Sacred Arts

31. First Mission

The next day arrived and Amon woke up fully energized, ready to see what the plan was for the day. Jake, Dustin, and Lee all sat outside the barracks waiting for Amon to come out to join them. "Happy to have you join us this morning," Jake said, greeting Amon. "Yeah, sorry I took so long," Amon replied. "So does anyone know what our mission is going to involve?" Amon asked.

"The village elder just told us to come see him first thing in the morning," Jake informed Amon. Jake and his entire squad left to go see the village elder. As the four squad members entered the elders' home, they saw two other squads. As Jake and his squad walked closer to the elder, Jake, Dustin, and Lee all kneeled before him as a sign of respect. When Amon realized this, he joined his squad members and keeled down.

"All squad captains should step forward," The Elder ordered. "So the mission that you all are going on tomorrow will be quite a lengthy one," The Elder informed everyone. "You will all be going to the Land Of The Titans," he continued. "The land of the titans, sir?" Asked Jake in surprise. "That is correct, do you have an issue with that?" asked the Elder.

"No sir, but this is Amon's first mission," Jake said. "Wouldn't this be a little too much to take on for a rookie?" He asked. "Good point," the elder responded as he glanced over to Amon. "On top of that sir, no one in my squad or I are at the ascended realm," Jake added. "Jake, rest assured, you all won't be going deep into the territory," the elder said.

"You will all just be surveying the outskirts of the territory, making sure the top four squads will be able to enter with little to no issues," the elder continued. "Plus, the land on that continent is rich in earth life energy, which means you all will be able to advance your cultivation at a much quicker rate," the elder added. "I'm expecting this mission to take at most two years worth of time, and in that time you all will without a doubt have advanced your cultivation by leaps and bounds." "I will also add another bit of information, in order to break through to the ascended realm, you will need an ascendant crystal," the elder said. "Those are extremely rare though," Jake thought to himself.

"Normally I would not have sent so many young assassins, but the truth of the matter is that I fear a storm is brewing," the elder said coldly. "The peace between the four kingdoms is at risk, I'm unsure why and who is behind it, but one thing I do know is that we will need more powerful experts," he added. "If this mission is successful, then you will send more squads," Jake asked, realizing the point of the mission. "That is correct, you all will be testing the waters, not just for the most powerful squads but for the weaker squads as well," the elder admitted. "The other three assassin villages will be sending their own squads, because they know that they just prepare for this war as well." "Remember no one is an ally but you four squads," the elder declared.

"Yessir!" The four captains roared. "That is all, you are all dismissed," the elder said. "Today you are preparing, and tomorrow you will leave right before the sun begins its rise," ordered the elder. "Scout and whatever you find is yours to keep, just don't go too deep into the continent." The elder continued. Everyone left the room and Jake stood behind. "Sir, if there is a war coming, then shouldn't we head to protect the king?" Jake asked curiously.

"Yes, that is the logical thing to do, but when it comes to the kind of war coming, ascended warriors stand no chance," the elder responded with a grim look on his face. "The beings taking place in this war will be at least in the Demi-human realm or even the transcendent realm," the elder mentioned with a look of sadness. "How much time do we have before the war begins," Jake asked. "It depends, it could be a year or two year, or even five years," the elder stated. "What is it you are afraid of?" Jake asked as if he was reading the elders mind.

"I fear that the whispers of war have begun already, and we might have been too late," the elder said. "I didn't realize it at first, but when Headmaster Edward was taken I wondered why." "I had a horrible feeling that I couldn't escape, but then when I thought harder about it, I realized something." "Headmaster Edward, has one of the keys to the netherworld sealed within him," the elder said horrified. "I've never heard of the netherworld," Jake said as he looked at the fear on the elders face.