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Chapter 1,235.
🕑 Added 2024-04-11 20:57:18 +0000 UTCZac looked at the growing brood of larvae. By appearance alone, they were qualified to be called a beast tide. There were already hundreds the size of Beast Kings. Zac didn't see any signs of trouble, but Ibtep wouldn't be wrong. If he couldn't see it, then it was brewing beneath the surface.
"You should only cull the possessed ones who have fed to their limits or are lashing out," Ibtep added. "If they keep eating, ignore them. It takes time and effort to breed the small ones. I barely have enough for the task."
"I'll try, but it might cost more if we wait too long," Zac said.
The others soon arrived. His subordinates were all aware of Ibtep's class, and even those who didn't know about the space-eating larvae quickly figured out what was going on. Only Kator was out of the loop and looked around with confusion.
"What's this?" Kator said.
"Space-eating larvae. We brought some to deal with the spatial turbulence," Zac said, surprised to see the small nick on his left wrist. Joanna's strike still hadn't healed after over a week? Or was it intentional? Zac didn't comment on it, continuing before Kator could start an interrogation. "We had to stop; the crew needs rest."
"That's what happens when you bring weaklings on a critical mission."
"Beats bringing people with dubious allegiances," Zac said, glancing at the Reaver. "I'm talking about our new hires, of course."
"Of course," Kator scoffed. "So what's the problem?"
"Some of them are about to lose control after ingesting too much resentment. We'll be in trouble if they go berserk or explode with all that stockpiled energy, so we need to identify and neutralize them before that. Everyone will cover a section of the barrier."
"Seems easy enough. They're like sitting ducks," Emily hummed as dozens of tomahawks poured out of an armament pouch on her belt.
"I don't know about that," Kator muttered as a pitch-black javelin appeared in his hand.
Zac had never seen the Reaver use it before, and it didn't appear to be a real treasure. Its materials were high-quality, but the engravings weren't anything special. It appeared to be a disposable ranged weapon. The Reaver hurled it at a random larva in the distance, and it shot forth with enough speed to look like a black laser.
The Time-and Conflict-imbued javelin pierced straight through the fake Beast King, unleashing a spatial explosion that destroyed dozens of its neighbors. The number would have been far greater if the critters hadn't been designed to withstand strong spatial winds.
"The corruption makes their storage cells that unstable?" Ibtep muttered. "This is valuable data. Thank you, Bonewalker."
"These things are your invention?" Kator said, curiously looking at Ibtep for the first time. "So someone this interesting was hiding among the faceless."
"Please bring back some of the corrupted corpses of those with greater ability to integrate the chaotic force into their flesh," Ibtep said. "I will study them and see if I can improve on the next generation."
"I will," Zac said, turning to his warriors waiting aside. "You saw what happened. The corrupted ones need to go, or we'll run out of grubs in minutes. Just kill anything that looks suspicious, but don't overdo it. These creatures are expensive and difficult to breed. Don't pass the feeding line and contain your strength. There might be issues with the carapaces, too, so don't disturb them."
"How nostalgic," Kator sighed as he grew his cudgel, and Zac felt he'd be grinning if he had a mouth. "It's like I'm a recruit thrown into a war gate again. I've lost count of how many times I've endured."
"Then I'll be counting on you," Zac said before flying in a different direction.
Kator's words weren't an empty boast. The Izh'Rak Reaver waged a perennial war against multiple forces, the strongest of which was the Primal Council. It was a loose organization made up of beastkin tribes and Atavistic Beast factions. If you thought beastmen were gentler toward their animal cousins than other cultivators, you'd be wrong.
The Primal Council followed the law of the jungle. Beasts without a spark of intelligence were turned into cannon fodder and thrown against the Izh'Rak Phalanxes without rest or respite. The council kept whole sectors as rearing grounds, using unknown means to transport them en masse.
It was a similar strategy to what Ogras employed in his ill-fated Incursion, except the numbers were enough to blot out the sun. The council was known to send beasts for centuries until the defenders ran out of resources and whole continents were ravaged and run over. The real warriors would swoop in at that time, crushing the faltering resistance in one swoop. The situation suited the war-like Reavers just fine, and they'd even turned it into a training method.
The chaotic situation was starkly different from the orderly war the Draugr waged. They were matched against a human-led alliance of empires, of which the Havarok were a member of. The Draugr were by no means pacifists, as the Sharva'Zi clan had proven. If given the chance, they'd realign the whole coalition to bolster their ranks.
Zac's eyes roved the feeding line in search of targets. It wasn't difficult. Order was rapidly crumbling among the mindless critters. Hundreds of the larger ones were twitching erratically from all the tainted energies they'd consumed. Most were simply suffering from overeating, but Zac's Draugr vision saw how erratic the lifeforce had become among a few.
The world slowed down as Zac turned into a streak of Abyssal Death, crisscrossing through the debris field. He almost doubled in height upon reappearing, and the cloak and armor of [Arbiter of the Abyss] appeared above his usual robes.
Six chains emerged from his back, each teeming with the suppressive force of [Inexorable Subjugation]. The critters' whose lifeforce looked ready to explode saw their churning energies slow to a crawl when the chains connected.
One of the chains suddenly diverted, piercing through the meaty head of a larva just as it pivoted with surprising speed, aiming to bite into its neighbor with its huge, vortexlike maw. It was utterly lacking any skills or innate abilities to defend itself against almost anything except the Dao of Space.
Most of the targeted beasts died immediately. They'd already been on the verge of collapse, and a surge of the Dao of Death through the chains welcomed the suffering creatures into the eternal beyond. The carapaces hardened, barely leaking a speck of the stockpiled spatial energies thanks to the sealing ability of [Inexorable Subjugation].
The method worked as intended, and Zac dragged the skyscraper-sized carapaces away from the encroaching storm. A few swings with his axe split them into smaller chunks that joined the other debris. Zac still kept the pieces nearby, wanting to observe them a while longer to confirm if they were actually stable.
The approach didn't work as intended against all his targets. Terrifying amounts of energy were leaking from of the one that had attacked its brethren. It was clearly about to go supernova. If allowed to detonate, it would take out far more than the smaller critter Kator killed, costing them precious rest time.
A pulse of rejection traveled along [Love's Bond]'s chain, and the rampaging insect suddenly shot out with impossible speed. Even the chaotic streams of spatial energy pouring out of the cracks across its body changed direction, adding further propulsion. The insect sailed into the churning storm which swallowed it whole.
Moments later, a shockwave full of spatial turbulence came rushing back. It slammed into the meaty wall of supersized larvae, whose natural endowment nullified the effect almost entirely. Of course, it would have been a very different scene if the storm hadn't absorbed most of the force.
New larvae moved in to take the place of the fallen, uncaring of their ultimate demise. Only the hunt for sustenance existed in their brains. Zac had already moved on, dealing with another set of insects just like the first. Some beasts would be killed and added to the debris; others would be repulsed and thrown into the storm with the help of [Arbiter of the Abyss].
Zac's transformation skill was the last skill to be upgraded to E-grade. As such, it had been better aligned with his path than his earlier E-grade skills. The work he'd put in back then paid off when it was time to upgrade the skill again to D-grade. Zac was quite happy with the skill, so he'd only made some minor alterations when evolving the Skill Fractal.
The basic features remained the same. The taunting domain had grown over ten times the size, and its control was far more overbearing. Zac wasn't using it at the moment, afraid the pressure would damage the carapaces and make them start leaving energy early. The spectral chain was still wound around his left arm, waiting for a target to strike. The only noteworthy change was the added synergies. [Arbiter of the Abyss] now worked with [Inexorable Subjugation], the upgraded version of [Blighted Cut].
Each physical chain from [Love's Bond] could now mimic the features of the spectral chain. The effect wasn't as powerful as the real thing, but it was enough to cause a headache for anyone targeted. [Inexorable Subjugation] added suppression while the redirection of [Arbiter of the Abyss] manipulated their actions.
It was all part of Zac's aim to let his armaments make a greater impact during his infighting. They were supposed to be his means of exerting control over his enemies, but for a long time, they'd almost been relegated to minor inconveniences like buzzing flies. Between [Love's Bond]'s incredible durability and the layered skills, ignoring the chains now spelled certain doom for anyone caught.
Zac's only regret was that his Spirit Tools remained at Early D-grade. Both Verun and Alea had made a lot of progress, pushing them closer to the next threshold. However, it took time to digest and incorporate the many materials that went into their evolutions. Just mending the nicks accrued during Zac's years of non-stop carnage required quite a bit of energy and effort from the Tool Spirits.
There were treasures to forcibly elevate them a grade. That would be no different than propping up one's cultivation with pills and Natural Treasures. Zac had done just that with [Ossuary Bulwark]'s replacement. One treasure turned the D-grade armor into proper War Regalia, and another set of items forced it into Middle D-grade.
Doing so cut off its future path of advancement unless Zac made significant improvements with [Cosmic Forge]. It likely wasn't worth the effort, even if he gained the necessary skills. The Life-attuned armor's spirit was of the lowest grade, lacking any real sapience. The treasures needed to awaken it to the level of Verun would have been better used in crafting entirely new armor or fed to his real companions.
Being stuck at Early D-grade wasn't much of a hindrance for [Love's Bond] thanks to the incredible materials that had gone into its creation. It was almost overkill against the possessed grubs. The rattling of Alea's chains created a haunting melody that joined the chorus of battle spread through the area.
Zac was the conductor, weaving the symphony with his Inexorable Stance. The field of carapaces didn't so much as stir as he passed. Rather, they stabilized further when Zac let his aura seep into his surroundings. He was the Inexorable Apostle, and Death was under his jurisdiction. What was dead would lie, not come back to disturb the living.
He was liberated, free of the cramped environment on the Yphelion and the stifling deadlines when dealing with the Troves. Zac could exhibit the full extent of his technique, which let him grasp insights that had eluded him during his spars and excursions. He wished the possessed larvae would put up more of a fight beyond trying to blow themselves up or attacking with bursts of unrefined energy.
Similar scenes were taking place around the Yphelion with varying results. The ones performing the best were Catheya, Kator, and Ogras. Kator had his Dao of Continuum to discern which larvae to pick off, and his technique allowed him to move extremely quickly without causing any disturbances. Catheya's skillset was quite suited, too.
She simply froze any larvae that were on the verge of exploding, buying enough time to push them away. Ogras' command of shadows made him perfectly suited for the task. It looked like he had over a hundred chains stabbing into larvae. He even lessened the pressure on those whose skillset weren't as well-tailored to precision strikes.
Ogras had another advantage. Over the past weeks, he had proven uniquely tuned to fall Karma and resentment, allowing him to uncover dangerous situations well ahead of time. Even Zac's vision and danger sense occasionally failed, resulting in a grub exploding. Not a single explosion came from Ogras' side.
Hours passed, and the accidents gradually decreased as everyone got better at picking up clues. It was replaced with another one. As expected, some of the debris proved less stable than others, and it was very difficult to discern ahead of time. Zac had already lost count of how many larvae he'd slaughtered, but he was soon spending more time hurtling carapace pieces past the feeding line.
Each loss meant the spatial seal had lost a little bit of its power, and they eventually reached a point where new pieces weren't added at the same pace as old pieces were lost. Ibtep's supply was running low, and the rivers of grain-sized beasts had turned into trickles. Too many had died prematurely, and those who survived didn't absorb as much as they'd hoped because accidents kept getting in the way.
Getting better at preventative measures wasn't enough to remedy the large drain on their resources. Zac helplessly observed the feedline grow thinner and be gradually pushed back toward the Yphelion. He couldn't couldn't think of a way to lessen the pressure on the larvae.
Zac would have much preferred it if they were facing a sea of enemies. That he could do something with, but how was he supposed to push back spatial corrosion? [Eye of Desolation] was his strongest large-scale blockade, and it would only last seconds exposed to the winds outside.
'I can only supply grubs for twenty more minutes,' Ibtep reminded through a communicator. 'Any more, and I'll have to use the breeders. And that will only buy a few more minutes.'
Zac sighed. The mission had seemed easy enough, but they wouldn't even last the projected four hours despite Ibtep using significantly more beasts than projected. The larvae were only designed to eat space, and the Zhix had been given too little time to adapt them to the unique graveyard's environment.
Judging by how quickly the feedline was thinning, they would have to leave almost immediately after they stopped sending out new larvae to replace the fallen. Leaving even earlier would be preferable, but it was not possible. The Yphelion was huge, and pushing through the debris field and feed line would most likely trigger an early collapse.
Zac contacted the bridge. "How do the readings look? Any change?"
'It's… suboptimal,' Galau answered. 'Leaving half an hour early is very different from waiting the full four hours.'
"No such luck, huh?" Zac sighed, taking a look around.
He could feel the building pressure. It was like space was buckled inward, and his Danger Sense had been at a low roar for the last ten minutes. The carapaces would soon reach their expiry date faster than they could clear them out. More importantly, they'd soon lose the strength needed to suppress the area.
There was no point in using the breeder larvae. They couldn't stay much longer anyhow.
"We'll have to rough it. Awaken Jaol and Mark and have them plot a course."
The duo faced the most exhaustion, so they were put in a specialized array similar to inducing a coma. It completely knocked them out, allowing them to recover faster than simply lying down and sleeping. The drawback was that it took a while to awaken someone from the arrays, making them unsuitable for someone on constant call.
Everyone knew what it meant to enter such a huge storm formation, and they fought tooth and nail until the very end. Even just a few seconds extra could be the difference between life and death.
"Return!" Zac eventually shouted, and a dozen streaks shot straight for the Yphelion.
It only took a second for the first explosion to erupt behind them. Zac paid it no heed, teleporting everyone into the ship. A sharp tug indicated that the vessel had set off, but it wasn't enough. Zac's danger sense spiked, and he looked on with horror as the corridor bent. Space was already collapsing, forming a dimensional well. Being dragged inside wouldn't be much better than entering a black hole.
Zac rushed toward the bridge, tightly grasping Galau's trigger for the still-unidentified Death-attuned system in case they couldn't break free. A sudden jolt forward allowed Zace to breathe out in relief. They'd broken free from the spatial pull, though that was just the start. Such a formation wasn't stable. It'd collapse, spitting out everything it had gathered and crushed together, including all the energy stored in the larvae.
The doors opened, and Zac stepped onto the bridge. Mark was back in the pilot's chair, looking much better than before.
"Thank you," he said without taking his eyes off his console. "Hold on, ladies and gents. This'll be a bumpy one."
Comments
jb qspam
“…damage the carapaces and make them start leaving energy early.” Was this supposed to be leaking?
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter
Nigel Murray
3rd to last paragraph
Nigel Murray
Who is zace?
Darnell Maxwell
Ah Ogras is awesome as always. But gee whiz, I wonder what could have possibly helped him develop a sense of fell karma and resentment. I have no idea what kind of experiences he could have that relate to bad luck and hatred from fallen enemies. It truly is a mystery.🤔🤔
Tyler S.
Captains log 1235.24 we got boom grubs
Tyler S.
Carl: Sir i just shot some weird dude claming to be here to punish the lord Ogras: did he give a name? Carl: I think it was that Redeemer guy from the intigration, anyway this is his stuff...
Jeff McCulley
Actually, I think it actually gave off a technocrat signature intentionally, but also just to piss off the system.
Jeff McCulley
Great Redeemer: “I have come to—“ Zac: “Eh, you? Ogras and Joanne, this one’s yours.” Ogras: “Joanne, you got this.”
Grant Prater
I hope we get an encounter with Zac just effortlessly demolishing him, would be quite satisfying
Tyler
As far as we know, he is alive. If I am remembering correctly: when the mystic realm holding the research base collapsed, he was thrown into the void while battling the Administrator and the Collector. None of those things should have been able to kill him. All of them together may have though.
Joey
Those weren't weapons, but disruptors placed to trigger an overreaction by the system to destroy all the KT and the fort by making it seem like they were trying to protect Jalach.
Wurger
Right might aswell ask here. I've been thinking about some of the old chapters. Is The Great Redeemer still alive? My brain has been mush lately and I can't remember if we saw him die or not.
X_XSilver
TFTC
SmokeJam
@Lex Luther: because he tends to blow up every realm he visits, no matter if by choice or chance :D I think he starts to enjoy it and that is somewhat worrisome
Lex Luther S
Ohhh I didn't think about using the grubs that way. Would be a long term project but zacs followers will hopefully have a few centuries before the next time they're dragged into the chaos of Zachary Atwood, which means more than enough time to breed special curse eating grubs to space eating grubs. To maybe even energy eating bugs that consume opponents energy and dao. Ibtep wouldn't be able to take those like zac or even Emily in a fight, but most hegemons are scrubs on the frontier anyways so give him some support equipment and it'd likely only be powerful assassin types that'd stand a chance against him.
Lex Luther S
Pretty sure that weapon was placed in that fortress the system annihilated. Or a sub version of it as if I remember right, they didn't have the weapon system, just the ship
Lex Luther S
Why would he blow up the graveyard? When he has the foreign gods clean out most of the zubor sector, the system will have deemed zecia the winner after ultoms end and combine the zubor and zecia sector and I imagine thanks to zacs foreign gods shenanigans, many treasure troves and unique opportunities will surface, especially if the imperial graveyard gets placed next to the million gates territory. Thereby becoming the perfect opportunities to push his people forward.
Lex Luther S
It was mentioned that the zhix had a human like appearance except they had two antenna on their heads and no nose if memory serves right. Can't remember if they've any hair.
BANANABORTION
It is my understanding that he looks less like an insect and more human. Someone in the discord mentioned "The Tick" as a reference
Jeff McCulley
Imperial Graveyard should have rest stops.
Jeff McCulley
Oh. I think you just gave us the answer to what happens with the worlds infested with heart curses. Ibtep grows grubs that eat them. For that matter, pretty sure that ol’ Mossy is in trouble now, too.
Jeff McCulley
Fell karma.
Jeff McCulley
Pretty sure that who Yselio is working with is “Me, Myself and I”. In his case, literally.
Jeff McCulley
I’m actually wondering if the Mystic Realm the real Yrial was lost in is one connected by those teleporters Zac couldn’t get through right now. Zac: Well, Master, you won’t believe this, but we just got access to a fully functional ancient Imperial Templar training base. Yrial: Wait, what did you just say?!!
Jeffrey Worrall
Like you, I think I was picturing them wrong in my head, apparently they are much more human like in appearance than I thought. Unfortunately I don't know of any fan art but the link below to the wiki has a long detailed description/quote of what the Zhix look like. https://defiance-of-the-fall.fandom.com/wiki/Zhix
Bootsie Mcfootsie
I still don't know really what Ibteps race looks like. I imagine the praying mantis character from space ghost coast to coast
Luke Scheffe
First need to make absolutely sure that disembodied spirits can’t have aneurysms. It would be unfortunate to lose Yrial to envy.
Thenais
Startrek episode 3547
Joey
He hasn't gotten granduncle and grandaunt's proprietary weapons YET
Joey
Yrial is going to be like WTF happened. And Zac's just going to be like you are never going to believe this bro and he should be going back after this arc considering he'll be late D.
Sharif
After 12 books we get to D grade. And now we're already getting to Middle Hegemony. I like the pace pick up. Can't wait to see the Atwood elites get some of the detail Zac gets. It'd be fun to see the Lord of Cycles see his disciple's disgustingly monstrous progress
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Alexander Dupree
Thanks for the chapter and this was a cool one
Joey
So Zac should upgrade to Earthly Daos in the next couple of chapters? I'm guessing he'll be able to use the death part of the engine system when he does. Wonder who Yselio is working with given it looks like he purposely killed most of the Heavens' people? I'm guessing the Centurion Base will have an Eternal Servant which should be extra hilarious.
The Lost Pages
Just speculation on their part.
Shurjin
I believe he needs to reach high or peak D-grade in order to utilize all the ship functions.
Palmer Evans
Has it been confirmed that Zac needs to advance his other Daos before being able to use the Life/Death functionality?
SmokeJam
Please remind Zac to blow up the graveyard AFTER he accomplished his goals, not beforehand, would you? I've got a feeling using the mysterious Life-Death engines will cause exactly that.
StuBee3
Sweet!
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Omiso
Who knew getting a parking slot to get a shut eye would be so complicated.
Chris Fey
Possible typo "fall Karma" should probably be "fel karma"
Lex Luther S
Lol. Man, these grubs seem cool as hell. Ibteps' path is truly an interesting one. Wonder how he'll look 1000 years from now. Will likely have his own D grade planets solely for raising his grubs from war bugs for the Atwood armies to space eating buggies to tasteful little treats for the Zhix to elevate their pallets. My excitement comes from not the conclusion of ultom but the future after such a monumental arc. Ignoring if we'll get a nice big time skip for zac after Ultom, just imagining what it'd be like 100-1000 years later for Zac and his followers and empire is fun.
Dominick Ruiz
Ibtep finally showing his skill
Sirloki
Wootiest! 😁
Booz Dowg
Snapperdoodle
