《Refining the Heavens》B4, Chapter 37: The Enemies Have Come
Advertisement
The unrelenting need for Jim to jump off a metaphoric cliff was concerning for his other brothers.
Kairos took one look at him, the youngest amongst the five, and smiled, “After this, I will personally look over your training.”
Alan: “Haha, MOM wipes off the POOP.”
Edward: “Nooo… Alan. Stop…”
Tommy: “Oh gosh. The cringe.”
Vouno: “Bwahaha… You boys are geniuses.”
Kairos: “That’d be an order of special training menu for two.”
Alan: “HOLEY SHEET!”
Jim: “Oh sheet indeed!”
Vouno: “No swearing!”
Alan: “No sheet we aren’t!”
Jim: “Sheet sounds like shit but it isn’t shit. Holey sounds like holy but…”
Tommy: “Okay we get it. Please don’t make me regret knowing you.”
Edward: “Why does it feel like they are pulling out all stops to jump off the cliff?”
Kairos: “That’d be an upgrade for two special training menus from hell.”
This day, Jim and Alan learned something precious about themselves: They don’t just jump off whenever they see a nice looking pit, they’d dive straight down.
The five of them assembled the troops soon after.
When they appeared before their men, the soldiers looked up to them and cheered.
It is tradition to see the confidence on the faces of their commanders to feel assured, but this time, two of the five looked as though they had swallowed flies.
“Oh no, will this battle be difficult?”
“Of course, you fool! We are raiding the Ku Kang Camp, not walking through a garden! It’s obvious our leaders will be concerned.”
Unease spread slowly across.
The officers from Esley’s command also turned grim.
“These boys are still too tender. No matter how dangerous it will be, they need to maintain composure before the men.”
“Oh, but sir, these aren’t your average boys. They are the creators of Snowdrifts… Say, if they are also nervous for the upcoming fight… should we start worrying?”
The generals turned pale when one of their adjutant voiced her concern.
Indeed, should they start panicking? Maybe some of them are already freaking out inside, but they just aren’t showing it yet.
Unfortunately, when war begins, it is like the rushing waters of a broken dam. Even if they wreck their brains for a second option, there is none but move forward.
Advertisement
Esley Restrio rode to the front of the army on his War Dragon Horse in full armour. He banged a plated fist against his cuirass for attention, and in response the soldiers saluted him smartly.
“Hear me!” he roared.
His voice reverberated down the ranks clearly.
“This day will be marked in the pages of history!
The unstoppable shall meet with the unmovable, and only one will remain!”
It was a declaration that took some thinking to understand and the crowd remained silent until an unwilling Kairos was pushed forward by the three great generals.
It was a surprise for him and it took some effort for Kairos to catch himself.
When he stopped, he realised he was standing right beside Esley and an armoured hand landed gently on his shoulder.
The soldiers roared!
Glory that was meant for Esley himself – supreme commander of the frontlines – had been shoved into Kairos’ hands, and a new title was whispered amongst the troops that day.
“The unstoppable!”
Esley whispered, “This is part of my repayment for giving me power to protect my home.”
Kairos: “Isn’t this sharing the burden?”
Esley: “You may think it that way too.”
Indeed, Kairos had broken through many obstacles that were thought to be impossible until he came along. His deeds were legendary and created an illusion that with him, they will be invincible.
Therefore, this time too, surely they will prevail as well.
The Ku Kang camp had never been broken in history, but history has never known the one known as The Unstoppable.
The whispers of his title grew loud until it turned into an earsplitting roar.
At the side, Luciette, Sasha, Leaf, and Snow, looked briefly at each other and the joined in. Their voices intertwining into a magnificent sound, distinct even in the outpouring noises.
It was like spice added into soup and the soldiers that were used to hearing husky voices roared even harder becoming earth-shaking.
Of course, there are also many female cultivators within their midst, but none as young and vibrant. Most importantly, these four girls are exceptionally beautiful.
“The Unstoppable!”
“The Unstoppable!”
Advertisement
“The Unstoppable MOM!”
The unexpected attack caused Edward, Alan, and Tommy to burst into laughter while Jim flexed his biceps in victory.
Kairos: “Heh heh heh… That will be hell training menu for four. Two double duration.”
It was lucky that in this noise their voices could only reach each other, otherwise as cultivators, everyone would hear.
…..
The group marched in high spirits.
As they left, around twenty percent of their comrades stayed behind to construct a stronghold that will serve as a buffering point.
These guys are mostly made up of handy men and messengers.
If they army had to retreat, this will be a good place to slow down pursuers.
After their construction is complete, only ten percent will remain to man the place as skeleton crew while the other ten percent will march forward to join the main group.
The army are close enough to see the Ku Kang Camp a day later and will clash head on in three with their pace.
According to the scouts, there are a few locations along the way that could hold ambushes from the Frosthral.
They walked past the first of these spots without obstruction.
While the soldiers were oblivious to the potential danger, the generals couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
Even if they know that most likely they will face ambushes and booby traps, it felt good that it is later rather than now.
To face attacks one after another is how an army’s morale is grounded down fast.
Half a day later, they reached the second possible point of ambush but they still passed through safely.
Then, when the sky turned dark, they approached the third point.
This time, tension is high.
Even without explanations from the top, every soldier could feel that this is the most dangerous timed of the day.
Orders were swiftly given out.
The scouts were doubled and patrols that satellite the marching army tripled.
Every time there was a sound that felt slightly out of place, the company will turn their eyes towards it. They walked nervously until they reached the slopes of a snowy ravine.
It’s time.
Facing impending danger, their hearts pounded as they tried to maintain balance down the slush of slippery ice and mushy snow.
They must cut across the breadth of this valley to reach their target. The alternative is to travel far to either the east or the west before turning back.
The time needed will extend for a month before they reach and it will cost them more.
This is a terrible place for an invading army. They are exposed and cold. Underneath their feet is a fast underground river.
Only a few spots on this ravine could support a massive army without cracking the ice and drowning everyone.
It is the scarcity of these few paths that makes the commanders nervous.
Hairs stood on ends as cold sweat rolled down their sides.
Every crack beneath their feet made them fear the ground would collapse and every blast of wind sent them into panic that their enemies have come.
Yet, they walked out of the ravine two hours later unscathed.
There were no breakage nor were there soldiers with swords that surrounded them.
They’ve made it.
They passed the most dangerous section in their march.
Historically, the northerners love to launch ambushes in this place and an average of a third of a good-sized army will be killed.
They were the lucky ones to have snuck past without being found.
At this time, Vouno frowned.
Something felt familiar to him here.
He whispered to his son, “Be ready.”
Kairos saw the alarm in his father’s eyes and nodded then shut his eyes.
A deep trembling wave of soul perception rippled outwards and washed over every Origin Cultivator.
The next wave came a moment later, and then a third.
“Three ripples per second,” they mentally noted, “That’s the warning signal.”
Instantly, the Snowdrifts get out of being relaxed. They secretly gestured to the others and within minutes everyone around had their eyes on the road.
The message was clear.
The enemies have come.
Advertisement
- In Serial34 Chapters
The Depths of Magic
Synopsis It's the year 2052 and the release of the new next-generation full-dive VRMMO game called The Depths of Magic is hitting the world by storm. The game's technology will surpass all other games before it and shock the masses. Hector who goes by the name Locke inside the game is an experienced player of the genre. He is looking to continue his goal of enjoying gaming as well as the competition that goes along with competing for the top ranking spots. Novel Summary The Depths of Magic is a LitRPG novel focused on a Fantasy VRMMO setting. This is not a harem novel. In-Game systems The Depths of Magic features state-of-the-art technology never before seen in Hector's world. The key system the novel will bring up often is the Second Brain. The Second Brain system is more like a guidance AI for the players in the game that acts as if you had a second brain assisting your every action. How much guidance this AI will give is based on its experience or mastery skills a player will receive in the game. The guidance is seamless to a point where a player won't even realize they are being assisted, it's will feel like what they are doing is something they could always do. However, once they leave the game it will become quite apparent that they were receiving heavy guidance. The purpose of this system in a writing sense is to explain why a player can realistically become more powerful, more agile, or more skilled than they would otherwise be able to as a human. To give an example if someone could move faster than a bullet, how would a normal human brain be able to perceive and control this movement properly. Or how could a player who has never held a sword before become as experienced as someone who has trained with the sword all their lives? The magic system will be another focus of this novel. I don't want to spoil anything here but it should be an interesting one. The hope is that the system I have made will spark discussion between the readers on what combinations will do what. I already have most of it, but it will be fun to read as the author. Side notes My general focus for this novel is to attempt to make the in-game systems make sense. To give a vague example I have read a lot of novels of this genre and some have the habit of just creating such powerful items that it just breaks the system, and somehow the MC keeps finding challenging situations even with those items. What tends to happen when I read a novel like this I just ignore the stats of the items he is getting because the numbers don't even matter anymore. Release schedule: The chapter release schedule due to real-life complications is to release as I write them. Patreon setup: 1 chapter early release/discord access. Free content up to the current chapter includes an excel sheet that contains Locke's current stats at the end of the chapter. This is extra information for those that are interested.
8 157 - In Serial16 Chapters
Hellcrashers
Hellcrashers is intended for a mature audience only. Hellcrashers is a supernatural horror story. The characters are Hellcrashers, weird outlaws on the edge of the occult underground, minor celebrities in strange circles. They find and map entrances, and then mount expeditions into The Inferno itself. They have wealthy, powerful and often very sinister patrons who finance these expeditions in exchange for the Hellcrashers pulling their dead, damned, friends or relatives out of the Pit. Original work by Arthur Boyd; based off the works of Brandish Spex and Clinton J. Boomer. Learn more at http://hellcrashers.wikidot.com/ Hellcrashers is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works United States License
8 175 - In Serial8 Chapters
Optic Mage
Aiken, 25, gets summoned to another world as a 15-year-old student mage with a unique ocular ability. In his pursuit to figure out how he can go back home, he realises he must ensure an old prophecy comes true. However, this prophecy requires him to join the bad guys and bring about the destruction of the new world. If he doesn't, it may spell doom for the old world he wishes to return to. [Credit]Photo from Bruno Felixhttps://instagram.com/iambomani/ Check out my edgelord book:https://books2read.com/u/mgg7dD
8 165 - In Serial153 Chapters
Theory of Rifts (LitRPG)
You can join my Discord here. Keynes Kid is gifted with a photographic memory and being several months away from receiving Level 1, and a Talent, he finds himself in the center of attention of people who want to shape his Talent. If they can get him an intelligence related Talent, they will hit a jackpot. The Talent Unlocking ceremony finally comes and Keynes Kid receives… Error… Anomaly (What?) His new talent is… useless. Why then does the World Government want Keynes so badly they will silence anyone who knows about his Talent? At the same time... Somewhere in the Universe, ancient beings stir from their slumber, awoken by the system alert and the wall of glaring red warnings. Their greatest fear just manifested and they are hell-bent on erasing it from existence. -------- It is a slow-development story, so you won't find the MC with super powers at the beginning. -------- It is a coming of age story and focuses on a Talent system (in the beginning) with several additions that bring to the table upgrading of a planet’s tier and such (a bit later). There will be quite an amount of rebuilding society as new, unknown resources enter the economy, and a lot of travelling, delving and naturally, unlocking the secrets of the Universe. As for the setting, the story starts in XXI century, which technology-wise isn't much different from what we have now, but it is enhanced by magic associated with Talents. This allowed the humankind to colonize the solar system, but the technology that allows for interstellar travel doesn't exist (yet). Because it’s my first attempt at LitRPG, please be forgiving but constructive. I hope you will enjoy the story! --- Cover by Daniel Gembus https://www.artstation.com/daniel_gembus instagram.com/danielgembus
8 188 - In Serial17 Chapters
The Rebirth of a Emperor
An Emperor reaches the end of his days, exiled and living in misery in a faraway land together with his entire dynasty and some friends from his time of rule. He regrets never being able to return to his beloved country and wonders if he made the right choice by leaving his throne to avoid a massive conflict but tries to comfort himself knowing many lives were spared. As he dies however, visions of a strange future appear as if to answer his doubt, making him shed tears of remorse, for his country's fate is not a good one after him, making his end truly a miserable one. However unexpectedly, his eyes open again to a place never seen before to a people he had no recollection of, in the embrace of a woman he at first has no idea of who it was. This strange, absurd situation quickly makes him realise what just happened, he does not know how he came to grasp the situation, but something made him understand this: This isnt his world and there is no turning back, no way to see his homeland again nor his family. In this horrible realisation, he cried, much like the infant he was now, marking his rebirth to this new world, which he saw as a punishment from God for his actions. ----------- Note from author: this story is the first i ever published, so please, to anyone who takes an interest in it, have a bit of patience with me and if you can, give me a bit of good old criticism. For now i will publish small chapters for i am not very confident in this, but as i write more and gain some experience i will release longer and better ones. Also English isn't my mother language so any advice or correction is welcomed.
8 89 - In Serial8 Chapters
Kingdom of One
Fix-it fic for the ending of Game of Thrones. Picks up at the end of "The Bells".This fic draws from both the books and the show itself. If you weren't satisfied with the way HBO wrapped things up, suffer no longer. Bonus: If you ever wondered what the hell happened to the Azor Ahai prophecy, this is the story for you!
8 139

