East of Meridian City, there was a large state-sponsored agricultural district. Due to the city's importance for maritime trade, grain and crop production comprised 60% of the area's economy. As a result, the reserved farmland was shockingly large, considering its proximity to a mega city.
There were thirty square miles of farmland in the district. In the center was a large swath of cornfields in a rotation that around eighty people were navigating to.
Three dozen cultivators were above the fields. They had recently flown there and were now overlooking the contestants.
"This is it, Jacob?" A familiar woman frowned, her brunette hair wrapped in a tight bun, "Of the hundred thousand or more ants, less than a hundred made it?"
The cultivator that appraised Kaze on June 2nd turned to a man who looked like he was in charge with a stern expression. He felt sweat drip down his shoulder blades, and his two subordinates shuddered. "Why is there so few people?"
One of the subordinates winced and spoke. "Well, the thing is—"
"Not you." She scoffed, "I'm asking Jacob why there's so few people."
The long black-haired man in question averted his gaze with an indignant expression.
"It's because they're weak, Martha." Jacob replied coldly, "I told them the event was here as discussed, and the animals started killing each other to prevent competition. Then their military arrived to kill them. That's not my fault."
Martha turned to his subordinates. "Do you two testify that Jacob didn't do anything to encourage these ants to kill one another?"
They looked at each other and their boss before nodding. However—
"Under threat of death for perjury." She clarified, "I am reporting this turn out to my superiors."
The subordinates froze, both unwilling to lie with their lives on the line.
Jacob's eyes turned cold, and his fists trembled. His anger was visible. "Martha, do not blame us for the savage actions of these insects.
Their incivility is not predictable by rational standards."
Martha gave him a mocking smile. "Is that so? Like people killing each other for food during times of starvation? I'd say that's normal behavior. It's strange that everyone would think that food was here when it isn't."
"They must have misinterpreted there would be food here because we're in crop fields." He replied coldly.
She smirked at his response. "Hoh? Do crop fields have exactly enough for—"
"Enough!" Jacob snapped, "We're here to plant these fields, not make friends with insects. So do your job and stop accusing me of wrongdoing when I've done my job."
"You're wrong." Marta replied coldly, "There are too few people to fertilize these fields properly and we may have to put the planting on hold. During that time, we can investigate whether you're disrupting the war recruitment effort for treason or personal gain."
He tried to object, but she raised her hand, all of the cultivators' hands glowed, and the equipment satchels in their hands disappeared into thin air.
Kaze frowned when they put the equipment away but smiled when he saw they had spatial rings for the Ergo seeds!
Spatial rings stored items for extraction. However, as physically required, the space had to exist somewhere. Therefore, spatial rings use a rift to access an actual storage space.
There were distance limitations for spatial rings. As a result, the rings set up for Ergo Seed planting were hastily set up on Earth by a rare professional, meaning all the seeds were likely in one place!
It was a jackpot. He only had to capture one and drop the new seeds into Immortal Skye from his storage ring to accomplish his goal. However—
"Wait!" Jacob yelled, "Are you mad!?"
"Of course not!" Martha scoffed, "I will not get in trouble for crop failure due to your treasonous actions. There's already a treason investigation ongoing; I'm not adding myself to it."
"You're insane!" He scoffed, "Treason? Does anyone believe cultivators are aiding the mortals in a fight against the Killian faction? Crux hates mortals and doesn't speak a human language!"
Kaze froze; he didn't know what would happen with the divine beast stayed. However, he thought it'd end in desertion charges and a basic investigation.
After all, no one would willingly live on Earth during the apocalypse! It was unthinkable.
So hearing that she was under investigation for treason was extreme. It was concerning because—
"We're about to find out." Martha said coldly, "We spotted Darkness used only an hour ago in this area. We've all been told to investigate after we've finished with our roles."
"Oh, that's what it is." Jacob scoffed in disgust, "You're trying to be the first to investigate and win the rewards. So you're pushing off your duties here."
"Even if that were true, it'd only work if you failed to perform your duties—as you have." She smiled wickedly.
"OUI! YOU DID IT, DIDN'T YOU!" An aggressive man yelled out.
"Did what, you crazy freak?" Another scoffed.
"YOU ATE ALL THE FOOD!"
The cultivators turned down when they heard a fight break out. A moment later—
Whoooooosh! Thud, thud, thud-thud-thud-thud-thud….
—an air slash ripped across the cornfields, cutting a row of crops and multiple cultivators in half.
While the strength of the attack wasn't special, there was a reason to leave the cultivators stunned.
"T-This Soul Qi…." Martha muttered, "It's so rich…."
"Y-Yeah, that's right!" Jacob said boldly, "Thinning the ranks ensured that only the strongest cultivators got here. One of these people is worth a hundred normal people!"
His argument was solid, making her grit her teeth.
"Mortals!" Martha yelled from the air, "Let this attack start your trial! The last three to survive will obtain a peak earth-grade cultivation technique, making you the strongest humans on earth!"
"FUCK YEAH!"
"Shut up! Do you want to—"
Whoooooosh!
"GahhhhhhhhHHHH!"
Thud, thud, thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Unable to see one another as planned, the cultivators began attacking randomly in the cornfield.
To keep up the illusion, Kaze stalked the cornfield, periodically releasing raw Soul Qi to make it seem like humans were more powerful than they were.
He used a Spirit Qi disguise technique to make his cultivation look erratic. It was amateur at best, but Sky Plane cultivators were children compared to him. So he hoped it was enough.
"Unbelievable." Martha whispered, watching rich Soul Qi populate the earth. It was a boon from her perspective, a tempting one, "There is more Soul Qi here than expected."
"Yes, so do your job." Jacob said coldly, watching her like a hawk.
Kaze observed them as he skillfully moved through the area, stalking prey. He was listening to those boasting about killing innocents and killing them first.
He'd kill them all if necessary. Evalyn, Crux, Kiera, and Immortal Skye were in danger of war, and he wanted revenge. He wasn't there to play hero on other people's behalf.
His strategy was simple; he'd end the match and let them bring out the seeds voluntarily to distract them. Once he secured his objective, he'd manufacture all their deaths. It was a multi-tiered strategy that mitigated further investigation in the event of failure. He wasn't infallible.
Once everyone had thinned out, Kaze felt a cultivator in the distance and waited, pretending to look around.
When the man struck, he waited in place until the last minute and [tried] to dodge, letting it hit his body.
He faked his death to prevent attention by combining a blood illusion, an illusion that masked his cultivation completely, and a slight release of Soul Qi.
"How strange; I thought that one was powerful due to his combat skill and body." Martha muttered, watching him [die], "I guess it shows that mortals are still mortals. It's a pity."
"That's enough!" She boomingly announced after the match, "Only three of you still remain. Please walk to me to obtain your technique."
All the competitors, bloody and breathing raggedly, walked to the center of the field.
She turned to her people. "Get your equipment and plant quickly; we're leaving as quickly as possible. We're investigating Crux's disappearance and potential betrayal. So act with haste!"
The cultivators nodded, and a chain reaction of blue light flashed across their hands, and satchels containing farming supplies and seeds materialized.
Kaze observed, watching them glide down in the field from his prone position. He was waiting until everyone was distracted before moving.
"It's time to go." He whispered, skillfully creating a spatial rift underneath his lower body.
Since his lower body fell from the sky, he naturally fell onto his feet right. Regardless, he never touched the ground, gliding on top.
As a result, the cultivator digging in the field didn't even hear him before—
Thud.
—a strange attack hit the back of their neck, and they dropped to the ground.
It was non-lethal. He couldn't let more Soul Qi enter the fields when Jacob and his squad were specifically monitoring it.
He then propped them up in a digging position and stole their spatial ring. After stealing the seeds from their leather bag, he walked through another rift.
Thud.
Another.
Thud.
A third.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud… thud.
One after another, the cultivators fell. While it was suspicious, their disappearances conveniently occurred everywhere that the cultivators weren't watching, no matter how far away they were. It was also dark, and his speed was ghostly.
After he stole from eighteen cultivators walked out of a rift to the forest, activating a spatial ring where he could see the cultivators but wouldn't get noticed.
"They didn't lock the storage." Kaze smiled, looking at the hundreds of kits inside, "The question is whether a war is imminent."
If he stole too many, it would alert the Killian Cultivators they got robbed prematurely. It would also raise further questions about Crux's potential involvement.
However, they already learned about her when she used a distinctive attack in the sky above Meridian City, swarming with cultivators for the planting. He frowned, thinking about it.
"We must only hold out until 9 am tomorrow." Kaze muttered, "Then we'll have a month to prepare for another 24-hour attack, as the cultivators must leave during every closing.
However, treason will affect her family. So we'll need to act accordingly, making the situation complicated… I'll take three dozen. That's a much greater haul than anticipated.
These fools cannot tell which area stole them, anyway."
He quickly unloaded the kits and looked up, noticing Jacob's face just in time.
The cultivator trembled in horror when he noticed that the cultivators he thought were digging were unconscious. It was hard to see with them on their hands and knees, but the pattern was noticeable. "H-Hey, Mar—"
Halfway through speaking, a hand grabbed his mouth and pulled him through an alternate dimension.
Looking at the brand-new scenery overlooking the area, he heard a bone-chilling voice whisper in his ear. "Hello, Jacob. As of this moment, your only purpose in life is to tell me everything you know about these treason investigations.
I lack even five seconds, so if you don't answer my questions in one sentence without a single [um] or pause, I'll snap your neck and ask Martha. Nod once if you understand."
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