PtM Book 14 - Chapter 44: War Council

It seems I accidentally fell behind. Here is 5/5 last week, and I'll quickly follow up with 1/5 this week. 

Also, I have an announcement to post with the next chapter. It's Patreon relevant -  Make sure you read it!

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The arrival of ten thousand members of the Titan Clan did not go unnoticed by the residents of Verdant Crossroads, especially given that people had been doing the opposite until recently. There was a scramble for housing and supply allocation, but those problems were easily resolved. After all, the Church’s exodus had taken away a good half of the city’s human residents, and they were much more welcoming of human neighbors, whether they be Daoists or members of the Titan Clan.

It didn’t take long for Elder Finleaf to call a meeting—or rather, a war council. A confrontation with Fendal’s army was inevitable.

The meeting was held at the top of the Tree of Life, and everyone with status was invited, including weaker members representing the various factions, even the human one.

Yu Wen and Xiao Bai had not been invited, but that was probably for the best. Cha Ming didn’t want to have to explain anything about their antics in Fierra in a public forum, and he was sure that Clever Dusk had already deduced most of the pertinent bits.

The Daoists were also in attendance, but unlike last time, they were not represented by Daoist Frozen Thorn. A much stronger Daoist had taken charge, and Sect Master Frozen Thorn and three others of comparable power, including Daoist Goldbloom, appeared quite subservient to him.

Who this mysterious Daoist was, Cha Ming had no idea. Furthermore, he could not ascertain his cultivation realm or even sense his soul fluctuations. But the elderly Daoist smiled when he saw Cha Ming’s inquisitive gaze, and that fact alone told Cha Ming that while the meeting they’d held before was sealed, the secret of Painted Daoists was spreading.

Titan Thunderfist and Titan Shatterstorm represented the Titan Clan. Merenthal was still the representative of the Runebound Clan, but Drezil was also in attendance. As for Graceful Twilight, she’d come representing the reclusive inkborn.

“Congratulations on your success, Drezil,” Cha Ming said. “And to yours too, Graceful Twilight. I see that you’ve both ascended to the fusion realm. Well done. Perhaps when you have time, you’ll show me how that carving turned out.”

Drezil laughed, and it was music to Cha Ming’s ears. “There’s no need to wait, Teacher. We brought her along.” A small horse-like creature with wings darted out from inside his sleeve. It left a trail of rainbow light as it flew in joyful arcs over the assembled demons.

The winged qilin statue landed on Graceful Twilight’s shoulder and nuzzled up against her cheek. “Our child is awfully naughty, isn’t she?” she said. “Perhaps we’ll send her to you for disciplining.”

Cha Ming decided he wanted nothing to do with rearing a tiny horse statue, but he did not say so. “I expected something bigger, but congratulations on successfully completing it. It seems you took my words to heart and formed very lifelike construct.”

“This…” Drezil said with a frown. “I wouldn’t use lifelike to describe Rainbow Dawn, Teacher. That would be demeaning.” Seeing Cha Ming’s confusion, he hurried to clarify. “Don’t get me wrong, most of the golems and statues that we’ve animated are akin to custodians, albeit less intelligent. It’s just that Rainbow Dawn is special, since ultimately, a heaven-stabilizing stone exists at the core of her being. She’s a living, breathing creature now, even if her body is made of a different element than ours is.”

Cha Ming blinked. The qilin statue was made up from the stone he’d been looking for this entire time? No wonder he’d felt strange when looking at it. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry about the matter, because as much as he wanted a heaven-stabilizing stone to increase Sun Wukong’s chances at revival, he wasn’t willing to sacrifice a living creature that his student recognized as his own child.

I guess it wasn’t meant to be,Cha Ming thought, briefly inspecting the soul-gathering sage grass inside the Clear Sky World. Perhaps the grass will be enough. I’ll give it to Clever Dusk once the meeting is over.

“The boy’s feat is impressive, but not as impressive as yours,” Frozen Thorn said bitterly. “Ten thousand members of the Titan Clan, all painted over with special patterns. I thought you were reluctant to act, but then you bring us such a wonderful present. I wonder if you’ll continue being so generous?”

Cha Ming sighed. “Their situation was urgent, so I had to act, Sect Master Frozen Thorn. But you are right, I am beginning to get a feel for what is acceptable and what is not. Why don’t we speak in a more private setting later on?” He turned his attention to Merenthal. “Where’s Sedrannah? I would have thought she’d insist on being here.”

“We scared her off,” Merenthal said with a grin. “By threatening her with bodily harm.”

Cha Ming was aghast. “No! You didn’t!”

Merenthal nodded. “I did. I broke with tradition, and I don’t even feel bad about it.”

Cha Ming laughed. “If that’s the case, I see no reason to keep holding on to this.” He tossed a spatial ring to Drezil.

“What’s this?” Drezil asked.

“A graduation present,” Cha Ming said. “Since you’re a fusion-realm demon, you should have no problem defending yourself.” The ring contained Shakkanah’s inheritance scroll and the remainder of the sacred sand she’d passed on to him for safekeeping. He had no doubt that wherever her soul was, it would be relieved by Drezil’s recovery and transformation.

“Let’s call this meeting to order.” Elder Finleaf’s voice said. She appeared out of nowhere and stepped up beside Clever Dusk. “I am sure everyone has spotted the army outside our city, but I think it would be best to give everyone a better view. Shacklebolt?”

The old strategist got up from his seat. “With your permission,” he said, and sent out a karmic connection to each of them.

Cha Ming was already familiar with this skill, so he immediately accepted the connection. He was now in an illusory world alongside the other members of the war council. At the enter of the room was a large map showing Oster Fireblight’s army.

The army was much larger than Verdant Crossroads’s. Twenty times larger, in fact. It had already sent out several scouting parties that were currently circling around the city and probing their defenses while the city’s own teams watched from a distance. Aaron Shacklebolt was leveraging Elder Finleaf’s knowledge of her territory and amplifying it with his skills.

“As you can see, the situation isn’t good,” Aaron Shacklebolt explained. “The enemy outnumbers us by a large margin, and even using a demonic territorial advantage and the superior strength of demons, I fail to see how we’ll survive this upcoming struggle.”

“I’ve seen worse odds,” Merenthal said. “We’re also defending, so we’ll have an easier time.”

“That’s right!” another demon elder said. He was of the Hooded Porcupine Clan, a venomous demon that traditionally inhabited the sacred deserts. “And traps!”

Aaron Shacklebolt chuckled. “True enough. And if this were a human city, I’d like our odds.” This brought about a grumble of discontent.

“You’ll have to explain your words, or else many will take offense,” Elder Finleaf said.

“It’s obviously the walls,” Cha Ming said, and everyone looked at him as though he were a monster. “What?”

“That’s precisely it. The walls,” Aaron confirmed. “While Verdant Crossroads has defenses that do act like walls in certain respects, and many layers of earthen obstructions have already been erected, these is no replacement for proper walls.”

“We’ve always been fine without walls,” the First Feather said.

“You wouldn’t understand because you originally come from a wilderness surrounded by bestial demons, First Feather,” Aaron said. “But this is Mendin. There aren’t billions of monstrous demons out there acting as a natural barrier. And besides, even if you did want to build a wall, you wouldn’t have time.”

Elder Finleaf looked at him skeptically. “Why do we need walls? Why aren’t our formations and trenches enough?”

“Why do you need a roof over your head?” Aaron Shacklebolt asked. “Stability is key, Elder Finleaf. It’s very difficult to destroy or push past a wall. It’s not porous. Even though not having a wall grants us more control over the terrain, it remains that such defenses are vastly inferior to having a solid stone structure with layered enchantments.

“And that’s only the first of our disadvantages. Sure, we have a terrain advantage, and our troops are powerful, but so what? Our unit composition leaves a lot to be desired.”

“He means the variance in abilities between clans and tribes,” Clever Dusk said before anyone else could take offense. “Mendin rankers are relatively uniform compared to demons, so they are able to group together large-scale magical attacks and can better combine their other abilities thanks to formations and tactics. Meanwhile, we are mostly melee oriented, and must divide things according to power, element, and attack type, like melee or ranged.”

“Even so, neither of these are our biggest problem,” Aaron Shacklebolt said. “If there is a single place where we are most disadvantaged, it’s our gold rankers—pardon me, our gold-ranked equivalents. We don’t lose in terms of quantity. Never let it be said that I disparaged our quality. There are simply too many of them. That being said… we might just have a solution to part of this problem. Greetings, Patriarch Thunderfist. Your reputation precedes you.”

“I am honored that you’ve heard of me,” Titan Thunderfist said. “Greetings, everyone, on behalf of the Titan Clan. Strategist Shacklebolt, may I know why you have singled me out in this meeting? Our clan has just migrated to Verdant Crossroads, and I am unfamiliar with the local situation.”

“How could I not have heard of you—generals across the subcontinent boast when they manage to secure one of your personally crafted weapons,” Aaron said. “Moreover, young Clear Sky here spent so much time selling me your arrows. You owe me a delivery. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

“So it’s the God-Slaying Arrows you’re after!” Patriarch Thunderfist said with a rumbling laugh. “The shipment is ready, and I will have it delivered an hour after the end of this meeting. Moreover, our clansmen are already settled in and have started production of additional arrows.”

“If it’s like that, then I have a little more confidence,” Aaron Shacklebolt said. “But in the end, I’m not sure if it will be enough. I know we have many powerhouses here, Elder Finleaf, but tell me: How many fusion-realm experts can we really draw on? How strong are they?”

“I don’t know about you demons, but us Daoists have a few law-stitching members among our ranks,” the leader of the five-man Daoist delegation said. “We may be amenable to helping out, assuming our other negotiations are fruitful.”

“We have roughly fifty fusion-realm experts,” Elder Finleaf said to Aaron Shacklebolt. “I am a middle-fusion-realm demon. Patriarch Thunderfist, if he makes himself available, is effectively a middle-fusion-realm demon. How many gold rankers do you expect? Hundreds?”

“Probably close to a thousand.” Aaron Shacklebolt said. The mood in the room instantly sank. “What, you don’t believe me?”

“That’s impossible,” Bloodfur said bluntly. “I didn’t see nearly that many while scouting.”

“That’s because they haven’t yet arrived,” Aaron Shacklebolt said. “But given how many bronze and silver rankers I see here, you can’t expect to see any less.”

“Gold rankers don’t grow on trees, Shacklebolt,” the First Feather scolded. “Don’t joke around with matters like this.”

“I believe him,” Cha Ming said.

“Explain,” said Elder Finleaf.

Cha Ming did his best to do so while skirting around the sensitive topic. “I was recently in a Mendin city where a large commotion occurred, Elder Finleaf. There were over a hundred gold rankers in a single location, and after that commotion, five hundred gold rankers were moved into the city within the span of a day. And that was just a city-state. I would imagine that a country would have many more at their disposal, and Fendal is not a small republic. That they haven’t showed up yet makes sense—gold rankers are not accustomed to getting ordered about, and only do so with significant financial incentives. If I were the enemy commander, I would only call upon them for a short period of time, assuming I could get away with it.”

Clever Dusk frowned. “I never anticipated such a thing. Fighting a hundred gold rankers is fundamentally different from fighting a thousand.”

“We’ll just smash them apart like we usually do!” This time, it was a Star-Eye clansman speaking. “You know how it is. One against three is easy enough, but one against five or ten isn’t unheard of, is it? Besides, don’t we have some of those arrows? We can have some investiture demons fill in the gaps.”

Aaron Shacklebolt simple chuckled in response.

“What? What’s so funny?” asked a member of the Blazing Heron Tribe who answered.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Aaron said.

Cha Ming rolled his eyes, because at this point, he was just goading them.

“Cut the nonsense, Shacklebolt,” Elder Finleaf said. “You’ve riled up everyone enough.”

“Fine, fine,” Aaron said, raising his hands defensively. “A hundred gold rankers fight very differently than a thousand, especially in military situations. While you are right that God-Slaying Arrows can help close the gap, there is a key problem.”

Merenthal had obtained quite a bit of practical experience in the past half year, so he immediately understood the crux of the issue. “Formations.”

“That’s right,” Aaron said, nodding sagely. “Formations. Small elite groups of silver rankers might not use formations, but thousands of silver rankers will definitely use them. That’s because with such a large group, it’s impossible to harness all their strength otherwise.

“It’s one thing for your small elite group of fusion-realm demons to launch a volley of arrows at or attack an equal-sized or larger force, but to do so to a group of a few hundred or a thousand? They’ll block every single arrow and encircle and swallow up any charge. They’ll wear you down with wave after wave of weaker fighters until the stronger ones swoop in for the kill.

“That’s not the only problem. Tell me, if a thousand gold rankers show up, do you expect all of them to be initial-gold rankers? Sweet Jezeriah, no! If there’s a thousand gold rankers, expect a hundred early-gold rankers, ten middle-gold rankers, and one late-gold ranker. If not two.”

Although that seemed bad enough, something told Cha Ming there was another crucial point to consider.

Clever Dusk figured it out first. “How many gold rankers could Fendal mobilize if it redirected forces from all other borders and focused solely on defense in those locations?”

This time, Aaron took some time to think before answering. His words were soft, but everyone present still heard him. “Five thousand.”

Everyone in the room shivered.

“Five thousand, if they had to. Of course, doing so would be extremely expensive, so it might not be worth it, but if they felt strongly about it, five thousand.

“And that is why, Elder Finleaf, it doesn’t really matter if everyone in the city is a fighter, and that demon civilians can take up arms. It doesn’t matter that we have the Tree of Life to draw on. We must find a solution to both this wave of gold rankers and those who might show up later. We must defeat them so soundly that they will not dare send any more our way.

“Mutual destruction is not an option. We must defeat them and maintain a strong defense. Not just because Fendal could easily send in another army, but because Asherall could do the same. Therefore, I advise that you strongly consider Fendal’s demand for surrender. Their terms are quite reasonable, and are standard across all of Mendin.”

More silence.

“What demand for surrender?” one of the councillors said. “No one mentioned anything about this.”

“We received a letter about a day ago,” Clever Dusk said. “The army is willing to accept our surrender under what they call ‘standard terms.’”

“Which are?”

“Transfer of all property in Verdant Crossroads to the Fendal Republic,” Clever Dusk said. “Real-estate assets are to be immediately transferred to them for reallocation. All of our residents will be taken in under twenty-year indenture, with rank-adjusted buyout terms.”

“Please translate for everyone,” the First Feather said. “They are not as well versed in Mendin legal speak as I am.”

Clever Dusk nodded. “That is my mistake. Indenture is in effect slavery, with limitations.” The room instantly broke out in angry shouting, but Elder Finleaf quieted them all with her aura. “Indentured residents have limited control over where they live and who they work for, and they will be scattered to prevent rebellion.” Clever Dusk continued. “This is common practice in the Mendin republics, but it is the first time I have heard of such terms being offered to demons.”

“It has been done a few times in the past,” the First Feather said. “With mixed success.”

“I stand corrected,” Clever Dusk said. She continued her explanation. “Indentured residents are guaranteed work they are proficient in. Demeaning work is prohibited. And regardless of what happens, assuming they work during the time of their indenture, they will become full citizens of the country owning their indenture. Those who perform well can buy out the indenture in a much shorter timespan. This is especially true of those who join the military.

“There is a difference in treatment given individual circumstances. Rankers, for example, will have a quarter of their indenture automatically waived, and in the case of competing dominant religions, as is the case between Asherall and Fendal, conversion to the opposing goddess will be rewarded with a halving of the indenture period.

“The buyout terms are straightforward. In lieu of indenture, each individual may buy out their indenture by offering up resources corresponding to their cultivation rank. Leaders can also buy out the indentures of their people, and these people will become official citizens of the conquering country and obtain freedom of movement. They will suffer no retribution or discrimination.”

“Why would they even offer something buyout terms like that?” Cha Ming asked. “Why not just take everything and force them to work anyway?”

“Good question,” Clever Dusk said. “I suppose it all comes down to limiting spiteful retaliation. Think for a moment: If you were certain to die, would you not want to limit your opponent’s gains? Fendal is not attacking us out of spite. They are motivated purely by profit, or so I’m told. They wish for the Tree of Life and the resources of the land it nourishes. Our lives are also a valuable resource. A taxable one.”

“I guess you’re right,” Cha Ming said. “If I was in a dead end, I’d probably just push all my wealth in a spatial rift. Or I’d shove all my things in a storage ring and break it.”

“Thus, the buyout option,” Clever Dusk said. “Captives of war can also buy out their freedom, but the price will typically be higher. I therefore advise everyone to keep enough wealth on their person if this does come to blows.”

“All in favor of surrendering?” Elder Finleaf asked. No one voted in favor.

For a time, no one spoke. No one knew what to say. The future was grim, but pointing that out would just be rubbing salt into the wound after Aaron Shacklebolt’s rundown.

It was Drezil, in the end, who broke that silence. “I am told there is a brightslate quarry to the north, Elder Finleaf. Can you confirm this?”

The elder inclined her head. “I can.”

“Then our Runebound Clan wishes to excavate it,” Drezil said.

“What’s gotten into your head, boy?” a stubborn member of the Star-Eye Clan asked. “We’re talking war here, not mining. Sit back in your seat if you can’t contribute.”

Elder Finleaf silenced the elder and asked for clarification. “What use does brightslate have, Drezil?”

“It is a very hard material and an excellent runic energy conductor,” Drezil said. “It can be carved quickly and efficiently, and its defensive properties are about middle-silver ranked.”

“I understand your intentions,” Elder Finleaf said. “And your request is granted. Will you be requiring support materials?”

“The wood available in Verdant Crossroads is suitable, so we are fine on that front,” Drezil said. “But I believe we will need the Iridescent Clan to support Graceful Twilight’s team. They cannot work fire like she and her brethren can, but they can supplement her flames and assist.”

“Good,” Elder Finleaf said. “I like suggestions like these. Anyone else?”

“You’re going to have them continue manufacturing an army?” Aaron Shacklebolt asked.

“Why not?” Elder Finleaf said. “It’s better than stupidly sending them to the front lines.” Only then did people remember that Drezil had covered Merenthal and Aaron’s army with constructs, and that these constructs were actually quite powerful. “I want suggestions like these, not naysaying. Is that clear?”

“I don’t think taking all the earth-element demons is advisable,” an old badger said.

“Explain,” Elder Finleaf said again.

“My badger tribe is better suited to laying traps,” the old badger said. “No offense, but the defenses we have here are rather elementary. And it’s not a trap if they see it coming, is it? Why not make a few preparations in the upcoming days? Lay the groundwork for some surprising terrain features, ones even geomancers won’t be able to sense?”

“Poison,” an elder from the Venomous Asp Tribe said. “We’ll start preparing poisons. Poisons for arrows. Poisons for blades. Poisons for battalions of bronze rankers unfortunate enough to stumble upon them.”

One after another, they began to bring up some interesting strategies. Some involved flight and storage treasures, and normally they wouldn’t be practical—unless you were a flight-type demon that could run circles around enemy gold rankers.

There was also the matter of arming civilians, but the Star-Eye Clan had long anticipated this and stockpiled a large number of sharp wooden weapons that were comparable to metal ones.

“Hey, is everyone just going to ignore my end of things?” a voice suddenly called out.

Cha Ming laughed when Huxian forced his way into Aaron’s projection, looking huffy and displeased. “You guys dare mention using my teleportation network without talking to me first?”

Clever Dusk giggled lightly. “We did so knowing that you would be listening in, Lord Eight Directions. Does your esteemed self have any advice or suggestions?

“Nothing much,” Huxian said. “Our war is going pretty good, and we’ll finish smashing the Boneshift Badger Lord within the week. But that got me thinking, what if we finished earlier?”

Aaron Shacklebolt immediately picked up on what he was saying. “You want us to reinforce you, is that it?”

“Reinforce him?” a Star-Eye clansman shouted. “How can that be allowed? We’re being invaded!”

“One more word out of you and I’m punting you off this tree,” Elder Finleaf snapped. “You make a convincing argument, Lord Eight Directions. I approve of this plan. We’ll redirect a large portion of our troops your way. As secretly as we can. Once you are finished pushing back the badger lord, our joint armies will circle back and join the fray.”

They now had the semblance of a plan and began talking about the specifics. Cha Ming had nothing to offer to this discussion, but he waited patiently. He was needed for the next discussion.

A few hours later, he was sitting in a room with Clever Dusk, Elder Finleaf, and five other councillors. The five Daoist elders were also present, as was Aaron Shacklebolt, Titan Thunderfist, and Titan Shatterstorm.

“So Painted Demons are possible as well,” the eldest Daoist mused. “Amazing. Astounding.”

“I still haven’t heard your illustrious name,” Cha Ming said.

“This is my mistake, Clear Sky,” Elder Finleaf said. “Please allow me to introduce Daoist Stormwind. After the last meeting, I asked Daoist Frozen Thorn to make very cautious inquiries with fellow Daoists that might be interested in the concept of Painted Daoists.”

“Indeed, you’ll have to forgive us for imposing upon you,” Daoist Stormwind said. “As you might have noticed, this matter is very important to us Daoists, Clear Sky. Initially, we were unsure on how to convince you to continue your efforts, but it seems that you’ve just given this world the present of ten thousand Painted Demons. I imagine that you are even less reluctant to cooperate on this than before.”

“The situation was quite urgent with the Titan Clan, so I had no choice but to act,” Cha Ming said. “But you are right. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I’m afraid there’s no hiding it. I would be happy to help out. The only question I have is this: What difference will a few tens of thousands of Daoists make to the current war effort?”

Daoist Stormwind was not offended by the question. “For one, this relates to the very survival of Daoism in Mendin, so I can guarantee that I will supply no less than fifty law-stitching-realm Daoists to the defense of Verdant Crossroads, should you help us. We are also in the middle of discussing relocating some of our hard-pressed brethren to Verdant Crossroads permanently, which would greatly strengthen the region in the long term against outside invaders.”

“Then I can only agree,” Cha Ming said. “But I believe we need to rethink our strategy.”

“I imagine you have some priorities in allocating these Core-Painting Talismans?” Daoist Stormwind asked. “We are amenable to negotiating which locations come first.”

“No, it’s quite the opposite, actually,” Cha Ming said.

The Daoist smiled. “Surely you know that there is strength in numbers. We discussed this before coming, and all five of us sect masters agree that locations should be strengthened one at a time.”

Aaron Shacklebolt was new to all this, and clearly still quite shocked at the concept of Painted Daoists and Painted Demons. After all, this was altering the fundamental nature of power on the plane.

“Sorry, I just finished reviewing the part about how rankers could be converted, and I nearly soiled myself,” the strategist said. “What was the question?” The Daoist repeated the exchange. “Oh, yes. That’s stupid. Don’t do that.”

Elder Finleaf grimaced. “Please try to be constructive, Shacklebolt.”

“What? When someone says something silly, you need to call them out on it,” Aaron said. “How else will they learn? I’m sure you all recall what happened in Desert’s Blessing. Didn’t the churches there reconcile their differences and join the Republic of Asherall in trying to purge you from existence?”

“I suppose that did happen…” Daoist Stormwind said. “But they’re not completely certain about how these Painted Daoists are created, are they?”

“They weren’t, but with the Titan Clan’s transformation, they will begin to suspect,” Aaron said. “But given that we are still alive and breathing, I am positive that they don’t know the entire truth of the situation.”

“And how would you go about this, if you had total control over the situation?” Daoist Stormwind asked.

“If I had the time, I would stockpile talismans for years before finally rolling out the entire solution simultaneously across all of Mendin,” Aaron said. “The expense would be enormous. The logistics daunting, especially concerning the secrecy of the matter. But that’s the only way to avoid painting a target on Clear Sky’s back, or on your five sects, for that matter.”

“What are your thoughts, Clear Sky?” Clever Dusk asked.

Cha Ming tapped his lips and leaned back. It was a difficult question. He agreed with Aaron in principle, but they didn’t have that kind of time. “Our immediate problem lies with Fendal, correct? Even if we defend against this invasion, we need to watch out for a mass mobilization of gold rankers.”

“That is correct,” Aaron said.

“Then I would like to present you with a hypothetical situation,” Cha Ming said. “What if a few thousand Painted Daoists were to appear simultaneously in Fendal and each of the thirty nearest republics? That’s not too many, but not little either.

“And we don’t need to stop there. What if we increased that number by a little every day, and purposefully leaked rumors about their origins? To tackle such a large-scale problem across so many countries isn’t a simple matter. I believe it would buy us some much-needed time.”

“I see what you’re saying,” Aaron said. “If it’s everywhere, they don’t know the source, and if they don’t know the source, they won’t want to startle whoever’s responsible into hiding. They’d rather lure them out in the open to deal with them first.”

“But the disruption will be substantial, because no one will know exactly what’s going on, or about the greater plan,” Clever Dusk realized. “Assuming we can defeat Fendal’s army this one time, they might just choose to pull it back to prepare for an even greater storm.”

“That is indeed my thought process,” Cha Ming said. “What do you think, fellow Daoists?”

Daoist Stormwind stroked his long beard. “I think this proposal makes much sense. Just tell me when you can get started, and I’ll make arrangements for reinforcements as soon as possible.”

There was a hidden meaning to his words, Cha Ming knew. He had to get working on this right away. Otherwise, the reinforcements might find themselves delayed as well.

“I will start immediately, but I think it best if we wait three days before inducting Painted Daoists,” Cha Ming said. The mysterious clear talisman came to mind once again. “Clever Dusk, may I spend some time atop the Tree of Life? There’s something I’m working on that might require a lot of starlight and inky rain.”

“Please, go ahead,” Clever Dusk said. “There’s no need to ask.”

“I might need half of these resources,” Cha Ming said. Clever Dusk paled but assured him that her offer still stood.

The meeting went on. The Daoists took off to make their own arrangements, and Frozen Thorn looked especially happy after Cha Ming promised he’d try to prioritize them as much as he could.

That night Cha Ming meditated atop the Tree of Life as he painted talismans. He did the same for the following two days, not moving from this position.

“What are you waiting for, Teacher?” Clever Dusk asked on the morning of the third day. This was also the day that Oster Fireblight decided he’d done enough probing and was comfortable beginning his assault. Clever Dusk had therefore put her own plan into motion, and the city was quite deserted.

“How do you know I’m waiting for something?” Cha Ming asked.

“Because you’re fidgety and nervous like a boy going out on his first date,” Clever Dusk said. “We’ve known each other for long enough, Teacher. There’s no need to put on airs, is there?”

Cha Ming nodded. “You’re right. I am waiting for something.” Seeing her peeved expression, he elaborated. “The rain.”

“The rain?” Clever Dusk asked. “What do you need rain for?”

“I’m not sure,” Cha Ming said, pulling out the Dao Origins Talisman. He still wasn’t sure what it did, or how it worked, or how to activate it.

“Fine, fine, no need to be cryptic about it,” Clever Dusk said. “You’ve been crafting talismans for those old fogies all this time, so we’ve secured our reinforcements. Since there’s no time wasted, and it helps the war effort, I have no complaints. Besides, having a Dao God just sitting atop the Tree of Life is on its own quite intimidating. Some believe you are preparing a forbidden technique, and I have done nothing to disabuse them of that notion.”

Cha Ming smiled. “Tell me, Clever Dusk. What are the odds we’ll survive the day?”

“I’m optimistic,” Clever Dusk said. “At least fifty percent. Alas, it’s something I can’t divine. Prophecy is like making soup—too many cooks, and the flavor becomes unpredictable.”

“Could your teacher do it?” Cha Ming asked.

“Absolutely,” Clever Dusk said, without any hesitation. “There’s a reason Verdant Crossroads hasn’t been swallowed up despite being such a juicy morsel. Alas, she is not available. She won’t be free until your teacher awakens.”

“She could delay…” Cha Ming said.

“No,” Clever Dusk said firmly. “She promised, remember? And besides, did you really think all these hostilities came out of nowhere? They clearly have some idea of what we’re up to, and her limitations. Asherall abandoning us is also not a coincidence.”

“Then we can only try,” Cha Ming said. “Perhaps the soul-gathering sage grass will speed things up.” He looked up at the sky. “What are the odds you can predict the weather?”

“It will rain this afternoon,” Clever Dusk said. “Probably. I predict an eighty percent chance of precipitation.”

Cha Ming was struck speechless by her answer. Of all things that were universal, the unpredictable nature of the weather was one of them.