Rieren didn’t see what became of the Clanmistress, or of Gorint Malloh when he followed behind her. Her departure to deal with her clan politics signalled Rieren’s release. She was finally free to return to the peak of the Stannerig clan’s mountain and continue her cultivation.

Though, before she could do so, she had to find Silomene first. Neither Avathene nor Gorint Malloh had been sure of where Yonvig and Mavolen’s henchmen might have taken her.

Thankfully, Rieren had an idea of what she could do to find out. At the rear of the Stannerig estate, the Spirit Beast she and Silomene had ridden in on was still awaiting her. But it wasn’t alone.

Oromin was standing by it, scratching its back and feeding it from a sack.

“Ah, you have returned,” he said. “I am glad the Clanmistress decided to release you.”

“Would you have done anything if she had not?” Rieren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not. But I would have felt a smidge bad at the loss of a strong ally.”

“Of course.” She eyed how familiar El was with Oromin. “I take it you know the beast?”

“Yes. It comes from my clan, after all.”

“Ah.”

Rieren should have connected the dots. The way Silomene was so familiar with the Spirit Beast was a hint that it came from the Tarciel clan, and the way Oromin was from the same clan as well. She had simply thought the Spirit Beast was Mercion’s.

“I imagine you are concerned about Silomene,” Oromin said. “I would not worry overmuch, if I were you. Neither clan would wish to offend the third most powerful one in the Shatterlands.”

That also made sense. With both Archnobles in contention with the other, if the Tarciel clan threw their weight fully behind any one clan, they would surely emerge the victor in this unsubtle struggle.

But Rieren had left Silomene alone once before. It wasn’t as though that had led to disastrous consequences, and she hadn’t been callous so much as needing to prioritize herself and her growth. Nevertheless, she didn’t wish to forsake her friend again. Especially, since there was no Mercion to look after her.

Her mouth twisted, recalling exactly what Silomene had said about her clan. She was certainly getting no help through that direction.

Rieren’s ears picked up a soft, distant meow. She looked around, spotting Batcat flying in before landing several paces away from her. It had landed before Oromin could see it in the air. Now, it padded over, looking for all the world like a regular cat, minus the bat wings jutting from its furry back.

“Ah, what an adorable kitten,” Oromin said. “And strange too. I suppose it must be yours?”

Rieren decided not to take offence at the connection. “Can you take care of El?”

Oromin raised an eyebrow at her. “What does it look like I am doing?”

“Then I will leave it in your capable hands.”

“I will assume the Clanmistress has granted you permission to resume your business.”

“Yes. In fact, not only that, I have been charged with the duty of stopping the Aetherian’s imminent invasion.”

Oromin paused his brushing of the Spirit Beast’s scaly flank. “The what?”

“I am certain you did not mishear me. But first, I have another task I must see to.”

Leaving Oromin behind with too many unspoken questions, Rieren headed around the estate downslope and urged Batcat to follow. She wasn’t exactly certain where to go at first. However, she did have an idea about who might know.

Once she was well out of the cultivator’s earshot, she knelt down to the cat’s eye level.

“Batcat,” she said. “I need you to find me the direction they took Silomene. I need to find her and make sure she is alright. Can you locate the memories of those who abducted her?”

The winged kitten looked straight into her eyes. Rieren stared back. With an almost humanlike nod, Batcat turned around and scampered off in the direction of the estate.

Rieren didn’t want to head back and get caught by someone, but she supposed the kitten had to have a good reason for heading in that direction. The abductors might have exited through that direction. Batcat might be able to pick up some memories that confirmed it.

But the kitten didn’t stop there. Instead, it kept on going, past the estate grounds downslope on the other side of the mountain. Rieren frowned as she followed as fast as she could. Had the cat already seen those who had taken Silomene? That was the only explanation on how it could know where to go.

Rieren would have been more careful, but Batcat was running pell-mell with little concern. That suggested there were no traps or anyone who might spot her nearby.

Their journey wasn’t as long as Rieren thought it might be. Near the base of the mountain, they came across a little compound. It reminded her of the outposts on the frontier. Small, compact buildings, a wall enveloping the whole area, and a tower overlooking the surroundings.

Batcat had slowed down as they neared the little compound. Rieren got the sense there might be those within who could sense her and the kitten.

“Is that where Silomene is?” Rieren asked.

Batcat settled on its haunches and looked unerringly at the distant wall. Rieren decided to take that as an affirmation. It was time for her to act.

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She nudged her head to one side. “Make some noise elsewhere for me, will you?”

The cat stared at her as though to ask how. Rieren had no clue. She had to focus on her side of the next step. Batcat ought to be intelligent enough to figure it out on its own.

Rieren summoned her Domain and turned the burgeoning water into steam. She dissolved her presence in the spreading vapour so that it couldn’t be pinpointed in any one location. As soon as her Domain had appeared, she had sensed several Essence spikes going off in the outpost. There was more than one person there. This was going to be a bit complicated.

She moved off, Batcat heading in the other direction. Briefly, she wondered what it had decided to do. It had done well to distract the Banishedborn months back. She could trust the kitten to stay safe.

Rieren reached the compound walls around the same time she heard a few people moving off. They sounded confused. All the better for her.

One person remained behind, however. That was fine. She would just have to hurry.

Rieren vaulted over the wall. No runic formation went off, or anything of the kind. This was a lowly outpost on the side that wasn’t supposed to receive any attention. The dissidents occupying had likely not expected anyone to make a move against them here.

The man who had stayed behind wasn’t completely foolish, unfortunately for her. He was channelling Essence, his Domain active around him.

It was one of the stranger kinds she’d experienced before. At first, it seemed as though there was nothing. But then the body of a large serpent passed through the ground as though it was made of water.

Essentially, the whole Domain was a Domain Summons.

Rieren would have sneaked past him and his gigantic serpent, but he had positioned himself before where she needed to go. A little pit just behind him held a great deal of Essence. Rieren suspected that might be where they were keeping Silomene trapped. She had to check it either way.

She couldn’t move forward just yet, however. While she had dampened her Essence signature, her opponent had to have other senses.

From what she had seen before and knew of the Stannerig clan, even their senses took after the Essence-crafted serpents they channelled. That meant heat and motion were the worst culprits against them. This was going to be complicated.

Rieren fine-tuned her control of her Domain to summon her Domain Summons. She had to start off small, keeping the Dawn Cloud as nothing more than a puff the size of her head. A slow application of power allowed it to grow bigger fingerbreadth by fingerbreadth, though she had to make sure its consistency remained mostly similar to the steam all around it.

Then she made the Dawn Cloud wrap itself around her body. It seemed reluctant for a second, but she glared at it, and it soon complied.

The feeling wasn’t pleasant. Her robes were immediately drenched, water flooding the pores on her skin and the tiny space between her hair. Rieren did her best to ignore the sensation. The only things left uncovered were her nostrils to allow her to breathe and her eyes so she could see. Everything else made sure her temperature would be obscured.

Then she approached her opponent. Distantly, she was certain she heard some slight commotion, likely where Batcat had got the attention of the others. Hopefully, it would be okay.

Rieren ensured all the noise of her motion was as minimal as possible and repurchased her Receptor sword from the System Shop. She could perhaps take on the guard with the help of her skills. Something told her he was at least in the Exalted realm. Not as bad as an Archnoble in the Ascendant realm, but for someone in the Enlightened realm, still almost unbeatable.

If Rieren hadn’t had her skills.

The closer she got, the more dangerous it became. If the cultivator didn’t sense her, that underground snake certainly would. Nevertheless, Rieren crept closer and closer—

Until she was spotted. The gigantic snake slowly bared its head out of the ground. It reminded her of the first Arisen she had fought, the one that could swim through the ground and clamber over thin air. This suggested Rieren wouldn’t be able to avoid it even if she rose higher with her Dawn Cloud.

As the enormous serpent glared in her direction, moments away from confirming that she truly was there, its sudden appearance alerted its summoner. The cultivator turned around.

Perfect for Rieren. She let the cloud dissipate and launched herself at her opponent. Of course, the cultivator was powerful and fast. If Rieren had simply intended to rush past the giant, surprised serpent to attack her enemy, it wouldn’t have worked. The man was too quick. That was why Rieren activated Gale Blade as soon as she threw herself forward.

The skill blurred the world as she flashed at her opponent. She was already holding her sword out. The blade sliced past the large, glowing snake, leaving a deep groove along its lower jaw, before slashing into the cultivator.

His speed came into play. That was why Rieren’s first hit wasn’t fatal. As a cultivator in the Exalted realm, he was able to react even if the time he had to do so was on the level of a fraction of a blink. He used the same technique the Clanmistress had used. Large, golden serpentine scales covered his limbs and his clothes, and his eyes had turned ruby red as well.

Rieren’s sword slammed into the scales and left a deep groove, cracking several and leaving a bleeding gash on the cultivator’s toros. But it was nowhere near as deep as the one on his serpent. It had also absorbed a great deal of force.

So, when Rieren quickly turned around to launch her second slice in the space of half a breath, the man was ready.

He had turned to face her as well. Quick on his feet as his realm dictated. His entire right arm had turned into a glowing serpent, which he shot at Rieren like a beam of energy.

She was already shooting forward with the second slash of Gale Blade. Rieren’s sword clanged along the length of the onrushing smaller snake. She was able to save herself from being slammed or bitten by it. But that also meant that her second slice was even less effective than her first one.

While she managed to catch the cultivator on the shoulder, it left only the shallowest of wounds before she was past him. The momentum imparted from her strike had also turned him around to face her again.

Not great. This was not going at all according to plan.

“Who are you, so willing to throw yourself to death?” the man asked.

In the brief moment before her next attack, Rieren took him in. A tallish, thin man with a close-cropped dark beard. Bits of grey in his dark hair were the only signs of advanced age. The cream-coloured robes that generally signified allegiance to the Stannerig clan was covered by a heavy cloak, though it was slashed by Rieren and covered by his scale-summoning technique.

The more important thing was the power coming off him. Rieren noticed how the air swirled around him, how the Essence came in thick and fast. He was rapidly bringing his full power to bear against her, recognizing the full threat she represented.

Great. A protracted battle wouldn’t be to Rieren’s favour.

All that happened in the tiniest pause, though. She hadn’t really stopped, and she didn’t intend to. Instead, Rieren launched into Gale Blade again.

“Your death,” Rieren said as she slashed past him.

The skill was at A-Grade. Its power would give even Ascendant realm cultivators pause. Her current opponent might have ways to mitigate the damage it dealt, but it was still effective to a good degree. He couldn’t react fast enough while Rieren was in the motion of one of the slices, and his defence couldn’t fully stop her blade. The two bleeding gashes were good proof of that.

Which was the main reason Rieren kept up the pressure. The man had pulled out a sword from his storage ring. It was enough to reduce the effect of Gale Blade even further, but it certainly didn’t grant him enough space to counterattack. Not while she was shooting past him.

With the third slice over, leaving even less of a wound across his upper arm, Rieren twisted around to perform the last slash offered by the skill.

“Weak!” the man screamed. “Now die.”

For a heartbeat, she wondered how he intended to kill her when he was constantly on the defensive thanks to her skill. But it turned out he had never meant that she was about to die to him. Why would he, when there was his Domain Summons to kill her for him.

With an ear-splitting roar, the gigantic serpent burst out of the ground next to her.