Chapter 493 - A True Shadow Clan Member
Ren who had suddenly disappeared shocked both Henry and Nila. Though Ren disappearing was not that surprising, the way he accomplished the feat that was surprising. It was a perfect disappearance, not a single mana fluctuation was made, his whole presence disappeared as if it became one with nature, not only that, but that move actually made them doubt that Ren was even standing there in the first place. This was either a technique that was better than [Shadow Treading] or this was the true form of that technique.
While Henry and Nila were trying to find traces of Ren, they suddenly heard his voice echoing throughout the area.
"Now, let's see how good your techniques are. Show me that you aren't disappointments!"
Even though he was speaking they were still no signs of any mana fluctuation. They couldn't even trace where his voice was coming from, Ren truly was perfectly hidden.
The three of them did not move a single step and those who were watching could not see any trace of the three of them. There was an unusual silence for a while until Ren spoke again.
"Hmm, quite impressive it seems that you two have the basics down a bit better than the rest. To hide until you see an opening for you to strike, one of the basics of assassination. Unfortunately, if both sides are assassins and use the same techniques, then we could be waiting here for days, and no one among us will move. So in a battle like this, the next thing you should do is force your enemy out into the open. The old Shadow Clan would use anything to do this, coercion, bribery, trickery, it doesn't matter how they did it for as long as they're able to force the opponent out in the open anything goes. So long as the target is spotted then that's the moment the target dies. Still, the more powerful members of the clan would not need to resort to such tactics, and instead would use brute force. Just like this, Shadow Clan secret technique [Endless Shadow]!"
Ren's shadow started to expand again, but as the siblings were about to evade they noticed the shadow was no longer just bound to the ground it started to spread even above them. They reacted too late and were caught by the technique. In the eyes of the siblings, even the sky was now being covered by Ren's shadow, but those that were watching from the side could see the Ren just created a huge block box and entrapped them in it.
"[Endless Shadow] a technique used to entrap a single enemy, but with my skill and power I can use it on multiple targets in a larger range. It is pretty hard to use this on fast-moving opponents, but since you guys were stationary for so long, you weren't fast enough to evade. This technique is meant to confuse and scare opponents, as it messes with a person's sense of sight, hearing, smell, and touch. Once inside this technique there are a few ways to get out the easiest one is if you can overpower the technique using even more mana than I. Unfortunately for you, I doubt that even both of you combined could match up to my mana supply..."
'I really hate using these kinds of techniques since it takes all the fun of battle away.'
Henry and Nila who were inside could not see a thing nor could they smell any kind of scent, and the only sound they could hear was Ren's voice. Yet that wasn't the worst part, the worst part was that they could not feel their limbs, it was as if they were nothing more than a mass of consciousness with no physical body, this feeling was something they could not even begin to understand. The two were slowly becoming frightened by the experience and were trying their hardest to calm themselves down. While Henry and Nilla were trying their best to think of a way on how to escape, it was at that moment they once again heard Ren's voice.
"In this position, it would be easy for me, well for anyone for that matter to kill you two in one swift attack."
After saying those words, Ren released the siblings from the technique. Regaining their senses the twins looked at each other and saw that they were both sweating profusely. Their breathing was also rather irregular and their mana fluctuation was all over the place. Their very being was shaken by that one technique.
"Hmph, if that's enough to scare you two, then you guys really are failures of the Shadow Clan. A shadow does not know fear nor sorrow, those things are unneeded for an assassin. It would seem that you two who are the best among the failures are still failures. If it were in the past, at worst you lot would have been either banished or killed by the clan head for your incompetence."
Hearing each word Ren said that was full of disappointment and disdain made Henry and Nila clenched their fists in frustration, they clenched them so tightly that their hands started bleeding.
They could do nothing, they were not even able to show half of the techniques and skills they learned from their predecessors before Ren beaten them.
Still, based on what they saw their techniques were nothing compared to what Ren showed them. As they were wallowing in their frustration, Ren finally appeared before them. He stood in front of them with a look of utter displeasure.
"Now that you guys have been spotted, and you obviously understand the difference between our abilities, a normal Shadow Clan member would've already committed suicide but since I'm guessing that you're the head of the current Shadow Clan, your next course of action should be-"
Ren wasn't able to finish what he was going to say as Henry charged at him while summoning a sword from his shadow. The sword Henry was using was of course coated with poison, and the material used to create the sword could easily penetrate through spells and mana barriers. So in Henry's mind the only option Ren had was to evade or use a more powerful weapon to block. Yet the moment the blade was about to reach, Ren did neither, instead, he pinched the sword using his thumb and forefinger. Henry tried to pull the sword away from Ren but it was to no avail.
Henry then released his grip on the sword and was about to throw poisoned daggers, but before he could do so Ren kicked him in the abdomen. Henry was blown away by that kick and was caught by his sister. The siblings then heard Ren's deep sigh. Ren approached the siblings and then pointed at the two.
"I might have hated the ways of the Shadow Clan, but even so they were the clan I belonged to. You people aren't worthy to call yourselves the Shadow Clan. You aren't even worthy to be my disciple's sparring partners." Ren who was frowning suddenly smiled that vicious smile of his and spoke.
"So I will retrain you guys from the bottom up, until the day you become true assassins of the Shadow Clan."