Chapter 538 Seeking Refuge
Before the guy could attack, Erika swung her sword at the man's neck, wanting to end this as soon as possible.
*Clang!*
Her sword bounced off the shaft of a spear, making her click her tongue in annoyance.
"Tch."
She didn't back off and kept up the aggression, swinging her sword again.
However, it was blocked just like before, but Erika predicted such a thing. As the two weapons collided, she pulled out a short sword from her Spatial Ring and thrust it into the guy's stomach.
"What the-!"
*Puchi!*
"Ugh!"
The man tried to raise a Qi Barrier, but Erika's attack was so sudden and strong that it broke past his defenses and pierced his stomach.
Unfortunately, he wasn't dead yet, and Erika knew that.
She removed her short sword and stabbed him again with it.
The intruder managed to block it this time with his spear, but Erika had already prepared for her next attack!
'Triple Draws.'
Three illusory swords appeared around her sword, empowering it by several folds.
The guy saw the attack incoming, but there was nothing he could do. He could only curse himself for taking this job and being too weak to complete it!
"NOOOO!"
*Shing!*
Erika's sword sliced through his neck, removing his head.
After finishing him, she didn't even look at his dead body. She turned around and dashed over to her husband, who was currently fighting four people.
Meanwhile, who was on the defensive, sensed his wife approaching and smiled.
'She finished him off quickly.'
He was a bit surprised Erika could be so brutal but understood why. They were fighting at a disadvantage, and only when they were together could they make up for the deficit in numbers.
With his eyes, he signaled Erika saying, 'I'll take two, and you take the other two.'
She nodded and followed his instructions.
The four guys who were battling against Cole were surprised that their comrade died so fast, but they weren't distressed as he was just bait in the first place.
If he captured one of them himself, great. If not, it didn't matter.
However, if there was one downside to this mission that inhibited a significant portion of their strength, it was the fact that they had to capture Cole and Erika alive.
'Capture these two alive. If they are found dead, it will be your face on the bounty instead of theirs.'
That was the description of the bounty they were given, which they took very seriously.
'However, why did nobody tell us how strong these two were?!'
The four intruders thought simultaneously as Cole and Erika attacked, pushing them back.
All four of them were in the middle and later stages of the Core Formation Realm, but Cole and Erika were actually at the peak of the Realm!
Since they were the dregs of the Unorthodox Faction, they weren't given access to the best techniques or strongest abilities. Not to mention, their foundation was trash. Thus, their comparative power was weaker than their target.
The only thing they had going for them was they had more experience in taking human lives and numbers.
However, sometimes shitty teammates were worse than any enemy could ever be.
*Shing!*
Cole's sword fluttered in the wind, heading for the intruder's neck. The man wasn't even given enough time to react before his head left his body.
That one move changed the whole power dynamic of the fight.
'Now, I just need to finish this guy off, and I can help my wife.' Cole thought as he prepared for his next move.
Qi gathered around his sword, and once he depleted around 15% of his Core, he stopped.
Cole's last opponent noticed that he was preparing for a big attack, and his expression changed.
'Fuck! Screw the mission! If I don't kill him now, I'll die!' He thought and lunged at Cole, thrusting at his head.
However, Cole had just finished his preparations.
He stared at the man who attacked them out of nowhere and smiled.
'Heaven-Smiting Sword!'
He raised his sword above his head and swung!
*Swoosh!*
*BOOOOM!*
The sword came down with such an intense force that not only was the man bisected into two pieces, but he also destroyed the room!
The two people attacking Erika became disoriented and were pushed back by Cole's attack.
Erika, who sensed the technique her Husband was about to use, didn't let this opportunity pass and attacked her opponents before they could regain their senses.
Numerous fiery Qi Swords appeared around her.
'Go!'
She pointed her finger at the two men, and all the Qi Swords shot in their direction.
*Puchi!*
*Puchi!*
The swords punctured their bodies, turning them into swiss cheese, and killing them on the spot.
"Phew…!"
Erika let out a sigh of relief as she saw life fading from their eyes.
"Are you okay?"
Cole walked up to her and asked.
Erika nodded. "Mmhm. Those guys were too weak to hurt me. They were just a bit troublesome to deal with."
Cole agreed with Erika there and couldn't help but ask.
"I wonder where they came from and why they attacked us."
"Well, let's find out." Erika motioned for the two of them to loot their dead bodies.
Soon, they had 5 Spatial Rings in their hands, and when they searched them, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
"What the…?! Why is the Hidden Sanguine Sect after us?! I don't remember ever offending them!"
"Wait! Isn't this a symbol from the Crimson Slayer Sect? Why are they here?!"
"Damn! They even have a bounty to capture us alive! How'd they even get our faces?! We're just two nobodies from the middle of nowhere!"
Erika and Cole exclaimed in fear as they searched through their storage rings. Although they didn't know why this was happening to them, they learned one thing from all this.
"The Unorthodox Faction is after us!"
That's right! It was just a small Sect looking for their heads, but an entire faction!
The two felt like crying at this point. What are they supposed to do against one of the top powers on the continent?
"...H-Honey, what should we do? Where should we go? Is-Is there anywhere we CAN go?" Erika asked, her voice quivering.
Cole hugged his wife from behind to calm her down and tried to think calmly about their situation.
Right now, they were in one of the worst possible scenarios they could be in, with seemingly no way out. If they both fell into despair here, all that awaited was death or worse.
After going through numerous situations in his mind, only one had any semblance of actually working.
"...We need to take refuge at one of the Orthodox Sects. Preferably, we enter the Battle Maiden Sect as Maria is already there, but I doubt they'll let me in, considering they're an all-girls Sect," He said confidently, trying to assure his wife, but he knew just how absurd this plan was.
The top Orthodox Sects on the Western Continent don't just accept anybody into their ranks. Only the best of the best are allowed to join, and they are far from that. Their strength could be considered average at best.
Not to mention, none of the Sects were recruiting right now. They'd have to get on their knees and beg if they wanted to seek refuge in one.
Lastly, would a Sect even risk their lives for two weaklings they don't even know?
No, they wouldn't. If push comes to shove and the entire Unorthodox Faction comes knocking on their doors, the Sect won't hesitate to throw them to the curb to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.
As much as it sucked, that was the reality of their situation.
𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢
They could go into hiding, but how long will that last? The world might be big, but is it big enough to hide from one of the Continent's major powers?
Cole didn't think so.
Hell, they might have trouble leaving the city, much less finding a place they can hide out for months or even years to come.
Their last and only hope in this situation was to put their lives in the hands of someone stronger than them.
Erika fell silent after hearing her husband's suggestion, and after giving it some thought, she couldn't think of a better plan.
"Alright. We'll go with your plan, but before we do that, we have to make it out of this city alive." Erika said, not wanting to spend too long on a convoluted plan when they might not survive the day.
Cain nodded as he, too, could feel multiple auras converging on their location.
While they felt bad that they had destroyed the inn, they didn't have the luxury of apologizing.
Without any more hesitation, the two got up and left the scene. While Cole and Erika were running, they could feel the crowd staring at them as they headed for the exit.
Amongst those stares were ones filled with ill-intent and contempt.