Chapter 31: Sect Head!
Eastern Continent
Metal Sect
The Sect head was already bloodied and battered facing the front lines. It was clear to everyone watching that he would no longer be able to continue fighting.
But it was at this moment that Sera Hawke was observing high above from her Flying Fortress looking down at the battlefield.
“a sect which I don’t know, they most likely have not participated in the invasion against the Continental Isle. I suppose I would lend a hand and make some new friends along the way”
Sera arrived halfway through the battle and watched the entire battle as it went on only intending to join the fight when both sides are tired and on their last legs.
Some might be repulsed by this cowardly strategy. But clearly not Sera Hawke as she patiently waited for the perfect moment for her descent. And when the little girl made her cry she knew that this is it.
“Its show time!” she said as she ordered 5,000 mechanized jet fighters to strafe fire at the rogue cultivators, while the Flying Fortress laid down precision carpet bombing on the enemies side with Rail Guns.
“SUP!” while inside Ashura
The Sect head himself in this few moments manage to get he bearings together since the entire battlefield has been disrupted by a newcomer, everyone is on guard but on the side of the Metal Sect if Sera was an enemy it would not make much difference to their current situation anyway.
Before both sides managed o recover from shock the mechanized jet fighters already transformed into humanoid mechs to engage on land bound targets while some of the maintained their jet fighter form to engage flight capable targets while being assisted by Rail Guns from the Flying Fortress.
The rogue cultivators who already abandoned the battle to start looting the Meal Sect felt that something was wrong as they were trying to breach the main Sect Vault.
“go check it out, it suddenly became quiet!”
“why do I have to go? how about you go!”
The whole group outside the vault wouldn’t give an inch and they also knew the importance to check out the situation outside.
“you there! Go out and check what is going on outside!” said by the late stage Core Formation cultivator towards one of the young foundation establishment rogue cultivator.
The youngster could not believe his bad luck since there is a chance to miss out on the loot, but since he is one of the weakest if not THE weakest he could only grit his teeth and do as he was told.
But by the time he saw the outside of the building he could only thank his lucky stars as he saw the entire battlefield being overturned on their heads, rather than return back and report he just took the spatial pouches from the dead cultivators as he ran away.
He did not care whether if it was a high quality spatial pouch or not since he also knew that the battle is lost after seeing the massive Flying Fortress raining fire at them from the skies, he grabbed anything as he ran until he completely disappeared from the battlefield.
Sera Hawke came at a very timely manner however turning the tide of the battle is easier said than done. Even with her cultivation as an early level Core Formation, despite outnumbering the rogue cultivators 3 to 1, and even though the Sentinels have been upgraded to the tensile strength of a Core Formation level.
Despite being tired from the day long battle the rogue cultivator’s Nascent Souls are still very much active and with the death of the Metal Sect Elders the battlefield is actually more close to even and that was only because of their numerical superiority from the mechanized jet fighters.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
This was just a proof of how comfortable and soft some people in the Sect has become compared to the rogue cultivators who managed to struggled, survive and cultivate to this day.
The remaining members of the Metal Sect was of course reinvigorated at the sight of a potential ally with the fight against the invading rogue cultivators. And fought they did as they stood and fell on their ground.
Sera tried her best to save as many disciples as possible but her strength is pretty much limited to say the least. Aside from the shock and awe in her arrival the rogue cultivators eventually managed to get back to their bearings and counterattacked effectively.
But the numerical advantage of the mechanized jet fighters are not to be under estimated, since fighting against Nascent Souls is ineffective they started targeting the weaker one to a terrifying degree of effectiveness.
Sera Hawke’s already numerical superior force ended up being more seemingly numerous as more and more of the invading rogue cultivators died at their hands. But alas despite the second wind the members of the Metal Sect their defeat was already set in stone.
Without the Sect Elders and Veterans to prop their morale and coordinate their defenses they were like headless chickens running around fighting whichever is near to them. Obviously most of those near them ended up being a cultivator stronger than them.
As this continued the only one making this battlefield a battle instead of a massacre is Sera Hawke. As mush as she would like to save all of the Metal Sect for her own purposes it was unfortunate that she herself is having a hard time trying to keep herself alive.
Ashura is already battered and missing several arms. At its current status it was more apt to call Ashura a shield with limbs while the other Sentinels provide covering fire. The Sect Head on the other hand could only provide potshots at critical moments to assist Sera since his strength is already stretched this as it is.
“D-damn! If this goes on we would be wiped out!” said one of the rogue cultivators
“we are taking too much casualties! This is not worth it there are many other weak Sects for the taking RETREAT!”
Despite the retreat order some pockets of fighting still continued either stubbornly staying to fight for the loot or could not hear the order, either way Sera’s mechanized jet fighters eventually cleaned these small pockets of invaders that stayed behind.
It took at least 5 more hours after the rogue cultivators retreated before the entire Metal Sect started to search for their injured members. The sight was quite tragic a the lifeless corpses of their fellow sect members laid down cold and unmoving.
Sera took it upon herself to have the mechanized jet fighters to patrol the entire area around the clock. She came out of Ashura to talk to the Sect Head for cooperation and reward for her timely arrival.
“So! I’m guessing you’re the one in charge?” Sera said to the severely injured old man surrounded by the Metal Sect disciples
There was no response to Sera Hawke’s inquiry. The disciples were not paying her any attention not that Sera craved for it anyway. Seeing the situation she chose to keep quiet as she watched the old man she presumed to be the one in charge of this place give orders to the surrounding disciples.
The disciples cried quietly but eventually ran away in groups. Of the 8,000 defenders only 1,000 remained in the Sect, mostly because the majority of them are injured or have no other place to go. Regardless when everyone left the side of the old man his eyes looked directly at Sera Hawke.
The Sect head could no longer utter any words he only lifted his hands and gave Sera his spatial pouch, doing this naturally made the disciples who witnessed it into a confused gasp.
The spatial pouch of the Metal Sect’s Sect head could only be passed down to the next successor due to its unbelievably high quality and unknown origins. Sera Hawke took the spatial pouch from the Set Head without any other thoughts.
After Sera received his spatial pouch the Sect Head finally closed his eyes in peace despite his body’s bedraggled appearance his last actions made him feel light and freed from all responsibilities. Coincidentally the moment Sera Hawke took the spatial pouch she suddenly felt as if she just took an incredible burned of responsibility.
“heeeey wait a minute! What the hell is going on here!?” she thought to her self
The Sect Head of the Metal Sect has now perished after the battle with hundreds of witness Sera Hawke has now become the Matriarch of the Metal Sect. She was almost immediately informed by the surviving disciples who still have the strength to move and explain to her the traditions of the Metal Sect.
She could only sigh at the unfolding event but steeled her self since this could also be considered a good thing. She decided to help the metal Sect in their most vulnerable and dire need of life saving assistance to make some friends but now as it looks like it would seem she just became the new Sect Head of the Metal Sect.
“Convenient too considering that the Metal Sect owned several dozen mundane ore mines and two heavenly and spiritual metal mines” as she looked at the stack of papers inside the spatial pouch the old Sect Head gave her
Sera is somewhat lost due to the sudden development but eventually resigned to her current dilemma and decided to try and fix things in exchange for the gift of the old man.
With a heavy sigh Sera could only say in a small voice “whatever it is, this better be all worth it old man, I’ll try to keep your Metal Sect afloat”
In the following days Sera maintained a vigilant patrol in the territory of the Metal Sect. Not that it was large since the Metal Sect has been comprised of several hundred rocky hills and a few medium scale mountains in which they earn some money.
By this time the survivors of the Sect albeit injured have already come to terms about their Sect’s current situation and are crossing their fingers hoping for the best outcome otherwise they would simply move out of the Sect and find a better place for themselves.
“By now I assume you know that I just became a legitimate successor of the Metal Sect, seeing that most if not every senior member of the Sect has been either incapacitated or have been killed by the invading rogue cultivator alliance I am here to announce my formal authority throughout the Sect”
“First, if you wish to leave the Metal Sect as it is now you will be allowed to do so without repercussion not only that but you will also receive payment for extraordinary services rendered to the Sect during its time of need”
“Second, if you want to stay here at the Metal Sect with me as the Current Matriarch then you should from here on then would have to obey my orders to the best of your abilities”
“I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now so I won’t pretend to even understand them. But all I can ensure that as long as you are loyal to me I would personally help you break through the peak of Core Formation stage. I understand that a third rate sect like the Metal Sect having several dozen Core Formation experts is already considered a blessing but because of the recent battle all hope seems lost for the Sect’s future”
“As you can see I have iron soldiers at my command and most if not all of them are made out of high quality but mundane metals with a very little hint of spirituality, with them we can safeguard the Metal Sect and with the Mines our future would only be limited by our own willingness of what we can achieve”
“Rest well, once all of you have recovered from you’re injuries we will begin repairing the Sect”
Sera was not really familiar with speeches since she herself was quite the eccentric and does not know if her speech made it through the disciples. Regardless Sera thought she was very honest in what she had said.
Even though she said she would wait for the disciples to recover, obviously Sera could not wait that long to recreate a defensive perimeter mostly for her safety since she had a feeling that this battle was not yet over.
With a sigh she said “ I hope I am only being overly cautious”