91 The Way Back 1 (1/2)
Chapter 91: The Way Back 1
Quickly catching up to the carriage that had already pulled ahead, Garen jumped onto it.
The two black carriages rapidly ran in parallel on the winding road. The noise of rolling wheels and horse hooves hitting the cement road sounded especially crisp in the quiet surroundings as if these were the only two carriages around.
With a calm expression, Garen sat next to the driver.
”This exchange was plotted by our enemies and was a mission against the Southern Twelve Gates as a whole. Our opponent could instantly expose each Gate’s internal weakness and combine this with attacks from the outside. They were able to assemble forces from so many different backgrounds…” Garen then thought about his fight against Sylphalan, ”Why did it have to be last night? All combat forces have now been eliminated, so they must be planning to overthrow the Southern Twelve Gates …”
He became even more cautious.
”With this situation, the hidden masterminds behind this mission will not let us slip away that easily. However, covered by the military forces, our allied gates are running in different directions and the enemy men would have to split up to chase us as well.”
Garen closed his eyes, stopped thinking, and started meditating. In the end, all he could do right now was fight with whoever was in his way. The clowns from earlier were just an appetizer and the real trouble had yet to come.
Having mastered the White Cloud Gate’s secret arts and transcended to a level no man had ever reached before, he knew his own strengths very well. As exaggerated and powerful as it sounded, even he was not sure of what he could do.
Garen could only compare himself to the competition he had met recently.
The only person who could rival him right now would be Celestial Star Gate’s Tenstar Ni. Garen could feel a subtle, yet dangerous, aura from him.
As Garen traveled on the carriage, he organized his thoughts and prepared his body for the next storm.
The other disciples were feeling much more secure after Garen had returned. Carrie was in charge of caring for Fei Baiyun, who was still in a coma. She frequently wiped away sweat from his brow.
”Collin, do you know who our biggest rival is?” Garen suddenly asked.
”It would be the Fighting Association. Their president has held a long grudge against Master Fei for many years, so he won’t let this opportunity slip by!” Collin seemed worried.
”Fighting Association…” Garen was not worried about the Fighting Association, but concerned about the powers behind them. After all, most of Fighting Association’s forces had been wiped out and the rest would not pose a threat to him.
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On the side of the road near the outer edge of the city, an old man with a silver beard and hair stood beside a window on the second floor of a small hotel as he waited for the approaching carriages.
”Looks like the Fighting Association couldn’t stop these three gates, so we’ll have to do it ourselves.”
”It can’t be helped.” In the shadows behind him, a woman with a pale face answered in a low voice. ”A small sect like the Fighting Association didn’t have anyone strong to begin with. They were all second to third class fighters and barely able to make a name for themselves. What did you expect from them?”
While dressed in a black suit, the lady played with a small dagger in her hands. Her suit did not have a left sleeve and her exposed arm revealed a tattoo of a huge spotted python on her pale skin. The dagger twirled and cut through the air, making swoosh noises.
”Any word from the other squads?”
The old man nodded. ”We just learned that of the ten squads that went on the mission, three of them were unsuccessful. One of them failed because Eastern Pole Gate’s master woke up and struggled with his last bit of strength to fight off our men. In addition to that squad, the squads that faced off against White Cloud Gate and the Lucene Brotherhood also failed. The Lucene Brotherhood’s master was seriously injured, but his second eldest son showed up. This young man had arms harder than steel and he was so fast that bullets couldn’t hit him, so he must have mastered the secret techniques of the Wind of Lucene and the Lucene Steel Fists.”
He paused to take a breath and continued, ”White Cloud Gate’s senior disciple Garen has mastered the gate’s only secret technique, the Mammoth Secret Technique. His strength is on par with his master when his master was young.”
”Are they both Grade E?”
”I’m sure.” The old man nodded.
”Are we going to stop them ourselves?” The woman was starting to doubt herself.
”No need. We can wait and let others deplete their energy first. Only in times of hardship like this can one see the true strengths of a sect. Just look at the Lucene Brotherhood and now the White Cloud Gate. We should remain patient. What if some other strong force was to intervene? Then we’d be in real trouble.” The old man sounded like he was speaking to the woman, but also talking to himself.
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In the woods across from the road, it was completely quiet without the chirping of birds or insects. Behind some tall bushes and thick tree trunks, the faint sounds of breathing could be heard.
There were countless men hiding in this forest by the road.
This was the last stretch of road before reaching the city.
Sitting next to the driver, Garen raised his alertness while everyone in the carriages lowered their heads and hid behind the sides. Fortunately, the sides of these carriages were more than a meter tall and more than enough for them to hide behind.