Chapter 472: Deadwaste Reunions

The ship decoy gambit had been a huge success, and that night Kai allowed himself to rest long enough to share a meal with Juray and Razz aboard the airship. What they had done was take a harmless-looking airship south, with a teleportation anchor on board. The weaker sort of teleportation they had here couldn't jump people between any two points, but Kai could break a gemstone and be drawn back to the anchor at any point. So he had made an obvious appearance, chasing down an imaginary cultivator, then teleported back to the ship with his presence hidden. That had allowed him to detect enemies making a move and approach them without being perceived until it was too late.

He hadn't intended it, but it had also been a great break. While they were on the ship, floating in the direction Razz had estimated would put them in range of the most key locations like the airships, they'd had time to talk.

Even though Kai wanted to hear about their lives in the years since he left Goralia, they had insisted on hearing his story first. It was strange, telling about the Krysali revolution yet again, especially to people who knew more about its aftermath than he did. He ended up telling a much abridged version of his travels on Rosemount and Cloudspire, and ended up saying nothing at all about his marriage because it would feel too much like boasting to bring that up for no reason.

Sighting cultivators had interrupted their stories, so now that he was back and they were eating on deck, it was his first time to hear their side of things.

"Rayakan has been more stable since you left," Razz was saying. "I can't say it's all perfect, and I ended up handing over leadership to more experienced merchants after a couple years. But the fact that the Lantrian clan is established again has done wonders for keeping any one group from gaining too much control."

"Seems like you've actually moved to bigger things," Kai said. "Trade with the Southern Reach is a critical market."

"Well, I'm doing what I can. I feel like I haven't done that much to prepare for the incursion, but... well, like I said, I'm doing what I can. After what happened last time, southern Goralia is a bit more nervous about it."

Kai clapped him on the shoulder and pivoted to Juray. "And what about you, what have you been doing?"

"More of the same, just harder." Juray shrugged with a self-effacing smile. "Monskon City is... well, a little better than it was before, but I realized that it only functions to a limited degree. It can keep the city running, but it does a bad job of raising any hunters beyond that point."

"I do want to hear about that, but no need to dwell. What about you?"

"I traveled south to try to find better materials to enhance my Herbalist Class, which is where I ended up meeting Razz. He's helped me... so much, really. I began developing for the first time in years, so when he said he was taking a risky mission into the Southern Reaches, I said I'd help. Oh, I have a lot to tell you about the year I've spent here..."

While she spoke, Kai finally remembered to examine her soul.

<

Name: Juray Phrissan

Total Power: 115

Herbalist Class: 72 (82)

Dryad Crucible (+10)

Physique Level: G-6 (14)

Soul Level: 3 (9)

>

While her overall Power was only 115, Juray was a supporter, not a combatant. The fact that she had taken her Herbalist class all the way to Level 72 was impressive, and he reflected that she might be overall stronger than Yul Wei Ren despite having none of his advantages. How much more could she grow if given a chance?

If Omilaena had been there, he would have been fascinated by her thoughts, especially about this "Dryad Crucible" he saw in Juray's soul... but he realized that she didn't want to talk about strength. She had always been more human than him, and truthfully he missed that a little bit.

"What about Raghi?" Kai asked during the first lull. "Still haven't met him, thanks to the plan. We, uh, we talked about some things when I was last here, but..."

Juray let out a little giggle. "You mean you talked about me? Don't worry, he mentioned it. You two being so serious is both silly and sweet... but yes, we're courting now."

"They call it 'courting' these days," Razz said, jabbing her with an elbow and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, hush." She swatted his arm good-naturedly. "He's very old-fashioned and I think it's cute."

They chatted a little longer, but before he could get deeper into their stories, they were interrupted by a surge of mana. "Oh, that's him now!" Juray tugged another device out of her bag. "He really shouldn't be contacting us like this, but he wanted to meet you, so..."

Her face fell as she heard the scattered voice through the communication device. Kai couldn't make out half the words, but the voice was recognizably Raghi... and he sounded like he was in trouble.

"Did our trap draw out more than one group?" Razz asked, face growing pale. "I don't suppose they're close...?"

"Raghi, wait, le-" But the communication cut out in the middle of Juray's pleas. She immediately turned to Kai. "He didn't have time to give his full location. But he was heading further south, and the cultivators wouldn't attack if he had been east near your decoy..."

"Got it." Kai leapt to his feet, growing full wings as quickly as possible. The others quickly compared notes and gave him the best directions they could. Seconds later, he leapt off the ship at maximum speed, leaving it drifting in his wake.

.

..

.

Raghi Tonjin had fought a lot of strong opponents in his time, but this was something else. He had to hurl himself backwards over and over to evade the massive crashing qi techniques that had ravaged the landscape. In the beginning he had tried to protect the wagons he'd been ostensibly guarding, but he had to abandon that and focus on survival.

That destructive power... this "cultivator" looked like a thin man in fancy robes, half Raghi's size, but he was monstrously powerful.

<

Name: ???

Total Power: 454

Cultivation: Earth Soul 13% (365)

Physique: E-0 (80)

Soul Level: 3 (9)

>

If Raghi hadn't spent so long sparring against the Frontier elites, he would be dead already. His opponent now wasn't quite as strong as them, but he was absolutely trying to kill him in a way they never did. He'd stalled for as long as he could, but now when he retreated, the cultivator started to turn on the defenseless workers atop the wagon train.

Honestly, Raghi had no idea if this was a tactic to draw him out or if the cultivator was just bloodthirsty. But when the man started to threaten the workers again, Raghi stepped forward.

"I won't run this time," he declared. "Fight me."

"Running would have been the smart decision," the cultivator sneered. "Are you stupid?"

"Try me. This potion will make all the difference." Raghi drank his last Heartblood Potion, the one he and Juray had worked so hard to create together. But if he wasn't going to use it now, when would he? If his soul could have handled any more, he would have drunk everything he had, but he was reaching his absolute limit.

<

Name: Raghi Tonjin

Total Power: 289

Scrapper Class: 51 (61)

Whistlewind Potion (+25)

Physique Level: E-9 (107)

Ironbody Potion (+20)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

Heartblood Potion (+30)

>

The potions took his Power from its normal 204 to 289, which seemed insane to him... yet it wasn't enough. Now he could understand why the other continents seemed to look down on Deadwaste so much. Yet none of that mattered to him, not now.

With all the magic in the air, his message probably hadn't gotten through, so his only hope was a desperate bid. He noticed that his opponent seemed to expect him to blow apart with every hit, getting angrier and angrier when he didn't die. The man's Physique was actually lower than his, so low that a good enough hit could cripple him...

When Raghi leapt to attack, it played out just like he expected. The first rushing qi attack was deflected by the potion derived from Lofgan, then he was in range. Roaring in anger, the cultivator unleashed a qi attack at point blank range.

It savaged his body and Raghi knew he was burned all over, but he kept moving. He swung with everything he had left, hitting the astonished cultivator in the chest with the full might of his Scrapper Class. It connected, he heard something snap, and the other man tumbled away.

After that, Raghi collapsed. He needed to drink one of his healing potions, but his hands were trembling too much for fine movements. His opponent had fallen and vomited a shocking amount of blood... but wasn't dead. Raghi watched grimly as the cultivator rose to his feet, still able to summon all that destructive power...

Then his head tore off. It flipped upward bloodily as the body collapsed, and for a moment Raghi was just astonished as wind rushed around him.

His mind caught up the next second and he looked in the direction of the wind. Something monstrous was moving away that raised all his hunter's instincts in warning... but he knew it had to be Kai. He had arrived so quickly he didn't have time to slow down, he'd just killed the cultivator in passing.

Finally Kai slowed down in the distance, then returned. This time at a more reasonable pace, some of the monstrous features sloughing off him in a way Raghi didn't quite understand. He was still on his knees, too battered and exhausted from the fight to continue. Kai looked... he was larger and more muscular, for one, but the sheer level of power emanating from him made the cultivator seem like a clumsy child.

"Good work," Kai said, grabbing Raghi by the shoulders and pulling him up to his feet.

"I couldn't beat him..." Raghi mumbled.

"He couldn't take down someone with half his strength, and now he's dead. That's a victory in my book."

Raghi wanted to say something else, but he found himself slipping into unconsciousness.