Defiance of the Fall

'You don't think the bell is related to the Kan'Tanu?' Zac asked.

'I'm not certain, but think about it. It's like General Dossin said—imagine if our enemies deployed the bell on a large-scale battlefield instead. Why use such a mysterious object to ambush us? And what would be the point? Whoever has the strength to wield that ancient bell could just annihilate us with a wave of their hands.'

Zac slowly nodded in agreement. The situation was undeniably odd. It had only taken a single look to understand there was no way the Kan'Tanu had made it themselves. The bell hadn't even activated, but its mere presence killed so many elite soldiers from miles away.

It was undoubtedly a C-grade weapon despite being so damaged. Who knew what grade it had when in perfect condition?

Even if it were the Kan'Tanu's, they had no reason to deploy it like this. It almost felt like the Kan'Tanu had deployed a nuclear warhead to deal with a minor threat, only to forget to arm it. There had to be hundreds of better strategies available if they knew when and where to lay a trap.

'Still, why do you think it came for you? What's going on?'

Vilari hesitated. 'I could feel a connection even before the bell emerged. When it appeared, I heard a deep toll in my mind. Before I knew it, the sound transformed into an incredibly mysterious technique called the [Embers of Seven Sensations].'

Zac's eyes widened in alarm. He was so horrified he almost forgot they were speaking through a mental connection.

'You absolutely cannot practice it! Don't even try to analyze the concepts within!'

Any method stored within such a powerful treasure would undoubtedly be astonishing, but there was something profoundly wrong with it. The evil symbolized by that cave felt like a primordial devil. Practicing any method with such a dubious origin would invite a disaster unto yourself.

'I know. I have already conditioned myself to not think of the details within.'

Zac exhaled in relief, but the situation only made him more confused. Where the hell had the bell come from if it wasn't the Kan'Tanu's? Was it related to the War Fortress, or was it perhaps another ancient relic dredged from the depths of the Void? Or could it be…

'Could it be related to your bloodline?' Zac exclaimed.

Iz had recognized the young Mentalist who almost killed him in the Battle of Fates as a descendant of the Ignus Clan. He hadn't dared inquire any further, but any faction known by Iz Tayn had to have some renown, even in the heartlands. He hadn't expected to hear from them in this remote corner of the Multiverse, but it was no longer so farfetched with the Left Imperial Palace appearing in Zecia.

Zac fearfully glanced at the sky, wondering if a C-grade Mentalist from the Ignus family was currently bearing down on their position. He couldn't imagine what they'd do to him after finding out he not only killed their descendants but even turned her into a Revenant. The Undead Empire had suffered more than one calamity by turning bodies with complicated origins.

'No, that can't be,' Zac said after taking a calming breath. 'I remember the original owner of your body. Her bloodline wasn't evil or heretical at all. It more felt like something inherited by a high-tier race or a unique being born from the cosmos.'

'You're right,' Vilari said. 'It's difficult to say what about me attracted the bell since I've unified my path and bloodline through Ultom's inspiration. But I believe it's connected to the inheritance left by my master rather than my body's origin.'

'The Crown of Despair?' Zac said with bewilderment, but a thoughtful look slowly appeared on his face.

Indeed, the Mentalist inheritance left in his Dao Repository was more closely related to the bell's true nature, even if there were several critical differences. But at the same time, it sounded ridiculous for such a terrifying treasure to be connected to Brazla and the Towers of Myriad Dao. Then again, the details surrounding the Crown of Despair had always eluded them.

Zac had gathered clues to Brazla's origins over the past years and reached a few conclusions. Towers of Myriad Dao undoubtedly originated from the frontiers, but the original Brazla should have lived in a more established frontier sector.

Brazla had been an unattached blacksmith with above-average skill thanks to a fortuitous encounter. Still, he should mostly have been dealing with other Hegemons. C-grade materials were almost impossible to find in these neighborhoods, and no Monarch would let a D-grade craftsman touch them unless they were absolutely out of better options.

Yrial's situation was slightly special. He may have been a late Monarch, but Zac had seen snippets of Yrial's road to the peak. He'd been constantly hunted, barely scraping by through deception, swindling, and outright robbery. Yrial had repeatedly lamented that he would have easily become a Divine Monarch or even an Autarch if he'd even enjoyed a fraction of Zac's lucky encounters.

Zac inquired why Yrial went to Brazla for help during his last visit. As expected, his ascent into Late Monarchy had completely wiped out Yrial's entire fortune, and he'd even been forced to steal a few incredible treasures from multiple C-grade factions. He found himself hunted from every direction and was forced to make a desperate gambit.

Yrial knew of a certain opportunity. It was incredibly dangerous, but there was a chance of confirming his Dao if he managed to seize the fortune within. He'd approached Brazla to craft a set of special items that would improve his odds. Unfortunately, Zac and Yrial's soul wisp had no idea whether he succeeded or not, and Yrial refused to tell him any details about the opportunity.

The details surrounding the Crown of Despair were harder to understand. Vilari had a seal preventing her from divulging most details of her two encounters with her in-name master, but everything about Ralz Calzood screamed 'mysterious powerhouse.' Her means and inheritance were incredibly profound, and Vilari even suspected she was a Divine Monarch. Why would someone like that approach Brazla?

A Divine Monarch Mentalist would be unstoppable in a sector like Zecia. She could have walked right into the ancestral homes of the Dravorak Dynasty and abducted their artisans. There was no way anyone would dare raise an issue. So why Brazla? And why would a Mentalist agree to sever a part of their soul to pay a D-grade artisan?

They had come up with two potential scenarios. One, Ralz had stumbled onto a material or Natural Treasure that was critical for some goal of hers but wouldn't last long after being harvested. Brazla was simply the best craftsman she could find before it was too late, and Ralz had been forced to go along with his demands because of it.

That theory would explain how Brazla died and how the Towers of Myriad Dao became a System reward. Extorting a Divine Monarch as a Hegemon was simply asking for trouble. The second theory was that Ralz Calzood had another purpose for leaving behind a piece of her will. Perhaps it was simply a test of fate in search of a disciple, one that Vilari passed.

More importantly, Ralz Calzood was still alive, which made the bell's appearance more problematic. Was the Crown of Despair embroiled in the contest over Ultom and the Left Imperial Palace? If so, was she hidden among the Kan'Tanu, or was she one of the outsiders? Had Vilari unwittingly become a pawn in an elaborate play for the Eternal Heritage?

'How certain are you?'

'Without a shadow of a doubt. The bell's technique is very unusual, but I am almost certain it shares a common root with the original version of my Cultivation Manual.'

'You're thinking Ralz Calzood's inheritance was derived from the bell?'

'No, they are too different for that. It's possible that master found an incomplete inheritance of an ancient faction while journeying, and the bell was made by the same people.'

'Do you think the Crown of Despair is an unorthodox cultivator?'

'Maybe, but there's something else wrong with the bell. It's like an artist has painted a masterpiece, but then someone else came along and added a few minor details. The additions seem innocuous on their own, but together, they've completely subverted the original intent behind the painting. I felt it on the bell, and I felt it within the technique.'

'The second painter, could it be the Kan'Tanu?'

'Perhaps,' Vilari hesitated. 'I'm too inexperienced to guess what a Monarch can and can't do. But I believe the bell's subtle corruption would require an almost godlike understanding of the soul and the Daos of the Seven Sensations.'

Zac agreed with Vilari's assessment. The aura of evil had reached the levels where it had essentially become an indelible truth like the forces of nature. Reforging an ancient treasure and a whole heritage in such a sublime way required incredible skill. If the Kan'Tanu had such lofty beings within their ranks, the war would have looked much worse than it already did.

'What should I do?' Vilari asked, the worry evident in her eyes. 'If I stay with you, I might implicate everyone.'

'I doubt we'll see the bell again in the short run. We would have seen some signs by now if it really wanted to hunt you down. Honestly, I think we'd have to be more worried if the Kan'Tanu controlled it.'

Zac wouldn't say it now, but he felt the real danger came from the [Embers of Seven Sensations]. Sure, the bell may have sensed someone walking the path of its creators and imparted a technique to continue the lineage. But meat pies rarely just fell from the sky, especially not when the delivery method made people rip their hearts out of their chests.

'But what if—'

'Then we'll cross that bridge when it comes. I'll bring you out of here if it comes back. We'll see if it can outrun my teleportation arrays,' Zac smiled. 'Don't worry, we'll figure this out together after we return. If all else fails, I'll just blow it up somehow.'

'That thing should have known better than to mess with a professional demolitionist,' Vilari smiled as she grabbed his hand. 'Thank you.'

'Of course, always.'

There were still no signs of the huge bell returning or space solidifying, but everyone was still eager to create more distance. Even rushing headfirst toward an army of elite Kan'Tanu was far preferable to the certain death the bell represented. It took less than a minute to stow the fallen, and they were on the way soon after.

Dossin ordered a breakneck pace where the Late E-grade Soldiers ran close to the limits of what their attributes would allow. Doing so back on old earth was a surefire way to lose a battle, but E-grade cultivators wouldn't even be slightly winded when they arrived. For Zac, it was like a casual stroll.

He had joined the other commanders at the vanguard to better coordinate the response to any subsequent threats or traps. Everyone's eyes were mostly roving the sky, and not just because of the ancient bell. The battleground was a remote corner of an uninhabited world, so aerial bombardment was the greatest threat they'd face.

"You don't have to worry about attacks from above," Dossin eventually said while pointing to the sky. "Look."

It was a streak of shifting light hovering in the sky, resembling the northern lights from back home. It was a beautiful phenomenon, but Zac didn't understand what the Dravorak general was driving at.

"It's ancient Dao bleeding into this dimension," Dossin explained. "The Mystic Realm is pushing against our reality, but the ambient energy of this world reinforces the dimensional barrier. The emptiness outside the atmosphere does not have the same advantages. It's just an insignificant phenomenon now, but that'll soon change."

"A spatial storm?" a commander ventured.

"One that will soon cover this whole continent," Dossin confirmed. "Truth be told, this whole stellar system is incredibly fragile. We've already lost dozens of Cosmic Vessels, and any items we've deployed were destroyed within minutes. The Kan'Tanu have fared even worse since this region was originally under their control."

"Luck is an important part of war," one of the strategists nodded.

"True. Now, all fighting is done on the ground, where each side brings in reinforcements whenever we manage to form a link to this unstable region."

"So what about the bell? The Kan'Tanu haven't used it before?" Zac asked, and Dossin shook her head with a small frown.

"Never. I still can't explain the events surrounding the bell. But it should be impossible for it to appear now that the storm is about to break out."

Zac slowly nodded, not pressing the matter further. They'd have to delve into the mysteries of the bell and Vilari's master later. For now, there were cultists to fight. Zac could already feel Spatial Energy among the planet's energy, which meant they were getting close to the hotspot. Meanwhile, the Dao streaks in the sky were rapidly multiplying.

"They're here," Dossin said, and Zac suddenly felt a spiritual nudge from the army's War Array.

He accepted and suddenly felt as though his Soul Sense expanded from one hundred meters to stretch far into the horizon, where a huge monstrosity rapidly approached. It looked like a centipede as wide as a mighty river, but a second glance indicated it was a construct created through the familiar arts of the Heart Curses.

The centipede exuded a dark shroud as it advanced, but Zac could vaguely make out an army sitting on its back. A sharp red light released from within the shroud shattered the scene, but it didn't take long before he could see the moving river with his own eyes.

The Kan'Tanu's approach looked more overbearing, but Zac could tell their army was roughly the same size and strength as theirs. Zac returned to his men, his mind already filled by a rapid-fire peppering of instructions. The Acheron Company took up a position at the left flank, setting up a solid line designed for a steady advance.

The orders were detailed and exhaustive, which drastically lessened the pressure on Zac and his, admittedly, inexperienced commanders. Dossin's team of tacticians also showed surprising insight into their strengths and equipment, including War Arrays they hadn't showcased on the frontlines or mentioned in the short briefing.

It was unnerving to know there likely was a dossier on him and his budding faction in the headquarters, but the detailed strategy also proved Dossin was well-prepared for the upcoming battle.

Suddenly, the huge centipede exploded, turning into a cascading tangle of rapidly advancing thorns. It was a strategy they'd dealt with many times before, so Zac wasn't worried, even if it contained a stronger aura. His people had already proven their strength, and Dossin had already anticipated this move.

Two dozen enormous glass spheres thumped down on the ground, and a cascade of stellar flames rippled forward. Their unrelenting flames collided with the advancing tide, creating a writhing inferno spanning more than a mile. The other armies unleashed similar attacks, and the incoming cascade was stopped in its tracks.

The cursed ground was rapidly withering away, but Zac's eyes thinned upon seeing hundreds of huge shadows in the smoke. Hulking figures soon emerged, their heavy steps suffocating the lingering effects of the War Machines. Each was dozens of meters tall and teeming with energy.

These goliaths were wrought from the dense tendrils of Heart Curses, but these creatures differed from the cultists who chose to enter a berserk state. The complex patterns covering their fleshy appendages exposed where these miscreations came from—The Chapter of Hallowed Flesh, one of the seven core units of the Kan'Tanu.

Each chapter was the equivalent of a powerful C-grade empire, and their elites used higher-quality Heart Curses. They also possessed methods to utilize the parasites beyond cultivation accelerators and double-edged berserking methods. Hallowed Flesh focused on the physical manifestation of the Heart Curses, using sacrifices and rituals to replace their bodies or create constructs to fight for them.

Zac couldn't tell which of the two the lumbering creatures were, but their energy levels were shocking. They were like mobile Array Towers, shooting thousands of tendrils toward the advancing line of alliance soldiers. The goretide was reborn with redoubled ferocity through their appearance. A bloodthirsty growl escaped from [Verun's Bite] as Zac gripped its handle tighter, while a savage smile spread across his face.

These enemies were completely different from the uncoordinated and ill-trained war slaves who weren't good for much else than human wave tactics. It was the kind of enemy he had worked so hard to prepare his men for.

They were ready.

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