Bert was a soldier belonging to the faction of the Utra nation in the archipelago.
He had a family but working as a guard in island one hundred and sixty didn't pay him much, he struggled to provide cultivation resources to his children.
That's why he become an informer of the Hive when the chance came, that underground organization gave him generous bribes for his services.
Yet, the representatives of the continent were trying their best to suppress any organization that still aimed for the independence of the archipelago.
Of course, they wouldn't go easy on those that worked for the Hive.
Bert was careless and his identity as an informer was discovered, he was forced to make a deal to save his family, it was either that or months of torture.
'It didn't play out so bad, the continent has sent capable cultivators after all.'
Those were his thoughts when he gazed at the guards protecting him.
There were five guards, all in the peak of the second rank, their stern auras clearly showed how experienced they were.
"When will I be able to see my family?"
Bert spoke to the guards.
He was at the top of a building on island one hundred and fifty-eight, that habitation was the safe location where he was forced to stay after he double-crossed the Hive.
"Soon. The Lords have to eradicate the roots of the separatists in the various islands before it will be safe to leave. We are doing this for your protection Bert, the Hive isn't known for its mercy."
The leader of the guards answered him, Bert knew that his words were on point but he still missed his family, he couldn't help but become anxious about its situation as the days passed.
'I wouldn't be in this mess if I wasn't so weak, the captains in charge of each island make a lot of money, nurturing my children wouldn't be a problem at that point.'
Bert was just a simple soldier.
He was a native of the archipelago and he had managed to become a soldier only thanks to the help of his father who was at the service of some noble.
Time passed though.
His father died of old age and he had to sell most of his techniques to help his family with the various hurdles of the cultivation journey, the prices in the archipelago were high and he could barely afford the resources useful to him after saving for a long time, he needed to find a way to increase his earnings.
However, becoming a captain was hard: They were mostly rank 3 cultivators, the legal factions wanted a cultivator at the peak of the human ranks to handle the human matters.
Bert was busy dividing his little income between the various members of his family so he couldn't hope to enter in the third rank any time soon, he was still in the liquid stage of the second rank after all.
'The Hive paid me a lot but I was found out… Oh well, at least my family is safe now.'
Five guards at the peak of the second rank, a habitation at the top of a building owned by the representatives of the continent, a protective formation that blocked any teleportation ability, there was really nothing to worry about.
"Chill Bert, the Hive would need to send a rank 3 cultivator to assassinate you but you are just a minor character, it's not worth exposing such a resource for this matter."
The leader of the guards tried to reassure Bert when he saw his anxious expression.
He spoke the truth, only a large team or a rank 3 cultivator could surpass their defensive measures.
Yet, a large team would be too evident and a rank 3 cultivator would be overkill, he was quite sure that the Hive would just let go of this matter after some time.
Then, a loud knock resounded from the entrance door, the rhythm of the knocks was peculiar, it seemed some kind of code.
"Finally, these guys are always late! Captain, you should say a thing or two to the guards of the other shift."
One of the guards complained as he stood up and went to the entrance door.
"Identify yourself!"
He stopped in front of the door before shouting those words.
"Blue whale."
An answer came from the other side of the door, those words didn't make sense but the guard seemed satisfied by that reply.
As a safe location, precautions were needed.
The building owned by the representatives was the first one, the defensive formation the second one, the knocking and the verbal code the third, the guards inside the habitation were the last form of defense.
The soldier opened the door but his smile froze when he saw the dark figure covered in blood that waited for him on the other side.
He hurriedly tried to seal the habitation again as the defensive protocol ordered but the dark figure was faster, it had already cast a spell when the soldier became visible.
A shockwave hit the soldier's mind, his mental sphere crumbled under the pressure of that mental attack and he fell lifelessly on the floor, leaving the entrance door open.
The dark figure then became visible to the other cultivators in the room, its features were covered by the large hooded robe that it wore.
The leader of the guards was the first to react, he jumped toward the assassin with all his might.
Yet, before he could reach it, the assassin waved his hand and five spherical items were launched in his direction.
Then, the assassin half-closed the door, hiding behind it.
Five explosions resounded in the room, the entrance door trembled due to the shockwave generated after the blasts.
It then opened the door again to stare at the results of its attack.
The room was filled with fuming spikes and the cultivators inside were the same, their charred corpses had been stabbed by hundreds of spikes, they couldn't hope to survive to the Instabilities in that small environment.