LIGHTNOVELONLINE Interlude - High Ranker
High Ranker
Jelkon kept low as he and his squad looked at their target. The small border village had no real defenses, not even a simple wall around it. It was a farming town, and from what his scouts told him there were no high realm Cultivators present. The highest realm they noticed was in the Lord Realm, and according to his scouts she was clearly young. He didn’t know what a prodigy like that was doing in a border town, but he would take advantage.
His sect was fleeing the chaos of the core, and they needed a place where they could settle down. They had been a minor sect in the core, but that only meant that they would be better than anyone here on the Frontier. It should be easy for them to take over a few territories that were already established and take over the control of the people living in them as well as settle their own. Some of his sect had called for them to go beyond and settle unclaimed territories, but after years of fighting and losing they just didn’t have the resources to go into the unknown.
It had been three years since the core erupted into thousands of wars, tearing itself apart, and there was no sign of the core calming down anytime soon. They had to flee.
This raid was both for them to gather more information about this area as well as to create a base of operations. The bulk of the Blue Stone Peak Sect was days behind them, and Jelkon had to find and build a place where they could settle and explore beyond.
He wasn’t worried about the sect that they planned on attacking, their strength was most definitely greater. Which meant that they would be able to take over without much fuss, the sect rules of war meant that the strong ruled. If they defeated them without killing, that would only make their supremacy greater. Toward that goal, Jelkon had been granted two of the sects Immortals, a bit too much in his opinion—since he himself was an Immortal—along with four Heavenly and six Monarch Realm Cultivators, for this mission. His sect was mostly ravzor and karura, with two of his warriors on this mission being karura and the rest ravzor.
As he looked at the village, he devised a plan. He understood the need for demonstrating their might from the start, since it would mean a clean transfer of power.
“We are ready master,” one of his people said and Jelkon gave the order with the nod of his head.
The Heavenly and Monarch Realm Cultivators rushed out, heading for the village. Jelkon and his two Immortals remained in their hiding spot, watching. His people entered the village and in a quick order started forcing everyone who was willing to fight into submission. It was the way of the sects, rarely did they have the kind of wars that killed people. It brought more honor to defeat your opponent than to kill them, depending on the circumstances. Thought, he had heard about some of the wars now being fought in the core that were… getting bad, it was why they had gotten out of there.
The three of them walked into the village and came to a stop next to the rest of their people in the village’s main square. The denizens of the village stood at the edges of the square, most of them demasi and human, with a few ravzor and kreacan here and there. There was barely one hundred of them, and all of them were behind the single warrior that was still on her feet. The Lord Realm Cultivator glared at them, while a few Foundation Realm Warriors pulled back in various states of being injured—nothing major though—Jelkon wanted to rule over these people afterward.
“I am Jelkon of the Blue Stone Peak Sect,” he introduced himself to everyone. “My sect has decided to move here from the core, we will be taking these territories for ourselves. Serving us will be in your best interest, we are not cruel. With our sect you will have the opportunity to grow stronger.”
He waited for them to drop to their knees, to submit, but nothing happened. He frowned and turned his eyes to the warrior in the middle. His warriors had orders not to injure anyone too much, so they had taken it easy on her. Still, she had some injuries, cuts on her body and face. The ground around her was covered in a thin layer of frost, indicating her aspect.
“You must know that you stand no chance,” Jelkon said, tilting his head at her. Something about her unnerved him, and then it clicked as he looked into her eyes. He saw no fear in them. She was young, it was clear both from her appearance that still had that youthful charm, and her eyes that looked inexperienced. She was a human, green skinned and tall, muscular.
She opened her mouth to speak, and then a voice spoke before she could.
“You don’t need to feel bad.”
Jelkon and everyone else turned their eyes to the side and up above them. A man sat on a black block of Qi in the air, with his feet dangling over the edge. He wore a black and violet robe and had one of his hands leaned on his knee while the other scratched almost absent-mindedly at the beard on his jaw. He had two lines across his face, as if his skin was cracked, and violet and black mist rose from it gently.
His attention was on the young Lord Realm Warrior, and before Jelkon could say anything, he continued speaking.
“You’ve done well, your power will only continue to grow in time. Soon enough, people of this… level, will be no better than dirt beneath your feet.”
Everyone around Jelkon stiffened at that. He couldn’t feel any Qi from the man, but he didn’t seem too bothered by Jelkon and his warriors presence. Jelkon was taken aback by his words, insulted—certainly—but also confused.
The box beneath the man turned to mist that dissipated and he dropped to the ground, just before he reached it he slowed and landed gently. He walked to the young Lord warrior and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay, you did great. The more you push yourself against those stronger than you, the faster you will grow.”
The girl looked him in the eyes, having to tilt her head down since she was taller than him, and then finally she sighed and started walking back to the rest of the villagers.
Only then did the man turn his eyes at Jelkon and his people. His eyes were black orbs surrounded by white, eerie, almost seeming like they were looking straight through him.
“You are trespassing on this territory,” the man said simply. “I see that you are here with the intent of conquest, I will give you a single warning to turn around and leave. If you wish to have peaceful relations with us, return again and you will be welcomed.”
Jelkon blinked at that, and the shook himself. The man’s arrival had unbalanced him, but… even if the man was an Immortal himself, he was outnumbered. And Jelkon came from a Core Sect, a Frontier Warrior should not be able to compare.
“We are the warriors of the Blue Stone Peak Sect, we’ve decided to settle in this area. We will be taking this territory. The only question was the manner in which we will accomplish this.”
The man tilted his head. “The strong rule, yes, I understand that,” the man said, and Jelkon sighed, he had heard that there were some crazy people in the sects on the Frontiers who didn’t surrender when faced with greater strength.
Before Jelkon could comment, the man continued. “How about this? We fight until one side no longer can continue the fight, if I win you leave and forget about your conquest. If you win, well, you are welcome to take this territory.”
“There is more of us,” Jelkon commented, the sect rules were a bit flexible on the fights that were not proper duels, and the man didn’t suggest anything like that, which suited Jelkon fine. Still, there were limits to what the people would accept, sending an entire army against a single person and winning would not earn anyone any honor.
“It’s been a while since I had a challenge, come one at a time or all at once, it matters not to me,” he shrugged.
Jelkon blinked at the arrogance, but then again it was no worse than what he had experienced in the core. Still, he hadn’t expected it from a Frontier Sect warrior. He was fairly certain that the man was an immortal, if he felt confident that he could win. Jelkon glanced to the side where his second in command stood. Verkor had orange and black fur and wore a slim piece of armor that was both incredibly tough and flexible. He was a Blademaster, his build focused on fighting with a sword. There were many build archetypes in the Infinite Realm, but the Blademaster was perhaps one that was more well-known, and that was for a reason.
A great Blademaster was a terror on a battlefield and in a duel.
“Verkor,” Jelkon said simply, and the other immortal immediately understood his meaning. He stepped forward while the rest of them pulled back.
The man didn’t move from his spot on the other side of the square, he simply gazed at Verkor.
“I am Verkor Va Hio of the Blue Stone Peak Sect, give me your name warrior, so that I may know who I have defeated.”
One side of the man’s lip turned up in a half smile. “Defeat me, and perhaps you will be worthy of knowing it.”
Jelkon’s eyes narrowed at the sheer arrogance of the man, but he didn’t comment.
Then, in an instant Verkor moved as he activated one of his techniques. He flashed across the distance and Jelkon was barely able to follow his movement as the sword on his hip left its sheath and cut upward in an arc.
The man had moved a step back, his eyes opened slightly as if in surprise as he gazed at the stump of his right hand.
Verkor pulled his sword back to his chest, keeping the tip pointed at his opponent. Jelkon felt the exhilaration that came from knowing that he would soon be a step closer to accomplishing his mission.
A violet and black mist was leaking out of the cut at his elbow. It indicated some pretty strange body, but Jelkon didn’t have the time to wonder. In an instant the mist surged and formed a hand, and then his cut off body part reformed faster than Jelkon had ever seen someone regenerate. It took Verkor off guard too, because he acted a moment too late.
The man swung his left hand, and mid swing a large hammer appeared in his hand that smashed into Verkor’s raised sword. Jelkon heard bones cracking as the hammer didn’t slow and instead picked Verkor up and sent him flying to the side. Jelkon watched as his warrior smashed through the wall of a building on his left, the sounds of impact coming out of the now collapsing building.
Jelkon glanced at the man who let the hammer disappear again and tsk to himself. “Damn it.”
Jelkon bent his knees and got low to the ground as he prepared his own techniques.
“Master,” his other Immortal warrior put a hand on Jelkon’s shoulder, stopping him.
“What?” He hissed in a whisper.
“I think that I recognize him,” the man said.
Jelkon blinked, not really understanding.
“From the tournament, he competed in the High Division,” the man whispered back as the man in front of them just looked back silently.
“I don’t remember him,” Jelkon said, he had watched the semi-finals and the finals, his sect hadn’t had enough resources to send anyone to the tournament, so they had watched through the new remote windows. They managed to afford only one of a small size, so they rotated people that watched.
“Master,” his warrior started, his voice tense. “I think he is the Undying Void.”
It took a long few seconds for Jelkon to process what he had heard. Then, he remembered. The Night of Loss had seen the end of many, but the High Ranker ranks had been decimated. Nearly all of the one hundred on the list had died. In the following years, new names were added to the list as their feats and names became known. But a few had been added before, just after the Night of Loss. The Undying Void, currently number 17 on the High Ranker list, was one of them. Jelkon didn’t remember much about how he earned a spot, only that it happened that night, that he fought against the invading monsters and had proven himself during the battle.
He froze, wondering what a High Ranker was doing here. He didn’t know much about him, there was too much other stuff in the last three years for him to worry about, he simply didn’t have the time to learn about every new name on the list.
“Hah,” the man sighed. “I guess that it’s going to be one against you all.”
Jelkon didn’t even have the time to speak before the man appeared in front of him and a fist broke his jaw.
Kri
Kri watched with intense attention as her teacher demolished his opponents. The first Immortal hadn’t come out of the rubble, so she assumed that he was unconscious. Ryun was fighting all of the others, six Monarchs, four Heavenly, and two Immortal Realm Cultivators. Not that those numbers were helping them any. He was only using his mantle, and was fighting with his fists.
To the unfamiliar eye, it might look like he was playing around with them, but Kri knew better. He was moving with fluidity and grace that she only rarely saw from him. He was fighting using a martial art. It was a strange looking one, with his body almost gliding around the square. He evaded some attacks, and blocked others but let them move him around then bleeding the momentum quickly. It looked like he was moving through the water, only sped up.
No, he wasn’t playing around, he was training. It was all that he did since he and the others returned from the tournament. Every day, without stop, sleeping only every week or so and for barely an hour. He would spend most of the night in the Void plane, cultivating, then come down with the sun-turn he would study cultivating with Tali, then practice his techniques. He had even taken up crafting. But lately, most of his time was spent practicing martial arts. He sought out anyone who knew even the tiniest bit of martial arts, both in the Twilight Melody Sect and all of the surrounding ones. He fought them all, learned from them, and started devising his own style.
Kri had heard Tali say that it was a waste of time, and that he wasn’t that good at it, yet what she saw in front of her made her feel like her other teacher might not know everything. It was clear that the others were better as far as martial technique went than him, they just moved better. But Ryun was practicing, using them to learn. His boosted stats and his regeneration allowed it.
They were hitting him far more than he did them, but it didn’t matter. Every cut healed in an instant, his limbs were cut off and reappeared a moment after they were gone. She saw a blade hit his neck, and he smashed his fist into it, redirecting the blow down into his chest, preventing it from decapitating him. A moment later he pulled the blade deeper and smashed his opponent into the ground, cracking the stone beneath his feet.
Techniques and powers were being used constantly, his opponents didn’t seem to have a unified Path, but a few different ones. She kept track, and had seen wind-based powers, earth based, and some self-enhancing ones. This was her training, watching, learning. She couldn’t see everything, they were moving too far for even her Lord Realm stats to be able to keep up, but she had been training her mind to fill in the gaps. She was satisfied with her results, she felt like she could understand most of what was happening.
The battle’s outcome was never in doubt, the other warriors tired themselves out long before Ryun’s regeneration even reached a point close to running out. Finally, the end came with his opponents on the ground, unconscious.
He looked at them, his robe cut to pieces and a few dozen small wounds on his body leaking void as they slowly closed. He shook his head and pulled the rags that remained on his body off, then he equipped another identical robe.
“That was… disappointing,” he sighed.
He turned around and walked back to her.
“So, what did we learn today?” He asked.
The two of them were patrolling their sect’s territory, mostly fighting monsters and training in the wilderness. At their last check in, they had been informed that this part of their border had been infiltrated by unknown scouts, and that there was a chance of an invasion. It was why they had made their way here.
“We learned that people shouldn’t mess with you?” Kri said with a weak smile.
Ryun narrowed his eyes at her, then knocked on her forehead.
“Hey!” She yelled as she rubbed the spot, it felt like her entire head was ringing.
“What did we learn today?” He asked again.
Kri grimaced, still rubbing the spot on her head. “I don’t know. That you are more powerful than three Immortals and a bunch of their followers?”
Ryun rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Close enough, I guess. We learned that power matters, and that we should always take any opportunity granted to us to train and get more powerful.”
Kri sobered at that, and then nodded her head.
“Good,” he said as warriors of the Twilight Melody Sect entered the village, they had remained outside, hidden and waiting in case that this turned out to be more than what it ended up being. She knew that there was another lesson here, Ryun had put her alone in the village to defend it. He had to have known that she would lose, that she had no chance, yet… She would need to think more on why he had done that, her teacher liked to make her think and come to conclusions on her own.
“Come, we should head back. Your mother is probably worried sick,” Ryun said and started walking.
Kri grimaced, but followed behind him, thinking about what more she was meant to learn from this experience.