Thousand Song City had seen better days.
The skies were dyed red--side effects of the Blood Gathering Formation that had been drawn in by the besieging forces of the Noble Devil Alliance as the siege intensified--assaults now made on a near hourly basis as the tide of Demonic Cultivators sought to tear the defiant city's walls down.
They were probably out to bait out a Nascent Soul Response--probably.
"You've grown awfully sanguine about the possibility of Nascent Souls crossing hands in your vicinity" Muqin Guo sighed through their link, the cauldron jingling from where it rested in miniature form.
"But I suppose you would not be you if you were the sort to be deterred by dangers such as that."
"I'm already on a dangerous road." Rina comments, her chair wheeling along the city walls. She was 'On Patrol' such as it was--visiting the defenders of the City one by one, giving advice, pointers, and pep talks to stiffen backs during lulls in the onslaught. Sometimes even in the middle of them too!
"Yes, your friend, right? Nearly struck down in her Tribulation." Muqin Guo recalls.
"True, I suppose of the risk of a Nascent Soul descending exists regardless of your degree of caution, in light of that…"
"I can call it practice for when I get higher up myself" Rina paused for a moment, frowning at a section of the wall--and tapped the armrest of her chair. A ripple of
power suffused the ground below. "Hmm… Hairline cracks over here…"
She taps her armrest again, and Rina's Qi flares up for a moment, before suffusing into the wall below. "Done."
"You've been getting a great deal of practice using those powers of yours" Muqin Guo observes.
"Given that, it seems like your injuries ended up working out for the best anyway."
"I'd have preferred not to be injured at all.." Rina's lips twist into a slight pout. "I haven't fallen behind on my cultivation goals in spite of it, but I might have squeezed out a bit more time if I called it a day in the flame trial."
"In your defense, a bunny is hardly the form of the destroyer" Muqin Guo said, this time with a hint of humor behind the voice. Rina's cheeks pinked in response. "I was really just asking for it when I said that, wasn't I?" She gives a bashful smile and shakes her head. "It really just seems like I don't have any fate with those trials, do I?"
"Acceptance is always the first step to growth" Muqin Guo bobs around.
"Besides, it's hardly like it isn't good for other members of your Clan--who was it that apparently reached the Twelfth Heavenstage in one go?"
"Right! I heard that!" Rina gestured, and her chair began to roll forward again. "Apparently a Nascent Beetle of some sort? And an incredible amount of cultivation gathered in one place? If it wasn't for the fact that the senior Legates are probably going to be fighting to the death to invite her to their Legion, I'd be trying to poach her myself."
"Good Talent is hard to find, and you've not been properly leveraging your reputation to gather your own force to your back. You have what, that Angelus lad of the second wave of Talents?"
"Hey now, he's a good boy!" Rina crosses her arms and retorts. "He's done a lot of swell work along with Min's task group, and his major debut was impressive too!"
"You have one, you should have more! Especially with the new generation being empowered to something closer to your own level with those secret arts!"
"I… Suppose you're right" Rina allows. "I'll do some asking around and see who might be amicable in the next generation. It'd certainly be a weight off my shoulders to have a few peak experts of my own to handle things, here and there." She sighs wistfully and looks down into the battlefield below.
Which is probably why she saw the incoming boulder first.
Her hand raises--and a ripple fills the air before her. Space seems to
twist in some fashion as the Boulder crashes into it.
Rina reached for Wind.
*To Arms! Assault on the Outer Walls! Form up by Century and prepare to repel the foe!*
Her magic had limitations--it was not like her Emanation which applied evenly to those in range. The greater the distance she reached, the weaker her magic would be. To repair the walls required physical contact with the segment in question. she'd be lucky to repair a pebble from a kilometre away.
But simply making sure that specific people heard her voice from a distance? That was a lot easier.
The boulder's impetus steadily failed--its energies sapped by the
Astral Voidguard, and it clattered to the ground at the foot of the walls before Rina lowered her hand, frowning at the sight before her. This was not a small advance, if the specks of black light emerging from the enemy siege line were any indication. The air rippled before her, and Rina squinted as a lens of clearest Water manifested before her, the shapes expanded to something she could see.
She scoffed, and sat up straight, dismissing her magic with a gesture. She didn't need anything special to see them now, so swift was their approach. Ghostfire Chariots--plated with Black Iron from the edge of the Hard Shell Mountains, fueled by ten thousand resentful spirits apiece. Enough to blot out the sky.
Say what you will about the Noble Devil Alliance, one cannot claim that they lack creativity. Each of these was a well armored flying machine, capable of taking a dozen Cultivators with it and protecting them from counterattack. Their Array-Shattering Prows could force their way through defenses temporarily, investing the walls.
No games today, were there?
Rina snorted dismissively as two of the Chariots veered from formation, charging at her position. Righteous Cultivators manning the walls--mostly Qi Condensation with a smattering of Foundation Establishment--prepared magic tools or began chanting incantations to counterattack.
"Hold off for now" Rina requested, her voice cutting across the immediate panic. "They'll be useless against those Chariots. Wait until they begin to leave and it may have some effect."
She was glad that they didn't protest, had her reputation gotten to the point she was obeyed without question?
It was a nice feeling, getting recognition outside of the Clan.
Though the Clan's own response wasn't to be downplayed either. Hoplites began to materialize along the walls, shields raised to deflect catapult fire while spears were angled at the incoming chariots. The sight of Twin-Headed Eagles taking flight and rising into the sky behind the defenses also reinforced her confidence--a mobile reserve to shore up struggling areas, making use of her top ten Centuries to that end.
It'd also serve as a counter to any Chariots that broke through and decided to start wreaking havoc inside instead of investing the walls.
Readiness reports filled Rina's ears as Wind ferried the reports across the city. She felt the Emanations of the
[Heaven Shaking Song] brush against her awareness--and magnanimously conceded primacy to it. For a battle like this, it would be the turning point.
It was Rina's task to prevent the enemy from doing the same.
The Chariots collided with the city's barrier, the Array-Shattering Prows grinding against the unmoving defenses, five-colored sparks flying off the point of contact as they did their work. Golden Devil Arraycraft was excellent, and the walls of Thousand Song were superb.
But against this number of attackers?
Key sigils burnt out, fires consumed backups, the walls themselves shook and groaned as arrays were pressed beyond all hope to hold another moment!
"That tears it, here they come! All Centuries, defend your sectors! Don't let them take a single step!" Rina sent her last orders and dismissed Wind--just in time for the arrays to collapse. A flicker of air and a stench of fresh blood rushed in as the Chariots descended, discarding their expended Prows as Cultivators began to leap from the Chariots, brandishing all manner of treasures as they descended in a hail of murder and mayhem.
"Mostly all Experts." Rina observed as the chariots that had singled her position out began to discard their own prows. She supposed this made sense--a heavy investiture of Experts to occupy the walls, and buy time for the main bulk of the assault force to charge in, without fear of counterattack.
A giant cauldron
crashed into the flanks of one of the approaching Chariots, forcing it out of position as the escaping Cultivators began to stumble. Of course, Foundation Establishment wouldn't be hurt by a simple fall like that--learning how to reduce your weight was so commonplace that everyone could do it by then after all--but it would disorient and delay them.
Which left them vulnerable to Rina's next ploy.
"Commence attack on the falling Cultivators!" She ordered, and the held attacks were launched--streamers of light rising up to envelop the stunned and tumbling Experts. Some were fired from Qi Condensation disciples and thus left little more than burns and bruises on contact. But every so often, the full force of an Expert landed on a foe, and they found themselves giving off miserable shrieks as they lost all control and crashed down below.
It was good to let your allies feel like they were helping. It rarely cost much more than pride--and Rina's supply was boundless, she could afford to spend it with wild abandon without feeling like she was doing something wrong.
The remainder, of course, were hers to deal with. Muqin Guo began to cycle back towards her--but the leader of the other Chariot's strike group seemed to recognize her at least, if his widened eyes were any indication.
Rina smiled beatifically, and raised a hand in their direction.
From nothing, a spark--and a coiling wave of flame spun out from her outstretched arm. It expanded in size again and again, eventually taking the form of a great eagle. Screeching in triumph at the discovery of his prey, he swooped down at the landing enemy group, and Flame embraced his prey.
The effects of Flame on an unprepared Cultivator was… Indescribable. Traditional interpretations of Fire are ethereal in nature, and could be escaped with quick movements, where it could not harm you further.
Flame was different, Flame
clung to that which it embraced. There was no escape save physically scraping off the infected flesh--and few Cultivators strengthened their physique to the point where that was an option. It consumed, it devoured, it set lesser Fires in its wake.
Needless to say, struck with the full force of the
[Pyro Flamelash] at this range, little remained but scorched bones and dying foes, clutching at their burning forms as they fled, some diving off of the other side of the walls to try their luck in the moat.
It wouldn't help them, but the pain of the impact would at least put them out of their misery. Flame was a terrible force when turned to war--but sometimes one must make the price of wickedness clear to all.
The embers of Flame began to wink out of view as Rina lowered her arm. She glanced across the battlefield, satisfied that this wave at least seemed to be under control.
Distress rockets were already being fired across the walls.
"I trust you should have matters under control from here?" Rina asked, her voice carrying despite the chaos due to Wind's power. A Song Empire Cultivator wielding a saber cut down his foe, shouldering his weapon and glancing back. "If we can't push this rabble back now, our Great Song deserves to fall! Go!"
He turns back to the battlefield and clashes with a wounded Expert wielding a trident--Rina smiles, lifts herself from her chair using her arms, and pushes herself up--wreathed in the
[Anemo Windwings]. Muqin Guo sails past, and Rina catches the lip of the cauldron, twisting herself to settle inside.
Truthfully, she was rather pleased at how good she made that look, with her hair and dress fluttering in the breeze and the acrobatics she showed off. Looking like you knew what you were doing was half of the act of leadership!
"Take care of yourselves! Relief is on the way!" Rina shouted down, and Muqin Guo took off--the ancient cauldron's own flight speed further augmented by Rina's magic.
"That chair was rather expensive, will you be okay leaving it behind?" Muqin Guo asked as the two sailed off through the skies of the city, on a direct course for the first distress flare.
"It'll be fine, this'll be the decisive battle anyway." Rina predicted, clasping a hand to her ear as she received reports from her Centurions. "I won't need it afterwards."
The first distress signal approached fast--three Chariots clashing in the sky against five Two Headed Eagles. While outnumbered, the Chariots had strong Experts equipped with bows, providing enough counterfire to keep the Eagle Formations from savaging them.
Rina could do something about that, she was sure. She laid a hand on Muqin Guo's rim, jade-green Water manifesting around the Cauldron, cycling with increasing speed across it. The
[Hydro Wateredge] was originally conceptualized as a way to sharpen and extend edged weapons--but as Rina's understanding of her powers and her philosophy grew, she began to understand that sharpness is a relative thing--and with effort…
She slipped out of the Cauldron just as the riders of the first Chariot noticed her presence. She caught the lip of the cauldron, arresting her descent and giving them a nice view of her legs before her dress caught up.
It was a bit cheekier than she liked, and she'd be super embarrassed about this earlier--but the brief hesitation the move won from the defenders was enough for Rina to
whip the Cauldron around. A flash of jade-green filled the air--and the Chariot lurched like a stricken animal--resentful souls spilling out from the center, lashing out at their captors. A heartbeat later, and the Chariot split in half.
Rina pulled herself back into the Cauldron, and hoped nobody else had the right angle to see what just happened. Yes it was an excellent move! But it was one best done in full armor, and not a dress.
Still, it went a long way to showing the truth of her studies--that so long as Water can cycle swiftly enough, even the feet of a cauldron can cut like the finest of blades.
"Can you handle the last one?" Rina called out to the Eagles.
"Only hadn't pecked them apart because they kept covering each other, if it's just one, we've got it!" Came the response a moment later by a young Centurion. "Kick their ass Goldilocks!"
Rina was quite sure that was a new one. Or an old one that nobody had the guts to tell her about. Did this mean she had more weird nicknames?
Problems for later.
"Best of luck then!" Rina allowed herself to say, getting back into the cauldron and sailing off to the next distress flare.
All things considered, for all that this was the expected Big One--the fight was going about as well as could be expected. The walls were holding despite the pressure they were under, Array Engineers were likely working double time to restore the defenses, and casualties seemed to be relatively light so far.
Which meant now would be the time that Legate-level combattants would take the field.
Rina raised her hand to her ear again, reaching out with Wind to discuss matters with the other commanders of the defense. Coordinate would would cover what fronts, and…
BOOM!
The sound of stone shattering was annoyingly on cue, as a sector of the walls was blasted open. A single attack though? While the Arrays were currently down, the walls of the city were strong.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear before you--apparently.
She tapped Muqin Guo's rim, and released the
[Anemo Windwings] again.
She didn't have the strength of a Legate--not yet.
But she held the rank, it was her responsibility to serve the role of one. If it meant having to cross hands with a Core Formation cultivator?
She'd make it happen, somehow.
She strengthened the
[Astral Voidguard] as she began her final approach. It wasn't the same as a stealth technique--she could still be seen if something was looking at her. But any inquiries from divine sense would return nothing. If her foe was distracted enough when she arrived…
He was!
Zeno was a
Good Boy! She'd have to see him get recognized for this! Holding a Legate-level for even a minute was incredible for Foundation Establishment!
…
Normal Foundation Establishment that is.
Focus!
The foe at hand was some bat-winged man in red robes, an elegant bone spear in hand, mocking his foe apparently. Or something. Who knew what Blood Path talks about when they're monologuing?
Rina didn't have time to find out. Not when she was flying in as fast as she ever had, with her meridians protesting as she operated three of her Magic Techniques simultaneously.
The satisfaction of watching a Core curl up into a > after being hit in the back with a giant, water-edged cauldron though was priceless.
"HURF!" Was a reasonable approximation of the noise he made as the full array of Rina's power sunk in--not wasting the opportunity her sneak attack gave her to stack up further damage. She waved her hand and the water-edge extended itself into three additional claws, digging into the enemy Core and grinding away at their supernal physique.
"E… ENOUGH!" He bellowed, and finally got his feet on the ground--Muqin Guo bounced off of his body, flipping frantically on its axis as Rina fell to the ground with a quiet yelp. "This siege has been a disaster from end to end! The last thing I need is for some overblown junior thinking they can defeat me in a sneak attack!"
"Oh" Rina frowned, fixing her glasses as she sat up. "I'll admit, I was kind of hoping it would--I've had the worst luck with Cores in the past few years."
The enemy Legate scoffed, looking her over. "Hmph! I've heard of you--the King of the Golden Desert." He gestured with his bone spear, as the cape at his back rippled, the bat wings extending once more. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to deliver yourself to me in that condition--but I'll take capturing you as a consolation prize! Now that your sneak attack has failed and your treasure exhausted, what can you do to… Resist…"
Rina dusted herself off as she got to her feet. "How rude." She tapped one of her feet. "I was really hoping I'd have an excuse to keep practicing with my Magic Techniques a little longer."
"... H… How?!" The enemy Core stepped back. "Our information said you nearly lost your legs in the Yuan Clan's realm! How can you stand before this lord!"
"Ah, that?" Rina tilts her head and smiles impishly. "Well, I'll admit, the bunny cut my legs off, but a spatial blade is as clean a cut as it gets. I was able to stitch my legs back on and limp to safety, and then it was just a matter of getting to a good doctor to melt them back on and a good rehabilitation program to clear up the blocked meridians."
Her smile faded a little. "It really did hurt! A lot! It was at least three tenths of the pain of Nascent Pressure and it put me so far in debt that I won't be able to do much more than maintain my cultivation for years! It was awful!"
She sighed, and flicked her wrist, expressing her Silverine Gladius once again. "Still, I was back to my prime within a few years, but since I was having some success practicing with my Magic Techniques, I decided to pretend like I was still in the chair for a while."
She snaps her fingers, and ripples of
power begin to pour from the ground below. "So, now that that's out of the way… How about we sort this whole business out?"
Power fills her form, strength drawn from the earth beneath her feet. Her foe sneers, and enters a fighting posture himself.
Rina Callista wasn't a Core level Cultivator--not yet.
But she didn't need to cross her fingers and hope that the enemy would run away first anymore. Her training over the siege, the power of her Pillar's new form… The two together finally put her on the same stage as the top of the Region.
Barely, and with plenty of conditions--but she was
there.
So as she crossed blades with the Alliance's Elder, empowered by the Stone below and wreathed in the powers of Flame, Water, Wind, and Void--she did so with a wide grin on her face.
This was just the start!
R, consider the Righteous Powers and their relationship with each others, the most important would be how SPS would be perciving us after the war starts and what we can do on the diplomatic front to sooth them. Worrying about the Righteous Powers as a whole stomping on us for Jingshen is rather unlikely
