Out in the ocean, on the endless, calm, blue water, a giant, five-masted ship bobbed gently up and down on it. Above them the night sky was clear and the Calm Blue reflected the image of the two moons, making it seem like the ship was traversing through the sky.
The idyllic picture however hid a different reality as inside the ship, in a big, luxurious room, decorated with the finest rugs, at an oval, polished wooden table, made from trees of the Catharine's Forest, sat six figures on chairs, covered with red velvet. All of them looked like someone past their 30s yet their real age neared closer to 150. Every person present was a leader of their own gang. They have long ago risen to the Harmony Realm and they were having this meeting once again, trying to come to a beneficial consensus in their cooperation.
This meeting was their fourth in the past 2 years, orchestrated by a number of unknown nobles, staying in the shadows. At first the gang leaders were hesitant but after the first meeting and receiving such wealth that they usually made only after years of “work” they were immediately hooked. They were no longer thinking about who was behind it all.
The six leaders were namely the Scargang leader Talhabat, a bald man who was reflecting his gang’s namesake as his head numbered dozens of old and new scars. Then came Batku, the leader of Windfeet, the nomadic gang Lulu just exterminated yet they knew nothing about it yet.
Third was Eisen, one of two women who rose to leadership positions and also led the group Yanda took care of, the aptly named Enjoyers. She was thin and short, wearing her black hair in a ponytail while half of her body was tattooed with colorful, drug fueled sex scenes, right up to her scalp.
Fourth was a giant, fat man, nobody knew his real name, but he was called The Blob, which he took pride in. His gang, the Rats numbered in the thousands, being the biggest as he took in any beggar that wished to join. He had an extensive flow of intelligence between his fingers, coming from more than a century of covert operations. He was also the one who brought the first meeting together and the sole contact with the so called nobles on the other side, financing their endeavors.
Fifth was the other woman in their midst, Sezel, who dressed in a pink, sleeveless, one piece dress and her wavy, auburn hair dropped over her shoulders, towards her deep cleavage, showcasing her bronze, shiny skin whenever she could. She was once a concubine at a noble family in the Kingdom, but after her affair with another noble, she barely escaped execution, fleeing to the Empire’s territory. She quickly started a new life and soon took over a gang named Dreamland and now runs a region wide, underground slavetrade, trying to pioneer something that is already a booming business on the Kingdom’s side.
The final member of the meeting was a proud looking man, dressed in fancy, noble-like clothing, Weygon, who by strength, was the strongest among the six. He was hailed as a genius a long time ago but because of his common background, he was in the end suppressed by the local nobles and this led him to a life of crime. He since then formed his vagabond group, going by the name of Justice, assaulting and robbing noble caravans wherever he could.
The six of them operated for a long time in their own territories, usually alone. Sometimes they were chased out by the local militia or army of the nobles, yet they always survived, going silent for decades before returning. Yet now, when The Blob gathered them up and laid out the plans of the nobles coming forward, they were skeptical at first. The first meeting stated that some of them would let them rampage around, without interfering and it seemed too good to be true, especially because they even gave out information where they could rob and pillage caravans, villages or hidden caches.
But after some time it proved all of it were true and not just a trap, reaping big scores in the first months alone. When the second meeting came, they were eager to continue their newfound success, especially the group of Weygon. Come the third meeting, they received another boost in the form of military issue weapons, making them able to build up their bases’ defenses and by then, all of them were wholly ready to continue. Deep inside,they were even excited about what the fourth meeting might entail.
“Dear friends,” The Blob spoke up, but nobody could see his mouth moving or into his eyes as the unbelievable amount of fat already distorted his face. “Our sponsors wish to infuse another big amount of resources, namely weapons, armors and even some top of the line new techniques, used in the Imperial Army! And even some from the Kingdom!”
His words made the others look at each other as Weygon leaned forward.
“Are we getting ready for a war or what?”
“Yes.” He nodded, surprising the rest. “We have already been spreading the news for half a decade that the Empire is rotten, bowing to the demons and people are finally starting to listen!”
“Heh…” Eisen chuckled, rolling her eyes “Who cares! Some of the best drugs are made from materials from the forest! My newest sends you to such a vivid place no other can do!”
“Still.” The Blob continued “The fire is lit, the pot of water is already boiling and the lid is starting to rattle. We are just heralding what is inevitable.”
“I don’t really care. If there would be a civil war, even better, I could get more and more playthings for my boys! A chaotic world is the best world.” Talhabat chuckled.
“The problem is those conformists’ and not ours.” Batku nodded “We feed off of this land and nobody can tell us what to do.”
“Yet you are here anyway.” Sezel snorted “The gold, armor and horses did come handy, no? Don’t be a hypocrite, my skin crawls listening to you.”
“Shut it, woman!” The nomads’ leader slammed on the table in response.
“You have a problem?” Eisen looked at him sideways “Or is it just the horsefucker gene of yours that spoke up, you short dicked cumguzzler?”
“Enough!” The Blob cut in, making his fat shake by the strength of his voice “No matter what any of us think, the only thing that matters is the benefits we get! They are using us to rile up the masses and put pressure on the royal family, exposing their weakness and we have a chance to pursue it further. We need to grab this chance, rake in as much as we can and when the lid is blown off, we can disappear for a few years and sit out the storm.”
His words quickly cooled down the rest as they started to listen to him.
“So.” He cleared his fat throat, continuing “We are going to get another big shipment of goodies. We can expand our groups and start organizing more and more willing and able people.”
“Do we know which noble houses are behind us?” Weygon spoke up suddenly.
“I do know some, but not all.” The Blob nodded.
“Who are they?” Talhabat asked with curiosity “Just so I don’t accidentally kidnap one of theirs.” added with a wide grin.
“I can’t tell. It’s best if few people know about it! But I can tell you we are not the only groups, we are just the ones in this region but the same is happening at different parts of the Empire.”
“Heh… the storm is coming huh?” Talhabat laughed “Well, my boys are getting ready for a raid anyway. I almost forgot to come, they were not happy when I told them to wait for my return. So, if this is all, then I’m in, I don’t care about the rest!” he leaned back, clearly ready to leave as his mind was somewhere else by now.
“We still need to fix where you all are going to get your shipment of goods, as always, you name the place, we name the date.” The Blob continued.
“No need.” came a foreign, young voice, disturbing all six of them and when they turned, a young, white haired girl sat amongst them, leaning back on her chair, rocking back and forth. “Mmm? ‘Sup!” Ren grinned, seeing their shock.
“Who are you?!” Talhabat stood up first as his strength burst outwards, starting to rock the ship itself.
“Me? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. My name is Ren. Nice to meetcha’ all~” She giggled, not showing any fear as his aura bounced off of her like nothing. “As I said, you don’t need to work out anything.” She put up her legs on the table “All of your gangs are being exterminated as we speak and honestly… You six are nothing more than walking and talking corpses.”
Ren’s calm and matter of fact voice was greatly unnerving, yet as it was six against one, it gave strength to them as they all stood up, assaulting her with their own auras, ready to fight.
“I never heard of you.” Sezel spoke up, “And even if you would be someone from the military, even the Emperor wouldn’t be enough to stand up against six of us alone!”
“This is where you are gravely mistaken.” Ren sighed “He could… and would. But you aren’t worth his time! You got caught up in your dreams or maybe snorted too much rainbow dust. Do you really think any of a little fart from a cockroach group of yours amounts to… anything?” She looked up at them with contempt in her eyes. “You are delusional. You are nothing but tools for others. Rusty, shit covered hoes.”
“The only one who is delusional here is you girl!” Eisen spat but The Blob who was silent so far, suddenly shook.
“You are…” He tried to speak but his voice was weak as Ren just grinned. It seemed the one with the information network finally recalled who was sitting beside them as her picture did circulate amongst the people back then, but was gone from the public’s vision for years by now.
“You know who this little fuckable meat is?” Talhabat snorted.
“Trouble.” Weygon gulped, the other who by now recognized her as his group usually targeted nobles. He was keeping track of everybody important in the Empire when they appeared.
“Ahaha~” Ren giggled, standing up, fixing her uniform “Well, I think all of you are ready, gathered up your strength and what not, hm? Can we start? I tried to give you enough time but I am starting to get bored.” she stretched with a yawn.
It was midway through her carefree sentence when Batku materialized a bow from pure energy and shot out three arrows made from the same, greenish colored affinity of his, targeting Ren. He was quick as the wind yet all three of his shots were grabbed between Ren’s fingers.
“Oh my, what a nice surprise attack!” Ren chuckled, looking at him while just cracking them apart with ease.
“Together!” Weygon shouted as all of them released their attacks and six types of powers crashed onto Ren.
From the outside look, a shockwave blasted out in every direction as the giant ship just cracked into two parts, spewing wood and splinters everywhere, alongside the ruined furniture from inside its rooms. The sailors who operated the ship were thrown into the water or just torn to shreds by the impact as the wreckage started to sink. The five, tall, thick masts cracked like toothpicks, falling over, crushing those beneath them.
“Did we get her?” Weygon panted heavily as the six of them floated above the water, looking down at the wreckage that was quickly sinking, dragging screaming sailors underwater with itself.
“Not even someone at the second level could stand up to our six, full powered attacks.” Eisen added.
“Are you sure about that?” came the mocking voice and when they turned towards it, Ren stood behind them without a scratch.
Their answer to her was another, instant attack and soon wind powered arrows, fireballs, shadowy tentacles, blue electric sparks, golden, metallic shurikens and icy spikes flew towards her in tandem. The power behind them was strong and deadly but Ren just stood there, letting them hit her cleanly. Her body got instantly torn apart before their eyes. At first they shouted out in excitement but quickly realized something was off. There was no blood, organs or even chunks of flesh being blasted apart, only violet electricity cackled like nature’s laughter as the small body disintegrated. When the attacks finally fell apart, above them the sky darkened, as dark clouds were occupying the previously clear sky as lightning flashed, quickly forming another body of Ren who stood before them with a grin.
“So… what else do you guys have?” She asked, picking her ear with a provocative expression “I could do this all day. Come, come, show me!”
“Don’t waste energy on her, this must be some kind of… clone technique!” The Blob warned.
“We need to find the original body!” Weygon agreed immediately, looking up at the dark clouds that constantly flashed with purple lightning and rumbled deafeningly.
“The clone must be weak, that's why-” Baktu tried to speak but Ren’s voice cut in quickly.
“Nah, I just want to have some fun and give you guys a chance to throw at me everything you got!” She shook her head before clapping and from the sky lightning came down and another five Ren formed around them. It was now 6 versus 6. “See?” all of the clones said at the same time.
While they were feeling the pressure, up in the sky, the real body of Ren sat crossed legged inside the clouds, projecting her powers downwards. Xendar was standing behind her with crossed arms as under her daughter’s buttocks laid a metal plate with dozens of inscriptions, supporting Ren’s technique.
“It still consumes too much energy, Ren. If you draw it out too much, your clones are going to get weaker and weaker and they are going to run away!” Xendar warned “Even with the prototype energy gathering disc, you can’t keep this up for more than 5 minutes. 10 tops.”
“I know.” Ren replied with a soft voice, opening her eyes a little, looking down “I could maintain the clones for days if it is just about existing… but as soon as they need energy for fights they really drain me…” She smiled softly “But your prototype works miracles. It still refills me quicker than a pill does! Planting this in the cultivation rooms is going to be a great improvement! Or taking it on a trip with us!”
“But it is still too fragile.” Xendar shook his head as the metal disc already showed cracks on its surface. “It can’t be used the way you do it now! Also you need to be stationary… too many drawbacks to be viable. It takes too many resources to produce, it isn’t cost effective. Using it as a ‘consumable’ also is not a viable option, this simply won’t do… I need to return to the drawing table with this!”
“That is why it is just a prototype. Anyway, Let’s finish it then, this data should be enough for both of us, I won’t drag it any further!” Ren closed her eyes once again, making Xendar smile proudly, watching her daughter.
Down below them, above the water of the Calm Blue, the six of them were frantically fighting against Ren’s clones. All six of hers were holding a spear, attacking fiercely. The most disturbing thing was, even when any of the gang leaders landed a blow, being Talhabat’s blackish tentacles piercing her head, Baktu’s wind arrows going through her body or The Blobs golden shurikens, fused with Sezel’s electricity, tearing the clone into two, nothing really worked. The clones just quickly reformed and continued their attacks, albeit at a noticeably weaker power level.
“This is unfair!” Weygon screamed, brandishing his sword, striking down with bluish color, spewing frozen ice chunks everywhere, every time he landed a hit, trying to freeze her but without any real success. The heat, coming from Ren’s electricity melted his powers and traveled far and wide, using it to shock him multiple times as a counterattack.
“Ahaha, crybaby~” Ren giggled as a cut off arm of hers reformed from purple lightning, holding a spear that quickly went through Weygon’s chest who finally lost his composure and was unable to defend himself in time.
“Un… fair…” He coughed up blood but Ren just hugged him closer like a child, looking up at him.
“How many people said the same thing when you murdered them? You fucking looser…” She whispered into his ear, stroking his head like that of a baby’s. Finally she just looked into his eyes, sticking out her tongue before blowing up, tearing Weygon into tiny shards of scorched flesh.
The first death quickly stunned the rest, especially because it was someone who was always out, fighting guards and militia, attacking nobles’ caravans one after another. Now, as only 5 remained, they dreadfully realized that the clones seemed like they got stronger suddenly.
The second to die was no other than Talhabat who after tied up his counterpart in tentacles, tried to run but Ren’s clone just blew herself up and from the blast lightning spears shot out, like javelins being thrown, piercing Talhabat’s back. He was vomiting up blood constantly as the spears turned into snakes, digging right into his body, frying his neural system completely, killing the leader of the Scargang once and for all.
“I surrender!” Baktu screamed first, throwing away any resistance, going onto his knees in the air, raising his hands high. The clone of Ren before him stopped suddenly, with an unsatisfied grimace.
“Tsk… you are no fun…” Ren grumbled, halting her attacks but pointing the tip of the spear at his forehead.
Seeing the result, the rest also gave up as they were dangerously running out of energy and above all else, their lives were the most important in their eyes.
“You are leaving them alive?” Xendar asked with a surprised voice.
“Not by choice.” Ren sighed, standing up and the disc under her cracked into little pieces, disintegrating. “I am out of energy.” She put a pill into her mouth “If I continue they will realize it and if they run in different directions we wouldn’t be able to catch them.”
“I told you.” He knocked on her head playfully.
“Ehehe… But that is why you are here Dad! ” she giggled, rubbing her head with an innocent face “Also, we can bring them back, no? Don’t worry, I can make the fatso talk and get the information out which nobles got hooked on the Kingdom’s lies! The rest…”
“You want people to experiment on, I know that look on your face.” Xendar shook his head.
“I need to train my gift from Mother’s bloodline and I can’t experiment on my fellow disciples, no?” She looked up at her father with puppy-like eyes.
“Do it in secret and not let it spread! You are already feared enough inside the Sect as it is.”
“Wha…? Me?! No way!” She protested, taking it as her father trying to tease her.
“Hmf, you know they call you the Smiling Devil, don’t you?” He flicked the tip of her nose.
“Me? Really? I thought I did well with the Inner Disciples! Look how many of them produced incredible results! Those little bastards, just wait until the next inner competition comes...” She murmured, biting onto her thumb.
“Haaah… anyway. Let’s wrap this up and bring them back!”
“Okey-dokey~” Ren nodded as both of them flashed from the clouds, drawing an electric trail behind them, one blue and one violet, arriving before the surrendered gang leaders.
Xendar’s appearance and as his aura was unbridled, summoning new, strong lightning bolts, flashing above them and it instantly destroyed every plan of theirs for escaping. Xendar took out multiple slave collars, modified by Ren, placing them on their necks. When one landed on The Blob’s “neck”, it contracted so heavily, it pulled back the fat, finally revealing the facial structure of his. Finally they could see the features of a man with brown eyes with a small mouth and nose, breathing heavily.
“I’ll bring them back to the Sect. You?” He turned towards his daughter.
“I’ll go, pick up my disciples, then check on my lil’ brother. After that I’ll come back. I may stay behind a little more if the other group of disciples need help cleaning up the gangs in the region… but it shouldn’t be a problem, now that their leaders are gone.”
“I agree. Try to hurry, it would be best if we can get the info who are the nobles we need to visit! Who got bought out by the Naulin’s, so Feynor can start dealing with them!”
“Hehe… don’t worry Dad, I’ll pry it out from their mouths~” Ren giggled, looking over the now defeated gang leaders, before licking her lips. The Blob was the one who trembled the most, shaking his giant slabs of fat all around as even if he survives now, his contacts would hunt him down.
“Good! Tell that good for nothing son of mine, get his buttocks ready!” Xendar snorted loudly as he grabbed onto the prisoners, forming an electric leash between their collars and his palm. “I heard the stories, it seems as soon as he steps out of my sight he thinks I won’t know about his shenanigans? Hah! Naive!” He thundered as he left, going back towards the Sect with a flash, dragging them behind.
Ren just giggled, waving at her father before flying towards the city, her disciples stayed while the sun slowly started to come up, ending the long night.
Out in the ocean, on the endless, calm, blue water, a giant, five-masted ship bobbed gently up and down on it. Above them the night sky was clear and the Calm Blue reflected the image of the two moons, making it seem like the ship was traversing through the sky.
The idyllic picture however hid a different reality as inside the ship, in a big, luxurious room, decorated with the finest rugs, at an oval, polished wooden table, made from trees of the Catharine's Forest, sat six figures on chairs, covered with red velvet. All of them looked like someone past their 30s yet their real age neared closer to 150. Every person present was a leader of their own gang. They have long ago risen to the Harmony Realm and they were having this meeting once again, trying to come to a beneficial consensus in their cooperation.
This meeting was their fourth in the past 2 years, orchestrated by a number of unknown nobles, staying in the shadows. At first the gang leaders were hesitant but after the first meeting and receiving such wealth that they usually made only after years of “work” they were immediately hooked. They were no longer thinking about who was behind it all.
The six leaders were namely the Scargang leader Talhabat, a bald man who was reflecting his gang’s namesake as his head numbered dozens of old and new scars. Then came Batku, the leader of Windfeet, the nomadic gang Lulu just exterminated yet they knew nothing about it yet.
Third was Eisen, one of two women who rose to leadership positions and also led the group Yanda took care of, the aptly named Enjoyers. She was thin and short, wearing her black hair in a ponytail while half of her body was tattooed with colorful, drug fueled sex scenes, right up to her scalp.
Fourth was a giant, fat man, nobody knew his real name, but he was called The Blob, which he took pride in. His gang, the Rats numbered in the thousands, being the biggest as he took in any beggar that wished to join. He had an extensive flow of intelligence between his fingers, coming from more than a century of covert operations. He was also the one who brought the first meeting together and the sole contact with the so called nobles on the other side, financing their endeavors.
Fifth was the other woman in their midst, Sezel, who dressed in a pink, sleeveless, one piece dress and her wavy, auburn hair dropped over her shoulders, towards her deep cleavage, showcasing her bronze, shiny skin whenever she could. She was once a concubine at a noble family in the Kingdom, but after her affair with another noble, she barely escaped execution, fleeing to the Empire’s territory. She quickly started a new life and soon took over a gang named Dreamland and now runs a region wide, underground slavetrade, trying to pioneer something that is already a booming business on the Kingdom’s side.
The final member of the meeting was a proud looking man, dressed in fancy, noble-like clothing, Weygon, who by strength, was the strongest among the six. He was hailed as a genius a long time ago but because of his common background, he was in the end suppressed by the local nobles and this led him to a life of crime. He since then formed his vagabond group, going by the name of Justice, assaulting and robbing noble caravans wherever he could.
The six of them operated for a long time in their own territories, usually alone. Sometimes they were chased out by the local militia or army of the nobles, yet they always survived, going silent for decades before returning. Yet now, when The Blob gathered them up and laid out the plans of the nobles coming forward, they were skeptical at first. The first meeting stated that some of them would let them rampage around, without interfering and it seemed too good to be true, especially because they even gave out information where they could rob and pillage caravans, villages or hidden caches.
But after some time it proved all of it were true and not just a trap, reaping big scores in the first months alone. When the second meeting came, they were eager to continue their newfound success, especially the group of Weygon. Come the third meeting, they received another boost in the form of military issue weapons, making them able to build up their bases’ defenses and by then, all of them were wholly ready to continue. Deep inside,they were even excited about what the fourth meeting might entail.
“Dear friends,” The Blob spoke up, but nobody could see his mouth moving or into his eyes as the unbelievable amount of fat already distorted his face. “Our sponsors wish to infuse another big amount of resources, namely weapons, armors and even some top of the line new techniques, used in the Imperial Army! And even some from the Kingdom!”
His words made the others look at each other as Weygon leaned forward.
“Are we getting ready for a war or what?”
“Yes.” He nodded, surprising the rest. “We have already been spreading the news for half a decade that the Empire is rotten, bowing to the demons and people are finally starting to listen!”
“Heh…” Eisen chuckled, rolling her eyes “Who cares! Some of the best drugs are made from materials from the forest! My newest sends you to such a vivid place no other can do!”
“Still.” The Blob continued “The fire is lit, the pot of water is already boiling and the lid is starting to rattle. We are just heralding what is inevitable.”
“I don’t really care. If there would be a civil war, even better, I could get more and more playthings for my boys! A chaotic world is the best world.” Talhabat chuckled.
“The problem is those conformists’ and not ours.” Batku nodded “We feed off of this land and nobody can tell us what to do.”
“Yet you are here anyway.” Sezel snorted “The gold, armor and horses did come handy, no? Don’t be a hypocrite, my skin crawls listening to you.”
“Shut it, woman!” The nomads’ leader slammed on the table in response.
“You have a problem?” Eisen looked at him sideways “Or is it just the horsefucker gene of yours that spoke up, you short dicked cumguzzler?”
“Enough!” The Blob cut in, making his fat shake by the strength of his voice “No matter what any of us think, the only thing that matters is the benefits we get! They are using us to rile up the masses and put pressure on the royal family, exposing their weakness and we have a chance to pursue it further. We need to grab this chance, rake in as much as we can and when the lid is blown off, we can disappear for a few years and sit out the storm.”
His words quickly cooled down the rest as they started to listen to him.
“So.” He cleared his fat throat, continuing “We are going to get another big shipment of goodies. We can expand our groups and start organizing more and more willing and able people.”
“Do we know which noble houses are behind us?” Weygon spoke up suddenly.
“I do know some, but not all.” The Blob nodded.
“Who are they?” Talhabat asked with curiosity “Just so I don’t accidentally kidnap one of theirs.” added with a wide grin.
“I can’t tell. It’s best if few people know about it! But I can tell you we are not the only groups, we are just the ones in this region but the same is happening at different parts of the Empire.”
“Heh… the storm is coming huh?” Talhabat laughed “Well, my boys are getting ready for a raid anyway. I almost forgot to come, they were not happy when I told them to wait for my return. So, if this is all, then I’m in, I don’t care about the rest!” he leaned back, clearly ready to leave as his mind was somewhere else by now.
“We still need to fix where you all are going to get your shipment of goods, as always, you name the place, we name the date.” The Blob continued.
“No need.” came a foreign, young voice, disturbing all six of them and when they turned, a young, white haired girl sat amongst them, leaning back on her chair, rocking back and forth. “Mmm? ‘Sup!” Ren grinned, seeing their shock.
“Who are you?!” Talhabat stood up first as his strength burst outwards, starting to rock the ship itself.
“Me? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. My name is Ren. Nice to meetcha’ all~” She giggled, not showing any fear as his aura bounced off of her like nothing. “As I said, you don’t need to work out anything.” She put up her legs on the table “All of your gangs are being exterminated as we speak and honestly… You six are nothing more than walking and talking corpses.”
Ren’s calm and matter of fact voice was greatly unnerving, yet as it was six against one, it gave strength to them as they all stood up, assaulting her with their own auras, ready to fight.
“I never heard of you.” Sezel spoke up, “And even if you would be someone from the military, even the Emperor wouldn’t be enough to stand up against six of us alone!”
“This is where you are gravely mistaken.” Ren sighed “He could… and would. But you aren’t worth his time! You got caught up in your dreams or maybe snorted too much rainbow dust. Do you really think any of a little fart from a cockroach group of yours amounts to… anything?” She looked up at them with contempt in her eyes. “You are delusional. You are nothing but tools for others. Rusty, shit covered hoes.”
“The only one who is delusional here is you girl!” Eisen spat but The Blob who was silent so far, suddenly shook.
“You are…” He tried to speak but his voice was weak as Ren just grinned. It seemed the one with the information network finally recalled who was sitting beside them as her picture did circulate amongst the people back then, but was gone from the public’s vision for years by now.
“You know who this little fuckable meat is?” Talhabat snorted.
“Trouble.” Weygon gulped, the other who by now recognized her as his group usually targeted nobles. He was keeping track of everybody important in the Empire when they appeared.
“Ahaha~” Ren giggled, standing up, fixing her uniform “Well, I think all of you are ready, gathered up your strength and what not, hm? Can we start? I tried to give you enough time but I am starting to get bored.” she stretched with a yawn.
It was midway through her carefree sentence when Batku materialized a bow from pure energy and shot out three arrows made from the same, greenish colored affinity of his, targeting Ren. He was quick as the wind yet all three of his shots were grabbed between Ren’s fingers.
“Oh my, what a nice surprise attack!” Ren chuckled, looking at him while just cracking them apart with ease.
“Together!” Weygon shouted as all of them released their attacks and six types of powers crashed onto Ren.
From the outside look, a shockwave blasted out in every direction as the giant ship just cracked into two parts, spewing wood and splinters everywhere, alongside the ruined furniture from inside its rooms. The sailors who operated the ship were thrown into the water or just torn to shreds by the impact as the wreckage started to sink. The five, tall, thick masts cracked like toothpicks, falling over, crushing those beneath them.
“Did we get her?” Weygon panted heavily as the six of them floated above the water, looking down at the wreckage that was quickly sinking, dragging screaming sailors underwater with itself.
“Not even someone at the second level could stand up to our six, full powered attacks.” Eisen added.
“Are you sure about that?” came the mocking voice and when they turned towards it, Ren stood behind them without a scratch.
Their answer to her was another, instant attack and soon wind powered arrows, fireballs, shadowy tentacles, blue electric sparks, golden, metallic shurikens and icy spikes flew towards her in tandem. The power behind them was strong and deadly but Ren just stood there, letting them hit her cleanly. Her body got instantly torn apart before their eyes. At first they shouted out in excitement but quickly realized something was off. There was no blood, organs or even chunks of flesh being blasted apart, only violet electricity cackled like nature’s laughter as the small body disintegrated. When the attacks finally fell apart, above them the sky darkened, as dark clouds were occupying the previously clear sky as lightning flashed, quickly forming another body of Ren who stood before them with a grin.
“So… what else do you guys have?” She asked, picking her ear with a provocative expression “I could do this all day. Come, come, show me!”
“Don’t waste energy on her, this must be some kind of… clone technique!” The Blob warned.
“We need to find the original body!” Weygon agreed immediately, looking up at the dark clouds that constantly flashed with purple lightning and rumbled deafeningly.
“The clone must be weak, that's why-” Baktu tried to speak but Ren’s voice cut in quickly.
“Nah, I just want to have some fun and give you guys a chance to throw at me everything you got!” She shook her head before clapping and from the sky lightning came down and another five Ren formed around them. It was now 6 versus 6. “See?” all of the clones said at the same time.
While they were feeling the pressure, up in the sky, the real body of Ren sat crossed legged inside the clouds, projecting her powers downwards. Xendar was standing behind her with crossed arms as under her daughter’s buttocks laid a metal plate with dozens of inscriptions, supporting Ren’s technique.
“It still consumes too much energy, Ren. If you draw it out too much, your clones are going to get weaker and weaker and they are going to run away!” Xendar warned “Even with the prototype energy gathering disc, you can’t keep this up for more than 5 minutes. 10 tops.”
“I know.” Ren replied with a soft voice, opening her eyes a little, looking down “I could maintain the clones for days if it is just about existing… but as soon as they need energy for fights they really drain me…” She smiled softly “But your prototype works miracles. It still refills me quicker than a pill does! Planting this in the cultivation rooms is going to be a great improvement! Or taking it on a trip with us!”
“But it is still too fragile.” Xendar shook his head as the metal disc already showed cracks on its surface. “It can’t be used the way you do it now! Also you need to be stationary… too many drawbacks to be viable. It takes too many resources to produce, it isn’t cost effective. Using it as a ‘consumable’ also is not a viable option, this simply won’t do… I need to return to the drawing table with this!”
“That is why it is just a prototype. Anyway, Let’s finish it then, this data should be enough for both of us, I won’t drag it any further!” Ren closed her eyes once again, making Xendar smile proudly, watching her daughter.
Down below them, above the water of the Calm Blue, the six of them were frantically fighting against Ren’s clones. All six of hers were holding a spear, attacking fiercely. The most disturbing thing was, even when any of the gang leaders landed a blow, being Talhabat’s blackish tentacles piercing her head, Baktu’s wind arrows going through her body or The Blobs golden shurikens, fused with Sezel’s electricity, tearing the clone into two, nothing really worked. The clones just quickly reformed and continued their attacks, albeit at a noticeably weaker power level.
“This is unfair!” Weygon screamed, brandishing his sword, striking down with bluish color, spewing frozen ice chunks everywhere, every time he landed a hit, trying to freeze her but without any real success. The heat, coming from Ren’s electricity melted his powers and traveled far and wide, using it to shock him multiple times as a counterattack.
“Ahaha, crybaby~” Ren giggled as a cut off arm of hers reformed from purple lightning, holding a spear that quickly went through Weygon’s chest who finally lost his composure and was unable to defend himself in time.
“Un… fair…” He coughed up blood but Ren just hugged him closer like a child, looking up at him.
“How many people said the same thing when you murdered them? You fucking looser…” She whispered into his ear, stroking his head like that of a baby’s. Finally she just looked into his eyes, sticking out her tongue before blowing up, tearing Weygon into tiny shards of scorched flesh.
The first death quickly stunned the rest, especially because it was someone who was always out, fighting guards and militia, attacking nobles’ caravans one after another. Now, as only 5 remained, they dreadfully realized that the clones seemed like they got stronger suddenly.
The second to die was no other than Talhabat who after tied up his counterpart in tentacles, tried to run but Ren’s clone just blew herself up and from the blast lightning spears shot out, like javelins being thrown, piercing Talhabat’s back. He was vomiting up blood constantly as the spears turned into snakes, digging right into his body, frying his neural system completely, killing the leader of the Scargang once and for all.
“I surrender!” Baktu screamed first, throwing away any resistance, going onto his knees in the air, raising his hands high. The clone of Ren before him stopped suddenly, with an unsatisfied grimace.
“Tsk… you are no fun…” Ren grumbled, halting her attacks but pointing the tip of the spear at his forehead.
Seeing the result, the rest also gave up as they were dangerously running out of energy and above all else, their lives were the most important in their eyes.
“You are leaving them alive?” Xendar asked with a surprised voice.
“Not by choice.” Ren sighed, standing up and the disc under her cracked into little pieces, disintegrating. “I am out of energy.” She put a pill into her mouth “If I continue they will realize it and if they run in different directions we wouldn’t be able to catch them.”
“I told you.” He knocked on her head playfully.
“Ehehe… But that is why you are here Dad! ” she giggled, rubbing her head with an innocent face “Also, we can bring them back, no? Don’t worry, I can make the fatso talk and get the information out which nobles got hooked on the Kingdom’s lies! The rest…”
“You want people to experiment on, I know that look on your face.” Xendar shook his head.
“I need to train my gift from Mother’s bloodline and I can’t experiment on my fellow disciples, no?” She looked up at her father with puppy-like eyes.
“Do it in secret and not let it spread! You are already feared enough inside the Sect as it is.”
“Wha…? Me?! No way!” She protested, taking it as her father trying to tease her.
“Hmf, you know they call you the Smiling Devil, don’t you?” He flicked the tip of her nose.
“Me? Really? I thought I did well with the Inner Disciples! Look how many of them produced incredible results! Those little bastards, just wait until the next inner competition comes...” She murmured, biting onto her thumb.
“Haaah… anyway. Let’s wrap this up and bring them back!”
“Okey-dokey~” Ren nodded as both of them flashed from the clouds, drawing an electric trail behind them, one blue and one violet, arriving before the surrendered gang leaders.
Xendar’s appearance and as his aura was unbridled, summoning new, strong lightning bolts, flashing above them and it instantly destroyed every plan of theirs for escaping. Xendar took out multiple slave collars, modified by Ren, placing them on their necks. When one landed on The Blob’s “neck”, it contracted so heavily, it pulled back the fat, finally revealing the facial structure of his. Finally they could see the features of a man with brown eyes with a small mouth and nose, breathing heavily.
“I’ll bring them back to the Sect. You?” He turned towards his daughter.
“I’ll go, pick up my disciples, then check on my lil’ brother. After that I’ll come back. I may stay behind a little more if the other group of disciples need help cleaning up the gangs in the region… but it shouldn’t be a problem, now that their leaders are gone.”
“I agree. Try to hurry, it would be best if we can get the info who are the nobles we need to visit! Who got bought out by the Naulin’s, so Feynor can start dealing with them!”
“Hehe… don’t worry Dad, I’ll pry it out from their mouths~” Ren giggled, looking over the now defeated gang leaders, before licking her lips. The Blob was the one who trembled the most, shaking his giant slabs of fat all around as even if he survives now, his contacts would hunt him down.
“Good! Tell that good for nothing son of mine, get his buttocks ready!” Xendar snorted loudly as he grabbed onto the prisoners, forming an electric leash between their collars and his palm. “I heard the stories, it seems as soon as he steps out of my sight he thinks I won’t know about his shenanigans? Hah! Naive!” He thundered as he left, going back towards the Sect with a flash, dragging them behind.
Ren just giggled, waving at her father before flying towards the city, her disciples stayed while the sun slowly started to come up, ending the long night.
