60 - Chapter 59 - Day 2185

  As the fight continued, it was becoming obvious that her team would win. Their opponent, while incredibly strong and resilient, could not counter the attrition caused by numbers on her side. The only question was how long would it take, and what it would cost both in terms of injuries and losses on her side and destruction of property.

  Adya and those by her side, including injured agents, and surviving guards did their best to extricate anyone out of the fight. They also supplied mana potions to her fighters allowing them to continue for a while longer.

  Adya had sent people to go around the fight and check in on the main house. She had also asked people to check that the cultivators they had taken prisoner previously were still subdued. It would not do to have them make a bid for freedom or attack her people from behind.

  The reports she received back painted a picture of stability on the edge of a cliff. Everything was in hand for the time being, but her people had been pushed hard. Most of the survivors had some form of injury with a significant minority being severely injured.

  The worst thing was they still did not know who their attackers were, or what their motivation or objectives were. The lack of information was grating. Adya wanted to push ahead to see what she could find out. There were multiple sources of information she could attempt. She had sent people to see if Jarel was recovering, or at least conscious enough to provide a report. She could go and try to convert the captured cultivators.

  The problem with either of those choices was that she would have to move. She worried that if she left the anonymity of the broken barracks, she would at best not be available to keep those fighting alive, or at worst make herself an open target distracting her fighters. Even with her decades of experience in combat situations, she struggled to work out the best course of action. This was not due to any emotional response or freezing up. It was solely down to a complete lack of understanding on the extent of power scaling and resilience in this world's higher tier cultivators. Without understanding what it would take to subdue her opponents, or understanding the level of injuries her team would be able to survive, she was forced to be more cautious in her actions than she might otherwise have been.

  So she was stuck waiting, as large swathes of the area were destroyed in the intense fight she was witnessing.

  Finally they managed to knock out the opposing cultivator, and Adya rushed to try and turn him to her cause. Since no one knew how long he would be unconscious, she had to work fast. Using every advantage she could think of she placed the loyalty enforcement formation on the knocked out man.

  The person you are trying to soul mark (loyalty enforcement formation) is bound by an existing loyalty formation. The formation is ultimately controlled by a tier 10 entity.

  You are unable to override or break the existing formation.

  This was followed by another prompt.

  Scion protocol activated.

  Highest rarity class identified as tier 9. Scion protocol temporary boost applied.

  Scion protocol disabled tracking and reporting associated with formation.

  The person you are trying to mark is a tier 8. The difference between your cultivation realms is too high.

  You are unable to override or break the existing formation.

  That notification answered some questions, and created a lot of others. Most importantly this person was a threat. They could not let him live.

  “Kill him now,” said Adya. Her command jolted her agents back to full alertness. Evelin was the first to move, followed by the others. Even unconsciously, he was not easy to kill. Finally they managed to behead him, confirming death.

  “He was a tier 8,” said Adya. “I could not control him. We had no choice.”

  “What the hell is a tier 8 doing out here,” exclaimed Evelin. “No wonder it took us so long to put him down.”

  “I hope we can get some answers,” said Adya.

  “Let me catch my breath,” said Evelin. “I will organise a report on our losses, and damage.”

  “We need to maintain security,” said Adya. “There is no guarantee that this was the only tier 8 in the area.”

  Adya also passed out stamina potions to help her people recover faster. It would not get them back into fighting shape immediately, but would significantly cut down the recovery time.

  Sai: I think the reason they are not recovering as fast as we do is because willpower is not being replenished fast enough. Without that the stamina boost is passively working on healing as opposed to actively targeting the worst areas.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Mai: We also do not have an infinite source of stamina. This one fight has used up a significant portion of what we have accrued. Even if we use up all our reserves of stamina, we would have been able to produce around sixty tier 8 stamina potions. We have already used up almost 20. Add to that the numbers of tier 5 and tier 6 stamina potions that we have been using and our supplies are running dangerously low.

  Adya: I know, but if we don’t keep them alive, then we will end up dead or captured. At that point our resources won’t help us anyway.

  Sai: We still need to use our resources appropriately. We will only supply tier 8 potions to those who won’t survive without it. What we have already spent is gone. No point dwelling on it at this point.

  As Adya was debating the logistics and strategic allocation of critical resources, Evelin had returned with updates.

  “It seems that Jarel will recover in the next few hours,” she started. “We have managed to capture twelve tier 6s and fifty nine tier 5s. We have no one else who is in danger, but we have several of our teams who are in critical but stable condition. We are moving them to another barracks.”

  “How many did we lose?” asked Adya, her tone weary.

  “We lost thirteen tier 6s, forty one tier 5s, and all the lower tier cultivators,” said Evelin. “We also have several who will not be combat effective for the foreseeable future.”

  So they had actually increased their strength long term, looking at it purely from a military strength perspective. Though that did nothing to ebb the emotional response at losing so many of her people. Though she may have taken over their formatons without their consent, and they may have been killed following their original orders anyway, Adya still felt their loss keenly. The logic of the situation was not enough to alleviate the emotional response.

  It actually made her anger blaze. These elders cared nothing for the lives of others, only their own machinations. She was struggling to see the difference between orthodox and unorthodox cultivators at this point.

  Adya started to make her way to the captured agents to start to convert them. With fifty four of them to convert it would take her hours, so the sooner she started the sooner she would be done. It may also allow them to learn what was happening.

  As Adya lost herself in her tasks, time flew by. She left the interrogation of the converted agents to Evelin and her team. Just as she left the clean up, and recovering of their dead to her guards. Large parts of the estate were utterly destroyed. She was also not in the mood to face her mother and to try and provide an explanation.

  By the time she was finished with the formations it was early evening. She had started with the Tier 6s, as they would be more likely to have latest information as well as to bolster their beleaguered forces. Evelin was waiting for her.

  “So we have figured out what is happening,” said Evelin. “The elders who were split between kill and capture orders have joined forces and have ordered extreme measures. They have ordered their agents to form larger teams and eliminate all others.”

  “So they are all looking to kill me now?” asked Adya. “Also what about the faction that were staying on the sidelines?”

  “No one is on the sidelines anymore,” said Evelin. “Something has happened, we don’t know what, but it has caused most of the leaders to split into two factions. Kill or capture. Where the elders were operating mostly independently before, we now have two camps that are for intents and purposes at war.”

  “So we have a council civil war,” mused Adya. “What about the elder we were hoping would support us. Would a single elder even be able to provide us with any protection in the current climate?”

  “Yes,” said Jarel, walking into the room. “I am sorry it took time for me to recover.”

  “I am glad to see you are all right,” said Adya. “Just what happened?”

  “So I hid the scroll,” said Jarel. “The best place I found was a little nook used to service the communication formations we use to contact the council. No one can get into it, unless you know the details and no one would usually even think of looking there. Since I could go in to report on the situation, I could hide my actions.”

  “I had just reported in to the elder,” he continued. “I had learned that tier 7 and tier 8 assets had been sent out to expand the search. I had also learned that mortal forces have been instructed to start a house to house search to find their target. They are only waiting for identification talismans to be produced then distributed before they start the search.”

  “Will that still happen, given that the council is in the middle of a civil war?” asked Adya.

  “Yes,” said Evelin. “Both sides are pushing for the target to be identified. They are happy to fight over this child later.”

  “How long before the search will be unstoppable?” asked Adya. She was running scenarios through her head, trying to work out what viable options she had, if any. Most options meant abandoning her family. “What makes you think this elder can protect us?”

  “How were you injured?” asked Evelin.

  “As I was leaving the communications formation,” said Jarel. “I was seen by a team of other agents. I can only assume they received their orders to escalate at that point. The first I learned of the issue was when they started to chase me. I was attacked, and trying to find a way to evade, when we were all attacked by another group. In the confusion I managed to slip away and find a hiding place, but passed out from my injuries. The reason I think the elder can still protect us, and the reason I think the original plan can still work is also the reason for the escalation.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Adya and Evelin together. Jarel was making no sense. They wondered if he truly had recovered.

  “So, a few days ago,” continued Jarel. “The other elders tried to force my elder to pick a side. Neither allowing her to stay on the sidelines. When she ignored them, they tried to attack her directly.”

  “Is she safe?” blurted out Adya. All she could see was her plans going down the drain.

  He handed over a sealed scroll to Adya. “Yes,” said Jarel. “She spoke to me after the events. She said her goals have not changed. During her fight to defend herself from their unwarranted aggression, she managed to tier up to tier 11. She is now the most powerful being in this world.”