The sun hung low, bleeding crimson into the horizon as Jin trudged through the thickets beyond Aegis's western ridge. His squad had been assigned yet another mission—this time, to investigate missing disciples in a fringe zone of the Spiritwood Expanse. But the moment they arrived, the trap had sprung.
A thunderous pulse of suppressed essence shattered the silence. Trees cracked, air trembled. Before Jin could warn the others, shadowy figures erupted from the forest, clad in dark robes with no sect insignia—professional killers.
"Scatter!" Kio had shouted.
Too late.
Three of them—masked and silent—went straight for Jin. They didn't waste time posturing or speaking. These weren't cultivators with pride or rivalry. They were assassins. Cold. Efficient. Lethal.
Jin barely raised a wall of fire before a blade punched through it and slashed his side. Pain flared white-hot as he tumbled back, rolling into the underbrush.
Mira tried to reach him, her frost-covered whip slicing through the air, but another assassin intercepted her, forcing her to retreat.
"Run!" Jin coughed, blood leaking from his lips.
He fought to stand, channeling what little essence remained into his flames. A jet of fire burst outward, forcing two of the masked men to retreat briefly, but the third slipped through with terrifying speed.
A crushing blow landed against Jin's ribs. Something cracked. The world tilted.
He hit the forest floor hard, vision swimming. His breath came ragged, wheezing. Blood soaked the leaves beneath him.
Above, the lead assassin stood over him. No hesitation. No wasted movement.
Then came the whisper of steel.
Jin closed his eyes.
But the killing strike never came.
A voice—firm, irritated—broke the silence.
"Leave him."
Jin blinked through the haze to see one of the assassins holding back the blade. The leader nodded slightly.
"Orders were clear," the second assassin murmured. "Leave him breathing."
The last thing Jin heard before the darkness claimed him was the rustle of leaves as they vanished, just as quickly as they had come.