Chapter 433: Attacking From All Sides

When they left the sect headquarters, Kai still wasn't entirely sure what the plan was. He knew they'd come out with quite a few new benefits: new command medallions that would let them back in easily, various sect robes, and a communication seed to plant for the dryads.

And hypothetically an agreement with the dryad matriarch.

Whatever the plan as, Nymidria felt that she needed to play it by ear. In theory, they would work together on both sides to figure out the Verdant River sect's defenses and then find a path through, either by force or by subterfuge. All of that sounded easier said than done, yet the others seemed pleased.

"So do we trust her?" Kai eventually asked as they flew back. "I can't read your reactions here."

"I think she told us the truth, for whatever that's worth." Omilaena shrugged. "Honestly, in most cases I trust people who have clear aligned goals over people who have fond feelings for me. You can trust motives more than vibes."

"She understands the reality of Cloudspire," Zae Zin Nim said. "Sometimes peasants will die in conflicts, accidentally or otherwise, but there is nothing that can be done if you are facing greater powers. Nymidria is powerful, but cannot possibly face the combined forces of the Masterful Crown clan."

"We can't either, at least until we put some more work in. If we develop strong counters to their presence abilities, I bet we could slaughter a lot of them, and as we get stronger, the gap between us and their armies goes from an advantage to insurmountable."

"That's jumping forward a lot," Kai said. "I don't like what they've done with the work camps, but do we gain anything by fighting them? Seems like they would just be replaced by someone else, even if we overthrew them."

"You're learning." Zae Zin Nim regarded him thoughtfully, then nodded. "I still think our highest goal should be to steal their immortality methods, and the Loam if possible. If we do that, we destroy the reason they're going to such lengths."

"There's still something a bit odd about that, in my opinion," Omilaena said, and they discussed the details of the work camps and Loam from there.

The wall of rain marked their return to the dryad community, but now that they had been acknowledged there was no need for any subterfuge. Instead they could enter via the dryad entrance, which proved to be a wall of roots that rumbled into a new position to form a gate for them. When they entered, there were immediately all kinds of dryads around them and Kai realized that for the community, the import of the meeting was very different.

"Do not fear, your matriarch is safe." Zae Zin Nim jumped from the flying sword to address the crowd. "She is still entangled with the Verdant River sect, but she has given us a 'communication seed' for you. Where would be the best place to plant it?"

After some furious argument, apparently relating to internal politics, the dryads took them to a large clearing near where Lifrinyne had planted her tree. Zae Zin Nim handed over the silvery seed, which began to grow the instant it was placed in the soil. It soon transformed into a silvery flower that lay flat and emanated chakra in a column.

That chakra coalesced into the illusory image of Nymidria, in full form as both humanoid and tree. Her image looked around and smiled, then the dryads around them immediately broke into sighs, thankfulness, and a babble of questions. When Nymidria raised a hand, they all quieted.

"Thanks to these humans, I can speak to you again." She shook her head and boughs slowly. "I still must engage with the Verdant River sect, but from now on, I will extend my branches to shield you. If there is any further trouble, you need only contact me here. This connection is completely secure, and if I am occupied, the flower will simply be closed."

"Lady Nymidria!" Lifrinyne's humanoid body pushed through the crowd and bowed deeply. "There's so much I need to tell you..."

"Yes, I have heard what happened. But I would hear the story in your own words, and in particular the details of what power they are trying to force from our community..."

Lifrinyne began to explain her time in the work camp, and the male dryad captive came to tell his story, so Kai retreated with the others. Seeing the community's happiness, Kai felt like he'd done something good, but would it matter in the end? You didn't build a better world just by chasing people's happiness. The problem was that this situation was so entangled, he wasn't sure about his level of involvement.

It seemed that, amid the questions and reports, Nymidria ordered the dryads to give Kai and his allies the highest degree of hospitality. They were granted rooms in one of the dry corners of the community that had elaborate human beds with a natural canopy. Aside from some loose leaves on the floor, the chambers were clean and pleasant, so Kai could imagine spending more time there. They even had a private grove with qi emanating from it, some sort of arboreal equivalent of an Immortal's Cave.

Though Zae Zin Nim wanted to try cultivating there immediately, they didn't have much time to settle into their rooms before they were called back. Most of the dryads had dispersed now, leaving only Nymidria, some guards, and the male dryad.

"Lady Nymidria thinks the enemy has a weakness," he said, "but I'm not sure I understand all the details. It didn't seem important to me when I was being used in the work camps."

"This is more intuition than fact," Nymidria told them, "but I think the Verdant River sect seems oddly desperate. They're trying to project strength, but in fact they're covering for weakness. This isn't so uncommon... many sects with a dying patriarch or some other fatal flaw will show great belligerence to scare off their enemies."

"We've seen that before," Kai said, thinking of the Manticore tribe. "But what does that meant for the Verdant River sect? Their position should be strong, and they're in favor with the Masterful Crown clan."

"So it might seem in public, but what if it's the reverse? The clan might have sent their young master as a punishment, or to fix something they consider broken. I will need to investigate this further, but it could well be the leverage we need to get inside the sealed area."

"Where does that leave us?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"Until we take action, we want to continue peeling away their defenses and scattering their forces." Nymidria's gaze shifted to Kai, and even though her illusory form was smaller, her eyes were still piercing. "My dryads told me about your false monster attacks to disrupt the enemy. This is our strongest initial weapon - more aggressive than I might have chosen, but I can tell you from the inside that you've thrown them into disarray. I think you should continue."

Kai nodded. "That's not a problem, but if I engage them directly too many times, they might start to suspect I'm not just a monster."

"Don't worry, I can gather information about their forces from within and tell you their weaknesses. They should be beside themselves... but I think we can do even more. One of you is a local cultivator, yes?"

"Indeed." Zae Zin Nim gave a polite bow to the illusion. "How can I help? If I fight them directly, I will be identified."

"Not necessarily. I can give you the characteristic technique of a smaller sect, one that the Masterful Crown clan nearly exterminated in the past in order to consolidate their power. You seem highly competent with qi techniques, so I am sure you can manage it. If you make an appearance using that technique, it will make entirely different factions begin to sweat."

"Very well." Zae Zin Nim nodded slightly, but Kai could tell from the intensity of her gaze that she was eager. She'd already been working on resistances, so hopefully getting access to more techniques would be what she needed.

"All of this will combine to make Yul Wei Ren increasingly desperate, but we need a finisher." Nymidria looked away from them to Omilaena and actually smiled, different from her motherly look with the dryads or her polite expressions earlier. "You're the one that interests me most... you were able to pierce my shroud, and you have a very interesting spiritual component to your soul."

"I've experimented with a few things," Omilaena said casually, but Kai could tell she was pleased.

"The two of us should collaborate. I think we may be able to develop a spiritual disease, not so different from a poison, that we can use to infect the trees." Nymidria's smile became more predatory. "The barriers block anyone from entering the secure area, but they don't stop the smallest currents of nature. If the trees near the Loam of the Gods begin to die, they will treat it as an emergency, take down barriers to bring in experts. At that point, we'll have scattered their forces, leaving them vulnerable to a strike."

"Sounds like a workable, and more importantly interesting, plan."

"Of course, I don't know exactly how leadership will respond, so we'll need to be flexible. For now we prepare, strike at their flanks, and lie in wait. At some point they'll muster their resources to react to these problems, and that's when they'll open up a true weakness."

It sounded like a valid plan and there was nothing more to say then. After they left Nymidria, the group retired to their new chambers, but there wasn't much to discuss. Zae Zin Nim seemed to think that the dryads had justified their alliance, while Omilaena was clearly eager to work with another specialist on a technique that would make her more lethal.

For his part, Kai was back to playing the monster role. He headed out of the community, restraining his hunger until he was out of sight, mostly obscured by the pouring rain. It went from pattering against his skin to breaking against it as dark armor closed over his body, and he found himself automatically shifting down to all fours.

He still wished that there were more monsters on Cloudspire, but he was fine with hunting cultivators.