The First Peak of the Force

by Yuri Ajin

  Maneuvering between the attacks and continuing to run, Kai got separated from his teammates. Every minute, the gap between them grew wider, which threatened to isolate them from one another completely.

  Having bought himself a second of time, Kai assumed a fighting stance and swung his swords.

  “Unleash the Blades!” he shouted.

  There was no specific target, so the scarlet X that appeared went forward in a straight line. Kai’s main goal was to cut himself a way through the monsters and trees in order to get closer to at least one of his friends.

  A powerful blow swept the entire area. The trio was affected, too, albeit indirectly, but still rather strongly. Kai, who was running after his own technique, was sharply lifted about thirty feet up into the air and then thrown forward. His vision blurred, his bones fractured, and some of his internal organs were heavily damaged. The monsters that were closest to the epicenter of the attack were either torn apart or fatally injured.

  The air was saturated with the power of the initial level of the Titan Stage. This monster was equal in strength to a human Exorcist.

  Falling and losing his senses, Kai noticed a shadow approaching him. He reflexively swung his blade.

  The beast howled sharply as a blade was jammed into its back. Continuing to rush westward, as if running away from something invisible, it tried to throw Kai off its back, but he was holding on to the blade surprisingly tightly.

  His face was covered with blood gushing from his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. Taking a deep breath, as if he had just swum back to the surface of a lake, he finally sobered up. The hand, which still gripped the blade sticking out of the monster’s back, hurt mercilessly. However, it was thanks to this that he had managed to survive and not fall under the hooves and claws of other creatures.

  The beast suddenly sped up. Looking ahead, Kai saw a large boulder lying directly on its way. The damned thing planned to get rid of him by ramming itself into it.

  “Damn it!” Kai cursed. Overcoming the pain in his wrist, he pulled himself up and climbed onto the monster’s back. Had he been a second late, he would’ve been turned into a red stain.

  Seeing that the pest was still alive, the beast let out an angry howl.

  “It’s fine, you’ll take me to where I need to go,” Kai said, looking around.

  He could see neither Lily nor Ivsim. He was in a completely unfamiliar area of the Wasteland. Judging by the sun’s position, the monster wasn’t going west, but slightly south. This was probably why there weren’t so many other creatures around.

  A second later, they were lifted off the ground.

  Dodging the talons that almost pierced him, Kai just barely avoided falling off the monster’s back, managing to grab the blade’s hilt at the last moment.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?!” he lifted his head and shouted at the huge bird, which easily lifted into the air the rhino-looking creature he was on. “Is there a turf war going on between the land and sky monsters?! I hope I can get out of your nest,” he muttered, watching the ground rapidly grow smaller.

  The monster continued to kick and roar. A moment later, the bird released its prey.

  “Oh, you basta―!” Kai’s angry cry was drowned out by the loud howl of the frightened beast that was plummeting toward the ground at breakneck speed.

  Pulling the blade out of the monster’s back, he pushed off it.

  Fuck, what should I do?! he thought in panic as he struggled to find a way to escape. There’s nothing to cling to! It’s a long way to the ground! I’ll definitely die! Shit! What if I tried to strengthen my body?! There aren’t many monsters around; even if I break my legs, it doesn’t matter! I just need to make sure to keep my heart and head intact! I can fix everything else!

  Thoughts rushed through his head at the speed of light. Throwing a few Healing Pills into his mouth and washing them down with a couple of Energy Potions, he activated the Bloody Sword of Oppression’s skill and immediately began to fuel it with ki. When he was almost at the ground, he swung his sword.

  “Power Explosion!” he shouted, activating the blade’s ability. A wave of pure energy hit the ground. At the same moment, controlling the sword’s energy, he created a scarlet cocoon around himself, strengthening his body with ki.

  Colliding with the ground, the cocoon exploded, sending a shockwave through him and slightly slowing down his fall. A second later, there was a deafening crunch.

  Kai fell. His body ached. His legs were broken, as well as his ribs, and right hand. Several parts of his spine and some organs were damaged. His face was covered in blood, and he had to cough out some of his teeth.

  However, he was alive.

  I need to learn some fucking defensive techniques as soon as possible! he thought as he coughed out a couple more teeth.

  Closing his eyes, he felt his body greedily absorb the energy of the pills and potions that he had just consumed. The process was slow, but he was healing.

  Unfortunately, no one was going to wait until he fully recovered. He heard heavy footsteps, followed by a roar. The ground underneath him trembled.

  Oh, fuck off!

  Still in pain, Kai raised himself a little and saw a huge panther at the Opening of the Acupuncture Points level running straight toward him.

  You just had to leave your pack, didn’t you, you bastard! Kai growled. Fortunately for him, the panther seemed to be alone.

  Trying to sit up, Kai raised his left arm, which immediately began to hurt. He seemed to have injured it when he fell.

  The Sword of the Water Surface appeared in his trembling hand.

  He had trouble concentrating. His head was buzzing — perhaps he had suffered a concussion from either the landing or the blow he had received from that Titan Stage monster.

  “Come on!” he shouted at himself. “Unleash the Blades!”

  There was no time left to think of anything else. His arm moved. He somehow managed to weave ki and Forces together in order to create a technique with only one blade. The scarlet stripe should’ve appeared as close to the monster’s head as possible, but the beast backed away. The energy blade instantly went into the ground.

  Kai was amazed. He couldn’t believe that a beast had managed to predict and dodge the Force of Intent.

  Hurriedly trying to think of another way to save himself, Kai tried to raise the blade, but he lacked the strength to even breathe at the moment. The hilt slipped out of his fingers. His body was weak. He hadn’t had enough time to recover.

  Twitching and breathing heavily, he looked death in the eyes. The beast approached. A measly couple of feet separated it from its prey.

  Out of nowhere, a beam of bright light appeared, instantly destroying half the panther. Kai was covered with blood.

  Slowly turning his head to the left, he saw someone he didn’t expect to meet here.

  “It seems you owe me another favor.”

  The majestic blue armor was dented, and there was a finger-sized hole in the left shoulder. In addition, both of the man’s blades, imbued with bright light, were completely covered in blood.

  “I thought you were stronger.”

  “I was just unlucky to meet a Titan beast,” Kai retorted. “Help me, and...”

  “It’s like you don’t live here. You can’t survive long with such injuries,” the stranger said. “Even my healing technique won’t help here.”

  “Don’t worry.” Kai smiled. Most of his teeth had returned. “Thirty minutes, preferably a few hours, and I’ll be as good as new. I just need to avoid the monsters.”

  The man’s helmet hid any emotion that he might’ve felt seeing Kai being this stubborn and arrogant.

  “I see... But even if you do survive, by some miracle, why should I help you?”

  “Well, at least so that I can repay my debt.”

  Having taken one more look at him, the man turned around and walked away. However, before Kai had time to say anything, he stopped, put something small on the ground, and the
n walked in the other direction.

  Kai silently watched as the man in armor did this three more times. Once he put the last item down, a concealing array formed around them.

  “Swear to the System that you won’t reveal my identity to anyone and that you’ll return the debt whenever I come to collect it.”

  “I agree with the first part, but about the debt... It’s too vague. A life for a life. I will save two lives of your choosing, but only if I can.”

  The stranger pondered. After a couple of minutes, he nodded.

  “All right, swear your oath.”

  Kai swore, binding himself to complete it via the System.

  “So what now?”

  “I bought this array from the clan. It’ll hide us from any monsters that haven’t reached the Titan Stage. They’ll just run around the place. We can recover he― Ugh!” He touched the wound on his shoulder and grimaced. “It needs to heal...”

  Having sent both blades to his Ring, which, like the armor, were of Gold-rank and low quality, the man crouched near a tree. Taking a deep breath, he removed his armor as well.

  Kai’s eyes widened in surprise.

  The armored stranger turned out to be a tall, slender brunette.

  How does her armor work?! She looks so huge when she’s wearing it!

  The girl took out a small, multi-colored pill from her Ring. Gritting her teeth and grimacing, she stuck it directly into the wound. Sighing, she covered it with her hand.

  “Life Blossom,” she whispered. Her voice was melodic, like a bell chime. It wasn’t anything like the deep, hollow one she had when she wore the armor.

  The pill disintegrated in a gentle purple light. The healing technique began to work. The brunette finally relaxed.

  Noticing Kai’s gaze, she frowned.

  “You know my name; it’s only polite that you introduce yourself,” he said.

  The girl was silent for several seconds. Remembering the vow, she sighed.

  “I’m Elize Alkea. The daughter of Emperor Sigurd of Alkea.”

  Chapter 14

  SISTER’S SAFETY

  After a brief moment of silence, Kai finally spoke.

  “So that’s why you decided to help Lily. She’s a Stenshet, aristocracy... You know her, don’t you?”

  Elize nodded reluctantly.

  “And you revealed your identity to me because you realized that I was also from the empire?”

  This time the girl didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. Kai already understood everything. Well, almost everything.

  “But wait a minute! Didn’t everyone in the castle die that day?”

  “I was late to the party. I was supposed to be there in the evening... I was lucky...” she mumbled, staring at the ground.

  “But… But why did you decide to come here? If the heiress of Alkea is alive, then the empire still has a chance... Why did you run away?”

  Elize grimaced and then shot a glare at Kai.

  “I want revenge! I’ll kill that bastard Jiang Dao at any cost!” she almost screamed. There was madness in her eyes. “That’s why I joined this clan! I want to become stronger and destroy him!”

  Kai remembered that name. Jiang Dao was the person who basically ruled both the Celestial Plateau and the entire Saha. He was also one of the strongest Elementalists of the Seven Blades Clan.

  Elize was a genius among cultivators. Reaching the Opening of the Acupuncture Points level at her age was a sign of considerable talent for an Alkeian. Still, the gap between her and Jiang Dao was huge. Would she ever be able to catch up with him?

  Seeing that Elize was upset, Kai fell silent for several minutes.

  “This Jiang Dao...” Curiosity got the best of him in the end. “Why did he attack the castle and the Stenshet family quarter?”

  Elize clenched her fists.

  “Swear that you won’t tell anyone!”

  Kai was a little taken aback but he still complied with her request. After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke.

  “You’ve heard about the Indestructible Tower, which stands in the center of the Plateau, right?” Kai nodded. He had read about this ancient building, the purpose of which no one knew yet, in one of the books he had borrowed from the library. “My great-grandfather studied this very old technique. Six hundred years ago, he had a vision. It was about the Tower, or more precisely, the key to it. There are three fragments of the key. My great-grandfather predicted that the Seven Blades would collect them and open the Tower, after which our world would end. That was why he stole one piece and stayed here to deal with the enemies, while the rest of the family escaped with it to Alkea.”

  Kai remembered how Rune’Tan had helped him escape in a similar manner when he first encountered Greenrow. Were there really techniques for predicting the future? Especially six hundred years into it?

  “Unfortunately,” Elize’s expression became gloomy, “twelve years ago, the Kelai clan stole this part of the key from us, and when it was returned by the Stenshets almost a year ago, the Seven Blades somehow managed to find us. Then Jiang Dao came... As far as I know, his clan is in possession of all three parts. It seems that one of them has been right under our noses all the time. With the Stenshets...”

  Kai felt a chill go down his spine. Images of the massacre that North had committed appeared before his eyes. He remembered that the Kelais had been exiled and persecuted because they had stolen something from the emperor.

  Does this mean that… Did my actions contribute to Jiang Dao’s arrival? He shook his head. That’s nonsense, I couldn’t have known...

  “Do you believe in your great-grandfather’s prediction?

  “Not really...” She was silent for a moment, and then her anger returned. “But I’ll kill that bastard Jiang Dao anyway, even if it’s the last thing I do!”

  ***

  Three hours later, Kai was back on his feet, feeling as if nothing had happened. Although not all of his internal injuries had healed, he felt no pain. If no one else attacked them, he should make a full recovery by the end of the day. Elize couldn’t help but be shocked by how fast he regenerated. She had been sure that he was just bragging.

  With her shoulder partially healed, Elize put on her armor and removed the concealing array.

  They continued to move westward.

  Their four-day trip was relatively calm, with only a couple of minor and rare encounters. However, that quickly changed when they got near the border wall ― monsters were everywhere. Well, their mutilated corpses, at least. Only a few of them were still alive, but they were unlikely to survive another day. The carnage looked like the work of Elementalists.

  An unbearable stench spread for miles around. The carcasses had long begun to decompose under the scorching sun and the influence of local energy. Approaching, Elize and Kai noticed several hundred disciples roaming around the battlefield and harvesting the corpses for valuable materials. Kai wondered how they weren’t bothered by the awful smell.

  Reaching the gate, they saw several students returning to the clan’s lands. Many were seriously injured, and some even lacked limbs. But, no matter how advanced the cultivation was on the Plateau, even they couldn’t return a lost body part. They were facing a life-long disability.

  But they were alive.

  Kai didn’t even want to contemplate how many students who happened to be in the Middle Wasteland during the invasion had died.

  Once they passed through the gates, Kai and Elize parted ways. The girl went to the Temple, and he hurried to the Small Garden.

  While he was waiting in line to enter, Kai managed to find out what had happened.

  Four days before, when the monsters had just begun to arrive, everything was calm near the wall. After all, the Near Wasteland was rather big. However, within a day, more and more monsters flocked to the border. The real hell began on the third day.

  The protective array was working at full capacity. All the entrances were closed and students from the nearby cities cam
e to help. Sitting on the wall, they showered the creatures with various attacks, while groups of Exorcists fought with them from the ground. However, when Titan Stage monsters arrived, two initial-level Elementalists had to intervene. The battle had lasted until today at dawn.

  Nobody knew what caused the sudden attack as this had never happened before. Rumor had it that the invasion hadn’t only taken place here, but near the borders of other clans as well.

  Kai was shocked to hear all this. As soon as he learned that nearly two dozen monsters had managed to break through the array and reach the Small Garden, he immediately headed there. Running as fast as he could, concern for his sister gripping him tightly, he reached the city quickly. There were a lot of people gathered on the main street.

  “What’s going on here?” he asked a random passer-by.

  The man looked at Kai as if he was out of his mind.

  “He’ll show up soon!” he answered excitedly.

  “Who? Where are the monsters? Was the city protected by the elders? Are there many victims?”

  The man looked at him, puzzled.

  “There were some twenty monsters here yesterday. But there are really no elders in the Small Garden. The few that we have had left to fight at the border. The city would’ve been destroyed if it wasn’t for Lei Shen who noticed the creatures in the air. He killed them all! Oh, there he is!”

  The next moment, the huge crowd exploded with joyful shouts when the biggest star of the Thunder Serpent Clan, Lei Shen, came out of the local hospital. Tall, reserved, and with a cold gaze, he seemed the complete opposite of Lei Ming. But what amazed Kai the most was his power. He was at the Meridian Formation. And he was only seventeen years old!

  “Damn,” Kai said softly.

  Because of the crowd, he had to take a different path to Julie’s house. Thanks to Five Weightless Steps, he was there in a matter of minutes.

  He found Julie safe and sound. There was a trace of fear on her face, but only due to his sudden appearance.