Book 4, chapter 20

Zee stormed down the street, fuming. She really wanted to smack her grandpa upside the head. Was Grandpa really heartless enough to just sit by while an entire planet was being invaded by the Terlashar?

She scowled, pursing her lips. If his words could be believed, then yes, he was that selfish. Were all the old monsters in the universe this callous when it came to the lives of billions of innocent people? So far, It seemed like it. Neither Tar nor her grandpa seemed to give a crap if Tartana and its people were converted by the undead.

Even now, people were dying, suffering unspeakable horrors while she was safe. Zee wasn't hotheaded enough to run off and try to fend off an undead invasion all by herself.

She was angry, not suicidal. As she jogged down the street, amid an anxious crowd, the noon day sky lit up even brighter than before.

Falling amidst plumes of fire, and wrapped in shields of miasma, hundreds more of those undead ships broke through the atmosphere. From so far away, and moving so fast it was hard to tell just how large or how many undead ships there were.

The only thing she could tell for certain was that there were a lot of them. The ships streamed across the cloudy sky, streaking towards the ground. Unlike the first group, these were not going to get away without being attacked.

Several plumes of smoke blossomed amidst their formations, followed closely by several loud explosions high in the sky as the city's anti-aircraft defenses went active.

Plumes of black smoke, fire, and shrapnel suddenly appeared amidst the rapidly falling ships tearing some of them apart. Appearing atop a nearby two-story roof, she shielded her eyes. Large plumes of smoke drifting up from the barrels of the anti-aircraft guns spread across the city.

The sound of those oversized grenade launchers going off was deafening, echoing across the city. It might have been loud, but the sound was like music to her ears.

With a loud crash like lightning, explosions rippled across the sky, sparking chaos and terror in the city. The people in the streets were suddenly panicked, with the city's guard coming out in force.

It was probably to quell rioting and even some looting that was likely to happen in the panic. Jogging through the densely populated middle quarter Zee passed a few such cases, where opportunistic people were using the chaos to ransack shops.

One such group was getting a little loud as they robbed the wares of a blacksmith's shop. The five thugs looked organized, with a lookout posted at the front door with a spiked club.

Considering their average power around early E grade, these were not just some random people taking advantage of the chaos.

The shouts of the owner drifted to her ears out an open window as she moved down the street.

"Hey, don't touch that!" Shouted an angry male voice.

"Just be quiet old man, and stay out of our way unless you want to get hurt," replied a menacing voice.

She heard the loud crack of breaking glass, as the thieves started stuffing anything that would fit into a spatial storage. Zee only paused for a moment, before deciding it wasn't her problem. They weren't hurting the old guy, so she didn't feel like she needed to step in.

There was a loud yelp of pain and the crunch of a mace breaking bone. "You piece of lizard shit, you broke my arm," the old man shouted in a pain-filled voice.

"I told you to stay out of my way, now go sit in the corner unless you want me to break the other one," the looter replied.

She slid to a stop in the middle of the street, looking back at the shop, taking a deep breath to steady herself,

"Not your problem Zee," Dern said, his voice echoing in her mind.

Biting back an angry retort, she scanned the street, noting a distinct lack of guards. A few civilians watched on with some helplessness as the five looters robbed the place in broad daylight.

The lookout at the front door noticed Zee's interest and smacked a large club into his open palm, a clear warning to mind her own business. She couldn't just sit by while innocent people were being robbed and brutalized by these thugs.

If she didn't do anything, it would make her no better than her grandpa. The choice made, she drew her sword, appearing by the Allevark thug at the door.

The thug at the door was hit with a full-force burst of her compression-infused aura. Startled, the thug fell to his knees with a pained yelp. As he fell forward, her boot came up, her full forced kick hitting him right in the face.

His nose crunched flat as his body was launched through the door he had been guarding in a shower of wood fragments.

The human-shaped projectile crashed deeper into the building with a loud clatter of wood and breaking glass. The flying thug caused about as much racket as a drunken lizard in a tea shop, much to the startlement of the people inside.

"What in the hell was that?" Shouted a startled voice.

"I don't know, but Javier is out cold, he might be dead," replied another much higher-pitched voice.

Sword held casually at her side, Zee walked in through the now open door, as the wooden remains swung on bent hinges.

The four thugs inside stared at her in disbelief. They couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that Zee, a short lanky human could kick an Allevark twice her size through the thick door all the way across the room.

Zee gave the shop's owner a half smile. "Sorry about the damage to your door old man, I am sure these fine gentlemen wouldn't mind paying for the damage," Zee said, calmly.

Seeming to finally get back to their senses, a stout, bearded human with pale skin, leveled a plain longsword at her.

"Do you have a death wish? We are a part of the blood hawks," the man snarled, his awkward grip poor if he actually intended to wield that long sword.

Facing the four, Zee pursed her lips. The blood hawks were an allied group of Rin, which could complicate things if she started killing people.

"I see you recognize the name, now you know how fucked you are," the thug spat.

Zee didn't flinch, gripping her sword tighter. "I think you have the wrong idea... I am not worried about the blood hawks at all." Zee said.

"Are you crazy? There are four of us and one of you," said a burly man with crooked teeth.

"Four? The number doesn't matter when you are weak," Zee said, calmly.

"What did you just say? Do you want to die little girl?" a burly human spat angrily.

Zee sighed, "Alright, let's do it like this. If you guys don't take your comrade and leave in the next ten seconds, I am going to start killing you," Zee said, her tone calm.

The four thugs glanced at each other, then at Zee who was a head shorter than the tallest of them.

"She doesn't look so tough... I say we break her arms, and have a little fun with her afterward," one of the thugs said, licking his cracked lips excitedly.

"Are you crazy Sphen? Didn't you just see her kick Urvin all the way across the room?" Asked a spindly allevark.

"That was just a fluke, if you are scared, then just stay out of my way," Sphen said.

"I agree with Sphen, let's get her," replied the burly thug with the longsword.

Taking the last thug's words as an invitation, Sphen decided to rush her. Zee readied herself. Ohh, well, she did warn them. It's not like she expected these thieving idiots to be reasonable or smart.

Sphen grinned, exposing his crooked teeth as he struck at her head with an overhead blow of his club. She casually sidestepped the blow, removing his lead arm at the wrist with an upward cut.

The thug carrying the long sword followed in right behind. Conjuring a curved dagger with spirit echo, she ducked under a followed-up swing from his companion aimed for her face, plunging the blade into the man's gut. Steaming blood showered the floorboards as she ripped the dagger to the side, eviscerating the man.

Zee crouched low, ready to keep going just as the two thugs started screaming. They had finally registered that something was horribly wrong as the blue flames of spirit echo clung to their grievous wounds.

Collapsing to his knees, the swordsman frantically tried to keep his guts inside, slapping at the flames clinging to the wound to no avail. It was not a flame that could be put out through normal means, as it decayed the spirit.

The last two thugs paused, not daring to get closer. Whether it was the screaming of their companions or the corrosive flames that clung to their wounds, Zee couldn't say.

The two thugs clearly hadn't expected such brutality. They stared at her with wide-eyed fear as she took a menacing step forward.

"Have I made my point, or do you need more convincing," Zee asked coldly.

The last two thugs nodded fervently, seeming much smarter than the first three. Sure these thieves looked tough, but she doubted these two early E rankers had much experience with fighting for their lives.

Their auras positively reeked of pill toxicity, letting her know their ranks were not gained through fighting, but medicinal pills, and ingesting monster cores.

It was a quick way to rank up to the E grade, though at a high cost. For people with that many impurities in their bodies, it would be near impossible to rank up to D grade. It also made them much weaker than her, despite the fact they were the same rank.

This just went to show that rank wasn't everything. Having made her point, Zee gestured towards the three injured.

"You best take them to a healer, or they might die," Zee said.

The two pale-faced thugs nodded, moving forward to help their injured comrades as best they could. Leaving them to it, she walked over to the old man who was cradling his broken arm.

"Sorry about breaking down your door," Zee said in greeting.

The wizened Allevark actually smiled. "That's okay las, I can't blame you since it was actually that thug's face that broke my door," The old man said, with a grunt of pain.

She smiled, proffering a glass vial with a small capsule inside. " Take this pill, it should mend the break after a day or two," Zee said.

The blacksmith's shop suddenly shook, followed shortly by a distant quake. All around her, weapons and armor clanged together, the glass cases rattling.

"What the hell is that?" Zee asked, worried the building might collapse on her.

"I don't know last," the old man replied eyes wide.

No longer worried about the two remaining thugs, she gestured towards the door.

"I am going outside to see what's going on, do you have a basement to hide in?" Zee asked.

He nodded. "Good, go down there and don't come out until the rumbling stops," Zee said.

She was already halfway out the door before he replied.

"Thank you," he called after her.

Even with her spatial ripple skill, Zee hardly heard the man. In a puff of mist, she phased up through the roof, her eyes turned to the sky that was set alight.

The air hummed over the city, as a huge ball of miasma, metal, and fire, plummeted towards the stacks.

A humanoid figure shot up from the rooftops, their body clad head to toe in a golden aura. The world river shook as they swung a huge axe towards the sky, destroying the falling derby in one swing.

The attack shook the city, its shockwave slamming into her a moment later. If she hadn't braced herself she would have been knocked off the rooftop.

Zee whistled softly in admiration, as the city shook from the aftershock.

"So that's what a D-grade warrior is like huh?" Zee asked aloud.

Dern grunted in her head, "Yup, that one is in a whole other class from Petrie," Dern said.

"I agree... Do you think they have more people that strong protecting the other cities on Tartana?" Zee asked thoughtfully.

"Not sure, they might," Dern replied.

"Do you think I was overreacting earlier, you know when I called Grandpa heartless?" Zee asked, tracking the glowing figure as they floated back down towards a rooftop.

Dern sent her a mental shrug. "Probably, these people seem more than able to defend themselves. Calling your grandpa heartless might have been a little overboard," Dern replied.

High above in the clouds, another ship caught fire, plummeting towards a snow-capped mountain in the distance. It hit the peak with a fiery plume, the sound taking nearly fifteen seconds to reach her.

The thunderous impact echoed across the valley, drowning out the repeated explosions of the anti-aircraft defenses for a few seconds.

It was quite a sight to watch. There were so many Terlashar ships, barreling in through the atmosphere.

Even with their success in downing a few ships, the city's defenses were not even making a dent in the numbers. Her eyes bounced from the descending ships to a lone warship hovering above the city high in the sky.

The undead were avoiding that ship like the plague, not daring to get close to it as they entered the atmosphere. After a few minutes of watching the light show, Zee finally figured out why.

One of the undead ships was hit, spiraling out of control, its path carrying it toward her grandpa's ship.

Zee was hoping to see some awe-inspiring attack, but there was no visible display. The out-of-control ship simply turned to dust, utterly annihilated before it could get to close.

"Uhh, what was that? It simply turned to dust," Zee asked aloud.

Julian appeared on the roof next to her, a thoughtful look on his grizzled face.

"That's just a simple disintegration array. Sendredie's ship can do a lot more than that," Julian replied.

She gave her grandpa a sidelong glance. "That's her ship?" Zee asked.

"Yup, it's called the waivers terror. She stole it from the Lorocan emperor about seventy years ago," Julian said casually.

Her eyebrows shot up, "I don't mean to be nitpicky, but wouldn't the emperor be pissed about that? If someone stole that ship from me I would be angry," Zee said.

Julian laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh, he is definitely still pissed. Sendredie sort of burned down his castle and robbed him, it's why she is a criminal with a massive bounty on her head," Julian said casually.

"Uhh, Grandpa, why are you with a wanted criminal?" Zee asked.

He ran a hand through his straw brown hair. "I have been meaning to talk to you about that. Coming to look for you might not have been legal. In fact, I might be in deep shit when I return," Julian said with a wince.

"What do you mean you might be in deep shit?" Zee asked.

"The emperor strictly forbade me from entering blood gorger territory to find you. Since I had no other choice, I ignored his orders, and did it anyway. What's worse, I allied with someone he hates with a fiery passion," Julian said.

Zee turned to fully face him on the tiled roof.

"I am no expert, but it sounds like you are going to be arrested or worse when we return," Zee replied, nervously.

Julian snorted, "I don't think he will have me executed, but who knows? This whole trip has gone to shit. We are looking at a full-blown war with the blood gorgers on our return. All I can say for certain is that the emperor will not be happy," Julian said.

Zee hated to broach the lizard in the room but knew she had to.

"Umm, Grandpa. I know you said you were going to enroll me in the Imperial Academy, but that doesn't seem feasible. It sounds like we are going to return, only for you to be arrested. I doubt the emperor will just leave me, and the rest of our clan alone after that happens," Zee said.

Julian sighed, "I know, but what else did you expect me to do? I couldn't let you die, despite the risks," Julian said, softly.

Zee stared at her grandpa, suddenly feeling like a shitty person. He had risked so much to save her, and she had the gall to call him heartless.

Looking back up at the sky, Zee took a deep breath of smoky air.

"Thanks for coming Grandpa, and sorry about what I said earlier," Zee said.

She caught Julian's smile from the corner of one eye.

"I appreciate the apology and don't worry about it, you are family," Julian replied.

They fell into a more comfortable silence, both watching the stream of ships entering the atmosphere high above. The city's defenses were doing their best, but it appeared to be doing very little to stem the tide.

"How long until we leave?" Zee asked, after a few minutes.

"A few more days. If we wait too long, Glendal might decide we have overstayed our welcome," Julian said calmly.

"Do you think the people on Tartana stand a chance of repealing them?" Zee asked.

Julian shrugged. "That is doubtful. with no support from the outside, they will fall eventually." Julian said.

"And, do you think the blood gorgers will come to the aide of these people?" Zee asked.

"No, I don't. These people are on their own," Julian said, his expression hardening.

His response made her anxious, even if she already knew the answer. She felt so helpless to stop the inevitable, which made her want to go do something, anything.

Zee hated feeling helpless. "Well, thanks for the talk, Grandpa. I am going to go find more thugs to beat up, surely there are some more around here," Zee said.

"Have fun with that, I will be at the patriarch's party, just call if you need me," Julian said.

"Wait, you are going to a party, right now?" Zee asked glancing back up just in time to see a ship go up in flames and smoke.

"Yes… Do you want to come?" Julian asked, seeming unpazed by the literal invasion overhead.

Zee shook her head.

"No, fighting a bunch of thieving opportunistic assholes sounds like more fun to me," Zee said.

"Suit yourself," Julian said, vanishing without so much as a faint ripple in space.

This whole thing sounded absurd. Cities all across Tartana were under attack, and the leaders were having a party. Thinking about it made her head hurt.

That figure clad in golden light streaked back up into the sky to intercept another chunk of debris. Well, at least someone was doing their best to protect the city.

Just as she was thinking that Zee realized a second large chunk of flaming debris was streaking right towards her position.

The chunk of debris might not hit the house she was atop, but the same could not be said for the residential buildings nearby.

If nothing was done, it would kill dozens of people. Screams filled the streets below as people ran for their lives, realizing the danger. Zee didn't falter, drawing her sword.

This was going to be all about timing. If she missed, this was not going to end well. The thought of calling for help crossed her mind, but she held herself back.

It was just some burning chunk of debris, if she couldn't handle it what good was she? Ethereal waves crashed over the rooftops as she drew her sword, raising it above her head in a two-handed grip.

The world river churned, as the vast majority of her energy reserves flooded Into her blade, turning the silver metal black. With a deep breath, she tapped deeper into her well of mental energy, compressing the energy as much as she could.

The death spirit in her sword sent her a mental nudge. That made her grin.

Why not? Miasma leaked into the attack just as her finisher was ready. Adding so many layers to the attack took longer charge up, but it was just on time.

The falling debris was moments from impact, falling right towards her. With a wide slash, she cut upward and the air screamed.

A thin guillotine of force, wrapped in the pale turquoise of miasma shot from her blade, hitting its target in the blink of an eye.

The world seemed to slow as a huge scar formed, reality tearing at the edges. It was as if the falling chunk of debris was cut clean in half by a hair-thin blade.

The attack did nothing to stop or even slow down the debris, simply turning it into two chunks that separated to hit nearby buildings.

Both buildings were reduced to rubble in a flash, the impacts making the building she was on shake violently. Zee watched the destruction unfold in slow motion, waiting until the shockwaves passed before exiting her mist form.

"Well, that didn't go according to plan," Zee said, eying the destroyed buildings with some chagrin.

A figure radiating a golden glow floated down to hover beside the roof she was on their ears flat.

"Was that really necessary? That chunk of debris would have done less damage if you simply left it alone," The Allevark said, glaring down at Zee, her tail flicking in annoyance.

It was that cultivator she met when her grandpa arrived. Datos, der, no, Delta was her name.

"Sorry about that Delta, I thought I could destroy it," Zee replied.

The woman looked like she wanted Ream Zee out, but refrained with visible difficulty.

Delta sighed. "It's alright. Can you do something about those fires or the spread of that miasma?" Delta asked, glancing back to the sky nervously as more undead ships streaked through the clouds.

Zee nodded. "I have a few rituals that can help, leave it to me," Zee said.

"Very well, ohh, and try not to cause any more damage," Delta said, before streaking across the sky.

Zee watched the scary lady fly off, before glancing back to the mess she made. Considering three buildings were on fire, and clouds of miasma were spreading, she couldn't exactly blame the woman for getting angry.

"Well, cleaning up this mess is going to be fun," Zee said sarcastically.

Dern grunted in her mind," I really wish you would listen to me more often," Dern grumbled.

"I couldn't just let that debris hit without trying to stop it," Zee replied.

"I know, it's what makes you a pain in my ass. Every time you try to help people out of the kindness of your heart, it just causes me trouble," Dern said.

"That kindness is why you are still alive," Zee pointed out.

"You should probably go put out those fires before they spread," Dern said changing the subject.

Zee smirked," That's what I thought. Now, stop being a stick in the mud, and help me," Zee said.