ALL NOVEL 435. Beastman
Cylek was built to last. The streets and every building that crossed a city-level threshold had to be built with Overlord-tier materials. That was to be expected; the rich people up top didn't want their homes to fall just because some poor loser down below didn't want to pay the price to build something in Cylek.
Nowadays, nobody cared about such costs. The city was built already and hadn't expanded for a while. Still, Shen had found it had considerably slowed down the city's growth in its infancy.
From Cylok's third street level upwards, any building that didn't go beyond a city level had to be at least Conceptualizer-tier, just to make it harder for poor people to move up. Whitemetal's shacktown had not fit that criterion before Shen rebuilt it. It did now.
Everything, Overlord or Conceptualizer-tier, was also heavily enchanted for extra resistance. No one spared efforts to make said enchantments as good as possible, as they also prevented someone from breaking the building to steal its Overlord-tier materials. No one wanted to build something expensive to finance a thief's dreams.
Anyway, correction: the newly dubbed Blackhall Town used to be made of Conceptualizer-tier materials.
The mushroom was evidence that there should be no town there anymore.
The plasma mushroom was low-Overlord-tier, as its origin explosion had been, though it was now kept going with different artifacts than the expandable one that blew everything up. It was illegal to set up any destructive trap stronger than low-Overlord-tier, or it might also affect the city's infrastructure and, thus, the powers-that-be on the higher floors. However, there were ways to skirt the rules for higher damage, and Shen's solution came right next.
All that plasma was sucked by heavy enchantments. It disappeared from sight. It revealed the Overlord-tier buildings it had covered, all intact, but many with broken windows—which, to get broken like that, had been below Overlord-tier and, thus, illegal.
Shen couldn't see it from here, but he knew that all that burning plasma, and however much more was still being generated and kept going, would now be focused on the individuals who had survived the blast. Number One was meant to only trigger the trap if too many individuals stronger than him invaded and he believed one of them to be the main culprit for burning the dojo.
Shen used his domain to teleport straight to Alvirtue. He had yet to use his teleportation ability in Cylek, but this was about making a statement.
The Alliance had taught Shen that sometimes you lost territory, even important ones, and that wasn't the end of the world. It didn't matter as much as long as the Alliance survived. More importantly, if you made your enemy pay for it, it was worth it. Sure, no one could make thee Void pay for anything, but you could use the Void to train your troops. Shen was using this loss for a similar purpose.
Shen was saying he didn't care about politics or doing things like everyone else did. He was willing to destroy his main business after investing a lot of money to upgrade its defenses if it meant achieving his goals—especially the goal of revenge. His enemies could try guerilla warfare against him, but he would catch them, no matter the cost. Then, it was for his foes to wonder what he would do once he figured out the true culprit behind it. How far was he willing to go? What were the consequences of going against him?
In this instance, the person behind the scenes would either come for him in desperation or hide their traces while strengthening themselves for the incoming war.
The proper response for any self-confident enemy here was to wait, giving Shen extra time to grow. It would allow them to conquer a better-structured territory and forces after defeating a Blackhall in which Shen had more time to invest in. It was like waiting for a fruit to ripen.
Waiting would also give them time to plan around his newly revealed craziness and try to figure out what other abilities he was hiding, since he had shown he could teleport without mastering his Laws, something quite rare to find.
Shen arrived where Alvirtue had once been and felt dry ash in his mouth. Alvirtue's building and the town had melted down into useless globs, but the Overlord-tier ground had withstood the destruction, and so had the Overlord-tier underground levels of Alparts, where everyone in Blackhall had been teleported to. Shen wouldn't sacrifice his people or the weak innocents around in the explosion. Preparing the teleportation while keeping it a secret had cost him all his economies, but he had been sure his enemy wanted to humiliate him. They would come to Alvirtue sooner or later. He got lucky it was sooner.
The Overlord-tier buildings were covered with soot, but they had withstood the blast. No apartment with broken windows had dead people. His people were meant to evacuate those apartments as soon as he left Alvirtue. They had accomplished it despite how fast everything had happened. He should commend them for it later.
Numbers One and Two were flying above three spheres of pure golden plasma. As soon as Shen arrived, one of them moved to merge with the other two, meaning the cultivator who had been inside was now dead. Not even bones were left behind as the ball of plasma moved.
Suddenly, everything shook around Shen as if something had just struck hard against Space itself. Simultaneously, the ground lit up with shining runes. Someone had tried to use an Overlord-tier artifact to teleport away to safety, but the gang who once used Alvirtue as their base had long prepared for it. Only those who touched the central rune in the formation's core, hidden underground, were allowed to come or leave through teleportation.
A moment later, one of the two remaining spheres started flowing to the last one, meaning another enemy was dead.
The last survivor had a way to detect that because he gave out a loud shout and released his domain. The world was tinted red and blue.
Right after, the twenty-seven core crystals keeping the plasma going, which were stationed on the apartment buildings in the area, were deactivated. They were built to be easy to turn off, precisely so you didn't lose them against an enemy with a domain. Domain-holders would also choose to keep them intact, so they became spoils of war. It was best for everyone.
The plasma died down, revealing a black bat beastman with bat wings. He was clad in black and red leather and already trying to fly away.
Shen was pleased to find the guy's injuries were light and already healing; it might make for a good fight. The beastman's leather equipment was only mid-Overlord-tier, so he had resisted the blast and plasma with his own ability. His Path was the same as Shen had witnessed through the recordings, two Laws each from the Axioms of Water and Fire.
This was the arsonist.
Shen smiled and said, "Since you're already here, why don't you stay?"
His domain was already deployed, and he engaged the guy in the meta-battlefield. He willed the enemy's four Laws—two of Water, two of Fire—to be weak, and six of Shen's Laws—excluding the Law of Stream he shared with the guy—to be stronger.
There was no resistance; the guy hadn't tried to pre-emptively defend himself. The beastman also didn't immediately counter Shen's move. He really wanted to flee and not waste anything in combat.
Well, Shen would have to disappoint. He took out an Overlord-tier black-striped gray spear from his spatial ring and teleported right beside the guy, already midstrike.
The bat beastman took the two long daggers from their sheaths and parried. He tried to use Shen's attack to gain extra impulse to leave, but Shen had already Backstepped.
The idiot was so desperate to flee that he impaled himself in Shen's spear.
The beastman didn't die as his heart was pierced. Shen tried to finish the fight quickly by moving his spear to also cut the guy's head, but the beastman used a "forbidden art," as techniques that used blood essence were called in the Shaft. He used a drop of blood essence to make his following attack stronger.
A wave of fiercely burning flames exploded from him, immediately shattering through the qi surrounding Shen's spear and melting the weapon. Shen was forced to put some space between him and the guy or suffer heavy injuries.
The wave was short-lived, though. Shen frowned. That guy... He was way too weak for a Proven Dominator. Shen couldn't see people's willpower, but he could guess what was happening. The beastman was a weak-willed assassin with inferior training, not some elite combatant.
Someone had set up this poor bastard to test Shen and hopefully make Shen waste resources while revealing more of himself—and it had worked.
Obviously, that possibility had gone into Shen's calculations when he decided how he would move. It was too obvious to ignore. Shen wasn't bothered by wasting so many resources on a simple test because looking stupid would also give him extra time to grow stronger. Idiots that easily tricked weren't dangerous.
Sure, he was upset he couldn't fight someone more potent, but his focus was on the grand scheme of things, not another perceived loss that worked in his favor.
"Parley!" the guy yelled.
Shen was about to take Un'Re from his soul but stopped, raising an eyebrow. That was... unexpected. The guy was a beastman, and so was the decoy in Symphonia. That all but confirmed this was about the Shav Gang. Although not all beastmen in Cylek were loyal to the Shav Gang, they seldom spoke against it because almost every beastman was connected to it somehow.
The man hadn't said anything about betraying whoever sent him here, but both he and Shen knew that only a full confession would see him maybe survive this. It was more likely for him to be trying to gain some time, but even if that was so, Shen was interested to see what the bat beastman could pull off his sleeve. That fight had been too anticlimactic.
"A parley?" Shen asked. "That's meant for people who aren't already dominated," he provoked.
"You won't capture me alive, and you know it!" the beastman yelled in defiance. His face was a perfect blend of human and bat, with brown-greyish skin, a small nose, and sharp canines. His elongated ears were akin to a dog's, more or less on top of his head. His short spiked hair was brown.
His voice betrayed his youth, if Shen wasn't mistaken. That explained why he had been so unprepared for close-quarters combat. Any training he had received had been exclusively on assassination; he hadn't had time to grow in other ways yet.
"I might or not be able to capture you," Shen conceded without being too explicit about it. "But why do you think your life is worth more to me than your death?"
"I have proof Octo-sama ordered the assassination of thirteen officers from the surrounding gangs."
Octo was Shav Gang's boss. The guy was addressing him as "sama," which Shen understood and translated as being an honorific close to what could be found in Earth's Japan. That meant he wanted at least to implicate Octo as being behind the attacks on Blackhall.
However, the guy was likely lying about the proofs. Octo was a cunning asshole who would never leave evidence behind. Then again, even if he did have proof of the "misdeeds," it was worthless information. No one would go to war or even assist in one just because a few people died. At worst, the reveal would inconvenience the Shav Gang. Every gang in Cylek killed people from each other when they thought they could get away with it.
"You're not from Cylek, are you?" Shen replied. "What do you want me to do with that knowledge? Point a finger at Octo and call him a big meanie?"
Shen was spot-on. The bat's face twisted in confusion and surprise. He had thought that information would be helpful.
"That was unhonorable of him," he pointed out weakly.
Shen snorted. "As was attacking me the way you did."
"I was ordered by Octo-sama. Honor demanded I meet his request. It's up to him to decide where to draw the line of honor with his enemies, not one as lowly as me."
Shen raised his other eyebrow. The bat really cared about honor. Interesting. Shen could use that.
"You're close to the truth but blinding yourself to the greater picture, so you're not reaching the right conclusion. Honor only matters for internal gang business. Externally, only official agreements and some unspoken rules need to be honored. This is Cylek. To a certain extent, we're all competitors seeking to grow stronger, and safety cannot be guaranteed. Anyone who comes here accepts that." He paused. The guy looked even more confused. Shen could also use that. "In fact, it would be a disservice to everyone if the gangs didn't constantly hone each other up with underhanded means. If that were the case, the first external force to use such means against us would conquer a bunch of unprepared amateurs in a fell swoop."
There was more to Cylek's complex gang and corporation structure than that, but Shen was already saying too much. Unspoken rules were kept unspoken to filter those smart enough to catch on to them. It was an arrogant system to keep those with low relational ability out of the game. There might be a place for them somewhere else, but you needed to know how to read between the lines to thrive in Cylek—or overwhelming power so that your lack of relational ability didn't hinder you.
Still, Shen wasn't talking about that for the guy's benefit. The beastman's confusion didn't matter as much as the confusion of whoever else from Blackhall that might be listening now. The bat had burned Shen's dojo and sent the shark beastman to kill people in Symphonia. He had then come to kill people in Blackhall Town. He would die. The question was how honorable his death would be.
Shen saw a bit of himself in the bat. He had also once understood honor as a global truth that should be provided to everyone equally. Nowadays, he wasn't against acting dishonorably if he thought someone deserved it. Then came the question: Who was he to judge other people's actions? Well, he and his friends' counsel were all he had, so it would have to do.
It was dishonorable of Shen to use the guy's honor against him, but Shen believed the asshole deserved it for his sneak attacks.
Shen said, "If Octo attacked me, he did nothing evil. I'll investigate. If he was really behind the attacks, I'll make him pay for it. I have connections. Do you have anything else to say?"
Reminding Octo of E'livia was Shen's way of telling Octo not to attack him straight up—not yet, at least. Depending on someone else also made Shen look weak depending on external strength. That would conflict with his craziness and his ability to teleport without mastered Laws. Together with Shen being "tricked" by the probe, it should ensure Octo didn't attack right now.
The bat guy looked lost at Shen. For a moment, Shen thought he would try to fight or flee again. Instead, he allowed his body to fall to the ground on his knees.
He asked, "Shen-dono, may I die with however much honor remains on me?"
Shen nodded once. That was for the best and the reason Shen had wasted time with words. It would show to all gangs that Shen was honorable. The way he had kept innocents from dying would also help with that. It would make gangs other than the Shav Gang less anxious about his growth.
The beastman's Path shattered a moment before he used his own daggers to pierce his regenerated heart and brain. He hadn't directly shattered his Path; instead, his Path couldn't conform to the Reality he was forced to face. The guy had evidently gone through countless repeated shocks for his Path to reach this point.
Shen almost felt bad for him. That had been a Lawful Dominator, which revealed he had some talent, and a young one at that. With some training and proper guidance, he could've become both strong and a beacon of morality in a world that desperately needed it.
But this was Cylek, and this had been the first clash in the incoming war. Good people would die on both sides. Such was the way Reality worked.
Shen would change all that one day, but that day was not today.
He turned to Number One. "Collect the corpse and keep everyone in Blackhall alert. Numbers Three and Four, come with me." The two had just returned from Symphonia.
"May I ask where you're going?" Number One said.
His implication was that it was still dangerous. He was right, but Shen was willing to bet that he had given the Shav Gang enough reason to wait for him to grow ripe before their next move. Moreover, Shen could do nothing if a Demi-Dominator came, and it might even be safer for Blackhall members if Shen were far away when the Demi-Dominator caught up to him.
Shen sighed and gave an answer aimed at any spy around, "I'm broke. I'm going to sell myself for money."
He couldn't ask E'livia for resources because that would be crossing the boundaries they had set for themselves. However, both of them had been approached by other actors before. Shen even legitimately liked the one he was going to meet. He had been one of the few Fifth Hegemons who had risen by bullheading through every problem instead of navigating the intricacies of Cylek's social dynamics.
Before now, making a deal with him would've been a declaration of war against every nearby gang. Now, it would be seen as finding protection and backup in desperate times, which was also one of the reasons Shen had been willing to bankrupt himself. His every move had been meticulously planned.
Now, as long as he did it right, everyone would expect him to focus on the Shav Gang, and every gang was happy to see another disappear. They had no reason to band together to curb him before he could grow. If any of them came for him, it would be right after he won, when his troops would be tired and his strength spent.
Shen smiled as he flew away.
War was coming, and it would be so much fun!