Chapter 411: Darkened Skies

Douglas stepped out from the Ashfallen Trading Company headquarters into the pouring rain with mixed feelings.

His pride as a man and a seasoned rogue cultivator used to dealing with the darker and more brutal side of humanity was somewhat ashamed to be ordered around by a somewhat bratty teenage girl, especially when her demands were so ridiculous. But on the other hand, she was the daughter and spokesperson for a literal god worshiped by millions and the overlord of the sect he called home. Not to mention, Stella was a powerhouse in her own right, being one of the highest-stage cultivators in the sect despite being so young.

It was suffice to say, to hell with his pride.

If the little boss orders me to do something, I'll see it's done. He mused as he wreathed his body with earth Qi to protect his suit from getting damp from the downpour. After giving a slight nod to the cultivators and Ents standing guard around the Ashfallen Trading Company headquarters, he hopped on his sword and flew up to the White Stone Palace.

This storm is only getting worse as the beast tide draws near. Life for the average person was already hard enough, and now this? Douglas thought as he touched down in the empty courtyard of the White Stone Palace and hopped off his floating sword. Waving his hand to put it back in his storage ring, he smirked. I used to look to the heavens, envious of the cultivators able to soar through the skies, and now I've become one. Life is funny like that sometimes.

"Good morning, Grand Elder Douglas." A gloomy Redclaw standing guard at the door greeted him with all the enthusiasm the poor guy could muster. "Are you here to use the ethereal network?"

"Morning, and yes, I am." Douglas strode past the Redclaw, and the lad fell a step behind him. "Something got you down, boy?"

"Nothing, in particular. I think it's the weather."

Douglas sagely nodded. It was well known that accepting an affinity into one's soul would shape one's personality. Earth cultivators were hard-headed and as stubborn as a mountain. Wind cultivators were always on the move, the polar opposite of spatial cultivators, who were notoriously lazy. As it turns out, people prefer to stay still when they can go anywhere in an instant.

I suppose it makes sense that weeks of endless rain and cold would dull the usually passionate mood of a fire cultivator. Poor guy.

"Hopefully, we can find a solution to suppressing this storm soon," Douglas said as they made their way down winding corridors deep into the palace. They passed by many layers of security before eventually arriving at the heart of the palace, where there was an expansive circular room with many heavily enchanted metal doors built into the wall. In the center was a large runic control panel guarded by a void Ent that stood there menacingly with its claws twitching next to a woman with red hair who looked up from the table and smiled.

"Grand Elder Margret, it's good to see you," Douglas said, returning the smile.

"Likewise, Grand Elder Douglas." She looked him up and down before raising a brow, "Going somewhere in this terrible weather?"

"Unfortunately," Douglas let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding, "Stella dropped some nonsense task on my head. I need to head to the front line to grab some of my workers."

Elder Marget chuckled as she inserted some fire Qi into the console, and it lit up with a silver hue. "I understand your frustrations as she can be a little... how should I put it? Assertive—yeah, that's the word. But she means well, and you can't ignore her track record." Elder Margret's hands stopped dancing across the console, and she looked to the side as one of the giant metal doors slowly slid open. "One direct ethereal root to the northern forest on the front lines."

"Thanks, and I will take your words to heart as always," Douglas said as he walked toward the door.

"Make sure that you do. The Princess is an impressive girl sometimes, you know. I had the pleasure of watching her amaze me with her pill-making skills," Grand Elder Margret paused, seeming nostalgic for a moment. "It was like watching a prodigy in the making. Truly a fascinating experience."

Douglas recalled her insights for making the city and muttered, "A prodigy, mhm." He descended a set of steps and found himself standing inside a tunnel that seemed to stretch forever. Ashlock's presence was almost suffocating down here as he took a few steps forward, and the world around him blurred as it felt like reality was pulling him forward.

Didn't Stella say I had a talent for making buildings? I thought my lack of offensive capabilities was holding me back. But now that I think about it, I'd much rather design and build cities in the backlines than be neck-deep in blood and guts as I fight monsters for days on end.

Douglas shook his head. Maybe I really should just shut up and do my job.

Within a few breaths, he saw a light at the end of the seemingly infinite tunnel. Coming to a stop, he saw a ladder leading out of the ethereal root. Simply jumping up a few meters, he scared the life out of a Mudcloak that had been carrying a stack of wood near the ethereal root exit.

"Sorry buddy," Douglas activated his spatial artifact ring and used telekinesis to save the Mudcloak from tumbling into the hole and keep the wood stack from falling. Setting the little guy upright and returning the stack to his hand, he patted the Mudcloak on the head, and with a happy noise, it went on its way.

With that sorted, Douglas slowly glanced around. He was in a stone bunker with a single large window that was basically useless as rain cascaded down its slanted surface. It felt like he was inside a drum as the roaring of the intense rain battered the building from seemingly every angle. The room was quite messy, with stone tables jutting out of the walls and covered in parchments detailing plans and countermeasures.

Douglas gave them a side eye before returning his attention to the window. It's been a few days since I was last here. I wonder how things have progressed. While the pouring rain somewhat inhibited his view, the looming wall of turbulent darkness that stretched from the ground to the heavens was hard to miss.

The beast tide. Douglas clenched his teeth. Things weren't great back home. There was civil unrest as the storm wiped out fields, causing food shortages, and people were sick and tired of being stuck in their homes. But if only they got a small glimpse of this, they would understand how good they have it. The beast tide is already a catastrophic horde of monsters, but now they are shielded by such a grand storm, and it's arrived three years early? Just what is happening.

Luckily, for now, the storm's advance had been significantly slowed. Despite its immense power, it had met its match. Like a glacier attempting to cross magma, as the storm tried to pass over Ashlock's wasteland of desolation, it dissipated when it came into contact with a black mist that rose from the cracked earth. Occasionally, a few humanoid-looking monsters would emerge from the turbulent storm and attempt to rush over the wasteland and reach the lush forest of demonic trees that lay beyond it, but they would all be reduced to dust after a few steps as they became engulfed in the black mist.

Did Ashlock's desolation Qi get stronger? Douglas rubbed his chin as he squinted at the distant wasteland. There was still quite a distance between the bunker and the storm as there was a few miles of wasteland, followed by a sea of demonic trees whose scarlet leaves rustled violently from the gales.

In the distance, he could see a dozen Mudcloaks building a stone wall inlaid with runic formations on the border of the wasteland and the forest. Though he respected the Mudcloak's efforts, he couldn't imagine it would do much more than slow down the weaker monsters for a bit should they make it past the slowly shrinking wasteland.

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The door to the small building flung open, filling the room with a roaring, freezing gale and drawing Douglas's attention away from the window. A rain-soaked youth ran into the small room and respectfully bowed.

"Grand Elder Douglas, welcome to the northern forest."

"Sam," Douglas said after a moment. He almost didn't recognize the boy, as his usual bright blonde hair was darkened by rain, and his robes hugged his body tightly. "You look terrible," Douglas said as he walked over and gently gestured for the boy to stand from his bow. "Have you not been using Qi to ward off the rain? I've seen city rats in better shape than you."

The boy shook his head, "How will I ever progress my cultivation and get strong like you if I waste my Qi on something as useless as keeping dry? A little water never hurt anyone," Sam pounded his chest enthusiastically, "It's not like cultivators can get sick easily."

Douglas chuckled, "While that may be true, cultivators also have pride to maintain. Your clothes are in shambles. How can you go around looking like a drowned rat and expect people to take you seriously."

"Pride?" Sam scoffed, "I'll worry about my pride when I can defeat a single Mudcloak or fly on a sword. Even then, how can I be arrogant after seeing the immense power of the All-Seeing Eye or the ruthlessness of the Princess? Forgive my words, but you and I are both nothing in the grand scheme of things. Would you respect an ant on the ground if it puffed out its chest or laugh at it and think it's amusing?"

Douglas blinked, "Since when did you get so wise?"

"The Mudcloaks," Sam said without missing a beat, "Their wisdom is as boundless as a great sea, and they have taught me many things. You should follow their scriptures, too. I think you will be surprised."

Douglas looked the poor kid up and down. While he had a good head on his shoulders, he looked worse than a beggar. I bet the Mudcloaks are joking around with him, and he's taking it too seriously.

"I'll have to pass. I have my own scriptures given to me by the Ashfallen Sect, and my cultivation has progressed at a good pace." Douglas patted Sam on his damp shoulder before walking past him toward the door, "Thanks for the offer, though. Oh, you and the others will be helping me with a big project today. That's why I'm here."

"A big project?" Sam furrowed his brows, "What could be a bigger project than protecting the front line?"

Douglas paused at the door. "Leave the beast tide to the boss for now. No wall you build out here will be capable of stopping the beasts. As for the project, the Princess wants us to expand Nightrose City to accommodate 6.5 million new mortals by the end of the month."

Sam almost missed a step and fell on his face as he stumbled forward. "Sorry?"

"You heard me," Douglas said dismissively while secretly enjoying Sam's reaction. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who found Stella crazy. "We've got some long nights ahead of us. Now, catch me up to speed and tell me about what you guys have been doing here."

"Erm, well..."

"Come on, spit it out, I'm short on time," Douglas said while summoning his sword again. Jumping on, he gestured for Sam to join him. The still-confused kid stepped on and let out a scream as they soared off toward the border.

Despite the vastness of the forest, the border fast approached.

"The trees feel different than before," Douglas noted as he observed the forest blurring beneath their feet. It might have been his imagination, but there was this abundant aura of life radiating from them, and he felt weirdly invigorated.

"It began a few days ago, Grand Elder," Sam shouted over the roaring wind. "The aura around the trees abruptly changed. The forest suddenly felt like one interconnected being breathing life into the land. We had built some stone casings around the trees to protect them from monsters, but they cracked and fell to the wayside as the demonic trees rapidly grew to the point you can see it with the naked eye."

"Fascinating," Douglas rubbed his chin, "I heard from Stella that the Boss had fallen into a deep sleep and hadn't awoken for a few days. The trees around Red Vine Peak seemed more vibrant than usual, but I chalked that up to all the rain they were getting. The aura they are radiating is far more intense out here."

"Oh? I assumed this would be happening everywhere. Grand Elder, you have to try the fruits the demonic trees are growing out here," Sam said enthusiastically as they began to descend toward the wall on the border. Touching down, he stowed his sword away and took Sam's advice by grabbing a nearby fruit from a low-hanging branch.

"Ah! Be careful!" Sam slapped his hand, making him drop the fruit. "My apologies, Grand Elder, that one is poisonous."

"I... knew that." Douglas played it off. Why would the blue fruit be poisonous and not the red one?! He secretly glared at the demonic tree. I thought we were friends. Why are you trying to kill me?

"Since the change, the poisonous ones seemed to lose their potency," A voice said behind him, but Douglas already knew who it was. He glanced over his shoulder at Hugo, emerging through the tree line with earth Qi flickering across his skin to ward off the rain. The man who was Sam's friend grinned, "Don't ask me how I know. While they won't kill, you will still spend a few days groaning on the floor and shitting out your guts."

"Is that so," Douglas snorted, "Would be quite a dumb way to go out."

"You see, you would think that," Hugo wagged his finger, "But when you see those little fuckers devouring them like they are the tastiest things in the world, you can't help but give it a try."

Douglas eyed a nearby Mudcloak, and sure enough, it was using a long metal stick with a claw at the end to harvest the poisonous fruits from the tree. Noticing his gaze, the little guy tilted his head toward him and waved his other hand in greeting.

"Yeah..." Douglas said slowly as he turned back to Hugo, "I wouldn't copy what they do." Reaching up, he hesitantly picked a yellow fruit. Seeing Sam's reaction and noticing nothing, he carefully bit into it. There was a literal explosion of flavor like nothing he had ever tasted before. "Oh my heavens, this is fucking beautiful," He groaned with his mouth half full before stuffing the rest of the fruit in there and closing his eyes in bliss.

"See!" Hugo shouted, "The Mudcloak bastards had the exact same reaction when eating the poisonous blue ones. Yet somehow, I'm the idiot." Hugo's rantings were mostly drowned out by Douglas's mind as he wondered how amazing a fruit wine made with these could taste.

"Grand Elder, didn't you say we were pressed for time?" Sam chimed in and made Douglas pause. He hadn't even realized he was subconsciously reaching for another bundle of green fruits.

"Ahem, yes, you're right Sam." Douglas reeled back his hand and brushed off some nonexistent dust from his suit. "I want to inspect the wall. Hugo, give me a tour while Sam rounds up the others."

Sam bowed deeply before rushing off into the rain.

"Right this way, Grand Elder," Hugo said, leading him to the top of the wall. A few meters from the wall's edge was the border of the wasteland, and Douglas could feel its oppressive promise of death from here. All that lay between them and the looming storm that looked like its winds could tear through mountains was a few empty miles of blackened and cracked earth leaking a black mist.

Crazy to think the Boss can do all this from so far away.

"We weren't sure what to do, so we erected this thirty-meter high and ten-meter thick stone wall. It runs along the entire wasteland border, which stretches for four hundred miles in total in a slight curve. There are some basic runic formations etched into it, but we were stretched thin on spirit stones for a wall on this scale." Hugo reported, and Douglas nodded in agreement.

"Good. Investing so many spirit stones into a wall that might only buy us a few hours isn't worth it."

"A few hours, Grand Elder?" Hugo seemed skeptical, "I thought a few days at least. That's what the reports of defenses against previous beast tides indicated."

Douglas glanced at Hugo and gestured to the storm, "And what about this is similar to a previous beast tide exactly? We are already two weeks into the beast tide. Waves of beasts have already 'come' they just didn't make it very far due to the wasteland."

"I see, my mistake." Hugo said, "But to think this wall will only buy us a few hours..."

"Yeah, we just have to hope the monsters stay hiding in the storm for a little longer—"

A horn in the distance blared over the roaring rain, drawing both of their attention.

"What does that mean?" Douglas asked quickly.

"Airborne monster attack," Hugo said with a hint of unease, "Due to the storm overhead, the desolation Qi is weakened the further from the ground you go. The Mudcloaks have managed to shoot down the half-withered airborne monsters so far, but man, are they fucking terrifying. I've had to fight one on the wall that managed to make it over. It was decaying to ash before my eyes, but the bastard still put up a fight."

"I see," Douglas's gaze hardened, "Should we be worried?"

Hugo looked into the distance and shook his head, "Just one horn is going. It should be a small-scale attack."



Maybe I should leave more Mudcloaks here than I intended. I didn't expect them to be the primary defense force here. Douglas rubbed his chin in thought when he froze as another horn blared, this time from the distant opposite side of the wall. Both of their heads snapped in the direction before exchanging a look.

"Okay, that is a little more concerning." Hugo admitted, "But two on separate sides should still be fine—"

Two more horns blared, this time much closer.

Feeling a sudden sense of danger, the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. Douglas looked up and gulped as the storm seemingly parted, and what could only be described as a flying hoard of darkness, red eyes, fangs, and death blotted out the sky. A terrible cry followed that competed with the now dozen horns blaring.

"Now—" Hugo drew out his sword, "—we might be fucked."