Three scouts were rushing through the meadow on horsebacks, their expressions solemn. The disciple commented, "Let's split up from here."

Without another word, the three of them split. The disciple headed north, riding within a forest, with the gap between the trees wide enough for his horse to run through, his destination was Burmat City. One scout proceeded northeast—heading towards Burfuna City—while the last headed east, his destination was Burkurel City.

The disciple had chosen the fastest route to head towards Burmat City, taking a risk to enter the forest along the way. Thankfully, most of the beasts had rushed out of the forest, making his journey bereft of tension for the most part.

The other two scouts, though, were unlucky. The scout proceeding northeast came to an abrupt halt as his horse refused to budge, rooted to the spot in fear. It cantered, its forelegs losing balance as it foamed in the mouth. The scout gazed towards the sky, his face paling with fear.

A massive shadow cast over him, blocking out the rain, absorbing most of the light incident on it; the accompanying gales knocked him to the ground. Before he could react, a massive sphere of water slammed into him, smashing him, along with the horse, into pulp.

The attacker flew past without a second glance. It was the Pakou, summoned by Burmat Re'Shi. The Pakou made an arc before noticing the other scout heading east, slamming a breath attack towards him as it swiftly ended his life.

As the disciple moved through the forest, it failed to find him. Followed by a low growl, the Pakou flew south, soon noticing the Burkurel Ju Clan's western settlement come into view. It was partly surrounded by fog, decreasing visibility of the area.

'She is somewhere around here.' Burmat Re'Shi thought, scanning through the senses of his Pranic Avatar, soon spotting a figure sprinting through the pathways, shuffling from one street to another. Her body was fully covered by clothes, making it difficult to identify her.

Burmat Re'Shi gazed at the lawn, watching the maid tend to a shrub planted near the side. He looked around to see that no one else was keeping watch on him, sighing in relief. He craned his left hand forward, looking at its underside to gaze at the token embedded in it. Its flickers intensified, becoming unstable. Using it, he zoomed in towards the presence of Burkurel Re'Kha.

Immediately, the Pakou knew the woman covered in clothes from top to bottom was the one he desperately wished to save. It saw the four scouts chasing after her, growling in anger. It flapped its wings and flew towards the nearest scout, condensing a water sphere in its mouth.

…

"Hmph!" The leader grunted, slamming two palm projections towards the final figure under a Kalha's control, smashing his chest in, preventing him from getting up. He hacked with his blade, severing the opponent's head as he grunted, watching the figure fall into the water.

The moment the water covered the figure, he was outlined in the leader's Water Qi perception. The leader's face trembled, having killed a comrade he had accompanied through numerous life and death situations. 'Dammit!'

He was slightly exhausted, making ripples in the water as he communicated with the other three scouts. Among the five remaining, they lost one scout in the previous fight while the scout trapped under the table had been dragged into the house at some point in time.

Three had been sent to relay messages to the three cities in their region; from the initial 17, they were down to 4 scouts now. The captain gazed at a pair of feet through his perception, focusing on Re'Kha, "So, everything was a trap you laid?"

'So young, but so vicious already.' He noticed how she moved without trouble, and judging by her actions, there hadn't been any Rhipa within the granary, but the Kalhas she had disguised as such. The Kalhas were a race of beasts that were almost impossible to fight against while perceiving them. On the contrary, the Rhipas were an agility-based race with tremendous numbers, so one must use everything in his arsenal to perceive their movements and slay them.

Based on the clues, they began to prepare against the Rhipas; unfortunately, it was what led to their doom. Despite everything they had calculated and moved cautiously, they were still led into a trap by the nose. The more he thought, the more he shuddered at the cunning of Burkurel Re'Kha.

The leader communicated with the remaining four scouts using the ripples. "Burkurel Re'Kha has some mysterious means to survive within a place influenced by the Kalhas. Be careful. The moment she's in range, aim your attacks on her legs. Our mission remains unchanged."

Their conditions had eased now, for the Kalhas had stopped the chorus once the last of the figures they controlled had been killed. And, since the four scouts had worn masks and blocked all their senses, there wasn't much their chorus did to them. So, instead of wasting their energy, the Kalhas turned silent.

Re'Kha panted, reeling from the effect of the chorus. She hadn't fully blocked her ears, leaving most of the defence to the cloth banner. Once the chorus stopped, her condition steadily normalised as she noticed the four scouts sprint towards her. When they were fighting with the scouts controlled by the Kalhas, Re'Kha decided to pull some distance first.

She adjusted her dress, making the two vials—positioned on her front and back respectively—peek out. Before she began to run, Re'Kha had taken out a Fire Qi Essence from her storage ring and put it in the Aeki after activating, limiting its range to the confines of the Aeki. She also made the Aeki's top face the sky and collect the rain.

It was a single action, hardly consuming any time, for all she did was throw the Fire Qi Essence into the Aeki. Since the scouts were only perceiving her through their Water Qi perception, they were unable to determine her hand's movements.

Re'Kha ran, holding the whip in her hands as she calculated the way to emerge victorious. The scouts chased her, pausing at regular to communicate through the ripples. They spread out through the settlement, trying to entrap her in the middle.