Chapter 15: Chapter 15 - Eighteen Bronze Arhats

[Temple Street, Xinjiang, China]

As the illusion of Buddha started to flicker in the distance and losing visibility, the trio of Jack, Ethan and Takamura exchanged worried looks. "It's been too long," Takamura said, breaking the silence. "They should have been out by now."

"I know," Jack replied, running a hand through his hair. "We need to go in after them."

"Absolutely not," Ethan protested. "We can't risk getting caught. We need to trust in Connor and Yukie. They're more than capable of handling themselves."

"But what if they're in trouble?" Takamura chimed in, his brow furrowed.

"Then we'll regroup with Lady Enki and come up with a new plan," Ethan replied, his voice firm as he pushed up his glasses, as if already formulating a plan.

Jack looked torn, weighing his options. "I don't know," he said finally. "I don't like the idea of leaving them in there alone."

Takamura nodded in agreement. "Me neither. But we can't just rush in blindly. Plus the local authorities are on their way here from the looks of it."

Ethan shook his head. "No, we can't. We need to trust in our team and have faith in their abilities."

"But don't you guys think something is wrong?" Ethan added, noticing the chaos in their surroundings as police sirens started to wail in the distance.

"Sh*t! We might have been had!" Jack thought to himself, the pressure of having possibly led his group into a trap eating him up from the inside, causing him to be unable to utter a word.

The two were quick to notice, and refused to say a word to preserve Jack's ego, but knew that they needed to regroup with Lady Enki and think of another plan in case things got worst.

The illusion relic flickered and then died, leaving the three of them in the bustling marketplace. They exchanged one final glance before making their way back into the crowd and back to their rendezvous point with Lady Enki and Professor Shiva, their hearts heavy with worry for Connor and Yukie.

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[Hainuke Temple, Central Area]

Yukie moved with a dancer's grace, her feet barely touching the ground as she sprinted through Hainuke Temple. The silence was deafening, and her footsteps made no sound due to her deft movements. Her heart was pounding, and her palms were slick with sweat. She couldn't help but feel nervous and anxious, leaving her comrade Connor behind, but she knew that she had to complete the mission.

Yukie cautiously moved through the temple, scanning her surroundings for any sign of danger. She had avoided several simple traps earlier, thanks to the careful research that Ethan had done. The path to the central zone was fraught with peril, but Ethan had carefully researched the potential traps and relics that could lay await for her. Yukie was diligent enough to study all the materials prepared by Ethan, as only a fool would rush in without careful planning.

As she approached the central room that held all the precious treasures, she remembered what could potentially lay ahead. Ethan had warned her that there was a possibility that the temple would utilize the Eighteen Bronze Arhats as a defense mechanism. It was mechanized type of relic, that took the form of eighteen arhat monk puppets that fought together in tandem. Yukie took a deep breath and readied herself for the battle ahead. She knew she couldn't back down now.

As she took a few more steps, she heard a mechanical whirring sound, and the ground beneath her shook. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by eighteen mechanized bronze puppets, each standing nearly six feet tall and poised for attack. She counted just to make sure, and there really were exactly eighteen.

"Tsk. I hate it when Ethan is right."

She hefted her relic "Yukihime", a beautiful ice elemental katana of matchless splendor, and prepared to take on the Eighteen Bronze Arhats. Ethan's prior advice and research came to mind, and she began to look for the weaknesses in the bronze sentries. These puppets were no ordinary foes - they were relics, each one infused with the martial techniques of ancient warrior monks. However, as Yukie gripped her katana tightly, she thought to herself that her pride wouldn't allow her to be defeated by mere relics without a human user in place.

The puppets moved in unison, their movements fluid and precise, as if controlled by a single mind. Yukie felt a slight shiver run down her spine as they closed in on her from all sides. She knew that this would be a tough fight.

The first puppet lunged at her with a lightning-fast strike, but Yukie was too quick for it. She sidestepped the attack and swung her katana that was channeling the element of ice, piercing through the puppet's chest and sending sparks flying everywhere. It started to freeze from where it was pierced. The other puppets hesitated for a moment, but then quickly closed in again.

Yukie fought with all her might, her katana glinting in the light as she parried and struck at the puppets with deadly precision. But no matter how many she took down, it seemed as though they kept coming.

"Think...there must be a faster way to clear these puppets," she thought to herself as she sidestepped an incoming kick from the puppets.

She had recalled Ethan's advice - to destroy the lead puppet to deactivate them. She focused her attention on finding the puppet that seemed to be controlling the others, and finally spotted it in the back of the room. It was larger than the others and had a different design, its armor more ornate. Yukie channeled more ice energy as the temperature in the room became more frigid, her frosty breath visible as she exhaled into the air.

Yukie leapt into action, using her throwing daggers to target and freeze the joints of the puppets to slow them down. She whirled around, her katana flashing, as she sliced through the other puppets that tried to stop her. She threw her remaining daggers with precision, freezing the joints of the puppets as they continued to advance towards her to slow them down. She used her katana to slice off limbs and decapitate the puppets one by one, dodging and weaving between them as they crashed to the ground.

Finally, she made it to the lead puppet. It towered over her, but she was not intimidated. Yukie approached it cautiously, her katana at the ready as it exuded a frosty aura from the tip. The puppet's eyes glowed red, and it made a noise that sounded like a mix of a scream and a hiss.

The puppet swung its fist outwards, but Yukie was too quick. She landed on its shoulders, her katana sinking into the metal. The puppet roared in anger, thrashing around wildly. Yukie held on tight, her eyes fixed on the glowing red eyes of the lead puppet. She was trying to freeze it from the inside out.

"Come on! Argh! Stay still will you!?"

With enduring strength, Yukie plunged her katana deeper as its movement dulled, frost coming out from every crack of its body. The puppet shuddered and fell to the ground, its body collapsing in a heap. The other puppets immediately went still, their joints freezing in place.

With a sigh of relief, Yukie took a step back, panting heavily. She had survived the battle, but just barely. As she looked around at the wreckage of the eighteen puppets, she was glad that this meant she could retrieve the teapot with ease and make a retreat with Connor. However, deep inside her guts, she couldn't help but feel like there was something more to this situation that meets the eye.

-------

[Undisclosed location, Xinjiang]

The air was thick with tension and unease in the sprawling city of Xinjiang, as rumors of a relic terrorist group attacking Hainuke Temple started to spread like wildfire among the populace. People whispered fearfully, and suddenly dark alleys felt more haunted than usual, as a growing sense of unease permeated through the once peaceful city. The authorities were mobilizing their forces in full swing, fearing the damage that could be caused by relic wielding terrorists.

In a hidden room deep within the city, a group of shadowy figures watched with keen interest. They were the triads, the very same group that had entrusted Jack and Heaven's Watch with retrieving the Teapot of Eight Immortals from Hainuke Temple. Their eyes were fixed on a single prize - a precious relic that was hidden somewhere within the city.

"We've been waiting for this moment for a long time," said the leader of the triads, Liang. "The distraction we needed has been cast, and the authorities are scrambling. It's the perfect opportunity for us to make our move."

The other members of the group nodded in agreement, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. They had been waiting for the right opportunity for the longest time, and felt a little bit of regret making use of Heaven's Watch this way, but there was more at stake for their group.

Liang's group of triads had been operating without much interference in Xinjiang for the longest time. But recently, they drew the attention of the Green Forest Alliance, an ancient triad group that ruled the majority of China's triad groups. In order to be accepted into the Green Forest Alliance, Liang's group had to conquer Xinjiang thoroughly, and that means finding a way to eliminate all competition and cement their foothold of power, unshaken and unquestioned.

The triads had formed a tentative friendship with Jack from previous encounters and even owed him a favor. But that friendship would be strained the moment they found out they were used as a great distraction. They felt a sense of guilt and remorse for deceiving their newfound allies. But their ambition and the greater good of their cause had to come first. Liang, the leader of the triad group knew that this was no small betrayal. He would still have offered their group safe passage to Hong Kong even if they failed to retrieve the teapot, as he shuddered, recalling the day Lady Enki exerted her power over them without lifting a finger.

Liang signaled his group, prepared to make a move on all the other rival triads while the authorities were focused on the rumors of a relic terrorist attack that his members to spread earlier. In the end, it was their skills and preparation that will win them a spot within the Green Forest Alliance, and there was nobody who could stand in their way now.

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