Chapter 129: The Nether Fiend Sect
Chapter 129: The Nether Fiend Sect
The attacker twisted the short blade and ripped it free. Solomon clutched his side as warm blood spilled rapidly through his fingers. He let out a loud groan and staggered against the corridor wall.
[IceWaterKat: HE JUST GOT STABBED!]
[James_Hayes: blood! he is actually bleeding out!]
[Fatal_Beauty: somebody call the instructors right now!]
The man wiped the stained steel on his blue tunic and laughed. "You are truly naive for an academy disciple. You rely entirely on your muscles and lack any real brains."
Solomon gritted his teeth while the fresh wound burned fiercely. He had endured far worse injuries during his hellish training and sparring in the Paladin’s world.
However, it still registered as a familiar ache in his mind. Fortunately, he formulated a plan to use the situation to his advantage.
He forced his legs to wobble and stumbled further down the passage. Dropping onto his knees, he coughed loudly to make the display look authentic. He let his eyelids droop and collapsed face-first onto the stone tiles.
The man kicked Solomon squarely in the ribs. "This is exactly what happens when you cross the Crimson Serpent Syndicate. Getting our underground arena raided was your biggest mistake."
[Xander_Man: he is unconscious!]
[1Fizzy: we need to alert the pavilion masters!]
The attacker leaned down and grabbed the back of Solomon’s collar. "My master ordered us to eliminate the other academy students wandering the sect. He specifically instructed me to keep you alive. He wants the pleasure of ending your life himself."
He hoisted Solomon up and threw the limp body over his shoulder. The man turned around and carried his captive deeper into the unlit tunnels.
The bronze owl fluttered its wings and followed quietly behind them.
[2Lazy2Care: this is bad. this is really bad.]
[Last_Fables: he is going to die if nobody finds them!]
The guard hauled Solomon over his shoulder and marched down the winding stone corridor. Blood dripped from Solomon’s side onto the damp cobblestones, leaving a crimson trail behind them.
The owl fluttered quietly near the ceiling to keep the captive within its camera frame.
[IceWaterKat: SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!]
[Fatal_Beauty: he is losing too much blood!]
[2Lazy2Care: the guards are literally the bad guys. who do we even call?]
Solomon kept his eyes entirely shut and let his limbs dangle limply.
The piercing pain in his ribs rapidly faded. Uriel’s immortal angelic core pumped rejuvenating energy directly into the damaged tissue. The torn muscles and punctured skin knitted themselves back together within seconds.
He simply kept his breathing shallow to maintain the illusion of unconsciousness.
The attacker kicked open a rusted iron grate and descended a flight of crumbling steps.
The dark tunnel eventually opened into a vast underground chamber illuminated by flickering green torches. Several cloaked cultivators stood around a stone altar in the center of the room.
A man wearing a silver serpent mask sat on a wooden throne overlooking the gathering.
The guard unceremoniously dumped Solomon onto the hard rock floor.
"I brought the first-year student, Master," the guard announced, dropping to one knee. "He destroyed the underground arena and cost us thousands of coins. He foolishly believed the Crimson Serpent Syndicate operated alone, completely unaware they merely served as an outer branch for the Nether Fiend Sect."
The masked leader leaned forward and rested his chin on his knuckles. "You secured the boy alive just as I commanded. The Azure Dragon instructors remain completely ignorant of our infiltration. We will extract every single secret about his S-Rank greatsword before we dispose of his body."
[Xander_Man: Nether Fiend Sect? That sounds like a major dark guild.]
[Last_Fables: Solo Man walked right into a massive conspiracy.]
[James_Hayes: bro is literally sleeping through the villain monologue.]
[1Fizzy: wake up!]
Solomon pushed his hands against the rocky floor and pushed himself into a sitting position. He cracked his neck and brushed the dirt off his spider-silk shirt. The surrounding cultivators immediately drew their sabers.
The guard leaped backward and drew his hidden blade again. "How are you awake? That stab wound should have drained half your blood!"
Solomon patted his completely intact ribs and offered a bright grin. He grabbed the hilt of Eden’s Penance and hauled the massive executioner’s sword off his back.
"I just wanted a free ride to your actual hideout," Solomon explained, planting the tip of his weapon into the stone floor. "Walking around the mountain looking for your boss requires too much effort. Playing dead and letting you carry me here saved me a lot of walking."
The masked leader stood up from his wooden throne. His green eyes narrowed behind the silver slits. "You deliberately let my subordinate stab you just to infiltrate our forward operating base."
"Your subordinate possesses terrible aim," Solomon chuckled, twisting his wrists to loosen his joints. "I had to actually lean into the blade so it would look somewhat convincing. Now that we are all gathered together in one place, we can skip the boring interrogations and get straight to the fighting."
[IceWaterKat: HE FAKED IT!]
[2Lazy2Care: I actually thought he was dying.]
[Fatal_Beauty: the healing factor is absolutely broken.]
[Xander_Man: he used himself as bait lmao.]
The sect members tightened their grips on their weapons. The leader raised a gloved hand to signal the attack. Dozens of cultivators surged forward simultaneously to swarm the silver-haired boy.
Solomon channeled his internal energy and anchored his boots into the stone. He overpowered the electrical resistance of the divine steel and swung the executioner’s sword in a horizontal arc.
Eden’s Penance sliced through the dim cavern. A devastating wave of energy erupted from the blade and tore directly into the advancing crowd of martial artists.
The front line of attackers disintegrated into a cloud of red mist and gray ash before they could even raise their weapons.
The resulting shockwave continued past them, crashing into the structural foundations of the underground chamber.
Thick stone pillars supporting the cavern ceiling snapped like brittle twigs. The energy ripped through the masked leader’s wooden throne and pulverized the central stone altar into gravel.
As the dust settled, the collapsing walls revealed the true scale of the Nether Fiend Sect’s hidden base.
A sprawling subterranean temple stretched into the darkness, lined with towering statues of multi-armed demons and rows of pews made from bones and skulls.
The sheer force of Solomon’s single swing had torn the face off their grand sanctuary.