Excessive Dominance
Futomp~! Futomp~! The opposing man and the elderly Master backed away simultaneously. Both sides' gray clotheds were ready to start whatever they were told. Their blood and muscles were restless to engage in a fight, and they only needed a command to do so. The leaders in the sky looked at each other silently while those below started clamoring louder and louder, increasing as time went. Finally, the opposing leader's eyes looked down and trembled when he saw the possible outcome of a battle right here and now.
“Pavilion Master! How can this be in your organization’s best outcome? I’m sure even the Cult isn’t willing to engage in a war, and even less now that the Blauw Empire is rising! Don’t you see what your people are doing? Don’t you understand it?! We are both Dantreulity realm cultivators. Even if you want, or I do. We can’t kill each other. But our people aren’t so restrained, and many will die!! Stop this right now, or else!” The man said.
“Why aren’t you saying something?!” The man raged, making claws facing the sky with their palms as he looked at the elderly Master cross his arms and do nothing about it. The man thus continued, “This is a war we’re talking about! Who else would benefit but that Empire?! Can’t you enter in reason? Can’t you?!”
“... I will just say this,” the elderly Master finally spoke, “If you’re so afraid of a war. Piss back to stand behind your gates as your ancestors did in the past, and ask for forgiveness from there like the dogs you Emirates are.”
“... Fine!!” The man slowly straightened his back and looked deadly into the elderly Master’s eyes. He wasn’t withdrawing the reinforcements. He would be a complete idiot if he did. The man slowly floated down and backwards. That served as a boost to their morale, lifting the top 5 organizations’ people’s spirits. However, before they could begin feeling more encouraged, the northern borders exploded with a shouting command.
“Go, charge forwards!!” - “CHAARGE!” The northern army shouted back in unison as their potent cry’s vibration overwhelmed the air and traversed it to land on the faces and shoulders of their enemies. It was like the southern army’s boiling blood was suddenly frozen. It didn’t harm them but made their momentum pause without a warning. Next, the northern troops rushed forwards, charging at the enemy with the array formations on their backs re-activating.
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp… pshift, pshift, pshift~.
The northern side thus advanced through the neutral zone. The army was already several tens of thousands at the frontline, and that was only at their vanguard, where their line was spread as wide as possible. Fast and precise, the northern troops lunged at the southerners, directly clashing one on one with the foot soldier units while their mounted soldier units galloped or flew to the sides and started gradually harvesting lives and protecting the central army’s flanks.
Power Energy made everything more brutal than even citizens warring against each other. Dozens of bodies fell on the ground every second, especially so because of the northern cavalry units, with the flying type taking the most lives from the skies before rushing down and wreaking havoc in the enemy lines. On the other hand, although the northern army’s central side wasn’t advancing and was pushed a step backwards every ten seconds, their cavalry units were protecting them without many casualties, and they could continue to do so.
Unlike in the battles Heian Ciemnosc participated in, these organizations that should’ve been Second Step already, their resources for keeping Fauna and flora to enhance them weren’t inferior to the Academy in quality, only in quantity. Even then, a cultivator needed a massive prerequisite for connection with their mount so they would follow them to battle and to the death, and in the lower Steps, this was rarely seen.
At this moment, where the southern army was actually over a million cultivators from the top 5 organizations, strangely responded fast enough, the Feathered Valley Pavilion’s mounted riders and their pets beside their flying mounts showcased their advantages the most! The cavalry units looked more than their actual numbers, and before the southerners discovered most were pets, it was too late. Their left wing was already breached, and the northern cavalry units on that side started swarming in!
‘Damn it!’ The man preceding over the battle saw this and finally grew restless. He knew how awful these flying mounts and pets were. Every Pavilion member could efficiently overtake any other cultivator in the First Step and at the same level, no matter if the other was much more talented. Their pets and mounts could work together as the rider likewise acted, putting whichever Mortal cultivator they faced at a grave disadvantage. Although it wasn’t as lethal as dealing with puppet masters, it was just as annoying.
“Fall back! Return to safety, to the borders! Now!!” The man shouted when he calculated the losses wouldn’t be good, even if their army turned the tides… He even doubted whether his army could even keep fighting. Although they also activated array formations around them, those weren’t battle array formations, and they did so long after the battle started, and they had suffered over 10% of their numbers as casualties.
“Fall baaaaack!” - “Return!” - “Let- let’s take a break! Go back to the borders! Come on!!” The people below shared the same sentiment, and the talented few in the Spirit Formation realm started guiding the army in a sudden retreat. But the northern central army didn’t just look. They rushed forwards, not just chasing, but directly launched themselves at their enemies’ backs and did everything they could to exterminate the other side before becoming exhausted, or someone from the south turned and struck them, injuring or killing them in return.
It became bloody. It became a one-sided massacre all over again under the man’s nose. When he tried creating an energy barrier to help his troops retreat, the elderly Master flew forwards and stopped him altogether. The man flew back to his borders with humiliation and distress, but the elderly Master followed, chasing him around. This mere action gave the man a foreboding presentiment. But the man could no longer bother about these and kept fleeing from the stronger elderly Master, and his army was slowly mowed by the northern army.
Time passed, and in under 2 hours of chasing and killing, as the enemy side fled and turned to attack so as to make time and help the rest survive, the southerners were half-massacred, and their faces were all pale, without any spirit left, and aware of what kind of hellish torment they sent themselves in without anyone’s convincing words, speech, or under any threat. It was their own legs and mounts that brought them here, nothing more.
As they entered their territory, they watched their leader running away like a dog without his arms and bleeding from several apertures around his body. These weren’t from weapons but from punches, kicks, and headbutts that opened a hole into his body forcibly. However, when they looked back and were preparing to help those still outside safely return to their homely territory, they watched as the northern army… didn’t seem to want to stop.
“Shit! Leader! Leader, please! They are coming! Do something!!” - “Leader, pleeease! They are comiiing!!" The southern side shouted to the sky, but the man seemed too busy keeping himself alive. In fact, to their ignorance, the elderly Master began laughing hard at this moment, knowing this man could hear them but pretended to be deaf…
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp… The southerners had no other choice. They immediately circulated their Power Energy and sent energy attacks at the northerners. But they were fearlessly charging forwards while careful to not step on those who immediately fell, something that weirded the southerners, but they were too busy increasing their firepower to ask. The northerners arrived quickly before them, and to the southerners' worst nightmares, they didn’t stop or suddenly turn and rushed to the sides, a valid tactic.
“AAAGGH!” - “Glwaaaaaayyggkk!” - “Puaaajj!” - “No- Kggghhh!” The northern army, as a whole, rushed into the Blue Emirate Grotto’s territory, immediately mowing more lives as if the territory they stepped on had nothing to do with their will to kill. And it was true, it didn’t. The northern army slipped in, and the massacre continued. Despite nearly a quarter of their numbers as a casualty, the mightiest top 2 organizations were incessant in their search for a living enemy’s body to change that.
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Hundreds of thousands engaged in sudden skirmishes as the northern army chased the southern. The man fleeing for his life in the skies watched all this happen, but he was still in the middle of escaping from a similar fate to do anything about it. The elderly Master took his time, not wishing to waste his energy storage in case a bigger fish appeared, but so far, it seemed like the top 5 organizations denied sending another person so as to not elevate things.
It didn’t matter to the old Master or the top 2 organizations. This wasn’t a decision made by an outsider party. It was their desire… to show and remind those other, weaker fools what it meant to be the Feathered Valley Pavilion and the Clashing Dust Cult. Thus, another hour passed, and with only a quarter of their number remaining, the southerners were left to flee ‘alone’ while the northern army took rest in the Blue Emirate Grotto’s territory.
They were really exhausted. Having to fight an army more than them in numbers, come out victorious, and not even lose ⅓ of their troops was, to say the least, either wasteful or exhausting. In this case, it was the latter, and the top 2 organizations rapidly started chatting or resting in silence, grimacing at their injuries or their bodies depleted of Power Energy. Meanwhile, the ‘fight’ in the skies had finished with the elderly Master catching the man with his mount and another 3 flying pets.
“... How is it?” The elderly Master asked with his arms crossed again, standing in the air. The man coughed and grunted as the claws holding his shoulders buried them into his body a little more, with red blood streaming down rapidly. The man felt short of breath, but after gathering his thoughts, he looked at the elderly Master and viciously said. “You’ll see! The Pavilion and Cult will face great trouble because of this! How dare you step into another organization's territory?!! You’ve violated-”
“Spare me your hypocrisy, stupid ass!” The elderly Master shouted. He flew forwards and stood face to face with the man. After glaring into each other’s eyes, the elderly Master spoke while poking the man’s right cheek with his left index finger. “Go back to the big table, boy. Tell the others that the Feathered Valley Pavilion isn’t your dog, and you are in our sights now. Tell them the Clashing Dust Cult is no longer staying silent and neutral but responding to your reckless actions!”
“The jungle’s rulers are irked by your decisions and have decided to act against you with us if you dare step into our borders again! This is no joke, but your side liked playing too much!” The elderly Master conveyed the 2 ‘rebel’ organizations’ thoughts so well that the man fell startled and silent. The elderly Master continued, “Those who play keep playing. Meanwhile, we big adults are acting. So, kid, I will spare your life now. Next time I see you, your ‘alliance’ better have given us at least an explanation… or war will be what you’ll be in.”
“...!” The man kept his stare at the elderly Master, but it only lasted a few seconds before cowardice took over him, turned, and fled with all the Neutral Energy reserves he had kept. Below, his troops looked confusedly at the sky, not knowing if to feel glad their leader managed to escape at least or that he seemed to have enough Neutral Energy to help them…
… In the sky, 3 hours after the sudden battle, above the Blue Emirate Grotto’s territory, over 30 kilometers from the ground. Beside a Fighter, 2 figures could be seen standing in the air. One wore a dark coat, and the other obscure red training clothes, iconic to the Azure Dragon’s Bloodline. Heian Ciemnosc stood with his hands behind his back, and Little Ish observed down with knitted eyebrows that relaxed occasionally only to slightly frown again.
“But, Imperial Teacher, these are far too many losses… Why?” Little Ish asked after a while, unable to decipher things and reasons. Heian Ciemnosc exhaled a cold breath before staring down at the young girl to his right, took his hand, and calmly said. “These parties are all anxious for one thing. A growing enemy. However, the strongest side of these parties has… seemingly changed their direction. Don’t you think that’s enough to make anyone alarmed?”
“Mhm!” Little Ish nodded her cute little head. Heian Ciemnosc continued, lifting her left hand and forcing her index finger to aim at the south, where the Blue Emirate Grotto’s central building was barely visible in the distance. “These are growing, too. But compared to the Empire, just remember what I showed you. Who do you think has better chances in the next year? That’s if we are to war with them.”
“Mm, no doubt, the Empire has better ongoing projects and more population in their single individual territory alone. The rest of the territory is even more populated than the top organizations’ territories. Besides, although they even have a Nation at the top, they do not have the same connection the Empire directly has with the citizens. They don’t care about them and let them wedge wars on each other, from steel to bombarding. There are wars and conquests every few decades among each other.”
“Thus… their life expectancy doesn’t even go beyond 100 years. Those who do are regarded as half-saints, but most are extremely wealthy and had an ancestor who joined a top organization. It just makes no sense. It’s too poor. It’s like reading books from the past, before the Lords and everything.” Little Ish gathered her thoughts and ended with this realization. She nodded to herself confidently before meekly looking up at Heian Ciemnosc’s underchin.
“Yes, but what else?” Heian Ciemnosc slowly spoke, leaving Little Ish slightly annoyed. Heian Ciemnosc moved his hand to the north before aiming at the jungle and finally aimed her fingertip at the sea. Little Ish’s brightest, cutest aquamarine, azure eyes flashed, and her little mouth began spouting. “I think the top 2 organizations have had some closeness to the Fauna in the jungle… and had some dealings with the neighboring inland Regions, right?”
“Imperial Teacher! I remember what you taught me about them. To the northwest, we have a bunch of Beast Race-ruling Regions where their organizations are the strongest! Although their means are a little cruel, they are all at the Second Step, more or less, and they form a ‘line’ around the Far East Region, as if protecting my Region from inland enemies. It’s weird! Do they have any connection to what I’m thinking?” Little Ish looked at her personal Imperial Teacher again and asked, curious to know the truth.
Heian Ciemnosc teased her, however, and made her slightly pout. “Mm? The truth? Well, it’s all in your history records, silly girl. If you had gone more to the library, you would’ve known. There are also some intriguing legends’ stories there, aren’t you curious? But… answering your doubts shortly, when the Wrath Nihility Academy defeated your people, they didn’t just let them have a side of the cake that is now the Blackotia Kingdom.”
“Ahh? What’s that?!” Little Ish pulled his arm. Heian Ciemnosc grinned, tightened the little shit’s hand to make her squeal cutely, and aimed her fingertip to the west, from the far left to the far right, south, and north. Then, he elaborated with a quiet tone, “The Beast Race that served both the Academy and the House made a pact. As long as they lived in this world, they would protect the Far East Region, the Warlord organization’s new home, and the last one to ever exist.”
“In the end, it is both a tough eternal job and an honor to survive up to this point and with the same goal. Although they remained neutral and joined the enemy in-name in the previous 2 wars, they immediately decimated their ‘allies’ when the Academy came. True to their word, they never allowed a mighty Second Step organization to land their feet on the Far East Region. They have suffered because of that but also gained much recognition, veneration, and fame.”
“They will be hard to convince, right?” Little Ish leaned her little face on his arm, feeling some of his warmth despite his long-sleeved Academy uniform, black jacket, and dark coat in between. Heian Ciemnosc shook his head, and despite not seeing it with her eyes, Little Ish sensed it. He then spoke quietly, “Think about it. They have been here for as long as the Azure Dragon’s Bloodline, accompanying the Academy and your Bloodline all this long.”
“If they were to find one of their most venerated legendary stories’ descendants start rising… wouldn’t they be glad to serve to their cause?” Heian Ciemnosc’s words widened Little Ish’s eyes. She looked up at him again, rustling through his dark coat, and waited for him to continue. Heian Ciemnosc didn’t take longer than 2 seconds before he added, “Right now, they are waiting. Watching and thinking of the Empire as a cute dog. But if it turned out to be a big, magical, and ferocious dog… they would come flocking to see its glory.”
“Imperial Teacher… you’re saying… if we prove ourselves, they’ll help? But what if they don’t think like that?” Little Ish asked, showing her little brain was grown-up and cautious enough to start becoming more than she currently was… and deserved to be guided to. Heian Ciemnosc grinned and stared at her cute little face with her chin against his arm, poking it. “They’ve been the Azure Dragon’s Bloodline protectors and walls to expansion. If they wanted to take something, their nature would’ve acted already. But they are smarter than their most raw, undeveloped desires and lust.”
“They’re smarter than that. And because of that, I’ll forgive their spies and eyes within the Empire.” Heian Ciemnosc’s words didn’t surprise Little Ish, but since he was on a streak to talk to her about many kinda interesting things, she went for it. “Imperial Teacher, which people are not ‘ours’ as you say? Why didn’t you want to tell me before?”
“Hm, well. The palace maid in charge of keeping you clean, neat, and presentable despite your protests to wear your training clothes all day and night is one.” Heian Ciemnosc said while keeping her stare at the rapidly bluing face of the already cute young girl. Little Ish shook her head fiercely to erase those embarrassing sights from her face and looked up to ask again, “What are you gonna do? Kill her? You can’t… she has even signed a Soul contract with me and Mother. As long as I activate it, I can tell her to kill herself, and she’ll do it! How can she be a spy?”
“Hmm~.” Heian Ciemnosc aimed her left index finger at the Blauw Empire’s general direction, brought his right-handed fingertips to her chin, and said while moving her head to tilt and directly look into his darkest eyes. “Now you understand? Little royal princess?”
“...”
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