Rampage

Chen Zhi, also known as Commander Chen of the Black Wolf pirates, had returned to Sun & Moon island. He felt good with the initial cruise of his new business, even though there were some moments that caused him to almost panic. Even he could see that Sun & Moon island was slowly being surrounded by one of the forces in the sea, but he wasn't sure if it was the Whales, Turtles, or Dragons that were doing it. After sending his guest off, he entered the island himself, and made an appointment with Minister Song.

Chen Zhi, now Merchant Chen, was told it would take several days before he could see the Minister. After finding out about the upcoming tournament, Chen Zhi understood, so he wandered Market Square for three days, enjoying the food, games, movies, and the hospitality of the Golden Peony brothel.

On the fourth day, Chen Zhi made his way to the city office in Market Square, and sat down with Minister Song.

"It's an honor to meet Minister Song", Chen Zhi greeted the man with a humble gesture, "There was no reason to take time for me when you are this busy. I am just a lowly merchant now, and would have been pleased to meet with your subordinates."

"And let you prey on the young?", Song raised an eyebrow, "Do you think I would let an old wolf like you near my disciples?"

"I once was a wolf, but I no longer have my fangs", the ex pirate replied.

"I did hear about your loses", Song commented, "About forty percent of your fleet left was what my sources told me, but that still leaves you with sixty percent."

Chen Zhi was getting tired of talking in circles, "I realize I don't have a strong connection with the people here, but I believe that you will still accept business if it's in good faith. I know I'm not trusted enough to buy a flying ship, but perhaps we can work a deal so that you can improve my old ones?"

"A refurbishment?", Song's eyes stared at Chen Zhi in curiosity.

Minister Song sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating the possibilities and dangers.

In the end, he trusted his gut, "I believe we can work out a deal. I suppose you will have to earn our trust somehow, and this seems to be an excellent avenue. I should say a few things up front: Don't expect new weapons, your ships will be tracked the same at the Golden Peony company are, and any actions that damage our reputation will have consequences."

"Minister Song is wise, and has great foresight", Chen Zhi praised the man.

"Time will tell", Minister Song responded, "I will contact the shipyard, and let Harbor master Fang know you are coming. He will bring additional people with him to discuss how you want to remake your ship."

"I won't use any more of you valuable time then", Chen Zhi remarked, "Thank you for your assistance, and farewell."

Chen Zhi walked out of the office feeling refreshed, he had been doing his best to walk a new path, and had taken another step. He made a few calls, one to a taxi and the other was to his most trusted crew mates, and directed both towards the shipyard. He arrived first, and the other three took a few minutes to arrive, two men and a woman.

"I have made a deal", Chen Zhi told the three of them, "I want you three here so we can plan together."

They were about to response when the gate opened, interrupting them.

"Merchant Chen, Welcome to my shipyard", a voice greeted the four.

"Harbor master Fang, there is no need for you to personally meet us here", Chen Zhi said in surprise.

"Merchant Chen is still a Void Refinement stage cultivator, and should be treated as such", Fang remarked, "If you follow me, I will bring you to meet the ones who undertake this task."

Everyone made their way to a meeting room inside the shipyard, and Chen Zhi could see flying ships in the process of being refined.

Master Fang noticed his curiosity, "Merchant Chen, you should be pleased, we have decided to add an additional space in our place for the sole purpose of refurbishing ships. Minister Song has made note that this is a new way to help smaller forces received a flying ship."

"I see", Chen Zhi said as the group entered a room with two men waiting inside.

"May I present to you, Xu Kairen and Tang Shengyu", Master Fang introduced the men, "Master Xu is a shipwright, a group of weapon refiners dedicated to flying ships, and Master Tang is an artist. His talent is hearing the guest's requests, and working together with them into making it a reality."

Chen Zhi and both masters bows to each other before Master Tang said, "Merchant Chen, have you thought about how you want your ships to look?"

Chen Zhi thought for a moment before smiling, "I want them to appear as merchant ships, but keep some pirate flair."

Captain Zhuo was meditating in her quarters after the battle with the Tiger. Most of the crew were also taking this time to adjust their condition. While it was true that cultivators battle non stop for long periods of time, it did not hurt to prepare when the time was available.

After finishing the last cycle of her cultivation, Zhuo Li Na opened her eyes and let out a controlled breath. She pulled out her Qphone, and started watching a show about a young girl named Mao Mao. The girl is an alchemist and doctor who gets kidnapped to become a servant girl for the emperor of the country. Captain Zhuo felt close to this character as she remembered when she was a little girl living in the poor part of town. Many of the situations that Mao Mao had to endure were also ones that she, herself had to avoid as well.

Captain Zhuo was in the middle of watching the fourth episode when the video paused due to an incoming call. She answered the phone, only to see Chief Razortalon on the screen.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Captain Zhuo", Razortalon shouted, "But we have an emergency! Not long after the defeat of the holders of the Tiger and Snake stones, we observed two events. Both the Holder of the Monkey stone and the Horse Stone activated their ancient pacts. They destroyed and killed most of the beastkin around them, and they are currently headed right towards each other."

Captain Zhuo jumped up, and mentally sounded the alarm. As warning sounds filled the ship, she sent the call she received from Razortalon to the three other ship captains as she ran towards the bridge. Once she sits in her seat, she commands the crew to lock onto Chief Razortalon's position and launch.

A few minutes later, the pair of ships catapulted into the air, and rocketed through the air at top speed. The bridge was a flurry of activity as the rest of the crew arrived, and each section ready themselves for combat. Captain Zhuo had several light screens around her as she spoke to the eagle lord, as well as the other captains. She got an uncomfortable when she looked at Razortalon's screen because in the background, growing thunderstorms appeared. Another screen joined the others, as a Raven birdkin that was following the Monkey Stone holder emerged.

The Captains saw a large monkey sprinting on its hands and legs as it disregarded everything. The monkey was so large that tall pine trees looked like daggers in its hand, so any village in the path of the beast took significant damage. Back on Razortalon's screen, a normal sized horses appeared this horse had a horn on its forehead, dark fur and hair, moved at ridiculous speeds, and had lightning surrounding it as it ran.

"Why are there ancient beast like this, but no records exist?", Zhuo asked.

"It might be a coincidence, but I've seen beasts like this before", Captain Long admitted.

All the faces on the screen turned towards Captain Long, before Razortalon inquired, "Where did you see these creatures from, Captain?"

"The Hunter of Monsters game at the pod cafe", Captain Long told the group.

Captain Zhuo sighed, as she had not played this mode very often.

Captain Long spoke up, "It may be in our best interest to contact Boss Wei, as he gave guidance to the scribes when it was created."

Captain Deng replied, "Since I'm the closest, I'm sending Boss Wei the request to join right now."

Soon three more people joined the conference call, Ministers Xia and Zel, and Wei Huoran. Considering the situation, greeting were quick, and the captains directed Huoran towards Razortalon and the raven's screen.

"Kirin, Ra Jang", Huoran said in confusion. He had only put monsters in the game that he remembered from his previous life.

"I can only recommend two or three actions at this time", Huoran instructed the four captains, "First of all, find a video of a Ra Jang or Kirin fight on Qtube to get a basic idea of what to expect. Secondly, follow them, but not closely. I would not recommend trying to capture them while they travel, so observe to see if their real actions match the video. Finally, as much as I do not wish, we have to let them engage in combat. There will most likely be a point where the two sides will struggle against the other, and they will separate to find an advantage. Use that moment to fire the Gravitas, so they can be capture simultaneously. Good luck."

The four captains had solemn faces as they nodded to everyone in the call. For Captains Zhuo and Long, it was just over an hour before dark clouds came into view. Random fires were seen spreading on the ground, the result of lightning strikes. The pair of ships were about to enter the area covered by clouds when Huoran stopped them.

"Keep this pace, and wait for the two sides to encounter the enemy", Huoran instructed, "If you had kept going, you would have entered the ancient's domain. Perhaps because the host was not strong enough, the domain is incomplete. But if you want a chance to survive a lightning strike, you have to activate your shield array formation, and that would let the Kirin know your position."

Everyone understood Huoran's caution, and because the two ancients would meet in less than half an hour, they complied. Soon, the four ships could see the two sides had met as lightning bolts were seen at a increased frequency and boulders, trees, or Ra Jang were seen flying through the air high speeds.

In every ship, the same thing was happening, the captain order shields raised, and told them to enter the area. All four flying ships turned and entered the cloud covered area, surrounded by shimmering auras. Even with sensing arrays at full power, the pilots had moments to move before being struck by a random lightning bolt.

The scene below was disastrous, large trees flung at high speeds, lighting raining down, mountain sides being reshaped, and fires breaking out. Both ancients fought with two different advantages, the Kirin was fast, and had a high affinity with lightning, while the Ra Jang had stuff everywhere to impede the paths taken by the smaller opponent.

The giant monkey actually caught the horse a few times, but every time it did, the horse would release a large web of lightning. The horse would escape, and the flying ships had to quickly move in erratic patterns to avoid several bolts in succession. After several clashes, each ship took near misses that still affected the shield array formations.

Huoran suddenly began speaking, "So far the battle has been very similar to what we expected, but now everyone must get ready to get into positions. If you see the stances they are in now, they have decided it's time to finish the fight."

As if on cue, the Kirin was shaking its head and stomping its front hoof as it emitted large amounts of lightning. When Huoran saw the scene, he could only think of a Tesla coil he observed in his past life. The Ra Jang seem to know what the Kirin was trying to do, so it stood still. Everyone had their eyes on the horse, but soon they turned to look at the monkey when they realized the latter was starting to shine.

"Everyone get ready", Huoran reminded the captains, "Fire your shots as a moment after they do, since they can't move during the process."

Suddenly, lightning originated from the outer edges of the cloud raced towards the center, and then coalesced before striking the Kirin. The horse turned its horn towards the Ra Jang, and fired a blinding bolt of purple tinted lightning as thick as a bucket towards its target.

The Giant monkey was fully illuminated with golden light at this point as it leaned on its arms, and opened its mouth. A blinding beam of light fired at the Kirin causing the area darkened by cloud cover to brighten again. As the two attacks were about to meet, the four ships took aim, and fired a Gravitas talisman each. Captains Tang and Long had lined up on the ancients current positions while Captains Zhuo and Deng aimed behind to prevent them from escaping backwards.

Five explosions rocked the land simultaneously, but one was different than the other four. In the center, a bright flash caused everyone watching to reflexively close their eyes or move their head. The other four was a series of aftershocks that caused light flashes and severe damage. What followed afterwards was four black orbs, five kilometers in radius that were strong enough not even light escape. After thirty seconds, the orbs dissipated, leaving their compacted masses in the center.

Huoran's voice was suddenly heard in all four ships, "Excellent work everyone, you have all been shining examples of bravery. You will all receive a hero's welcome when you return, and a reward compensatory of your service. Retrieve the Stones, and return to Sun & Moon island immediately, for your mission is complete."

A holographic image of image of Huoran appeared to bow to everyone on this ships before fading away. Ministers Xia and Zel also added words of gratitude before leaving as well. The ship's crew loudly cheered as they retrieved the results of the battle. After exchanging a few words with the beastkin chiefs and clan leaders, the four captains ordered their ships home. The four ships oriented themselves towards their home, and accelerated.

Huoran was in his cave, and after congratulating everyone on their hard work, he took the time to finish another project, the plans for a house from Meirong and him. Satisfied he could use his architectural skills again, he made a blueprint that favored a more modern style than a traditional one, but he made sure that some traditional aesthetic were present. He sent the plans to the construction department, and let them know that the new building would still be in the same cliff face as his current location. With the Grand Array Formation and secret submarine hanger located here, he did not want to build somewhere else.

With that taken care of he returned his focus to his own personal project. He still contributed to the preparations of the engagement, but with both his and Meirong's parents deceased, the human and merfolk ministers were stepping into the role.

Huoran knew now that they held twelve of the thirteen stones, the attack from the Draco empire would be earlier than expected. He also felt that the Dragon had more knowledge, experience, and power than the other stone holders, and this would cause things to be more dangerous.

Unfortunately, Huoran did not have the senior of the island, but he wanted to create something powerful enough to make everyone think he was still here. He tested hundreds of combinations of materials over the years, but finally saw some progress with the introduction of the core batteries. He tried cores of higher realms in a variety of arrays, and while he did observe so truly powerful explosions, they did not reach the level he wished. Frustrated, he tried something crazy, he created a simple talisman array. But this time he did not use the regular beast cores available but ten of the stones they were keeping under watch. As he watched the initial results, he could only laugh at the irony of the situation.