The warrior who had just stabbed Umonke was clearly from the Behemoth Clan. Rayna could tell he was quite an established warrior, one that was at least at the middle stage level of Qi, although on the lower side.
There was no one other than those that Rayna was already aware of among their allies, so why would a member suddenly betray one of their own, and one of the Pillars at that?
The man's hands were shaking, part of his sword covered in blood while his lips were quivering.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he continued to mumble to himself. "I had to do it... I had to."
With one hand, the man reached up to the golden headband on his head.
'That's the artifact, the one that Anna brought with her... is that the reason he did that?'
Nearly everyone in the group had managed to receive some type of artifact, but many of Raze's allies were brought together under him. They didn't all have a close connection with each other, and this was true of Rayna and Anna as well, so they didn't have any idea of what the artifacts the others had could do.
"It looks like my plan was quite the success!" Anna said with a smile on her face. "Although it's quite unfortunate the wound isn't so deep. With his attention focused on the two of us, I thought a deeper wound would have at least been made."
In many ways, it just went to show how strong Umonke's Qi was; even in an unexpected situation, the Qi flowing through his body was able to stop the sword from a middle stage warrior from going right through him.
"Hey, let's try and protect that one a bit," Anna said as she charged forward again.
Umonke was ready to strike down the man for the betrayal but was unable to due to the worry of the two on his back.
This time, both Anna and Rayna charged in together.
Rayna swung her spear above, which was blocked, and at the same time, Anna delivered another powerful palm strike filled with energy to Umonke's center, pushing him back.
As he slid backward, a slash was made across his back by the same man with the headband. The wound was shallow, though, only causing a large scratch.
"You have to try harder than that, otherwise!" Under her breath, Anna started to chant some words.
Rayna didn't recognize the language that was being used, and when spoken, it was in a monotone, deep voice.
Once more, the headband on the man's head started to glow. As it did, the man felt extreme pain and pressure; the band was tightening, and he felt like it was going to pop at any second.
"Alright!" the man shouted, charging in to strike again, this time with more commitment and more Qi.
Rayna and Anna moved in at the same time as well, even with Anna pulling the man out of the way from a slash that would have sliced him in half.
The coordination from Anna, as well as being attacked from three angles, was extremely frustrating for Umonke.
It was a strange feeling for him. He knew he was stronger than the others, but due to him not being able to knock Rayna away, she was lasting longer than she would ordinarily have.
On top of that, instructions from the strange woman with red palm strikes were perfectly timed, almost as if his mind was being read.
Anna was smiling at the situation unfolding.
"I can't believe they had no idea what these items could do, and they were using it to decorate a statue of all things."
In one of the clans Anna was sent to, she had found the artifact—the headband—along with a scroll that was hung behind it.
Her system allowed her to know that these items weren't from the world of Pagna, but came from another dimension.
She tried to get information from the said dimension, but there wasn't much from the clan itself. Still, the clan had control of the portal where the items were found. Venturing inside, she was able to come across information about how the headband had once been used on a fierce being to restrict its power.
Learning this, she knew she had something special on her hands. The main problem was getting the headband on its target, which was why she had selected a middle stage warrior distracted and focused on the fight with the town of Flendon.
If it was another clan, this would have been a risky move. Many were so loyal to their clans that they would willingly give up their lives rather than attack a prominent figure in their own clan.
However, Anna could see that since the clan was so large, there was next to no loyalty. Many had joined it just for the prestige that came with being part of one of the major clans. And they were fighting right now because of fear of what would happen to them. The warriors in the Behemoth Clan cared more about their own lives.
"We need to finish this!" Anna said. "Now that our assistant is fighting at full force, we can pin him down, but I don't have the strength to beat him."
Rayna was huffing and panting; her muscles were aching, and at any second, she felt like she would drop the spear on the floor.
"The one that needs to finish him off is you. Come on, do it for the sake of love," Anna said.
In an instant, Rayna's face went red.
"Can't you tell? Raze isn't here, which means something happened to him. If that's the case, look at the battlefield."
Rayna quickly observed what was happening, but she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary; things were somewhat in a stalemate, the same as before.
That's when she realized that was part of the issue.
"Who's fighting Sha Mo?" she asked.
In the center of the battlefield, three people stood there looking at the giant mass known as Sha Mo.
They stood side by side, quaking inside.
"Is it just me, or can't you help but think we kinda got the short straw?" Liam commented, with Simyon and Safa by his side.