NOVPUB’Actually, rephrasing, why are all of the kaijin giving off the exact same feeling of murderous rage at the exact same time? It is taking a lot out of me to not act on it.’
=Because one of your predecessors is being done about as dirty as a mummy in 19th Century England.=
’What the what, why are you the one making weird quips? Isn’t that Pathos’ schtick.’
=Not for this.=
’Ominous.’
<Ignore him for now, you’ll understand in a couple of moments.>
’What do you mean in a couple of-oh. Oh...that’s what you mean.’
<Yup.>
=How’re you feeling?=
’Well...the logical side of my brain is saying that fighting that guy right now is a death wish and I should just let the main clan matriarch do it for me.
<=But...=>
’The emotional part of me is telling me to eat his face.’
=There it is.=
’This is very conflicting.’
<Can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but try to keep a level head, milord. I think there might be a way for this to not end badly though.>
’Oh?’
<Just keep an eye on what happens next.>
_____________________________________________
[Gigant’s Smash!]
*BAM!*
<<Grk!>>
<<Alright, who’s next?!>>
With another swing of her avatar’s arm, Zhen Xun Tian smashed yet another Fallen Clan warrior into a splatter in her clan’s arena, while saving the life of another one of her clansmen.
Many Zhen Clan members had becomes casualties of inglorious deaths this day, and as their leader, Zhen Xun Tian felt the most responsible for their deaths.
Months ago, she had received an incident report about a treasure being stolen from the Zhen Clan vaults, the same treasure that the Fallen were now using to sap the strength from her subordinates and kin.
From the report, she learned that whomever stole the treasure was most likely a member of her inner circle, but she had no idea of knowing who it was exactly. As such, she had planned to investigate every member of her inner circle on a lowkey basis, act as if nothing was wrong, and that way she wouldn’t alert whomever this spy was that she knew they existed.
Unfortunately, this meant that she couldn’t delay any major events the clan had planned as the backbone of Willow Scale City, like the Zhen Clan competition or the Sapling Festival, lest her movements would cause the traitor to get spooked.
Hell, she even had to act incredibly aloof about the idea in front of her high elders and son, during the time her captain of the guard informed them of a Fallen Clan plot, because she was starting to doubt even her own high elders.
’And now look at this mess. When I find out who that traitor is, I’m going to squeeze the life out of them!,’ Zhen Xun Tian cursed as swept her gaze over the arena to determine who she was going to smash into pieces next.
However, her smashing was going to be on a premature hold due to the sudden appearance of the ringmaster of this whole fucking affair. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
<<Haha. I see you haven’t lost your touch for violence after all this time, Patchwork Demon.>>
<<That voice...>>
<<Over here.>>
Zhen Xun Tian spun around from her position in the air, towards the direction she had heard that sickeningly sweet voice.
Once she did though, she was greeted by a most unpleasant sight: her son and the rest of the High Elders being held hostage. Evidently, the blood fog had managed to weaken the four of them long enough that the Fallen could overwhelm and injure the lot of them with a mix of sheer numbers and using the warriors that were only a step or so weaker than them. Hence why Zhen Xun Tian could see that each of her high elders were being supressed by three Grandmasters each, while her own son was being held captive by a pair of Aether Lords.
Needless to say, the sight of this situation angered her to the utmost maximum, so much so that her [Avatar] started to look downright sinister.
<<What the-you bastards! Let them go or I’ll->>
<<Ah, ah, ah. You may be faster and stronger than me, but my men can still snap their necks faster than you can snap theirs. Do you really want to take that bet?>>
<<You...>>
From the group, floated forward a middle-aged looking woman, dressed in a form fitting [Regalia] that made her look like a war goddess that focused more so on strategy than savagery, a sharp contrast to Zhen Xun Tian’s look.
A bident shaped [Astra] in her hand and an [Icon] in the shape of a demonic crab emblazoned on her chest, made it clear that this woman was a peak Aether King.
At the sight of this woman, Zhen Xun Tian couldn’t hide the look of disgust on her face. Because this woman was none other than the leader of the Fallen, Gao Shen Yuan.
The leader of the Fallen had this look of contempt and superiority on her face as she stared at Zhen Xun Tian, a surprising choice given the power gap between them.
The difference between an Aether King and an Aether Emperor was one stage, but the actual measured power difference was like the distance between two port towns on separate continents. In other words, incredibly noticeable.
Zhen Xun Tian understood this, so did Gao Shen Yuan, which was precisely why the latter had to resort to hostages.
Every fiber of Zhen Xun Tian’s being wanted to go all out and wipe out this haughty bitch and her subordinates, but she held back due to the precarious situation her son and the rest of the high elders were in.
This unfortunately meant that she was now forced to listen to the Fallen leader run her stupid mouth.
<<Well what do you know! The Painted Demon does have a heart, how cute!>>
<<Please...>>
In response to this obvious sarcasm, Zhen Xun Tian rolled her eyes.
Ignoring this obvious disrespect, Gao Shen Yuan continued.
<<You know, it wasn’t easy waiting for as long as we did, making a deal with that traitor, stealing the [Malice Blood Urn], waiting and waiting for the exact moment you all let your guard down so we could attack not only your precious competition, but the foul prison that held our kinsmen. But it was worth it.>>
Once again, Zhen Xun Tian rolled her eyes at Gao Shen Yuan’s little speech, not wanting to give the bitch the satisfaction of an attentive audience, until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something and someone that could help her out in this situation.
They just needed to make sure nobody was looking their way.
<<Oh how I longed to finally exact revenge upon you, your wretched clan, this accursed city and this whole disgusting empire! And now it’s within my grasp,>> Gao Shen Yuan continued. <<And honestly, it feels great.>>
<<Really? Because from what I’m sensing, your funky little urn either broke or disappeared, because the blood fog around here is starting to look pretty thin,>> Zhen Xun Tian pointed out.
At this observation, Gao Shen Yuan’s eye twitched for a moment before she took a deep breath to steady her emotions. This moment had been a long time coming and she didn’t want the moment ruined by the smart mouth of some tattooed covered bitch. Besides, she was about to be put in her place anyways.
<<At this point...the thinning of the blood fog doesn’t matter, we have already achieved our objectives of not only thinning your forces, but also proving your incompetence of being hero cultivators. Tell me, do you know how many of the young warriors that participated in your silly little tournament have gone missing? How many would cause an international incident just because you all failed to protect them?>>
<<I don’t know, but I’m sure to find out once I rip the location of your headquarters from that pretty little skull of yours,>> Zhen Xun Tian retorted
At this threat of violence, Gao Shen Yuan simply smiled.
<<Oh...it won’t be me getting my skull ripped out of my head.>>
<<What’s that supposed to...oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!>>
Just as Zhen Xun Tian was going to question what Gao Shen Yuan was talking about, a sinister aura began to press down on the surrounding area.
As she looked up, she saw the face of a skinny old bastard that she regretted not burying in the ground all those years ago.
Gao Ao Long.
<<Of course they fucking let him out...>>
<<Well, well, if it isn’t the painted bitch. I’m surprised you’re still alive,>> Gao Ao Long mused. <<Are you ready for a rematch?>>
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Meanwhile, in another part of the arena...
"Alright, it looks like the rest of the clan has already reunited. Let’s see if we can...huh? Jin Fang, what’s wrong?"
"I...I’m not sure, Rianna. It just feels like...somebody is...no...more than one person is calling to me?"
"You mean like Xiao Liu and/or his mother?," Rianna asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering if one of her few human friends had finally gone crazy. Then again, crazy seemed to be the norm for her anyways.
"No...these voices feel...older?," Jin Fang replied while scratching the back of her head. "I just feel...that I need to be...over there."
"Towards the clashing Emperors, are you nuts?!"
"Maybe?!"
