"Leviathan!"
"Hs-s-s-s!" (Master!)
"Leviathan!"
"Hs-s-s-s!" (Master!)
"Ah, watching them brings joy to my heart," Jishin said with a satisfied smile, observing Shiro's reunion with his snake after a long separation. "Perhaps I should get myself a pet as well?"
Kizashi, who was standing beside the clan head, could have said a lot about a particularly smart "little snake" but wisely chose not to.
Their staying together was like a union of gasoline and a lit match.
He just shot Levi a mean look and, in response, earned the same from the snake, who turned around.
They had a complete mutual understanding built on a remarkable antipathy.
The guards on either side of Jishin and the Mizuno accompanying Stas watched in amazement as the giant snake seemingly tried to crush a cursing man between her coils.
In the years since her arrival to this world, Levi had grown immensely, no longer resembling the small white cord she once was.
Stas, on his part, grumbling, tried to push away the snake's mouth licking him. Considering her tongue was nearly as thick as a human hand, each slap across his face came with a deluge of saliva.
"Alright, alright, I'm not planning on leaving you again," he soothed her as she poured out her incoherent complaints, mostly centered around, in her opinion, the vile person that was Kizashi. "Come on, forgive me, forgive me. You're not a dog, you're a snake! Don't disgrace your entire lineage with this puppy-like affection!"
Leviathan sighed heavily but finally retracted her tongue, rubbing her head against Ordyntsev's chest.
And a keen observer might have caught a brief smile on the earthling's face. Stanislav was indeed happy to see his invariable companion.
Finally, the coils loosened, allowing the man to take a full breath.
"I'm glad to see you're doing well, Shiro-sama," Mari approached Stas with a sweet smile, greeting her father with a reserved nod, which he returned.
In the past months, their relationship had somewhat improved, and the prolonged separation had clearly been beneficial for both.
Standing somewhat aside, Minoru didn't even grace anyone with a glance. Since her parting with Katashi, she had been deep in thought, seemingly somewhere else entirely.
"And I'm glad to see you too, Mari," Stas examined the girl, noting her changed appearance. "Did anything interesting happen while I was away?"
"Apart from our victory in the war with the Alliance? Jishin-sama gave me a gift," Mari hesitated before answering briefly. "I accepted it. Did I do everything right?"
"One does not refuse gifts from the clan head," Ordyntsev shrugged. "Besides, I don't feel obliged to... restrict you in such matters."
Mari gazed at the earthling's face for a few seconds, as if searching for something, but then gave up.
"If that's what you think," she sighed.
Ordyntsev simply nodded and moved towards Jishin, who was standing aside.
After a brief check, the guards parted, allowing Ordyntsev to approach the welcoming arms of the Sumada clan head.
"Serpent, glad to see you're in good health. Rumors of your exploits at Mizuno reached me, and I must say, I'm impressed! By the demons, Io, our friend here could've killed almost any Mizuno just by pointing a finger at them. I bet you're biting your nails for not having given him any orders in time?"
Stas flinched as he realized he hadn't noticed the lurking head of the Shadow Stone.
"Perhaps," Io nodded dispassionately to Stas. "But maybe it's for the best. The Mizuno aren't foolish enough not to notice such schemes right under their noses. They would've definitely spotted the pattern."
"That's true," Jishin stopped smiling. "We've heard some rumors, but only after your letter did I realize how bad things are. Are any of them among my men?" Jishin indicated the surrounding guards with his eyes.
"No," Ordyntsev replied immediately. He had scanned the Sumada from the start and was relieved to find no chaos servants among Jishin's guards. "Nevertheless, they could be within the clan. And that's why Katashi sent these people with me."
Io and Jishin listened very attentively to Stas. It was only when the harmful impact of the scanning techniques on the user's body was mentioned that Goro's son's countenance changed.
"Curse it!" Jishin swore angrily. "How could this be! Was there truly no other way? You're smart, Shiro. Perhaps the smartest person I've ever known. Why didn't you come up with another way to create this technique?" Stas looked intently at Jishin, who was genuinely distressed by the news of Ordyntsev's impending death. "How long do you have left?"
"As long as I was always destined by the Kami," Ordyntsev smirked at his surprised listeners. "This technique doesn't affect me."
"Wait, so you gave Mizuno a fake one?" Jishin's surprise quickly turned to anger. "Do you realize what will happen if they find out?! What were you thinking?"
"No, I gave them the same technique," the Serpent shook his head. "The problem is that it's so complex that only I can use it without consequences. It requires a very high level of prana control. In conditions where we need many capable of detecting chaos, this is the only way out."
"Holy Kami," Jishin shook his head doubtfully, looking at the smug Ordyntsev. "We should spar sometime to test your skills. I've heard you've reached the Supreme level too. I'd be curious to see that."
"Anything but that," Stas grimaced. "The sensei has badgered me to no end with these sparring sessions. Just don't you start as well."
"Ha! Uncle's good at that," Jishin chuckled, remembering something. "Alright then, let's head back to the city. For now, your Mizuno will suffice for the checks, and then they'll pass the technique on to our warmasters. Now, where to find candidates who are both trustworthy and not too valuable?"
"I think I can help with that," Io chimed in, and the trio turned towards the road.
They had much to discuss.
*****
Io dispatched people to summon another group of trusted individuals from the city for verification, so Jishin and his entourage didn't rush, intending to meet them outside the densely populated areas.
This allowed Stas and Goro's son to catch up on the latest news.
"So the Alliance finally surrendered," Stas repeated in surprise. "I expected the Rangiku to fight to the last."
"Everyone did," Jishin agreed. "But the Executioners surprised us for once by acting wisely. When our and Mizuno forces approached their last cities, they just surrendered. Although the Alliance clan leaders preferred to flee to the mountains, they won't last long either."
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"And what have you decided to do with the clans?"
"Vassalage," the Sumada clan head shrugged. "With quite favorable terms, actually. After all, there's still a lot of them left, even if we split them with Mizuno. I figured that, given the looming troubles with this chaos of yours, we would need extra warmasters."
"Not mine, but ours. And, does that mean you do believe me after all?" Ordintsev asked with a touch of irony. They both knew what he was hinting at.
"After your last letters and Katashi's words, yes," Jishin nodded wearily. "It sounded too fantastical before, but now there's no ignoring those cultists. The main thing now is to find them quickly and end this cursed war. It's time to think about peace and what comes next..." Jishin paused and furrowed his brows.
The warmasters' procession reached a crossroads and observed with surprise a seemingly endless line of ragged, weary peasants, heads bowed, trudging into the depths of Sumada lands. Among them walked a few large livestock, dragging their feet. Birds and chickens were carried in cages on the backs. The law prohibiting carts for most of the population was still in effect.
"Refugees," Jishin commented, angrily surveying the vagrants blocking their way. Yes, the warmasters could easily leap over them, but that would compromise their hypothetical "honor." "Hizoru and Avasaki have completely lost their minds. Our spies report some horrible things, sometimes slipping into utter nonsense."
"Hizoru, you say," Ordyntsev said slowly, licking his lips. "Do you know what's interesting about all this?"
"M-m-m?" sensing something amiss, Jishin turned a puzzled gaze to Stas.
"The fact that almost half of them are quite strongly emanating chaos. Moreover, one of them is a warlock. Just so you know, in some disciplines, they are on par with even supreme warmasters. So I'd take this very seriously if I were you."
The Sumada clan head inhaled sharply through his nose and nodded jerkily. He knew what had to be done.
Right now, Jishin had as many as six supreme warmasters, counting himself and Shiro, and a couple of dozen advanced and ordinary ones at his disposal.
Ordyntsev's gaze shifted to the column of peasants. Involuntarily, his eyes picked out the women and children.
Yes, Stas could have remained silent and let the column move on. But how many innocents would die later? Even those not currently infected would eventually be tainted.
It was also clear that no one would attempt to single out the innocent peasants. Such an approach would inevitably alert the warlock and his minions, leading to casualties among the warmasters themselves.
Stone and water techniques struck, as expected, unannounced. The quiet of a peaceful day turned into the thunderous noise of stone slabs and the roar of rushing water.
None of the peasants escaped. They all met their end there, in that Kami-forsaken place, because of the words of just one man.
The road, as well as all the surrounding trees and fields, were destroyed; even the warlock was not prepared for such a powerful strike.
"Damn wretches!" Jishin raged, moving on with Stas. "And the daimyo ordered our troops to help them and assist in protection from bandits! How many such groups have already passed into our lands, and how many more plan to?"
"What's more important is what to expect from Hizoru and Avasaki now," Io commented thoughtfully from the side. "If we assume that many of the peasants are already... What did you call it, Shiro-kun? Tainted? Then it's safe to suppose that the samurai controlling them, and then the daimyo himself, are tainted as well. And since the daimyo is involved, the warmasters are likely compromised too."
"Holy Kami," Jishin expressed the consensus. "How many of them are there?"
"And how bad is it for our daimyo..." Ordyntsev sighed heavily. "You said the daimyo ordered you to assist them. Was that his decision, or did someone 'help' him?"
"So much work," Jishin shook his head wearily. "Oh, if only my brother didn't see me as a threat. How I would love for him to handle all these problems."
"And we still have to negotiate new deals with Mizuno," Io mused, deliberately ignoring the expression of pure horror on Jishin's face. "And divide the resources and people captured from the Alliance."
"Shiro, hey, Shiro!" Goro's son turned frantically to Ordyntsev. "Want to quickly become the head of a Great Clan? Sure, there'll be big problems at first, and they'll try to kill you a couple of dozen times, but then you'll have honor and respect! You'll start your own lineage and live such a great life! Think about it, don't refuse right away!"
Stas thoughtfully stroked his chin with his finger, then nodded to his thoughts, expressing his view of the proposal with a single phrase.
"Go find a fool elsewhere."
"No-o-o!"
Stas could have sworn he saw Io smile! The suffering of his nephew clearly brought pleasure to the head of the Shadow Stone.
*****
To everyone's relief, the number of chaos cultists among the Sumada turned out to be much smaller compared to Mizuno.
Perhaps it was due to the latter's country, Higatsudo, bordering Avasaki's Hogoro directly, while Sumada's Rashta and Hizoru's Chinetsu were separated by a mountain range.
Even so, Jishin had to run around as if stung to organize a proper check, recruit candidates for the potentially deadly technique, and manage to grab as much as possible from the now-defunct Alliance.
Of course, he had deputies and those he could trust with some of his duties, but even so, there were too many problems requiring personal involvement.
Feeling the impending tide of tasks, Ordyntsev took advantage of the promise given to him and distanced himself from the events, taking on the problem of developing their science to combat chaos.
For this, he summoned his old acquaintance, Takehiro Satoshi. The "old man" arrived promptly, which, however, didn't stop him from chastising everything and everyone, annoyed at being pulled from conducting some important experiment.
Nevertheless, Ordyntsev's story about the captured chaos warlock and the progress made in that field soothed his irritation and set his mind on further work.
There was no longer a shortage of material for experiments, both live and dead. The Shadow Stone worked diligently, bundling up everyone who was tangled with chaos in any way.
The only disappointment was that they failed to repeat the feat of their water colleagues. Not a single warlock had been captured.
A couple of days later, Kizashi dropped by their laboratory.
At first, he was treated with disdain, but after just a few hours of conversation, they welcomed him with open arms into their small circle.
The reason was a couple of drops of a truly unique compound that, surprisingly, could resist the rot of chaos.
Yes, its efficiency was terrible, and the extract only slowed the infection process rather than stopping or destroying it, but it was the most significant discovery they had encountered lately.
That's when the three specialists, masters in their fields, formed an alliance based not on barbaric nobility or primitive strength but exclusively on knowledge and the power of their minds.
Takehiro's mastery of seals merged with Serpent's most delicate techniques and was transformed by Kizashi's complex potions.
Weakening and blocking chaos with seals and potions wherever possible, Shiro, with stunning ease, identified new weaknesses and attributes of chaos, improving and refining his own techniques.
The complexity and entanglement of the energy of change gave Satoshi ideas, each crazier than the previous one, which he immediately implemented in new and new seals. The deferred death from old age filled the former decrepit man with such a surge of energy that he was ready to give up sleep altogether to test all his theories.
Kizashi found a new and unexplored challenge for himself. Chaos presented him with such a difficult and unusual task that required all his knowledge, skills, and a little extra on top.
Stas didn't forget about the strange connection between the captured warlock and the supposed archdemon. The trio also began working on this problem, using the most unexpected combinations of their unique talents.
Meanwhile, Mizuno and Sumada, along with Rashta and Higatsudo, were slowly and clumsily recovering from the aftermath of the World War.
Yet, unlike the usual state of affairs, military power did not decline; on the contrary, it increased. The sprouts of chaos found in the daimyo's administration impressed Akihiro Rashta so much that he allowed Sumada to sweep through the entire country like a burning sword, destroying everything that had the slightest trace of taint.
Mizuno faced something similar, though in a much worse form. As it turned out, their daimyo was under the complete influence of chaos, which led to his swift demise under the swords of loyal samurai and warmasters. His young son was politically weak.
As a result, Katashi, with the help of loyal Aoi and trusted advisors, managed to take control, but this approach did not sit well with the aristocrats, creating strong tension between the warmasters and samurai.
And despite all measures taken, the number of chaos cults, demon worshipers, randomly appearing warlocks, or sudden plague outbreaks continued to rise inexorably.
Chaos was slowly but surely capturing this world, and no matter what its defenders did, it was not enough.
Especially terrible things happened at the border with the countries officially conquered by chaos.
From there, whole armies of refugees streamed incessantly, trying to escape the unending nightmare at any cost.
But among them, there were always agents of chaos and often even warlocks.
If, at first, the actions of the border troops, which grew more numerous each day, were limited to prohibition, in recent weeks, they destroyed anyone coming from that side.
Thousands of innocents met their death, first at the border and then in the vast ocean, when, out of desperation, they tried to reach Higatsudo by water. Mizuno didn't have to make much effort to sink entire flotillas of their fishing crafts with languid strikes.
The good news was that due to all the techniques used by Sumada and Mizuno, the border became so ravaged that it was simply impossible for an ordinary person to cross that death strip without special climbing equipment.
The second piece of good news was the improved ability to cooperate between Sumada and Mizuno. Jishin immediately sent his people to fortify their now common border. Of course, they didn't forget about the mountains either, and this time, Katashi sent his people over.
Both great clans, albeit reluctantly, tried to follow the example of their leaders.
However, after a couple of weeks, an event occurred that forced Jishin to immediately summon Stas and send urgent letters to Katashi.
Near the city of Sumada, three adult dragons were discovered. Three very angry dragons.