Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

After Aelina left, Mira and the others checked the information in the jade slips. What was in there was an entire list, more than five, of Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mines, their location, the number of Elders and disciples guarding it, and the estimated depth of the mines owned by the Unorthodox Faction.

They skimmed through this information with serious looks on their faces as they realized this mission just got a bit more complicated. If the Sect Master had given them five targets and all they needed to do was figure out the order, then it'd be much easier to plan accordingly, but now they had to sift through and find the targets that would best suit their capabilities.

'Dammit! Why didn't the Sect Master give us this information sooner?' Mira and the others couldn't help but think, but they understood why.

'This is also part of the mission.'

A Prime Disciple, if they can actually survive the Central Continent Competition, is generally seen as the successor to the Sect Master. Needless to say, a Prime Disciple should have excellent leadership, foresight, and planning capabilities.

Mira was the first one to finish sorting through the jade slip, so before anyone said anything, she decided to speak up.

"I believe the Sect Master's last words to be correct. We need to finish this mission as soon as possible. Once the Unorthodox Faction catches wind of our actions, we fail. So, before we decide on the mines, let's first understand our limitations."

Everyone stared at Mira, waiting for her to continue.

"First, we can't invade a mine with two or more Elders guarding it. I shouldn't need to explain why."

"Second, we can't choose locations that are too far apart from one another. Remember, the time limit is one month, but it'd be best if we could complete the mission in under a week, hopefully less."

"Three, the deeper mines are a no-go, even if only one Elder guards them. They'd take too long to plunder, and there is a higher probability of unknown variables."

"Four, it'd be best if our targets are far away from other cities, just in case we cause a commotion and end up attracting unwanted attention."

"I think those are our four main limitations. If you have anything to add, speak up. If not, we can move on to picking out the five targets." Mira deduced, and everybody nodded in approval.

"I agree. Our actions have to be swift and precise, with virtually zero flaws. If we allow a disciple to contact an Unorthodox Sect's Main Branch, we'll be in deep shit. So, it'd be best if we could tackle all the mines one after another," Nova said, just to make sure everyone understood the severity of the mission.

The others nodded and didn't have anything else to add, as Mira and Nova had said basically everything that needed to be said.

"Since we've got that out of the way, let's begin planning out our route," Mira said, and Rayna took out a large map for everyone to see.

Mira and Maria were surprised to see that someone had a physical map of the terrain, as that's quite rare in this world. Creating a detailed map takes a lot of time and effort, as the world is just too big. Thus, most people either remembered where everything was or they asked around.

However, Rayna was different. Mira could tell by the way she glazed over the map that she was very familiar with it.

'Hmmm… Did she perhaps create it herself? If so, that's quite impressive.' Mira inwardly nodded, acknowledging that Rayna seemed to be quite the planner despite her anti-social nature.

'Perhaps she might be the wildcard in this whole mission.' Mira wondered, looking forward to seeing the powers of the Sect's top disciples.

***

Up in the air, invisible to Mira and the others, Aelina watched them with a slight smile. She was thrilled that Mira was the first to understand the essence of the mission and take charge, as it proved that she did have the qualities of a Prime Disciple, despite being so young and weak.

She was also glad that Mira didn't seem intimidated even in front of the strongest disciples of her generation, nor did she hesitate to take the lead. Over time, it appeared her favorability toward Mira only increased as she found her to be more and more to her liking.

'It's a shame that she doesn't want to be my disciple,' Aelina shook her head ruefully.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't think about forcing Mira, but she could tell that the girl had a deep hatred for the term 'Master' and would likely rather die than become her disciple.

There's definitely a story there, but Aelina wasn't interested in that. If Mira wasn't willing to be her disciple, then so be it.

'Whatever. It's already good enough that she's willing to do so much for the Sect, and it's not like I want or need a disciple.'

Suddenly, Aelina's expression changed as she sensed multiple strong auras, no less than hers, converge on her position.

She wrapped Mira, Maria, and the others in her Qi to hide them, sent them a voice transmission, and tossed them out of the Sect. She didn't know what or why these people were barging into her Sect, but she could tell that trouble would come knocking if one of them were to see Mira right now.

And she didn't have time to waste on useless drivel.

"Hmph! Let's see what's so important that these idiots dare to come brazenly knocking on my door without even sending me a message first," Aelina frowned in dissatisfaction and took out a small tablet that radiated a suffocating aura.

She injected a bit of Qi into the tablet, and soon, a barrier surrounded the entire Battle Maiden Sect!

"If they don't give me a satisfactory answer… Hmph! Don't blame me for being ruthless," A cold smile appeared on her face, much different from the amiable and amused smile she generally had in front of the disciples.

She hated when people arrived unannounced, and she hated it even more when they came in groups like this, seemingly hoping to intimidate her.

Her body swayed gently before disappearing.

She then reappeared in the sky above her mountain and looked coldly at her 'guests'.

"What a… pleasant surprise. I never thought I'd see the day when Alexander, Flora, Ghost Reaper King, and Damon visit a poor old lady like me so valiantly. Ah! Even that vixen, Lisica, showed up! Is it my birthday today or something? It must be for a clown show like you guys to show up uninvited!" Aelina spread her arms, welcoming her visitors with a smile, causing their eyes to twitch in annoyance, but they understood that she was not happy right now.

If anyone else were here, they'd be utterly shocked as not only did the Sect Masters from the Immortal Sword Sect, Profound Elements Sect, Hidden Blade Sect, and Divine Weapons Sect show up, but even the Leader of the Fox Clan, Mistress Lisica appeared as well!

***

Meanwhile, Mira, Maria, and the others had just received a voice transmission from Aelina and were thrown out somewhere in Snow Maiden City.

The transmission said, "A few annoying characters decided to show up today, and I'd rather not leak your mission or Mira's appearance to them if possible. I'm sending you to Snow Maiden City. You can finish your planning there. Good luck on your mission, and keep your eyes and ears open at all times. The Continent might be getting noisy here soon with these guys barging into the Sect all of a sudden."

Then, she teleported them away.

After reappearing, Mira and the others glanced at each other, not knowing what to do or say, as they didn't expect to be suddenly thrown out.

However, they quickly regained their composure and found a nice place to sit down and discuss their plans.

Though, it was mostly just Rayna picking out their locations. She sifted through the information in the jade slip and mentally crossed off anything that exceeded their capabilities, then cross-referenced the leftovers on the map.

Within a few minutes, she had already found the best and most efficient route to take that met all their requirements.

"Rayna sure works fast like always," Seraphine muttered.

Everly nodded, "It makes sense, though. She's our resident assassin. I doubt there's anyone in our Sect who knows the Western Continent more than her, other than the Elders and Sect Master."

"I just wished she'd talk to us a bit more when discussing our plans instead of doing everything herself," Eden muttered, glancing at Rayna, but she wasn't annoyed. This has happened too many times for her to still be annoyed.

"Well, since Rayna has finished coming up with the order of attack, let's get going! We don't have time to waste!" Nova said while getting up.

Mira and Maria couldn't say against Rayna's decision as their knowledge of the Western Continent are extremely poor. They've both read maps and have a general outline, but nothing as detailed as what Rayna has.

Still, Mira didn't see any inherent problems with the order, so she just went with it.

With that said, they all got up from their seats and left to go raid their first Spirit Stone Mine!