NOVPUB’Hey, Razorstella. We’re like...stupid close to the front gate. Is Tortallion still cool with letting us in, or...’
[Er...sorta? He mentioned something about needing to give your great grandaunt and the boneless bastard empowering her a "proper" welcome. Whatever the hell that means.]
’Ah, dammit.’
...
"Xiao Liu, why are you having the puppets tie ropes around our waist and attached to the mast."
"Just trust me on this."
"But the entrance to Undertow is right there!"
"Again, just trust me."
Once the expeditionary force passes the rock formations, they were now a hop, skip and a jump away from the doorstep of the Undertow Kingdom.
At first, many of the Zhen Clan warriors assumed that it was a myth, or at the very least, it was an entirely different underground kingdom.
They reason believed this to be the case was due to how most records of the Storm Queen and her activities had essentially disappeared into hearsay, unreliable narrators and active suppression.
No emprie ever wants to regale their people with how they were defeated or injured by another power. Even if they just so happened to be in the wrong when they got their teeth knocked in.
Regardless, now that they were for sure heading towards a city that had long since been considered one of the weirdest holes in the Pearl Scale Empire’s history, the reactions among the warriors have been rather...mixed.
<<I can’t believe it...Undertow is real? Truly?!>>
<<What are you so excited about? Don’t you know the rumors that it’s haunted by the spirits of the damned?>>
<<Books say the place is home to mutant Bloodliners. Those whose blood lean more towards their bestial halves than their human ones.>>
<<The streets are lined with pearls and the waters that flow are as sweet as honey...>>
<<Paradise for the poor and downtrodden, an impervious fortress towards the nobility.>>
<<Are you sure it’s real? All I see is a wall.>>
When the Zhen Clan forces finally arrived at their destination, it appeared that at a glance, they were in the middle of nowhere.
Aside from several weirdly shaped rock formations behind them, a cavern walk in front of them and cave ceiling above them, there wasn’t anything that even remotely looked like a city...in the eyes of most of the people present.
To certain individuals though, they could sense it clear as day that their destination was incredibly close...and that something or someone was making it obvious to them.
<<Ma’am, are you sure this->>
<<As sure as the ink on my skin,>> Zhen Xun Tian cut off her subordinates questioning. <<Feels like I’m staring directly at it.>>
"Hey...Zhen Hai? Am I going nuts, or..."
"You’re sensing a weirdly powerful flux of an energy that you’ve only felt from Xiao Liu a couple times during battle?"
"Yup."
"Same."
’Oh... that’s what he meant by a proper greeting.’
[Hey, Razorstella’s back.]
[Hello, director.]
’Welcome back, how was your stay?’
[Fine.]
As the Zhen Clan expeditionary force was dealing with the presence of this weird energy, Razorstella finally returned to the [Storm Queen’s Galleon].
Unlike Hurricroak, who returned to the ship after capturing all of those false tracker tunas, Razorstella decided to stay with Tortallion up until Zhen Liu and the others caught up. As to why she did so...Zhen Liu didn’t know.
During her stay, Tortallion requested that after the initial bombshell conversation that whatever else they discussed at the time would remain private. The reason for this request was unclear, but it was fine by Zhen Liu.
He was probably gonna find out eventually.
Regardless, if Razorstella was back then that meant-
Sound of someone circulating their aether and [Chaos] to the point that it sounds like an explosion went off.
<<OW!>>
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Suddenly, and without warning, a heavy pressure slammed down on the Zhen Clan warriors like a ton of bricks.
Thanks to their training and discipline, the Zhen Clan warriors didn’t pass out or outright die due to the sudden pressure, but this also meant that they were forced to feel just how unmatched they were in terms of cultivation power!
<<T-this feeling!>>
<<It’s like the Matriarch’s! An Aether Emperor?!>
<<No...it’s worst!>>
<<Oh ho ho! Now this is interesting...,>> Zhen Xun Tian observed with a maniacal smile of glee on her face and her back straight. As an Aether Emperor herself, there was no way she would allow herself to pressed down by a mere flex of aura.
’Nostalgic...but different.’
The only other time she felt an aura remotely similar to this was when she faced down the War Elder, but even that paled in comparison.
Whatever was pressing down on her felt ancient, wise and yet...familiar. That latter feeling evidently caused her back tattoo to kick up an even bigger fuss, almost as if it was overjoyed.
’Now, I wonder who-’
<["Who dares to loiter in front of the gates of Undertow?!"]>
’There it is.’
"What the hell am I hearing?!"
<<Why do I understand it?!>>
From the wall that was looming in front of the Zhen Clan warriors, a booming voice that was as deep as the abyss, called out to them in different overlapping languages. It was almost impossible to parse through, but people could get the gist.
Especially after the owner of said voice descended from the dark heavens like some kind of messenger from the beyond.
<<Is...is that a turtle Bloodliner?>>
<<It looks like it, but... something feels off about the features.>>
From above came down a turtle-like warrior wearing a gladiator-esque armor and wielding a mace with a shield. The mace itself was shaped like the open maw of a snapping turtle, while the shield itself appeared to be an oversized turtle shell.
Whether this shield was made from his own shell or come from an external source wa shnclear to the onlookers, but they could feel the power radiating off of him with no problem.
<<Matriarch! What do you want us to->>
<<MINE!>>
Sound of someone acting way too reckless for their age.
<<Mother?!>>
As the turtle warrior descended, Zhen Xun Tian decided to float upward in order to meet him face to face.
Eventually, the two warriors were eye-to-eye, at a midpoint between their two starting points.
Once they were in the same level, both sides began to eye each other up. As well, their respective auras began to push against each other.
Several moments of silence passed before the two warriors decided to introduce themselves...in a manner befitting warriors of their status.
[The one who stand before you is known as Tortallion of the Unbreaking Shore, one of the Storm Knights that have vowed to protect the Undertow Kingdom until his very last breath.]
<<Impressive,>> Zhen Xun Tian nodded, all while doing her best to suppress the growing smile on her face. <<I’m known as Zhen Xun Tian, the current matriarch of the Zhen Clan. Although, I prefer the title of Inked Asura. Pleasure to meet you.>>
[Inked Asura...as dramatic in death as you were in life old friend...makes sense to me.]
The two Aether Emperors stared each other down for a solid minute, their auras doing all the talking. That stated, the onlookers couldn’t help but to be confused.
Although the two warriors looked ready to rip each other to shreds, not a single ounce of bloodlust could be sensed coming from them. If anything, it felt as if they were two old friends about to exchange blows for the sake of showing off what they learned over the years. Now they were just waiting for someone to make the first move.
<<Elder Zhen Xun Po,>> one of the warriors called out while keeping himself hidden in the [Luminescent Ark Serpent]. <<Should we try to assist or...>>
<<Don’t bother,>> the son of the matriarch dismissed with a wave of his hand. <<Mother feels like having fun today.>>
...
’Well, I can safely say...he is not what I was expecting...’, Zhen Liu thought to the kaijin as he watched Zhen Xun Tian square up with Tortallion.
At this moment in time, the kaijin were all on one side of the ship in order to get a better look at the upcoming bout, while the only three humans on board were tied to the mast with safety harnesses.
The pretense in which Zhen Liu managed to get away with this was, to quote, "The puppets are gonna run defense if shit goes sideways".
This was a partial lie.
[You mean, you weren’t expecting a turtle shaped knight kaijin to come down and challenge your great grandaunt to a bout of fisticuffs?,] Hurricroak asked. [Also, who got who on winning?]
[Tortallion.]
[Matriarch...]
’No, I mean I wasn’t able expecting him to use his own shell as his shield. Well, wearable shield.’
[Ah.]
’Also, how long do you think this friendly spar is going to last?’
[You’re more qualified than us to make that judgement, milord.]
’In that case...I suggest y’all bust out the popcorn.’
[WOOOO!]
