《Golem Power Armour》


 Chapter :1 Obligations And Dreams

    Chapter :1 Obligations And Dreams


    Underground Lab


    A figure in exoskeleton mechanical arms with multitool could be seen fiddling with machines drenched in sweat,soot,and dark sticky liquid. She could not care less of her appearance focus and determination could be seen in the glint of her eyes.


    She is Sera Hawke 25 year old prodigy she got masters and doctorate on engineering, mechanics, programming and electronics, but all that effort is for a singular purpose¡­ Freedom


    .


    For Hawke is a cripple. fragile bones, weak muscles, respiratory problems, ever since she was a child she knew she was bound to live out all her years bound in a wheelchair being taken care of by others. but there is one thing hawke knew was possible to break her shackles and that is she would forge a body for herself. Technology was not there yet but she knew at an early age what she was capable of, she made calculations in her growing years that by the time she made her foundation, technology would have climbed barely just close enough for her use.


    Years passed her talents outshone others and with it attention both private and government sectors around the world got a whiff of what she was building at first she denied them but lured with funds and overall support to hasten her projects she eventually agreed and soon various designs of power Armour came from her ¡®¡¯Investors¡¯¡¯ urging her to make for them


    She was too deep in to back out billions of funds already flowed to her project and all she can do is move forward, as if with foresight she already knew what would become of her creation what was once an invention of her salvation would become her burden and damnation she knew all to well what people could do with Power Armour, but regardless, for her to become free of the shackles of mortality the Power Armour would be the foundation of her creation which she kept well for herself.


    Footsteps could be heard approaching ¡®¡¯Professor Hawke working late¡­ Again? You should have called in the others¡¯¡¯ a man in a business suit said as he slowly approached marveling and the creations laid before his eyes.


    ¡®¡¯I''m fine tuning things the grunts wont cut it, Besides there is only days 2 left before the presentation I cant leave anything to chance I must do it myself¡¯¡¯ said Hawke while facing the machines not even bothering to look back at who she is talking to.


    ¡®¡¯hmhmhm as cold as always, you know higher ups is breathing down my neck to keep tabs on you. This has become an international event I am just making sure things are in order, and for crying out loud cant you have some assistant watching over you? Secure as the building is, we wouldn''t want you to have an accident working on these industrial machines¡¯¡¯ the man in the suit said pleadingly and accusingly.


    After Lifting her head and wiping the sweat from her face she turned and said ¡®¡¯Glenn you know why I couldn''t trust anyone you know exactly why! They can study my creations as much as they want but the core knowledge and technology will be handled by me and me alone!!¡¯¡¯ shouting and looking him straight in the eye.


    Glenn then said in a calm manner ¡®¡¯you are misunderstanding things this Power Armour is going to save lives! Jupiter was a pipe dream since its discovery but your Armour will change everything for the first time in history the doors to the biggest planet in the solar system is now within our reach, all we need is to open it can¡¯t you see?!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯oh I see it alright, pretty convenient you forgot to mention that tanks would be phased out in favour of my Humanoid sized walking tank. I know what they plan to do with my creation! All I ever wanted is to be free of¡­..of THIS!!!!¡¯¡¯ shouting and pointing to her frail body and skinny legs for her age. ¡®¡¯I am not a saint but the least I could do is keep the core technology away from their grubby hands, and then I would walk away from all this¡¯¡¯ she added


    ¡®¡¯okay. we know that the higher ups knew that and we are not pushing you beyond those limits, as I said im just making sure everything is in order after this you get paid you walk away and we get our product see¡­ everybody happy. Now finish that and go to sleep we need to go early tomorrow¡¯¡¯ Glenn said as he walked towards the elevators


    Sera Hawke is still putting A.I. security measures to her private collection of Power Armour that would serve as her bodyguards, drones were relatively old but an A.I. controlled drone is another part of her project which she kept very close secret to her, as an orphan she is not the type to trust anyone so easily.


    As she finished her work Sera walked towards the elevator and before the doors closed she said ¡°activate sentry mode kill everything that moves that is not me¡¯¡¯ with that she cleaned herself and wen to sleep for new burdens that await tomorrow.


    Unknown Military Installation


    Later that night


    ¡®¡¯So She is cooperating? Are you sure she wont do anything funny?¡± said a man in 5star General uniform while eating his steak not looking at Gelnn.


    ¡®¡¯Sera Hawke will pull through her end of the deal, she did not buy the Jupiter idea though¡¯¡¯ said Glenn as he is savoring the fine wine in his hand.


    ¡®¡¯Hmph. Obviously she wont, tensions around the borders across the world are nearing its breaking point, though we have kept it quiet this long is already miraculous in on itself that Power Armour is going to change warfare. the potential of that weapon is bigger than any tank or battleships we have created, its a shame other countries managed to dip their fingers on her so quickly¡¯¡¯ said the General as he stood from away from the table. He walked towards the couch in front of Glenn and said ¡®¡¯what happened to the spies in charge to steal some of her work?¡¯¡¯


    Glenn stiffened at the question knowing the answer is anything but good ¡®¡¯w-well.. sir they are dead after exiting the elevator camera feeds suggest that the Sera Hawke¡¯s Private Power Armour collection has quite the formidable defense system in place¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯all of them?¡¯¡¯ asked the General slightly disbelieving.


    Glenn reaffirmed the obvious answer ¡®¡¯yes sir all of them. Camera has recorded that the Power Armour came alive and shot them to pieces, it would seem that the good professor has been holding back on us, we believe its an A.I. though how sophisticated we don¡¯t know. cleanup will have to wait until tomorrow until Hawke disables the security. death row convicts has already replaced the guards and killed on site it wont be traced back to us, we even lit up the entire area it really looked like there was an intense firefight.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯hmmm¡­ anyway tell her that we need 100 Power Armour of every model she has including the models and schematics from the other countries tell her after this she is free to go no strings attached¡¯¡¯ after the General said those words he stood up with Glenn.


    Glenn then asked ¡®¡¯ we are just gonna let her go?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯of course. The last thing we want is malfunctioning products or her having a vengeance coming after us, we already have too many to worry about we can let her go. Besides we can always reverse engineer her work its just gonna take a while¡¯¡¯A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Research Lab 1:00 AM


    Glenn would not have expected that his actions that night would trigger a chain reaction of events that would push Sera Hawke to the limits.


    Alarms are blaring, rapid gunshots could be heard despite the thick walls and glasses of the laboratory followed by occasional explosions and shaking


    Sera is a shallow sleeper because of her body pain waking her from time to time, she is always wearing an exoskeleton even in her sleep although this particular model is more soft and comfortable it still has durable mechanical arms not only for utility but also for self defense


    ¡®¡¯Guards what is going on Report!!¡¯¡¯ sera shouted as her heart rate increased and is beginning to hyper ventilate she immediately call emergency lines since her work is closely tied to the government and military on international level she had access to a panic button soon soldiers and special forces would come to her rescue meanwhile her goal is to get out of dodge and stay low.


    With practice Sera grabbed her tiara with multiple gemstone in it but they are far from decorative each gemstone are packed with microchip and crystal projector creating a screen of interface in which she can interact she then called for her guardians in the Underground Lab.


    ¡®¡¯SENTINELS PRIORITY 1 ALPHA!¡¯¡¯ Sera shouted as the Sentinels designed to look like Power Armour came to life moved quickly and entered secret elevators for each of them to move up and go to their masters aid.


    Gemini Doc - 3 meters - 4 tons


    Light Armour- Non combatant its purpose is to tend to the health of Sera Hawke it has 4 arms the front are for medical use it¡¯s hands which have retractable surgical tools. The back hands are repair tools designed to service and repair the other Sentinels.


    Ashura - 4 meters - 20 tons


    Heavy Armour- it has 9 sets of elongated arms its job is literally to charge in the midst of battle and wreak havoc its legs are designed akin of that a Velociraptor.


    Riot - 3 meters 10 tons


    Medium Armour- designed to protect Sera from hordes of people. it carries a 2 meter transparent bulletproof tower shield which is equipped with powerful flood lights and has flash setting that could temporarily blind assailants, or cause seizure, it can also shoot electric bolts from its hands but only for 1 meter range highly inaccurate as the bolts would stick to anything conductive, settings that range from non-lethal to lethal.


    Vulcan - 3 meters - 10 tons


    Medium Armour- shoots spikes the size of .50 cal via super compressed air effective kill range 500 meters estimated to be capable of 1000 shots per minute one minigun for each shoulder and another set for each of its forearm, can also shoot underwater with effective kill range of 20 meters.


    Banshee - 3 meters - 2 tons


    Light Armour- its legs are purely cosmetic inside of it are miniaturized turbines and multiple flight stabilizers it can fly up to 5000 meters and its weapon is LRAD which fires focused sonic waves rendering even a tanks Armour useless killing its passengers effective kill range 100 meters, its also equipped with optical camouflage sending images from the back to the from rendering it nearly invisible.


    Torch Light -4 meters - 20 tons


    Heavy Armour- has four arms all equipped with foot long plasma cutters, flame throwers with range of 30 meters with specialized formula it spews white flame invisible to the naked eye but lethal enough to melt flesh and bones in 10 seconds, they also shoot lasers it wont be killing anyone but its job is to blind assailants with range of 1000 meters.


    As the sentinels exited the elevator corpses of soldiers from different countries are already mounting up, forcing the to walk over the dead bodies towards Sera¡¯s room in a formation while cutting a swath of bodies as they move forward.


    ¡®¡¯Riot open up!¡¯¡¯ Sera said as she shakily entered the sentinel, feeling finally secured she managed to calm her nerves and started giving commands.


    ¡®¡¯Ashura and Torchlight go outside and block the entrance to this room kill anyone who enters, Banshee go outside and attack anyone pointing a weapon towards the building, Gemini Doc and Vulcan will stay behind¡¯¡¯ the sentinels moved swiftly and efficiently at her commands.


    Sera contemplated weather to activate the Power Armours inside the vault but decided against it. there is no reason to alarm everybody that she has backdoor control over them and the army should already be here slowly cleaning up the place, which she wondered how much assailants came. usually after the panic button is pressed it wont even take 5 minutes for first responders to make contact, her thoughts were interrupted by a voice just outside her room.


    ¡®¡¯this is her room no need to preserve them destroy the Power Armours guarding her, well have her making more for us soon enough¡¯¡¯ said a voice in a full body combat suit like a modern day full plate.


    As they approached they were shooting heavy machine guns dozens of them anti tank rifles, recoiless rifles, rocket launchers deafening sounds could be heard even from several miles away. The explosions only served as a signal for Sera¡¯s rescuers to go double time as they fought through a makeshift blockade.


    Ashura retaliated almost instantly by charging straight into their formation, using threat assessment it started wailing on rocket launchers, while Torchlight blocked the doorway and flooded the hallway with fire only avoiding Ashura¡­ of course it was an eerie sight to see flesh while people scream being burned by invisible flames.


    As the minutes goes by gunshots and explosions are becoming fewer and fewer and the corpses laid down broken until. Another group of soldiers came towards the room given pause by it guards, Glenn and several soldiers have seen the devastation the sentinels have wrought to the invaders.


    ¡®¡¯Professor Sera Hawke its me Glenn move the Power Armours away¡­ its over now the area is secured we need to get you out of here now!, the media will be soon swarming this place its an international disaster!¡¯¡¯ Glenn said with a slight hint of panic in his voice as he saw the 4 meter tall beast of a metal guarding the door with signs of scars from the extreme firefight.


    Riot slowly moved towards Glenn with the others following behind her, Riot¡¯s chest opened up revealing Sera and said ¡®¡¯What happened!? what is going on is it war already!?¡¯¡¯ she asked as her chest heaved up and down.


    ¡®¡¯No not yet but close enough, someone tried to break in to the vault and caused a chain reaction amongst multiple spies placed around the vicinity by multiple foreign powers under the pretense of safeguarding their own purchase¡¯¡¯ Glenn said uncomfortably not daring to look Sera in the eye as he knew he might be the very source of this disaster.


    ¡°I got word from the General and he said there is no need for the presentation and you need to throw the Power Armours to their respective buyers ASAP, there are so many dead foreign agents here the sale is going to make a buffer giving us time to prepare what their reaction to this would be!¡¯¡¯


    After hearing that, Sera remotely opened the vault and have them loaded into trucks for her buyers/investors, the truck are well disguised and built in GPS that can drive automatically directly to their embassies, all would they do now is to grit their teeth and await for the aftermath that is to come their way..


    Shaken through her core Sera Hawke formulated a series of plans to escape she already fulfilled her duties and obligations, using the holographic interface she simultaneously ordered supplies from the nearest stores to be delivered in a undisclosed location.


    Within 5 hours most of the supplies already arrived judging that it is enough she already left with haste not waiting for the rest of the delivery her private cargo plane flew on autopilot, she had a bunker within the Bermuda triangle, for some reason signals get jammed in the area most of the time accompanied with its legends very few would travel in that place much less intentionally comb it.


    But¡­. when it rains it pours just as Hawke was about to relax alarms in the cargo plane are ringing they she is being pinged jet fighters are hot on her tail and have unleashed a barrage of missiles on her.


    ¡®¡¯deploy counter measures!, activate phalanx turret destroy anything within range¡¯¡¯ she shouted as she looked on the monitor while entering Banshee.


    Majority of the missiles were shot down or have been evaded by flares but dozens of jet fighters have appeared on radar some added to hunt her down but some helped her fight the others off. ¡°damn after all these years now that they got what they want I¡¯m a loose end in their political and military posturing¡­ I am sooo right in putting that backdoor¡¯¡¯


    Sera then activated the backdoor system and marked all military and political figures of the countries who sent jet fighters against her, now the Power Armours are Trojan horses waiting for their targets.


    As she was busy loading targets to their databases the fight in the air are still going for each downed fighter jet another would be deployed to replace it, all this while the cargo plane is sustaining damage pressure is already lost in the cabin, while Sera cant feel any of it she has directed Vulcan to engage enemy Jet fighters, unfortunately accuracy wasn''t one of Vulcan¡¯s it just unleashed a hail of barrage which downed a handful of enemies.


    Ammunition''s running low the cargo plane is heavily damaged so much so that normal landing would be impossible, and when the flares ran out the auto pilot climbed to maximum height and hide in the dark clouds where storm seems to be brewing.


    The storm came at an opportune moment as it scrambled signals from jet fighters and now they are firing by sight meaning no lock on from their missiles. But the limit has finally come, too much damage has been sustained by the vessel and it has now stalled, free falling from the sky and it became target practice for the enemies.


    Allied fighter jets are hard pressed defending the cargo plane they were too focused of fighting of enemies that they didn¡¯t notice a thunder storm hitting the area more frequently as the time goes by until one big fat lightning strike hit the falling cargo plane that sent it in a fiery blaze spiraling down and more of its parts are being stripped piece by piece, until the whole area is covered in thick fog and black smoke at 3,000 feet Sera Hawke jumped out of the vessel, inside Banshee while the others are huddled together as they used maximum thruster to slow down their descent at 500 feet their fuel are empty and they fell from the sky.


    As they landed heavily on the soft soil almost mud in nature that helped soften their landings they still sustained damages not only from the crash but also from being hit by stray bullets from enemy jet fighters and allies alike.


    Sera saw the damage of the landing luckily majority of them only have damages from waist below specially Ashura its weight has not been helpful to it, she then ordered Gemini Doc to start repairing until Sera could hear noises from the distant metals clashing and people shouting.


    ¡°t-they couldn¡¯t have found me already have they?¡¯¡¯ she thought nervously that she never realized that this place is no longer the Bermuda Triangle. She couldn''t connect to the internet or GPS.


    The area is thick with tall trees and large patches of grasslands there are corpses nearby wearing full plate armour, broken swords , shields and other curiosities Sera could not be bothered to notice as they just fell from the sky.


    She looked at the other sentinels and see them still being repaired Sera turned on the optical camouflage and flew towards the noise to investigate at the height of 1,000 meters Sera Hawke was stunned wide eyed and cannot believe what she is seeing right now balls of fire explode in the grounds forked lightnings chased the flying reptilian creatures, soldiers in formation marching steadily to clash against the opposition.

 Chapter :2 New World New Problems

    Chapter :2 New World New Problems


    The grand battle that laid before Sera Hawke¡¯s eyes lasted for about 5 hours basic repairs of the sentinels were finished within the hour she stayed to gather information in this strange new place, it took her quite some time to come to terms of her new found location but after rethinking the stories and the legends surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, things kind of made some sort of sense as recent as 1980¡¯s there have been reports of strange sightings and missing aircrafts or ships.


    But before she could think of celebration that she was finally free from people who wanted to use her a new problem arose in her mind¡­ energy the sentinels could only function for so long with a tinge of panic she ordered Banshee to return to the others and start gathering resources, the Cargo plane crashed heavily on the far side of the battlefield with some soldiers investigating its fiery remains.


    ¡°I need to gather all I can salvage and get out of here¡± Sera thought as she ordered Ashura to strip the corpses of all things except for flesh,bones and cloth. The metal like weapon, armour and perhaps some local currency could be collected and be of use, Ashura started working while Sera changed sentinels to Riot and head towards the crashed cargo plane.


    There were a lot of corpses along the way with Ashura trailing behind them and start harvesting potential ¡®¡¯resources¡¯¡¯ it took 30 minutes to finally get to the crash site, Sera saw people gathering to a sizeable mob ¡¯¡¯peasants?¡¯¡¯¡­ she assumed mainly because of based on the difference in clothing and judging from the amount of grime they have all over them compared to the more clean and well decorated soldiers surrounding the area.


    As Sera quickly approached the cargo plane she was topped by armoured soldiers. ¡®¡¯HALT!! who goes there!?¡¯¡¯ they shouted as they adapted battle formations each group divided by three, two front soldiers carrying shields and the other at the back holding a crossbow.


    Seeing that the soldiers in front readied their weapons she also had the sentinels in formation with Riot and Torch Light taking the front lines intimidating the soldiers by their size and weight by the sound of their stomp as they move forward, the soldiers stopped their advance and stiffened as they realize just what they are up against.


    ¡®¡¯I said halt who are you to intrude on our territory, identify yourself or we will attack¡¯¡¯ said by a man wearing a luxurious shining armour designed with a lion motif, behind him were five robed men each holding a staff with gems beside them were stone golems about 4 meters tall, the stone golems were ordered to stand beside the soldiers as to boost morale and to threaten the sentinels.


    Riot opened its chest revealing Sera Hawke after putting the tower shield in front of her she then said calmly as she tried to hide her nervousness ¡®¡¯this ship belongs to be I was attacked by enemies in the sky resulting to what you see here¡¯¡¯. pointing to the cargo planes fiery remains.


    ¡®¡¯No! The remains of this airship now belongs to the kingdom of Lavant, if you want we can make a deal but this ship now belong to us to ME!¡¯¡¯


    Sera gritted he teeth and cursed inwardly ¡®¡¯of course they want a metal flying ship what the fuck was I expecting!? considering that there are no more than 200 people here I can still salvage this thing as long as there are no witnesses¡± with that thought the cloaked Banshee secretly maneuvered 100 feet on top of the robed men and unleashed a sonic attack.


    To her surprise a yellow silhouette encased the what she would know as mages if this world is what she really think it is. Sera moved to charge at the stone golem in front of her, Riot punched the face of the golem and a large portion of its face was heavily cracked and a crystal with bright light could be seen in it. Riot punched the face of the golem repeatedly and grabbed the crystal.


    With the crystal gone the stone golem became stiff as a statue, One of the robed men commented  ¡®¡¯you put the crystal on the head!? are you an amateur!?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯everybody puts it inside the chest it was supposed to be clever!!¡¯¡¯ the other said defending himself.


    ¡®¡¯because then it can be well protected inside the chest! Who cares if they know where it is located¡¯¡¯ told the others.


    Sera grabbed the crystal and threw it near the cargo plane while Torch Light lit the enemies on fire. commoners, peasants, horses, and soldiers were set aflame with invisible fire, every one seemed to be in agony while waving their hands and throwing their bodies to the ground. Banshee chased the fleeing targets rupturing their eardrums while Vulcan was focused on the mages yellow shield.


    Eventually the shield cracked and killed the mages the already battered golems stopped moving and stood still like statues, without their masters command they were torn to pieces by the sentinels and the nearby Ashura could be seen waddling with dozens of what it would seem to be crumpled armours dropped to the ground.


    Despite their numbers they were easily exterminated because they were caught unprepared fighting an unknown opponent Sera then ordered for all the corpses to be stripped of resources by Ashura and Torch Light to burn the rest.


    By the hour Banshee was finished hunting down the runaways and have returned back the weapons and armours were that were collected by Ashura were either damaged or completely destroyed crumpled to the pile.


    When the area has been relatively secured despite war going on in the nearby battlefield Sera came out of Riot and took the lead in rummaging through the cargo plane, most of which are twisted metal and some leaking and burning hydraulic fluids here and there but at least a generator was found relatively intact with some nicks and dings allover there were also some ammunition for Vulcan and the special formula for Torch Light though the Sentinel barely used fifteen percent of its reserves having extra would be a boon considering it would be the last of it in this world.


    Luckily the one of he four engines is still ¡­ repairable its twisted but all of its components are still intact and with time it could be easily repaired beverages did not survive the crash except for the canned foods the rest were either lost or damaged beyond recognition, the large jeep that was supposed to carry the supplies to her bunker were also heavily damaged and fixing it may not be worth it something Sera needs to think about, fortunately a small APC survived with only dents its tracks are bent but with Ashura it can straighten them up enough for travel as the other sentinels were busy dislodging and moving the supplies. She saw a pile of crumpled metal after a closer look her face reddened and shouted ¡®¡¯what the hell am I supposed to do with that!¡¯¡¯ as she pointed at the weapons and armour twisted and crumpled like paper.


    Luckily the endeavour of Ashura has not completely gone to waste as there were over one thousand pieces of gold coins and about five thousand pieces of silver coins, some of the soldiers and mages also have valuables such as gems and other potential magical artifacts.


    Gemini Doc and Torch Light worked together to cut out the useless parts and gather the useful electronics, gadgets and other supplies towards the APC while the heavier materials such as the titanium plating from the plane and the engine were moved to the jeep.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The materials loosed from the cargo plane that could not be taken along were buried hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be found, It took an entire day to make minimum repairs to the engine and vehicles by the time it was already dark Sera came inside Riot with the shield in front of the sentinels chest. Every sentinels are charging their energies using the recently repaired engine while Sera Hawke slept.


    Alarms rang it was 5 AM Sera wasted no time and left the area they traveled away from the battlefield after an hours drive they stopped to a nearby river where she cleaned herself of grime she then looked at the map taken from the soldiers and studied their location, As expected¡­. the place has nothing special on it Sera thought there might be something special that a portal could be maintained ¡®¡¯ I supposed that I really should prepare for a more permanent stay I need to go find a big city¡¯¡¯


    With map in hand Sera traveled to the nearest city Kaladia in accordance to the map horse drawn carriage could have took days to travel from city to city but with vehicles it only took 4 hours Sera has to slow down for the sentinels to catch up as they approach the gigantic city gate, a line of people waiting to enter the city could be seen and her presence has attracted attention.


    Despite the heads turning her way she still fall in line while kids are pointing at her sentinels while some at her vehicles having no horses pulling them the small commotion has been noticed by the guards.


    At close up the towering presence of the sentinels are indeed intimidating specially for the guards and soldiers alike for they know exactly what they can do, the soldiers put up a brave face and asked ¡®¡¯Identity and reason of visit please¡¯¡¯ trying to be as polite as possible. The idea of offending nobility made his back shiver.


    As Sera was stretching she replied to the soldier ¡®¡¯Sera Hawke¡­. traveling, I came close to a battlefield about 2 days ago and decided to stay over to the nearest city for shelter¡¯¡¯ as she said that the have been another commotion in her surrounding.


    ¡®¡¯I-s is that true!?¡¯¡¯ asked by another guard.


    ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know the other but one side was from kingdom of Lavant¡¯¡¯ she replied


    After a few minutes the line of people quickly entered the city the clearly these people are refugees wanting to avoid war, you wont see it unless you look at them barely enough clothes most of their possession are cattle and grains.


    As she entered the city its as exactly as she feared, except for the main roads most of the place is just soil if not mud that nobody seemed to care. She asked around to find the mayor of this place before long Sera was pointed to a luxurious mansion in the center of the city the surrounding area is also clean, dry stone,flower beds, fountains and fine establishments it would seem that only the outer rings of the city were poorly maintained much to her relief.


    Again the presence of the sentinels were truly a force to be reckoned with as guards of what she could only assume as rich people were putting themselves in between their masters and Her sentinels, as she approached the mayor is already out and prepared to welcome her.


    The fat man dressed in fluffy clothes covered in a colorful trench coat asked courtly ¡®¡¯to whom do I owe the pleasure of visit my lady¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I want to buy a house inside the city I was told you are in charge of these matters¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯yes yes my lady indeed I am what kind of house my lady?¡¯¡¯ asked the mayor but his eyes are more interested on this magnificent steel golems behind his guest ¡°and may I know your honored name my lady?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I am Sera Hawke I make¡­ golems¡¯¡¯ she said worriedly as she does not know what kind of reaction would that make the robed mages back then seemed important and well treated.


    the mayor clearly stunned but looking at the steel golems behind her he was clearly convinced  ¡®¡¯I-I my humble self is Dalton lady Sera my guards can lead you to peruse properties you want to purchase but may I invite you for lunch?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯no am in a hurry perhaps some other time¡¯¡¯ Sera declined flatly


    With that one of Dalton¡¯s most trusted guard led the way towards the establishments that needed selling.


    Sera pointed out at a building made of stone grasses grew as tall as knee high ¡®¡¯ what about this?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯um¡­ lady sera that is an old brothel it was isolated ten years ago due to the spread of¡­. certain diseases I would strongly advice against this my lady¡¯¡¯ the guard politely said.


    ¡®¡¯hmm, fine lets move on¡¯¡¯


    The guard introduced Sera to an old smithy it has a large underground basement and everything is built in stone it was also along the waterway with a waterwheel that could power the billow and large hammers.


    ¡®¡¯no too small¡­ next¡¯¡¯


    And then another location a tower made of stone 5 floors high has been spotted as Sera pointed ¡®¡¯what about that one?¡¯¡¯


    The guard said reluctantly ¡®¡¯well¡­ that is an old wizard tower technically yes and no, you see its enchanted my lady, the old wizard who lived there was eccentric but twenty five years ago he stopped appearing to public the mayor called for him on multiple occasions for his expertise but he never came out no matter how loud we came, the mayor even hired some drunken thugs to assail the tower to no avail not even his shadow cold be seen it could not be entered¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯hmp! Well see about that! If I can break inside it can I buy it?¡¯¡¯


    The guard said ¡®¡¯well¡­ first of the old wizard has to be confirmed dead or¡­ hmm well technically he has been away for so long and has not payed taxes for twenty five years that property should already be forfeit by default to the mayor¡¯¡¯


    With that Ashura,Riot,Torch Light and Vulcan took turn on attacking the tower¡¯s door, after 3 hours of combined 60 tons of sentinels assault finally the barrier protecting door winked out and has been smashed to pieces Sera turned to the guard and asked ¡°how much is this place?¡¯¡¯


    The guard wide eyed and shocked ¡®¡¯900 gold coins my lady..w-would you pay installments or¡¯¡¯


    Sera cut in ¡®¡¯ here take it¡¯¡¯ she thew a bag of gold coins at the guard ¡®¡¯count it before you leave¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯t-that would not be necessary Lady Sera, would you need anything else my lady?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯yes I need a house keeper, a chef and a runner¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯a runner?¡¯¡¯ the guard asked slightly confused


    ¡®¡¯someone who I can tell to buy things for me within or outside the city¡¯¡¯ Sera clarified


    ¡®¡¯oh! Yes we have a lot of those but I would suggest against going outside the city, bandits have been emboldened and roamed the roads because of the war regional defenders have their hands full¡¯¡¯


    After a few more clarifications with employee requirements the transaction was done Sera entered and explored the tower inside Ashura followed by Vulcan and investigate if there are traps left by the former owner while the rest of the Sentinels guarded outside.


    ¡®¡¯well.. this is going to take a damn while¡¯¡¯ as she marveled at the surroundings, there were a lot of curiosities laying about shelves and tables, as they moved forward Sera also noted some statues which made her paranoid thinking that it could come to life and start attacking as they move top floor the masters bedroom the door was unlocked and a pile of bones could be seen littered on the floor more than a dozen of them from the looks of it some were smashed to smithereens as in there are just dust inside some f the clothes instead of bones.


    And the supposed wizard and master of this tower lay dead surrounded by bones with arrows and swords sticking out of his corpse. On the wizards left hand a broken staff its gem cracked and dull it has long lost its magic while on his right had a piece of note written in blood Sera took it and read through the letter.


    ¡®¡¯ to whoever reads this note I am the wizard Narud I hope you can give my body a proper burial and I shall give ownership of this tower to you, as for the other corpses you can just throw them out you need not worry for their origins as their mission to take my life is done I am using the last ounce of my strength to write this letter, soon I would be dead I hope to whoever receives this letter would give me an honored burial I am not a superstitious person but as my life slips away from my grasp I cant help but fear of my spirit,would there be afterlife, would I go in hell or would my spirit remain in the mortal plane wandering around. The tower itself is an old artifact ancient in fact but its nothing more but a sturdy piece of stone its use has been long lost in time as for my other properties they are yours now if they are still around, I was sure some of the assassins manage to escape perhaps they took everything or maybe put the entire tower to the flame¡­¡­.¡¯¡¯


    The letter goes on like an old man rambling in his last moments nothing really of import, by some thought Sera collected the corpse of the wizard including the broken staff and letter the wizard is to be covered with bed sheet and blanket. ¡®¡¯ I should have a casket¡­ no maybe a sarcophagus with carvings would be more appropriate, buried on a mausoleum¡¯¡¯


    By the time she finished making sure there were no more traps in the tower Sera was greeted by 3 people sent by the guard to be employed to Sera.


    Without further ado Sera said ¡®¡¯ introduce yourselves and what you do¡¯¡¯


    The people one by one step forth and started introducing themselves hoping to be employed by someone powerful, Sera¡¯s arrival actually made waves in the entire city nobody unimportant comes in boarder cities like Kaladia specially the way she came in magic wagons 6 towering steel golems.


    ¡°I am Peter my lady I am a carpenter, stone mason and a sculptor¡¯¡¯ Peter was already a highly sought after employee but he only earns 5 silver every month even though his family also has jobs, with the war going on around having something extra does not hurt when Peter heard about Sera Hawke he told his entire family and bribed the guard with all his 1 gold coin something he had to save for a year and now his gamble paid of.


    ¡®¡¯I am Lydia my lady I am a chef¡¯¡¯ wife of peter she was convinced after getting a glimpse of Sera Hawke at the city gate.


    ¡®¡¯ I am Bellato my lady I am a runner and a gardener¡¯¡¯ son of Peter and Lydia, word travels fast and with him running around doing deliveries he already knew the gist of things before even getting here.


    After introductions Sera was pleased ¡° alright each of you would earn 10 silver coins each month I hope you do your job diligently, you will be living inside the tower do not touch anything yet as some of the objects are magical in nature the last thing you want is losing your hand. Nobody is allowed in the 5<sup>th</sup> floor, The 4<sup>th</sup> floor would be where your sleeping quarters, the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor the kitchen and dining area, 2<sup>nd</sup> floor would be where well be entertaining guests, 1<sup>st</sup> floor would be dedicated for defense. Now go get your things and move them in your quarters by tomorrow morning you would begin your first day at work.


    After that Sera went to the masters bedroom and had Torch Light incinerate the assassins bone and their personal effects outside and put into a jar, it would be a tribute to wizard Narud after the mausoleum is finished, she then went and studied the map the lay of the land and occasionally questioned the family of employee about the surroundings.


    Now Sera would truly begin her plan for the future.

 Chapter 3: New Beginning

    Chapter 3: New Beginning


    Kaladia City State


    It has been a week since Sera Hawke arrived in this world and made a lot of headway in creating a territory for herself. An elaborate mausoleum has been created with carvings on the walls on how the wizard Narud has fallen to assassins and how Sera inherited the tower, which created another talk of the city the fact alone that a relatively powerful wizard died in their midst without as much as a noise in the past 25 years sent shivers up on the noble circle¡¯s spine, and on how luxurious the mausoleum was crafted most of the skilled sculptors and masons were hired for the job, and now the most important is that Sera Hawke has been promoting her magical carriage.


    Which is just actually a steam engine, but a pair of fire and water stone that costs 2 gold coins each could provide a the vehicle with a speed of 30/kph, the entire construction were built by the sentinels after harvesting the remains of the cargo plane back and forth where it was seen a lot by passersby. The vehicle was called steel wagon most of the parts are made of wood covered in iron plating.


    With extensive campaign to market the steel wagon, Sera dressed in white frilly gown with red cape reaching up to her back welcomed the approaching Mayor wanting to talk about the people interested in the vehicle, and would talking about a big order over lunch at the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor of the tower.


    ¡°Lady Sera I have heard that you are a direct person so I will also be direct how much are you selling this steel wagon and how many can you make in a given time?¡¯¡¯ said the mayor.


    After swallowing a piece of roasted chicken Sera replied ¡®¡¯ I haven¡¯t decided the price yet but I can make 12 steel wagons every month provided that I have the materials¡±


    The mayor Dalton already downing on his second roasted chicken when he said ¡®¡¯materials are not a problem here in Kaladia we have a VERY RICH iron deposit underground that is estimated by thousands of feet beneath the city¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m thinking perhaps 300 gold coins?¡± sera said casually


    Hearing the reply Dalton almost choked on his third roasted chicken after hearing the opening price ¡®¡¯L-lady Sera isn¡¯t that too expensive? Maybe we ought to bring the representatives of noble houses and merchants guild first if you don¡¯t mind¡±


    With some thought she said ¡®¡¯no I don¡¯t really mind, tell them that they can even do a test drive around the city and see for themselves¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯yes yes excellent idea my lady I¡¯m sure they would be pleased with the idea¡¯¡¯ Dalton said as he finished his fourth roasted chicken before leaving to arrange another meeting the next day.


    When Dalton was out of earshot Lydia came out of the kitchen sweating and said begrudgingly ¡®¡¯damn that fat man that was for dinner. I cant believe that he ate that much!, what would you like to eat for dinner my lady now that the marinated chickens have gone to the mayor¡¯s belly, honestly how could he came to rule a city state¡¯¡¯


    Sera kept quiet but she thought to herself that the more likely answer to Lydia¡¯s question was that ¡®¡¯he wasn¡¯t. its more probable that Dalton is only a figurehead while the real ruler of the Kaladia is hiding behind the shadows¡±.


    ¡®¡¯It was necessary Lydia let it go we were just caught unprepared, just prepare dried fish, bread, cheese and hot milk for dinner¡­. and marinate fifty chickens again we will have quite a gathering tomorrow¡¯¡¯ Sera then pulled a book from Narud¡¯s library as Lydia cleaned the table.


    The next day nobles and merchants representing their own groups and factions attended Lady Sera Hawke¡¯s banquet, of course even Sera herself did not even know it was a banquet she thought it was just a meeting over lunch. ¡°good thing I actually prepared a LOT otherwise this deal could have fall out¡±


    The table is filled with roasted chicken marinated overnight and slow cooked, toasted bread with melted cheese, crispy fried chicken and ice cold fruit juice. All the while Sera wearing a scarlet dress while mingling with the guests. In the background a classic orchestra could be heard playing on the speakers surrounding the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor.


    The attendees enjoyed the food a lot while relaxing to the music, it took 4 hours of idle chatter and relaxation before they manage to bring themselves the point of their attendance.


    After some test runs within the noble circle and some wealthy merchants the sale of each steel wagon were approved to be 150 gold coins, but some nobles who wanted a more custom made design. the price could only go up, Sera never really cared weather the steam engine would be copied or whatever. this world has wyverns and magic, copyright isn¡¯t exactly top priority.


    While the steel wagon was a huge hit in the market, earning Sera a huge amount of wealth as orders kept piling up. all of those were nothing more but a prototype for her future designs.


    As the guests left the banquet Sera was approached by Bellato and handed her a stack of parchment.


    ¡®¡¯are these all of it?¡¯¡¯ sera said as she took the papers.


    While wiping the sweat on his face he then replied ¡®¡¯no my lady there are still half yet to arrive, most of them are barely literate writing takes time¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯hmmm, alright then just keep me notified and remember to tell them to organize the information properly as I instructed¡¯¡¯ as she slowly read through the information around the city and its surroundings.


    ¡®¡¯yes my lady, would you need anything else?¡±


    ¡°no you are dismissed¡±


    With that Bellato left the room to continue his duties of gathering information all over the city as Sera is completely focused on reading all of the information in her hand while being guarded by Banshee cloaked in the shadows.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°just as exactly what I would expect just a bunch of rumors and idle chatter very little information that could really be useful, but the news about the Lavant army coming closer to the City State of Kaladia is going to be quite the headache. Should this city fall all of my efforts would be for nothing¡¯¡¯ with a heavy sigh Sera put down the stack of papers and stared at a very detailed 3D map carved in wood by Peter the full map was provided by Banshee¡¯s recon above the sky in the past few days.


    Adding to her thoughts ¡° the city wall is 10 meters high but the stairs are only made for regular sized people and by the time my sentinels are eligible to fight the enemies would have already breached the walls, which would put the defending force at a huge disadvantage¡±, for the rest of the night Sera busied herself planning countermeasures to help defend the city. In her best interest the city cannot fall when she already managed a foothold for herself.


    Meanwhile in the dark shadows of night a group of cloaked individuals have gathered and are talking inside the abandoned brothel.


    ¡®¡¯so what do you think of this Sera Hawke? Is she a spy?, she has been gathering information allover the city and she¡¯s not even hiding it¡±


    After taking a sip of the wine another individual replied ¡°she would make a lousy spy with her selling those steel wagons and overt intelligence gathering¡±


    And then another added ¡°yeah I was thinking about those things what did the smiths and engineers say how long until we can make our own steel wagon?¡±


    ¡°well.¡­. it wont be anytime soon that¡¯s to be sure as our people working on it said some parts are delicate that after removing they could not put it back on and since they don¡¯t know how the things are interconnected its very likely that it would take them about a year perhaps more¡±


    A Lady cloaked in a luxurious robe furrowed her brows and said ¡° its too long. war is on our doorstep, can¡¯t we order more than 12 pieces a month?¡±


    Another cloaked man in the shadow replied ¡° Sera Hawke is an eccentric from the looks of it, she mostly keeps to herself guarded by powerful steel golems, as you said war is close to our doorstep it would be wise not to antagonize her. meanwhile the neighboring kingdoms are not willing to fully commit against Lavant Kingdom¡¯s expansion therefore we can expect that they would be targeting us. And that is where we should put our focus on¡±


    ¡°regardless. I want eyes on Sera Hawke at all times even if she Is not a spy her creations would benefit us, make sure the other spies don¡¯t get in touch with her. the last thing we want is Lavant Fielding their own steel wagons, as for other matters. refugees are coming from allover the place and are straining our supplies I want to put the steel wagons on a mission as soon as possible and strike at the back lines of Lavant Kingdom Steal from their granaries, maybe that will slow them down¡± said the Lady


    ¡°As you will my Lady¡± said a fat man cloaked in the shadows.


    Next morning back at Sera Hawke¡¯s tower, she could be seen flipping through pages of a book about golems. ¡°hmm, it would seem that those white crystals were called control crystal literally a neutral element or rather a blank slate as much as magic goes I only have 3 remaining in my hand and 2 were severely damaged during combat back then¡±


    As she continued reading. ¡°each spell model can be different but could have the same effect like wizard A made fireball spell model A but wizard B making fireball spell model B, different techniques and pathways but almost having the same result¡­ a fireball,although some spell models do actually make a big difference like spell models for wood golem,clay golem,stone golem,iron golem, steel golem. All are the same type of spell but differing in spell models¡±


    ¡°few days ago I had my ability to use magic checked but as I have expected I am unable to hold mana inside my body, but I cant help but feel disappointment a little bit. The good news is that the mana stones on the staff of the mages I killed during my first encounter can be used by me so in a sense I can use magic in a roundabout way¡­. just really expensive, but with my business of steel wagons kicking in I should have no problems about money in the foreseeable future¡±


    There are many books about spell models in Narud¡¯s library but the grand majority of them are too complicated for Sera Hawke to understand, it would likely take her years if not decades too learn how to cast some of the spell and would require an insurmountable amount of mana stones, even though mana stones eventually regenerate its energy overtime it can only regenerate so much before breaking down.The easier ones would be the spell models for the golems, even though there is a huge deposit of iron ore under the city in which they are using as a bargaining chip,they are severly limiting the production and outflow of iron, this is one of the key reasons the City State Of Kaladia manage to gain its autonomy despite being surrounded my numerous kingdoms. But that also shuts down the creation of iron golems for now, ¡°with this in consideration I think I would use Quartz for my new project¡±


    In the following days Sera focused on learning how to use the control crystals, she fashioned a pair of metallic gauntlets embedded with 2 mana stones and with it started altering 1 of the 3 remaining control crystals, Sera chose the most common and somewhat durable spell model for the golems.


    As it turns out magical diagrams are almost similar to schematic diagrams back on earth but each lines of codes have more far reaching and immediate effect, Quartz have been delivered in one big bulk carried by Ashura to the 5<sup>th</sup> floor of he tower in one of the rooms is a dedicated magical blast furnace with coal the Quarts melted,molded and forged by Ashura in a humanoid form with the golem slightly tinged green from the Quartz variant.


    The creation of the golem now named Medusa took more that 1 control crystal to be functional due to the complexity of the modified spell model Sera Hawke made, all 3 control crystal are now used up one inside the head and two at the chest forming its breasts.


    Medusa - 4 Meters - 10 tons


    Medium Armour - humanoid golem based on the old legends back on earth but human rather that snake lower half, 3 mana stones were implanted on its eyes including a third on the forehead. It has 25 snake hair reaching down its hips, the mana stone on the forehead generates magic for its movements while the eyes are used for a Haste and Slow spell models both are AOE and individual capable, while excess magic will be on reserve. Unlike the sentinels the Medusa is solid Quartz and cannot hold anyone inside, the control for Medusa have been inputted on Sera¡¯s new magical gauntlets


    The Medusa is designed to be a close combat disruptor. Like the Ashura who is designed to charge headlong into enemy lines and fight the strongest of enemies head on while being surrounded, the Medusa it to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee but even better.


    After hours of inspection Sera nodded in satisfaction, it took more materials than expected but the result were quite above average for someone literally new to magic. ¡°oh. Its already morning time really flies, now that I mentioned it I¡¯m really starving¡± after a quick bath Sera headed to the kitchen and ate a hearty breakfast.


    Lavant Army Encampment


    Inside a grand tent surrounded by knight with armours enchanted by magic.


    ¡°now that the Rosario Army has retreated can we now talk what the hell was that thing that fell behind our army?¡± said by the Lavant General Draconis Rex wearing elegant but powerfully enchanted robe.


    one of the wizards present said ¡° as I was observing the battlefield at the time I as an object that seemed to be made of metal burning and falling down from the skies I ordered some soldiers and levies to investigate but¡­¡±


    ¡°but what?¡±


    ¡°well.. I only caught a glimpse of it but I saw a girl commanding 6 steel golems¡±, The tent burst with murmurings either the girl was a powerful wizard of she has a powerful artefact that allowed her to control 6 golems at once.


    ¡°calm down, now how powerful were the steel golems? If she was controlling all 6 at the same time the golems couldn¡¯t be that powerful¡­right?¡±


    The wizard replied with dread ¡°very powerful! Despite their nimble movements the steel golem are quite solid no taller than 4 meters, and the most worrisome part is that I could not detect any form of magical fluctuations even when she was slaughtering our own soldiers, even the stone golems were torn to pieces. Since she did not attack but rather stayed and collected some artefacts from the wreckage I decided to leave her alone and send a message to the General.¡­ as I was in the front lines I never really given in much thought after I sent the message¡±


    Another mage stepped forward and said ¡° most of the wreckage are now gone since a week ago taken by the very same steel golems¡­. but nobody could be seen controlling them¡±


    ¡°Long range manipulation!¡± the tent again burst in discussion.


    General Draconis Rex sat in silence as the mages and wizards discussed the aspects of long range manipulation of golems. He then said ¡°do we know where she is now?¡± silencing the entire crowd.


    A knight captain answered ¡°yes General! After collecting the wreckage the steel golems were followed and seen entering the City of Kaladia¡±


    A spy dressed in commoner clothes then followed up ¡° in this past few days I have gathered that she is the owner of that wreckage which was in fact a flying ship¡­.¡± as he said that the tent bursted in discussion again as only high ranking nobility and royal families are only the one able to own flying ships.


    ¡°SILENCE!!¡­ please continue¡± the General said


    The spy continued ¡°her name is Sera Hawke and apparently she specialized in golems she also created and sold what she calls steel wagons, several days ago an attack from our granaries back at the fringe cities of our Kingdom¡­ most grains were either stolen or destroyed and the biggest reason for their success was the steel wagon which has been said to be faster than horses and could travel day and night without rest¡±


    The room was stunned at the revelation each of the high ranking personage inside the tent are already contemplating and planning inside their heads on how would they obtain such artefact and what to do with it.


    The General grinned and said with a hint of joy in his voice ¡° excellent! We were already going to attack Kaladia in the next few months after getting supplies and clearing a way from other Kingdoms¡±


    ¡°but General we just lost several cities worth of granary we would be hard pressed to continue the attack with little supplies and that is even if we resorted in foraging and pillaging¡± said the spy.


    ¡°i am well aware of the concerns, I¡¯ll send a message to the King first and then decide if we are going to attack or not¡±


    Nobody knew in that moment in time the fate of one territory would have been sealed and become a memory in the long pages of history.

 Chapter 4: Preparation

    Chapter 4: Preparation


    Lavant Kingdom Throne Room


    The message came in such a haste that King Draken Lavant IV almost thought that something happened to the army, but after reading the letter several times his face transformed into a maniacal grin to a dreadful look from the information contained in the letter if true the plans since the founding of Lavant Kingdom would be pushed forward by several centuries under HIS rule.


    After calculating the cost and the reactions of the surrounding kingdoms. King Draken is still torn apart on the decision to increase the attack effort or to slow it down since the Kaladia forces sneaked in and stolen or destroyed supplies.


    While sitting in the Throne room King Draken then asked his high ranking nobles for advice, on one hand should they succeed they could get an insurmountable amount of resources from Kaladia and become the most formidable Kingdom in the Continental Isles


    A masculine duke named Arman, towering figure above the rest due to his magic and martial might and was the former General of the army said in a loud voice ¡°your highness I must ask you to recoup our losses first before attacking. If the other Kingdoms each sent just even a part of their forces our army could lose more that half and I¡¯m not even talking about the blow to our morale should we suffer even a single setback, rumors already fly around that we don¡¯t have enough food to sustain the Kingdom!¡±


    An old prime minister then replied ¡°hmp! It would seem that age finally has caught up to the famed Arman hehehe¡±


    Duke Arman replied not even angry at the prime minister¡¯s snide ¡° I have already said my piece I wont be held accountable for any setbacks and failures of this offensive!¡± he then looked the King straight in the eye before leaving.


    As he left some nobles did express their concerns like how do they fight with an empty stomach or how can they maintain their own territories without supplies when the next harvest has already been damaged by Kaladia¡¯s raiding parties.


    There have been a huge debate some young and vigorous nobles wanted to take action and show their prowess in battle while others are thinking more long term.


    A baron then said ¡°even if we win, the amount of casualties we would sustain would lead us vulnerable from the other Kingdoms attack they may have been scared when they pulled back but once we are weakened they would surely attack again and without food and soldiers to fight wars we would experience a catastrophic defeat!¡±


    But some did not even acknowledge the fact that Lavant Soldiers are equal or weaker than the other armies, they have been fielding Magic Knights that dominated the battlefield. The debate is getting more and more heated that the nobles are about to come to blows when the King spoke.


    ¡°enough¡± the King said calmly but his voice reverberated across the entire throne room silencing the crowd of nobility.


    ¡°i have heard enough, though we cant let this opportunity come to pass we also cannot be reckless. Pull back all forces and have them raid less defended cities for supplies do not linger for too long just take supplies and go as fast as you can, then deploy the peasantry and have them fish we will stockpile on dried fish and pickled foods before we attack and take this time to train the levies better.


    ¡°yes your highness¡± the nobles replied in unison and bowed before leaving in a hurry to carry on their task.


    And yet King Draken cannot help but feel that feel dreadful about something he couldn¡¯t explain.he stood from the throne and move about his day, the following months would be crucial to the Kingdom of Lavant since its foundation.


    Kaladia City State


    Sera Hawke busied her self in he Tower studying spell models trying to either improve them or make her own spell model but the results were often disappointing and becoming expensive, she decided to have a break from work before she overworked herself and decided to walk around the city stretching her legs.


    As Sera was walking aimlessly around the city she saw a market place in a few moments she was pleasantly surprised that this seemingly common market could provide magical and enchanted items she saw an enchanted feather pen that no longer needed to be dipped in ink ¡°what a waste¡± she thought as you don¡¯t need magic for a ballpoint pen.


    Next she saw a weapons demonstration of a magical repeating crossbow, it then clicked to her that she has been so focused of modern technology that she forgot that she is in a medieval era with magic and the technology she have are scarce at best.as It gave her an inspiration she used her tiara¡¯s holographic interface and took down notes lest she forgets them.


    Although many interesting items could be seen being sold in the market most of them are reminiscent of modern technology making her feel a little sad that the modern comforts back on earth would never be seen again, after buying mana stones and control crystals Sera moved on towards the most luxurious restaurant in the City as its the only place that has passable taste in food behind her followed Medusa carrying her purchases while Banshee flew overhead cloaked and ever watching.


    After her order, once the waiter was out of earshot a Lady in blue knight armour approach her, in Sera¡¯s defense Medusa¡¯s snake hairs postured threateningly while Banshee broke cloaking and prepared to attack. With the wave of her hand Medusa and Banshee returned to passive mode as if nothing happened.


    She moved forward and said ¡°impressive Lady Sera¡­ I am Marianne Vi Kaladia, its a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance.. may I?¡± she then gestured


    With one brow raised Sera asked ¡°Kaladia?¡±


    Marianne sat making her self comfortable ¡°yes¡­ my ancestors founded the City State of Kaladia in hopes to escape power struggles and the madness of war, but as you may already know that is not going exactly what we have hoped for¡± she said with a smile.


    After the food has arrived Sera said ¡°and the mayor? What was that all about?¡±


    ¡°Mayor Dalton is a retainer of House Kaladia its only natural that our retainers do the menial and mundane tasks while we hide in the shadows¡± she replied as she started eating.


    ¡°then why have you come and tell this secret¡­. this is a secret right?¡±


    ¡°my.. you are indeed direct, fine I came here for business anyway.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°and what that might be?¡± Sera asked curiously


    ¡°your creations Sera Hawke, I want only Kaladia to be the only one to buy them¡± said Marianne in a commanding tone.


    ¡°impossible. But I¡¯ll agree to not sell from your enemies¡±


    With some thought Marianne replied ¡°good!¡¯¡¯


    When the deal was made the table was awkwardly quiet until Marianne and Sera finished their meal and left their separate ways.


    But before Marianne disappeared amongst the crowds she turned sand said ¡°keep everything we talked about a secret¡± and winked at her.


    while Sera continued to take a stroll around the City while thinking the implications of Marianne¡¯s visit.


    Sera¡¯s final stop of the day before returning home was the adventurers guild, a formidable organization on its own but strictly maintains a neutral ground in most continents.


    She was welcomed by Kaladia branch Guildmaster and asked for a team or two to be contracted mainly for guard duty while she clear and harvest material in a nearby mountains, because of the constant war the old mines were overrun by monsters with soldiers fighting their own battles elsewhere.


    One of the contracted adventurers were an amateur group of 10 half are squires and the other were apprentice mages called ¡°inheritors¡± who were either third in line of succession or bastard children, the second group have solid experience of 5 people with three Dwarves in heavy armour and two mage and archer Elves called ¡°Tempest¡± that just have too much lifespan to spare and decided to see the world despite its dangers.


    The contract were pretty straight forwards. No suicide mission, no dangerous strolls, and no fighting with other kingdoms or factions except for self defence, after hearing their rules she then replied with her own.


    ¡°i don¡¯t really mind, but all and every material we gather or harvest belongs to me you can have only as much as you can carry on your person and nothing more¡± with unanimous agreement they made a schedule on when they would leave.


    One week from now they would meet her at the wizard¡¯s tower before leaving for the mines. Sera wasted no time and started programming control crystals to be placed with a dozen of her new mass produced type golems, but unlike Medusa whose more customized these golems are only slightly weaker than average stone golems.


    Knight Golems - 2 Meters - 300 kilos


    Light Armour - very basic knight design 80% of it is mainly made of Quartz plated with iron, the spell model for the stone golem had to be slightly altered to accommodate for the iron plating nothing much stand out of this model. mainly to be used as rank and file, canon fodder, and other menial task. Even a veteran soldier can go toe to toe with this model the only advantage is that its easily mass produced armed with sword and shield.


    Other mages or wizards would feel pain from using control crystals only to be placed in a canon fodder unit. Others would rather place them in big specialized golems to be cost effective.


    It¡¯s only been five days but Sera managed to finish 12 Knight Golems, her gauntlets could still control them but not as much when she¡¯s only controlling a few, making her realize why no armies of golems are marching about.


    In the remaining days she remodeled the APC to be a command vehicle most chairs removed and repurposed, several laptops are placed in front doing the computing while she programmed several control crystals to function like a basic computer powered by mana stones, the APC itself could now cast magic in a sense. but such system seemed a little too advanced for this era. Instead Sera created a Gatling Rail Gun. It takes time to actually charge and fire but the sheer amount of iron spikes raining down on her enemies more than makes up for it, the rest of the spells were common Haste and Barrier spell models.


    The day finally arrived and each team would be carried by the steel wagon while the third steel wagon carries 12 Knight Golems the Jeep holds the supplies, Gemini Doc and Banshee while in the APC are Sera and Medusa.


    On the Tempest group''s side a discussion has been happening without end since they left the city.


    The leader of the group said ¡°so any clues how this thing works¡­Gramel?¡±


    ¡°yes¡­ but its nothing like I¡¯ve seen before, I mean I saw my grandfather¡¯s old works before when I was a kid and this steel wagon looks similar¡­ maybe better¡±


    The other two Dwarves grumbled ¡°maybe its stolen¡±


    Gramel then replied ¡°nah¡­. that was about 100 years ago, beside if it was stolen a Dwarven warlord would have a just cause to wage war with how we Dwarves hold our secrets tightly¡±


    ¡°What do you think Tandtra?¡± Said the other Elf to their team captain


    ¡°i think we should just leave it alone Verde, I mean have you seen her golems? Its not exactly strange if a Human manage to outsmart a Dwarf¡±


    ¡°okay I think you just crossed the line grandma!¡±


    ¡°what did you say you little squirt!? huh!?¡±


    Gramel then replied after a swig of ale ¡°shut it Dormo, we have a long way and I don¡¯t like to fill it with bickering and stop your brother Darma¡­ help us maintain peace and quiet¡±


    Darma replied ¡° aside from the old wizard Humans, nobody is really that good in the Human territories nowadays. Have you seen the clockwork doesn¡¯t it look familiar how can you be so sure that its not Dwarven knowledge?¡±


    Dormo then smiled ¡°yeah! You tell em sis!¡±


    Rubbing his forehead ¡°its because you have not seen Human masters before, most Humans protect their secrets like the Dwarves minus the war but reserve them for nobilities, like the flying fortress during the war 500 years ago that was made by Humans, the very first Golem spell model was also made by a human¡­¡­.. a sickly human mage not even a wizard, while although Dwarves manage to make airships they still need to land and refuel¡±


    ¡°hmp¡± Dormo and Droma said maintaining silence


    With that, silence continued until dark when they needed to make camp for the night the steel wagons stopped.the Inheritors finally jumped down their vehicles talking excitedly on their new adventure and have been planning to buy their own steel wagon due to its big space comfortable ride and speed as they pitched their own camps.


    Gramel then sighed looking envious of the youngsters ¡°damn kids always full of energy¡±


    Verde then took a snide ¡°heh! Why don¡¯t you loose that stupid armour then, its so heavy no wonder you have little energy left! Hehehe¡±


    ¡°and loose my head? No thanks I¡¯ll carry the burden¡±


    While the adventurers are preparing their tents Sera donned in Kevlar jumpsuit ordered the Knight Golems to patrol around the camp while Banshee flew out to scout around while Gemini Doc and Medusa followed Sera like shadows as she prepared food for the camp.


    When the deep fried chicken was finished everybody stopped what they were doing and circled the bonfire.


    The leader of the Inheritors named Salazar ¡°you shouldn¡¯t have bothered lady Sera, in fact it should be our duty serving you during our contract you didn¡¯t even bring handmaidens¡±


    ¡°no, this is a new type of food that very few can cook.. yet, beside I am not part of the traditional nobles who have others to do simple tasks like this. Now gather up and get your plates dinner is served¡±


    Everyone was looking at a crispy fried chicken heavily breaded unsure of the food. This type of food has yet to exist or at least not yet publicized.


    Then Gramel could not wait any longer and started eating every bite creates a resounding crunch.


    ¡°mmmmmm!!¡± without waisting anymore time Gramel stood up and took 5 more pieces of fried chicken berofe running back to their steel wagon


    His action stunned everybody watching and the rest also started eating creating multiple crunching sound every bite every chew creates crunching sound.


    both Dormo and Darma also stood and took another 3 pieces of fried chicken each before running towards Gramel.


    Soon after their first bite their first fried chicken was already finished and before they noticed there are only 1 piece of fried chicken each left for everyone¡¯s share and the extras were already taken by the Dwarves.


    Tandtra and Verde couldn¡¯t help but turn an ugly face and curse under their breath ¡° fucking bastards!¡±


    While some of the inheritors where whimpering cursing their hesitation and tardiness, while others were eating more slowly savoring the food as if it were their last meal.


    Sera Hawke can¡¯t help but smile and leave with a chuckle before she returned to the APC to eat before going to  sleep early.


    Meanwhile Gramel on his fourth fried chicken and had started savoring it after his hunger has been filled.


    ¡°i¡¯ll be damned! This shit it good!!¡±


    While Dormo and Darma also agreed while washing down their meal with a pint of ale


    Tandtra and Verde could be seen marching towards them clearly fuming with anger


    ¡°DAMN IT!! aren¡¯t we supposed to be a team why¡¯d you took so many!¡± said Verde


    While Tandtra were smacking the Dwarves and saying ¡° you could have at least give us some¡±


    The Dwarves replied in unison ¡°it¡¯s not our fault you grannies are too slow!! HMP!¡±


    And then another set of bickering, smacking and the Elves even tried to take Gramels fifth fried chicken.


    The Inheritors on the other hand decided they would take the night shift by pairs changing hourly, confident that they did not need anymore than two just by looking at the Knight Golems who have already killed some snakes and other critters preventing them from entering the perimeter.


    The rest of the night were uneventful and so is the breakfast, having only bread, cheese and hot milk. They were only an hour¡¯s drive from the abandoned mines and everyone was preparing to leave.


    Sera only needed to remind them of what they can and can¡¯t do during this mission


    ¡°alright!, we are very close to the abandoned mines first we would clean up the perimeter I¡¯m talking about both inside and outside the mine must be cleaned of monsters, second we set up a defensive position with all that killing it would be strange if we don¡¯t attract a real predator that would also serve as our base camp, and lastly we would start mining the Knight Golems would be doing the heavy part but if yo could help that would make things a lot easier we only need to set up some traps and guards and make sure we are not ambushed while busy.. any questions?¡±


    Tandtra stepped forward and asked ¡°so. Aside from our service fee we could also take as much as we can carry?¡± the rest of the adventurers were now looking at Sera expectant of a positive reply.


    ¡°yes!¡­ but only In your person that means if you can carry a sack full of control crystals or mana stones or whatever is inside that mine is yours¡±


    With that. both team broke in enthusiastic cheers


    While Sera is having her speech. behind them just over the hill are a company of soldiers watching he group.


    The company commander the asked to his mages ¡° is it her? Are you sure its this Sera Hawke?, you have better double check and confirm it. we can only act once otherwise they would be prepared for us and the king would have our heads¡­ understand?¡±


    With the severe warning from the company commander the mages not only double checked but also triple checked until it was beyond a reasonable doubt that their target Sera Hawke is indeed in front of them.


    With confirmation ¡°alright, since we are now sure that our target is indeed there we would maintain our distance until they enter the mine trapping them, our sources say that our target intends to clear out an abandoned mine from the mountains nearby. Make sure the horses are well rested and prepare the monster lure, we are going to soften them up first before we strike. kill everyone except for our target Sera Hawke I repeat we NEED her ALIVE!¡±


    The mages who are using long distance viewing spells to observe their target and since the steel wagons do make a cloud of dust in their wake mainly due to their speed and the status of the road the Lavant company of soldiers have an easier time hiding their tracks their horses are slower than the steel wagons but it only helps them maintain a safe distance.

 Chapter 5 : To Harvest Battle

    Chapter 5 : To Harvest Battle


    Abandoned Mine - first day


    As Sera¡¯s group approached the mine¡¯s entrance they were greeted by giant armoured scorpions, giant spiders and some wild quill boars that got angry at their sudden invasion on the creatures territories.


    ¡°dismount go! don¡¯t let them surround the steel wagons¡± Sera ordered


    The first to dismount and started hacking and slashing were the Knight Golems , they maneuvered as one with shields locked against one another and bashing their enemies in front, once the monsters were staggered then they would stab at them.


    The Inheritors were slow to form up behind the Knight Golems mostly the squires would only manage to finish off injured creatures while it was the apprentice mages were the ones that actually helped by throwing fireballs, barriers and earth spikes.


    The Tempest on the other hand created their own battle line as they recognized the Knight Golems strength. the Dwarves smashed the scorpions with war hammers and hacked at the spiders with axes, the Elves were supporting the Dwarves from behind by giving them physical enchantment, barriers and well aimed arrows. Contrary to other mages the Elves don¡¯t just waste energy throwing spells that might not hit or not enough to kill monsters in one or several hits they rely on their keen eyes striking at the well aimed vitals of the creatures incapacitating them if not outright killing them.


    Tandtra would then shout at the Inheritors leader ¡°Salazar watch you¡¯re backs let the Golems take care of the front!¡± before returning to her own business.


    After hearing that, Salazar commanded his team to turn about and started sniping at the creatures trying to go around them but before long his team could be heard grasping for breath they haven¡¯t truly expected a prolonged continuous battle where the enemies would not let them take a breath ¡°we are getting surrounded!¡± shouted Salazar.


    Team Tempest would have broke their own formation to come to their aid when the Knight Golems adapted Shciltron Formation and activating their barrier spells embedded in their shields protecting the Inheritors.


    Medusa then jumped right in when other groups were about to get surrounded using slow spells to their enemies and haste spells to allies,she would then jump in the middle of a cluster of monsters and use Snake Hairs to bite or crush nearby monsters.


    In a few minutes the Inheritors finally got their second wind and are more organized and more concentrated in their attacks, Knight Golems broke their formation and started hunting fleeing monsters.


    After an hour of fighting the giant armoured scorpions and the giant spiders skittered back into the mines hissing while the quill boars were hunted down before escaping, the forest wolves on the outskirts of the battle howled before leaving.


    Only when the battle was over did Sera exited the APC and surveyed the area.


    ¡°take 15 minutes of break while the Knight Golems cut down some logs, we¡¯ll work our way inside the mines tomorrow¡± she ordered.


    The Inheritors sat down on the soil never minding the dirt grasping for breath. ¡°that was a close one¡± said Terry as he laid down his staff breathing heavily.


    While Salazar is wiping his own sweat ¡°indeed, something to learn from at least¡±


    ¡°im just glad were alive!¡± said one of the squires.


    Nearby the Tempest could be seen sweating but more relaxed, a mark of their experience in situations like this, They stood guard while the Knight Golems cut down logs and started constructing a Log Cabin big enough for all of them.


    After the break the monster corpses were cleaned and buried except for the quill boar whose spines were usually good for primitive spears and arrowheads while its hide is thicker than most beast making it ideal use of winter clothing and its meat which is one of the only few clean and palatable sources of food in the area, there were several quill boars that the entire group could feast on for days.


    The party roasted meat and ate quietly tired of the battle this afternoon they went to sleep early inside the cabin which is reinforced by four layers of logs unusually seen, which garnered attention from Tandtra as she inspected the interior..


    ¡°at least nothing would be sneaking inside this log cabin¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t let you¡¯re guard down I want four people on watch tonight starting with team tempest I made extra meal and warm milk maybe some ale for the night watch¡± Sera said


    feeling something off ¡°of course my Lady¡± Tandtra said before heading towards her team.


    After everything is set for the night Sera returned to the APC and couldn¡¯t help but shiver she thought ¡°I cant believe they¡¯re actually here¡± as sera watching through the eyes of Banshee 2 kilometers away from their camp another camp could be seen with campfires inside thick tents to prevent the fires being too visible.


    ¡°now there¡¯s no turning back I prepared for this I set this up, I was chased before but no longer!. this might be stupid but I need a show of force¡± in her map it shows that Ashura, Torch Light, Riot and Vulcan followed by 500 wooden golems equipped with shields, spears and sword .


    The wooden golems are mainly designed to look like mannequins they could wield weapons competently but their spell models were quite old very old in fact it was said that the spell model for wooden golems were created by a tribal genius who manage to get a hold of a dead mage¡¯s books, it wasn¡¯t long before an army of wooden golems were provided for his own tribe conquering the other tribals in the vicinity.


    ¡°the only reason I chose wooden golems was because wood is everywhere and its easier to work with wood, a single wooden golem only takes 10 minutes to actually carve and program with every sentinel not needing sleep they were working around the clock¡±


    Their control crystals also did not need to be sophisticated even the lowest quality of control crystal would have worked fine making them ideal canon fodder, although weak they are still in a sense a force multiplier they can also help distract enemy soldiers while the sentinels go in for the priority targets. ¡°It all started after the Kaladian raider¡¯s success behind Lavant¡¯s territory using my steel wagon that a surge of people started spying on me then came the contact with Marianne.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°That very same afternoon a message arrive at my tower confirming that Lavant spies were indeed interested in me and my creations it turns out they thought I was royal blood or something because of my airship or rather the crashed cargo plane, regardless of their reasoning. under any circumstance I cannot be a target. I needed a power play!¡­ make them think that attacking me is not a good idea¡±


    Sera Hawke thought that a showing force by destroying her would be captors would send a very powerful message that she is not one to be trifled with. The creation of 500 wooden golems were quite taxing in both resources and her energy but the payoff would be worth it, assuming she manage to deal a significant enough amount of damage to the enemy company.


    Her big dilemma was how to control so many golems at once when 12 Knight Golems were already straining her. the solution she came up with was signal amplifiers, one of every ten golems would be made with a little special boosting signal which means better control crystal and mana stones and then Riot would carry a 5 meter long steel rod packed to max capacity with mana stones to power up 500 wooden golems whose orders would come from Riot which was relayed from Sera¡¯s holographic interface which controls all her sentinels.


    The steel rod with mana stones were inspired from the mages of her first encounter, and the reason mages could not control too many golems at once would be the brain¡¯s ability to multitasking limitation. With some modern technology and clever programming these limitations could be bypassed.


    At first Marianne offered her armies help but that would put Sera in Marianne¡¯s debt so Sera tried to face the problem head on, lure the spies at least as many as she can and kill them all just to send a message and now her own army of wooden golems are awaiting orders to strike behind her enemies, of course her army wont move unless the enemy does. for all intents and purposes they are just humanoid shaped statues crouched and awaiting orders.


    Abandoned Mine - second day


    Aside from snakes and occasional shadows in the bushes the night passed on relatively peaceful the entire group did their morning rituals and prepared to enter the mine with Knight Golems taking the lead.


    ¡°alright! Like yesterday the Knight Golems would enter the mines as vanguard first team to accompany them would be team Tempest, after breakfast patrol around the area and digest your food then enter the mines, I will be inside the Log cabin controlling the golems¡±


    Sera went and inspected the Knight Golems. Some have punctures and cuts but the control crystals are still not in immediate danger then she sent the golems inside the mine tunnels with their shield giving light, it doesn¡¯t even need a light spell the mana crystal naturally gives a soft glow in the dark depending on the mana stone¡¯s quality and poor quality ones tend to exude faint light and energies into their surrounding area.


    Team Tempest just returned from their patrol and discovered that the Knight Golems already went ahead.


    ¡°aye, would those golems be alright they went ahead without us?¡± asked Gramel


    Tandtra replied without stopping ¡°lets go in the cabin and ask¡±


    As they enter the cabin Medusa could be seen standing beside Sera Hawke and almost went in a defensive posture before going still, still controlling the Knight Golems through their eyes she asked.


    ¡°yes?¡­ Do you need something?¡± while making a map through the holographic interface not even bothering to hide.


    ¡°umm¡­ would the golems be fine going ahead of us? The food is still working its way down and we don¡¯t want to go inside yet in fear of having stomach ache¡± Tandtra said as she stared at Sera


    ¡°it would be just fine, what im having them do is just mapping the tunnels some lead to a dead end while the deeper ones are marked and left alone for now¡± her eyes still locked on the interface occasionally making the golems stab deep into the walls and ground.


    ¡°right.. okay then we would go in the mine now just.. just don¡¯t lead us to deep¡±


    ¡°of course I wont¡­ that would be counter productive if possible we would just block the tunnels that lead to the monsters nest and start mining, and after you go out tell the Inheritors to cut more logs¡±


    They felt relived hearing that and started their preparations to go inside the tunnels, the whole camp is busy at work while Sera is also secretly inspecting the Lavant company still laying low.


    ¡°they must be waiting for us to go inside the mines and attack when out guard is down¡±


    It was past lunch when the Knight Golems and and team Tempest when they emerged from the mine tunnels covered in dust and some specks of monster gore in their clothing.


    ¡°damn! The tunnels are so stuffy its good the have fresh air at last.. I need a bath before eating lunch¡± said Verde before pulling Darma and Tandtra towards the river nearby.


    Gramel and Dormo started removing their armours and started relaxing sore muscles, its not like it was a hard fight but constant combat readiness for hours is quite draining, even though the Knight Golems did most of the job.


    Currently there are over a dozen tunnels leading too deep in the mines most of which are likely dug by its monster residents, those tunnels were blocked off by numerous thick logs along side wood shavings so that it would easier to burn should the need ever arise.


    After team Tempest are done cleaning themselves team Inheritors now have gone inside the tunnels not to fight but to help inspect the quality of mana stones, so far no control crystals has been found yet, although there are some rough gems like Ruby which was not even a priority. They still kept the rubies on a pile as they dig in for mana stones deeper while the mages stand guard and use strength enchantment on the squires alongside the Knight Golems who swung their pickaxes mechanically.


    With beads of sweat dripping on his forehead Salazar said ¡° well¡­ at least our lives are not in danger¡± to keep up morale even though he still silently grumbles to himself he is still a nobles son third in line or not.


    After a while 12 sacks of rough gems and low quality mana stones were finally harvested and the Knight Golems carried them out while the Inheritors were still mining since normal humans can¡¯t actually compete in terms of strength and stamina against golems, not even 5 minutes the golems returned with empty sacks and started mining again.


    It was late afternoon when team Tempest arrived with their own mining equipment, the Inheritors only have 70% of their sacks full.


    ¡°alright times up our turn, why don¡¯t you kids go out and rest up the mine¡¯s not going anywhere¡± said Gramel


    One of the female apprentice mage said exasperated ¡°ugh finally¡­ this damn place is too stuffy I can¡¯t wait to get out¡±


    Gramel replied ¡°yeah some air vents must have collapsed or has become covered with smaller monster creatures.. it is not unusual for these things to happen in a abandoned mine¡±


    As the Inheritors were lugging their own haul Dormo then said ¡°the gems are terribly low quality, if we are actually doing this we would be breaking our backs digging through this vein¡±


    Already digging Darma then said ¡°we¡¯ll go for quantity then this shit still sell quick, its not like people are not going to use them when it comes to mana stones its always not enough!¡±


    Gramel then said ¡°fine fine.. lets get this over with and earn with the sweat of our brow, at least we are just digging and not fighting those creepy crawlies¡±


    While the Knight Golems wield their pickaxes like clockwork in the mine tunnels, Medusa on the other hand has been cutting logs into multiple sharpened stakes some would be planted to the ground pointing outward some would be made short enough to be a javelin, the rest of the wood shavings would be used for the campfire.


    The Inheritors were preparing the food for everybody while some are patrolling the perimeter wondering why this place has started to look like a wooden fort, but considering the recent attacks they thought it was better to be over defended than not.


    Lavant Company Campsite


    ¡°why are we not attacking still? Couldn¡¯t we just at least use the monster lure by now¡± asked one of the elite Knights of Lavant Kingdom.


    Although a company commander has operational authority Lavant Kingdom¡¯s Magic Knights are only second to the General.


    The company commander just gritted his teeth swallowing his anger ¡° I¡¯ve said it before we must wait when their guard is down, and that time would be when they are overburdened by their harvest and their bodies tired of fighting tunnel critters and mining¡±


    ¡°hmp! It sounds like you¡¯re just afraid company commander your title is wasted on you¡± said the Knight before leaving the tent.


    ¡°damn this people all they know is to charge headlong into battle, you there!¡± as he pointed to a mage on the side


    ¡°whats going on in their camp?¡±


    The mage replied ¡°our tamed creatures are getting killed on sight we don¡¯t have a direct view inside their camp but they seem to be fortifying their camp they also made a rather fortified Log Cabin¡±


    ¡°hmmm¡± as the company commander studied the local map ¡°tsk! The Knights are getting restless any longer and they might attack without coordination, waiting is enough tell the entire camp that we will be setting up the monster lure tomorrow morning and attack at dusk¡±


    Outside the camp soldiers running about could be seen preparing for the coming fight while the Magic Knights have been delighted that their long wait will soon come to an end and they will draw blood with their swords to claim honor and glory.


    Abandoned Mine - third day


    4:00 am Banshee sent an alarm. Lavant campsite are moving out, Sera reviewed the images and saw what appears to be a monster lure according to Narud¡¯s library.


    ¡°they couldn¡¯t wait any longer huh¡± she thought as she prepared a hot meal for everyone


    Meanwhile the Knight Golems have entered the cabin and woke everybody, the groggily awakened adventurers were still finding their footing when Sera said.


    ¡°we are about to get attacked by a monster horde¡± she said in all seriousness


    ¡°what? How did you know?¡± asked Verde as she took a bite at her breakfast


    Sera wasted no time and showed the group of monsters through the holographic image starting to form a horde starting from several packs of forest wolves, sabretooth tigers, forest trolls and even some ogres.


    The first to panic were the Inheritors already suggesting that they run, but then Sera said.


    ¡° even if you want to run we are in the middle of the forest and the steel wagons can¡¯t maneuver as fast not to mention we have to move in single file making us a bigger target. We already have a fortified position the monster nests in the tunnels have been blocked securely, and we have dug ditches with spike traps and spike walls all we need is for the mages to raise a mud wall even a meter tall would do, and lastly the tunnel mines would serve as a bottle neck making their numbers inconsequential¡±


    With furrowed brows Tandtra said solemnly ¡°you¡¯re awfully prepared for this¡± garnering the attention of Gramel.


    Sera stared at her eyes and said ¡°I prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Now lets get the mages prepare that mud wall while I¡¯ll have the Knight Golems cut down more Logs. GO!¡±


    With that. roars and howls of the incoming monster horde could be heard. Sera Hawke made a gamble a CHOICE to stand and fight, now each players decks have been stacked with as much advantages as they can get and now the time has come to show their hands.

 Chapter 6: Surrounded

    Chapter 6: Surrounded


    Inside the APC Sera¡¯s voice could be heard through the speakers on Banshee giving orders to everyone as they frantically set up defenses like raising mud wall and sharpening some wooden stakes.


    In just 30 minutes the the campsite became a fortified fort with ditches 3 meters deep and 5 meters wide with wooden spikes at the bottom surrounding the camp except for the front of the wooden gate, mud walls 1 meter high, between the walls and ditches were a crude line of wooden spear wall planted firmly at the ground and inside the mud wall another set of wooden spikes ready to catch falling enemies from the wall could be seen.


    If it wasn¡¯t for their numerical disadvantage, this fort could be said as quite formidable but reality is not often we want it to be, a pack wolves charged in first controlled by Lavant mages carrying the monster lure in its mouth before impaling itself on the wooden spike, everybody missed the sight of it until it was buried by its breatheren as they fell from arrows of the Elves while the Dwarves have just returned from their steel wagon carrying a sack which surprised Sera. It looked like a giant flintlock or more likely a hand canon.


    ¡°damn! I really don¡¯t want to show it to others but with our lives on the line I guess it matters little now¡± said Gramel alongside with Darma and Dormo while assembling the weapon as the Elves and the Inheritors mages doing covering fire.


    Starting from a smile to a wide grin Sera Hawke already wanted to know where she could get gunpowder, during their travel she wondered why there are so many cask being carried by the Dwarves, it turns out to be gunpowder completely disguised as ale.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting distracted I¡¯ve got to finish this thing in front of me first before I move to the next project¡±


    The quill boars have returned fire with their quills shooting from their back forcing the defenders to take cover behind their steel wagons, during that time the first group of ogres and trolls managed to punch a hole through the hastily made mud wall.


    ¡°Do not engage the trolls and ogres head on! Mages and archers focus fire take them one by one¡± Sera said her voice being heard from the speakers.


    Magic and arrows are clearly not going to take down the trolls and the ogres in s short amount of time, that was when Sera fired up the Gatling Rail Gun. But contrary to her expectation the GRG could only fire one shot per second.


    As she saw this happening she cursed inwardly ¡°FUCK! Why!? Why didn¡¯t I test it before!?¡± as her chest starting to hyperventilate.


    In the past Sera feared that it might unveil the GRG to the strangers and potential enemies like mages and foreign soldiers and therefore have only relied on simulations, now with the only redeeming quality of the GRG being powerful enough to able to smash the head open of the trolls and ogres in two shots despite its slow firing rate with its finger size iron spikes.


    Now it was the Dwarves turn to be amazed seeing the power of her weapon but also because again it resembled some of the Dwarven secret weapons, but Gramel intently ignored that at the moment considering they are in the middle of battle.


    ¡°i told you look.. look! Doesn¡¯t that look familiar¡± Darma pointed at the Gatling Rail Gun


    ¡°and I keep telling you its similar but not the same, its not even using gunpowder! But some unknown magic¡± said dismissively by Gramel, but in his mind its a question that could wait another time...if they survive


    In a sense it was indeed magic but the only magic used was really the lightning spell which was considered tier 3 strong but not enough on its own to kill Magic Knight, Rail Gun however is from a more modern and highly scientific standard of weaponry now that its energy weakness has been complemented with magic its strength its undeniable.


    Lavant Company Campsite


    ¡°the walls have been breached! We¡¯ll have to move in fast before the trolls and ogres get to Sera Hawke!¡± said the Magic Knight


    But the company commander said ¡° wait! Wait a bit longer the Golems and team Tempest are not so easily beaten, remember we only have one chance and once we blow this chance she will be always on guard against us making a second attempt even more difficult¡±


    The Knights eager for combat could barely rein in their temper if it wasn¡¯t for their King¡¯s orders , while the mages have been constantly powering up a mirror that could see the front of the makeshift fort being swamped by monsters, the observing officials were all tensed up in the coming battle or in fear that their target perishes.


    But those fearful thoughts of having Sera Hawke dead would soon be for nothing as they see the monsters charging in the breach led by the trolls and ogres were the line of monsters are just being blown to pieces and being riddled with holes.


    ¡°w-what manner of a weapon is that?¡± said one of the mages shocked and awed at the weapons might


    ¡°it¡¯s those Dwarves it¡¯s definitely them and their contraptions!!¡± said one of the Magic Knights


    ¡°this can¡¯t be good¡± the company commander thought to himself, Sera Hawke is proving more and more difficult to capture¡­. alive


    ¡°calm down! Dwarven weaponry are strictly reliant on ammunition, we have detailed records of this during the war 500 years ago. Just let them waste their ammunition and magic on these beasts!¡± the company commander added while also secretly being relieved that he did not charge towards that.


    As well said as it could be the Gatling Rail Gun although extremely powerful but low firing rate has another flaw, and that is its accurate kill range was only 10 meters. Its power is indeed impressive but so does the recoil making 30-50% of fired shots grazing if not missing the targets entirely. It also does not help that Sera has only brought 3,000 rounds of ammunition.


    Abandoned Mine


    Sera has been fully focused at micromanaging the golems, Banshe and the Gatling Rail Gun, although it takes 10 seconds to reload the hand canon of the Dwarves they have been shooting dozens metal pellets each the size of a fingernail directed at the breach. In combination with the Elven archers, Knight Golems throwing wooden javelins and the Gatling Rail Gun the breach on the wall has slowly piled up a small mountain of monster corpses.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The apprentice mages has collapsed due to mana exhaustion after over an hour of prolonged battle, even with Gemini Doc watching over them the squires of team Inheritors were deeply concerned as they look at the deep wound and gashes the mages have accumulated over the course of battle.


    ¡°s-shouldn¡¯t we retreat back inside the mines now Lady sera?¡± said Salazar in grave tone while covered in dried blood of his and monsters alike.


    ¡°NO! Not yet the monster horde have thinned with only the bigger ones along several wolf packs remaining, we keep defending the breach!¡± Sera said in a cold commanding tone.


    When the golems ran out of wooden javelins to throw. then finally came the melee combat as if showing intelligence and coordination the monster horde converged on the breach for a final push the squires tensed their muscles to their limits. while the Elves conjured earth spikes with their last of their magic to impale charging monsters if not impede them.


    The Knight Golems alongside Medusa stood just behind the earth spikes preparing for the final clash while the Dwarves fired their final salvo before quickly changing weapon and join the the battle line, at this time only Sera¡¯s Gatling Rail Gun is the only one providing covering fire non stop.


    Medusa caught the first charge using Slow spell at the area of enemies while constantly activated Haste spell on allies, in each hand she is holding sacks full of low quality mana stones, the constant use of spells since battle have put Medusa in an overload state, the consumption of mana stones are the only reason she can still fight and the magic consumption is no joke. Every minute a mana stone would turn to dust after being overloaded with magic and cast repeatedly.


    The Knight Golems held the line with their shields and active barrier spells but even so the smaller wolves managed to pass the defense line and took bites of the squires with chunks of flesh missing from their bodies shouts of terror and agony could be heard in their campsite, even Salazar wanted to maintain morale by leading the charge was caught off guard by a giant rock passing beside him thrown by an ogre and in a knee jerk reaction tried to block it but the boulder was too big almost hitting him but losing his right hand in the process, in shock Salazar has yet to feel his broken mangled arm and taking the opportunity the wolves pounced at him dragging him around.


    The squires mustered the last ounce of courage and strength to save Salazar while the wolves have him tightly pinned by their mouths, with Salazar¡¯s sword arm rendered useless his life is now on the hands of anyone capable enough to save him in this mess of a battle while his would be saviour not dying at the same time.


    Regardless of their effort their body gave out and collapsed rendering them defenseless against the onslaught, Luckily Banshee was watching the entire battlefield swooped down blowing the eardrums out of the wolves. As the wolves lay dying the severely injured squires were brought towards the steel wagon where Gemini Doc was tending to the wounded and by the looks of things Salazar would require a surgery at the very least.


    While Gemini Doc is performing surgery to its patients the battle is coming close to its end the horde broken and scattered and the last ogre is too stubborn to run away, Tandtra and Verde¡¯s arrow and magic have been long depleted they are now being supported by Gramel while Darma and Dormo are too injured to help out, of the 12 Knight Golems only 3 remain heavily battered with their steel plating are long gone and their Quartz body full of cracks and craters and Medusa finally cracked down and destroyed her control crystal due to overuse.


    With 3 last ammunition in the chamber of the Gatling Rail Gun one shot manage to clip the ogre¡¯s jaw making it dizzy, the remaining combatants of team Tempest took the opportunity and started stabbing at the creatures head until it was dead beyond the reasonable doubt.


    ¡°Gramel enough!¡­ its dead already save your strength and tend to your injuries¡± said Tandtra as she checked the surrounding area for monsters, while Verde just collapsed on her bottom and sat down sweating and bleeding.


    Gemini Doc came out of the Inheritors steel wagon after cleansing and closing their wounds, but Salazar on the other hand was inside Gemini Doc which Sera reluctantly allowed, modern high tech medicine are now rare and Gemini Doc was supposed to have been built as a walking Intensive Care Unit for her own personal use but after some thought she couldn¡¯t allow Salazar or anyone for that matter to die under the gamble she had set up.


    With the steel wagons and APC blocking the entrance to the mines Serra Noticed that the Lavant Company of soldiers are now closing in on their location through Banshee¡¯s eyes. They are most likely to attack tonight when everyone¡¯s body are seriously injured, sore and just generally tired of the life and death combat they have experienced.


    Right at this moment only Sera Hawke could be seen moving about the mines while the adventurer teams lie unconscious, she made some checks on ammunition but only 2 spikes remain for the Gatling Rail Gun. With no ammunition and soldiers to defend her except for Banshee and 3 Knight Golems which is barely combat ready is all that¡¯s left.


    Sera thought ¡°maybe I¡¯ll just run them over with my vehicles remotely?¡­¡­ nah¡± after realizing that there is not enough room to accelerate not to mention the state of the road. No, the Magic Knights will just cut through the vehicles steel plating like butter.


    This is now the last phase is about to begin everything now lies in this one final card up her sleeve, Banshee has returned to the skies to continue watching the Lavant soldiers coming and behind them are her Golems like statues of gargoyles rising from their crouched position following their targets slowly and silently.


    Sundown, Sera was woken up from a nap by the alarm she set, her body reluctantly moved as she prepared some food for herself while the adventurer teams are still in deep slumber. As she looked through the eyes of Banshee the Lavant soldiers are now 50 meters away from the abandoned mine slowly spreading out to surround them.


    As she eat her food she now also have prepared the sentinels to take action, as Lavant¡¯s key personnel gather to plan their attack before they could even talk booming sounds could be heard due to their stomping as the army of wooden golems rushed towards them in a sprint weapons ready and charging headlong to combat without any care.


    The sudden appearance of another army behind them caught the Lavant soldiers in surprise but no panic could be seen mostly nervousness, the company commander along with captains under him screamed commands to reform the line to meet this unknown threat. But the already spread out army is slow to reform it was now up to the soldiers fast and close enough to react led by Magic Knights to face their enemies.


    The company commander gritted his teeth and said ¡°what are the fucking scouts doing!!¡±


    Controlling 500 wooden golems is hard when she copied the program from an RTS game she knew only the most basic commands could be performed quickly enough as Sera needed to highlight a small area in her holographic interface and then give commands it was really a rushed build but woks enough for her needs.


    As the first wooden golems are about to clash against Lavant soldiers the Magic Knights glowed with magic surrounding their bodies and weapons the golems weapons bounced back against barrier spell before being sliced to pieces. Their only advantage being the enemy not ready for them and easily enough the combat ready soldiers on the battle line were avoided like the plague and moved on to attack the less fortunate soldiers only getting ready on their own battle line.


    Those who were slow where killed almost instantly, with the first clash killing around 40 of their own soldiers if it wasn¡¯t for the mages who created barriers over a large area giving them time to reform and properly strategize the battle could have ended then and there.


    As the Magic Knights see this happening they quickly attacked huge clusters of enemies and used wide swings empowered with magic destroying dozens of the wooden golems at each attack, while Sera had the sentinels on standby and awaiting to tire out the Lavant soldiers.


    Currently only about 300 wodden golems remain and are declining quite faster than she expected it to be, as the golems decrease her controll over them became more fine tuned and could be noticed that they are now starting to use battle formations and accurately ganging up on mages and Magic Knights as priority targets.


    As the battle rage on the arrogant Magic Knights have been humbled and retreated to the main body of their remaining force.


    ¡°we¡¯re surrounded!¡± one of the soldiers shouted


    ¡°maintain formation! They are not as formidable as you think, don¡¯t get scared of their numbers!¡± as the company commander rallied the troops


    They tried to break through but the wooden golems just threw their bodies at the soldiers stopping them in their tracks, soon desperation could be seen in their eyes well trained soldiers no longer needed to be told that there is no escape in this battle and must make their last stand now.


    100 wooden golems remain and regardless of their sudden nimbleness they are still not a match against Magic Knights. They might be injured some worst than the others but the Magic Knights are still elite forces not to be under estimated as they cut down the golems left and right.


    Now even the company commander has been forced to battle which he was revealed as a Magic Knight he fought with bravery uplifting morale of the remaining soldiers by now the mages are dead singled out and killed by the wooden golems despite being vaporized by spells, their relentless assault unnerved the soldiers to their breaking point.


    And now the true test has begun there are only 30 wooden golems remain on the bloodied battlefield just as they thought that salvation is just around the corner.


    Banshee appeared and released its cloaking without any warning attacked them with sonic waves. Deafened and bleeding they still fought hard as the Lavant soldiers number decreased to 25 by then all of the wooden golems are decimated but then comes the sentinels Ashura not giving them a breather sprinted forwards a Magic Knight.


    Despite being caught by surprise the Magic Knight managed to block the heavy and continuous blows of Ashura attesting to their strength it took only a few seconds before the surprise duel ended in the Magic Knight¡¯s demise leaving Ashura with 3 lost arms despite having reinforced steel plating.


    Riot has discarded the rod packed with mana stones nearby as he moved forward putting the electric charge at maximum output he waved his hand across the nearby soldiers shooting electric bolts jumping towards the nearby soldiers another Magic Knight Contended against Riot using a battle axe but was blocked by the bulletproof tower shield, the strike was heavy enough to push Riot back a step before stabilizing.The shield is 5 inches thick yet the axe managed to penetrate 3 inches in, but now the axe is stuck and Riot wasted no time electrocuting the unfortunate Knight.


    Torch Light had it easier that the rest with the enemy soldiers tired and injured he just lit them up with invisible flames, those desperate enough charge at him with zeal led by the bloodied and severly injured company commander before being dealt with plasma cutters.


    Although Lavant soldiers are still somewhat fighting and screaming in agony the battle could already be concluded as over, This are nothing more than death throes.


    Sera hawke is sweating bullets right now entire body tensed despite its fragility, only after the last of Lavant soldiers dropped dead and stopped moving did she release and long sigh of relief her body suddenly going jelly as she now concluded the battle a victory.


    Before passing out she ordered the sentinels to take all valuables as spoils of war and to stand guard at the mine.


    Meanwhile over a hill overlooking the entire battle since morning until evening Marianne Vi Kaladia along with 250 of her Elite Soldiers, Knights,Mages and Wizrads


    ¡°unexpectedly she has this much power!¡­¡­impressive truly IMPRESSIVE Sera Hawke!!!¡± she said jubilantly before turning her army back to her city.

 Chapter: 7 Recuperation

    Chapter: 7 Recuperation


    It has been a week since the battle on the mines, the remaining Knight Golems helped the sentinels clean up the battlefield, stripped anything that could be used or sold the corpses were buried in a mass grave and then resumed mining until every vehicle is packed with low quality mana stones and a few rough gemstones.


    Even After 2 days the adventurer teams were still fast asleep in their respective steel wagons even the shaking of the vehicles along with mana stones beside them did not wake them up, Salazar have been ejected from Gemini Doc even though he is still severely injured he is no longer in danger its just that Sera didn¡¯t want to waste precious medicine if they could just heal naturally, after which Sera Hawke then entered Gemini Doc despite not having personally entered combat the amount of stress and tension almost crushed her and so now she lay inside the body of her sentinel and perform medical checks and administer drugs.


    In those two days Marianne secretly spread rumors of the failed expedition of Lavant elites spinning tales of how the Elite Magic Knights were not even capable of capturing one Lady, the existence of Sera Hawke has been an already open secret to the nearby Kingdoms and high nobility even though her background is a complete mystery they are well aware of her abilities and potential, they were of course even more impressed once they have heard of the rumors.


    As the rumors reached the Kingdom of Lavant morale has hit rock bottom and King Draken Lavant IV almost ordered a full scale assault on Kaladia just to regain some of his reputation but was luckily stopped and brought back to reason by the court ministers and noble vassals.


    In the City Of Kaladia Sera Hawke¡¯s status skyrocketed including in the surrounding territories as soon as the rumor¡¯s started circulating and that includes the adventurer teams Tempest and Inheritors, there are already talks to the guild about queuing up in line to hire them.


    It was dark and they are camped or rather parked beside a small river, the apprentice mages woke up first with sore body and gasped at their companions situation suddenly remembering the horrifying event they just went through.


    ¡°oh no! Salazar, Salazar can you hear me!?¡± said one of the mages as she saw their leader covered in bandages from head to toe like a mummy wanting to touch him but was stopped by a voice.


    ¡°he is fine as well as the others their lives are no longer in danger as long as they rest they would back on their feet in perhaps a week or two¡± said Sera as she ate dinner


    The mages and the recently awaken squires relaxed a bit before their sore muscles reminded them of their own situation, before long they also decided to join Sera in dinner forgoing etiquette as they just munched down on their food after having not eaten in two days.


    After smelling food Tandtra, Verde, Gramel, Dorma and Dormo came out of their steel wagon dragging their sore bodies.


    ¡°ugh¡­I haven¡¯t fought that hard for so long¡± said Tandtra as she streched her body as she saw Verde just sat down and ate her food clearly not in any cheerful mood after just surviving at the skin of their teeth.


    The Dwarves on the other hand are the same as always. Loud and crass they eyed Sera as if wanting to ask something but eventually decided against it and wait until they were inside the city.


    Tandtra then said ¡° we woke up beside sacks full of mana stones you mined those alone?¡±


    ¡°no. I have the remaining 3 Knight Golems mine them including the rest of my¡­ other golems following behind secretly and mined for 2 days before leaving¡± as Sera pointed at Riot, Torch Light and Ashura full of battle marks.


    Followed by a somewhat awkward silence they returned to their steel wagons to rest as the golems stood guard with varying degrees of injuries.


    Due to the passengers being injured and with their heavy haul from the mines, the speed travel has become slow almost as slow as a horse drawn carriage, with a few minor monster attacks which was easily brushed by the Knight Golems and Sentinels it still took the convoy 3 days to reach the city.


    It was getting dark when they entered the gates of Kaladia and head towards the inner city where Sera Hawke¡¯s tower is located, after arriving at the tower Peter,Lydia, Bellato and several other employees of Sera welcomed her return. It was not a particularly grand welcome but they knew Lady Sera despite being wealthy and powerful is an eccentric of sorts that did not like too much extravagance.


    ¡°welcome back home Lady Sera¡± as the employees said in unison


    Sera just waved her hand and nodded to everyone before dispersing them she and the adventuring teams are dead tired and want to just relax after a small meal they washed up before going to sleep Sera went to the masters bedroom she ordered the sentinels to start repairing themselves before dropping like a log in her bed.


    While the adventuring teams of Inheritors and Tempest where led to a guest house beside the tower made of stone and fine wood. Salazar was carried to a bigger bed surrounded by worried people.


    ¡°looks bad. Last time I saw he was being eaten alive by the wolves¡± Said Dormo


    Darma, Tandtra and Gramel shot a sharp glance at him sending a mental note to ¡®¡®SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡±


    ¡°what? It did happen¡­. didn¡¯t it? What the hell¡± said Dormo as he just shrugged before leaving


    The squires are also bandaged up but not as heavily as Salazar, all they could do was wait and hope that Lady Sera¡¯s golem that¡¯s called Gemini Doc would take care of their leader.


    one of the apprentice mages said ¡°this golem is quite impressive I have never seen its like even in the other kingdoms¡±


    Gramel took this opportunity to tell off Darma of her suspicions against Lady Sera ¡°see that, even the ancestors don¡¯t have that and you better keep your accusations to you¡¯re self until you have evidence¡±


    Darma was just silent as she observed Gemini Doc as it delicately changed Salazar¡¯s bandages.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°okay, so Salazar¡¯s life is no longer in danger and everyone is beat, we should now go to bed and let the golem do its job, come on now move along ¡± Tandtra encouraged the dispersal of the group as they went on their own rooms.


    One week has gone the squires are bandaged still but are now able to move with very little problems the Elves and Dwarves are naturally sturdy and the apprentice mages have long recovered and the Inheritors as a team are only waiting for Salazar to be able to move, despite waking up several days ago his body is still weak.


    ¡°message my Lady, its from the merchants¡± said Bellato as he extended his hand with a paper and bowed


    Sera took the letter and dismissed Bellato, she is currently changing engines of her vehicles from steam to electric although electricity comes from the magic stones its still better than steam and more familiar to work with.


    Medusa¡¯s remains had been brought back full of cracks evidence of heavy battle it went through Sera has it in mind that the modern technology sentinels she have that makes her main force could not forever remain victorious she had started planning to create a set of new Sentinel Golems made of technology and magic.


    Then she remembered the letter from the merchants, the steel wagons have become a huge hit even in the nearby Kingdoms and are ordering more, Sera ordered the sentinels to double time on making steel wagons.with little thought she decided to pen a reply to be sent by Bellato to agree in their request. with Sera having just acquired around 80 sets of broken weapons and armours to be melted and to be recycled as these types of method would make her save time and effort in the long run.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough rest. It is time to make use of the profits I have earned in my little expedition¡± Sera steeled her self as she immediately went to work. The new design of Knight Golems would now be based on actual Magic Knight capable in both martial art and magical alike.


    After her close encounter with an actual Magic Knight her heart almost fell down that these so called Elites were only initial level yet they almost manage to stand toe to toe with Ashura her strongest sentinel. Drawing from experience and inspiration Sera designed a new Model for her Knight Golem continuously for 2 days nonstop that even Lydia had to muster her courage and bang at the doors of Sera.


    ¡°Lady Sera I apologize but this can¡¯t be good for your health you just recently returned this certainly cannot go on you are still a lady and a lady must maintain her appearance¡± said Lydia with worried face


    With dark circles under her eyes Sera replied tiredly ¡°that long already huh¡­ I guess I overdid it, don¡¯t worry about it I¡¯ll sleep and I have already eaten I have stashed food here in my room so don¡¯t worry about me too much I know my limits¡± she said before closing the door luckily Sera had some chocolate bars left as a matter of fact there are several crates of it stashed away in her freezer more than half were now crushed though but still edible.


    Thanks to the recent windfall of fortune Sera Hawke now has planned to create 50 of the new upgraded Knight Golems, to maximize its offensive ability its original spell model of regeneration via absorbing the same materials would have to be improved, to make space for more complex spell models, she had planned to add an additional control crystal.


    Upgraded Knight Golems - 2.5 meters - 1 ton


    Heavy Armour - compared to its former model it is now 100% made out of steel its additional weight made it slower but more sturdy and powerful, it has 2 control crystals one inside the head and another at the core of its torso,on the abdominal region would be 6 pieces of mana stones embedded inside, it has an enchanted long sword its pommel embedded small control crystal and mana stone with spell models of sharpness and speed on the blade, its kite shield also has a small control crystal and mana stone with a more powerful spell model of barrier. All in all although its not quite comparable to a Magic Knight yet, but even veteran soldiers would have a really hard time against the Upgraded Knight Golems.


    Medusa - 4 Meters - 10 Tons


    Medium Armour - now made completely of solid steel it now has 4 control crystals one for the head one inside the core of the torso and two is inside the breast, now each of the 25 snake hairs are installed with mana stones there are also additional spell models and improvement, the Haste and Slow spell models have been improved while adding wind spell to not only move faster but also jump significantly higher there is also wind blades to cope with ranged opponents.


    Before going to sleep Sera made final checks on her design. With satisfaction she thought to herself ¡°even a little more expensive than necessary at least these new models would really pack quite a punch¡± she already plans to spend 80% of her fortune to make the new versions of Medusa and 50 Upgraded models of the Knight Golem to ensure her safety with the war coming closer by the day.


    The next day the Dwarves of team Tempest approached Sera Hawke to ask her about that uncannily similar to Dwarven weapons that she has.


    ¡°umm.. lady Sera I truly meant no offense but on behalf of the dwarven race I must ask where have you learned to make the weapon on top of your vehicle¡± said Gramel uncomfortably


    It was afternoon and they were in the garden just beside Narud¡¯s mausoleum having iced tea and snacks.


    ¡°why¡­ what does it have to do with the dwarves?¡± she said as she sipped some iced tea


    Being forced as the spokesperson was really uncomfortable for him but better him rather than Darma or Dormo whose etiquette doesn¡¯t even exist.


    ¡°well¡­ you see they resemble some dwarven weaponry¡­. forbidden weaponry, should it be proven to have come from the Dwarves I¡¯m afraid that other Kingdoms might scramble for it not to mention a task force being sent by the Dwarven race itself¡± he said nervously yet as calmly and as politely as possible


    Although looking slightly annoyed Sera replied calmly ¡°no Gramel my creations do not come from any Dwarven knowledge on any manner shape or form on any level whatsoever¡±


    ¡°I already suspected that BUT¡­ I¡¯m also afraid that not everyone might accept such answer, firstly your enemies would push this idea even further and the jealous Dwarves who guarded our race secrets might not be too happy with their similarities¡±


    ¡°well¡­ I am not provoking anyone and I do not intend to contend either, but if they come for me they will only find death¡­and there¡¯s more to come 45 more¡± she said as she pointed towards the 5 already newly finished Knight Golems gleaming with power and energy almost mimicking Magic Knights


    ¡°umm¡­ I¡¯m just saying if you truly not have taken Dwarven knowledge then maybe not make them look similar?¡±


    Sighing ¡°I don¡¯t even know what Dwarven weaponry looks like¡­ look if you know some Dwarves planning to attack just tell them to write their last will and testament first¡±


    Unnerved. Gramel just nodded and left thinking weather if Sera Hawke is telling the truth if she was then fighting her would be a catastrophic loss not to mention the new models of golems that mimic Magic Knights, Gramel is already having a headache on how fast she builds them even wizards take time building them yet she finished it in what? Days. And yet he is also convinced that Sera has not taken any Dwarven knowledge, her creations may look similar but not too similar that it could cause too much problem. however Gramel has lived long enough to know that this small little detail could potential cause bloodshed no it most certainly will ¡°BUT it sure as hell not be starting with me!¡± he said to himself.


    In the following days more carpenters and stone masons were hired again by Sera Hawke as she bought the neighbouring houses, demolished them and dug 10 meters underground for her laboratory rather than take months Sera went out her way to hire ALL available workers even the apprentices just so that the underground laboratory would be completed in just a week there were hundreds that answered her call the heavy lifting of boulders were handled by her Golems and Sentinels.


    The construction costs a small fortune indeed but with orders being placed at the steel wagon money is not really far away from her, as the underground laboratory started to take its shape she also added industrial machinery like hydraulic press and hammer, plasma cutter a weaker version of what Torch Light uses as she made this additions and of course the workers were not aware of these strange contraptions.


    In a few days Salazar is awake and can finally move but still bedridden Sera insisted that they can stay as long as they required to or at least until Salazar fully healed.


    ¡°Lady Sera I apologize but I believe we have already overstayed we must depart soon¡± said Salazar


    ¡°not in your condition, are you crazy?! you are in no way fit to travel¡± said one of the squires


    But Salazar insisted ¡°no we must go as soon as possible, Lavant is coming closer by the day and we have staed for too long in Kaladia not to mention we are injured and far from being capable to do missions, we should return to our families for now and see what the future holds for us as a team¡±


    It was followed by silence from the entire team.


    ¡°well if you are adamant in leaving then I guess this is a farewell gift then¡± Sera said as Lydia pushed a steel plated wooden wheelchair, the wheelchair has been engraved and sculpted extravagantly by Peter making it truly a work of art.


    Salazar being surprised asked ¡°what might this be Lady Sera?¡± as he pointed at the wheelchair


    ¡°its a wheelchair, for injured patients that can¡¯t yet walk. See these you can grab these and roll it like this and you can move yourself forward without using you¡¯re legs but considering the severity of your injury I would suggest against it and instead have someone push you from behind as such¡± Sera said as she showed an example of how a wheelchair works


    Before Salazar could even say anything the other members of the inheritors also inspected it and even played around with it.


    Sighing Salazar offered his most sincere thanks to Sera Hawke as he and the inheritors left from her tower.


    Team Tempest on the other hand only left a note to Lydia saying that they could no longer stay in the city as the drums of war draws ever closer and hope for Sera¡¯s understanding as the adventurers guild strictly forbids participating any form of warfare against the Kingdoms or Factions within the Continental Isle or risk being forever kicked from the guild and being kicked from the guild usually does not bode well for anyone for any matter.


    After reading through the letter she remembered her conversation with the Dwarf Gramel about the Gating Rail Gun after that conversation the prospect of getting any gunpowder was literally gone in smoke and now aside from the invading Lavant she now has to worry about the Dwarves clamoring about her weapons being similar.


    ¡°similar he said.. I wonder if the Gatling type of weaponry already exist in the Dwarven arsenal?. No most definitely it already exists otherwise why would it LOOK similar, it would seem like I would have to remodel the Railgun and make several turrets just to maintain already abysmal the firing speed.


    ¡°Seriously can¡¯t these people just leave me alone for once¡± Without further wait she moved forward and started making another series of contingency plans for the potential problems she might encounter. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

 Chapter 8: Massive Build Up

    Chapter 8: Massive Build Up


    In the recent weeks after her return to Kaladia City, Kingdoms that are against Lavant have started ordering Steel wagons by the dozen through Mayor Dalton and because of this I have postponed the production of the newly upgraded Knight Golems with only 10 currently active and helping non stop along with the sentinels with the rapid production of steel wagons, Kaladia¡¯s successful raid behind enemy line and its hit and run tactics impressed the nearby kingdoms so much that other factions has put a little pressure to the City State of Kaladia to sell to them and by extension pressuring Sera Hawke.


    Thankfully a compromise has been made. a united front against the Lavant invasion, as the day pass by the borders of Lavant are becoming more and more crowded by Soldiers preparing for an offensive against Kaladia that further encompasses the military might of the Kingdom of Lavant, despite a united front of several Kingdoms Lavant¡¯s forces still outnumber the allied forces 3 to 1 with the only advantage we have is that we have a more steady and secure supply line not to mention having defensive structures is also to our advantage.


    With these new found friends and allies it was not as scary to face Lavant now as it did in the past¡­. however there is troubling rumors spreading not only in the Continental Isle but also in the Western and Eastern Continents as well, the eastern immortals have stirred up while the western beast kin have also been sighted just outside the borders of the Continental Isle.


    It didn¡¯t take Sera long to understand that she was missing context on why all that apparently matters, she quickly sent a message to Marianne to have a talk, surprisingly in that evening Marianne did arrive. Sera didn¡¯t even think she would get a reply for at least several days.


    ¡°even though I am very busy at the moment. I just have to make time for you Sera Hawke¡± Marianne said with a beautiful smile as she walked out of her carriage towards the Garden nearby Narud¡¯s mausoleum.


    ¡°i didn¡¯t quite expect you to come so soon, but I am thankful and I have questions that need answering and I have nobody to trust¡± Sera said ash she offered Marianne a seat and some snacks


    Slightly surprised ¡°oh a question you say? And what might that be hm?¡± as she took a bite of a biscuit


    She then replied ¡°nothing too complicated. I want to know the details of the war 500 years ago and what the eastern and western continent doing snooping around the continental isle¡± as they stared each other in the eye as if trying to read each others thoughts


    Marianne had a face of surprise ¡°oh? You don¡¯t know? How¡­¡­ strange¡± she said. As most children of noble descent would have been drilled in studies, Marianne saw Sera Hawke as an exceptionally smart Lady and this question truly did throw her somewhat off balance.


    She continued ¡°well¡­ the first thing you must know is that the war ended 500 years ago but it started 800 years ago, the war lasted 300 years. Now before I continue please do not interrupt me because I don¡¯t want to repeat them¡± giving an explanation and warning


    Sera nodded ¡°sure¡± as she continued to eat snacks and drink tea


    ¡°as far as records go we know for a fact the the Eastern Continent houses the most powerful individuals, groups, factions, sects, kingdoms, empires¡­ etc you get the point, but then like all powerful people they got greedy or tried to spread their GLORY to the world, first was that their so called Immortals ran out of materials for their cultivation and the Western Continent that houses the primitive yet powerful beast kin which became their prime target. as It happened its like killing 2 birds in 1 stone fashion, the beast kin as primitive as they are manage to formulate their own version of cultivation methods¡±


    ¡°the beast kin who already has a natural longevity and strength that rivals that of the Immortals now managed to create their own form of cultivation skill in which basically the only thing that makes the Eastern Immortals as great and powerful as they are, with the Eastern Continent wanting to flex their might and having a cultivation resource shortage the factions in the entire eastern continent formed an alliance with one another and invaded the western continent¡±


    ¡°unfortunately as powerful as the eastern immortals were they are arrogant and thought themselves truly immortals they underestimated the beast kin and their primitive cultivation techniques. that almost led to the annihilation of the entire first wave of eastern invaders¡±


    Marianne took a bite on a biscuit and drank some tea before continuing ¡°the beast kin¡¯s techniques are indeed primitive as they currently were, gave the eastern immortals a huge beating forcing them to take whatever they can get a hold of and retreat, the place they retreated to was the central continent now currently known as the continental isle, once was a full continent now too small to be a continent but also too big to be an island that is now our Continental Isle. Upon the immortals retreat here they are swiftly met with beast kin¡¯s counter offensive, mounting massive flying beasts of the skies and titanic creatures of the ocean, not wanting to get outdone the immortals fought head on shattering a huge chunk of the central continent in the next 100 years of continuous battle.¡±


    ¡°and finally the factions of Central Continent could no longer afford to be neutral banded together to expel the invaders who thought our lands are their battle arena, the Dwarves unleashed their weapons upon the beast kin from the skies with their airship armada while the Elves have proven themselves quite a match for these so called immortals and the humans despite our fragility contributed with our flying fortresses and countless golem soldiers. It was a gruesome battle of attrition one side simply refused to back off, until of course after 200 years of war eventually they just got tired of fighting and finally backed off¡±


    ¡°and I believe that kind of knowledge is known to most children Sera Hawke¡­ what are you playing at here?¡± she then said after finishing her history lesson


    ¡°no plays, no games¡­ let¡¯s just say these type of so called knowledge did not reach me in my growing years¡­. thank you for the story by the way, somehow it all makes sense now¡±


    Marianne narrowed her eyes inspecting Sera¡¯s expression ¡°hmm¡­. that is strange indeed, would that be all Lady Sera? If there¡¯s no more I have a lot to do..¡± but before Marianne could finish talking


    ¡°i have also finished 30 steel wagons you can get them as soon as you¡¯re able, and yes that would be all thank you¡± said Sera as she stood up and walked Marianne to her carriage


    When Marianne was no longer within sight Sera thought to herself ¡°great¡­ now I have to worry about a war that started 800 years ago having a comeback, at least now I wont be the target this time I better focus of Lavant¡¯s massing army on the borders first¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Followed by Banshee like a shadow Sera went straight back to work in her newly built underground laboratory sneaking 1 Knight Golem after every 10 steel wagon she finished she simply cant let her own defense become stagnant now that she knows about certain powers are about to clash again. ¡°heh I wonder if Continental Isle would become just a literal island after this¡± she thought to herself.


    In the following days Sera was contemplating heavily on whether making massive wooden golems again just to bolster her numbers but ultimately decided against it she thought ¡°the control crystals would better be used on efficient fighters instead of cannon fodders¡±


    In the abandoned mines she managed to obtain several tens of thousands of low quality mana stones and several thousands of control crystals, but soon she would have to stop wasting these resources on vehicles and start investing on an actual formidable fighting force. As Sera thought deeper as she worked ¡° if I am reading this correctly Lavant¡¯s aggression in the Continental Isle is most likely planned by either the Beast Kin or the Immortals, otherwise the timing of their appearance could now be explained while the Continental Isle is fighting amongst themselves the East and West could then continue their war on the Continental Isle unimpeded¡±


    Continental Isle


    Elven Glades


    A figure suddenly opened his eyes after using Scry a special spell that allow someone to look on distant places as if it is in front of you ¡°They have moved and they are not even bothering to hide anymore¡± a tall man with sharp facial features milky white skin many would mistake him as female despite his muscle tone body


    The man is sitting on a throne like tree as if carved. In his front are also Elven warriors standing straight lined up and awaiting orders his words sent a shiver to the Elves inside the throne room which is made entirely out of a carved enchanted tree.


    The man sitting on the throne then said ¡°one of our scouts in the mortal lands have returned with her reports, the recent events have shown that the Kingdom of Lavant maybe getting help from the Immortals of Eastern Continent¡­¡±


    Before finishing his sentence the crowd broke in deep gasps of surprise, alarm and bloodlust some could not even hold themselves and talk in front of the Elven King.


    One particularly old Elf has voiced his resentment ¡°war is about to hit our territories¡­ again, many of our sacred glades burned to ashes on their arrival, they even managed to steal a young yggdrasil tree and a handful of seeds¡­ this cannot go unpunished!!¡±


    The old elf then continued ¡°I was there 800 years ago when they invaded my glades caught unprepared my own kingdom gone overnight! You will help us get our revenge¡­ right!? King Adun?¡±


    King Adun simply nodded and said ¡°worry not old one we have been preparing for their unfortunate but eventual return for 500 years the Templars are ready and waiting for war¡± he then raised his hand and hypogriph messengers flew towards other Elven glades human Kingdoms and Mountain strongholds of the Dwarves.


    Continental Isle


    Dwarven Underground Halls


    In just several hours after the Elves sent their hypogriph messengers Dwarven Lords mustered their royal guards to gather at their ancient Underground Halls back when the Central Continent was still whole, before the end of the day airships descended from the skies each marked by different coat of arms.


    Due to the hasty and seemingly urgent summons many Dwarf Lords came even without completely knowing the entire reason, for the Elves to use such a creature for a message delivery was only used during times of war to ensure the message was not intercepted.


    The Dwarven Lords despite their differences minded their own territories after the death of the Dwarf King 600 years ago but despite their differing ideologies they always stood united against all potential enemies, after reading the contents of the Letter from the King of Elves Adun, the ancestral halls were filled with fear of war and blood lust for vengance at the same time.


    Obviously nobody wants to die but the anger they feel the destruction of Central Continent, the countless death of their kin. During the war many heroes rose to prominence and also died tragically in the flames of war, but now centuries of preparation drilled to them by their elders had brought the current Dwarven Council ready and waiting for war at any given moment since decades ago. It is only now that in their lifetime that they would finally see whether their preparations would make a difference.. unlike in the past.


    Ancient war machines came back to life, after the first human wizard made his golem spell model public the Dwarves secretly studied and improved the spell model. It was only out of respect that they did not presented the world their more powerful and improved golem spell model, the current Dwarven golem spell model can move independently without constant control like a puppet as it only needs to be given orders like a normal person but sadly some flaws still remain the intelligence of these improved golem spell models are similar to a 12 year old child making them impossible to do complicated commands.


    The airship armada remains the same almost stagnating in development, but they at least managed to make a flying fortress by incorporating their airship design to small but solid landmass. As the Dwarfs weapons of war rolled out of their shelves the entire Dwarven race was ordered by the council to procreate as the war inches forward by the second they will need new generations of Dwarfs to continue their legacy. They knew full well that the Eastern Immortals have very long life spans almost rivaling that of the Elves they now have tried to mimic the humans advantage.. numbers


    Kaladia City State


    After two months Sera Hawke has told everybody that she would stop producing steel wagons in order to focus on her own project after gaining 30,000 gold coins she became one of the wealthiest individuals in Kaladia 3<sup>rd</sup> only to the merchants and noble houses.


    These days Sera was more preoccupied by building her own army of Knight Golems. She also has begun designing a giant plane like fortress that would make the skies her own domain the real and literal aircraft carrier filled with flying Knight Golems keeping her safe, out of reach and always on the move.


    The current design of the plane fortress is more similar to an AC - 130 gunship but bigger, shoots omnidirectional and better defended but instead of heavy plating magic barrier spells allover the ship, with 30 turrets of 100mm railguns.


    ¡°But unfortunately in the current state of Kaladia I would not be able to get my hands on enough metals to build that project, which would mean I have to participate in the war actively and harvest as much metals I can from enemies¡± Sera thought to herself


    Every time Sera would stretch her legs walking around the city or even by just relaxing in her garden she would be met by people of noble status making proposals to her both business and marriage alike.


    Back at the underground laboratory there are currently 50 Knight Golems lined up but ever since she discovered the potential intercontinental war in the near future she decided to create something like canon fodders. Sera intended to recreate fodder units but wooden golems require a lot of trees to be harvested from the forests a time consuming project with meager returns.


    After some thought the nearby mines on the other hand had some Granite, after thinking it through Granite is a lot stronger than Quartz. The spell model for the Granite golems are quite strange the only spell model she has from Narud¡¯s Library is a skeleton type Golem for Granite.


    Sera in the past tried the spell model for Steel Golem in a Mud Golem¡­ regardless to say the spell is ineffective, there is just something about the properties that are spell specific something Sera Hawke cannot understand, as a matter of fact Sera don¡¯t know magic in even the most basic sense if it was not for her modern Knowledge of the table of elements and physics, Sera would not be even able to do anything with Narud¡¯s Library.


    Therefore she was forced to just follow the recipe for a Granite Golem, due to its sturdy material and lackluster spell model it somewhat became an ideal canon fodder unit that just fits her needs currently, after several hours of coding the control crystal the first Granite Skeleton Golem came to life.


    Skeleton Granite Golem - 3 meters - 100 Kilos


    Light Armour - because of its skeletal design it is extremely lightweight making an ideal assassin like unit it has the control crystal in its skull while the eye sockets have low quality mana stones, due it its light weight it can almost outrun and outmaneuver the Cavalry making it ideal to attack the softer back lines of the enemy army while using dual daggers.


    Granite is considered one of the strongest natural object in the world¡­ at least back on earth but regardless of its actual strength here as long as it is abundant and useful it will be used. The Granite mines usually gets its orders from constructing castle walls or important structures like military bases, so it makes a strange sight that the rumored Sera Hawe was interested in the material and have ordered en masse even after her remodeling was finished.


    ¡°i can feel the tension in the air the entire city is prepared for battle other Kingdoms have sent their forces to garrison the outer city. Dozens of stone towers are rising from its construction as the days go by and information about Lavant¡¯s army have stopped, indicating that even spies can no longer gather information without being caught, killed or chased away. Now its estimated to be only a matter of weeks before the first official clash of this war begins¡±


    Luckily for Sera she managed to think about planting backyard vegetables like potatoes and tomatoes in her garden, she even created a scaffolding like structure that looked like a secondary wall months ago, now she should be able to support her entire employees and their families even if the war gets prolonged, in which it definitely be a prolonged war based on the previous records despite their eagerness for war there involves a lot of prodding after all nobody wants to die first, until it escalates in a full frontal assault, with luck this war should at least last only a few decades now that people are smarter that to fight a prolonged Inter Continental War¡­ ¡°yeah right¡­. this Continent or whatever that is left of it will sink to the depths of the abyss if the Locals don¡¯t do this right¡± Sera thought to herself


    Soon after reminding herself to remove distractions and focus on her work for whatever little time she has left before madness envelopes the City of Kaladia.

 Chapter 9: Perspective

    Chapter 9: Perspective


    Eastern Continent


    Alliance meeting


    ¡°sigh. I can¡¯t believe that we are going through this again, I understand the need for an invasion but¡­ I don¡¯t think its the proper way to solve our problem¡± said an old man with white and long white beard reaching to his chest dressed in robes.


    A young looking man replied ¡°hahaha it would seem like the saying is indeed true after all being old makes one a coward. I even heard you participated in the invasion 800 years ago and earned enough fortune to create the foundation of your Mystic Puppet Sect¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk tsk. You are young and a fool if you think the mortal natives of the Centra- hm I mean the Continental Isle are pushovers, the battle back then was so massive and intense their Continent almost sunk to the depths of the sea, the fools old enough to survive that war and STILL want another invasion are greedy bastards hmp!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t be like that old man, my father sent me to butter you up and negotiate for you to participate in the invasion not only you are a senior veteran but your sect would bolster our numbers something that we lacked 800 years ago. So tell me what would it take for you to come?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not that I do not want to join but¡­ the native mortals would not sit by as we ransack their place, the Dwarves and Elves who rivals our strength have long prepared for our eventual return would surely fight with their full force before our main army even cross the sea and we¡¯re not even talking about the Beast Kin supporting them. although they met on wrong terms they eventually allied themselves with them and pushed us back giving us serious casualties during the later stages of the war, how can you not learn from that¡±


    ¡°hehe old man you worry too much we have already planned for that we already managed to have a foothold in the Continental Isle a small mortal Kingdom called Lavant or something, they agreed to be servants of the Sword Cultivator alliance in exchange for our cultivation techniques¡±


    ¡°huh!? and the alliance agreed?¡± old man said shocked, because for countless years of cultivation their techniques are so strictly guarded that before being imparted to disciples they would be soul bound not to tell the techniques to outsiders and all of this is due to being their cultivation techniques in the Eastern Continent has the ability to increase an individuals lifespan to varying degrees of success.


    The you cultivator smirked and said ¡°yes, that¡¯s right. During the war 800 years ago the mortals fought fiercely and even managed to bring us wonders like flying fortresses, flying ships made of metal and countless army of stone men fearless in combat and tireless in battle and more which was gone unrecorded, all of this we could have and all we need to do is make them live longer than the usual. We have already prepared a cultivation technique that specializes on their favoured Magic Knights that if cultivated could extend their lifespan for 100 years and could match the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator¡­ if practiced to the pinnacle¡­..heheahahahhaha!!!¡±


    The old man replied in shock with a hint of disgust ¡°A TRAP!? are you crazy!¡­ only 100 years and Nascent Soul stage?¡­ sure it is long enough that by the time they realize what have you done they would not be able to even do anything about it¡±


    ¡°yes exactly, and 100 years would be enough time for gather all of the mortals knowledge and secrets specially to those of the Dwarves with our cultivation techniques it would be impossible for those stubborn fools not to be tempted, even those Dwarves at least we know some of them are  somewhat envious to the longevity of the Elves, outside of us cultivators only Elves and the Beast Kin has a natural life span that goes for thousands of years . But first we need to show our absolute strength by then everything would follow making them falling in line one way or another¡±


    The old man clearly disgusted by the plan replied ¡°sigh. I was also young once so bold and so ignorant of the world I remembered my self indulging in victory and honor from battles won but by the time I realized it most of my family, friends and even fellow disciples have all perished, I was a promising member of the Corpse Puppet Sect back then and with our techniques we bought enough time for our forces to retreat with ease I also managed to return with prizes like the Golems the mortals used that made the foundations of the Mystic Puppet Sect today, but all those wealth and glory has been bought with blood OUR blood¡±


    ¡°blood indeed. Your age shows you¡¯re rambling old man, I hope I don¡¯t need to remind you how grim our situation is? The dragon veins are already showing signs of instability without blood sacrifices we cannot repair them, even your Sect¡¯s dragon veins have surely become unstable¡­ there is no other choice if we wish to breakthrough to Immortal ascendant more easily and become a true Immortal¡± said the young man passionately


    Strangely enough for a powerful Spirit Severing and sect patriarch like him is feeling dreadful every time he is inclined to agree with the invasion. ¡°I did not survive this long without wisdom, something feels very wrong!¡­ but I don¡¯t know what!¡± the old man thought to himself clearly distressed


    But in the end the old man said ¡°even without dragon veins we can still cultivate via spirit stones, if I am not mistaken the natives of Continental Isle calls them mana stones which they were blessed in abundance even after by the partial destruction of their land, I would rather get my hand on those stones rather than bloody my hand with innocent lives all over again¡­ hehehe young man trust me karma strikes when you least expect it . Return to your Sword Cultivator camp I would like nothing to do with this invasion¡­ I have shed enough innocent blood to last me several lifetimes I am too old for this, perhaps if you live through this you will understand me young Musashi¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°what a complete waste of time! I am deeply disappointed in you sect leader, you know the price to those who will not participate¡± said Musashi completely stopping all signs of politeness


    The Alliance meeting¡¯s purpose was not to coordinate an assault like an army would, but rather to invite and convince others in a non aggression treaty, to designate which territory would belong to who and do some under the table deals. All factions big enough have been invited to this meeting there are also several individuals powerful enough to call themselves one man army, this invasion¡¯s purpose is FIRST to cull their own numbers so that the useless would die and their blood will be added to the blood sacrifice needed to repair the dragon veins underground, and SECOND to kill the people of Continental Isle for again their blood, and THIRD for their resources¡­ during the war 800 years ago the loot they gained from the Western Continent alone was such a huge profit, the Central Continent then was nothing more but a bonus.


    Several nobodies back then has gained status and wealth there were even a handful of people who managed to break through immortal ascendant and gain true immortality and left this mortal plane of existence, but now due to the severe lack of resources to go around or rather having too many people the Eastern cultivators now needs to invade other territories due to one of their source of cultivation are in danger of collapsing namely the dragon veins.


    The old man looked at the back of an angry Musashi storming out of his room ¡°sigh¡­ glory and honor huh, hmp! What a load of crap. In the end its all about greed that pushed things too far we may be long lived and called immortals but things couldn¡¯t get any further from the truth¡± he thought to himself


    Thinking about the payment alone already makes the old man¡¯s heart bleed it had long been decided that those factions not participating in the invasion would have to at least send one eighth of their forces, just thinking about the lives of his disciples makes his heart ache even if they were just outer sect ones.


    Continental Isle


    Kaladia City State


    The battle has begun on the front lines 50 miles away from Kaladia City and probing attacks makes for their opening move, there have been reports of outer villages being ransacked lucky for the commoners that they managed to relocate weeks before the attack.


    And as everyone feared the Eastern Immortals have shown their forces currently being Body Cultivators who¡¯s strength was known to shatter mountains, but by the looks of it they are not as strong as the stories tell or the strong ones have yet to show up.


    Meanwhile Sera Hawke has begun digging deep down underground and mayor Dalton has indeed no lied, just 500 meters underground is a rich amount of iron ore and several other mineral nodes such as Granite, Quartz and even a little bit Control Crystals, with the war raging on Sera has begun an alternative¡­ an escape plan and she would need a lot of materials for it to become even viable.


    Deep underground the laboratory is in fact not just a structure but a centerpiece of the ship Sera has been planning to create all the while the Sentinels, the 50 Knight Golems have been working nonstop day and night to crank out more Skeleton Granite Golems. They may not be that powerful but with enough numbers it should tire out the invading force considering their only source of reinforcements is coming from another Continent.


    ¡°The foundations has already been laid soon the flying fortress would be finished¡­ as long as there are no more disturbance in my work¡± she thought to herself as she observes the rest of her creations go to work on her behalf, if the Dwarves ever saw this sight they would probably piss their pants with their mouth agape after seeing the mechanical efficiency of the golems moving about complicated jobs like clockwork.


    Worried Sera prepared to send five hundred Skeleton Granite Golems with Banshee relaying commands with the metal staff, strangely enough no matter what spell model or design Sera does she can only control five hundred golems at once with a staff. ¡°If it were not my Sentinels relaying orders to golems would be a lot of a headache now that I think about it¡±


    That afternoon the sight of five hundred Skeleton Granite Golems marching towards the city gates was indeed a sight to behold each of them wearing red capes designed with a jeweled crown with wings on the sides.


    ¡°h-hey are we under attack HEY guards look who¡¯s are those!?¡± said and man panicking and not understanding what is he seeing


    One of the newly trained guards unsheathed his sword and prepared to attack but luckily he was stopped by a senior before he lost his life.


    ¡°fools don¡¯t you know that insignia!? that golem army belong to Lady Sera Hawke, she¡¯s most likely sending the golems to the front lines to fight¡­ make way!¡± shouted the senior guardsman


    ¡°wow five hundred golems at once! It¡¯s like the old legends when people are more powerful than they are today and could move armies of golems like their own limbs, I have heard that Lady Sera also sent five hundred wooden golems to overwhelm her opponents a few months back during her mine explorations¡± exclaimed by another mage


    The five hundred golems marched with great fanfare as commotions happened on each street they passed they were led and followed by guards to insure that no misunderstandings could happen like the one earlier followed by Banshee in cloaked on the sky holding to the control staff.


    Sera controls and monitors the situation all through Banshee and relays the commands to the Golems, the skeleton Granite Golems ran day and night and covered 50 miles in just 2 days time, by the time the Golem Army arrived it was midnight. ¡°I guess making them approach the defense line at this hour might be too much, we wouldn¡¯t want friendly fire now would we¡± sera thought as she looked through the eyes of Banshee


    ¡°but it would be boring to just wait and have them stand here all night, I guess I¡¯ll make my own probing attack¡­ but I got to say it¡¯s just like playing video games¡± she said to herself as she ate midnight snacks


    Five hundred golems are not exactly the most stealthy units to be used in a night raid as Sera would expect, in no time the golem army was spotted by a company of patrol worth one hundred soldiers and a fight broke out as soon as they laid eyes to each other.


    During the first clash the Lavant soldiers were the first to fall only after realizing their mistakes did they make a more appropriate formation but even then squires yet to be Knighted are not a match for golems or their weapons not coated in enough mana for that matter, though they manage to nick some of the golems it only made it easier to reach them.


    It did not take long for reinforcements to arrive but the strange thing is there are only five people to arrive dressed in strange armours obviously not belonging to any of Laavant¡¯s coat of arms


    What¡¯s more strange is that they do not even have weapons.


    As Sera looked deeper to the identity of the five the more she realized that she may have punched a wall this time, Sera steeled her resolve by taking a deep breath to calm her nerves ¡°its not like they can hurt me those five hundred golems are nothing more but canon fodders anyway. Come on fight! Fight! Fight!¡± she shouted pumping herself up


    The survivors of the Lavant patrol were relieved at the timely arrival¡­ of the Eastern Immortals ¡°honored sirs please help a golem army has attacked¡±


    A bald body cultivator said in disdain ¡°hmp! I can barely feel any spiritual energies in those puppets and yet one hundred of you can¡¯t even fight properly. Useless! Get the hell out of our way and report back to the camp!¡±


    The surviving Lavant patrol scampered in fright from their would be rescuers, they clearly know that these eastern immortals look down and only see them as tools if not fodder for the front lines only the wizards and magic knights are within their sights.

 Chapter 10: Golem Assault

    Chapter 10: Golem Assault


    Front Line Battlefield


    Midnight


    After the appearance of the five strangely dressed men Sera Hawke already have an inkling on who they were but it wasn¡¯t until they finally strike that her suspicions were cleared, the five Eastern Cultivators charged at the five hundred Skeleton Granite Golems the man leading their small group threw a punch thew blew away a golem cracking its granite sternum.


    ¡°huh¡­ its more sturdier than I thought, do not let your guards down! Let¡¯s get it over with and rest for the night!¡± shouted the bald man in scarlet red armour who led the group


    Sera woke up from her daze as she saw the damage to the golem, a single casual punch almost broke the Granite Golem without even being empowered by mana. ¡°such a powerful strike, I will have to break away part of the golems if I want to make a successful night attack¡±


    Sera divided the golems into 2 groups one would be fighting these eastern cultivators and the other will attack one of Lavants camp, two hundred golems remained and created battle formations ass they engaged the the five eastern cultivators while the other three hundred charged at the nearby already prepared encampment, ¡°I suppose after all that commotion they would be woken up no matter how incompetent they are which they were not¡± Sera thought to herself with a sigh as now she could not make a surprise attack.


    The entire camp was abuzz with movements and rallying calls from their respective captains and groups ¡°we are under attack!¡± they shouted


    ¡°defensive positions! We are under attack by golem army, mages front and center!!¡± screamed another


    The Granite Golems wasted no time as they rushed forward attacking soldiers that have yet to be prepared while the other golems kept some of the ready and waiting soldiers from helping others, in the chaos a handful of captains shouting orders where caught unawares  and were killed with the Granite Golems with little resistance.


    The entire encampment is in chaos torches littered the grass, most tents are already set aflame and the horses where either killed or have already escaped the onslaught, this particular camp was a scouting battalion its objective was to map out the front lines, eventually the mages managed to form an actual semblance of a defensive perimeter and started blasting the golems off the feet but most of them took more that 3 shots before going down, most likely it was because everybody was aiming at the chest hoping to destroy the Skeleton Granite Golems.


    Shouts of anger, agony and explosions of magic filled the air as one hundred eighty of the three hundred golems remain the Magic Knights swung their magically empowered blades at the golems severing limbs if not killing them in one strike, as Sera saw this she maneuvered the golems to avoid Magic Knights and made the Skeleton Granite Golems scatter like roaches.


    The targets of the golems were the military leaders, mages, and ordinary soldiers. Taking out the backbone of the army without leadership the army could barely be called an army, and without its numbers morale would plummet to rock bottom after all nobody wants to fight in a war in which they are outnumbered especially if they the attackers would be storming a heavily fortified position it has and always will be imperative that the attackers must at least have three times the numbers of the defenders.


    As the onslaught and chaos filled the nearby encampment the five Eastern Cultivators fought angrily rather than fiercely as the two hundred Granite Golems kited them instead of fighting head on, the Skeleton Granite Golems picked any weapons they could get their hands on regardless of durability and threw the well aimed projectiles at the five enraged cultivators.


    ¡°ugh! Senior brother the encampment has been set aflame we must end this farce now!¡± said one of the masculine youngster


    The bald man replied in anger ¡° what are you panicking for!? they have an entire battalion! Let them fight their own battles focus on whats in front of you!¡±


    The flustered young man replied stuttering ¡°y-y-yes senior brother!¡±


    As the battle continued each punch would crack the Granite body of the golems, but the golems knew no fear and would instead leap towards their death only to scratch the eastern cultivators this scenario repeated itself for over thirty minutes and the five cultivators were nearing the limits of their patience.


    They now started using their sect techniques and charged forward so fast that the golems could not avoid them now each strike would destroy a golem without being able to retaliate, but it was then that banshee appeared out of nowhere and started attacking using sonic waves.


    ¡°grahh!!, what is that!? take it down Quick!!¡± shouted the bald man angrily


    Coming from the skies Sera controlled Banshee to come in and out of cloaking to attack, with its relatively high altitude the eastern cultivators could only endure pain not only in their ears but also in body as Banshee tries to find the right frequency that could deliver the killing blow.


    One man jumped five hundred meters in the air in hopes to catch Banshee but fell short however just as he was about to fall another man of the cultivators jumped barely reaching five hundred meters to give the first one a boost, the boosted cultivator used a technique to bolster his jump higher and unleashed a powerful fist strike creating a sonic boom followed by a blast of shock wave hurtling towards Banshee.


    Banshee managed to dodge but due to Sera¡¯s surprise she almost failed to do so. ¡° these eastern immortals sure fight differently first they can destroy granite golems barehanded like its nobodies business and now they are shooting shock waves from their fists without as much as any indication of using magic¡±


    Sera has read through historic records that the eastern immortals indeed uses magic differently from the central continent, the eastern cultivators channeled mana towards their bodies forging their bones, blood and muscles on the other hand the central continent has used mana to shape the world around them like the Wizards do and the Magic Knights who would coat and cover their bodies and weapons with magic enhancing their strength.


    ¡°fascinating!¡­ two continents using the same source of energy in two very different ways, it would seem that eastern continent should be on my vacation list once I have really build up my forces¡± she excitedly told herselfEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Meanwhile as she was reveling in her recent discoveries the eastern cultivators were still being peppered by projectiles which intensified as two cultivators made the five hundred meter jump, both of the cultivators who jumped up were annoyed that the flying puppet not only managed to escape the fist strike but also disappeared from sight.


    They then used another technique of their sect ¡°Descending Meteor Kick!¡± they shouted as they almost instantly speeding downwards at break back speed and creating an explosive crater on their descent destroying the Skeleton Granite Golems slow enough to escape.


    They channeled their anger towards the granite golems as they ran out of their way like shy virgin maidens being chased around by drunkards, now only ninety eight golems remain as they continued their ranged attack some of which would get the cultivators unaware and be hit by a head sized granite from the fallen golems, despite being only a so called mortal material it is still quite a solid piece of rock making them bleed after getting hit for so many times.


    ¡°HOU!!¡± the eastern cultivators shouted while simultaneously punching towards the direction of the most clumped up golems releasing a shock wave in unison as they used one of their sect¡¯s combination moves as they destroyed dozens of the golems.


    Banshee¡¯s constant cloak, flight and usage of sonic attacks had drained its energy to very low levels and Sera has ordered Banshee to maintain distance and only observe the battle from now on, after being released from the constant painful and agonizing sonic attacks the cultivators shouted akin to someone being relieved of burdens ¡°HAH!¡±


    With their new found strength and morale they hunted down the remaining golems as they desperately kited away using hit and run tactics from the cultivators whom are now drenched in blood and sweat full of hundreds of scratches and bruises, as it turns out even with a strong body being hit repeatedly by head size granite rocks and shrapnel of broken weapons would do just that.


    The eastern cultivators although victorious could not enjoy themselves after looking at the battlefield and themselves bleeding, bruised and battered by a pile of moving rocks, they are currently in a situation that if other cultivators found out what had happened here they would be a laughing stock. They sat down cross legged as they recuperate their body all while ignoring the deafening screams and the battle raging on the nearby encampment which they were supposed to oversee.


    As the military encampment is buried in chaos some of the Skeleton Granite Golems took the surviving horses and looted the surroundings and placed them on horse driven wagons while most of the food has been destroyed of have been trampled to the ground, the Lavant soldiers fought valiantly of the five thousand soldiers less than four thousand remain, with just the force of five hundred lightweight Skeleton Granite Golems this night raid could be considered a success.


    In just one hour the battle on the camp is just about to be concluded and Sera ordered the remaining 20 golems to take the loot filled wagons while fighting viciously at the defenders congregating at their location, for one last time Banshee unleashed a massive area sonic attack that hindered the Lavant soldiers allowing the wagons to trample at the discombobulated soldiers to their death.


    While the dust settles as the golems fought their way out of the encampment the surrounding area is littered with corpses and broken equipment not a single tent is standing properly either it is burning or have been trampled, the surviving officials of the camp are left flabbergasted as the saw their ruined camp.


    Unfortunately for Sera¡¯s golem army only 18 managed to escape not to mention that with such pitiful number of force she has left the Skeleton Granite Golems would now have to return home with their spoils of war despite just arriving that same night, she sighed heavily and said to herself ¡°well¡­ at least most if not everything of their supplies and horses are now dead or gone, not to mention dead and severely injured soldiers¡­ hopefully that destroys their morale¡± as she ordered the remainder of her golem army to return home and deliver the spoils of war.


    Kaladia City State


    Underground Laboratory


    Construction of Skeleton Granite Golems still continue to increase as Sera prepares for the worst case scenario and that the City falls, an army that belongs only to her would be ready and waiting to serve and protect her at all cost.


    As the remainder of the first batch of golem army was ordered to return Sera is now ready to roll out the second batch and this time she is sending one thousand Skeleton Granite Golems, ten of the newly upgraded Knight Golems and finally they are to be led by Ashura.


    Sera took a deep breath and thought to herself ¡°last battle an initial level Magic Knight managed to chop three of Ashura¡¯s arms now that the Skeleton Granite Golems has been tested in battle this would be the perfect time to test the Knight Golems and Ashura against real Magic Knights and maybe even abduct an Eastern Immortal dead or alive.


    ¡°Although sturdy they are not truly immortal their cultivation techniques could help me finally fix this damned body¡± telling herself as she reviewed the recordings from Banshee


    This time rather than a staff the control method for over a thousand golems were actually a humanoid shaped carved mana stone with its head being control crystal, Sera called this a soul statue in a sense she will be using this soul statue as an extension of herself to bolster the relay command range, it would be safely stashed inside Ashura as if it would a human.


    Currently the Soul Statue¡¯s purpose in only to extend and increase control of the golems even in long distances though Sera has already planned to load spell models in the future her current objective is just to send more golems at distant places while have more control over them.


    It was late morning when over a thousand golem slowly marched towards the gate without inconveniencing the people going about their work, if five hundred golems marching on the streets was a shock to the people, over a thousand golems has made the entire City buzzing with gossip.


    It has indeed been too long since the last time a wizard took command of an army of golems to war that they are almost only mentioned in legends but now seeing things with their own eyes makes for a shock and awe as another golem army marched towards the gates and go onwards the battle lines.


    It did not take long for the rumors and spies of both friendly and enemies alike to spread the information about another golem army marching towards the front line, as the people gave way to the golem army there would be several messages that would arrive at Sera Hawke¡¯s tower all coming from high ranking members of society starting from military generals residing in Kaladia City to High Nobles of different Kingdoms.


    ¡°what is this? Tell them I¡¯m busy and no time for guests¡­ tell them politely¡± she said to Lydia as she clearly expressed her annoyance


    ¡°how can these people not prepare for war there is war going on just by the borders if Kaladia falls the resources of Lavant would increase significantly making them a continental superpower backed by the Eastern Immortals¡± she added with her furrowed brows


    Front Line Battlefield


    It did not take a day for the news about a unknown golem army to ransack the scouting battalion in a night raid, although no longer swelling the five cultivators who were supposed to guard the battalion face punishments by their sect for humiliating themselves and by extension their sect.


    As the report traveled more and more people are asking question on which faction fielded the Golem Army, it did not take long for Sera Hawke¡¯s name to finally come up on the world stage unbeknownst to her many factions have now begun collecting her information.


    And one particular group of eastern cultivators are extremely intrigued by the news¡­ the disciples of Mystic Puppet Sect who although slightly different basically uses the same method as Sera ¡°senior brother what do you think?¡±


    ¡°leave it for now. Sect master told us not to participate as much as possible our goal here is to scout the area without risk to our forces. I don¡¯t like the local puppeteer if the news are anywhere near the truth then they could certainly field a larger and better puppets, without a doubt the initial five hundred golem puppets are just a probing assault and will likely escalate let¡¯s not trouble ourselves with a troublesome opponent¡± said the leader of the chosen of inner sect disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect.


    The rest of his junior sect disciples bowed in acknowledgement, each of them move about their tasks for the day followed by puppets made of unknown materials most of them are animal design and very few are humanoid.


    The man sighed and said to himself ¡°for us to continue our way of life some will have to end¡­. such a cruel world we live in tsk tsk tsk¡± as he shook his head


    Not too far from the main camp the fortified castle held strong despite the combined assault of the Eastern Cultivators and the Lavant army, which again surprised not only the Lavant army but also the members of the alliance on the Eastern Continent.


    One of them said ¡°could the mortals have grown so strong in just five hundred years that they could resist this long!?¡±


    ¡°hmp! You fool! While you play around with women the mortals you disdain so much has improved throughout the generations despite having short lives, clearly not only we have underestimated their strength and resolve but we also stagnated in our understanding of the world!¡±


    Although the mortals of the Continental Isle did grew strong it was not that much in comparison to the fact that shared and publicized knowledge about magic in schools and institutions allowed and increased the numbers of individual Wizards and Magic Knight who have no close ties and relations with other Kingdoms.


    This led to several thousands of Wizards and Magic Knights hoping to prove themselves or to simply assist their friends, family or homeland from the aggressive expansion of the Lavant Kingdom along with the invasion of the Eastern Immortals.


    Giant contraptions copied from the Dwarves 800 years ago hurled bolts of enchanted arrows in a stream impaling those unfortunate enough to think that a barrier spell could protect them, while the Wizards threw fireballs and lightning strikes in a straight line scorching the area.


    The walls of the castle despite repeatedly being hit remained strong. The Lavant army has been told to keep pressure until the main force of the Eastern Immortals arrive here, it would be a long and gruesome battle but in the eyes of the cultivators it is a necessary sacrifice to continue their path to true immortality.


    Some of the sect disciples already knew the situation of the Dragon Veins being unstable and with it their path to cultivation, the rest on the other hand simply obeyed their superiors blindly as they were told what to do.

 Chapter 11: Fronts Shifting

    Chapter 11: Fronts Shifting


    Front Line Battlefield


    The battle at the castle walls significantly intensified in just a few days, hundreds of siege towers slowly crawled toward the walls as the castle defenders frantically hurled projectiles and magic alike towards their enemies.


    Even when the first siege tower reached the walls the defenders stood fast awaiting for the doors to open and face their enemies, but the siege towers just stood there while returning fire towards the castle. Thick barrier spells continued to flow around the siege towers protecting them from most harm and any damage it currently has are no more than superficial damage that could just be ignored.


    It was only when there were over a dozen siege towers that has reached the walls did their doors opened, the Lavant Wizards cast their spells as the Magic Knights also entered the fray but the castle defenders did not stand by and charged with their own Wizards and Magic Knights.


    It did not take long for the walls to be bloody as soldiers hacked and slashed at one another, corpses piled up so much so that it had to be pushed off the wall even the living soldiers too weak to move were cast aside to make room for combatants, it was simply a sight of carnage materialized in front of the officials observing.


    While soldiers, wizards, defenders and invaders slaughter each other on top of the castle walls the Eastern Cultivators approached the massive gates protected by barriers created by the mages, several bulky men donned in very thick armour they made a horse stance while doing what looked like a breathing exercise.


    They then gathered their strength and energies on their fists and unleashed them towards the gates. ¡°HUAH¡± they shouted as they struck the gates making the surrounding area shake and leaving a large indention at the gate that you can actually take a peak inside at the middle.


    The defenders at the walls and towers were stunned at the sight but when they tried to shoot down the group magical barriers blocked all of their offensive efforts, The eastern cultivators charged their techniques again starting from the horse stance to repeat the cycle.


    ¡°they intend to throw bodies at us and hope we drown in blood¡± said one of the soldiers inside the tower


    ¡°reinforcements would come soon enough, the can¡¯t breach the gates so easily even the mages would run dry before the hour is over¡± replied another


    ¡°can you two shut up and shoot some arrows!? if the captain hears you we don¡¯t need them to breach the gates he¡¯ll kill us just for slacking¡± Reprimanded by the archer while taking aim and loosing the arrow


    ¡°but still. Why are the Elves and the Dwarves taking so long to come shouldn¡¯t they have arrived here first I heard some of them were alive during the closing years of the war¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because it takes great effort on logistics, an army does not just move out willy nilly without proper destination, equipment and supplies, now can you both shut up and start shooting each one we kill is one less enemy trying to kill us!¡±


    During the intense locked battle over the castle walls an army of fifty thousand soldiers peeled off and had made a roundabout turn towards the allied back lines cutting off the castle¡¯s reinforcements, but of course this did not escape the eyes of the defenders and have hurriedly sent the urgent message for aid.


    Seeing that their defensive advantage is loosing its effect because of the siege towers, the castle defenders staked their lives to storm the enemy and sent all of their reserved elites. The siege towers themselves became host to a slaughter house, with cramped spaces the amount of soldiers only served to increase the nauseous smell of blood and death that filled its confines.


    The battle has been going on all daylong. It was only when sundown has come that half of the siege towers were were burning like a beacon in the fast approaching night that the Lavant and Eastern Immortals decided to retreat for the day.


    Some of the siege towers despite not being destroyed were left at the mercy of the allied defenders due to being stuck at the pile of corpses and the soil muddied by blood that filled the area, the defenders did not waste anytime to burn the towers so that the enemies would be forced to attack the front gate which is heavily defended.


    On the last siege tower an adventurer team could be seen dismantling the top most layer. The Dwarves did the heavy lifting and the Elves served as the lookout.


    ¡°can¡¯t you guys hack at it any faster? I am starving¡± grumbled Verde


    ¡°if you shut up and help instead this would be a lot faster¡± replied Gramel


    ¡°but there are still lavant forces lingering around, not to mention those cultivators from the Eastern Continent¡±


    ¡°just keep your voice down and don¡¯t let them hear us. This siege tower is quite sturdy, its critical parts are all made of steel¡±


    Luckily the invading forces of Lavant and the Eastern Cultivators did not create a commotion as they were dismantling the siege tower for over an hour of hard labour.


    At the invading side, at the main campsite in a luxurious tent stood a round man simple robes big round nose, most of his hair is skin shaved except for a long topknot, this man in none other than General Yohmu of the allied forces from the Eastern Continent.


    He is a General of the Fou Empire and has been sent here at the Continental Isle to lead the shaky alliance of the Sects of the Eastern Continent. He is staring at the map of the nearby area surrounding the castle they are currently assaulting and thought to himself ¡°the Dwarves and Elves should have already been informed of our presence, yet aside from small adventurers hired by the defenders none of their armies could be seen, not even a shadow of it¡±


    General Yohmu¡¯s thoughts worried him, with their main army yet to arrive they are currently shorthanded. In case the Continental Isle came at them in full force, but he brushed that idea aside as mortals would always be mortals. Perhaps they would send some of their forces but it is inevitable for them to hold back their elites, after all this is not 800 years ago when their people were mostly united compared today.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    He the ordered the faction called Mystic Puppet Sect to join and reinforce the army that peeled of towards the defenders back lines, it is imperative that their reinforcements be cut off if this war is going to be profitable, otherwise even in victory the cost of this war would be staggeringly catastrophic.


    Kaladia City State


    Several days later Sera Hawke is currently in a dilemma, as she watched through the eyes of Ashura she can see an encampment of fifty thousand foreign soldiers digging a long line of trenches and erecting a stone wall.


    She was supposed to send her golem army to the front lines. But now there is a sizable enemy army between them,which means that if this army managed to entrench themselves here the front line castle would no longer be front line but ¡­ a castle behind enemy lines.


    Quite a dilemma indeed, if she send her golem forces towards the castle it would be stuck behind enemy line, but if she attack this army worth fifty thousand soldiers in front of her. It would be again another reckless charge like the last time.


    Sera had the golems on standby as she left the tower to meet Mayor Dalton to get a hold of Marianne for consultation, currently the city holds two hundred thousand soldiers including adventurers and soldiers from the allied forces.


    But the City itself is not actually fortified because there never was any reason to. In the past the nearby kingdoms would harass and eventually repel the Lavant army while the participants would enjoy a huge discount on minerals such as iron ores and jewelry.


    But now that even the Eastern Continent got involved the fortification on the city of Kaladia has been going nonstop albeit in a hurry as long as it has thick and high enough walls.


    While walking towards the Mayor¡¯s mansion Sera gets distracted from time to time as she sees the people going about their lives despite the possibility of the destruction of their city. The market is lively as ever and children run around being chased by their parents or friends.


    Followed by the cloaked Banshee and Medusa she would always attract attention in every street and in every corner of the city, her status has skyrocketed in the recent months even though she in not exactly a top beauty she still has the above average features, although known as an eccentric she is currently one of the most wealthiest individuals in the City perhaps even beyond.


    Her Steel wagon became a favorite of merchant travelers, adventurers and even rich young masters who have simply nothing to spend their money on, if it had not been known about her accomplishments in making Golems or the fact that she is always closely shadowed by Golems, then many suitors would have came forward to confess their love to her.


    Sera could already read their minds, back in the middle ages of earth marriage was pretty straight forwards you only need to be pleasing to the eyes and have enough benefits to give one another in pretense of good background of breeding and the marriage of high society would already be sealed.


    As she approached the Mayor¡¯s mansion she is greeted by the guards and escorted on the guest room ¡°Lady Sera would you like some tea and snacks while you wait? The mayor is currently in a meeting with several Generals of the allied forces¡±


    ¡°its fine I can wait¡±


    ¡°well then. Please wait for a moment while I prepare the refreshments¡±


    It took only a few minutes for her snacks and refreshments to arrive, she can clearly see from the looks on their faces and body language that she is being treated as a VVIP, probably it was Marianne¡¯s idea or Dalton¡¯s.


    After one hour has passed by the attendants behind Sera are already sweating bullets thinking ¡°where the hell is Dalton! A VVIP is here to see him Lady Marianne is going to strangle us!¡± they thought, like Dalton they are also retainers of Lady Marianne Vi Kaladia from the shadows.


    After waiting patiently for another thirty minutes Sera is already getting annoyed she thought ¡°why is it taking so long?¡± she was about to leave when Dalton arrived.


    ¡°my most Sincere apologies Lady Sera!, the talks about the lodging of the allied forces took more time than I anticipated. How may I be of service?¡± he said sweating, he rushed down the stairs almost instantly the meeting was over hauling his fat body across the mansion.


    ¡°my golem army has been stopped by a fifty thousand strong enemy soldiers and by the looks of it they have already prepared the groundwork to fortify the area behind the Castle on the front lines, if nothing is done the entire front line would be isolated leaving the rest of the territory vulnerable. I was hoping Lady Marianne can assist in the situation and send some forces to repel them¡±


    Sera was concerned not because she cared for the people but because if the invaders are not stopped her safety becomes an issue¡­ again, and right now Sera Hawke is being more proactive in preventing any and all dangers coming towards her before she is caught unaware.


    ¡°o-oooh. I see¡­. well I am glad to say that would not become an issue Lady Sera, although I can¡¯t say the specifics the message has already been received several days prior and we have already made arrangements about it¡­ therefore you should not worry about these matters Lady Sera¡± Dalton said with a smile and relief thinking that something urgent Sera Hawke needed him for.


    ¡°hmm¡± with a sigh she said ¡°I see¡­ it was a unfortunate waste of my time but I am glad to hear something is being done, very well then I will be on my way¡± with that Sera left the mansion and walked back to her tower.


    Exercising her legs has become part of her painful chores, her legs are weak and needed to be moved otherwise her muscles would atrophy and had it not been for her exoskeleton concealed in her dress she would be like a drunkard walking about¡­ always stumbling.


    That evening Sera still cannot fathom what kind of plans could they have formulated to quickly counter such a force, a force being entrenched no less. It was another night of work for her as she ordered and supervised the golems do their constructions. The underground laboratory is being expanded using steel from the ore mines underground.


    Technically its stealing but¡­ with war going on such resources sitting around won¡¯t help their cause, therefore Sera helped herself with the iron ore and other mineral deposit deep underground which have been secretly dug by the golems.


    The so called underground laboratory is now starting form a giant plane with two sets of wing, with each wing having three large engines. Currently only the outer shape of the plane is still in its middle stages while the interior has yet to begin its construction.


    Every part of the plane has been magically reinforced by various enchantments to overcome metal fatigue. All of this buried underground and if this ship is to fly, the entire ground would have to be dug out, but Sera is hoping that it would never come to that because she¡¯s finally starting to feel at home.


    She already abandoned all notions of returning to earth, by now she is on the international watch list most likely. Therefore she would rather repel the invading army rather than her relocating on another unfamiliar location that may or may not have a local boss that she has to tolerate¡­ at least Marianne just leaves her alone.


    That same evening at the abandoned mines where Sera Hawke made a stand against a monster horde and a company of Lavant Soldiers could be seen an armada of airships coming down from their high altitudes half of the airship armada maintained their altitude above the skies.


    While the rest dropped down supplies and soldiers, a commander could be seen looking over the warriors estimated to be one hundred thousand Dwarves, they wasted no time to enter and clear the mines of its resident creatures which took no less than 3 hours before starting their mining operations.


    When the mines were cleared the officers went on a meeting to plan their next step, the officers are gathering from allover the place some just coming out of the mines while the other are from the ships that landed hours ago, they gathered inside one of the cleared mine shaft.


    Inside the mine shaft a hastily makeshift table has been prepared. on it is the local map of Kaladia given by its Mayor Dalton, surrounding the table are officers watching the commander¡¯s pointing stick.


    ¡°time is short so this meeting will be brief. First as you can see here, the front line castle has been cut off and now is considered behind enemy lines¡±


    ¡°then here is the position of another army estimated to be at least fifty thousand troops that peeled off and are currently constructing a fortified position heavily entrenching themselves in between the supply route towards the castle, now if we were to supply the castle we risk the convoy being robbed¡±


    ¡°but high command ordered us to ignore the castle for now¡± after the commander said those words loud murmurings could be heard amongst the officers.


    ¡°are we going to leave over fifty thousand allied defenders to the enemies just like that!?¡± said one of the younger Dwarven officer.


    ¡°NO! No¡­ we would not be leaving them just like that of course, there is the plan which were are currently discussing right now. We have been ordered by high command to fortify this abandoned mines which is currently just 5 miles south west of the peeled off army, if we can bolster our defenses enough HERE we will become the new front line all while threatening any form of assault this peeled off army would do¡±


    ¡°so basically we have them checked and that makes them also behind enemy lines?¡± asked by another officer


    ¡°yes, that is correct. Therefore we will allow them to finish their fortifications that would trap them in that location unless they decided to break out, in which case we would be attacking their backs on their retreat¡±


    ¡°ooohh!¡± could be heard in the room as it would seem that they have been enlightened


    ¡°but the castle defenders? What about them do they have enough supplies? Even if they were left alone supplies could not last long for that big of army there¡±


    The commander replied in confidence ¡°worry not, the castle have been left with quite a substantial amount of supplies before the encirclement happened and we estimate that they could hold out for at least 6 months before running low on supplies, by then we would have come up with something to push back the invading forces. After all the main force of the Eastern Immortals have a long ways to go to come here, not to mention the elves guarding the coastlines¡±


    The plans were agreed upon and followed by the officers as they left the room to do their designated duties. While the other Dwarves have hastened their mining operations. Low quality mana stones as they may be this abandoned mine is quite full of them and they will be quite useful in the war effort.


    Meanwhile Sera Hawke¡¯s Golem Army has now moved out and decided to go to the nearby villages to see if there were still residents that failed to move out or simply to get rid of bandits emboldened by the war, right now Sera is itching to get a semblance of control to her safety¡­ but with so many unknown variables that keep popping it only made her more anxious now more than ever.

 Chapter 12: Chance Encounter

    Chapter 12: Chance Encounter


    Abandoned Mine


    In the few days that the Dwarves have arrived in the abandoned mines they cycled their manpower to continue mining around the clock alongside building defenses in the surrounding area such as walls and towers. The artisans also reinforced the mine shafts and turned them into proper expanded hallways with large stone pillars.


    The towers were build to house Dwarven Canons, something the world has yet to fully expect. A force multiplier of a weapon that does not rely on any magic or magical materials but rather common ones, so common that technically even children can make use of this weapons.


    This is one of the mechanical marvels the Dwarves has invented throughout the centuries of fighting the Eastern Immortals, their movements have alerted the enemy scouts but the Dwarven elites simply ambushed them before they could even make a report of what is truly happening here at the abandoned mines.


    After another cycle of supplies and Dwarven manpower dropped by the airship armada the fortification of the abandoned mines are finished in just 7 days, the 5 meter thick walls are all engraved in runic magic further solidifying its defenses, the same goes for the canons each of the canon balls were also engraved with runic magic along with its core the control crystal loaded with various offensive spell models for different targets.


    After all this fortification work was done the airships left and joined the armada up above the skies. Meanwhile the Lavant forces have begun to send five thousand strong army at the last known location the scouts have disappeared only to be met with another fortified location by a Dwarven army.


    The Dwarves fired the canons the moment they Lavant forces entered their range, most canon balls missed their marks but due to its nature the canon balls just rolled over at high speed and eventually hit a line of enemy soldiers unprepared for the weapon.


    Some canon balls just exploded midair and shredding the unfortunate soldiers to chunks. It was almost instantaneous that the retreat was called but regardless of their efforts the damage has already been done and soldiers charged forward without commands while the others ran away in panic. After the disastrous attack the Lavant soldiers managed to return with a measly amount of one thousand eight hundred soldiers some who were gravely injured that they died before reaching the medical tents.


    South East of the newly entrenched army


    Forest Area


    Just 2 miles south east of the invading army Sera decided to visit and investigate the nearby villages. They were supposedly evacuated but even if they did she was hoping that some resources would have been left behind after all the village of Sarai is quite big for a village.


    Within just thirty minutes of travel Sera saw the village through the eyes of Ashura, or rather the remains of the supposed village. By the looks of it the whole place has been robbed¡­ nope. ¡°I believe PICKED CLEAN would be the most appropriate word to describe this¡± she thought to herself as she laid her eyes of what little that remains of the former village.


    The village of Sarai which had been inhabited by five thousand civilians has been picked clean of everything from supplies, materials and even the very walls and roofs of every household and establishment. If it wasn¡¯t for the heavy stone pillars that act as the foundation of the establishments they would have been clean up too.


    What remains of the village now is nothing more than a skeleton so to speak barely even if you can still call it that, if it was not for the map you would not notice that this was lively and blooming a village a few weeks ago.


    Clearly the new army nearby got its materials and some of its supplies here perhaps also in the other villages as well. But regardless of its current situation Sera was still in the mood to investigate, after all there is literally nothing to do with that army blocking most of the convenient pathways other unsavory pathways are too steep to walk through or has been deemed dangerous because of its local wildlife.


    But just as her golem army is inspecting the remains of the former village shadows from the tree line could be seen spying on her golems. They remained quiet in their hiding spots just 40 meters away from their prey.


    As Sera Hawke¡¯s golem army moved away from the village voices from the people on the tree line could be heard. ¡°senior brother Rasso that should be the local puppeteer that we have heard so much rumors about, but what I don¡¯t get is that all of the puppets are so low quality only a handful could even be barely considered foundation stage. I cannot believe that this is the rumored puppet army that gave the Lavants so much trouble and beat up those dunder heads from the Bone Forging Sect¡±


    ¡°for one I heard there were 200 of them keeping their distance and peppering them with projectiles and second there was an invisible puppet that used sonic attack flying from great heights at them. Even though they were battered fortunately however eventually won in the end otherwise it would be a huge disgrace to us cultivators¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°hah! But still these are nothing compared to our Mystic Puppet Sect, I cant believe they even dare make comparisons to us¡±


    Rasso then replied ¡° however there is one that is interesting among the puppets the one with nine sets of arms the big one¡± as he pointed out


    ¡°what about it senior brother I can¡¯t even feel anything powerful from it what is so interesting about it?¡± one of the junior disciples said while tilting his head


    ¡°exactly! How can such a thing even happen? Everything can be sensed and this continent barely knew our cultivation methods how can they hide from us? Don¡¯t you see? That big one is definitely suspicious¡±


    ¡°enough. Even though the sect master told us not to participate in grand battles this is hardly a grand one nor a battle to begin with, let¡¯s check the rumored puppet army out to see its mysteries. Prepare your puppets we¡¯re going to fight!¡± Rasso said as he pulled out several talismans out of his bag of holding.


    ¡°hehe now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about this scouting missions were really boring me to death for a while now at least we could blow some steam out!¡±


    The disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect ran towards the back of Sera¡¯s golem army and struck without any warning. the first to fall were as expected over a dozen Skeleton Granite Golems which was destroyed with relative ease before the golems knew what hit them.


    ¡°what!?¡± was Sera Hawke¡¯s only reaction before she noticed that her golems were actually under attack by a handful of strangely robed people no less. ¡°they must be one of the Eastern Immortals¡± she thought


    The Mystic Puppet Sect disciples led the charge with their own army of puppets most of them used monster animal based puppets made out of their corpses with the Sect¡¯s secret methods. majority of the monster corpse that turned puppet managed to retain at least 70 percent of their strength and skills.


    Starting from wolf packs, snakes, eagles, bears and other monster puppets newly acquired which has yet to have a name. On the other hand the lead disciple appointed to command the forces of the Mystic Puppet Sect here in the Continental Isle Rasso uses a different type of puppets.


    Rasso threw the talismans forward and shouted ¡°Joh!, Ymechaf!, Ight!¡± his puppets were only three floating segmented armours Joh is human sized armour each segment floating it carries a mace and a buckler. Out of precaution Rasso mentally ordered Joh to be suited up to his body strikingly almost similar to how Sera Hawke would fight.


    Ymechaf is a three meter tall armour without hands but rather spiked fists in its stead, its floating segmented body is also filled with foot long spikes. It charged forward the wall of Skeleton Granite Golems with each strike sending them flying out damaged.


    Ight on the other hand is a giant 6 meter tall floating segmented armour reminiscent of a samurai but it lacks its lower half ,Carrying a large broad sword and a shield laid with a giant talisman on top of it.


    Sera Hawke retaliated with her Knight Golems the 10 gathered together and formed a united barrier blunting the Eastern Cultivators advance. This magical barrier managed to holdout from the relentless assault from the disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect and their puppets.


    But it was precious enough time that bought Sera to form her army in a combat formation that would face off with the puppets. The Knight Golems slammed their magical barrier towards their enemies sending their front lines flying out.


    After the barrier dispersed the Skeleton Granite Golems went on a counter charge led at the front by the Knight Golems with activated spell on their weapons and armours. Surprisingly as Sera saw it her golem army is having trouble with the enemies in front of her.


    ¡°this must be one of the Eastern immortals techniques?¡± she thought to herself as she wondered if these beasts were even alive as a slave?, trained? Or even perhaps zombies. With a magical world like this her imagination is really flying to the skies right now, considering that she is controlling this fight from the safety of her underground laboratory Sera calmly managed this battle with her only worry is that for Ashura everything can be replaced but not Ashura at least not yet.


    The enchanted blades of the Knight Golems had trouble cutting the puppets cleanly showing that their enemies are not pushovers like the ones in the past. When the front assault is proving to be a losing battle Sera ordered her golems to start attacking the Eastern Cultivators directly while thinking ¡°this is the advantage of remotely fighting in a war from great distances¡±


    Although Sera has also fought in close quarters inside the Sentinels it still made her body sore and despite the comfort of Gemini Doc she would rather not have a sore body in the first place. Her thoughts were broken and brought back to reality as Rasso¡¯s puppets wreak havoc at her golems.


    Rasso¡¯s giant puppet Ight took down 20 Skeleton Granite Golems in a single swipe of its broad sword on the contrary however Ymechaf and Ight are being ignored by the golem army and noticeably changed its tactics and started attacking the disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect.


    This immediately put the Eastern Cultivators on the defensive. After all what good is a puppet without its puppeteer, the disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect were actually quite vulnerable to close quarter combat something that Sera Hawke almost missed because she has been always fighting inside the safety of her sentinels.


    Except for their senior brother Rasso the other 4 members of the sect have been put in a precarious situation although their puppets protected them there are still over five hundred Skeleton Granite Golems, and Rasso¡¯s powerful puppets were being ignored like a plague its kill count declined sharply after the sudden change of strategy.


    Unlike the Eastern Cultivators puppets which relied on their own puppeteers for energy Sera Hawke¡¯s golem army relied on their mana stones embedded in their eye sockets, while the cultivators are drying up their energy reserves by the minute Sera¡¯s golems on the other hand just charges straight ahead to their deaths if they are about to run out of energy by using wave tactics.


    It was then that it finally happened. ¡°aaahh!!!¡± a blood curling shriek of a woman could be heard the heads of all disciples turned at the source only to find their junior sister being ripped to shreds limb from limb being thrown deeper and deeper into the golem army.


    Enraged they fought harder and harder than they ever fought before ever since stepping into this continent, but alas their struggles were in vain even their ferocity they knew all too well that they are fighting with an army whose concept of fear and death does not exist.


    Unfortunate as it may Rasso made a painful decision to retreat as soon as possible with him holding the rear ¡°we can¡¯t hold for too long return to the camp¡­ now!!¡± he shouted


    ¡°b-but junior sister is!¡± replied hesitantly by the fellow disciple


    But before he could finish his sentence Rasso replied ¡°IS DEAD!! now go back to camp if you don¡¯t want to be next!!¡­ MOVE!¡± he commanded


    Despite the Eastern Cultivators overwhelming advantage in power their energy reserves however were tied to their cultivation base which is unfortunately only around mid foundation establishment stage.


    Despite the brutal and bloody appearance of the death and dismemberment of the junior disciple of Mystic Puppet Sect Sera only torn her limbs apart and broke her lumbar back bone and her neck completely paralyzing the unfortunate disciple.


    During the last encounter with the cultivators Sera wanted to take back a cultivators body for study although dead would be alright it would be better to have a living sample after brutalizing the unfortunate disciple Ashura opened its cockpit and took out what would look like a breast plate.


    This device serves as a pace maker, iron lungs, defibrillator, and a pack of intravenous filled with essential vitamins and minerals a human body will ever need. The limbless and paralyzed body of the disciple was then stored inside Ashura which under Sera Hawke¡¯s elated command made a 180 degrees turn and ran back towards Kaladia City to claim her prize.


    The rest of the remaining 340 golems were still fighting and keeping pressure on the Eastern cultivators. While the surviving disciples fought desperately as they never imagined that they would tap out first before their enemy. They all thought one thing at this moment ¡°our recklessness costed the life of our junior sister. We underestimated them¡±


    But regret always come late and no one even noticed Ashura making a hasty retreat, the Eastern Cultivators were busy saving their own lives after all. But regardless they have now tasted defeat they have now tasted¡­ war

 Chapter 13: Ones Bad Luck Is Anothers Good Luck

    Chapter 13: Ones Bad Luck Is Another''s Good Luck


    As the disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect made a hastily fighting retreat back to their camp led by Rasso, Ashura made a beeline straight back towards Kaladia City running over 90 miles per hour in a mad dash to save its prisoner who¡¯s being only being kept alive by a device wrapped around her chest like a breast plate.


    The disciples were bitter of their loss but more so at their own weakness. They already knew well who they are up against before fighting yet they made little preparations and that lapse of judgement costed them dearly and almost their very lives.


    Their Sect¡¯s weakness is not really hard to discover. Their puppets might be strong but the puppeteer themselves are more vulnerable than most people would realize, and ignoring the puppet army to attack the puppeteer just made a lot of sense as it was just that they forgot a crucial information¡­. where was the enemy puppeteer?


    Because of this they were suddenly fighting an army that does not get tired or knew the fear of death, while they on the other hand the disciples are all sorts of color when they were put on the precipice and on the brink.


    Eventually they managed to destroy the Knight Golems and the Skeleton Granite golems. Upon their return to the camp to which had caused quite a stir and were forced to made a detailed report to their superiors.


    Inside the tent was General Yohmu looking at the battered and haggard disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect. ¡°now tell me again how this happened?¡±


    The disciples were being treated of their injuries as lead disciple Rasso recounted the story from start to finish, but due to their embarrassing defeat they exaggerated some facts like the golem army were actually five thousand strong all in foundation stage, and ultimately they confirmed something that rumors that they have heard.


    And that is the person that controls the golems where nowhere to be seen nor were anywhere close to the vicinity which greatly shocked the listeners, though they already have heard about the long distance control of the golem army they never really paid attention to such a ridiculous notion of manipulating an army over large distances.


    But now they have actual confirmed reports about the fact of the matters. Now they have to reevaluate the already mysterious Sera Hawke.


    Changing the topic General Yohmu then inquired about the dwarven fortress that was recently erected from an abandoned mine.


    ¡°how could you have allowed them to build a fortress without as much as contesting them!?¡± he shouted while slamming his hand of the table


    ¡°the commander of the peeled off army replied in shock ¡°b-but General we did send a lot of scouts to map the area and the abandoned mines were truly abandoned 4 days after our initial scouting, when we tried to make another patrol over that region our patrol failed to return similar to the next group of patrols that we sent after the rest it was then that we sent five thousand soldiers to investigate, unfortunately it was already too late the Dwarves have completed the fortress in just a handful of days before our army even arrived¡±


    After hearing the explanation General Yohmu could only sigh heavily as he shook his head. A good strategic opportunity vanished just like that. He was excited when he left the front lines to consolidate this position only to arrive in great dismay.


    Such a waste of time and effort after successfully surrounding and isolating the front line castle we thought we managed to imprison 50,000 soldiers inside and create a new front. But now the Dwarves have finally shown themselves that leaves only the Elves which has yet to appear.


    ¡°G-geneeral what are your orders? What should we do next?¡±


    General Yohmu just shrugged ¡°What else can we do? What¡¯s done is done, just fortify this position and await further orders I¡¯m going to return back to the front lines and finish the business otherwise we are going to be stuck in a stalemate¡±


    ¡°get your injuries treated and tell the patrols to do it within eye shot of the encampment¡± the General said before leaving


    ¡°yes sir!¡± they saluted at the leaving General


    As General Yohmu vanished outside of the camp a new set of discussion has happened to the disciples of the Mystic Puppet Sect and the Bone Forging Sect.


    ¡°so it is true? There really was no puppet master nearby but has been controlling them in great distances?¡± said the Bald man


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°yeah. We thought we can take them but in the end it was too late when we discovered that we might as well be fighting floating swords, without the wielder to kill how were we supposed to win?¡±


    ¡°hehe I don¡¯t feel as bad as I was when we lost to that puppet army now cpmpared to how you have lost¡±


    ¡°hmp¡±


    Kaladia City


    While waiting for Ashura to return with her prize Sera Hawke is currently hosting a big banquet having several relatives of royalties from different kingdoms and even some generals and distinguished soldiers well decorated in the battlefield.


    The occasion is simply the news that the Dwarves and Elves having formally join the alliance although these two races have always been keeping to themselves most of the time with the Eastern Continent bearing down on them their isolationist nature have to be broken and join the alliance once more like the wars of old.


    Marianne Vi Kaladia even personally asked a favor from Sera Hawke to have the banquet at her place, apparently her past banquets have garnered attention of being better than some of the royalties could provide. In which case was false of course but that did not stop the rumors from flying around.


    ¡°and now here we are mingling and smiling at dozens of strangers instead of doing wok under the laboratory¡± sera thought to herself as she too a sip from her wine glass


    Contrary to the usual dancing, flirting and loud noises the banquets usually does in this region and the nearby kingdoms Sera¡¯s banquet is more like a musical show.


    With a big screen on the wall she has been playing orchestra musical shows both classical and modern from her records where she also use to relax from time to time, and now the nobles and the royalties are also enjoying the ¡°grand performance¡± which is a recording but Sera explained as if it was magic¡­. how convenient an explanation.


    Though the soldiers also listened from time to time they are more focused on the food they have never seen or even heard of before. With the addition of soy sauce some foods went from good to great, frying was also a new thing apparently, with several addition of modern cooking techniques and spices Sera Hawke¡¯s banquet have been solidified as being unique and having attended her almost divine banquet made it as a social status.


    Basically if you have been invited in one of Lady Sera Hawke¡¯s banquets you would be part of the ¡°cool people¡± so to speak, but the mostly accepted rumor was that receiving an invitation to her banquet would mean of job opportunities, that being the steel wagons for example no one outside of her banquet invitee managed to land a deal with the steel wagons and those people became the retailers of Sera Hawke¡¯s steel wagon which they have sold for a much steeper price but still managed to be sold out of stock in no time.


    Another example would be the adventurers she have hired. The adventurer teams Inheritors and Tempest have gotten a lot of attention and received high paying jobs which they have gotten rare and unique treasures from the raids they were hired for.


    As one can see Lady Sera can provide some of the much needed opportunities for success. And therefore multiple single men from noble families again wanted to extend their hands on Lady Sera Hawke for marriage proposals in which she politely declined.


    Sera Hawke was never a people person not that she was too smart to understand them or anything but rather useless chatter and rumor mongering really just did not appeal to her, she found comfort in solace and her work and found it more tolerable to be with people through a camera rather than be with them physically.


    The banquet lasted for 10 hours cycling from listening to the musical orchestra, eating food, chatting and making deals to one another and of course to ask Sera¡¯s hand in marriage.


    When the banquet was finally finished Sera just went straight to the shower and after a quick bath and passed out on the bed as soon as her head landed on the pillow due to stress.


    The next day sera woke up late in the afternoon missing breakfast she went to the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor and called for Bellato.


    In a few minutes Bellato was in front of her and said ¡°how may I be of service my Lady?¡±


    ¡°I need you to do this¡± sera then passed a small note book to Bellato detailing her plans


    ¡°do you think you can do it?¡±


    ¡°of course my Lady. Though it may take a while with the war going on but only a week at most if we used more money on it¡± he said as he examined the note book in detail


    ¡°do it even if costs extra, I want it done before the week¡±


    ¡°by your will my Lady¡± he then bowed and left to complete the task given to him


    Sera on the other hand sat still like statue thinking her next moves. This time she intended to create a tavern that would serve as both a restaurant and an inn, with this setup Bellato would no longer need to run around the city like a headless chicken hanging out in questionable places jus to get a whiff of rumors. Now the rumors would come to her.


    Several days later a commotion was happening in the front gates of the city as Ashura just arrived very early while the gates are still closed and Ashura is cutting the lines of people wanting to enter the city.


    Some newly recruited guards almost attacked Ashura but luckily there were still some of the old guards that monitored the situation and allowed Ashura to pass through as a special case, Lady Sera Hawke has been getting a lot of attention to the higher society after all and it would be unwise to incur her wrath.


    After getting inside the city, again Ashura made a run for it towards Sera¡¯s underground laboratory whilst moving at around 50 kilometers per hour and 20 tons of hulking Power Armour made the ground shake that turned heads everywhere luckily aside from the unexpected commotion nothing else happened.


    Several more minutes passed by and Sera in her underground laboratory looked like child opening a present during her birthday and Christmas eve.


    Gemini Doc was already on stand by beside her as the hatch opened revealing an unconscious girl around 25 - 30 years old dishevelled hair body full of injuries and of course her limbs amputated.


    The Eastern Cultivator was then transferred to Gemini Doc in a intensive care unit like place


    The breast plate device that kept her alive this long was removed along with her personal effects which was stored in a secured vault for decontamination and identification and all the while cultivator is now being full body scanned as she is getting IV liquids and other medications that should keep her alive even as a brain dead husk of a body¡­ a body of an Eastern Cultivator no less.


    Seeing her prize delivered and alive Sera Hawke could no longer contain in and laughed hysterically in her jubilation. She finally had a live sample of an Eastern Immortal going in a full body CT scan, blood analysis, DNA sample, mouth swap, urine sample, and even a batch of egg cells from her ovaries.


    ¡°if she dies I will just have to grow one myself¡­ hmm maybe clone one? Well whichever comes faster I guess hehehehehehahahahahahaha!!!!¡±


    Although the more in depth details would take longer days? Perhaps even weeks before being completely analyzed the initial scan shows that her bones are like reinforced steel and yet as light an aluminum or maybe perhaps titanium?


    Despite her seemingly serious injuries her vitals are all surprisingly healthy, this only made Sera even more elated now she can perhaps have a body like one of those so called Immortals.


    Originally Sera was planning to learn Wizardry or become a Magic Knight in Narud¡¯s library but sadly her body simply cannot contain magic at all or risk herself in unknown dangers, according to the books the body that could not contain mana would deteriorate after having mana being forced on their body regardless of quantity or quality.


    Sadly one of the nobles back then had an heir completely a what was called a magical cripple basically a normal person minus all the magical stuff, well when they tried to force mana on his body to ¡°forcefully awaken¡± ¡­.. yeah well it did not go well


    ¡°And until satisfactory results come in I would not taking the risk for my self¡± she thought to herself


    As for her personal effects however her limbs with bracelets and bangles remain unscathed despite being in a battle that literally ripped her to shred became a point of interest for Sera Hawke.


    The bracelets on her arms have a symbol of a shield with crossed swords, while the bangles on both of the foot have the symbol of a feather ¡°hmph maybe its a magical item. I will have to ask around the mages circle to have them analyzed¡±

 Chapter 14: Mad Science?!

    Chapter 14: Mad Science?!


    Kaladia City


    While Sera Hawke is waiting for the Eastern Immortal¡¯s scan results with bated breath she had the golems to manufacture several Intensive Care Unit Chambers designed to hold and keep in check powerful individuals, she also had asked some of her employees to carry the pouch the Eastern Immortal has on her to the Mages Guild for identification. For some reason this mysterious pouch cannot be opened and is incredibly sturdy.


    Sera was hoping the Mages Guild could help shed some light on how to open such an artifact or even identify the materials so she can make a golem made out of nearly impervious cloth.


    After an hour however rather than return with the artifact her employees return empty handed.


    ¡°you did not get robbed did you?¡± she said in calm voice anger fuming inside her


    ¡°n-n-no! We were not robbed Lad Sera! It¡¯s just that the Chief of the mages guild himself wanted you to come. He wanted to asked questions about the pouch you have us brought for identification¡±


    She sighed but reluctantly replied ¡°fine, prepare the carriage for me this looks like an official meeting. I wonder what happened¡±


    Within 30 minutes Sera Hawke arrived at the Mages Guild. After entering the guild the receptionist identified her almost immediately.


    With a curt bow the receptionist said ¡°Lady Sera I will guide you to the Branch Manager¡¯s office, this way please¡±


    Sera only nodded and followed after the receptionist in 3 flights of stairs, on the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor is the office after which the receptionist gestured towards the door and promptly left.


    Banshee has always been within arms reach of Sera Hawke just in case something dangerous happens. Without further hesitation she knocked on the door 3 times before opening.


    To her surprise rather than a frail old man she was met with a stocky masculine mage in loose robes decorated in gemstones which is most probably artifacts allover his body he even equipped with a ring on each finger.


    ¡°Ah! You have arrived, I am actually surprised for you to come as fast as you did¡±


    ¡°mm.why have I been called here And who are you?¡± she said nonchalantly


    as if stuck with awkward silence the branch manager replied ¡°umm. You can just call me Zumwalt¡±


    With a little frown on Zumwalt¡¯s face he wondered Lady Sera was playing a joke on him. After all with him being one of the few Wizard that also doubles as a Magic Knight along with his position as the branch manager of Kaladia City¡¯s Mages Guild he thought that Lady Sera would have known his name long ago.


    ¡°and as of why I have asked you to be here Lady Sera, it is because of this pouch over here¡± he pointed on his table


    ¡°yes, I asked for that pouch to be identified and yet not only I was asked to come here the pouch is still unidentified¡­ is it? Sera said with a hit of annoyance thinking that she could be doing something better right now rather than chatting with strangers.


    ¡°well you see here this pouch is actually already identified. This are spatial pouches that the Eastern Immortals use to put their personal belongings, and because of the current war I am obligated to ask you a question Lady Sera. Where did you get this?¡± he asked politely but inquisitively


    ¡°spoils of war, what else?¡±


    ¡°!?¡± clearly surprised he was silent for a few moments digesting her words. Spoils of war!? then that would only mean she managed to slay one of the Eastern Immortals!


    With Zumwalt having a high ranking position in society and being a veteran with dual classes he knew for a fact that the Eastern Immortals were not actually immortals. but their namesake rather pertain to their ridiculously long lives, in which case have been most likely misunderstood or lost in translation throughout the eras.


    But for a frail looking Lady in front of him which is not even leaking any hint of mana made Zumwalt question her statement. But then just as he was about to voice his suspicions he suddenly remembered that Lady Sera Hawke have sent multiple armies of golems in the front lines in the past several weeks.


    ¡°how many did you kill?¡±


    ¡°Hm? What?¡±


    ¡°the Eastern Immortals, how many did you manage to kill?¡±


    ¡°just one. The others managed to retreat so fast¡± she said indifferently


    ¡°hmm. Well I do apologize for questioning you here but I hope you understand that with the war going on this like this may cause misunderstandings¡±


    ¡°.¡­. of course Mr. Zumwalt I¡¯ll take note of that next time¡±


    ¡°and before you go, you just need to use magic to open the pouch. I did try to open the pouch earlier to check its contents but the pouch cannot be opened unless the owner dies and their imprint is removed¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°as for the bracelets and bangles they increase strength,defense and speed. The shield with crossed swords and the feather symbol, they are not that hard to identify¡±


    ¡°is that so¡­ well then if there¡¯s nothing else I will be returning to the tower¡±


    Sera left the office along with her spatial pouch while leaving the branch manager of the mages guild Zumwalt in deep thought.


    After Sera left the mages guild as she entered the carriage she was left in a deep thought.


    ¡°damn, what a waste this thing cannot be opened until the owner is dead¡­ great, now I have to wait longer but I suppose there is nothing much I can do for now¡± she said to herself as she shook her head


    Although Sera was extremely annoyed at the revelation that the spatial pouch cannot be opened yet she was consoled that the bracelets and bangles can be used immediately.


    Every detail every nook and cranny of the artifacts have been scanned and recorded so it was already safe for Sera to wear them, now she would be preoccupied on how to deal with the test subject and finding volunteers to ¡°enhance¡± their bodies.


    Surprisingly the ¡°inscriptions¡± looks extremely similar to that of the Dwarves Rune carvings with little deviations. This is interesting did the Eastern Immortals took this knowledge in the past war or did they come up on their own inscription method, a parallel thinking perhaps?


    Abducting people is of course out of the question since that is a one way ticket to international condemnation even if the nobility never really cared for the lower class they still have a lot to gain by condemning such actions.


    However, volunteers on the other hand. No one would mind if volunteers come to me, with a massive war going on right now both soldiers and civilians alike have been heavily affected and as the old sages have said ¡°what better laboratory than the blood soaked battlefield¡± rings true in this very moment.


    ¡°But first let¡¯s try death row criminals for now, oh!! I almost forgot of animal testing or rather monster testing. Oooooohh I¡¯m getting excited¡± as she looked at the empty chambers with delight


    At Narud¡¯s library Sera Hawke is now looking at an almost heaven sent book of golems at the page it says Flesh Golem.


    She almost could not contain her excitement, a Flesh Golem. As she reads further the Flesh Golem is quite simplistic in a sense that it only requires an intact corpse.


    ¡°Well. Seeing that the test subject is missing some limbs I¡¯m sure that the future test subjects won¡¯t mind donating their limbs for her now would they?¡± Sera just can¡¯t stop the grin on her face


    On the next day Sera wasted no time and pulled some strings and bribed some people to get a hold of heinous criminals to be her test subjects. currently she has 4 additional test subject one of them is female which would be perfect for limb transplant.


    She thought ¡°this would be the best time to see if transplants would no longer needed to be compatible to the recipient considering that this is a world of magic and with her being an ¡°Immortal¡± so to speak¡±


    All of the test subjects are going to be in a chemically induced coma just before surgery to avoid¡­ escaping.


    The bodies must be first in their best condition and therefore the test subjects were given privileges such as good food they have never tasted before in exchange that they do extreme exercise to tone their body.


    They were also given an option of sexual intercourse in a form of sex toys based back on earth. At first they felt reluctant to use such things but seeing they are prisoners in a dark environment they eventually used them.


    All of these activities are designed to burn fats and increase muscle density¡­ hopefully, but not too much that they might awaken hidden abilities and break out from this place. Just enough to make them fit from surgery.


    ¡°It would take weeks perhaps even months before the test subject become fit enough for surgeries. therefore in the meantime I will busy my self in other mundane activities, speaking of which I wonder what happened to what I ordered to Bellato?¡±


    On the outer rings of Kaladia City which is mainly for commoners and some low class industries Bellato has been ordered by his Lady Sera Hawke to build an establishment that would serve as a point of interest for travelers and would make the place where people could talk, and with people talking comes rumors and information.


    The design of the establishment is for it to be a Tavern for the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> floor. 3<sup>rd,</sup> 4<sup>th, </sup>and 5<sup>th</sup> however would serve as an Inn for people to stay at, with the current situation of the Continental Isle many refugees are going to be arriving hoping for safety and shelter.


    The structure is built as a large square around the size of 10 x 10 meters and as the center would be small garden that could be planted with potatoes since it is relatively easy and fast to grow. Back then Lady Sera told him about a story where a whole country was in a war for decades and even after they won they have no food left, the only source of food that they actually have at the time was potatoes.


    ¡°Imagine potatoes alone managing to save an entire country¡± though as Bellato thought why haven¡¯t I heard of this country before?


    Regardless. With the war going on a steady stream of refugees who flooded not only the City of Kaladia but also the nearby Kingdoms are currently in danger of food shortages. Luckily however Lady Sera Hawke like a prophet managed to predict the current dilemma and has long ordered mass plantation of potatoes on territories she personally owns several months ago.


    Even though it became less aesthetic several scaffolding of potatoes on large pots has already been planted nearby her tower and has already entered the second cycle of plantation with the harvested ones being stored and prepared to feed her employees should the market closes its doors due to lack of food supplies.


    ¡°The Eastern Immortals have been known to eat almost nothing, it sure is a mystery how they can fight with very little sustenance. Though I heard it has something to do with their cultivation techniques¡±


    The structure is almost complete 5 days in construction with hundreds of workers taking turns in shifts mostly refugees being put to work most of them just carry stuff around, but this type of labor is not to be under estimated.


    The materials they carry are anything but light, the granite shavings from the construction of the Skeleton Granite Golem can no longer be of use so Sera ordered them to be put on the establishment to make sturdy walls. Granite after all is quite sturdy and by recycling the materials the construction time could also be lessened along with the costs.


    Back at the tower Sera Hawke has taken a break in her¡­ experiments as most of them would take weeks if not months before being ready. Meanwhile she has taken large order of materials out of the City such as mana stones, control crystals and the most important one food supplies.


    Although the Continental Isle is currently under the threat of an invasion it was Kaladia City which is the most in immediate peril due to their huge mineral deposits, and with the allied forces being garrisoned in the City along with the refugees it would only be a matter of time before supplies became scarce.


    ¡°Therefore before that even happens I will spend this gold that cannot be eaten and convert them into more usable materials¡± she determined based on the history of earth¡­ an army fights on its stomach.


    Currently sitting on a chair she has removed her exoskeleton that has been supporting her this entire time, the effects were immediate. She felt her arms, legs and her body become heavy each movement became seemingly like a challenge.


    Not that her walks around the city did not help to keep her fit, it was just that moving without the assisting exoskeleton her body would often fumble around as if her body collapsing on its own weight.


    From time to time her strength would as if suddenly leave her and with the exoskeleton kicking in action to assist her movements, but now movement becomes quite challenging and even somewhat unfamiliar because she has relied so much on her exoskeleton to move ever since she created it.


    And now for the test. The recently acquired enchanted artifacts from the Eastern Immortal would be put to the test. Does it work on her?


    Even though its almost a snails pace Sera was patient. Slowly but surely wearing first the bracelet, and as soon as she wore the first bracelet on her left arm a sudden burst of strength gushed in her as if filling her body with power but not the kind of power to cast spells but rather the strength to move like a normal person.


    Her eyes opened wide and mouth wide open without any second thought she stood up from the chair not caring if she would fall down due to the suddenness of her actions. But the lapse of strength did not come to her, the strength of her legs held strong.


    She then continued to wear the other bracelet on her right arm she was met with another wave of strength filling her body. Then without any second thought she tried lifting the chair and to her surprise she barely felt any weight at all it felt as if she was lifting a pillow.


    Although Sera knew that this kind of artifacts might be as common as grass in the Eastern Continent to her however it was nothing short of a miracle. She cannot believe that she is lifting a chair as if it were a pillow.


    Sera could not take it any longer and burst in tears. A few weeks after entering this world of magic Sera thought that perhaps there is a magical cure for her. But to her disappointment the healers told her that her body is simply too weak to even withstand healing magic.


    Her body is completely devoid of any mana and pouring mana in her body is like having a baby drink from a waterfall. In the past non magical humans have been common but in the current era they have thought to become extinct.


    After recovering she put on the bangles on both of her legs and she instantly felt light as a feather she felt she can run across the entire city without breaking a sweat. But she managed to control her emotions at last and not get ahead of herself.


    ¡°perhaps it is only a limited time effect or something, this requires testing¡± she said to herself as she went straight ahead down the laboratory and started doing exercises up until she was lifting deadweights.


    After an entire days of work she felt her body sore but not fragile. She has probably the biggest smile in her face since¡­. ever in her life, tired of the spectacular discovery she called it a day and had the best sleep she ever had.


    With her body seemingly fixed by the artifacts¡­ she now only needs to see though this war and then¡­ then perhaps make a more permanent solution for her body without relying on borrowed or stolen artifacts.

 Chapter 15: 9 Years Of Anticipation

    Chapter 15: 9 Years Of Anticipation


    the main army of the Eastern Immortals have finally arrived 9 years later. Many people have always asked why is the Kingdom of Lavant not making a decisive push? Well it was because they were waiting for the Eastern Immortals¡¯ main army to arrive which was indeed taking too long.


    It was only recently that people found out about what truly happened on why they arrived only now, the ships both sea and air have been in fact being relentlessly harried by the Western Beast Kin. The Merfolk, Giant Squids, Leviathans, Wyverns ,Dragon Newts, and various branches of the Ancient Dragons heed the call of the people from the Continental Isle.


    The negotiations were led by the King of the Elves Adun who traveled secretly to the Western Continent to formally ask for help, he also strongly insinuated that should the Continental Isle fall it would only be a matter of time before the Western Continent falls victim again on the Eastern Immortals invasion to harvest the Beast Kin.


    Although stubborn the facts of the matter cannot be ignored and although reluctant to plunge themselves in another war it was a war of survival and unlike the mortals the Beast Kin enjoyed a naturally empowered bodies since birth and long life spans, with the help of the cultivation methods they have invented for themselves in the recent centuries they only became more powerful.


    It could be said that their only weakness is that their low fertility and maturity rate and after 500 years they still have not recovered from the past war and yet here they are again forced in another war for survival.


    Luckily for them this time they are not alone and would be assisted the various races of the Continental Isle. King Adun Proposed to intercept the main army of the Eastern Immortals at the sea while the Dwarves Airship armada would make up for their numbers on the skies.


    The sea creatures led the assault from under water, considering how deep an ocean can go it might as well look like the entire sky but instead it is underwater.


    On the skies above were the Beast Kin¡¯s fliers they spit corrosive biles, the dragons rained elemental breaths while the Dwarven air ships provided covering fire from their enchanted artillery.


    The sea and air engagements took years of gruesome battle and although the Dwarves could repair their broken airships they inevitably used up all of their ammunition and were forced to retreat. Although the Dwarves are not strangers to magic they are more proficient in enchantments rather than pure spells being cast around.


    The Elves have very few mounts that can fly to begin with making their air force meagre at best their presence was in fact negligible during that time. The Elves however made an impact on the back lines where they provided healing magic to those injured in combat.


    It was the Beast Kin who truly took the brunt of the assault more than half of their sea and air forces were lost in battle and if it were not for the Elves healing support more could have easily been lost.


    Comparatively the Eastern Immortals fleet however only lost less than 1/4 of their army, unlike in the past war where they were caught unaware of the Beast Kin¡¯s ferocity in battle. Right now on the other hand they are more prepared for them in combat.


    Originally the travel time from the Eastern Continent to the Continental Isle would only costed them 3 years if unhindered but due the constant battles they had to also constantly maneuver their fleet every time the enemies engaged them in combat which took a lot of their time.


    The Beast Kin suffered heavy losses, the Dwarves air fleet has used up all of their ammunition and the Elves flying mounts were few to begin with to make any meaningful impact on the current battlefield. With this losses they were forced to make a retreat and prepare to face the Eastern Immortals on the beaches.


    The various chieftains of the Beast Kin unanimously agreed that they would no longer send their forces to battle alongside the people of the Continental Isle, their forces took a serious blow that even a thousand years of peace would not be enough to recover their strength.


    Although shameful and against their customs the Beast Kin also agreed to support the armies of the Continental Isle by delivering them supplies for war they have also agreed to give the corpses of their fallen to be of use in the war effort.


    But the Beast Kin emphasized that they would no longer send them any form of fighting force. Should the allied armies of the Continental Isle fail the Beast Kin have already chosen to fight on their home territories where most of their forces are on the land.


    The Elves and Dwarves used as much delaying tactics they could have done, from here on out it would be a battle of attrition in which they are at a disadvantage of.


    Meanwhile in these years Sera Hawke mostly stayed cooped up in her underground laboratory. The golem army she made only grew bigger and the bigger they become the less space she had to stash them, therefore every 6 months she would send a 1,000 punitive force of golems made mostly of the Skeleton Granite Golem spell model to help in the war effort which mostly attacked roving patrols of Lavant soldiers and bandits taking the opportunities of war.


    Monsters on the other hand made themselves scarce, because of the war food supplies were more noticeably fewer every year and the monsters were hunted for their meat to be fed for the refugees. Of course the low quality ones were given to the refugees unless they enlisted to the army while the higher quality meat went to the more important people


    With the obvious inequality of lifestyles of both low class and the high class dissension was only a matter of time. Unfortunately for them the high class has more power compared to them and with a little propaganda that they are spies of Lavant Kingdom who came here to cause trouble it was like pouring oil in fire and the trouble makers were instantly sent to death rows as warning to the others.


    Sera Hawke had a secret deal with the prison warden. In exchange for death row inmates is a large sum of gold of course along with his silence, and considering Lady Sera Hawke¡¯s influence the prison warden did not even think of talking about the missing death row inmates.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    During these years Sera managed to finally create an artificial ¡°cultivator¡± or ¡°immortal¡± all thanks to the human test subjects that were made of the death row prisoners.


    In the first 5 years of her experiments Sera would manage to strengthen their bones and muscles but they would all have a block of some sort as if the test subjects would hit the limits of their bodies, after a few more trials and she gave up on strengthening the bodies and considered it a dead end.


    The other path Sera took was the unknown ¡°organ¡± that grew on the first test subject dubbed test subject 00. the unknown ¡°organ¡± was a solid ball made of unknown crystal which houses a large amount of mana signature. This small ball crystal just on top of the navel area could contained more mana than the entire human body which was an extremely interesting discovery for her.


    If only she can somehow recreate the phenomenon that allowed it to naturally form. And thus began Sera Hawke¡¯ next 3 years of brutal journey to consuming all inmates inside the prisons, the story of the disappearing prisoners became such a big deal city wide that all criminals stopped their activities and lived honest lives which ended up troubling some factions¡­. now who would still carry their dirty jobs for them?.


    In the 3 years of voracious human experimentation eventually test subjects became a scarce resource. In the end Sera Hawke had to move out personally by bringing along the Sentinels Ashura, Riot, Vulcan, Banshee, Torch Light and Medusa each holding a control staff taking command of a thousand Golems each totaling in six thousand Skeleton Granite Golems.


    She swept the whole Kaladia Region from any and all bandits she could get her hand on not to mention the Lavant Soldiers who had the unfortunate moment in their lives when Sera Hawke decided to ¡°keep enemy prisoners¡±.


    She could not remove the smirk on her face every time she remembers the phrase ¡°there is no better laboratory than the blood soaked battlefield¡± It was a phrase back on earth during the dark ages when doctors dig graves or abduct people for study.


    It really rings true almost nobody cares to strangers during war time. On the 8<sup>th</sup> year of the war test subject 00 finally died although the body is still being kept alive by the machines, when Sera made an investigation on how did this happened it would seem like a soul power like ability was triggered that finally claimed her life but it was only a suspicion but then again this world is truly magical and anything is really possible.


    With test subject 00 dead the spatial pouch could finally be opened after 8 long years, like a little kid opening presents she emptied the entire contents of the pouch. And to her surprise its contents were enormous to say the least.


    Based on a quick inventory there are several thousand magical artifacts in the spatial pouch most of which are puppets made out of monster corpses that still radiated power as if they are still alive. The puppets alone count for over a thousand pieces each are really well made most of them are made out of magical monsters and there are only a few hundred that are made out of what Sera assumed to be corpses of the Cultivators.


    The human puppets after a series of scans and DNA testing proved that they really were humans but with more diverse DNA similar to test subject 00 some of them have hints of monster DNA on them which Sera found peculiar.


    After some research on the matter she later found out that Eastern Immortals are indeed humans that liked to mix their DNA to other powerful species, this led to the conclusion by many scholars on why the Beast Kin of the Western Continent was the target 800 years ago.


    On the pile of artifacts there were several books found some old some more in pristine condition but obviously due to the limitations of this Era the books are all hand written. they are not pretty to look at but thankfully they are at least readable.


    After months of fanatical research on what Sera believes to be the Eastern Immortals¡¯ cultivation technique which no outsider was ever to even got a whiff of its existence now lies in her hands several in fact.


    The few fateful prisoners were forced to cultivate the strange and unknown methods Sera has given them or face punishments. Since the prisoners were generously rewarded for obedience they usually have no problem listening to her orders no matter how strange they have become.


    Most prisoners now test subjects were confined in small groups so that when a ¡°batch¡± would undergo experiments and die the other prisoners would not cause panic or riot due to their disappearance.


    After a series of training regiment the test subject endured they finally exhibited sudden increase in strength and magic powers which had similar energy signatures to that of an Eastern Immortal, and after a series of full body scans she discovered that all successful test subjects have a crystal marble in their abdomens just on top of their navel.


    Sera was amazed and delighted at the discovery, and now for the final test Sera put one of each puppet to each test subject and have them move the puppets with the techniques they have recently learned. And as expected they barely moved the puppets but they did make it twitch a little, following this she gave them more ¡°juice¡± as in literally gave them more mana stones to overcharge themselves and try again.


    And finally the results she wanted to see. Puppets moving as if alive and even releasing primal roars. After Sera was satisfied she then let the test subjects practice on the puppets and leave them to their own devices¡­. for now.


    For Sera Hawke has a more nefarious plan for these test subjects. In her hand is a manual one of test subject 00¡¯s property on how to make puppets out of monsters and humans alike and at a closer look this manual is simply a more complicated version of a flesh golem, but the human puppets according to the manual could eventually gain sentience as a spirit artifact unlike Golems they are only as smart as you can make them.


    The puppets of the Eastern Immortals on the other hand could tentatively ¡°gain sentience¡± which intrigued Sera Hawke very much. But there are more things important and currently is that they are losing the war.


    The Lavant soldiers suddenly gained a significant boost in strength, ordinary soldiers suddenly could give Magic Knights some trouble before being killed and then senior Magic Knight from Lavant Kingdom where suddenly overpowering their counter parts giving the allied forces significant losses.


    The front line castle has long been conquered and survivors from the 50,000 army only numbered in the few thousands, the Dwarven Stronghold on the previously abandoned mine managed to hold on only due to the expenditure of ammunition which has been estimated to not last for long.


    This war is going sideways very very fast and as the days go by thing are getting out of hand it has been concluded that the Lavant Kingdom got their hands of the Eastern Immortals cultivation techniques, that made them an ally of the cultivators and sold out the entire Continental Isle.


    But it¡¯s not like the allied forces did not have secret weapons the Dwarves unleashed their 1,000,000 army of steel golems that wreaked havoc on the battlefield and despite the Lavant Soldiers sudden increase in strength they are still people and with that came with fear and apprehension at the sudden appearance of such a mighty force.


    The Elves did no slack off either, because of their few numbers they opted for a more subtle approach they unleashed their own brand of golems which came from wood golems but doused with the aura of the Yggdrasil tree they became sentient and become Treants.


    The Treants gathered at the place where they invading force would be marching to set up an ambush and as the old saying goes ¡°to hide a tree hide it in a forest¡± during that night 100,000 Treants smashed 300,000 Lavant soldiers mixed with the reinforcements of the Eastern Immortals.


    On the other hand the human alliance were not even barely united they moved about their on own forcing the other human Kingdoms to adopt the human wave tactics which is simply to throw as much bodies at the enemies until they got sick of fighting or they down at the corpses and blood.


    By this time Sera Hawke is cultivating and studying the ways of the Eastern Immortals and she has achieved a level that they called 9<sup>th</sup> layer of Qi refining.


    ¡°one more step and I¡¯ll enter the Foundation level¡± she thought to herself as she stabilized her mind in her recent achievements. Now she no longer needed the artifacts to be able to walk or move unhindered by her own fragility which gave Sera extreme joy but could not celebrate to to the deteriorating situation of the Continental Isle.


    With the cultivation methods of the Eastern Immortals Sera Hawke could now hold mana in her ¡°core¡± around her abdomen area alongside with the use of the ¡°Mystic Puppet Sect¡± methods of controlling the puppets she now no longer fear for her safety as much as before.


    But first she now has to dig out the flying fortress the made underground all these years and try to leave this City the moment it showed any sign of defeat, until then she would send waves after waves after waves of what seemed like unending tides of Skeleton Granite Golem which coincidentally matched the human wave tactics the human Kingdoms have been using to drown and mitigate the sudden increase of the enemies powers.


    As days go by the City of Kaladia is bombarded with earthquakes that threaten to break the lands. It was in fact just aftershocks from the clashes of the Wizards, Magic Knights, Nascent souls and the Spirit Severing fighting nearby the City of Kaladia.


    What happened to the Dwarven fortress nearby? It has long used up its ammunition making it like a tightly coiled dragon without fangs and claws it¡¯s still mighty it¡¯s just not going to attack as long as you stay back.


    The Elves are the one taking the worst of it their natural abilities have also become a target by the Eastern Immortals like they did to the Beast Kin of the Western Continent. Fortunately the Elves controls magic as easily as if breathing air without the need to hold mana in their bodies or at their ¡°core¡± giving them a slight advantage in a war of attrition.


    By this time unfortunately Kaladia City is now on its last legs with the entire City under siege aside from the allied forces that have been injured, refugees and the garrison forces the City of Kaladia have been isolated similar to what happened to the castle at the front lines.


    9 years of preparation 9 years of experimentation 9 years of war 9 years of anticipation their lives now hangs on a single thread.

 Chapter 16: City Under Siege (Part 1)

    Chapter 16: City Under Siege (Part 1)


    Kaladia City


    Day and night sound of screaming coming from the soldiers fighting at the walls alongside the clashing sounds of weapons against one another, explosions caused by magic in the not so distant location shook the city day in and day out .


    It was the absolute sight of carnage blood lust has taken over both defenders and its invaders their lives now lie at the hands of their leaders who simply pointed at a location where soldiers die. Sera Hawke is currently inside Banshee as she surveys the battlefield and occasionally throw sonic attacks at the enemies when they are off guard .


    Just beneath her at her section of the wall are hundreds of thousands of Golems ranging from the basic Stone Golem to the more advanced Knight Golems made purely out of steel. She and her army of golems have been facing the mixed force of Lavant soldiers and Eastern Immortals which is taking a toll of thousands from her golem army each wave and each encounter .


    But, by the power of magical industry she created this past 9 years all she needed to do was literally pick up the pieces and reassemble them and they would be ready to charge out at their opponents once again .


    The reason for her massive army of golems is simply she does not make them individually but rather from an industrial assembly line powered by magic in which case allowed her to create a massive amount of golem army at any given point in time provided that there are materials .


    This magi - tech type of industry is also her biggest advantage. Some thing that the current era could not even fathom or comprehend perhaps excluding the Dwarves in which case are more or less in a industrial revolution kind of thing, but because of the existence of magic industrialization will be most likely hindered¡­ oh how convenient it is the thing called ¡°magic¡± .


    Beyond the walls killed enemies are all burned with the exception of elite Magic Knights, Wizards and Eastern Cultivators, their bodies are kept in a freezer to preserve as samples for future experiments. Meanwhile capturing Eastern Cultivators are proving to be a futile act as they just detonate their ¡°core¡± to a devastating effect.


    ¡°Was it an act of bravery or did they know of their fate should they get captured? Regardless of the true reason with the amount of samples and ¡°loot¡± from the dead Cultivators is already more than enough¡±


    During these 9 years many upgrades has been added or replaced parts from the Sentinels like Vulcan for example, it no longer relies on conventional weapon system but rather a Gatling Rail Gun which is powered by Magic as an energy source. This is also true for the rest of the Sentinels they have all been upgraded with a mixture of magic and advanced modern technology .


    Banshee where Sera Hawke currently reside although uses modern propulsion system, it can now create and manipulate any form of sound waves from music pleasing to the ears to sonic attacks that synchronizes with the bodies molecules destroying the enemies from the inside out.


    ¡°Although both the Dwarves and Elves have been fighting in a guerrilla style because of the Lavant Kingdom¡¯s sudden increase in power due to the Eastern Cultivators giving them their secrets has become quite the turning point in this war. In the past the Lavant Kingdom¡¯s soldiers were treated as canon fodders or scouts at best but now they have become quite a pain to deal with¡±


    ¡°hm!¡± Sera barely dodged a sneak attack from the Eastern Cultivators side. ¡°sigh, I guess it¡¯s their turn to attack now huh .¡±


    The City of Kaladia has been tightly defended from its materials to its defensive and offensive magical enchantments carved down to its foundations. The City is a very formidable defensive structure that only now people realized, in the past nobody managed to attack the City simply because most if not every Kingdom in the area has some dealings with Kaladia City and with some money or favors a puitive force would be sent to harass the invading army making them to injured to attack a fortified city.


    Now that the Lavant Kingdom has the full backing of the Eastern Continent and its allied cultivators the Continental Isle were simply shocked and awed to form a proper counter attack. But of course the limiting factor of the main reason they could not repel they enemies in the first place was the Human Kingdoms always at war with one another ranging from honor to territories.


    ¡°oh? What is this zombies?¡± as Sera saw the dead both invaders and defenders alike rise up from the dirt.


    ¡°they really are going for a classic war of attrition, this zombie wave is not only going to demoralize the morale of soldiers but also tire the living daylights out of us¡±


    Even though the allied defenders knew fully well what their enemies are doing they are still forced to fight head on and see through this war until the end on whether who taps out first. A gruesome strategy but in the end it is simply a numbers game.


    It would not have matter if an individual is powerful as long as that person is injured enough even low level soldiers could take their life, a story that many people knew all too well.


    With Sera¡¯s Magi - Tech golem army very few enemies even managed to reach the wall much less breach it and have started sending Golem reinforcements to the other side of the walls where they would be much needed.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The cultivator¡¯s battleships were fortunately being held back by the Dwarven fleet otherwise this would be a very short war. Dead bodies fell one after another down the walls as the battle became more intensified as the day near its end.


    ¡°GRAH! Why don¡¯t you stubborn fools surrender! Its already over you¡¯re surrounded!¡±


    ¡°Never! Go back whence you¡¯ve came from!!¡±


    With the war taking so long to end the soldiers on both sides no longer just threw spell and weapons at one another but also insults in hopes to provoke each other into making a mistake.


    The young soldiers were indeed provoked and had it not been for their more sensible commanders they would have charged headlong to a trap while being led by their emotions.


    In just a few hours the sun has finally set and both camps ceased fire. Many of the refugees and the non combatant nobles have long retreated to the other Kingdoms which have not been invaded by the main invading force.


    In the past kaladia¡¯s rich natural deposits were the envy of the entire continent but¡­ no longer.


    Patrols were rather lax during the night, simply because of the enchantments once activated the walls and towers would incinerate intruders via lasers who came from outside courtesy of Lady Sera Hawke¡¯s invention and because of this feature people are able to relax and somewhat enjoy the evening unlike the invader who need to constantly put up double patrols during nights after a catastrophic sabotage in the past.


    Even though the night has a relaxed atmosphere nobody was laughing or smiling they are just recuperating their body and mind after the gruesome warfare that they have to experience in the past 5 months since the City of Kaladia has been put under siege.


    Even after 5 months the allied forces still has yet to send reinforcements. This is the very flaw the Human Kingdoms have the very reason this invasion is edging towards success, their selfishness, greed and stupidity. Should they send a full army each this invasion would be repelled very easily but reality of often cruel.


    ¡°i would not be surprised if they did were not even planning to send any reinforcements at all¡± Sera said to herself with a big sigh


    Back at her underground laboratory which is currently being excavated just in case this place crumbles Sera would have a means of an escape. In these 5 months of siege more than 300,000 garrisoned soldiers from the allied kingdoms are now reduced to no more than 160,000 in just 5 months.


    Even though the invading forces of the Lavant Kingdom and the Eastern Cultivators are also taking catastrophic casualties they could not retreat¡­ no, like a gambler who lost their life savings they are also now gambling with their lives betting it all in the success of this war.


    Should they win the richest resource node in Continental Isle would now belong to them giving everyone a big fat paycheck on the other hand should they lose the small Clans, Sects and basically the middle class and below organizations would likely experience bankruptcy unable to maintain even the basic necessities for them to function, not to mention the most likely case to happen¡­ internal rebellion in each of their factions.


    Should they lose this invasion that they started they would face criticism on all directions. Some may even under the pretense of justice attack them and should they lose their weakened state would be nothing but a deathblow to them.


    Even the invading forces are bleeding with soldiers and resources they just could not back off in all sense this war of attrition has become an intercontinental staring contest and everyone does not want to blink first.


    Every now and then Sera would check her test subjects currently 500 of them some of which are death row criminals but most of the criminal test subject have perished due to the experiments and although she gained a lot in them the source of death row prisoners have stopped coming due to the siege.


    But Sera Hawke always has plans when the criminal prisoners ran out she started recruiting orphans and cripples. Unlike the death row test subject these new test subject received a safer type of experiment Sera intended to create a private army of her own personal cultivators .


    Currently Sera is at the bottleneck of the 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refinement but her strength is already reaching that of a Magic Knight missing only a step forward. By rescuing the orphans and the cripples in their darkest hour they would not betray her and perhaps even lay down their lives for her .


    She never really believed in casual sacrifice unless absolutely necessary but in the recent years Sera noticed that she cared less and less for Human lives at least to the strangers she won¡¯t exactly harm her employees or friends .


    But the experiments did force her to be numb at human death her experiments at first resulted in grotesque mutations although powerfully exceeding the Magic Knights being uncontrollable became a major flaw. It¡¯s not exactly ideal to unleash a mad beast of an experiment .


    The underground laboratory has been long expanded into a solid enchanted steel of a fortress the former plane like design has been scrapped after she saw an old model of the flying mountain strongholds in the legends .


    The flying fortress is already completed and only needed to be unearthed from deep underground, and because of the siege the golems working on digging were instead sent to the front delaying the progress .


    ¡°no matter. it¡¯s not like the City is going to fall so soon¡±


    Next Sera visited her treasure vault which contained her most precious resources and materials. The entire vault is jam packed by magical inscriptions and enchantments that might put the other wizard towers to shame .


    Currently Sera could be considered to be one of the few dozen of the richest individual in Continental Isle the loot from the killed invaders are really mounting up high especially the loot from the Eastern Cultivators each of their spatial pouches really contains mountains of random assorted items and curiosities .


    ¡°Some of them might be unknown but I can feel power radiating in each of them, how exciting to find out what they actually do¡±


    The mana stones piled neatly like a pyramid similar to the control crystals the gold coins, gold bars and other mundane materials made of gold and silver are just piled in a mountain haphazardly even this things currently have no value due to war, ¡°one of the information from the spatial pouches from the dead Eastern Cultivator is that I can get the essence of gold and silver and make a really powerful magic artifact. Only thing is I don¡¯t know the method of doing so .¡±


    ¡°Regardless these things would eventually be useful in the future and there no harm keeping them here .¡±


    Outside of Kaladia City


    Eastern Immortal and Lavant Kingdom encampment


    ¡°After all this time why has this damned City not show any signs of falling yet!!this war has gone long enough unlike the war 800 years ago we do not have the full support of the Eastern Continent and a lot of the old timers still alive from back then were completely against this invasion. Look at this! We are only winning on paper but we have lost momentum and their forces are gathering as we speak! ¡± shouted General Yohmu as he smashed the table


    One of the Sect representative from the alliance then said ¡° W-well we can always go on a full offensive¡­ but as always we will suffer immense casualties even if we win¡±


    With a heavy sigh General Yohmu could only say ¡°fine! We will plan where to make our point of entry tell the scouts to look for a suitable location!¡±


    ¡°yes, General!¡± said by the commanders and sect representatives


    ¡°this war¡­. even with the amount of blood sacrifice we have gathered I seriously doubt that we can fix every dragon vein back home¡± the General shook his head as he contemplated the aftershocks of this war regardless of victory or defeat


    ¡°Dragon Veins¡± one of the Eastern Continents source of energy and by extension every cultivators ¡°life blood¡± with the dragon veins cultivation has been made easy and with them being damaged it was only natural for the cultivators to use every method in their arsenal to fix the problem.


    If the dragon vein could not be fixed in time it would go dormant for countless years and most if not all known dragon veins already has owners from various clans, sects to empires. General Yohmu is part of the Fou Empire and because of frugality their dragon veins is almost still in perfect condition.


    Mostly because the Fou Empire nurtures its cultivators through natural gathering of energies without using external aids, and the dragon veins are only used to the elites of the empire that would become the pillars of its support.


    General Yohmu was sent here only to join in on the opportunities of an invasion. Never would he thought that it would all come to this disaster even if the Fou Empire has no real stake in this it would be a huge blow to his reputation as a General of the Fou Empire this types of mistakes are usually for the General to carry.


    ¡°in the following days I will order a final assault to take the city. I have confirmed reports that deep underground has a faint sensation of a dragon vein! Should this report prove true I will gain enormous merit in capturing this place!¡±


    With that General Yohmu has finally psyched himself to come to a decision to make a full scale assault and finally capture the City of Kaladia.

 Chapter 17: City Under Siege (Part 2)

    Chapter 17: City Under Siege (Part 2)


    Kaladia City


    It was high noon and the soldiers of the allied forces were standing ready and waiting for an enemy assault and yet apart from artillery strikes from catapults and large spell strikes hitting the walls there are no enemy soldiers charging at the walls.


    They are just in formation threatening to charge and yet not moving. The defenders are obviously confused by this actions due to the enemies past actions which are considered quite aggressive like flooding the walls and attacking all potential entrances. But now they are just standing still poking around.


    Of course none of the defenders knew that General Yohmu has ordered to a full scale assault. Though only on standby while probing for weakened potential point of entry even the invaders themselves at least to the lower ranks thought they are being on standby to prepare an immediate assault that was soon to come.


    But to the disappointment of both sides at least the lower ranks no attacks happened in the past several days only poking with experts at the walls the soldiers who¡¯s been bored while standing all day long in the past few days started hurling insults at the walls and the defenders likewise.


    It was on the 13<sup>th</sup> day that a breach has been detected. Right at the wall Sera Hawke is stationed along with her Golem Army. This is due to a slug fest with the Golems be it Eastern Cultivator, Magic Knight or Wizards this section of the wall was literally the hammer and anvil of the battlefield unlike other sections of the wall the Golems did not have to rest or retreat for that matter.


    And the invaders have been sending their soldiers to that grinder day in day out for the last 5 months or so. Even during several surprise night raids this section of the all suffered the most beatings since life detection magics never detected the golems presence putting the night raid party in a false sense of security. But reality is often harsh and cruel just as they thought they managed to bypass the wall enchantments the golems sprang to like putting the night raiders into the precipice, should they run they risk getting attacked at the back.


    And now their only choice is to win. Naturally they were overwhelmed by numbers of undying and relentless golems the walls seemed safe at last then but since there are no living guards at this section of the wall the damage just piled up one after another until the wall finally shows signs of being broken.


    Of course General Yohmu¡¯s scouts did not miss this opportunity and instantly planned an assault on Sera Hawke¡¯s wall Section. None of the defenders knew at the time that they are about to literally fight for their lives and this time they would be fighting on the streets and houses inside the City without the safety of their walls.


    That same evening Marianne Vi Kaladia accompanied by Mayor Dalton went to see Sera Hawke, they are wearing combat attire with enchanted robes the two of them were actually high level wizards which took Sera Hawke by surprise.


    ¡°huh¡­ I thought you were a delicate flower who can¡¯t hurt a fly¡± she said to Marianne


    ¡°and you who would¡¯ve thought you¡¯re a wizard¡± she pointed at Dalton


    Marianne just simply answered ¡°these secrets were necessary to avoid prying eyes from looking to deep. We the house of Kaladia wanted to stay away of all this politics and yet¡­ here we are still dragged back to the pit¡± as she sighed exasperatedly


    ¡°come in. Just in time for dinner we¡¯ll talk after¡± Sera gestured for them to come in while being escorted by recently hired ¡°maids¡±


    The strength of the energies emanating from them could not escape from the senses of Marianne and Dalton but said nothing of it they did not want to pry too deep on Sera Hawke¡¯s secrets or risk offending her, they actually came here to ask for her help and make preparations should the City fall.


    The ¡°maids¡± were not exactly that powerful but Marianne being a Wizard at her age means she is no less that a genius of her generation and could feel the power emanating from them which she found surprisingly not that far from being a Magic Knight.


    The ¡°maids¡± were indeed not that far from being Magic Knights they are all ranging from the strength of 7<sup>th</sup> to 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining using the Eastern Cultivators methods. They are parts of the experimental test subjects modified by Sera herself to empower her employees at the same time put a leash on them. They have a hidden weakness that only Sera knew.


    Whether it is Western Continent , Continental Isle or even Eastern Continent no matter how they call the power levels and whatnot they are basically just vessels of magic and being able to contain and control more magic means they get to be labeled based on their strength after being Magic Knights or Wizards there really is no layers or realms to differentiate them from one another, unlike the Eastern Continent they are labeled by layers and realms.


    To outsiders it really is intimidating for a Foundation Establishment to face a Nascent Soul Cultivator but to the people of Continental Isle they are just Wizards and Magic Knights that Contain more magic compared to others and could sustain battle for longer periods of time in the end no fancy magics or techniques would help you if you get struck at the heart or head. Basically the Eastern Cultivators just prioritize hierarchy by creating this layers and realms .The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    But aside from the methodology and techniques, magic and cultivation are one and the same. Although the Eastern Cultivators¡¯ techniques and methods are proven to be more superior and effective compared to the rest. Marianne Vi Kaladia had been suspicious of how powerful these servant are and yet they are still servants.


    Normally when you become that powerful you can have a high earning job and no longer needed to endure being a servant. She suspected that Sera empowered them through other means like how the Lavant soldiers suddenly increase in strength via Eastern Cultivators. But without evidence Marianne was extremely reluctant to confront Sera Hawke about this matter with the enemies at the gates and the City under siege.


    The meal was simple yet hearty. They feasted on deep fried chicken, mashed potatoes and deep fried potatoes. After they had a meal they moved from the kitchen towards the guest room and finally have a conversation.


    ¡°now I suppose we can talk?¡± Sera said nonchalantly as she sipped on some iced fruit juice


    ¡°yes. First we have seen strange movements from the enemy they are not attacking as aggressive as they used to and I¡¯m worried they may have already have an entry point to the City and everything happening outside in the past few days is a ruse or a preparation for a full scale assault¡±


    ¡°how can you say? Maybe their casualties are also mounting too high and they are being more careful with their remaining soldiers¡±


    Marianne shook her head and said ¡°no. I am pretty confident they already have an entry point I have come here to ask if you have an escape route out of this City¡± she look dead straight into Sera¡¯s eyes


    ¡°now why would you ask me that? And how are you so sure? I mean perhaps you are right but.. really?¡± she said as she looked at her back


    ¡°I have already thought this through even if they don¡¯t breach the City the allied soldiers are not working cohesively it would only be a matter of time before our forces collapse. I already have most of my assets prepared and ready to leave the city at a moments notice I only need an exit point and an army of guards...¡±


    ¡°fearless and won¡¯t break morale as they became rear guard¡­ like my golems?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Yes like your golems. Surely you can see we are at the back foot here the nearby Kingdoms would not send reinforcements while the Elves and Dwarves are either spent or busy fighting their own battles for survival! We are alone we need to drag this war more if we are to win.¡±


    ¡°I have an escape route, yes¡­ but until the City is breached I would rather not expose it as it would make my situation¡­. complicated¡± Sera thought of her flying fortress


    ¡°then I¡¯ll have to ask a favor to have me and mine to join you would that be possible?¡±


    ¡°yeah sure I don¡¯t really see any problem¡­ just don¡¯t bring too many people¡±


    ¡°that would not be a problem I have no more that 1,000 elites sworn to house Kaladia they won¡¯t betray us I can guarantee that¡±


    ¡°well then¡­ have your assets move in my underground laboratory and I will settle the rest. And do not forget I would be leaving the City once the breach cannot be stopped. Even though I would still be fighting I would rather be ready to leave than be surrounded¡±


    ¡°I understand¡±


    With that Marianne and Sera finalized their plans on how and when to escape the City should it prove to be salvageable.


    Early morning next day


    The wall defenders were all lax due to the lack of aggressive stance of the Eastern Cultivators and Lavan Kingdom but this thought process would soon be their folly.


    Before the sunrise while the skies are still dark General Yohmu finally ordered a full scale assault on the City while the Eastern Cultivators took the lead. The body cultivators reached the wall section where Sera Hawke¡¯s golems are fighting with the sudden invading force.


    The group of body cultivators gathered energies around their bodies until its condensed and then unleashing a punch to the wall ¡°HUA!¡± that fist strike shook an entire section of the wall though it did not collapse it left a huge dent on the wall with long web like cracks.


    Then the body cultivators gathered their energies again this time the gathered a more condensed energy covering their bodies straining their bones and muscles. Little lightning energies could be seen dancing around their bodies like snakes just as their bodies could no longer contain the energies they have gathered they unleashed a devastating punch while shouting ¡°EXTREMITY FIST¡±


    The fist strike was so powerful that the entire wall section was not only destroyed but the wall fragments also served like a shotgun pellet that scattered all over the place over 10,000 Skeleton Granite Golems were decimated in that instant and not to mention the nearby soldiers from the allied forces.


    ¡°THE WALL HAS BEEN BREACHED!!!¡±


    Nobody knew who shouted those words but news traveled quite fast and the defenders were now in panic. Even though the invaders are being funneled through the breach seeing as how broken and disorganized the defenders are the Eastern Cultivators and Lavant Soldiers plowed through the pockets of resistance that they encounter.


    It did not take long for the contingent of Elites to rush out and try to plug the breach. Magic Knights, Wizards, Sera¡¯s Golem Army and even voluntary soldiers rushed out towards the breach and met with the enemies in combat.


    Despite the soldiers on the wall running away as the wall were breached they quickly rallied themselves as they saw a new wave of soldier their comrades in arms rushing out to meet the enemy and plug the breach.


    While the common soldiers fought each other into a bloodied mess on the ground until it became mud another fight is going on in the skies. Wizards waved their staves and wands while the Eastern Cultivators summoned their artifacts and made hand seals.


    Bot sides in all front were in a bloody battle fighting to the end. The defenders knew thet once they turn their backs to escape they would be slaughtered wholesale coincidentally this was also in the minds of the invaders after they were surprised by a sudden and invigorated wave of soldiers who literally jumped to their blades.


    In just a few strikes of their weapons their blades have become dull caked in blood, meat and bones of their respective adversaries.


    Up in the skies Sera Hawke inside Banshee joined the Battle for air supremacy as she let her Golem Army throw themselves at the enemies on the ground. She saw a what the Eastern Cultivators would classify as a Spirit Severing elder fighting a Wizard in a duel as the surrounding air become distorted as the fabrics of reality threatening to break open.


    She was just forced to grit her teeth and find a more suitable battlefield for her ¡°there is just no way I am anywhere near capable of fighting that¡±


    Sera realized that she was not even qualified to fight for the air supremacy as the old monsters have finally come out fight for the final battle of this City, like fireworks the skies above lit up as if the sun has come out followed by deafening explosions whose shock waves could be felt with the entire body.


    Sera instead joined the ground forces while floating overhead and bombarding the invaders but just before she could get the hang of it she was tackled out of the sky by lightly dressed Eastern Cultivator his body is packed with muscles. Without even thinking as if on instinct Sera activated her defenses and attack the enemy in front of her with sonic blasts.


    The muscle cultivator just made a hand seal and he was surrounded by an aura that protected him from sonic attacks.


    ¡°tsk!¡±


    Sera clicked her tongue as she found out that she is one again faced with a tough opponent she summoned Vulcan and Torch Light beside her and have them attack the enemy Vulcan used the Gatling Railgun which pushed the muscle cultivator back and even forcing him to defend.


    While Torch Light created concentrated fire that formed like a lance on its right hand while a long plasma like sword on the left cutting every enemy from sword to armor down to their flesh and bones like butter keeping away the swarms of invading soldiers threatening to surround Sera.


    The muscle cultivator unleashed a long range fist strike that caught her off guard and crashing down the ground the muscle cultivator jumped and performed a 20 meter heel drop towards Sera but before it hit Ashura then tackled the assailant to the ground and rolled all over the surroundings while crushing allies and foes alike.


    Sera was still dizzy from the attack when she come to it Ashura is wrestling the enemy on the ground but she also saw that Ashura is struggling and in on the loosing end of the struggle and that is despite Vulcan and Torch Light assisting it from the sidelines.


    Sera could only grit her bleeding teeth and unleash a continuous stream of sonic attack.

 Chapter 18: City Under Siege (Part 3)

    Chapter 18: City Under Siege (Part 3)


    Kaladia City


    The muscle bound cultivator took a deep breath and unleashed his own sonic attack by shouting ¡°HAAH!¡± Sera¡¯s own sonic attack have been negated and Banshee has been damaged while the rest of the sentinels had cracks on their bodies including the surrounding Skeleton Granite Golem and allied soldiers that bled through their ears.


    ¡°damn it! Banshee was never meant to be used in a full frontal assault¡±


    She then called Riot as she switched sentinels now that the light armoured Banshee is too damaged to even be of use in this battlefield Sera ordered it to return to the underground laboratory to get itself repaired. The cutting edge technology inside the sentinels cannot be lost by any circumstance it just takes too much time and resources to remake even one of them.


    Sera also recalled Gemini Doc from the hospital. After unveiling Gemini Doc to the soldiers she managed to get a hold of more rare and controlled substances necessary for advanced medicine and more complicated drugs. in exchange for this materials Gemini Doc has been operating and healing the injured soldiers wrestling them away from deaths door via cutting edge surgery and medical techniques as the mages were literally spent up in the battlefield that they can barely use any healing magic in the field hospital.


    She also had Gemini Doc go to Marianne and tell her that the battle inside the City is becoming more and more intense and should prepare to evacuate now. During this time Sera activated her last group of Skeleton Granite Golem numbering 50,000 to charge at the breach and delay the invaders while the remaining 5,000 Knight Golem remained in the fortress underground to guard and be staff crew .


    All this happening as she herself struggled to fend of a single Body Cultivator. According to her studies this Eastern Body Cultivator should be around the peak level of foundation establishment stage while she is currently at 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refinement, it is unfortunate that she hit a bottle neck for quite sometime now and the City has been breached before she managed a breakthrough.


    Ashura struggled wrestling with the muscle cultivator even though the Ashura was being assisted by the Soul Statue inside of it. The Soul Statue has been loaded with different spell models starting from offensive, defensive and even utility spells and yet Ashura¡¯s armoured body is creaking and cracking through the pressure of the fight with the muscle cultivator.


    Vulcan has been shooting with Gatling Rail Gun but it only eased the pressure by a little bit as it made the muscle bound cultivator into defensive and yet Vulcan also need to shoot at the incoming enemy soldiers trying to assist the enemy.


    Torch Light did the same suppressing fire Vulcan is doing when flaming sword and plasma cutter has been less effective and instead Torch Light has been using fireball spell models to create an effective covering fire as Ashura struggled in the fight.


    Meanwhile Sera inside Riot has used maximum output of 100,000 volts of electricity directly towards the muscle bound cultivator but the addition of the high voltage electricity only enraged the enemy into charging towards Sera while Ashura is mounting him.


    If it was any other day it would have looked hilarious as the muscle bound cultivator piggybacks a 4 meter tall and 20 ton Ashura but on the contrary within this bloody battlefield it only highlighted the ferocity of the Eastern Cultivators at he charged and throw a magically empowered punch towards Sera.


    Fortunately with the recent upgrades Riot managed to react just in time to put up the bulletproof shield in between them. Although it did mitigate some damage the shield broke to pieces as soon as it made contact with the fist and throwing riot back 10 meters away.


    At Riot tumbled 10 meters back Sera became dizzy as the powerful strike was quite unexpected. She in now bleeding from a broken nose as she shook like an egg inside a tin can with several gashes ion her body some parts of her are also bruised .


    With her current strength and situation Sera decided to completely retreat and have the last 50,000 Skeleton Granite Golem to be her rear guard . in no less than seconds after that idea the surrounding Skeleton Granite Golems left their enemies and charged towards the muscle bound cultivator.


    Some hanging to his body without letting go and most literally flinging themselves at him and obstruct him from attacking Sera, as she made her retreat the flying fortress already has its engines running and ready to take off at a moments notice.


    With thousands of not tens of thousands of golems obstructing and swarming the muscled cultivator he can only shout with a ¡°GRAAAHH!!!!¡± as his frustration mounts up. The the Lavant and Eastern Cultivators have managed to stabilize the breach point allowing a more steady stream of reinforcements on their side.


    While the Wizards on the skies slowly but surely lost their advantage in the battle for air supremacy. Even though the Spirit Severing cultivators managed to gain the upper hand they are also quite drained and cannot fully make a final push.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    By all accounts the City of Kaladia has fallen and the resistance is only making the inevitable delayed. But in the minds of the defenders there is no escape and therefore they must fight to their deaths at leas they could take as many as they can or maybe perhaps an opportunity might present itself for salvation as long as they fight with all their strength.


    In just a few minutes of the hasty retreat Sera managed to return to the tower and meet up with Marianne.


    ¡°you brought over 3 thousand¡±


    ¡°yes, but they are useful as long as we can escape alive their worth would be unimaginable¡±


    Despite the limited food, water and medicine Sera could still accommodate this much people its just that with the scarcity of resources she would have liked it better to have some in reserve for herself during a rainy day.


    Sera could just sigh inwardly and think ¡° I guess this IS the rainy day huh¡±


    Most people on Marianne¡¯s side are heavily injured including Marianne herself, Gemini Doc immediately help in treating their injuries due to the lack of healing mages they would have to endure their injuries as they naturally heal.


    Sera went straight towards the center of the fortress directly in the laboratory where most if not all controls are, she fired up all the flight systems and in just a few seconds the entire structure both surface and underground shook as the engines roared up to lift capacity.


    The entire fortress¡¯ surface consists of Sera¡¯s tower which she inherited from the Wizard Narud alongside some of the structure she made and some nearby mansions she purchased as the original owners moved out of Kaladia City before the siege, on the bottom half was a bowl shape metal dome where many of the engines are placed to kick start a lift off.


    Such a big structure flying off would have been scientifically impossible back on earth if we are talking about weight, fuel, power of thrusters etc. But with the help of magic it was almost all too easy. First each material was enchanted with lightness which lessens the weight by half and durability so that this large flying fortress do not break apart.


    Despite the fabrication of modern engines it was in fact magic that made all this possible the unknown but natural resource of magic in which is ever present made this flying fortress very much possible and today have become their salvation as the City of Kaladia falls.


    It only took 10 minutes for the fortress to take off all the while Narud¡¯s wizard tower stick out like a sore thumb, of course this event did not escape the notice of both allies and enemies alike some allied mages flew towards Sera¡¯s flying fortress in hopes of survival while the Magic Knights and ordinary soldiers could only lament that they could not use flight magic, although Magic Knights could fly they do not have the same specialty to it as the mages does it was more like a fast levitate if anything.


    On the other hand the Wizards could not care less as they could fly away to safety in relative ease should they choose to run away. It was not like the Wizards did not want to retreat it was just their own fores would be left behind that they could not swallow such a loss and have been forced to be rear guards as they delay the opponents advance.


    Marianne and the lucky survivors who managed to reach the safety of the flying fortress could only be awed at the marvel they are at right now. Meanwhile Sera Hawke is far from being relaxed inside the control room as she ordered her ¡°super soldier¡± employees which were former test subjects alongside the golems to settle and guard the ¡°guests¡± in her flying fortress as to protect them but also to prevent them from wandering around critical places.


    After 5,000 meters in the air Sera stayed vigilant as many cultivators still eyed her flying fortress as the allied forces made their retreat. And true to her fears when the allied forces made their retreat out of the City and when the combined forces of Lavant and the Eastern Cultivators have been stretched too thin they were ordered to retreat to the City and aside from the small pockets of resistance from the left behind soldiers from the allied forces the Nascent level Cultivators started to attack Sera Hawke¡¯s flying fortress as their new target.


    Lucky for her that Spirit Severing Elders were too injured to give chase to her otherwise it would truly be a catastrophe. It was then that Sera unveiled her defensive countermeasures of over 5,000 Rail Guns all over the flying fortress of varying sizes and designs all of which are now bombarding downwards the incoming Nascent Soul level cultivators.


    ¡°Wizards and Mages what are you waiting for!? rain fire at them!!!¡± Sera then ordered all Mages and Wizards alike despite their injuries to continue bombarding the Eastern Cultivators with hails upon hails of magic spells.


    Some of them collapsed to the ground passed out after only unleashing a handful of spells due to their injuries and mana depletion but it did hold the would be assailants at bay.


    ¡°a-are we finally safe?¡± asked one of the injured Magic Knight


    Once they¡¯ve heard the question those who have the strength to move stood up and peered to the windows and examined the area. All of them could only have a big sigh of relief and fell down on their buttocks after all the tension in their bodies left.


    ¡°unbelievable, to think we actually survived the onslaught¡± one of the mages could only wipe his sweat as he slowly calms down


    ¡°heard the Elves and the Dwarves have it more complicated than us according to the news unlike our forces the Elves and the Dwarves met the Elite Force of the Eastern Cultivators.


    After hearing that they blanched at the thought of meeting the Elite forces of the Eastern Cultivators when they were almost decimated by this combined force of Lavant soldiers whom only recently started cultivating their secrets.


    Most of them are still in shocked of being able to survive but some have become more relaxed after knowing that they are finally safe from any dangers as they stayed at 10,000 meters above the skies.


    After placing security measures and having active defenses Sera finally relaxed. She used the speakers to tell the people that they would be escorted in their rooms by the golems while the more severely injured patients are brought to the laboratory as Gemini Doc performs First Aid and surgeries.


    While those who can still move are allowed to explore and wander around the flying fortress while the golems guard the restricted areas.


    ¡°this place is incredible I have long heard of the amazing things Lady Sera has been capable of but this is beyond surprising this is a miracle in itself to think she built this from the ground up I am totally speechless¡±


    As they are flying in the sky the fortress itself is surrounded by active barriers to protect them from razor winds that may just cut them up to pieces. Although only theorized by Sera Hawke, she also took into account that this world is magic and made precautions for such instances.


    Despite being happy that they survived a massacre they also felt sad and aggrieved as they see the City of Kaladia slowly getting smaller and smaller into the distance in smoldering ruins as they move farther into the nearest fortified territory of their allied forces.


    Ruins Of Kaladia City


    It was almost high noon after they squashed all of opposing resistance and yet it was a victory they simply cannot celebrate, they have lost too much soldiers and this victory barely breaks even at their losses.


    The former central hub of this region has been put to the flames, black smokes rise up to mark the grim figure of the once glorious City of Kaladia.


    Spirit Severing Elders gather around at the huge hole on the ground.


    ¡°hmm, so this is the place where the flying fortress came from? Who would have thought that the mortals still managed to keep a functioning flying fortress of old¡±


    ¡°it was quite unexpected and took us by surprise, otherwise we could have reacted better at the time¡±


    ¡°Forget it. We are still injured what would happen is we would only aggravate our injuries if not tended properly, remember we are still at war this is still far from over fix this City while we await orders from the main force¡±


    Everybody just nodded their heads and went away on their separate tasks.


    On the other hand the rest of Continental Isle have heard about the fall of Kaladia City the monarchs have felt deep regret about not sending reinforcements in time. As a matter of fact they were bickering on the merits of sending soldiers to aid Kaladia City but long days of debate and politicking took too much precious time and by the time they were about to send reinforcements they received the news that Kaladia City has been taken by the Lavant Kingdom and the Eastern Cultivators.


    It was even more tragic that there were no prisoners taken the ones who could not escape from the City in time were Killed and their blood sucked dry, bodies harvested and has been sent to the Eastern Continent via teleportation Circle .


    The allied forces of the Human Kingdoms has also received another bad news and that is the Elves and Dwarves has been put on a defensive position, with the recent sacking of Kaladia City this news does not bode well for the people of Continental Isle .

 Chapter 19: Respite And Evaluation

    Chapter 19: Respite And Evaluation


    Flying Fortress


    It has been a few days now since their escape and so far nobody has given chase after them Sera Hawke thought ¡°maybe they suffered more casualties than it seems otherwise they would not have just let go of a flying fortress without a fight¡±


    Despite the relief of being able to escape such a mighty force Sera Hawke never let her guard down, she knew full well that a single mistake could end everything especially when magic is involved. After being in this world for almost a decade she is still acclimating to the environment and common sense of this world.


    She played the recordings of their escape and it shows that their so called ¡°escape¡± was nothing more but mere luck. As The replay shows the Rail Guns that showered the Nascent souls were virtually unharmed and has only been pushed back, had it been a determined attack they would be surely dead without any chance of survival.


    Despite that this Rail Guns are currently her most powerful weapon. ¡°it is always better than nothing¡± she said to herself as she sighed in front of the computer. Her loses were too big over 150,000 Golems gone in less that 5 hours. ¡° this is just ridiculous! I thought I would have been able to live a wealthy life from here on out but nNoOoOoO there has to be a war just exactly at the City I¡¯m in¡­ it¡¯s fucking bullshit is what it is!!¡±


    ¡°Lady Sera dinner has been prepared would you eat at the kitchen or should I bring the food here?¡± said Lydia as she entered the control room of the Laboratory.


    ¡°thank you Lydia, I will be eating at the kitchen I have been cooped here for days I need some fresh air. By the way how goes your cultivation?¡±


    ¡°I am already getting on my year Lady Sera my strength has long diminished, not that it was there to begin with hahaha. I can only reach 5<sup>th</sup> QI refining¡±


    Lydia is already pushing 50¡¯s for ordinary people what she has achieved is already quite admirable. It was all due to Sera¡¯s modified cultivation methods which combined the Wizards and Eastern Cultivators techniques, with the help of cutting edge technology like super computers and state of the art processors even Spirit Severing Cultivators could not hope to compete in terms of Computing, Theorizing, Simulations and even slowly but surely improvements simultaneously on all matters being inputted.


    Spirit Severing level could indeed have a brain that could act like a supercomputer but only on specific fields. In the end even if they call themselves ¡°Immortals¡± they are still actually mortals and them calling themselves ¡°Immortals¡± came from nothing more but arrogance due to strength and their long lives.


    Tired of thinking these past few days Sera moved to the tower and ate at the kitchen with her Guest Marianne, even though they could survive for about a year with their current stockpile of food Lunch was rather humble simple soup and bread with a piece of cheese on the side Sera enforced a strict ration on the fortress since the guests are not working for her.


    Aside from casual talk nothing important really happened over lunch and they went on their way to do their own task. Sera planned to go to the back lines of this war on the untamed forested mountains where the area was relatively untouched even by the catastrophic war that ravaged Central Continent 800 years ago. But despite their speed they are not yet halfway towards their location, even though the Central Continent has been shattered and the outskirts of the continent sinking to the ocean the so called ¡°Continental Isle¡± is still a very vast place so much so that not even half of the powers participated from the Eastern Cultivators Invasion.


    Not that these powers did not want to defend their homeland it was more because the invading force does not warrant their attention. Sure the Eastern Cultivators invaded but only to make a beach head for their supply train so that they could invade the Western Continent to hunt and harvest the exotics including the Beast Kin and tens of thousands of years old resources.


    Not to mention the number of participants from the Eastern Continent did not even reach half meaning there are more than half of Cultivators that did not agree or could not even be bothered to participate in another intercontinental war.


    Narud¡¯s Library did talk about some of the hidden powers of the Continental Isle that date back from times of antiquity when primordial beasts still ruled the world but most are unconfirmed reports from various travelers that may or may not have lied or exaggerated their stories.


    Sera thought that she wanted to build her forces up at least to match a Core level cultivator one for one before visiting the Eastern Continent. Now that her body is no longer in danger of suddenly falling apart Sera Hawke intends to bide her time well.


    There are currently 5,000 Knight Golems these are at the level of the Initiate Magic Knight or a Foundation Establishment in Cultivators terms. This is the only force Sera has left for offense and defense, a few hundred Skeleton Granite Golem that serves as crew and staff of the Flying Fortress due to their not so strong Spell model and few numbers they have been designated to ensure that the Flying Fortress stays operational 24/7.


    And finally the Sentinels which are all broken and in need of repairs and massive overhauls aside from Gemini Doc. Medusa on the other hand was one of the first to go she was guarding behind the wall when the Body Cultivators used a Combined Extremity Fist on that section of the enchanted wall¡­ Medusa was shredded to pieces just as the breach on the enchanted wall opened up.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    After reviewing the current situation Sera came to thinking that she relied too much on a humanoid Golem even though its versatile it lacks specialization. She turned her attention to Narud¡¯s books which has detailed collection of information of magical beasts and otherworldly monsters.


    After flipping through the pages of over a dozen bestiaries Sera Hawke finally managed to find a suitable creature to model a golem. The Giant Scorpion Centipede, but before she could make the golem she needed to make a full body scan and autopsy of the creature first. In the past Golem spell models were painstakingly created through trials and errors basically throwing everything at the wall and see which sticks this process is then repeated until a full functioning Golem is created.


    Nowadays on the other hand enjoy the spell models of these pioneers but Sera is lacking an actual BEAST that can just charge ahead of her enemies without the worry of breaking too quickly. Something Ashura could no longer perform due to the formidable strength of the denizens of this world¡­. mainly magic is to blame for that though.


    After two more weeks of straight travel they have finally arrived at the forested mountains. It contained an ocean of trees as far as the eyes could see as if grass being seen from high elevation, and with a rough estimates of around several thousand mountain peaks and most likely much much more.


    Sera could only exhale at the magnificent sight ¡°now that Marianne and the other survivors went to the mountain Kingdom of Dwarves to seek refuge and reorganize their battle lines I would be free from spying eyes¡±


    Sera had another project in the works before the Flying Fortress became even a prospect. She wanted to build a Gundam like Mech not a Golem but a giant Mech now with magic ever present in this world some limitations of physics could now be alleviated if not be totally removed.


    Sera could not help but be excited at the sight of a Giant Mech just wrecking havoc in a battlefield. But the problem lies in materials and specialized components she had to fabricate from scratch.


    Continental Isle


    Elven Glades


    Currently there is only a handful of Elven Glades left only belonging to the not only most powerful but also wisest of Elves most of the other Glades were either abandoned or turned to ash during the war with the Eastern Immortals 800 years ago.


    King Adun of the Elves sits on the throne with his eyes closed, but contrary to his calm appearance his body is full of bleeding bandages being replaced by healers. Some wounds are from sharp weapons while the others are from magic and to think that the King of the Elves would suffer such injuries was quite interesting as most monarchs would let the battles be fought by their subordinates.


    Not only the king alone is injured but most people in the throne room assembled today had injuries ranging from loss of an eye to severed limbs some even have scorched bodies bone deep.


    ¡°most of our Ent warriors have been put to the flames. They cant serve in battle now except for information gathering¡± one of the Elven Templars said


    Another replied ¡°although none died each and everyone of our Hypogriphs are fatigued to their limits mobilizing them now would be suicide¡±


    ¡°the Eastern Cultivators currently has the momentum it would be unwise to face them head on while we are in this condition¡±


    ¡°and then what!? let them gain more strategic territories!?! as the time goes by we are going to be at disadvantage¡±


    ¡°No¡± King Adun suddenly opened his eyes and said ¡°No. We would not be at a disadvantage as the time goes by as long as we don¡¯t surrender more territories and maintain the situation they on the contrary would be the one in trouble¡±


    Murmurs filled the throne room most arguing ¡°how can that be? How can they be at disadvantage as the time goes by¡±


    ¡°I bought information from the Eastern Continent by paying a Yggdrasil sapling, the ¡°Dragon Veins¡± in which most cultivators speeds up the process to increase their strength are becoming more unstable as the day goes by and the war to harvest blood for a blood sacrifice to repair the dragon veins are becoming more hectic and by my estimates they would not have enough time to harvest enough blood to even fix half of their dragon veins.¡±


    ¡°As you can see, soon the Eastern Cultivators would eventually face internal fighting as they struggle to maintain their respective dragon veins and as some clans of sects that fail to fix their dragon veins would most likely face a drastic decline in status, and as their status and strength decline they become prey for others to take a bite¡±


    The throne room is once again filled with intense discussion at the sudden revelation of their King.


    ¡°a-a-a Yggdrasil sapling! Your majesty haw can you sell that for such a paltry information! Surely we could have done some other thing to prevent their advance?¡±


    ¡°Enough. Whats done is done, this information is reliable beyond any reasonable doubt gather all Elven warriors and defend our territories at all cost make a battle line and hold it! Many Kingdoms have fallen after this invasion we would expand our own domain after we survive this¡±


    With that the Elven elders made another set of intense discussion on how to handle the task their King has given them. With this information in hand should it prove true then it changes the situation and the tone of this invasion and the Elves need only to defend their borders as they have done since the days of old.


    Continental Isle


    Dwarven Underground Halls


    ¡°after the destruction of Kaladia City more and more humans seek refuge to our mountain strongholds however we are in danger of lacking food supplies after several small kingdoms fell into enemies hands the Elves are on the defensive and have no intention to rally an assault in the current situation¡±


    ¡°what of our own forces then?¡± said one of the council member


    ¡°we have lost over a hundred Airships, most of our gunpowder and explosives are spent and our production cannot sustain the expenditure at this rate, the Steel Golem army only roughly 30,000 remain and our death toll currently counts at 400,000 not including injured and missing soldiers¡±


    The council members grew solemn at the report such a devastating blow to their strength and now their forward strongholds are in danger of running out of food they have fallen in quite a dilemma of gigantic moral proportions, should they turn away the survivors to save their own?


    ¡°perhaps we don¡¯t need to turn them away yet. We still have a substantial amount of wealth we can still purchase supplies from other places¡±


    ¡°but they are strangers! Should we really care that much!? taking them in is already taxing to our people¡±


    ¡°yes, but we are allies still and the help of humans are still needed in the following battles. I have received a message from King Adun of the Elven Glades all we need to do is defend our territories to the best of our abilities and an opportunity will present itself¡±


    ¡°do you trust this?¡±


    ¡°with my life¡± said the Dwaven lord with a smile


    With that the Dwarven Lords that formed the council ended the meeting to tend to their duties and moved their forces to ensure the complete defense of their strongholds against any form of invasions the Lavant soldiers and Eastern Cultivators could mount against them.


    Ruins Of Kaladia City


    ¡°catastrophic! Such a catastrophe! We are behind schedule and we have yet to fix 1/8 of the dragon veins many sects who participated in this invasion are getting impatient¡±


    General Yohmu is currently suffering a headache due to stress he is being pressured to speed up the invasion and the harvesting of blood.


    ¡°DAMN IT! What do they know!? is war so easy to orchestrate?! FOOLS the lot of them!¡±


    He could only silently fume in anger as he thinks of a solution to the problem, the dragon veins are becoming more and more unstable as the day goes by and if they could not perform the blood sacrifice in time many ancient heritage and lineage would decline if not disappear in history.


    If that was not yet the worst the Lavant Kingdom has lost 60 percent of its soldiers soon they would be unable to even defend their own territories from mere bandit raids and random monster attacks, their allied forces from the Eastern Continent are also dwindling in number.


    Due to desperation they just hunted all creatures that contains blood in their bodies starting from the fishes of the oceans to even animals just so they can harvest blood. Blood from ordinary beasts and weak monsters cannot compare to a mortal human but as their desperation grew they are forced to sweep anything they can get their hands on as the human survivors retreated and took refuge to from the Dwarves.


    They cannot simply attack the Dwarves as they are well known for their Mountain Strongholds that even managed to survive since the Antiquity Era, nor they could charge at the Elves either as they are also comparable to the Cultivators strength had it not been for their numerical disadvantage the Elves alone would have crushed this invasion before it even began.


    As General Yohmu rack his brains to form an actionable strategy this entire invasion suddenly lost its momentum just as quick as they got it.

 Chapter 20: The Untamed Forested Mountains

    Chapter 20: The Untamed Forested Mountains


    Even though the King of he Elves Adun said that it would be only a matter of time before the Eastern Cultivator alliance crumbles to internal fighting due to the lack of blood harvested for the blood sacrifice to repair the dragon veins, it would still take at least 50 years before the actual first dragon veins to deteriorate to such a degree that it would go dormant for several million years by rough estimates.


    Even with 50 years General Yohmu is still feeling the extreme pressure of not being able to harvest enough blood within the allotted time. 50 years might sound far but for the Eastern Cultivators who dubbed themselves Immortals 50 years is quite short when most of them can easily live through 1,000 years of casual Cultivating.


    It also did not help when the denizens of Continental Isle has been put on the defensive most villages in the region have been evacuated and have become refugees scattered at different Kingdoms and domains like the Dwarves Mountain Strongholds.


    Currently General Yohmu is forced to gather all manner of animals that could be harvested for blood and have them force breed so that they could at least present something in the following decades. The destruction of Kaladia City was a mistake after he reviewed the whole scenario.


    ¡°At this rate we will lose too much of our forces should we strike at the enemies fortified position. Kaladia¡¯s defence is formidable enough and yet it was only a City State not even a formal Kingdom¡±


    General Yohmu could only lament at his current situation thinking on how could he solve this problem that would haunt the entire Continental Isle in the near future.


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    The flying fortress is currently floating high in the skies as it survey the nearby region and it was a lot at 10,000 meters above in the sky only an ocean of trees and mountain valleys could be seen. Sera did not want to alert the local wildlife nor did she want to announce that her flying fortress is somewhere around this region.


    At midnight she had the flying fortress down a particularly small valley to hide from prying eyes but the valley is a little bit small to fit the fortress.


    ¡°well¡­ there¡¯s a solution for that¡±


    Sera opened fire at the valley to ¡°open up some space¡± for her flying fortress to park over it took around 10 minutes of Rail Gun bombardment to chip away at the valley to have just enough space for her fortress to fit in without looking out of place like a sore thumb.


    After ¡°landing¡± though the flying fortress is still floating albeit a few meters above the ground, Sera ordered 5,000 Knight Golems to clean up the mess the Rail Guns did and start establishing stone castle in this area. She wanted to start mining operations and harvest materials for her experiments in this region of the forest to prepare herself of an intercontinental war that could last several hundred years. Of course little did Sera know that this war could be over in just 50 years due to the nature of the unstable dragon veins on the Eastern Continent.


    Quick scans shows that there is a small iron and copper ore veins within the valley that could help her produce around 100,000 Knight Golems which would be a substantial help to her defence as the current state of affairs right now she did not want to have anything to do with the Eastern Cultivators without any proper protection.


    The few manuals from different Sects from Eastern Continent would have to do at this point of her experimentation as more advanced knowledge is currently beyond her until she managed to make a breakthrough to the foundation establishment stage which she has been stuck at the 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining for several months now.


    According to the manuals and corresponding to Narud¡¯s personal research notes inside the Library the level called foundation establishment stage could extend ones lifespan for several hundred years varying from sect methods. Just thinking of this makes Sera Hawke excited, imagine living for another several hundred years.


    But with the intercontinental war going on she might not even live up to her 70¡¯s if she could not muster enough force to even defend herself. Despite being in this world for almost a decade Sera Hawke barely knows anything about this world outside of other peoples personal experience most of which she took with a grain of salt.


    It was only natural for her to be skeptical of what others says and only believe half of what she see until she can prove it beyond any reasonable doubt that it was in fact the truth. Complicated as it may be she led a complicated life where most people around her saw her different because of her talents and she in turn made a complex defense mechanism that she herself barely even notice.


    After several months Sera Hawke managed controlled the Knight Golems into creating this wrecked valley into a mid size stone city this place would become her base of operations as she gathers resources from this ancient place. Despite being only on the outskirts of the Untamed Forested Mountains even Grand Wizards would have to tread carefully and watch out for what lurks in the shadows something Narud could not have a chance to research and note down in his library.


    Danger always lurks everywhere in some form one way or another Sera knew this and so only chose to be in the outskirts of the Untamed Forested Mountains to temporarily take refuge. The Knight Golems are coming to and fro from the stone city like ants in an orderly fashion hunting monstrous beast and harvesting materials that may have been lying around for potentially hundreds of thousands of years undisturbed.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The repairs of the Sentinels are being slowed down due to the lack of proper materials that needs to be fabricated from scratch and it became more complicated that she also needed to fabricate a machine to create that particular set of component to fix some of the Sentinels, her fabricator is for quick fix and general purpose only she wasn¡¯t exactly planning to get transported to another world where cutting edge technology does not exist.


    Magical creatures flesh, blood, bones, organs and even random grasses and rocks lying around did not escape the harvesting of the Knight Golems as Sera put them all under a microscope and have a detailed scan on each and every one of them.


    The next morning Sera saw through the eyes of her Knight Golems and saw a monster tide forming up. ¡°hmmm this is most likely from the slaughter my Golems have made as they sweep the area¡±


    The blood and the corpses of the slain and harvested monsters have indeed attracted a beast tide to the stone city the monsters on this area have lived a brutal life, literal survival of the fittest even if some of the species are not that powerful none of this creatures are weak in combat.


    Most of them survived through being hunted by powerful predators and eventually lived up to became the predator themselves. By rough estimates this beast tide would be around 50,000 though not big compared to the other beast tide in records 50,000 can actually overwhelm the newly constructed stone city.


    Had it been guarded by ordinary people the entire city would be in panic by now but it was guarded by unemotional Knight Golems along with the support of several hundred Rail Guns facing the incoming beast tide this event did not even cause a worry for Sera Hawke and on the contrary it was a welcome one.


    With a sigh she said ¡°well¡­ at least I won¡¯t need to make an expedition in the deeper reaches of the Forest to harvest materials¡± as she looked at the fierce creatures highly evolved for combat


    Their corpses would definitely contain precious material that could speed up the process of her research and experiment.


    Creatures like winged tigers moving in a pack, an army of scaled baboons, giant alligators with a near impenetrable hide, eagles that swarmed the skies with steel like feathers as sharp as swords and a more familiar monster in Sera Hawke¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°incredible! Even a T-Rex is in this world but they are in a pack like raptors. I guess its not exactly the same as on Earth? But then again there really was no concrete evidence that the T-Rex was a solo hunter like a Tiger¡­ truly fascinating¡±


    As the creatures for up by their species Sera did not allow them to take the initiative. Sera unleashed a barrage of Rail Guns at the beast tide over a kilometer away as the Knight Golems formed up on top of the walls.


    Varying sizes of the Rail Guns made a destructive first strike, without waiting for the others the offensive of the beast tide began. Powerful as the Rail Guns are they could not penetrate the monsters body to kill those at the back. With that Sera frowned at the sturdiness of these creatures.


    The tigers were the firs to arrive on top of the walls and made contact with the Knight Golems. The Knight Golems activated their auras to cover their bodies empowering them and making their swords sharper and more deadly but despite that the monstrous tigers meters in size are also capable with magic.


    The tigers cried a devastating howl that would otherwise have killed any other Magic Knight if caught even slightly unprepared. Despite being staggered by the howl the Knight Golems counterattacked with a slash at the nearby tigers. They did bleed but the strike was not enough to kill them at one strike.


    Luckily for Sera not every monster are actually capable of magic even though they were still tough most of them fell at the barrage of Rail Guns, some were even crushed by the fallen giant mamoths and T-Rex that have fallen over.


    The eagles with blade like feathers on the other hand did not actually attack the stone city, they just circled around the skies and dive bombed at the unfortunate monsters that got too injured to protect themselves or got separated from their respective groups.


    The tigers were indeed intimidating but eventually they did not have enough strength to fight the Knight Golems aside from several deep scratches there was nothing serious that the tigers could deliver.


    The scaled baboons on the other hand are quite troublesome this creatures actually have weapons from dead adventurers or soldiers that made an expedition in this place in the past. The only good this is that most of the weapons are crudely made from monster bones.


    Sera found it really creepy that these scaled baboon almost acted like the primitive humans. Despite them waving their hands and screeching there is some kind of pattern into it that could be the makings of a primitive language of a primitive society.


    They are very nimble and very tough. Because of their tough scales even with just their bare hands the baboons dented the Knight Golems body even though it was covered with magic aura. If there was any bright side to this its that there is nobody to be harmed even if the stone city falls.


    For 5 hours Sera micro managed the entire battle which left her with only 2,300 badly damaged Knight Golems. The scaled baboons actually did the most damage since they were not big enough of a target for the Rail Guns most of the casualties from the Knight Golems came from them.


    Crumpled metals. That¡¯s what the Knight Golems looked like right now it¡¯s like they were fighting a jackhammer and hammered they did. The beast tide was too much and Sera recalled all of the remaining Knight Golems along with the resources they have gathered .


    ¡°aww come on!! I just built that, can you believe this shit!!¡± she lamented while pointing at the screen as Lydia served Sera her late lunch as she was too busy micro managing the battle.


    ¡°at least the damage is repairable¡± said Lydia in a nonchalant manner clearly confident that her Lady Sera would make a comeback from this setback.


    ¡°on a serious note, it¡¯s no wonder this place has yet to be fully explored. This small size beast tide alone is already quite formidable on the outskirts I can only imagine how powerful the monsters are in the deeper reaches of the forest¡±


    Lydia has a worried look on her face when she said to her Lady Sera ¡° my Lady please don¡¯t actually go any deeper into the forest, even multiple Kingdoms allied together and sent dozens of expeditionary forces in the Untamed Forested Mountain with not a single result! None.. not a single soldier made it back!¡±


    Sera replied with a smirk ¡°Relax! I would not go to dangerous places. We are just here to wait for this war to be over or at least calm down. The people has gone crazy and started this war implicating innocent people, all we can do is just to stay down and keep a low profile¡±


    After the last monstrous creature left the stone city, most structures were damaged if not trampled especially the warehouse where most of not every materials harvested were stored and documented before being teleported back to the fortress.


    With a defeated sigh Sera could only say ¡°well.. at least indeed it could be repaired¡± as she shook her head


    The recent beast tide was indeed quite average and yet it easily destroyed a mid size city. Considering her defense it only highlighted how terrifying the Untamed Forested Mountains truly is more so that this is just the outskirts, what terrifying things that could be lurking deeper within the forests .


    ¡°i just hope that this is not going to be a regular event¡±


    Though it took several days the stone city was eventually fixed back in pristine condition as if the entire stone city was not trampled by a horde of monstrous creatures a few days ago. But with the destruction of several thousand Knight Golems slowed Sera Hawke¡¯s progress on harvesting materials.


    Despite the shortage of Golem workers she resolved it easily within a weeks time by manufacturing more that 10,000 Stone Golems a rather common Golem spell model in which this valley is currently rich in terms of stone.


    Unlike Sera¡¯s previous works the Stone Golems are more robust in design with a height of 5 Meters tall weighing 30 Tons it is considered to be a lumbering hulk of a Golem. But in the end they were created as a stop gap just in case another beast tide emerges from the forest.


    The Stone Golem are quite slow and bulky even though the Stone City can accommodate them they were designed to spend their time outside of the City and replace the Knight Golems from doing menial tasks.


    Meanwhile the state of current affairs about the Eastern Cultivators¡¯ invasion of the Continental Isle has become a hot topic to the Kingdoms and powers of the continent specifically to those who were not reached by the bloodshed.


    The so called Eastern Immortals have been put in quite an awkward position as the invaders they could not proceed in the invasion properly due to lack of manpower and resources. Resources as in essential supplies to feed the troops, heal the injured and materials for their cultivation.


    Unfortunately the deep riches of precious mineral deposits of the Former Kaladia City could not be converted to consumable supplies as nobody wanted to trade with them.


    Problems with resources, manpower, time and pressure from the alliance for immediate results threaten to make this invasion crumble. Even back at the Eastern Continent around half of the owners of unstable dragon veins did not approve of this invasion, primarily because they have not recovered from the last war 800 years ago second is that due to the sudden instability of the dragon veins these passive factions decided to find an alternative answer without spending a significant fortune on the invasion which is currently looking more like of a gamble as the days passed by.


    Many Sect Leaders and Clan Heads could not help praising their own judgement as they opted out of the invasion that is threatening to become a disaster on its investors.

 Chapter 21: The Great Harvest

    Chapter 21: The Great Harvest


    As the pressure from the faction heads of Eastern Continent increase General Yohmu did the unthinkable and betrayed their own allies the Lavant Kingdom. It has been almost 3 months since their momentum in this war halted to a standstill and with little progress on the blood harvest for the blood ritual he was finally pressured to do an alternative solution to solve the current problem.


    General Yohmu knew full well that his reputation would go down the drain even if this war is to become a resounding victory which is currently going sideways at the moment, but he still went on with this insidious plan to teach each and everyone of the Lavant citizens cultivation young and old.


    Cultivator¡¯s blood would be more rich in essence. even if they did not reach foundation establishment in 50 years there is still a lot of potential to reach the 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining for all several hundred million citizens of Lavant Kingdom.


    The reason General Yohmu was confident in this plan was because they were already planning to betray the Kingdom of Lavant from the very beginning after 100 years, they thought that this invasion would be easy enough as the mortal Kingdoms are not united and not prepared. But now contrary to their former beliefs they could not be any more mistaken by the current situation.


    Teaching cultivation to several hundred million people would normally be a taboo and the whole Eastern Continent would have been against it, after all mana despite being ever present in the world have been theorized to be limited in supply and could only go around for so long.


    But the Dragon Veins crisis overshadowed that taboo and has been unanimously approved by the Eastern Continent alliance. This 50 years would be quite a grueling task of rearing mortals for the blood harvest that would be required for the blood sacrifice that is needed to fix the Dragon Veins.


    The the Eastern Cultivators plotted against the Lavant Kingdom, the citizens on the other hand were accepting their teachings with excitement and welcomed them in open arms not knowing the ramifications of their actions.


    ¡°On the first year already half of the Lavant Kingdom Population already have reached 2<sup>nd</sup> layer of QI refining stage. Although it is considered pathetically slow having over a hundred million civilians become cultivators is already quite an accomplishment, but the the surrounding energies already lessened by a huge margin after we are done with the blood sacrifice this place will likely become a barren wasteland devoid of any kind of magical energies¡±


    After seeing the progress of their strength the people rejoiced and celebrated at their new found powers.


    ¡°a-are we going to be like Immortals too¡± said one of the children


    ¡°i want to be able to fly!!¡±


    ¡°hah! Soon I would be able to hunt in the mountains with my bare hands alone!¡±


    ¡°look look my old bones are suddenly strong!¡± one old man shouted as he threw his walking cane away


    Everybody was so happy that not even a single one of them suspected the insidious plot of the Eastern Cultivators. While on the sideline General Yohmu and the rest of the Eastern Cultivators could only watch at the atrocious act though they knew they would benefit in the end some of them are still feeling guilty of what is to eventually happen to these poor ignorant people.


    After 5 years of cultivation the around 500,000 common citizens of finally managed to become 5<sup>th</sup> to 7<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining stage most of them children which is quite surprising considering they were not descended from any cultivation families.


    Some cultivators at this point in time started adapting to the situation by secretly adopting the orphaned children who managed to reach 5<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining, even back at the Eastern Continent these type of people could be already considered as young talents.


    General Yohmu and the upper echelons of the invasion allowed this to happen to ease the frustration of the Faction Heads back at the Eastern Continent. Even if several tens of thousands become adopted children to the sects there are still several hundred million people in the Lavant Kingdom thinking that this cultivation teachings that they have been receiving in the recent years are a blessing and a new dawn of prosperity for their Kingdom.


    There are still 45 years to go before the deadline for the blood sacrifice but General Yohmu and the rest of the sect representatives worked day and night to impart cultivation to the common citizens.


    On the other hand King Draken Lavant IV and General Draconis Rex of Lavant Kingdom are also ignorant of the dangerous situation they have. A grand majority of the Kingdom are in festive mood in just 5 years they managed to increase their national strength, although some Magic Knights and Wizards were skeptical it was waved out as nothing more than indignation as they see the people around them gaining strength faster that they could have during that age.


    Except for the old Duke Arman of Lavant he has always been suspicious of these so called Eastern Immortals but due not only to his age but his limited influence in the recent years he dare not bring this topic outside of his trusted people.


    On the first year the cultivation method did indeed increase their strength both at physical and magical which blew their minds of. After making sure that the cultivation methods did not have any traps or intentional flaws Duke Arman and his forces also started cultivating the method.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    But for some reason his instincts are screaming at him to get out of the Kingdom and based on his decades of experience as a former General and in politics in the Kings court he understood that something is very very wrong he did not know what it was but his instincts have never failed him before from ambushes.


    In secret Duke Arman slowly but surely moved all of his wealth outside the Kingdom of Lavant to a deep underground secret location. the former City State of Kaladia had a huge amount of mineral deposit underground in which he volunteered to oversee the mining operations, most of the officials at the moment are either busy cultivating or found it not worth their time to mine these minerals now that the rest of Continental Isle are not too keen in doing business with them.


    But Duke Arman still found some use in mining these minerals though not betrayal in a sense since he is not delivering the Lavant Kingdom to the enemies he is also not willing to go down with a Kingdom who lost all of its senses.


    The Eastern Immortals have been known to be extremely arrogant to the mortals and yet suspiciously they are now spending a lot of effort teaching cultivation to even the commoners. something that have been a taboo for them, since time immemorial they have been always secretive about their cultivation methods and yet suddenly they have no qualms in teaching everyone.


    There are less than 5,000 people considered to be loyal to Duke Arman and these people are those who he can trust with his life. They have been working hard day and night with the mining operations and getting supplies for their secret underground hideout this little bit of accumulated wealth would be used to rebuild the Kingdom of Lavant should what he fears the most comes true.


    One of Duke Arman¡¯s subordinates asked ¡°is this really alright?if we are mistaken and if we are to be found out¡­. I¡¯m afraid¡±


    But Duke Arman replied ¡°we are only doing this as a precaution if nothing really happened then that would be it nothing more nothing less. HOWEVER! Should the Eastern Immortals do something fishy at the very least we would be prepared by then, I would rather be prepared and nothing happening rather than something happening and we are caught unprepared do you understand me?¡±


    ¡°y-yes Duke¡±


    ¡°The only good news in these past 5 years is that because of the cultivation techniques being passed around is that food consumption has dramatically decreased because of the cultivation now most people only eat for the taste of it and have been too focused on cultivation, and the King is only all too happy that his citizens are getting more powerful as the day goes by¡±


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    Monster corpses, magical plants, enchanted trees and mineral veins in these past five years Sera Hawke had the time of her life living in relatively blissful peace and comfort with the only problem being the monster tide every 6 months. But that did not become a detriment but rather an excitement of sorts since she cant teleport her supplies and forces back at the Flying Fortress at anytime the monster tides only became practice for her micro managing skills and entertainment. this place is lonely after all with no new faces.


    Sera Hawke earned quite a considerable amount of fortune in this part of the Untamed Forested Mountains despite being only near the outskirts, she never ventured any deeper due to the fear of attracting unnecessary troubles.


    The Stone City changed over the years and became more reminiscent of modern day buildings and sky scrapers back on Earth. Although she is currently happy at her current condition in health and in status in life in general she still missed Earth especially the technology and internet.


    Every time Sera remembers Earth she just shake her head with a sigh as it had bitter sweet memories.


    In 5 years she managed to create one million Golems although the spell models used are just for Stone Golems it was already quite enough to deal with the occasional beast tide. On the other hand she has been quite frustrated at the bottleneck she has been experiencing in the past 5 years since she is still at the 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining.


    ¡°what could possibly be wrong? Even if it is modified cultivation techniques I used my own body parameters in the computer to run theoretical tests and there have been no problems detected even now. Could it be that I lack advanced manual?¡±


    ¡°no! That should not be the case since it was consistent among the other sects manuals I only need one to enter foundation establishment stage¡±


    Sera created a modified cultivation method based on the various cultivation techniques of different sects taken from her fallen enemies. The computer with her body parameters theoretically ran simulations upon simulations on her digital body to ensure that no flaws would be created and theoretically there should be none.


    And it only became more frustrating when some of her employees started breaking through the foundation establishment stage like her maids that cultivated the Shadow Sect techniques they can now become shadows at will and even use them in combat, or Bellato who used the Bidy Forging Sect techniques his body could now be considered as a weapon and can fight against Magic Knight on equal ground.


    These techniques ran through the same simulations with their respective cultivators body parameters and no problem also came about.


    And then at that moment Sera had some sort of enlightenment and said ¡°I have not been using cultivators medicine this entire time!!!¡± as she slapped down at the table


    She immediately perused the books and cultivation manuals taken from the dead invaders as she eagerly await on what type of medicine to take so that she could finally make this damnable breakthrough.


    After several hours of intense reading she finally found out that only geniuses could truly make the breakthrough on their own without outside assistance. but she already knew she was no genius when it comes to cultivation being able to wield the cultivators power is already enough for her.


    She took Gemini Doc towards the laboratory and stated gathering the materials harvested from the forest mountains along with other more exotic material like monster blood essence, ground bones and other types of medicinal paste.


    The process to create a so called foundation pill is surprisingly complicated not only the steps but also the preparation methods before even starting the refining. Sera used the computer to run simulations with Gemini Doc to avoid wasting materials. Even there are plentiful here it was still wise not to be so wasteful.


    It took 3 hours to finish the simulation alone and the simulation log was staggering as it contained a lot of the simulated mistakes such as a single degree of heat could mess up the entire refinement process.


    Thankfully the laboratory itself is a complete clean room with a regulated environment. Gemini Doc started the refinement process to create the foundation pill according to the manual, although excited Sera knew that her presence might only add to the variables that could make the refinement process go wrong or something.


    Unlike the simulations the whole refinement process took 12 whole hours to complete, the materials that she used was enough for one person to refine the foundation pill should they succeed but to her surprise inside Gemini Doc was 5 bright golden pills.


    Sera was suspicious if she made the wrong pill and consulted the manual again to see what had happened and it turns out that the 5 golden pills were indeed foundation pills but from the highest quality of foundation pills its bright gold lustre made it look like a decorative marble rather than a medicine.


    She was so tempted to swallow the pill right then and there to make a breakthrough but decided against it as she alerted Lydia to not disturb her while she is isolated inside the laboratory.


    Sera locked the doors securely behind her with the Sentinels guarding outside of it. And now finally she put the pill inside her mouth and swallowed it.


    ¡°doesn¡¯t taste that much¡±


    And before Sera noticed she was thrown in a stupor of hallucination and become lightheaded but strangely her body did not sway even by a single bit as she slowly made her breakthrough.


    Several hours later of painful breakthrough Sera released a painful gasp as she woke back to reality with her bones cracking with every movement.


    ¡°i can feel my body becoming extremely stronger that before along with magic manipulation¡±


    Sera¡¯s cultivation method was Derived from Magic Knights, Wizards, Body CUltivators, and other several branches of cultivation techniques that project magic in certain ways that even Grand Wizards could not do.


    Before rushing out to test her body she had to remember to make a log or record everything to make sure that there would be no problems down the line, she laid down and had her entire body fully scanned from top to bottom.


    After another set of hours of full body scan she shouted in liberation ¡°AAAHHHH!!! Freedom!!! whooooooH!!!¡±


    She took a quick shower and then went out the garden at the borders of her flying fortress to look down at the entire valley.


    She took a deep breath of fresh air ¡°ahhh! I can feel the power rushing through my veins¡±


    She performed a basic fire ball and the result was ¡­. explosive


    The fireball created a huge crater as if a mortar round just exploded. The successful escape from Kaladia City and now the proceeds from the Untamed Forested Mountains yielded great harvests this time around for Sera Hawke.

 Chapter 22: Rapid Growth

    Chapter 22: Rapid Growth


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    Sera shouted ¡°haha! YEAH!¡± as she unleashed spells from her hand left and right from wind blasts to lightning bolts very basic elements of magic controlled through the tips of her fingers.


    She could even fly for a limited altitude and time but the feeling is inexplicable something that flying with Banshee could not even compare.


    With an army of Stone Golems at her beck and call she feared nothing as long as she remains on the outskirts of the Untamed Forested Mountains and not provoke the sleeping horrors of legends that might be sleeping over yonder.


    Sera Hawke led 5,000 Stone Golems as back up as she threw spells in her wake, the Golems were mostly for carrying the materials from the monsters and plants they come by. In the past 5 years living in here she had planned to clean up the place of monsters before they group up to form a tide but Sera has always been on the defensive due to lack of Golems.


    But now that she has broken through the Foundation Establishment stage along with several of her subordinates she no longer need to worry about the Stone City¡¯s defense as she moved out and make a more aggressive claim on the territory.


    ¡°power at the tip of my fingers¡± she said with a wide smile but ended up shaking her head as she suddenly realized that this world is far far more dangerous that she could even imagine something like even nuclear weapons would even be not on the top of the power rankings.


    She managed to snap herself up out of stupor in to thinking that she has become an almighty being or something along those lines. ¡°No, I need more preparations maybe around a thousand of Core level Golems before leaving this place¡±


    Sera has long planned to visit the Eastern Continent to learn more of its secrets but her weakness prevented her from traveling there and that is without anyone attacking her on her way there, Sera has read through the books on Narud¡¯s Library that natural barriers that separate the continents could easily rip even Grand Wizards to shreds which is one of the main reasons the Continental Isle did not even bother mounting a counter attack after the war 800 years ago.


    Sera Hawke swept through the area with relative ease along with her 5,000 Stone Golem Army though weak they are quite numerous and with all things considered such as the strength of the monsters in the area made her even more confident.


    It has been already 5 years since she first arrived here in the Untamed Forested Mountains though she managed to create a large fortune worth of materials for herself in this past 5 years her development of her golems have slowed down the strongest she have are the Sentinels but that is only because they have cutting edge technology A.I. that could analyze enemies and fight accordingly.


    Golems on the other hand needed to be build from the ground up with precious materials that are not only conductive to magic but also compatible to the spell model. Her current strongest Golem that she made from the ground up in this world is Medusa which was part of the Sentinels but because of its untimely destruction back on Kaladia City Sera opted to create more Knight Golems rather than spend precious materials to create one Medusa.


    With Sera¡¯s modified cultivation method she mostly got the best of both worlds of Wizards and Cultivators mainly she no longer need to do incantations to unleash spells nor would she have any more need to do complicated hand seals to to them either.


    She only needed to make a simple hand gesture for a specific spell and magic would flow through her veins and meridians to form the desired spell.


    But even after her break through the foundation stage she is still not used to fighting right now she is only fighting because she knew full well that she can easily win and even if she could not there are 5,000 Golems waiting at her back.


    ¡°making powerful Golems would take a while, good thing this place is rich in resources. Something that even I cannot consume in several thousand lifetimes¡± she said as she stroke her chin in thought


    The Knight Golems she have right now has the strength of a foundation level but due to certain limitations it could not full well use all of its potential such as casting magics for long range, the only advantage these Knight Golems currently have against foundation level Cultivators would be a ridiculously sturdy body along with a few close range spells but at the end of the day these Knight Golems does not have the same A.I. capacity as the Sentinels Making their fighting ability severely limited to close quarters combat.


    ¡°i wonder how long it would take to make an army of Core Formation level Golems. Alright time to go back¡± she said with a sigh


    Carrying a huge load from the harvest Sera and her Stone Golem army returned to the Stone City to store everything for later processing.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lavant Kingdom


    After 5 years of initial cultivation of the common populace of the Lavant Kingdom even General Yohmu could not help but admire all his hard work even he is a Nascent Soul level Cultivator and does not need too much sleep several sleepless weeks of continuous teaching still took a toll on him at least mentally.


    So much people wanted to learn cultivation to increase their standards of living that he and the Eastern Continent alliance elders could not cope with such innumerable demand. Despite the remaining 45 years as deadline for the blood sacrifice he still concentrated the hardest when in came to teaching the common people cultivation.


    With a heavy and tired sigh ¡°at least with this method we could harvest enough blood just in time for the blood sacrifice although unfortunately it would not be enough to fix each and every dragon veins in the Eastern Continent¡± he said as he shook his head


    ¡°yes, indeed but at least by using this method it is no longer our fault when the blood harvest comes short we have already done what we can in such a limited amount of time¡± one elder said


    ¡°yes yes! How can we harvest enough blood when the enemies have all ran away and tucked tightly inside their walls we don¡¯t have enough forces to push through and the mainland isn¡¯t even willing to send any more reinforcements they cannot blame us on this!¡± another shouted


    After 5 years of teaching the common people cultivation and seeing that several million of them successfully managed to cultivate the Eastern Alliance Elders under General Yohmu became even more motivated in their work not just because they admire their own effort but because this venture has to be successful anything less and it would be their heads.


    And after another 5 years making it a total of 10 years since they started teaching cultivation to the people of Lavant Kingdom 100,00 citizens managed to make a breakthrough the foundation establishment stage.


    In just 10 short years so many people broke through foundation establishment stage this news alone not only put the Easter Cultivators in a dilema but also in shock. There were several dozen Kingdoms in the Continental Isle and although the Lavant Kingdom was relatively powerful in this region that does not make each and everyone of their citizens talented in cultivation.


    This even was hurriedly reported back at the mainland of Eastern Continent to receive further instructions on what to do with this talented individuals should they be part of the blood sacrifice or should they be nurtured in their respective sects, there are a lot of ways to remove or alter one memory especially now that they are still weak.


    Back at the Eastern Continent it took several days of intense debate on what to do with these 100,000 people from Lavant Kingdom.


    ¡°we already have too many cultivators here in the mainland what use are there to bring more much less foreigners!¡±


    ¡°yes, I agree we are in this situation of unstable dragon veins due to too many cultivators why would we need more competitors¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk tsk, you old fogies are too ancient that your line of thought has been left in time these 100,000 TALENTED individuals could extend the strength of our sects!! not every generation could we produce talented people and yet the Lavants could break through even without using precious medicines or even cultivation near a dragon vein. If you don¡¯t want them then fine more for us then!!¡±


    ¡°i know who you father is young Musashi but you should still manage your manners these are your elders still. Even though I agree to take some of the in I can¡¯t see how all of us could provide for them even if we alter their memories what would happen to our long time disciples?¡±


    ¡°hm hm. Yes I see now how about we only 10,000 of the best for nurturing and the rest could join the blood sacrifice?¡±


    With that they entered a quiet and tranquil deliberation thinking every angle of pros and cons and how much benefit they could rake in for themselves.


    ¡°hmmm, after several days of time for consideration have you finally come up with a solution?¡±


    ¡°i the head of the Body Forging Sect agree to take in 1,000 of those Lavant people¡±


    ¡° I represent the Blood Claw Sect to take in 500¡±


    ¡° I represent the Crescent Blade Sect to take in 5,000 people!¡±


    ¡° I¡­.¡±


    After several more days General Yohmu finally got a reply from the Mainland of Eastern Continent to take in 10,000 of the best Cultivators in Lavant Kingdom.


    For some reason General Yohmu had a sigh of relief when at least some of them could be spared. It could be said that they have a soft spot for talented people at the very least 10,000 of them could be groomed to be more useful for their respective factions benefit.


    After receiving the instructions form the Mainland Eastern Continent they wasted no time in announcing in all of Lavant Kingdom¡¯s territory about the Eastern Cultivators taking in 10,000 direct disciples.


    In just half a day the news spread all over the Kingdom like wildfire with the only requirement of being a foundation establishment stage they could finally become an Immortal. This news kick started a fire in the hearts of the people who were already at the 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining stage while those people who are already at the foundation establishment stage were more relaxed.


    In this past 10 years the citizens of Lavant Kingdom took Cultivation lightly as nothing more but a means to an end like making them hunt more efficiently or simply playing around with dangerous beasts.


    In the past there was no sense of urgency in their cultivation but now that they have suddenly had a shot at becoming an Immortal their blood started boiling and forced themselves to prove to the masters that they are also worthy to be taken as a disciple of an Immortal.


    In the recent weeks more and more people managed to make a breakthrough from the 9<sup>th</sup> layer of QI refining stage to the foundation establishment stage after a frenzied cultivation spree. The Eastern Cultivators could only be baffled at their cultivation speed its not like there are something special about the people here nor their environment.


    ¡°now how should we choose? There is too many of them now all of a sudden it¡¯s almost unbelievable¡± said General Yohmu


    ¡°what do you have in mind? Most of them have never been in combat before¡±


    ¡°oh, no no no you miss understood me. I don¡¯t plan anything troublesome like that I was thinking that. I was thinking that we give them a cultivation method and choose from them who cultivates the method the fastest¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that too simple?


    ¡°hmp! Their memories would either be erased or altered.They are not really going to become disciples of the sect more like unemotional living puppets that do nothing but cultivate day and night and obey our orders. As long as they are fast at cultivation that would be enough to maintain the sects in the Eastern Continent in the next generation as a secret force of some sort¡±


    While the elders of the Eastern Continent alliance are discussing nefarious plans for the citizens of Lavant Kingdom the unaware people are elated at their new found power and are showing it off to other people.


    While the others are more concentrated at cultivation to get the chance to become a disciple of an Immortal and then maybe in the future they could also become Immortals as well such are the fantasies going through the minds of the people right now.


    No matter how fast they broke through the foundation establishment stage cultivation is still hard and required absolute concentration and understanding of the methods they have just received from the Eastern Cultivators.


    It would likely take several more years before they could select the 10,000 disciples from this people to bring back to the Eastern Continent.it¡¯s not that it was especially hard but a common citizen from the Continental Isle suddenly Cultivating methods from the Eastern Continent is virtually unheard of so it was only natural that these people not knowing the cultivation methods take more years to understand them.


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    ¡°ahhh! Now this is the life I have been missing all this time¡± Sera said as she slurped magical fruit juice from the forest


    In these 10 years of living here at the Untamed Forested Mountains all of her subordinated finally managed to breakthrough to the foundation establishment stage, all thanks to the magical monster meat and the magical plants left unattended and lying around the are for them to harvest and consume.


    Even the old Wife and Husband Lydia and Peter who is not even considered to be talented at cultivation managed to make a breakthrough speaks volumes on how rich this place is in terms of resources.


    If the outside world discovered the rate of their development here on the outskirts of the Untamed Forested Mountains then there would be another set of expedition to conquer parts of this ancient land.


    The sheer amounts of resources Sera Hawke has amassed here alone is already quite enough for the bigger factions to make a move against her. The rare plants that could aid a lot of people in their cultivation and the monster parts that could be used to refine weapons all of this things is enough for people to forget about the invasion and attack Sera Hawke should they get even the slightest idea of what she is doing right now.

 Chapter 23: Prepared For The Future

    Chapter 23: Prepared For The Future


    Lavant Kingdom


    It has been 30 years since the competition for the disciples to race against each other to improve themselves after breaking through the foundation establishment stage. Over 100,000 of them competed against each other intently so much so that they sabotaged their rivals going as far as beating them up.


    This event did not escape the notice of General Yohmu and the other Elders but they let it happen anyway as a way to sharpen the disciples and separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak.


    40 years has passed since the Kingdom of Lavant became somewhat peaceful after the Immortal Cultivators imparted their knowledge to the common people which amounted to several millions or perhaps even tens of millions. The Kingdom only grew more powerful each passing decade and the children back then are now all grown adults.


    It is at this time that King Draken Lavant IV insinuated that the armies of Lavant has been replenished and with the ways and techniques of the Immortal Cultivators the Kingdom of Lavant could finally attack the nearby Kingdoms again.


    General Yohmu was in thought as he weighed on which is more productive. Either stay and make the people of Lavant Kingdom become stronger for the Blood Harvest or to use them to attack the other Kingdoms to gather more blood.


    It was not a hard choice to make so to speak as the Eastern Immortals only needed blood for the sacrifice and more is always better. this is especially true since there are only 10 years left before the deadline and yet the beast and animal blood they have been using as a tribute back at the mainland of Eastern Continent has yet to fix 10% of the Dragon Veins.


    General Yohmu finally came to a decision and allow another joint offensive strike to the nearest Kingdom of Rosario. The plan was clear and simple preemptive strike the joint armies of the Lavant Kingdom and the Eastern Immortals scattered and surrounded the Rosario Kingdom before the initial attack to avoid any leaks.


    Although the higher ups of the Lavant Kingdom do not know why they need to kill each and everyone of their enemies in battle they also did not care since it does nothing to affect their lives. There were some soldiers that wanted to take surrendered prisoners but they were eventually executed by the Eastern Immortals and after that became common occurrence they never asked again about their purpose as long as it would not affect them negatively.


    In just a week after the surprise attack in which could only be described as disgustingly effective. The Kingdom of Rosario along with its citizens has been erased from the face of the world and only to become a memory as apart of history.


    In less than a week the Kingdom of Rosario crumbled without any reinforcements from the allied forces several millions of people, soldiers, Magic Knights and even Wizards perished within its borders as all types of emergency messages calling for help has all been intercepted.


    Continental Isle


    Alliance meeting


    the destruction of Rosario Kingdom only came about after 1 month when the trade caravan entered the Capital City only to be welcomed by a smoldering ruin of its former glorious past.


    The news shocked the Alliance of the Continental Isle. After 40 years of being dormant the joint forces of Lavant Kingdom and the Eastern Immortals strikes again. And once again they feared on whether they will be next to be attacked, the veterans 40 years ago are either too old or still injured to fight.


    On the other hand the Dwarves and the Elves have not replied to the summons of the allied forces for meeting they only released a statement that this war would end in about 10 years and all they have to do is hold their borders as tightly as possible.


    When the human lords heard this statement of course caused a huge ruckus.


    ¡°WHAT!? what were those long ears thinking!!! at this perilous moment! If we go down they would only soon follow!¡±


    ¡°hmp! Those short stumps aren¡¯t any better either just because they know they are safe under their mountain strongholds¡±


    ¡°well. Let¡¯s stop arguing for a moment and consider that maybe there is a plan being hidden from us to avoid leaking¡±


    ¡°What kind of plan would be needed to hide from allies there are no traitors here! We all are suffering from this invasion and most of our personal wealth and forces are half spent in the past 50 years or so since that damn Lavant started harassing our borders.¡±


    ¡°hmmm. Now that I think about it there is no way that this invasion could have happen in just a short period of time at least not when Lavant started harassing the border regions of our Kingdoms.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right I suspect this plan has been cooked up for at least 3 generations AT LEAST! Otherwise there is no way those arrogant Eastern fools would even think of making a joint strike against the Continental Isle¡±


    ¡°but still why would the Lavant Kingdom agree? How could they trust those Eastern fellows so absolutely without a thought of them being betrayed?¡±


    With a sigh one of the Kings in attendance said ¡°its probably the cultivation methods.¡±


    This that said as if an enlightenment struck the entire room as they realize the thought process of Lavant.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°of course! That damn cultivation method they so jealously protected! Not wonder the Lavant soldiers suddenly got more powerful all of the sudden!¡±


    ¡°i think we are being side tracked. What purpose does that make? This information does not help in the current situation at all!¡±


    ¡°.¡­¡­¡± the crowd have gone silent as they too realized that the conversation is indeed being sidetracked and filled by unnecessary information.


    ¡°what else can we do? If the Dwarves and Elves are holding tight to their borders then so shall we¡±


    With that the Alliance Meeting has been adjourned. Soon after their individual forces created several layers of heavily entrenched defenses that should the first layer of defense be breached they could easily retreat to the second layer without running for too long.


    This method is nothing more but a stop gap to their problems. If the war does not end after 10 years as the Elves has said then the allied forces would have to seriously abandon their territories and create a formal unified front against the invaders. Unlike what they are doing right now which nothing more but a convoluted mish mash of soldiers who fight individually.


    Even in this urgent moment faced with a powerful common enemy of theirs these Kingdoms still could not stomach to create a united front fighting as one. The reason for this is quite simple and petty each Kingdom would simply not relent authority to one another. Like who leads the unified army? Obviously each Kingdom feels that the sole Leader of this unified army should be from their faction. And because of this until the very last moment they still could not act in a cohesive manner.


    The Lavant soldiers has undoubtedly become at least twice stronger because of the cultivation techniques given to them by the Eastern Cultivators alongside the new recruits from the recent decades they not only outnumber the alliance now they also outclass them. It is estimated that a single Lavant soldier could fight five of the allied soldiers from the Human Kingdoms.


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    Sera Hawke was 25 years old when she has arrived in this world. Now 49 years has passed since the war started and currently she is 74 years old and had it not been for her breakthrough to Foundation Establishment stage she would be a frail white haired old woman right now.


    Her breakthrough earned her an extension of 100 years in her lifespan and the next stage in cultivation the Core Formation stage should increase her lifespan by another 200 years. Back on the Eastern Continent Core Formation experts are as numerous as the trees in the forest though not exactly easy most cultivators could achieve Core Formation stage even with a poor talent.


    Sera wanted to push the boundaries of her experiments and see how far can she go in this road that she took. She already know that her body being an otherworlder would not be as compatible to magic as the natives of this world but with her knowledge and by experimenting she found it extremely curious on just how far can she push it.


    Currently Sera Hawke is oblivious to what is happening to the Continental Isle. She is no saint by any standards but she would also not allow harm upon the innocents in her immediate vicinity but if the said issue becomes problematic and endangers her safety Sera is not going to hesitate to run away without care for the others.


    Though it might sound cruel and selfish Sera¡¯s mind is hardwired to her ultimate goals in life and that is self preservation and to find her peace.


    In the past Sera was not necessarily a coward that would run away without a fight, but she would run away should the odds weigh heavily against her her ambush on the abandoned mines is one and her escape on Kaladia City is another.


    With her current wealth and resources she has concluded that she can make a breakthrough towards the Core Formation Stage in around 10 years as long as she shower her self lavishly with precious medicines.


    Wasteful as it may sound her body was not really compatible with magic to begin with so it would take more resources if she ever want to progress on a stable face in comparison with the Eastern Cultivators of the Eastern Continent in which she intends to visit.


    She had planned to make a small army of Core Formation level Golems but reality just hits her hard. The materials for creating a single Core Formation level Golem is not only rare it is also staggering since she really have no spell model for that powerful of a Golem.


    Her Sentinels are considered at the pinnacle of Foundation stage but that is just bout it. Fighting Core Formation level would be out of the question and if she is reading it right from the collection of books she got from slayed cultivators Eastern Continent may be in a wild wild west kind of governance if it would be compared to earth.


    Basically you can only stand up for yourself if you think are strong enough to enter a shootout and get out of it alive.


    Sera looked over the Stone City from her flying fortress. Although it was not exactly modern art it still gave pride to her since she literally built this Stone City from scratch. She also knows that it would only be a matter of time before she left this place.


    So Sera thought ¡° I think I¡¯m going to reinforce this place so that I can have someplace I can return to if going to the Eastern Continent becomes to dangerous. At the worst of it is I die of old age¡±


    With that thought in the following days Sera ordered the Stone Golems numbering over 100,000 to start inscribing defensive runes on each nook and cranny of the Stone City so that even if thee comes a beast tide this City could still stand fast until her return.


    She has already laid down basic infrastructure for this City to be self sufficient even without her as the Golems would maintain it according to her orders. There are different facilities that could grow precious plants, raise useful beast until they are adult enough to harvest, the Golems could also repair themselves on the factories should they be damaged in combat or otherwise.


    Sera has made plans should she managed to live past her expected lifespan by say¡­ 1,000 years, this Stone City would serve as her back up in case trouble finds her in the far future should she need a hiding place.


    Currently aside from her continuous study in Narud¡¯s Library she is leisurely experimenting the prospects of her hybrid cultivation method with magic. In essence magic and the energies from ¡°heaven and earth¡± should be practically the same BUT with some subtle difference.


    One of the examples were the Eastern Cultivator¡¯s ¡°Dao¡± in which according to some books are the basis and the root of the powers the Cultivators come from. Like the Dao of time in which a time cultivator would get their powers.


    ¡°maaan¡­ that is some deep shit right there! I don¡¯t think I would understand the concept of these things. In any case I am already good, my lifespan is already above 100 years old and I don¡¯t really intend to chase longevity THAT desperately¡±


    Indeed, most cultivators or rather most intelligent lifeforms on the cosmos would be madly chasing that chance to live longer if not Immortality itself if it was available. As Sera was perhaps from another world, dimension or even perhaps universe that her logic and thought process does not revolve around chasing longevity or Immortality like the natives of this world.


    The Beast Kin of the Western Continent could live for thousands if not tens of thousands of years simply because of their race¡¯s innate ability, the mages of the Continental Isle on the other hand have been fumbling about how to get longer lifespans except for the Dwarves and Elves, the Eastern Continent however are indeed humans like most are in the Continental Isle but took a different path.


    Humans on the Eastern Continent took the road of assimilating the bloodlines of superior beings like Elves and Dragons alike to gain their natural prowess and that includes lifespan, magic affinity and other concepts that may be completely alien to the common human perception¡­ but the point is that by doing this they only have more to gain from it and no loss.


    All these concept of power struggle and ambition is currently alien to Sera Hawke. By nature she wanted to find her peace but seeing as this world is far from being peaceful she ultimately wanted to gain more power for herself so that others with ill intent would not approach her.


    At this point in time the Stone City on the surface is being reinforced by defensive runes while the underground facilities are basically mimicking the surface BUT all of the walls, ceiling, floors being made of stainless metal.


    As part of her plan for the future Sera created the underground section of the Stone City to be made mostly of stainless metal not only because it¡¯s sturdy but also for her comfort. Stone is solid and all but over the course of time it would fall into dust and Sera is planning to put technology here underground dust and technology don¡¯t really mix well together. Magic preservation are only things of luxury that some pompous nobles could afford and spend willy nilly without care for the world.


    Sera is already guaranteed to enter Core Formation level with the amount of resources she has in her possession right now within 10 years as long as no other problems crop up. As for her army Sera already has things in plan for that by creating a massive army of Knight Golems and variants of the Sentinels.


    Her land army is already covered but air force is practically non existent. She has been planning on whether it should be a Golem or just a magical version of jet fighters from earth both has its merits. Jet fighters are made to rule the skies and fight at mach speeds, the blades of its wings might as well be as sharp as a sword in those speeds. A Golem variant on the other hand would be more versatile in most cases but kind of a jack of all trades and master of none.


    Lavant Kingdom


    Somewhere in Lavant Kingdom Duke Arman and his loyalist quietly faded away from the limelight and unless the King himself ask for him none would likely eve remember him to exist since in the past decades he has antagonized most if not everyone on the King¡¯s court.


    His growing distrust with the Eastern Immortals did not make him any friends of the current generation of influential people and nobles of high society. with this he has become more and more isolated which ironically worked even more in his favor one of the contributing factors on how he got his wealth and loyalist out of the Capital without being noticed in fact.


    ¡°since the rest of the Continental Isle is not willing to trade with us those precious minerals from the ruins of Kaladia City can be easily mined without people caring. This is more true now that Rosario Kingdom just got extinguished, the joint forces of Lavant and the Eastern Immortals are still processing the aftermath of that battle after which they would sweep through the next Kingdom¡±


    Duke Arman does not know what the future holds for him and his loyalists but all he can do for now is to make preparations for any if not all of possible outcomes that he imagined. Though he does not know why the Eastern Immortals would suddenly become friendly people to even the commoners and teach everyone cultivation somehow a bad feeling emerged from the bottom of his heart that led to their situation right now.


    Should he be proven wrong in his assumptions he would be a traitor to the Kingdom BUT should his fears be anywhere near correct then at least he have saved some of his people.

 Chapter 24: Victory Loves Preparation

    Chapter 24: Victory Loves Preparation


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    Sera Hawke finally came to a decision to make a Variable Jet Fighter just like the shows back on Earth called ¡°Macross¡±, it was a story about space faring humans who pilot Jet Fighters that can transform into mechs while they got entangled into a racial interstellar fight with giants that are practically human like in every angle.


    Sera thought that before attempting a breakthrough the Core Formation level that she should first finalize everything in the Stone City Since the breakthrough might take years according to her research. It would only be natural to have the Stone City working and productive in the following years as she make her breakthrough.


    The surrounding land of the Stone City has been stripped clean of most if not all of resources half of it was stored inside the vault of the Flying Fortress while the other half is stored under the Stone City which what is essentially a underground Metal City. This underground Metal City perfectly mimics the design and the placements of all structures and establishments of the surface Stone City.


    While making the Stone City Sera had a humorous thought that it would be really cool make the Stone City look like a City from an ancient unknown civilization. With the knowledge and technology she has it would not be a strange thing for the natives of this world to think so if they find this city in the future.


    The 100,000 Stone Golems protecting the Stone City on the surface is nothing more than a militia. The Stone Golems may be weak but repairing them is literally easy since Stone is abundant, they would also be used to defend the Stone City from the occasional beast tide and from malicious intents of the people that would find and stay here.


    Sera set the Stone City as a free for all kind of City as long as they don¡¯t break the City rules they can practically do almost everything inside without and worry.


    The underground Metal City on the other hand however is strictly for Sera Hawke¡¯s personal use. The underground Metal City would be Guarded by 100,000 Steel Golems. The amount of resources poured into this endeavor is purely staggering so much so that Sera could just actually make her own Kingdom.


    But since Sera is more of a free spirited type of person being a Queen of a strange and potentially dangerous land did not appeal to her too much. This place is strictly a back up should everything goes bad in her journey.


    If she never really have a need to return to this place in the future then she would just let the City to its own devices and let it stand throughout history as an unknown ancient city built by some ancient civilization that they know nothing about.


    Just thinking about along those lines made Sera giggle ¡°I really want to see their faces if that happens¡±


    As the city reinforce itself Sera Hawke now felt it is time to make an effort for a breakthrough the Core Formation stage. She called Gemini Doc and entered the Sentinel, as she laid there the insides of Gemini Doc is filled with precious serum to be injected at Sera as she enters a ¡°secluded meditation¡± .


    This now marks the start of her estimated 10 years of the journey she would take to make a breakthrough the Core Formation stage.


    Continental Isle


    Lavant Kingdom


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    When it rains it pours as the saying goes. Right now tragedy has struck in the alliance of the Continental Isle Kingdoms as more and more territories fell at the hands of the Lavant Kingdom. They just kept coming one after another despite their massive losses they just poured in as if they are water that flooded their Kingdoms.


    While the Eastern Cultivators are only all too happy at the result that they are seeing right now obviously smug of their achievements.


    ¡°haha! If we¡¯ve only known it would be this easy we should have just used this strategy ages ago!¡±


    ¡°well.. I wouldn¡¯t say that so easily, you have to remember that we are only at the top of the food chain because of our cultivation methods should any of these land at the hands of our enemies we would have serious competitors¡±


    And then General Yohmu suddenly said ¡°he¡¯s right¡­ we do not need any more cultivators, have you forgotten what pushed us to invade this Continental Isle in the first place¡±


    ¡°.¡­¡­¡­¡± the whole room became silent as they realized that because of the over usage of the dragon veins that their Sect legacies are now in danger of collapsing.


    ¡°We only have a few more years before the deadline and as I see things we cannot invade more Kingdoms to harvest more blood in time. Soon we will have to cull all of the Lavants to return just in time for the Blood Sacrifice¡±


    ¡°yes yes, I think we were getting ahead of ourselves earlier that we almost forgot about the deadline. We have been too preoccupied with the blood harvest that it just slipped our minds¡± as the elder said in sigh


    ¡°after this Kingdom whatever its name is, we should scatter the Lavants into manageable pieces and start killing them slowly. So that even if they manage to retaliate we could easily surround them. Make it look like they died in a patrol or a unknown army got them¡±


    They intended to separate the Lavants to be easier to kill and they have discussed abut these topics over a meal as if its normal. They never really cared about them ever since the beginning even if some of them might be a student they have instructed 40 years ago. In the end they would still be harvested for a Blood Sacrifice.


    Lavant Kingdom


    Unknown Location


    Duke Arman is constantly receiving reports on the Lavant Kingdoms actions in their offensive. The news that broke his heart is that his fellow citizens are being sent to the front lines as a fodder unit.


    It does not matter that they have become a high level cultivator the fact alone that they have no training already doomed them in the battlefield where even veterans could easily die from a stray attack.


    As the days go by Duke Arman is even more thankful that he made the decision to run and hide some of the people willing to join him. Most of which are thinking that he was planning a revolt of some sort and since Duke Arman has a good name there are a considerable number of people who blindly join him.


    But now as they get more and more news on what is happening on the outside they literally wept and prayed to the deities they believed in. Most of them could not even bare the thought of being on the front lines of a brutal war.


    A few years ago some of the people who joined Duke Arman have become restless and have been planing to retract their support to him if nothing catastrophic happens according to Duke Arman.


    And now that they are getting reports that King Draken Lavant IV did not even bat an eye as he sent waves after waves of their fellow citizens into the front lines to be canon fodders. They could not believe their luck that they followed Duke Arman blindly without knowing anything would end up saving their lives.


    Because of the Eastern Immortals teaching everyone with their cultivation methods the citizens of Lavant went on a frenzy thinking that they could also become Immortal. They could not be any more mistaken.


    One of the Duke¡¯s trusted aides then asked ¡°what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°we wait, it¡¯s all we can do¡± Duke Arman said in a gloomy voice


    His eyes looking to the distant past, present and future the glory days of Lavant, the current battlefield in which his brothers and sisters in arms are now littered in and the future smoldering ruins of Lavant. Such an endeavor could not be sustained after taking down the Kingdom of Rosario their territory would have more than doubled¡­ but no the King and the other nobles wanted more always more.


    They constantly received reports and updates on the situation until one day suddenly it just stopped.


    ¡°s-should we go out and check?¡± asked one of the guards


    ¡°no, I think everyone here already knows what happened and are just in denial¡± said Duke Arman


    ¡°then how long would we be staying here?¡±


    Duke Arman said in a resolute voice ¡° we will only leave this place when we have less than 1 year worth of food. By then we would die either way so we might as well go and charge out!¡±


    The people in the room were silent but nodded anyway they were thinking ¡°that is right we ran we hid we already stockpiled our food and resources we already did the best we could. If all things still fail we will fight to the death and take down as much as we can.


    Later in History this event would be called ¡°the last light of Lavant¡± after the slaughter of Lavant, the remnants that Duke Arman brought with him would eventually try to rebuild their Kingdom but would eventually fail and only avail to build themselves a Duchy where they could barely defend just themselves.


    Continental Isle


    Dwarven Mountain Stronghold


    Inside a stone room with a series of exquisitely carved stone furniture a small group of Dwarves huddled together around the stone table.


    ¡°around a quarter of the Human Kingdoms from the Alliance have fallen¡± as the Dwarf said it murmurings could be heard some already knew but refused to believe and some crestfallen.


    ¡°how could this be? Lavant Kingdom grew too powerful too fast!¡±


    ¡°it must have been the Eastern Cultivators¡¯ techniques, our reports says that Lavant suffered at least triple the amount of soldiers after conquering each Kingdom¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t get it? they¡¯re powerful so? We already know that!¡±


    ¡°no, you missed the point! What I¡¯m trying to say is that either they lost most of their official soldiers or they have transformed their veteran soldiers into ranking officers. Which means we are likely fighting an army overpowered cannon fodders!¡±


    The room went silent at the sudden yet unbelievable revelation. ¡°With such loses how could an army maintain such fighting force?¡± they all thought unbelieving


    ¡°although unlikely since there are no other probable reason then it must be the truth. For argument sake let us assume that Lavant Kingdom is now fielding high quality and high quantity canon fodders¡± one of the Dwarf said with a smile


    The other Dwarves only looked at each other while shrugging their shoulders.


    ¡°i don¡¯t like where this is going BUT if it is true then what do we do!?¡±


    ¡°the records are yet to arrive in full detail but I think we can assume that the Lavant Kingdom is currently fielding ordinary citizens to the battlefield. If we use this line of thought then it would make sense why there are so much higher casualty rate in their forces since all they would know is to charge forward¡±


    ¡°are we really going to talk like this? How can we just assume that those eastern fools would teach normal people!? I mean I can somehow understand empowering the allied soldiers BUT¡­ normal citizens!? surely you jest!¡±


    ¡°well I¡¯m all out of ideas to put on the table. I have already told you, although unlikely, since there are no other probable reason, then it must be the truth. Not to mention with our current predicament it never hurts to be over prepared. double¡­. no triple the defenses and traps alike!¡±

 Chapter 25: 10 Years Of Secluded Meditation

    Chapter 25: 10 Years Of Secluded Meditation


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    2 years later


    After Sera Hawke entered the Sentinel Gemini Doc to assist and supplement her secluded meditation to enter the Core Formation stage. most if not all of the surrounding plant and animal life around the Stone City started coming back after 2 years of being silent.


    The entirety of the Stone City and the Flying Fortress has been put in a passive mode eve since Sera secluded herself. Even her subordinates are currently enjoying a peaceful and lazy life aside from the routine monster hunts there was nothing much else to do.


    It was unfortunate that after 2 years of seclusion that the wife and husband Lydia and Peter Sera¡¯s cook and gardener has reached the end of their lifespans and perished. Even with the cultivation methods increased the durability of their bodies their lifespans remained the same without breaking through the Foundation Establishment stage.


    Bellato saddened by the passing of his parents could do nothing but direct his sadness and frustration into the beasts of the forsested mountains. Without the backing of the Golem Army he sustained grievous injuries but because of the advanced medicines on the Flying Fortress he would be soon healed only to repeat the cycle until he eventually came to terms with the passing of his parents and calmed down.


    Ever since the establishment of the Stone City the monster races in the surrounding area have always been wary of this new force that took part in their territory. The first an the successive beast tide came to be as a primal alliance to drive this new foe out but the golem army proved too powerful or rather too numerous for them to handle. After continuous defeat they left the area and returned only now that the Golem Army has been put in a passive stance.


    Despite the new found peace with the local beast tribes they still took the initiative to stay away of the Stone City as they recognized the master of this Stone City the De Facto Boss of this area.


    The Stone City stood silently along with its guardians until the awakening of their master.


    Eastern Continent


    Alliance meeting


    5 years later


    ¡°as one of the main designers of the invasion plan I would like to say that the Crescent Blade Sect would take the first batch of the Blood Harvest on behalf of my father! ¡± said confidently by the young Musashi


    This statement was met with furious roars of indignation as his Sect is not the only one under the threat of the unstable Dragon Veins.


    ¡°shameless!! do you think people really fear your father!¡±


    ¡°the Crescent Blade Sect is not the only rank 1 Sect in this Alliance!!¡±


    ¡°a Core Formation brat does not have the qualification to throw their weight around here!¡±


    With Musashi¡¯s statement the Alliance representatives voiced their own worry that they could not a share of the Blood Harvest for their own unstable Dragon Veins.


    A Spirit Severing Elder presiding of the Alliance meet sighed and said ¡°calm down everyone we won¡¯t get anywhere with all this noise¡±


    ¡°as per agreement signed by all participants in this alliance you all will only get a portion of the Blood Harvest depending entirely on your respective sects contribution. And currently it is indeed the Crescent Blade Sect who ranked first in their contribution as they faced off the Grand Wizards and Elite Magic Knights of the Continental Isle¡±


    Although it is true that they did ranked first in contributions some are still angry and ¡°harrumphed¡± at Musashi.


    Musashi then stated ¡°we lost a lot of our own Elites of inner sect disciples and Sect Elders in the fight against those Elves and the cursed weapons of the Dwarves¡±


    Eventually the Alliance Hall then regained its peace.


    The presiding Elder now continued to say ¡°unfortunately not every participant of this alliance is going to get a portion of the Blood Harvest¡±


    The Alliance Hall was quiet for a moment stunned by the sudden announcement.


    ¡°WHAT!?!?¡± as multiple representatives of the second and third rank Sects exclaimed


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°SILENCE!!¡± shouted the presiding Elder making the Alliance Hall quiet again


    ¡°as I was saying, there are just not enough Blood Harvest for the entirety of every participating Sects. The first reason is that the remaining forces of the Continental Isle have put an extreme defensive stance, the entire area in their respective Kingdoms have been littered with traps and prearranged locations for magical bombardment sending our own forces would be suicide and even if we use cannon fodders once they are lost we would be forced to retreat and we could be faced with a devastating counter attack¡±


    ¡°the second reason is that we still fear that the Beast Kin from the Western Continent could still be preparing to intervene in this war and we cannot under any circumstance let our guard down lest we face their vengeful ferocity head on¡±


    ¡°in 5 years time we would withdraw our forces and claim what we can with the Blood Harvest and divide it amongst the high contributors of this invasion to the Sects that would inevitably face their Dragon veins going dormant would instead gain financial support from the Alliance for the next 1,000 years¡±


    ¡°just 1,000 years that nothing! We have invested resources and manpower in this endeavor too!¡± shouted by the other Sect representative


    ¡°yeah! 1,000 years that¡¯s barely 2 generations. With the loss of our Dragon Veins our sect would slowly wither without its assistance¡±


    With a sigh the presiding Elder said ¡°fine fine, 5,000 years is the maximum that we can offer if your descendants still can¡¯t pull their own weight with this pressure looming above their heads then your Sects deserve to wither anyways¡± he said with a stern voice


    ¡°t-t-that is acceptable¡±


    ¡°hm hm acceptable¡±


    At this point many Sect representatives have already formulated a plan to shrink down their factions as to nurture less but more elite disciples. But by shrinking the amount of disciples to be nurtured many factions could target them thinking that they have become weak


    Some have yet to be reconciled and have raced back to their Sect to tell their leaders the calamity that could befall them, others simply stood there like a wooden chicken knowing full well that their factions could loose their current standings in the cultivation world.


    The second rank Sects could still endure the loss of their Dragon Veins since there would be the promised support of 5,000 years from the Alliance but their main strength came from their deep foundations of being a former first rank Sect that withered overtime.


    The real victims are the third rank Sects who could barely have a status in the cultivation world as they really pulled their resources to invest in the invasion thinking that they could reap a big reward. But all of those were mere hopes and dreams dashed by reality as they were dunked in cold water as they realized that even first ranked Sects could barely get a profit in this invasion.


    The third rank Sects could only swallow their anger and accept the 5,000 year assistance from the Alliance. It was the Sects and other factions that were against the invasion and were only forced to send a meagre amount of manpower as per the Alliance agreement that actually profited in a sense that none of their core members were lost in the war against the Continental Isle.


    These factions were surviving veterans of the war against the Western Beast Kin 800 years ago. These veterans learned first hand the amount of sacrifice and resources devoured by wars and would rather not participate in these kind of events unless absolutely necessary.


    At the end these factions were still faced with disappointment as they would have to return to their respective Sects to report that they would have to face the reality that their Dragon Veins would go dormant for unknown amount of years. And they could only rely on the 5,000 years of support they would get from the Alliance.


    It was a harrowing for most of them but it was a welcome test for a select few as they believed in challenging adversities and reap the rewards as they excel through the hardships. These select few confidently believed that this method is the real path to the peak of cultivation.


    Continental Isle


    3 years later


    The human alliance, the Dwarves and the Elves are all pushed back to their last of the main territories they have left. The alliance of the Continental Isle could not afford to fight head on against soldiers who only knew how to die as the commoners of the Lavant Kingdom flooded the front lines even the traps laid beforehand became useless very very quickly as tides upon tides of soldiers triggering the traps until it eventually became useless.


    The first one to retreat were the Dwarves after their gunpowder stocks ran dry they could no longer maintain an effective defensive perimeter from the trenches. Though they are not heavily relying on gunpowder for their survival they still chose to make a strategic retreat since their goal was to buy time and not to face the enemies head on in a bloody battle that could leave them crippled even if they won.


    Despite the advancements on Matchlocks, cannons, Golem Army, flying ships and flying fortresses the Dwarves still relied on cold weapons and magic since these weapons have been proven and tested to be still effective despite the new advancements in weaponry.


    The second to retreat was the Elves despite their physical strength and magic ability that is capable of rivaling the Eastern Cultivators they were still forced to retread since they Elves has always been few in number since time immemorial they are also slow to reproduce a side effect of their longevity or perhaps natures way of making the world balance.


    Even without the newly formed armies of the Lavant Kingdom the main forces of the Eastern Cultivators has always targeted the Elves not only for their bloodline but also for the riches they have accumulated throughout the Eras.


    Most of the Spirit Severing Elders presiding over this invasion has always marked the elves in check due to their prowess and also because they are the only faction that could face the Eastern Cultivators one for one sometimes even more.


    And lastly it was the Human Alliance of Kingdoms, who suffered the most casualties as they even forced the untrained commoners men,women,young and old as long as they could swing a weapon they were deployed in the front lines in hopes to stop the flood that is Lavant.


    Their struggle was eventually useless as the strength of cultivators taught by the Eastern Immortals revealed their devastating power in the battlefield. The Human Kingdom Alliance was a traditional magic and sword kind of army but faced with the untrained Lavant citizens they could only run away back to fortified territory as they could not face them head on.


    It was finally the last year of the Blood Harvest and the time has come for the Eastern Cultivators to return back home to the Eastern Continent along with their haul of war trophies and most importantly Blood for the Blood Sacrifice.


    The people of Lavant Kingdom never saw it coming. It was on that fateful night that when they were tired from the earlier battle that they were supposed to eat dinner and rest but before they knew what was going on the Spirit Severing Elders presiding over the invasion unleashed an invisible force crushing all the bones in their bodies.


    On that night not a single Lavant survived as their former allies and teachers harvested their blood for some unknown ritual in a distant land. Aside from the people who followed Duke Arman no Lavant survived the war.


    ¡°finally we get to go home¡± said General Yohmu with a heavy sigh


    ¡°indeed, this venture was quite taxing and to think we incurred heavy losses and barely made profit¡± said by another


    ¡°as long as we can fix the Dragon Veins its worth it¡±


    ¡°haha right! Right! Of course how can we forget that¡±


    ¡°These damn people surely did not make it easy on us! My Sect lost a quarter of our forces here¡±


    ¡°yes, the battle at Kaladia City sure was a strange one. It was not that there were powerful wizards over there at the time but they still managed to hold out for so long in the siege¡±


    ¡°hmp! It was because our main forces were being held back by the Dwarves and the Elves pay no mind to them mortals ptui!¡± said one Elder with contempt


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    Inside Gemini Doc Sera Hawke has been continuously guiding the magical energies throughout her entire body along with the occasional injection of magical serums by Gemini Doc. In these 10 years Sera has no knowledge of what was going on the outside world as she continued her attempt to breakthrough the Core Formation stage.


    Eventually the magical medicines she prepared beforehand are finally used up, it was also at this exact moment that with the final assistance of the medicine taking into effect that Sera suddenly opened her eyes spewing bright light and opened her mouth to shout a soundless scream.


    Gemini Doc ejected her as Sera continued to fly high into the sky and make an attempt to breakthrough the Core Formation stage. In just a few seconds the dark clouds are finally done forming and without warning rained down bolts of lightning strike down at Sera Hawke.


    At first the lightning strikes were thin but eventually after several waves each strike became as large as a human torso on the eighth lightning strike Sera was struck down to the ground vomiting blood, parts of her body were visibly charred.


    Despite being weakened she shouted ¡°RIOT!!¡±


    One of her Sentinel Riot came to life and charged towards Sera in mach speed breaking the sound barrier as it sped through towards its master. Just as the last lightning bolt strikes Riot opened up its body to protect her.


    Riot spread its arms as if to embrace the lightning blot with thickness the size of a tree. Riot was originally created to suppress crowds with lightning shock to stun the crowd and protect Sera but after arriving in this world Riot and the rest of the Sentinels eventually received the much needed magical upgrades.


    The lightning bolt struck Riot but as if like a lightning rod Riot stood straight unharmed as it absorbed the lightning and converted it to its own energy while the excess energy were simply dispersed in the surrounding are.


    In a few minutes the dark clouds disappeared and tranquility returned to the surroundings. Riot opened up revealing Sera Hawke with her body already healing up in an unprecedented rate.


    ¡°ahhh! The great outdoors! Finally I have become a Core Formation stage¡± she said with a tired but bright smile only to suddenly realize that the more powerful she became the more weak she felt.


    With the increase of her strength come along with her senses and she is sensing powerful and terrifying auras emanating from the deeper reaches of the mountain forest.


    With a sigh she thought to herself ¡°it is time to leave this place¡±

 Chapter 26: Journey to the East part 1

    Chapter 26: Journey to the East part 1


    Untamed Forested Mountains


    ¡°What in the blazes was that!? how could a lightning storm come out from nowhere. After I broke through the Core Formation stage it just struck me!, and that aura from the deeper reaches of the forest¡­ so terrifying, I need to get out of here soon¡±


    Almost as soon as Sera Hawke broke through the Core Formation stage she was immediately attacked by the tribulation lightning amounting to 9 strikes before being legitimately accepted by the natural laws of the world.


    This of course was unknown to her since the plundered books from the Eastern Cultivators did not include this ¡®obvious¡¯ and natural phenomena in their manuals since all cultivators are expected to know of this on a instinctual level.


    Sera Hawke on the other hand being an other worlder could not have expected such phenomenon happening after her breakthrough to the Core Formation stage. Despite already experiencing magic in a near daily basis such things still come to her as a great surprise.


    With her increase in strength she can now sense things that she previously could not such as the auras emanating from the deeper parts of the Untamed Forested Mountains things that make her skin crawl. Without knowledge of what just happened she just casually blamed the lightning strike against her coming from the terrifying auras and urged herself to leave this place as quickly as possible.


    After her breakthrough her servants lined up in front of her and are about to kneel down in reverence.


    ¡°stand, you know I could not stomach things like that¡± she said indifferently


    With a curious tone she then added ¡° where is Peter and Lydia?¡±


    ¡°They have perished my lady 8 years ago just 2 years after you have entered seclusion, they could not breakthrough the Foundation Establishment stage due to their advanced age¡± said Bellato in a grieving voice.


    Sera was shocked at the sudden information, she opened her mouth and was about to say something but closed it instead. She just came to to a sudden realization that she is over 75 years old and it was not a surprise for mortals like Peter and Lydia who failed to breakthrough the Foundation Establishment stage to perish around 100 years of their natural lifespan.


    She just sighed and shook her head and said ¡° make preparations! We leave this place in 24 hours make it quick!¡±


    With that her servants move about to see their duties. They did not ask questions about why or where they just moved. Ever since the events of Kaladia City they felt very lucky to be even alive the fact that their Lady Sera even shared the cultivation methods to them was a great and unexpected boon.


    Sera sat inside her laboratory the nerve center of everything and inspected the Stone City on the surface and the Metal City underground. Seeing that everything is in place she cannot help but feel prideful of her accomplishments from the beginning until now.


    With the Stone City inside the Untamed Forested Mountains she was now relieved that she have a somewhat secret location to hide. While she still thinks that the was is still raging on in the Continental Isle.


    She planned to move towards the weakest part of the ¡®barrier¡¯ that separates the Continental Isle and the Eastern Continent. Even though it was called a ¡®barrier¡¯ it was more like a gigantic never ending storm in between the continents that can shred even a peak Spirit Severing Cultivator.


    Luckily for Sera Hawke Narud¡¯s library have a map that points towards the general direction of the weakest part of the ¡®barrier¡¯ that she may be able to pass through in relative safety.


    But before taking liftoff Sera had her final checks on her supplies. It took only a minute to have her servants do the final checks before lifting off the ground as the engines hummed to life, there were no turbulence as the Flying Fortress made its way to the skies.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Through the monitor she watched over the surrounding forest to sight see one last time before leaving, aside from the vast ocean of trees there were only monster tribes minding their own business there were some who looked up the skies observing at a dot but not knowing anything about it they returned to laze around.


    ¡°in just 10 years the monster population return back to normal. During my seclusion the Golem Army basically stopped its activities outside of the Stone City aside from the patrols¡±


    Continental Isle


    Eastern Cultivator Alliance Camp


    ¡°Faster! Faster! The Dragon Veins would not wait for anyone Squeeze these bodies to their last drop of blood!!¡±


    Thousands of Eastern Cultivators busied themselves as they meticulously squeezed each and every last drop of blood from the former citizens of Lavant. It was such a gruesome with the stench of blood so nauseating those with weak stomachs would empty their bellies of its contents.


    As the General in this invasion Yohmu could finally take it easy as he sat there overseeing the work and the lifeblood of their future.


    ¡°how long could we finish the blood harvest? So that we could use a teleportation matrix and get these out of our responsibility¡±


    ¡°no worries General, we are almost done. We expect to finish tomorrow before noon¡±


    General Yohmu just sighed ¡°make it quick, the longer it stays it our hands the higher the probability that something would go wrong¡±


    ¡°of course, it will be done General¡±


    The elder just shook his head as he went out the General¡¯s tent and thought ¡°he sure is being too cautious its not like the natives of Continental Isle would take the initiative to attack us¡±


    Those from the Sects that focuses on the body would just chop the corpses into hand size pieces and then use all their strength to squeeze the blood from that part. After repeating the process the piece of flesh would then be stored in the spatial bag for future nefarious rituals.


    The blood cultivators had it the easiest of them all not only that but their efficiency is also unparalleled. It would only take a few seconds to siphon all of the blood from the corpse making it look like a mummy from the ancient era all that it would be lacking is bandages around its body.


    Likewise the mummified corpse was also stored in the spatial bag for future usage, Especially for the Cultivators who use the dark arts corpses, souls and blood are crucial necessities for their own Cultivation methods.


    Tens of millions of corpses that has been harvested since the start of this invasion, it would not be far fetched to say that this war literally created mountains of corpses and oceans of blood. All this death so that others may continue their convenient way of life.


    The next day the blood harvest finally came to an official end as General Yohmu and the presiding Elders guarded the teleportation matrix to avoid any accidents.


    The teleportation matrix was drawn down in a ¡®Immortal¡¯ piece of metal along with other precious ingredients with spirituality. It took the combined might of 5 Spirit Severing Elders to activate the portal from the Continental Isle to the Alliance Hall of the Eastern Continent.


    While 5 of the Spirit Severing Elders are preoccupied the rest of the Cultivators are not relaxing either as their bodies are more tense than ever now that they have come to the final stretch of their mission which is delivering the spatial bags that contain massive amounts of blood.


    The teleportation matrix hummed as it activated creating a dazzling bright light that could be seen for several kilometers like a beacon of light in the dark. The cultivators are all tensed up with their hands holding to their weapons ready to pounce at a moments notice as they prepare for any eventualities.


    When the portal stabilized and opened up the Elders said ¡°quick with the vast distance we can¡¯t have the teleportation matrix open for more that a few seconds hurry and toss the spatial bags in!!!!¡±


    Even without being told General Yohmu already knew what needs to be done he used his strength to throw all of the spatial bags containing the blood towards the teleportation matrix simultaneously just before it started closing.


    It wasn¡¯t until the spatial bags entered the portal and closed that the Eastern Cultivators finally gave a heavy sigh of relief. Like a steam locomotive they exhaled almost simultaneously creating a gust of wind and a strange sound.


    ¡°unbelievable! We are finally done with the mission! Time to go home!¡± shouted General Yohmu to the entire invasion force as he raised his fist in the air.


    ¡°YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!¡± shouted by the crowd eager to return home


    ¡°finally!!¡±


    ¡°yes!! I can now build a mansion with my loot and that is not even counting my rewards!¡±


    ¡°hah you lack ambition I will create my own sect and fuse our body cultivating methods with their magic knights¡±


    Everybody had different dreams and aspirations as they prepare they return journey back to the Eastern Continent. Even if the Cultivators dubbed themselves Immortals it was only because they could easily outlive most non cultivators but they themselves knew that aside from a little bit of power and longer lifespan they are also mortals non the less¡­ but non of them would openly admit that as it is a sign of weakness.


    Continental Isle


    Flying Fortress


    Sera Hawke is sitting on the laboratory in front of multiple large screens and surrounded by computers she had painstakingly built from scratch with the assistance of her Sentinels. While plotting the Flying Fortress¡¯ course they are flying at the speed of 50 kilometers per hour.


    A considerable speed considering the size and weight of the Flying Fortress and its entirety. As it cruises through high above the clouds it is protected by an active transparent barrier that prevent the wind gales to sweep the surface of the Fortress and its surrounding land, garden, houses and small patch of other fruit baring plants.


    Aside from the occasional flying monsters that try their luck on attacking the Flying fortress there was nothing noteworthy of the current journey as all attackers were almost instantly disintegrated by the barrage of Rail Guns that made short work of these flying critters.


    Sera was about to ask for food to be delivered to her laboratory ¡°Lyd- oh I forgot shes dead¡±


    With a sigh she just asked for Bellato to bring food to her from the kitchen.


    ¡°oh life is so fleeting it seemed like yesterday that they were still alive¡±


    Peter and Lydia probably was the closest to grandparents she never had. As they were the only closest people she ever had ever since she got in this world.


    Weeks pass by and at last Sera is finally at the ¡®shores¡¯ of the Continental Isle. the ¡®shores¡¯ are extremely shallow with the height of only around knee level which spanned for several tens of kilometers by rough estimates.


    The shallow ¡®shores¡¯ is also pocked marked by blast craters of varying sizes. If the history books are to be believed then this is near the coast of the former Central continent rather than the current ¡®shores¡¯. there are only a few ¡®islands¡¯ or rather previously hills or even mountains.


    The current sight grimly depicts the brutality of the war 800 years ago and to think that the Central Continent then wasn¡¯t even the target of the invasion.


    To leave and enter the Continental Isle one has to have a flying airship as large boats could not enter its shallow waters. Down below could be observed how nature has taken over the ¡®shores¡¯ of the Continental Isle.


    Schools of fish are swimming for their lives as a pack of Mulroc creatures wielding short spears and tridents made of corals.


    ¡°i suppose I¡¯m lucky that I did not arrive in this world during that era, such calamity I could only imagine how the people back then were clinging to their sanity¡±


    Aside for a few ruins that are sturdy enough to survive not only the catastrophic magical blasts during that war but also the passing of time, there are really nothing much to see in the vast expanse of the former battlefield.


    ¡°i could only hope that the future journey is going to be as peaceful and as boring as this one¡±

 Chapter 27: Journey to the East part 2

    Chapter 27: Journey to the East part 2


    Continental Isle ¡®shores¡¯


    Flying Fortress


    In just a few days Sera Hawke started getting attacked and harassed by Wyverns. Distant cousins of dragons albeit not as intelligent but their bodies still contain resources that are uncommon enough for even superpowers in this world.


    ¡°alright people I will disable the shield on top of the Flying Fortress I want you to kill any and all stragglers that land!¡±


    ¡°yes my Lady!¡± replied by her servants


    As soon as the shield was disabled Wyverns dive bombed the surface of the fortress to pick off some of its defendants for a quick meal but little did these Wyverns know that they were the ones being hunted.


    ¡°it must have been a very long time that a natural predator came around these parts to hunt Wyverns otherwise this things would not attack a Flying Fortress so blindly with such gusto¡± she said as she sat in her laboratory looking in front of her monitors.


    All of her surviving servants have all broken through the Foundation Establishment stage and with this increase of power they could fly through the air with only one problem. And that is the sustainability of flying costs too much mana to fly and fight at the same time in prolonged periods,That is why either the defenders just stick to the ground as they hurl spells or use enchanted bows and arrows.


    While Bellato and other servants who lean more to the physical aspect of magic flew close to the Wyvrerns to attack but glide down soon after while the ground forces make covering fire for them.


    Wyverns are indeed somewhat powerful especially the adults but even then a grounded Wyvern is a dead Wyvern. The moment their dive bombing failed to snatch their targets they faced a plethora of spell from the defenders counterattacks.


    The few dozen Wyverns could not even stand a chance against the coordinated attack of the defenders and that is without the mechanized jet fighters and Rail Guns joining the fight as Sera wanted to test and see the strength of her own force.


    Sera was pleased to see that her investments in her test subjects paid off as the materials, ingredients and medicines were quite expensive if not rare just so she can test if it would harm the human body. Luckily for both Sera Hawke and the test subjects that the experiment is a staggering success.


    She saw everything from the monitors and said ¡°bring them in the laboratory for processing freeze them a little bit first so that their blood and guts don¡¯t make a mess¡±


    ¡°yes my Lady¡±


    After the fight sera enabled the shield once again and went to the kitchen to get some food as she would be too busy to eat later when she became immersed in her work.


    There were only 30 Wyverns that could be killed or captured alive while the rest managed to escape most of them were adept in wind magic and fire magic which most probably inherited from their Dragon ancestors.


    Their scales, bones, fangs, claws are more sturdy than steel while maintaining some flexibility at the same time being compatible with magic.


    Its skin is very very smooth while being sturdy Sera can already imagine having clothes as smooth and as comfortable as Wyvern leather while still being highly compatible to magic.


    ¡°heh so much fashion potential as much as to its function¡± she thought as could not wait to hunt down more Wyverns to be harvested.


    In the following days the Flying Fortress received hundreds of attack from Wyverns and due to their immense numbers Sera could not open the shield due to her fear that there would be casualties since her servants could not fly continuously and maintain air supremacy.


    They could only open up the shield whenever there are around a hundred Wyverns attacking since this number is still within their tolerable range but just to be safe Sera deployed the mechanized jet fighters which mimics the designs of the jet fighters back on earth.


    Most parts of the mechanized jet fighters are based on world war 2 design from earth but their power source and offense are heavily reliant on magic such as wind blade, fire ball and ice spear.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The jets fighters engaged the Wyverns in combat in the air while the Knight Golems assist the servants in mid and close range combat. The fortress defenses like the Rail Guns fired non stop as they aimed at the Wyverns.


    This type of battle has been happening for several weeks now and Sera is about to pull her hair out due to stress. At first she was happy that the Wyverns are coming directly to her saving her some time to chase them around. Only now she regrets it now that her fortress is being attacked relentlessly by this flying critters.


    ¡°Damn it, where are they coming from!? there is only a vast expanse of shallow waters here¡±


    Sera took the Flying Fortress to the maximum altitude of 100,000 feet above sea level and beyond the clouds Sera Hawke could see a gigantic Island floating high above the clouds!


    Since the speed of the Flying Fortress and the Floating Island seemed to be almost the same Sera could not find the chance to escape and decided to go on an all out offensive by deploying all of the mechanized jet fighters and supported by the Knight Golems and Sentinels while the Servants became busy transporting the dead Wyverns to be processed down in the laboratory.


    This seemingly unending battle took 5 days to calm down at that point Sera Hawke and her servants are extremely stressed out and are dead tired on their feet. Wreckage of the Golems and jet fighters along with the piles of dead Wyverns littered the Flying Fortress, several structures were destroyed and half of her garden which is their current source of renewable food has been dug up by blast craters or have been trampled by the crash landed Wyverns.


    Sera and the rest of her servants slept for a whole day without interruption while the Golems fixed the damages on the premises along with repairing and or recycling old parts from the mechanized jet fighters without the need of being ordered on what to do. Sera made sure that everything functions properly despite the possibility that she could not attend to her property for extended periods of time just like the Stone City back at the Untamed Forested Mountains.


    Another week passed by and the Flying Fortress has been fully repaired even if some nicks and dings could still be seen in some parts of the structures they were fortunately negligible and Sera could not be bothered to fix everything to perfection. As long as things work properly exactly as intended she had no qualms about appearances.


    At the distance of 5 kilometers Sera spied on the floating island through the jet fighters and had them transform into mechs as they made landfall to investigate the place. It did not take long for her to conclude that this place is extremely ancient to say the least judging from the stones and trees in the forest alone.


    One can feel that this place has endured the vicissitudes of time, what bothers Sera Hawke now is if this floating island artificial or a natural phenomena of this world full of magic and strange creatures.


    The island has a forest full of different trees with unique properties some fruits could be a medicine capable of increasing her strength and help her in cultivation while the other trees are simply sturdy, sturdy beyond reason for a piece of wood.


    A quick scan shows an abundant amount of wildlife which is mostly comprised of magical beasts. Fortunately the current scouting mechs have not yet seen any creatures of lifeforms that exceed the strength of a Core Formation cultivator,


    The current report of the scouts made Sera Hawke¡¯s body tingle almost akin to an orgasm. Should it be proven that this floating island poses no danger to her, then she could easily claim this land as her own.


    ¡°Unbelievable! Who could have built this place? The trees are definitely planted with intention. So at the very least I can deduce that there have been some people here before but who?¡± Sera thought


    She continued ¡° the trees could possibly come from the Elves but floating islands are not their forte as they wanted their feet firm on the ground, the Dwarves would not let this opportunity to pass by to fill this place with stone works and metallurgy, it could not be humans either as knowledge of magic to this degree has yet to be reached at the time could it?, and it was most definite that it was not the Elves and Dwarves working together in this case since the Dwaves guard their knowledge so jealously¡±


    With this thought in mind Sera maintained alertness and readied herself for combat at a moments notice. Due to the limited numbers of the mechanized jet fighters she retrofitted the Knight Golems with temporary wings since Sera did not want to get too close to the unknown island and maintained the distance of 5 kilometers.


    After a few more days of exploring Sera found out more information about the island.


    ¡°the number of magical beast species alone in this island is quite astounding not to mention the magical plants and mineral fields that is so rich they are sticking out of the ground! Now I¡¯m definitely sure that this is someone¡¯s property. If there are signs of recent human activities I would just take some ''souvenirs'' back home and leave this place, but if it belongs to nobody¡­. hehehe!¡± she exclaimed


    The floating island is currently crawling with Knight Golems not only scouting and searching for dangers that could threaten Sera Hawke but also signs of recent activities from the potential owners of this place.


    As the days pass by the possibility that this place has long been abandoned has been increasing day by day but even then Sera never let her guard down since if this place is really abandoned then by logic there is no need to hurry and on the other hand by being careful she loses nothing. It was not like she is in a hurry to her journey towards the Eastern Continent.


    At this time it has been a month since she discovered the mysterious floating island and she still has not found any signs of possible dangers or any recent activities of other people.


    ¡°maybe this is really an abandoned resource node?¡± she thought but clearly doubted herself a little


    After weeks has passed and exploring most of the outer perimeter of the island Sera could wait no longer and gathered the Sentinels in her spatial pouch and entered Banshee as she decided to lead the investigation herself by personally going inside the floating island.


    The Flying Fortress went closer and closer the floating island and ignored the sparse attacks of flying magical beasts. Sera is confident that even if several Nascent Soul level magical beasts appear she could fight them on a standstill and eventually win a battle of attrition because of the hundreds of Rail Guns supporting her from the Flying Fortress.


    Even if the Rail Guns¡¯ offensive strength could only be considered as a sucker punch by the Nascent Soul level beings. but still, being bombarded by several hundred sucker punches would still be a threat to their lives if they are not careful.


    Back at their escape from Kaladia City this has been proven that Rail Guns could hit hard enough to push Nascent Souls back even if they were uninjured by the first few volleys the fact alone that they needed to defend themselves proves quite a lot.


    ¡°no wall carvings, no cave paintings, no ruins, no tools. What IS this place!?¡± sera said with a frown


    ¡°The plants is here clearly by design but this place have been abandoned for a very long time. The resources has been left unharvested¡±


    There are many theories and explanation that instantly popped up in Sera¡¯s mind but all of them are quite far fetched even for this world of magic.


    As a precaution she took a small portion of each resources back to the Flying Fortress just in case somebody came and shoo her away or if some kind of magical beast suddenly awaken from its deep slumber or return from a very long flight.


    ¡°regardless if this place is safe or not I¡¯d rather not risk it, with the amount of resources I have gathered it should be enough for me and my servants to breakthrough the Nascent Soul level and even have several extra portions¡±


    She uprooted ancient trees since she needed to replant them and grow her own batch of magical plants for the future, the protruding minerals such as high quality Control Crystals and Mana stones were quickly harvested as well. But Sera was not greedy as she only took the few high quality ones while the rest were left untouched.


    Sera wanted to hunt some magical beasts for her collection but due to the lack of time she just decided to leave it be. At the end of the day if this place did not have an owner Sera would be coming back to claim ownership of this place.


    In this mysterious unknown floating island that for some reason creeped her out Sera decided to cut her visit short of this place short due to several unknown factors that she may be unprepared to face. And without further ado after the small but quite abundant harvest. Before leaving the floating island Sera Hawke left multiple tracking devices buried in various places to track this resource rich place.


    She then steered the Flying Fortress to move in a different direction and in a roundabout way to continue her journey to the Eastern Continent.

 Chapter 28: Journey to the East part 3

    Chapter 28: Journey to the East part 3


    Flying Fortress


    It has been several months since Sera Hawke left the Floating Island with a massive haul of its exotic and rare treasures and yet she could not help but always look above her shoulders always on guard of an unseen enemy waiting to pounce at her.


    Despite the numerous checks and zigzagging the Flying Fortress still went on to the East according to the ancient map on one of the books in Narud¡¯s library.


    ¡°it¡¯s been so long I wonder how accurate this map still is¡±


    Sera is extremely worried but it was without merit several hundred years of disparity of information on the ¡®wall¡¯ which is a product of a natural phenomena that separates the Continents is not to be underestimated as it could easily rip even a peak Spirit Severing level expert to shreds if not careful.


    According to the records the so called ¡®wall¡¯ is a collection of enormous whirlpools that constantly sucks anything and everything into the abyss. It says in the book some say that the cause of this whirlpool is a rip in space of reality, a heavenly treasure that nobody knows how to turn off, or even a creature of the depths causing havoc to the surface not because of intent but as a byproduct of breathing or something along those lines.


    Regardless of the actual fact the problem is that there is a very this passage way in between the whirlpools. According to the map this should be a somewhat safe route.


    The information is actually since the author of the book never intended to cross the so called passage way due to unforeseen dangers. After all travels across continents would have been a lot more common if this passage ways are easily traversed.


    In just a matter of 2 years of uninterrupted and straight line travel towards the borders of the Continental Isle and the Eastern Continent Sera hawke finally arrived to witness the grand majesty of the whirlpools that threatens even the peak existence of this world.


    Even the smallest whirlpool spans several kilometers already had she not saw it from high altitude thanks to the Flying Fortress any ship passing blindly in these waters would definitely be dragged in the whirlpools.


    But even then the force pulling towards the whirlpools could still be felt even in high altitudes.


    Sera thought ¡°without passing in between the large gaps of the whirlpools it would be practically impossible to pass through them. Even the local flying creatures are only skirting through the edges of the whirlpools¡±


    There are many whirlpools as far as the eyes can see creating a near impassable blockade.


    ¡°there has to be a way there somewhere¡±


    After some deliberation Sera sent the mechanized jet fighters to scout ahead and test the waters on just how powerful the pull of these whirlpools.


    It took an entire day to make a complete record of the scouts while maintaining a safe and healthy distance of 5 kilometers. None of the mechanized jet fighters survived the scouting process as they all got sucked right in the whirlpools despite climbing up to the highest available altitude the Flying Fortress could achieve.


    The grim results sent a chill down Sera Hawke¡¯s spine since the sucking process was instantaneous the mechanized jet fighters that became casualties only turned into a blur for a split microsecond before vanishing without a single clue.


    And with the event happening just on top of the whirlpool it was not hard to guess that it would be the whirlpools who were the culprit for the disappearance.


    ¡°Damn! Even if the whirlpools wasn¡¯t the real cause it would still be best to not approach to close to those things!¡± Sera concluded


    Scout after scout all mechanized jet fighters sent were devoured the whirlpools. It was not until there were only a handful left that Sera finally fount the exact spot according to the map.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    With only 20 mechanized jet fighters left to scout for dangers ahead Sera Hawke was feeling apprehensive as the Flying Fortress drew closer to the gap in between the whirlpools that would be her passage way to the Eastern Continent.


    As Sera Hawke urged the Flying Fortress forwards the passage way the air became more turbulent as if sensing prey and trying to suck it in the whirlpool. The mechanized jet fighter employed all of its strength to stabilize itself while the Flying Fortress followed slowly barely affected by the turbulence.


    It took several hours of nerve wracking and careful driving of the Flying Fortress to make it across the whirlpool but to Sera¡¯s dismay it was only the beginning.


    ¡°You have got to be kidding me!!¡± she screamed


    As she saw an expansive view of whirlpools as far as the eyes could see dotted by small islands and extremely violent ocean waves.


    Although not in immediate danger she knew full well that a single misstep and it would be all over for her and her servants.


    It was not like she was expecting a leisurely travel but the amount of whirlpools that she have to perfectly maneuver each and every time made her very nervous as if the first whirlpool was not nerve wracking enough she could also see several whirlpools moving about opening and closing some pathways as if inviting its prey to its jaws.


    She scouted the nearest island but as she has already expected aside from some local fauna it has nothing of worth.


    ¡°most probably most of the islands does not have anything, its best to keep going on a straight line and leave this damnable place as soon as possible¡±


    Sera sent one of the mechanized jet fighters to scout ahead of one of the gaps that could be passage way but before making past the halfway mark the whirlpool moved and devoured the mechanized jet fighter.


    Her face turned sour and said ¡°this pace cannot go on like this!¡± she grimaced


    It was now evident that not only a handful of whirlpools are capable of moving. And Sera does not have enough mechanized jet fighters, though she could disassemble some of her golems to replace them this strategy might still not last till the end.


    It is quite a harrowing thought for Sera Hawke while being surrounded by moving jaws of what could only be seen as instant death.


    ¡°i suppose it wound not be much of a barrier for the Continents if it was so easy to traverse¡±


    By this time she opted for slow and steady by observing each and every gaps made by the whirlpools 24 hours a day recording them and deducing which gap is safe and which whirlpools is moving.


    ¡°This process would most likely take years¡± she though a little depressed while looking at dim and depressing view outside.


    Despite her chosen tactic taking years to bear fruit it was safe and after a while Sera suddenly realized that she is now a Core Formation level expert and could easily live up to 400 years. With the resources she has she could easily boost her lifespan not to mention if she choose to put her self on a hibernation stasis in which could suspend her lifespan while the Flying Fortress observe and calculate the path for her.


    Despite having easier options Sera never really like to put such matters to computers hand since even with their superior processing power could easily glitch out at a bad timing or simply make an error as nature itself is ever changing even more so this world of magic where a single phenomena could destroy Earth where she originally came from .


    Sera Hawke could only grit her teeth as she pushed forward trusting her ability. One by one she managed to pass through the dreaded whirlpools going left and right and after passing by 10 whirlpools only to face a dead end forcing her to retrace her steps back and make a detour to another path leading to a more dubious location than the last.


    It was an insane amount of trial and error in which Sera has to keep pushing forward towards the correct direction while making even a single mistake could be the end of it all.


    By now Sera lost several thousand of mechanized jet fighters made from the disassembled Knight Golems. Their scouting capability in this treacherous waters is invaluable specially now that they are too deep in the whirlpool ridden ocean only time will tell when this dangerous journey will end.


    In almost a daily basis she would lose a mechanized jet fighter to scout ahead of gaps that seemingly looked like a safe passage only for them to disappear in the whirlpool.


    This process took Sera Hawke 2 years before she managed to leave the borders of the Continent


    ¡°GRRRAAAAAAHH!!!!¡± after 2 long stressful years of complete uncertainty Sera Hawke unleashed a liberating cry as she and her subordinates finally saw the clear and calm view of the ocean from the Eastern Continent.


    ¡°MOTHERFUCKER! Fuck your mother! I would never trust any fucking map EVER again!!!¡± she raged


    Sera was quite upset that she had to spend all that time thinking whether they could even leave the terrible place.


    ¡°how could I be such a fool to follow an incomplete map! Now that I think about it it only said to be the passage way towards the Eastern Continent and nothing else! Who knew it was that dangerous¡±


    Indeed it was quite perilous as even the invading fleet by the Cultivators from the Eastern Continent had to traverse such perilous waters while under constant assault from the combined strength of the Western Beast Kin and the Dwarves from the Continental Isle.


    Right now Sera just fell flat on her bed as she never really got any rest as she continuously used all of her time in deducing the right way. She decided to take it easy for a while as she take a long vacation after such an event.


    Floating Island


    Meanwhile back at the floating island where Sera discovered the huge flock of Wyverns along with numerous high quality plants and rare high quality minerals along with several exotic magical beasts.


    Inside an underground cave a portal activated revealing a shadowy figure of a man.


    ¡°it has been so long, I wonder if this place is ready for harvesting?¡±


    The man then leisurely walked towards the surface preparing himself for the bountiful harvest ahead of him.


    ¡°AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!¡± the man shouted


    As he saw the calamity in front of him.


    ¡°my iron wood trees!!¡± all uprooted by Sera Hawke


    ¡°my elemental fruits!!¡± all plucked by Sera Hawke


    ¡°my heavenly and spiritual ores¡± the highest quality mined By Sera Hawke


    ¡°my spiritual herbs¡± all harvested by Sera Hawke


    ¡°oh no! My spiritual beasts!!!¡± killed and processed by Sera Hawke


    The supposedly bountiful harvest the man was expecting clearly did come to pass seeing the current situation.


    Sera Hawke took most if not everything of high value in the floating island.


    The man could only cry loudly and lament at his terrible luck. Seeing that crying cannot bring back what it lost he could only turn back and report it to the patriarch


    ¡°i don¡¯t care who you are or whatever you¡¯re background is but I will let you know that nobody crosses the Crescent Moon Sect without paying a heavy price!!!¡±


    The man said in a venomous and vengeful tone. As being a harvester of this place might sound and look lowly but in fact it was actually a privilege since the Crescent Moon Sect allows its disciples to keep what they could carry back without using Spatial pouches.


    Being a harvester is a position of constant unrest since it was not uncommon for harvesters to suffer a sudden accident before entering the floating island. The man has literally fought tooth and nail to get this position by shedding sweat and blood.


    He has been dreaming about this moment for weeks ever since the harvester that was supposed to go before him suddenly broke his legs in a freak accident while he was sleeping in his room.


    And now all that effort is gone.


    ¡°i have to leave now and report immediately!!!!¡±


    The man wasted no more time and ran back towards the portal and disappeared.

 Chapter 29: The Eastern Continent

    Chapter 29: The Eastern Continent


    Eastern Continent


    Crescent Blade Sect


    ¡°its true!! I saw it the floating island has been pillaged!! young master Musashi you must alert the Sect head now and search for the culprit!¡± the young man said.


    ¡°tsk¡±


    Musashi of the Crescent Blade Sect signaled for the Sect Elders and Elites to move towards the portal and investigate along with the harvester in tow.


    After several hours of scouring the entire floating island several times there was no evidence of the culprit that could be found, aside from the wreckage left of what once was a bountiful land.


    Just by looking at the pot holes dug up by the culprit a basic sense could be made on haw arranged the plants were in this area.


    Even the mineral lodes were just haphazardly mined taking only the highest quality of minerals before leaving.


    Musashi then said ¡°what kind of thief is this? They did not even take everything. A pro or an amateur?¡± the question lingered until one of the Elders arrived.


    One of the Sect Elders then said in dismay ¡° how could such a precious resource node be completely defenseless!?¡±


    And then another chimed in ¡°indeed, I believe everyone would be baffled by the lack of security of such an important place of the entire Sect¡±


    ¡°Truth be told Elders, the previous Sect heads has always left this place unguarded and only left spirit beasts to make their lair in this place so that the defenses would look more natural instead of a beacon that would attract other faction into this place¡±


    Musashi then added ¡°this floating island is currently inside the borders of the Continental Isle since the end of the war 500 years ago. With the current status of the Continental Isle the previous Sect heads decided to put this captured floating island in this place and fill it with resources for future harvest, and since the Continental Isle has been weakened this plan is what we call a calculated risk since we would rather deal with the weakened Continental Isle rather than deal with other Cultivators¡± he explained


    The Sect Elders looked at each other and they could only shrug their shoulders and sigh.


    ¡°whats done is done. Crying over this won¡¯t make things any better¡±


    ¡°I assume there is a plan?¡± an Elder said


    Musashi replied ¡°of course there is! Although it was quite unfortunate that all of the highest valuables has already been taken all is not lost. We can still make things better although we would have to divert more man power in this location to defend it and setting formations would also attract unwanted attention so brace yourselves for conflicts in the future¡±


    The Sect Elders and their Elites could only do as what was told to them by the future Sect Head Musashi even though they were also quite disgruntled by the previous setting.


    ¡°Leaving a rich resource node completely undefended? Ridiculous!!!¡± the Elders thought


    Musashi could only scratch the back of his head at the light of this racket since as the future Seact Head of the Crescent Blade Sect it should have been part of his responsibility to ensure that places such as this remain protected and unknown to the world.


    In just a few days the Crescent Blade Sect mobilized thousands of its disciples to populate and and lay defensive formations on the entire Island.


    Ever since the end of the recent war in a mad dash to save the Dragon Veins there have a lot of idle Cultivators lately especially those from the Sects who managed to save their Dragon Veins therefore mobilizing this amount of disciples in just a short amount of time was possible.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Third rate Sects on the other hand who could not save their Dragon Veins could do nothing but work 5 times as hard for less and hope that whatever support the first rate Sects are adequate enough for their survival in the next 5 generations.


    Eastern Continent


    Flying Fortress


    Unknown island


    While the disciples and Elders of the Crescent Blade Sect are fortifying the floating island which Sera Hawke robbed.


    Sera herself is enjoying a really long vacation on an island near the borders of the Eastern Continent oblivious that she just robbed them blind one of the biggest factions in the Eastern Continent.


    The island itself was very desolate typical of any small islands in this part of the ocean. But compared to the several years that Sera stayed in beyond the Continental Border of the Continental Isle and Eastern Continent this desolate island is looking quite the vacation stop for Sera Hawke.


    She is currently enjoying a cold magical fruit juice that she took from the floating island while relaxing under the sun as she drank her problems away.


    While Bellato on the other hand took the other servants to patrol the island while their Lady Sera unwinds her mind and body from the previous grueling task that she just had to endure to travel into this part of the world.


    The moment they entered the Eastern Continent they already felt the power of spiritual energies flowing through their lungs as they breath in. The Eastern Continent is the origin of Cultivation and the Dragon Veins it would only be natural that people like them who also Cultivate would feel comfortable inside its territory.


    The feeling was very minuscule and the grand majority of the cultivators would not notice this difference much less outsiders like them.


    Because of the recent loss of her golems Sera had to dip inside her vault and use its contents to manufacture and produce another Golem Army since the current ones are currently less than 2,000 and being in a foreign territory does not bode well for her.


    Despite no apparent dangers Sera was still ever cautious and would rather not move around this foreign lands without as much as an army at her beck and call. She estimated that it would take several months before her new Golem Army is reformed and until then she would no mind a long beach side vacation.


    Continental Isle


    While Sera Hawke is enjoying her vacation the allied kingdoms of Dwarves, Elves and Humans are still recuperating and picking themselves up from the devastation of the recent invasion by the Eastern Continent Sect Alliance which would later be known as the War Of Blood Harvest.


    Even today many Sect scholars still could not understand why the Dragon Veins would go unstable and how to save them more efficiently, It was quite obvious that if you try to kill people they fight back viciously.


    Back at Kaladia City only devastated ruins is what remains. Marianne Vi Kaladia returned with an army to rebuild the city which she inherited from her ancestors.


    She pulled a lot of strings and favors from everybody she knew to marshal an army. It was quite unfortunate that the so called Eastern Immortals have long left the Continental Isle.


    She could only sigh in defeat as she looked at the rubble and at the gaping hole where Sera Hawke¡¯s magic tower formerly existed. But amidst the rubbles there were thin books scattered at the ground and with a closer look the books were scattered throughout the ruined City of Kaladia.


    ¡°Hm? Whats is this?¡± Marianne asked as she slowly picked the book up.


    She brushed the thin book covered in dirt before openeing it, the words at the first page were a huge CULTIVATION MANUAL by Sera Hawke.


    ¡°T-THIS IS!?!¡± at the sudden revelation


    She was stunned, all manner of emotion came towards her all at once and she thought ¡°this could change the world!!¡±


    Marianne gathered her most trusted and most Elite forces to gather all books within the City and to leave no stone unturned. She tried to act cool about it her body still slightly shook about her recent discovery.


    The books came by the hour and by the end of the day there were no more books that could be found since the entire City has been a battlefield most of the stuff around here were long destroyed either by the fighting of by the elements.


    Marianne have a total number of 20 book of Cultivation her hands could not stop shaking as she gave them a cursory glance one by one page by page.


    The cultivation manuals were full of detailed instructions about what to or not to do. Like cultivation multiple manuals that are not compatible to each other.


    This is the culmination of Sea Hawke¡¯s experiments, most if not everything about the cultivation manuals have been altered by Sera for the better compared to their originals. Unlike the natives of this world quantum computing is not even a concept that they have discovered yet.


    And by allowing the quantum computer to run through countless simulations along with Sera¡¯s painstaking experiments resulting into this bundle of cultivation manuals.


    Marianne took several cultivation manuals for herself needless to say she took what she thought to be the strongest ones while she planned to auction the rest of the Kingdoms in the Continental Isle she even planned to invite the Elves and Dwarves to maximize her profits.


    This is also a good time to forge a closer alliance to the Elves and the Dwarves. Majority of the night she only thought and planned the event of the auction to disseminate the cultivation manuals.


    With this method the Eastern Cultivators would no longer be as threatening in the future. Not only methods of cultivation was written in the manual but also how to concoct cultivation pills and elixirs.


    With the recent invasion of the Eastern Cultivators these cultivation manuals would definitely sell like crazy especially to the powerhouses of the Continental Isle. She even plan to sell some of the manuals through a back door deal to the factions that would offer her benefits.


    ¡°this must be Sera Hawke¡¯s last ditch effort to fight back against the Eastern Cultivators¡± Marianne thought


    Eastern Continent


    Metal Sect


    An elderly man made a deep sigh of regret shaking his head as he read the letter.


    It said that if the Third Rate Metal Sect wants to maintain is territory it should sell their precious spirit and heavenly metal mines to the First Rate Sects in exchange for its support otherwise other Sects would not hesitate to strike at them.


    Even though they did not participate in the Blood Harvest their forces are still dwarfed by the Second Rate Sects who could not secure their own Dragon Veins.


    Their mines were the legacy of their Metal Sect since it contains a secret. One of their Heavenly metal mines even though it only produces low quality Heavenly Metal is still quite valuable and have been eyed by the other Sects.


    Nobody knew except the Sect Heads that this particular mine could continuously produce Heavenly Metal as long as the mines were fed by spiritual energies. Its discovery created the foundations of the Metal Sect today.


    Now that their Dragon Veins is gone they could only rely on their mines to support their Cultivation. The current Sect Head of the Metal Sect is now being forced to make a quick decision, to sell their mines in exchange for support or hold their ground.


    Most Sect Elders and Inner Disciples are persistent in holding their ground since their Sect did not participate in the invasion of the Continental Isle keeping their number quite high for a third rate sect.


    ¡°you do understand that once we decided to fight many of us could die right?¡± said the Sect Head


    And without hesitation the Elders unanimously said ¡°of course! But giving up our only source of strength is not any better to be at the mercy of another. We might as well as fight to the end and bleed them at least we could deter them, after all all participants in the invasion are still hurting since they barely won that war¡±


    With a sigh of determination the Sect Head then said ¡°Alright. Recall all of our disciples and ready our defenses we make our stand!¡±


    ¡°you have made the right choice Sect Head! I have heard that the Sects that succumbed to the graces of the first rate sects aren¡¯t doing any better either as if they lost their identity as an independent Sect and are being treated as servants¡±


    ¡°mm, even though the situation is grim it is yet far from hopeless. Let us prepare for the worst and hope for the best tis the only thing we can do for now¡±


    With that he dismissed everyone.

 Chapter 30: The New Problems And New Opportunities For The Metal Sect

    Chapter 30: The New Problems And New Opportunities For The Metal Sect


    Eastern Continent


    Metal Sect


    The people of the Metal Sect declared that they would stand their ground and politely refused the first rate Sects that made their offers.


    ¡°the Metal Sect have decided to refuse your offers sir Envoy. The Metal Sect has stood this long without the help of outsiders and we would like to face our enemies with our own strength¡± said the Sect head


    ¡°are you sure? Several third rate Sects have already fallen to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, even with their shaky unity our forces are still recuperating from the last war making them a credible threat to even the first rate sects¡±


    ¡°we appreciate the offer sir Envoy but we would rather stand our ground¡±


    The Envoy only shook his head and left the Metal Sect after his persuasions failed. At this point the entirety of the Metal Sect has been preparing for war and have recalled all of their forces from all over the Eastern Continent.


    Due to the extreme size of the Eastern Continent the Sect Head also sent them a message to regroup at one of their secret hideouts since returning from a long journey could make them susceptible to ambush.


    There is a small amount of wealth for the left out Metal Sect disciples to live a modest life if they appropriate the funds wisely.


    The Metal Sect was a small Sect to begin with even for third rate standards but their cultivation methods allowed them to be more sturdier than most body cultivating sects. If it wasn¡¯t for their cultivation methods need to incorporate heavenly metals in their body the Metal Sect could easily fight for a middle class second rate Sect.


    Unfortunately the Metals Sect¡¯s consumption of heavenly metals made them poor that their Sect could barely even support ten thousand disciples. And because of this limitations that the Sect Head and several trusted Elders decided to fight on their own since their future won¡¯t be much any different if they surrendered their heavenly metal mines to first rate Sects.


    The following days are filled with tension as every disciple ran around doing their duties to fortify their own territory. Even if the higher ranking Cultivators did not need to eat started preparing for an elongated siege battle and has started storing grains and preserved meat to help them restore and maintain their strength without using too much spiritual energies.


    This event has been happening all over the Eastern Continent the rogue Cultivators have smelt blood in the waters and have preyed on the weak. Even not all rogue Cultivators are inherently evil some of them could only capitalize on the current situation.


    Since the grand majority of rogue Cultivators are from poor commoner backgrounds making their road to cultivation extremely rough. Aside from being persistent most rogue Cultivators does not have anything going for them.


    Now that the Sect Alliance returned battered, very few could enforce the laws in their own lands making it a free for all for those with the strength to do what they will.


    And the first and second rate Sects are not too keen to send their exhausted and meager forces to help the third rate Sects without any profitable return. And here lies the current situation of the Metal Sect one of the many third rate Sects currently in danger of being pillaged by the rogue cultivators who have created a shaky alliance.


    If the disciples are not constantly busy at work creating fortifications and magical formations they would be a nervous wreck constantly jumping at shadows their bodies high strung and ready to pounce at their enemies should they enter their sights.


    It has been almost a week since the rogue cultivator alliance started pillaging small cultivator families and slowly worked their way up towards the third rate Sects. The rogue cultivator alliance are completely confident that the first and second rate sects would not risk their own territories since they have more wealth and they would rather watch strangers die instead of helping them.


    It wasn¡¯t until on the second week of the Metal Sect¡¯s frantic preparation that black smokes started emerging from the distance of 10 kilometers and faint sounds of explosions could be heard by the hour. This made the already nervous disciples even more high strung, this could only mean that battles have begun in their region and is only a matter of time before it arrives at their own doorsteps.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The Sec Elder then said ¡°Calm yourselves! The enemies have yet to come and all of you are already looking like dead people!¡±


    To some, the Elder¡¯s words helped them calm down but to most, it was just a temporary ease on their nerves.


    To the first and second rate Sects, Clans, Kingdoms and Empires they are also caught unprepared in the lightning fast formation of the rogue cultivator alliance. According to intelligence the rogue cultivators have long been unsatisfied that some of the most talented cultivators coming from the commoners have been suppressed by the wealthy.


    But despite their grievances, they could only bite down their lips and swallow their anger since these big factions are too powerful to oppose. It was not until the end of the Blood Harvest and their race to save their individual Dragon Veins that these big factions returned home with a bloody nose. It was at this time that the rogue cultivators planned a secret alliance to get back at them and settle some old scores while making themselves rich afterwards.


    Daybreak


    some time later


    Somebody shouted ¡°ENEMY ATTACK!¡± followed by magical explosions and shouts.everybody knew they were going to be attack but when the actual attack came still caught the younger disciples off guard.


    Most of these disciples have yet to spill the blood or took the lives of their enemies making their bodies shiver in fear and legs like jelly.


    Lucky for them that the Veterans and Elders of the Metal Sect are more than prepared for this fight and have made ample preparations in advance for multiple grim scenarios.


    The Sect Head despite being an old man even for being a Nascent Soul Cultivator is still actually quite powerful, he took the front lines not only to maintain morale but also to join in the heaviest of battles.


    It was very fortunate for them that there was no Spirit Severing rogue cultivator that participated in this battle.


    The younger disciples of the Metal Sect manipulated their weapons to fly and attack their enemies controlling them ling puppets, there were also some who controlled a thick and heavy armour to the front lines.


    While the Sect Head jumped straight at the leaders of the rogue cultivators in hope to make them retreat as soon as possible, followed by the Sect Elders and Veterans the enemy offensive has been blunted.


    Despite being just a third rate Sect the Metal Sect still is a proper Sect that has several thousand years of foundation that has weathered dozens of potentially Sect destroying hardships throughout the centuries.


    The younger Sect disciples that can¡¯t take to the battlefield powered up the formations their Elders have set up in advance with the help of spirit stone, back on the Continental Isle these spirit stones would be known as mana stones with the only difference is that mana stones from the Continental Isle has elemental affinities while spirit stones are completely neutral in element.


    Needles to say each and everyone is participating in this battle one way or another, such as constantly rotating the younger disciples in magical formations to maintain the shields, but since most of them could not contain that amount of energies for too long in their bodies they eventually get injured and replaced.


    Such a sight is happening throughout the entire Sect, the defenders and the invaders each had a very distinct advantage.


    The people of the Metal Sect have all managed to learn how to fight properly while having the appropriate magical tool or magic spell depending of the battle.


    On the other hand despite the rogue cultivators being poor and seemingly always struggling in their cultivation are more experienced in fighting, killing and hardships making their offensive particularly devastating.


    Even the Sect Elders and Veterans could only fight so much for so long. Eventually the Sect walls and shields broke faster than they could have ever expected 1 day in fact. Too quick that the Metal Sect have been broken through.


    But this only made the Disciples fight even more desperate, they were afraid of being captured and abused. This was even more true to the female disciples as after they were surrounded and cut off from reinforcements they could commit suicide and self detonate after releasing an aggrieved shout.


    ¡°AAAHHHH!!¡±


    This inspire many disciples into following suit of self detonations in their minds ¡°since I¡¯m dying anyway I might as well take out as many enemies as I could¡±


    ¡°for the Sect¡±


    ¡°For the Metal Sect!¡±


    Those who self Detonated transformed their entire body into a human shaped metal grenade before exploding causing maximum damage to their immediate proximity as shrapnels of metal shredded the invaders.


    Even though they are not really willing to die for the Metal Sect but since they are surrounded and have no chance of escape they just also decided to end their lives with a BANG! ¡°might as well look cool if I¡¯m going to die in this place!!¡± some thought


    The continuous individual self detonations cleared dozens of the invading rogue cultivators, inspiring morale for the Metal Sect while shattering the morale of the invaders. After all this rogue cultivator alliance was only made in the pretense of shared profit.


    None of them were really going to fight to the death for this shaky and shallow alliance. And with that the low level cultivators from Core Formation and below retreated from the battlefield leaving only the Nascent Souls to duke it out.


    It was safe to assume that even if the low level cultivators lost that side of the battlefield as long as their Nascent Souls were still combat effective then this war would still be at full swing despite the casualties incurred.


    The Nascent Souls of the rogue cultivators are more powerful than they seem, this is a testament that even from commoner families could produce high quality cultivators. The invading rogue cultivators have slowly but steadily pushed the elders of the Metal Sect.


    Despite the Metal Sect being slightly on the back foot throughout the battle, they could still fight in a prolong attrition so that even in victory the rogue cultivators would not have much strength to chase down fleeing disciples if worst comes to worst.


    When the rogue cultivators saw what the Metal Sect was planning they called on their soldiers at the back watching the duel and to rejoin the offensive!


    ¡°shameless!!¡± said one of the Sect Elders


    ¡°HMP! This isn¡¯t an honor duel but a war! ATTACK!¡± coming from the rogue cultivators side


    That reignited the bloody battle on the ground once again. And this time the Metals Sect are being pushed back further and further.


    The battle raged on from daybreak to sunset and as the setting sun slowly vanished from the horizon so too are the disciples of the Metal Sect, from ten thousand disciples to under two thousand disciples remaining.


    The battle¡­ hopeless, while on the other hand the invading rogue cultivators pushed on the establishments and started pillaging valuables.


    The first targets were the Sect Library where the Metal Sect¡¯s unique skills and cultivation methods are stored and the second target is the Sect Vault where the real valuables and treasures are being kept under high security.


    Seeing this happen before their very eyes made them feel conflicted, on one hand injured people of the Metal Sect were left alone as the rogue cultivators took anything of value and ignored the one that are not blocking them.


    On the other hand they could only watch in horror as their Sect Elders die and fall down from the sky one by one. To see their emotional and spiritual pillars of support fall down in front of them was a devastating blow to their morale.


    Everyone could feel that the entire place grew darker as is the moonlight itself is being covered in unspeakable evil. The Sect Head dishevelled and bleeding as the fight goes on.


    Unable to hold it any further one of the Sect disciples shout for help, even though she knew no one would lend them any at their current situation.


    ¡°help! Somebody help us SAVE US!!¡± the little girl shouted


    And as the shadows grew darker a female voice coming from a thick Armour could be heard as she suddenly appeared from the dark sky.


    ¡°SUP!¡± Sera Hawke said while inside Ashura

 Chapter 31: Sect Head!

    Chapter 31: Sect Head!


    Eastern Continent


    Metal Sect


    The Sect head was already bloodied and battered facing the front lines. It was clear to everyone watching that he would no longer be able to continue fighting.


    But it was at this moment that Sera Hawke was observing high above from her Flying Fortress looking down at the battlefield.


    ¡°a sect which I don¡¯t know, they most likely have not participated in the invasion against the Continental Isle. I suppose I would lend a hand and make some new friends along the way¡±


    Sera arrived halfway through the battle and watched the entire battle as it went on only intending to join the fight when both sides are tired and on their last legs.


    Some might be repulsed by this cowardly strategy. But clearly not Sera Hawke as she patiently waited for the perfect moment for her descent. And when the little girl made her cry she knew that this is it.


    ¡°Its show time!¡± she said as she ordered 5,000 mechanized jet fighters to strafe fire at the rogue cultivators, while the Flying Fortress laid down precision carpet bombing on the enemies side with Rail Guns.


    ¡°SUP!¡± while inside Ashura


    The Sect head himself in this few moments manage to get he bearings together since the entire battlefield has been disrupted by a newcomer, everyone is on guard but on the side of the Metal Sect if Sera was an enemy it would not make much difference to their current situation anyway.


    Before both sides managed o recover from shock the mechanized jet fighters already transformed into humanoid mechs to engage on land bound targets while some of the maintained their jet fighter form to engage flight capable targets while being assisted by Rail Guns from the Flying Fortress.


    The rogue cultivators who already abandoned the battle to start looting the Meal Sect felt that something was wrong as they were trying to breach the main Sect Vault.


    ¡°go check it out, it suddenly became quiet!¡±


    ¡°why do I have to go? how about you go!¡±


    The whole group outside the vault wouldn¡¯t give an inch and they also knew the importance to check out the situation outside.


    ¡°you there! Go out and check what is going on outside!¡± said by the late stage Core Formation cultivator towards one of the young foundation establishment rogue cultivator.


    The youngster could not believe his bad luck since there is a chance to miss out on the loot, but since he is one of the weakest if not THE weakest he could only grit his teeth and do as he was told.


    But by the time he saw the outside of the building he could only thank his lucky stars as he saw the entire battlefield being overturned on their heads, rather than return back and report he just took the spatial pouches from the dead cultivators as he ran away.


    He did not care whether if it was a high quality spatial pouch or not since he also knew that the battle is lost after seeing the massive Flying Fortress raining fire at them from the skies, he grabbed anything as he ran until he completely disappeared from the battlefield.


    Sera Hawke came at a very timely manner however turning the tide of the battle is easier said than done. Even with her cultivation as an early level Core Formation, despite outnumbering the rogue cultivators 3 to 1, and even though the Sentinels have been upgraded to the tensile strength of a Core Formation level.


    Despite being tired from the day long battle the rogue cultivator¡¯s Nascent Souls are still very much active and with the death of the Metal Sect Elders the battlefield is actually more close to even and that was only because of their numerical superiority from the mechanized jet fighters.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    This was just a proof of how comfortable and soft some people in the Sect has become compared to the rogue cultivators who managed to struggled, survive and cultivate to this day.


    The remaining members of the Metal Sect was of course reinvigorated at the sight of a potential ally with the fight against the invading rogue cultivators. And fought they did as they stood and fell on their ground.


    Sera tried her best to save as many disciples as possible but her strength is pretty much limited to say the least. Aside from the shock and awe in her arrival the rogue cultivators eventually managed to get back to their bearings and counterattacked effectively.


    But the numerical advantage of the mechanized jet fighters are not to be under estimated, since fighting against Nascent Souls is ineffective they started targeting the weaker one to a terrifying degree of effectiveness.


    Sera Hawke¡¯s already numerical superior force ended up being more seemingly numerous as more and more of the invading rogue cultivators died at their hands. But alas despite the second wind the members of the Metal Sect their defeat was already set in stone.


    Without the Sect Elders and Veterans to prop their morale and coordinate their defenses they were like headless chickens running around fighting whichever is near to them. Obviously most of those near them ended up being a cultivator stronger than them.


    As this continued the only one making this battlefield a battle instead of a massacre is Sera Hawke. As mush as she would like to save all of the Metal Sect for her own purposes it was unfortunate that she herself is having a hard time trying to keep herself alive.


    Ashura is already battered and missing several arms. At its current status it was more apt to call Ashura a shield with limbs while the other Sentinels provide covering fire. The Sect Head on the other hand could only provide potshots at critical moments to assist Sera since his strength is already stretched this as it is.


    ¡°D-damn! If this goes on we would be wiped out!¡± said one of the rogue cultivators


    ¡°we are taking too much casualties! This is not worth it there are many other weak Sects for the taking RETREAT!¡±


    Despite the retreat order some pockets of fighting still continued either stubbornly staying to fight for the loot or could not hear the order, either way Sera¡¯s mechanized jet fighters eventually cleaned these small pockets of invaders that stayed behind.


    It took at least 5 more hours after the rogue cultivators retreated before the entire Metal Sect started to search for their injured members. The sight was quite tragic a the lifeless corpses of their fellow sect members laid down cold and unmoving.


    Sera took it upon herself to have the mechanized jet fighters to patrol the entire area around the clock. She came out of Ashura to talk to the Sect Head for cooperation and reward for her timely arrival.


    ¡°So! I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re the one in charge?¡± Sera said to the severely injured old man surrounded by the Metal Sect disciples


    There was no response to Sera Hawke¡¯s inquiry. The disciples were not paying her any attention not that Sera craved for it anyway. Seeing the situation she chose to keep quiet as she watched the old man she presumed to be the one in charge of this place give orders to the surrounding disciples.


    The disciples cried quietly but eventually ran away in groups. Of the 8,000 defenders only 1,000 remained in the Sect, mostly because the majority of them are injured or have no other place to go. Regardless when everyone left the side of the old man his eyes looked directly at Sera Hawke.


    The Sect head could no longer utter any words he only lifted his hands and gave Sera his spatial pouch, doing this naturally made the disciples who witnessed it into a confused gasp.


    The spatial pouch of the Metal Sect¡¯s Sect head could only be passed down to the next successor due to its unbelievably high quality and unknown origins. Sera Hawke took the spatial pouch from the Set Head without any other thoughts.


    After Sera received his spatial pouch the Sect Head finally closed his eyes in peace despite his body¡¯s bedraggled appearance his last actions made him feel light and freed from all responsibilities. Coincidentally the moment Sera Hawke took the spatial pouch she suddenly felt as if she just took an incredible burned of responsibility.


    ¡°heeeey wait a minute! What the hell is going on here!?¡± she thought to her self


    The Sect Head of the Metal Sect has now perished after the battle with hundreds of witness Sera Hawke has now become the Matriarch of the Metal Sect. She was almost immediately informed by the surviving disciples who still have the strength to move and explain to her the traditions of the Metal Sect.


    She could only sigh at the unfolding event but steeled her self since this could also be considered a good thing. She decided to help the metal Sect in their most vulnerable and dire need of life saving assistance to make some friends but now as it looks like it would seem she just became the new Sect Head of the Metal Sect.


    ¡°Convenient too considering that the Metal Sect owned several dozen mundane ore mines and two heavenly and spiritual metal mines¡± as she looked at the stack of papers inside the spatial pouch the old Sect Head gave her


    Sera is somewhat lost due to the sudden development but eventually resigned to her current dilemma and decided to try and fix things in exchange for the gift of the old man.


    With a heavy sigh Sera could only say in a small voice ¡°whatever it is, this better be all worth it old man, I¡¯ll try to keep your Metal Sect afloat¡±


    In the following days Sera maintained a vigilant patrol in the territory of the Metal Sect. Not that it was large since the Metal Sect has been comprised of several hundred rocky hills and a few medium scale mountains in which they earn some money.


    By this time the survivors of the Sect albeit injured have already come to terms about their Sect¡¯s current situation and are crossing their fingers hoping for the best outcome otherwise they would simply move out of the Sect and find a better place for themselves.


    ¡°By now I assume you know that I just became a legitimate successor of the Metal Sect, seeing that most if not every senior member of the Sect has been either incapacitated or have been killed by the invading rogue cultivator alliance I am here to announce my formal authority throughout the Sect¡±


    ¡°First, if you wish to leave the Metal Sect as it is now you will be allowed to do so without repercussion not only that but you will also receive payment for extraordinary services rendered to the Sect during its time of need¡±


    ¡°Second, if you want to stay here at the Metal Sect with me as the Current Matriarch then you should from here on then would have to obey my orders to the best of your abilities¡±


    ¡°I can only imagine what you¡¯re feeling right now so I won¡¯t pretend to even understand them. But all I can ensure that as long as you are loyal to me I would personally help you break through the peak of Core Formation stage. I understand that a third rate sect like the Metal Sect having several dozen Core Formation experts is already considered a blessing but because of the recent battle all hope seems lost for the Sect¡¯s future¡±


    ¡°As you can see I have iron soldiers at my command and most if not all of them are made out of high quality but mundane metals with a very little hint of spirituality, with them we can safeguard the Metal Sect and with the Mines our future would only be limited by our own willingness of what we can achieve¡±


    ¡°Rest well, once all of you have recovered from you¡¯re injuries we will begin repairing the Sect¡±


    Sera was not really familiar with speeches since she herself was quite the eccentric and does not know if her speech made it through the disciples. Regardless Sera thought she was very honest in what she had said.


    Even though she said she would wait for the disciples to recover, obviously Sera could not wait that long to recreate a defensive perimeter mostly for her safety since she had a feeling that this battle was not yet over.


    With a sigh she said ¡° I hope I am only being overly cautious¡±

 Chapter 32: The Changes In The Metal Sect

    Chapter 32: The Changes In The Metal Sect


    Eastern Continent


    The attack done by the rogue cultivators caused insurmountable damage and chaos on various Sects and Clans throughout the entire Eastern Continent. Aside from pillaging of resources the rogue cultivators instigated rebellions from all over the place and even went as far as encouraging to settle old scores.


    Hundreds of factions were instantly annihilated overnight due to the coordinated simultaneous attack Continent wide. It was considered lucky for the forces who just returned from the war with the Continental Isle to recall all forces and be on the defensive until they have recuperated.


    This action by some coincidentally saved them, the entire Eastern Continent was shocked of such provocation against the various Sects and Clans that spanned back for several thousands of years.


    This of course invited a massive hunting parties from the first class Sects to ¡°train¡± their disciples to hunt down the criminals.


    Very few factions survived the rogue cultivator offensive relatively intact like the Metal Sect. Despite their massive casualties their resources and legacy arts remained untouched allowing them to recuperate back to their peak given time¡­ especially now that Sera Hawke has taken the helm of this ship.


    Days came by and the damage reports dealt by the rogue cultivators are still coming continuously. The Eastern Continent is vastly larger compared to the Western Continent and the Continental Isle even back in its prime combined by at last 5 times.


    These damage reports are most likely reports from weeks if not months ago only coming here now due to the sheer size of the Eastern Continent. That also means, that if the rogue cultivators decided to hide the first rate factions would have to spend a very long time and a lot of resources just to deal with bandits. Something that most people knew they won¡¯t do.


    Currently the majority of the Eastern Continent is being torn apart by lawlessness and rebellion, making the factions like the battered Metal Sect look like a safe heaven to the refugees who fled with as much as they can as quickly as possible.


    ¡°ok, now that you have all gathered here my proposition still stands follow me as the new Sect master of the Metal Sect or get in line to receive your severance and rewards in the service of the Sect¡± Sera said as she tried to sound and look empathetic to these people


    In truth Sera Hawke could not care any less if each and everyone left the Metal Sect right now, she will just hand out the rewards, shake their hands and be done with them. What¡¯s really important to Sera Hawke right now is the information in the scroll that the former Sect Head gave her before his death.


    The scroll depicts of a heavenly metal mine that could continuously produce precious metals as long as it is fed spiritual energies or mana. Something that could make her a real powerhouse right here on the Eastern Continent.


    This world in general is considered by Sera as backwards due to the over reliance to magic. Because of magic and the such science and technology are pretty much steam and clockwork at best.


    But in her hands Sera could not only build an army but depending on the capacity of this heavenly metal mine she could probably create a smaller version of a death star looking down on all creations of this world.


    This line of thought alone makes Sera Hawke want to drool. Several days after the disciples of the Metal Sect recuperated enough to walk around Sera again popped the question stay or leave?


    And as expected ninety nine percent of the disciples decided to take the severance and rewards to separate from the Metal Sect. In their minds after the Veterans, Elders and then the death of the Sect Head this new Metal Sect with a stranger leading them would have no future.


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    Aside from the outer sect disciples who have nowhere else to go decided to continue their lives normally as is. 1 out of 10 only manages to enter the inner sect and on the light of the rogue cultivator¡¯s invasion severely damaging the Sect, these outer sect disciples could only be content that they could still cultivate better that rogue cultivators who literally have to fight tooth and nail for resources that even outer sect disciples like them could casually pick on the ground.


    ¡°I am saddened by your decisions but a promise is a promise, you can be rest assured that I will do my best to live up to the former Sect Head¡¯s expectations¡±


    Despite her sad facade Sera Hawke could barely contain her excitement! According to the scroll she received from the former Sect Head only the core members of the Sect knew about the heavenly metal mine that could constantly produce precious metals. And with the death of the Elders and the Sect Head only Sera Hawke knew of its existence right now!


    It took several more days to liquidate the assets of the Metal Sect and distribute them to the disciples who wanted to leave. What made it took longer was the copying of the cultivation manuals something that Sera did not bother with because she had the entire collection and Legacy inside the former Sect head¡¯s spatial pouch.


    There are several dozen mining site within the territory of the Metal Sect but the grand majority of them are simply mundane ores and minerals. There are only 2 actual mining sites that mattered one is a spiritual ore mine that produces metals with spiritual energy and spirits stones or more commonly known as mana stones back at the Continental Isle.


    The second mining site is the most important one and probably no less in comparison to a Dragon Vein. The heavenly metal mine which is hidden within the depths of the Sect itself, had it not been for the sheer amount of resources poured towards its defense the Metal Sect could easily reach the status of a second rate Sect by this generation.


    The Flying Fortress is currently hovering silently above the Sect grounds being a symbol of awe and terror as the disciples still remember the might of the Flying Fortress during the battle with the rogue cultivators.


    ¡°the Metal Sect is over¡± said one of the leaving disciple


    ¡°yeah, who would follow a random stranger seriously?¡±


    ¡°she saved our lives!¡± said another


    ¡°a stranger still nonetheless. Who knows how long she can defend a broken down Sect?¡±


    ¡°regardless!, we should be thankful that we even got payed before leaving the Sect¡±


    ¡°agreed. If it was any other person they would likely just take everything for themselves¡±


    The disciples could only sigh at the tragedy of the Metal Sect though it was only a third rate Sect it was still a Sect that had several hundred if not several thousand years as its foundation.


    The former disciples of the Metal Sect scattered to the wind to find their own fortunes. Some decided to live a normal life and be content with what they have, some decided to join the bigger Sects to increase their chance for a breakthrough and support their cultivation while there are a few who decided that maybe ow is the era of rogue cultivators and thought it would be a good idea to become bandits.


    Several days after those who wanted to leave have left, those who wanted to stay were put to work after several days of physical and mental recuperation. These outer sect disciples were quickly sent to mine mundane metals which had very little spirituality.


    Sera told them that each outer sect disciple have a quota of 1 ton of metal to turn in every week otherwise they would not get cultivation resources. This of course made the disciples disgruntled but based on their situation this is already better than most of the cultivators out there.


    These were literally a mountain range filled with resources. Sera could build a lot with it but the mechanized jet fighters are being used to monitor the entire territory and its surroundings to avoid any surprise attacks otherwise she would not have to rely in a meagre amount of 500 outer sect disciple with only a handful of early foundation establishment stage.


    Though this method are crude it was not that slow either, the disciples of the Metal Sect even outer sect disciples have a huge affinity towards metal rather than hitting them with pickaxes they use a special method to extract solid metal out of the mineral veins. Needless to say it is an extremely taxing process which Sera had to tell that this is part of their training.


    Few believed her on that but since they are getting paid for their work they aren¡¯t really bothered by it. Gemini Doc would heal the outer sect disciples turned miners every time they would overexert themselves with the use of Sera Hawke¡¯s special medicine making them stronger ever so slightly each day.


    Despite the ever present spiritual energy and or magical phenomena Sera wanted to have a more conventional and stable method to generate energy. Solar and wind energy is a given considering the location but also steam powered turbines simply due to the seemingly inexhaustible amount of trees in the biggest continent on this world.


    In just 2 months after Sera Hawke took over the Metal Sect she already started constructing modern facilities made of stone and steel mined from the mountain range. By this time the outer sect disciples have already received medication from Gemini Doc which made their body stronger and their cultivation smoother.


    They are already prepared to make a breakthrough towards the foundation establishment sage, but when they came down from the mountain mines they were completely shocked at the sight.


    ¡°w-where the hell are we!?¡± one said extremely confused and panicked


    ¡°did we exit the wrong side of the mountain?¡± another asked


    ¡°don¡¯t be ridiculous we may be outer sect disciples but we have been here for years now!¡± he shouted


    ¡°then how do you explain that¡±


    They pointed at where the Metal Sect was supposed to be only to be awed by a city seemingly made out of steel. Eventually they gathered their courage to investigate further and found out that this is indeed still the Metal Sect only better and more worthy of its name ¡°Metal Sect¡±.


    Sera managed to bribe some of the inner sect disciples who were supposed to leave into staying and help her in managing the place making them temporarily have the authority of an Elder. Of course they don¡¯t have the personal strength to back up their temporary rank so Sera have 100 mechanized jet fighters transform into humanoid form to attend to these temporary Elders in their duties.


    When they arrive they asked W-where is the Matriarch?¡± they asked as they tried to sound in a respectful manner.


    ¡°She can see and hear you, just talk to one of those Steel puppet things¡± the temporary Elder pointed at the mechanized jet fighter in its humanoid mech form.


    ¡°M-matriarch can you hear me? We have done as you told and we are here to collect the reward and ready to breakthrough the foundation establishment stage¡±


    ¡°hmm? Oh aaahh yes I remember, good work. now get your rewards from one of the temporary Elders managing the place. Your new dwellings are in the spire the big shiny structure touching the sky it¡¯s very hard to miss just take any unoccupied room, they keys are either of your hands check the manual I have distributed everything new is in there. Now I am busy go bother the temporary Elder¡±


    With that Sera cut off the communication to the stunned representative of the outer sect disciples.


    ¡°T-this¡­ I¡¯m not dreaming am I!?¡±


    With a sigh one of them could only say ¡°those who left really made a bad rushed decision¡±


    They could only shake their heads and click their tongues ¡°tsk tsk tsk¡±


    ¡°looks like our future here in the Metal Sect is not so bleak after all¡± they all thought as they get reinvigorated with more and firmer dedication towards the Metal Sect.

 Update

    I''m having an extended vacation... And my laptop battery (non removable) just kicked the bucket and i have to work like its pc at the moment.


    I can''t calm down when I''m at a single spot for too long... You get the point, Be right back soon.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I''m writing this from my phone an you don''t need to read this part.


    I''m only writhing this part because it won''t let me post this small update under 500 characters long. So now I am forced to make this update unnecessarily long and awkward.

 Emergency Update

    Wahen i said i was taking an extended vacation tgis was not what i had in mind.


    Taal volcano just erupted here in the Philippines and at least 3 cities are affected, there is also an estimated week long power outage in my city.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I personally saw power lines exploding left and right and my city is not even in the immediate danger zone. But not that far either.


    Anyway its very hard to just charge gadgets here at the moment and i am at constant internet withdrawal... Yeah you might laugh at that as i did before but now that i have extreme limited internet access i feel the itch inside me.

 Chapter 33: Expansion

    Chapter 33: Expansion


    Metal Sect


    Eastern Continent


    The temporary Elders of the Metal Sect were working hard to the bone, not that they are being forced by Sera but because they are forcing themselves. The rewards alone being given for each task completed amounted to at least 3 times a medium difficulty mission back at the old Metal Sect.


    These temporary Elders wanted to quickly amass wealth and resources as fast as possible as safe as possible while there are still less than a thousand people here at the new Metal Sect. Who knows whether they would still be generously paid in the future after there is a flood of new disciples entering the Sect, considering how the new Matriarch or the Sect do things it should be less than 10 before this new Metal Sect emerge as a second rate Sect.


    Sera Hawke of course was ever watchful even though she completely delegated the task of managing the entire Metal Sect to these temporary Elders she still observed them vigilantly so as to avoid any form of treachery. Not that she suspected them of betrayal or anything like that but simply to be safe rather than sorry.


    She then started creating metal houses and apartment blocks for the refugees in the outer rims of the Metal Sect. Since these refugees are only looking for shelter during this calamity she would not easily invite them inside the Sect since Sera does not have that much manpower at her disposal to manage a large group of outsiders, most of them may be innocent but some of them could be trouble makers and during this precarious situation of the Metal Sect it was imperative that nothing goes wrong during the rebuilding process.


    On the core location of the Metal Sect the ¡°War Factories¡± are pumping out hundreds of Knight Golems and Mechanized Jet Fighters every day like clockwork as she desperately tries to fill in the gap of her defenses. In the past few days Sera gave the refugees work to earn their own upkeep, they mined mineral ores and in turn they recieved food, water, shelter, medicine and all other nessecities.


    The current Metal Sect might look amazing right now with the new and shiny buildings but only Sera Hawke knew that compared to the real powerhouses the Metal Sect would still be pinched like an ant if anything like a second rate Sect or above decided to attack this place.


    Even with the current fighting force of five thousand Mechanized Jet Fighters and ten thousand Knight Golems, she knew all of this numbers would do is to buy her enough time to hide and escape. If Sera is to survive an actual attack from a second rate Sect or higher she knew that it is going to take more than just a few thousand soldiers just to meet the requirement for her to even force a stalemate.


    Unfortunately for her just as she intends to build up her forces up to speed her cultivation hit a bottleneck. No matter how many medicine she took her cultivation seemingly remained stagnant.


    ¡°oh boy, this¡­ is going to be a problem¡± Sera said to herslef


    As this would mean that she either needed to push herself to the limit like putting her life on the line in a middle of fight to gain enlightenment or read more books which is most likely in the hands of higher ranking Sects. That also means until the Metals Sect rose to power Sera might not progress a all which is like a chicken and egg dilema in a sense that she needed power to get that knowledge from others but she currently have no power to even contest others.


    Unbeknownst to Sera Hawke that this moment in time is a golden opportunity for her and the Metal Sect to build up their powerbase uninterrupted. The reason being the war with the Continental Isle just ended and its participants are recuperating, the rogue cultivators attack and devastation continent wide brought much confusion and pushed each and every faction in a defensive posture so much so that they would not even have a full understanding of how much damage the rogue cultivators have brought to the Eastern Continent.


    With Sera¡¯s bottleneck at the early stage of Core Formation level this would be the best time for her to personally manage the Metal Sect in its entirety.


    ¡°I need that giant Mech built as soon as possible¡±


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    With the amount of resources she currently have at her disposal as long as nothing unexpected happens a huge surprise would shock the entire Eastern Continent that is Sera Hawke.


    During this time Sera observed that as the days pass by more and more refugees are streaming in the territory of the Metal Sect, Despite being surrounded by rolling hills and mountain ranges most of these refugees are cultivator families that were forced out by the rogue cultivators.


    Most of them lived in prosperous cities but during the attack they could barely even defend themselves. With chaos, anarchy followed then came the looting and killing it was pandemonium. These are just some of the smarter people who decided to leave the city as it became a beacon for bandits to pillage.


    ¡°now is the best time for these people to resettle and with a little bit of temptation I can make them enroll here in the Metal Sect there is still power in numbers after all¡±


    Eastern Continent


    Metal Sect


    5 years later


    After Sera Hawke¡¯s brief and dramatic rescue of the Metal Sect she quickly took over of the Sect in order to build her force here in the Eastern Continent. It has been 5 years now since the new Matriarch Sera Hawke took over the reins of the Metal Sect as she rebuilt it from ground up.


    The situation in the Eastern Continent was literally a blessing falling from the sky and into her lap as the entire Continent was in chaos and a huge stream of refugees entered the territory of the Metal Sect.


    As soon as she noticed them Sera spared no effort to recruit these refugees en masse, considering her offer the refugees were only to happy to join under the banner of the Metal Sect. The newly rebuilt Metal Sect was truly a wonder to the people of this world, skycrappers were seen by the dozen, the hollowed out mountains completely mined of of minerals has been transformed into mountain sized forts that detered other third rate Sects to having malicious intentions againts the Metal Sect.


    Despite the sudden huge influx of people joining the Metal Sect, 99 percent of them are just QI Condensation level with their Elders being only in the Foundation Establishment level. Sera did not hesitate to overwork Gemini Doc in producing thousands of vials a day for the new members so that they could quickly enter the Foundation Establishment stage. This is not only to increase the strength of the Metal Sect but also to impress this new members.


    Boosting their strength just as soon as they joined the Sect was already more than enough to boost morale and increase their impression of the Metal Sect.


    Sera introduced limited Sience and Technology to the new members of the Sect such as mechanics, medicine and some basic electronics. Though when It came to electronics Sera Hawke had to be careful since she did not want them to learn too much that they could start hacking into the systems she placed in the entire metal Sect.


    But on the other hand she also did not want to shorthand them on knowledge since the purpose of this is to strengthen them and deter any and all potential enemies.


    In her mind magic is good and all that, but to Sera all this magic suff is still very unscientific and would rather trust good old Sience and Technology which she can control with ease on the tip of her fingertips.


    In jut a few years of getting used to the refugees has been fully integrated into the Metal Sect as full fledged members. The knowledge that Sera shared to her people were well recieved aside from Electronics, she heard a lot of complaint that these ¡°runes¡± are to sensetive and frail that even a little mistake could make the entire thing malfuction.


    But rather than be angry or dissapointed she only smiled as this showed critical thinking and is the first step in progressing towards greater heights in technology. These people are not that talented when it came to cultivating so Sera found a use for them and have them study Electronic Diagrams.


    Eventually she hoped to create a magic free Rail Gun now that she have resources to rely on. the problem would be people, she needed more people to eventually assist her Since these people would eventually have heir lifespans increase by at least 200 years as Sera provide them with medicines. Back on earth starting from the 1900 up to the year 2000 in just 100 years so much of the technology changed so much so that they are borderline witchcraft if it was brought back 100 years in the past.


    She had plans to build a giant Mech using only the most high quality of materials and now Sera have all of them.


    ¡°it¡¯s now or never!¡±


    The Mech is being build inside the hollowed out mountain fort for secrecy all of the workers are just drones that Sera have to supervise most of the time to ensure that this clumsy robots would not steer away from the blue prints.


    Meanwhile the disciples of the Metal Sect are hard at work not only to gain more understanding and mastery of their craft but also to help in the mining operations. Such as radio active materials the Matriarch had given them a device to identify such materials and is listed as a top priority in case it is found.


    Lucky for Sera, radio active materials have no practical use to cultivators and has already managed to find a literal ton of it in just a few years of casual mining. She is already numb to this types of things where logic is already overturned multiple times. Back on earth radio active materials is one of the rarest materials in the world.


    But here apparently you can just dig it up. But that is mostly due to this world having no basic understanding of sciene aside from alchemy in which they make their pills and other medicine to aid in their cultivation.


    Now that everything is on track she asked one of the temporary Elders of the Sect to finally introduce her of the surrounding factions near the Metal Sect.


    ¡°w-well to the north are pretty free cities if a cultivator is strong enough they just build their own city. The north is also very desolate of resources so much so that even in the recent r-rouge cultivator attack did not lose too much¡±


    ¡°oh? And why is that?¡± Sera asked with a raised eyebrow


    ¡°weell, you see they don¡¯t have that much of a wealth to begin with and the most they could provide is materials on the level of Foundation Establishment only. After giving up these ¡°precious¡± resources they were just left alone as the rogue cultivators went away in search of a more wealthy target¡±


    ¡°south is where we are right now. Very close to the ocean and just a few days away from the natural barrier that separates the Eastern COntinent and the Continental Isle, we have SOME resources but only eough to be called a third rate Sect. We are also sharing borders with several cultivator clans enough to be called a third rate faction and we are the lone Sect in these parts¡±


    ¡°to the East is plains, just plains aside from spiritual steeds there is nothing of note there aside from the nomadic tribes that like to keep to themselves like the north they also don¡¯t have that much in the means of cultivation resources. That is why they were also left alone in the recent attacks¡±


    ¡°the west on the other hand is quite rich in resources and home to over a dozen small scale Dragon Veins. Though ther status right now are currently unknown these third rate Sect are probably the same boat as the Metal Sect. With a dormant Dragon Vein and is currently declining¡±


    ¡°well not if I can help it¡± Sera said


    On the other hand this temporary Elder only took Sera Hawke¡¯s words as overestimating herself or to boost morale. In her mind ¡°everybody knows that without a Dragon Vein a Sect would eventually meet it downfall, especially if a Sect can¡¯t protect itself without powerful disciples.


    Sera shew what was on this person head but she just ignored it. ¡°As long as they are doing exactly what I want I don¡¯t really care about anything else¡± Sera thought as she stared at the map planning her next move.

 Chapter 34: Quick Escelation

    Chapter 34: Quick Escelation


    Sera wanted to use this time to expand her influence to as much as she could get away with. With all the major forces of the Eastern Continent being either too carefull or just too weak to do something about the current situation.


    As of right now Sera Hawke could only use swarm tactics and flood her enemies with unrelenting numbers from her Golems. Her target, the northern free cities.


    Most if not each and everyone of these free cities are not actually free. One way or another the rulers of these cities are connected to factions around the Eastern Continent and is being used as training grounds for their young descendants.


    Due to the nature of the Eastern Continent, this single Continent alone contains at least 10 billion humans and that is not taking into account the other various races that are vying for supremacy.


    She intends to absorb the northern free cities into her Metal Sect considering that they are preety much weaklings to begin with. Not to mention how many cultivators would be tempted to join the Metal Sect just to reach the Foundation Establishment level alone.


    Right now Sera can nurture several hundred of Core Formation experts if she opened up her own tresury, provided that they are worthy of course¡­ but that is very much unlikely at the moment as the people currently flocking towards the Metal Sect are mostly just wanting to escape the chaos rather than wanting to actually throw their lot at the Sect itself.


    Attacking the other Sects on the west would be a bad idea since Sera does not exactly know their current strength not to mention if whether they could call some favors from the other factions. If that really happened that would be a huge mistake on Sera Hawke¡¯s part it wasn¡¯t even funny thinking about it.


    It made Sera shiver just thinking about biting more that she can chew. That is why even though the free cities are poor and weak it is also a huge source of manpower. Something the Metal Sect currently lack the most, Sera only need to march her thousand or so peak Foundation Establishment disciples and they would most likely the ones knocking on the gates of the Metal Sect.


    Not to mention the growing number of Golems in Sera Hawkes arsenal, the giant Mech, and even the Flying Fortress loaded with hundreds of Rail Guns. In her mind right now the northern free cities could easily steamrolled if the need ever arise. As for their loyalties¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter as long as they obey her commands and not betray her she would supply them with resources to cultivate.


    At the currnet state of the Eastern Continent, specifically on the topic of cultivation Sera found out 2 things.


    One is that to cultivate to higher realms you need reasources¡­ obviously, but most people just throw money at their cultivation problem hence they just throw as much resources as they can until they could breakthrough their bottleneck.


    Two is to breakthrough using enlightenment, a vague concept that only the true geniuses use to achieve higher realms. But the problem is that nobody can help you understand this enlightenment procedure since it is different from each individual.


    Sera intends to simply throw more resources at the problem until it is solved just like what she is used to to back on earth. The concept of cultivation still eludes her and just takes this world of magic for granted.


    ¡°it¡¯s fine as long as its there, but I don¡¯t intend to rely on it forever¡±


    Sera intends to reinvent technology on this world by using magic as its foundation. Not only it would speed things up it also made things a lot easier, she could not bear the thought of starting software programming from scratch. Good thing that in this world of magic there are objects in this world that could give birth to Spiritual Incarnation of a treasure.


    ¡°by making a magic based Quantum Computer I can have a Spiritual Incarnation for the ¡°tool¡±. all I need to do is find high quality materials to create it with¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Luckily for her the Metal Sect has everything she needs and could create high tier magical equipments that would give birth to Spiritual Incarnations¡­ so long as the secret under the Metal Sect could remain secret.


    If at any given point in time the secret of Spitritual and Heavenly Metal mine under the Sect is revealed to the world¡­ only calamity would befall Sera Hawke.


    Thousands of people have been injecting their spiritual energies to the metal Sect as the Matriarch have instructed to help maintain and ¡°power up¡± certain spell formations, when infact it is to feed the mysterious Spiritual Metal mine that eats all kinds of magic to spit out large blocks of spiritualy enchanted metal ingots of various kinds.


    By using this method Sera could easily harvest over one thousand tons of valuable spirit metals for construction of her Golems and Mech. But she felt that this kind of progress is too slow since she really can¡¯t ask for to much mana from the cultivators otherwise it would be suspicious.


    ¡°the last thing I need at this point is to have colorful rumors flying around, who knows which ears they would land to!?¡±


    That is why she wanted to expand if not gather more people to integrate into the Metal Sect so that she could harvest more mana without alerting the wrong types of people.


    Feeling impatient Sera sent five hundred Foundation Establishment disciples with the support of ten thousand Knight Golems towards the northern free cities to invite people to join the Metal Sect.


    Such a relatively large group was eye catching in these parts, as a large group of Foundation Establishment level cultivators don¡¯t really move together unless they are escaping or marching towards war.


    Because of such a sight the smaller factions could only turtle up and not dare to venture out in hope that they would be overlooked. This kind of reaction is of course opposite of what Sera Hawke was hoping for. After all she sent this force to show that the Metal Sect could easily produce hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators as long as they join.


    Sera was never interested in the actual disciples all she needed from them is their mana injection so that she could increase the harvest of spirit metals.


    With such a force roving around the free cities they instantly became the talk of the entire region.


    ¡°hey have you heard? The Metal Sect is recruiting disciples¡±


    ¡°haha how could we not know such a huge force suddenly appearing out of nowhere¡±


    ¡°so? What do you guys think? Should we join?¡±


    ¡°hmp! The few Nascent Soul cultivators that they have has perished alongside most of their Core Formation experts during the attack of the rogue cultivators, this is an act of desperation if they are personally begging for disciples! Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°but the fact that they could still support disciples means they are still a formidable third rate Sect!¡±


    The argument continued back and forth speculating the pros and cons of joining an ¡°injured¡± Sect. The loss of the Dragon Veins among third rate Sects and Factions is was no longer a secret and a lot of people are actually picking their choices of which third rate factions they would attack the moment it shows weakness.


    The Eastern Continent might looked like it has stabilised but it would only take a few pokes to stir the hive for it to become chaotic again, people are showing a front of being behaved and peaceful but this kind of masquerade could easily be discarded at their own convinience.


    The disciples of the Metal Sect are nothing special, and is in fact considered average at best despite its somewhat deep foundation. The Metal Sect¡¯s legacy techniques are simply a collection of variations of manipulating the Metal element.


    For majority of the people in the Eastern Continent that is what they would think if they made an in depth study of the Metal Sect¡¯s legacy techniques. But it is different for Sera Hawke, with the power of sience as her foundation she could create new types of metal alloys that could only exist in theory back on earth. but couple it with magic and then you have a near infinite potential in the ways of metallurgy.


    The disciples of the Metal Sect took a month to parade throughout the whole of the free cities showing off their Foundation Establishment level cultivation to any people willing to watch. But what the people are actually interested in are the Golems.


    These ¡°puppets¡± are a considerable addition to any faction¡¯s fighting force.


    ¡°do I get to have a puppet if I join the Metal Sect?¡± asked one of the bystanders


    ¡°forget about this clumsy Golems, we have Mechanized Jet Fighters that could fly high up on the sky and you could have some depending on your ability!¡±


    ¡°really!? wow I wanna join¡±


    In this world cultivation and magic is as normal as breathing and walking. Technology on the otherhand is quite a novel thing in this world since they could not conceptualise something moving without the usage of magic as its primary source of power.


    It did not take a long time before a huge batch of youths join the march to join the Metal Sect and even some thick skinned middle aged people joined in and try their luck, Of course they were all welcomed as it was the explicit orders from the Matriarch.


    To get as many people to join the Sect regardless of their talents in cultivation. Many disciples scratched their heads on the order since if the new disciples are untalented then that would be considered as a waste of resources.


    But that does not matter to Sera Hawke as all she ever needed is actually the spirit or mana injection from the disciples. Under the guise of training the entire Metal Sect has been designed to take spirit or mana as payment for any establishments services.


    And with the convinience of technology brought to this world nobody even considered asking why. Everyone thought it was part of a gimmick to drain the disciples and eventually force them to cultivate.


    In just a few years of openly inviting people to the Metal Sect its entire territory became a gigantic metal city unique in the world. As the more and more magic is injected into the heavenly / spiritual metal mine the more harvest Sera could have up to the point that she is now having trouble consuming the precious metals due to the sheer amount.


    Because of this she had to mobilize half of he Metal Sect and send the disciples outside of the Sect terrytories to ¡°train¡±, they had the Knight Golems for support in their mission as they literally sweep through the entire region.


    The rising status of the Metal Sect after the loss of their Dragon Veins did not go unnoticed and now various forces from the west have started making their move.


    ¡°so? I¡¯m sure you guys have heard of the news right?¡± a shadowy figure said


    ¡°what of it? Its just another Sect in their last gasp of breath¡± another said in a raspy voice


    ¡°i won¡¯t be so quick to judge them on that, if you have seen what I have you will be moved too¡±


    ¡°oh, you saw something that could move you? How rare, even you know your own limits to not covet those good things from powerful people¡±


    ¡°it is because the Metal Sect is also just a third rate Sect like ours and unlike us their Dragon Veins have already gone dormant. It would be only a matter of time before their cultivation progress stalled into a grinding halt. All we need to do is wait patiently before we strike¡±


    ¡° what about the other factions? Won¡¯t they intervene?¡±


    ¡°hah! Those spineless cowards would be too busy to find alternatives to bother us. With their Dragon Veins under threat of going dormant it would only be hastening their own deaths if their tried to play hero!¡±

 Chapter 35: Hidden Dangers

    Chapter 35: Hidden Dangers


    Eastern Continent


    Metal Sect


    It has been over a decade now since Sera Hawke made a show of force to the free cities north of the Metal Sect. And it has been a resounding success. The free cities, starved of resources were only too eager to join the Metal Sect with the promise of breaking through and reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.


    Aside from Sera and her original force hiding inside the Flying Fortress, none of the disciples of the Metal Sect have reached Core Formation level since Sera has been regulating the resources for those who are only worthy of them.


    This is despite the fact that the Metal Sect is hurting for more Core formation experts and even more so at least one Nascent Soul expert to guard the Sect from powerful foes. But Sera Hawke is not worried about that at the moment since she had planned to make the Metal Sect look weak looking from the outside.


    By increasing the number of Foundation Establishment stage disciples to reach over a hundred thousand even several third rate factions would have to think carefully if they really want to push on with their offensive. Since the resources on the Metal Sect could not even produce a Nascent Soul expert many factions would have to think that attacking the Metal Sect would not be worth their time and effort, to them the Metal Sect is just another one of the many Sects declining and would soon be forgotten in the pages of history.


    Because of this thought process many of the third rate forces decided to ignore the Metal Sect and instead focus on their own recovery in this dangerous times. But not all of them ignored the Metal Sect, some felt that the Metal Sect is still worth fighting over.


    But the problem for them still remains, and that the Metal Sect still has over one hundred thousand Foundation Establishment level disciples. Even though they are quite low level there are still a shit ton of them and the numbers alone gave them pause on their plans.


    Somewhere in a undisclosed location


    ¡°hmmm aren¡¯t their numbers a little too high? I thought this is a dying Sect?¡± said one of the conspirators in the shadow


    ¡°even more so that we should attack!. I heard that most of the original disciples of the Metal Sect left after the appointment of the new Matriarch. She definitely inherited something from the previous Sect Head¡±


    ¡°regardless of their situation we still must proceed with caution. After all we cant lose too many disciples on our own respective Sects, compared to the Metal Sect¡¯s rabble ours are true elites¡±


    ¡°you know I don¡¯t like too much scheming. Why can¡¯t we just kill the Matriarch and break their will to fight as you said they are just a bunch of refugees that wanted to stick around to feel safe. Trust me if their so called Matriarch is dead they would scatter to the wind¡±


    The shadowy gathering of conspirators became silent for a few seconds as looked at each other second guessing their plan to attack the Metal Sect.


    The silence war broken with a sigh.


    ¡°if we don¡¯t even have a clear goal or a plan why do we even bother thinking of attacking them?¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk tsk, I am inclined to agree. First we should think of a goal and make a plan for it after all we don¡¯t want a shattered mess even if we win¡­ that would be a real tragedy¡±


    ¡°hmp! You guys make the plans just call for me when you are done scheming and point me where to attack. It¡¯s just a dying Sect without even a Nascent Soul expert!!¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Metal Sect


    A person with a Sect Elder¡¯s uniform could be seen running towards the Matriarch. His pale face indicates something serious has happened. In the recent years the temporary Elders that Sera Hawke has hired from the original disciples of the Metal Sect has decided to become full time Elders despite only having the cultivation level of peak Foundation Establishment disciple.


    When they saw the future prospects of the Metal Sect under the new Matriarch they quickly changed their minds and decided to work harder to earn the right to become fully fledged Sect Elders.


    Rushed knockings could be heard on the door as the young Sect Elder nearly bashed the door open.


    ¡°come in¡± said Sera in a bored and annoyed voice


    ¡°Matriarch bad news! We are being surrounded!¡± he said with each second his voice being more frantic


    After hearing the frantic young Sect Elder she only raised an eyebrow as she pushed a button to observe the Sect¡¯s surrounding from a holographic screen.


    Technically speaking they are really being surrounded but, the ¡°enemies¡± has yet to even cross the borders of the Metal Sect.


    Sera exasperatedly said ¡°you have got to be kidding me¡­ right? They are not even attacking or blocking us why are you so worked up¡±


    ¡°B-but Matriarch this is a clear provocation to the Metal Sect! If we let them slide this time they will surely escalate the provocation and by the time a fight breaks out we would already be put on a passive defense.


    ¡°ha! Let them do what they want as long as they behave themselves we won¡¯t lift a finger on them don¡¯t worry I will triple the Golem patrol, even if they really attacked we would not be caught by surprise! And if you have time to worry about distant troubles why don¡¯t you train more huh!?¡±


    After shouting the young Sect Elder out of the room Sera focused on the holographic image.


    She sighed and said ¡°I was really hoping that peace would last longer tsk tsk tsk¡± as she shook her head


    The image shows that not only they are creating fortified positions they are also tunneling deep underground according to the seismograph. Most likely these people are thinking that they are being so sneaky, unbeknownst to them Sera Hawke is already preparing for a vicious counter attack.


    All of the Mechanized Jet Fighters and Knight Golems are only on the level of the Peak Foundation Establishment stage, considering the fact that there are at least over 50,000 of them by now Sera Hawke is quite confident that the current Metal Sect could overpower any of the third rate factions without further backings from the bigger Sects.


    But this did not mean that Sera would let her guard down and be content on the current situation. The giant mech prototype has been long completed towering at the height of fifty meters and with the weight of around twenty five thousand tons of heavenly and spiritual metals.


    It has at estimated strength of around mid Nascent Soul expert in pure physical strength. Unfortunately all of its other magical abilities are simply at the level of the peak of the Core Formation stage, a lot of the cutting edge technology that Sera have on board simply could not be integrated with magic properly and would need further improvements in the coming years or even decades.


    Something that Sera Hawke does not have at the moment but she had a sudden spark of enlightenment.


    ¡°wait a minute¡­. why am I thinking that this is like a battle of annihilation, clearly these bastards are intending to rob the Metal Sect not destroy it to ashes! All I need to do is inflict enough damage to their forces and they would be forced to retreat¡±


    For now the enemies surrounding the borders of the Metal Sect are less than ten thousand therefore Sera is currently not worried of any sudden attack or any skirmishes coming from the outside forces.


    But that does not mean that she is going to stand by as her enemies are preparing for an attack. Sera is also preparing her Golem armies, the Flying Fortress is already at the altitude of twenty thousand meters above sea level.inside are all of Sera¡¯s forces of 100 Core Formation level cultivators led by Bellato and supported by thousands of Mechanized Jet Fighters covering the sky.


    While on the ground Sera intends to lead the over one hundred thousand Foundation Establishment level Sect disciples plus tens of thousands of Knight Golems as shock troops, canon fodders or whatever they could do to them the Knight Golems were like throwaways and can easily be recycled, reparied and or rebuild as long as there are materials.


    Somewhere in a undisclosed location


    ¡°so, how are the preparations? Have we been discovered?¡± said nervously by one of the shadowy figures


    ¡°why are you so worried they don¡¯t even have a single Nascent Soul expert! Would you relax already and just focus on your part of the plan¡± one of them replied from the shadows


    ¡°don¡¯t underestimate the Metal Sect. If we are going to do this we might as well do it right we have made plans and the preparations are underway¡­ strike the rabbit as if it¡¯s a tiger¡± said another


    ¡°say, we have been a little too cautious with this Metal Sect do you know some information that we don¡¯t huh?¡±


    With a sigh the shadowy figure said ¡° a few thousand years ago one of the Sect ancestors said to be wary of the Metal Sect. According to him the Metal Sect had enough resources to become a second rate Sect but didn¡¯t for some reason¡±


    ¡°huh!? but why? If they could achieve the rank and status of a second rate Sect why didn¡¯t they push through, did something happen?¡±


    ¡°we don¡¯t really know the full details but we do know that they once purchased high quality materials that would even bankrupt most second rate Sects, to purchase materials to what we estimated a sealing formation¡±


    ¡°hmm, you think they are hiding some kind of a secret? But that¡¯s normal isn¡¯t it?¡­ I mean it would be a lot more suspicious if they did not have some sort of secret¡±


    ¡°No no no, you don¡¯t understand. For a third rate Metal Sect to have that kind of wealth and be still functioning for several thousand years is beyond suspicious. We already thought back then that the Metal Sect was a branch of some first rate Sect as a form of a hidden card or something, but after all these years the Metal Sect only struggled bitterly with their own strength¡±


    ¡°if we are going to strike now is the time., considering the fact that very few of the original disciples remain in the Metal Sect as it has been taken over by a new Matriarch as it¡¯s Sect Head¡±


    Sighing and shaking their heads they unanimously agreed that no matter the secret of the Metal Sect they would eventually uncover it after they have pried open it¡¯s shell and divide it¡¯s bounty awaiting them.


    Metal Sect


    Sera Hawke made quite preparations as much as she could but people still noticed the movements and preparations being made such as: combat drill, midnight raid practice, evacuation plans, regrouping plans, counter offensive plans and the such.


    A few of the Metal Sect disciples hundled around the table as they rest and eat their meals after the training drill.


    ¡°guys surely I¡¯m not the only one noticing these movements right? Something bad is about to happen¡±


    ¡°Shhh! Do you want to get in trouble!? don¡¯t talk about it all we need to do is to train hard, look around you all these people here in the Metal Sect are former refugees who has been chased away from their own land. After finding this paradise do you think they would just leave without a fight¡±


    ¡°i agree, all we should do is follow the Matriarch!, there have been movements from the skies lately a lot of those flying metal puppets have been patrolling day and night non stop judging by the looks of things it won¡¯t be long before war finally erupts¡±


    ¡°right right! Since we have no other place to go we might as well stand our ground and fight!. after all last time I checked the disciples of the Metal Sect numbered around one hundred thousand Foundation Establishment.


    The disciples of the Metal Sect knew something is afoot but kept quiet rather than speculate, they could only follow the arrangements of their Matriarch and continue their training. Meanwhile nobody notices that magic all over the world are slowly yet steadily declining due to unknown reasons.

 Chapter 36: Undetected And Unexpected

    Chapter 36: Undetected And Unexpected


    Metal Sect


    The surrounding are is quiet for more than a week now, the animals in the forest have moved away from this area to another place. It has been said back on earth that animals have an extremely acute sense for dangers and would quickly move away the moment they sensed it.


    And now on this world where even a simple looking animal has magical capabilities it would only be natural for them to detect oncoming dangers before they even arrive. Sera also noticed this trend in the surrounding forest and decided that she could wait no longer.


    Even if she held the home field advantage it would still be best for her and the Metal Sect to strike first and then retreat to the safety of the Metal Sect¡¯s inner perimeter. Her people on the Flying Fortress are already prepared to strike at a moments notice, unlike most of the training in this world Sera trained her people what little she knew of modern warfare.


    One hundred Core Formation level cultivators trained like modern soldiers all these years. Sera never really like how efficient this world way of fighting. Most of the time aside from the occasional flanks and assassination grand majority of the time armies fight head on hammering each other out until the other side gives in.


    Sera knew very well how modern warfare tactics and strategies are more superior compared to this world¡¯s way of fighting. But despite this Sera does not intend to teach them to the Metal Sect and just orchestrate them on how the usual war is fought.


    The reason being is that she just don¡¯t trust most of these people very much. More people means they are a lot harder to control and some of these people if not most of them have agendas of their own that downright contradicts against Sera¡¯s plans for the future and she is worried that if she improve them too much they would eventually bite her back.


    Sera Hawke and the Metal Sect are in a symbiotic relationship. The refugees wanted to improve their cultivation and a shelter in this chaotic times while Sera wanted manpower and resources to attain her goals mostly to defend herself in this world where only the strong survives both metaphorically and literally.


    In just a few months that passed the would be invaders have tunneled from the outer rim borders of the Metal Sect up to half way inside the territory all the while being undetected¡­ or so they thought.


    Sera inside Ashura and behind her the rest of her Sentinels have also dug underground and using the quantum computer¡¯s super computing ability to predict where and when the invaders would meet them in their own tunnel, with fifty thousand Knight Golems ready and waiting to pounce at their opponents.


    While Sera and her Golem army are already waiting on the other side of the tunnel the invaders are still oblivious to the danger that they are in. Still casually conversing amongst themselves as they make jokes with one another.


    One of them asked ¡°so, did you guys really believed that this Metal Sect would be defeated as fast as the leadership has predicted? As far as we can see they have too many disciples if they ended up joining the fight won¡¯t we be in trouble then? He said in a concerned manner


    ¡°the Sect leaders know what they are doing all we need to do is just to follow their orders. As for the strength of the Metal Sect the grand majority of them are only Foundation Establishment level disciples only with only a few thousand at their peak. We have over a hundred Core Formation Sect Elders combined not to mention the Nascent Soul Sect Leaders!¡± another said reassuringly


    ¡°yeah well even if you say it like that we are down here at the front lines! I¡¯m not too sure about this anymore. We are deep underground tunnel if a fight occurs right here right now we have no place to run but back¡±


    ¡°ha! How could they discover us we have sealed our cultivations they couldn¡¯t detect it even if they have peak Nascent Soul experts!!¡± he said confidently


    Of course that is true even if there were Nascent Soul experts they would not be able to detect people with sealed cultivations digging underground like mole people. But they could never have fathomed Sera Hawke¡¯s technological capability, they were long detected from day one, all of this is just like a play for Sera.


    While digging down underground and conversing amongst themselves suddenly an explosion followed up by a  gust of powerful wind to blast away some of the soil that fell over.


    ¡°time to begin. ATTACK!¡± Sera said a she took command of the Knight Golems in the underground tunnel


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Even though the enemy cultivators have been stunned by the surprise attack they still managed to regain their composure just as fast as the gust of wind blew over them and unsealed their cultivation bases.


    There were over a dozen of them Core formation level cultivatiorsdefending themselves against the flood of Knight Golems. Although the Knight Golems were no match against their strength they still took it like a champ and endured twenty blows before crumpling over to the ground.


    ¡°D-Damn it! We have been discovered!¡± said one in both anger and in panic


    ¡°WE CAN SEE THAT!¡±


    ¡°what do we do!? there are too many of them!¡±


    ¡°all weaklings!! we can take them on, call for reinforcements tell them to begin the invasion! The underground tunnel is compromised quick!¡±


    Most of them are using magical swords to fight and cast magic towards Sera¡¯s Golem army, some of their strikes were true enough to slice through several Knight Golems in close proximity. Even though the Knight Golems were doing minimal damage to these Core Formation cultivators this small hits eventually managed to mount up.


    In just over two hours of continous fighting in close quarters combat in the underground tunnel the enemy cultivators have already amassed deep cuts and bruises on their bodies even though the Knight Golems managed to sap half of their strength they are still very much combat effective.


    ¡°d-damn! We can¡¯t go on like this we have to retreat, there is just too many of them! We can¡¯t move properly in this place!¡±


    ¡°i agree!! everyone in formation fighting retreat!!¡±


    Sera, although she nervously watched everything that happened she could not help but be a little proud of her achievement. After all pushing back these old cultivators are no simple task.


    ¡°haha, some invasion this has become¡± she grinned as she watched them make a methodical fighting retreat


    She ordered the Golem Army to push forward in a pace that they would not have enough time to relax but not push them too hard. Afterall these are still Core Formation level cultivators who knew what kind of desperate power they could pull when cornered.


    Meanwhile on the surface, the joint invasion of multiple third rate Sects has begun, luckily for the Metal Sect disciples they have already made ample preparations and have had drills ingrained to them in these past few months, even if they were nervous they knew they were more prepared and more well protected whithn the premises of the Metal City they have witnessed the armaments that are in place.


    This is by design of Sera Hawke. In the past she thought of attacking first on the surface before the enemies gathered their forces but eventually changed the plan into luring the enemies to attack the Metal City first and retain the home ground advantage.


    By now there should be over 300,000 Knight Golems on the surface ready to assist the disciples in defending the Metal Sect.


    The disciples of the Metal Sect are obviously nervous, they ran away to this place as refugees to escape calamities such as this. As the saying goes out of the frying pan and into the fire.


    But there is power in numbers, 100,000 Foundation Establishment level disciples are still quite a considerable force to be reckoned with. Even second rate Sects would not have so much Foundation Establishment level disciples especially after the crisis of the Dragon Veins in the entire Eastern Continent.


    ¡° here they come! Brace yourselves!!¡±


    The young Elders of the Sect has already made their minds up to follow their Matriarch Sera Hawke all the way wherever she leads them, despite not knowing much about her she has already shown how much capable she is when it came to making the Metal Sect flourish.


    The enemies moved slowly but steadily, they are also aware and extremly wary of the great numbers of the Metal Sect. Despite looking down at them they still respected the damage that could be inflicted upon them if they are not careful, afte rall nobody really sticks their neck out at risk without profits.


    The offensive against the Metal Sect was all in thought of getting a hold of the spiritual mines that even first rate Sect has become interested in although first rate Sects won¡¯t throw away their reputation by forcefully taking something from a third rate Sect that does not mean that theothers won¡¯t.


    And this is the case for these third Rate Sects, they never truly cared at how the others would look at them by ganging up at the Metal Sect that recently lost it¡¯s own Dragon Vein. All that mattered is how much the profit that would yield from this.


    Led by around a hundred Core Formation level cultivators flying above the landbound disciples wearing thesame uniforms, the Sect leaders of this joint attack has decided to take a more cautious approach by erasing any if not all traces on which Sect is attacking the Metal Sect.


    For all anyone looking knew it was the rogue cultivators attacking the Metal Sect again. Despite being Nascent Soul level experts they are still worried of other factions using this timing to claim the moral high ground into attacking them. At the end of the day any faction in the world still relies on their reputation to gain more disciples in order to flourish.


    And they took this over cautious approach in order to cover all possible angles from the political side. Now infront of them are only prey and treasures ready for the taking. The higher ups of this invasion knew all too well that the defenders are former refugees and are ill trained to fight in a protracted war and expect them to crumble in just a few hours¡­ but no plan survives first enemy contact.


    Battered and bloodied the Core Formation cultivators were chased out of the tunnel their clothes are now rags mixed with sweat, blood and mud. The entire underground tunnel littered by Knight Golems over ten thousand of them before managing to exit the tunnel.


    By the time the Core Formation cultivators exited the tunnel they finally prepared to unleash their magical techniques that was too dangerous for them to use underground. It did not take long to fill the tunnel with deadly bright lights as the Knight Golems forced their way out of the tunnel only to be melted into a puddle.


    But alas after being hounded by thousands of Knight Golems the cultivators unfortunately has already accumulated critical mass of injuries it is during this time that Sera Hawke finally took the center stage on the front lines.


    Inside Ashura she barreled through straight towards the enemies, despite being hit by enemy fire it did nothing but only slow her down. Ashura after all is one of her relatively most formidable weapon on the ground aside from that slow and clumsy giant mech.


    The cultivators were of course surprised by this new enemy, for hours on end they were fighting Knight Golems and has been accustomed to fighting them. This sudden switch in strength really caught them off guard and was hit hard for it.


    Ashura charged at them in an open embrace with it¡¯s long tentacle like arms trying to give her enemies a big bear hug. But alas they are still Core Formation level cultivators and only managed to get two of them.


    The unfortunate two cultivators that got caught in Ashura¡¯s deadly embrace was quickly wrapped crushed by all of it¡¯s 18 arms without even being able to scream.


    The rest of the cultivators could not even lament at their comrades death because the rest of the Sentinels are also engaging them in combat, all this opportunity has been presented by Sera Hawke as she ran straight ahead to engage the enemies allowing the flood of Knight Golems to surround them.


    Riot has been swingin it¡¯s giant rod that shoots lightning stunning the opponents for a split second enough for Vulcan to get a lock on and get peppered by hypersonic bullets made of spiritual metal projectiles at the rate of 5,000 RPM.


    While Torch Light charged at some stragglers swinging it¡¯s plasma cutters at close range while firing magical flames at those who would turn it¡¯s back against it. Those who force an escape were pounced by the multitudes of Knight Golems in the area slowing any escapee down enough for it to blast them with metal melting magical flames.


    As Sera observed the surrounding she felt relived that finally the threat coming from the underground has been oblitirated. The corpses has been looted and one of the Knight Golems is tasked to deliver the bounty back to the Sect after all those loot are still from Core Formation level cultivators and might contain something good for Sera.


    All this happening while Bellato led 100 Core Formation level experts from Sera¡¯s private force in the Flying Fortress along with tens of thousands of Mechanized Jet Fighters dive bombing the enemies occupied in attacking the walls of the Metal City.

 Chapter 37: Surprising Both Allies And Enemies Alike

    Chapter 37: Surprising Both Allies And Enemies Alike


    Metal City


    The walls of the Metal City are being heavily assaulted, it¡¯s defenses could not hold even for an hour of bombardment of magic techniques from the enemies Core Formation level cultivators. The disciples of the Metal Sect are all a nervous wreck. Despite being trained for months for this exact moment they still could not stomach the brutality of war a face first.


    Most of them remembered that they ran away from all this fighting in the past. But now here they are fighting again, but this time they are like cornered rats with nowhere to go even if they wanted to run, there is only one way to live and that is to fight.


    Had it not been for the tens of thousands of Knight Golems situated in the Metal City the Sect disciples¡¯ morale might have wavered long ago. But the presence of the staunch unemotional Golems at their side calmed their nerves and even invigorated their hearts.


    After all the Metal Sect has given them more that they could even ask for and protecting this place that they call home is worth fighting for with all of their might in their hearts and minds.


    After the front walls are breached thousands of the Metal Sect disciples have perished on the walls as they stood their ground against the incoming enemies. For every disciple dead there would be at least twelve Knight Golems beside them as they try to assist the human cultivators.


    Eventually they have been pushed back into the inner ring of the Metal City to regroup and reform their defense lines, while the Knight Golems furiously charged at the invading cultivators. But alas the enemies are far more accustomed to fighting than they are.


    But just before the invading cultivators unleash a volley of magical explosion towards the inner walls they were struck by innumerable hail of bullets coming from the skies as the Mechanized Jet Fighters dive bombed the invaders.


    Hundreds of enemies were caught off guard during the first strafing run, but their experience in combat allowed them to regain their bearing and recover from their shocked state. As the Mechanized Jet Fighters pulled up to climb back to the skies to perform another run the invading cultivators realigned their weapons up and started firing ranged magical attacks.


    Thousands upon thousands of Mechanized Jet Fighters were struck and exploded mid air some even crashing towards other Fighters before exploding in a fiery display up in the sky.


    But the Knight Golems attacked the invading cultivators almost immediately after they realigned their aim towards the Mechanized Jet Fighters. Though not caught off guard the invading cultivators were still hard pressed fighting a melee on the ground and strafing run from the air.


    One of the invader¡¯s commander shouted ¡°Foundation Establishment focus on the ground! Core Formation clear the skies!!¡±


    With that the previously messy battlefield returned to being organized as the Foundation Establishment cultivators fought against the Knight Golems and the Metal Sect¡¯s disciples, while the Core Formation level cultivators who can naturally fly without the assistance of any magical tool flew up and scattered the Mechanized Jet Fighters left and right as if they were flies to be swatted.


    While the Knight Golems are fighting against the enemy Foundation Establishment level cultivators the Metal Sect disciples on the other hand were still organizing their defense line while the others are tending to the wounded. The disciples are still reeling from their retreat to the inner city walls as they simply lacked actual field experience in terms of war.


    When the disciples finally regained their wits they started providing support fire from the top of the walls, while the Metal City¡¯s automated defenses started activating to fend off the invaders. But despite all of this preparations the invading Foundation Establishment level cultivators are simply more equipped and more trained on the battlefield, slowly but surely the disciples of the Metal Sect were being pushed back yet again.


    The outer city walls were created for the newcomers, refugees that have yet to make substantial contributions to allow entry towards the inner city which had more amenities that make for a higher quality of life. The entire Metal City was built around the original Metal Sect, if they are pushed back yet again the Sect gates will be their final stand as there would be no other paths of retreat.


    As Sera Hawke finished cleaning enemy stragglers near the tunnel a number of huge explosions could be heard making her turn her head at break neck speed.


    ¡°what the hell is going on now!?¡± she said exasperated


    What Sera saw made her mouth agape as the outer walls of the Metal City crumbled to fragments while the invading cultivators charged inside.


    The invaders were swift as they managed to rush through inside the outer walls of the Metal City. Even though the outer ring of the Metal City is non essential infrastructure and personnel it still contained potential candidates to enter the Metal Sect.


    With a sigh Sera said ¡°I expected them to hold out for at least half a day¡­ nah who am I kidding!?¡±


    Behind her were only around four thousand Knight Golems, the fighting inside the tunnel was a costly one for the Golems since there is no place to maneuver or dodge everything is just straight up slug fest. Had it not been for the Knight Golems numerical advantage against the invading cultivators, which had over a dozen Core Formation level cultivators could have overwhelmed them instead.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Seeing the advance of the invaders inside the City and the retreat of the defenders Sera Hawke is sweating bullets thinking about what to do next. Clearly sending in more Knight Golems into the grinder as canon fodder is nothing more than a stop gap measure to delay the inevitable. What she needed right now is a weapon that would bring decisive victory.


    ¡°d-damn it it¡¯s only a prototype! But I suppose now is the best time to try it out¡± Sera said to herself as she turned her head over one of the mountains


    Meanwhile up in the skies over 50 of the enemies Core Formation level cultivators dominated the entire air space. Aside from minor injuries everyone of them are in excellent fighting condition despite just finishing off over fifteen thousand of the Mechanized Jet Fighters.


    Despite fighting valiantly and using modern day strategies in fighting air to air combat the Core Formation level cultivators are simply too powerful for the Foundation level Mechanized Jet Fighters to even compete. Had it not been for their vast numbers they would likely have not inflicted any injuries to them in the first place.


    Five thousand meters up in the air and all the defeated Mechanized Jet Fighters are falling down the skies either broken or performing an emergency crash landing in hopes to join the fight again.


    Sera used the holographic interface from her tiara to communicate with Bellato.


    ¡°Report, what is the City¡¯s situation?¡± she asked Bellato sounding a little apprehensive


    Bellato replied ¡°the City¡¯s defenders are not doing too good, they are constantly being pushed back. Right now they have been pushed back towards the inner City if nothing is done at the current trend our defenders would be forced back to the Metal Sect¡¯s main gates!¡±


    Although sounding a little nervous Bellato is at the very least calm enough to think straight after all he and his Lady Sera¡¯s subordinates have already been baptized in blood before back in the Continental Isle, They have already seen this much bloodshed.


    Sera then said ¡° attack them now re take the airspace if the Metal City, we cannot let them free reign over our airspace delay them if you can¡¯t push them back!¡±


    ¡°by your will Lady Sera!¡± he said with a reverent bow from the other side of the communication


    With that Sera cut off the communications with Bellato and her gaze focused on one of the mountains, the one that contained the Giant Mech prototype.


    She had already summoned the Giant Mech prototype but due to its nature the boot time is quite slow, not to mention its movement also being sluggish due to its 100 meter size.


    ¡°a lot of problems have been revealed in creating such prototype. After I iron out its flaws it would be ready for mass production, only that the amount of heavenly and spiritual metals are quite astronomical. After I have cleaned this mess of an invasion I would parade hundreds of the mass produced version to all of the nearby third rate Sects. He! he! he! he! he!¡±


    While waiting for the Giant Mech to heed her summons Sera also contemplated the underlying problems within the prototype. Such as its sluggish movements back on earth making such a monstrosity of this size move alone is already quite a miraculous feat, not to mention the power source of such a thing, even a built in state of the art nuclear reactor would not be able to provide enough energy for a 100 meter Mech.


    After no less than 10 minutes the secret opening of the mountain finally opened its gates as the Giant Mech prototype slowly climbed out and flew towards Sera Hawke. Although sluggish and rough on the edges the design itself held a lot of potential, it was designed in a humanoid shape and closely resemble a Gundam model from the old shows back on earth.


    The humanoid shape would make its movements easier for Sera to control since it would be like controlling her own body by the time she managed to straighten out some of the flaws of the current prototype, in her mind once the design of the prototype has been perfected streamlining the entire procedure would be a lot easier on the drones back on the factories.


    When the Giant Mech prototype finally made its landfall it knelt on one knee in front of Sera as its chest cavity opened up, its spacious chest area is designed to hold several hundred Knight class Golems or to hold weapons and the likes of supplies.


    After Sera, the Sentinels and several hundred Knight Golems entered the Giant Mech Prototype it wasted no time and quickly flew towards the Metal City where its strength is very much required.


    The several thousand Knight Golems that could not hitch a ride just ran towards the City in a rather straightforward manner.


    Just as his communication was cut of with his Lady Sera, Bellato and the rest of Sera Hawkes subordinates given to him to command eagerly jumped down to meet the enemy Core Formation level cultivators and retake the airspace of the Metal City.


    ¡°hm?!¡± one of the invading Core Formation cultivator got surprised by the arrival of Bellato and the other 100 Core formation level cultivators nurtured by Sera Hawke¡¯s experiments.


    Although surprised he managed to regain his wits about him and started attacking ranged magical attacks.


    ¡°HUH!?¡± one of the disciples of the Metal Sect noticed the Core Formation level cultivators wearing Metal Sect uniforms


    ¡°finally!¡±


    ¡°look! Reinforcements have arrived!¡± another said


    ¡°UUUOOOOOH!!!¡± although many of them did not fully understand what was going on they were infected with the mob effect and joined the cheering while being completely oblivious on why or what are they cheering for in this chaotic battlefield.


    Even though the battle eased up somewhat, it was more likely because of the sudden morale boost rather than Bellato¡¯s reinforcements.


    Bellato and the rest of his subordinates endured the rushed offensive of the enemy Core Formations all the while dispersing in a wide area of the airspace of the Metal City. The bodies of Bellato and the rest of Sera Hawke¡¯s test subjects are greatly enhanced due to the torturous medical and training regiment that they have gone through under Sera.


    Painful as those days were, those are already in the past and now the fruits of their pain and labour has now shown its effects. The enemies¡¯ rushed attack just bounced off from their bodies without too much effort, a testament to Sera¡¯s successful experiments.


    Sera Hawke¡¯s subordinates fought fiercely but the invading cultivators are no pushovers either. As time progresses more and more of the Metal Sect¡¯s side are getting injured and being pushed back. The enemies are not just veterans but are Elites!.


    The battle for air supremacy is not going well for the Metal Sect side, even more so for the ground forces as the walls of the inner City are getting hammered and all of the automated defenses being picked off one by one within the vicinity.


    Things are getting desperate for the disciples of the Metal Sect as morale is plummeting fast even though no one has voiced it, the look on their eyes and the body language of the Metal Sect disciples are considering to surrender all it require is a tipping point for a cascade of mass panic to erupt from their side.


    And just as things could not get any more worse¡­ it did, several Core Formation level cultivators from their side fighting for air supremacy has been killed right in front of their very eyes.


    ¡°o-oh no!¡±


    ¡°NOOO!¡±


    Witnessing the deaths of their reinforcements caused a severe blow to their already low morale now that several of their emotional support in this battle has perished the tipping point of this entire battlefield was just about to tip into absolute chaos¡­ when suddenly!.


    A giant shadow loomed over the entire sky of the Metal City, Sera Hawke and her Giant Mech prototype has at last arrived just in the nick of time. The giant Mech stood in the air imposingly and ominously to both enemies and allies alike.


    For several tens of seconds the entire battlefield stood to a grinding halt, even the two Foundation Establishment cultivators from either sides that started choking each others necks after running out of magical energy stopped their movements in the presence of a towering metal figure.


    Using the loud speakers Sera said ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? GET THIS INVADERS OUT. OF. MY. PROPERTY!!¡±


    ¡°N-N-NASCENT SOUL!!¡± nobody knows who said it or which side it came from but in every ones minds knew it was the truth


    A Nascent Soul level expert is someone to be revered by all factions on the level of third rate and below. This sight, her words both have made the invading cultivators pale so much they looked like some one poured white paint all over them.


    It was then that two extremes happened. Extremely high Morale for the Metal Sect disciples so much so that a handful of the peak Foundation Establishment disciples actually managed a breakthrough towards Core Formation.


    As these disciples attracted tribulation lightning from their breakthrough, Sera decided to help them weather the heavenly lightning tribulation with just an extension of a giant metallic hand of the Mech prototype. Such action was truly awe inspiring in the eyes of the disciples of the Metal Sect.


    ¡°DAMN IT! Who said the Metal Sect has no Nascent Soul!¡± one of the peak Core Formation of the invading cultivators said


    ¡° we don¡¯t have any choice now! Stick to the plan this is within our preparations!¡±


    ¡°such a loss damn it!!¡± another said before pulling a teleportation talisman from his spatial pouch


    Like a well rehearsed army they quickly followed suit, each and every one of them still alive hastily pulled out their own teleportation talisman and activated it. In just a few moments the entire Metal Sect fell in silence before¡­


    ¡°all hail Lady Sera!!¡±


    ¡°ALL HAIL THE MATRIARCH!!¡±


    ¡°UUUUOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!¡± they cheered simultaneously before landing on their butts


    The disciples barely held on, their bodies felt like jelly after several hours of fighting for their survival. Meanwhile Sera Hawke herself is looking at a distance indifferent to the cheering crowd below her.

 Update (quarantined)

    No work, no money to pay bills, not enough resources like food and water.


    My dollars in the bank is frozen for the foreseeable future because most banks are closed, and the banks that are open won''t convert US dollars to local currency due to high volatility... We have to thank the feds for that one.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Anyway I''m bleeding mobile data don''t know what the future holds. I have been reading the bible lately and 2020 almost fits the bill for the book of revelations so I''m feeling more depressed.


    I am farming some potatoes and hope that these papayas would grow faster... I hope you all are doing better than i am, because things don''t look good here when too many people starve they do terrible things.


    I wouldn''t be able to write until all this blows over...