Chapter 70: Trial By Fire

Ash deposited Dusk into her little corner to make her own worlds and perfect it. He was currently watching Ling drink multiple shots just like a frat boy.

"Hah, you sure can drink. Do you even get drunk? Or you're faking it? Because I sure can't." Ash sighed. Ling looked absolutely happy, he even estimated that she would drink dozens of liters of alcohol a day.

"Of course I can, I just need to prevent my body from burning it off too quickly~ Come on, come on~ Have a drink good sir!" Ling pulled him.

It was his alcohol cellar, of course she would butter him up so he won't put restrictions on her. "Hah, why not? I do need some."

He sat down and took a bottle of scotch for himself. Ash aged it by himself, and it had been aged for a couple of decades using his hax.

Taking a swig, he just sat there quietly. Ling noticed he wasn't in the mood to mess around. So she just enjoyed her alcohol with her drinking buddy.

She then took out a piece of paper and a pen. Ash watched her write poetry while taking swigs of her alcohol here and there.

"But when the melancholy fit shall fall. Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud, that fosters the droop-headed flowers all, and hides the green hill in an April shroud." Ash raised a brow and he wondered what it meant.

"It is for you really, I can feel a shroud of sorrow on you. Depression that you bury deep with your work. Don't seek to block out melancholy using unhealthy coping mechanisms." Ling looked at his eyes.

He furrowed his brows. She then took a swig of her bottle. "You don't look that wise anymore after you just did that. You're a quintessential alcoholic." Ash chuckled.

"It's delicious, thanks by the way. Remember, all things pass. Seek out the beauty of the world and admire it. Because all that is beautiful will soon wither and die." Ling sighed.

"Is that so? Then what of us? I'm pretty sure we are immortal, would that mean that everything beautiful about you and your siblings have already disappeared?" Ash challenged her poetry and she looked at blank space.

"Maybe, or I just need to find something to admire and be passionate about again." Ling laughed wryly.

He imagined their lives. Maybe it was the natural outcome. Dusk lost her passion, Ling would drown herself in alcohol. Because there is no sense of purpose to be had for thousands of years.

There is only so much you can do to stave off the everlasting boredom of an eternal life. And more so in Terra. Where humans struggle to survive instead of creating more culture.

"I think your poem applies more to you. I'll give you a nice little job, I have a lot I want done after all." Ash stood up and waved goodbye.

"Hmm, sure. A little payment for all this good stuff is reasonable." She shrugged and wondered what her tasks would be.

Ash checked on Skadi, Specter, Gladiia, and Azureus were patiently guarding her.

"How's she doing?" Gladiia and Azureus shook their heads while Specter prayed for her with clasped hands.

"I guess I can wake her up or try." Ash walked up to her bed and put a hand on her head.

He concentrated and tried to pull her consciousness out. But it was deep in something, like it is inside the abyss.

"Her connection with the hive mind..." He frowned and the observers winced.

Ash cut off her connection with it. But it was slowly forming again. It was ingrained in their very body, being part seaborne and all.

And Skadi is more seaborne than Gladiia and Specter. Harboring the blood of Ishar-mla, she would degrade because of the corrupting heart.

"Hngh... Ash?" Skadi woke up and she looked around, noticing that she was back at Paradiso.

"Hey, took your sweet time sleeping." Ash snorted and Skadi blinked at him. She then remembered what happened and the orca pushed him, fracturing the bed frame from the force. But he didn't budge.

"G-go away please... I'm a behemoth, one of the firstborns... I'm a liability, I'm a monster." Skadi retreated into herself, curling her knees and refusing to meet his eyes.

"Shut up, that's not for you to decide. We're already working on how to suppress your seaborne blood. You just be a good girl and resist it." Ash straightened her up and looked at her in the eyes.

"Skadi, are you calling us a monster as well? We're part seaborne as well." Gladiia stared at her and Skadi was speechless.

"N-no... It's not the same!" Skadi frowned and Ash flicked her forehead.

"It is, silly girl. You just have an extra perk of controlling those beasts. Listen to me, if you keep doing that. Then you'll truly be a liability. Remember what the abyssal hunters fought for. You control it, failure isn't an option." Ash put his hands on her cheeks and craned her neck towards her.

She almost choked on her saliva after remembering their hardships. Skadi then saw her fellow hunters. And there was also an old friend.

"Azureus... You're here too?" Skadi was surprised and the poisoner shrugged.

"I'll pump you full of poison if you lose yourself." She smiled slightly at Skadi. Gladiia nodded at her in confidence and Specter grinned.

Skadi went quiet and she almost teared up at their trust in her. "You guys..."

"Here, have a slice of cake. I made it myself." Azureus gave her some chocolate cake.

"You bake?" Ash raised a brow, not expecting that one bit. Gladiia told him that the little poisoner hunts down leviathans and large monsters.

"Uhhh, it's my hobby." She fidgeted around, embarrassed about her mundane hobby.

"No, it's just refreshing. My women are kind of crazy you see? Degenbrecher loves to cut things. Margaret and Enciades are workaholics. Luna and Soleil gives their work to Gertrude." He thought about it and they really needed a hobby. Viviana was the only one with a mundane one.

"Care for a slice? I have cookies too." She asked nervously and he was confused why. But he took one and gave it a taste.

"She's anxious because people are scare of her. They think everything she touched becomes poisonous." Gladiia shrugged and Azureus glared at her for outing her insecurity.

"Well, I did see her create poison through her skin." Ash took a bite of her pastries and she blinked at his fearlessness.

"Y-you're not scared? My poisons can take down leviathans you know?" Azureus twiddled her thumbs.

"Not really, even if I'm not immune to poisons. I'm sure you have enough control to not secrete poisons subconsciously. You won't offer it to people otherwise." Ash shrugged and she beamed at him.

Skadi squinted her eyes at him and he was oblivious. She then sighed. "I'm fine now Ash... Thanks for checking up on me."

"Good, now eat some cake and cookies. Show them around Paradiso, have a nice spa day or something. Or use my hotspring, I know you guys like warm water." He ordered and waved goodbye.

"Hey, he said he has women. Are they really that many? You think they're the jealous types?" Azureus asked Skadi.

"Yes, they're that many. And no, they're not the jealous types at all. They know that he'd attract many. Though their personalities won't mesh well with weak-willed women. They're leaders, monarchs, warlords, and rulers." Skadi explained with a sigh.

Azureus got a little bit intimidated by that. But she gave a cute nod of determination and Gladiia snorted in amusement.

"How about you show us the place? This will be our base of operations. I'm gonna be the ambassador for Aegir here." Gladiia requested and Skadi nodded.

Ash was about to visit the labs and check on the Rhine labs scientists. But he received a call from Shining. Which means that something happened.

"What's the matter?" Ash wanted to know immediately. "The emperor's blades are starting to pour in the battlefield. Our elite operators can deal with them. But they're fighting back quite fiercely. And the environment is getting corrupted due to their arts." Shining reported.

"Hmmm, I guess I should help out. Nian and Kjera are there right? They're not engaging due to collateral damage?" Ash asked and Shining replied with a succinct yes.

"Okay, I'll be at the heaviest front." Ash ended the call and he was about to fly away. But he had an idea.

He quickly went to the house of the Glasgow members and kicked down the door. "Oi, I need you to come with me."

The gang stared at him dumbly, it was a rest day. And the girls were wearing loose shirts with just their panties on. Not expecting an invader.

"Fuckin' ell! You bloody bastard! Close the door! Close it!" Hannah screamed at him while Alexandrina hid behind a couch, he lollipop dropping as she yelped.

"What? It's not like I haven't seen women naked before. You're wearing underwear, that's good enough. Attention!" Ash shouted and they all stiffened up, standing straight.

"Prepare in five minutes. We will be going to the battlefield. Vina, as the next empress of Victoria. You need to be a commander, what better way to get experience than to command an army and go to war against Ursus?" Ash smirked.

Alexandrina gaped like a goldfish and she was in shock. "Get your weapons and suit up, the front lines is waiting. Your comrades need you, chop chop." Ash left them behind, still frozen.

"W-we're going to war mate." Vina looked at Hannah who was getting nervous as hell. They're just a gang in Londinium. And he was going to throw them into a damn war against Ursus of all nations.

Ash went to the Rhine labs next and took the two doctors with him. "Oi! Where are you taking Saria and Silence?" Ifrit hissed at him. She had a grudge against him calling her an idiot. Idiots never forget that.

"I need medics, and Saria's a pretty good defender with her shield. They're going to need field experience if you will. Joyce, take care of the shrimp for me will ya?" Ash took the gobsmacked Saria and Silence away.

"Subject Ifrit, Joyce believes that you are behind in your math homework. According to databank 420-69. You haven't indeed memorized your multiplication table." Joyce craned her neck almost 180° to Ifrit who was behind her.

"Ahhhh! What the fuck!? And you're assigning me a multiplication table until one hundred!" Ifrit whined and Joyce turned her body, her neck not moving.

"Ash has given directives. Someone as dumb as an orirock needs to sharpen up. You will not be mediocre." Joyce locked the door and Ifrit groaned in despair.

The group that's headed to the front lines met up and Glasgow were a nervous wreck. Silence was also shaking, she knew what he meant by field experience.

She's going to be a combat medic in a warzone. "Umm, Ash... I'm too young to be a sacrificial fodder." She gulped and he looked at her with a raised brow.

"What fodder? You won't be in the vanguard silly, that's Saria's job. You'll be at the back, you would be acting as a squad with Glasgow. Introduce yourselves and what you can do, that's sufficient." Ash gestured them to do so.

"Ahhh, Vina. Close combatant, specialty lies on strategy." Alexandrina succinctly informed them.

"Hannah. Close combat specialist with trench knives." She showed her knives with knuckles.

"Saria, defender slash medic. I use calcification arts to turn the surroundings into calcium too." Saria sighed, preparing her shield.

"I'm Olivia Silence, a healer I guess?" She stared at Ash, not really wanting to go. But her prayers and pleading look was ignored.

"Alright, round up your team Vina. Their lives are on the line, trust each other like you mean it. You can't use your Feraerus lions here." Ash looked at some lions who arrived in Paradiso with Glasgow, but they prefer to be isolated and be at Vina's side.

"Ash-dono... This is necessary and all, but can't we at least protect her?" A lion with goggles on its head pleaded.

"Hmm, nope." Ash popped the p. Silence and the Glasgow members screamed as he took them to the skies.

"Gawain, I have a bad feeling about this." Another lion talked to the apparent leader and they all nodded.

"If she passes his test. Then Victoria will prosper, we need to trust her on this. There's nothing we can do." Gawain shook his head.

The new squad quickly arrived at the borders of Ursus and they landed right beside Enciades who was bathing in blood, schwinging her cane sword.

"Oh? You're here. We're encountering the emperor's blades. They're going for hit and run tactics." Enciades reported.

Gunfires and artillery were raining down, explosions of dirt and stray arts were flying everywhere. Glasgow and Silence shivered in fright.

"This here's my squad, good experience for them. And ladies, this here. Is a warzone, pretty nice right? I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning." Ash sniffed the air and took out a 50 caliber machine gun.

"I'll be a standard gunner for you, Enciades. Lead us to your platoon and Vina here would take over for you." Ash cleaned her up of blood and grime, giving her a kiss for the hard work.

"Sure, husband." They got led to the platoon who were gunning down enemies who adapted and advanced with thick walls of steel as a wall against the rain of lead.

"This is the safest place for now. Up ahead deeper is where our elites are. Silverlance pegasi are stationed there to combat the emperor's blades if they ever appear. I'm left here to lead and defend the troops if commandos ever appear." Enciades explained why she was there.

"Umu, go and do your thing." Ash gave Vina a look and she glared at him. She just arrived and he mercilessly tossed her into the flames immediately.

Saria then blocked a stray fireball that dropped on them, scaring the shit out of the others. "Concentrate, we're in a warzone." Saria's steely voice reminded them.

They gulped and Vina's hand was shaking. Enciades acted as an officer and handed her a pair of binoculars.

"We're being sieged by enemies with shield walls that can't be pierced with our ammo. They move around too much for our artillery and casters shield them from explosions." Enciades gave her the information needed to guide the platoon.

Vina breathed in deeply and checked the enemies encroaching. They were being delayed by the machine guns, but they seemed to be used to it and were taking turns defending and repairing their shields.

"Mate, calm down..." Hannah put a hand on her shoulders, but she herself was a nervous wreck.

Large caliber bullets were being fired, it was deafening. Whistling artillery shells are doing a creeping bombardment to delay the ground forces and annihilate squads without shields and casters.

"You know mate, you're not convincing anyone with your sweaty face." Vina laughed at her second in command.

Ash sighed and popped a lollipop in her mouth, just like Ifrit's candy. "Your orders."

"We need a spear operation, gunners. Give cover fire for us, we'll attack the flanks and disable the shield squads up close. Saria, on me, block arts that will be thrown our way. Do we have any shields for arrows?" Vina got out of her funk.

Ash nodded at her, pleased with how she planned it quickly and simply.

"Here, we have one handed shields. Good luck, commander." Enciades chuckled. She was about to do a spear operation herself.

"Come on squad, let's go. A couple of smokes too if you have any?" Vina didn't want to risk being shot at.

"Controlling vision too, that's a good idea. Silence, stay here. I'll be the medic there, take care of the soldiers here." Saria ordered her junior and she sighed in relief.

"Let's go." They got locked and loaded. Throwing smoke grenades and advancing towards the pesky shield guards like Patriot's.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.