A Chaotic World

By taking advantage of a secret passageway that apparently even the other members of the Frost Guards were unaware of until the fateful day of their escape from Frostguard Mountain, the infiltration team made their way straight into the heart of the mountain.

"The distraction teams have engaged the enemies, it's time for us to go," Nanshen Qin said via voice conveyance.

With that, he exited from the passageway and sped through the familiar corridors, the rest of the team swiftly following without a word.

As instructed by Nanshen Qin, Lu Tianzi stuck close to him. As someone who was not familiar with the terrain, the last thing he wanted was for his carelessness to end up jeopardising the entire operation.

In order to appear less conspicuous, the infiltration team comprised only four men – Nanshen Qin, Lu Tianzi, Nanlian Hui, and a Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm member of the Frost Guards named Nanguo Lin.

Although all of them were hiding their presence, there were still some in the opposing camp who could detect them. But with such a number, even if they were to enter the range of their enemies' perception, it would at least be less likely to trigger their suspicions.

"There are three ahead, just around the corner," Lu Tianzi cautioned as they moved. "Two at the Seventh Origin Cycle, One at the Sixth."

Nanshen Qin shot a quick glance towards him and smirked. Even he had only sensed the three after Lu Tianzi mentioned it. This Fourth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist before him was truly a monster!

"No need to avoid them, take them down. I will handle the one on the left, you guys take care of the two on the right. Young Sir Lu, please remain on the lookout," Nanshen Qin instructed, drawing nods of acknowledgement from the rest.

When they turned the corner, the team instantly got to work.

With the element of surprise on their side, coupled with their advantage in terms of cultivation level, their targets simply did not stand a chance. All three of them were knocked out in an instant.

Just as they had discussed earlier, the team quickly took care of the corpses by hiding them in a corner and, without hesitation, continued forward towards their destination.

One group… two groups…

Before they knew it, the infiltration team had already taken down five small groups of enemies.

It was a long way to the prison, so they had already expected to meet multiple parties along the way. While they would try to avoid any troublesome opponents, it was impossible to dodge every encounter.

After all, they did not have the time to patiently wait things out.

The distraction teams were currently trying their best to buy them time. The longer they took to rescue the prisoners, the more pressure there would be on their comrades.

And this was not a fight that their comrades could ever hope to win.

If they took too long to accomplish their task, their comrades outside could even end up getting completely wiped out!

Because of that, or perhaps it was because of their pent up anger from the betrayal, members of the infiltration team did not hold back one bit even when striking out against those who used to be their comrades.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, that was, until their momentum was finally stopped at one point.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Qin...?" the young lady whose collar was being grabbed by Nanshen Qin muttered weakly.

She had received a swift blow from Nanshen Qin the moment they engaged, and a streak of blood flowed from the corner of her lips. But now that Nanshen Qin had recognised her, his raised palm hesitated to strike down for the second time.

"Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui?" Nanshen Qin revealed a look of surprise.

He was not the only one either. Both Nanlian Hui and Nanguo Lin were obviously shocked to see the young lady here as well.

"Why is Senior Apprentice Brother Qin here?" this Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui asked, with a similar look of horror showing on her face. "The escape last time was not easy at all. With your talent, you should definitely be able to lead a comfortable life outside. So why did you return to throw your life away? Is it for... revenge?"

"The Frost Claw Overlord and everyone in the faction are traitors! This isn't about revenge; it is about justice!" Nanshen Qin's rage could be felt in his voice. "Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui, you need to wake up as well!"

"Times have changed, Senior Apprentice Brother Qin. You are the one who needs to wake up and accept that fact- cough, cough!" Nanwei Jiehui replied in exasperation, her agitation causing her to cough. "No one can deny the contributions of the Piercing Wind Overlord, but it is only the Frostclaw Overlord who can lead the Frost Guards to the new level. No one, not even you, will be able to change that!"

"You are wrong!" Nanshen Qin retorted. "The Frost Guards belong to the mountain. If we go against the ancestral teachings, we will just end up losing the favour of the mountain!"

"Is that really what you think, Senior Apprentice Brother Qin? So much so that you are willing to sacrifice your life on this futile attempt to restore your pride?" Nanwei Jiehui asked with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui, you…?" Nanshen Qin was taken aback upon seeing the crying face of Nanwei Jiehui.

"Did you even consider how I would feel when you decided to return to throw your life away?" Nanwei Jiehui asked, a drop of tear finally falling from her eye.

"I'm sorry, Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui. This is about my loyalty to the Frost Guards. It is something that I simply cannot compromise on!" Nanshen Qin replied with a pained voice.

"Is that so?" Nanwei Jiehui let out a self deprecating chuckle as more tears fell. "It seems that there is really no way to convince you. Since you are being so stubborn on this matter, I can only join you on this journey to your doom. Even though we can't be born on the same day, we can at least die together. Perhaps on our deathbeds, you will finally be able to see the error of your ways. "

"Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui, are you really willing to go that far for me?" Nanshen Qin asked.

He knew just how much Nanwei Jiehui believed in the ideals of the Frostclaw Overlord. After how much he tried to change her mind in the past, he had never succeeded. Who would have expected her to suddenly agree now?

"Since you insist on being this foolish, how can I just leave you be? I-"

Slash-!

Blood spurted out like a fountain as Nanwei Jiehui's severed head flew through the air. The headless body fell limply, which Nanshen Qin hurriedly grabbed before it crashed to the ground.

"No! Junior Apprentice Sister Jiehui!" Nanshen Qin's eyes widened in horror. He looked up to see Lu Tianzi with the Fallen Sun in his hand, the sharp blade still dripping wet with Nanwei Jiehui's blood. "What have you done?!"

"Wake up," Lu Tianzi's eyes were as cold as his tone. "I don't know what relationship you have with her, and I don't care. But don't let the lack of control over your emotions jeopardise this operation. Did you not realise that she has already activated her communication ring?"

Nanshen Qin was visibly surprised to hear that. Indeed, he had been too distracted to notice.

He could only think of one reason why Nanwei Jiehui would secretly activate her communication ring in this situation – to inform the rest of their enemies about the situation.

Had she been allowed to continue sending information, their operation could really end up in jeopardy.

However, knowing that Nanwei Jiehui was acting against them did not mean that Nanshen Qin could accept this result.

"Even so, you could have simply knocked her out instead of killing her!" Nanshen Qin retorted as he fell to his knees, holding the headless Nanwei Jiehui close while drawing over her lifeless head with his origin force. "Why? Why did you have to do this?!"

"Knock her out? How confident are you that she won't be pretending to be knocked out?" Lu Tianzi scoffed. "If that is the case, why didn't you simply knock out the others earlier then?"

"This… but…!" Nanshen Qin was at a loss for words as tears started to flow from his eyes.

In his arms was the same girl whom he had been in love with for years. Even now, he could vividly remember her laughter that was as radiant as the sun.

Why?

Why was she here at this time?

Why did she have to activate her communication ring?

Why didn't he knock her out when he still had the chance?

Numerous questions ran through his head, blaming the world for having brought things to such a state. Unfortunately, everything was already set in stone, and he knew that all these blaming were completely meaningless.

When it boiled down to it, there was nobody he could truly blame.

Both Nanwei Jiehui and Lu Tianzi simply did what they believed was right for their cause, and Nanshen Qin could understand where they were coming from.

No, wait a minute. There was still someone to blame.

Had it not been for the Frostclaw Overlord who acted like a coward to harm his master and divided the Frost Guards into two, Nanwei Jiehui would never have to die here!

Had it not been for the opposing faction deliberately misleading Nanwei Jiehui in their attempt to bring him to their side, she would not have become so trusting of them!

Nanshen Qin slowly laid down Nanwei Jiehui's corpse, and stood up with his fists clenched so tight that his fingernails cut into the flesh of his palms.

Faced with his three companions who simply stood there watching him without saying a word, Nanshen Qin first took a deep breath to calm down as much as he could.

"Are you all right, Senior Apprentice Brother Qin?" Nanlian Hui was the first to ask, but not before sneaking a glance at Lu Tianzi.

"I'm fine," Nanshen Qin said with a trembling voice. "I guess in the end, we were just not meant to be."

"There are many closing in on us. It seems like I was still too late to act," Lu Tianzi said.

"Young Sir Lu!" Nanlian Hui exclaimed in exasperation.

"It's okay, Junior Apprentice Brother Hui," Nanshen Qin stopped Nanlian Hui before turning to Lu Tianzi. "You are right, Young Sir Lu. I lost control over my emotions there. I'm sorry."

"That's not important. What's important is how we are going to proceed from here," Lu Tianzi said. "I'm sure you can sense it too, but they are coming at us from all directions."

"We got into this situation because of me, so I will naturally be the one to resolve it," Nanshen Qin answered. "I will lure them away. The rest of you, keep going and free the others."

Just like Lu Tianzi had said, Nanshen Qin could sense numerous enemies converging upon their location at this very moment.

With how strong the four of them were, they would not fall easily even to these numbers. However, they would surely be held up here for who knows how long. In that time, the distraction teams could very well lose their lives.

In that case, the only way to handle this was for someone to act as a bait to lure their enemies away, allowing the rest to continue with the mission.

And there was no better person for the role than him.

Might as well. This way, he could at least release his anger upon these bastards who caused the death of Nanwei Jiehui!

"What?!" Nanlian Hui and Nanguo Lin blurted out in shock, while Lu Tianzi furrowed his brows.

Unfortunately, they were not given any opportunity to object whatsoever.

"Now, go!"

Right after saying that, Nanshen Qin no longer suppressed his presence. In fact, he did the complete opposite of that. Channelling his origin force, Nanshen Qin erupted with strength. Lightning cackled to life, wrapping around his body in a terrifying armour of electricity.

With a loud roar, Nanshen Qin shot upwards, breaking through the ceiling to enter the next level.

Even if the rest of the infiltration team wanted to stop him, it was already too late. Without a doubt, such unbridled release of energy would draw the attention of the majority of the enemies.

"Let's go!" Lu Tianzi was the first to react, his voice breaking the other two out of their daze.

"Shit!" Nanlian Hui cursed before dashing away, leading the way to their destination with the other two following right behind him.

Since Nanshen Qin had decided to become the bait, they had to at least make his sacrifice worth it!