The wheels of the heavy carts groaned under the weight of the Spirit Ore, carving deep ruts into the muddy road leading back to Oakhaven.
It was a grim parade. Rylan walked at the front, his face pale, his shoulder throbbing with a dull, persistent heat. Behind him marched the twelve Earth-Kin, their rocky bodies covered in dust, pulling the carts like beasts of burden because the mules were too weak to move such dense spiritual material.
When they entered the village, the reaction was immediate panic.
"Monsters!" a farmer screamed, dropping his hoe and scrambling backward.
Several militia members, trained by Rylan but still green, raised their spears with shaking hands. They saw the hulking, grey-skinned Earth-Kin and assumed the village was being invaded.
"Stand down!" Rylan's voice cracked like a whip across the square.
He stopped, turning to face his terrified people. He didn't offer comfort. He activated his Imperial Aura, forcing their fear to submit to his authority.
"These are not monsters," Rylan announced, gesturing to the hulking miners who blinked sluggishly in the sunlight. "They are your new laborers. They will eat at your tables, and they will build your walls. Anyone who raises a hand against them answers to me."
He turned to the Elder Earth-Kin. "Take the ore to the eastern perimeter. The Artificer is waiting."
The Elder grunted, hefting the cart again. The Earth-Kin lumbered past the stunned villagers, the smell of wet stone and deep earth following them.
Lyra met Rylan by the well. She looked at the massive pile of raw Spirit Ore passing by, her eyes wide. This was wealth beyond the Baron's wildest dreams—enough to buy a small city in the capital.
"You emptied the mine," Lyra said, her voice hushed.
"We stripped it," Rylan corrected. He winced as he adjusted his sword belt. "And we left a crime scene behind us. By tonight, the Crimson Lotus will find the body. By tomorrow, they will blame the Jade Empire."
"And by the day after?" Lyra asked pointedly.
"By the day after, the entire region becomes a battlefield," Rylan said. "We need to be the bunker in the middle of the storm."
He looked at her. "Do we have the Spirit-Nitrate?"
Lyra nodded, though she looked unhappy. "I synthesized it from the village latrines and the sulfur deposits near the river. It's unstable, Rylan. If Mei puts that in a ballista bolt and it jams..."
"Then don't let it jam," Rylan said coldly. "Where is Elara?"
Lyra's expression hardened. "In the clinic. Trying to learn how to feed herself with splints on her fingers. Leave her alone, Rylan. She is broken."
"She is alive," Rylan countered. "That means she works."
He walked past Lyra, heading straight for the clinic.
Inside the clinic, the air smelled of medicinal herbs and despair.
Elara sat on the edge of a cot. Her hands were encased in thick wooden braces that Lena had fashioned. She was staring at a bowl of broth on the table, trying to figure out how to lift the spoon with her forearms. She looked like a child trying to solve a puzzle she didn't understand.
When the door opened, she jumped, knocking the bowl over. The broth splashed onto the floor.
"Master," she whispered, keeping her head down. "I... I am clumsy."
Rylan closed the door. He didn't help her clean up the mess. He walked over and stood in front of her.
"Look at me," he ordered.
Elara raised her eyes. They were red-rimmed and hollow. The vibrant, agile scout he had met in the ruins was gone, replaced by a cripple who believed she had lost her value.
"Your hands are useless for a month," Rylan stated. It was a brutal fact.
Elara flinched. "I know. I will... I will try to help in the kitchens, Master. I can carry water with my shoulders."
"I have Earth-Kin to carry water," Rylan snapped. "I don't need a mule, Elara. I need a Scout."
"But I can't climb! I can't draw a bow!"
"You have eyes, don't you?" Rylan leaned down, gripping her chin. "You have ears. You know the forest better than anyone. I am putting you in the central watchtower."
Elara blinked. "The tower?"
"You will sit there," Rylan commanded. "You will watch the horizon. You will monitor the Sound-Capture receiver Mei is building. You will be the mind that directs the Earth-Kin patrols."
He let go of her chin.
"You don't need hands to spot an enemy, Elara. You need focus. Stop pitying yourself. It disgusts me."
It was harsh. It was cruel. But it was exactly what she needed. The pity from Lyra and Lena had made her feel like an invalid. Rylan's cold demand made her feel like a soldier who was simply being reassigned.
A spark of life returned to Elara's eyes. She straightened her back.
"I... I understand, Master. I will not miss a movement."
"Good." Rylan turned to the door. "Report to the tower in one hour. If you fall asleep, I will find a new scout."
Rylan spent the afternoon at the perimeter, overseeing the installation of the Iron-Wood Bramble Array.
With the Spirit Ore, Mei was a woman possessed. She melted the ore down using a kiln fired by Lyra's alchemical accelerants, drawing liquid lines of spiritual metal directly onto the stone foundations.
"It works," Mei muttered, her goggles reflecting the glow of the molten metal. "The Earth-Kin... their Qi naturally reinforces the stone. It's stabilizing the array faster than I predicted."
She looked up at Rylan, grinning fiercely. It was the first time she looked truly happy since her capture.
"Master, with this much ore, I can build three Thunder-Arc Ballistae. One for each main cardinal direction. But I need the triggers."
"Lyra has them," Rylan said. He looked at the sky. The sun was setting, painting the sky in bruises of purple and red.
"How long until the array is active?"
"Midnight," Mei said. "If the Earth-Kin don't collapse from exhaustion."
"They won't," Rylan said. "Work them until they drop, then pour water on them and work them again."
Mei nodded, diving back into her work.
Rylan climbed the ladder to the central watchtower—a hastily reinforced structure atop the village hall.
Elara was there. She was sitting on a high stool, her splinted hands resting on her lap. Her eyes were glued to a brass scope Lyra had salvaged. Next to her, the metal sphere receiver buzzed softly.
"Status?" Rylan asked.
"Quiet, Master," Elara reported without looking away from the scope. "Too quiet. The birds have stopped singing in the eastern quadrant."
"The Crimson Lotus?"
"Maybe. Or something bigger."
Rylan looked out toward the east, toward the Spirit Ore Mine they had raided only hours ago.
Suddenly, a flash of light lit up the horizon.
It wasn't the white light of the sun, or the yellow light of a torch. It was a deep, malevolent crimson. A pillar of blood-red fire erupted into the sky, miles away, marking the location of the mine.
Then came the sound. A low, rolling boom that shook the floorboards of the tower.
Rylan smiled. It was a cold, satisfied expression.
"They found the body," Rylan whispered.
"Master?" Elara asked, her voice trembling slightly at the sight of the red pillar. "Is that... are they attacking us?"
"No," Rylan said, watching the distant fire. "That is the Crimson Lotus signaling their rage. They are calling their war parties."
He looked to the north, toward the Jade Empire's territory.
"And somewhere out there," Rylan mused, "the Jade Empire is seeing that signal. They are wondering why the Crimson Lotus is claiming territory so close to them."
He placed his hand on the railing.
"The war has started, Elara. Tonight, the giants fight."
[Ding! Strategic Objective Complete: Incite Sect Conflict.] [Reward: Chaos (Global Tension increased to 80%).] [Warning: High probability of "collateral damage" to neutral factions nearby.]
Rylan ignored the warning. He looked down at his village. The Earth-Kin were hauling the last of the ore. Mei was scribing the final runes. Lyra was arming the militia with alchemical grenades.
They were no longer a neutral faction. They were a fortress waiting for the survivors to crash against their walls.
"Keep watching," Rylan ordered Elara. "If the fire moves toward us... scream."
End of Chapter 36