Chapter 9-278: Just Winging it a Bit (1/2)
Okay, that raised a lot of eyebrows, as going with an ink-dark bat theme seemed rather edgy, even if they were all glinting silver at the edges, and shining silver Symbols were glowing on them. I blissfully ignored the startled eyes, while Sama sat down on the Disk next to the shrunken Mick and Amaretta.
“Okay, we’re flying overland for sixty miles,” I informed everyone. “That is going to get you all to the nearest area to where Cultivators have been spotted. Some of the native Taiwanese fighters are going to be working with you if you meet any locals, who won’t have learned The Human Tongue yet.
“They’ve been advised of your presence, they know the reason why, and they are totally cool with paying you in the blood of dead Cultivators. Knock yourselves out.” High-pitched cheers and calls came from all the little people. “Alright, I’m going to be flying there.” My wings arched up, the silver Symbols glowing like liquid moonlight as I turned around, waving to establish a Ward Wall around the tight-packed Disks to protect them all from the wind. “Should have you all in the right area in twenty minutes or so!”
I didn’t flap my Wings, as I already had a flying spell up and was floating above the ground. I just tilted over, spread them wide, and began to pick up speed.
No damn way the things could support me, anyways. Magic was the thrusting power, the wings were just for control.
A narrow profile of Disks stacked atop one another three high and two wide so as to minimize the area I needed to cover with a Wind Wall followed behind me like a jetsilver snake as I slowly picked up speed and began to rise into the air, trailing them behind me.
-You going to have any problems getting back to the Chinese?- I /asked Sama.
-No. I’ve started powering up Teleports for Tremble. I’ve got one a day already, just adding more Karma every day,- she /replied. -I’ll hit the ground and ‘port back to Fuzzy. We’ve been doing a lot of weaponsmithing the last few days, making Gear for the Chinese.- She held out her hand, and Amaretta handed over the Masspack, which blossomed to full size as it left the doll-sized Blooded woman’s hand. A thought-blurb identified it as mostly ingots for making Weapons for the two of them, along with hafts for glaives or axes.
I looked over the ground below, completely empty of any people despite the many roads and houses there. Some of the buildings were smoldering ruins, obviously not from too long ago, but in most cases the only thing moving about was some birds, and in other cases cats and dogs.
Nothing bigger. There were riotous swathes in the oddest places, too, as if the greenery had erupted overnight.
Vivus, feeding the land, accelerating the reclamation of the landscape.
“If you’re wondering, all those blasts of green in odd spots are where corpses were made into vivus,” I informed everyone in my best chirpy stewardess voice. “The Daoists killed every man, woman, child, and cattle in this area, and for a swathe of land over three hundred miles long, if not longer. This section has been cleared, and the Chinese have been sweeping up the Shroudzone slowly.” All the little heads turned to the southwest, where the dark clouds were brooding. “They’ve got millions more undead to kill, of course, but they are taking it slowly... so that they have the strength to come join you.”
There were rumbles and nodding heads at that, the grim words serving their purpose. The Chinese weren’t slacking, but they were weak right now... but oh, not for long, not for long...
“When you gather enough blood, make sure it is Itemized. I can Teleport it all back home, to be registered and stored safely. Just make sure to freaking Arcane Mark what is yours!” I called back to them, and heads nodded urgently, having no wish to lose track of their gains.
“And remember, NO SURVIVORS!” They all shivered and nodded their heads again.
Absolute mercilessness. I sped over the silent, abandoned lands not far below us, not a single human being visible, and let it sink into them on why as they studied the silence, the bursts of green, and the wreckage and ruin.
Those things had no mercy for civilians, and even less for Powered; there would definitely be none for them!
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It was easy to see where the Cultivators and the more dangerous Chinese were fighting, as the flash and flare of Qi powers against Chi powers was pretty visible in the distance.
There were plenty of my Blessed among them, so I knew what was going on. Teams of Cultivators were roving about, trying to ambush the Powered, and annoyingly having to deal with all the damn Warlocks and human Primos at the same time. It really pissed them off to have to deal with those feebs, although they DEFINITELY didn’t like it when Shvaughn/Windwise came popping in to get their attention with a monstrously crackling Sword to the face.
The Cherokee were going to be famous in China forever, courtesy of her.
I left the Disks to them, as they would last a good four days, and definitely wouldn’t have any weight issues. They could stow all their loot and gear on them without a problem.
The Chinese naturally cheered to see me coming... and the arcing of Chain Greater Weapons coming down on their gear, followed by Force Armor to a bunch of them... and then dozens of Cultivators abruptly exploded to get me back some ki.
I also still had Commune with Nature up, and promptly nailed down the locations of every single Cultivator within ninety miles and fed the locations to them.
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“All yours, Lord Mick,” I told him, and he just nodded, taking over with ease. He wasn’t a Warlord; that was what Sama was here for, to put an eye on all these people and get an idea of what they were capable of, so she could give directions through the Blessed and the Marked.
Everyone had disembarked, and I’d gotten rid of the Shrinking magic, restoring everyone to full size.
It was the first time a lot of the Chinese had seen the Tomb Clans up close. They sort of blinked, and got over it. After the last week of their lives, someone that looked like undead just wasn’t going to faze them, and these strange people spoke Human, and didn’t move or act like undead at all, talking and chatting like everyone else.
The Mick began to divide hunting groups up with Blessed and Marked among them, The Map right there for them to follow, and the locations of the Cultivators also pretty obvious as they were moving around.
-I want to be a Twenty, popping around The Map, killing every single thing there,- Sama /complained.
-You mean like me and Master Fred are?- I had to /ask. The Commune was more than sufficient to get a target lock for Teleport VII, no chance of going high, low, or off-target, and it put us right on top of our targets in no time at all.