Chapter 44: Arc 3: Chapter 7

Rather than an answer, a figure appeared in the opening of the tent, glancing in and meeting Bianca’s gaze.

It was another man, though this one had a distinctly different look from that of the others. He was thin, though still decently tall, with a bearing and features that gave him a very feminine air – though, that didn’t stop him from smelling like the others. The moment she confirmed that, Bianca did her absolute best to breathe in through her mouth and her mouth only, since she didn’t wish to be dealing with it for a long time if he decided to step inside.

“Please restrain your aura, there is no need to terrify the entire camp,” the man smiled, though his lips were clearly trembling and struggling to maintain that smile, “I mean no ill will towards you. My name is Lao Ping.”

“Bianca,” she replied briefly, as her mind was trying to figure out the best approach to the situation, ‘So, I’m terrifying everyone already, and I know I’m not too happy with this situation, so it’s probably getting even stronger… Should I try the demonic bitch act? I mean, I can try, but… how the fuck does a demonic bitch act? And how do I not piss everyone off in the process to the point that it stops working?’

She wasn’t a particularly good actor, and she had little experience when it came to this sort of thing. All of the acting done in Xi Village was assisted by her genuine inability to understand what was going on, allowing her to act as if she knew even less, but this was the opposite.

To act like some kind of overbearing demonic bitch was not what she was used to, not at all.

‘Still, I have to do something, so I guess I should just… limit myself for now. Keep everything unnecessary out of the way… or something like that, I don’t know,’ she didn’t subdue her aura – not that she could do it personally anyway – and looked directly into the man’s eyes, “Do you want something?”

“May I come in?”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t,” Bianca was apple to release some of her genuine feelings this time, “At most, stand by the entrance.”

“How cold. I haven’t even had the chance to explain my intentions, but if this is what you wish, then very well,” he shrugged, stepping in and blocking much of the light, “I wished to introduce myself to another partner in this operation. This may simply be a logging project, but the better we work together, the bigger the profits for all of us. Are there other servants of yours waiting to enter the stage, or is this all?”

“Does it matter?”

“If you have a large team ready, then yes, plans will need to be adjusted, and your forces will need to be allocated an area where they can work most efficiently.”

“We were only passing through, so us three are all that you will find. We’ll only be doing a small bit of the work,” Bianca tried to act as if she had any idea what was going on, though she was mostly bothered by how the man managed to stand in just the right way to block all the light from reaching her body, leaving her in the shade.

“A shame. We might have made a much bigger harvest if you had been able to make up for the group that had been scared off by that freak from a few days ago.”

‘Is he referring to the same troublemaker that the other guy was talking about? If so, I am rather curious…’ she frowned and asked, “What freak was enough to disturb such a large camp? Someone at a high realm?”

“Here’s the odd thing – he wasn’t. It seemed like he was only at the Emergent Anchor realm, but the archetype that he cultivated was truly mysterious,” Lao Ping told her, his eyes seeming to gaze past the fabric of the tent into the distance, “He appeared with numerous old scars on his body, exuding the aura of a veteran of combat. He was clad in broken, rusted armour, and his sword was only barely in a usable state. Despite that, he was brimming with strength.”

Bianca attempted to imagine the scene, placing a vague figure based off of some movie character she’d seen a while back into the middle of the logging camp. Of course, as with most men she imagined, their figures were more akin to rough sketches, with no particular features of note aside from the one that had been shared with her. She didn’t want to spend any more time imagining men than she had to, after all, and if this went in any kind of unpleasant direction, she’d be able to dismiss the thought before needing to put up with any disgust.

“When he entered, he shouted at us demanding… something. His way of speaking was very traditional and old, so it was difficult for most of us to understand him, and he didn’t wait too long for us to determine his intentions. The moment he didn’t get what he wanted, he entered a combat stance.”

He turned his head and looked at a particular spot in the camp – one that Bianca obviously couldn’t see, given that she lacked much reach with spiritual perception and hadn’t gained the ability to see through solid objects just yet – and sighed, clearly diving even further into his memories and imagining the battle.

Meanwhile, Bianca could only slap an imaginary sticker onto the scene with the words ‘combat stance’, since she had no clue what that would look like for that particular figure.

 

The sun was setting, and thus long shadows from the various metal-type trees around the camp shrouded it in shadow. A number of campfires, torches and lanterns were scattered around, illuminating regions currently being used, though there was one additional source of light now.

In the middle of the camp stood a figure that was almost two metres tall, short grey hair on his head cut precisely to one centimetre long. His skin was tanned from many days spent in the open sun, and his broken, rusted armour exposed plenty of skin, most of which was covered in scars. The sword held in his right hand was chipped and only barely retained its original shape, and even if the materials it was made from were once impressive and expensive, their current state was worth little.

Despite that, this man radiated a certain aura that made everyone weary of him. His third realm cultivation wasn’t so impressive as to scare off everyone in the camp, and yet they were still afraid.

He shouted something at the people of the camp, but everyone around him was tired and incapable of processing the intricacies of his method of speaking. It was as if they met with a man out of time, someone from decades past, and even the more educated among them struggled to put together his words in the brief time he gave them.

Only moments after, he seemed to take their lack of reply as a provocation, for he raised his weapon and directed his planar energy towards it. In moments, a layer of dark crystal grew over the blade, with just the faintest hint of violet at the depth of it, manifesting a fearsome weapon and creating an odd mist that spread across the ground from his feet. It seemed heavy, clinging to the ground in a most curious fashion.

Those that weren’t utterly exhausted from the day’s work drew their weapons, and those that were desperately absorbed planar energy from the air around them, quickly draining the ambient energy as they tried to get themselves ready to at least endure attacks, if not outright defeat their opponent.

The aura of that figure was that of a third realm cultivation, someone in the Emergent Anchor realm. He was a fearsome foe for a group primarily consisting of those in the second realm, but there were many of them and only one of him. Hence, there was no reason to believe that he would be more than a passing danger, a threat that they would inevitably overcome.

But then, his anchor fell from the sky. A towering pillar about five metres in height, with three distinct sides that joined at the top, made of the same dark violet crystal that coalesced upon his blade.

Since the exact shapes and appearances of anchors differed, that wasn’t too surprising. What did catch the camp off guard was the manner in which the strange mist spreading to their feet suddenly thickened, beyond the amount that would have been granted by the typical empowerment of an anchor, and then, with a flash from the centre of the anchor, numerous crystalline shapes appeared in the empty space surrounding this strange intruder.

At first, they seemed abstract and mysterious, but a glance into their depths revealed humanoid figures, wielding ancient weaponry and clad in armour not dissimilar to the one worn by the man that conjured them – seeming out of the river of time itself.

“He’s summoning forces! Destroy them!” someone called out, and the camp rushed into action.

They hastened towards the crystalline formations and swung at them with blades and axes, investing what little strength they still had into cracking the dark material before the beings within could emerge. None of them knew the nature of the archetype that such summoned entities belonged to, so they couldn’t be certain that this was the right way to approach such a situation, but it was obvious that if they took no action at all, they’d be letting this intruder walk all over them.

Although only a few moments passed, they felt like hours, with each strike being the potential last before whatever was within emerged and struck back. Some crystals cracked and pieces broke off, and others remained whole, but in the end, only half of the crystals were damaged significantly. The rest remained mostly whole, without any notable cracks or shattering.

The anchor that had preceded the conjuring of all the crystals lit up once more, albeit far more gradually. It grew brighter and brighter, almost becoming as vibrant as the first flash that had briefly blinded the camp’s inhabitants, and the anchor itself seemed to be growing in the middle, bulging out in a way that no anchor should have been able to. It partially looked to be breaking apart into vertical shards, and partially transforming as if the material of the anchor was fluid, neither of which were typical for planar anchors.

Some thought to rush the man responsible for the phenomenon and take him down before it could progress any further, but as Lao Ping observed, none stepped into action quickly enough.

All of a sudden, the anchor opened up and the light within dyed the lands with a faded purple, as if it was ink upon ancient parchment. The crystals that had been weakened exploded open, the figures within glowing vibrantly, while those that had been untouched melted away and left the beings within dull in comparison.

Nevertheless, both types remained upon the field, and both were clad in armour and bearing weapons in a most human fashion. Furthermore, they radiated an aura not dissimilar to that of a typical cultivator, except the aura seemed like a mixture of a higher realm cultivator’s presence and the relative weakness of a lower realm cultivator. It was an odd sensation for anyone that was familiar with cultivators beyond the fourth realm, as some attributes from them echoed from the bodies of the conjured soldiers.

It was as if they had the core of the fourth realm to stabilise their energy, the searing marks of the fifth realm to amplify it, and perhaps even the linked channels of the sixth realm, but that made no sense at all.

After all, they were only beings summoned with planar energy. How could they have a cultivation of their own, and one with structures of realms higher than the cultivator that had conjured them? It went against all common sense and reason, as well as uncommon sense and any other kind of sense that people possessed. There was absolutely nothing that should have allowed something so unconventional as that to appear in the hands of an Emergent Anchor cultivator.

And yet, as these figures moved, they resembled human beings without any flaws. Their outwards appearances were strange, yet they quickly manifested planar energy into weapons and constructs.

They even formed up into a defensive circle around the one that summoned them in a very human fashion, lacking the rigidity that one might expect from any kind of advanced planar construct, not to mention one created at this realm.

“Fuck, what kind of archetype is this? Is this some demonic art? Are these the souls of some poor sacrificed town?” one of the loggers exclaimed, and although the style of the skill didn’t resemble most sacrificial rites, Lao Ping was tempted to agree with such a line of thinking.

How else could such a thing occur if there hadn’t been a great deal of preparation involved?

“Who cares? They’re defending him, so he’s clearly the weakest link! Get him!”

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Over two dozen men and women rushed out, weapons raised and planar energy flowing into them and into various constructs. Some directed their power into simple blasts of energy, whereas others formed more intricate shapes like the jaws of beasts or weapons of various sizes and shapes. Together, they illuminated the camp even further, making it resemble an outright battlefield.

Lao Ping stayed behind, as he was far too exhausted to participate in the conflict, and thus he saw clearly how the defensive formation adjusted, the dimmer warriors withdrawing into a smaller circle while the glowing ones rushed out, meeting the charge head on.

They swung their weapons and unleashed planar constructs in much the same fashion as those assaulting them. In fact – though this might have just been a trick of the light – it seemed like the stability and quality of each construct was far higher than that of the cultivators present, even the few that were in the third realm.

‘What kind of magnificent skill is this? How did this man achieve such a thing?’ Lao Ping couldn’t help but wonder, his eyes almost glistening at the potential of not just this technique, but the archetype as a whole, ‘Dozens of third realm warriors summoned by just one man… Imagine being able to conjure even just one warrior like that…’

He did exactly that, but he didn’t let the battle slip away from him. Even with his head in the clouds, he observed every blow and clash of weapons, how the smaller group of brightly glowing soldiers were only barely matched by the far larger number of loggers and fighters from the camp, and listened to every clang of metal with almost child-like glee. The fact that he was one of the loggers too, and that he might be in danger if the mysterious man decided to turn his summoned forces against him, slipped out of his head for the moment.

As great as the prowess of each glowing warrior was, they were simply too few to hold back every fighter of the logging camp. Once a few more joined in, they were able to break through and reach the dimmer conjured forces in the back, which had yet to step into action.

Lao Ping briefly focused on that specific engagement, as the very first warrior clashed with the dull conjured being, curious to find out what the difference between the two types was. An axe, dulled somewhat by the repeated collisions with the firm weaponry of the summoned forces, clashed with the blade of the dim being, small shards flying everywhere. The logger remained in place, but his foe was pushed back by a step.

‘What? Was this skill… made with the intention that the warriors within will be attacked before they seem to be stabilised? Is that why these dim soldiers are weaker?’ Lao Ping pondered.

 

“Can you imagine what the reason might be, Bianca?” he asked, and she needed every drop of willpower remaining within her body to hide the fact that she was ready to fall asleep at any moment.

Although the fight might have been riveting originally, like an exciting fight scene in a movie, the way in which he described it not only sucked out all of that excitement, but also managed to obfuscate any of the individual actions to such a degree that she wasn’t sure what was even happening at that point. Of course, she did also lack enough combat experience that most of the other people he’d speak to would have, but she struggled to imagine most of the other loggers would be particularly keen to engage with… whatever this was.

‘Still, he did ask me a question, so, uh… guess I just…’ she waved her hand dismissively, “I’d rather you got to the point.”

“Well, if you prefer. There isn’t that much more to tell, truth be told.”

 

They clashed again, but this time the two seemed far more even. It was still resolved in favour of the attacker, the logger and his massive axe, but there was a clear difference – a clear improvement. The next clash delivered a less significant improvement, but it was enough for them to prevent being pushed back any more.

Thus, they kept their ground, and after a few more strikes, they’ve even managed to repel their foes, preserving the defensive circle with surprising ease given the initial engagement. Furthermore, their movements were improving with every single strike, though it didn’t look like they were obtaining something from their opponents. Instead, it was as if their own skills were being developed or even unleashed, bringing them to the level of their glowing counterparts.

‘Ah, so it must be that their potential is unleashed instantly if they have been attacked first, or is brought out during combat if they were allowed to emerge safely… But why?’ he pondered.

When the fight carried on for a little longer, to the point that even Lao Ping’s drained energy was recovering to the point of allowing him to rise and enter the fight – if he so wished – he finally got his answer. The bright summoned beings suddenly gleamed even brighter, and their figures became blurry, as if they were a drop of paint placed into water, slowly spreading out and fading amidst the vastly greater volume of transparent liquid.

However, their dim counterparts were only getting stronger.

‘Stability! The shining ones catch the attention of the cultivator’s opponents and exhaust themselves quickly, while the dimmer ones are able to gain power at a slower pace and thus last significantly longer!’ Lao Ping realised.

 

‘Is that why? Okay… sure… whatever the fuck he’s talking about, I’m sure he’s right…’ Bianca wished she could be bashing her head against the wall right about now, but there wasn’t a wall nearby even if she decided to make that decision anywhere outside of the confines of her mind, ‘It’s like I ended up in a programming meeting, where everyone speaks all kind of gibberish that only the others in the know can understand.’

She had the misfortune of being exposed to such things before, but this was a whole other kind of gibberish. After all, when it came to computer-related things, she had some vague idea of it at least, but the more people tried to explain planar energy to her, the less it seemed to make sense.

Worst of all, she couldn’t tell him to shut up, and not just because of whatever role Xue Yaling thought to assign to her. Instead, Bianca herself was rather curious as to learn what it was that had made a large impression on the man that had greeted them, assuming Lao Ping’s description to be one of the troublemaker.

 

As the glowing soldiers began to fade, the man that summoned them looked around one more time and then took a step back.

The few that hadn’t been utterly focused on the battle with the summoned soldiers spotted this immediately, and one shout turned into many as the apparent retreat of their primary – and only, if planar constructs were removed from the count – opponent angered the crowd. With some luck, they managed to break the defensive layer of the dim warriors, and one decided to lob a spare axe at the man.

Perhaps they believed that the strange man was a cultivator devoted purely to summoning these mysterious armies. Maybe they thought that he would be exhausted, since he had conjured a greater force than most in the fourth or even fifth realm would be able to muster.

Whatever they were thinking, they got to witness the main raise his arm and meet the axe with it, a glint of violet crystal appearing just a moment before it struck him. A high-pitched clang echoed throughout the camp as the axe was repelled, bouncing away and crashing into the ground below, the head of the axe burying itself within the dirt.

The man said something, his words being lost amidst the continued clashes with his summoned warriors, and then the dim warriors were surrounded in crystal once more. Before any had the chance to strike at them, the crystals, the violet mist and the anchor that produced them receded, the anchor returning to its original form before it vanished into the man’s dantian. In moments, it was as if the camp had never transformed into a battlefield, as if the incredible constructs that had managed to fight the entire camp without issue never existed.

If not for the axe in the ground and the loggers gathered in the middle of the camp, they might have believed that they merely had a dream.

After seeing that the man was not a pushover, the exhausted loggers had little choice but to allow him to turn around and depart, but they made sure to glare daggers at the man for as long as he remained within sight. Thus, the battle ended, and they were left to resume their day as if nothing had happened, though it was obvious that none of them would forget this incident any time soon.

 

‘… Hm? Wait, is he done? How did it take him so long to say that a guy showed up, spawned some minions, they fought for a while and then the guy retreated?’ Bianca struggled to swallow down a yawn that tried to escape her mouth, and tried even harder to keep any of the man’s words within her head as they were all too eager to escape and be replaced with just about anything, even just copies of existing memories if that was what it took.

Somehow, it seemed like her utter boredom didn’t show on her face, since Lao Ping didn’t react to it whatsoever as he turned back to her.

“And this is what had shaken our camp some time ago. You appear to be notably less aggressive than that individual had been, and hopefully more conducive to our operations than that distraction had proved… though his technique and skills…”

He appeared to be heading off into thought yet again, and since that entailed a possibility of him providing her with yet another lengthy ramble that meant nothing, Bianca sat up, straightening her back, and looked him in the eyes.

“We’ll see. Now, I expect some privacy while within my own tent.”

“Hm? Ah, of course, I’ve taken up too much of your time. We shall meet again soon enough, so may the heavens watch over you until then,” he said, providing her with a slight bow.

Since she wasn’t sure how to respond to that, whether as herself or as demon bitch incarnate, she simply nodded, “Mhm.”

Lao Ping’s smile twitched just a little as he took a step back, bowed again, and got out of her sight with a slow walk, finally allowing her to relax a little. Of course, she remembered all too well that a lot of the people present were at the second realm or above, meaning that she could be being watched at any moment by anyone, so she couldn’t quite let her guard down while near them.

Once Xue Yaling clarified whether there were many like her, capable of observing others at distances far greater than the apparent normal of one and three metres for the second and third realms respectively, Bianca might find some safe spots. Before then, though…

‘Guess I’ll just… keep this up. Not like it’s too difficult to do so when there isn’t anyone throwing me off, or trying to bore me to death…’ she adjusted her seating position and shut her eyes, ‘Maybe I can try cultivating a little without getting a dick involved, for once. Of course, the Demonic Tyrant will remain, as usual, but… maybe it’s for the be- no, no it’s not. Anyway…’

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