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Having seen the power of a ninth tier cultivator and even fought directly against it, Nilima found herself unable to get it out of her head. The main weakness she saw in the Ostain Emperor was his inability to overpower individuals, either because he was incapable of single powerful spells or because he was always facing many foes and unable to gather the power. Perhaps he just threw himself headlong into perilous situations because he assumed he was invincible.
Nilima couldn’t be assured she wouldn’t make different mistakes, but she would certainly have the ability to overcome an opponent’s defenses. That had always been her style, and she saw no reason to change.
The step from seventh to eighth tier wasn’t so much a change in the quality of power so much as the quantity. Grandmasters remained grandmasters, but they could do so much more with increased power to draw upon. Nilima had no lack of experience with such levels of power… and she was ready to make that step.
For her cultivation style, breaking through wasn’t really a dangerous process after she properly spent yet another decade training. Not on the level of berserkers, anyway. It could still have severe consequences if she failed, but she didn’t even stop to think about it. She compressed her two sorts of energy together, using the power of their conflict to strengthen each. Gentle energy and berserk energy wrestled and crackled.
It was unclear how long it took. A day, perhaps, or longer. All of the cultivators of Haven must have noticed something was happening, but they wouldn’t disturb her during cultivation. When she was finally done, she was much the same as before… but more energy flowed beneath the surface.
—–
Attempting to balance avoiding conflict and not showing weakness was the hardest task Nilima ever accomplished. She didn’t just go around fighting people all the time anymore, which meant she made fewer enemies… but because of that, the enemies she made were more prone to thinking they could actually harm her. She found herself out in the wilderness, led by some mysterious messages. Was it a trap? Obviously. There were many people in Cangui who hated her for allowing common folk to cultivate, and more who just hated her for who she was.
Cangui had laws, of course, but those laws could only be enforced if anyone heard about the situation. It was small comfort to Nilima that Lord Nagarkar would investigate if she died, but she couldn’t just ask him to mobilize forces on a whim. Or she wouldn’t, perhaps.
She knew it was a trap, but chose to walk into it. Maybe that was what she wanted, a big showdown. She’d spent so much time cultivating and running her sect. That was good for the world, and while it was fulfilling in its own way, sometimes she wanted to leave a bigger note to the world. Something that said that she wasn’t just whatever she had done that would outlive her, but that she was still alive and the world needed to know that.
The first attack came from underground. It was nothing, merely a feint to cause her to move. A dozen more attacks came from around her as she rose into the air, but she merely turned their momentum, deflecting fireballs towards those on the other side and dodging other attacks.
A moment later, swords and axes as well as bare palms bombarded her from all sides. Most of the figures she recognized. Some might have been from the same sects as those she knew, while others might have joined for some other reason. Or she truly forgot someone.
Her whip twisted around her, barely directed by her body at all but merely a conduit to carry her energy. Arms shattered and weapons cracked as they moved towards her, though she allowed a particular palm strike to reach her. Gentle energy intending to slip through her defenses instead met some that matched it exactly, shoving her backwards and out of the reach of the rest of the attacks.
Strictly speaking, there was no need to let all of the attacks get so close, but she couldn’t help but revel in the fight. Even as more assailants appeared, moving in from further away after those who had been most stealthy began the battle. While she might have taken out several opponents, there were still many left. She was surprised at how many there were. Dozens of higher tier masters, and about half as many grandmasters.
A spark of killing intent buried among all the others got her attention and she twisted her head to the side. A sharp blade still sliced through her energy, but couldn’t quite puncture her neck. Nilima pulled away, launching a quick attack where she thought the assailant stood invisible, moving to continue the fight.
So that was it. Nilima had heard about some grandmasters in Stredo dying. She had thought it wouldn’t relate to her where she was, but she could sense the remnants of some Ostain factions… and that dagger reminded her of some they had never found hiding in the empire. Perhaps the few strongest Silver Blades had abstained from fighting because they knew it was a lost cause… or they didn’t care for those who sheltered them. But they sure seemed interested in revenge.
Nilima wondered if, even as an eighth tier cultivator, she could kill enough of them before they killed her. There was only one way to find out, and that was starting with the person right next to her.
There was hardly a space to move around the area with all the walls of fire and lightning that soon covered anything, as well as the trails of other magic. She had to push her way through dangerous areas, using more energy than she would have liked. Perhaps she shouldn’t have come out into a trap. But if she didn’t… who was she? Nilima preferred to always stand up to challenges directly. It was just better when she didn’t have to do it alone.
Tracking invisible opponents while so many others attacked her was exceedingly difficult. Even if she could kill one opponent every clash, she would expend enough energy both on offense and defense that she lost out. Yet she couldn’t conserve anything.
Then again, what did it matter? She would kill many people. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad way to go out. However, as an axe sliced towards her neck Nilima knew that was just her giving up. She caught the axe by the blade, crushing it in her grip. A kick sent the man wielding the axe flying away, his organs destroyed. Both moves were a stupid show of power, but it made her feel better.
She twisted and spun, dodging attacks left and right. While she was certainly still being worn down, her state was one of the best she’d ever been. Better, maybe. Sometimes it felt like the very earth was shifting to help her, slightly rebalancing her weight and that of her enemies.
Then she dodged a spear. That put her into a trajectory she didn’t want to be in. If she continued her movements she would almost be sliced in two by a sword brimming with energy. Moving upward over it would lead her into a ball of crackling fire that would surely singe her even though her defenses. If she stopped her dodge short of the blade, there was a barely sensed hidden dagger.
Before she could commit to anything, the ground reached up and grabbed the invisible figure. Dirt wrapped around the feet and ankles, and she committed to her current position, allowing attacks to bypass her and hoping that the dagger would not reach her.
It technically still did, but it was only a graze to the side of her knee as the figure was pulled under the ground. Nilima wasn’t sure who was helping her, but having one pesky enemy out of the fight was good enough for the moment. She hadn’t even noticed, but a few other cultivators had been pulled out of the battle. She could sense through the ground the invisible enemy she assumed was a Silver Blade was barely holding back… something.
With an ally at her side, Nilima dodged behind a tree to have it slightly slow a bolt of lightning seeking her. She was so surprised when the tree- just a normal everyday pine- managed to withstand the attack from a grandmaster. She almost forgot to dodge a curved blade, and she only barely counter attacked and took out one leg.
The strangest part was that she couldn’t tell what sort of magic was making things strange. With the effects so obvious, she thought she should have sensed where it was coming from, or an elemental affinity or… something.
Another enemy was pulled under ground. Then another. With fewer foes to face at once, Nilima killed one after the other. Soon enough the attackers realized what was going on, and the situation they were in seemed to have reversed. Nilima killed all of those near her and within an easy chase. Once she was sure there was no more combat that would happen immediately, she looked around. “Who is it? Do I know you?” The dirt right next to her rose up, forming the shape of a person. Then colors came in, and she recognized Barrett’s face and figure. “What the hell was that?”
Barrett shrugged. Perhaps because the answer was always the same, but also because the real question was something that would take much longer to explain. “Nice to see you too. It’s been a while.”