Depthless Hunger

After a month of war amidst the Manticore tribe, Kai felt as though he was on the cusp of everything, yet unable to take any next step. He had more than enough mana ink and specialists to form a cultivation tattoo, once he had the proper design, and his power strained up against all other blockages. Many factions had united under him, but the tribe remained scattered.

All of that was likely to change as they approached the Manticore Quill faction.

Unlike the previous pitched battles, this faction actually waited for them under a canopy stretched between three stone pillars. Feida and Kulha expected negotiations to be completely pointless, just a formality, but Kai hoped that they might actually form an alliance. The Quill tribesmen had unified more than most other factions, so if they could cooperate with the Claw and Tail factions, they would actually have a solid majority of the entire Manticore tribe.

Of course, that also made them a potentially formidable enemy. There were three Earth Souls waiting for them under the canopy, with a larger number of tribal elders. Unlike the random splinter groups that charged around trying to exploit the collapse, this faction fully intended to rule the tribe.

"Glad to see you've survived these trying times!" The lead Earth Soul was an old man who gestured for them to sit in the chairs opposite the Quill faction coalition. "If you rejoin the Manticore tribe, we can regain our former strength."

"We still fight on behalf of the tribe," Kulha said, pointedly not sitting in the chair. "What right do you have to order us?"

"We have control of the patriarch's vaults," another of the Earth Souls announced. "The Manticore tribe can only survive if we unify and create a new Sky Soul to succeed the patriarch. Sit and join us, or you will perish!"

"Let's all calm down a bit." Kai swung a leg over the chair, since it was rather short, and dropped into it. Everyone on both sides stared at him. "What exactly do you expect to gain by fighting each other?"

After an uncomfortable pause, the Earth Soul elder spoke up. "The Manticore tribe has become large and heavy, bloated with cultivators who lack the will to survive. Those who endure this time of trial will become a leaner tribe that can again shake all of the Western Wilds. But we must be led by those who hold the patriarch's true legacy."

"Don't play such foolish games," Feida spat. "You seized the legacy, and it can be taken back."

"Perhaps, but not by you. We have hired a Sky Soul, a Jackal tribe mercenary, to protect the vaults. No one will seize control of the patriarch's position unless they go through the proper channels."

That announcement stunned everyone else for a moment and Kai glanced over his shoulders to see how Feida and Kulha reacted. He hadn't been aware that it was possible to hire a Sky Soul, but they looked surprised, not astonished. Apparently it could be done... but the mercenary cultivator couldn't be a top tier Sky Soul, which meant Kai would still bet on himself.

"How dare you bring outsiders into this?" Kulha demanded.

"You brought in your mercenary first!" one of the elders shot back.

"None of you answered my question." Kai held up a hand, and to his surprise, the group actually quieted to listen. "If you're willing to bring in outsiders, why not work with your fellow Manticore tribesmen? Gather all your resources, and these factions will be unstoppable. Your strongest can have proper duels to decide who gets the patriarch's resources and they can lead the united tribe."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

For several seconds they stared at him, and Kai wondered if he might actually have gotten through, then one of the Earth Souls let out a cold snort. "Are you a child? This is a battle of life and death! None of us are willing to surrender the future of the tribe to such games."

"Aren't you all risking the future of the tribe by weakening yourselves?"

Try as Kai might, it was clear that he wasn't going to get through to them. In fact, this meeting seemed to be a mere formality, a prelude to the bloodshed to come. Except if the three major factions fought against one another, the losses would cripple the tribe.

As they accused and shouted, Kai considered what he wanted to gain. The patriarch's vaults likely contained all the last materials he needed, and maybe even others he hadn't considered. Anything that helped cultivators get closer to Sky Soul would be useful to Zae Zin Nim, at minimum. But it seemed like there was no way to the vault except through the Manticore Quill faction.

Eventually the negotiations failed and the factions split up to return and prepare for battle. Kai rose to leave with them when one of the Quill cultivators stepped closer and spoke in a low voice.

"You have great strength," the man said, "but you are using it for the wrong cause. Stop following Claw and Tail, join us instead."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"And what do you have to offer?" Kai asked.

"Victory. Stay with them and you are sure to die in their lost cause. If you care so much for peace, join us and they will see how hopeless it is. However... if you do join us, we will let you take one item from the patriarch's vaults. That should be useful to any cultivator, no matter how foreign they may be."

"And if I'm interested?"

"Say nothing to them, but meet us here at midnight. This is the last time we will give you this offer: remain with them and we will treat you as an enemy."

Kai stared at the man for a long time, then rose to his feet without responding. He walked away from the canopy, feeling all the eyes on his back. It was still several hours until sundown, so he had plenty of time to think it over. Yet there didn't seem to be much to think about... by the time Kai returned to the other factions, he was fairly certain he knew what would happen.

Even though they'd come together for this meeting, the Claw and Tail factions still camped separately, watching one another warily. Was it possible that they'd actually end up fighting one another before the end? Kai thought they'd been increasingly working together over the past month, but maybe they were right about the Manticore tribe being too fractured.

Soon Feida appeared beside him, glaring toward the Quill encampment. "I heard everything they said," she hissed. "It has to be a trap. They'd never actually trust you, not after you've spent so long fighting for us."

"That's just what you'd say if you were afraid they'd recruit me, isn't it?" Kai smiled mildly and Feida let out an exasperated breath.

"They're right about one thing: this won't end in friendship," she said. "There are too many vendettas inside the tribe that require blood to quench. Going to meet them like this, trying to form an easy alliance, is just naive. Stick with us and we can take the patriarch's legacy for ourselves."

"The Quill faction specializes in poisons, right?"

"And of course they'd try to poison you." Feida frowned at him, eyes searching over his face. "Just what are you up to? You may be stronger than any of them individually, but they might have lied about their Sky Soul mercenary being at the vault. And even you can't fight their full forces at once, not if they poison you."

"Bring me all the information you have the poisons they use and their antidotes." Kai smiled thinly, since it wasn't really a request.

"Are you serious? You still plan to meet with them?"

"That's right. Don't try to follow me, or they might not come." Kai sat down and stared toward the camp as he began thinking through the options. "Oh, and bring me some food."

.

..

.

When the Quill faction came to the meeting point at midnight, they discovered Kai already seated there, cheerfully eating. He'd used his spatial ring to place an entire table filled with dishes where the canopy had once been, then lit a few torches to give the whole scene a cheery glow. He waved to them cheerfully.

"Come, sit down, have a meal! It's late, but why not drink to a new alliance?"

"You've considered our offer?" The Quill cultivators approached warily, staying at a distance and certainly not touching the food.

"Come and eat, I insist." Kai gestured emphatically. "Do you want me to think you don't trust me? Not a very good start to our relationship."

It was clear that they didn't trust him: they'd brought only Earth Souls to the meeting. In fact, it was more than the three elders from before - there were no fewer than eight Earth Souls in their group. Most likely they were there to attack him, but Kai continued eating as if he had no concerns at all.

"Very well." The elder gave a clearly false smile and sat down opposite him, while the others spread out. Only some sat down in the chairs he'd provided while the others stood at careful distances. At the moment they were looking outward, as if to guard the meeting, but if they turned around they would enclose him. Kai struggled to keep his tension from showing and smiled broadly.

"Good! Now, let's drink to a new alliance!"

They raised their glasses opposite him, but only pretended to drink when Kai did.

"Alright, last chance." Kai set down his empty glass with a sigh and leaned back lazily in his chair, almost tilting over backwards. "If you really want to work with me, we need to talk about an alliance. If you're sincere about this, we sh-"

"So you really are a child." The elder sneered and shook his head. "The Western Wilds are a ruthless place, boy. There is no time for such weakness or-"

As he tilted further back, Kai exhaled Baleful Breath over the cultivators behind him.

The deadly cloud encompassed one of them entirely, consuming the woman until her screams of pain died. Two others managed to leap from the edges, severely burned, and staggered away. That still left seven Earth Souls surrounding him, all overcoming their shock and getting ready to fight.

"Now!" The elder let out a cry and qi lit up between the Earth Souls as their formation came to light.

Immediately power slammed down over Kai, trying to flatten him to the ground. He actually had to use his full power to struggle upright, his feet shifting to claws as dark monstrous muscle rose up his legs. Eventually he managed to regain his feet and saw the Manticore Quill formation surrounding him, maintaining the imprisoning technique while preparing new attacks.

"So you aren't entirely a fool," the elder said, "but you never should have come here. This is what it means to do battle in the Western... wait..."

Even as he spoke, the man and woman at his sides began to waver, then blood trickled from the woman's mouth and she clutched her side.

"The poison was in the chairs," Kai told them calmly. "Each had poisoned spines from the dark urchins that attack the western coast. It's one of the most deadly poisons that the Bloodcoral sect knows." He reached into his spatial ring and then revealed a thin vial of blue liquid. "I brought the antidote, just in case you were serious about talking."

Two of the Earth Souls who had sat down were beginning to falter and the binding formation weakened as they stumbled. The elder was looking a bit queasy as well, though that could have been from the failure of their ambush as much as the poison. Kai turned away from him, moving in a slow circle to look at all the Earth Souls.

As soon as his back was turned, the poisoned man lunged forward, grasping for the antidote vial. Kai grabbed his arm and hurled him to the ground before slamming his foot into his back.

"I said if you were serious about talking." When Kai smiled at the group, he could feel his mouth spreading wider with monstrous teeth. "It's a little late for that."