Chapter 13-370: More Legions Assembling (1/2)

“Master Yamamoto. I did not expect to be speaking with you again.”

It had taken four days to get the Lived-Line locks I needed, then another day to make it to the North Polar Pyramid, traverse the Long Stairs that stretched impossibly along the great tunnel linking the inner and outer worlds, and exit in that domed sanctuary underneath the North Pole.

Making a Great Seal there for a Teleport Lock would make it a minor matter to ‘port down there from the surface above, and as yet the Illuminati did not seem to have made a move to reclaim the place.

Given I didn’t want a Shroudzone to pop up here, and it was perilously close to doing so, I blatantly wiped the entire guardian force of Brine Zombies standing guard in a burning holocaust of vivus and Shards, including the undead sharks, whales, orcas, and giant squids bound on patrol hereabouts.

The small companies of Brines that encircled this area at range I left where they were, as they were dissuading aquatics from investigating this place for now. However, I had all their locations clearly marked for eradication in the future.

Returning to Darwin was not difficult, as I had the Lived-Line there. But I seriously did not expect to have much interaction with the Japanese there, although naturally I had people monitoring the situation.

Australia was well on its way to having enough Nines and Tens to take care of its Shroud situation, but was running out of Shroudzones to address to Level people up... and nobody wanted to be left behind in that race. Naturally they had expressed urgent interest in being brought to where more such things were located, and the two best areas were China... and Japan.

Unfortunately, Japan had a mighty image problem relating back to its conduct before World War II. Its treatment of all of its neighbors had been absolutely worthy of being called an Evil Empire, and those countries had neither forgotten nor forgiven their conduct. The fact that Japan had literally been annihilated by their own undead rising against them was basically seen as divine punishment for their conduct, especially since the areas they’d conquered and slaughtered the natives of basically all turned into Shroudzones as well!

Compounding this was the fact that they’d chosen to gloss over and ignore this part of their own history, painting it away as if it didn’t happen, especially given the fact they’d had to flee their homeland.

The fact they continued to act like asshats to the native islanders, and basically only treated the Europeans with some respect, didn’t help my view of them... or anyone else’s, as a matter of fact.

That said, the news that they were now native Australians, born of her soil, not expatriate children of Nippon, had shaken them to the bone. So had The Human Tongue replacing their own carefully preserved language so thoroughly... and the way they’d had to slaughter their own would-be murderers, grown from the flesh and bone of their slain children, had finally started cracking their rigorous adherence to their old ways and means of thought.

Going home, the land of Nippon would not recognize them as Her own, for they were born of another’s soil. That didn’t mean they couldn’t go... but they were not, at the heart, Nipponese anymore.

Some of the younger Powered had eschewed the path of the Dragon Warrior/samurai, and gone off to Sydney to grow their Faith against the undead, and help save their new homeland... in many cases with aborigines determined to do the same. As Leveling the spellcasters was paramount, that left the martial fighters with much less to do.

They’d heard about how other countries were getting stronger, and they definitely wanted part of that. As long as there was not a mad attack from the sea, shouldn’t they be able to join in on the fun?

The hair of the samurai lord of Darwin had gone almost completely grey in less than six months. His vitality was not gone, but he looked older, wiser, and no longer the heroically defiant, unbending champion of his people’s martial spirit that he was before.

In the local culture, he might well have been looking at retiring, but there was no one to relieve him of the job, and he had just too much stuff to make up for. It had been pointed out to him repeatedly that unless he did something to make up for his sins, his neighbors would simply shift any direct blame from him to ALL the people of Darwin, and his people would acquire a reputation for genetic Evil that would haunt them for literally centuries.

Face what they and their ancestors had done, take responsibility, and do better. Ignoring it led only in one direction.

These things would take time, measured in years, and sincerity, and they would not be easy.

Lord Yamamoto bowed to me slowly. “For all our faults, Lady Traveler, we are a warrior people, and we do not wish to stand aside and let others fight for us or defend us. Please, allow us to join the efforts against the undead, as you have allowed so many other countries and nations to do.”

It was a simple request, and not hard to grant on the face of it.

Of course, I had been expecting it for some time.

They could not ALLOW other countries they had so mistreated to raise their Level without trying to do the same, or it was entirely likely they would be targeted for revenge...

“That can be done. How are you for supplies?” I asked calmly, and he almost slumped in relief. If I said no, what could they do? Reaching China safely was going to be difficult enough, let alone setting up to prosecute a fight.

“Food and water should not be much of an issue. We were also hoping you could help us with resupply.”

They naturally didn’t have anyone high enough Level to Teleport there, using any of the various means, let alone with a Lived-Line to the right location.

“Very well. You will be dropped outside the Nanjing Shroudzone. Your task is to clear the entire thing.”

His eyes widened in shock and alarm. “This...”

“The majority of the undead that rose in this area came from the Chinese that the Japanese slaughtered there. That means that every single living person the undead killed there died because of your people.