Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 18

Neither Morin nor Abesa were thrilled to be partnered with me. Maximus seemed cheery enough when he shook my hand though, so that more than made up for the two of them. The seventh legion was worth more than the third and thirteenth put together, so I was pleased to have the more competent commander as my ally here.

“We have our orders. Now we should see them done,” I said as the four of us circled up to discuss clearing the nearby farmland of enemies.

“And who put you in charge?” Legate Abesa asked, hands on her hips.

“That’s right! I'll be in the field. Perhaps I should lead?” suggested Legate Morin of the thirteenth legion.

My mind went back to Legate Morin’s men huddled together in the cold when they burned one of their own tents down and the field execution that happened shortly thereafter. I’d seen the manor his legion had claimed as their headquarters, and it wasn’t in much better shape.

I had no desire to be under the command of a commander who would allow something like that to happen under his leadership. Legate Morin could not be given command.

“I don’t think that’s wise. You’ll be in the field, but your officers lack experience.”

“At least we are familiar with traditional fighting techniques. Do your Dragon Lodge students even know how to do anything other than stand in the rear casting spells?” Legate Abesa scoffed.

I grimaced. I wasn’t sure I’d be winning either of these people over anytime soon.

And there was a hint of truth to their words. I was an auxiliary unit, and my people had a completely different fighting style from the average Glacian warrior. Besides, while I had the most command experience of anyone here, none was while leading legionnaires.

So I turned to the only reasonable compromise, Legate Maximus of the Seventh Legion.

“Legate Maximus, Prince Herius put you in charge of the city while he was gone, right? Did he mention anything about putting you in command of our merry little band?”

The lean soldier ran his fingers along his hairless head before shrugging.

“Not that he mentioned, but he was pretty busy.”

“Even so, that he left you in charge of the city speaks of a certain amount of trust? I think of the four of us, he wanted you to lead.” I looked at him expectantly.

Eventually, he shrugged. “You said it, not me. But if the three of you suggest I should take overall command of this excursion, then so be it.”

With our pecking order settled, we went back to the map of Mundwise’s farmland. We would break into powerful units and would sweep the area for enemies. I would be sending wizard auxiliaries with every unit, and these groups would hopefully find hiding Black Beast Sect cultivators and drag them kicking and screaming into the light.

Our search pattern was straightforward and methodical, with large groups close enough to support one another, slowly fanning out until we had covered the entire area around the city without leaving any gaps. I suspected most of our enemies in hiding would see what we were doing and withdraw long before we caught them, but our objective was to secure the nearby farmland, not to slaughter every enemy we could. It would work well enough for our given task.

It was a bit slower and safer than what I would have come up with, but Legate Maximus was cautious. Besides, Legate Abesa and Legate Morin both were lacking in the firepower department. My auxiliaries would make up for their low-level soldiers, but it was better to take a little more time and suffer fewer losses. As long as we finished before the other legions finished securing the surrounding towns, Prince Herius would find no fault with the strategy.

***

The next few days were uneventful, though I was once again frustrated to realize Prince Herius had left with the teleportation array that led us back home. I had to send in more raw materials for the trapped contractors in Sanctuary to work on.

What was originally just supposed to be a small barracks and workshop for myself was increasingly looking like a small city, complete with walls and fortifications to keep out the forest monsters, which were also slowly coming along. None were strong enough to threaten the workers, but I’d have to send Bridget and Sakura in to harvest them before they could level much further.

Sooner or later, I’d also have to come clean with the construction crew. Each time I saw them, I thought they would demand an explanation, but up until now, a small raise was always enough to send them back to work. Right now, they were working for five-fold their normal wages.

At least the prince's absence would give me a bit more time to look in on this Lady Velicia. I'd been fine to dismiss her at first, but the attention the prince was paying her seemed a bit much. The next chance I had, I would take a good look at her abdomen and verify she wasn't a cultivator making use of some sort of disguise item.

I jumped between the mystic realm and dealing with our assignment. Legate Abesa and Legate Morin were as much a problem as I feared they were, but passing off the leadership role to Legate Maximus meant they weren’t my problem and I was free to research my highly valuable books. The two ancient tomes I had were very handy, but as of late I'd spent more and more time on Interpreting the Fairer Sex. I still hadn't decided if the book was crazy or genius, but I was growing increasingly sure it was a bit of both.

Meanwhile, I continued practicing all my abilities, particularly my Signature Skill. The fight with the Black Beast Sect elder had been a nice way to field-test my new abilities, but the fight had ended too fast to really push me to my limits. I knew a real fight was coming, though, and I wanted to prepare for it. Weaving my new abilities into my fighting style would take preparation and practice.

Cyra and I both broke past level 220 with our classes, proving how fast levels could grow when on a crusade like this. Something like this was nearly as good as living through an integration, though a bit risky for anyone not as high-leveled as I was.

I was proud of my progress, as I knew people sometimes looked down on those who hung around at the start of a new grade, as usually such people were the kind to rely on things like experience pearls rather than real combat.

As I understood it, A-Grade was located at level 400 or so, which was still a long ways off for me. But perhaps not as far away as I initially thought. It was hard to believe that a year ago I'd been a humble office worker.

Thanks to proper delegation, my workload was actually rather small. Under most circumstances, I would have sought out Bridget, Myrina, or Sakura to spend time with, but they were some people I was delegating a lot of my workload to. Telling them I was bored was certain to backfire.

Under other circumstances, I might even take the time for a trip back to Earth. Alas, since the prince had our large-scale teleportation array, I was stuck here for the moment. Hopefully everyone back in Crownhill was doing alright. I'd never meant to leave them for this long, though I should have known something like this could happen when I went on campaign.

Eventually, the System would force me back, though as my levels grew the upper threshold I could spend away had grown as well. I wasn't sure how long I could spend away from the integration these days, but I suspected it was a time period measured in months instead of weeks. I really would need to take a trip back though, because the last thing I'd want is to be forced back home in the middle of a battle.

Cyra was as busy as my other ladies, but she at least was seeing to something I was interested in. The cultivator girl I’d captured still wasn’t willing to talk.

“She won’t tell us what she knows. I could still get her to talk. You let me get a little rougher, though.” Cyra shrugged.

I shook my head. “I’ve told you before, I never really liked torture. It’s an unreliable way to get information. Especially when you’ve only got one prisoner and can’t compare details. No, beating answers out of her would do little good. You’ve been treating her humanely, haven’t you?”

“That’s what you wanted. We found a good place for her under the manor. It was already outfitted as a comfortable cell. I’ll lead you to it.”

“Good. I have an idea that I think might win her over.”

Cyra led me to the small bedchamber under the manor we were using as a prison. It had clearly been designed to hold someone securely, but from the plush blankets, pillows, and pink decorations all around the room, I suspected the previous owner of this manor had a particularly rebellious teenage daughter who needed to be kept under constant guard or something along those lines.

The cultivator girl I captured from the Black Beast Sect brooded in the corner. Her inky black hair and dark robes starkly contrasted with the fluffy pink stuffed monsters around her. She sat cross-legged with hands folded. Her back was stiff, and she appeared to be meditating.

No... more than meditating. She was trying to draw the ambient mana into her through her lungs. She wasn’t having a very good time of it, though. As the mana flowed into her, it struck that little energy reservoir in her abdomen, spasmed, and leaked back up.

The physical damage to her abdomen had already healed, but the strange network of inorganic magical tissue that connected her body to the Kindling hadn’t healed at all. I suspected it was more like a spell than living tissue and wouldn’t be healed unless someone like me fixed it manually.

“Enjoying your stay, I hope?” I asked.

She tilted her chin at my entrance and glowered in my direction. “You...”

“I hear you haven’t been willing to answer any questions?” I asked, inviting myself to take a seat in front of her.

She wasn’t trying to attack me, which was a good sign. Not that I was all that worried about something like that. I was B-Grade, and she’d regressed to level one. I had more power in my little toe than she had in her whole body, and even if I laid down and let her try to cut my throat, she wouldn’t have the strength to do it. My only worry was that she’d try to trick me into killing her, either through words or deeds.

“Me?” I shrugged. “Not much to tell. I’m from a world that was recently integrated. I had an Amazonian friend when I was a kid. One thing led to another, and sooner or later, I‘m marching around this planet with an army trying to liberate it from you and your friends. I saw the spirit stone farm you guys had cooked up. That was some truly horrific stuff."

To emphasize my point, I grabbed one of the spirit stones I’d taken from the facility I’d destroyed and tossed it to the cultivator girl.

She caught it, eyes wide as her fingers stroked the piece of jade. She squeezed it with all her might, and I could see tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She looked like a starving woman who’d been given a can of beans, but no can opener or means to get to them.

“You bastard...” the cultivator girl growled. She cupped the spirit stone and threw it back at me with all the force she could muster. It wasn’t much, and I caught it just fine with telekinesis.

“You don’t want it?” I raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that cultivators loved these things.”

“They do. I’m not a cultivator anymore, thanks to you. You crippled me when you destroyed my dantian. My spiritual roots are severed...” She glared at me with a look that could kill.

“Oh, is that all?” I chuckled. “Hold still.”

She flinched back as I reached out my hand toward her, but that was already. Despite my words, this was a fairly simple repair, and it wouldn’t need to last long. I could make it happen, even if she wasn’t cooperating with me.

I threw a mana patch over the hole I’d made in her energy resistor, which she called her dantian. I felt like calling it a core was a better fit since, in a lot of ways, it resembled a monster core. Perhaps cultivators didn’t like the comparison, and so came up with a special name for themselves.

When I was done, I tossed the spirit stone back at her.

“Try that meditation thing you were doing again.”

She caught the stone, concentrated, and gasped in surprise when the energy no longer flowed straight out of her.

“I’m... I’m healed? My spiritual roots feel fine suddenly.” she asked, shocked.

“Yep. I fixed the damage. It’s a rather simple manipulation of mana if you know what you’re doing.” I shrugged, tugged on the patch I’d made, quickly undoing it.

The cultivator girl deflated, jubilant face sagging as she realized what I was dangling in front of her.

“So I have to answer your questions, or I’m going to be left a cripple? Well, you might as well not bother because if the Black Beast Sect finds out I sold them out, being dead would be far preferable to what they would do to me...” She crossed her arms, looking fierce, but some energy was behind her eyes this time. She knew there was a way to get out of her predicament intact.

Despite her words, I had the distinct impression she was willing to negotiate. It was probably one of my new charisma abilities giving me a good reading of her, but the way it worked was so smooth I could hardly even tell it was taking effect. Charisma skills were scary sometimes. Thanks to them, I knew she would work with me. She was just unwilling to sell her comrades out too cheaply.

“You say you’re not going to talk, but the look in your eyes says otherwise. So, let me see if I can sweeten the deal. I’m looking you over right now, and your spiritual roots seem inefficient. You have five of them, but only one is actually functional. The others are all malformed and blocked. What’s that about?”

“The number of spiritual roots a cultivator possesses denotes their talent for cultivation. There are ways to open more of them, but such things are far beyond my means. I’m a humble outer disciple with a single wood spiritual root.”

I nodded appreciatively. “Very interesting. I think I might be able to open these other roots of yours if you like. And fix up the one I broke, too. But I’m going to need you to tell me a bit more about all this cultivation stuff. And your name too, if you don’t mind.”

The cultivator was silent for a moment, eyes wide as she considered the words I just said. After a long moment, she uncrossed her legs and shifted to her knees. She placed both palms against the ground and bowed so low her forehead pressed against the carpeted cell floor.

“This humble disciple is known as Mimiko. She would be pleased to answer all the honored senior's questions...”

Her loose black cultivator robes slipped off her shoulder, and she made no move to adjust it. She was peeking up at me, and I was doing my best to suppress a snort of laughter. I’d heard of shameless, but then there was this. Just a moment ago, she swore she’d never betray her comrades, but when I offered to tune up her little magic root things, she was ready to offer herself to me as well.

“Just questions, thank you,” I clarified, and Mimiko shrugged her robes back into place with an embarrassed flush. She was cute enough, but there was no shortage of cute women near me. Besides, I wasn’t really interested in anyone who would turn on their former friends so quickly.

Over the next few days, Mimiko told me everything I wanted to know about cultivation and the Black Beast Sect without protest. In most situations like this, the carrot was really better than the stick.

She told me how the Black Beast Sect was organized, or rather, its lack of organization. Truthfully, they were a collection of hundreds of sects nested into a competitive hierarchy. There were thousands of tiny schools in the mortal world that taught basic martial arts and extracted food and resources from what they called mortals, which were normal humans with completely non-functional spiritual roots and no chance at embarking on the path of cultivation.

Occasionally, these schools would recruit a farmer’s son or nobleman’s daughter with an open spiritual root to become a cultivator, and they would teach them the basics. After finishing what I considered to be F-Grade, they’d move on to their school’s parent sect, where they would continue to cultivate until they moved on to that parents’ sect, which controlled a region similar to a country, albeit indirectly. From there, things scaled further to the Black Beast Sect itself, which hoarded the best disciples. The patriarchs of all the lesser overlord sects were elders in the Black Beast Sect, and they were constantly competing with one another for position and rank.

Life on a world controlled by the Black Beast Sect was a life full of backstabbing and petty rivalry at every opportunity. There were limited cultivation resources to go around, and everyone always hoarded the best ones for themselves. Discovery of a single rare plant could lead to a bloodbath that would see hundreds of cultivators murder one another for it.

No wonder such a chaotic civilization never evolved beyond what I considered a feudal society run by petty warlords. The only reason they were able to get to Ladwick was that one elder was good enough at crafting he made his pagoda able to fly through space. Others had copied the design, and the Black Beast Sect had taken their armada of flying pagodas to Ladwick to pillage somebody other than themselves for once.

Mimiko was no doubt concealing the worst of the things she’d done to reach her position. She couldn’t have done anything particularly bad considering her low rank. Still, I knew she was as opportunistic as the rest at heart. After all, her decision not to sell out her comrades had crumbled at the first sign of opportunity.

After revealing the political situation to me, she moved on to the basics of cultivation, which seemed to me a lot like harvesting mana as it passed from mundane reality and back to the Kindling dimension. They’d skim as much as possible during the process and enlarge their souls a little, doing what the System did for everyone in the Arcadia Multiverse, but less efficiently.

Still, it was a fascinating process. Unfortunately, Mimiko didn’t know much since her level was so low. It was a fascinating look into life outside the System, and I already had a few ideas I wanted to try. And I was fortunate enough to have a willing and eager patient right before me.

At the end of the day, though, there was one thing I was most interested in, and that was figuring out what the Black Beast Sect had planned. Mimiko went into as much detail as she could about that, though details were sorely lacking thanks to her low rank.

“I don’t know the full details, but we were supposed to ambush as many of your soldiers as we could to keep you holed up in the city. Our people aren’t actually here to fight. We don’t want this world or anything on it, we just want to strip it bare of everything worth taking and then move on. We’d prefer to keep you guys busy and avoid a fight if possible. It’s the Eternal Spring Sect that is full of idealists.”

Mimiko rolled her eyes, as though she couldn’t believe anyone could be as foolish as whoever the cultivators of the Eternal Spring Sect were.

“You’ve done well to answer my questions, Mimiko. Now, be still while I grant you your reward...”

I pressed my hand to her abdomen and got to work.

<Note>
Bit of a gap/mini timeskip chapter here. Carter's got to take care of some stuff. Don't worry, we will talk to Velicia again.

We're also starting to get a bit further than I'd like into the book without some high stakes / tension scenes. I guess it's partially to be expected, since Carter isn't up against long odds right now. But that is something I'm thinking about.