I just can’t believe it, Quin thought. I’ve always thought that Dreon had a screw missing, because he’s always told us so much bullshit, but now... To think that what he had said back at the cafeteria turned out to be true. Damn, I really have to apologize to him. He shook his head, what he needed now was not the stray thoughts, but to concentrate.

“So what’s the plan?” Quin asked. “I’ve guess you’ve got one?”

“It’s not flawless, but I’ve thought of something,” he replied. “I’ve brought you here to give you proper punishment-”

“Oh, right what happened to that guy? Did I manage to kill him at least?” Quin questioned.

“Yep,” Mang answered with a grin, “I could barely keep myself from laughing!” He did burst out in a laugh this time however. “Although that guy was our boss, he was really stupid. Just because you were a kid, he didn’t pay much attention to you, and decided to try to woo a female member of the group. Then he reacted slowly and managed to turn his face right into the attack. Guess what happened?” Quin saw that Mang was on the verge of laughing again. “His head exploded into thousand bits!”

Quin found Mang’s behavior a bit weird. Is he crazy? I’m glad I managed to kill that guy, but even I don’t laugh like that! Have I only known his fake personality? Or maybe he just hates them that much?

“Alright, I got it, let’s move onto the plan,” Quin said.

“Boy, you sweat it too much, even if you’re in a dire situation you should just take it easy!” He chuckled. “But alright, I’ll continue. So as I’ve said, I’m currently punishing you for... I don’t know, we should be back in an hour or so? Probably. Then we still have to travel for a few hours, until we reach our destination. Hmm, you’ve got a good Qi Sense right?” he asked.

“Well, that depends on what you mean by that? I can differentiate between people somewhat, but I only sense them as just various shapes, no fine details. If I know which is my target, I don’t really have difficulty attacking them by relying only on my Qi Sense,” he answered.

“That’s perfectly enough for what I’ve got in my mind. We’ll arrive at the Shrieker’s nest at night, and those monsters aren’t fond of any kind of lighting, so humans are at quite a disadvantage there. Well, if they can’t use their Qi Sense properly, and more often than not, that’s the case. That will be our first advantage against them.

“Before you ask: we won’t have to fight against all of them. After arriving at their nest our group will split into two, and only five soldiers and four adult Shriekers will remain there. It’ll take at least ten minutes before they will do anything to you, and that’s enough for our preparations to be done and for those who left to get out of earshot.

“Here, take this pill,” Mang said, putting a pill in his hand, “Put it in your mouth before I take you back to them, but don’t swallow it yet. Don’t worry, it will only melt if you chew on it. So, when we get to their nest, start to gradually emit your qi into the surroundings, until only ten percent is left. You should finish it by the ninth minute, however pay attention, because if you do it too quickly it’ll be suspicious. I’ll also try to give you some kind of signal to be sure. It will be the time when you should bite into the pill, and recover you reserves in the following two minutes.

“That’s when the real deal begins; in contrast with the soldiers, you’ll have a better vision thanks to your Lightning Qi filling the whole area. Oh, by the way, you should only cover an area of about twenty or thirty meters around you, so that you don’t overexpand your qi.

“Your first target will be me. You remember our tournament match right?” Quin nodded disapprovingly. “We’ll be doing something like that. After your qi is restored, attack me right away with your Bolts; naturally I’ll be constantly watching you, and so I’ll be able to react in time. I’ll fire some rocks at your attacks, and you’ll have to keep up shooting your Bolts until the whole area is covered by dust.”

“And how will you be able to see? Do you have enough energy for that? Aren’t you still at the first level of the Qi Condensation sub-stage? I got that you’ve got some experience -- more than me -- but I’m about to put my and the other’s life into you hands,” Quin asked.

“Haha!” Mang chuckled. “First level, second level, this sub-stage that sub-stage... Quin, I’ve already told you the world is not so simple as you think!” he exclaimed. “You say I’ve got some experience? Let me tell you I’ve got more than you’ll get in a lifetime!”

Quin snorted. If you want to boast, than you should at least say something believable.

“But in short: I’ll be able to see even better than you, so you don’t have to worry about me. You fire your bolts, I shoot out some rocks and then comes the cloud of dust. After that I’ll occupy the soldiers and you go to the others and free them. Take this ball and when you are nearby them, fill it with your qi and that should wake them up in a few moments.” Mang gave a small yellow colored ball to him. “Then the first thing you’ll have to do is to tell Leyn to contact your Spirit Forming guardian, as I’ll also disrupt the spell, which makes communication currently impossible. Though probably not everyone in your group will be able to fight right away, the Spirit Forming guardian should be able to arrive in just half a minute. If nothing unexpected occurs, then it shouldn’t be a difficult task to do. Got it?”

Quin thought through the whole plan and engraved the details into his memory.

“I’ve never thought I’d ever something like this, but I’m glad you’re here now,” Quin said. “And I really hope your plan succeeds.”

“That depends only on you,” Mang replied smirking. “Let’s go!”

They went back to the group of soldiers and then they set off soon. Quin was pretending to be unconscious the whole time, but kept his ears alert. He got to know a couple of things, like surprisingly, the others were quite happy that he killed their boss and this was not due to some belief in the afterlife. The reason was much more simple: they simply hated their boss. It seems that even the congregation of crazy cultists isn’t filled with harmony and happiness. He laughed silently.

Hearing the other topics they have talked about, he became a bit startled. Most of those thing were typical everyday stuff, and he heard no mention of their Great God, nor their messiah. He even started to wonder whether Mang really told him the truth regarding them. One thing was sure though, they have kidnapped him and his friends and were bringing them somewhere against their will. All-in-all it was quite hard to imagine that they were doing all these kinds of things with good intentions.

In a few hours they reached the Shrieker’s nest and although his eyes were shut, he could still hear the disgusting shrieks of them. A rotten, sour odor emanated from the surroundings, which reminded him the smell of death.

Just as they have arrived, the majority of the group left and he started to let out his Lightning Qi around himself, adjusting his output rate to a not noticeable level.

One.. Two... Three... He counted each second. Gradually, he got a clearer image of the Shrieker nest. The whole ground was covered by some strange material which looked to be partly gooey and within his reach there was only a single structure: a deep pit with spikes covering its wall.

Time passed painfully slow, and it felt like an eternity for him until he counted up to five hundred. It was then, when he felt a small knock on his shoulder, which was the signal from Mang telling him to consume the pill and prepare for the battle.

Alright! This is the time! The last two minutes passed as well and he was as ready as he could. He did not waste more time, he circulated his Lightning Qi at its best and merged with his element.

Wild, roaring lightnings surrounded him and in the next moment he Flashed away from the soldiers. Then he sent Bolts after Bolts at Mang, who -- just like they have discussed before -- shoot out several of his rocks toward Quin’s attack.

“BOOM!” sounds of loud explosions rang out and the battlefield became filled with the thick dust left behind by the rocks.