Hold over Myriad of Worlds

I took dragon girls aboard the Xuling. I showed them interesting places while talking about the Hold.

-"You truly are the Emperor of this place."

-"You said this at least five times already, Nian."

-"But, you know, I met some emperors of Yan, nah even some minor nobles have 'I better than you' aura all over. You just don't feel like them."

-"I'll take that as a compliment."

-"Yue, can you explain what Hold wants to achieve? From your aura back then, I can feel that you are stronger than even Sui itself. Yet you don't try to rule, even when talking and helping us before, you always treated us as equals, not some kind of lesser beings. Why?"-Ling asked, looking at me.

-"As Hold, we are trying to expand. Simple as that. Be it cooperation or war, in the end, the underlying purpose of Hold and Principles is to expand."

-"But what about you? Why do you try so hard to do everything you can to help Hold expand?"

-"Hmm... Probably because Hold became my home."

-"Home, huh..."

-"Don't you four also want to find a true home?"

-"Can Hold become it?"

-"I don't know. To be honest, I just want to help you as I empathize with your experiences."

-"I see."

The dragon girls looked at each other. After some communication with their eyes, they looked again at me.

-"We will give it a try, but you have to be there with us."

-"Of course."

We continued our walk for the rest of the day, and by the end of it, we got to know ourselves past the point of simply acquaintances. In fact, it surprised me how fast my relationship with them was progressing.

-"Lian, I believe this is enough alcohol for one night."

-"Nah, just drink with me. Why do you reject beauty who wants to drink the night away with you?"

-"Why does an unfettered beauty want to drink with me so much?"

-"Heh... Yue, you are the first person like us who is not a 'sibling'. Do you think we will let this occasion slip? I lived long years alone, and now you offer me a home."

-"Now that I think, my wording may indeed have been better."

-"Don't think you can escape us now. Those three also accepted your words. Don't you dare to back out of them now!"

-"Sigh. I won't. Just let nature take its course."

-"Haha, you are quite the handful. Even though you hide under the veil, your appearance and aura are enough to make girls fall for you. I heard you have a wife. She must be annoyed by that."

-"What can I do? Changing oneself just to avoid others is not something I'm willing to do."

-"You have to take responsibility for your actions and words."

Letting another sigh, I grabbed a glass of alcohol Ling poured me. Drinking it, I looked at three dragons lying on the sofa nearby.

-"It's still time to go to rest. Help me take three of them to rest. I don't think they will be able to stand up on their own."

-"Leave them to me."-Ling waved her hand.

-"If you say so. I'll make you breakfast tomorrow."

-"Haha, Sure!"

Leaving them, I returned to my room, but I was able to hear one more thing from Ling that was meant not to be heard by me.

-"You heard him girls..."

The next morning, I made breakfast as promised and called the girls from their rooms to eat it together. Four of them showed no signs of hangover, talking about plans for the day.

-"So Yue, what will you do today?"

-"Hmm, because I have to act as head of Hold here, I'll probably be taking part in negotiations and things like this."

-"Can you use that puppet?"

-"Of course, but why?

-"The crisis in Lungmen is still ongoing, and Ch'en wanted to do something that would require your help."

-"Ch'en, how can I help you?"

-"I want to evacuate infected and those suffering in slums."

-"Can you convince them?"

-"Yes, my friend is there. She can help us."

-"Good. I'll contact Kenshin and make sure that your uncle is distracted."

-"Thank you."

I take out my puppet and once again make it look like I had when I joined Hold.

-"You should contact Talulah to help."

-"Good idea. I'll send her a message right away."

-"Let's get going then. Our forces planned to move into slums today."

My main body joined Yukong and Kenshin on the bridge of Lungmen, while as a puppet, I followed Ch'en to the slums in the lower parts of the landship.

Everywhere around, I could see traces of fighting. Even before the arrival of Reunion and Ursus, the slums were not a pleasant place to live in. Now, it was barely better than the wastelands outside.

-"Ch'en, can you find your friend?"

-"Two previous safehouses were destroyed. This is the last place that I know about."

-"Let's go in then."

We entered a ruined makeshift shop. Inside, Ch'en walked to one corner and found part of the floorboard that could be moved. Uncovering the passage underneath, she entered first, with me following closely behind her.

After climbing down the ladder, we entered the pipe large enough for me to stand straight. We walked for a good minute before entering the larger space. Ch'en turned left and continued walking, but just as she was about to step through a threshold, I grabbed her, dragging her back.

Hugging her, I turned my back to the room she was about to enter, where an explosion erupted, followed by shots that I blocked with a barrier. The dust soon cleared to reveal seven people pointing their crossbows at us.

-"Stop! We are not your enemies!"

-"Ch'en?! Is that you?"

-"Yes, tell your guys to stop!"

I let Ch'en go forward, and soon, a woman with grayish hair and ratlike ears appeared from the side. She approached Ch'en and looked at us still in the passage.

-"I'm sorry for our attack. The soldiers of Ursus are not exactly known for treating civilians well."

-"Don't worry, just be more careful next time."

She nodded and spoke to Ch'en again.

-"Why are you here?"

-"I couldn't contact you. I have something important to talk with you about."

Ch'en explained about Wei's plan to purge the slums.

-"This..."

-"Lin, can you take us to your father? We don't have much time."

Lin nodded and led us to a room where leaders of the underground were talking about some things.

-"Father, Ch'en brought some important news."-Lin quickly repeated what she heard to a rat man sitting in the middle.

-"Hmm... This is indeed what Wei can do. Sigh, we have quite a trouble then."

-"We can help you evacuate the city."

-"You are?"

-"Yue. You are aware of the force that landed in the city yesterday. I'm with them."

-"Those Knights? Where can you take us?"-Someone in the room asked.

-"Ship flying over Terra."

-"Will we be your slaves?"-Another person questioned

-"There are no slaves in Hold. Focus on this crystal. You will be able to understand the rules and regulations for citizens."-I threw a memory stone to the father of Lin.

He followed my words and soon read the memories inside, after which he passed the crystal to the next person. He thought for a short while, then looked at me and spoke.

-"I believe we don't have much choice, but will you accept infested?"

-"Yes, we will even cure them, but it will take time."

-"Cure? You are stronger than I thought. Good, we will start gathering people."

-"Ling, can you go and help teleport people to the gathering point? Nian, can you make some additional diversion? While Dusk, can you please bring things that are hard to carry into your paintings?"

-"Next drink is on you."

-"On it!"

-"Art is not a bacpack! But I'll help."

-"Ch'en, you are most familiar with the city, so act with people of slums."

-"Yes."

-"I'll directly teleport people to the ship, just bring them to one place."

-"We will listen to you."

Under my command, we moved and started evacuating the slums. The entire undercity has many undocumented people, but we estimated that 200 thousand people lived here.

Gathering so many of them while enemy forces were still present was not an easy job, even more so with time running out. This whole action could only happen because the undercity was quite a closely-knit society.

My main body was currently talking with Kenshin about what was going on in the slums. Kal'tsit and Amiya listened to our talk on the side, with Talulah and Alina also present.

-"Evacuate slums? Hmm, it was that Ch'en girl that proposed it, right?"

-"Yes, can you command Knights to prevent those Shadow Guards from making trouble?"

-"That may prove problematic if we want to remain on such friendly terms."

-"We can do it."

-"Talulah?"

-"In slums, there are still forces from Reunion that rebelled from our control. We can pose as them."

-"This is risky. Losses may not be light."

-"I know, but I have to repay for my mistakes."

-"Then I'll leave that to you."

-"We will also help. While we can't fight with Lungmen forces, taking care of slum dwellers is fitting our M.O."

-"Then please, Amiya."

-"Fu Xuan, can you take command on sip and screen for unwanted passengers in the refugees?"

-"I'll take care of that."

-"I'll coordinate with those below to make everything go smoothly."

-"Good. While I can understand Wei's point of view, I certainly don't agree with it."

-"As someone who lives by the honor of swordswoman, it surprising that you didn't refuse to work with him altogether."

-"If I was a knight, I would challenge him, but ring now I'm a General. The face of Hold is more important than my wish."

-"Just be sure not to do something against your conscience."

-"Don't worry, with you at the helm, it will never be my concern."

We started doing our tasks, and as time passed by, more and more people were evacuated from the slums. Kenshin relayed what parts of the slums would be cleared next. Ch'en cooperated with Lin to evacuate those places faster. Ling sent those people out of harm's way, and Dusk secured what material possessions they had left.

Nian cooperated with Talulah's people and kept Shadow Guard at bay. Sadly, those actions resulted in losses for what was left of true Reunion. Lin's father, who is locally called Rat King, showed how this underground could exist with so few conflicts before, as under his lead, slum dwellers worked better than most armies in this world.

The efficiency of rescuing those cut-off because of various reasons impressed even Kenshin. Everyone who could help did help, no matter if they were infected or of a different race. Sadly, it didn't all go smoothly.

-"We are being attacked by forces of Ursus!"

-"Jingliu, can you take care of them?"

-"Yes, Master."

Having now become alone with Rat King and a few of his men, we continued our tasks.

-"Can you take care of yourself?"

-"Heh, you don't rise to my position without some blood getting spilled."

-"Good, then I hope those rats are as good as you."

-"Haha."

In five hours, we evacuated 75 thousand people, mostly women and children, as most men stayed to help the others. The operation was now entering the last phase of rescuing those who can't move or are in the zone under the control of some other force.

We confirmed that seven camps of enemy forces captured people from the slums. One of those places was engaged in a fight with Penguin Logistics, which helped Rhodes Island in operations some time ago.

I asked Ch'en to help them repel the attackers and rescue those who were taken hostage. Nine and FrostNova from Reunion also joined to help. As the situation appeared to be under our full control, I received a message from Fu Xuan that some unwanted passengers were found mixed with refugees. She dealt with them swiftly, but it showed that our enemies were aware of our actions and started making their moves.

-"They started."

-"It took them longer than I thought."

-"Heh, their people are worse than a mob. Even thugs that surround us can be considered more professional than them."

-"We have our code, and we live by it."

-"I can see that."

-"What do you plan to do now?"

-"Place a trap. After all, they now know that I'm part of the new force."

-"How will you do this?"

-"Here, this is an item that can create a gate linking a place to the Xuling, but it will last only one hour."

-"I see. May the luck be on your side."

-"I don't need luck, just time."

Rat King stayed behind while I moved toward the next point with people gathered. Arriving there, I teleported people, and as I was to return, I was attacked by a few elite members of Ursus. Not putting up a resistance, I allowed myself to be captured and waited to be brought before the leader of this entire farce.

After being thrown into a plane, I traveled for over three hours until finally landing. I was taken to a mansion in another city belonging to Ursus. There, I was sat before a man with white hair and long ears, who I recognized as Kashchey from Talulah's story, who was presumed dead.

-"I have never seen being like you, nor do I recognize the power you wield. Now tell me all I want to know, and we may be able to part on amicable terms."

-"You must be the deathless Black Snake. I must say that I found this name ironic for someone who has to die for his plans to work."

-"It seems that my name precedes me. Did that girl Talulah speak of my demise from her blade?"

-"Yes. Luckily, we were able to talk some sense into her."

-"This was the moment my plans went awry. But now I found a more interesting target than simple war."

-"And you are not afraid of waking the sleeping dragon?"

-"Haha, I always have contingency ready."

-"Good to hear that. One thing I like the best is crushing those with absolute strength."

The moment words left my mouth, a giant dragon manifested over the Terra. Its eyes looked directly at the city I was currently in.

-"Let this be a warning to those thinking of testing us. The Hold is not an enemy they can face."

I rose from my seat and broke the bindings that were put on me. Raising my hand, I pointed at Kashchey and used the Authority of Sentience to mark his soul.

-"Let's see if your deathless fame can stand to the Hold."

I teleported away, returning to Lungmen. The dragon that was the manifestation of my spirit attacked the unnamed Ursus city, bringing down power that destroyed everything around.

I controlled everything so that there was no effect on Originum energy in the atmosphere, and after making sure it was all right, I unsummoned the manifestation.

Now, in the place where the landship was before, only molten slag was visible. No one survived that attack, but the soul mark I placed on Kashchey still existed. But I decided to leave him for Talulah to deal with.

When my puppet returned, the evacuation had ended, and the dragon girls, along with Jingliu, Lin, Rat King, and members of Penguin Logistics, were helping on Xuling to get everyone situated.

Joining them, we were able to find place for everyone before nightfall. Rat King decided to discuss the next plans with other members of the underground while the rest of us decided to hold a party to celebrate success.

I also brought those who supported us from the inside to allow everyone to take part in the party. We spend the rest of the night playing and relaxing after a day of solid work.