To The Desert!

After Heian Ciemnosc gave his command, the scouts reunited and formed a circle with the Concealed Ornament Team. Everyone waited a good-long while until the Sub Student who had left with more sweat returned. As they did, they were worried about the enemy closing in, knowing they were already spotted. Heian Ciemnosc told them they were safe for the moment, as the enemy was still thousands of meters away, confusing them and making them fall into some thinking.

However, he also told them the enemy was closing in, not knowing they were aware of them. Those words made everyone hope it was wrong information or that the team leader was trying to scare them. But their subconscious made them believe it increasingly more, the less they wanted to. Finally, when the Sub Student returned, and as Heian Ciemnosc’s team members kept silent and rested even though they didn’t need to, everyone’s heart changed.

Step, step… Heian Ciemnosc stood up from sitting on the ground and looked at the incoming Sub Student, who was no longer running and sweating but had a better complexion and walked naturally, as if returning from the bathroom. Without wasting time, Heian Ciemnosc looked like he had just discovered the Sub Student and called out to him. “Hey, what took you so long? Report to me.”

“...” The Sub Student walked towards them silently, looking at Heian Ciemnosc with a grudge as if he had murdered his parents by accident. Only after the Sub Student stood before the Sub Students bypassing Heian Ciemnosc did the student scout speak loudly and ostentatiously. “The commander said it’s impossible to see that. Not even the ship’s radars could detect the array formation you speak of. And that, even if you have a long range of Spirit Sense, you shouldn’t lie to increase the level of our scouting mission to retreat!”

“Tsk…” Sitting to the side, Oleg turned his head to the lots of Sub Students and bloodily glared at them. The rest of Heian Ciemnosc’s team members looked at the Sub Students silently, with Violet’s always protective glint in her eyes flashing strangely. Heian Ciemnosc just tilted his head to the right and said nothing. The Sub Student took it as an advantage and continued, his voice now in berating mode.

“Coming back from a scouting mission is the insubordination you spoke of!” Spatting at the air as he shouted, the Sub Student continued. “Commander said that, even if something was noticed by your Spirit Sense, we have to neutralize it and not run away from it!!”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc heard those words and then kept silent. His silence ensured it propagated everywhere around, making the atmosphere somewhat heavy. A few moments passed before Heian Ciemnosc suddenly faced a little to his right and below. His team members reacted at once, their faces turning towards him as their Power Energy accumulated in their bodies. The Sub Students couldn’t tell that, but with how they reacted, they became weary.

“W- what do you intend to do?! If you try harming us, the Acad-”

“They’re preparing to activate the array formation! Everyone’s in danger, retreat!” Heian Ciemnosc interrupted one of the Sub Students who ‘valiantly’ spoke, running back from where they came from as soon as he finished. His team members weren’t even half a second late. They moved in unison to their team leader as they rushed back, one step behind him.

“...” - “...” - “Wait, is it true?” - “Shit! What do we do?!” - “Wait, Marlo, you said all those things. You are the one who is right… Right?!” - “Fuck! Do we run? Do we run or not? Fuck!” - “Fuck it, I’m not getting killed for staying in one spot, fuck fuck fuck!!” - “Oh hell no! I’m not dying like that. Let’s go!” - “Shit, let’s go…”

After Heian Ciemnosc and his team rushed back, a short silence ensued. It didn’t last when a snapping voice commented, somewhat hesitatingly. But it was followed by more doubtful questioning that then became more disorderly. But in the end, a person running back to where they came from became a dozen. Before they knew it, everyone was running back with their lips twisting, teeth clenching, and faces sweating bullets.

The leaves they suddenly remembered slapped against their faces, thighs, and crotches. But they were all ignored as the fear for their lives preceded over everything. Survival was what mattered the most!

… Rustle, stompstomp… rustle…

“Team leader, they’re here.” Heian Ciemnosc and his team continued running for 25 minutes before Aleksander muttered softly from their back. Heian Ciemnosc nodded, and the others didn’t respond. A minute later, the almost 100 Sub Students appeared behind them, rushing to keep up with them with terrified and pale faces. Immediately, the Sub Students were astounded and felt they were lucky.

“It’s them! We found them, haha!” - “Team leader, please protect us!” - “Please protect-” - “We were faster now? Holy shit, it’s true what they say. The more you are in extreme situations, the more your potential comes out into the light.” - “Heh, yeah… huff…” - “How are we so fast? I even felt numb all the way up to here, wow!”

“You weren’t fast,” Heian Ciemnosc’s voice echoed in their ears; it was soft and calm, but it didn’t help calm them down even one bit. Everyone felt cold sweat pour onto their backs, and then… Heian Ciemnosc made their faces and whole bodies grow paler. “It’s because we slowed down a lot that you could catch up. We are ⅓ slower than before. It’s already too late.”

“What?!” A Sub Student yelled out in dismay but did not believe they weren’t saved yet. Heian Ciemnosc ignored them and looked at his team members. They looked at him, worried. However, his face eased them, though it didn’t do the same to the Sub Students. A thought crept into the latters’ minds… those were the team leader’s team members… but they were just some Sub Students at and below the Spirit Birth realm…

… whiiiiiistleee- pshiiiiiiifffftt- crrraaaaaaaaaaacccckk…

But at that moment, the Sub Students heard a sound that felt was coming for their necks to bite and snatch their bones and flesh away! They slowly looked down, managing to see what was coming for them for a few seconds before it crashed onto their faces and where they ran into. However, as they watched, Heian Ciemnosc was already in motion, and his team members moved without him needing to glare at them.

Whoosh, whoosh… A sound akin to a lightning bolt coming for them from above and to their right echoed as the Concealed Ornament Team danced around Heian Ciemnosc. They jumped into the air and rhythmically floated around Heian Ciemnosc. Each one was being grabbed by Heian Ciemnosc’s dark Power Energy as he sent shapeless limb after shapeless limb to connect with their waists. Immediately, a piece of their under armor was activated, and a dark Power Energy cocoon enveloped their bodies.

When everyone was enveloped by his dark Power Energy cocoon, Heian Ciemnosc brought them closer and closer until they were basically back to back with each other. In the last moments, when they nervously saw him. They saw Heian Ciemnosc’s calm and composed face as he covered them with an extra layer of dark Power Energy, impeding them from seeing anymore the world outside. At the same time, they saw a massive projectile the size of a 2-story building come at everyone behind Heian Ciemnosc to his right.

On the other hand, Heian Ciemnosc only felt safe once he had his team members completely safe after this quick maneuver. He turned around just in time to see the blue-electrifying dark projectile’s tip crash against the ground and raise the earth like waves at a beast’s coast. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes didn’t flash with the sudden outburst of light smoke and light as it engulfed everything in a 200-meter radius.

But the student scouts’ bodies, such as their clothes, skin, hair, bones, inner muscles, and organs, did become colored by it as their bodies were torn by the explosion. Heian Ciemnosc watched all this as he felt his body levitate and impulsed backwards, his bum forced to face the sky as he flew for thousands of meters just from shouldering the direct explosion at its epicenter!

BOOOM… CRUSH CRUSH… kcruuushhh~... kcruushh… whooooooosh- PUTONG.

“Aghhh…” From a broader point of view, it could be seen how a few ants rushed from one place to another. The ants were caught by a flying worm with dark scales and blue electric flashes all around its body. Then, the worm sacrificed itself and became puddles of light blue liquid, and light blue smoke also came out, engulfing a large area. From the epicenter, one of those tiny ants came out unscathed, with even his clothes completely fine, but he was bringing with him, through the air, a big dark ball with an egg-ish shape.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Even as the tiny ant and the black egg-shaped ball were blasted away, their speed was still slower than what the projectile had prior to exploding. When Heian Ciemnosc’s back hit a boulder, large enough to be considered a mountain in a non-cultivator’s mindset, crossed through it and then landed on a gigantic tree with a width of several hundred meters, he finally stopped as the tree intensely trembled for a few seconds before going back to normal.

THUUUUD~... Heian Ciemnosc then fell on his bum after the inertia's force from the explosion left his outer body, slowly sliding onto the ground with his back against the tree. He had been shot up more than a hundred meters, so it was a slow fall. When he finally landed on the ground, the black ball fell beside him, practically swallowing the sound from his fall. His body was perfectly okay even though he didn’t use any dark Power Energy to test the enemy’s improvised tactics.

The black fell on his left, and as Heian Ciemnosc quickly recuperated from the sudden situation, he tugged the shapeless limb made of his dark Power Energy. The ball rotated as Heian Ciemnosc rose to his feet and walked to it, stopped the ball, and then the layers of dark Power Energy dissipated, allowing 7 living and unscathed bodies to fall to the ground unprepared with nothing to hold them.

“Ouch…” - “Ah!” - “Ouchie!” - “Boss…” - “Booosss~!!” - “Bro, more caref- oh, never mind then.” - “What the hell, team leader?! Ahh~...” Heian Ciemnosc’s team members complained as soon as they fell face-first on the ground, knowing their team leader had twisted their bodies before letting go of them precisely to embarrass them a little. However, they saw a different scenario, and their jaws fell to the floor. They needed only a couple seconds to figure out what happened.

When they looked at the tree, the slightly big dent with pure dirt and destroyed grass, and their team leader’s battered clothes, they became comprehensive and more intimate with their boss after suffering ‘equal’ torments. However, Heian Ciemnosc still added to their injury. Saying with an open mouth and twisted eyebrows. “Huh~?! What’s that reaction speed? What’s with the response? So slow and dumb, I could’ve killed you four times before you recuperated even if I had the battle prowess of a Phrenic realm kid.”

“...” - “...” - “...” Heian Ciemnosc’s team members fell silent before rubbing the dust off their bodies, the couples helping each other while Sakura came and helped Heian Ciemnosc arrange his clothes. She took unique care of his new coat. It was new, and he wore it between his uniform and club jacket, but everyone knew how much he cared about it. Whenever they pointed clothing in stores in their previous missions. He always shook his head.

Yet, the team leader made clothes for himself and even wore it between his uniform and jacket. It had to matter. However, the dark coat was made of simple materials, very humble, and looked unusually darker than anything else, almost as pitch-black as his hair.

It was so long it extended to his heels from his neck, but a hood could even be summoned out and cover his face. It was so intricate despite being so uncomplicated. It kind of became the iconic image for the Concealed Ornament Team’s members in their minds.

Pat, pat, pat. As Heian Ciemnosc was helped up with Sakura’s palms tapping him with Power Energy, she looked at him, her damn serious and intense face turned into sweet eyes and a cute smile. Heian Ciemnosc looked at her golden blonde hair and pale skin with freckles before rubbing her chin with his index and thumb tips in thanks. He smiled at her and looked at the others as she finished, accommodating his coat’s neck.

“What is everyone waiting for? We still have to hunt them! They dared shoot at us, sent me flying, and let you eat dirt!” Heian Ciemnosc lightly semi-berated his team. They stopped the leisure acts, and their faces slowly became murderous. Then, Heian Ciemnosc the Terrible, said. “Oh. Right… They also killed those poor Sub Students.”

“...” Although speechless, the Concealed Ornament Team understood and quickly set out for a hunt. They let their team leader crack his neck with Sakura unusually close to him before he shot, floating, in a direction. They followed him and slowly prepared to find their opponents…

… Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

“... Hahaha, did you see that? They all ran!!” A cultivator said after checking the recording from the guidance system and returned to a small ball of cultivators who remained behind as the rest went to check the explosion’s epicenter. His face was exhilarated, and he was grinning from ear to ear. Coincidentally, the cultivator had both way-too-long lips and big ears.

“Heh, yeah. But what happened? I think one of them … was safe? What happened?” Another cultivator said, looking weirdly at the big-eared fellow. Yet, another cultivator chipped in as he spoke roughly, “Probably an Artifact. Maybe some rich daddy issues boy or girl wanted to fight as soon as possible. We will look for their corpse later on. Nobody in a scouting team should have survived.”

“Ah, right, meh.” One cultivator said as he finished eating a sandwich with fragrant herbs and veggies. Suddenly, another voice spoke, sounding moderately smooth and confident. Causing the boys around to frown and the girls’ eyes to grow interested. If nobody was generalizing incorrectly, that voice has to come from a handsome face. They looked at the person after he finished speaking. “But it wasn’t an artifact. Actually, I saw it myself. It was the clothes! That person was so powerful that even his clothes weren't hurt.”

“What the- who the fuck are you?!” One male cultivator turned around as he sat with his back facing that voice. But the moment he saw the handsome, pale face covered with blood around his mouth and a couple veins stuck to his left cheek, he became pale, himself!

“Oh… I’m that person,” Heian Ciemnosc slightly nodded repeatedly and cocked his head to the left. He spoke with a ghostly voice, and suddenly, the trees behind him rustled as the rest of the enemy cultivators group was shown to them. Except… it wasn’t complete corpses or mutilated ones… but heads with chewed faces! One was even a woman who had her humongous breasts eaten away.

When they saw the veins on the pale handsome’s face left cheek, they suddenly detected the same aura from that woman and became even more numb! The girls became even more stunned. They couldn’t even fill the back of their skull as they watched half a dozen strong cultivators appear from the woods and glare at them at ease. It was as if… as if… they were ‘just’ more prey for the day.

“The cannon, the cannon, huurrryyyy!!” One anxious and panicky cultivator yelled, waking everyone else up. The moment he did, the other enemy cultivators rose to their feet. Most fled, but a few ran to the cannon at the side and started it up. One of them was a big-eared fellow. His previously huge grin had diminished into pouted, pale lips as he helped start the cannon faster and more efficiently than ever before. His potential is fully activated in times of need!

“... Hmm, the systems are really polished. It’s also a sweet design. Even a civilian can use it… Ah, I get it now! There must be many huge ambushes everywhere in the Blackotia Kingdom.” Suddenly, from behind the big-eared fella, a calm voice spoke with interest, seemingly back sitting without his knowledge for most of the time. The big-eared one turned his head around, twisting his neck, and watched the bloody-mouthed, pale, handsome fella turn his eyes from the cannon’s machinery to him.

“Oh. Too ugly, you can be devoured by my Vocón Link, come on. Continue,” Heian Ciemnosc said. His left hand grasped his chin, and his right forearm supported his left elbow. The big-eared fella peed himself a little before turning around like a robot, with an immediate need for oil and a change of parts. In his stupor and fear, he continued to operate the cannon. Before long, it was ready to shoot again. In a last attempt at survival, the big-eared fellow didn’t notice all his companions dead, even the ones helping operate the cannon.

Even as the big-eared dude did everything by himself, he hadn’t noticed until a few seconds after he began setting the coordination in the guidance system right on top of the cannon. However, just as the fellow had his index fingertip about to press shoot, he felt like his entire right-sided body became paralyzed. Then, his left eye seemed to lose all sight as he only saw darkness. A voice came from his left. It was dragged on and hoarse, but the pale, handsome face showed in his right eye.

“Oh~. That’s enough. I’ve seen more than necessary. Now all the fun’s gone.” Heian Ciemnosc’s face came closer to the big-eared fellow’s right eye. His words were hushed, and his darkest eyes were fully open looking into it. “Just go now.”

“UCCGGHJJKKKK…” The fellow felt his back touched by something. He didn’t know what it was, but it felt like the void from the legends suddenly tainted his back and poked a finger-sized hole into his vertebral column. Who knows, it could be the dark itself touching him, trying to convert his entire existence into darkness…

Heian Ciemnosc’s team members watched as the fellow turned into a paste before instantly being covered in the thinnest layer of dark Power Energy, disappearing for good from the world. Then, they looked at the cannon that annihilated anyone under the Crabstynian realm like it was nothing. Finally, they looked at their boss’s back.

“Now… things have become much simpler now, heheh.” Heian Ciemnosc grinned and forced some creepy laughs, making his team members grin and snortle before disassembling the cannon. Heian Ciemnosc gave it a wave with his dark Power Energy. All ammunition was taken out and into his Covert Space bags. They were physical shells made from actual materials. But each was way worse than any ammunition from the most ‘simple’ machine guns he had seen in the Crimsonbreaking Faction.

Sakura, Violet, and Oleg led the team since they were the team’s Craftspeople specialized in forging as Heian Ciemnosc communicated with the army, setting a meeting place where they would have to rest as his team worked on the cannon. It wasn’t that they needed those 3 to do it. But for further movements and exquisite efficiency, those 3 had to lead occasionally.

In the end, after Heian Ciemnosc’s advised locations to rest were each unanimously denied by the commander and the 3 under him, a random place was selected. Heian Ciemnosc was to meet them there in less than 30 minutes. The selected place was 1 hour and 20 minutes away from where they were, and with their previous speed known to the commander, it would take them a little more than that. But, truth be told, Heian Ciemnosc wasn’t in a hurry…

…

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Let It Rain's Note: Nothing wrong with having big facial features, but don't be a snarky sneaky sngusting person...?