The Nobles

Seeing the look on Amina's face, Lin could tell they were not one to trifle with. He looked critically at the one in front and deduced why he could not detect them. "That guy, even though I am looking at him, I can not feel a shred of his presence. He is probably the one who shielded the aura of the others."

"My guess is he is probably a high-ranking Ace or stronger." He drew closer to Dzifa and asked in a low voice, "Who are the Nobles she mentioned?" Dzifa shot him a quizzical glance. To her, it was common knowledge for all who resided in the aqua territory. "What? Did this guy crawl out of a hole or something?"

"What is with that look?" Lin asked disapprovingly. "Just tell me who they are, and stop looking at me like that."

She sighed and narrated. "There are several parties in Aqua territory. Just like any other group, there are classes of parties here in this territory. We have classes E, D, C, B, A and S. From weakest to strongest. Just two years ago, a group of ex-convicted criminals assembled to form a party and steadily rose from Class E to Class B in two years."

"When they formed the party, they called themselves the Nobles and wore long overcoats as their signature attire. Their names spread far and wide. Though they are not the strongest party there is, their fame and connections far exceed some class-A parties. One thing they were noted for is stealing kills from other parties. They were probably drawn here by your fight", she concluded. Lin nodded and asked, "So, under which class does Basilisk fall?"

"That, well…", Lin frowned. From her reaction, he could tell they were a low class. Nevertheless, he insisted. "Just speak up already; it is not like I can leave even if I wanted to anyway."

She pouted and said, "Fine. We are class E." She sighed and continued. "Basilisk used to be one of the strongest parties out there, but that's all in the past. The only reason they acknowledge us is due to past glory. Nothing more than that." She sounded sorrowful as if she would tear up. Lin nodded and looked towards Amina, who had taken a few steps forward.

"The last party I expected to see here was the Nobles. Are you perhaps here to find the man with the bounty on his head?" Amina asked.

"Isn't that why you are here as well?" The man asked while staring keenly at the destruction around. "It is, but we have had enough fun running around here. We were just about to leave." She said and turned around to leave with the others. "Let's go", she signalled, so they all turned and prepared to leave, but the man raised his hands to stop them.

"Wait a moment. Do you mind telling me what happened here?" Amina frowned. She knew they might catch on to them if she didn't address the situation well. "What does it look like to you?" She was annoyed. She knew she wouldn't be able to resist should they try to stop her, but she wouldn't act soft just because her enemy was stronger than she was.

He turned to look at Lin and Yu. Seeing the way their attires were wrinkled and damaged, he drew his conclusion, however, he did not shift his gaze from Lin.

"I didn't know you had a recruit", he commented. Though Basilisk was a small and weak party now, most people still paid attention to them as no one knew when the slumbering ophidian would awaken to its former glory. "That isn't something you should concern yourself with, Dito. Now, if you would excuse us, we have a lot to do." They turned and left without saying anything more to him.

Dito scoffed and turned around to leave as well which was quite surprising. He usually doesn't let go that easily. He signalled, and one man in grey appeared beside him. "Keep an eye on them, but make sure you stay hidden. Something about this whole thing seems fishy."

"Yes, vice-captain." he nodded and disappeared.

Another in brown walked to him and asked, "Boss, why did you let them go that easily?" Even he was surprised by the vice-captain's decision. The vice-captain stepped out of the man's shadow and said, "Didn't you notice it too? That man has no aura at all, not even a single streak. It's impossible to tell his rank. Attacking without knowing his true strength would be unwise."

"Vice-captain? Even you?" he was dumbfounded. To think the famous Nobles vice-captain couldn't tell the true strength of an opponent. Thinking about the situation sent a chill down his spine. "Never mind that. I could gauge his true strength if I saw him fight."

"But vice-captain", the man chipped in again.

"What is it?"

The man cleared his throat and said, "If what was implied by Amina was that he fought Yu, wouldn't that put him at around the same rank as Yu?" The Vice-captain's eyes widened as he realised the possibility of that. "Ugh!" he exclaimed. "Just forget it. What's done is done. Let's go", he said, vanishing before the man could say more.

In a valley ladened with many rocks and flowers with few trees, four figures emerged from the side of a boulder and walked deeper inwards. "Doesn't he realise he is walking with his flaps fully opened? Have some dignity, man", Lin commented. Amina giggled since she understood what he meant, but the others were confused. "Never mind that. He hasn't even realised what is happening", she said.

At a distance of about five hundred meters, a man in ash clothes stood atop a tree and peered down towards Amina and her crew. "What are they up to?" he wondered and kept following. After following them for half a day, he suddenly felt his eyes becoming heavy. He was unsteady and couldn't keep his balance. "What is this? Why do I feel dizzy all of a sudden?" He lost his balance and fell from a tree he was hiding in. He clutched his head and struggled to his feet, however, he couldn't stand and dropped down again.

As his eyes slowly shut, the image of a lady appeared in his vision. It was Amina. "Have a good day's sleep. And don't forget to close your flap next time", she waved to him as his eyes shut. "What do we do with him?" Yu asked. "Nothing. Let's leave him here and go. He is not worth falling out with the Nobles over." Amina said.

Yu frowned. He wasn't happy with her decision. If it were up to him, they would use him as hostage or kill him, but he had to obey his captain's orders.

They left from there to a secluded mountain range, where they entered a cave. The cave was about a kilometre wide and half deep and high. There was an aircraft that looked like a bee in there. It wasn't too big but had enough room to house up to 10 people and a few necessities. They entered the aircraft and flew into town.