Bright pillars of white light landed. More than a thousand troops stepped out of each light. White pillars continued to rain down and surround a city.
The Guardian's forces were attacking.
The City of Cannonbire was sound asleep, the night sky on the third tier was a quiet one. The dead of the spaces below were of no concern for them. Though fighting was breaking out across all of the heavens, no one would believe it until they saw it themselves.
In the Ultinian Heavens, fighting in higher tiers was easy to detect because Custodians were never subtle in their battles.
Roars could be heard from above, echoes rattled the teeth of everyone below.
A Divine Beast that stood over a thousand feet tall was breathing down on the City. Storm clouds rolled overhead in an instant before Vector landed on the keep. It shattered to pieces under his weight and lightning swept out from the center of the storm.
Cannonbire was cratering under the pressure of his breath attacks, in a matter of moments, most of the City was silent.
At the same time, in a few dozen cities across the region, similar battles were taking place. Teams were spread out and each of them was formidable. Ying Wu and Ho were working with Noyuki to transport their forces between destinations, it helped to keep their momentum and they were searching for traces of Wu Hai.
It was happening in a coordinated manner, there was little chance they had at containing the situation once it had begun, so the joint efforts of the Guardians and Zao Empire chose to make it a blitz.
A single city, Umbraal, stood between the edge of the Red Emperor's Territory and the battles waging around them.
Iasyou's Prisons had always been kept on the edge of his control, it kept his enemies on the defensive, he was well known for being absolutely brutal. As a result, his prisons had moved throughout the region, spread along like shops in the region. Older Facilities weren't torn down either, most of them had been converted to research labs or storage depots for his armies.
Cities were being attacked across the third tier of the Ultinian Heavens, more than fifty Cities had been sacked in the sudden attacks and the chaos was spreading.
Iasyou wasn't sure what to expect, of the many thousands of potential enemies there was no way to be sure who was attacking. As he was gliding to the third tier he was occasionally passed in the opposite direction, the battles below were not only intensifying but increasing in scope as more of the Ancestors and Deities became involved.
'Only a few minutes more' There was no way to fly faster and Iasyou could feel the loss of his followers.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
At the top of the Prison Wall, Ajennic surveyed as far as he could see. Even atop the tower there was hardly a trace, only a rolling dust storm and clouds with the occasional flash of light could be seen. Past the storms and far overhead, burning fires left plumes of smoke that marked the sky with ash.
"Close the Main Gate and prepare defenses." Ajennic gave an order, then, he rushed back into Iasyou's Study. The Map was showing the ground change shape in several places and the changes were rapid enough that the map was rippling. "Who would dare attack so many?"
Ajennic did his best to think of who the culprits were, it was immense provocation. Attacking the cities in the upper levels of the Heavens was a feat, a one in a million chance at success but there were dozens of cities that had already fallen. The problem that left a pit in his stomach that he truly could not figure out was that each city that was attacked had an organization that belonged to Iasyou within them.
It was a war, a war on the Eclipsing Empire and Iasyou had been chasing after Rìshí Huǒ for over a month. The damage to the lowest levels of Ultinia was uncountable, there was so much death and destruction that even if the Orange Emperor were able to take the majority of the blame, Iasyou would still have to die for his part.
A red column of light spilled through the City of Umbraal. "Dammit!" Iasyou slammed into the roof of the building and eyeballed the horizon. "This cannot be.." He flashed in another column of red light and reappeared in his Prison Office. "Ajennic! Call back all of our forces."
When Ajennic started making preparations to recall the Red Emperor's armies there was a slight pause, "Your Majesty, what would you have them do on their arrival?"
"Fight. Now do what you're told before I take the choice away." A stack of talismans appeared in Iasyou's hand. "I am not sparing any efforts or anyone, place these slave seals on all the prisoners. They can fight until more of my soldiers arrive."
Umbraal was only a few hours from direct conflict. The sweeping horizon was drawing closer and even the map on his desk showed nothing but pock marks in a scar across it. The Cities were falling one by one and they seemed to be focused on places with the Eclipsing Empire's forces inside.
Iasyou ripped the mask off of his face. "Damn it!"
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
"Secure the perimeter." Ying Wu was leading a group of soldiers to search the facilities that belonged to the Red Emperor. They were looking for clues that would lead to his Prison's location but with so many cities on the third tier, it was uncertain how long search would take.
"Perimeter secured, sir." Agent Hiano was directing the stealth Corp with Prince Wu. He, much like his Father and Uncle gained the ability travel across communication lines with practice. Moving soldiers around became his specialization and tactical insertions were never the same afterward.
"There is no sign of leadership. Only storehouses filled with corpse parts." Agent Hiano swept everything she found along their path into storage rings.
It was an order given by the Demon King in all battles, 'leave nothing for the Enemy to use.'
"Have your men form up, we'll move to the next facility." Ying Wu grabbed a communication device and gave the order. "Demo in 90 seconds, move from the blast zone." Prince Wu snapped his fingers when the last of his men appeared and they moved to the secondary location in the City, repeating their search.
"Fan out, leave nothing and take no prisoners. You have three minutes until we move to the next building." Just after Prince Wu finished speaking, the first explosion rang out across this region.
Alarms rang and the City was shaken awake.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
"Our forces have withdrawn and area headed this way. The Prisoners are ready." Ajennic felt horrified at the sight of the map, his own kin were mostly living in and among the Cities that were under attack.
The battles had only just begun and already there were thousands of skirmishes. Isayou's Empire was being smashed in an instant, he could feel his followers and descendants being snuffed out. He roared in a fit of anger, threw his desk to the side, then flashed to the window. Outside he could see the storm and crashing lights.
They were moving toward Umbraal, the battle was coming whether he was ready or not..
"Send the Prisoners out into the courtyard. When they attack Umbraal, we will ambush them." Iasyou gave Ajennic the order.
The ancestors that were dressed in the red gimp outfits started to chatter among themselves while they dragged the prisoners from their cells. They were brought down in chains, each of them was fitted with a slave seal. The seals themselves would only last for a day but even the most hardened of minds would be powerless to resist. Sealing off their minds was a risky business, one reserved for risky action.
Iasyou turned the courtyard, "These tricks won't stop anyone of importance but it will slow down the ground forces." He pointed toward the coming storm, "Its not the Sunset Empire! Its one of the Divine Beasts!"
He swallowed the prisoners in a pillar of red light and transported himself directly to Umbraal.
"ATTACK!"
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Noyuki, Kuzunoha, Vira, Mursayade, Qingchi and Bazingah were flying beside Vector. They surrounded him like a ring of Goddesses.
"They know where coming." Misozi have her opinion, it was duly noted.
"We always knew they would." Kuzunoha held the Crusher blade. Tears flowed down her face, so many people were dying. She was sad for the people that were dying as a result of their quest. It dawned on her, the quotation, she'd seen it and heard it before.. It was ringing in her hears along the way.
'I haven't lived until I have died.'
'I haven't lived, and so I must.'
'I have not died, so I cannot.'
'I will choose to change.'
'I will be the architect, I will create a path for my own.'
Repeating it in her head, she led the attacks, she could feel him, his energies around but all they found were parts. Each time they sacked another place that she felt his aura there were more parts. After a while, Kuzunoha face became pale. 'What has he been going through?' It made her body twist in anguish, she felt sick, worried and pained all at the same time.
There were boxes and boxes of body parts that had been collected and most of them were the same parts, harvested over and over. She had seen things like it before, with the Qilin. The more she thought about it the harder it was for her to hold the crusher in her hands. There was indeed one thing that was certain, she knew he was alive. It would be impossible to have boxes of kidneys without a method to restore him, plus, if they were harvesting him as a commodity, he wouldn't be allowed to die.
As Vector crashed through another City, Only about half an hour had passed. The fighting was moving quickly from place to place, everyone was working in concert. It wouldn't take very long for other Ancestors or Deities to get involved, especially after there had been considerable collateral damage. Civilians who just happen to exist within the bloodthirsty cities were all caught up in the disaster. There was little doubt that it would eventually draw the attentions of their deities.
They could remain no where and had to keep pushing forward.
It was a race against time, they had a lot of soldiers and communication was clear between them. The battles were quickly resolving but as the groups began to merge once more, it was clear that many had given their lives.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
"How do you know which way we are suppose to go?" One of the Mages that had come along asked, the pressure from the gravity was enough to strain everyone that had only just arrived.
"Storm Clouds lead the way" Ying Wu spoke to a few soldiers as he transported them.
In the distance, every now and then with the lightning flashes, a dark figure could be seen flying across the skies overhead, it shown through the clouds like a Doom from above. Vector's body would glisten with the crackle of light passing over them.
Vector was somewhat slow in the grand cosmic scheme of things but the ground units could only move so fast. With the help of Demon King Ho, the storm would occasionally move from one city to another in the blink of an eye.
With everyone advancing, the pace and direction of the battles to come was somewhat clear. Then, a bright wall of fire flared up in the distance.
"I guess that's our primary target." The soldier asked Prince Wu but he was interrupted.
"Prepare for combat, stay close to your units and don't get killed. This is a rescue mission, lets not lose anyone." Ying Wu saw Agent Hiano speaking to some of her troops across the grasslands. He wanted to smile but it was hardly the time.
Hiano saw his hesitation and smiled for him. It was difficult not to show their interests, even in the heat of battle. "Grab your gear. We've been noticed, enemy attacks could happen any time."
Soldiers came out of the fire, there was no life in their eyes but each carried weapons and moved no slower than the best of the Empire's fighters. Strange enemies and strange magics began to twist in the air.