Little Sigh (1)

Southeast of the Little Lake, hundreds of kilometers away from the southern outpost, to the right where a medium sized forest within the Region which was rather close to the Little Lake was located. A few kilometers in front of a seemingly peaceful terrain.

Surrounded by trees of a dusk-brown color, like the fallen leaves whenever the Region is struck by a sudden drought every small territory here and there is all around the entire Region itself. With yellow grass all around but with green and lively grass a few kilometers in front and to the back, which is in the directions of the south and north of the Region, more than 40,000 troops were hiding from any light in-between grass, bushes, and leaf-less, bald trees.

Even though there were 40,000 troops of Ciemnosc’s army around, they were all in their own armored cars. And the real reason they were hidden and not being seen by the nearby scouts of the Moribund Yearning Cult was because of the little arrays that Ciemnosc ordered to be inscribed on them.

These arrays were extremely good, but only if the person or object that has such arrays inscribed onto themselves or onto their clothes, if they didn’t move and kept an utmost silent demeanor, not even allowing their blood, flow of Power Energy, and their organs to move faster than any necessary - causing some to be unable to do so depending on their cultivation base.

Hence, right now, there was an entire group of 40,000 elite troops that were set in an ambush ready to take the Commander’s signal whenever it would come and start their massacring of their enemies. This time. It was them who would be making the enemy take a defensive position…before forcing them to retreat, something that Commander Ciemnosc’s army has never been forced to do.

Right now, they were taking some of the forests as their cover. But even that wasn’t enough, as the part of the forest that was on the yellow grass had no leaves whatsoever on the otherwise pretty little heads of the trees. Only up until almost 10 km away were there trees with their lush, living leaves existing and not being affected by whatever this yellow meant in the grass below and around their every pair of feet.

Because of the training and the recent large battlefield that the army went through not too long ago, Situ Shi was the commander of the ambushing 40,000 elite troops. He himself led his own armored car around with Mosto actually temporarily driving the 3-cannons armored car of the Commander right beside Situ Shi’s armored car.

It was an amazing sight to see the pride of the armored cars ‘standing’ on the same level and joint for the offensive that they were about to start. Whenever there was a small break for watching their surroundings each team around, another team taking their turn to watch for any abnormalities. The previous teams would turn their heads to look through their armored cars’ holes at the armored cars with cannons; or with their array surveillance systems.

It’s been more than a day since the elite troops’ division had been taking turns to watch their surroundings. Their Commander had set this place for the starting point of their surprise attack/ambush. The information came from Schnell, whose people had even been hiding around these places that they were now taking for themselves to hide - for a whole week.

As such, with the training well received from their superiors who were much more experienced than them, and even being given little ‘tips’ from Schnell’s people, the Commander’s army has been waiting here until the signal came for the attack to begin. It could be today, tomorrow, or even in a few days, but it would come before the week was over nonetheless.

“...” Within Situ Shi’s armored car, he was revising the plan of attack for the umpteenth time, looking at the smallish, detailed map that had the enemy’s encampment detailed to the very basics. Even the routines of each different guard and the pathing, pacing, and capabilities to observe from the most important places to take care of.

It would be rather simple. The cannons would start firing nonstop towards the northeast of the encampment, forcing the cult believers into running or gathering back to the southern side of the encampment. But by then, the division already in ambush would move, as fast as ever possible with the armored cars into the enemy’s encampment and roll as many over as possible.

Then, while the armored cars’ cannons kept on firing to the east of the encampment and even southeast, the only way for unprepared cult believers to deal with more than a thousand armored cars would be to retreat as far back as possible. And it would be right then, when there is a disordered retreat southwards from the believers that the cannons would then shift to shoot at the south of the encampment while the armored cars chase the believers who didn’t end up dying to the fire of the cannons.

Like that, with the entire forest side becoming the track for a marathon, the armored cars would heartlessly chase after them nonstop, at an equal pace as theirs, until the believers were forced to stand with their backs against the Little Lake while facing them or in case they were actually escaping anywhere else.

For that matter, a reverse crescent shape formation would take place in case any lamb wanted to escape out of the division’s expectations. They would be killed off immediately, rolled over, massacred by tools, or whatever. According to the intel, they had the least amount of Spirit Gathering realm believers among themselves ever, leaving them entirely hopeless against the decisive force of armored cars and 40,000 Spirit Gathering realm sect disciples.

It could be a whole day’s chase before the armored cars would then proceed to take formation, surround the cornered enemies and slowly eat away their lives. And with how tired they would have become from running that long, it was an easy, no-casualties operation that would involve no accidents whatsoever to this elite division force of the army.

“Everything is still in order?” Situ Shi asked the driver of his armored car after going over the plan twice in a few minutes. He also had to check the possible outcomes and direct commands that he should give should his team, squad leaders, and so on fail to recognize a situation.

“Yes sir, only waiting for the Commander’s signal before realizing any attack.” In return, the armored car’s driver said with a hushed tone, keeping the array that was hiding them still intact by the nose they were making. Situ Shi closed his eyes and relaxed his body, leaning it against his seat to rest for a little bit.

As the armored car in charge of commanding these 40,000 elite troops from the stronghold, Situ Shi and Mosto were at the very back of the ambush. Whereas they would also take position behind the rear of the chase in case any Conflagrate realm enemy cultivator showed up. That way, the greatest threat of the division would be neutralized at worst, killed instantly at best by just one of their shots.

Mosto wasn’t that good with depending on his Spirit Sense to aim well, that was why it is such a huge thing that Ciemnosc had developed a target guidance system with just a single array, as Mosto could now act like a pro shooter and kill off any enemy, even if it was a speedy, nimble and craft Conflagrate realm as he even had 3 cannons all for his own use.

On the other hand, however, though the troops didn’t know of the Commander’s part in all of this, it was without a doubt obvious that Ciemnosc was doing something heavy since Mosto was now here beside Situ Shi, and only with some hard convincing could Mosto ever be seen being away from Commander Ciemnosc…

‘I just hope nothing strange happens, then.’ Situ Shi silently implored for luck to accompany Ciemnosc before opening his eyes as if he had finally sensed something. He leaned forwards on his own chair, and just as his heart beat fast and turbulently for the 3rd second, a flare could be seen soaring into the sky right from their right to their back and within the forest.

“To all units! Go ahead! Full speed charge!!” Situ Shi suddenly took his medallion and raised it to his mouth, disarranging his sect’s uniform for the mission in the process, which wasn’t necessary. As long as he willed his Spirit Sense or his Power Energy into it as a Spirit Gathering realm cultivator, he didn’t even have to shout to be heard that loud by his troops.

He became embarrassed, but still, as he heard the motors of the armored cars all around him become active. And the heavy objects that are armored cars started moving at last, he spoke to Mosto without hurriedly grabbing his medallion this time. “Mosto, it’s time to start shooting off, you second, and let’s shoot at the same time.”

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As he said so, Situ Shi walked over to the front where the logistics and engineering team had their little room right before the driver and co-driver’s seat. While in the case they weren’t there, the entire array to command the cannons would be in the driver’s seat.

In any case, Situ Shi was now staring down at a tablet with an array projection. It showed not only the targeting guidance system of his own armored car’s cannon but also that of the commanding vehicle that Mosto was in right now. Receiving a silent nod from Mosto, Situ Shi then confirmed the properties of this array for the third time in a row in just a few seconds, marveling at it before finally ordering the logistics and engineering team to go ahead.

“Fire.” His calm, neutral voice was heard and the word came out of his mouth, and just as it fell, with 4 ‘pooms’ shaking the armored cars placed to each other’s sides a tiny bit, another 4 ‘booms’ could be heard in the distance of just a few kilometers.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

First came Situ Shi’s armored car cannon, instantly drilling a hole into the ground just a few dozen meters away from the encampment’s walls before the commanding vehicle’s 3 cannons wasted the dirt to its right in a much terrifying terror, but also making it even more terrifying for those near the place of impact.

The believers couldn’t be seen nor heard. But it could be imagined what kind of disastrous fear they were feeling the moment the first bombardment fell, but then came the second, the third…and so on.

Booom1 Boooom! Booom! Booom!... Booom! Boooom! Booom! Booom!...

… At the encampment, just as many were already yelling for an enemy attack or a strong Creature’s sudden engagement or worse, a stampede, more and more bombardments followed the initial one. They were so loud and lifted so much mud; they destroyed grass and trees around while some even destroyed the walls of their encampment directly, passing right through them before detonating at the very same spot over and over again.

“Run away from the bombardment sites! Go to the west, to the west siiide!!” - “Hurry out of there, someone notify the boss, notify the boss!” - “Fuck! Everybody, get away from the eastern side, hurry the fuck up!”

STEP STEP STEP STEP STEP, STEP STEP STEP STEP STEP…~!!

There were thousands of pairs of feet moving about from the eastern side of the encampment to any other side of the same; to the center or to the west and even north or south of the encampment. There wasn’t any fucking indication of what they were doing, as they could not know any better in how to react, and that was so simple to see.

“SHIT!” - “What- what?! Are we getting bomb-” - “NO!! Armored vehicles, armored- shit!!” - “Self-Mutilating Honores Sect Disciples!! Everybody fucking run, they’re coming from the west and the north, they’re fucking running over u-agghkbaaugh…”

“Everybody to the south! Leave the west and east. Go to the south!!” It didn’t take more than half an hour for the entire encampment’s mindset to collapse. They were suddenly bombarded to the east of their encampment, a place they’d been in for more than half a year and had only gotten to receive a couple Conflagrate realm Creatures by accident, repelled by the clergy elders.

They then suddenly saw dozens, and then hundreds, of armored cars beastly rushing right towards them. There was no escape through the immediate surroundings as hundreds of armored cars intruded into their encampment, and rolling blood with flesh, bones, and organs became a habitual image. There were no more than 30,000 cultivators around, with most of them being in the Phrenic realm. But each any person that was being sent to the ground by the armored cars’ wheels or front - dying slowly and painfully or almost instantly was the definition of terror for these lazy believers getting ready for the night.

It was just an afternoon now, and the sun was starting to look sleepy as it was shining no longer as intensely as before. One could only blame the wonderful view of the sunset and not the peacefulness all around the encampment for that matter.

. . .

Within the woods close to the encampment but still quite a few tens of kilometers away from it.

A small area where a lake that is small enough to be called a pool, there were 2 surfaces of land that one could step on within the lake. On one such, a young girl with blonde hair and creamy golden skin wearing a floral dress was facing a tall, brown-skinned young man with extremely cloud-dark eyes and a slender body build with his very dark brown hair.

She was cutely behaving, jumping to stand with one of her feet, before doing the same with the other, all while sticking out her tongue and narrowing her eyes to her elder brother. In return, Kinski looked at her with what…seemed to be half a smile on his face?!

In any case, she opened her eyes normally and stood on her spot like an ordinary person without craziness in her mind. She saw her elder brother’s smile and blushed a silly little. Then, she sat on her land surface land within the lake, her feet still wet from playing on the water, being pursued by a silly elder brother around the water all this while.

She was now slightly tired as she took a break… But on the other hand, just as she and her elder brother relaxed, a danger that was worse than even a hiding, cunning Conflagrate realm was preying on them from the bushes behind a bridge leading to the lake, which looked recently made and even damn crude for that matter in Ciemnosc’s eyes.

Stomp!

Suddenly, from behind at the right from where Katherine was taking a break, Ciemnosc’s left foot kicked against the ground, the grass around directly plummeted as if a heavy armored car had crashed against a crowd of people - the ground that was kicked became a cracked hole that kept on spreading around even seconds after Ciemnosc had jumped towards the lake.

“Gasp!” Katherine heard it and her back felt instantly cold, just like the hand of the devil creeping up on her back and touching her temptingly. Kinski, on the other hand, widened his eyes impossibly as he looked at a spot that was way too near where Katherine was!

Yet, as he saw the blurry shadow, Kinski only made commands for Katherine to be protected, while Katherine on the other hand could see what was really happening, immediately shouting. “Elder Brother!! It’s coming for you!! Nooo!!!”

“!” Kinski was surprised alright, and it could be seen on his facial expression, but that was it, just surprised. He didn’t panic, didn’t get scared, and much less felt threatened… On the contrary, he felt relieved that it wasn’t Katherine who was being attacked. At once, his commands changed as his Spirit Sense was allowed to do whatever it wanted to the water by Ciemnosc, to his unaware self.

Swish, pla plagh plahh!

Ciemnosc immediately lunged his right-handed sword towards Kinski, with the latter sending bouts and bouts of disgusting sounding fleshy-like wrapped-up ‘things’ by cloth. Meeting one of Ciemnosc’s sword slashes and forcing Ciemnosc to slash over and over again to avoid those things from hitting him and delaying his charge at Kinski any further.

The slashing at those things had already delayed him for a couple of seconds as Kinski kept on taking out more and more of those things from his Covert Space bag. Katherine, who was far away, didn’t try to help her elder brother, as she herself knew that her strength and well-being were going to be harmful to her elder brother and a problem for him as well.

Pla plag plah plah plaaghh…

In just 10 seconds, Ciemnosc rushed from his hiding spot to Kinski’s small surface of land, and in those very same seconds, he slashed more than 25 times towards the latter, but mainly to destroy the things that Kinski was throwing at him. Ciemnosc had also rushed up just a couple of meters before Kinski and was this close to reaching his body with his right-handed sword.

At that moment, however, just as another ‘swishing’ sound alarmed Kinski for his dear life, and hence, for Katherine’s well-being and life in case he was felled… He suddenly took out a huge totem, consisting of a 3 meters large stick with several smaller sticks 20 cm each in a lateral position from the top to the bottom of the stick, whose image instantly gave Ciemnosc a strange sensation…

Immediately, Ciemnosc's sword came to the center from his right that was meant to slash open towards Kinski’s heart, now becoming stopped in midair by none other than Ciemnosc’s own body, before he himself stepped back a large step of 2 meters instead and cleaned his sword off the sticky liquid all around the blade of his sword.

Squash~.

The contents of the sticky liquid fell on the ground behind Ciemnosc’s right leg. But there was still some remnant from it at the sword’s blade still, and they were moving, squirming, and making disgusting sloshing noises without an end.

“?” Looking at his blade, Ciemnosc saw a few very tiny but fat as heck greeny worms with a bunch of hairs stuck together to one another coming out from a few holes on the body of each worm. And looking up once more to face Kinski, Ciemnosc’s face became ‘pale’ as he saw the totem glow and have that glow extend out of its body, connecting with another glow that came from his sword’s blade the moment the totem itself began to glow; all at the same time.

“Hahahaha,” a low, slow, and magnetic laugh came from the totem’s owner. Kinski was looking at Ciemnosc’s face and suddenly felt reinvigorated from the previous scare and fear of Katherine being involved in his possible and finally coming assassination. Yet, when he saw the 9th stage of the Link Consolidation realm and his assassin’s face…buah!

“Commander Ciemnosc, isn’t it a-” However, just as Kinski was really feeling nice about his dumb luck, about to start lighting up his totem to the fullest to end this right here and now, he suddenly fell the surge of cultivation base from none other than Commander Ciemnosc of the aaaalways victorious Self-Mutilating Honores Sect!

Link Consolidation realm 10th stage…Phrenic realm 1st stage, 2nd stage…5th stage, 6th stage, 7th stage, and 8th stage - and then!...

The 9th stage!!!

“Oh, you’re finally getting those 3 dummies outside of their hideout. Thought it would take you more words.” Ciemnosc’s voice rang out suddenly, slowly, and lowly too, before adding. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take care of these 3 little monsters first.”

“...” Seeing and hearing Ciemnosc’s apathetic yet sweet and cute toned words, Kinski was already deeply breathless by the sudden surge of so many stages and the crossing of a whole realm. He was slowly processing all of this, real slowly. But he felt as if he should speak of something right now as if to gain an advantage…

…