John’s journey through the lava-filled land continued for another week, as more trials appeared which he participated in. However, none were True Warrior Trials as well, a fact that disappointed him.
‘It seems like the True Warrior Trials are quite rare, but I suppose that makes sense. If every trial was a True Warrior Trial, the death count of the Jade Dragon Empire youths would have been incalculable. I’m sure this lava-filled land was quite dangerous to most of the youths that entered, it’s just that I’m a bit of an exception when it comes to difficulty scaling.’
The journey through the lava-riddled land had been quite adventurous, but nothing that really pushed John to the edge other than the True Warrior Trial. However, he was not too disappointed, as this much was expected. There was still a good portion of the Jade Dragon Empire trial lands to explore, and he was sure that the danger level as well as rewards of the trials would continue to grow.
A crescent moon rose high in the sky as the sun set over the horizon, barely illuminating the land before John. Only the glow of the surrounding lava gave any light to the land, but that glow slowly faded away as John found himself finally leaving the land of lava.
An expansive grassland filled with flowers and long grass stretched out before him, and in the very far distance, another mountain range was visible. At the same time, the mountain ranges to either side of him that lined the warrior trial land started to lessen, revealing that the division between the trials was soon to come to an end..
A small amount of light glowed in the far distance towards the mountains, which John peered towards to identify.
“It looks like it could be another city. I guess that’s the way to go then,” John said as he started proceeding towards the lights in the distance roughly forty miles away.
The darkness of night slowly thickened as all light from the sun finally faded away; the only source of light remaining being the thin crescent moon high above. However, even in this dim light, John was able to see most of his surroundings, with his divine sense also aiding his vision.
John’s instincts suddenly flared in warning as the slightest hint of killing intent washed over him. It was so faint as to be easily overlooked as a mistaken feeling, but John trusted his instincts. He suddenly dodged to the side, and the glimmer of a dagger piercing by and catching the moonlight from above appeared in his vision for the briefest of moments before disappearing. He could tell that the dagger was held by a shadowed and black clothed youth, whose body also seemed to vanish into thin air after the attack missed.
His divine sense flared out with maximum power as he raised his guard to his limits. A faint shimmer was detected by his divine sense, as if something was there and not there at the same time. It was a strange feeling, and the shimmer popped in and out of existence, as if traveling through space itself.
John’s eyes narrowed as he tried to lock onto the shimmering existence, which also seemed to meld into the darkness in a similar fashion to the Abyss-Shadow Spider. His body suddenly flashed to the side again as another dagger narrowly passed by, its speed and sharpness shocking even John. Clearly whoever was trying to attack him was incredibly talented, and an idea of who it was popped into John’s mind.
“You must be the genius from the Nightveil Assassin Guild I’ve heard about,” John said out loud, his voice cold but calm. When he had attacked the six Nightveil Assassin Guild youths in front of the ancient city, he had been warned by a member of his sect about the powerful youth from the guild.
John had inspected the Jade Dragon List earlier in the day, and had noticed the youth on the list. His ranking was eleven, a testament to his terrifying talent and lethality. John had scoffed at the warning, as he did not consider the assassin a threat when he heard about him, but he couldn’t help but be impressed at what he was encountering at the moment.
His statement was met with silence, as another dagger pierced from the shadows, appearing from out of nowhere. John once again narrowly dodged the dagger, which cut a small portion of his sleeve.
“There’s no use in denying it,” John said out loud again. “There’s only one youth in our Honorable Alliance that can do what’s being done right now, so I know it’s you, Number One.”
The Nightveil Assassin Guild youths did not have names, and instead went by their rankings within the sect as their name. This helped them remain anonymous, making it much harder for anyone to find out about their past and use any information against them. Naturally, the strongest disciple of the Guild was named Number One.
“Hmph, not bad,” a cold voice sounded out from within the darkness. John’s divine sense tried to lock onto the location of the voice to find the youth, but couldn’t lock onto his location. “I had doubts about your ranking, and considered such a job beneath myself, but you are the first person to ever dodge my assassination arts. It seems as though your ranking is well deserved.”
Che!
Another dagger flashed from within the darkness, followed by several more. John’s body dodged to the side quickly, narrowly avoiding each attack as he relied on his powerful divine sense and instincts to warn him and guide his moments. However, his eyes narrowed slightly as he could tell these attacks were different from the first one.
The first had been an attack with the intent on taking his life in a single blow, and would have succeeded were it not for his freakish instincts and reaction time. However, these attacks were now different, as the daggers were being thrown at him from the shadows, while the first attack had been personally carried out by Number One.
However, despite the fact that the attacks were different, they were no less lethal. Each dagger had a sharpness that shocked even John, and he knew his body would be injured by such sharp and powerful weapons. Not only that, but there were more attacks now, as multiple daggers were thrown from all directions in quick succession.
John’s body blurred as he continued to dodge the attacks, and after a brief assault, the attacks ceased. His divine sense continued to try to lock onto the youth, whose figure shimmered in and out of existence, making it hard to lock onto.
“These attacks of yours are clearly being done with the intent to claim my life,” John said, his voice drifting into the darkness. “Don’t you think that’s a bit overboard for me just taking a single hand from your guildmates?”
“Normally you would be correct, and I would only be here to take your hand in recompense, the same you did to my fellow guildmates” the youths voice drifted out from amongst the shadows, “but your case is special. Your talent is monstrous, and if I just take your hand and leave you alive, you’ll no doubt seek revenge in the future. That is a risk I’m not willing to take, and so I will be taking your life today.”
“Hahaha,” John laughed confidently, “your attacks have failed to reach me a single time. How are you planning to accomplish such a thing?”
“Because you’ve already fallen for my trap,” the youth’s voice drifted out, as light suddenly flared out from beneath John’s feet.