"Oh, a lovely couple from the Divine Sword Sect."
"Four kids from the Four Seasons Sect."
The couple met the small group 300 meters away from the cave. From this distance, they already pinpointed the location of the treasures and both groups were interested in putting their hands on them.
The two groups flared their soul power a little, showing off their Nascent Soul Stage. When they established the fact that they were both at the fifth stage, the two groups looked at each other hesitantly.
'If even one of them is at the intermediate Nascent Soul Stage, we are screwed.'
Emilia, the female of the couple from the Divine Sword Sect thought to herself while looking at the group of four. If all of them were at the low phase of the stage, then the sides would be equal.
'If they're both at the intermediate Nascent Soul Stage or higher, we are screwed.'
Fabian, the scout of the group from the Four Seasons Sect, thought to himself as he observed the group. They only showed each other their stages with a small demonstration of soul power, and they had no way of determining the exact stage of their enemies without fighting.
The risk of meeting with a high Nascent Soul Stage was low in the Outer Ring since they usually visited the Inner Ring.
"How about we first have a look at whether the treasures are obtainable or not?"
Oliver, Emilia's partner, eventually suggested this deal. Although he'd kill their enemies if they knew they'd win, he would rather not try when he didn't know the result. Even if the four of them were all at the low phase, they'd still be equal in power.
If three of the four fought against Emilia while he fought against the remaining one, there would be no guarantee for their lives.
"Fine, we can go with that."
Another man from Fabian's group said after he saw the other 3 were up for the trade.
The two groups approached the cave together and peeped inside from a couple of dozen meters away. As cultivators, they could easily inside the cave from that distance.
"Hmm, a few dead bodies from the Divine Sword Sect, a few dead wolves, a few living pups, and a few fifth-grade ores."
The girl from the Four Seasons Sect, Sophia, remarked as she peered into the cave.
"Since the dead bodies of our sect members are there, we have to ask you to leave. We will retrieve their bodies and provide them with a respectable burial."
Emilia said with a confident tone and stepped forward. However, the four just smiled confidently and dashed inside. They believed there were only two options – either the scene was exactly what it appeared to be, or they had friends inside preparing an ambush.
Emilia and Oliver grimaced but hesitated to go inside; they came to the same conclusion. Both teams didn't consider the option that there was a group from the Divine Sword Sect inside.
"We can just wait for them outside. If they come out with the ores, we will intercept them and take everything by force."
Emilia suggested the only option and Oliver agreed. They watched the four enter the cave. One went to take the ores while the other three approached one corpse each to loot their storage rings.
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Ken's group of 5 watched the four enter the cave. Although Ken's prediction about disciples from the Divine Sword Sect turned out to be correct, his hope that Henry's luck will keep them away didn't.
Ken sighed to himself silently but chose to go with the plan and deal with the problems later.
Once the four were inside the cave, he channeled a bit of Qi to the formation which lit up and started sucking energy from the hidden Qi Stones. At that moment, the enemy group felt a powerful suppression coming from the formations.
Ken's formations were beyond their rank, and now that the effect was tripled, Nascent Soul cultivators in the low phase couldn't break them easily.
The four's ability to exert Qi was heavily influenced by the formations, and even their bodies turned heavy and considerably slow.
"Crap, it's a trap! Despicable!"
One man shouted in panic when he thought that they used their friends' corpses to lure the enemy into a trap.
Without further ado, Ken's group launched an assault against the suppressed enemies while still capitalizing on the effect of surprise.
Ken appeared in the middle of the four cultivators as if materializing out of thin air.
'One Step.'
'Flash Unwind.'
With his technique in the Small Success mastery realm, his unsheathing attack reached all four, but all of them managed to block it in time. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough; one arrow came out of nowhere and plunged into one man's heart.
Another got crushed under a heavy palm despite trying to guard himself, and a third one had his throat slit by a violent stroke of a sword covered by fire held by Miles' hands.
Jane also didn't want to be outdone and attacked the fourth guy with her heavy sword, yet the woman, Sophia, blocked the strike with her own sword and attacked back. Her power was considerably lower than usual, and Jane's talismans managed to save her from a heavy injury.
"NO! How dare you use such dirty tricks? Are the disciples of the Divine Sword Sect so despicable that they will use their friends' corpses to lure enemies?"
She screamed with fury and despair. She didn't want to die and tried to bring up honor to make them stop their attacks. She noticed her three dead friends and didn't want to join them in the afterlife so soon.
"Maybe we aren't from the Divine Sword Sect."
"It can't be! The other three sects pulled their disciples from this area to allow our sects to battle it out!"
She knew that both sects used weaker sects as cannon fodder, but she will never consider the option she got killed by one.
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