Chapter 17: Invasion and Experimentation186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCF6dS7hSr
7 Days earlier, the Giaths were informed of a potential invasion, 7 days later, that potential invasion was only a few hundred meters away. There were footsteps and scurrying in all directions, crops were being harvested rapidly, too busy to be curious about the enormous size of the rice grains, the larger-than-life sized cabbages, the swollen and aromatically sweet, sweetcorn. No, these hefty crops were simply being harvested and thrown in the cellar before any eyes could catch hold of them, 3 guards were to be stationed near the cellar, so as to not draw attention to it specifically but instead to guard the general area hoping a nosey Ploughing Sect Member would not catch wind.
It was only the men who were visible, all the women were sheltered, Pam and Lam were teaching the women who had no sowing and knitting knowledge, how to sow and knit during this time. The final remnants of the crops were thrown into the cellar, and everyone was positioned in the correct formation. Zar and Tar were in front, followed by Lee and Ge who were split somewhat far apart horizontally, behind them were the rest of the Greater Men who were under the command of either Lee, or Ge, they were currently commanded to await orders from either Tar or Zar, for Tar and Zar are the sect leaders.
At the location where the Ploughing Sect were arriving eastward, stood 2 Giaths who were to be opening the gates. 186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtrqh79poX
Zar had been practicing a few things during the time he had been teaching his Brothers and Sister the art of Mineral Qi, more specifically, he had been practicing a most difficult technique that would allow him to increase his sensory powers. By concentrating an tiny amount of Mineral Qi around the eyes or any sensory organ for that matter, it became possible for Zar to feel the electrical oscillations happening within that area that allowed his eyes, ears, mouth etc to receive information from the environment around him, it seemed to Zar that Mineral Qi had the ability to make one aware of the subtle processes of the body that usually are not detectable, Zar could actually feel in some high detail, the tiny oscillations and vibrations happening at the molecular level that allowed vision or hearing to work, he could feel how information was travelling to a certain region of his brain, it all became a feeling due to the intervention of Mineral Qi, an incredible ability. ‘There are greater things yet, little Zar.’ This quote from Pa echoed in Zar’s mind as he begun to realise that Mineral Qi was not just something you could use for crude purposes, but if you manipulate it with extreme fidelity, things that were usually impossible became possible... By feeling the molecular vibrations that govern vision, intensity, colour, etc and their respective locations in the brain, at-least in general, Zar could then isolate such regions and increase the presence of Mineral Qi in that specific location – changing all aspects of how he sees and hears the world, he could then zoom in and out, increase the vividity or paleness of his surroundings, warp and distort the shape of the world and in-doing-so make himself feel nauseous in the process, “I remember such a time where I nearly threw up all my food because I overloaded Mineral Qi in the visual balance system of my brain,” Zar thought to himself, musing on his developmental progress. He could also increase the power of his hearing by at-least 2 – 3 times.
With this, Zar could see 100s of meters of way as though it was fairly close, he saw 10 Guards and an old fat man riding a horse. He made out that one of the guards was the young Guard who the Greater Sister once spoke about. “Only ten of them Brothers,” he began, “we can handle ten, we are lucky this time, they definitely underestimated us, thinking us weak and feeble, incapable of handling tiny men.” A subtle sense of relief was felt among the men in their groups after hearing this news, some curious as to how Zar was able to even tell since they only knew the basics of Qi Manipulation and Focal Arrays.
Time passed...
“Welcome to the Giath Sect, how may I help you?” Asked one of the Giaths guarding the east gate toward the party of Ploughing Sect members. A guard from the ploughing sect stepped forward, far shorter than the Giaths guarding the gate.
In a nervous manner, as the Ploughing Sect guard assessed his incredible height disadvantage, he stated as proudly as possible for he was under the scrutinous eyes of Grand Elder Peat, “We are here to speak with your Grand Elder! That is ALL!”
The two Giaths looked at each other, looked at the fat man on the horse, looked at the puny guards and nearly burst into laughter realising the overwhelming difference in perceived strength they had over their ‘visitors.’ Keeping composure however and not giving anything away, the Giath who initiated the request replied, “yes, hmm, yes... If you have business with us, our Grand Elder stands awaiting you along the pathway which leads to our North Fields, you may enter!”
The guard, in a thoroughly nervous manner and with a little breaking of the voice replied, “yEs- *ehem,* excuse me. Yes, thank you.” The fat man on the horse looked piercingly at the tall Giath Guards who were as tall as the horse, the Giath Guards stared back equally as ferociously looking for weakness in the fat man's eyes, the Ploughing Sect walked on...
Zar, who had been adjusting his vision constantly had no surprise on his face, he already knew how much taller he was than other people on his previous adventures, but seemingly, everyone was beginning to realise the height and strength advantage they had if a fight broke loose as the competitors came closer and closer, not only that, all the men of the villagers had the effect of Mineral Qi seeping into their cells, causing rapid muscular growth and cellular metabolism – simply put, the visitors were completely outclassed and the many guards of the Ploughing Sect were already growing nervous as they took greater notice of their disadvantage.
[- - - means that a character is huffing and puffing before they speak the next sentence]
Eventually, they arrived, Tar and Zar standing before 10 guards and a fat man on the horse, 3 of the 10 guards, or perhaps even 4, helped the fat man off the horse and a large thump was heard as the fat man landed on the brick-laid ground. The fat man looked around and huffed and puffed, giving mixed body language and then went into the cardiovascular challenge of speaking without running out of breath. “Not a bad place - - - you spiced it up - - -. It was all rubble, dead bodies and embers the last time I was here - - -... You done good. Who is your leader here?” This was followed by breaths as though simply riding a horse was immensely challenging, or was it getting down off the horse? Or was it the speaking?
Some of the Giath villagers begun to hold their noses, there was a smell of sweat and body-odour emanating from the specific location where the fat man was standing. Meanwhile, Tar and Zar looked at each other, Zar stepped forward and spoke. “Indeed, I am the leader, what business do you have here with us on this fine day good sir?”
“Well-spoken chap - - - thought you’d all be savages but you’re not so bad. Tell me...” The fat man caught his breath before continuing to speak. “How’d you do it eh? I remember the war... Before the ploughing sect rose, your land was wiped out by a powerhouse sect known as the Lions and Serpents, many people died, many people, after, I was tasked with reprimanding and rebuilding the destroyed land by authorities of my own - - -… By Gods, it is hot today... Anyway, where was I? - - - Yes, I was tasked with rebuilding the destroyed land, got told to you leave you lot and the remaining land you owned, alone. We, the ploughing sect, now own all of the land you once did, but you see, I REMEMBER - - - what this portion of land used to look like, what it did look like after the Lions and Serpents Sect were done with it and you. Now it is completely transformed. HOW did you do it?! TELL ME! Did you use Qi? Hmmm? HMM?”
Zar was rather shocked by his knowledge, Tar’s curiosity peaked, by now wasn’t the time, “Qi?” Asked Zar sarcastically, “what is that? A kind of food?”
Everyone suddenly realised they could help with the lie and spoke aloud about the concept of Qi as a kind of food, random conversations in the background of, “I wonder if it has tasty seeds!” “It could be a vegetable you know?” etc, created white noise thoroughly distracting the fat man, or rather, the Ploughing Sect Leader, Grand Elder Peat. He regained his composure and continued ranting, wobbling around.
“Hmph. So, you don’t know about Qi, eh? WELL, YOU SHOULD! You are the reason all sects know about it. Do you know the story? Your sect leader from roughly 70ish years ago displayed brilliant powers and abilities during the war, he shot energy out of his hand I heard from one of my elders, he done things that enabled your sect to survive the onslaught and caused the retreat of the Lions and Serpents sect! But they done a number on you they did, and look at you now - - -, I thought you’d all be done and dead, but you are alive as ever. Did you think I wouldn’t ask? - - - There is only one thing that could enable you to survive your dire situation for these past 70 years, Qi, and you’re telling me it’s a FRUIT? Hmph!...” The old fat man had to catch his breath again. “Well, I should have you know, Qi is the rave these days, from all directions there are charlatans claiming to know to know its secrets, I've paid incredible sums of money to see it in action, anyone who has such powers would suddenly become the most valued entity in all the Lesser Kingdom. I’ll ask you one more time, do you know about Qi? I can give you an incredible number of benefits, eh... Money, Women, Land, the lot. Tell me, what do you men know?”
Zar, Tar and the rest of the men were listening with great focus, somewhat surprised by the information, “So it was 70 years ago.” Thought Zar to himself, a few moments passed, Zar and Tar looked at each other and with a subtle communication burst out into laughter in response to Peat’s previous sentence.
“Hahaha! Qi?” Begun Zar, “Sounds like a funny word, Qiqi, qiqiqi! Birds! Birds my brothers!”
Suddenly, everyone except Lee of course, begun chirping creating a white noise of pure annoyance to the Ploughing Sect spectators and thoroughly angering the old fat man.
“ST- STOP IT YOU PRIMITIVES!” Demanded Grand Elder Peat. “Clearly you were affected by the malnutrition and disease of these past 70 years, doesn’t explain how you managed to build this place up. Where are your women?”
“Our women?” Asked Zar, Tar suddenly growing a serious look on his face.
“Yes, I remember when I was a very young chap, visiting here with my father before the war, so long ago now, anyway, I saw how fair the girls of your race were when we played catch together, on the tall side though, round em up, I want em, ALL of them!”
“For what?!” Demanded Zar.
“Trade of course! They are commodities, GUARDS!” Commanded the old fat man with no hesitation.
Suddenly, the 9 guards of the Ploughing Sect who were standing around the old fat man begun walking in different directions, seemingly looking for women.
“There are no women here!” Said Tar impulsively in an angered fashion walking up to Peat.
“Don’t lie to me!” Replied the old man quickly and sharply, inspecting his shoes and ignoring Tar’s approach, “my young and elder Guard told me everything, apparently there is a very pretty one here, bet they are all hiding hehe!”
Zar walked up and nudged Tar who walked over and nudged Ge who then nudged Lee, and suddenly the 10+ Giath Guards who were in formation behind Ge and Lee begun walking toward the ploughing sect Guards who were nervously running and walking around in search of women, hoping not to be caught, speeding up and slowing down as Giath men enclosed on them with rapidity. Meanwhile, Zar and Tar squared to the old fat man in an attempt to strike a little fear into him, Zar begun with:
“You do realise we already nearly have your men surrounded? There are no women to find here. Go. Home!” The old man had been too busy looking at his leather-made shoes to think that there would be the potential of rebuttal, the old man figured that the Giaths were far too weak to challenge the authority of his proud Ploughing Sect men, and with that strong sentiment in his mind, he replied without even looking toward Zar’s general direction, only observing the brilliant shine of his fancy shoes.
“Ha, yeah right, you are all a bunch of weaklings, yeah, I know you have been busy, but what could an oversized emaciated group of primitives do against trained guards?” 186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoq4IOxp7N
Tar hearing this, looked around and saw that most of the guards who were nervous to begin with had been subdued with great ease by the Giath Guards, smirked and then replied.
“Why don’t you have a look for yourself round man!”
“ROUND MAN? How dar- MEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP WASTING TIME AND GET TO SEARCHING.”
“WE- WE CAN’T GRAND ELDER PEAT, THEY ARE STRONGER THAN WE ANTCIPATED!” Returned a Ploughing Sect Guard who was trying to wiggle his way out of the grip of a Greater Giath.
One of the guards had stayed behind the old fat man, he was the guard who spoke often with the Giaths, he tried to reason with the old man.
“I don’t mean to be intrusive, Sir Elder, but don’t you think this is uncalled for?”
“EXCUSE ME - - - HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME IN THAT TONE?!” The old man shouted in the young guard's face, spit and all. Yet, it was obvious, the Giaths had completely subdued the Ploughing Sect Guards, it was almost too easy.
“A guard is missing...” Zar said in the ear of Tar who was still squaring up to Peat. Tar turned around and a level of relief came over him as he saw Mai, an extremely fair lady, quite easily lifting the Ploughing Sect Guard by his collar. There was eventually a *PLONK* as she put the Guard harshly on the newly brick laid floor which connects all the lands various sites together.
The oldman looked upon Mai and regaining some composure said, “so... You DO have beautiful women...” Zar hearing this quickly replied in a professional manner.
“Grand Elder Peat, rather than attempting to steal our women, it would be far more appropriate if you simply went back to your sect, we ask that you never come back unless it is absolutely necessary!” The old fat man, or rather, Grand Elder Peat, grew red in the face – turned around and waved his hand, the subdued guards wiggled out of the grip of the male Giaths and headed in the direction of their leader, Elder Peat.
Soon, they were but distant pellets to the men, to Zar, he could see and hear what they were talking about due to his well-developed sensory abilities. Zar motioned Tar toward him and said, “they are planning on bringing more men in the next 7 days to seize our land and take our women by force, they plan on bringing 30 or 40 men, so we best prepare.”
Tar had a look of deep thought on his face, Zar awaited his reply. “We only number 10 or so men, and the women cannot get involved... Hmm... I have a better idea Zar!” Replied Tar.
“Oh?” Pondered Zar aloud.
“It’s better to have friends than enemies. The old man is just a filthy coin grabber, I bet he loves coin just as much as he loves women!” Tar replied thoughtfully and excitedly.
“?” Replied Zar.
“What an interesting facial expression Brother Zar, well, let me explain myself, you said that Po, that old man, had an incredible reaction to the potatoes(vitatoes) you gave him? Well, we recently harvested the crops we all imbued with Mineral Qi, you saw them right, aren’t they incredible?”
“Yes, they are, sadly we haven’t yet had the time to appreciate them due to our preparations for that mob that just left...” Zar said kicking a rock on the brick floor.
“Yes, I know that, but why don’t we visit Po for help in taking one of these crops to the Ploughing Sect leader, have him appraise it, and see if we can do business with him, in exchange for him not seizing our land or creating trouble for us, we will supply him with the crop that we selected, we may also be able to get more land for our troubles which we can dedicate to planting that specific crop en-masse.”
“Hmm... Trade over conflict huh.” Zar mused aloud, “i like it, of course there is the risk of that fat old man discovering our secrets... You come with me to set it up! We go there, try to set up the deal, if it works, we take a closer inspection of the ploughing sect - I was focused on completing that first mission with Po that I did not really look around the Ploughing Sect city, only the first portion of it.”
“Great! Don’t worry Zar, we will get our revenge, but we firstly need to deal with the issues before us. Right now, we need friends – lots of friends from different lands. On that note, we should visit Po and get his help, he left an impression on you, and if I recall, you eluded to the fact that he knows the trade business, I bet he can help us finalise a good deal!” Tar stated intelligently.
“On that subject, I have something to tell you, it’s about the Lions and Serpents Sect.” replied Zar.
End of Chapter 17
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