Commander Ciemnosc
… At the riverside of the shallow waters, just at the beginning of it and where no currents could be seen and it was warm in the water.
There were faces filled with incredible amazement, rather than fear or even disgust at the sight of so many of their sect's acting elders dying as soon as the transmission ended. In the water, everyone saw the arrays for transmitting images in big that were transmitted from some communication panels. The people holding them above on the riverside were Valeria's male and female knights that stood up at her beck and call.
These arrays for transmitting images were soundless since Ciemnosc made them in a hurry before passing them over to Valeria, who then got some sect disciples to help her out. Hence, every single little thing that occurred, every single bit, was watched by the startled crowd who, in the first place, couldn’t believe these acting elders trying to take control of them!
One thing was that Ciemnosc was a boy, one that is rumored to have many talents and whatever else other people have said. But it was a whole other situation when acting elders who are not even official members of the Self-Mutilating Honores Sect tried to wrestle away the power and command that was given to ‘one of them’.
But there was still some common sense within them, so there were no ‘sides’ as the events unfolded, and only the sound of the tablets from which Valeria’s goons held were emitting sounds coming from the actual place where the transmission was happening. Some words being spoken, it was a pretty neutral and simple situation where a big lion simply eats the smaller cub without there even being hungry.
But Ciemnosc suddenly caught them all with his already set arrays, which he put there who knows where, as everyone was busy feeling frustrated with their feelings being lightly trampled on and ordered to do menial stuff. It is with such a thought that the 100,000+ disciples and a few remaining acting elders that were seen as naturally good in everyone’s eyes that Ciemnosc came prepared. That Ciemnosc wasn’t being naïve… and that he was someone they couldn’t compare with this, it was really a bad aftertaste in their mouth when they did remember him standing on his ‘post’ which was right there for so long but never noticed anything; simply embarrassing of them.
And it was even more shocking, as nobody had seen the new artillery for cultivators, since they were so little and only used in the wars when at the hardest, heaviest point in such wars they were used due to their high consumption and with the methods that the targets can project or avoid being targeted by such. Largest-scale battles in war were their use. And now, they were given to this smart-ass little kid who finished off dozens and dozens of Conflagrate realm acting elders.
Though most acting elders were old cultivators outside of their sect in the Conflagrate realm, some were still in the sect. And they hadn’t spent their 100 years limit to reach the middle-late stages of the Conflagrate realm, in which, if they fail then that means they will be banned from the sect or be sent to a branch organization or vessel from the sect.
In any case, when they saw them all joining up against just Ciemnosc and that bodyguard of his, everyone simply quietened down while in the water. It was warm and better than the cold outside of it anyways.
As soon as the transmission ended, there was a bit more silence and reactions from the sect's disciples. For starters, they were worried that, on their first day, such problematic occurrences happened to their ‘great mission’. It was like a bad omen from previous wars for the Little Lake that all ended in the tens of millions of lives from each side…
On the other hand, there was also the fact that anyone who could be monitoring outside of their eyes and patrolling could be leering on and have seen the scene. And even if not, they would’ve been able to hear those explosions very well. It was only a question of espionage to figure out what happened, or so they thought.
But! Looking at the bright side, they also thought of how Ciemnosc… their commander… seemed to have shown that he is capable. Maybe none of that would’ve worked if the acting elders’ group knew of his huge attainment in array formations, but they would have then never raised up against him and faced him off. Hence, there wouldn’t even be any conflict.
As for what would happen instead, of how history would or could have gone… it mattered to no one.
“Well, take your time to rest. From tomorrow onwards you’ll wake up at 4 am at the latest. Then you’ll begin working hard until the evening. You will at least be fed like you are an ordinary person, but with delicious food at the very least. We’re not here for vacations. This is a possible war we will be facing!” Valeria shouted, her powerful Power Energy spreading her voice.
“So stop thinking like a child from the sect. You are soldiers now! Don’t act like one, and you’ll be punished! Dare to disrespect, and you’ll be finished. I am feeling left out seeing my commander kill off so many idiotic rebels. You’d do us a favor in any case so suit yourselves.” Her words were no longer just strict and formal, as she had been before. They were chilled despite the nice, warm bath they were all taking and they also couldn’t help but become apprehensive a bit at the very least.
“Every 5 days, you might have a couple of days where you can rest in the afternoon in the Little Lake. Here beside the riverside. But you will still wake up early in the morning. Now enjoy your time, it will soon start getting cold, if anyone has doubts, wants to ask anything, or is willing to showcase their ideas, thoughts, and worries… we have a capable commander for that!”
“...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “... “
Step, step step step, step.
With her words fell on serious, surprised, and semi-fearful faces. Valeria turned around, and began leisurely walking back to the temporary dormitories’ area. Having talked so much for Ciemnosc, even if these sect disciples felt unconvinced, which would make total sense for higher realm cultivators as they are, they would still come to engrave the happenings and connotations provided by both Ciemnosc and Valeria respectively.
Also, that bodyguard was hella powerful. Who the hell was he?
“...so, what do you think of that Ciemnosc guy?” A group of 4 young people were back to swimming in the water. 2 young men and 2 young women. The young women looked tasty as they held no piece of clothing to their bodies while the young men were, ah. Divine with those muscles and sharp facial features - not that the young women didn’t have a defined set of muscles too.
The brown-haired young man spoke first, and sensing their surroundings going back to being at ease, their little group slowly became lighthearted back again. The black-haired young man shook his head and pressed his lips together, saying in a low volume, “Don’t call him like that. Don’t you see he is really our commander now?”
“You really think so?” - “Yeah, you’re okay with it?” The young women intervened when the black-haired youth spoke. They inclined their heads forward, really curious about his answer, while the brown-haired youth instead looked deadpan at him.
“Err, well…” The black-haired youth became a bit nervous not really knowing how to put it. And also with how he was being glared at by them damn beauties, alright. But, to his rescue came someone everyone revered within their little group and large group in fact…
“Hey, hey, hey. That’s alright. Leave it at that.” A young man that looked as if he was 24 years old, with dull brown-orange short hair that was actually of naturally braid style, and thick braids for that matter. The moment he came into their view, the girls blushed, and the boys straightened their backs. He spoke once more as he got into the middle of the 4.
“You shouldn’t worry about those things. According to how he has behaved right now, he wouldn’t care for ‘occasional’ matters if rank is forgotten, but if it isn’t something ordinary and has to do with the sect or, err…some emergency or slight problem… Then you should instead do as you are told here. His rules are rules too.”
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“Senior Brother Makis, what happened to you? Here I thought that you would’ve instead been planning on taking control as well. Have you softened up?” From an instant surge of boldness and false bravado that the young brown-haired man spoke out and instantly regretted just as well, their little group suddenly became the eyes of almost everybody in the water.
“... … …Well, what are you saying?!” The young man called ‘Makis’, who also became similarly speechless and looked at the now pressured brown-haired young man, finally reacted with a berating coming from his toughened-up voice. “Don’t you see the lack of good leadership in our sect? We’ve literally had many fights against many other organizations just one level below us because of many idiots and foolish traitors like that acting elder just now who want power!”
“The sect has a good way of giving those who had good results a chance, but they are mostly all dead by now due to their infamy of creating these ongoing battles that just never end!” Makis became flustered as he didn’t even plan to get this into speaking about the sect’s current warfare-like affairs
“And now, this Ciemnosc, though incredibly young, should already be capable of defeating anyone at the early stages of the Phrenic realm when he’s just at the Link Consolidation realm! Don’t you all get it? What would happen if he were to become an Obsidiafying realm? Wouldn’t then our sect finally gain the way to breaking through that one realm after so long due to him?!”
“So, from now on, I don’t wanna hear any more words like that. We all have only this opportunity to make what others couldn’t, and though I’m aware those before us thought so too, they didn’t have a Ciemnosc. Even our greatest general, General Hanato Wang, didn’t venture into the Little Lake. But now, Commander Ciemnosc is just starting to show us he can start by placing his feet in these waters.”
“...Or, if you talk like that again, don’t blame me for fucking your asses as well,” Makis said at the end, making the entire huge part of the 100,000+ sect disciples who were going back to tranquilizing themselves suddenly find the big drama of the thing they just witnessed, but now being calmed and became a light atmosphere as laughter resounded through their mouths - even if not understanding what the brown-orange haired young man was talking about.
“Ah!” - “This…” The 2 young women that were with the 2 young men blushed even more, shifting their gazes down at their beautiful feet colored nicely by the pristine light blue colors and the light of the sun still there. On the other hand, the young men looked around fidgety, but by the time they wanted to pretend, they had already given enough evidence to Makis.
“What. You girls thought I wouldn’t hear you gossiping to your other ‘partners in crime’ right beside me while I take a nap? Even if you’re this active, you should at least not try to make it obvious for the whole corps. Though I don’t know how commander Ciemnosc responds to this, I wouldn’t want my people being the first ones to try out.”
“...Mm, okay, Senior Brother Makis.” - “Yes, Big Bro Makis.” After being reprimanded and then softly given advice, the girls went over to his chest and ignored the brown-haired young man while dragging the black-haired young man by grabbing at his wrist. They drifted away towards another empty spot to spend their last few moments in the warm water.
“...” Meanwhile, the brown-haired young man was left alone, with only himself to think, talk about, and blame. Ignoring the teasing glares from some macho men around, he smoothly ran-swam away while thinking, ‘did I just lose a good fuck tonight?’.
… Just 3 hours later, they began feeling the water getting cold, really damn fast. In a flurry in which nobody was hurt due to their cultivation bases, giving them great reflexes, quick-minded actions, and with some cooperation that was seemingly given birth to just then and there - the entire corps went back to the temporary random dormitories.
As they walked through the grass, some trees here and there, and some plants and herbs and high grass or bushes around, they also took several glances at their new vehicles. They were the first ones to try them out for real, outside of the sect. And they were also incredible when they went full 630 km/h when they went through the only but really perilous ‘danger zone’ for an ambush.
Thankfully, though not knowing if there were even any enemies around or not. They went through their entire march to the mission’s location without any impeding moment or accident - much less the feared ambushes of countless enemies from all major organizations. In a way, it was since they all came down and touched with their feet the slightly humid dirt and grass that they began seeing Ciemnosc a little more in their eyes; commander Ciemnosc.
Naturally, they also noticed how their brand-new babies were being subjected to the cruel nature of coldness. They saw their windows, which were only at the front, becoming tarnished. Their whole set of lights was becoming affected by the cold, too, and it even gave them the impression that the hidden auxiliary lights in each car were being affected too.
“I heard that most vehicles can’t endure cold, and unlike beasts that can get warmed up, these will just stop working. Especially if moving around non-ordinary places.” - “It’s because of the Elements. It also happens a lot in the Preferential Light Justice Sect’s organizational territory and the Eagerburning Flames Sect’s organizational territory.”
“True, they are either frozen to obsolescence or are even melted. This makes it both hard to invade, and to build up their own vehicles at a large scale. They can only use the unique materials that are very hard to find to create special vehicles that endure for at least a few tens of years, either the cold or hot from both places.”
“Man, the Elements are the most powerful things in the world, I tell you. The only reason those dumbasses Eagerburning Flames are still around is because of their great art with the Fire element. What do you think, Senior Brother Ernesto?” A smartass spoke right now, hearing everyone going to the subject he was obsessed with before directing his word towards a middle-aged, in his 40s looking-like man.
This ‘Ernesto’ had really short but also military-like hair. It was like his very own hair itself was disciplined and stern. He had brown skin, yet he wasn’t targeted or shadowed by those surrounding him and talking while he was in the middle. He had a stern and serious face too and was 1.80 meters tall. All in all, he was kinda old looking.
As he was seemingly the leader of these guys, everyone looked at him, even those outside his large group of influence whose ears were eavesdropping on them. Ernesto’s face turned warmer and even soft, to the surprise of those who barely saw him for real for the first time - instantly many boys and girls with parent issues gasped mentally before he even spoke.
“It’s okay to be knowledgeable. Obsession itself is not bad, but the one with obsession can be bad; or good.” Ernesto looked towards the smartass who spoke right now, his face stern and serious now, but his tone reaching like an uncle into his being. “If you can’t put it to good use, not a kind action, but good use. Then maybe you should never obsess over those things.”
Saying that, Ernesto went silent and picked up his pace, the rest of ‘his people’, his group, moved along with him and walked faster towards the temporary dormitories up ahead. They could already see their commander, commander Ciemnosc, far away standing on a new spot, and everyone inadvertently avoided walking any 20 meters close to his ‘new post’.
“...aaahh, heheh! Don’t chase me, ah, dooon’t! My things are gonna fall off, ahahaha!” Suddenly, from behind and to their right, Ernesto and company heard a young woman’s shrill screams of having a good time playing. Looking back, they just turned their heads around to see a young woman who was smiling and with her arms thrown up into the air with a carefree smile being lifted by a young man with a bare, muscular, and bulky torso.
Not only was he without a torso, even the young woman was, and she even pronounced her smile when she was picked up. But then, something fell from her left pocket. And the moment that it even moved, the young woman seemed to feel it as she directly made a few short screams to be let down. Yet the young man continued to spin her around as her thingie fell on the ground.
Crackkshhh!
“Aaah!” Her shrill scream attracted more heads to turn around, Ernesto’s group being one of them. They then saw the young woman fall down from her knees and start sobbing, while the young man looked around and saw everyone with that face of ‘uh oh, I’m gonna die, aren’t I?’. His eyes wide open and feeling troubled, he wanted to help himself by helping the young woman up her feet, but she not only refused him but she also bit and scratched him.
“Noo! No! Leave me, leave mee!!” She constantly, shrilly screamed, facing the young man with her chin quite lifted up.
Having an equal cultivation base, she made some blood trickle down his arms onto her face and bare torso. As soon as some seconds went by and the young man did a few more tries to help her up, which in turn made the scenery seem so different. It was only a matter of time for something to happen, and then, a kind, young, soft, and gentle-looking young man with youth, sharpness, handsomeness, and even with some pretty girl-like features came to them.
Facing the young man. The kind and gentle young man picked up the young woman by the hand after she picked up her broken thingie with a cloth he gave her. When he wanted to give her his shirt, she rejected it. Letting her titties be seen and bobble up around as he walked her towards their commander Ciemnosc. Following them without being asked to, though, the young man did the same, showing responsibility that made the situation even more tense.
‘Sigh…I see.’ Ernesto’s inner thoughts were something. He looked at the young man and directly changed his eyes to the kind, gentle young man to which his eyes then became indifferent. Then to the young man behind with his bare torso and blond, short curly hair. But when Ernesto changed his eyes from looking at the kind and gentle young man to the blond young man. The latter threw Ernesto a glance.
…