How To Beat Children

Whiiiiiistle- ka- BOOOOM! Wheesh! Wheesh, wheesh, wheesh!! Ta rararararararara...- PSHIFT~! Bang! Craaaassshhh~...!

At less than 100,000 kilometers from the swampy area. In a semi-desertic place, which was like a line between the meadows over 99% of the battlefield represented and the swampy area. 15 days after the start of the war, in an ever-consistent flash battle, winners from either side would take their feet and rush forwards to meet other military units and fight or join before proceeding again.

A Fighter was just flying upwards when 3 coalition Fighters nose-dived towards it and turned it into a ball of fire. The former fell from the sky and rapidly lost its structure as it was its turn to nose-dive, but without any life. As it crashed and turned the sand around it into nothingness like cinders through the wind, the quality and quantity of its arsenal were exposed, setting an infuriated pillar of beam energy and fire 100 meters into the sky, extending over half a kilometer on the ground.

However, this was after it was somewhat contained by a coalition Fighter overpassing it. The battle wasn’t over, and everyone was rushing forwards as soon as they descended from the Fighters carrying them from their respective bases or after finishing a fight. Despite the enemy Fighter hurting both ally and enemy cultivators, everyone kept rushing forth, stopping to fight, and attracting a target to do the same.

In the air still, Fighters flew through the smoke of other Fighters recently destroyed or from suicidal Fighters sending themselves to the other side and doing something for the war effort. There weren’t many Fighters, which made it much more valuable than in any other situation with these numbers, even in ‘low’ Steps such as below the Fourth Step.

Even then, dozens of Fighters were dropping from the sky or blasting apart in it every few seconds, without either side gaining complete advantage over the other. Only some difference was seen when the Crimsonbreaking Faction’s Fighter Teams showed up, which hadn’t lost a Fighter since they were deployed.

2 weeks after the war started, and their cultivators left behind being picked up by some Fighters to bring them back once they were too far away. Both sides were this close to reaching the Motherblood Expiritus’s location. Thus, the bases started deploying their Fighters to fight it out in the sky while dropping those cultivators as far ahead as possible and building a temporary encampment to wait for more to arrive.

The battle extended to the sky, where both sides’ aerial territory as they kept advancing met. But as hours passed, the encampment, nearly only 10,000 kilometers from the swampy area, came closer and closer, and the war changed again.

Now, not only were the Fighters hunting each other in the sky while rushing far ahead and delivering more cultivators back and forth. Some focused on hunting the other side’s Fighters, and others carried as many cultivators as possible. Now, there was a total war while rushing towards the front, increasing both sides’ casualties exponentially.

Even then, the situation developed in favor of both sides. The coalition had more people and more Fighters. They could bring more people sooner and at an equal pace as the Pavilion’s forces. However, the latter had fewer people in the Interconnecting Rupture Dimension, allowing them to deploy all their elite cultivators faster and possibly start moving before the coalition was prepared to do so.

Thus, as the battle continued, and sudden swarms of Fighters separated from the coalition’s base, the enemy couldn’t copy them as all their Fighters were in the air. However, the coalition couldn’t just crush the enemy bases and call it a day. If they did, the enemy Fighters in the sky would rush to grab the Motherblood Expiritus, and the consensus would’ve been broken.

Things were getting more intense. All Fighters were fast, but not to the point of a Frigate, and they didn’t have space-qualified engines. They could move at around 200,000 km per day in space and a little more in Kingdoms if they were enhanced and prepared enough or with a vessel with an engine installed. It was impossible for a Fighter to travel that amount on such short notice.

…Except for one unique fighter, of course.

“... Heian Ciemnosc, the Fighters are in position!” Beto’s voice sounded in the general coms, which Heian Ciemnosc, the Team, Riquel, Yun Tang… and all the other elite Teams could hear them. Before Heian Ciemnosc, who piloted his Ornament alone and at the center of another few hundred Fighters, could say something, Riquel suddenly spoke. “Is everything ready? I have confirmation the enemy is just going ahead! They’re ignoring our premature advance. We have to get there first! Stop them, then get into the swamp!!”

“... I heard,” Heian Ciemnosc let the silence drop before calmly speaking into the coms. The Fighter Teams in formation heard it and felt unusually relaxed. Then, as Heian Ciemnosc fidgeted around his panels, pushed some things, and flicked some switches, he looked ahead and took control of the Ornament’s reigns. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes looked ahead at the beautiful light cyan sky and smoothly uttered, “Everything’s ready. Let’s prepare our base a clean spot of land to drift on. Don’t use your energy.”

“W-why not?” Heian Ciemnosc’s words made everyone relieved and nervous at the same time, not knowing how to proceed. But then, an elite cultivator spoke to the coms, sounding nervous and swallowing saliva as they were already at full speed.

“... Because you’ll make everyone in your Frigate turn into a paste not even I’d want to look at,” Heian Ciemnosc responded after a brief silence while he confirmed everything for the fourth time. A few crackling laughter and chuckles echoed in the coms channel, but they went away quickly as their Fighter’s captain suddenly became more serious, and the Fighter they were in was wrapped by a darkish Neutral Energy.

“Didn’t you say to not use Neutral Energy?” A female cultivator asked in the coms, questioning Heian Ciemnosc again. He calmly responded, “My dark Neutral Energy is based on this array formation’s version. And… it is nothing that your ordinary Neutral Energy can compare to. You wouldn’t understand… Prepare for the jump. It will be a heavy toll for anyone under 10,000 kg of bodily strength. So hold on tight.”

“What? Only Light realm cult-” Another elite cultivator suddenly spoke, wanting to feel safe, somehow, but Heian Ciemnosc interrupted him with his words and actions. “Jumping!”

Pppppfffpppfff- wooooouuuung~! A series of explosion-like noises sounded on every Fighter’s rear, nervously shutting everyone down, including Beto and Riquel. Yun Tang only felt things were getting more fun. The dark Neutral Energy peeking around their Fighter’s cabin, which only those at the cabin could see, spread everywhere. The sound changed to a piercing, high-pitched one. It turned dragged on and seemed to enter everyone’s head through their ears.

If they were civilians or even untrained citizens, this would’ve been enough to leave them half-deaf permanently. But as they were all elites from respectable organizations, they were only weirded by the situation and nothing else.

Pshift~~~~... PVVVVVVVUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWMMPPP~!!

“!!” Suddenly, the dark Neutral Energy on their cabin’s windows turned slightly opaque, letting them see past the windows without Spirit Sense or Soul reading. However, as the change occurred, their bodies felt like floating up and down once, but they didn’t move! Yet, they also felt like their insides, including bones and blood, wobbled up and down just now!

“!!!” Then, when they less expected it, they felt like their Fighters suddenly stretched forth and backwards. At the same time, their upper torso and from their knees to their soles changed, making them feel as if they were being pulled forwards and their bodies unnaturally arched backwards.

And then, a noise that finally made them lose some of their auditive capabilities scared them as they felt as if their Fighter entered a void, a vacuum, or even a non-existent place. Their feet were cold, and a strange sensation of holding something in their hands, clutching and holding onto it, filled their heads, but their palms were wide open!

“We’re… woof!” A cultivator tried speaking, but he rapidly found his tongue flapping everywhere around his face. It was strange because that wasn’t how gravity worked, and his tongue didn’t feel heavy, only as if it didn’t have life but had its usual weight. Saliva splashed around as it slapped against his face, but neither that nor his lips were drawn by the pull of gravity.

“!” The cultivator was shocked to find a little truth to the notion and was flabbergasted as he realized they weren’t just moving forwards at an unimaginable speed… It was as if an undeniable force pulled them forward like a hand reaching out to them and trying to take them out of a tight location. It was fast, precise, and momentous.

But he wasn’t the only one. Everyone in the hundreds Fighters’ formation slowly realized it. There was no way they wouldn’t. Most cultivators start understanding nature reading when their Soul reaches the Manifestation level. It would only happen in the best, but who were these elite cultivators if not fighting beside the Existence’s most renowned organizations?

“...!” Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes were closed as he went through that sensation. He hadn’t tried doing something of this magnitude before but had made tests since he was in the Academy. After receiving his Master’s teachings and spending time exchanging his pure body with Sara, it would be an insult to nature Herself if he fucked anything up now.

The darkest eyes suddenly snapped open, but not because Heian Ciemnosc was proud of his success. As he reeled in the sentiment, his Spirit Sense was fully extended forward and was a little enhanced to focus in a lateral 50 kilometers, and the rest of his range focused forward. It was like a whale soaring to the surface but with a crushing wave leading its nose. Yet, that wave was Heian Ciemnosc’s mentality being spent like sand to quell a fire.

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“Yahooooo!” As Heian Ciemnosc’s head trembled, and the pale skin around his head and face sightly cracked, Sara yelled in his inner being. One would’ve thought this would break Heian Ciemnosc’s tenacious attention on the task in his hands. However, when her cry sounded, Heian Ciemnosc felt his mentality still hurting but stabilizing. He discerned something strange in his inner being. Thus, he entered it and watched Sara with her hands extended upwards with a reverse ‘V’ and a crystal clear, peaceful smile.

“You know, I feel sleepy. I want to see you and… ahem, see you become a Soldier when I wake up, okay?” Sara said, slowly closing her eyes as Heian Ciemnosc only looked upwards at her. Even as this was his ‘virtual’ Soul body, he couldn’t move. He was too burdened by his task at hand.

“...” Yet, he forced himself to catch Sara in his arms. She wouldn’t fall somewhere but endlessly drift whenever she went to sleep. Now that he watched her close her eyes slowly, Heian Ciemnosc felt compelled to keep her safe from cutely moving everywhere in a fetal position.

Looking down at her, comfortable in his arms, as a bed materialized and her eyes gradually closed, Heian Ciemnosc witnessed her pupils no longer look at him and enter slumber. Still unable to say something, Heian Ciemnosc ducked her with his Soul energy as the bedsheets covered Sara’s body, and the bed changed shapes to let her short body rest on its mattress.

“...!” Heian Ciemnosc returned to the real world to look at the front, where he had to keep a firm foothold at all times. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes widened slightly as his commands made the sensation of being pulled and his mentality being eaten slow down and decrease. Meanwhile, the Dimension’s world watched as an anomaly flew from the back towards them, several hundred kilometers away from the coalition’s temporary encampment and somewhat close to the enemy’s.

PEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW- SHHHAAAAA~!!

“...W- w- wa- wh- what TE hell is that?!!” A cultivator from the coalition’s temporary encampment shouted at the top of his lungs. The enemy cultivators far away were looking behind at the violet smoking cloud rushing towards them. One second, it was a tiny dot. But 2 seconds later, it became a gigantic blob of violet flying towards them!

“Shit! It’s gonna hit us! Move away. It’s too close! With that sp- NOO!” Enemy cultivators moved about, crazily rushing about as their encampment wouldn’t be directly hit, but the landing of whatever that was would surely destroy them.

If one had a clear sight from a fourth point of view to see where the violet smoking cloud came from, they would see a trail extending from the coalition’s aerial territory to the enemy’s temporary encampment. It was a magnificent sight, but the consequences of its existence were just about to start.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHH!!!!- CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSHSHHHHHSHHHH~~!!!! BOOM- POO POOOOF POOOOM- BANG!!!!!

The smoking violet cloud collapsed on the ground, where the desert ended, and only enemy military units were present. However, no explosion occurred. Only the mere crash of the ‘landing’ was so severe and even more so by its sudden stop a couple kilometers passing after the enemy temporary encampments, which sent tens of kilometers worth of shockwaves to every possible angle.

The shockwaves were too many, imperceptible, and went through any energy attack, even Light/Dark realm cultivators unleashed, or Arts! They rapidly reached the enemy encampment, destroying the Fighters being repaired and destroying the supplies contained, just in case the coalition made an incursion into their temporary encampments. They were planning to do so anyway. It wouldn’t hurt believing the other side wanted to do the same.

Of course, the Tortoise Glabella Pavilion lacked something or someone. They didn’t have a Heian Ciemnosc with them.

Like a purposely strategized massive-area attack, the enemy encampment became shambles as it exploded into the sky, and tens of thousands of cultivators disappeared into ashes and sweet death. Others flew into the sky, but not willingly and definitely not with the consciousness to float safely down. The rest were injured or nearly avoided getting hit by a shockwave or the explosions.

However, while the enemy was worried and busy frowning and coming out of danger, having no choice but to walk up and rush towards the swamp for both safety and reunite with the army far ahead, the coalition rapidly disembarked.

“... Go! Goddammit! GO!” - “I can’t believe I was part of such a thing!” - “This is gonna be a wild story to tell when I’m older…” - “Come on! With black monster! Protect him and advance!” - “It would be such a thrill to be a Crimson now… more than ever.” - “Yeah…”

The elite cultivators were floating down or escaping their crashed Fighters. Not everyone was lucky enough to keep in formation when the ‘landing’ occurred. However, they were protected by the whole and modified Rychly Transporting Formation Array. Nearly a transportation array formation with how modified and tweaked Heian Ciemnosc worked it.

“Every Fighter willing to stay and buy time, stay! We’ll rush back to where we belong after taking the Motherblood Expiritus, hua!” Riquel shouted as he came off his Fighter, too. He walked towards Heian Ciemnosc’s Team. The same happened with Yun Tang and the heavenly leading figure from the Interchanging Dust Dynasty.

Step, step… Heian Ciemnosc walked amidst his Team as they began advancing forwards. They couldn’t wait for the other top elite Teams to catch up. Cara and Riquel were lost in each other, but they were aware of this, and as the Team Heian Ciemnosc belonged to started advancing in a full run onwards, the other top elite Teams followed suit.

Heian Ciemnosc was tired, alright. Directing and maintaining the formation until landing remotely near the target was too much for the current him. It didn’t matter he was successful controlling its direction so much with an advanced Soul. His energy reserves weren’t enough.

As the Team advanced, Heian Ciemnosc fell a little backwards, but nobody could stop at this critical moment. Thus, Heian Ciemnosc fell behind the Team, with the Teams of Riquel, Yun Tang, and the heavenly leading figure just about 400 meters behind him and to his sides. Then…

Pshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffft~~!! Cuuuuuh- paaaah!! Futomp! WHOOOSH!!!

“!” Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes widened to its fullest. His body was just close to being snapped into two or almost halved. He didn’t hear it, nor did his teammates or the other Teams mostly behind him. His pale skin felt numb and twirls originating from any pore around his body. When he forced his right foot upwards and stopped his body, expelling Neutral Energy and Spirit Sense to halt his body. He knew it wasn’t enough.

Thus, as Heian Ciemnosc’s body halted, his left leg was lifted, and his body rotated so his extended right leg landed the tip of its foot on the brand-new brown dirt. His bodily strength exploded with motion, and his left leg was slowly lowered to stop his body from moving too ahead. Heian Ciemnosc’s dark Neutral Energy was sent to his right leg and together with his bodily strength, rocketed forwards at the last instant!

A beam of Neutral Energy went just past his back, cutting the lower hem of his dark coat at the center. The beam was so powerful that the sound from the ground being divided into two with 2 meters depth for a hundred meters in a couple seconds was muffled by its mere passing, nearly making Heian Ciemnosc’s ears bleed.

Crgggghhhhhhhhh~... stomp! Swish- whoosh, tr tr tr tr… Heian Ciemnosc halted his body and looked to his right. They were just about 10 kilometers past the enemy temporary encampment. He could still see it without even focusing his gaze. Thus, as he looked towards that side, Heian Ciemnosc watched how a young, short boy and 2 young women were flying towards him.

The young women held each of the young boy’s arms, softly helping him land more than 100 meters before Heian Ciemnosc, who faced the battle’s right wing. His darkest eyes squinted, and his pitchest-blackest eyebrows slightly arched downwards.

“Is that… Tortoise Glabella Paviliuon’s Chosen?! Ezquivel?!!” At this moment, the Interchanging Dust Dynasty’s leading figure shouted, stopping his tracks more easily than Heian Ciemnosc despite going at a faster speed than him after boosting his right leg, not even needing to suddenly halt his body.

“Black monster?” Ignoring the heavenly leading figure’s shout, the young boy, Ezquivel, looked downwards at Heian Ciemnosc until his protectors helped him down to the ground. He looked at Heian Ciemnosc with a wide agape mouth. His eyes showed desire and schadenfreude. He was enjoying this chance!

“Hahahaha! What an opportunity! Well, hello!” The shortie uproariously laughed as the 2 young women beside him looked at the Teams around Heian Ciemnosc. Beto had also halted moving and maintained position 2 kilometers away, ready to return. Ezquivel pointed at Heian Ciemnosc with his left index finger and added, “Wow! You’re the real deal, huh? How pretty! Hey, ladies, don’t look. You’re still my targets to conquer, alriiight~?”

The young women didn’t say a thing but no longer looked towards the Team. As for Heian Ciemnosc, he only received their Spirit Sense. But the heavenly leading figure and Riquel took a step forwards, making the young women immediately alarmed, and their Souls started fluctuating inside their inner beings. Heian Ciemnosc lowered his eyebrows slightly. ‘They have advanced Soul Arts… and that one is the enemy’s Chosen… Hm.’

“Awww, people, please!” The young boy fearlessly looked at the heavenly leading figure, Riquel, Yun Tang, and their Teams. He clapped his hands soundlessly and added as he glanced at the former. “Well, how about you guys leave us, me and my new trophy, black monster, to duel a little? Nothing too dangerous, I promise… For me, eh.”

“...” The heavenly leading figure suddenly stopped. His forehead started sweating as he looked at such a motivational goal to take a stop, but with those 2 beside the enemy’s young master, it would take them several minutes to break down, enough to give the enemy army time to advance into the swamp first. In the end, in less than 10 seconds, the heavenly leading figure looked at Heian Ciemnosc, and Heian Ciemnosc nodded before departing with his Team.

The heavenly leading figure’s Team looked at Ezquivel with frustration and hatred but didn’t disobey and rushed with their teamleader to their one and only main goal. Riquel nodded towards Heian Ciemnosc before looking at Yun Tang. Yun Tang smiled and said to Heian Ciemnosc before speeding forth with Riquel’s Team. “Heian Ciemnosc, these 2 will protect you from those 2. Trust me, they will not let anything happen to you or sacrifice themselves. It won’t be needed, haha! Have fun, but don’t take loooong~!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~!!... Step, step.

Thus, Heian Ciemnosc was left with his right hand holding his left shoulder, slightly afflicted, and his knees bent a little. The other Teams left him, with the 2 Phosphorescent Flower Sect disciples stepping behind him, locking the young women with their Spirit Sense. Heian Ciemnosc felt comfortable as he discerned that familiar scent from Genoa’s Descent Supreme Art in their bodies.

“Haha! So!” Ezquivel nodded at each of the young women beside him with a light smile before facing Heian Ciemnosc and taking casual, nonchalant, long steps with his legs raising high towards him. Ezquivel gestured towards Heian Ciemnosc and emphatically spoke, “Hey, a Breaking Point realm 10th stage cultivation base? But why can’t I see those inner galaxies, hm? It’s 2 realms below mine. What’s happening?”

“Well, my theory now makes sense, ahahaha!” Ezquivel came 70 meters near Heian Ciemnosc. The disciples beside the latter nodded at Heian Ciemnosc to indicate to him they wouldn’t bother him in this so-called duel. Meanwhile, Ezqiuvel continued with his antics.

“Why don’t you stop playing around and take off whatever Artifact’s hiding your true cultivation base?” Ezquivel said and walked a few meters forwards before stopping at 48 meters before Heian Ciemnosc. Heian Ciemnosc gradually came to stand upright as Ezquiel added, “Or… do you really have that capability to face me with such measly, low cultivation base? Hm? Bring it on~~!”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc lifelessly looked at Ezquivel. After 3 seconds, he lifted his right hand towards his emblem to communicate with Beto…

…