and mana pathway of Rifi's to the brim. With a fluid motion, Rifi dodged the incoming Wind Shear and instantly appeared right in front of the man, The mercenary's eyes widened in shock but it was already over. A surge of lightning dancing on the tip of Rifi's sword, the tip smeared with blood protruded from the enemy's back. The sword cleanly run through the heart, death following instantaneous.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rifi saw Kaelin parry a vicious strike before countering with a powerful swing, flames erupting from his sword as it cleaved through the mercenary's armour. Serra moved like a shadow, her blades cutting through the air with deadly accuracy as she took down her opponent with swift, brutal efficiency.

"I wonder who here is getting ambushed!" Kaelin spat out with a smirk on his face.

The scarred man still calm answered to him. "I wouldn't celebrate just yet, that is if I were you."

Giving his group another order, they changed their formation.

The scarred man, a red core himself, and another red core mage were charging at Rifi. The remaining two red cores were keeping Kaeling and Serra preoccupied, while the green core mages supported them.

'I see. They intend to finish us one by one.'

The real battle was just about to start.