Dead Moors,

Flooded River,

Dodging another clod of flying mud, Kido sprinted alongside the wagons clutching his weapon tightly in a seething rage. His fine armour was soaked and grass-stained, with droplets of dark mud splattered all over. Reaching the lead Waggoneer had proven more taxing than he had imagined and that was solely due to these blasted ponies.

Frothing at the mouths they tore up the ground in their escape, hooves smashing putrid filth high into the air. Secured in teams of four they not only pulled their cumbersome wagons with ease but managed to do so uphill and against the suction of the wet mud. Their prowess was nothing short of startling.

Ofcourse, this only made Kido hate them that much more. The humiliation the Cultivator imagined grew steadily, as any worth a razor should have been able to outpace a simple animal with ease. It was beside the point that he was no longer drawing on his core, people would still look and see. And that was ignoring all the mud they cast his way.

He was almost convinced the wretched creatures were doing it on purpose. He swore to himself that that madman was going to pay for this humiliation if it was the last thing he ever did, but first he had to reach him. Then his rightful compensation could be set in the civilised manner of the sharp edge of a blade.

Admittedly, hitching a ride out of here was quickly aligning with his best interests. The metallic scent of blood was thick in the air now and scavenger Beasts were far more aggressive in their pursuits now. The moors were now actively teeming with hostile life and already the wagons were pursued.

The silent calm before the storm had been broken and all manner of bestial cries rang out across the moors, celebrating their catches and warning others off. Without the right protections, most beings were easily susceptible to a greater Beasts influence. Kido put much of this animated behaviour down to the arrival of a Kaiju Master.

Swarms of giant swamp rats bounded through the long grass, chittering in pursuit of the convoy. Kido ran between the two, regularly power-kicking through any that crossed his path. The size of dogs with teeth twice as sharp, his blows though not mortal but did put them out of the fight as he passed.

Thankfully, they were far more intent on harassing the ponies than trying to take a bite out of him and judging by all the pitiful squeals they weren’t very good at that either.

Any that got close enough to biting the pony's legs, had their heads staved in with a solid hoof. Through sheer numbers alone the oversized varmints quickly became a problem, getting caught in the wagon wheels and slowing them down.

The previously silent brown-robed servants weren’t idle underneath the wagon interiors, quickly emerging with loaded crossbows. Taking aim at the larger swarms that built up, they yelled out warnings and fired bolts of flaming pitch into them.

Lit against the wagon's double-sided dual-cored lanterns, they splashed liquid flame amongst the oversized rats scattering them into more manageable numbers.

Again, Kido couldn’t help but marvel at the pony’s discipline. The Preafect knew better the effect fire had on Animal and Beast alike, even mutants rightly feared it. Most would have simply panicked at the mere scent of pitch.

Regardless, the swarms quickly reformed from their bouts of panic and tried again. Whilst he did not imagine any of the larger solitary scavenger Beasts brave enough to trouble a full convoy of Cultivators, swarms weren’t exactly known for their preservation instincts.

The swamp rats threw themselves at the mounts with suicidal abandon and slowly weren’t entirely ineffective. Not all the blood running down the mounts legs was rat, and soon they began to show signs of reaching their threshold of calmness.

He almost felt bad for them, but then he remembered his own predicament and realised their suffering was the justified hand of Karma.

Listening distractedly to the rhythmic sounds of the moors and rattle of the wagons, Kido’s attention was drawn to the looming trouble higher up the road. He noted the blue-robed palace guards were of a like mind, but only when it came to ignoring the rat problem.

The ignorant fools showed no sign of realising where the real trouble would be coming from. Running along the road slowly, too slowly. They kept glancing back as the convoy gained on them.

He scoffed at their proud poses as they clung to the edges of the wagons canopies, each holding a wickedly curved long spear. They watched with barely concealed horror as the larger scavengers ripped apart their meals in the distance. To the discerning eye the wagon teams seemed well prepared for the dangers of the moors, but he knew better.

Out here they were still pampered rookies.

Typical palace sorts.

Ignoring the dying squeaks of rats and shouts of men, Kido made his first mistake and nearly returned to the Great Cycle via a wagon wheel. The shock of the force lifting him off his feet, threatening to faceplant him in the mud. The danger he had just fled, made itself known why a cry of outrage.

The explosion of force rattled the wagons, buffeting everything in a cone from the river edge. Then the agonised roar of the Imoogi, changed tempo as she lashed out at all the Beasts trying to swim across under the shroud of heavy mist. The waters churned violently and shards of lightning burst from a snarling maw.

The Great Wall,

Shogun’s Turret,

The Salamander’s eyes went wide as he stood up reaching for the edge of the turret. He felt the new power even before the roar echoed off his walls. But it was the murmur of fear trickling through his new Captains, that irritated him most as he fixed an errant strand of hair blown loose.

He knew what a rare occurrence this was, but it was no reason for his Noble blooded contingent of Captains to show fear. The Monsters the Nobles fought should have been on par with an Imoogi.

Just how weak was this batch, to waver at the emergence of two possible Kaiju Masters? Was even a single Bloodline in a whole batch too much to hope for?

Yet again, he was left with a bitter taste from the Noble Houses handouts. Sighing quietly, he racked his brain for options as he assessed this new threat.

The mist had now swallowed the whole river but did little to thwart the Imoogi’s barrage of lightning from piercing through. The shadows within were obscured by heavy mists swirling about, each glimpse lasted only as long as the flash of lightning allowed.

Hidden bestial shadows were exposed flying in the sky, no few tumbling lifelessly into the river. With his superior vision, he could make out the enormous crowned serpentine shadow reaching from the river, lashing at everything in a mindless rage. Countless smaller shadows fell upon it, ripping and tearing but doing little to temper the storm the greater Beast wrought.

“My Lord Salamander, shouldn’t we begin handing out Emperor’s bolts?” Spoke one brave soul.

Irritated he rolled his eyes at the young man, careful not to let them see. Instead, he waited until their whispering stilled entirely, each eager for his response.

“No.”

“… My lord?” The young fool dared enquire further.

“Arch-tenant.”

The Salamander called, shrugging off all further explanation onto the highest Watch rank officer. Afforded strictly to ex-House Nobles, it was a secretarial role for accountancy's sake and had little to do with their abilities in war. These veterans were also invaluable when conversing with fellow Nobles and maintaining a superior discourse.

There was also only so much time and patience a man of effect had, and rarely did he waste it on ignorance.

“No Emperors Bolt, let alone Razor or anything else we have will reach from this distance, Captain”

“But surely, we can get the munitions out and loaded or at least at the ready?”

“Too soon, there is an intelligence possessed by the Greater Beasts Captain. It will need to be much closer so as to guarantee it doesn’t escape and learn, causing even more damage, when it returns.”

“And so, there is nothing we can do for the Shoguns man out there? We must wait until the Lightning wielding Kaiju is close enough to blast down the walls?”

“I would ask you to guard your tone Captain, but instead I will point out that you have failed to address a Senior by their proper title… twice. As you are still under the direct protection of the Shogun the most I can do is point this out to you, however, you do your Title a disservice.”

The Captain stiffened at the Arch-tenant’s harsher tone.

“ Regardless, I will remember your cause to arm the men of the first wall, as early as possible. Especially when it comes to receiving your Key to the city. You do remember what those bonded Keys are for, Captain?”

The Salamander didn’t even bother acknowledging the end of the conversation, but he approved his Arch-tenant’s tact. The truth was simpler and far more problematic. The Watch just didn’t have enough metal. It never had.

Power, politics and play. If they loaded the war machines to early and the Kaiju simply turned and struck the Wall further down, the Captains would have to go back and retrieve the handed-out munitions. If the Nobles Houses ever found out how low the Watch was on metal, they’d simply raise the price again. They had done it before.

Trusting all his Noble Blooded Captains was a luxury the Watch could ill afford. That it had happened before was a painful enough lesson, to happen twice would be a tactical failure.

No, simply put. Kido was on his own.

Dead Moors,

Flooded River,

The panic was immediate with the rodent swarms scattering entirely, dispersing into the long grass. Whatever hold over them had slipped, allowing their freedom.

Kido threw prudence to the wind as he ran with abandon. The hair on the back of his neck rose as he felt the charged bolts exploding behind him. Bright enough to light up the mists like a titanic glow-worm.

His alarm near-total, as what was left of a Beast's corpse was hurled hundreds of meters out of the mist. Bursting apart in a bloody display right next to the escaping convoy.

The wagons almost stalled and threatened ruin, as their mounts bucked and shook their heads violently, struggling against their harnesses. Their riders whipped them mercilessly in a futile effort to calm them and get them going again in an orderly manner.

In the madness of the screams and lightning, Kido felt his first spark of joy come to light. The waggoneers would have had better luck if they whipped themselves, but such things marked the difference between taught and trained. Quickly he began to outpace them all.

Effortlessly drawing upon the lead wagon, he felt a sharp discordant whistle blow just under the senses of an ordinary man. Swiftly the mounts calmed as he felt something buffet his mind, only thanks to his mask did its effects wash over him with little result.

Some kind of relic, no doubt.

Suddenly cautious of just who might be in possession of a relic, Kido slowed as he approached the lead wagon trying to gauge the strength of the man’s core once more. Those damn dual lanterns on were making it almost impossible to sense anything through the thick haze of Ki they leaked.

What wasteful idiot puts two cores in a single lantern, and then had the gall to burn them during the day? Gods, how he hated these flamboyant wastes.

His caution was fleeting, as a new realisation came to mind.

That relic would make a fine addition to the ‘payment’ he expected.

Running up to the wagon to jump aboard, the ponies decided at that moment they were calm enough again to take off at full pace once more. Sending a rather clump of mud right at him.

Too late to dodge, his reflexes were quicker than reason. He backhanded it out of the air.

“By the crusted tits of the Taker...!” Kido raged as the whole thing splatted against him.

The leader of the convoy almost jumped out of his seat, startled by the Preafects sudden appearance.

“Good grief man!”

He could have sworn he’d left the man back at the river and was shocked to see him here already.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Kido stopped dead in his tracks, dumbstruck by the poor breeding of this wretched Pyeanchi. For a fraction of a second, he almost believed he had gotten his station wrong and could only blink as the wagon pulled away again. As it did, the last drop of insufferance fell.

Too much, far far too much. All made worse by a Pyeanchi that failed to adhere to his station. Well, now it was up to him to restore order. He was going to cut that flapping mouth's head right off. Then cut it in half… and then cut both halves in half again.

The sweet song of his blade directed his uncontrollable rage. It flowed through him shattering his reservoir of tolerance, his meridians warmed.

Without thought the ground flattened at his booted heel, mud was shoved aside and water steamed off his robes.

“You Bastard!” Kido charged, sprinting forward with Chi flooding throughout him.