The Almighty Ring

While the epic nautical warfare was still undergoing, Jiang Fei was completely oblivious to what was happening out of Japan.

“Are you sure that the rescue ships will arrive on time?” Jiang Fei asked, fidgetting annoyingly after waiting for so long.

“The estimated time of arrival is unchanged,” Z8-001 replied monotonously.

“Alright then,” Jiang Fei replied and nodded. It was roughly an hour left until the rescue ships arrived to pick them up. Jiang Fei was prepared to wait for another 30 minutes before he led everyone to the beach and left this god-forsaken land.

As the seconds ticked by, everyone grew increasingly anxious, even Jiang Fei. Only the Androids were unfazed about the tense atmosphere.

Even though Jiang Fei had everything planned out, facing the Mutants who had the terrain and number advantage was dangerous. Especially since they were all evacuating and not preparing for a fight. They did not have much of a choice. They did, but they did not want to continue fighting the Mutants. The only way of getting out alive, besides fighting all the Mutants, was to rely on the military’s aid.

The night was dark and full of terrors but where Jiang Fei and the others were, it was eerily quiet. However, one of the martial artists thought that it was a good time to sharpen their sword, using nothing but flat rocks as a substitute whetstone. When one started, the others followed. Soon, the night was no longer quiet, merely dark and full of terrors.

“If only you guys could use that brains of your instead of your emotions, we would have already defeated all of the Mutants by now! Sheesh!” Jiang Fei screamed in his mind. Even though he was mad, he understood that the courage they had right now was forced out of them from desperation and the fear of dying without a cause.

“Captain, I have detected life form approaching our current location,” 0541 suddenly call out to Jiang Fei.

“Where?” Jiang Fei asked.

“Northwest, 2,000 meters and closing,” 0541 answered.

“How many are they? What is their power level?”

“One, approximately at Level 3.”

“Huh. Must be a scout! I’ll deal with him!”

Jiang Fei shot up to his feet and prepared to track him down. If that scout was 500 meters or closer, he would be able to detect Jiang Fei and all of the martial artists.

“Brother Jiang Fei, where are you going?” Bai Wanli reacted immediately when Jiang Fei shot to his feet.

“There’s a fly and I’m going to swat him!” said Jiang Fei, smiling before dashing off at great speed.

Jiang Fei being a Level 4 at the Pinnacle stage could easily run 2,000 meters fairly quickly without even losing his breath. He then arrived at the designated location which 0541 had guided him to.

“This it? A frog?” Jiang Fei asked when 0541 had informed him of the Level 3 lifeform.

“Yes. This frog has a power level of 3. It seems that there is no superior beast that could be as strong as a Metahuman. Hence, I have concluded that this frog should be an Animorph.”

“Nuff said.”

Jiang Fei did not give the frog a chance to react. He dashed behind him and slashed it in half before it could even croak.

The frog was… just a frog. It could not even make a squeak as Jiang Fei slashed him in half. As soon as it was dead, the Animorph’s ability withered away revealing his true form, a regular human being that was slashed in half.

…

“Frogman is killed!” cried one of the Mutants, running towards Lincoln when Jiang Fei had slashed him in half. The man was carrying a small machine with blinking light. The one with the name “Frogman” was blown out.

“Where is Frogman’s last known position?” Lincoln asked, without feeling any sort of emotion for the dead.

“15 kilometers towards the east!”

“Have the Crows investigate that position,” said Lincoln before turning to Baron Blood.

“You guys head over there as well. Be careful. If you find enemies, do not attempt to chase after them. Do your best to stall them for us.”

“Will do, sir,” Baron Blood replied before joining the Crows and head towards the place where Frogman died.

…

Jiang Fei returned to the group and decided to immediately change their hiding position. If his experience had taught him, killing a scout would only expose their position to the enemy. Although they did not have their exact position, it was still best to get away from there.

“We have been discovered. We need to move!” said Jiang Fei as he made the announcement.

“But.. if we move, would it be too far from the rendezvous point?” Ding Tianqi asked worriedly. He represented those that wanted to leave Japan and was worried that they might miss the rendezvous time.

“Hmph. Very well then. If we don’t change our position, we could fight them head on. If you want, I have plans for an ambush!” Jiang Fei scoffed, purposely making a taunt to challenge the frightened martial artists.

“Uhm…” Ding Tianqi whimpered like a sad dog. The reason they wanted to leave Japan was to preserve the survival of their respective sects. If they had the courage to fight the Mutants, they would not have run.

“Shut up. Brother Jiang Fei, I apologize for the rest of them. Whatever is your plan, we will follow,” said Bai Wanli, glaring at Ding Tianqi before exchanging a look with Ganyang Zhenren. Both of them agreed to leave, not because they were afraid, but they knew, strategically speaking, it was best not to engage with the enemy before the rendezvous time. Another reason why Bai Wanli and Ganyang Zhenren was on Jiang Fei’s side was Jiang Fei’s competent leadership. For all the time they had spent in Japan, Jiang Fei had proven to be wise. Even though he was young, much younger than all of the elders then, he was familiar with battle and all that was under his wing did not suffer too many injuries.

“If there’s no one against it, let us move right away!” said Jiang Fei.

When Bai Wanli and Ganyang Zhenren had agreed, there was no reason for anyone else to disagree. To be fair, they did not dare to voice out their disagreement. Everyone followed Jiang Fei and followed a small route away from the beach. Z8-001 and his team of Androids followed them as well since their mission was to escort them safely until they were all evacuated from Japan.

Not 5 minutes after Jiang Fei had left, a murder of crows flew past the night sky. The same murder of crows descended downward and morph into their human form before landing on the ground. 3 minutes after, 30 red cloaks arrived at the scene.

“Did you find anything?” Baron Blood asked, stoic and unfazed even after running at an intense speed.

“Yes. I have found tracks of a large group of people here. 1,000 meters that way, I have found the dead body of Frogman. The man was buried in a shallow grave and was covered properly. It took me a while but I could still exhume the poor man,” said one of the Crows.

“Whatever happened with the martial artists?” Baron Blood asked, looking around the area.

“Oddly enough, even though I discovered their tracks, they seem to disappear after around 10 kilometers. I doubt anyone of them could outrun me. Either they could fly and cover their tracks or become invisible,” said the same man.

“Invisible, you say?” Baron Blood asked, arching an eyebrow as he did. It was one of the thoughts that eluded Baron Blood. The movement of the martial artists had been mysterious. Their movements seemed to be elusive, as if all of them could become invisible!