Reaper of the Martial World

Book 3: Chapter 16: Decision (1)

Ri stood silently with the army at her back.

In the distance, the oncoming army was scrambling to reorganize themselves. Dyon had not only halved their numbers, he had also bought the Lotus alliance some time.

Taking a deep breath, Ri’s eyes flashed a cold blue, her features steeling as a concealment array manifested around her.

Moments later, Ri’s demeanor had completely changed as she stepped out of the array. Her tears had dried and her tails rested calmly on the grey ground.

She was once again wearing her silver armor and her mother’s sword had appeared in her hand. “We take vanguard.”

Her words were short and poignant. A raging blaze of blue appeared beneath her feet as she leaped into the air, hovering above the army.

“Campaign head Akash and Evelyn. Our tactics are the best chance we have in this battle, but it’s impossible to win this with tactics alone. So, Dyon implemented a plan for this specific situation.

It’s best you put aside your grudges now if you want to live. If it makes you feel better, assume my fiancé is dead.”

Ri turned a sharp gaze toward Evelyn the rest of the Niveus sect members.

In reality, much of their numbers were made up by the Elves. The Niveus Sect women were maybe about 30% of them. In fact, much of the reason they even chose to defend this tower was because it was the most out of the way of where the perceived ‘action’ would be. Normally, Rod and Looming Tower were the first to be attacked because they were much closer to Guatama and the other towers of the opposing universe. The fact Lotus Tower was being attacked before word of an attack on Rod and Looming was truly baffling.

Evelyn said nothing to Ri’s words because they were true. Evelyn had no way of knowing Dyon was still alive because she didn’t have the celestial will in her Ri did, all she knew was that hundreds of thousands had died in a blaze of death qi and Dyon was likely one of them. But, she hadn’t even gotten an opportunity to feel happy about it because her life was now in danger.

Ri looked away. Evelyn’s attitude wasn’t the best, but it would have to do for now. But, an itching feeling was gripping at her heart. Whether she knew Dyon was alive or not was irrelevant… Whether she’d ever see him again was a completely different question. Ri had heard of Arios’ story. What if Dyon got lost in time like he did?…

‘Wait…’ Ri’s eyebrows shot up in a faint shock when she noticed Delia walk standing on the front lines along with the rest of the army. Ri wanted to say something, but when she noticed Delia’s trembling hands being clenched so tightly that blood fell to the ground, she held back. Some decisions were left up to the individual. Ri was burying her pain by throwing all of her emotions into this coming battle, what right did she have to say Delia couldn’t do the same?

“Defensive Formation Variation 4: Gorilla’s Den.”

The army led by demon generals burst into action.

In the human world, the power dynamics between people were much more balanced by intelligence than it was in the martial world. As such, wars weren’t always decided by who was the bigger country or who had the larger army. In fact, it often wasn’t even decided by who had the best technology. Why else would countries as large as America spend years with no clear victories against supposedly third world countries?

Although Dyon didn’t study military tactics, he ingrained very specific philosophies within himself. It wasn’t that human world tactics were useless or that his felt his thoughts were so far above that of veterans, it was that he knew human world tactics wouldn’t take into account the nuanced differences between it and the martial world.

Dyon knew that trying to win solely based on tactics was impossible. Why else would he evenly spread his demon generals as he did? He was fully aware that without enough power, everything would crumble.

Why did his formations work so well? Because of power. Why did he crush the scaled elephants? Because of power. What was going to get the Lotus alliance out of this situation? Power.

Weeks earlier Dyon had said something to the army that made their eyes flow with passion.

“If you follow me, you’ll never lose.

I don’t claim to want to overhaul the philosophies of the martial world, but I want you to know, here and now, that it’s not enough.

If you want to protect your families. If you want to leave this universe and go home. If you want to move on to better and brighter things. I’m telling you that the way you think isn’t enough.

Forget everything you know. Forget everything you think you know. Listen to my words and I’ll show you the path.

The human and martial world have always been together, yet separate. Close, yet so far apart.

But. Under me? They’ll be one in the same.

There is no victory without intelligence. There is no victory with power. There is only death in defeat. And there is no glory in death.”

The nine hundred Elvin Orphans rushed forward. Endless streaks of gold colored the dark skies as endless defensive formations appeared.

Hundreds of thousands of array plates crumbled to dust as layers of peak manifestation layer formations appeared in a maze of concealment formations. Dyon’s army moved in odd patterns, and yet were also symbiotic as they weaved a labyrinth of endless complexities.

In an instant, Lotus Tower, the Lotus Alliance, and even the sounds of their existences were completely wiped.

In front of the beast army now stood an endless grey field. Everything had disappeared but the landscape and the relentless death qi.

The beast army froze amidst their reorganization. What was going on? Why had everyone disappeared? Concealment arrays?

Bas and Liska stood in the skies. They had been directing their reorganization and were just about to charge, but this change of events was really too shocking.

Suddenly, the seemingly normal space rippled, and out stepped just over a hundred warriors.

Delia. Aeson. Akash. Evelyn. Erea. Zaltarish. The demon generals.

One hundred stood against four hundred thousand.

Ri slowly stood out herself, prepared to battle. The face of a handsome and fearless young man flashed in her mind as she took a deep breath, gripping her sword. ‘Let me carry half.’

And went that last thought, Ri and her allies charged.

Dyon’s plan was simple. In a situation where the numbers had them at the severe disadvantage, that was also the situation where their most powerful members would have the greatest effect.

However, at the same time, it was also when weaker members could completely destroy the morale of their allies, something that was already a scarcity in a situation like this.

Therefore, the answer was to maximise the use of your most powerful members while also minimizing the casualties suffered among your weakest members. And with that idea, the idea for this formation was conceived.

Using a combination of defensive and concealment arrays, the much smaller Lotus alliance could hide within them.

The arrays formed a complex maze with their defensive formations. This maze was then immediately covered up with concealment arrays, increasing the difficulty of breaching the formation.

However, the best part of the formation were the pockets of enemies the opposing army would find inside. Even as Ri charged forward with the demon generals, a determined looking steeling her features, the members of the Elvin Kingdom and Niveus sect were organizing themselves within the mazed formation, completely prepared for any enemy breaches.

And that was exactly the point. The most powerful members of the Lotus Alliance would fight freely, sowing discord and anarchy within the armies of the opponents, not allowing them time to form a cohesive plan for approaching the formation. Or, better yet, not allowing them too much time to analyze the formation at all.

However, maybe the most important part of this formation was the teleportation arrays Dyon drew for the vanguard. It was impossible to expect the demon generals to fight without fatigue or injury. Thus, at the center of the maze was a teleportation array connected to the hundreds of array plates Dyon spread among the demon generals and Ri.

The idea of drawing enough teleportation arrays with only a week was an impossible feat. Therefore, Dyon came up with a short cut. He drew two master level teleportation stations, then connected much simpler teleportation arrays to it. That way, the simpler teleportation arrays could use the much more robust teleportation station to support their instant teleportation to it. Therefore, whenever the vanguard tired, they could instantly retreat to the center of the maze to recover by crushing the array plate.

And thus, the Gorilla’s Den formation was born. The epitome of guerrilla warfare matched with the fierceness of a gorilla. It was the perfect combination of tactics and power. One that was only meant to be used when their backs were truly against the wall…

Would they win? Ri had no idea. But, she also knew that she would give it her all. Dyon had for all intents and purposes sacrificed himself for the sake of them. She would be damned if she couldn’t do at least that much.

With that last thought, Ri burst into the disarrayed beast army. Their bestial cries sounding off as her tails whipped them away and sliced through their scales.

Ri knew her soul couldn’t sustain the Tree of Life and Death for long because she hadn’t learned devour like Dyon. In fact, even if Dyon gave her the technique, Ri had no idea how long it would take her to learn because her soul wasn’t as talented as Dyon’s. It would most likely take at least half a year for her to grasp the first stage of the first act of the technique. Therefore, there was no time now. She could only reserve the Acacia family technique as a final resort. As a final burst of power to help their survival.

But, Ri put thoughts of such a situation to the back of her mind, instead focusing on hacking apart her enemies as her essence energy flowed to replenish her depleting strength.

The beast army itself seemed to be mostly made of meridian formation warriors. This made sense, after all, the most powerful members of Earth were at Rod and Looming tower, why would they invest their essence gathering experts at a seemingly weak tower? They had planned for three faith seeds. Caedlum’s, Vidar’s and Thor’s. Ri was a complete anomaly, who would think that another faith seed was hiding within the Elvin Kingdom?

However, despite having witnessed Ri’s faith seed manifest itself at Earth Tower, Alidor still followed through with this plan.

For one, Ri wasn’t anywhere near as proficient with her faith seed. If she was, how would Bas ever think his bloodline could compare? In fact, how could the scaled elephants even think of attacking her? The bloodline suppression they’d experience would be akin to an ant facing the queen of all beasts. Secondly, Ri was much younger and had weaker cultivation than the other three. Although Caedlum was around her and Dyon’s age, he had also been aware of his faith seed for much longer. So, Alidor decided to use numbers against Ri, focusing his essence gathering experts elsewhere.

All of these thoughts ran through Ri’s head as she forged deeper and deeper into the beast army. ‘I’ll have to thank you for underestimating me. Just this once.’

Bas and Liska watched this scene leisurely. Although their auroras weren’t powerful enough to see through Dyon’s concealment, they still had the numbers on their side. Ri was much too powerful for them to attack head on, so, they’d just wait for her to tire out. Wasn’t that the easiest way? Too bad they weren’t aware that if Ri ever felt overwhelmed she would pull out…

But, the problem was Ri herself…. Despite her serene and murderously focused aura as she sliced her way through the subordinates of the Basilisks, her heart was shattering. Her every strike held her everything, she had no concept of biding time, she wasn’t fighting smartly, and her stamina was being drained much quicker than she was aware…

All she could think of was whether or not she’d ever see Dyon again. Was he stuck hundreds of years in the past? Was he even able to get out of the spatial traps? What if Dyon’s death was in the future and thus didn’t affect his celestial will in the past? What if he was already dead then?…

Maybe by the time Ri realized her body was too fatigued to continue, it would be too late…

Away from the raging war, another sort of battle was happening much further away, and it just happened to involve another fiancée of Dyon’s.

On a planet far from Earth, Madeleine had entered a gate along with a Sapientia family main branch and the Belmont prince. But, not everything was going so well right now.

They were attacking a Tower of the opposing universe, a universe that happened to be the exact same one Dyon and Ri were currently dealing with. However, the problem was instead of facing an innate aurora genius, they were facing the geniuses of a King God Clan!

Fatigue was washing over Madeleine. Her beautiful features were coated in a sheen of sweat as her long flowing purple dress fluttered in the wind. Dyon’s gift to her hovered in the air, sending onslaught after onslaught of music will at the army of approaching enemies.

Prince Belmont fought in the skies, the true picture of ferocity. His eyes were blue and red much like his younger brother, but, they were oddly much closer to purple than Elwing’s had been.

Suddenly, his opponent laughed, “For a mere prince of a backwater Royal God Clan, you’re much more powerful than I thought you’d be.”

Prince Belmont said nothing as raging ice and fire will combusted around him. He had never faced a King God Clan before, and the mere fact this planet had survived attacks from such a powerful god clan was enough for him to respect them. But, right now was his own time to shine. But… his opponent wasn’t simple.

The third son of the King God Clan – Mekhi Uidah.

Long golden hair flowed in the wind as he clashed with Prince Belmont again and again. However, probably his most striking feature was the large golden eye on his forehead. He seemed to see through everything, predicting the prince’s attack and thwarting them.

Maybe what was most frustrating was the odd energy Mekhi used. It was free flowing, yet enigmatic. In fact, it was an energy that Dyon would have without a doubt recognized as eerily similar to the one Alidor Gautama had attacked him with!

The Prince turned his gaze to Madeleine every so often, content with how fervently the Sapientia family protected her.

“You shouldn’t be distracted by a woman in a situation like this. A son of a King God Clan is playing with you and you’re worried about what’s in your pants? Don’t worry, I’ll satisfy her just fine after we’re done here.”

Prince Belmont didn’t seem to have a reaction to Mekhi’s words. Yet, his response was simple. “King God Clan? You’re a mere third son. Since when would I be afraid of such a thing…”

BOOM!

Prince Belmont’s eyes melded into a perfect purple in that instant, his ice and fire combining into a blinding purple flame. “Kneel.”

It was as though a phoenix had manifested itself in the sky, bearing down on Mekhi menacingly.

A serious expression passed through Mekhi’s features, ‘He’s been holding back? Why?’

However, just as Prince Belmont was about to attack, a violent eruption coursed through the earth. And the result, was something completely unexpected… A temple was raising from the ground!

‘That’s?!’ Mekhi’s eyes immediately shone. His ring flashed as he pulled out a communication array plate.

Prince Belmont’s eyes shone, ‘It’s time.’

If Mekhi had been paying attention, he would have noticed the complete lack of surprise on the prince’s face. If he was even the slightest bit intelligent, he would have also connected that to the fact the prince didn’t seem to have been trying at all, even against him, a genius of a King God Clan. And thus, he would have figured out one very important thing… The prince knew this was coming.

On the ground, Madeleine looked up, breathing deeply. Even on the battle field, she was still the picture of perfect.

Her brunette hair had long since fallen out of its usual bun, reaching to her waist.

She had matured a lot since the last time she had seen Dyon. Her curves were more pronounced, and her beauty was all the more exceptional. But, maybe her most drastic change was her power. Without anyone even realizing, the first in line genius they saw for nothing other than her beauty and virginity had already burst into the essence gathering stage!

The only reason she was reaching her limits while fighting such weak opponents was because she was constantly protecting her supposed ‘body guards’. She didn’t have the heart to let them fend for themselves, so she constantly played revitalizing tunes in the midst of her attacks. She just wasn’t the type to allow others to risk their life for her.

But, things were getting bad… The temple had appeared for a few hours now and yet it wasn’t allowing anyone in, but this was only making the situation worse for Madeleine and her allies. Because the more time passed… The more members of the King God Clan gathered…

One son? They could deal with. But what about five? Ten? What about a whole army of King God Clan trained soldiers?

The Sapientia God Clan was being severely suppressed. There was no longer a path of retreat, they were completely surrounded.

Prince Belmont had disappeared from sight. Madeleine thought that something had happened to him, causing them to be separated. But, little did she know that this was a calculated move. Prince Belmont had decided that what was in the temple, was far more valuable than gaining Madeleine’s favor…

…

Just like that, two fiancées faced armies many times their size and strength with little but themselves to rely on. And maybe the worst part? Right now, trapped in the endless darkness of a space locked area of the ancient game, Dyon watched the both of them… floating with twinkles of grey and black surrounding him.

He watched as they gasped for breath. He watched as their beautiful countenances twisted in pain. He watched as they fought with their everything.

On one side was a spatial jump to Madeleine. She fought the King God Clan, protecting her family with all of her strength. One the other side was a spatial jump to Ri. Her stamina was quickly depleting as she cut down beast after best. All Dyon had to do was choose, and he would eliminate their burden.

Clone? Impossible. How could he use his soul to power a clone literally light years from himself?

Enter one, then enter the other? Impossible. He would be completely sealed off as soon as he chose. He would have to tear a hole in the game again and hope to run into such a one in a million situation again. How could it be repeatable to happen to run into spatial portals to his two fiancées?

Just choose? Impossible. How do you choose between two women you love with your everything?

So, Dyon just sat there, his spatial will pushed to the max as he forced himself to stay isolated from the game’s surrounding mechanisms.

His heart tore with each passing second. How do you make a decision like this?…