The inside of the Collective Liberation Alliance’s fort was underwhelming. Aside from three makeshift campfires and a series of felled logs arranged as crude seating, it was little more than a secluded section of the beachhead.

  Two of the campfires held skewers of meat roasting above them, black smoke curling upward in uneven wisps. Ishin’s mouth began to water at the sight—until a gust of wind carried the smell toward him.

  His face twisted in disgust.

  What the hell are they cooking?

  As they walked deeper into the fort’s sparse holdings, despondent eyes followed their group. Grim expressions, hollowed by fatigue and dread, seemed to cling to the onlookers like a second skin.

  “Everyone looks so somber,” Lei commented, though without his usual levity.

  “Most face truth,” Six answered flatly as he trailed at the rear. “Happens.”

  “Most are just tired,” Wen Mei added quickly. “Many of us have been here for months and…let’s just say they’re eager to leave the island.”

  I see why they sent Wen Mei and Six out to recruit.

  Ishin recognized the same beaten look in the alliance members who stared blankly into the fires. They were defeated. Whatever fighting spirit they once had was long gone.

  “Here we are,” Wen Mei announced, stopping before a pair of fallen logs propped into an obtuse angle around a fourth fire.

  “These are the ones you found?” asked a shaggy-haired man with tanned skin and a deep cross-shaped scar cut across his face.

  “Yes, Brother Jou. I think they’ll be excellent additions to our alliance.”

  “Weak,” a woman with a tight ponytail interjected. Her hands rested casually on a massive battle axe that looked capable of felling trees in a single swing.

  “We aren’t weak,” Tan Chen shot back, stepping forward.

  “Two of you are only at the fourth layer. The rest at the fifth. That makes you weak.”

  At her harsh judgment, Ishin opened his third eye and gazed at the three leaders.

  All at the sixth layer.

  It was as he suspected. And to a degree, he understood the woman’s perspective.

  “Sister Lan, surely adding more members will only help our cause,” Wen Mei tried carefully.

  The woman—Go Lan, as Ishin realized—snapped, “Are you only saying this because Brother Zai is dead?”

  “No, Sister Lan,” Wen Mei stammered. “I didn’t mean that. I know no one can replace him—”

  “You’re damn right,” Go Lan interrupted with venom. “It was bad enough that he…he’s dead. And you think a handful of fourth and fifth layer fresh arrivals can replace him and his team?” Her words were spat like poison.

  She’s clearly upset. But if this is how we’re viewed, perhaps it’s best to leave.

  “We were invited to join,” Tan Chen said, her voice tight with restrained irritation. Go Lan’s eyes narrowed into daggers. “But if you don’t want us here, then we’ll leave.”

  “Wait,” Wen Mei said quickly. “Don’t go.” She glanced back at the seething Go Lan. “Sister Lan, we need their help. We’re down to thirteen members left.”

  “Twelve,” corrected the final senior seated around the fire. Ishin saw he had a thin beard and mismatched eyes—one black, the other grey. “Zhang Jingyi disappeared. We don’t know where she went.”

  “Oh,” Wen Mei murmured, troubled.

  Tan Chen scoffed. “You’ve gone from seventeen to twelve members and you still want to turn us away? What happened to your plan of banding together so everyone could escape?”

  “Why should we carry you with us?” Go Lan countered. “We’ve spent months suffering on this island, and now you expect us to carry more deadweight?”

  “Sister Lan—” Wen Mei tried again.

  “No.” Go Lan rose to her feet, one hand tightening on her axe handle. “We’re done with this. Helping the weak sounded great at the start, but look where it’s gotten us. It’s time to act.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “What are you saying?” Wen Mei asked, brows furrowing.

  “We meant to tell everyone when you and Six returned,” Jou said, glancing at the other seniors. “But we’ve decided it’s best for the alliance to no longer accept new members.”

  “What?”

  “Four months we’ve tried it your way,” Go Lan said sharply. “And look where it’s gotten us. Still trapped on this cursed island. No longer. In four days, we’ll take every pill we can during the Pill Drop. If the Heavens favor us, it’ll be enough for us to escape.”

  “You don’t want to share the resources,” Ishin said, finally piecing it together.

  Go Lan glared at him, but Jou gave a small, begrudging nod. “That’s right. With only twelve of us left, each receives more.”

  “There still won’t be enough for everyone to reach the Adept Realm,” Wen Mei argued. “Most of your members are only at the fifth layer of the initial realm.”

  Clever. Cold, but clever.

  “They expect more of them to die,” Ishin stated bluntly.

  Jou had the decency to look away in shame, but Go Lan’s burning glare confirmed the truth.

  Too afraid to admit it openly. Pathetic.

  While Ishin understood their motivations, he despised their lack of honesty. If they planned to gamble with their weaker members’ lives, they should at least have the courage to admit it.

  Evidently, the realization cut Wen Mei deeper than Ishin expected. “You can’t be serious.”

  “The Pill Drop is always bloody,” the third senior said flatly. “We lost three last week. Odds are we’ll lose at least that many again.”

  “Probably twice that,” Six mused aloud. Wen Mei shot him a look of disbelief, but he only shrugged. “Easier when death is predictable. Periodic.”

  “At least he gets it,” Go Lan quipped.

  “If that’s your plan, we don’t want any part of it,” Rhee declared, folding her arms. She glared at Wen Mei. “You talked about cooperation, but this?” She shook her head. “This is wrong.”

  “It’s practical,” Go Lan snapped back. “Stay here long enough and you’ll understand.”

  “I don’t think so,” Lei said with clear disgust. “Friends don’t let others die.”

  “He’s right,” Wen Mei whispered.

  “Cruel life,” Six added to no one in particular.

  “Let’s go,” Rhee said firmly. She turned to leave, but Ishin spoke before she could take more than a step.

  “Wait, Sister Rhee.”

  She paused, looking back at him with a questioning frown. “Why?”

  “We can help each other,” Ishin said, speaking to her as much as to the seniors.

  “Help us?” Go Lan scoffed. “How could you possibly help us?”

  “Wen Mei said your alliance was formed because you were weak. Even if you’re stronger than some of us, I suspect there are greater threats on this island—threats strong enough to contest you for the pills in a few days.”

  No one interrupted him, and Ishin pressed on.

  “Work with us until the Pill Drop. We’re new here, and we’d benefit from your shelter. You want off this island, but even you’re not certain of your chances.” His gaze shifted toward the weary, broken members in the back. “And if you expect your weaker members to die at the Pill Drop, then surely you expect the same for us.”

  “You really expect us to trust them after what they admitted?” Rhee asked sharply.

  “We can’t go back into the forest at night,” Ishin answered. “We don’t even know where the Pill Drop happens.”

  “And you expect us to take charity on you?” Go Lan sneered.

  “No,” Ishin replied, his patience thinning. “A partnership. Until the Pill Drop. Use us to help you obtain the pills.”

  “They’re willing to work with us, Sister Lan,” Wen Mei urged. “What’s the harm?”

  “That’s no different than adding more members,” Go Lan countered. “It undermines our plan.”

  “I never said we’d join your alliance,” Ishin clarified.

  Go Lan’s brow furrowed. “You won’t?”

  “We won’t?” Lei echoed, baffled.

  “No. Just a partnership. We work together until the Pill Drop. If your alliance insists on holding back until all of you can progress, then we’ll step away afterward. We’ll help each other, but you won’t be obligated to wait for us.”

  “A partnership, huh,” Jou muttered, intrigued.

  “That’s unfair to them,” Wen Mei argued. “If they help us, we should let them join.”

  “I won’t agree to new members,” Go Lan said coldly. “But a few more bodies might be useful—if they’re not useless.”

  “I’m tired of your insults,” Tan Chen growled.

  “It’s the truth, not insults.” Go Lan’s expression darkened into a sinister grin. “I’ll agree to this partnership if you can prove you’re worthy of our help.”

  Ishin tried not to roll his eyes. “How?”

  Go Lan lifted her battle axe, both hands gripping its thick haft. “Choose one of your members to fight me. If they can last ten breaths, I’ll be satisfied.”

  She wants to fight us?

  Ishin’s inner beast growled in eager approval, and his martial spirit stirred. He wanted to crush this arrogant woman.

  I doubt she’d survive my Pale Azure Lightning Force Strike.

  “Fine! I’ll face you,” Tan Chen declared suddenly.

  Huh?

  Go Lan smiled, a predator’s grin. “I was hoping you’d volunteer.”

  “Sister Lan,” the heterochromic senior cautioned.

  “She agreed,” Go Lan cut him off. Lifting the heavy axe, sand spilling from its twin blades, she pointed toward an open patch near the wall. “Over there.”

  “Works for me.”

  The two women strode toward the clearing, positioning themselves twenty feet apart. The other seniors and alliance members gathered to watch.

  “Guess we just watch,” Rhee muttered.

  “Guess so,” Ishin replied.

  “Try not to kill each other,” Wen Mei offered nervously. “Please.”

  Go Lan hefted her axe toward Tan Chen. “That depends on her.”

  Tan Chen pressed a fist into her opposite palm and bowed her head slightly. “Try it.”

  “Then let’s get this over with,” Jou announced, starting the fight.