Chapter 38: Chapter 34: Meeting of Dragons
Ash's entourage travelled calmly near Kazdel, Margaret and Adele were already contacted to prepare the civilians to move to the new mobile city.
They would start amassing products there and it will be an economic center that is unrivaled throughout Terra.
MountainDash and Penguin logistics have already long prepared for the influx of jobs and Paradiso has announced to the world that they would be opening a charity.
And Ash decided to preach Kjera's teachings along with it. Religion is the best way to brainwash people after all, history has already proven so.
The power of religions is overwhelming against the masses. They could hide their work under the guise of charity and the generosity of Kjeragandr.
"Hah, has Adele grown? She's always been a squirt. I guess I have to praise her for a job well done, working with Margaret while researching about catastrophes and oripathy." Ash thought of the little caprinae.
"That's right, have you been feeding her well? Adele is so small and cute. Did you eat her lunch and dinner every day?" Degenbrecher teased him.
He deadpanned at her. "Do you really think we would have food problems? I throw food at people, woman." He sighed.
"It was just a joke, geez you're so stiff. Did Enciades not make you soft right here?" She licked her lips and grabbed his crotch, making Enya and Ensia blush.
"Degenbrecher... That's enough." Enciades looked at her coldly and the caprinae coughed, sitting quietly to not draw her mistress' ire.
"Seriously Degenbrecher... Are you not a knight? Act like it." Enciades glared at her and Degenbrecher gave a cheeky smile.
"Well, aren't you supposed to be a warlord madame? We all heard your passionate cries that were oh so sweet, ohohoho." Degenbrecher teased her and Enciades choked on her tea.
She stared at Ensia and Enya. Her sisters then nodded, blushing like tomatoes.
"Can you please not talk about that in front of the saintess?" Kjera gave them a dirty look and she was annoyed that they were corrupting the cute Enya who just wanted to be spoiled due to Enciades forcing the girl as the head of state.
"Ahhh, it's fine Kjera. I'm a lady, this much will not change me into a lewd woman." Enya coughed and Enciades got depressed.
"Do you think I'm lewd Enya?" She got worried that's how they see her now and Ash chuckled.
"She's really lewd Enya, your sister is really good at using her tongue." Ash wiggled his eyebrows and Enciades threw her cup at him. But it stopped right in front of his face.
Kjera then released some of her pressure and they all shut up.
"Ohh, your chief maid is really scary Enya... I guess she's not normal?" Ash squinted her eyes playfully and Kjera stared at him, her eyes twitching madly.
"Well, let's just travel quietly now. Who wants to have some curry bread?" Ash asked and Ceobe immediately raised her hand while she was stuffing her face with some cupcakes.
They travelled without any problems near Kazdel and quickly saw Paradiso, they docked with the newly engineered docking site with Paradiso as the middle.
Ash planned for it to be a Pentagon with five major cities surrounding the capital which is Paradiso.
Everyone entered his house and a brown missile went to Ash immediately. "Ash! I've been making some great progress in catastrophes. I can already make use of the patterns and logarithms of the professor from Babel."
Adele lunged on him and was really excited. "Is that so? You're really a full fledged doctor of catastrophes and oripathy now aren't you Adele?" He rubbed her head and was pleased.
"Ash, it has been some time." Margaret smiled at her as she welcomed them. "Umu, I've missed you too Margaret. No need to be so formal." He raised his arms sideways and she hugged him.
"Oh my... So you're a womanizer?" Kjera squinted her eyes and looked at Enya protectively.
"Hmm, it is only natural. An emperor who is great will need a lot of wives." Margaret squinted her eyes and stared at Kjera suspiciously. With the sharp instincts she has honed over the years.
She could feel that Kjera is not normal at all. "Is that so? Then many blessings to the emperor." Kjera bowed and she pouted at Ash a little bit.
"Hmmm, any drastic changes or problems while we were away?" Ash asked about Paradiso and their recruitment of stray Sarkaz.
"We've gotten tons of Sarkaz mercenaries. But more than half of them are children, it seems that Kazdel is in a worse state than we thought." Margaret frowned.
"Yeah, I helped with settling in the children Ash. A lot of them have been through a lot." Adele looked forlorn and he sighed.
"We cannot annex them that easily, the royal court is already hostile towards us due to the stunt where we had a mass recruitment back then. And we don't know a lot about Theresis and the royal court. We will need to gather information first." He rubbed his chin.
"Ahh, Ash. I forgot, but there's a little problem that popped up." Adele didn't know how to tell him.
"That huh... Yeah, she says that Rhodes island tasked her with something. But the thing is..." Margaret had a wry smile on her face.
"Hmm? Did an operator or scientist come from Rhodes island? They're still lacking manpower, but they aren't ones to request that from political parties like us. They're wary of taking a side." Ash squinted his eyes and thought that it must be an informant or something.
"Well, she arrived a few days ago. But all she does is watch tv, eat, and sleep." Margaret explained with a sigh and he raised a brow.
"Is that so? Then let's meet up with her, she'll be a bad example to everyone here. Paradiso is a place that is built with hard work, laziness is not an option here." He furrowed his brows and they were led by Margaret to the slacker.
They arrived at the pretty lavish guest room of Paradiso. He is an emperor of Leithanien, it won't do to be shabby.
And what they saw was a Lung with unique red markings on her hands like paint. Looking like a fiery ember. (pic)
Ash observed her. 'Hmm, she has a strong physique... Her arms are well developed, a fighter?'
The slacker was sprawled on a couch sloppily and the table was filled with snacks and bottles that were empty. She looked like a bonafide shut in slacker.
"Ahhh, Margaret. Did you arrive to clean again? I already told you, I will clean later~" She whined and Ash squinted his eyes.
"No, we're not cleaners, lady. What's your name and what are you doing here?" He stared at her with squinted eyes and she turned her head towards him, her violet eyes widening.
"Hmmm, you can call me Nian. As for why I am here... Rhodes island sent me for a mission, but it's a secret." She eyed him quickly and was sure.
'He is a bonafide Feranmut. Unlike my siblings and I, he's the real deal. I need to be careful, he looks strong.' She narrowed her eyes for a split second.
Kjera then got surprised and furrowed her brows. She wasn't born yet when the Sui siblings were split from the original body. But she knows of Yan enough that she was an aspect of a powerful Feranmut.
"Ash, she's one of us. Incomplete, but one nonetheless." Kjera sent a message directly into his head and he didn't show it on his face, but he was shocked.
"Margaret, leave us behind. We need to talk with Nian." Ash ordered and there is no room for defiance in his tone.
Margaret immediately pulled the others and they raised a brow on why Kjera didn't. But it wasn't the time for them to ask.
Kjera immediately formed her floating blue stones that are the conduit for her powers and her fingers formed claws. Her beautiful royal blue eyes turned into slits and the room turned cold.
"You... What is your purpose here." Ash looked at her coldly and was starting to transform. His body was resonating with Kjera's energy and he was starting to turn feral. His sentence, not a question.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! I'm a good guy, I promise!" Nian immediately raised her hands and broke into a cold sweat.
'These guys are crazy! Do they want to destroy the mobile city? I can't even control this mobile city to turn it into my familiar, I do not understand most of its composition.' Nian was anxious, she has never been in such a dangerous position before.
She also can't use her powers to manipulate the mobile city. She can control metals and breathe life into it metaphorically. Just like how Mudrock controls the earth as a gargoyle. The children of the earth.
Though Nian's powers are much more impressive than that. She can even turn a major city like Lungmen into a large golem.
"Is that so? Then speak right now." Ash brandished his sword and stabbed it into his torso. The sword greedily drank his blood and it released its strongest aura as of yet. It even began to develop black veins and it throbbed like a beating heart.
"Uhhh, as you both know. I'm a Feranmut too, well... Not exactly, but I'm a part of one. Sui, do you know of him?" She quickly explained.
"Sui, the traitor who sold out the weaknesses of our kin and helped the true Lung. I've heard you've been split into twelve aspects." Kjera squinted her eyes and was prepared to kill her.
Yan is in control of the Sui siblings after all, or are observing them really closely. The greedy dragon they were all a part of would definitely burn Yan to the ground if it were to be complete once again.
And ancient Feranmuts like Sui are much stronger than the ones that are still alive today, just like how Kjera isn't as strong due to being in the newer generation. Not all deities are equal.
"Yes, it seems that she knows. We are divided into twelve. The arts of Yan are divided among us. I am an aspect of metallurgy." She started explaining.
She told them the story of the great hunt of Yan and at the end, Sui. The traitorous scum was also betrayed by the emperor of Yan. Divided into twelve pieces that embody the arts of Yan.
"So you are unparalleled in metallurgy and smithing?" Ash raised a brow and was thinking that she might cause a lot of trouble for the mobile cities.
"We should kill her right now, take her outside and let Narcissa squash her." Kjera squinted her eyes. She will not let Yan have eyes on them.
If they were to kill her now, Yan would just think she's roaming around and lazing here and there. She trusted that Ash would be able to take care of Yan appropriately at the time they can buy by disposing of her.
"Wait! I'm not an enemy, I promise!" Nian almost teared up at their bloodthirsty attitudes. And she has been observing their standing army secretly. The deities of old have been fought with arts, swords, and arrows.
But she wasn't so sure about the large guns that have bullets the size of her arm that were stationed at the walls all over.
It looked like it would hurt really badly. "Okay, then what's your purpose." Ash sat down and was open to listen to her for now.
"Kal'tsit sent me, she was worried that you might go on a rampage and lead Terra to ruin. Feranmuts have been out of Terra's business for thousands of years now. And you know what we can do." Nian sighed and she was now able to relax a bit.
"Kal'tsit!?" He was surprised about it, but considering that the feline was hiding many secrets. It was only natural that she would do something like that.
He remembered the so-called sarcophagus in Chernobog that Kal'tsit put the dokutah in. It was clearly not of this time. It was mysterious.
"As I thought, she's not as young as she looks huh?" Ash squinted her eyes and nodded at her wariness. If it was true that she is that old, then she knows too much.
He appreciated that she was careful. So he relaxed a bit and sighed. "And, what did you say to Kal'tsit?" He made Kjera calm down by gesturing for her to sit down.
She wasn't that happy about not killing Nian, but she would see what he had on his mind. She could only admit that he is a genius that can dominate an empire and Kazimierz. Two very powerful countries in their own rights.
"I haven't sent her any messages yet. This is the first time we met after all. But I do know that you are really scary." Nian joked and he squinted his eyes.
"Sorry." She apologized immediately and Ash made his sword calm down too. Absorbing its demonic energy.
"Then tell her that I have no intention to drown Terra in war. Is she that scared? Tell her she's being paranoid and an idiot, one look at what I'm doing and you can already conclude that I'm quite a generous guy." He sighed and rubbed his temples.
The concern was appreciated, but Kal'tsit was a bit too blinded by her anxiety and paranoia. If he wanted to conquer everything by force, he would have already attacked Ursus. Give weapons to the infected and just watch the country burn to the ground.
"Ahhh, that's right huh?" Nian thought about it and a heartless warmonger would never consider farming and producing medicine for the infected.
Just with his vast intellect, she could already infer that he could create terrifying weapons of war. He can make mobile cities that she, an aspect of metallurgy that can make mobile cities like it's a walk in the park, cannot understand fully.
Paradiso is also well known by now to house any infected and they have a good reputation. Even better than Laterano that are religious and preach peace. But they still ignore the infected like the plague.
"Yup, you are kind and generous good sir. So please spare me." She rubbed her hands and Ash snorted.
"You're a pretty good bootlicker, that's only natural huh? You're from ancient china." Ash chuckled and he couldn't feel any malice or Ill intent from Nian anyways.
"So you'll let me stay here right?" She sighed in relief. With Kjera looking like there was only murder in her eyes, she knew that she could only get out of Paradiso as a corpse.
"Right, but this place prides itself on its work. How can I just let you stay here when I'm the one who works the most?" He raised a brow and Nian sighed.
"Alright, alright. I'll show you how amazing I am." She waved her hand nonchalantly. Creating a statue made of metal instantly and he thought about how to use Nian's powers. It was honestly really amazing.
"Ahhh, I've got an idea." He thought about the steam knights of Victoria that are no doubt the strongest special forces in Terra. They're nigh impenetrable and can use arts. It was just like exosuits that he watched back then when he was a kid.
"Then let me at em." Nian flexed her bicep and Kjera sighed. "I guess she would be staying here indefinitely?" She asked him and he nodded.
"I'll draw up a quick blueprint for now. Stay here with Kjera for now and have a nice talk." Ash left them behind and the room immediately formed a pregnant silence.
"Ummm, hello Kjera. I'm Nian, let's get along." Nian smiled awkwardly at the woman who looked like a statue, cold as ice.
"Just so you know Nian... I do not trust you one bit. You Sui siblings are a disgrace to the Feranmuts." Kjera spat venom and Nian winced at that. She thought that Kjera hated Sui for being a traitor.
"Don't misunderstand, I do not hate Sui. That traitor is of no concern to me. I was born after he was cut up into pieces like the dog he was." She narrowed her eyes and was full of hostility.
"Then why? Why do you dislike me so much?" Nian sighed and even her sister Dusk fought with her every time they met isn't so hostile.
"You are a tool of Yan, you have no honor. You already know why Feranmuts are here. We are to guide the people. Yet you and your foul siblings are lapdogs to Yan. An animal that is at their beck and call." She glared at her.
Nian was speechless, it is true that Yan has control of them. But she never thought that one of her kin would see it like that.
"My eyes have been opened, we guide the people to a better tomorrow. I have done so for thousands of years. You and your siblings are much older than me. Yet Yan just tells you to do whatever they want for their so-called glorious empire. It must be rotten to the core." Kjera's words were so venomous.
"What do you know? Yan is our home, aren't you a traitor as well for abandoning it?" Nian squinted her eyes.
"Me? Traitor? Watch your tongue, your ilk are parts of Sui who slaughtered and imprisoned our kin. Yan has the means to make the world a better place, but Ash has been making strides that benefited the people that your empire hasn't done for thousands of years." Kjera's eyes turned cold as ice.
"Face it, Yan is just like every nation on Terra. Its higher ups do not care for the people. They think they are the center of the world. Such arrogance, I would love to see Ash burn Yan to the ground one day. And I will gladly help him to do so." Kjera has no emotion on her face and Nian gulped.
'I need to contact Chongyue, Ling, and Dusk...' Nian wasn't sure if Kjera would whisper to him about the destruction of Yan.
They just stared at each other for minutes, unblinking. Then Ash returned and he noticed that they were quiet.
"Hmm, did you not get along? I told you to be nice to her Kjera." Ash sighed and spread out a piece of paper on the table.
"We talked nicely, I have said my piece to her. Isn't that right, Nian?" Kjera smiled and Nian nodded.
"That's right, it was quite the enlightening talk." Nian sighed in her mind and was thankful that he returned, Kjera was a bit too intense.
Nian then looked at the blueprint and it was complicated as hell. "Uhh, I don't know about you. But the most I could do is create the shell for this."
Numerous alloys that she did not know of were described there and her powers weren't exactly suited for that kind of delicateness. It was more appropriate for mobile cities and large structures.
"I see, then you're useless then?" Ash sighed and her eyes twitched. Kjera then got excited.
"Wait! You can just show me how they're made and I could be like a factory!" Nian could see that Kjera wanted to get rid of her really badly.
"That is true... We have been receiving an influx of soldiers anyways. I'll let you handle the metal parts of bullets and create gun parts then." Ash was satisfied with that and his standing army would have immense firepower.
Nian can just focus on the metal parts and leave it to her while they put their all on making gunpowder and chemicals.
'Geneva convention? What's that?' Ash squinted his eyes and chemical warfare can be used if a country forces his hand. Nuclear bombs are too problematic, all of Terra would be on their asses. It would be like earth all over again.
Everyone would want their hands on nuclear warheads to stave off war and threaten other nations with it.
"Then we have a deal Nian? You can't get out of here though. Yan would just have to declare you as a missing person. And don't worry about people finding you here." He smirked.
Sentries of Paradiso are all equipped with thermal vision, night vision, radars, proximity sensors, and all kinds of detection systems.
Hundreds of suspicious individuals have already been gunned down by 30mm rounds at a thousand rounds per minute. They all turned into paste on the ground. Their turrets have an effective firing range of four kilometers.
And if they come too close, Platinum's special squad can snipe people with arts infused bullets as long as they have them in their sights. Paradiso is an impenetrable fortress.
"Can I contact my siblings though?" Nian bit her nails and thought about certain forces in Yan. There were some crazy bitches there that wanted to revive Sui.
'Control him they said, nutjobs. Yan would burn to the ground if we all combine again. The forces of Yan today are nothing compared to the true Lung's great hunt.' Nian doesn't want to disappear.
"Absolutely not." Kjera of course knows that it would be a leak of information. Even if Nian was just contacting them, they would definitely cause a leak.
"Hmm, what's the purpose of you contacting them?" Ash listened and squinted his eyes. 'She looks desperate, if we have more aspects. Yan will get weaker and in turn, we will get stronger.'
"I... I want them to go here to Paradiso. Some unsavory fellows are plotting to revive Sui. And we will disappear completely if that is to happen." Nian got serious and Ash wasn't sure if they could take on a deity.
They were not prepared for it, plain and simple. Kjera can cause calamities and turn the lands into permafrost if she wanted. That was too much for even Paradiso.
"I see. Give us their locations, I will go to them myself later. You understand right?" Ash looked at her in the eyes and Nian sighed.
"Yeah, they might tattle to Yan. Especially our oldest brother Chongyue. He's in the Yanese military. Go for him last, I at least have an idea with big sister Ling and Dusk." Nian snapped her fingers and a map of Yan made of metal appeared on the table.
"These are the approximate locations of big sister Ling. This mountain disappeared suddenly without explanations. She can do that for sure, her powers are related to space. Dusk, though... She's a bit tricky." Nian frowned.
"Why?" Ash raised a brow and Nian sighed. "She's what you would call socially awkward. She can make domains with her paintings. Alternate realities you can say." Nian explained her powers.
"So she can make paintings as if they are real worlds?" Ash furrowed his brows and thought that they are not as simple as he thought.
"Yeah, but it's fake in the end. It's more of an illusion. Of course she can't bend reality to her will like that. If Sui can do that, then why would he even need the help of Yan?" Nian explained Dusk's power more.
When someone enters her painting, their brains get tricked and would feel like they are in another world entirely. And time there can either slow down or quicken due to how she sets it.
"So it's a little pocket dimension that makes up images look as real as reality." Ash sighed and thought that was quite strong.
"Yeah, she can't make other realities. Just make you believe you're in one. It's a pretty nasty ability really." Nian sighed and thought that people who mistakenly enter her paintings would be trapped there.
And they can spend years there, forgotten by the annals of time for eternity.
"Okay, who do you think we should look for first?" Ash wanted to get them to their side quickly.
"Big sister Ling then Dusk. Leave Chongyue last, thanks for the advice from earlier Kjera." Nian thought about it and Chongyue would most likely not have a good reaction about joining Paradiso and abandoning Yan.
"How about your other brothers and sisters?" Ash was curious about the others.
"Ahhh, there's a brother who can cook really well... I think he'll be a good choice. But he's a nomad, roaming around Terra to find ingredients and cook." Nian shrugged and thought he would be quite tricky to find.
"I see. Then we focus on these three for now. We know one of their locations and the other two would be a bit tricky, but manageable." He closed the curtains about the Sui siblings for now.
It would take too much time to find them and they must stabilize the newcomers for now. They can barely keep up with creating suppressants and AOS for the infected that are flocking to them.
He sighed deeply and rubbed his temples, resting on the couch. Kjera poured some tea for him and thought it must be stressful to learn about the Sui siblings.
"Thank you Kjera..." He took a sip and closed his eyes for a moment.
Nian then lied down on the couch and sighed, it was going to get complicated. But she wished that her siblings would listen to him at least. They had to, he was their kin.
They are like fallen royalty that have been kept in a cage in Yan. Ash and Kjera are true Feranmuts that Yan would do anything to get their hands on.
'This will be a mess later, I wish this is the correct choice.' Nian slept and she would leave the problems to future Nian.
A few days passed and Nian was relegated to be the metal factory of Paradiso. Creating jackets and bullets. Springs and other metal parts for guns, she was doing a really good job. Though she loves to complain that she's being overworked.
"Baws! I missed you!" Lappland came to bother Ash who was researching with Adele due to the rare downtime.
"Lappland, how have you been?" Ash sighed and just accepted that the Lupo would be bothering him.
"It was boring without you baws. How about a joke yeah? What's the hardest part of a vegetable to eat?" Lappland smiled at him and was giggling.
"What?" He entertained her. "The wheelchair!" She laughed like a maniac and he chuckled.
"Hmm, then why do infected get sent to the mines?" Ash wanted to do one better.
"Hmmm, why?" She thought about it for a moment but gave up. "Because when they retire, they return their salaries."
Lappland didn't get it for a moment and thought about it hard. Then even her twisted mind got shocked. "Damn, baws. That's too dark even for me."
He laughed and was successful in making her speechless. "It's because they turn into originium right? Baws, you're hilarious." Lappland got over it and laughed boisterously.
"Then, then, how about this. Why did a miner get interested in an infected?" She got an idea. And he just shrugged.
"Because they're a mineral deposit! Get it?" She cracked up and Ash rolled his eyes, she was laughing too much at her own jokes.
"An infected walks into a bar. They ask for for some salt for their fish and chips." He paused for a moment and she excitedly waited for the next part.
"Because they can already turn into pepper, get it?" He waited for her to get it and rolled his eyes due to her being slow.
"Ohh, ohhh! It's because they turn into dust and looked like nicely ground pepper. Baws, your jokes are too complicated. I'm not smart enough for that." Lappland pouted at him.
"Ash, you guys are having inappropriate jokes you know. She's an infected and I am too." Adele chided them and they apologized.
So they continued softly and quietly, with Lappland laughing until she almost bust a gut. But someone busted the door down and it was Maria.
"Ash... Sister Margaret sent me here! We have an emergency!" Maria was frantic and he raised a brow.
"What's the problem?" He was about to call for the army to prepare.
"Someone came to Paradiso for political protection!" Maria explained and he didn't expect that.
"Really? Then let's meet them and see if we can accept them." He sighed and thought it was important, he thought it must be a small time noble from somewhere or something.
They went to the conference room and Margaret was already there with a group of people that didn't look like nobles.
"Greetings, to the sun of the Leithanien empire. I am Alexandrina, the first imperial princess of Victoria. It is an honor to meet you, your majesty." A brunette Aslan curtsied to him and she has a thick British accent. (pic)
She was proper British alright. "Blimey." Ash rubbed his temples and felt a headache incoming.
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Thank you for reading everyone, ciao.
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