Unintended Cultivator

V12 Chapter 57 – You Were Warned

It was strange for Sen to fly over areas where he’d once cowered and hidden from pursuers who, he’d only learned later, never existed. He was so distracted by those old memories that it took several seconds to realize that he was sensing life ahead. Not just life, but also clashes of qi. He added speed but also took himself up high enough that his arrival would serve as a distraction. If cultivators were fighting in Tide’s rest, he would wait to see what was happening before he decided to act. He came to a stop far enough above the small town that only his enhanced eyes allowed him to understand what he was witnessing. Sen saw cultivators and mortals doing their best to defend the walls.

They weren’t nearly as skilled as the cultivators and mortal soldiers who had defended the capital, but they weren’t giving up any ground either. He thought he even caught glimpses of Elder He racing back and forth along the wall to offer support where needed. The mortals and cultivators would even succeed in their defense if things continued on as they were. But Sen knew that things wouldn’t continue on as they had been. He could see and sense spirit beasts massing in the forests near the city, no doubt waiting for the defenders to tire. He thought, perhaps, there were a thousand of them. Their numbers were nothing compared to those that has assaulted the capital, but it would be enough to overrun the town. At least, it would be if he didn’t intervene.

He wondered if he would have left them to their fate in some other life. If he had come from a sect, would he have callously decided that this was someone else’s problem? Would he have thought it a simple matter of the weak being culled? He thought that he might well have come to a conclusion like that and simply left, never to consider it again. Even in this life, he hadn’t forgotten what had happened in this town. It was a pebble of annoyance compared to the mountainous problems he faced now, but it was still an annoyance. Not one worthy of death, though. Not when every cultivator and mortal life was part of a dwindling pool.

“Time to get to work, I suppose,” he muttered.

Sen converted the qi platform he was standing on to his flying method and aimed directly for the center of the spirit beasts massed in the forest. He made crimson blades by the tens and then the hundreds. He sent lightning forking along the wind blades, letting it light up the sky around him with an ethereal glow. Then, behind him, he ignited a firestorm and dragged it down to earth with him. The very earth shattered where he struck, hurling spirit beasts, stone, and earth in every direction, only to have them intercepted by lightning-wreathed crimson blades that reduced bodies to smoldering pieces. That was when the fire struck. Anything that hadn’t been killed by the shockwave, the crimson blades, or the lightning was reduced to ash.

The fire parted in front of him as he walked toward the town walls. Whatever fighting that had been going on ground to a complete halt. Mortals looked baffled by the events, while the cultivators moved back and forth between happiness, relief, and shock. The spirit beasts that had been so fixated on the town seemed to have forgotten it existed. They were all facing him. Their postures were aggressive but also defensive. The ones in charge who seemed to have achieved sapience tried to coax the lesser spirit beasts into attacking him. Instead, they shuffled back as he closed the distance. He came to a stop less than twenty feet from where the massed spirit beasts shuffled nervously.

“Spirit beasts, my name is Lu Sen. You were warned that you are not welcome in my lands. Yet, here I find you. I am not pleased.”

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Sen released the iron grip he normally kept on his killing intent. He thought that the next five seconds probably felt very long and excruciating for the remaining spirit beasts. After that, though, the battle of Tide’s Rest was over. Sen snapped his fingers, and flames washed over the spirit beast corpses, incinerating everything but their cores. When that work was done, he stretched out his qi and extinguished the flames that threatened to set the entire forest alight. He caught the presence of a lone spirit beast near the farthest edges of his spiritual sense. Well, he thought, I can’t let that one get away. He looked up to the top of the wall.

“Spear,” he commanded.

One of the cultivators fumbled briefly before tossing a spear to him. Sen hefted it in his hand. It wasn’t of exceptionally good quality, but he only needed it to last long enough for one thing. He infused the spear with qi to enhance its durability. Drawing back his arm, he hurled the spear into the forest. There were sounds like explosions as the spear passed through trees, rocks, hills, and anything else that was between it and its target. A moment later, the spirit beast winked out of existence in his spiritual sense. Part of him felt like he should feel a sense of accomplishment. He had saved the people in this town, which was a good thing. The spirit beasts were dead. That was definitely a good thing. However, it hadn’t been a true battle. The battle, such as it was, had ended the moment he touched down on the ground. After that, it had just been a particular showy mass execution.

Not that Sen needed every fight to test his limits. There would be plenty of those in the future, he was sure. The spirit beasts weren’t shy about using overwhelming force to kill weaker opponents, so he wasn’t sure why it bothered him. Maybe it was just that it felt like bullying. I need to get over that, he thought. All that matters with them is winning. He heard the gates open, and a lone person approached him. Sen didn’t even need to look to know who it was. There was only one person in Tide’s Rest who might feel confident enough for that.

“Elder He of the Stormy Ocean Sect,” said Sen.

“Lord Lu,” said Elder He, his voice sounding weak. “We never expected to see you in this remote place again.”

“You never expected to see me, or you just hoped you wouldn’t?” asked Sen, working hard to hide his amusement.

“Both, if I’m being honest,” said Elder He. “Although, I’m hardly in a position to complain about your colorful arrival.”

Sen lowered his voice and asked, “Was anyone else aware of the spirit beasts in the forest?”

“Just myself and the only other remaining elder from the sect knew. We didn’t want everyone to lose hope.”

“Probably best that you keep it to yourself that you knew. Otherwise, when people stop being happy that they’re alive, they’d probably be very angry with you.”

“Agreed.”

“From the damage to the walls and what I saw of the defense, it seems that isn’t the first attack you’ve fended off.”

“No. But the last few have been far worse and closer together. We didn’t even have time to repair the walls properly between the last attack and this one.”

Sen wondered if the spirit beasts somehow knew he was coming and tried to finish these people off before he got to them. Then again, it wasn’t as though everything was centered on him. Plenty of other towns had been destroyed when he wasn’t headed toward them. He realized he’d missed whatever Elder He had last said to him.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I said, we’re grateful you came, but why are you here, Lord Lu?”

“We need to evacuate you to Emperor’s Bay. There’s literally no human life between here and there anymore.”

“What?” asked the obviously stunned elder. “No life at all? What happened?”

“I couldn’t say for sure. Some places were no doubt attacked, and everyone was killed. Others might have been abandoned. The point is that you’re alone out here, and you’re far too far away from everyone else to be protected. So, you need to gather all the people and the necessities for travel. I didn’t expect to find anyone here, so I’m overjoyed to this many people alive. Now, I’d very much like to keep them that way.”