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601 Horror's Invasion

The news of the arrival of Horror’s horde affected the two civilizations in different ways.

The cultivators, being the main target of Horror’s nature, were more wary of the threat.. While the elementals saw the imminent invasion as something not unlike any that preceded it. Horror’s domain wanted their territory, just like the cultivators before them, and they would either escape, or fight it.

Nevertheless, a threat was a threat, and Horror’s arrival was a fight they had no much hope of winning. For that reason, after many meetings, the Elemental army had eventually decided to put aside their differences and sign a temporary truce with the Immortal Armada.

Despite this agreement, the elementals did not let go of their hostility. After all, it was easy for the cultivators to forget their greed in times of crisis. They knew that the moment the horde’s threat was successfully repelled, the cultivators’ true nature would re-emerge, and their fight would resume.

While at peace, the two groups continued strengthening themselves in preparation of a conflict that was destined to happen.

The Lord of the elemental faction was still buried in his attempts at merging with the essences of light and darkness, while his army continued their expansion. They took over systems, explored new galaxies, and recruited native elementals to their cause.. Very rarely aiding the cultivators in their search for resources. While in the Immortal Armada, the Warlord had been busy with his cultivation, as well as guiding his people in their effort in sealing the universe. A task which, thanks to this newfound albeit temporary peace, they were able to progress at a rapid pace thanks to the efforts of the scouting teams and the scientific department, now the most busy group within the entire universe. Their task was to scavenge spatial treasures from the shattered universe, which would then be used to fuel the formation.

Free from needless conflict, this busy time went on undisturbed for both groups.

—–

Sixteen months later.

The last year, while uneventful for the elementals, had been extremely hard on the cultivators. The recurrent scouting teams of Horror’s domain had chipped at their forces, causing their forces to dwindle. Yet, they never lose sight of the goal. With the industriousness of an ant colony, they had finally managed to obtain most of the resources they needed, and today was what they believed to be the day their efforts would finally pay off.

The entire fleet of the Immortal Armada was stationed in the proximity of the interdimensional portal, just a few miles outside of the natural bubble of stable space. At the helm of the army, was the scientific team, and the admiralty.

As time went by, the estimated arrival of Horror’s domain had required several adjustments. And today, was the first of the five days the monstrous army was most likely to invade. A most accurate estimate proven by the regiments of monsters that were currently guarding the entrance of the interdimensional portal.. Their goal, to exterminate anyone who dared to leave the universe before the main portion of Horror’s horde arrived.

What the Armada was waiting for, however, was not an invasion.. But the arrival of the last shipment of spatial treasures. A shipment that, they hoped, would allow them to activate the formation just in time to stop the invasion.

“How long is it gonna take?..” Asked Okka anxiously for the thousandth time. He was once the point of contact between the admiralty and the scientific division, so even after his promotion, he had been tasked with that job. Unfortunately, that had placed him right in the frontline of the possible invasion, a position he did not mind.

Only one person was closer to the bubble than he was, making him the first target of any possible invader. A young-looking cultivator with fair skin, and purple eyes that constantly roamed the bare foundation of his formation for as many times as Okka had asked him the same question. His was the mind that had birthed project Amber Stone.

This researcher, alongside the Warlord, who was currently in the middle of a breakthrough in his cultivation and therefore couldn’t be there, was the individual with the most pressure on his shoulder. He had spent the last several years perfecting his work, and going through its theory in hope that, at the decisive moment, it would not fail his people.

Despite being busy with the umpetnth check up, however, he still found time to answer. “For the last time. Spatial treasures disturb the flow of rifts and portals.. The scouting team can teleport at will at first, once they are in possession of spatial treasures, they need to travel the distance themselves, lest they risk being teleported at a random point in the universe.”

This explanation was not for Okka, who had heard it dozens of times by now, but for the cultivators who stood behind him, warriors and soldiers tasked with killing anything that set foot into their universe. They did not know what the scientific department was waiting for, so the explanation was more than welcome.

As the lead scientist reached this point, however, his tone seemed to change, and focus on Okka. He then added with clear exasperation, “We already received the report that the last shipment will arrive within a few hours, so with all due respect, Admiral, stop asking!” He had grown tired of the Admiral’s nervousness, which did nothing but turn his own anxiousness into irritation.

The entire Armada seemed to be waiting for that last delivery of spatial treasures. Each second was felt, clicking in their minds like a loud and lonely metronome in an empty room.

In these few hours, Horror’s horde became more and more excited, to a point where a few of the more enthusiast monstrosities ignored rank and barged into the universe, eager to show initiative and serve their master before anyone else could. These creatures, however, soon became the focus of the army’s attention, who made quick work of them, annihilating them before they could reach the edge of the bubble that surrounded the portal.

With time, more and more monsters made their way in, but just as it seemed that the invasion had started, a bright new light appeared in the already full tapestry of space. By the time the source of this light became visible to their enhanced eyes, their powers had already sensed it. A small group of cultivators that dashed through space in their direction. With them, the distinctively chaotic yet stable feeling possessed by the treasures of spatial essence.

“We are here!” An exhausted young woman with long black hair and lively eyes yelled despite having already reached the helm of the army, and standing in front of the lead scientist. Her arms, as well as the arms of her companions, were held forward, edging a few dozen pieces of glass shard and transparent beads in front of the purple-eyed young man.

Seeing the treasures, the lead scientist did not wait a moment. He turned to his side, where a massive cargo ship was stationed, and ordered, “Open the bay!” The enthusiasm in his voice was the spark that stoked the flame of hopes hidden under the nervousness and fear within every single observing cultivator.

Slowly, the cargo bay was opened, revealing large containers full of spatial treasures counting in the tens of thousands. Each container was placed in front of a cultivator, who gently pushed it past the artificial gravity of the ship and into the empty space. Once in zero gravity, these containers automatically fell apart, releasing the thousands of treasures into space.

As this happened, neither the lead scientist nor his team seemed to be paying attention. Their focus was aimed at the bubble of stable space, outside of which, just a few millimeters away from the edge, an intricate series of alchemical runes had started to appear. As time passed, these runes extended in every direction, forming an intricate labyrinth which encompassed the entirety of the gargantuan bubble. At regular intervals, this formation presented empty slots in which even the unaware members of the army could guess a spatial treasure would be placed.. And so the remaining members of the scientific department did.

While their colleagues were busy setting the formation in place, the remaining few took control over the spatial treasures, and carefully placed them in the open slots, allowing them to form distinctive connections with one another like the radials of a spider web.

In the span of an hour, over twenty percent of the entire formation had been covered in runes and spatial treasures. The more of it was completed, the more ecstatic the cultivators felt. They even dared enter the formation to retrieve the floating corpses of Horror’s domain, unwilling to let their presence disturb the work of the scientific team.

Three hours later, the bubble of stable space did not appear like a transparent light blue world anymore, but more like the biggest and most complicated puzzle ever created. Yet, the cultivator’s focus was still at their peak. The formation would not take effect unless completed, which meant that, had Horror’s domain chosen to invade at that moment, uncountable cultivators would have to sacrifice themselves to allow the scientific team to complete it.. Even if that meant trapping themselves inside it alongside the monsters of Horror’s domain.

Unfortunately, as time went on, the champions of Horror started to realize that something odd was happening. As many of them entered the universe, they were quick to notice the odd formation that had appeared around the bubble of space. Despite their appearance and nature, they were not stupid creatures, so when they realized that something was going on, a few of them retreated, and informed the growing army about it.

Seeing this, the cultivators became extremely nervous. They were less than an hour away from completing the formation, yet, the enemy had already caught on, somehow. If they attacked now, they would have to fight a war within the bubble, so as not to risk the scientists from being targeted, causing the formation to fall apart.

Tension began to rise, until finally, their worries became reality.

Just minutes before the completion of the formation, tens of thousands of monstrous cultivators barged into the universe. Yet, they did not barge in like their predecessors. Instead, they maintained somewhat of a formation. Their beady and empty eyes moved on the almost complete formation, making sure that it had not been activated yet. While they couldn’t possibly imagine what the formation’s purpose was, they had prepared for it being a weapon of mass destruction, aimed at destroying a large portion of their army the moment of their arrival.

Yet, contrary to their prediction, the barrier did not activate like they had expected.

To act, instead, were the cultivators that stood past the barrier, who, almost possessed by an ancient spirit of war, flooded into the unfinished parts of the barrier, weapons in hand, to engage them. Okka was the one leading them.

The fight, albeit short, was an extremely bloody one. The champions of Horror were clearly more powerful than the cultivators, and could outperform them five to one. But that did not stop the cultivators from fighting to the death. Behind their shoulders were the hope of their people, their families.. If there ever was a cause worth dying for, this was it.

Horror’s horde had arrived only minutes before the completion of the formation, yet these minutes felt extremely long. Each second thousands would die, dismembered by the horrific claws and serrated blades. A quiet massacre where to speak was the blood that was spilled, making the area look like the blooming of a field of red flowers.

Time, however, never stopped.

Before long, only a handful of spatial treasures were left.. But the scientific team did not complete the formation. With heavy hearts they had witnessed the selfless sacrifice of the cultivators.. Companions whom they were unwilling to forever seal within the formation. So, before placing the last few treasures, the young man with purple eyes shouted “FALL BACK!!”

His voice made use of the formation, bouncing through the entire bubble with impossible might, and reaching the ears of everyone inside it. “GO!! GO!” Okka ordered as the cultivators, almost as if presented with their last chance of survival, immediately found a hole in the formation and dashed towards it.

Unfortunately, the voice also reached the ears of the champions of Horror, which immediately followed suit.

One by one the cultivators fought their way to the holes, killing their enemy before barging out, and allowing for the researchers to patch the hole.. Until only a single hole was left. A hole Okka and a few cultivators were dashing towards while fighting off the meat of Horror’s army.

Seeing that that hole was the last opening, the monsters of Horror’s domain focused on it, delaying the escape of Okka and the others. Unfortunately, things were only getting worse.

As the numbers increased, their pace slowed down, to a point where the cultivators had almost stopped, and formed a barrier of their own a few miles from the opening. Each cultivator fought to the best of their abilities, slaughtering monsters left and right, but there was no end to them.

Seeing this, Okka made a decision. With his skills as a swordsman, he created a small swords formation. A net of blades that, if approached carelessly, would turn the victims into minced meat. He then turned towards his companions, and ordered, “Fall back, I’ll take care of this!”

Okka’s companions were ready to protest against his obvious sacrifice, but before they could say anything, more cultivators barged into the hole in the barrier, grabbed them, and dragged them out. With his men safe, Okka breathed out in relief. Yet, one thing his companions were wrong about. He had no intention of sacrificing himself.

Once alone, Okka let go of the sword formation, which had granted him a few precious moments, and headed for the remaining exit at full speed. The opening was already being patched. With his heart in his throat, and hair standing on end, he reached with his hand. His fingertips could touch the edge of the bubble.. And like a drop falling on a mirror of water, he was out.

The formation was whole.

Horror’s champions looked at their surroundings. The runes that composed the formation were starting to shine with odd lights.. The thought of retreating back out of the universe had formed, but it seemed that it was too late. Witnessing this, the cultivators could not help but feel an overwhelming happiness emerge from the bottom of their hearts.

Just as it seemed that the formation would activate, however.. The runes stopped glowing. In their pattern the spatial treasures, fuel to the formation, had begun to disappear one by one.