Chapter 405

Chapter 405

Lungs burning and muscles aching, I signal Zabu to stop and hurl Unity like a javelin, spearing a fleeing cannibal clean through the torso until the crossbars lift him off his feet. Drawing Peace as a precaution, I check the surroundings for threats and find none, though some still could be lurking about in the murky darkness or tall grass. Unless the Enemy regroups and returns for a second attack, the Imperial Forces are victorious tonight, or at least they are in the area around Sinuji, only a single sliver of the front lines. While retrieving Unity, I hear the faint sounds of battle off in the distance, where another section is still engaged with the Enemy, but only dead and dying Defiled remain as far as the eye can see.

As the adrenaline fades and exhaustion settles in, I leave Rustram, Bulat, and Ravil to handle the aftermath under Daxians supervision. Theyre as well-rested as can be considering the circumstances. Five days of hard travel wasnt too bad especially considering no one had to walk, but Id like to have a full day to recuperate before heading out on patrol. Rest is a luxury the Empire can ill-afford, but I think Colonel Hongji will be willing to accommodate. Even if he isnt, Im happy to have a commander whos willing to listen.

Honestly, Im astonished at how receptive the Colonels been with regards to my suggestions, immediately implementing a handful in the few hours since I arrived. Lighting the fields was a given, since you cant hit what you cant see, but keeping our outer perimeter in darkness was all him, though Im undecided on how useful it is. Another suggestion he jumped on was establishing independent rapid-response teams, allowing certain units to bolster the front lines as they saw fit without need for micromanagement. While Sending is handy for quick communication over a distance, its not without its flaws. Although Im unsure of what the exact requirements are, I know the Sender needs to to be familiar with the recipient, since they need to pick the target out of a crowd of hundreds, or perhaps even thousands. With so many foreign soldiers under his command, most of Hongjis orders are hand delivered through sealed writ, slowing the lines of communication down to a crawl.

I made other suggestions like scattering rubble around the fields and creating firebreaks, but those will take time to implement. Truth be told, when I made my first suggestion, I was ready to be politely ignored or worse, but Hongji was more than happy to discuss my unorthodox ideas. Maybe its his age, which at fifty-five years old, is surprisingly young. Being a Martial Warrior, hes still in the prime of life, but I figured thered be someone... with more experience holding a position as important as the centre, or at least someone of higher rank. Since the Legate picked Hongji, I assume the Colonel either has plenty of political clout or is so outstanding no one could argue the choice. Regardless, Chen Hongji is a man Ill want to befriend, since one can never have too many well-connected and/or talented allies.

Ha, Im finally learning the ins and outs of politics. Luo-Luo will be so proud.

Upon returning to camp, I impose on my Death Corps Guards to prepare a hot bath so I can wash away all the blood and gore. Its not so bad in the middle of battle, but no one likes to be covered in dried, caked blood, not even quins. Tired from lugging my heavy ass around all day and night, Zabu lays on his side as the wagon quins gather around to groom him, an adorable sight to behold. Unfortunately, Im not sure if my dignity would survive a quin-tongue bath and I know my skin certainly wont, so I rinse off my weapons and wait for the water to heat while listening to reports from Rustram.

Idling in Nan Ping has spoiled me, as I can no long stomach bathing in cold water. I couldnt bear to part with the fancy stone tub, so I brought it with me to the front lines, but the way I see it, the more baths I take, the happier Ping Ping will be. The happier Ping Ping is, the more likely she is to stick around, so its a win-win, especially when you consider the bigger picture.

While Ping Ping and Guan Suo are idle slackers, the Protectorate are monsters on the battlefield.

Tonight was the first time they saw action under my command, but I discovered the Protectorate were made of sterner stuff after convincing them to join in on group training. Their shabby clothing and inconspicuous manner kept me from seeing the truth before my eyes, as their ranks hid more Experts and Captain-level talents than any other unit under my command, all gathered for what they consider a Holy Purpose. They lived a hard life out in the wilds of Ping Yao, keeping the Divine Turtle safe from poachers and other unsavoury sorts, but under Guan Suos supervision, they trained themselves into an elite unit on par with Akanais Khishigs. Bow and long-axe are their favoured weapons, and they handily dispatched all Defiled forces sent against them on the northernmost flank of Sinujis defences, with minimal injuries and no deaths.

Or at least thats what Rustrams report says. I never made it that far to see for myself, as by the time I cleaned up the Southern flank, there were no more Defiled left to kill. Cowards. Where are the Defiled who fight to the bitter end? I was just getting warmed up. Granted, Id much rather soak in hot water and listen to reports than slog through a mire of mud and blood, but variety is the spice of life.

The reports continue coming in as I scrub myself clean, and a clear picture of our first proper battle emerges. Dastans unit took the most injuries, which makes sense considering they saw the most action, but even the worst off will recover without Healer intervention. We lost a few horses which stings, but better a warhorse than a Martial Warrior. Other than Dastans, most of my other units played a support role, firing projectiles from behind our allied meat shields, but Im not thrilled with the results. The new repeating crossbows designed by Diyakos team are lacking in power, and even though the Defiled will eventually go down if you fill them with enough bolts, it now becomes a question of cost versus benefit. With how ineffective the crossbows are, is it even worth carrying them around? We have about six-hundred repeating crossbows and a metric shit-tonne of bolts, which equals to a whole lot of extra wagons slowing us down.

Its something to think about, but Im not ready to give up the ranged advantage. At least the Monstrosity still holds up, though not many of my soldiers can handle the aptly-named triple shot arbalests. Since most were there to begin with, I put all the beefy Monstrosity wielders into Ulfsaars unit. According to Prans report, they performed well and maked much death, which is a huge leap in Prans literacy, if nothing else. Other than that, there isnt much else to say. The Protectorate cleaned house, Ravil and Bulat stood around with their thumbs up their asses, and Li Song and Yellow Unit proved their worth by fighting side by side with a scion of the Xue Clan. Its always nice to make new friends, and Im glad to see Song reaching out, though her choice of ally is a little worrisome. On paper, the Xue Clan are allies of the Han Clan and the Han Clan are allies with the Bekhai, but in reality things arent so simple. Due to our personal friendship, BoShuis father, the Han Clan Patriarch, needs to think twice about his original plan, in which BoShui plays the part of sacrificial lamb for the true heir. A cold and heartless way to treat your own son, but such is the world we live in. This has understandably strained on our inter-faction relationship, though the world at large isnt privy to the details.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Truth be told, Im not entirely certain how it changes anything. On the surface, the Han Clan is as supportive of the Bekhai as ever, though I think its more to piss off the Situ Clan than anything else. Besides, its not like it matters, my status makes me all but untouchable, so BoShui and Zian should be safe from their respective Patriarchs.

While my Lightening and Reinforcement Keystones were crafted in a day each, I spent the better part of a week figuring out what to do with Amplification. My first thought was to use the forge and bellows, pumping air into furnace to represent the build up, then unleashing in when I strike, but after practising with it a few thousand times to no success, I took a step back and started from the beginning. What was I hoping to accomplish with an Amplification Keystone? Amplification is a matter of building up energy and releasing it at the proper time and location, a process which I hoped to simplify, but with the forge and bellows, Id already failed. Instead, I turned my attention to the hammer and anvil, two objects which were not only already in the forge room, they were also perfect for representing the same process. Lift the hammer to build up energy, smack the anvil to release it. Higher equals more energy, louder equals bigger boom, cant get any easier than that. Whats more, the metallic clang gave a far more visceral response than the heated bellows, and as I played the sound in my head, the pieces fell into place.

Did I really need to envision lifting the hammer and striking it down? With my other Keystones, I briefly picture each one to activate or deactivate it, and then it manipulates my Chi in the background, so why cant I do the same with Amplification? The hammer lifts and builds up Chi, moves the Chi to the proper location while descending, and explodes the Chi when hammer meets anvil, a wholly automated process from start to finish. All thats left is to get the timing right, which is much easier than it sounds given that the hammer is an imaginary object, it technically moves at the speed of thought, so all I have to do is imagine the clang as my weapon strikes and the hammer would move to match it.

Its a little like tapping a beat with your foot and matching it by snapping your fingers. Super easy to sync up, except in this case, the snapping is a quasi-complex Chi action. When swinging a weapon, you more or less know when youre going to hit, unless your opponent does some tricky dodging or parrying, so now, my success rate with Amplification has shot up to nine out of ten. The funny thing is, I still cant figure out the rock flicking thing, where Charok fires pebbles off with his fingers using Amplification. I suppose it goes to show that everyone learns things differently, so I guess the Bekhai teaching method of figure it out on your own isnt entirely full of shit.

We all must forge our own Martial Path, yadda yadda. Id still like a few pointers every now and then and a lot less mystical mumbo-jumbo.

There are still a lot of Keystones Id like to make, but thus far, Ive yet to come up with any working ideas. A Honing Keystone would be nice, but Im pretty good at Honing already so its not exactly a priority, and Id probably need a separate Keystone for each weapon. Otherwise, I might accidentally Hone Peace while its still in the scabbard, which would not only be a waste of Chi, itd also be embarrassing when it drops out of its broken sheathe and onto my foot. I could also make something for Guiding, but the process is so instinctual Im afraid to fuck things up by thinking about it. Reverberation is an option, sending shock waves through my weapons to attack my opponents internal organs, but I dont know how to Reverberate yet, so a Keystone is out of reach. Id also like to automate Chi gathering and Chi Water creation, but Ive had no success with either venture. I figured the first would be as easy as using my Runic ring as a Keystone, but sadly, it fell flat and I couldnt figure out why.

My best guess? It doesnt work because reaching Balance requires a modicum of effort and concentration. When Im not meditating, Im not Balanced, and without Balance, I cant commune with the Energy of the Heavens. No Balance, no Chi or Chi Water, Keystone or not. Who knows for sure though. Its all guesswork from here on out, though itd be nice to get a second opinion. I suppose itll have to wait until I meet with Mom and Dad again, though with luck, Ill have a big surprise in store for both.

Stepping out of my room, I peer into the void where hundreds of Spectres wail and screech, offering threats of violence and promises of power if Ill only set them free. Pleased with my harvest, I take a deep breath and prepare for the coming unpleasantness. Opening my mouth, I regurgitate all the Chi Water Ive bound in the past month and send it surging out to cleanse the Spectres, all while wincing at the unpleasant phantom sensation of vomiting more than my stomach can hold.

This is all Blobbys fault. Not only is he not here to deal with this, because of his actions, I cant imagine storing Chi Water any other way.

After turning all the Spectres into sweet Heavenly Energy, I deposit their remains into the wooden chalice and slurp up the excess Chi Water. Somehow, this is even less pleasant than puking it out, probably because now its like drinking second hand vomit. Id love a better storage method like a squirt gun or something, but sadly, I cant get it to work. Whatever, its a small price to pay for the energy of creation, as Taduk so aptly put it, and while a few hundred Spectres are far from enough, there are still plenty more out there to Devour. With a little luck, a lot of hard work, and drinking like a thousand litres of Spiritual Back-wash, Ill eventually gather enough Heavenly Energy to help Mom walk again.

And maybe, just maybe, Ill have enough left over to treat myself to a little something special. Dare I say it? Can this really be happening? Is the dream alive?

Two words: Bear. Hands.

Please, Mother in Heaven, make it so...

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