Refining the Heavens 4 (炼天四)

Chapter 46: Spirit Contractors

The army is about four to five days away from their destination. As they travelled, Esley purposefully approached Kairos with a lowered head.

The soldiers saw their Supreme Commander having many things to consult with the young man and they were rather open in displaying their displeasure.

However, Esley did not care. He is very concerned if they were hit by the War God Tattoo suicide squad again and right now there is only one person who could possibly resolve this.

"Ugu...," Esley huffed, "Lord Kairos... this time we really need to rely on you."

"Hmph, it's not like your men will appreciate our help," Edward said.

"T-that... please forgive them. They are only grieving the close companions they lost. When the ones killed are the stronger members of the army, it can't be helped the rest will feel threatened and insecure."
The commander gave two reasons for the recent hostility. He neither condones the way his men behaved nor encourages them, otherwise he wouldn't have acted in accord with the Great General Diao Ling.

No, it is better to say that the Great General was acting in accord with him, following his plan.

Kairos sighed as well, saying, "I've been thinking about this since the ambushers appeared. It's likely we are safe for now until that siege the enemy's stronghold then another group with the War God Tattoo might appear to flank us."

Esley's frown deepen. It is the same prediction he had as well. The most effective way their enemies could strike them is when their attention is on the Ku Kang Camp and their backs are open.

Kairos continued, "Their War God Tattoo technique is indeed fearsome, however, Frosthral would not be able to afford repeated usage. Candidates to carry it out needs to be at least B rank, and the Feudal State simply doesn't have enough cultivators at that level to stop us."

To survive in such a snowy wasteland, one must become an External Practitioner. Internal Cultivators that couldn't hunt powerful snow beasts in this place will simply starve and die.

But External Practitioners take a longer time to train and through greater hardships.

The Frosthral's five tribes occupy greater landmass than Saint Empire and thus have more citizens but they have a weaker army. They also have stronger top-level practitioners, people who are at the level of a Guardian of the realm like Syriong, but Frosthral isn't the greatest military force on Gaia; Saint Empire is.

This means unless they are willing to start using A rankers and above to suicide with the War God Tattoo, they wouldn't have enough people to defeat Saint Empire.

Logistically, the Frosthral Feudal State can decimate Kairos and Esley's groups, but afterwards the ones who used the War God Tattoo will all be dead and there will be not enough warriors left to stop further attacks.

On the other hand, the significantly weaker C rankers and those below will need a far larger group to drive back the Saint Empire Forces. Even without considering their difference in combat experience, they do not have enough power, and most importantly, they are sowed seeds for the Feudal State. Every death is a potential loss of a future guardian and their country simply can't afford using them as an expandable resource.

The reason why they chose B rankers to carry out this suicidal attack in the first place is all because of one thing: The bottleneck.

It is the same thing that the Devilheart family used to decide who would be trained into Death Warriors – like Ah Pui, Ah Gui, Selena, and the rest of the fifteen original disciples to Kairos.

Esley sighed, "Even so, if they attacked us again, the siege is pretty much lost."

Kairos nodded, "But the war can be won."

The sacrifices needed to defeat them will cause a hole in the Frosthral's defences, and things will start leaning towards Saint Empire's favour. In a couple of centuries – if there are no major military mistakes – the war will be won.

Esley: "But the cost... it's too much to bear for that result. It isn't that we can't sacrifice ourselves to win peace in the north, but is there some other way? Can you stop them again with your explosion technique?"

This time Kairos sighed. Of course he also wanted to decrease their losses, but to face both the greatest stronghold of the north and the invincible War God Tattoo at the same time is a difficult task. Extremely difficult, though not impossible.

"It's implosion," He corrected, "And I may not be available when they strike. They will surely monitor my movements from the start, and launch the assault when I am occupied."

Kairos didn't doubt that the Frosthral already knew how their ambush were defeated. Esley didn't doubt that either.

After thinking a while Kairos finally told Esley, "Please ask everyone to hold up."

Without hesitation the Supreme Commander returned to his position and gave out sharp orders. The command that was given did not mention anything about Kairos. Rather, it was Esley who wanted some time to go through their siege battle tactics after they had moved away from the dangerous ambush spots.

As the commanders went into an impromptu, frenzied, strategy meeting, there was one person who was excused because that person had to prepare a secret weapon requested by Esley.

That night, accompanied only by the lone moon in the sky, its gentle light suffusing his slight figure, Kairos sat alone on a snowdrift with his head tilted towards the heavens.

The next three days and nights, his form remained unmoved on the same spot with no one daring to come close for they were instructed to keep away. It was a haunting scene that burned into their minds, regardless the one who saw had a friendly outlook towards Kairos or not. He was radiant in the morning and tranquil in the evening. At the same time, strange mystical lights flowed out from the land into Kairos and afterwards were returned to the land. There were also unexplainable runic signs in the sky but strangely the stars had disappeared as though the people had been removed into the twilight and away from the rest of the world.

For a few, however, they saw an even more astonishing sight.

Those that are Contractors could see the nature spirits – Elementals great and small – gathering by his side.

They whispered and taught him their secrets. Kairos knows that what he has wasn't enough and will need greater knowledge, thus he called for them.

Of course, only Kairos who has the Heart's Echo could hear their words. The Lesser Spirits couldn't speak except with their own Contractors, while the Greater Spirits did not want to share their knowledge with the others.

Esley who has recently formed a Spirit Contract with Rolling Dust, his Greater Earth Spirit, felt himself drawn to the mysterious beauty where man and nature seemed to have become one. It took great will power to withdraw his eyes from Kairos, but the moment he did so, Esley noticed incredulousness that there are around three hundred more people like himself.

"They could see the Elementals too?"

He could scarcely believe his eyes. There are so many Contractors amongst his group? No... they are not from his group... They are the Snowdrifts!

Like an alarmed cat, thefine hairs on his arms and back stood on ends as he recognised the gravity ofwhat he is looking at. The teen had gone and made his entire guild intoContractors!