Omilaena had been eager to get back to Rosemount, but not so much the Elven Expanse. Mostly desert unless she was allowed in the cities, and right now she didn't want to get involved with that. Still, it was a necessary step in her travels, even if she suspected that Ceryyn would return with bad news.
She sensed an elven teleportation technique and turned, strangely alert: all that phase training had sharpened her senses, making certain formerly quick actions shift the world into slow motion. It might have been unusual for Ceryyn to teleport out of the nearby city, but it wasn't too surprising... except it wasn't her.
Yonto Bludshard appeared not far away, as lanky and calm as usual. The bow across his back looked stronger than the previous one, but he was still carrying the Thunderbird arrows she'd made for him.
"Hey," Yonto said.
"Hey." Omilaena tried to best his casual greeting with an even more casual wave. "Are you here to teleport me?"
"It sounds like you have a lot of demands, so I figured I'd chip in."
"Great. Ceryyn is taking a long time to talk to the elders and then bring me the bad news, so what do you say we do a small side trip? The Slumbering Colossus isn't far away, how about we pop over there?"
The casual mention of an Insanity only made Yonto raise his eyebrows slightly. "Maybe we could, but I don't think she'll be long. Teleporting is easier with two, so we can wait to combine our abilities."
"Hmm, did I detect a bit of familiarity there?" Omilaena went out of her way to look him up and down, as if she could uncover his secrets. "Are the two of you banging?"
"Yup."
His immediate response threw Omilaena briefly, then she grinned. "Well? Is it good?"
"Ask her." Yonto gave a minuscule shrug, but she thought there was a hint of a smile on his lips.
Before she could tease him any further, Ceryyn appeared from the sand-covered staircase as she emerged from the city. She didn't need to open her mouth for Omilaena to know what the answer would be, but she let the elf say it to be polite.
"I'm sorry, but the council of elders isn't willing to throw their full support behind you." Ceryyn shook her head sadly. "They're watching the invaders, but when Jonijix only killed a few people and got run out of the Coiled Empire, our warnings took a hit in credibility."
"Only because Jonijix found lamias repulsive," Omilaena said. "Trust me, once he gets horny we're all going to have a bad time. Is he still moving to the Commonwealth?"
"That was the last report. Until then, we have some time..." Ceryyn brightened and moved to her partner. "Oh, I asked Yonto to help, is that okay?"
"If it gets me around faster, I'm not complaining."
So far, the worst had yet to happen on Rosemount, but Omilaena could feel the tension rising across the world. It was only a matter of time until the house of cards came tumbling down, and she wasn't sure if they'd be ready.
.
..
.
Under other circumstances, Kai might have stopped to talk. He didn't truly know the patriarch of the Xir family and leader of the Coiling Island Sect, only knew him by reputation. But there was no time, so Kai immediately examined the man's soul as he prepared to attack.
<
Name: Patriarch Xir
Total Power: 1764
Cultivation: Sky Soul (1000)
Physique: D-0 (200)
Heavenly Body (+200)
Immortal Body (+100)
Soul Level: 8 (64)
Coiling Presence (+100)
Coiling Death (+100)
>
The patriarch had over 1700 Power as a perfect Sky Soul, which was formidable for Cloudspire... but didn't seem so dangerous anymore, not compared to the opponents Kai had been facing. This fight would likely be fast and dirty.
Aside from the need to finish things quickly, before Yangix and the others realized what was happening, it wasn't difficult for Kai to summon some real wrath. This was the man who had tried to have his son marry Zae Zin Nim as a chess piece, and as a peer of Zae Clen Ban he was likely to be just as despicable. Kai had no intention of holding back.
"My son told me that you were stronger than you looked." Patriarch Xir's lip curled as he stared at Kai. "One would hope, otherwise such an incompetent cultivator would stand no chance. It's disgusting for a barbarian to-"
Kai attacked in that moment - not because he was being insulted, but because there was no more need to wait. He didn't even think about using full power and speed phases, he just attacked, and he very nearly ended the fight in the first move.
Before the patriarch could react, Kai was inside his range and his claws were cutting into the man's chest. But Sky Souls didn't reach that rank for nothing, and Patriarch Xir managed to react: a coiling force burst from his chest to deflect Kai's blow. His claws shattered it instead, sending the man hurtling backward into the forest beside the lakes.
Immediately Kai was on him again, intending to pounce, but the patriarch flipped to his feet too quickly. This time he stopped taking the fight lightly: he began burning his own cultivation to enhance the Coiling Death, which arced around him. Not just one coil like his son, but three, weaving dangerously and threatening Kai.
Who walked directly into his range. As the Coiling Death stabbed down, Kai manifested his Monstrous Tail technique, which swung around him, deflecting the strikes. They hammered with the full weight of a Sky Soul's power, but Kai had surpassed that mark some time ago - Dragon's Might was fully capable of enhancing his techniques as well, so they kept up with the Coiling Death blow for blow.
Patriarch Xir stared in shock as Kai got closer step by step, deflecting his strongest attack without even using his arms. Kai raised one hand, building up a Tyrant's Claw that would cleave directly through the cultivator's defenses.
That finally made the patriarch call off his attack and retreat - exactly what Kai had been trying to bait him to do. The instant his opponent stopping using all his presence techniques, Kai hit him with Void Gaze, locking him in place.
Before the patriarch could recover, Kai closed the distance, smashing his claw into the man's chest and driving him to the ground. They skidded through the mud, smashing through several trees before they at last came to a halt with Kai atop the patriarch. The man was attempting to summon the Coiling Death again, but Kai continued smashing it aside, then he opened his mouth and consumed one of the coils with Isulfr's Bite. That reduced Patriarch Xir to hammering at Kai's arms with physical techniques, his blows glancing off Kai's armor.
He realized, almost to his surprise, that he had defeated a patriarch easily. There was a deep wound in his side that he hadn't noticed until that moment because Behemoth's Heart easily handled it: one strand of the Coiling Death must have gotten through his Monstrous Tail defenses. That reminded him that he could potentially use an armor ability, if he could find the right monstrous essence.
But he didn't need it for cultivators like this.
"I have some questions for you," Kai said with a growl as his claws closed around the patriarch's neck. "Why did you try to marry your son to Zae Zin Nim?"
"It was to make peace with the Brightwind Sect," Patriarch Xir said, then tried to spit blood at his face. With a speed phase, Kai easily leaned aside from it.
"Then why did you say she seduced him?"
"The deal was called off as soon as everything fell apart in the Southern Rivers. He was there without my permission, against my better judgment."
"Why did you call my wife a whore?"
Patriarch Xir stared at him as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. "What are these absurd questions? Are you going to demand I fall down and apologize to you? Nothing can erase the blood debt between us."
There was no blood debt as far as Kai was concerned, he was just trying to build up a hungry wrath deep within him. He thought back to Xir Xan Khan, insulting Zae Zin Nim at every moment, and imagined how the entire Coiling Island Sect planned to use her as nothing but a bargaining piece, or worse, a resource to be exploited.
"I heard about what she did," Patriarch Xir continued, filled with bitter hatred. "She gained the power to defeat Clen Ban by ruining herself. Fitting that she'd bear the spawn of an abomination like you, if her womb can even-"
That would do it. Kai opened his mouth and consumed the patriarch's upper body in a single monstrous bite.
Immediately he felt qi surging within him, not so different from the other cultivators he'd eaten except far more powerful. This time, Kai clung to the specificity of it, forcing the power into a concrete essence instead of burning it. Consuming humans was still unnatural to him, but he began to feel the power manifest in his soul.
As soon as he did, he felt strangely done with it all. Not disgusted or regretful, just tired of cultivators again. He stopped to check the body and discovered that Patriarch Xir had worn a spatial ring, which might well contain resources that Zae Zin Nim needed.
Other than that, he consumed the body. There would be traces of the battle, but otherwise the patriarch would disappear without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder what had happened.
There was no point spending any longer here, not when he might trigger a conflict with Yangix by lingering. Kai slipped away, returning to the Eastern Plains with essence burning within him. He was still hungry - always hungry - but this time he was also oddly satisfied.