Military College

With the situation unfolded in the western forest, despite the territories trying to mend the situation with misunderstandings and extra blaming from their part, the forests were suddenly awoken in the morning. For an entire day, forest people traveled back and forth, attending to their meetings only the forest people knew how to gather and bypass the not-so well hidden surveillance array formations placed in their homes.

The morning, noon, and evening were rapidly spent, with the territories still working a way to make up for the ‘misunderstandings’ and improve their already dubious relationship with the forests. Meanwhile, the day came and went in the Forbloffende Traes Sect.

… At night. In the empty Throne Halls’ center, where a small fountain moisturized just a few tens of meters around it, Heian Ciemnosc and Saon Gori sat on sunlounger with fine bottles of liquor in their hands. These came from Saon’s pockets. The nearly-an-old man had quite the collection. After returning, despite the poor quality to attract Heian Ciemnosc’s taste buds, Saon took a few bottles from his Covert Space bag and presented them to Heian Ciemnosc.

Now, they were here, amidst the night, contemplating nothing and just drinking. As the night continued to pass, Saon seemed more calm and less troubled by life. He didn’t care anymore what happened in the forests, as he was practically alone during the troubled times.

“You want to know what is happening there?” Heian Ciemnosc subtly asked after lazily taking a sip from the bottle. Saon gave him a ‘you’re this capable, huh?’ glance before lightly shaking his head, “You do have connections, Sect Master.”

“What about joining the Sect? Thought about that, too?” Heian Ciemnosc asked again, placing the bottle near his feet on the ground. Saon Gori inclined his head rightwards, falling pensive. He deeply breathed in and said with breathy words, “I’m not sure if I’m ready. There’s still many more coming here. Maybe they’ll need a place to stay if they don’t succeed on their first try.”

“Easy, I’ll move your mansion to the south. You can do as you wish there. 10,000 km from my Sect is a large village. You can settle near them,” Heian Ciemnosc said as he closed his eyes and looked at the sky. His hands resting and intertwined below his head.

“Those… are many people. I’m not sure if my little mansion can house everyone.” Saon Gori thought as he looked ahead. He shook his head slightly, but Heian Ciemnosc calmly voiced, “Then expand. You can make a town and do whatever you want with it. Just ensure a mayor worthy of your teachings knows how to run it after you’re gone.”

“Isn’t that what old people should do?” Saon Gori nodded before drinking up the remaining liquor in his bottle. Heian Ciemnosc’s voice rang from the side again, sounding casual. “You’re old now, but if you break into the Spirit Rebirth realm, what are 10,000 little years? You’ll even recuperate your fertility. Who knows, maybe the lone daughter will have a few siblings to play elder sister.”

“Ku- kuh…” The middle-aged man nearly chocked. He shook his head and politely said, “Sect Master Darkness, you’re too casual at times. I’m just waiting to see my grandchildren first. I can’t worry about myself first.”

“Well, I was just saying. You don’t have to convince me,” Heian Ciemnosc grinned from the left corners of his lips and sat up. Saon Gori fell pensive again before expressing his thoughts, “With Sect Master’s 2 Fauna, you can protect the Sect until the other territories find their breakthrough into the Second Step, or…”

“Hmph, who said anything about needing to hole ourselves?” Heian Ciemnosc interrupted, expanding his grin to the other corner of his mouth and saying in a good mood. Saon Gori was slightly taken aback. Then, his eyes gradually widened in shock. “Sect Master… You… you aren’t thinking of competing against them, right?”

“Hm,” Heian Ciemnosc offered no words or consenting gesture and just lightly hummed. He looked at Saon and said after patting his left shoulder a few times. “The Sect has things to work with as we receive the new batch of forest people. I recommend you get to work quickly and establish at least a settlement to the south before it is too late and someone beats you to it.”

Heian Ciemnosc stood up and let the empty bottle beside his sunlounger behind. Saon Gori looked at the young man walking away, not even a tenth of the years he’s lived, and suddenly felt frustrated and even humiliated. He kept a frown until he thought of something. Then, with his head still low, he stood up and became decisive.

… The next day, the Forbloffende Traes Sect received a plethora of new people. However, there wouldn’t be enough time to take them all in a day or a few. There were nearly 200,000 people outside, waiting for the early morning to finish so they could start flocking into the testing grounds. All of them looked decisive, and no one knew how they came here, except for their people. They were forest people.

They looked slightly angry, decisive like hell, and looked in the Sect’s direction as if they didn’t care about the small hill and the few buildings. By now, everyone understood it was all about an illusory array formation, but neither Heian Ciemnosc nor the territories’ organizations cared.

When the day finally opened, and it was Todoro’s week to work at the testing grounds, they flooded the kiosks and made the Outer Disciples sweat before they even received the first examinee. They were too many, and the Sect would probably need a week and even a few extra days to let them all have a go. Furthermore, everyone from the forest people were cultivators, from the Spiritual Ligament realm to the Phrenic realm. What’s more, they showed exemplary knowledge of their Craftsmaking profession.

However, while that was happening, in the south, Pretieta accompanied her father to the large village he heard about from Heian Ciemnosc. On their way here, Saon marveled at the dozens of flying tools the Outer Disciples flew in.

Those weren’t the same Todoro had used to rush to Pretieta back then, but many times larger, with each holding a full Team of Outer Disciples. These weren’t that costly to make. But to have these many, and that the Outer Disciples could rent them with numerous silver coins per mission, not per day, unless it was broken; left the Gori family’s head feeling like the Sect had more riches than one could think.

Arriving near the large village, Saon tagged along as he wanted to see the friendly, ‘peaceful’ method the Forbloffende Traes Sect strictly teaches their disciples to employ. He could have a talk with his future neighbors before starting building his town. It would be the first after decades since the incident where the Dynasty organization was ganged up by the other 13 organizations.

“… Miss Pretieta, is something the matter?” The village head came to receive the group of the Forbloffende Traes Sect. They hadn’t tasked anyone with more missions, as they were just spending their first week in peace. Furthermore, unlike before, the Sect disciples didn’t immediately go out to meet and mingle with their young lasses and lads.

“Village head, I’d like to ask you to bring everyone out for an announcement,” Pretieta said as she formally addressed the situation. The village head hadn’t received news from up north, so she didn’t know what happened. But she knew Saon Gori, it was unmistakably not to. She looked at Pretieta and nodded, turning around to ring a bell at the village’s center.

“After this, we’ve got a situation to deal with in the west. Father, would you like to come?” After the village head went on her way, the daughter asked the father. Saon suddenly felt like he would see a bloody, murderous daughter and thought about what his wife would think of that. But then, seeing the ‘brand-new’ clever glint in his daughter’s eyes, he seemed to relax.

“I will,” Saon Gori seemed to finally lift a weigh off his shoulders. The first of many. Pretieta smiled contentedly but erased it as a couple of hundred villagers walked to their group and stopped just 10 meters before them. Some were worried, thinking the Sect would betray or utilize them somehow. But others had an unsure, expectant glint in their eyes.

“Today, the Sect Master has passed down his new orders,” Pretieta stepped forth and faced the villagers. Her saber at her left hip glinted with the burning, early noon sun. It attracted attention, but Pretieta’s blonde, picked up, pony-tailed hair attracted more. “As the nearest settlement to the Forbloffende Traes Sect, and our friendly bound. You’ve been selected as the first settlement our Sect will expand its territory to.”

“…” Pretieta waited for 3 seconds before feeling a little silly and awkward. This was not the reaction she expected. The entire village fell silent. Finally, after a few coughed, the village head stepped forth thrice, turned around, and faced her people. “Everyone. I don’t know what must have happened in the north again, but let me ask you. Does anyone doubt the Forbloffende Traes Sect?”

“No!” At last, they responded. The village head nodded and spread her arms before continuously asking them, riling them up. “Isn’t this Sect the only friend the south has seen for over centuries? We’ve been left alone for so long, and others further to the south have never experienced this. Furthermore, we’ve personally experienced the northerners’ influence among our people. Do we fear the Sect? Do we dislike their disciples? Do we not want to… be one?”

“Yeah!” - “Village head, if we don’t move forwards, we’ll be dragged backwards!” - “The Forbloffende Traes Sect is different from those apes! I want to join them!” - “Yeah. Let’s become the first settlement to join them. Haha!” - “We can only defend ourselves and become stronger with an organization like them. They only need time, but we can help each other! As it has always been throughout the world.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Indeed,” the village head interrupted, raising her voice. The villagers stopped cheering up as they looked at her, fully concentrating their hearts. She added, “For centuries, we’ve seen our families, our older generations, suffer the ‘dryness’ that other organizations are supposed to resolve. Now, an opportunity has presented to the Vrida Region. The rest of our south will follow, but we… we will take this chance and throw our lot with the Forbloffende Traes Sect.”

“Miss Pretieta,” the village head turned to face the disciples again and said with a direct, loud tone. “Please, let’s not waste any more time. Take the contract out, we have our pen.”

“…” Pretieta looked at the village head, slightly taken aback. Then, she nodded before using the Covert Space bag her father gifted her when he returned to the Sect, taking out a pale brown parchment with the intricacies of becoming the Forbloffende Traes Sect’s territory and under ‘Darkness’ rule. The village head only read it once before pinching her left ring fingertip to poke the parchment with it.

Thereon, the first expansion of the Forbloffende Traes Sect’s territory commenced. It started with a village, and it followed to another, led by one of the two Inner Disciples, to get rid of the perpetrators who have once given shelter to criminals.

The village in question was subdued first despite their dodgy behavior and unwillingness. Then, under the Sect rules, Pretieta caught every person in a leading role and publicly executed them. Sons and daughters were not spared, as their attitude was not pleasing to Pretieta nor the Outer Disciples. Like this, the darkness and natural hegemony of the Forbloffende Traes Sect… commenced.

. . .

While the Forbloffende Traes Sect had become a loud conversation topic, seen moving through the south without anyone stopping them. Not even the groups of cultivators there, waiting for an opportunity to make their First Step organizations away from the north and the center, could or showed signs of wanting to do anything.

Thus, the Vrida Region watched as little pieces of news after news traveled from the south to the center, before finally spreading everywhere else.

The small territory south of the Forbloffende Traes Sect didn’t move a finger. Although their gray clothed often went out to gather information, being so close to the Sect, they didn’t move too much, afraid to attract the flying Peaksky Swan’s attention.

They were the main source of information traveling to the center and north, whose reactions weren’t nice to the Sect’s expansion, but since it was the south, they didn’t feel too bothered. They only watched attentively, in case the Sect disciples found a Powerful Stone ore and decided to mine it. Like hyenas watching lionesses hunt.

Meanwhile, after a week and a few days, the nearly 200,000 forest people camping outside the recruiting zone finally entered the Sect. That’s right, entered. They didn’t just give the testing grounds a try, but directly became members of the Forbloffende Traes Sect an hour or slightly less after walking into the kiosks.

The territories could do nothing to stop it. Only the small southern territory watched and reported as those numerous tens of thousands became Servants and Outer Disciples directly. It was clear they were prepared, not only regarding Craftsmaking, but their battling capabilities were probably the best among the younger generation.

That much could be discerned with a slight awareness in the cultivation world, let alone Heian Ciemnosc, whose ‘eyes’ were everywhere in the Region. These tens of thousands of forest people were the best among their younger generation.

Not only that, but they were forced to heavily train their Craftsmaking profession. All of this just so they could immediately become Outer Disciples upon passing the Forbloffende Traes Sect’s quirky testing grounds. The forest people showed diligence and decisiveness in their determination to achieve something.

With Saon’s guidance and convincing, the forest people took the decision to do as they wished after the Gori’s mansion was uprooted and forced to flee to the south, far from any forest. With these actions, not only did the relationship between the forests and the territories worsened, they also gave the former an opportunity to seek where to grow even stronger; a threat.

Coupled with the Sect’s ‘raging’ response to having their territory invaded of expanding throughout the south, not giving a shit about the territory to their south. They circled and further increased their scope as settlement after settlement peacefully accepted the Sect’s rule.

Although it wasn’t a generational organization, it felt like one, with how the Sect and the settlements saw each other and agreed to the other’s demands. It was simple. Heian Ciemnosc would replicate his success through previous operations in the settlements, securing them with military, arsenal, and teaching.

They would also be connected by new roads, and their settlements will have new buildings related to the sect, new trade, and they’ll have direct connection with the Forbloffende Traes Sect. They would now have priority when the daily recruitment period commenced, not just their children, but anyone who wished to give it a try.

After all, before 80 years old, the pay was good, and it could maintain an entire village worth of civilian families for decades, for only 1 month’s worth of time in the Sect as a Servant.

However, the Sect was nowhere to the point where all these things were possible. They lacked resources, and manpower. The latter was being trained, and it would be completed in due time. However, the former was impossible to simply take, especially under the territories’ eyes.

Since the time has come where discord seeded between his Forbloffende Traes Sect and the territories, a little later than expected, mostly due to the lack of attention the Sect received, Heian Ciemnosc could no longer meditate 25/7.

The day the expansion continued and the last forest people from the first batch of a couple of hundred thousand entered the Sect, Heian Ciemnosc stood up and announced a 3 classes-per-day in the military college. And who else but the Sect Master to give these classes? They would echo through the inner territory for the upcoming few decades.

Heian Ciemnosc had to take action, at last. He will guide these hundreds of thousands of auxiliary units and reinforce the south, but also to grant them the knowledge and enlightenment they required to rapidly attain the peak of First Step Craftsmaking.

As it is one of the possible requirements to obtain the [Chronicles of Life and Death] Art, Heian Ciemnosc needed soldier units to fight, not auxiliary units. Even if he could use the latter as soldier units, they wouldn’t be his Sect’s troops, but more like a militia. In his darkest eyes, such soldier units without at least 1 Art that complements them and makes them iconic and worthy of their organization are nothing but disposable cannon fodder.

Although the Crimsonbreaking Faction was different. Each Soldier there was a scary individual to the ordinary cultivator, let alone a new one. Heian Ciemnosc’s training regimen would make his Sect soldier units even more solid and indomitable than the Crimson troops. What’s more, with the boundless and unique knowledge he possesses, he’d make every soldier unit an elite one in the Sect’s enemies’ eyes.

Thus, from the second month onwards, Heian Ciemnosc appeared in the military college’s widest classroom, with array formations and devices showing his classes in every classroom of the military college. Even then, not even a third of the military college was filled, occupying only about 10% of all classrooms within it.

Those in other classrooms could connect with Heian Ciemnosc, whose array formations would show however many people raised their hand or sent Spirit Sense to ask a question, and he would respond to each of them with swiftness and truth.

These classes had to start at night and finish just before early morning so that even those working in the testing grounds wouldn’t miss their classes. Furthermore, they were divided into 3 different subjects. First was cultivation’s 4 power sources, not 3; one’s energy, bodily strength, Soul, and Spirit Sense.

Second was Craftsmaking; forging, alchemy, caretaking, inscriptions of array formations, and talisman creation. Lastly, the third was nature; Disasters, balance, nature reading, knowledge, one’s heart, and the nature of all things in all that exists and there is.

This was just fundamental, but to the Servants and Outer Disciples, even the brand-new, well-prepared Outer Disciples; they felt it was an overwhelming amount of knowledge. However, after acclimatizing to the Sect’s nature for a week and a half after everyone joined the Sect, it seemed only fitting that they should learn this.

The work Saon Gori busied himself with for 4 years brought the Sect ample attention from the leading forest people. When his mansion was practically assaulted, that attention finally sprouted in the forest people themselves. The rage and hopelessness of not being able to do anything brought them to the Sect, where those who had already prepared their younger generation were welcomed with open arms into the Forbloffende Traes Sect, sincerely.

With such success, the rest of the forest people wanted to try it, too. But the requirements were still quite a lot. Thus, after a month since the first batch of forest people flooded the kiosks, another arrived, with even more numbers, albeit with much less talent.

Nevertheless, their preparation was on equal grounds, and even though not even half became Outer Disciples, the others, who became Servants, weren’t that far from becoming one. In fact, they were more advanced than the 400 thousand Servants that had accumulated by the 44th year since the Sect was established, their seniors.

Peace remained king and queen in the Vrida Region, sovereign of the Region’s nature, even as the Sect commenced to see its resources lacking. The territories became more tense as the Sect’s territory expanded even years after, albeit much slower. Some of the new terrain they gained had already encompassed more than half the ores the territories discovered in the past.

It was doubtlessly a fact that actual tension started forming between the territories and the Forbloffende Traes Sect. Those ores were theirs, why wouldn’t they be? Yet, the Sect disciples were stepping on top of them, and they didn’t even seem to bother contacting with the territories’ organizations’ gray clothed.

The Sect still had the guts to send their people into the forests and the rest of the central and northern settlements to accomplish missions. The people were glad, of course. The efficiency the Sect disciples had was the same as in the south.

However, no matter how many Inner Disciples the Sect brought up, they never took a confrontation mission from the center or north. They only showed their battling capabilities to the south. Even when there was conflict between the youngsters, the disciple whose sparring was in the middle would participate, acting like a leader, and keep the Sect’s foundations behind closed doors.

Some might call this cowardly, others scheming. But while they did learn those things in the Sect’s Book Instruction, or ‘manual’ as it is colloquially known as the years passed, by the Servants and disciples, they only did this out of disdain towards the north.

Many of the Outer Disciples were forest people, while many Servants were still those from everywhere around the Region. Regardless, the Sect’s teachings avoided any kind of bad blood between them, as they were one once they entered the Sect, or they were nothing.

…