CHAPTER 21 ABSORPTION

The bandits moved hurriedly around the place and packed away everything valuable. They had to leave this place quickly. Who knows, some people might have heard the sound of battle and are coming over to see what's going on, or just passing by.

Soon the bandits looted the whole place and carried away the bodies of the dead bandits. Their brothers must be properly buried. As for the bodies of the dead merchants and their mercenaries, they didn't even bother to bury them nor incinerate it, they left it there to rot.

Garen stood still for five minutes. He can't be sure if they are all gone, or just pretending to do so. He waited patiently, after all he had the time. Souls take a long time to dissipate. After another five minutes of wait without any one appearing, he walked out slowly from his hiding place and stood in the clearing.

The body were strewn about and some were missing parts of their bodies. Their cloths were soaked in the blood and guts were spilled out.

Garen held down the nausea. He can't afford to be disgusted after all how would he be able to draw the soul.

Garen drew out some soul energy from his soul palace at his navel and directed it to his forehead. His soul eye opened abruptly and he had a clear view of the souls.

The soul of the five merchants and the eight non martial mercenies were like the most common types. The round glowing ball with a difficult to see lines, we're floating above their dead bodies. The soul seem to have no intelligence and only some instinct. He recalled that his master once told him that of the none magic users, only the souls of the martial knight and above have basic intelligence. A martial knight, being a full two realm above martial warriors. The souls of the rest only has basic intelligence.

He found a relatively clean place in the clearing, and sat down crossed his legs.

Suddenly, an unidentifiable Language poured out from his mouth. His voice was wreathed in an aura of evil, it sounded like grating voice and also like the and a screeching sound followed along with its voice. His voice came from everywhere in the clearing and from nowhere at the same time. Cries and screams of pain, laughter with tinge of madness and an enlightening voice all came together with his voice.

This is the soul drawing chant. The reason for this chaotic sound is due to it being a language of erinl. The syllables of the soul drawing chant are the only words of erinl that he knows, but he had Praticed it extensively and quite proficent in it.

If an ordinary man or woman chance upon him now, he or she wouldn't feel nor hear anything. But should it be someone with a stronger soul, like a martial warrior in the initial stage, he or she might run mad. An ordinary person soul his weak and not even aware of the soul, but martial warriors are different, they have stronger soul so they came affected by it.

He directed his chant at one of the smaller soul and also manipulate his soul energy to beckon it. The soul slowly draws closer to him. But maybe due to its instinct, it sometimes detect the danger and moved back.

Garen increased the intensity of his chants and the abominable voice rang out louder. This conquered its instinct and it moved closer to garen.

Soon, the soul was floating right in front of Garen, and he stopped the soul drawing chant. Garen directed his soul energy into his hands, and a misty like vapour surrounded his hands. Stretching them out, garen grabbed hold of the soul. It is time to cleanse it.

His soul energy poured out from his hands and washed over the soul in his hands, and soon, the lines and aura on the soul were slowly being washed away. The soul began to struggle as its line and aura were being washed out. But Garen would have none of that he kept his hold on it and infused even more sick energy into his hands.

slowly, the lines and aura were being washed away and the soul became more sluggugish. Its struggle became weaker and weaker. But Garen didn't become complacent due to this. Instead he grew even more focused and turn his full attention in the soul. He believed that when the lines and aura are almost cleaned, the soul would burst into its most crazed struggle.

And soon he was proved right. The line and aura left on the soul were nothing but just very little, the aura was extremely deem. Suddenly the aura burst forth and the glow brighten greatly. The soul slammed into the misty looking barrier. It was doing everything to escape.

But garen was ready and he will have none of it. He gritted his teeth and increased the output of his soul energy. The soul was enclosed more tightly.

The soul keep struggling and Garen keep increasing his soul energy output. It became a marathon. The one who gets exhausted first loses.

Garen head was filled with beads of sweats and so is his hand. His eyes were bloodshot and veins pup out of his head. His face wash filled with concentration. Though this his is first time of drawing in a soul, he didn't want to lose. He persevered and kept the soul in his tight grasp.

Finally, the soul was fully cleansed. The struggle stopped and it seem like even its instinct was cleansed along with everything else.

Instead of caging the soul like before, garen inserted his soul energy into the soul and began to draw out the pure soul energy from the soul.

The soul energy began to pour into his soul palace at a trickle at first and soon poured into him like a torrent. His soul palace that was shaped like a small ball, began to increase at a visible pace.

Soon, the soul energy was exhausted and the soul disappeared.

Garen savoured the feeling. It was as if he had just taken the most tasty food or drank the elixir of the gods though the feeling were fleeting.

Garen couldn't help but want more of it. He turned his sight at the remaining souls.