Unintended Cultivator

V13 Chapter 37 – Let Us Assume

“You seem troubled, Lord Lu,” observed Xu Xiao Dan.

Sen glanced at the man. They both stood on qi platforms and looked down on the aftermath of their most recent battle. Sen returned to frowning at the dead spirit beasts far below.

“I am troubled,” he admitted. “This has proven far too easy.”

“I suspect that the mortal generals would disagree with that assessment.”

“Then, they’re fools.”

Moving south into the next kingdom had not been the challenge Sen expected. The generals and even most of the cultivators had taken it as a sign that their victory was imminent. For Sen, it had created a growing sense of unease. It was possible that Sen and his army had gutted the spirit beasts sufficiently that strong, coordinated conflict wasn’t possible for them anymore. Yet, that sounded far more like wishful thinking than reality to him. He would have found that argument more plausible in the north, where he had personally killed tens of thousands of spirit beasts. That could well have depleted their ranks in that region.

However, the idea that those spirit beasts had represented the bulk of their forces on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow was just ludicrous. Just considering the territory the spirit beasts controlled compared to what humans controlled, his army should be encountering fierce resistance at every step. If anything, they should be outnumbered in virtually every battle. Yet, inexplicably, they weren’t. Nor were the spirit beasts they did encounter showing any real strategy, tactics, or discipline. They acted more like beast tides than an army, which meant that sapient spirit beasts weren’t taking an active part in the fights to control their non-sapient brethren.

On the one hand, it was giving Sen’s people opportunities to refine their tactics and skills in real fights. That was always valuable, since Sen was of the opinion that you couldn’t practice those things too much. On the other hand, he was certain it was also giving everyone a false sense of security and confidence. That was dangerous. He’d fought too many young masters who’d vastly overestimated their abilities to ever take that problem lightly. If this continued, Sen worried what would happen when his army came up against a coordinated army of spirit beasts that did employ strategy and tactics. He feared that the mortals and cultivators would suffer terrible losses.

“What if this is all a trap?” asked Sen.

“A trap, Lord Lu?”

“Maybe we really have been unaccountably successful, and I’m worrying about nothing. I’ll admit that it’s possible that we weren’t a priority for the spirit beasts. They may well have concentrated their might on the other side of the Mountains of Sorrow. There is a lot more land there. That’s to say nothing of more people and cultivators. So, that would make that part of the continent a bigger threat. It also stands to reason that there are potent natural treasures and other prizes there that the spirit beasts would want to seize. Things about which I know nothing.”

“A great many such treasures, in fact,” said Xu Xiao Dan. “If you’d taken the slow path to nascent soul, you would know about them. You normally learn about such things as and when you need them, or hear stories from others about the treasures they need or want. You simply haven’t had the time or need before now.”

“It makes sense. I’m also aware of the vast gaps in my knowledge. Pretending they don’t exist is absurd. So, yes, I’m willing to concede that they may just have their attention focused there, and we’re getting lucky as a side effect. If that’s the case, I’m happy to take advantage of it. Here’s my problem. That kind of luck almost never happens. It also assumes that your enemy is incompetent. They may well be, but I don’t like assuming that. It’s the kind of lazy thinking that gets people killed.

“We know that the Beast King has been planning this for a long time. He wiped out the ghost panthers because they wouldn’t support this plan. He tried to do the same to the nine-tail foxes for the same reason. That’s not the behavior of someone who sends uncontrolled beast tides at a disciplined, experienced army. Plus, while he might not have anticipated me, specifically, he had to have considered the possibility that someone would try to unite the people here. He would have had some kind of plan in place to either prevent that or try to mitigate it.

“I know you weren’t there for it, but the army we fought back in my capital was far better managed than what we’ve been fighting recently. It’s part of what has me doubting things. So, for the sake of argument, let’s say that the mortals and sect-bound cultivators have dramatically underestimated the spirit beasts’ numbers and prowess. If that’s the case, what should we make of all these easy battles?”

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Xu Xiao Dan looked a little skeptical, but Sen had found the man an able enough strategist. The elder cultivator wasn’t given to overestimating the value of any particular success. He was much more likely to look for a pattern of success. That was, no doubt, one source of his current skepticism. Sen’s army had been showing a pattern of success. However, when asked to consider alternatives, the man would do it without leaning too hard on his existing opinions.

“When you say better managed, what do you mean by that?”

“For example, they sent out low-level spirit beasts at first. They weren’t especially dangerous, but there were a lot of them. It forced us to keep people on the wall and fighting constantly. Then, after they’d worn down the mortals and lower-stage cultivators, they started sending in stronger spirit beasts that required core cultivators to fight them. That went on for a while, and it was only then that their most powerful fighters joined the battle.”

Xu Xiao Dan had heard the stories about that battle before, but it never occurred to Sen that nobody had ever walked the man through the strategic situation. The former patriarch frowned as he mulled everything over. It was evident that the man didn’t like what he was hearing. He seemed to like it less and less the longer he thought about it.

“I see why you think that things have been too easy of late. Very well, then. Let us assume, as you suggest, that we aren’t simply fighting the shattered remains of the spirit beasts’ armies in this part of the world. Let us also assume that there are sapient spirit beasts here serving as generals. If that is, indeed, the case, I see a few possibilities.”

“Go on,” said Sen.

“These easy fights may not be a trap, specifically, but rather a holding action. They don’t want you, us, advancing into this territory too quickly. So, they send these beast tides. They know we’ll win, but they also know that the fights slow us down. Even in the best circumstances, we’ll have dead and wounded that must be attended to. It may only stop our progress for a day each time, but those days add up. They may just be looking to slow us down until reinforcements can arrive from the other side of the mountains. I know you set a watch on the most easily traveled routes over the mountains, but those aren’t the only paths.”

“True,” admitted Sen.

“Something that is of equal importance,” said Xu Xiao Dan, and pointed at the sky.

Sen glanced up, and then he gave the elder cultivator a questioning look.

“I don’t understand.”

“Some spirit beasts can fly. Some of them are very dangerous.”

Sen grimaced. He knew that. He ought to know it better than anyone. His daughter had a damned fenghuang for a pet. It wouldn’t take many of those to alter a battle. Cultivators who would otherwise fight on the ground would have to take to the air to counter them. They just hadn’t had to contend with many of those in the last year and a half. It had made Sen dismiss them as a threat. That was the exact kind of lazy thinking and overconfidence he was worried about his army developing.

“Fair enough,” said Sen. “So, one possibility is that they’re buying time until they can strengthen their forces. What else?”

“Another possibility is that these spirit beasts are buying time for the bulk of their forces to escape.”

Sen stared at the other man and said, “What?”

“I don’t find the possibility likely, but they may have decided to simply cede this territory to you for the time being. You have assembled a powerful mortal and cultivator army. One that could conceivably spell the end of the spirit beasts entirely if you use it correctly. They may have considered that and decided to consolidate their strength on the other side of the mountains. Then, when the time is right, they can invade here again with overwhelming force. To do that, however, they need to preserve the strength they had here. Slowing us down could give them time to escape.”

“I never even considered that. They’ve been so bent on our destruction that it just never occurred to me that they might retreat, even if it’s only temporary.”

“Indeed. Few generals laud the strategic retreat because they view it as cowardice. However, it is a viable and even valuable tool at times.”

“That’s certainly food for thought,” murmured Sen. “Any other possibilities?”

“You already said it. This is a trap. These easy fights are designed to trick us into a false confidence. Meanwhile, somewhere ahead, the spirit beasts are preparing some means to deliver a final blow to this army.”

“Such as?”

“Based on what I’ve heard about and seen of their methods, I’d expect them to be massing a huge army somewhere. Maybe near one of the capitals. If I were them, I’d wait until we were engaged in battle with a mortal army, and then charge our position. It would be hard for them to do it secretly, but they don’t need to be secretive once we’re locked into combat. We’d be caught between two hostile forces with no fortified position to retreat to. We’d have no choice but to fight to the end, or retreat while sustaining massive losses. Even if we did retreat, there’s nothing to stop them from pursuing us until everyone is dead. No matter how it plays out, the spirit beasts win.”

Sen was quiet for most of a minute as he weighed what he’d just heard.

“Yeah. It’ll be that last one,” he finally said.

“Lord Lu, it was just a possi—”

“Trust me,” said Sen, cutting the other man off. “It’s going to be that last one. Now, we have to figure out how to keep that from happening, or figure out a way to turn it to our advantage.”