Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 34: Conspiracies

Ogras Arh’Rezak was already starting to tire of this whole enterprise. The humidity of this baby world was far higher compared to what he was used to, and the two blaring suns forced him to keep squinting through the day. The terraforming was helping, but it would still take a long time until the climate got to the point that was comfortable.

He somewhat regretted exhorting his ancestor to let him lead this invasion. With his status in the clan, he still would have been entitled to any good items they could seize on this world, even if he stayed at home.

But he knew this invasion was his opportunity if he wanted to stay alive. If he could find enough goodies for either himself or the clan he’d be safe until he was strong enough to protect himself.

But who would have thought that The Ruthless Heavens placed them on a godforsaken island? It had rendered his tactic of unleashing his packs through the portal seem like a joke. There had already been voices of disagreement in the clan to such a cowardly tactic, but Ogras had only sneered at their snide remarks.

While most baby worlds were disorganized and paralyzed from the huge changes, some were quite dangerous. There were many anecdotes of new planets resisting and even sometimes completely massacring all the different invaders.

Of course, it was usually the forces behind the other incursions on the planet that were the real enemies, rather than the weak natives.

In any case, he wasn’t about to stick his neck through a portal before increasing his odds of survival, even if it was considered cowardly.

His seven elder brothers had been heroic warriors, always charging into the fray, leading any charge in skirmishes. And now they were all food for the maggots. Some were killed by their enemies, and some died from machinations of their own clan members.

The path to power was ruthless, and even among kin benefits preceded loyalty. There had been a large amount of dissatisfaction towards his branch of the clan for a long time. His great grandfather was originally a normal soldier who managed to rise to his great power through a few lucky encounters.

His prowess had allowed his progeny to enjoy great benefits and resources, even matching that of the main branch’s youth. Ogras suspected that was why his siblings kept dropping dead one after another. He had voiced such concerns to his ancestor, but being a warrior for the clan his whole life his thought patterns had become rigid. He had bled and fought for the clan for over a thousand years, and couldn’t imagine that they would backstab him and his kin like that.

That’s why only the two of them were left, not counting his great aunt who disappeared to become a wandering warrior two hundred years ago. That was also why he kept this ridiculous persona going, pretending to have become a pampered wastrel not interested in cultivation. The fewer of his clan members believed that he was a threat, the lower was the chance that he’d wake up with his throat slit.

That’s why he walked around in his gaudy outfits and surrounded himself with useless sycophants. It was another type of armor. And if he could further his ambitions while it looked like he was just being spiteful and stupid, then all the better.

He had almost laughed out loud when the news of the death of Kevoran arrived at his desk. That little prick from the main branch was one of his largest contenders for any potential goodies that would be found on this planet.

While Kevoran was afraid of his ancestor, only the youths and unevolved were able to go through the portal. So his attitude had progressively gotten worse with each day since they arrived. Ogras had used a snide remark as a basis for ordering him to go with a scout’s squad to canvas the whole island, in order to solidify his position while Kevoran was gone.

Who knew the idiot actually would get himself killed? It was a bit of a shame with Kaela dying as well, as her scouting abilities were top notch among the youths in the clan. But the death of Kevoran more than made up for it. Ogras could kiss the assailant on the mouth if he found him. Just before decapitating him, of course.

Ogras wasn’t overly concerned about the little rats that were hiding on this or some neighboring island. He estimated the number of enemies to be somewhere between 10 to 20, judging from the number of beasts killed. They certainly had to be some elites on this world to be able to kill even his imps and two scouting parties this soon after their world changed, but it didn’t matter.

He was well aware of the rules by which The Ruthless Heavens worked. As long as he stayed safe in his palace, then his mission would be a success in roughly two months. The portal would stabilize, and the area would be within his jurisdiction.

The native’s group would have to infiltrate his army base, kill their way through the army, and then kill him in order for their quest to succeed. No matter how strong they were they still were only weak natives, and such an assault was suicide.

If they had actually been truly strong they wouldn’t have been forced to use trickery to kill his poor Vul. They would simply have slaughtered all his four pack leaders and stopped the invasion before it even started.

Therefore he would simply stay in the base. Even if everyone thought he was a coward he didn’t care. He had already planned everything out. He didn’t plan on staying for too long in this world.

Initially, he had planned to stay here for a long time, protected from his clan by the limitations of the gate. It was an advantage for him that he could finally cultivate in peace here without anyone finding out, as the suppression would keep his real prowess hidden in any case.

But something had changed this. The mountain contained treasure.

More exact, it contained a Nexus Crystal mine. Even Ogras had been shocked when he heard the news. Of course, it was only a small F-Grade mine, but still, the wealth it contained was staggering. It could at least rival the whole accumulated fortune of some of the elders in the Clan.

With that kind of wealth he could obtain a Fruit of Ascension. It would save him decades on his cultivation time and would leave his competitors among his generation in the dust. Normally, for a clan of their limited power, using such a luxurious treasure on an F-grade cultivator would be considered far too extravagant. But for him it was a matter of life and death.

The supreme elders and clan leader usually turned a blind eye to killings within the clan as they believed it created stronger and more ruthless members among those who survived.

But if someone showed enough promise they would protect their seedlings from the shadows, as they were potential future powerhouses that could bring their clan to greater heights.

And if he just so happened to pilfer enough crystals for him to cultivate in solitude for a decade or so he could come back one advancement, maybe even two, stronger. Then he’d be the hunter instead of the hunted.

Ogras was giddy as he looked over the report containing yesterday’s haul from the mine. Hesitated a bit and then with a swipe removed a few lines of the report, and added back a new tally. This time the extracted amount of crystals printed were 1000 lower compared to before.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who had this kind of idea. There had been quite a few children with good heritage that had come with him into the incursion. Everyone was hoping to find the lucky break which would allow them to stand out among the masses.

It was tacitly approved by the elders that the young elite would have a feeding frenzy when they arrived at the new world, as some healthy competition was good for strengthening. As long as enough benefits were lugged back they did not really care that some didn’t make it all the way.

As Ogras was pondering about his next steps the door to his temporary study opened, and a man decked in an extravagant armor entered.

This time Ogras was angered for real, as such conduct was a blatant disregard for his authority. Still, he wouldn’t break character for something minor like this.

“Insolence! How dare you enter my chambers like his! I will have my grandfather flog you when we return!” Ogras roared as soon as the man was inside the door.

“My apologies” the man answered with a face that spoke of no regret. “I wonder what steps you have taken to capture those responsible for my cousin’s death.”

The man in front of him was Rydel Arh’Rezak, one of the heirs to the main branch just like the departed Kevoran. Different from him though, Rydel was one of the most heavily nurtured youths in the clan, and also one they had spent the most Nexus Crystals to allow to retain as much power as possible when going through the incursion.

The more power you retained in an invasion to a baby world, the better your survival rate would be, and the better your position would be when contending for resources on this new world. But The Ruthless Heavens never just gave anything for free. It charged an exorbitant amount of Nexus Crystals if one wanted to keep more of their strength when passing through. And of course there was a limit, or the purpose of the incursions would be lost.

Clan Arh’Rezak wasn’t overly wealthy, and could only pay up to a point for each daemon going through. Any more and the risk of the invasion turning unprofitable would be too big. The rest would have to come out of their own pockets.

Most of the soldiers couldn’t afford it or only got a few levels extra, but the scions of their clan of course got some special benefits under the table. Either from their elders or even from the clan itself.

Maybe not even Ogras himself was a match for Rydel, though he had a few hidden aces in case they ever came to blows. And it might actually come to that, as Ogras had a strong suspicion that Rydel had been sent through the portal to both keep an eye on things, and if possible, neutralize him. That would eliminate any threat of a branch family becoming too strong in the clan.

“The crystal mine isn’t going anywhere, and it would seem a waste to attach such large manpower to quickly excavate it. Also, a large portion of our mages are occupied building your… Palace. In my opinion, it would be more pertinent to…”

“It doesn’t matter what your opinion is, Rydel. The clan decided I was the most suited for this task, so my orders are what goes. Now leave my study, and remember your manners in the future or there will be repercussions!” Ogras practically screamed, looking very much the part of a fool enjoying his new found power.

Rydel only sneered and performed a barely acceptable salute, and left the study without another word.

Left silently brooding behind his desk, Ogras prayed that the natives and Rydel would find and kill each other, solving all his problems at once.