Pef waited under the river for another week, moving slowly out of the vicinity of Stoneport.

He kept heading north, and emerged some 70 kilometers away from the city feeling more tired than ever.

Three acupoints had opened while he struggled to maintain his water shield under the river for so long. His control over water grew again, and even his Qi rank grew by a few percents.

'Why am I so tired, I wasn't like this when I killed the caravan and hid underwater?' Pef wondered inward.

'You were on the move this time. The Agate is a more powerful river as well, and you swam while opposing the current.'

Pef nodded to himself, noting the accent the glove had on opposition. Adversity seem to be recognized by the Heavens as a factor.

He set up camp to cook and rest for a few days, replenishing his energy. He was strong, but not without limits.

Physical strength and durability aside, the qi management was becoming increasingly more important.

Soon, muscles will become nearly irrelevant.

Pef meditated a few hours, trying to expand his inner qi capacity. However, every achievement soon dissipated into his body,

healing him but not accumulating. The qi essence flowed through him, then away towards the Tian Mountains.

'Damn that Saint worm, it's draining everything I struggle to refine.' Pef cursed with some sadness.

'We're also much closer now. On the southern shore cultivation was easier.'

'Okay then, let's fly towards Yellow Tear.' Pef decided, jumping a hundred meters and summoning the airship to fly him away.

From now on, Pef traveled only at night, using daytime to Practice more, from archery and axe combat to water bending.

It took a month until the first farming villages appeared, signaling a large city nearby.

Pef dressed himself as a woodworker, and walked the rest of the way, always listening for news or rumors. Locals here lived in terror, with frequent rumors of people disappearing or large spiders crawling through the night.

A month later he reached the outskirts of Yellow Tear, which was the city and also a geological formation, a deep canyon scaring the land, at least a kilometer deep.

He approached the lip of the canyon carefully and peered down.

Close to the city there were workers digging and cutting stone, but further in the distance there was a large Tang stone citadel, appearing to protect the entrance in the canyon.

'So, that's the second Tang citadel. The third is further north?'

Yes. About 1000 kilometers north, at the other end of the canyon.'

Pef checked for the usual suspect, like a river, but the stone appeared be cut rather smoothly, and was even melted in places.

'This isn't erosion by a river. There was a battle here...' he mused while considering his options.

'Yes. There's also deposits of zinc on this side.' the glove added helpfully.

'So, the sapphire is at the other end.' Pef concluded, retreating back from the edge.

'This is an example of a Cutting skill. It seems to have been executed by a strong Saint rank.' the glove said, as a warning.

The news amazed our hero a little. Especially as the deep gash in the ground was likely a secondary effect, or a skill that missed its target and kept going.

'Would it been enough to kill a tier 1 god?' Pef asked curious.

'Probably not. The weapon matters as well. A Veritas Legion knife can kill gods, but at Saint rank, the effect would have been much larger.'

Pef acknowledged the warning for it was meant. He needed to get a real weapon somehow.

Only he was still too low ranked to travel to another continent, and he wasn't going to, until his home was secure.

Pef kept walking along the canyon until he observed the first guard posts defending the approach to the citadel.

About 3 kilometers out, and then there was a steep descent, unless he could use the series of lifts used by the Tang.

'Close enough to give me an estimation?' Pef inquired with a cold tone.

'About 14000 neutrals, and 30000 hostiles. 51 of them are at Spirit rank.'

Pef nodded and sighed. A much harder target, both to infiltrate and pacify. He will need a better method.

Night fell and his vision became amplified again.

'Are you using amplified starlight or infrared to permit nightvision?'

'The first one. You will need Emperor rank or a skilled geneticist to perceive infrared.'

'Okay, up we go!' Pef ordered, jumping up and flying the airship higher and higher.

At 4000 meters, air became cold and thin, making difficult for the hot air in the airship to remain hot.

'Compute drop point, and eject the citadel when ready' Pef demanded with a sorrowful tone.

His gloved hand was extended out as the airship passed above the second citadel.

'Confirm orders, Aspirant?' the glove expert system asked after a second of hesitation.

'Confirmed. I expect those captive women are praying to die anyway. And tonight, they shall.' Pef whispered with a broken heart.

'Dropping payload in 30 seconds. 20. 10. Drop.' the glove said in its default inexpressive voice.

A shower of stone and dead bodies fell from the sky, accelerating towards terminal velocity as they entered the canyon.

Enormous explosions and shock waves filled the night, as thousands of tonnes of stone impacted the citadel at the bottom of the canyon.

Pef circled the airship around waiting for the cloud dust to clear.

Slowly, the airship cooled and began descending, descending into the abyss.

At 500 meters Pef jumped out, crushing a few boulders as he landed.

'Survivors?'

'Scanning. Over 1000. Marking hostiles in red contours.'

About a thousand people, only Core ranks or higher, had survived the bombardment, but were too shell shocked and disoriented to survive Pef's following ground assault.

Pef mowed them down, or just put them out of their misery, if they were trapped in debris.

Suddenly, a white aura caught his attention, a naked woman, pinned under a man.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

He dug furiously, throwing bodies and boulders aside. In a few seconds he reached the woman and jumped out, with her in his arms.

'Awaken her!' he demanded while cupping the woman's face.

'Scanning. Target will likely die anyway...'

'And yet, I gave you an order, my orange glove.'

'Roger. Imparting standard Legion indoctrination method. Do you wish to set a delay?'

'No. Commence now!'

The woman woke up with wild eyes, trying to claw herself from the man holding her captive.

"The Tang are dead, my lady. But if you want to survive, you have to endure the pain. I don't have other means of healing you." Pef whispered in her ear.

"Ha. This? This isn't pain. Water..." the woman asked with a raspy voice.

Pef fed her water, then dressed her in a set of his own clothes.

'Recover the ammunition glove. We still have another target.' Pef demanded while pointing his glove at the ruins.

In half an hour, even more stones were stored inside the glove, including the dead bodies and their weapons.

While Pef ran towards the elevators, the Core ranked woman in his arms began increasing in qi energy, and peaked into Nascent Soul rank. Her breaths became more relaxed, and internal injuries began healing.

Pef jumped from platform to platform, but it was difficult with a woman occupying his hands and balance.

"Dear lady, can you hold out as a backpack?"

"Sure, I actually feel great just now!" she answered with a pained smile.

"It won't last, but I only need a minute." Pef answered as the woman hung over his neck and shoulders.

A dozen jumps later, Pef arrived at the lip of the canyon, just as hundreds of Tang guards converged to examine the explosions.

Pef lowered the woman and sped up, axe and sword in his hands.

Devoid of higher ranks, the normal guards were butchered in less than half an hour.

As he returned to recover the survivor, he found her beating a guard with the corpse of another.

'She must still hurt, right?' Pef asked in awe. He could barely move during his Awakening.

'At least twice as much as normal. She hasn't healed completely and needs nutrition and liquids. However, the baby is dead now...'  the glove added too late.

Pef blinked while soul-searching the woman. Her aura had changed, becoming half-white and half-silver, just like his own.

He approached slowly, stopping two meters away.

"My lady, is there a place I can take you? Family, relatives?"

"Get me a weapon and more Tang to kill!" she demanded in a voice filled with hate. Her foot stomped the head of her target, crushing it with a squelch.

"Okay, I was heading towards the third Tang citadel anyway. But not right now. We need to hide for a month." Pef explained stepping next to her, then calling the airship out just above the canyon.

A small jump deposited both of them in the cradle, and Pef held to glove towards the stove to fuel wood and hotter air.

"We're flying...and I feel sick..."

"Yeah, the adrenaline overdrive is over. I'll make you some food and tea." Pef said after covering the woman in some furs.

She stared at him with doubtful eyes, while Pef cooked porridge and tea with one hand, while the other guided the airship.

After so many flights, the motions had become second nature to Pef, while the large Spirit ranked skin made the airship somewhat more stable and easier to control.

'I think this airship should be able to cross the ocean to the next continent. About 7000 kilometers?'

'Nearest continent, White Kingdom is 11000 kilometers north-east . And polar bears aren't friendly.'

'So, where then?'

'Blue Xi would be most beneficial, but it's 32000 kilometers away. We can head to Green Gea, Red Dew or Black Magma.'

'And, they're friendly?'

'Of course not. They are at war, and hundreds of armies devastate everything.'

Pef sighed and returned his mind to the task. Escape and evade, crossing difficult terrain via airship.

There were marshes to the south-west, unexplored and dangerous for anyone. He could nurse his recruit there in peace.

He fed the feverish woman tea and aspirin, then porridge and penicillin.

Then he watched over her as she faded in and out of sleep, being awoken by constant pain.

In the morning he began descending for a landing.

"How far have we flown?" the woman asked while straining her Nascent soul to search him.

"About a hundred kilometers. We'll rest and fly off in the evening."

"Clever. They won't see your flying snake at night."

"Yes. And we leave no tracks on the ground." Pef replied with a small nod.

"I'm Xie Langyu. And you are?" she asked with a strained smile.

He thought for a moment before answering. "Name's Pef. Aspiring alchemist, smith and water mage."

"Damn pain won't stop. I should be healed now, my organs seems almost fine."

"Well, there're two problems. Today we deal with the dead fetus and the abortion." Pef explained in a gentle voice, as he grabbed the rope and jumped out, pulling the airship down.

A minute later, the cradle reached the ground and Pef offered Lady Xie a hand to help her get down.

"You're a weird man, Alchemist Pef. But, if you get me back in fighting shape..."

"The Tang are merely pawns. The Disciple of Arachne use the babies to breed spiders. Not sure what exactly what the procedure is, but the spiders evolve to Earth rank and can be controlled by the mind of the Disciples."

Xie fell to her knees, hands going to cradle her belly. Tears fell from her eyes, drop after drop nourishing the earth.

"You were going after them by yourself? Against a god?" Xie asked incredulously.

Pef scratched his head in shame." Seemed a good idea at the time. Now, I'll hit you with a soul spike, then extract the dead fetus. Should I keep it or burn it?"

"Burn the poor thing. Maybe he'll get lucky in the next life..." the woman sobbed, while more tears dripped from her eyes.

Pef made a finger pistol and shot the woman with a low powered spike, ending her pain for today.

'You can grip a dead baby, right?' Pef asked his glove while pouring water and then beer over his hand.

'Yeah. Just touch it and I'll store it.'  the glove said with disinterest.

Pef sighed and dug his hand inside the woman he just rescued.

He hoped he did the right thing, last night. But it probably wasn't.