The Elementals destroyed the cultivator so completely that there was no chance for me to identify his body. The Ocean Spirit was kind enough to present his spatial ring, spear, and mask once I'd landed on the dock. I spent a good half hour perusing the contents, searching for anything that might serve as a clue as to his identity or purpose only to come to find nothing. It would have been folly to carry a list of the names and locations of those involved in the smuggling operation, even if it would have been helpful.

It would be easy to confirm his involvement with the smugglers once I dealt with the ship that had been launching bombs at the docks.

The ship remained intact, having survived the titanic forces of the Elementals. How they had managed to contain the fierce energies and wind speeds was something I needed to investigate. If I could replicate that ability, it elevated my attacks and fighting style to another level. The storm I had summoned to combat the cultivator hadn't been as tightly controlled, the rain and wind lashing the town even as the eye of the storm centered on our fight.

I wanted to understand how they did it. The Elementals were able to deliver attacks with such precision that the surrounding area remained inviolate. There was damage, but that damage had been localized to the area where the battle was joined, flotsam and coral from the seabed, obvious signs of that destruction. When the cultivator had moved to first attack me, he had moved far enough away from the ship that it remained outside the sphere of combat.

I wanted that ship intact. The fact that a cultivator of his rank and power was sailing on it, instead of flying, was enough proof for me that there was something on board that he was protecting. It might be nothing more than a harvest of Golden Lodoicea pods and cores, but I was hoping there was something else.

Even if there wasn't, the people on board would know where they loaded the cargo they were carrying. That would give me a direction to look, an area where I could investigate and find a link to the next chain of the smuggling operation. With the number of pods and cores that I had claimed stored in the warehouses, the farming operation had to be massive. The only way to hide something of that scope was behind concealing arrays.

Without a starting point to begin searching, it would be impossible to ever locate where that farming operation was taking place. Not in the vastness of a rainforest. The trees would serve as a further hindrance unless they were stupid enough to clear-cut the forest as the former Lord of this town seemed intent on doing.

The defensive array that protected the ship had still been in place, probably some of the reason it had survived, but it had failed with enough pressure. Storm had ignored the ship once the cultivator had emerged and attacked me. She had been too scared and angry to do anything but concentrate her fury on the man that had almost killed me.

Once that danger was gone, she had resumed battering the barrier that protected the ship. She sent bolts of lightning to smash across the ship's defensive shields until they broke. Only once the ship was left open, ready to be boarded, would she be satisfied. I could feel her frustration and fear through our bond. The death of the cultivator had done nothing to calm those emotions.

I ignored the ship for the time being. With the defensive array under siege, I left Storm to maintain that pressure. My attention continued to focus on the Elemental that still existed. The thing was powerful, too powerful for me to have any chance of taming or defeating. Thankfully, I didn't need to. The Spirits of Wind and Ocean acted now that the danger was past, recalling the energies that had empowered the Elemental. The winds and waters calmed, returning to the ebb and flow of nature as the power that the Spirits had gathered was reclaimed.

It was disconcerting watching something so powerful just fall apart. The debris from the tornado had gathered, splashing into the water to be claimed by the calming ocean. I felt the satisfaction the Spirits felt at having successfully fulfilled their contracted obligations. They were content, more than content, they were significantly healed.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

They had absorbed that person's accumulated Qi and inner ocean when they killed him, claiming his Dantian and draining it the same way we would a beast core. It made me wonder if Elves were just a more highly evolved species of beast, and our only real difference was our ability to work together to increase our numbers and build a civilization.

"Are you alright?" Cinder asked. She had escaped out of range of the battle after sacrificing that defensive array to help me. I didn't blame her; this wasn't her fight. That she offered any help at all was worth more than any gratitude I could offer. Her selfless act had been one of the reasons I hadn't died when that cultivator had unleashed his fire attack.

"I am," I replied, turning to address her directly, "thanks to you and your help. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"It was nothing," she said, her face flushing in embarrassment. It wasn't the first time I'd seen an Elf blush, but because of her coloring, hers was more pronounced. Elves had a slight tinge of green to their skin normally, so when we blushed, the skin color took on an orange-ish hue. For a true carrot top like Cinder, the orange coloring was even more striking.

"It was not nothing. You risked your life by using that defensive array. That man might have ignored you until he killed me, but by helping me, you guaranteed that he would come for you. I owe you. I'm not sure how I can ever repay that debt. But you have my gratitude."

"Why do you think he attacked?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"I made some changes to the town's leadership the last time I was here," I explained, "changes that would disrupt the workings of a smuggling operation I discovered. The ship attacking the town, his reaction. I can only assume that both were related to the changes I made in dismantling the local operation.

"It is even more important than ever that the eight trigrams formation be repaired. I'm not sure if there is anyone more powerful involved, but if there is, the formation is an added layer of protection that the town needs. I would hope any cultivator beyond the Nascent Soul Realm would find this type of enterprise a waste of time, but I'm afraid he is working for or with other people."

"You should make sure Patriarch Umbra knows of this attack," Cinder suggested. "Maybe she will assign Sect members to patrol the area for you."

"I will send a missive," I said in agreement, "informing her of today's actions. Hopefully, there is someone or something on that ship that I can include in the report that might help as well."

I would send a missive, it wouldn't hurt, but the mention of help from the Patriarch reminded me that they should have already sent someone. Elder Shadow had promised that Shade, a member of House Penumbra, was supposed to be waiting for me, assigned to help until this smuggling ring was smashed and destroyed.

He should have already arrived, so why hadn't he helped when I was being attacked? What kind of protection was he able to offer if he couldn't be bothered to act when I was fighting someone so much more powerful than me?

"The barrier for that ship will fail within the next ten seconds," Cinder informed me. Her knowledge of arrays was even more impressive if she was able to tell that from just a glance. She hadn't had a chance to examine the array itself and was still able to understand how it worked, I wondered if I could hire her to repair more of the failing arrays around town.

As we waited for those ten seconds to pass, I extended my Qi Perception towards the docks. The warehouse fires were all out, the rain from the storm I had created powerful enough to extinguish them. The people that had been assigned to fight those fires, and those that had been stationed on the dock to protect the town from invasion, were all silently watching.

I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but they seemed filled with a sense of purpose and resolve that hadn't existed since the last time I'd been here. The apathy and acceptance of their fate were missing, replaced by a new determination and the beginnings of hope.

As the barrier on the ship was finally destroyed, those gathered on the dock began cheering, the noise loud and feral. Their anger part of that noise, anger tempered with satisfaction. They knew that those responsible for bombing their town would soon face justice, and their screams of satisfaction changed the way I would administer that justice.

I had planned to create a justice system in the future. A rule of laws that could be adjudicated. It was too early for that, but I could hold Curia Regis, and pass sentence as Baron. I was within my rights to simply kill them. They had attacked my town, but watching as the people cheered, I realized it would be better for them to stand witness as I dispensed justice.

They had lived too long under Lord Chon's governance. This would be an opportunity to showcase how my rule would differ from the previous. I would show that justice was dispensed in the light of day.

Justice for all to see.

There would be no capricious killings or citizens that vanish at the whims of a petty dictator.