PtM 18 - Chapter 18: The Sixth Faction

2 chapters this week once again.

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The Sacred Santana Desert was blighted place, containing very little ink in its outer fringes and utterly none in its core region. What should have been yellow sand and reddish cliffs completely lacked color and appeared in varying shades of gray. As for greenery and plant life… only imitations of these things could be found.

Unlike the other sacred deserts, few demons travelled the Sacred Santana Desert on foot. This was because the soil was deadly and would kill any demon that hadn’t achieved the manifestation realm. That wasn’t even counting the countless deadly traps and hostile creatures that called the desert their home.

Huxian and company flew to the meeting on a large carpet, easily a hundred meters wide and two hundred meters long. The carpet was loaded with fusion realm experts from their eight deserts. All eight directions were represented.

Wu’s side was slightly lacking in terms of numbers, but her own faction had swelled since their group’s defeat of the Paper Tiger’s blood clone. These demons were aligned to ‘heaven’ element, or sky, as some might call it; they radiated a holy energy that was extremely effective against abyssal demons.

“The meeting point is just over there,” Huxian said, pointing to a patch of sand surrounded by cliffs on all but one side. “They invited us, so they probably won’t attack us.” Doing so would be in direct contravention of the Demon Accords.

“I get a bad feeling about this place,” Jadefall said.

“There’s a smell in this place that I can’t put my finger on,” said Lei Jiang. “It’s not evil per se, but…”

“It’s burnt abyssal meat,” said Bifang. “Tasty if you use the right wood and the right flames.”

Bifang’s prediction turned out to be accurate. No less than three dozen large abyssal demons were being roasted on spits. A small army of heaven-element demons were expending large amounts of energy purifying these meats for consumption.

“This is a culinary travesty,” Huxian said. “Eat nothing I don’t personally inspect.”

“They’re doing it all wrong,” Bifang said, shooting the cooks a pitying gaze.

Huxian noticed many strange things about the camp. First, there were no monstrous demons present. Second, the camp’s authority wasn’t divided but wholistic. It would be difficult for the demons present to transform individual pieces of land into a more suitable territory.

Another thing of note was that the encampment had a wall. It was a glittering gold structure made of sacred sand, of all things. The source of sacred sand was an open secret amongst high level demons, so he knew that the wall was literally built from the corpses of millions of Runebound Clansmen.

There was only one entrance into the encampment. A golden light scanned their group as they passed through it, probing their blood, their bones, and their storage treasures and inner spaces. Huxian had to scramble to seal the white pearl he’d used to defeat the blood clone; fortunately, his tail space was difficult to probe, and the light left him before it managed to find it.

“Pardon the intrusive scan,” said one of the guards. “The Paper Tiger Clan is always sending rakshasas in as spies.”

“No problem,” Huxian said. “Should we… pitch up a tent or something?”

“The leaders of each delegation will proceed directly to the command tent,’ said the guard. “Greetings, Lady Wu. Your group is third to arrive.”

The camp was filled to the brim with tents and fires. These were loosely divided based on species and sub-elements. Though a lot of variety existed, it was inevitable that the demons present share something in common with the Heaven Element.

The guard led them through the patchwork army to a tent at the center of the camp. He pushed open a flap and motioned for them to enter. “Region Lord Wu has arrived!” he announced.

A golden light probed them once more, but this time, Wu blocked the light with a shield. “Now that’s just rude,” she said in an uncharacteristically assertive voice. “Is this how you welcome guests?”

The golden light retreated a few paces before taking the shape of a golden serpent composed of thousands of runic scales. “You dare resist inspection?” said the serpent. It shot out at Wu once more and coiled around her shielding sphere and squeezed. Wu had no choice but to draw on the five percent of the Santana Desert she now controlled to strengthen the shield. The serpent of light, seeing that it was at a disadvantage, retreated to a corner of the tent.

The inside of the tent was divide into six sections, including the altar at the center where thirteen members of the Runebound Clan were meditating. The serpent of holy light had come from one of these thirteen demons.

Huxian recognized the center-most figure almost instantly. We meet again, Solana, thought Huxian. And this time, I have the advantage of already having met you.

Solana, the Grand Priestess of the Runebound Clan, stirred at this moment. She opened her eyes and brought a terrifying demonic pressure down on their group.

“Young, disrespectful, and full of yourselves,” said the grand priestess. “I have no idea how you managed to become a regional faction, but it’s not the first time such a thing has happened.” Solana was bald, as high priestesses usually were, and her skin was adorned with the most powerful runes Huxian had ever seen on a member of her specifies.

“Our group of nine conveys its sincere greetings, Grand Priestess Solana,” Wu said with cupped hands. “And with all due respect, we are hardly inexperienced. Seven of the sacred deserts have been purified thanks to our efforts, and it is thanks to this that the seal on the Santana Desert has been strengthened.”

“Yes, and at a most inopportune time,” replied Solana. “Thousands of fusion realm demons have perished thanks to the dual threat of the Inkwell Clan and the restless curse of the Santana Desert. A thousand years of progress has been lost in the past sixty years. And given the state of the world, I doubt there’s any salvaging the situation.

“Please allow me, Lady Wu,” said Huxian.

“By all means,” said Wu.

“Solana – can I call you that? – it seems to me like you’re trying to blame us for your lost battles,” said Huxian. “Or perhaps I’m overthinking things. The Grand Priestess of the Runebound Clan wouldn’t be so petty, surely.”

“How could I blame the heroes of our region?” asked Solana. “You defeated a blood clone, which is a cause for celebration. If my words were offensive, it was because I was distraught at the recent loss of two colleagues – the region lords ranked seventh and fifth in our alliance.

“Speaking of which, your group is now ranked sixth. For future reference, this means you should show up three days early as a show of respect.”

“No disrespect was intended,” said Wu.

“But ignorance is no excuse for disrespect,” said Solana. “You are in the Santana Sacred Desert, so you had best familiarize yourself with the customs here.”

“We will do so,” said Wu. “Shall we take a seat?” She led their group to the smallest section of the six sections in the tent, then erected a barrier of holy light to block out their surroundings.

“Wow. What a snake,” said Gua.

“A powerful snake,” Mr. Mountain agreed. “One we can’t afford to offend.”

“I wonder what’s eating her,” said Miyue. “She knows who we are. She knows we helped her more than hurt her. Can’t she show even a tiny bit of appreciation?”

“Perhaps she feels threatened?” suggested Wu. “We gained a huge portion of authority in a short amount of time. I for one could see why she would feel insecure.”

“She doesn’t feel insecure at all,” said Huxian. “She’s just peeved that her scheme to have the blood clone kill us backfired.” Huxian had the help of his future memories, so he knew a bit of information about the Grand Priestess and the five other factions. Solana had been running the show here for fifteen thousand years. She’d challenged the Santana Dungeon dozens of times and was an old hand at taking care of budding factions before they became a problem.

“Then wasn’t coming here a bad idea?” said Gua when Huxian finished explaining this.

“You think refusing the invitation of one of the most powerful and well-connected demons on the Inkwell Plane is a good idea?” Miyue scoffed. “No wonder M&T Tailors never took off like you thought it would. You have the common sense of a newborn goat.”

“Offending her would not have been a good idea,” Wu agreed. “I have very good instincts when it comes to self-preservation. She could kill us without even trying.”

Huxian agreed with that assessment. “The Grand Priestess might not control the Santana Desert, but she sets the rules for all eight deserts. If not for the fact that her clan has been very busy just containing the curses, they would have probably conquered all eight dungeon cores long ago. Remember, these cores were once the temple cores that safeguarded what is now known as Mendin.”

The Runebound Clan was undoubtedly the first-ranked power in the sacred desert. Huxian and friends had been ranked sixth, since their total control of the desert was lowest, but they were also the least powerful of all the factions.

+The fifth ranked power in the sacred desert was the Holy Salamander Clan. Unlike their fire-spewing brethren, these demons had golden blood in their veins that they could immolate in order to bless their comrades. Their leaders were a couple that jointly managed six percent of the Sacred Santana Desert. The members of this faction were mostly salamanders that cultivated the fire, earth, and ash elements.

The fourth ranked group was called the Holy Storm Alliance. It was a group of mixed demons led by a trio of demons aligned with wind, cloud, and lightning. They each controlled three percent of the sacred desert, for a total of nine percent. Their original alignment originally had nothing to do with the holy element, but over time, they’d managed to forcefully fuse the sacred desert’s energy into their bloodlines.

“Ironically, the Holy Storm Alliance is the least of our worries,” Huxian said. “Dessert anyone?”

“Please!” they said in unison.

A few of Huxian’s clones split off from his body and distributed food from his tail space. Their group had dessert in the desert. A wonderful thing, to be sure. “The Holy Salamander Union isn’t great to provoke though.”

“Aren’t they the weakest?” asked Gua.

“I don’t think that matters if they have dragon blood in their veins,” said Miyue.

“That’s right,” said Huxian. “It’s not good to provoke demons with a trace of dragon blood. Touch their reverse scale, and you’re going to end up regretting it.”

“What about these guys?” Silverwing said as the group ranked third arrived. “They look like elementals.”

“They’re light elementals,” Huxian confirmed. “Heaven-aligned. I’m told they’re virtually unkillable.”

“I’m surprised they managed to form a faction,” said Miyue. “Aren’t elementals slow to reproduce?”

“I’d bet my hat that they’re using the desert to multiply,” said Huxian. “See their leader, Yigdrizil? They say he’s the fastest creature in all Mendin. All their faction’s authority is concentrated on him, and he controls a full 10% of this place.”

The second ranked group arrived half a day later. Like the Holy Storm Alliance, this group was also a mixed group. “A Five-Sealed Rune Bear,” muttered Silverwing. “He’s very strong. I just don’t understand how he controls 12% of the sacred desert when he doesn’t have a shred of holy energy in its body.”

“He has a devouring energy,” said Lei Jiang. “Or something like it. He seals abyssal inside his body to absorb their strength and alignment.”

“Makes sense,” said Silverwing. “I can’t hand him. Can you?”

Huxian shook his head. “I can’t. I wouldn’t be able to even if I broke through.”

Grand Priestess Solana called the meeting to order. “Welcome, everyone, to the Holy Santana Convention. I know it hasn’t been long since our last convention, but the topic at hand is a most joyful one. Please join me in welcoming the newest member of our assembly, Lady Wu and her companions.”

Five powerful auras immediately bore down on Huxian and his team. Wu drew on her authority in the sacred desert resist, and Huxian, having expected a show of force, directed energy from their other seven territories to reinforce Wu’s shields.

“A weakling who relies on the strength of others,” scoffed Lord Five Seals. “That was just a test, little turtle. I could tear through that shield using a tenth of my strength.”

“Not everyone is as abnormal as you are,” said Lord Yigdrizil. “I’d need to use at least 70% of my strength to pierce through.”

“Greetings, Region leaders,” Wu said to the five leaders. “I thank you all for your kind intentions. Even with the support of my friends, it would be utterly impossible for me to resist a serious attack from any of you.”

Grand Priestess Solana was a mighty saint. It was the same for Lord Five Seals and Yigdrizil. The Holy Salamander Clan and the Holy Storm Alliance did not have a saint-level leader and were therefore on the same level as Huxian and friends.

“It is good that you have this self awareness,” said Grand Priestess Solana. “But at the same time, you shouldn’t underestimate yourself. Your shielding abilities are both rare and powerful. We did not expect you to be able to resist this probing attack.”

Just be honest, Huxian counselled Wu. We need to show them our value.

“It is quite simple,” Wu answered Solana. “You are all aware that our group currently controls the other seven sacred deserts. The Sacred Santana Desert is naturally the strongest of them, to the extent that the other seven aren’t worth mentioning. But the Bagua is balanced, and these other seven regions are therefore able to reinforce or suppress this region’s holy element.”

The other two saints frowned when they heard this, as did the leaders of the two lesser group. By Wu’s own admission, this meant that their strength wasn’t limited to the territory they controlled in this desert. Huxian would have preferred to hide this fact, but he knew that Solana knew, so it was better to be honest about it.

“Please don’t misunderstand my intentions,” said Grand Priestess Solana. “Your conquest of the other sacred deserts may have cost us two companions, but for the first time in a hundred years, we finally see a ray of hope.”

Once again, Huxian was helpless against her scheming. She’d painted them as an enemy they reluctantly had to accept. If they were useful, they could be kept around. Otherwise, they were fair game.

“We’ve had many fortunate encounters that have put us in a position to help this council and put an end to the abyssal threat once and for all,” Wu said to Solana. “Unfortunately, our strength is lacking. We don’t have a single saint-level demon in our group. I believe that we would be most useful fighting side by side with other factions.”

“I agree with that assessment,” said Solana. “And given time, I believe your group would develop a saint and join Lord Five Seals, Yigdrizil, and I.  Unfortunately, the timing is off. Yigdrizil, please report what your scouts have discovered.”

Yigdrizil stepped forward to deliver his report. “The blood clones have been striking with increasing frequency. Many of my clones have perished in recent months trying to discover their motives, but to no avail.”

“Those blood clones are tricky,” said Lord Five Seals. “I’ve lost many trusted generals to them, and they’re still not satisfied.”

“Their behavior coincides with major events on the Inkwell Plane,” said Solana. “The blood clones aren’t just crafty – they also have excellent survival instincts. The Inkwell Clan’s activities over the past few decades indicate something big is afoot. The Paper Tiger’s blood has grown restless in response to this and the loss of the other sacred deserts and won’t stop until the seal is broken and the dungeon core is completely assimilated.”

“We should take the fight to them!” Huxian shouted with a raised fist. All eyes turned on him. “The best defence is a good offense, isn’t it?” They all looked at him strangely, as this was exactly the direction they were steering the conversation in.”

Grand Priestess Solana cleared her throat. “Well. Conveniently, there is a tradition in the Santana Desert. Every time a new faction produces a Region Lord, there is as a need to evaluate their performance. The best way to do this is via crusade.”

“I’m sorry, Grand Priestess, but can you clarify what you mean by crusade?” asked Wu.

“A crusade is exactly what your friend mentioned,” said Solana.

“It’s an aggressive push into the central region of the desert,” said Lord Five Seals. “We’ll fight our way to the Santana Dungeon and try to end to this curse, once and for all.”

“This…” Wu said uncomfortably. “Is there any room for negotiation?”

“Don’t worry, it’s only a formality,” said Yigdrizil. “I passed this same challenge when I led my people into this sacred desert and carved out a home for them.”

“It was the same for us, all those years ago,” said the female leader of the Holy Salamander Clan. “The Holy Storm Alliance was the last of us to join. When was that? Over five thousand years ago? How quickly time passes.”

“So you can rest assured that we’re not making things intentionally difficult,” said Grand Priestess Solana. “The crusade is a time-honor tradition, and will be executed with the full might of our alliance.”

“Then I am relieved,” said Wu. “Rest assured, we will do our part.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” said Solana. “In that case, we will proceed to the next item on the agenda: Strategy and battle planning. We will adjourn for an hour before reconvening. I expect planning to take three full days.”

Huxian and friends did not have much to contribute in the upcoming conversation. Everything was decided by the top three powers. They discussed the situation with their body doubles in the Nine Palace Formation and posted recruit notices across their territories and demon territories linked to Huxian’s teleportation network.

“This is a waste of time,” said Silverwing. “I was just speaking to my assistant, and do you know what he told me? Those bastards issued a conscription order! In my territory!”

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Huxian said. “Not without completely falling out Solana, at least. The good news is that our elemental alignment is very diverse. We’re also trusted in our own territories. They won’t be able to steal a lot of troops from us this way.”

“I’m not a fan of crusades,” said Gua. “They make it sound noble, but they’re obviously using us as meat shields.”

“As the newcomers, we’re the vanguard,” Huxian agreed. “On paper, that means we get 30% of all territory gains. But Solana’s the faction leader, so she gets twenty percent off the top, even before distribution. That means her gains will be bigger than anyone else’s.”

“What a messed-up system,” said Miyue. “It’s blatant corruption!”

“That’s politics for you,” said Jadefall. “It happens everywhere you look, not just here.”

“This meeting’s going to take a while, so we’d better make good use of our time,” said Huxian. “Wu has to stay here, but you guys can prepare a few things. I want healing items and recovery medicines. I want battle formations and bloodline rejuvenation draughts. The more the better.”

Huxian he did not oversee a territory of his own, but he didhave contacts the others didn’t. He called in a few favors from human cultivators he knew, then contacted Cha Ming.

A projection of Cha Ming appeared in Huxian’s palace.  He was flying through the void on a ship with twenty-three wings and was minutes away from a famous pocket realm known for producing alchemical flames.

“What can I help you with, Huxian?” Cha Ming said. “I’m about ten minutes away from the Brushflame Demiplane, and I hear no less than three saints are going to try to stop me from taking it.”

“I just wanted to check up on you,” Huxian said. “You’re a bit behind schedule, and I wanted to see what I could help you with.”

“There’s nothing to be done,” Cha Ming said. “Unless you can block curses and stop the two churches form harassing me. Patching up planar membranes takes time when you’re busy dodging spells.”

“I guess my schedule was a bit ambitious,” said Huxian. “Forget the secondary nodes and prioritize the primary nodes. I need at least half to be done before you take off. By the way, how’s my toy coming along?”

“It’s doing fine,” Cha Ming said. “I’ve never made a painting like this before, and because you need it to be saint grade, I need to restart whenever I make a small mistake.”

“Can it be ready in a month?” asked Huxian. “We’re going to war again, and it involves making a run on Santana’s dungeon core.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Cha Ming said. “It helps that I only have to do the primary pocket realms. Maybe I could ask Titan Thunderfist to help me? How do you feel about a puppet with a painted outer shel;?”

“As long as it’s convincing,” Huxian said. “And as long as it’s done inside the month.”

“Are you sure you don’t need more help?” Cha Ming asked. “I could delay looking for Elder Ling and Silverfish. It’s not like I have any solid leads on them.”

“Lucky for you, I happen to have found out a few things,” said Huxian. “Do you remember Baleful Vision? It turns out that Elder Ling took some of our old friends to meet the Pale King, and now, they’re heading towards something called the Bridge of Ascension.”

“Aren’t the Pale King and Elder Ling enemies?” Cha Ming asked. “Never mind. Strange times. Frenemies everywhere. By the way, I have a question I’m not sure I should ask. What’s eating you, Huxian? We’re talking a lot, but I’m feeling a lot of distance through our bond.”

“There’s… just a lot to do, and not enough time,” Huxian said. It was a half-truth, and close enough to the root of the issue. “Just do your own thing. Find Silverfish and Elder Ling. I’ll be fine holding down the fort in Mendin.”

“Fine,” said Cha Ming. “Forget I asked.”

“It’s something personal,” said Huxian. “I’ll let you know later.”

“All right,” said Cha Ming. “I’ll finish picking off these pocket realms and make your toy before heading off. Just… you know you can tell me if you’re in trouble, right? I’m here for you. You don’t have to be stubborn and try doing things alone.”

“Yeah, I know,” Huxian said with a sigh. “I’ll keep it in mind. I’m just stressed out because of this stupid crusade.”

“A crusade, huh?” Cha Ming said. “Talk about a coincidence. The pontiffs may have declared me a blight upon this land and have called one against me. It’s not fun being the public enemy.”

“Good luck and let me know if you make any progress,” said Huxian.

“Will do,” said Cha Ming.

The projection winked out, leaving Huxian alone in his palace of spatial glass. “I’ve done all I can for you, Cha Ming,” said Huxian. “Keep safe, and I’ll meet you at the finish line.”