Good Changes

Now that Tini was gone, back to her workshop to suddenly work harder as she seemed to have been injected with chicken blood out of nowhere, Ciemnosc and Older Brother were left alone in the middle and to the rear of Ciemnosc's new troops. Now that they were alone, a bit of silence was kept between the two, at least until Ciemnosc spoke out first.

“Who was that in the corner?”

“... sigh.” Startled at first, Older Brother’s eyes opened fully for a few seconds before going back to normal. He looked a bit into the distance, at the sky, where snow was falling as it has been for months without an end, and began to speak slowly.

“She was someone a few generations below me, a genius in forging.” Older Brother initially said, as if that was all he was going to say of her and that was all that was needed to be heard. But he then continued with his speech, amazing himself first, “She wasn’t good with… cultivation. And died early.”

‘Early…’ What did it mean to ‘die early’ in the cultivation world? Or the villages and towns out there who have nothing better to protect themselves but helpless faith and only receiving extermination? For the latter, it is obvious, but for the former, that is of dying against an opponent, enemy, or worse - to one’s very own mistakes. Be it in cultivation, taking a wrong path and ending up ending one’s life, or choosing the wrong parties to be involved with, and— or —perhaps betrayal too.

But for the Rocaloi Academy, dying early was as simple and as sad as… ‘they were bad at cultivation’. That was it, and in this case, it couldn’t be any different. Older Brother seemed extra silent, suddenly, but he wasn’t somber or thinking the world was ending. He was just calmly gazing ahead now into the snowy sky.

“I would always find her in the library in my younger years, I remember her seeing her reading every book, one by one, from the library for over tens of years. She could even read a hundred a day when they either had similar content or were of not much content-quantity.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have just looked…” Older Brother’s last comment was definitely spoken with somberness, the atmosphere felt heavy for a moment and Ciemnosc couldn’t help but draw his fully open, wide darkest eyes down from looking slightly up at Older Brother.

“She was the headmaster’s sister, but he denied, refused to give her any more cultivation resources even after he became the headmaster after the old headmaster. If only he did so for a little bit, she would’ve had gotten just so much more time to… to be alive and try reaching the next realm still.” Speaking viciously and holding some vengeful feelings, Older Brother ended up speaking with barely a tone in his breathless and weak voice.

‘... So he had a sister, why did he not mention it…?’ Ciemnosc looked up ahead as well now, and with his eyes narrowing into a relaxed state, he also seemed to reminisce. Also, he was making a mental note for the umpteenth time, perhaps. ‘Don’t just look at them; do something… act… Hmph…’

***

That day, after bidding farewell to Older Brother. Ciemnosc went out of the academy’s territory without being especially sent off as he was when the war started.

For the students, that was understandable. Because according to the rumors, the staff of the academy had a lot to work with as the whole west was starting to rise. Even more so, as the allies from outside the Region were starting to get more blunt in their workings with the academy. Or better put yet, they were now blatantly showing their relationship with the academy as if it was their religion, the sending of so many resources being only one of the ways to do it.

Naturally, it was impossible for the major organizations to not know by now of the anthropomorphic fellows neighboring the academy. However, whenever an attempt was made by them, caught by the eyes of the academy, it could be seen that things didn’t go well, didn’t at all for it seemed that a battle always occurred and bloodied cultivators from the major organizations were reported to flee from the woods… whenever there were some who survived that is.

Hence, the academy really didn’t seem worried about gaining any more enemies. If only, they could be the ones to ‘convince’ the subordinate organizations of the major organizations once the Gifted’s troops were to have succeeded in taking that Little Lake at last; for the academy that is.

Thus, the academy had all its back and side, currently, covered tightly and securely by allies and potential allies. Especially considering the Beast Race as the potential allies, since they could prove to bring about the most invaluable, innovative ways to the war if it was to be prolonged much more than expected.

It seemed as if several plans were laid out for any situation, and any possibility. But all in all, it was, in truth, an ‘in case’ solution for every problem that could arise. And that, in Ciemnosc’s eyes, was not promising. Maybe in the major organizations’ mentality and the academy’s hopes; but in Ciemnosc’s eyes, that was deplorable and trifling.

But in any case, that was some sort of problem for the academy and the major organizations to take care of. During the next few days, of the 3rd week, Ciemnosc made a slow march towards his base. The students were aware of the snow, but few were the ones to know how devastating it was. Missions were still essential for the academy, its students couldn’t just ‘level up’ enough times and expect to win the war with a difference in breakthroughs.

Though they indeed seemed to believe that having more numbers was the winning factor, which was almost the same as that ideology; but in any case.

With some students still going on missions, more so for those in the middle and late stages of the Spirit Gathering realm, the snow they had to go through when going out of the academy wasn’t to be dealt with for long periods of time. Whenever one had to even go to one of the settlements near the mines, they would rush at utmost speed while spending their Power Energy all into advancing quicker and harshly.

Only so would they be safe, and it wasn’t a secret among the academy’s students who still went out, but a few lonely deaths were known to the academy’s students every few weeks since the start of the war…

Most students, of any cultivation realm, chose to stay in the academy and cultivate while depending on the academy’s training grounds to train at most. And this problem of students thinking that war was all about simply fighting each other and the one who exterminated the other side would just win, was for Ciemnosc to deal with.

While some worried about freezing, because this time they would be walking for days with several stops here and there, others were only caring about the result of their next battle. Still, the former was angsty to come to know and cooperate with the Gifted’s methods to combat the cold, while the latter was slowly understanding the problems of just marching from one place to another, and even more so in this powerful cold.

Ciemnosc’s ways weren’t alien or godly, it was simply the formation of array formations that just needed him to make use of some very precious ingredients that had Fire element property and some others with a much smaller Water element property. With that, the array formations, which could even be mobilized, would then become the carrot while the march itself was the stick.

Whenever a few hours went by with Ciemnosc in his nice and comfy commanding vehicle, he would come out and order a 30 minutes short rest in which the students would be forced to wait 30 minutes until Ciemnosc finished making those array formations one after another. Activating them all at once only once he was done with them and then resuming the marching.

At first, it was a panicky moment for the freezing students, who only dared to use their Power Energy a bit now and then as their Chief in Command had recommended them to do. After all, those who didn’t care anymore and fully protected themselves from the cold with their Power Energy became mummies that had to be taken care of in the rear, where the cold was the easiest to strike and it was only by giving them a few more layers of clothes and a pill.

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Nobody wanted to suffer that as well, not - fucking - willingly.

In the end, what the students thought they were about to do to their awful Chief in Command turned into nice and amicable, kind thoughts as soon as those vapor-making-like array formations were set up and running. Every single one was capable o shouldering hundreds of students from the cold and snow, except at their feet. It only worked with the atmosphere and the air, not towards anything that wasn’t gas.

As such, there was bound to be competition for staying in the areas where those array formations worked well. But just as it was going to happen in the very beginning and some disorder was about to engulf the marching tens and tens of thousands, Ciemnosc the Chief in Command intervened and put a few students in their place; even some leading students.

With his strength… only peak Obsidiafying realm cultivators could placate him, let alone all these Spirit Gathering realm students and some very, very few Conflagrate realm leading students who aren’t even at the very least in the 3rd stage. All of them became Ciemnosc’s toys whenever he just emanated his dark Power Energy from his body, he was like a beacon that attracted both their eyes and fear.

Then, rules were made: Because only about 100,000 students could use these array formations to protect themselves, and Ciemnosc had to be frugal with the resources since he didn’t have unlimited resources. That was, in fact, the truth, for Ciemnosc had very little of such materials in his hand, only if he were to go back to that hideout would he then gain much more, but until then he was as poor in that sense as these students are in Inferior Powerful Stones.

As such, only 100,000 students would be taking shelter every 15 minutes, taking turns between each other to enter them. It was fine since, according to that simple rule, the worse one would need to endure was 30 minutes before being allowed to be in. That didn’t mean they would have to wait another 30 minutes, it could be half of that before entering one of the warm-vapor zones again, it all depended on the rest of the rules.

With the strange collar device they were given, the Chief in Command voiced his decision, and each time, certain students would take place in the vapor zones. To the first and foremost shock of them all, only after an hour did the leading students were allowed to get into those zones for 15 minutes. Nobody was allowed to stay in the zones for more than 15 minutes, they could only rest once before being ordered to leave the zone they were in.

Everyone, however, imagined that leading students would have it differently; yet that didn’t happen. When students refused to either leave the zones or tried to enter without being told, for whatever reason, the Chief in Command would come forth and deal with them. Somehow, he always knew if someone was personating someone and if someone was either bought or ‘bullied’ into letting others take their place; be it with similar names, appearances, or not at all.

There was shrewdness within the academy, of course there is, it was inhabited and made by humans after all.

Whatever the case, Ciemnosc dealt with it. It was just that, nobody also expected him to do the same to leading students, once again.

The leading students who finally received the order to receive shelter couldn’t hold it anymore when Ciemnosc came over to ‘pick them up’ and throw them to the end of the tail of the marching students. They had resisted an hour before due to wanting to save face, they were ‘leading students’ after all, and now that a Spirit Gathering realm kid tried to tell them what to do, they of course ‘revolted’ and derisively challenged the Gifted.

After a couple of hours, with all the students and leading students who rebelled at the back of the tail, the rest of the days were spent coldly but surely in order and discipline while… a few students, even leading students at the back remained in coma for the entire journey.

They were cultivators, no ordinary people, unless Ciemnosc left them to actually freeze to death, they wouldn’t die in this environment which despite being dangerous it is also semi rich in pure energy.

To do so meant stupidity, not bizarreness nor weirdness in dealing with his troops, newest and still to be disciplined. Letting a cultivator of such high cultivation realm die was plain shameful to the utmost degree, and Ciemnosc needed not such matters. In the first place, he couldn’t let his troops die because they didn’t obey him and were making trouble. In the second place, he wasn’t going to nurse them or give them any more treatment than a pill every day, so that these dogs don’t think they can repeat it and do it again.

Because if that happened, then, Ciemnosc would be the one killing them himself, without the need for execution. There was no problem with that.

The array formation for sheltering the students didn’t last long, merely a quarter of each day and they would be employed in the 2nd last rest of the day out of 4. That way, the rest of the marching time was with the array zones being intermittently used by all students, stopping them right before starting to make camp for resting and sheltering themselves in their own tents and whatever ways they might have.

While the marching was only supportable with the array formations, when ending the march for the day, the resting students had a variety of ways to keep themselves warm while using just bits of their Power Energy. Some, without shame, directly fornicated either with a partner or in groups in their own or large tents. Others just held each other naked to rest and cultivate; according— once more —to the Chief in Command’s suggestions, it was best to cultivate in these kinds of situations whenever one could.

There were worse things than just marching in the cold and resting/cultivating in the same. Some marching students took even 5 turns before they could get their own time being sheltered from the cold.

It didn’t take the students much time to realize it was all about their contribution. As long as they helped, in any way, each other, including the ones who were troublesome and made the Chief in Command come all the way here from inside his warm commanding vehicle to deal with the rebels; they would be allowed more time in the warm-vapor zones than others every day.

It wasn’t limited to just these things, but that was the general idea of it. The students didn’t take any convincing from others before they began to work together, somewhat, and as best as they could. It was rough to see, at first, but Ciemnosc, who was in his commanding vehicle, was glad to see that these students did indeed seem to be a neutrally good breed of cultivators.

The other troublesome part of the marching, for the students only, was the scouting. Ciemnosc forced a few students to go scouting every time. Not just ahead, but everywhere they were going and to all sides. From the northeast, northwest; to the southeast, and southwest. Scouts were sent up to thousands of meters to scout ahead every day and every hour that the leading students were allowed to have their rest.

And for every one of them who had thoughts of fooling Ciemnosc, ohohoho, they were in for directly being sent to the tail; hell!

Whenever one of them lied or didn’t say the truth about what they found, they were sent to the tail. In this way, a ‘little force’ of dozens of smartasses was made in just these few days.

Unknown to them, not only was Ciemnosc capable of sniffing the truth, either from their words or from where their bodies and clothes, shoes, etc; were smelling of. He could also see within his commanding vehicle how far these idiots went without needing to use his eyes, which he of course kept on training.

As such, each time the scouts returned and were questioned by the Chief in Command, those who didn’t work as they were - were immediately sent to the rear. And those who confirmed their findings and finished their work to completion - were given another 2 chances to fail before being let alone to be back at the warm-vapor zones. Some were too tired to care and ended up being sent to the rear, but after the 2nd day, most were diligent in scouting.

Everybody could see, and notice, how it all went on. Nobody felt pity for the scouts who returned to be sheltered with the rest, even less those who were sent to the rear, they were even glad that there were more targets that would allow more students to gain ‘merit’.

On the contrary, they felt respect! Seeing these people who dared venture to the outside more than thrice before being allowed back, even when being either quite good to others and helping a lot— though there were also some who were very obviously not that of good nature nor helping that were selected for scouting —, and yet still keeping that resilience and obeying the awful Chief in Command’s nonsensical orders.

It was nonsensical now, but it wouldn’t be so much when they went back to the base.

Meanwhile, contrary to popular belief… Though Ciemnosc’s commanding vehicle was indeed free of any snow entering it, there was just no way Ciemnosc would choose to keep the cold away from reaching him inside the commanding vehicle. Taking his commanding vehicle out was just a mental game against them, whereas he could’ve walked ahead of them and shown them how uncaring he was with the snow. That might could serve to somewhat gain him some ‘merit’ in their eyes and hearts.

But he didn’t want that. He wanted them to become what they needed to become, and that is not nice fellas that would treat him nice and intimate despite being their Chief in Command; he needed them to know they were dying for and because of him - nothing else.

As such, Ciemnosc was always with a tiny bit— in amounts —of cold air sipping out of his lips while he muttered the names of a few students on a list, on paper. On that paper, its headline was ‘leading student potential’, and some students’ names who went ahead to become scouts for a bit were there… they were there and some of those names on the list were underlined with such a stress that it even surprised Ciemnosc every time he revised the list again and again.

Even he was satisfied with the seeds of mass murdering machines he was given, so good; really good.

Soon, it was time for the new, second batch of new students - troops to arrive at the base. And in this last morning of marching, Ciemnosc didn’t place an early set of array formations for the students to take turns in sheltering themselves from the snow; despite the slightly intense snowing that was occurring as they neared the base.

…