Depthless Hunger-Chapters 473-476

Chapter 473: Feeling Out New Paths

So it turned out that Zin Nim's new body was gray all over, except where it was black. Omilaena's theory was that the dark blood had fully fused with her, providing coloring throughout the body. The most obvious was her lips, which looked almost as if she used dark lipstick, but Omilaena had taken great pleasure in confirming that the pattern extended to other places as well.

She blushed dark gray, too, which was adorable.

After that first time together Omilaena lay back, inordinately pleased with herself even though she hadn't been the one to achieve the breakthrough. She had suspected that there was a mental hangup preventing Zin Nim from advancing her Physique, but hadn't realized it could take this form, or that the result would be so powerful. The method ran contrary to all the complexion-focused arts the Pureflower sect taught, yet Zin Nim's skin was actually extraordinarily healthy as far as Omilaena could judge. Soft and yet supernaturally strong, resisting her needles like armor when she drew blood.

Well, what did all the jade maidens know? There was green jade too, why weren't they all astonished by dryads? As far as Omilaena was concerned, this gray skin was far more alluring, and she'd done her best to persuade the other woman of that.

Even so, she knew it would probably take more than that. Zin Nim had a lot of mental issues baked into her from how she was raised, and a lot of those had to do with sex and sexuality. It had taken her so long to figure out she was interested in women, it would take her longer to get rid of all those mental patterns.

That meant that Omilaena accepted that she couldn't fix all of Zin Nim's insecurities on her own, since they were so tied up in being viewed by men. Eventually they were going to need Kai to come and fuck those insecurities out of her. Omilaena wasn't put out by that... on the contrary, she was looking forward to it.

For now, though, Zin Nim cuddled against her side happily, forgetting about her family and all the issues that plagued her. Omilaena pulled her a little closer, relaxed, and for a time was able to forget her own.

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..

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As they traveled, Omilaena kept an eye on the other woman, just in case there was some terrible consequence they'd missed. While she doubted that anyone had undergone Zae Zin Nim's exact combination of trials, or used the Blackblood Physique with so many different entrenched powers, it was still risky to break new ground. Yet over time, she became convinced that they truly had broken into something new.

Despite the fact that Zae Zin Nim complained about not having a ship, to Omilaena's eye she seemed to be inexhaustible, easily able to train even while they traveled. In fact, she was clearly taking great joy in returning to all of her old training exercises and making progress in them after so long being stuck at E rank. Well... she was still at that rank, but she wasn't stuck anymore.

It took less than a day for Zae Zin Nim to suddenly let out a small gasp of joy. Omilaena glanced over at her soul and saw that she had increased her Physique by one level.

<

Name: Zae Zin Nim

Total Power: 1690

Cultivation: Earth Soul 62% (524)

*Heavenly Sash: Cultivation +10% (52)

Coldfire Corona: 33 (399)

Pure Yin Shroud: Spinel Rank (245)

True Blackblood Physique: E-1 (406)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

>

"That was so easy!" Zin Nim marveled. "I was just doing my old Brightwind routine to make sure there were no deviations, and I advanced!"

"You're just getting the normal advantage of being at the beginning of stage instead of near the limit," Omilaena said. "What's more interesting to me is that your Power went up by 6. That's not the way it should work."

"Yes, I suppose E rank is normally two per level."

"Sure, but the bigger issue is that D and C rank both seem to be five. I was wondering if you had somehow reached the equivalent of D rank while still at E, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

Zin Nim nodded to herself. "That fits the theory that this is something different. And doesn't that make sense? Kai was always saying that he was surprised how C rank didn't offer more. Oh! You don't suppose he could have gone in the wrong direction, do you?"

"Don't get yourself worked up over nothing." Omilaena ruffled the other woman's hair, which infuriatingly fell back into perfect position. "He may be on a different path, and if not, maybe you can dual cultivate him back in the right direction."

Another gray blush, another chuckle, and they moved onward.

They confirmed that they had escaped the patriarchs, but there were still squads of cultivators representing many sects under the Masterful Crown. Just to be cautious, they kept qi usage to a minimum, which was honestly more inconvenient for Zin Nim than Omilaena. The other woman didn't seem to mind, instead throwing herself into the traditional mana exercises Kai had taught her.

On their way north, they confirmed that there was no sign of the Krysali or the ship. Omilaena guessed that if they had been captured, they'd be tortured for information and then probably crucified as a message to her, so no sign was good news. Where they'd gone, however, remained an unknown.

Omilaena mostly reassured Zin Nim about things, but she was worrying a bit herself. Kai continued to advance inexorably with that insane double soul of his, and with this jump Zin Nim had leapt far past her. After so much effort to build perfect balance in her soul, Omilaena was far stronger than anyone she'd considered a rival, yet wasn't keeping up with her partners.

She looked over her soul and again saw nothing but the usual slow and steady progress:

<

Name: Omilaena

Total Power: 1360

Heart of Poison: Level 86 (344)

*Prana Jewels: Level +5 (20)

Lethal Artisan: Spinel Rank (305)

Ice Refinement (107)

Path of Venomsteel: Step 10 (150)

Physique: D-9 (245)

Soul Level: 8 (64)

Azure Core (+125)

>

Was it possible that by filling every capacity of her soul she had actually limited herself in some way? Kai and Zin Nim, with their massive advancements, still had capacities of their soul unfilled. It was theoretically possible that most people didn't use them all not because they weren't capable of it, but because there was a serious weakness to that method. Omilaena didn't have any strong reason to believe that, since so far using the soul fully had always been beneficial, but as she looked at the others, she had to consider it.

One day Zin Nim was doing another of the barbarian exercises: push-ups that ended with an explosive burst of mana that shot her into the air. Omilaena was watching her technically to monitor her Physique, but she was actually just enjoying the soft grunting sounds and imagining the other woman bouncing around in different ways.

Then, without warning, the power flowing through her body became more intense. Zin Nim gave a soft cry and turned her next push-up into a flip that sent her spinning overhead before she landed on her feet.

"I reached E-2 already!" She looked down, flexing her fingers. "I can feel the new strength saturating my body... it's getting slower, but this is still wonderful progress."

"Congratulations." Omilaena slid up beside her, holding her waist. "I'm glad to see you increased by 6 Power again, too."

"But... isn't that exactly what you would expect?"

"Normally, yes. But everything about your new Physique has been so strange, I was a little worried that it would be different every level or something weird like that."

"Ah, I see. It would actually have been interesting if it had been 7, like it was accelerating..."

Omilaena groaned and shoved her away. "You already have an unprecedented Physique of immense strength, don't get greedy! No, it's good that it's stable like this. Keep training and you should get consistent gains."

Another day, another breakthrough. Omilaena was glad to see the progress, so the question was just how much stronger Zin Nim could get before Kai returned. She didn't want to just wait for him, so as they moved, Omilaena continually considered other paths.

They continued traveling north through the unmapped forests, with absolutely no logistical issues thanks to supplies in their spatial items. Omilaena would have been happy just to continue like that - cultivators were overrated, with one particular exception. But when she noticed strange markings on some of the trees, she realized that they wouldn't stay alone for long. Yes, she could have pretended she didn't see, but she didn't really consider that for long.

"Remember this?" Omilaena asked. Zin Nim twisted in midair and reversed direction, then stared at the symbol.

"Oh, it's like in Krysal... but those were in rocks."

"They're adapting to the environment. Most likely the Krysali left these."

"Unless there is some sort of bird that makes exactly that symbol."

Omilaena stared at the other woman, then saw her sly little smile and rolled her eyes. Honestly, playful Zin Nim could be ridiculous, but it was better than the muted passive version of her.

Now that they were looking for the symbols, they found more. The code itself was pretty opaque, designed to be readable by the revolutionaries in Krysal but not those hunting them. It had been a very minor part of the revolution, but Omilaena couldn't help but notice patterns, so she analyzed the directions. Some were outdated, but they were clearly leading in a general northeastern direction.

They had very nearly reached the latitude of Floodisle City, though they were too far east, when Omilaena finally felt them. The group was well-hidden, with shrouds especially designed to obscure themselves from cultivators, but she managed to pinpoint them. From that point on, there was no need to hunt for symbols, they just flew to the remote location and at last discovered the Krysali.

When they arrived in the clearing, the guards leapt in shock, having completely missed their arrival. A few began to panic when they saw Zin Nim, though that was probably more due to her cultivator's robes than her new appearance. The merchant ship was seated on the ground, no longer hovering, and Cragrila appeared on the deck, calling for everyone to stand down. Not long after, Nirka emerged from around the side and sighed in relief when she saw them.

"I wasn't sure anyone would find us," Cragrila said as she jumped down. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if you'd survived."

"It was close for a while," Omilaena said. "Running was the smart decision."

Cragrila took a second glance at Zin Nim, but seemed to dismiss her new appearance almost immediately. Instead she gestured for them to follow her deeper into the camp. "Actually, we didn't do the smart thing at first, and it could have gotten us killed. I don't know what happened, but... well, you'll see..."

Past the Krysali guards, they reached a smaller clearing... and Omilaena saw the dryads. There were several dozen of them, some planted in the soil and some just seated under the trees. Given the cut of their robes, however, there was no question that they were from the village.

"We barely saved any." Nirka padded up behind them on bare feet and lowered her gaze. "The cultivators slaughtered almost everyone, but they weren't very organized about it. Some fled, some were scattered, and some survived after they teleported away. These are all that's left."

"It was a rough fight, even against their lower ranks," Cragrila added. "But we stole back some of the things they were looting from the village. You might want to look."

The dryads themselves seemed to be just refugees, both harmless and useless, but the possibility of treasures was interesting. Omilaena gestured for them to go and they were led to the lower holds of the ship, where a mediocre qi barrier locked away what little remained from the dryad village.

There were some common Cloudspire resources, like medicinal or qi pills, as well as some seeds that were slightly more interesting. A long spear-like branch was particularly intriguing, with far more chakra than average, but there would be time to investigate that later. For now it was a slight benefit, not a game-changer.

"Oh, there are more illusion wreaths..." Zin Nim placed one over her head and transformed into an average-looking old woman, though the aura of chakra was a little blunt. "These aren't as good as the ones Nymidria created."

"We still have better ones from her, assuming they still work." Omilaena found one and handed it over, but she was already turning away to Cragrila. "What are you doing out here? What's your plan?"

"We've been keeping our heads down," the Krysali woman said. "Obviously we can't do any more than survive, out here, but we know we're outmatched, so I'm not sure what else we can do. But we've been gathering intelligence."

"Really? How?"

"Not throwing ourselves into things directly, don't worry, but we've been watching all the ships and cultivators passing nearby. For a while everyone was in Floodisle City, including some incredibly powerful cultivators, but they've split up. Only a few remain... I think they might be vulnerable."

"Do you know exactly who?" Omilaena asked.

"The robes looked like the Purple River sect, or that's what the dryads said." Omilaena fixed her with an intense gaze. "They're beyond our reach, but maybe not beyond yours?"

"Sounds interesting. What do you say, Zin Nim, do you want to go infiltrate the enemy again?"

The other woman turned toward them, as if slightly puzzled, but the expression was on the face of a completely different woman. It looked like Nymidria's illusion wreaths survived her death, so combined with their rank slips, they could easily enter the city.

Omilaena began to smile as she considered the possibilities. Oh, she should be able to do more than just survive and wait.

Chapter 474: Ragged, Rushing Wings

The wind kept tearing against his face, and even though Kai's skin was completely immune to it, he still felt like was wearing him down. Given all the ways he'd enhanced his body, his eyes didn't water and his lips didn't chap, yet he just felt exhausted rushing across the Southern Reach.

Unfortunately, though his early victories had wiped out the majority of the cultivators, they had finally found an effective strategy. They would flare their qi in one location, then vanish before he could arrive. The problem was that the burst of qi might not be a decoy, and they had actually killed several people in brutal attacks. It seemed as though they were coordinating across the distances, some of them serving as distractions while others attacked.

They hadn't killed very many dryads, though. It seemed like they'd abandoned their mission in favor of survival.

He didn't think even they were bloodthirsty enough to kill for no reason, so they had to be working toward some goal. Could it be as simple as wearing him down? Kai would have bet on himself against any of the Earth Souls even in this exhausted state... but not Grandpa Wan Fei.

Thought of the patriarch and the young master distracted Kai as he flew. Was he just being naive, even trying to get through to the old man? So far Grandpa Wan Fei hadn't been part of these coordinated attacks, but if people died due to Kai's decision...

At least the Frontier elites were supposed to send someone soon, to help fight and to negotiate a way back to Cloudspire. Kai pushed himself harder, forgoing sleep in order to limit the enemy until he could reach that point. Another burst of qi appeared in the distance and he grimaced, increasing his speed to chase it down, just in case this one was real.

At least Thunderbird's Wings was growing. Kai chuckled humorlessly to himself and pushed onward.

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..

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Usually Kai just blitzed through Razorfall City, past the guards who had long since grown used to his crazed flight, in order to pick up information. When someone flagged him down and told him that Raghi Tonjin had recovered, he spent several seconds staring, trying to understand the good news. Didn't seem right that it should be good news instead of another disaster.

Somehow he managed to make it to Juray's home in the human district of the city, where he found Raghi set up in bed with Juray tending to him. It seemed like he was more than recovered, thanks to his Physique, but Juray was insistent.

Kai felt a strange stab of nostalgia at the scene... once Juray had been like that with him. He didn't want her specifically, and he was glad to see the two of them happy, but he longed for that same comfort. If only Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena were here... he brushed aside weary emotions and stepped inside.

"Glad to see you're looking better," Kai said. "You took a beating."

"Was hoping I could break through to D rank," Raghi mumbled.

"D rank Physique is a beast here on Deadwaste. Given some time, I could probably come up with something for you... everything really is a lot easier on the other continents."

"Come sit down," Juray said, gesturing to a chair on the opposite side of the bed. "Raghi has been wanting to talk to you."

"We never got a chance," Kai said as he dropped down into the chair. "So you came south with Juray?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I actually couldn't, at first, but the elites gave me permission later," he said. "Seems they want to test improving some Goralian Classes with southern materials."

"That's always been the ideal," Juray added, "but usually an unattainable one. This time, though... I think I've been making some real progress."

"And I get to serve as test subject. I'm not complaining, at least after you stopped making those lime-flavored potions."

Both of them laughed and Kai found himself smiling along with them even though he didn't know the reference. Yes, this was what he needed, even though he was still missing those closest to him...

"What about Lofgan?" Kai asked.

"Oh, he's still at the Frontier wall," Raghi told him. "Going into serious training with the elites, and trying to awaken an elemental power. Actually, that's been-"

They were all interrupted by the flaring light of one of the mana communicators. Juray snatched it off the table, irritated at first, then let out a sigh. When she turned to Kai to share the news of another attack, he already knew what to expect. He couldn't even get a few moments to rest.

"We'll have to talk later," he said on the way out. "There's just no time."

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..

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When the Frontier elites finally sent someone, it wasn't the backup he'd hoped. If it had been one of those he'd known, like Sheiri Kagskan, she could have handled the movements in the Southern Reaches and helped eliminate the remaining cultivators. Then he could have finally got some rest.

Instead they had sent one of their allies, an Earth Union man named Gorndron of Granitecrest. He had roughly 400 Power, but he wasn't clearly superior to the Earth Souls. It was kind of funny that both used the word "earth" - or maybe Kai was just so exhausted that anything seemed funny to him. In any case, Gorndron seemed to be more of a coordinator than a fighter, despite his strength.

"We can get you more teleportation mechanisms," Gorndron told him, "but I warn you, they're rough. You don't look up to a trip across the continent."

"But if I was fully recovered," Kai said, "and you focused all your resources on it, could you teleport me back to Cloudspire?"

"Not possible. The oceans are just too wide, and the chaotic energy interferes. Maybe this fellow on Cloudspire could do it, but that's beyond us."

It was a disappointment, but he'd gotten used to disappointment. Kai took a deep breath and tried to force his sluggish thoughts to engage... how long had it been since he'd slept? He'd trust Razz and Juray to handle the logistics of setting up future plans, so all he needed to do was convince the Frontier elites that this was worth investing in.

"What I'm hearing is that you could teleport me around Deadwaste."

Gorndron regarded him skeptically. "If you had a good argument for it. Even teleporting around a nation is uncommon, and going across the continent is costly."

"This isn't just about me, we can help each other." Kai rubbed his knuckles into his eyes and managed to refocus. "Do you have any serious monster problems that are causing trouble even for the elites? I could help you with those and we could help each other."

"There are always monster problems, son."

"Talk to the others, get some kind of list. Listen, as soon as I take care of this, I'm going to need to talk to people. Someone in Krysal and... the Wind Union. I'm not at my best right now, but trust me, this will be worth it for you. Irun is doing better thanks to me, right?"

"Thanks to one of your allies," Gorndron said evenly, "who I believe isn't here right now."

"And I can't get her if you don't help!" Kai realized he was snapping and pulled back. "Sorry, I'm exhausted. But trust me, talk to the people I've worked with before and they'll vouch for me. I can figure this out, I just need support..."

"Don't think I'm not sympathetic." Gorndron shook his head. "Look, I'll arrange everything. Don't get yourself killed before then, alright?"

Kai didn't even have the energy to give a proper reply to that. He stumbled out, driven only by Behemoth's Heart, and tried to consider what else he needed to do. Razz had been implying that there was some sort of problem with the Goralian Merchants Guild, and he wanted to help, but there were just so many higher priorities...

Before he even got back to the guild, he felt another surge of qi. Kai groaned and shot into the sky.

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..

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How long had he been awake now? Kai had no idea, and even the daytime sky was starting to look dark to him, a bizarre undulating color that was neither light nor shadow. He'd come damn close to one of the cultivators though, very nearly killing the woman before she used a short range teleport. Since then they had been more cautious as they realized that serving as a decoy could get them killed.

No new deaths, but still no appearance from Grandpa Wan Fei. If he actually managed to get the young idiot back to Cloudspire, would the patriarch ignore Deadwaste, or would he send even more forces to take revenge? There was no way to know, but Kai had to prepare just in case.

When he stopped by the guild to check messages, it seemed like it was actually night because there weren't many people around. Kai was about to leave when he saw Juray motioning for him urgently. He hastened after her, only to be led to an empty room.

"I don't like seeing you like this," she said quietly. "Can't you rest, just for a moment?"

"You don't understand." His words slurred more than he wanted to admit, but he pushed on. "Zin Nim and Omi are still on Cloudspire... they're outnumbered... they could already be... they need support."

"Kai, slow down and think. It's been weeks, and it will be weeks more before you get back to them. You have to trust them to take care of themselves. If they can't, then it's already too late. You aren't helping anyone by pushing yourself this hard."

"But... I..."

"Can you honestly tell me that one night will make a difference for any of this?"

"I..." All at once he sighed so heavily he seemed to exhale his soul. "You're right. I just..."

"Sleep, Kai. You need the rest." Juray coaxed him onto a cot and handed him a potion. He couldn't tell if had any effect on his soul, but the old taste was soothing and he drifted away...

Briefly, then he shot upright. It seemed like it had been no time at all, though by the light it was mid-morning.

Yet in that time, he'd recovered more than he'd expected. Beyond the restoration of his energy, his mind no longer felt like it was struggling through a swamp. Instead... well, it was more like he cut through swamps in his monstrous form. Kai burst out the door, ignoring the startled workers, and went to find Juray. She wasn't far away in her office and looked up at him in concern.

"Shouldn't you still be resting?"

"No, you were right, but I did that." Kai leaned against her desk, grinning. "Go get Razz and whats-his-name. I have a new idea."

Chapter 475: Twisting the Old Gambit

As far as Gorndron was concerned, training on Deadwaste was an endless series of brutal cliffs. Average folks with no real talent or opportunity might become warriors and end up with 50 Power or so. Then there was an awkward gulf for those with greater ability who couldn't make it to the Frontier.

Those went in all kinds of directions. Some got into three digits and were prominent members of an individual city somewhere. Others who rejected working with a major organization would top out at 100-200 Power or so, either becoming "elites" somewhere or going to another continent to die. Those who actually had what it took joined the Frontier guard, rocketing up to 300 or more, then found out how far their power could take them.

Gorndron himself had thought he was unstoppable, back in the Earth Union, but he had eventually come to realize how far his parents and upbringing had carried him. When it came to phase training, where there were no shortcuts and no excuses, he had faltered.

So he ended up in a strange middle ground... he would never be a true elite, but his 400 Power and knowledge of the incursions separated him from all the normal people. Sometimes he thought that he should have stopped earlier when he was actually impressed with himself.

Instead he found himself leading a mercantile shipment into the Southern Reaches, actually riding on a wagon as if he was a merchant. That boy had more backing than he had expected, so somehow the elites had agreed to support his plan. And since everyone was stretched so thin preparing for the incursion, the work fell to Gorndron.

Just a simple wagon train, but they'd brought two dozen guards... in the 100ish range, of course, so only formidable to those who didn't know what real power was. He was actually the strongest guard, and arguably his presence was necessary: they were moving an immensely valuable shipment of foreign qi to the Southern Reaches, ostensibly to support their allies there in return for assistance in the incursion.

How did this Kai Clanless have so much support? Krainuun, the new administrator of Krysal, been positive and wanted to meet him. And then Gunjin Granfian, who was Gorndron's rival within the ranks of partial failures, had been very strange about him. He'd voted in favor of the idea but seemed to be keeping his distance for some unspoken reason. If he didn't know better, Gorndron would have said that it was an avoidance mechanism. Hmm, they were both Goralian...

He was starting to think it was all a waste of time, or a bizarre joke, when the attack finally came.

The foreigner was wearing a local tunic and hiding his power, but with the spiritual sight taught at the Frontier, Gorndron spotted him instantly. This was an Earth Soul stage cultivator, so the guards had no chance. Gorndron leapt off the front wagon to intercept and they clashed in midair, both rocking back.

As they fought, qi techniques against earth barriers, Gorndron realized that this cultivator had also reached a sort of cliff. He had some potential, but he had stumbled several hurdles in and would never reach beyond that. Yet he didn't seem to have come to the same grim realization, instead fighting with utter confidence.

Perhaps some of that confidence was the fact that there were more: Gorndron heard the cries of pain and caught a glimpse of at least two other cultivators attacking the caravan. So the first was a distraction and the others would make off with everything in case they couldn't win. Guards would start dying at any moment, so he needed to act quickly.

Phase training had defeated him in the end, but Gorndron could reach a half-phase or two on a good day. He took a deep breath, tried to summon the deepest strength of the Earth Union, and launched a single spire of stone from the ground.

The first attempt failed and the cultivator knocked it aside, snorting scornfully. But the second attempt attained a half-phase and the spire of stone wasn't so easily destroyed.

It pierced through the opponent's qi technique and then his stomach. Not a killing blow, at least not immediately, but it utterly destroyed all of the man's attempts at techniques and changed the battle. The cultivators who had been trying to steal the qi shipment paused, realizing that their ally was in danger.

Gorndron turned and saw that there were not two others, but three. He couldn't possibly fight four Earth Souls... but he had to try. Remarkably, they seemed to be considering abandoning their ally and just running off with the shipment, which he couldn't allow.

"Come on!" Gorndron summoned three more earthen spikes, just underneath each cultivator. They didn't reach half-phases, and in fact weren't even very good attacks, but his opponents still treated them cautiously.

And moved to attack him.

As they hurled out qi techniques, Gorndron did his best to evade and took his shot at a defensive half-phase. But the qi still burned him, and even in the moments when he attained a half-phase, he couldn't ignore the attacks entirely.

What struck him, more than the danger, was that the others had always been right. The worst monsters during an incursion could do the same, tearing through defenses and eventually shredding the body. He had hit a wall he could never climb, against both monsters and these foreign opponents. Unless the plan worked - and there was no sign so far - he was going to die.

Then one of the boxes on the caravan exploded. It had contained only one item: a teleportation anchor. When Kai Clanless appeared beside it, his body destroyed the box and sent the fragments in all directions. His hair whipped madly in the wind and when he began to smile, his teeth didn't look quite human.

The cultivators, who had been so confident up to that point, let out cries of panic. Gorndron was getting light-headed, but he tried to raise the earth under their feet, binding them in place. They broke free easily, but the moment it took them to do that was a moment too long.

Kai was on them in that instant, hand going through the first cultivator's chest. It wasn't a true phase, but he used the half-phase like it was second nature, tearing through even the qi-reinforced flesh. Gorndron had planned to help and found he could only watch.

One cultivator attacked directly while two others retreated to prepare more powerful techniques. The one who got in range of Kai died almost instantly, and even while he was striking, a spike of mana shot from his shoulder and pierced another through the forehead. In an instant there was only one cultivator left.

Even though she was outmatched, the woman wasn't so slow compared to Kai that she had no time to act. She had gathered up all her qi into a single technique, and now she seemed to burn her soul itself, draining an essential part of her strength to create one incredibly lethal attack. A massive blue dragon formed around her, with incredible detail and intensity in its eyes. When it flew, it would sweep through both of them and destroy the caravan as well.

Kai simply exhaled, and he breathed out death.

The cloud moved unnaturally, the roiling movements and flashing interior looking like they came from a vast thunderstorm, vaster than the cloud could possibly be. It swept over the dragon and the cultivator, and when the darkness finally faded, nothing remained of either.

When it was over, the guards celebrated. Gorndron should have joined them, but instead he found himself staring at Kai.

It seemed there were people who had climbed past cliffs he hadn't even known, toward some peak he couldn't imagine.

"Good work," Gorndron had to say. "I shouldn't have been skeptical."

"It was a risk," Kai said politely, as if he hadn't just won a great victory. "Sorry you had to babysit the caravan for so many days."

"Why were you so confident that they'd attack? They had to be suspicious of traps."

"So far I'd been trying to stop them from killing the weak, and they were getting wise to that. But they aren't just bloodthirsty... you shouldn't underestimate how greedy they can be. Most resources on Deadwaste are worthless to them, but the idea of qi that could help them break through to another stage was enough to lure them out. All of them, apparently."

Gorndron frowned at the bodies. "Not all of them, right? Isn't the strongest one still out there?"

"Yes, but his behavior has been different because he's guarding the son of one of their patriarchs. If it's down to just them, I can finally justify working on some other things." Kai turned to him with a smile. "I trust you made contact with other groups, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. You'll still have to negotiate if you want anything important, though."

"Just to check, you weren't withholding earlier, were you? There's really no way to teleport to Cloudspire?"

"I told you the truth earlier. Not within our power."

"That's fine." Kai looked over the shipment and grinned, and Gorndron tried not to look at his teeth. "I'll just have to make my own way, then."

Chapter 476: Dryad Potions and Crystal Engines

The dryad district of Razorfall City was surprisingly different from the dryad village on Cloudspire, even down to what trees the dryads inhabited. They still favored shady open areas, but without the constant rainfall, the shape of the city was radically altered. Kai marveled at how it was strangely layered, because though the hills were much like any other hilly city, individual trees varied so much in height that the entire place was a vertical maze. It made sense from the air, in terms of sunfall, but on the ground it was a maze.

He was finally walking the city with Razz, able to take his time for once. In addition to catching up on all the details of Rayakan and preparations for the incursion, he'd been able to breathe. For one, he'd finally found that the city's name actually had to do with a specific type of leaf. Sharp, but not really deadly. Apparently the city was beautiful when the leaves fell, which wouldn't be until after the incursion.

"We'll meet up with Juray soon," Razz told him. "She's gotten way deeper into the dryad community than I have, because they actually really want her potions. Apparently it's a fundamentally different approach from the curatives they use."

"Mana instead of chakra, right?" Kai said. He was just making conversation, but Razz nodded as if he'd made a new point.

"It could be, you certainly know more about it than I do. This sort of thing is why Goralia has always wanted a stronger relationship with the Southern Reach, we've just had trouble speaking the same language."

"I know that's a figure of speech, but you literally do." freēnovelkiss.com

"Sure, but sometimes I have no idea what they mean anyway." Razz threw up his hands. "I actually get along fine with their merchants, when we're talking money. They even use our Goralian Eagles most of the time. But when it comes to anything personal... Kai, how are you supposed to know what women mean?"

"Uh..." Kai suddenly realized that Razz had been having a different conversation than he was. This wasn't the first time the younger man had tried to broach the subject. "Are you having trouble communicating with dryads in general, or one dryad in particular?"

Razz blushed and looked away. "Alright, you got me. She's a timber merchant, which might not seem fancy, but we need more timber in northern Goralia. She's just... the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Sometimes I think she's teasing me, sometimes I think she doesn't like me... that's why I had to ask."

"And you didn't ask Juray?"

"We talk about a lot of things, but she would never stop teasing me over this. Besides, I'm not sure she understands how difficult it is for men to understand women. It's like they speak in code..."

Normally Kai would not venture to offer an opinion, but he actually had a little more experience on this issue, so he did his best. "Razz, you have to understand that there's a mix. Some women will just tell you what they want. Some will make suggestions that, yeah, maybe, we should pick up on. But sometimes they'll also expect you to read their minds in a way that's completely unfair. You can't just lump all of those together."

"Okay, that's easy for you to say, but how am I supposed to tell the difference?"

"Does she go out of her way to talk to you? Does she ask you questions about yourself?"

"I don't know, we mostly talk about business."

Kai groaned. "Razz, are you going to tell me you've never had a personal conversation with this woman?"

"We've had extended business discussions!" Razz insisted defensively. "She's much friendlier than everyone else I work with, I just..."

"Invite her to do something that isn't business. Stop worrying about all this if you haven't even tried that. Seriously, her response will go a long way toward answering all those questions."

That conversation would soon go way beyond Kai's expertise, so thankfully they had almost reached their destination. Juray had invited them to a specialty shop in the heart of the dryad district, built in the shade of a dryad patriarch who was mostly asleep these days. The shop itself could have been from anywhere else in the city, and in fact had a Goralian-styled sign advertising Juray's services.

Inside, he discovered a shop filled with many of the bottles and working tables he'd grown familiar with back in Juray's house, except the walls were covered with living materials. Some of the vines seemed to be growing multiple different types of fruit, clearly some sort of dryad technique.

Juray sat on one side, turning to smile at them, but Kai's attention was drawn by the little old woman who sat in the back. She was tiny, barely coming up to his waist, with wrinkled bark-like skin and thin hair. When she looked up at him, she paused, then had to look higher.

"And I thought you exaggerated." The old woman chuckled and shook her head.

Had they actually spoken about him? Kai felt a moment of concern, then decided that he shouldn't start distrusting Juray now. "You must be Pyrinye," he said, going down on one knee to take her hand and kiss it. "Juray had spoken very warmly about you as her beloved mentor."

She hadn't put it in those terms, but it made Juray laugh and the old dryad cackled. "Can't say I expected it, but so it seems. The saplings don't want to learn the old ways, these days, then a human walks into my life who wants to learn just everything."

"They really do have remarkable techniques," Juray said. "I can't manage many myself, because I just don't have the essence for it, but I'm learning what I can."

"Your soul looked like you'd incorporated something, though?"

Juray eagerly told him about her work, which in part explained the Dryad Crucible in her soul. Apparently it was an alternate method of processing ingredients, wholly separate from her Class, which in some ways allowed Juray to skip over the weaknesses of her Class. He had to wonder just what Omilaena would make of it, since it seemed to be a remarkably strong synergy.

Kai got to chat with them for almost an hour, even donating some blood for use in potions. Apparently Juray had been refining her harsher potions for the Tonjin brothers, among many other projects. Anything he could contribute to that was a positive as far as he was concerned.

But even though they could have talked for a day or more, they were interrupted when Razz received a message through the communication device. He first just glanced at it, then sighed and gestured for Kai to step aside. They took a few steps away from the workstation, but were still within easily audible range.

"The elites say they're ready to take you to Krysal now," Razz said. "Seems like it was some trouble, so..."

"Oh, just go," Pyrinye said. "It's normal for young folks to rush around before getting rooted. I'll still be here... unless I'm dead by then, haha!"

"Alright, fine." Kai rolled his shoulders and realized that between some sleep and time to rest with old friends, he felt completely rejuvenated. "Let's do it."

They gave the signal and this time the method was completely different. Instead of the swirls of Cloudspire techniques or the abrupt jerking of recent teleportation, a door appeared in the air outside the shop. Gorndron stepped out and waved at him.

"Come on then, no sense waiting."

"Actually..." Kai glanced back at the others. "Can we bring them along? What's the harm?"

"The harm is that it gets more expensive the more people you send," Gorndron said. "I'm not even going back with you, now that the connection is established. This is draining some of our strongest mana users, so don't waste it."

As much as Kai liked the idea of traveling around the continent with them, he didn't want to strain the elites when they needed to be preparing for the incursion. So after brief farewells he stepped through the door, and immediately stood atop the walls of Yulthens.

In the time since the great battle, all of the walls had been repaired, yet there was no question the city was far from back to normal. Most obviously the giant banners were missing, and later he realized there were no more floating crystals that used to ornament everything. Those might be for the best, but they hadn't replaced all five of the great crystals, so the city's defenses were massively weakened.

Regardless, he was here for a meeting. Kai didn't have to look far to find the small delegation waiting for him, and fortunately it looked like they had some ship crystals with them. The first person he identified was Krainuun... the little bureaucrat was wearing the same sort of rumpled robes he always did, as if he wasn't the de facto administrator of all the Krysal City States now.

More curiously, he had another elite with him: Enalanis of Magma. After so long not running into any elites he knew, it was strange to encounter one... the man who had tested him for Elemental Nations powers and then declared him a failure. The sight of his hard eyes and flame-like hair stirred up more old emotions than Kai wanted to acknowledge.

Instead he headed toward the little man. "Krainuun, good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you again, but are you going to pick me up in an embrace or something?" Krainuun peered up at him. "There's really no need."

"Fine, glad to see you too." Kai restrained his urge to hug the old man and just grinned. Strange how time made old alliances feel so much more like friendships. "I see you got my request."

"Yes, and I assembled some of the engines we recovered from Cloudspire ships. Unfortunately, I can't offer you construction materials or any of the complete ships. We desperately need those for the defense of Krysal, because our ability to mobilize between cities has been reduced."

"That's fine, that's why I asked for materials from the Wind Union anyway." Kai glanced over to Enalanis of Magma. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"You've already received approval from our allies there." Enalanis spoke as if he didn't even recognize him, or at minimum had no emotions about their first meeting. "You mean to... put some sort of ship together that can cross the oceans?"

"Many ships can survive the crossing, but I need one that can do it fast. That's why we need an engine that runs on qi, and a stronger frame than you make here in Krysal. After seeing a lot of airships in Cloudspire, though, they tend to be for pleasure cruises instead of speed, so I thought Wind Union design might actually be better."

"It's possible." Krainuun nodded as if already making plans in his head. "We should be able to construct something within a reasonable amount of time, but be please temper your expectations, as it won't be tomorrow."

"That's fine, I have more business to take care of anyway."

"Wait." Enalanis of Magma stepped partially in between them, eyes ironically cool. "This is a significant use of resources, troublingly close to the incursion. Are we really going to give up valuable materials and time to be sent off to Cloudspire?"

Kai had known this was coming and tried to shrug it off. "I'll be coming back in the ship and bringing allies. You can keep it afterwards, if you want."

"And why should we believe that you will actually return?"

"Do you really doubt my commitment now? I have even more reason... oh, Krainuun! Cragrila and Nirka are both alive, and we rescued a number of other Krysali as well. We actually found a way to enhance their strength further that could make a real difference in the incursion."

"You're making a lot of promises," Enalanis of Magma said, "for a man with nothing to show but demands. Do you take these seriously, Krainuun?"

The little administrator looked at the elite, glanced back at Kai, then nodded curtly. "I do trust him, and in fact I will use my discretionary capacities to invest in this. I believe the preparation of Krysal is under my purview, is it not?"

Enalanis scowled. "Yes, but you'll rely on us to transport all these construction materials, and teleportation resources are scarce."

"No need." Kai raised his hand to show off the spatial ring. "I can take everything myself, and since you're already teleporting me around the continent, it won't cost you anything extra. It's just a matter of coordinating everything efficiently, and I'll leave that to Krainuun."

After a long pause, Enalanis sighed. "You may think me your enemy, but I am not... merely a skeptic. Some of your requests seem rather risky, in particular those remaining."

"What, materials from the Wind Union?"

"No, monsters." Enalanis turned away from his, gazing east toward the Frontier. "There are not enough roaming monsters remaining to require your help, but your request has been acknowledged. To find the sort of monsters you require... you will need to enter the abyss itself."

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