Chapter 131: Calculations
No. Quincy and the others couldn't see this.
Monty's face flickered as he made his decision. He turned to his disciples. "Kill Lowell. Quickly. I'll be back."
He disappeared into the cave. Lowell was already broken—one blow, and he was done. Wood knew nothing of what was happening here. Taking out Quincy and Vera, that was Monty's job alone.
He hadn't gone far when he ran into two figures—one Palace disciple, one of his own. Monty's eyes narrowed. Someone had come to check on them. He hadn't expected both sides to send one each. So the Palace didn't trust them either. But Quincy was too simple for that, and Vera didn't seem the type. No matter. There was no time to wonder.
"Senior Brother Monty, you're back. Where are the others?" The Ice Profound Sect disciple— Dante —looked relieved.
"They've reached the pond. Still fighting the snakes. I came back to gather the rest. We're going to harvest the Purple Ginseng. We've almost won." Monty smiled.
"That's great news." Dante's face lit up.
The Palace disciple brightened too. "We should go tell the others."
"No need. I'll do it."
Before the man could respond, Monty was behind him. The ice spike drove through his mouth, out the back of his skull.
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"Senior Brother Monty!" Dante stumbled back, horrified. The same man who had been so courteous to the Palace disciples had just murdered one.
"No time to explain. Go to the other side of the cave. The others are waiting. Wood and I will finish the Palace disciples and meet you there." Monty's voice was flat.
Dante felt the killing intent. He nodded and ran.
Monty laughed quietly. He smeared some of the dead man's blood on himself, burned the body with a small fireball, and sprinted back toward the entrance.
"You're all so boring. Sitting there like lumps. Maybe I should have stayed in the cave." Quincy paced, hands on her hips, restless.
Leo rolled his eyes in the corner. She had taken pills as soon as she got out—better than mid-grade stones. She didn't need to sit and meditate like the rest of them. Leo, like everyone else, had only used a few low-grade stones. Ordinary. Unremarkable.
Quincy was about to say more when a bloodied figure burst from the cave. Everyone tensed. Monty.
"Senior Brother Monty. Alone? What about Lowell and the others?" Vera was on her feet.
"There's a black python in the pond. Almost fourth-grade. Lowell and I couldn't take it together. I got away while I could." Monty showed them the scales, still wet with blood. "We need everyone. Together, we can kill it."
The scales alone made them gasp. The size. The strength it would take.
"What are we waiting for?" It wasn't Quincy, who had been glued to Lowell's side, who spoke first. It was Quiver, Winnie, Frost.
"The python is deadly. Its scales are tougher than any spirit artifact. Senior Sister Quincy, Junior Sister Vera—you're the strongest. Take the lead. Hit it with everything you have at once, don't let it pick us off one by one. We need to move fast." Monty's voice was urgent. He was already heading back into the cave. Quincy and Vera followed.
The rest of the disciples, Palace and Ice Profound alike, filed in behind them.
Leo frowned. Something was wrong. Even if the python was as deadly as Monty claimed, he and Lowell had never been close. Why would Monty run for help and leave Lowell to fight alone? And if he had come back on his own, why the urgency? Monty didn't care about Lowell. He didn't even care about his own disciples. Leo was sure of that.
Monty had come back fast, pushing hard. There was no time to think, and Quincy and Vera—they weren't used to thinking fast.
Lowell, Quincy, Vera. Three core disciples. Most of the Palace's strength. With Lowell gone, that archer squad—seven of them, as strong as any core disciple—might be the only thing that saved them.
Leo moved. He stepped in front of Quiver and her archers before they could enter the cave.
Solon, Angus, and the other disciples fell in behind him. They had known from the start—Lowell, Quincy, Vera, they were strong, but only Vera had ever looked out for them. The others didn't see them at all.
Leo was different. Strong. One of them. And more than that—he was sharp. They had seen it. He saw what was coming before it happened. They knew their strength was nothing compared to the core disciples. Staying alive meant sticking close to him.