*Bing-Bong*
...
|...|
You're serious?
|What?|
I know what you're doing, and I distinctly remember you saying you hated plotlines like this.
|I mean...yes, but I also understand why my peers make use of it as of late.|
Is that a wordy way of saying you're getting writer's block again?
|...maybe.|
Bitch...
*Bing-Bong*
________________________________________
=Kaijin units: Nepherage, Hurricroak, Frosttusk, Screamira, Razorstella and Springerdermain have been safely received at the Library. Initiating...seriously, Pathos?=
=Bleh...initiating "Haul Ass" protocol.=
'Is...is this the part where you tell me that y'all got vehicles built or...'
'Alright, I'll leave you guys to it then. See you back home, and save some violence for me.'
[See you later!]*6
...
"And I'm back."
"That was fast. We figured you'd, wait...what happened to all your accessories?"
"Oh, this? I figured I need to travel light today. Ya know, obvious reasons."
"Fair."
Zhen Liu's "bathroom trip" excuse was only for the Zhen Clan members that weren't his immediate family, Zhen Hai and Zhen Feng already got the idea of what he was doing.
Regardless, now that his situation had went from worrying about plus seven to worrying about being plus one, Zhen Liu was a little less worried about something going wrong with the teleportation back to Stone Claw.
That said, he still felt that something hinky was going to happen and he wasn't sure why.
'Alright, why the fuck is my everything still screaming at me that something is going to-'
<> Zhen Xun Tian informed the branch clan scions.
'Forget it, worry about it later.'
Unfortunately for Zhen Liu, "later" was going to be "soon".
___Meanwhile, Stampeding Bison again____
"Wait, I thought our new [Chaos] art was supposed to tear through aether abilities like a hot knife through butter, how the hell are both grandfather and Tiny getting pushed back?!"
"Don't you remember what Aranea and Lucille told us? [Chaos] normally tears through aether abilities, but it can be overwhelmed if the opponent has a deeper well of aether than us or the [Chaos] we use is lacking. Grandfather and Tiny may be strong, but their opponent is still a seventh tier aether beast, and they both just got around to comprehending this stuff."
"That would explain why our fathers need to work together to fight one [Sand Devil] while Aranea and Lucille seem to be holding up."
At this point in time, Zhen Yue, Zhen Tai, Zhen Xing and Zhen Guo were watching from the top of Stone Claw's gate as their fathers, the clan elders, and the clan secretaries went about keeping the [Sand Devils] away from assisting their leader.
The scions didn't throw themselves into the fray because they knew they'd be nothing more than a nuisance and a distraction at this stage of the battle and normally, they'd be assisting in fighting off invading aether beasts, but the aforementioned battle between the leaders had rendered this point slightly moot.
Through a mix of not wanting to get caught up in the collateral and sheer respect for their respective leaders, both sides had ceased their fighting so that their champions and leaders could determine the final fate of this Beast Tide.
If Zhen Shi and Tiny won, then the Beast Tide would instantly disperse into a horde of infighting as the unifying factor of the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant] would be gone at the moment of death. After that, the people of Stone Claw could either wait out the fighting or sweep up the remnants.
If the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant] won, than the people of Stone Claw could only fight to the bitter end, or hide and pray for mercy. The ones hiding in the tunnels had a higher chance of survival, but there were beasts in the Beast Tide horde that had the ability to sniff out hidden enclaves and the like.
Regardless of the end result though, this battle would go down in history.
Which is why it was paramount that no outside factors interfere with the ongoing power struggle.
Thankfully, the Stone Claw forces were doing a damn good job in doing just that.
...
"There are seven of us and only one of it, how the fuck are we at a stalemate?!"
"Probably because it's technically way stronger than us?"
"Incoming sand blade!"
"Whoa!"
Wooooo!
The battle between the Zhen Clan elders and the sixth tier [Sand Devil] was going a bit...rough, for the former.
Despite outnumbering seven to one, the [Sand Devil] was still a sixth tier beast, meaning it was technically as strong as an Aether Emperor, at least physically.
It was a good thing aether beasts were unable to manifest things such as [Astra], [Regalia] or [Avatars], otherwise this entire battle would've ended in tragedy a lot earlier.
Regardless, the Zhen Clan elders were still suffering from their inability to deal any meaningful harm against the [Sand Devil] using their normal aether arts.
Thankfully, they had several aces up their sleeves.
Ones that could be combined to something...devastating.
"Fuck it! Y'all wanna see if we can combine our attacks?"
"Which one?"
"[Primordial Beast Scripture]."
"Is that even possible?!"
"Let's find out!"
United in cause and goal, the seven elders of the Zhen Clan began to condense [Chaos], causing the environment around them to get...weird.
A level of weird that caused the [Sand Devil] to get nervous.
Wooo...
...
[Step off, you stupid sandy bastard!]
[Whirlwind Espada!]
Aoooo!
Lacerage and Arachnidame were doing their absolute damndest to keep the [Sand Devil] in front of them from assisting the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant], and were doing a surprisingly good job at it despite being technically the same level as the Zhen Clan elders, but fewer in number.
Then again, they were more well versed in using [Chaos].
AOOOO!
[Try harder!]
By leveraging this power, Lacerage and Arachnidame were able to tank the [Sand Devil]'s blows while inflicting damage that actually did a damn.
Granted, this was taking longer than anticipated.
[Okay, I think this farce has gone on long enough,] Arcahnidame declared while using a manifested spider leg to knock away the [Sand Devil]'s spear for the umpteenth time. [Would you mind being a dear, Lacerage, and giving me a hand to turn this bastard into a glass statue?]
[Sure thing, but after this battle is over, we go back to trading barbs. It's been weird acting polite with you.]
[Whatever you say...you lacewinged bitch.]
[Back at you, Spider-Whore.]
After this exchange of venomous words between frenemies, both Arcahnidame and Lacerage began to condense [Chaos] in a manner suggesting incredibly familiarity with each other.
Then again, a [Chaos] tornado made of hellfire was kind of hard to miss.
Needless to say, the [Sand Devil] felt a level of fear it was unfamiliar with up until this moment.
...
But alas, while those currently present on the battlefield were doing their best to prevent one another form interfering with one another, there were still outside factors that had yet to come into play.
Granted, neither side planned for their appearance or lack thereof in the slightest.
___The Aforementioned Outside Factors___
<> Zhen Xun Tian declared as she could literally feel the ongoing battle happening outside of the cavern hosting Stone Claw's teleportation array.
<>
...
[Race y'all to the city?]
[Aye!]
[I wanna say stop fooling around, but Arachnidame and Lacerage says things are going fine, so I guess we can afford to goof off a little.]
[Woo!]
Excited at the prospect of being back in Stampeding Bison for the first time in weeks, the kaijin that Zhen Liu sent back proceeded to make use of their movement aether arts and began to running towards Stone Claw.
They didn't want to miss all the fighting, after all.
...
"Okay, Matriarch Zhen Xun Tian has successfully teleported to Stone Claw. Who's next?"
The Zhen Clan scions stared at one another, not sure whether it was good idea to go first or last if the array was acting up...until Zhen Hai decided to volunteer.
"Fuck it, I'll go first," Zhen Hai said as he walked towards the array.
"The array is hidden under several feet worth of rock and sand, I really doubt something is going to happen, but I might as well go in first to make sure. If anything does go wrong, either bury me or find me."
"Right on."
"Only if you do the same for us."
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