Spread Throughout The South

Over a month has passed since the Crimsonbreaking Faction arrived at the Turtle Hiding Region's south, already bigger than just the Dragoon Ore Kingdom's 2* Calatida Region. Yet, even though their victories have been just above a dozen, and they have only taken about an eight of the entire south under their command, it had only been a few weeks. Not even a year passed, but the decades-strong Region's south was already in the throes of passing from the inhabitants hands to a foreign organization, not even from the Lsefattern Kingdom.

After Heian Ciemnosc departed from his forces, his Spirit Sense couldn’t leave them even if he moved millions of kilometers away. Of course, he kept his completely unthinkable Spirit Sense range to a minimum of detecting spaceships trajectories and open orbiting space stations, whose interiors were filled with all kinds of Spirit Sense.

Heian Ciemnosc could blend perfectly if he wished it to, appearing and disappearing without him manually exerting his methods, just to not draw attention to his Upper Galaxy-long Spirit Sense range. Spaceships detected his Spirit Sense as Elemental Poisoning, driven away by its armor and array formations.

On the other hand, the Lsefattern Kingdom and its neighbors were within his Spirit Sense at a full-on movement. Heian Ciemnosc could see the happenings within these Kingdoms as if he were present everywhere. Heian Ciemnosc could take it. Otherwise, his Spirit Sense range wouldn’t have surpassed his peers in every Step.

Heian Ciemnosc presented himself at the south’s center, where the tallest tower stood. He had Tania, Evans, and Alejandro beside him when they first arrived. However, the people within the tower sent an errand old man and left a few words: ‘sorry, the leader is cultivating in closed door cultivation. Please wait a moment!’. Thus, a week passed before Heian Ciemnosc was told he could finally come inside and speak from boss to boss.

By that time, the Turtle Hiding Region had already learnt of the Crimsonbreaking Faction’s doings, and their armies on the west and east made shocking advances throughout the land. Unfortunately, the black monster remained in a shabby wooden cottage he built at the side to wait for the tower’s leader to grant him an audience.

Weeks passed, but Heian Ciemnosc was still not coming to them. The tower’s people thought about sending another errand boy or girl to fetch Heian Ciemnosc, but half rectified and thought it’d be too shameful, while the other half believed that’d be too much for the black monster. They had already denied respect and a word with their enemy’s leader. Now they wanted them to come and talk because they’re afraid?

Of course, they were not afraid. How could they be? They just wanted to stop the bloodshed and keep the innocent lives away from the tragic accidents from cultivators. However, as the citizen army in the south made their approach and stance clear, the tower’s people became more astounded. Who could possibly have that kind of power, arsenals, and diligence?

But after the month arrived, and the Crimson armies didn’t stop, instead harassing the other organizations’ individual territories, their owners didn’t dare to attack back. The Crimsons would turn their troops and rush towards the enemy who dared step out, annihilating as many of their people before they were either exterminated or forced to retreat.

After the first enemy organization tasted the death of half their army against not even the entire 400,000,000 cultivator army, not even causing them a miserable loss of 1,000,000 in that battle, nobody else dared to. Even those with the citizen army passing by them were reluctant to make a move. That citizen army became as notorious as the cultivator army of the Crimsons.

However, today, the 82nd, 1st month, 2nd week and 3rd day of the Change. Heian Ciemnosc came out of his cottage with a mini-sized Evans chasing a few female parrots and rodents before turning into big Evans and walking with his owner and owner’s temporary wife. On the other hand, an enormous bulge underneath the grass and fertile soil advanced towards the tower. They headed towards it with calmness and a gradual pace.

“…” Heian Ciemnosc looked at Tania, whom he held with his right arm behind her back. She felt his gaze and looked at him with a smile before facing ahead. She had bargained with him via endless talks. In the end, the brown beauty contested his overly pale skin enough to charm none other but the creator of it all…

She’d stop being his temporary wife until the 11th year since their arrangements. For now, Heian Ciemnosc had a little wife here in the Lsefattern Kingdom, and she helped him cultivate a little within the Silhouette realm 7th stage. Now that the armies were on the move, he decided to come out.

Wheesh, wheesh…

“Sir black monster, what a great day it is today! You’ve decided to grant us a visit, we’re honored!” Suddenly, a couple of Fighters flew towards them. Heian Ciemnosc and Tania didn’t bother doing something, and Evans simply looked at the ground and a few directions in the sky longingly. 2 people floated above Heian Ciemnosc’s face level as they fawned and flattered him.

“May we trouble you with these Fighters? Ah, they are nothing compared to your unique Fighter, but it is just for commodity, haha…” The other person said, still a few meters above Heian Ciemnosc’s level. Tania didn’t even look at them, while Heian Ciemnosc sighed a little before turning towards them. His pitchest-blackest eyebrows slightly raised.

Heian Ciemnosc tapped his chin a few times with his left index finger, seemingly pondering, before speaking in a calm tune. “To make you honored, I have to crack my neck to see you? I don’t need these Fighters, my feet are fine.”

Step, step… With that, Heian Ciemnosc continued moving forth while Tania constantly played with him. Sometimes whispering sweet things in his right ear, others just leaning on his shoulder while intertwining fingers and caressing his backhand.

“… … …” The 2 people the towers finally sent, always praying for Heian Ciemnosc to leave his den, were left speechless. After looking at each other with knowing, fucked up eyes, they turned around and went into the Fighters. This time, they detoured hundreds of kilometers to not ‘pass’ in front of Heian Ciemnosc, seemingly understanding something from his brief words.

On foot, with the pace Heian Ciemnosc and his confidante were going, it would take several days before arriving at the tower, a hundred kilometers away. If anything, they changed their prayers, now directed to the Peaksky Swan walking beside them. They hoped the black monster would use it to hurry. Nobody knew what those Crimson armies were planning.

Unfortunately for them, Heian Ciemnosc didn’t ride his mount. Instead, he ignored the timing as if the war had nothing to do with him and sometimes brought Tania atop Alejandro, who was busy eating the yummy dirt and stone ores below the surface. They got their bums dirtied, with some grass sticking to them, but oh how much she enjoyed his careless flirting.

Finally, 11 days later, Heian Ciemnosc and Tania arrived at the tower’s gates. The plethora of guards and servants outside, working left and right while constantly looking north, didn’t even dare look at them. Heian Ciemnosc walked to the tower from the west, waited for the gates to open, and was welcomed by a flock of nervous Fairies wearing skimpy, flora-like outfits.

Heian Ciemnosc ogled them. These Fairies were between half his body tall, to as tall as Tania. The smaller ones, with their natural age already above 20,000 years old, probably brought and bought from deeper within the Universal Land, flattered them by rubbing their hands and faces on their bodies.

Heian Ciemnosc thought back to the merfolk he left in his Master’s care since he returned from the Change Merit Trials event, and decided something. Additionally, he looked at a few Fairies in specific, seemingly having taken a liking to them.

After 10 minutes of walking through the hallways, with a teleporter elevator midway, Heian Ciemnosc and Tania walked into a grand hall. The grand hall had 3 sides like a square, but one of their sides was curved into an oval shape. Heian Ciemnosc walked in from the opposite side of the curve, which is where the tower’s leading figures sat, and where the leader sat in the middle.

After looking around at the couple of square kilometers long grand hall, Heian Ciemnosc stared at the tower’s leader. A man with short hair, though his hairline receded from his head’s upper corners, and his eyes were small. His nose was a little pompous, and his attire was a purple and golden armor with a 50/50 distribution overall in colors.

He wore a smile on his face, showing his canines and the lifted corners of his lips. Heian Ciemnosc blinked before moving towards him, offering no words or greeting whatsoever. Tania went from being held by her waist to holding his right hand, intertwined with his hand from the back and front. They went from a mature appearance to a childish puppy love-like scene.

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This put a strange twitch of eyebrows on everyone’s faces, but they didn’t dare speak now. They have lost every battle occurred in the last few weeks and only accepted Heian Ciemnosc after they started losing. That was already shameful enough. Nobody was in the mood to lead a ‘charge’ to slow Heian Ciemnosc down.

In no time, Heian Ciemnosc arrived 3 meters before the tower’s leader. Servants flocked by and placed a humble yet well decorated table with mantles, chairs, cushions, and lavish plates and glasses on it. The Fairies that escorted Heian Ciemnosc here sat beside him and Tania on the table as several dishes were brought to it.

They were still nervous, but after not being even lightly poked after touching Heian Ciemnosc’s body so much, they became a little curious about their VIP guest and his lover. On the other hand, the tower’s leader smiled after seeing the Fairies not shoved away by the black monster. The Fairies Heian Ciemnosc ogled were even nearer to him than the rest.

‘How considerate.’ Heian Ciemnosc genuinely praised as he picked a fork and a knife from his spot and ate a humongous chicken thigh the size of half his torso on a plate before him. Tania just drank from her glass as a few handsome, young butlers refilled her glass dully.

“Name’s Orwen, this south’s boss, haha!” The tower’s leader said, introducing himself as Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes went upturned while munching a mouthful of rich food. Heian Ciemnosc placed the utensils at the side before the Fairy on his left cleaned his mouth and said in a lackadaisical manner, “Security Elder Heian Ciemnosc.”

“I’ve long heard of you, black monster!” Orwen, who remained in his seat, guffawed lightly before continuing, slapping his armrests twice. “It’s been a long time since we received a delegation from the Heraxle Clan. Was the tribute last year not on time? Did something happen to it? We had made sure a convoy escorted them to the Existence’s border to explain whom those resources belonged to.”

“…” Heian Ciemnosc didn’t speak about the supposed calamity that befell the resources this Region brings to the Heraxle Clan yearly. He drank from his glass and gave Tania a quick glance with his head tilting to the left by a lot. Then, Heian Ciemnosc stared at the tower’s leader, his drinking glass at his face level, twirling it a little, gradually lifting his chin.

“This is a nice table. I can thank the tower’s owner for their accurate hospitality. The servants you are lending me to serve me aren’t bad. Do you mind if I want them all? I would’ve chosen just a few, but I can’t do with families being torn apart. Ah, how about a few butlers? You specifically brought those with strong, virile, yang vitality to serve my partner here. Oh? I can only praise you, now that I think about it.”

“Hahahahaha… Eh?” Orwen nodded in loud chortles, slapping his left armrest as he continued hearing Heian Ciemnosc’s words. He particularly liked the prospect of Heian Ciemnosc’s greed increasing about the tower’s well-prepared servants. However, those last words erased all smiles from his face.

“Sir, look.” Heian Ciemnosc stood up after Tania blatantly entangled Spirit Sense communication with the Fairies. However, the butlers were left alone. Those that suggestively walked towards her fell flat on the floor. Everyone saw this, but they didn’t dare say something about it. Tania was many times stronger than all of them combined here.

“You’re clearly thinking about something. Curious, even,” Heian Ciemnosc walked closer to the tower’s leader as the others grew a little restless. Meanwhile, the Fairies around the table walked up to Tania and surrounded her like ducklings to momma duck. Heian Ciemnosc tilted his head several degrees to the left and rested his darkest eyes on Orwen, waiting for a response.

“… I take it that it was your idea to use citizens to attack settlements filled with cultivators. Am I wrong?” Orwen asked, slightly leaning forward and looking at Heian Ciemnosc from above. Heian Ciemnosc wordlessly shook his head a little and continued standing there with his tilted head. Orwen commented, pleased, “it was an idea worth noticing. But did you really believe in their prowess? How did you do it? Those are just citizens with an arsenal.”

“It’s just as you’ve pointed out,” Heian Ciemnosc slightly shrugged and shook his head, slowly blinking. “Tell me something. If you, as you are, in your Universal realm 1st stage peak level cultivation base, find a Second Step cultivator group sneaking under a prohibited zone, and you have an artillery gun before you. Would you use your Vigor Energy or the artillery gun to decimate them?”

“…” Orwen looked at Heian Ciemnosc with downturned eyes and his right hand up, facing the ceiling. After another set of seconds, Orwen guffawed and replied with a widened, laughing mouth. “They would blow up after a shelling made their way towards them, indeed. Hahaha! But I wouldn’t do it myself, I’ll let a Second Step cultivator near me do it…”

“!” Suddenly, Orwen halted after saying those words, seemingly understanding something. Completing his train of thought, Heian Ciemnosc emotionlessly said as if giving him the answer to a silly riddle, or brain-teaser. “Or a citizen under your command. It only takes one’s hands to operate installed artillery guns, and those mounted in war instruments are controlled by panels.”

“…” Orwen sat on his seat with his back fully resting on the backrest. His eyes were slightly widened for a minute. The idea of organizations fighting with citizens would always pop up now and then. However, the results were always the same. The citizen wars would end with many materials used up, as they didn’t use array formations or energy to fight after their war instruments are down.

What’s more, attempting to use array formations to protect them was too costly, and they wouldn’t even keep their peak efficiency since they couldn’t be maintained by a Craftsmaker. Which organization wanted their Craftspeople to waste time aiding citizen wars when there were alchemy products to be made so everyone in their organization, or rule, can have them and exchange for Stones and coins?

It was a meaningless cost nobody really wanted to see. Of course, there was the idea of using personnel in a war instrument of higher positions than engineering the spaceships or checking a warship’s status and driving or piloting an armored vehicle. However, an auxiliary unit could do that just fine.

In the end, every experiment using citizens was halted or deemed a failure. It didn’t bring more fortuitous opportunities. Nobody wanted to tickle the Glorious Nexus Entente, afraid to implicate their whole organization and not just an army made of citizens.

However… If the Entente didn’t force them to be chased, or limited the response until the battle ended. A citizen army could practically do as they pleased as long as they didn’t initiate a fight in the middle of enemy territory, could they not?

Moreover, as soon as an enemy cultivator struck them, they would become not only marked red, they will also receive the Entente’s response directly, depending on their actions. If this was made as a group, everyone would suffer the consequences. Furthermore, the citizens’ response would be self-defense, not eliciting any attraction to themselves, limiting the cultivators attacking them.

“Say,” Heian Ciemnosc interrupted Orwen’s thoughts. His darkest eyes flickered downwards, looking at the floor and the steps leading to the ‘throne-like’ chair where Orwen sat. “Your Planet Gate realm cultivators will take several months to rush back here, more or less. Considering the entrance of hundreds of thousands of spaceships, they must be hurrying here without bothering to find more of the world to improve…”

“…” Orwen’s countenance solidified, becoming somber. Heian Ciemnosc took a step forward, nearly standing at Orwen’s face level, but there were still various steps between them. Heian Ciemnosc gently tilted his head to the right, then, to the left before softly speaking. “You’ve been too busy seeing my troops walk and walk that you didn’t notice them taking aim at this beautiful tower.”

“…?” Orwen frowned slightly, not noticing when, but a strange barrier obstructed his Spirit Sense when he focused on it. Before, his Spirit Sense was still outside, feeling the movement from the Crimson armies as they encamped a few hundred thousand kilometers away. But now that he focused his Spirit Sense, he realized it was all an… illusion!

Orwen maintained a calm countenance, focusing his Spirit Sense to penetrate the barrier. For some reason, he found it too difficult to accomplish it any time soon, but he had a premonition. If he didn’t discover what was happening right now, he wouldn’t be able to do anything later.

“!” Finally, after several tries and a couple of minutes, with the Fairies around Tania no longer as confused and fearfully trembling as before. Orwen made a tiny gap, not even a millimeter wide, and explored the outside. He didn’t bother looking at the thing entrapping his Spirit Sense first, and just analyzed the outside. His eyes went round 1 second after freeing his Spirit Sense.

Then, Orwen looked back at the tower, not feeling lost but pensive instead. However, the pristine, transparent barrier barely discernible through his Spirit Sense gave him powerful sensations he only saw from afar in the 10 year war. He only needed a look to discern it. “A Relic?!”

Orwen’s shout rang inside the grand hall, alarming everyone inside it except Heian Ciemnosc and Tania. Heian Ciemnosc nodded but offered no words. He just looked at the tower’s leader, while the other leading figures remained on their seats, shell shocked.

“How can you possess such might?!” Orwen stood up from his seat and questioned. He didn’t wait for Heian Ciemnosc to reply before adding, “If I remember correctly, the Crimsonbreaking Faction exhausted all their Relics in the 10 year war, destroying their Relics through stressing situations. But there wasn’t any that could elude a Spirit Sense when their user is two realms below their target!”

“What is this?!” Orwen shouted again, repeating his befuddlement as he stepped down towards Heian Ciemnosc. Heian Ciemnosc was calm, and when Orwen thought of clutching the black monster’s neck to get answers, he felt death sneak its hand into his being, lightly grazing his Soul. Orwen looked at Tania with a side glance before giving everything up.

Smiling with self-schadenfreude, Orwen faced Heian Ciemnosc and said, “It’s not a bad plan either way. After tumbling this place down, bringing everyone else’s lives with it and leaving the south headless, even the neutral organizations and rogue cultivators will venerate your actions. So, this was your goal from the beginning? Not the terrain, or fame, but the territory?”

“Heh, I supposed the rumors are true. The Crimsonbreaking Faction is growing rebellious! Who would’ve thought? Haha! So simple,” Orwen chuckled, ignoring the other leading figures’ fear after processing his words.

“…” Heian Ciemnosc looked at Orwen’s wrists casually, seemingly finding something before setting his darkest eyes on the latter’s face like staring at a pitiful rabbit trying to show off its ears.

…