NOVEL NEXT Chapter 367: Lilith's Turn
Ren turned his gaze from the ruby fragment to the pillar of light.
"Tsk." He shook his head.
Now, everybody knew his location. But he'd planned for this.
A soft crack of air split the quiet as Ren disappeared.
An instant later, he appeared beside Lilith in a soft whoosh of air to find himself standing at the edge of a smooth stone slope overlooking a shallow gorge in the middle of the forest.
The world around them was dark, cold, and silent, save for the pillar of red light that he had left behind, still shining from where he'd left with the blood ruby.
Lilith didn't flinch at his appearance. She'd expected it.
She stood with her arms folded, her weight balanced on one leg, eyes narrowed toward the direction of the pillar of light. Wind tugged gently at her cloak, revealing the glint of her throwing knives beneath.
"You're late." She said without looking at him.
"I got caught up stretching." Ren replied, brushing blood from the side of his neck. "Ran into two Knights who thought they could take my ruby. Turns out they were wrong."
Lilith turned her head slightly, arching a brow. "How wrong?"
"Dead wrong." Ren said with a faint grin.
The red light continued to shine for three more seconds, before going out. It had already done its job.
Ren glanced up at the space in the distance where it had been in, then toward Lilith, who returned her gaze to the gorge.
"So far, the plan's working."
She nodded. "Leave a trail. Let them come to where we've already left."
This was why they had split up. The plan would start with Ren. He'd take care of the first team, and when he gets the fragment, teleport to Lilith.
Anybody around there would head to the pillar of light, and would meet a fat load of nothing, since Ren would've already teleported away.
Ren would teleport to Lilith, they would both take care of the next team, then teleport to Thorn, who would be tracking the third team.
They'll repeat the process and teleport to the coin Ren had dropped at the gate they'd used to get into the forest, then walk out with the three fragments.
Everyone else back inside the forest would be wondering where they'd gone, even as the pillar of light still shined at the location they'd already left.
But the plan had hinged on two things.
The first was Ren being able to take out the first team by himself. With the fact that he couldn't be killed, and the assumption that most of the participants were not stronger than Rank 6, they were confident that Ren would be able to do it.
After all, the people with higher ranks and much stronger power didn't need to take exams like them. The fact that they were that powerful was enough to showcase their strength.
Instead, they are either accepted or rejected at the gate of Carthage by the elders, who use their secret criteria based on who would be easier to control if allowed access into Carthage. No one wanted to invite a fox into the chicken coop.
The second thing that they were counting on was that when Ren teleported, he would be leaving the pillar of light behind. They didn't know if the pillar would follow after Ren teleported, but they'd been willing to take a chance on it.
And luckily, their chance had paid off.
"So, where's the team with the second fragment?" Ren asked.
"In there." Lilith motioned to the gorge below with her chin.
Ren tilted his head, impressed. "Nice spot. You tracked them here?"
Lilith's eyes narrowed. "They've been using this gorge as a funnel. The terrain's on their side, and they're fast. As they're down below, they already have solid footing, and anybody trying to get down to them would be making themselves vulnerable."
She nodded in thought. "They're smart. I'll give them that. Foolish to be taking the test, but smart with their strategy."
Ren stepped closer to the edge of the slope, peering down into the valley of jagged stone and low brush. "Tell me about them."
"Three of them." Lilith said evenly. "Elite scouts. Light armor. Nimble."
"Scouts?" Ren's brows rose on his forehead. "Why are they here? They don't have the firepower this exam requires."
"One of them can deflect any physical object in midair." Lilith turned to look at Ren. "Doesn't matter what you throw. Arrows, rocks, blades, as long as he can see it coming, they all curve away. He's the defense."
"And the others?"
"Coordination and speed." She said. "They've trained so well together that they fight as if they're sharing a single brain. They make use of people's flanks and stagger their movements."
"But like you said, they have no real firepower. They win by outmaneuvering."
Ren nodded slowly. "So one tank, and no finishers."
"One tank, no finisher." Lilith confirmed. "Just legs and timing."
He considered that, fingers flexing slightly. "Shouldn't be hard, then. I'll lead—"
"Don't." Her voice was calm, but firm.
Ren turned to her. Lilith was watching him now, eyes serious.
"This one's mine." She said.
He raised an eyebrow.
"I know their type." She added. "They rely on rhythm. On patterns. That's what makes them dangerous."
"And you want to break that rhythm?"
Lilith gave him a slow, sharp smile. "No. I'm going to dance to it."
Ren chuckled. "You've been waiting for this."
"Of course." She grinned. "I've been waiting to stretch too."
Lilith rolled her shoulders, stepping forward, her cloak flaring behind her.
Ren stepped back, motioning to the gorge with an open hand. "All yours, my lady."
Lilith passed him with barely a sound, her knives gleaming as she stepped to the edge of the gorge and jumped down.
"Have fun!" Ren watched her go.
"One ruby down," he murmured to himself, "and another about to come wrapped like a gift."
He turned his eyes back to the darkness of the gorge below.
He was sure the scouts in there were pretty good at ambushes, but this was Lilith.
They'd already lost.