There was no need to be a genius to guess that the people that this Gu Tao was selling information were from the Eagle Kingdom. Even though each of the parts made sure to at least partially obscure the real things they asked or answered in case someone overhear the overall idea was clear.
The trio that had arrived first wanted to know about how was the city defended, details such as who will be the commander, etc. They were also very interested in knowing about the movements of mortals, albeit even Gu Tao could not say why everyone was evacuated to the Wildlands.
There was at least another part to the task of the trio, one that they had referred to as a tour. Wu Guang could either follow them and try to see what they were up to or capture them right now and hope to find anything by interrogation.
He could also partially or completely ignore them, but well... Chun Hua wanted a body, didn't she?
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Having been here for almost two hours already, Gu Tao was far more calmed than when he had arrived. He expected anything to happen, but it seemed that these three did not intend to scam him anyway. Even if they wanted to do something later, the gold was already with him, and inside the city, he would be safe.
The mentioned trio of cultivators had also relaxed slightly. After all, if this was a trap, it would have sprung already. And so, even though they maintained their auras extended, internally they were far less vigilant than at the start.
And so when a figure suddenly emerged from below a pile of debris less than a hundred feet from them, the four were taken aback.
Using this advantage, Wu Guang threw his 'Sun Disks'. Right after disappearing from the spot using 'Counting Steps to Heaven and Earth'.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Clink* *Clink*
His first throw was intended to test the foreign cultivators. And they indeed were not bad. Even though the attack was unexpected, two of them still launched towards his position almost immediately. As for the leader, she unsheathed a strange curved sword and blocked both of the chakrams. Thus protecting her men and letting them go after the attacker right away.
Regretfully for them, they simply could not find anyone. Wu Guang had not dispelled his concealment, and neither he had used his aura while attacking right now. Having scouted the ruins several times during the previous visit, he immediately found a place that could hide him from their eyes.
"There is no one here!"
"Could not have moved very far, we should comb the ruins"
"Spread your aura and keep each other in sight. Red goes left. Blue takes the right. I will follow from the middle. Move towards that remaining building"
The Eagle Kingdom soldiers were trained enough and their leader was quick enough to understand that they were ambushed by someone stronger. Or at least not weaker than the three combined, as concealing one's strength in the Soul realm would be only possible if the opponent was stronger than the detection ability.
Neither of them knew why someone decided to attack them right now, but the fact that this was mostly a probing, if not playing attack was apparent. Having no place nearby to retreat except the building, Gold, the leader, decided to do so.
In the worst of cases, they could always contact the other teams. Albeit first, she had to check if the attacker had come for them or not. Because of this, neither she nor her two subordinates touched the chakrams, leaving them lying on the ground. After all, if it was someone that came for Gu Tao... Then there should be a chance to not get involved.
Speaking of Gu Tao, he was indeed Wu Guang's first target. With the former being a local, letting him escape would mean having a lot of trouble finding him later. Gu Tao had instantly dropped to the ground as soon as the chakrams were thrown, and right now he had rolled into a ditch, seemingly intending to escape as soon as everyone left. Surprisingly, the three foreigners did not even look in his direction, could be that they decided to ditch him and see what would the attacker do? "If they are so kind to let me finish with him first, then let me do so" Wu Guang thought while observing from behind what was before an enormous dojo, and now was reduced to just a pair of stacked stone piles.
When he noticed that the three foreign cultivators moved more than halfway to the main ruin, Wu Guang took out his saber.
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A minute later, the three Eagle Kingdom soldiers, as Wu Guang guess was indeed correct, reached the building. The door was slightly opened, and after making sure they could not sense anything, the three entered.
*SLAM*
And slammed the door shut. It would not be a protection against a cultivator, but at least it may serve as an alarm when it was opened or broken down.
"Gu Tao is dead" Suddenly the leader jerked. She had spread her aura to the utmost distance possible, and just now felt like the presence of a peak Spirit realm cultivator, Gu Tao, disappeared.
"Lieutenant, who attacked us?" The one that was referred to before as Red asked via qi transmission.
"Most probably a local cultivator. Nothing was said, so we can only guess the reason"
"But who could conceal himself so perfectly? Both I and Blue were scanning the area permanently, so that means he or she was already there when we arrived"
"Indeed. This isn't a common cultivator. Still, there was no killing intent behind the chakram throw, let's hope it was simply a warning"
*BOOM**CRASH*
"Regretfully for you three, it was not a warning" The entire right door was sent crashing to the floor and a young voice was heard. There was no threat behind it, but even so, the three of them grew nervous.
And how could not they? Their instincts and experience said that their opponent was a cultivator stronger than them, but they could not sense anything about him at all!
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Wu Guang, neither now or during his life as Bai Qi liked stealthy killings. He had always considered that if there was a fight, it should be a clean showdown between experts. Granted, there were a few moments when deceipt and backstabs were required, but overall he still considered himself an honest fighter.
Even so, when he stealthily moved behind Gu Tao and separated the latter's head from the body with a single slash without even letting the, now dead, traitor see the killer... Somehow it all felt correct.
With the only local dead, his body and possessions stored in Wu Guang's storage ring, there was no real need for stealth anymore. After all, even if one of the eagles escaped, which was doubtful, the overall plan was broken. Plus, Wu Guang did not feel the need to overexert himself much.
And so, decided to simply treat this as another one of his sparrings. If he managed to capture or eliminate the three of the unexpected visitors from the Eagle Kindom, then it was perfect. If he could not do so with normal means, then letting one escape was not a big loss. If he was in danger himself he would resort to his other means, a few of which he prepared before even approaching.
Namely, Wu Guang had set up a pair of fire and lighting mind traps on the road. Albeit their main use was to cover him against any other sudden arrivals. "If there are three Soul realm cultivators from the Eagle Kingdom here already, that means that at least a single ship has already made landfall. And it did it far more to the north than expected, or they would be noticed already" Wu Guang concluded before requesting Chun Hua to continue guarding the approach to the ruins.
AS for the trio, he decided to meet them in open combat. He would enter it being safe of his safety, so it was far-fetched to call it life-death, and so the entire battle would be the perfect training for him.
He calmly approached the door of the ruins, which the trio had closed as to serve them for an alarm, and managed to overhear part of the qi transmissions shared by the cultivators inside. "Not a normal cultivator? Well, let them confirm their idea. If one of them escapes, or I choose to let him, then it will be a perfect call to attention for the entire Army. I doubt that they will stop or change their plan, but at least they will be forced to be a bit more cautious. Which converts into a day or two more without real action for my, or well the allied, side" Thinking along this line, Wu Guang chose the most basic, if not barbarian, method to enter.
*BOOM**CRASH*
"Regretfully for you three, it was not a warning" Rewording part of what he intercepted, Wu Guang simply kicked one of the sides and entered.
A moment of silence ensued, and Wu Guang used it to examine the three people, or enemies, in front.
The leader was a tall, almost as Wu Guang himself, young woman. She wasn't pretty, but her overall looks would be considered attractive. Short-haired and with a strong jaw, her big eyes and pointed nose added some kind of unexpected charm to an otherwise plain, if not manly, face. With a slender but muscular build, draped in a light leather armor complimented with shoulder, knees, hand, and even boot guards made of the same, probably quasi-spirit beast, darkened leather, she was the only one of the three that did not show any panic on her face.
The other two were dressed similarly and were pretty much plain-looking. Wu Guang considered that their normal, five and seven height, plus the common looking faces, without any detail to catch one's attention, would perfectly blend into any crowd. And from what he had overheard about a tour into Boundary Hill City, most probably that was the idea behind their presence.
The three of them held weapons, and Wu Guang made a mental note on checking them more closely if it was possible. A mix between a saber and a sword, they were about four feet long in total. With a plain, perpendicular, guard and a similar wooden handle, they looked simple, even a bit cheap. As for the blade, which was the part that caught his attention, it was a three-foot-long, one-sided blade. The interesting detail was the addition of not one but two channels for blood and the strange curved and thickening upper third. Even scrounging all of his memories, he could simply not name a weapon similar to it. And considering the lack of adornment, lack of spirituality, and that the three were equal could mean only that it was indeed a common weapon from the Kingdom.
Wu Guang also noted the difference between their cultivations. They were only a level apart, but the leader woman seemed to have a far better grasp of her cultivation than the other two, at least Wu Guang senses said that she was by far more dangerous, and trained, than the other two.
Seeing that the cultivator that had killed Gu Tao, and most probably a local genius they were not informed of, simply stood there analyzing them made Yuan Xiuying, or Gold as she was supposed to be called while on a mission, shiver. It was a young, even younger than her man, but the coldness behind his eyes showed that he regarded them only as possible prey. Still, he was dressed in common clothes and so possibly could be not from one of the powers. Which meant that any attempt to defuse the situation should be made, even if to gain a chance to send the message glyph she was holding in her left, hidden behind her back, hand.
"Friend, I do not know what did the man we met here did to you, but we are not his allies. If this is your territory, then please excuse us for barging in. Is it possible for you to allow us safe passage? We would leave right away" Hoping for the best she asked.
"Mmm, it is indeed my territory. And except for the 'Three Hills Sect' disciples, no one should come here. And even if they came, they should notify me before. The rules I set are clear, no one can come or... exit without my permission" Wu Guang decided to play along with the proposed matter about this being his territory. At least while preparing to release his aura.
Speaking of his aura, he had stopped his cultivation at a bad moment, and so until now, he could not use it fully. That being the main reason why he simply did not overwhelm, and suppress, all the four conspirators before.