Book 9: Chapter 50: One Man
When Sen had spilled all of those different cores on the ground, he’d expected it to be impressive but even he hadn’t anticipated the true scope of the devastation it would create. The wall, the gate, the cultivators behind the gate, and several nearby buildings had been… He supposed the right description was torn apart. It wasn’t quite on the level of what he expected more advanced nascent soul cultivators could do, but it was a frankly shocking level of destruction. For the moment, nothing was moving nearby in the sect. Sen took that opportunity to stride forward, flanked on either side by Falling Leaf and Glimmer of Night.
He crossed over the approximate spot where the gate had been and looked around. He let his spiritual sense sweep out again, having pulled it back before all the cracked cores exploded. He’d had the intuition that all of that qi going to war in such a confined space would probably have been disconcerting as hell in his spiritual sense. It might have been enough to stun him a little. He just wasn’t sure and didn’t feel like this was the opportune moment to test that possibility. As his spiritual sense brought information back to him from the entire sect, he had to suppress a grimace.
Spending more than a week creeping around in the sect had given him at least a rough sense of how many people were there. His initial strike had reduced that amount by around half and more were dying by the minute. On the one hand, that meant that his trap had been very effective. He’d never dreamed for a second that it would get everyone, but he had worried that the sect would have some kind of plan or countermeasures in place for something like this. They clearly didn’t. On the other hand, it felt wrong to be happy that the trap was so effective. Sen shoved that thought away. I can indulge in guilt later, he thought. Right now, I just need to finish the job. Still, he had committed himself to one tiny mercy.
“I don’t care about the qi-condensing cultivators,” he announced. “They can’t rebuild the sect. They aren’t powerful enough to pose a threat. If they want to run, let them. If they fight, kill them. Everyone else dies. I intentionally excluded a few buildings from the trap. I’d like to preserve the libraries if it’s possible. If it’s not, I’ll live with it.”
Sen had told them that before, but he suspected it wasn’t a bad thing to remind them about before the real battle took hold. That seemed particularly prudent given that they were separating. Not that he was happy with that prospect. In fact, he’d been entirely and vocally against that idea. While he knew that both Falling Leaf and Glimmer of Night were capable fighters, it was entirely possible that there were some elders still alive in the sect. He wasn’t eager to fight them, but he was relatively confident that he could fight them. He wasn’t nearly so confident that the others would enjoy success against superior cultivators.
It didn’t help that he couldn’t get a clear feel for Glimmer of Night’s cultivation level. It was the equivalent of core formation, but Sen couldn’t pin down exactly where in core cultivation. He had similar trouble with Falling Leaf, but it wasn’t as pronounced with her. He wondered if whatever transformation the Great Matriarch had put the spider through also helped to obscure his exact strength. While a frustration for allies, he could see a lot of utility value in potential enemies not being able to sense someone’s strength.
For all his misgivings, he’d eventually agreed. The truth was that Falling Leaf and Glimmer of Night worked better when they could ambush opponents. With the darkness of night and rampant confusion in the sect, there would be ample opportunities for ambushes. Sen, for better or worse, had built his fighting style around direct assaults. He wasn’t above an ambush by any stretch of the imagination, but his instincts didn’t take him there. He had to plan his sneak attacks. That made trying to move as a coordinated team less than ideal for all of them. The other two could always come in behind Sen to clean up any strays he didn’t kill. That would work but didn’t play to their strengths. A fact that Falling Leaf and Glimmer of Night had pointed out to him. In the end, he’d relented.
“Remember what I said about the organization of this place. The centermost part of the sect is where the core members and elders live,” said Sen feeling compelled to give one last piece of unnecessary advice.
Glimmer of Night and Falling Leaf both nodded before dashing off into the darkness. Sen took several deep breaths as he watched them go. Sen knew that Falling Leaf had no qualms about what they were doing, and he’d intuited that Glimmer of Night was largely indifferent. He was fairly certain that the spider had been more concerned about testing out that web and cracked core trick than about what came after. He supposed he should be grateful that he wasn’t asking them to do anything they didn’t want to do. For that matter, he hadn’t really asked either of them to do anything. They’d told him they were coming. Not that it alleviated his concerns about their safety, but he’d have to trust them. There was no other choice.