Defiance of the Fall

One of the guards brought out an empty sack from a backpack and handed it out with an expressionless face . The miner bowed and went back to his position . This process went on for two more miners without anything of note happening . But when the lady commented on the fourth miner’s sack he couldn’t help but grimace and hesitantly say a few words in demonic .

The bodyguards immediately perked up and started radiating a dangerous aura , but the lady waved them down . She simply pointed to the bag and said a few words with a smiling face . The miner looked horrified and went down on his knees looking like he was begging for his life .

The exchange continued for some time until finally the lady put the sack into another magic pouch , and the miner could only return to his position with a devastated expression . The other miners simply stared down in the ground , not wanting to be implicated by their mouthy associate .

After the lady was done she simply turned and left , with her four bodyguards in tow . The miners sighed and sat down to eat , conversing with subdued voices . Zac didn’t linger on and instead crept behind the party of five .

Don’t worry buddy , I’ll mete out justice for you soon . ’ Zac gave a silent prayer for the unlucky miner as he was skulked away . He kept a healthy distance from the group , afraid that any sound would alert the group , and the walking treasure trove would slip out of his fingers .

The group soon arrived at another tunnel with a group of miners , and the process repeated itself . Zac kept following the group for an hour and watched them collect sack after sack of crystals . He wasn’t sure whether the group he first spied on was among the first the lady visited , but just going by what he had observed the pouches on her belt contained an astonishing amount of crystals by now , and could only be counted by the thousands .

Zac felt he couldn’t wait any longer and got himself ready . He steadied his breath and placed himself at a side-tunnel that the party should be passing after finishing their collection . It was some distance from the mining group , so Zac had no vision of his target anymore . However , they were moving in a very systematic pattern through the tunnel system so far , and Zac could only assume they would continue .

Sure enough , soon the tell-tale echoes of the steps of the party were approaching . Zac held his breath , not wanting to give any indication of his presence . The first two guards came into view , but Zac didn’t react .

As if sensing something was wrong one of the guards started to turn around , but it was too late . Zac entered the tunnel right behind the two and without hesitation swung a Dao-empowered strike at the lady in the middle . She looked shocked , but a golden sheen immediately enveloped her as an inscription pattern lit up on her dress .

Zac knew that inscription very well by now and forcefully stopped his swing . It hurt his muscles to do so , but it was better than getting the whole force of the strike redirected at himself . Instead , he lightly punched the golden barrier , and a recoil traveled through his arm bringing some discomfort .

Having fulfilled its purpose , the golden layer shattered , leaving the lady once more exposed . Black lightning arcs flittered all over her body , but Zac swiftly decapitated her with a grunt . The black arcs traveled all over his body , making it feel like he was being electrocuted , and he actually blanked out from the pain for a second .

During the brief pause from the shock , a sword stabbed into his side , drawing a small gout of blood . The pain shook him awake , and he immediately pounced on the two guards that had stood behind the lady . They were alarmed , but still warriors . One had produced a spiked mace whereas the other’s hands started glowing with lightning . From his muscles he didn’t seem like a mage though , but rather a pugilist .

They tried to pincer Zac , with the mace-wielder swinging at him from the left and the pugilist attacking him from the right with a clawed hand . Zac ignored the martial artist , and instead swung his axe to meet the mace .

The collision was completely one-sided , as the force from Zac’s swing slapped the mace out of his hand and made the demon lose his balance . Simultaneously the clawed hand slammed into Zac’s back , easily destroying the leather protection , and trying to tear into his flesh . Unfortunately for him , Zac’s skin was all the armor he needed , and the demon only managed to create a small flesh wound . The lightning entered Zac’s body , but by now this level of power had scant effect on him .

He grabbed the mace-wielder’s neck with his free left hand and slammed him down on the martial artist . The sounds of bones breaking could be heard , but Zac was interrupted as he planned to finish the two . A blade was flying right toward his throat , and Zac activated his armor to block it .