Steampunk Apocalypse! - 179 Deal

Haru gulped nervously as he stared at the Great Khan. He had no way to escape, and he felt it was likely his life would end here. Regardless of his amazing healing abilities, not even he would survive if they chose to shatter his mana-core.

“Haru, right?” The Great Khan questioned.

“Huh?” His eyes widened in surprise. ‘Why does he know my name?’ He wondered.

“Mm.” The Great Khan nodded. “You’re Haru. The report matches up.” He glanced at two of his subordinates. “Nail him to a tree.”

Two Mongols got off their horses and grabbed Haru by the arms. He didn’t dare to resist, as a single wrong move could result in a volley of mana ammunition ending his life. The Two Mongols slammed him into a tree and reached for manullium stakes tied to their belts.

“AGHHHH!!!” Haru screamed in agony as each Mongol slammed a manullium spike into his shoulders, shattering his bones. His Water Nightmare chimera flesh immediately tried to heal the damage, but it was blocked both physically and by the effects of the manullium. His wound stayed fresh as a result, causing him agonizing pain.

“GAHHH!” He screamed again as two more stakes were slammed into his arms. His screams continued to echo throughout the mountain as his legs, hands, and feet suffered the same fate. He gasped heavily for breath and held his head low due to exhaustion.

The Great Khan walked over and picked up Haru’s discarded green longsword, Hina. He held it up to the sun and examined it, a smile covering his face. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” He poured mana into it as he gave it a large swing. However, nothing happened. It appeared that the sword refused to serve this new master.

Suddenly, Scrub, Haru’s pet monkey mutant, peeked its head out from underneath Haru’s sleeve. It curiously and cautiously watched the surrounding enemies while glancing worriedly at Haru’s face. Most of the Mongols didn’t notice the hidden monkey, however, the Great Khan spotted it immediately. He hurriedly spun around and threw the sword towards it.

Pang! The sword cut through Haru’s sleeve and slammed straight into Scrub’s skull, nailing the monkey into the tree behind it. The hilt of the sword vibrated heavily from the residual force. The Great Khan smiled sadistically as he pulled the sword out from the tree.

Scrub’s body crashed to the ground. Shockingly, its skull and head were already starting to heal from the damage!

“No mana-core.” The Great Khan grunted in annoyance. He reached down and grabbed the monkey, and then threw it high in the air. Twenty Mongols took aim simultaneously and fired. BOOM! The resulting elemental explosion tore the poor monkey to shreds, and not even ash was left behind.

“That’s that.” The Great Khan nonchalantly said as he wiped has hands together and turned back towards Haru. “Now then. I was ordered to deliver a message to Forge or his subordinates. Nexus is waiting for Forge in Europe.” Having finished his job, he turned to leave.

“WAIT!” Haru struggled to lift his head, rage flashing in his eyes. He struggled to remain calm as he yelled. “That’s it?! You killed all of these cultivators, nailed me to this tree, and killed Scrub just to deliver that short message?”

“Scrub?” The Great Khan rose his eyebrows. “Ah, the monkey!” He slammed his fist into his hand while chuckling. He shook his head. “The message was just an extra. I would’ve eliminated the Han even without Nexus’s orders. As for you and the monkey, well, that was just for some fun.” He waved his hand. “Try to make sure my message gets to your boss.”

Haru struggled against the manullium spikes. “BASTARDS! GIVE HINA BACK!”

The Mongol Army completely ignored him and rode their horses south. They planned on meeting up with the other armies to jointly attack the rest of China. Of course, they could operate separately, but that would cost them more ammunition and men. After all, why do the work when you can rely on your allies to do it for you?

“I’LL KILL YOU ALL!!!” Haru continued to struggle against the spikes, causing his wounds to open and worsen. Blood slid down his body and the tree, forming a pool of blood beneath his feet.

…

Ed sighed after listening to his former student’s story. It seemed that the boy had gone through a lot recently and much of it was related to himself. However, he had warned Haru before ever taking him on as a student, so he couldn’t really be blamed for what had happened. “So, what will you do now?” He asked.

Haru’s eyes turned red from rage. He wanted nothing more than to storm the Mongol Army, behead them all, and take back Hina. However, his rage was soon replaced by despair. He knew he wasn’t capable of it with his current strength. How many years, decades, or even centuries would it take him to get his revenge? “What are you going to do?” He threw the question back towards his former teacher.

“Me?” Ed rubbed his chin. He had already accomplished all his goals here. He had acquired cultivation resources, which Flair had kept with her after they left the Light Tiger Sect. Dupe and Tao should be with her, and Dupe would also be taking the resources back to America. Ed had also planned on forming an official alliance with a strong sect in China, and originally, he had accomplished this goal. However, the Purple Origin Sect was gone, and there really weren’t any strong sects left. At best, he could maybe create an alliance with the remnants of the Fire Dragon Sect, but such an alliance would be more of a hindrance than a boon at this point. “Ah, that reminds me.” He looked at Haru. “Any idea of what happened to Tai?”

“Tai?” Haru’s face turned dark. “He was one of the first to die during the war. He sacrificed his life to kill Sect Leader Ying.”

“Ah, is that so? A pity.” Ed replied nonchalantly. Some of his other soul shards were more effected, mourning the loss of a dear friend. However, reddish-black Ed didn’t care much. He already knew Tai was going to die eventually, so why cry over spilled milk? Truthfully, he didn’t care much about anybody except for Yuki, and even that care was twisted and distorted. In fact, it could hardly be called caring at all.

“For now, I’ll go meet up with Flair.” He finally decided. After all, he still needed her powers for the upcoming trip to Europe. He was even tempted to steal her powers for himself, but he knew that it wouldn’t be worth it. Regardless of it likely killing him faster, he wouldn’t even be capable of using the powers in his current state. Additionally, Flair was a genius in general when it came to engineering. He hated to admit it, but he was inferior to her when it came to engineering. Granted, he was a more well-rounded talent overall, with a knack for leading, plotting, and biology.

Turning around, Ed sprouted his bat wings and took to the sky. Haru hesitated a moment, debating whether he should follow or not. Ultimately, he chose not to. He knew that even by following his former sensei, their power would be limited. To get Hina back and redeem himself, he needed to take extreme measures. With those thoughts in mind, he turned towards the remnants of the Purple Origin Sect, or more specifically, the remaining training rooms of the sect. His eyes grew resolute as he made his way towards the sect. He decided that he would find the artifact that controlled the Purple Origin Sect’s barrier and training room, and then he would use it to rapidly accelerate his own growth even at the risk of death.

…

Ed soon reached Beijing. Fortunately, the city still stood. With most forces invading from the south, it would likely take them a while to reach China’s capital. Hopefully the new rulers would be benevolent to the commoners, but it was also likely a massacre would follow. It really depended on whether the invaders wanted to rule over the former Chinese and assimilate them, or annihilate them entirely and allow their own people to move in. Either way, it was a bad thing for China. It was doubtful that any part of the ancient country would continue on into the next century.

Soon, Ed found Flair and Tao. Dupe was nowhere to be seen, as he had seemingly already left for America to drop off the gathered cultivation resources.

“Tsk.” Ed clicked his tongue. “Dupe could’ve at least left a clone behind or something.”

“He seems to be quite limited lately.” Flair replied. “He mentioned having clones all over the world. It’s hard for him to spare even one or two extras at the moment.”

“Who knows what he’s up to.” Ed sighed in response. Truthfully, he still didn’t trust Dupe fully, and who could blame him for not doing so? Sure, Dupe had proven himself trustworthy time and time again, but his powers were just too terrifying. The man was capable of manipulating events all over the world, investing in multiple areas of study, and basically had unlimited do-overs if he was ever killed. Hell, if Ed knew where the real one was, he probably wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of stealing his powers. It was fortunate for Dupe that he was smart enough to never reveal his true original body.

“So, are we leaving China now?” Flair questioned.

“Not yet.” He shook his head. “Let’s head to the Fire Dragon Sect first. Though they’re greatly weakened, this is also an opportunity. I might be able to recruit them to Harmony. It’ll both strengthen my own forces and give them the opportunity to take back China in the future. It’s a win-win.”

“I don’t think they’ll agree.” Flair shook her head. “It’d be the same as throwing away their pride.”

“Maybe.” Ed shrugged as he took to the skies. “But we won’t know if we don’t try.”

Flair picked up Tao and followed behind Ed, flying northeast towards the Fire Dragon Sect.

…

Ed and Flair soon arrived at the Longgang Volcanic Fields, where the Fire Dragon Sect was located. The city was still fairly lively, as the relatives of the cultivators all still lived there. However, it was clear that uneasiness and panic had taken over the city streets. Merchants loaded their best goods onto their steam wagons and were hurrying to escape. Poorer humans were struggling to take all they could carry.

“What a mess.” Ed shook his head. He could already tell how few cultivators were present just by the flows of mana. It was unlikely that the Fire Dragon Sect could even match up to Harmony on a battlefield anymore. He turned to Flair. “You can wait at Tai’s mansion for me. I’ll meet you there after I’m done talking to Sect Master Long.”

“Mm.” Flair nodded. She hugged Tao tightly as she controlled her water-powered jetpack to carry her to the familiar mansion.

Ed disregarded the panicking citizens and made his way to the underground caverns where the Sect Master’s headquarters was located. There wasn’t even a secretary guarding the hole that lead there, which really showed how dire things had become.

Soon, Ed stood in front of the familiar obsidian doors. He pushed them open, revealing Sect Master Long sitting in meditation. Rubi and her sister, Azure, were sitting down nearby. Both appeared depressed and were unusually silent. Their puffy red eyes made it clear that they had been crying just recently.

“You came.” Huo said as he opened his eyes to look at Ed.

“Sect Master Long.” Ed respectfully replied.

“Just call me Huo.” He sighed while shaking his head. “How can I be called a sect master anymore?” He snorted. “There’s practically nothing left to rule. Most of my remaining cultivators are weak, and some even fled upon receiving news of the war. At our current size, we can barely even be considered a gang.”

“I see. Huo it is then.” Ed nodded before continuing. “I’ve come to you with a proposal.”

“I know why you’re here, and I refuse.” Huo shook his head. “I won’t become subordinate to you and Harmony, nor am I willing to abandon my countrymen. It would render my son’s sacrifice completely in vain.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Ed frowned. “To sit here and wait to die like a dog? You should at least flee so you can deliver revenge on another day.”

Suddenly, Huo stood up from his seated position and walked straight towards Ed. He had an intimidating body, and even with Ed’s recent growths in height, Huo towered over him. Shockingly, this tall and intimidating man knelt down in front of Ed and placed his forehead to the ground. “Please! Help me save China!” He shouted in a hoarse voice.

Ed’s eyes widened in shock. He truly hadn’t expected such a thing from the prideful Sect Master Long. It truly showed how desperate the man was. He wasn’t willing to give up on his country nor run away from it, but he bowed down in hopes of saving it. Ed sighed while shaking his head. “How could I possibly help? My own forces are scattered and weak. I’m not even a match for a sect leader, and my powers aren’t even fully available to me anymore.”

Huo looked up, determination sparking in his eyes. “Camazotz.” He said. “I know all about the creature you and my son killed. You still have his fangs and tail, right?”

“Mm.” He nodded. “But so what if I do? How can it possibly help?”

Huo gulped, refusing to give up. “I’ll take my few remaining forces to a hidden base. From there, I’ll recruit loyal humans to join our cause. I’ll work nonstop to capture mutants and enemy cultivators, and then all you have to do is transfer their powers to the humans!”

“That…” Ed hesitated as he rubbed his chin. “It could work… but the resulting forces would be too weak. What would it really accomplish in the end?”

“I’ll train them!” Huo clenched his teeth. “It may take a decade or two, but I’ll train an unstoppable army! I’ll crush them all and show Nexus what I’m really all about! What the Fire Dragon Sect is all about! And what China is all about!”

Ed thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I can’t do it. My mana-core is in the process of disintegrating, and I need to heal my soul to recover my usual powers. It’s the only way I might be able to heal my mana-core and prevent my own death.”

Huo’s fist trembled. He knew he couldn’t force Ed to do it if he didn’t want to. His plan required complete trust and cooperation. Besides, he knew Ed was just as sly as his son, and it was unlikely he could trick or fool the man. “One month!” He ground his teeth. “I just need one month of your assistance!”

“It’s too long.” Ed sighed while continuing to shake his head.

“Afterwards, I’ll take you to India and personally deliver you to where golden faith energy cultivation is taught!” Huo continued. “If anything is capable of healing your soul, it’s that.”

“I can just go by myself.” Ed replied.

“It’ll take you too long.” Huo snorted in reply. “Do you think it’s easy to learn golden faith energy cultivation? Every esper in the world wants to learn it. It’s normal for the waiting time to be several years before an opportunity arises. Only powerful cultivators and espers can subvert these waiting times for their subordinates. And do you think Nexus will just sit back and allow you to gain such a power?” He stood up from the ground and looked Ed in the eyes. “Agree to my deal and you’ll save yourself years of time. And if I succeed, then you’ll still have a strong ally in China for your future rebellion.”

“That…” Ed hesitated upon learning the new wealth of information. If what Huo said was true, then he’d be a fool not to take the deal. However, it would be a huge waste of time if it was a lie. He eyed Huo carefully before deciding it was most likely the truth. Besides, he knew that his mana-core could easily last up to a year at the current rate of disintegration, and that it was unlikely he could last several years. Of course, the rate of disintegration would speed up if he continued abusing his powers and absorbing more powers. However, transferring powers wouldn’t affect his mana-core at all. “I suppose I can spare a month.” He finally sighed in agreement.