Chapter 147: Spare The Rod.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but… the last few days hadn’t been kind to the man. Joseph looked exhausted, he was chewing something. Gum, probably but based on how twitchy he was, it might have been a stimulant or something to help him stay awake. He’d been constantly on the move since the assault started, focused on taking out hard targets with his rifle.

A rifle that was easier bigger than he was and oddly shaped, almost like a cross.

There were no gold ranks yet, but… it was only a matter of time and when that happened, no doubt Joseph would be the man to take them down.

Still, we caught him at a good time. And I asked him about what the general said, about there not being enough time.

“That’s not possible.” Is what Joseph said. “I did the math, hell, I even had the numbers ran at the headquarters. We have time, there’s no reason to do anything like that. Hell, we should be close to activating the engine as it is.”

“Well, is there any substance to what the general said?” I asked.

He moved to speak, to vehemently deny it, but after a breath and a pause, he considered.

“Yeah… even if the original inhabitants aren’t a huge plus, if they die, it does lower the power draw of the Exodus Engine, or rather, the total power needed to activate it. That… and well, he isn’t wrong. If one of you dies, that is a huge amount of energy that will flow into the realm. More than usual.”

Disconcerting, but… Joseph continued.

“I promise you, I would have never made the offer I did, if I didn’t think this was possible without any sacrifices. I would have never made this plan with the intent to hurt or betray any of you.” He said with such sincerity that I couldn’t help but believe him.

That, and it seemed unlikely he’d form such a convoluted plan. After all, it sounded like a plan a detached CEO would cook up. Someone whose so far removed from the affairs of those at the bottom, that they’d think a plan like this would work.

We left him, but… he seemed bothered by something and I highly doubted he’d sit by and do nothing. Not with what we told him. Once we were away, Diana spoke up.

“What does that mean though?” She asks. “Is the general right, or wrong? Is Joseph right?”

“I’m not sure to be honest… I think it might be best to get everyone together to discuss what happens next.” I say, though, I already had an idea of what was going on.

“Your probably right… this is why I hate leading.” She murmured, “It was like this, even back then. Everyone is constantly backstabbing, with contrived plot after plot…” She bit her lip. “A den of vipers is what they were.” She said, and looked ready to rant more, but before she could, we found ourselves near the palace gate, meeting with everyone. Everyone had a mix of injuries or were in different states of being. Exhausted, tired, near their limits.

There was a lot to talk about, a lot to break down. I went over the pertinent points; Diana backed me up here and there. All without voicing my own suspicions on why this was happening. The overall question was whether or not we continue, or if we should cut our losses and find some corner to hide in until the realm collapsed.

Opinions were divided. Knowing that the leadership had tried to get them killed, had nearly gotten me killed, it made them all wary of continued cooperation. Especially when Diana backed up what I said.

There wasn’t a good answer, per se. Nothing concrete. As we couldn’t decide on what course of action to take, it quickly shifted into discussing where it went wrong, and even here, I kept my mouth shut.

Though, I could tell, some of them had started to connect the dots.

Eventually, it was Faust that raised a good point. “What if somethings wrong with the Exodus Engine, I mean, has anyone checked on it since we started?”

I wanted to dismiss that, but… I mean, surely Jospeh had kept an eye on it? Or had some means to monitor the damn thing. Only… seeing his condition, I doubt he had the presence of mind to check on it. Which left only one person, the overall clan leader. The Xiao clan leader, the ancient that was seated before the monolith known as the Exodus Engine.

But, leaving him alone with it, without any monitoring? That was dumb, stupid even. Though… what could he do to the engine in the first place? What would he gain from sabotaging it? Would he have? And surely, the damn thing must have some kind of safety, right!?

Did he meddle with it and cause damage, is that why he needs to reduce the load? Is he just covering his ass?

That seemed oddly logical all things considered and yet… was that really all? In the end, despite my misgivings, “I guess we’re going to have to check on it…” I said with a sigh. There were some that caught onto the meaning behind my words. As they tensed, looked alert.

“We’re going to need to form up into two groups. One group, with me, will go check on the machine. The other needs to organize and prepare the next phase of evacuation.” I continued, eyeing each person present, mentally cataloguing who would be best for what was to come.

At my words, there were questioning looks, small murmurs.

“Was there another phase?” Someone asked.

“No, but we’ll need to make one. If the machine is compromised, we’ll need to either buy more time or be prepared to flee. Either way, it would be better to prepare, just in case.”

I glanced at Diana. “Do you think you could do that?”

Against my expectations, she shook her head vehemently.

“I’m going with you.” She said firmly.

I was going to argue, but Serenity of all people spoke up.

“I can lead the evacuation, but… who are we evacuating and where?”

“The people, I’m sure the palace grounds has enough space for everyone. We’ll begin a mass exodus, pull them from the shelters and bring them in here.”

“I don’t think the palace guards will be too happy about that.” Someone else brought up.

“Probably not, which is why we need two groups.”

“And the generals?” Diana asks. “I doubt they’ll get involved.”

“They won’t care. Rather, they’d probably help if given the chance to do so. Serenity, if you’re taking the lead, you’ll have to deal with the generals.” I say and pause, “Actually, just tell them what you’re doing. Don’t bother coordinating. Let them deal with the soldiers, you and those with you will focus on the civilians. If they fight, well, put them down if need be.”

Serenity nods with a grim look on her face.

“Those with me will need to be ready for combat.” I glanced about, nobody argued. “Ruth, Raksha, Morrigan.” I started, each stepping forward. “Claire, Joan, and… Diva.”

My last call out caught Diva off-guard.

“Me?”

“Yes, your magic is useful. Claire can act as a rearguard, with you and Joan acting as support, we should be good. Morrigan, Ruth, and Raksha are all good melee fighters, and well, we also have Diana.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ll be taking center.” I said and well, there were no other questions. Terra seemed like she wanted to join in, but she also knew her magic was better used to help with the evacuation. Faust thought about joining in too, but apparently the magic density would make it difficult to use his own magic.

As we went through the list, and as I confirmed that, yes, Serenity wanted to stay.

“My magic has good damage potential, but I’m better suited to triage.” She answered back. And really, she was right. Her magic needed to be done via touch, or close proximity. Which limited her use in a combat setting.

With the final bits and ends hashed out, including handing over the control rod for the golem, we were ready to head out, but…

“I want in too…” Liche popped in seemingly out of nowhere.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m not too good at a frontal fight, but… if I see an opening, I can slip in, I think. And well, I can’t just keep sitting around.”

I nod.

“Sounds good, glad you’re with us.”

She smiled, and fell in. As we walked towards the palace, and more specifically, the vault. Another conversation took place.

“If we fight that old guy, how strong is he?” Ruth asked.

It was an open question; nobody was too sure how to answer.

“He was stronger than the weird dragon for sure.” Morrigan said.

“Yeah, and his presence was definitely stronger than the heart.” I say.

“What about the Wickerman from the second event?” Diva asks. “I mean, he was kind of scary.”

“He was nothing compared to the old man.” Ruth answered back, I concurred.

“The dragon was absurdly strong, but… it felt muted in a strange kind of way. Especially compared to that ancestor.” I said, not that Morrigan or Liche understood the frame of reference, hell, nobody would besides me. So, I clarified.

“I think the Wickerman was a bit of an outlier. He didn’t seem to have any additional abilities or perks, so for Gold ranks, he was actually fairly weak. The dragon, and these monsters we’ve been fighting seem to have an absurd vitality and magic resistance that makes them difficult to face, but it doesn’t really feel like they have any notable perks or abilities either.”

The others nodded, though, not everyone did.

“I don’t know anything about a wickerman, but the knight I fought was fairly tough during the second event. I don’t know about any perks, but he was oddly coordinated with his mount, that was a gold rank too. They might have shared vitality, since they died at the same time.” Raksha said.

“The foot captain was tough as well. He was gold rank, but I think he might have had a perk that let him absorb damage and add the force to his next strike. It actually broke my pick when I was fighting him” Diana added, which made me curious, is that what caused her to awaken it?

“The scout captain was… tough too. He was slippery, and it seemed like he could ignore magic. Maybe that was his, perk?” Liche said.

“He wasn’t too tough.” Joan followed up with, “His cloak was magic immune, hit it with magic and it would wash right off. Any weapon, or… a knife could easily cut through it” She paused at the end there, suddenly becoming self-conscious about something.

“Really? Is that how…” Liche started to ask, but Joan was already moving on. All too quickly we began to compare experiences, and swiftly put together a power scale, of sorts.

The heart and wickerman were on the lower end of the power scale. Both in terms of magic and combat power. Neither had any additional benefits, as far as we could tell. With the heart only being able to mass produce zombies. The opponents Diana and company faced during their second event were likely all mid-tier in terms of power, having some kind of gimmick added on. Though, it might not have been a proper perk, but rather, they might have just had magical equipment that mimicked a perks effect.

Which begs the question, had anyone managed to liberate any of that equipment? Based on what Diana said, it’s likely that the magical item was the soldier captain’s shield, which she broke. For the knight, maybe the saddle or reigns? Which, were probably destroyed during the fight…

And for the last one, the cloak, I couldn’t help but glance at Joan, who currently looked rather, suspicious…

Regardless, I don’t think any of them were the best representations of what a gold rank could do. Especially when compared to the Alraune Grim had fought in the depths during that monster hunt.

As for the Dragon, its magic quantity was notable, but again, I’m not sure it had any notable perks. It just had an absurd vitality and magic resistance, and well, toughness.

“So, the old fossil, you think he might be a High-Gold? Same as that noisy dragon?” Morrigan asks.

“I don’t know…” I said honestly. “He felt a bit stronger than the dragon we fought.”

“Do you think he might be a platinum?” Diva asks hesitantly.

“No.” I said with absolute certainty. A few others followed up, agreeing with me.

“That tiger was something else, I was on the other side of the city and I felt it.” Raksha said. Ruth agreed. I did too, giving my own account.

“So… What if he’s an Absolute-Gold?” Diana asks after a beat. “Can we even handle that?” She follows up with.

I looked around, and to Morrigan, she was smiling, but I knew why.

“No, definitely not. Not as we are.” I answered, causing the group’s pace to stutter.

“Seriously?” Raksha says. Ruth, just nods and answers.

“I can see that, if you had so much trouble with your gold ranks, I don’t see how you could handle that dragon of theirs. Especially since none of us have uniforms.”

And as much as she hated agreeing with Ruth, after a pause, Raksha had too. After all, the only reason Morrigan and I had held our ground was because of our uniforms. Joan had been far out of the fight, and she’d been nearly killed by the shockwaves of the fight.

Raksha might be able to heal, but… after fighting me, it became clear that it wasn’t omnipotent. That she had her limits.

That realization put a damper on the mood, but…

“But it’s not like we’re fighting him at his best, right?” Ruth says, looking at me. “He looked ready to keel over with a slight breeze, sure he’s strong, but how much power can he actually put out and for how long?” She continued and everyone nodded.

“You’re not wrong Ruth, but it’s not like we’re looking for a fight.” I decided to say. “After all, this could just be a misunderstanding, right Diana?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, you’re right. It might just be a minor issue, not something worth fighting over.” Diana said, though… “I highly doubt that will be the case though.” She muttered under her breath.

“See?” I say to the others, completely ignoring Diana’s muttering, and I could tell nobody believed that it would be a peaceful meeting. And really, I couldn’t blame them. This felt too right, too perfect.

Regardless of how I felt, we proceeded to hash out contingencies a plan of action. Or, at the very least the framework of a plan and formation. Which led to me asking what kind of songs Diva had, and their effects. She was hesitant, but still, she informed me what she could do, well me and everyone else.

Just as we arrived near the vault, we had the makings of a plan, and it was also when we met our first obstacle.

Up to this point, nobody had bothered to stop or slow us. The palace guards had seemed distracted, probably because of what was happening just outside the palace walls. Which is probably why they didn’t bother with us.

The moment we went down the stairs towards the vault though, that was where the threat was. Barring the path was a familiar face, along with a number of notably strong individuals. All of them were young.

At the forefront though, was… Liu Lian.

As we approached, she banged her spear into the stone. “The vault is off-limits.” She stated, head high.

“Really?” I say. “Why is that?” I continue.

“The Qi density must remain high. Too many interruptions may disrupt the machine.” She said with full confidence.

“I didn’t know that was a thing…” I glanced around, and… “But it seems you let Joseph in.” There, in the corner was his rifle.

She frowns. “He was given an exception by the ancestor.” She replied back, calm as ever.

“Well, why can’t he make an exception for us? Something is going on with the machine, and we need to check in on it.” I say, hoping to resolve this diplomatically.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I was given orders to not allow anyone inside, especially you and your ilk.”

I frowned.

“And where is your grandfather?” I couldn’t help but ask.

She scoffed. “He’s valiantly leading our clansmen to face off against those monsters.”

“And you’re here, under the ancestors’ orders, specifically to bar us from entering.” I say, answering the unsaid statement.

“Indeed.” She says and nods.

Well, that wasn’t suspicious at all…

“Do you think you can even stop us if you tried?” I asked.

“Of course, I’ve grown stronger, and I’ve seen all your little tricks.”

I wonder where the hardworking girl went? It must have been her recent breakthrough, that and getting acknowledged by the ancestor, or whatever. It’s clear her head had gotten too big and that she was just looking to get herself killed. Her and her whole posse, but luckily for her, she ran into me.

And I was feeling quite magnanimous today.

“Well, if you wanted a spar, all you had to do was ask.” I say and step forward, rifle in hand. With a thought, the bayonet formed into being at the tip of my rifle.

She snorts and gets into position. “I won’t lose again.” She says with a sneer.

I take a glance behind me and see their puzzled looks, and among all, the concern. But… honestly? I was fairly confident.

Looking back, I can see she hasn’t moved. If anything, she was waiting for my move. Which was, hilarious. As her training dummy, I’d given her the initiative every single time. Just because of a single breakthrough, did she think she could beat me?

Without a word, I readied and charged.

A charge she met with ease. My bayonet’s edge crashed against the haft of her spear, all too easily she shifted aside and swung the butt of her spear into my side. I quickly moved aside, and what happened next was a blur.

A quick series of blows, each clash echoed out. A blur of silver and the black of her spear. Of metal clashing with metal. Sparks kicking up with every greeting of silver against steel. Just as suddenly, even in the frozen world, she moves and moves just a smidge too fast for me to react. Her foot lashes out, cracking into my chest, her spear thrusts forward, aiming right for my face.

My head moves, the spear slides by, cutting into my cheek. A shallow cut, but a cut, nonetheless. Which was, impressive.

With our positions reset, she lets out a long exhale, takes up her stance again. Her body vibrates with energy. Her entire being focused, her body tensed like a spring awaiting release.

“You’ve definitely grown stronger.” I say, still as calm as ever. Her confident demeanor was gone, replaced with a serious look.

She doesn’t reply and I could feel the tension in the air. The worry, the shuffling bodies. If I failed here, we’d likely go to blows, forcing us to kill everyone here. And to be honest, those fears weren’t unfounded. Liu Lian had grown stronger. She could easily keep up with me in my uniform and even outpace my ice.

It was also clear, that she knew my moves inside and out. There was no way I’d be getting the drop on her. If anything, the longer the fight went on, the more one sided it would become. That was at least what everyone thought, save for one person standing behind me with a wild grin on her face. Eyes alight with joy and anticipation.

There was also Ruth, having caught that something was up, but not quite certain of it. Raksha seemed confused, Diana was frowning, unsure. And if anything, upset we were even doing this.

Still, I was confident. Confident that at least in this moment, I’d win.

With a stomp I charged forward. My rifle, met her spear mid-swing. Another dizzying clash passed. She moved forward, pressed in, her spear snapped into my rifle and…

It flew from my hand.

She barked out a triumphant laugh at seeing me disarmed, her body moved to follow through. But… by then, I’d already stepped in. My hands grasped out, one grabbed her arm, the other reached for her shoulder.

“Huh?” She voiced out, just as I finished my maneuver. One moment, she was standing, the next she was sailing in the air. The very next, on the ground with my knee on her chest.

I could have told her to concede. Given her a chance.

Did I?

No. After all, some discipline would do her good.

With cold efficiency I brought my fist up, and right down, into her face. Cartilage broke. The sound of my solid fist, almost like granite cracking into her face was loud in the underground area before the vault. Each blow, echoed, reverberated. Making those standing in attendance wince in sympathy with every blow.

I only stopped once I was sure she was down. Face a mess, nose mashed. Every breath came out a gasp, coughing and hacking up teeth and blood.

Calmly, surely, I got up and kicked her on her side where she was in no danger of choking and dying. I glanced over at Joan. Just that look was enough to spur her into action as she ran up and began healing Liu Lian. Just enough that she wouldn’t die.

And while she did that, I looked over the gathered group.

“So… who’s next?” I ask, all the while wiping the blood off my knuckles.

As one, they stepped aside. Giving way to the vault door.

As we made for the door, well…

“That was metal!” Morrigan said.

“Straight to the point.” Ruth said.

“A little overkill, no?” Raksha said, showing a bit of concern for the beaten girl.

Diana though, was quiet, considering. Liche had nothing to add, and Joan, well, she seemed unconcerned by the show of brutality.

And all too quickly, we stood before the vault door. Shoulders were squared, glances were shared, and with a collective effort, the doors were pried open.