The faces of all present turned dark as they stared at the scene below. These villagers, although they were not strategically important to the Heavenly Lightning Sect, were still considered to be under their protection.
They were just mortals peacefully living out their lives, but the Bloodfiend Sect had deigned to slaughter them mercilessly.
John suddenly felt a powerful divine sense release from Elder Rein and wash over the village below. It retracted after a short moment.
"The area is clear. Let us land and inspect the village for any clues. Gather in the village center in fifteen minutes to discuss any findings," Elder Rein instructed to his squadron. His eyes swept out over the land before they descended, looking for any signs of those who had come and left.
The village was surrounded by an incredibly thick and expansive forest, and so if the assailants were to flee through the forest, it would be quite hard to spot them.
The squadron immediately descended to the village below. John landed in the village center, his face incredibly dark.
Around him were the corpses of hundreds of people, brutally mutilated, charred, and severed. The scent of blood and seared flesh filled his nostrils, but John ignored it as he began to look around for clues.
The rest of the squadron did the same, and they searched every inch of the village. Fifteen minutes quickly passed by, and the group regathered at the village center.
"The corpses here are all male," Elder Rein said to the group. "There are no corpses of the women or children, so the assailants have clearly taken them captive."
The dark faces of the group darkened further as they all had noticed the same thing. If they were not able to help those women and children, their short lives would be incredibly miserable before they died. The Bloodfiend Sect did unspeakable things to its captives in the name of raising their cultivations.
"Elder Rein," a third year disciple stepped forward. "I found this."
He outstretched his hands, and the group could see a small piece of cloth in his hands. It was blood red, and perfectly matched the color of the Bloodfiend Sect.
"So it was the Bloodfiend Sect," Elder Rein sighed. "But this find is good. It should help us track them down, if they're not too far away by now. The village seemed to have been attacked quite recently, and they're tied down transporting women and children. Let us hope we still have time."
A creature suddenly appeared next to Elder Rein, slightly surprising John.
'It seems like he has an animal companion as well.'
The beast was a large dog, completely red in color. It stood as tall as Elder Reins shoulders, and emanated a Core Formation cultivation. Elder Rein grabbed the piece of cloth from the youth, and put it in front of the beast's nose.
"Nara, which direction did they go?" he asked as the beast began to smell the cloth.
The beast took in many quick whiffs of the cloth, and began to turn around in a circle, smelling the air. John was slightly surprised that this was the method they were using to track the assailants down with, but it made sense however.
The assailants were far out of divine sense range by now, so this was their only hope at the moment. After a brief moment of smelling the air, Nara suddenly locked onto one direction. The beast stared in the direction for a moment, before letting out a soft growl.
"That direction? That's not towards the Bloodfiend Sect, but towards the next closest village. We set off at once," Elder Rein stated as the flying ship suddenly appeared before them. The group quickly boarded the ship, and Elder Rein piloted it to fly rapidly towards the next village.
The ship sped forward for several minutes, before it suddenly came to a stop. A village in the distance came into view, but no signs of damage were visible. Elder Rein strained his eyes, and his gaze furrowed as he spotted something.
"Wait here one moment," Elder Rein instructed, as he suddenly left the ship.
The group waited there patiently, and John could feel the battle intent of the squadron of disciples begin to rise, slightly surprising him.
"What's going on?" John curiously asked.
"Elder Rein has spotted the group of assailants. He's currently scouting their strength, and if their strength isn't too far above ours, we will begin battle at once," Steven replied, as if this was a common occurrence.
"Oh," John replied.
'It seems like the time to officially start my mission has finally come. Hopefully there will be a suitable person to take the identity of in the group.'
Several minutes later, Elder Rein returned to the ship. His gaze was hardened, and his battle intent was climbing as well.
He stood before the group, his expression serious. "Their squadron consists of sixteen members, two Elder's, one at the Late Meridian Forging Realm, and one at the Middle Meridian Forging Realm. Other than that, they have fourteen disciples, and their cultivations are slightly higher on average than ours. With this in mind, I will not force any of you to join the battle."
"Elder Rein, do you still look down on us?" one of the disciples stated.
"Right. Who cares if they're stronger. All that happens is we die, but we refuse to let the Bloodfiend Sect trample over our lands and our people," another stated, his voice filled with vigor and pride.
The rest of the group agreed, their hearts and fighting spirits one in the same. John raised his eyebrows in surprise at their attitudes. It was the first time he had seen such passion from his fellow Heavenly Lightning Sect disciples, and he was immediately impressed by them.
'Unlike those useless pampered disciples who fear battle, these disciples truly are willing to fight with their lives on the line. The War Hall is truly incredible.'
Elder Rein smiled as he stared at the squadron before him. "Good. Such are attitudes cultivators should have. I should be able to handle the two Elders for a good period of time. You'll be outnumbered, but we do have a promising new member in our midst this time," Elder Rein stated as he, as well as the rest of the group looked towards John.
"Before we start this mission. I need to fully assess our combat strength. Normally cultivations alone would suffice, but I've heard that your case is...a bit different than normal," Elder Rein said to John. "As such, what level is your combat prowess at right now?" Elder Rein asked.
The eyes of the entire group fell on John, so waited for his answer as well. They had all heard several rumors about him, but none had ever seen him fight. When he had slain hunter, they had been out on a mission.
John thought about the question for a moment before replying.
'I suppose I haven't thought about this for quite some time. My essence cultivation is at the Late Core Formation Realm, while my body is at the Middle Core Formation Realm. In the past, this would have allowed me to jump one and a half realms, so I would be able to overwhelm someone one minor realm higher than me. Since going from Late Core Formation to Early Meridian Forging is akin to a two minor realm increase in power, this means I would be able to fight against an Early Meridian Forging Cultivator.
However, my essence dantian is now incredibly firm and powerful, and my combat prowess has exploded as of late due to my training with the Vice-Sect Leader. Not only that, but I further strengthened my lightning Qi with the Nascent Yang Pills, as well as my body with the Blood Fruit Pill. With all this in mind…"
John looked back up at Elder Rein after ruminating for some time. "Do you want what I can fight against, or what I can kill?" John asked.
"What you can fight evenly against is fine for now. I just need to gauge your overall combat strength," Elder Rein clarified.
"If that's the case, then I should be able to fight evenly against a Middle Meridian Forging cultivator," John replied casually.
A deafening silence descended within the ship.