People asked a few questions about the Justicar Program, and then Shen asked some Guardians to spar with each other so he could evaluate their strength.
As much as he wanted to fight Vinamour, he asked him to battle Hukzun instead. The lithe and tall fanmv was all about speed, while the short and thick kulonv was an insurmountable obstacle. Vinamour was stronger, and his sabers hit Hukzun countless times, but the latter's red plate armor was one of the best B+ armor Shen had ever seen. It also certainly had a core and was in sync with the kulonv's Path, strengthening the plate beyond what should have been possible at B+. The armor auto-repaired itself faster than Vinamour could destroy.
Their battle was headed to a tie, as Hukzun couldn't strike Vinamour with his oversized hammer, but Vinamour decided to invest more power into it. Hukzun answered in kind. Both released their auras and started using more advanced techniques. That's what Shen wanted to see, so he approved of it.
In the end, Vinamour became faster than Shen could perceive and started piling damage on Hukzun's armor, forcing the guy to take what looked like a simple round bronze shield from his Inventory. It was B+, though, and created an invisible barrier around him. The barrier was often broken by Vinamour's barrage yet regenerated even faster than the armor. The two defensive items synergized perfectly and prevented Vinamour from achieving victory.
Maybe either party had an ultimate move to deal with the other but was unwilling to use it. Perhaps that was all they had in them. Whatever the case, Shen was satisfied with it.
"It's a tie," Shen declared when the outcome became obvious, much to Vinamour's frustration.
Shen ranked the C-ranks other than him by overall fighting ability in his mind.
Vinamour was first at barely mid tier 7.
Rayna was second at low tier 7.
Blue Sky was third at low tier 7.
Hukzun was fourth at low tier 7. He ranked lower than the women because his abilities were almost exclusively defensive.
Luthdel was fifth at peak tier 6.
Then, the other six C-ranks were at low tier 6.
Overall, Shen's three-man unit was the strongest, which was expected of them.
There was still some time after the fights, so Shen told people to just talk to their units. They didn't need to become besties, but a basic relationship would improve their group fighting ability.
He turned to Rayna to do just that when the flying Major said, "Form ranks. The Acting General is coming."
"Form ranks!" Shen bellowed and got in position.
A moment later, an oval hole occupied almost the entire wall they were facing, except the hole was pushing outwards. Then, the hole's eyelids opened, revealing an even deeper chasm that somehow still pushed outwards, forming a dome.
Shen recognized the eye's race from his training: abyssal dragon.
Dragons, in general, were categorized as a mythical race. Some would call it a species instead, but the lines blurred when Path-walkers got involved. For instance, biologically speaking, dragons and phoenixes weren't compatible, but they could sire children with enough will and the proper application of qi or mana.
Well, maybe that was a bad example because their offspring were feeble yet such a great source of qi that they were hunted down and treated as fuel despite whatever protection dragons of phoenixes could provide. Not that they offered much protection. Even they became greedy for it. However, the energy source had to belong to them, and multiple wars had erupted in the past because another race touched what they shouldn't. The worst and most recent had been against the Cultivator Association.
Obviously, that meant both dragons and phoenixes banned their people from mingling with each other. Except, of course, in secret deals.
Well, maybe it was a good example. After all, the biologically impossible had happened. Whether the result was strong or weak, exploited or loved, was another matter altogether.
Anyway, dragons were a mythical species, but like phoenixes, they consisted of a plethora of races with unique characteristics. Abyssal dragons were known for being fearsome creatures that could literally pull anything into their bodies. In fact, calling them abyssal dragons was a bit of a misnomer. The proper name would be abyss dragons.
They didn't pertain to the abyss; they were the abyss.
According to the legends, even an S-rank would be forever lost in the abyss of the dragon's existence if they were pulled in and didn't have the dragon's permission to leave.
Shen's elite combat instructors had been very clear: never let himself get dragged in. Kill himself first if it looks like it's about to happen. No one knew what awaited in the abyss, but every Guardian who had been released after capture returned with a scarred mind, their fire sucked out of them. Even A-ranks. Death was better than such fate.
Shen didn't think his instructors had lied to him, but Heavens, why did he feel such a sense of familiarity with the damn creature?
A few instants later, the Recognition Interface showed the dragon's name.
| Long Hei (A) — Acting General
| Hopeless Wanderer
Shen gasped. That was Long Hei, a known abyssal dragon of the Eternal Empire, the Second Seat, right hand of the Immortal Emperor! That didn't explain the sense of familiarity because Shen had never seen the Second Seat in the past, but Shen wasn't thinking of that.
The Eternal Empire had an A-rank!
A Titled A-rank!
Before he could think of its implications, a shining silver chain with links the size of trucks faded into existence. It came from the inside of the eyeball, showing it was chaining something deeper than Long Hei's physical existence.
A cthulhu also faded into existence in the room, holding the end of the chain. The octopus-like existence was both larger than a star and merely fifty yards long as it floated silently at the top corner of the room. Shen knew his impression of its body size came from it twisting space with sheer willpower.
Shen had felt a sense of familiarity with the dragon, but what he got from the cthulhu was akin to a full-blown hug to the soul. His Path recognized Ph'igunli mwnafh'lg Cthulhu L'rlye, who had Imparted his Realization on Shen, which was one of the reasons his willpower was so strong. His True Self trembled slightly in joy at finding the creature.
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Shen smiled. There was no control or hidden trap involved in that. Everything he was simply felt grateful for what he had been given.
The last time he had seen the cthulhus, they had been tracking down someone or something. The chain evidenced they had found their quarry.
How had Long Hei offended the Primordial Brigade?!
Once more, before Shen could reflect on matters, there was a new arrival. The third person to teleport into the room was a drow.
Shen noticed Rayna's eyes widen in utter shock for a split second before she controlled herself.
| Darla (B) — Acting Colonel
Darla wore a tight-ish black robe that hinted at her curves and measurements while still leaving a lot to the imagination; Alicia would call it sexy without being vulgar. Her long white hair went up to her knees and was pulled and held in a tight, overly complex braid, highlighting her facial features. She was the first drow Shen had ever seen with golden eyes, and they shone with intelligence, vitality, and even a weird playfulness, which he didn't expect to see in a B-rank. She was also the first he saw wearing head adornments, starting with the small golden metal pieces clipping her hair on her temples and disappearing behind her ears. They weren't physically connected to the more delicate metal piercings and earrings on her ears, but their position created the illusion that they were a natural extension of each other.
Darla was the most beautiful drow Shen had ever seen, her face and figure almost as perfect as the Queen's—
Actually, no, not almost.
She was as breathtaking as the Queen, only in a different way. The Queen's beauty had been ethereal, untouchable, but Darla's was... There was no word for it. Raw? Carnal? None of those made her justice. She felt more real somehow. More down to Earth. And all the more desirable for it.
Shen's first impression had come from his prejudices. He valued the pure and unreachable feeling the Queen gave more than the... openness of Darla. The drow wasn't on a high horse looking down on the world. Yet, the more he looked, the more she felt like an impossible challenge, only of a different kind than the Queen—and that after Shen already disregarded the impossibility brought by their ranks.
Darla was the impossible woman of a man's dreams who still felt real enough for him to be forever in love with her. If the Queen was an untouchable angel, Darla was a mix of the girl next door with a work colleague and a strict boss. If the Queen was beauty incarnate and easily categorized and placed on a pedestal, Darla was the complex, approachable, but unattainable woman who made you crazy in all sorts of ways just by being herself, without ever flaunting her assets or giving you false hope.
Shen chuckled self-deprecatingly; even now, Darla was already doing that to him, and he had no illusions about ever being old or powerful enough to attract her attention romantically.
Yes, his chuckle drew another sort of attention. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Oh. It looks like First Lieutenant Shen thinks something is funny. Are you a clown, Acting General?" Even her voice was marvelous without being too ethereal.
Thunder filled the room, shaking everything. Violently. It took Shen a few moments to realize it was a voice that had answered, "No."
"It wasn't the Acting General, then. Are you a clown, Primordial-Brigade-A-Rank? No, I'm not trying to say your name."
A warm whisper seemed to reply right next to Shen's ears, like a lover's caress that made him simultaneously relaxed and terrified, "No."
"So he must've laughed because of me!" She said as if she had solved a big mystery, her bright smile naturally bringing a similar one from multiple Guardians despite her obvious cynicism and displeasure. "Strange, I'm not a clown either. First Lieutenant Shen, do I look like a clown to you?"
"No, Acting Colonel."
"Then why did you laugh?"
"I thought of something funny, Acting Colonel."
"Share it with us," she ordered. "I want to laugh, too."
"It's a private matter, Acting Colonel."
Darla sighed. "What a shame. Does anyone else want to laugh? No?"
Shen wasn't surprised at her display. Darla was establishing her authority. Not that a B-rank Acting Colonel needed to do that, but letting people laugh as soon as their superiors appeared might look like weaknesses to some races, and she wouldn't have any of that.
Shen assessed the way she had done things to be very proper yet even a bit fun. He should try to learn from that.
After the silence brought by her question, Darla said, "Your loss, people. This might very well have been your last opportunity to laugh.
"You see, Acting General Long Hei wanted to lock Samir down to enact his plans for the Exemplary Brigade but couldn't get permission. So, free lesson to you all. You can do anything in the Alliance as long as you can pay the price and are willing to do it." She smiled wickedly. "Speaking of the Alliance, did you know that what you believe to be the whole Alliance is just one of three Sectors? The youngest and weakest one, at that. Not that you need to worry much about being the weak third brother; the current oldest Sector is almost gone already. Boy, the Void is not gentle on ancient universes, much less when they are filled with ancient races. So, rejoice! It'll soon be this Sector's duty to sacrifice yourselves to establish and grow a new Sector! How fun!"
Shen got a yellow notification while she spoke, and it started growing orange the more she talked.
| WARNING: You've been exposed to S-rank secrets. Do not talk about them to anyone other than an S-rank or a Sanctioned A-rank. Ever.
Darla waved her hand as if getting rid of an annoying fly—or an inconvenient notification.
She continued, "I read reports about First Lieutenant Shen's curiosity pertaining to why the military invests so much in people and the Alliance values potential so much. The Sectors are why, people. We never truly know when the oldest Sector will fall, but when it does, the youngest Sector must send people out there to integrate with new universes. That's how the Alliance expands.
"But that requires people to grow strong in the new universes and reach C-rank at least, starting as a commoner. We can't waste resources sending unproven people, so many of you with a lot of potential will be forced to give up on your Paths and infiltrate societies you know nothing about. If you reach C-rank there, a Funnel is formed. The more C-ranks, the larger the Funnel, and the better for the Alliance. If you're lucky, you'll be too useless to get selected for that. Or have gotten to B-rank already. B-ranks don't get sent.
"So, work hard! Or slack off! No middle ground!
"After the Funnel is created, it's only a matter of time until our S-ranks can work on the Funneled galaxy's Laws. They change the galaxy's Laws to be like the Laws in the Alliance. And they can do that from this side of the Funnel—from back home! It's not dangerous for them at all! How fortunate!
"Speaking of galaxies, we like to say the Alliance is in multiple universes, and while technically accurate, we usually only conquer the initial galaxy and then use it as a foothold to get control of the universe's Reality Nodes. That part isn't safe, but the Alliance has become very good at stealing universes. I mean, conquering. No, wait, assimilating. Anyway, we only assimilate more galaxies in that universe if it's easy. It often is, especially after we kill their strongest while fighting for the Nodes, but it's not a rule, you know? We need to keep expanding into new universes to flee from the Void. New galaxies don't matter.
"Oops. I said we flee the Void. How silly of me. I meant we keep the Void at bay by hopping Sectors. And you better hope your race has an A-rank when the time comes, folks! Otherwise, you better get to terms with getting left behind while the worthy Alliance members keep the Void at bay by relocating to a new universe. What a creative and inspiring battle tactic!
"So, your potential is also crucial in that only with enough potential can you reach A-rank, which gives you the right to keep existing. Forget what I said before; don't slack off, that's bad. Just work hard and hope the oldest Sector doesn't get erased before you get to B-rank. Then keep working hard to reach A-rank.
"Well, that's a little too far in the future for you anyway. I'm sure your race can sire an A-rank eventually. You have literal eons until this universe is consumed. Probably. The Void can be a little random sometimes. But you're statistically fine! Almost one in every thousand races develop an A-rank in time! Yay!
"Then again, your A-rank better survive until the next relocation. No living off glories past. If you don't have an A-rank when the time comes, you're discarded like the little pile of thrash you are. And, of course, if your A-rank doesn't work hard for the Sector but instead tries to survive like a coward... Let's just say I don't recommend that.
"Well, you can always get a new A-rank if the old one is dead or useless. One in a thousand races isn't too bad. You can do it! Just sire people with potential! Put that hips to work!—or equivalent body parts for some of you."
The system's warning had become crimson red by now and started shining bright. Shen had never seen a notification glow.
"But keep in mind that too much potential isn't healthy, either. You see, there are powers-that-be who control the very Reality of our conquered universes. I mean, assimilated universes. 'Conquering' those who did nothing against us is the stuff of tyrants. Assimilating is like eating. We just have a pleasant lunch with unsuspecting universes. What fault do we have if they are the food?
"Anyway, sometimes, the mighty powers-that-be read some secrets of Reality and detect people with potential in the river of Time, whom they force Reality to mark—"
Darla's voice suddenly broke down as pressure came out of nowhere. She fell to her knees while holding her throat. Blood poured from her bloodshot eyes.
Shen was also forced to his knees, but at least he didn't bleed. Instead, he got a blood-red notification.
| Secret Containment Protocol Engaged