Many hours earlier that same day in India
Senior General Xie Xu saw a very rare opportunity. “Glide on squares B10, 11, C10, 11! Now!” The powerful boost glide for the WU-14 Hypersonic Weapon System crashed down on the squares indicated, and one more demon known as a Silver died. A cheer went up in the mobile command and control center for the Asian theater and the general forcefully said, “Enough!”
That was the third Silver General Xie Xu had killed. Three more than his predecessor, and the reason the G40 still had him in command though the war moved into India. That and his known hatred of politics.
“New Silver exited the portal, General,” said a technician.
“Copy,” replied the general.
The general looked at all his feeds. He needed to push the demons back over the Brahmaputra River, but there was no way. The demons were holding back before. They weren’t now. It was a battle of attrition. A battle the forces under his command were losing, and on a long enough timeline defeat was inevitable.
“Clusters on sectors D19 through C27, full square.”
The general knew he got lucky with the Silver. He got lucky with all three Silvers he bagged, if truth were to be told. Sometimes they got rambunctious in their slaughter and moved too far away from the protection of the demon general, which was now classified as Gold. Captains.
The general’s mind raced as he watched the feeds, looking for any opportunity to turn the tides or inflict some damage, hardening his heart from the reports of allied troops lost, and how he callously sent so many to their deaths knowing it was futile. He needed to make it worthwhile. He needed a big play. ‘In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. And opportunities multiply as they are seized.’
Alarms beeped and what he saw made the general’s heart sink. His staff became so disheartened they didn’t even report the new development. A new Gold and eight new Silvers appeared outside the portal.
General Xie Xu calmed his heart and thought. They were losing badly against one Gold and eight Silvers. The same bit of strategy repeated in his mind. If you fight with all your might there is a chance of life.’ He purposefully left off the second part of the quote.
“’Still as the stone at the door’ authorized. Confirm. Now.”
There was a slight moment of hesitation before the necessary officer, operator, and technician verified the solution. Radio chatter increased. The general’s second confirmed.
The general said, “Good. We retreat now.”
The Mobile CCC started up and started moving as the general watched all divisions enact the retreat. ‘Still as a stone at the door’ was the last-ditch plan to stop the demons. All weaponry would be coordinated and fired to arrive at the same time, including low-yield tactical nukes, regardless of wind carriage. Everything the allies had plus the kitchen sink.
The general hoped it would be too much for the two Golds and sixteen Silvers to deal with. The State of Bihar was gone either way. Its loss, and the loss of everything else so far, all those dead by the demons, would mean something if they could take out one of the Golds. The same quote entered the general’s mind, ‘If you fight with all your might there is a chance of life.’
The general watched the portal feed as it started to flicker. Before all the feeds died out, he saw a giant hand extend out of the portal. He saw what happened in Canada when a giant hand poked out of that horde’s portal, and for the first time since the invasion started the general had no hope at all.
Then all the general’s worries ended along with his shame for his great failure as lava quickly filled the mobile CCC and he and his staff died.
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Preceptor Muzaran turned to the side and indicated with a head movement for the demons to clear out of the way. He got into the guard of wrath and closed his eyes. John could feel something building, and Preceptor Muzaran’s sword violently lashed out in a perfect and powerful colpo fendente. A line of blue light extended outwards from the blade a few paces.
Whatever energy extended outwards from the blade wasn’t a manifestation. John could tell it was something different.
“You try. I will guide you through it. Come. Stand here. Stance and strike matter little. What matters is being one with these elements – blade, mind, spirit, and the energy around you. Be one with emptiness. You know emptiness? What you create in your upper core? Have you created any?”
“I have, Preceptor Muzaran,” replied John, knowing he shouldn’t fall so quickly into the role of student and master, especially for a swordsman he tagged with a blade a few moments ago, but he wanted to learn the technique giving him control of blade energy. There was no way to unbind it since it wasn’t a manifestation like an echo attack, and his major issue with fighting higher-tiered enemies was their ability to unbind his manifestations.
John hated that. He hated how he was so easily unbound by higher-tiered enemies, making all his powerful spells useless. If the demon was willing to teach him a way around an issue he hated, he wouldn’t say no.
And every second the Gold focused on John, Stretch was being ignored, and it was an additional second he could come up with a plan to win or escape with Stretch.
The demon said, “Good. Do you understand the meaning of emptiness? Enhanced awareness, control, effortless action, all that?”
John thought before replying. “Similar concepts, Preceptor Muzaran. It goes back a long, long time for warriors. Seeing everything while looking at nothing. Constant awareness. Perfect attention to all while focusing on nothing. I’ve created empty a lot of times in my upper dantian, but it doesn’t feel like anything. Not like creating shen or filling my lower dantian.”
“No. No. No. It is emptiness, not empty. Empty means there is nothing in something. When there is no emptiness in your upper core it is empty. Emptiness is different. You explained some aspects of it well. That is the state you need, but you must become one with all around you. Feel the energy infused in everything. In you, your weapon, your mind, your spirit, your vigor, what makes up all of you and surrounds you.
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“Now, once you can feel all this, and are at peace with it, feel how it vibrates. Feel how the energy is in your blade, how it is surrounded by it. Then, when you’re ready, keep it with your blade as you cut forward, and it will follow.”
John decided to try it the same as he saw it demonstrated. He got into the guard of wrath stance after putting his shield on the ground near his feet. He tried to attain the correct mindset, and felt the energy within and without, and when he could feel it vibrating, he cut forward powerfully and ended in the long point stance. No energy followed his blade or extended outwards.
“Good for your first attempt. Try again. You almost had it. Build it more. Make it stick to your blade more. Strike harder and faster. With the sword, if you are not fast, you are dead. Visualize an enemy in front of you that you are striking.”
John got into the enhanced awareness he learned fighting Ukaraaz. Once he felt the energy around and within vibrating, he looked for the life energy that was within everything, the different kinds of it, the kind that filled dead things and rotting plants and the ground and air, and noticed how strange the version of it was that filled Stretch, though it was duller and far less abundant due to Stretch’s current state.
John felt all of the energy he could and tried to become one with it. He tried to attract it to his sword when he heard the demon say, “Come now, Copper. No manifestations or energy manipulation is needed for this. This just requires skill and oneness.”
John didn’t think he was manipulating energy, but he stopped trying to gather energy with the blade and just focused on the energy in and around the blade, and how it all vibrated in synchronicity. He relaxed his mind and went through all the steps again from the start. There was a greater amount of energy around the blade than before. When he was sure he was ready, he cut his blade forward powerfully with a step forward, keeping the energy on his blade, ending somewhere between the changer and fool’s guard.
Energy lashed out from the blade, extending over ten paces in front of John.
“Darkness, Adversity, and Nightmare! Wonderful! On your second attempt, no less! And the distance it traveled! Much more impressive than the other one that belongs to Circle Xakariz. You truly are something else. Copper John, I must have you as a student. Come, relax, stand at ease. Let’s talk for a moment.”
John collected his shield as the Gold yelled out. “Okay, you lot. Form up and meditate. Leave all of my crystals and arms where they are. Gorgamon, you’re lead.”
Both vampire and demon faced each other. John noticed the Gold looked old for a demon, but not nearly as old as Hubaba. Muzaran looked towards Stretch. “Don’t worry. I won’t attack...it…whatever it is, or you, while we speak. Do you know what that thing is? It fought ferociously. It isn’t like any construct I’ve ever seen or heard of. It’s nearly invulnerable to all attacks too. Unveiling my soul didn’t slow it one bit.”
“I don’t know, Preceptor Muzaran. He saved me once.”
“Is it a he? I tried communicating and it would only say, ‘words, words, words,’ and the like.”
John smiled. “I’m not sure. I had no better luck communicating either. It looks like a he to me though.”
The demon reached his giant arm down and rested it on John’s shoulder. “Listen, Copper John. I don’t like lying. I don’t like word games. You’ve probably guessed I’m not with Circle Xakariz. I’m a preceptor with the War Academy on…you know how, uh, I guess sector or galaxy would be your equivalent, we call them regions in the Nether.
“The region that Esau resides in, the major planet is called Prime. It always is for each region. I’m the lowest level of preceptor for the School of Swords for the War Academy on Prime. Esau is a tenth ring world. I won’t lie, the whole region is pretty much all yokels, but Prime is a seventh ring world. I was born on Prime so I started out D-grade. Demons born on Esau are all F-grade. You know, for demons, our race naturally increases through ascension?”
John said, “I did know, but not the specifics. If I’m remembering right, demons become alpha-types at Sublime.”
“Yes, for yokel demons. I’m C-grade now. If all goes as planned, I should hit B-grade through enhancements, then A with ascension even before I move to the next Tree. I will make alpha-type before the Divine Tree. The War Academy isn’t like Circle Xakariz. We will foster you and your growth.
“I know you’re more skilled than I am with the blade but there is still a lot I can teach you. And not just me, we have many higher-tiered preceptors. All the way up to high Transcendents. We don’t advance quickly. The Nether allows us the gift of time, and we abuse it as much as possible. We never rush. See this necklace?”
The Gold’s hand was withdrawn from John’s shoulder, and he removed a necklace from under his black top with it. It was a strange metal that shimmered blue, and a knot-ornament hung from the curb-style chain. “This is called a band of suffering. It slows down cultivation and makes it painful. We all use these. Or a form of it. It can be a headband or a ring or bracers or anklet. Even a belt. We take advancement seriously.”
“Yokels would never slow down their own advancement. They rush and rush and learn little.” The demon put the necklace away and put his hand back on John’s shoulder. “Sadly, Copper John, you know too little. You are very powerful in certain ways. Very ignorant in other ways. Everyone knows of blade energy. Don’t look to your NCS for help with learning more about it or such techniques. If it can’t quantify something, it ignores it. From what I understand. And it rushes cultivators.
“You have the chance to be one of the body cultivators of note. There aren’t many of us, and you must learn from one of us. Do you know about [Auras]?”
After thinking for a moment, John replied, “A little. I think one is gotten at Gold. Ukaraaz…Captain Ukaraaz had a [Domain] instead. I haven’t really looked into them.”
The demon smiled and squeezed John’s shoulder. “And that is why you need to become a student of the War Academy. You need to plan ahead. You haven’t asked how I knew your name. I know a lot about you. Some information seems to be outdated. It looks like you have two merged concepts now if I’m seeing your essence right. And you’re much stronger and faster.
“Since I know so much about you, it’s only fair I tell you a bit more about myself. I have one concept, a mid-concept. ‘Mettle.’ Often a precursor to your ‘battle’ concept. I’ve shown you little of what I can do with it, but there is little I can’t do. I can damage, bind, sap, enhance myself greatly, etcetera. I’m trying to master this concept. Eke out every possible bit of power I can from it. My aspect is average and my affinity is a little over thirty percent. Tell me, when you hear the word ‘mettle,’ what comes to your mind?”
John grunted. “What someone is made of. How hard they are. Their grit.”
The demon laughed. “Good. Their temperament. Their pluck, courage, fiber, nerve, fortitude. Their spunk. Their juice. Their passion. Their fire. The fire I attack with doesn’t damage and burn the same as more dangerous forms of fire, but it burns still, and saps my opponent’s physical capabilities while enhancing my own further. And my body enhancement is potent. What are the biggest obstacles a body cultivator faces?”
John said, “What do you mean by a body cultivator? Someone that focuses on their body and melee? Like a traditional fighter?”
Muzaran laughed good naturedly again. “I really hate to be a stickler for the rules, but it is customary to use some title of respect at least once when addressing a better, such as Preceptor or Gold. To answer your question, only on your world would you say traditional fighters are body cultivators. We are a rare breed. But, yes, we focus on our physical prowess and body and weapon enhancements and close-quarters combat. Some would say archers and other ranged-weapon users and the like are a form of body cultivators, or some can be. Your NCS considers them Militants, I believe.”
John thought for a long minute, as this was something he actually put a lot of thought into. He didn’t want to be a body cultivator, or just a body cultivator, as he dreamed of fire billowing forth from his hands, but he was often forced into the role since higher-tiered enemies were able to easily unbind his manifestations.