UNLIMITED SPEED

'I hope I don't regret this,' Noah grimaced inside. He honestly wasn't sure if giving their identity away had been a good idea, but sooner or later they need to spill it out. The others understood that which was why they remained calm.

If truly there was something that could be given, then it would do good. They might even have to wait, which would even be better since elder Von would arrive in about a day.

"The great guild... I knew there was something fishy about you lads. Well, it doesn't matter what guild you're from. We aren't your average type of group. We want something more than money," the man explained.

"Who said anything about money," Noah responded winging it. "We're a great guild, we possess many resources. Even able to aid someone at your level," Noah sweet-talked him, fully aware that he had placed a higher price tag on their heads. Hopefully, however, it would stop him from directly killing them. Just name what you want," he pushed.

"That sure is tempting, young man. But I know fully well what you're trying to do. It won't help you. I'd rather not get involved with a powerful organization such as the Divine Lightning guild. I prefer my head on my neck," he giggled, which In turn caused a frown to appear on Noah's face.

"What do you plan on doing with us then?" Noah asked cursing the universe for placing them in such a tight situation.

"It doesn't matter. All you have to know is you'll never return to your guild," he chuckled heavily.

"So that's how it is," Noah muttered as a plan formed in his head. He didn't like it, but it seemed to only way out of that situation without revealing too much. The man had already made his intentions clear. Only death awaited them if they were captured. Which called for desperate measures.

"Round them up!" the man announced turning to leave. Noah's words had gotten to him, but he carried an oath that wouldn't allow him to make any reckless decision.

"At least let us see your face!" Noah shouted, while his metal waves moved to communicate a simple plan with his teammates.

His words once again halted the steps of the tier 4 cultivator. However the man's figure suddenly appeared in front of Noah, his movement caused the wind to blow strongly and had been faster than Noah could react, at least without empowerment.

"It seems you lack respect." His eyes gazed into Noah's, and although Noah hid it expertly, his mind was in chaos. He threatened to activate the strongest skill in his arsenal.

"But since only you dared to speak to me so calmly, and you're practically dead, I'll honor your word," the man's breath washed over Noah's face due to how close they were.

"I don't know what ugly scars you hide under that mask, but gaze at my flawlessness," the expert announced lifting his black mask to reveal his face, and Noah felt taken aback by the man's beauty.

He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties but had smooth skin, black eyes that seemed to shine and a sharp rectangular jawline, and a youthful vibe.

It certainly didn't rival his, but he had to admit that he was stunning. However, Noah didn't forget to imprint the man's features in his mind.

"We'll find out what hides under that mask when you're dead," the expert muttered placing his mask on and flickering away from that position to appear outside the wall, where he spoke with one of the higher-stage experts. His exit allowed the group of about twenty begin to draw closer to them at the order of the second higher stage expert. Cautiously of course.

Noah closed his eyes for a few short seconds before suddenly opening them. "Now!" he cried with a loud voice and the three bolted toward the opposite direction of the already leaving tier 4 expert.

The mere lower-stage cultivators trying to gather them up attacked, but their opponents were peak middle-stage cultivators, only death awaited a direct clash.

This called for the intervention of the higher stage cultivators, who uttered curses before shooting forward.

However, two lightning bolts came out of Noah's already dashing figure to land on them.

The two activated their defensive techniques in that instant, they had experience with such situations. Only tier 4's could catch them off-guard. Unfortunately, the power contained within the bolts remained shocking, as it decimated their shields.

Their bodies had to take the rest of the hit. Noah had more or less calculated the amount of power required for them. They were far weaker than elder Sarah after all.

Notwithstanding, he knew the tier 4 cultivator could still reach them even if he watched their seemingly pointless struggle with an amused smile. So when Noah saw that none of his guild-mates were watching, as they were too busy making a run for it, while getting rid of the various spells, he uttered one word.

"Cudgel..."

An object sparkled In the sunlight high above, but then the sky went dark. With sky-shaking might; Cudgel's immense figure revealed itself as it rapidly approached the surface, alerting the survival instincts of the tier 4 cultivator, who cursed and immediately tried to leave the area.

The arrival of that massive object didn't go unnoticed, but when his guild mates tried to look back, Noah turned into a blinding streak that washed over their figures, to sprint as far as he could. He had grabbed all three of them.

However, moving a few kilometers from Cudgel didn't seem enough, since when his staff smashed into the surface the ground shook for miles as huge cracks opened in the terrain almost swallowing the entire forest.

The world seemed about to end since after the incredible impact, an immense wall of dust and debris rose to wash over the surrounding forest, at least what remained of it.

Noah stopped at some point, but hurled his group members to different positions in the forest, they were now at its very edge. He did this to distract them long enough to send Cudgel back to the sky. They had never even been able to react since he had directly accelerated to full speed.

All they had felt was a powerful force that pushed them forward, after which they found themselves alone in the forest. Not even the sound of the explosion had reached their ears since Noah had been running far faster than sound could catch up to them.

Cudgel's sudden disappearance caused the wind to blow erratically, forcing more dust and debris into the sky.

Stopping by a tree after making sure he had separated them a bit, Noah immediately sat down to marvel at the works of his hand.

Cudgel had once again been very efficient.

His plan had been dangerous but it had worked. Somehow.

After making his group promise they would do exactly as he said, he simply told them to run when he gave the go-ahead. All three had tried to look back anyway, which was why he had randomly separated them.

At least a few hours would pass before they could all be reunited, and he would make sure to ignore every one of their queries.

The idea of leaving them and escaping had crossed his mind, but he wasn't ready to make up a story when there were means that could get into his memory. Even worse he could be ordered to tell the truth which meant lying would be pointless as a result of the oath.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Noah raised his right hand, and Cudgel shot into his grip. He immediately shrunk it and placed it in his inventory.

"Time to find them," he muttered taking note of the magical beasts already trying to sneak up on him.