Chapter 448: Advancement of the Redtree Rebels

The visit from Omilaena had helped Kai in ways he'd never expected. Yes, she'd helped him take precautions, and yes, he'd enjoyed being with her again, but by the far biggest factor had to do with his public image.

The more survivors he collected, the more they began to treat him as their leader. Not with the reverence of a patriarch, more the fear due a warlord. And one expectation of being a warlord, apparently, was abusing his power.

At first they had tried to throw women at him, and when he had refused, they had sent a young man to train with Kai. Presumably he was chosen as a sacrifice because he preferred men, but he hadn't seemed any more eager than the women to be used as currency to buy a warlord's favor.

Now that Kai had been visited by Omilaena, however, and had clear relations with her, he no longer seemed to confuse the assembled cultivators. So long as he was fucking someone, apparently, he made sense. The women weren't much less cautious around him, but he overheard a few saying it was strange he was so loyal. Some of the men made oblique comments about his wife keeping him under control, while others commented that a wife like that might be worth the trouble.

Half these people didn't even seem to vaguely like their spouses. Kai hoped they would all shut up soon and focus on their fight against a powerful sect that aimed to kill them all.

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Kai stood on the battlefield over the bodies of the newest Verdant River cultivators they'd defeated, being cheered from all sides, and struggled not to scowl.

With every victory, the Redtree followers believed in him more, and they were even willing to accept his evasive tactics that ran against their instincts. Yet when they cheered him, it sounded more like flattery than joy, and the way they set to raiding and looting the bodies unsettled him.

These survivors weren't morally superior to their enemies, even if they were the ones being wronged. Kai didn't see who else he would fight for, and in any case his only goal was to distract his enemies and choke off their supply of corpses. Whatever else he'd done, he was definitely crippling the Verdant River sect's ability to conduct business as usual.

Once they were all distracted, Kai grabbed one of the bodies and dragged it away from the others. As soon as he was alone and sure he wasn't watched, he shifted Isulfr's Bite into his soul and tried to consume the cultivator's essence.

It didn't work, but he felt more of a surge of power than he had expected. Recently when he experimented, he had been absorbing qi in addition to flesh. The monstrous hunger within him was eager to eat anything, yet there seemed to be a major psychological component that he hadn't anticipated.

Not getting over eating humans - that was troublingly easy. What he needed was to find a deep hatred or wrath within himself, something equivalent to what monsters felt. When he had absorbed something from Anaelina, he suspected it had been possible partially because of their old bond, but also because of his hatred for her over so many years and conflicts.

That realization shifted something within him. A random corpse would never grant him any real power, at least not in his current state. He didn't feel the urge to eat his followers. The thought of eating his wives just made him sick, though he was sure Omilaena would make a crack about that. Currently these enemies who he didn't know couldn't grant him much... but could he absorb more than just qi if he ate someone he truly hated?

None of it seemed like his hunger would become a demonic art that directly took advancement, but he thought that he could consume something unique. If Kai could eat someone with a presence ability, he wondered if he could retain some of that essence, then merge it with Banchlain's Aura like Omilaena had suggested.

He wondered what the Redtree followers would say if they knew what he was thinking. They would probably cheer.

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When someone in Verdant River sect robes came flying in the direction of one of their outposts, the guards very nearly burned him alive. Kai recognized Hul Ping just in time and rushed out to face him, pretending to fight. The young man just looked baffled, even scared that Kai was going to kill him, and completely failed to play along, forcing Kai to drag him by the neck through the air until they were out of sight.

Once they had left the Redtree group entirely, Kai set him down. "What are you doing, approaching us like that? Trying to get killed?"

"A thousand apologies, I was foolish." Hul Ping immediately dropped to the ground and pressed his face against it. "I only wanted to meet you again and bring news."

"Alright, alright, get up."

As the young man climbed back to his feet, Kai noticed that he was wearing much more expensive robes, but that he hadn't hesitated to ruin them in the dirt. He was looking a little less thin as well, so perhaps his new position in the sect suited him. Hopefully it didn't suit him so well that he changed his mind, but Kai had no intention of giving him any unnecessary information.

"There was news, some sort of terrible news. Of course they didn't share the details with me, but I saw all of the outcome." Hul Ping looked toward the sect nervously. "A messenger came to the private quarters, and Yul Wei Ren tried to dismiss him, but after the man talked to Grandpa Wan, he was allowed in. Whatever he shared upset them a great deal, and they began throwing accusations at the heir to the Verdant River sect."

"Those accusations didn't give you any idea of what the news was?"

"Forgive me, I can only guess, because they threw out so many accusations, many of which were refuted or argued. But if even 30% are true, then the Verdant River sect has been... unsatisfactory in some way. They seem to be poor stewards of a great treasure, and based on what was said, that treasure can only be the Loam of the Gods."

That could be exactly what they needed, but Kai restrained his excitement. "And what happened after that?"

"I cannot say, and I was not able to attend most of the serious meetings." Hul Ping stammered for a time and began searching for some way to redeem himself.

"Let me ask a more specific question: did they go to anyone for help? Consult anyone? It could be the patriarchs of the sects, or heads of other families, or local experts."

"Oh! Yes, yes, some of them did go and speak with the dryad matriarch, Nymidria. They seemed very concerned after they left her. After that, they had a meeting and agreed to change the sect's guards. Some wanted to send more cultivators after you, others wanted to patrol the barrier, and there many different changes proposed. It was all those serious discussions that made me decide to come meet you again."

"You made the right choice," Kai told him. "Now, tell me everything they decided."

He grilled Hul Ping for as many details as he had been able to overhear, which wasn't as many as he might have hoped. Apparently the Poison Prince was going with the Verdant River experts into the qi barrier, which would mean more enemies in their way. Xir Xan Khan had been sent out with an ambiguous mission, which was a nasty unknown variable. The only positive was that Yul Wei Ren was staying back at the headquarters and he would keep Grandpa Wan with him.

Presumably Nymidria could confirm whether or not their disease had breached the barrier, but Kai was nearly certain that it had happened. What he needed to do was contact the others and tell them everything he'd learned about their enemies, then coordinate the plan.

Compared to that, dealing with Hul Ping or the Redtree rebels felt simply inconvenient. But as he turned back, Kai reflected that the young man had been brave and deserved better.

"You did well," Kai told him. He instinctively put a hand on Hul Ping's shoulder, and though people on Cloudspire didn't generally touch like that, it seemed to make the young man swell with pride. "This next part could get violent, so prepare yourself."

"What are you going to do?" Hul Ping asked breathlessly.

"Don't worry about that, just worry about yourself."

"Ah... do you need to injure me again?

"No, surviving two encounters would stretch credulity." Instead, Kai reached into his spatial ring and found one of the unmodified Redtree medallions to hand to him. On an impulse, he also grabbed a bunch of the qi pills that were too weak to be useful to him. "Say that you defeated a small group and take this as a trophy - the qi, just cultivate for yourself. You've done well."

"Thank you!" Hul Ping bowed deeply with the medallion gripped tightly in his hands. Hopefully he wouldn't manage to blow himself up.

So it seemed that the Loam of the Gods had finally been threatened. The Verdant River sect was facing a terrible crisis and the Masterful Crown clan appeared to be deploying resources in desperation. If they played this right, they could finally execute their plan and profit immensely.

Time for him to do his part.

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After advising subtlety and targeted attacks for so long, Kai finally led the Redtree rebels into battle. It was just against a minor Verdant River sect outpost, but they still gave bloodthirsty roars when it was announced.

As he prepared to lead them, Kai placed an unmodified medallion around his own neck and rose to address everyone. He didn't even need to make up a speech: the sight of the medallion itself was enough to incite the crowd to further shouts. When he gave the command, they leapt on their flying swords and cut toward the enemy.

Everything he'd done so far had been to cause trouble, but this was the real moment he'd been preparing for when his allies needed a distraction. If the enemy thought they'd seen trouble, they had no idea.