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Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

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Crossovers & Fandom FusionsStrong Female CharactersPost-ApocalypseLitRPG

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Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-11Words:240,265Chapters:51/?Comments:454Kudos:459Bookmarks:88Hits:18,074

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 40

Chapter Text

Big thank you to @Massgamer for proofreading!

Chapter 40

Thomas Fischer was frustrated with the fallout of Salvation's death. Somehow, despite their best attempts, New Washington had still been infiltrated by his puppets. The sense of helplessness in the face of the power of the Multiverse haunted him. He was used to helping lead the greatest military on Earth. America had been the hegemon, and now aliens and fanatics could wipe aside all the preparations his people had tried to make with little difficulty. Even now, if Void Disciple, Inevitability, or Harbinger were to attack, it was almost certain that there was nothing Thomas or the entire might of the NWG could do to stop them.

Not even all three… more than likely just one.

Oh sure, they had some contingencies in place; Offensive Arrays, explosive traps, pre-positioned artillery, nerve gas, and other tricks, but Thomas was also a realist. The odds of any of them working were slim to none. It didn't mean they shouldn't try, since even one chance in a thousand was better than zero, but it did mean that the contingency plans were to first safeguard Silverfox, military leaders like Hank, the other members of his council, their few Rankers, and of course himself. It galled him that he would be cutting and running if any of those damn aliens showed up, but it was the best play.

Fortunately, it seemed either the Zhix truly believed the NWG wanted to negotiate and not do anything to interfere with their plans, or they perceived the NWG as too weak to even care. Though that might change if the Dominators learned about the Mystic Realm.

He turned to his right-hand, the only other person equal to his strength in the NWG.

"Do you have any good news about our leads with the Church of the Everlasting Dao?"

"The spies we caught have generally had limited knowledge about the movements of the Church, but we did get some useful information this time. We have managed to locate one of the four entrances that they control into the Mystic Realm. We can amass our armies to strike it, and if we are fast enough, I think the two of us together can prevail. Though I would feel better if we could use Tanya and her Salamander Group."

Thomas considered things carefully. He knew that humanity was on a precipice. A Mystic Realm could be anything from a place with some rare treasures and useful cultivation grounds, to holding ancient weapons of unspeakable strength. If there was anything on Earth that could defeat the Dominators that wasn't Zac Atwood or Tanya Degurechaff, it would be found in that realm.

"Any new intelligence?" Thomas asked.

"We have confirmed from multiple sources that the Mystic Realm is large and that there is an enormous structure that can hold millions of people within. It is already occupied by an indigenous force, and even the core members of the Church have found themselves in pitched battle without making much headway."

There was more. The population inside of the Mystic Realm had multiple E-grade warriors. The best-case scenario for humanity was that they both grind themselves into the dirt.

"Keep up surveillance on the location, but pull back our strike teams. We'll wait for Tanya to finish her contract with the Marshall Alliance and Port Atwood, and then use her strength. If we can. In the meantime, let's earn some goodwill."

If Tanya doesn't play ball… well I'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Silverfox tilted their head. "What do you mean?"

"Prepare the NWG armies. It is time for us to help purge the Undead."

***

Adriel scowled at the setback that had taken place. The Humans had changed their behavior. Before they had been content to grind themselves against his children without understanding the true nature of his plan. The main hordes he had used were important, but the knife in the dark was the smaller groups and the Array Flags they carried to turn this world into a Death-Attuned one.

Somehow they figured it out and destroyed not just the smaller groups, but my delicate Arrays as well.

It was not a total loss, some had been implanted, and he might yet still manage to solve the issue with trickery, or perhaps align the design in a completely different direction. The Zhix involvement had also been an unwelcome surprise and he felt disquieted by having underestimated the Humans. None of them should have had any understanding of complex Arrays or what he was looking to accomplish. That he had lost generals at the Everlasting Monastery, and then again with this 'Enchanter Class Tanya Degurechaff', had also been a setback.

Adriel ignored the wails and screams of the dreamers still locked in one of his experiments as Threzz entered his personal chamber. The gaunt cultivator was shrouded in robes of pure darkness.

"My lord."

"Threzz, I grow tired of my plans being delayed. If we take too much time with the alignment of this world, we may allow the likes of the Church to obtain the prize within the Mystic Realm. The time for games is over."

"What are your orders? If your concern is the Church, grant me a horde and I will strike them down before they can become a nuisance."

The Lich was annoyed. Threzz despised the Church of the Everlasting Dao. Once they had learned those zealots were here, he had been anxious to be sent out to deal with them. But he was not in command, and his insistence was growing bothersome.

"I will allow that, but only after you deal with the Human causing me problems. With the Everlasting Monastery no longer a threat, you will take command of that horde. A secondary horde will be pulled from the defenses here to envelop them. You will take the spectral assassins and the newly awakened revenants. I will send along my clones as well."

He had worked hard to master the cloning Skill after he learned they were particularly well-suited for Incursions. The Heavens restricted his attributes, dulled the full potency of his Dao, and even weakened his aura. Those shackles would soon be gone, but he had learned that clones, which only had a fraction of his power, were based on his full power. It likely wasn't sufficient to match the more powerful progenitors, but with his mastery of Arrays, he could observe what the shards of himself were doing and see just how potent his foes were.

"You will also take the more formidable Corpse Golems. Your first task is to ensure Tanya Degurechaff is dead. Your second task is to bring me the body of the Poison Mistress. Your third task is to annihilate the army Tanya leads. Do this and I will grant you the forces you need to destroy the Church."

Threzz bowed, but then dared to question.

"My lord, are you sure that weakening the defenses here is wise?"

"Have you forgotten I have forged these Defensive Arrays myself? Or the preparations I have made if the impossible occurred? Do not forget I still reside here. Just focus on your tasks, Threzz."

The darkness concentrated and one of the few generals he had left dissipated from view. The actions of the Humans would set back his plans a few weeks until he could recreate the destroyed Arrays, but what were a few weeks compared to the long centuries ahead? Once he succeeded in aligning this world into a proper Death-Attuned planet, he would earn much favor. Combine that with the Origin Dao and the potent Spatial Seed within the Mystic Realm… well, for a Lich of his standing, he would be well-rewarded. The path to the Peak of E-grade and then Hegemony would be smooth and wide.

***

My hunt for Unholy Beacons sometimes took me away from the main army, but never all that far. For whatever reason, now that the Undead were using these Unholy Beacons, they typically had at least one in any concentrated group of zombies.

While there were risks involved in me heading out by myself, I avoided straying too far, and soon enough I had finished the Quest.

Beacon Breaker (Unique): Destroy 17 Unholy Beacons in combat. (17/17) Reward: Limited Title, Beacon Breaker. [COMPLETE]

The new Title that was rewarded gave me a 2% improvement on all base attributes. Base attributes were apparently just all attributes except for Luck. Even better, there was a follow-up Quest.

Scourge of the Undead (Unique): Contribute to three failed Undead Empire Incursion Trials. (0/3).

I asked Vhorra about that, because obtaining a victory over the Undead Empire here would count as one, but how could I possibly get the other two? She asked to see the specific wording of the Quest.

"There are only two, perhaps three, ways I can see the Quest being accomplished beyond your world. The first is to travel using a Cosmic Vessel to a world facing their own Integration Trial that the Undead Empire is a part of."

That was essentially impossible, and not just because I didn't have a Cosmic Vessel. The System shrouded 'baby planets' as they Integrated. Not even the people who took part in an Incursion knew where in the Multiverse the planet they were attacking was located. It would be complete blind luck at completely absurd odds.

"Right, so basically impossible. And the other two?"

"The second one is just a theory," Vhorra explained. "My own, and not something I know for sure. I still think it should work. It is where you somehow learn of a planned participation by the Undead Empire in an Incursion. Then sneak onto their staging world either with a Cosmic Vessel, teleportation token, or some other means, and then disrupt them prior to everyone that is going crossing over. By weakening the Incursion from the other side, I believe you should get credit."

I gave her a flat look. She made that high-pitched laughing noise she sometimes did during battles.

"I assume that the third option is the one you wish me to take after giving me two previous terrible ones?"

Vhorra's rock-like face split into a grin.

"If Earth manages to close all of its Incursions, there will be options available for the Planetary Lord to pay for this planet to participate as an Incursion member against another world." She rumbled on quickly. "Don't give me that look, you don't have to conquer the world you wish to attack. The Undead Empire is always expanding, so there are at least somewhat decent odds that any world this world attempts to invade will have an Undead Incursion to deal with. You could just destroy their Incursion, obtain the credit, soak up Origin Dao insights, and then head back."

Well… that might not be too terrible. I never thought that the Incursion process could be used to help a local population instead of harm it.

Of course, that meant I'd probably be restricted by the System like the people who had invaded Earth, we'd have to come up with the massive amount of funds needed to purchase the right, it would have to be the Planetary Lord's call, and we would still need to get lucky. The more I thought about it, the less likely the prospect felt. However, there was no time limit on the Quest, so I could leave it on the backburner and just keep my eyes open for opportunities.

More important than the Quest was the fact that I had finally obtained the Dao Fragment of the Forge.

Fragment of the Forge (Early) All Attributes +10, Endurance +80, Wisdom +60, Intelligence +50, Dexterity +15. Effectiveness of Endurance +5%.

This was not as great a gain as I would have expected. Each Peak Dao Seed gave 120 attribute points, and so two Peak Dao Seeds added up to 240. This only gave me a total of 275 stats. The 240 from my previous Seeds were lost in the combination, though for the most part they were all represented in the 275 stat points of the Fragment. I did also gain an improvement to the effectiveness of my Endurance attribute, which also had its ups and downs. I'd honestly have preferred Wisdom or Dexterity, but being a little bit harder to kill wasn't terrible.

The two most important aspects were that I could now qualify for Epic Classes, and that I had finished one of my Class Quests.

Cosmic Reserves (Class) Upgrade to a Dao Fragment using the Dao Seed of Structure or the Dao Seed of Insight. (1/1) [COMPLETE]

Once again, no Skill Fractal formed, but I could feel my body slowly draw in more Cosmic Energy. I looked at the Status screen to see what had changed.

Cosmic Reserves: Double the maximum Cosmic Energy available for use.

Oh, now this is useful for crafting, absolutely. Part of the reason some crafting projects take so long is that I have to pause and either drain a Nexus Crystal or cultivate back my Cosmic Energy before continuing. By starting with double the amount, that should cut down on some of the time.

I couldn't help but grin. It also made a huge difference in how much output I had during battle. I 'cheated' in quite a few ways during prolonged battles to conserve energy. [Crimson Siphon] himself had a store of Cosmic Energy available that he naturally drank from the ambient energies in the air. The intake rate was pretty low, but having a reserve I can call on was great. What actually helped the most was when he was in battle and killing things. Blood was what he hungered for, but Kill Energy could be transferred over to me as Cosmic Energy to help fuel my own Skills. Different battles changed how much I could get as it depended on the Level of the enemy. The zombies weren't too bad because he could kill a ton of them easily, whereas when we fought against the Yrd Stonemen I got basically nothing because he couldn't land any killing blows. For maximum Cosmic Energy flow, it would want to harvest things higher level than the zombies, but still just as easy to kill.

Of course, I could also cultivate when I had breathing room in battle or sucked dry a Nexus Crystal. Absorbing energy from a Nexus Crystal wasn't instantaneous and F-grade Crystals hardly mattered anymore, while E-grade Crystals were expensive, so I didn't like doing that. But it was substantially faster than just relying on Cultivation.

I took a breath and decided to look at my Status screen one final time before I picked my E-grade Class.

Name: Tanya Degurechaff

Level: 75

Class: [F-Rare] Enchanter

Race: [E] Human

Alignment [Earth] Human

Titles: Defier of Gods, Indecipherable Anomaly, The Eleventh Goddess, Devil of the Rhine, Chosen of the Skies, Flame Savior, Leader of Men, Adventurer, Giantsbane, Full of Class, Rarified Being, Genesis Crafter, Quest Breaker, Ogre Slayer, Invasion Breaker, Unmaker, Disciple of David, Overpowered, Proven in Blood, One Against Many, Scion of the Dao, Butcher, Early Bird, Dao Teacher, Tower of Eternity - 6th Floor, Achievement Hunter, First Step

Limited Titles: Beacon Breaker

Strength: 97 [Increase 17%. Efficiency: 116%]

Dexterity: 257 [Increase 27%. Efficiency: 116%]

Endurance: 252 [Increase 17%. Efficiency: 122%]

Vitality: 141 [Increase 17%. Efficiency: 116%]

Intelligence: 234 [Increase 17%. Efficiency: 116%]

Wisdom: 579 [Increase 37%. Efficiency: 116%]

Luck: 86 [Increase 15%. Efficiency: 116%]

Constitution: Speed of Thought (First Layer) Dexterity +10, Intelligence +5, Dexterity, +5%.

Fragment of the Forge – Early. All Attributes +10, Endurance +80, Wisdom +60, Intelligence +50, Dexterity +15. Effectiveness of Endurance +5%.

[Dao Seed of Volition – High. Dexterity +40, Wisdom +10, Intelligence +5, Vitality +5]

[Dao Seed of Delegation – Middle. Wisdom +25, Intelligence +5]

[Dao Seed of Fury – Middle. Vitality +25, Strength +5]

[Dao Seed of Sanctuary – Middle. Wisdom +25, Endurance +5]

[Dao Seed of Pledge – Early. Wisdom +10, Intelligence +5]

[Dao Seed of Investment – Early. Intelligence +10, Wisdom +5]

My attributes were coming along nicely, though it was a shame my other Dao Seeds weren't where I hoped they would be when I moved into E-grade. From Early to Peak there was an 8x improvement in the stats a Dao Seed provided. Having both Pledge and Investment still Early really did almost nothing, and so far I hadn't found a useful application in combat for them.

I'll have time in E-grade to improve my foundations. The important part was advancing so I didn't waste the Cosmic Energy from my own kills or from all my Cosmic Energy-leeching weapons I have scattered about. So far, the Undead Empire hasn't sent anything too dangerous my way, but their Incursion Leader is probably formidable.

It was the moment of truth. Time to see what Classes I could select and then prepare for the Tribulation. I used the Teleporter Array to take Dad with me to Everwood Refuge. There were three possible Tribulations that could hit me; Body, Heart, or Soul. From my reading and Information Crystal absorption, the System would typically test what it viewed as your weakest aspect.

Most of the time an upgrade from F-grade to E-grade was not likely to cause serious harm. However, the System would juice up the Tribulation depending on what rarity of Class you ascended to. Getting an Uncommon Class was quite tolerable and rarely even summoned the Tribulation Lightning that was associated with the Body Tribulation. That was only for Epic and Arcane Class choices, but even then it wasn't always the case.

Dad was with me in case I did suffer any damage he would be able to help me recover quickly. He could do nothing to help me during my Tribulation, but he could assist with the recovery afterwards.

"You got this Tanya," my father said encouragingly.

I smiled. "Well, first I have to select my Class."

I interacted with the Nexus Node, moving over to the E-grade Classes and information the System screens showed me.

E-grade:

Free Attributes Gained Per Level: 10

Base Attribute Gained Per Node 76-100:

Common, Uncommon: Base Attributes: +6

Rare, Epic: Base Attributes: +7

Arcane: Base Attributes: +8

Base Attributes Gained per Node 101-125:

Common, Uncommon: Base Attributes: +14

Rare, Epic: Base Attributes: +16

Arcane: Base Attributes: +18

Base Attributes Gained per Node 126-150:

Common, Uncommon: Base Attributes: +22

Rare, Epic: Base Attributes: +25

Arcane: Base Attributes: +28

[Option 1.]

Name: Celestial General [E-Epic]. Divergence from Enchanter.

Attribute per Level (x1/x2/x3): Intelligence +14, Wisdom +10.

First Skill Gained: Raise the Banner

Lead the armies of the Multiverse to victory.

[Option 2.]

Name: High Enchanter [E-Epic]. Upgrade of Enchanter.

Attribute per Level (x1/x2/x3): Wisdom +15, Intelligence +8.

First Skill Gained: Fated Crafting

Advanced ability to unmake and create enchantments upon items.

[Option 3.]

Name: Arcane Arsenal [E-Epic]. Hybrid Upgrade of Enchanter.

Attribute per Level (x1/x2/x3): Wisdom +10, Intelligence +8, Vitality +5

First Skill Gained: Detonate

Build the weapons of war. Use the weapons of war.

[Option 4.]

Name: Artisan Extraordinaire [E-Epic]. Upgrade of Enchanter.

Attribute per Level (x1/x2/x3): Wisdom +14, Intelligence +4, Dexterity +4

First Skill Gained: Masterpiece

Magical elegance personified.

[Option 5.]

Name: Master of Fire [E-Rare]. Divergence from Enchanter.

Attribute per Level (x1/x2/x3): Intelligence +19

First Skill Gained: Inferno

Burn everything.

I was more than a bit flabbergasted as to how many attributes were obtained as you ascended the ranks of E-grade. I came to a very clear understanding that I was very fortunate not to have run into any of the Dominators. While attributes weren't everything, they did matter a lot. The Dominators were slightly above Level 100 according to Alea, who had access to a Zhix who could look at their Race's World Ladder. That meant they had at least 25 Levels on me. Which meant they had broken open 25 Levels of Nodes. Each Node was embedded into an E-grade cultivator's pathways and by grinding them down with your Dao, or bursting them open suddenly like mortals were forced to do, you gained the attribute bonuses. But that was on top of the Level you gained too.

Before you could gain a Level, you had to first break open the node. Which meant that even if the Dominators didn't have anything more than an Uncommon Class, they still had 150 attributes to every stat except for Luck across the board, just from their nodes. On top of that, whatever attribute gain they had from their Class. If I selected High Enchanter, for example, at Level 100, I'd have an additional 375 points in Wisdom on top of the Node breaking attribute gain and before the percentage increases from my Titles.

In the Multiverse a Level 100 cultivator is not twice as powerful as a Level 50 one. Here, at a minimum, a Level 100 cultivator is twice as powerful as a Level 75, and I might be grossly understating this.

There were more things to consider, of course. From what I gather, many of the Demons only had one or two Dao Seeds. It had been shocking to learn that one of the major reasons for bottlenecks for going from F-grade to E-grade was a lack of a Dao Seed. I knew that the Origin Dao was powerful, but I hadn't realized just how potent it was until I understood the comparison. The average cultivator, without the benefit of the Origin Dao, could spend decades just to obtain a single Dao Seed. And if you were below average, it might never happen. That was why Vhorra had been so eager to stay on Earth and take part in future Incursions where she could gain even more benefits, even if we didn't do any conquering.

The point being, a Level 100 E-grade cultivator with only a single Dao Seed may still have a strong attribute advantage, but their Dao was incredibly important for battle. The ability to imbue attacks with your Dao and create Dao Fields could overcome stat differentials. But I had a feeling the Dominators were not slouches when it came to their Dao, so it wasn't much of a comfort.

The choices for my E-grade Class were interesting. I dismissed the last option because it was only Rare and seemed to completely remove me from the Enchanting path. The Celestial General also seemed to be a divergence away from crafting, but it did tempt me a little bit. It seemed to mesh incredibly well with my [Leader of Men] Title and I couldn't help but feel like the System was trying to nudge me in that direction.

Not that what the System wants matters to me at all.

I had incomplete knowledge of what High Enchanter and Arcane Arsenal were capable of. The Multiverse was miserly about information, unless it was already fully distributed like Common and Uncommon Classes. All I had to go off of were tales of some of the accomplishments of cultivators who had those Classes. The High Enchanter was a Class that remained purely devoted to crafting like the Enchanter. It was more of the same, with their ability to create Supreme-grade treasures that went above and beyond for their grade being the big appeal. The [Fated Crafting] ability sounded like more gacha bullshit, like manipulating the chance to get better Breakthroughs.

The Arcane Arsenal was all about forging powerful weapons and then using them. It had a mixture of crafting and combat Class Skills, and there had been a few cautionary tales of cultivators viewing battles with them as just never being worth it. It wasn't that they fought at some superlative level, it was that they just had a mountain of offensive talismans and defensive treasures that made finishing them off nearly impossible unless you were significantly more powerful or had a large group.

There was a complete void of information for Artisan Extraordinaire. This made it tempting, because of the basic laws of supply and demand. The rarer something was, the more valuable it was, assuming base conditions made whatever thing, service, or labor have at least some value in the first place.

None of these four choices would be bad, but I can't afford to stay away from the front for long. I don't have time to hmm and haw over this. I'll select what I have been working towards in the first place.

"I'm selecting now. Once I do, I intend to run in that direction," I said to my father while pointing to the west, "follow only after the Tribulation is done."

I picked the third option, Arcane Arsenal.

[Tribulation will descend in 1 Minute]

Seriously, System? Why would you capitalize the 'm' in minute?

I moved away from the Nexus Node at my top speed to a patch of land that was away from other buildings and people. As the timer neared zero, I saw as the clouds gathered and the energy levels strengthened.

[Body Tribulation Descends. Struggle for Survival.]

Clouds fully coalesced. I was struck by a bluish bolt of lightning, and then several smaller golden ones. It hurt pretty fucking bad. I felt my body fight back against the lightning. It wasn't exactly like electrocution either, but more of the feel of my muscles tearing. Only it wasn't just my muscles, but every single part of me.

I endured it. My teeth nearly shattered from the way I was clenching my jaw, but I refused to give the System the satisfaction of crying out in pain. The lightning coursed through every bit of me and then… nothing. I sagged to my knees and felt the blessed relief of not being under tremendous agony. I was still hurting, but now it was just the wounds from the experience, and not the active excruciating torture.

My dad came rushing up and immediately pumped my Vitality higher with his Skill.

"Are you okay? Talk to me, please!"

I was still steaming a bit and I realized it was probably giving off an awful stench. That was less the frying of my cells and more of the expulsion of impurities now that I had reached E-grade.

"I'm good, really. That was… unpleasant. I'll be fine, but keep that Skill up, if you don't mind."

I was hurting, but I could already feel my Vitality working. My improved Vitality, I realized. Because there were some things that had changed again. First was picking the Class itself. I had gained Wisdom +50, +5%, Intelligence +50, +5%, Vitality +50, +5%. But that wasn't all. I had also gained a new Title.

[Monarch Select: First to Reach E-grade in World Reward: Base attributes +50, Luck +5, All stats +5%]

My jaw dropped. The +50 to all base attributes would one day not be a big deal, but right now it was a pretty damn big deal! Luck was an attribute that I couldn't put points in, so the bonus there was nice, but the real advantage here was the 5% to all Stats. Just for being first, I was 5% better at everything. Forever. The System was making it very plain that speed for progenitors would give huge benefits.

This was at odds with the way the Multiverse thought about the process of self-improvement. While there had been literature about the dangers of losing momentum, the general rule was that you should take each step in your cultivation journey carefully. It is better to form solid foundations before attempting to advance yourself. That logic was backwards when it came to newly Integrated worlds… well, at least for the few people who were in contention for winning said first Titles.

I did a double check of my attributes and realized my Wisdom wasn't as high as it should be. I then realized that I was no longer getting the Wisdom +10% from my Enchanter Class. It had been replaced with the +5%. I still didn't lose any Wisdom thanks to all my stats also going up by my new Title, but it was good information to know. I wondered if everyone knew that off-hand in the Multiverse, so the Information Crystals didn't bother mentioning it, but it seemed like something that should have been mentioned.

Oh well, these things primarily only matter on a comparison basis.

Anything I wasn't getting to keep from my Class upgrade through the grades would be something my potential opponents wouldn't be able to keep either.

Dad was still worried, but I was rapidly healing.

"After I'm back to 100%, I'm going to use some of the things I got from Base Town to see what it is like to break open a Node with a Node-breaking Pill. It will be good to document the effects, and I don't want to let any Cosmic Energy go to waste."

He frowned. "You should pace yourself…"

I shook my head. "No, the opposite." I showed him my new Title. "In my situation, it would be risky not to push quickly. Maybe there's a Title for first in world to reach Level 100. It's pretty clear these Titles are segregated by Race, so I don't think the Dominators stole that opportunity for us. The more Titles I can accumulate as a progenitor, the safer we'll all be."

He gave a small sigh. "Because not only do you get stronger, but someone who doesn't want to restrict the powers of the Planetary Lord doesn't get it either."

"Yes, it isn't ideal, and in a normal world things like this would not be a zero-sum game, but when it comes to progenitor first Titles the System has created a zero-sum universe. The faster I achieve things, the more secure Earth will be from any potential tyranny."

We soon teleported back. I had taken an absurdly large step forward, but I had no intention to rest on my laurels.

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Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

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Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-11Words:240,265Chapters:51/?Comments:454Kudos:459Bookmarks:88Hits:18,074

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 41

Chapter Text

Thank you to @Massgamer for proofreading!

Chapter 41

I recovered a bit and then immediately took the pills needed to break open the first node. Pills typically worked best in Early E-grade. After those very early stages, it was a lot more difficult to use them successfully without dangerously polluting your body. In a way, the E-grade nodes were like mini-bottlenecks. Looking inwardly, they were spots all throughout my pathways that needed to be awakened.

The pills did the trick, as they had been advertised they would, and soon the opened node granted +7 to all my stats save for Luck. The immediate power boost felt nice, as did the more relaxed feeling that any Cosmic Energy from my kills or crafting would 'fill' that pathway up and allow me to raise my Level. Then it would be time to break open the next one.

Just testing out my Cosmic Energy flow felt incredible. It was like I had been jogging with weights before and one set had just been removed. Once I gained enough Cosmic Energy to Level-up, I would begin working on the next node. The information had said that cultivators used a combination of their Dao and their cultivation manuals to slowly grind it down. Doing so was not always an easy process, but the Early E-grade portion was generally not too taxing.

Every node was harder to open than the last, and most cultivators didn't have the talent necessary to open all 75 of them. That was when they either sought treasures or did what mortals were forced to. A cultivator could forcibly trap Cosmic Energy, keep it circulating, and then focus all of that energy on a node. Not only did it require more Kill Energy than normal, it required utmost focus and concentration. Then, it would be shattered and the energy would slosh around your pathways in an uncontrollable wave. After doing that, a cultivator who was desperate enough to do that, or just a mortal with no other options, would have to recuperate for a significant amount of time. It wasn't just a matter of healing flesh, but the internal pathways that could not be fixed with just medicine pills and skills like [Minor Healing].

It is what Dad has to look forward to.

I was pretty glum about the prospect of E-grade for mortal cultivators. The accumulated wisdom of thousands of generations regarding the difficulty for mortals to ascend through E-grade was likely correct. Difficult did not mean impossible, though.

I experimented a bit with my shiny new Fragment. The Enchantments I could create with it now were absurdly strong. True, I also had a plethora of new attributes and was now E-grade, but the difference was like night and day. Thanks to [Cosmic Reserves], I didn't need to pause for my Low E-grade quality works. It would take weeks to fully equip my Salamanders with all the upgrades I could now make, but I'd tackle it piecemeal.

I found time to get Dad a Forge-infused triple layer shield treasure, each able to handle attacks even above F-grade. It was the most powerful defensive treasure I'd ever made, and afterwards I took the old one and then gave it over to Ilvere and Alea. They could choose which one of them wanted to use it. They looked at it with suspicion at first, and I just shook my head.

"I'd prefer no animosity between Zac and myself, keeping his favored generals alive seems prudent."

In battle, the Fragment of the Forge was interesting when I used it as a Dao Field. I could turn up the heat around me high enough that zombies caught fire. It wasn't a scorching heat powerful enough to make much of a difference in a fight against even Late and Peak F-grades, but it wasn't nothing either. The more interesting element was how it also stabilized reality around me. I had a feeling that temporal and spatial effects might struggle if they were used while my Dao Field was up.

A pity I don't have a lesser version of something like [Void Ball] so I can test how effective the stabilization effect would be against a powerful offensive treasure like that.

My new Quest for my first Class Skill for Arcane Arsenal was something I also wanted to accomplish, but how soon I could do so was still in question.

Detonate (Class): Craft a Peak E-grade item that creates an incredible explosion. (0/1).

My boundless frustration with the System would continue for the rest of my life. Crafting a Peak E-grade item could be done, but it would require [Careful Path] or have a high failure rate. And I couldn't afford to just sit around for a week and work on it. Besides, as I leveled further into E-grade, the time it took to create a Peak E-grade item would shrink, as would the failure rate when I just did regular crafting. That wasn't the irritating issue, though I did want to get my Class Skill sooner rather than later.

No, the issue was, what the hell did the System mean by 'incredible explosion.' Did it mean area? Potency? Something flashy? What does 'incredible' mean? I was damn sure I didn't want to use resources and precious time to craft a bomb that didn't pass muster!

I set aside my frustration with that for the time being, since there really wasn't a way to fix it right away. Ultimately, my fighting prowess had still been raised dramatically by advancing to E-grade, so that would do for now.

With Abbot Everlasting Peace falling off the Dao Ladder, I now had the number one Dao and number one Leveling spots. The monks of the Everlasting Monastery being gone from Earth did leave us with another horde to deal with, which was fine. The Cosmic Energy gains were not great for me, but they still really helped push my Salamanders higher. The Sino-Indian Alliance was also starting to get some cultivators leveled-up after I made a defensive treasure for Daoist Chosui. He was leading groups of cultivators and just acting as a Dao Guardian if any elite zombies surprised them, otherwise he just let them harvest the Cosmic Energy.

It would take a few days for the horde to reach us. While losses were inevitable, even among the Port Atwood soldiery, our armies were actually in better shape to fight than before. The zombies were now fairly predictable, even the elites, and we had the tools to deal with Miasma more effectively. The only issue I had was that I couldn't assume the enemy was insane enough to try the same tactics that hadn't worked over and over and over again. The other zombie horde was marching toward us. The Undead Empire didn't become a Peak faction by sacrificing armies without any hope of success. Something would have to be different.

Time to prepare a few contingencies.

***

"So this is the place, huh? You can drink and actually get better at fighting than worse?" Jared asked with a smile.

Ryan grinned. "Sort of. I'd normally charge some Nexus Coins, but this one is on the house."

Zoey slid next to Jared at the makeshift bar. It was rather convenient how the larger Cosmos Sacks could hold furniture.

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" she asked.

"I have a variety of brews as part of my Barkeep Class. I figure a lot of people like drinking and dancing, so I made one that mildly improves your Dexterity. Nothing much, just a few points. But then I got to thinking, why not make something a bit more useful for armies on the march?"

Of course… gotta be productive like everyone else.

Jared understood the feeling of wanting to contribute, but was everything going to endlessly be about self-improvement? Even just going out for drinks?

"So I came up with two drinks. The first just gives you a prolonged boost to Vitality. Only for about 24 hours and, like the Dexterity boost, not a whole lot. But the second, and the one I'm not going to provide unless you really want it, is the one that gives a very large boost and a surge of energy to keep you awake, but it has some downsides when it wears off. Lower stats across the board, and it just kills your motivation. You borrow from Peter to pay Paul, if Peter has you in a chokehold… well, it's worth it, but there is a cost."

"We'll have the regular," Jared said.

Ryan flashed a smile. "Coming right up. And again, we really appreciate your work. So many lives have been saved, not just by Tanya and the rest of you killing so many Undead, but by those purification Arrays."

Ryan went to make the drinks and Zoey looked at Jared. "Where's Haze?"

"He's curled up in a corner watching Dorel work."

Zoey smiled, she really liked the Ishiate couple. Jared thought they were swell, but if he had to listen to Zoey talk about how Ishiate society was sooo much better than Human society pre-Integration again, he would just leave. Fortunately, she didn't. Instead she looked blankly at the wall for a bit before turning to him.

"Jared… what do you think will happen in the future? We are mortals. Right now, the others who are cultivators are doing their cultivation thing. Meditating on the Dao seems to have diminishing returns for us, though. It just feels like we are going to get left behind."

He shrugged. "With your sword and armor, you already fight better than some of the Peak F-grade Demons. We might get left behind, but we'll still be useful. And if we ever don't… well, we'll probably still be fit for something. Maybe help Dorel and Shella and keep them safe, or something. Or… just enjoy the extra years we have. I never expected to make it to 100, let alone, what, three hundred plus years? I don't know, to be honest. That seems like an eternity to me. Maybe that's enough."

She laughed. "Neither of us have upgraded our Race yet."

"But we are getting close, all of us are. Unless we fall in battle, we are going to live longer than we ever dreamed we could. If we were proper cultivators, then we would be spending many of those years cultivating instead of enjoying ourselves. We are mortals, so why not enjoy? The info that Tanya brought back makes the road ahead for E-grade seem awful for us. I think getting to E-grade will be nice and all for the stat boost, but I don't have any desire to explode internal nodes and suffer agonizing pain every time I want more power."

Her brow wrinkled. "Are you serious? You are just going to give up? There's so much good that you, that we, can do. The Multiverse is a terrible place, but we can make it better."

Jared snorted and took a sip of the drinks that had arrived.

Good stuff.

"You can't possibly think we could ever make a real difference in the Multiverse. Sure, we can help keep Earth safe, or at least help Tanya do that, but we are broken, mediocre fish in a tiny puddle. There are things beyond Earth that could vaporize everyone in the Salamander Group with a Thanos snap. Be realistic."

She shook her head violently.

"That's a shit excuse. It's too hard so we should just give up? Where would people be if no one stood up? Think about all the Civil Rights leaders who risked their lives for justice. They stood up against the system, against ingrained prejudices that had lasted for centuries, and made a difference! The Multiverse sucking and being hard to fix doesn't mean our obligation changes. We are privileged enough to be taken under the wing by a Ranker who has invested in us. If you aren't with us for the long haul, you should just leave."

"Hey, fuck you," he snapped back. "I'm just being realistic, and I do my part. I'm risking my life and will continue to do so. But after the Incursions are closed? I plan on taking a much needed vacation! And guess what? I can, and it won't even make much of a difference because we're both stuck being shitty ass mortals who can't properly cultivate!"

Zoey looked like she was about to snap back before she took a breath.

"You know what? You're right, you are doing your part. I shouldn't badger you about what you aren't going to do in the future, if you are doing something now. Just because we are mortals doesn't mean we can't contribute. Not just now, but for a very long time in the future. I'm going to be an E-grade one day. And I'm going to keep pushing and try to become a Hegemon. Maybe I can't save untold trillions, but we can do a lot and still maybe save billions. Imagine, righting justice for billions. The Multiverse is a vast place, and we can do a crazy amount of good."

Jared took the off-ramp. "Yeah, well, maybe. I'm not putting in my resignation notice anytime soon, or even plan to. Like I said, I don't mind keeping our crafters safe and taking it easy. Tanya's big on letting people choose their own path, ya know."

Zoey took a long drink from her own glass. "Yeah, I do. We owe her a lot. Just… don't give up before you've given yourself a chance. We mortals gotta stick together, right?"

They only got the chance for less heated discussion for a few minutes before the alarm rose up. The Undead were coming and it was all hands on deck once more.

Here we go again.

***

Zac's foray into the Underworld had quickly led to his battle with the Union. Not only was the corrupt organization trading with active Incursions, but they were also using and selling slaves. Defeating their leadership in one fell swoop had made him incredibly happy. Along with it came a lot more information about the underworld in general. Like the surface, there was more than one Incursion to deal with. There was even another Demonkin incursion, though these Demons were a lot bigger than the Torrid Demons.

The Union had not been any real challenge. Disguised as 'Mr. Smith', he wore a mask that hid his Undead features. With his Human side already reaching Level 75, he needed to grind more Levels with his Undead side. He was very grateful that he kept the attributes when he gained a Level from both sides. The only thing he lacked when he switched was the Class Skills from his other half.

It would be best to deal with these Abyssal Demons first, so Ogras and his people can walk around freely without worrying about reprisals against their people back home.

He was interrupted by his musings when he was informed that ambassadors from the Underworld Council were there to see him. Within the underworld there were a few different factions, with the Union just being one of them. From what Zac had gleaned, they seemed to be more intent on fighting the Incursions instead of selling slaves to them, so hopefully they might be useful allies.

Sap Trang and Joanna joined him as he greeted them as they approached. His Valkyries surrounded the group of seven. The three in the front were clearly the ones who came to speak, with the four others having the look of guards. The guards themselves seemed to have weaker auras than the three speakers, but they didn't look completely useless.

Wait a second…

One of the guards looked like an even taller combination of Thea Marshall and Tanya Degurechaff. The shape of her face, the height, the blue eye color, and blond hair stood out starkly. Zac almost missed what was being said by the lead individual, a bear-like Human.

"Err, yes, well, I think Joanna has prepared a room for us to discuss things away from prying eyes. I'm Mr. Smith, agent of Lord Atwood."

The four guards remained outside and the three who identified themselves as part of the ruling body of the Underworld Council went in. Zac gave one last look at the young blond Human before stepping through and sitting down.

He studied the three. The man who had spoken had a large sword on his back while the other Human was an old lady with graying hair. Two snowballs slowly rotated around her, and he suspected she was some sort of ice mage. The Moleman had two larger daggers fastened to her waist, and based on the aura of the weapons they were actually a single Spirit Tool. She moved with an easy grace and he figured she was probably the strongest of the trio, around Thea's strength.

"Welcome," Sap Trang said with a kindly smile. "I am Sap Trang, ambassador of Port Atwood. This is Joanna, leader of the Valkyries, and lastly, Mr. Smith. We apologize for not getting in contact with the Underworld Council sooner; our time down here has been a bit hectic."

"I'd say," the large man said with a wry smile. "I am–"

"Wait," the Moleman interjected, looking at Zac with animosity. "You are no Human. You are not one of the four founding Races. You reek of death, and not like a warrior."

After hesitating a second, Zac removed his mask, exposing his deathly pale skin and pitch-black eyes. The two Human councilors looked almost ready to fight, or to rabbit.

"Your senses are sharp," Zac said, not surprised about the reactions. "I am Undead."

There was some consternation and accusations made, but Sap Trang calmed the waters. He was able to point out that those from the Incursions couldn't even use their teleporters until their allegiance had changed and that the more help they received, the more likely they were to be able to close all the Incursions successfully. That eventually satisfied them, for the most part.

"I am sorry about the questioning," the man said with a smile. "We have been isolated down here, constantly fighting the invaders, for months. I am Gregor, and these two are Oksana and Lararia. We are three of the eleven seats of the Underworld Council."

"What brings the Underworld Council here today?" Joanna asked.

"First, we simply wanted to make your acquaintance, but we also wish to inquire about your future plans," Gregor replied.

"We cannot divulge any specifics, but suffice to say our goal is to close the Incursions of the underworld, which would allow us to focus on the real enemies of Earth," Joanna said.

That led to more questions on who that was, and they shared what they knew of the Dominators and the threat of the Great Redeemer if they didn't defeat all of his disciples. The three were quite shocked, but Gregor seemed quite resolute and eager to help.

"I won't shy away from any battle to protect our home, no matter if it's invaders or Dominators," he said firmly.

They still had some doubts, but by showing them proof that they had closed Incursions, including Joanna's Quest, relations went from suspicious hostility to cautious optimism. The major hope they had was in dealing with the Fire Golems. There were other Incursions, but the Fire Golems were the most vicious because they could traverse through the earth itself, easily outflanking any large armies. Even worse than that was their command of lava. A typical strategy was just to flood Towns with lava instead of directly fighting, but Gregor made clear it that they were also a top tier Incursion far more dangerous than some of the lesser ones.

"Can we ask when Lord Atwood plans on moving against the Fire Golems?" Gregor asked.

"There are some things we need to deal with before we turn our eyes toward the Fire Golem Incursion, but we hope to launch an all-out strike within three weeks at the least." He paused. "I did have a question about one of your guards, however. The tall one, what is her name?"

Oksana sat up straighter, a look of fury etched on her face. "Why do you want to know? We do not trade in flesh like the Union, if that is what you are thinking!"

Zac held up his hands. "No, no, nothing like that. I'm Undead, remember? I don't even have working… uh, never mind," Zac explained unartfully. He could see Joanna was struggling not to let out a laugh. "Look, she just looks very similar to someone on the surface. I wanted to know if there was perhaps a family relation. Lord Atwood is always quite pleased when he can reunite families. Can you bring her in and have her display her name with her System Menu?"

The councilors hesitated, but Zac could tell they wanted help against the Fire Golems very badly. They agreed and the guard stepped through, looking a bit nervous. When she was asked to show her System Menu, she hesitated even further.

"The people who went to the Tutorial said that we shouldn't reveal our System Menu… that it's a bit of a faux pas. I can just give you my name."

Sap Trang shook his head. "I understand your concern, but names can be faked, the System cannot. Normally it would be rude to ask, but you look very similar to one of our friends on the surface."

Zac saw the girl's face light up. When she smiled it looked like the years melted and he wondered if she was around Emily's age.

"Do you know Tanya?" she asked excitedly and then showcased her name: Julia Degurechaff.

Zac nodded. "Of course we do. She's even now in the employ of Lord Atwood and Henry Marshall in dealing with the Undead Incursion. I'm sure she will be very happy to learn that you are safe."

Zac's mind whirled and an idea began to form.

Maybe I've spent too much time with Ogras, but if this works, it will solve a major problem.

***

Alea was fast-learning that Tanya was more than just a brutally competent fighter on the fields of war. Ilvere had told her that she really did know her stuff.

Maybe all Humans know the capabilities of the guns the Sino-Indian Alliance makes use of? Regardless, I cannot believe regular people can just observe how cultivators fight for a week or two and begin formulating proper strategies.

Tanya was clearly a generational genius. Being so adept at the Dao made that clear, but occasionally you ran into Dao powerhouses who had the sense of a barghest. She was clearly neither.

"Tanya, I fully intend to explain to Lord Atwood that you were worth every Dao Treasure. Why not consider an extended employment with us? I can't speak for him, but why not join forces?"

The blond girl smiled at her.

"I'd consider it, if he agreed to the proposal I made during the Marshall Alliance summit."

Alea gestured with her hand dismissively.

"The Multiverse doesn't work like that. What if we are invaded? What if traitors seek to enrich themselves? A sole ruler who can act decisively is what every world needs. A System Contract is too limited, and what's worse, is that it won't even protect you if what you fear comes to pass. If Lord Atwood becomes too strong to oppose, then the System Contract can be broken based on that strength."

Tanya shook her head. "Only if the difference in power is great."

"If the difference in power is not great, you still have a check on him by being peers," Alea replied.

"Until he shuts down teleportation, surrounds me with his higher-ranked minions, and wears me down until he comes to finish me off himself? Yeah, no thank you. So long as we are peer powers, the System Contract gives me comfort."

Alea took a different approach.

"You are suspicious, that's actually wise, so I won't badger you too much. But even if he won't sign, why not work for us Enchanting? The flexibility and quality of your goods is exceptional. While any Hegemon could do better, why would they bother crafting items for those in E-grade and lower? It isn't worth their time. I'll be direct, you could be set for resources for life if you just sat in Port Atwood and crafted."

"A very tempting offer. But how can I trust it? I've talked with some of your people… he's basically running a Company Store, if a bit less cutthroat."

"A 'Company Store'?"

The girl explained the concept and Alea was confused. What could possibly be wrong with that? It seemed the Humans at one point had wisdom and somehow lost it?

Truly a strange offshoot of the species. Humans in the Multiverse aren't normally this odd.

Janos suddenly appeared. "We have a problem, Ilvere needs you quickly."

"What is it?" Alea asked.

"The Arrays, they aren't working. We can't teleport anywhere."

Alea was horrified at the implications, but Tanya didn't seem fussed.

"Do you know what this means?"

"Not fully, but I anticipated the Undead Empire would do something to shake things up. Dorel isn't an Array Master, but he's been studying what Zac provided and he may have a solution. And if not, we just need to annihilate whatever the Undead throw at us."

The delivery didn't sound like bluster to Alea's ears. It was just a statement that held a calm certainty that seemed unshakable.

When they arrived at the center of their Outpost, Ilvere explained the situation. No one could teleport in or out. The Array was being completely blocked.

"How is that possible?" Alea demanded. "Those siege tools shouldn't be available on a baby planet. We haven't prepared any countermeasures."

Ilvere shrugged his big shoulders. "I have no idea." He turned to Tanya. "What should we do?"

"I'll take to the skies and upgrade some binoculars with [Temporary Enchantment] to give me even more distance-viewing capability. If I were the Undead, I'd strike at our weak spot, so Daoist Chosui and Anaad Phakiwar will be joined by Kim, Toby, Jared, Will, and Vhorra. They'll only interfere as necessary, because I want them to be ambushed and then let my Salamanders deal with it. Vhorra can hide them pretty well with her Seed of Loam underground. They'll get instructions to be nice and flashy."

"What about us?" Alea said.

"Once I get a better lay of the land and what's coming at us, I'll return. You'll have me, so I wouldn't worry." She paused. "Oh, and we'll go ahead and use your poison brews to block off their first thrust. We'll keep the Tinker cannons in the reserve for now."

The Enchanter tossed over a few more of her shield amulets.

"Each of you should have at least one, they'll stop a surprise attack by anything less than a solid E-grade, at least once. They don't play well with other defensive talismans, so if you want to use others first, keep those in a spatial tool or Cosmos Sack."

"What do you think the Undead will throw at us?" Ilvere asked.

"We'll probably get worn down a bit by endless tides of zombies, then when they sense weakness they'll send in their elites to try to kill our commanders. I don't know how well everyone can act, but the better show we put on, the quicker they'll strike. I suspect I may be a target, but since I can fly, they might go for easier prey first, we'll see."

Dorel arrived on the scene and a quick back and forth took place between the two of them.

"Hmm," Tanya said, "so they are using either an incredibly powerful spatial-lockdown treasure, or they are using yet more Arrays. Given the range it probably works at, it will be like finding a needle in a haystack, especially if it's deep in the Dead Zone. I'll see if I can find it, but I don't want to be too far from camp. Get me a list of people from the Sino-Indian Alliance and the Port Atwood army that can withstand the Miasma and avoid detection. Anyone with an infiltration-type Class or a stealth Skill will do. I don't want them to take direct action; I just want intelligence."

After that Alea watched as Tanya rapid-fired orders for more traditional scouts to spread out, for defensive structures to be set up, and other resources to be gathered. The Outpost was intended to be temporary, but now it would act like a strong point. As Alea observed Tanya, she noticed that there was not a shred of delay or hesitation in her commands. They rolled off her tongue almost like a prepared speech.

"I'll return in a few hours with more information and updated orders."

"And if you are ambushed and die? If you know they might be after you…" Alea tried to warn.

The blond Human just smiled. "Relax, I have more than one trick up my sleeve. Do you really think I gave you my best work in terms of defensive treasures?"

Alea blinked, no she hadn't, but the craftsmanship of the defensive treasures really was excellent. The idea of layering defenses on a contingency basis was typically too complex for F-grade treasures. She had figured that Tanya had created them off some template or Information Crystal she received from going to the Tower of Eternity. That there were even more capable treasures…

Tanya ascended rapidly to the skies and Alea shared a glance with Ilvere.

This world is full of monsters.

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Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

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Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-11Words:240,265Chapters:51/?Comments:454Kudos:459Bookmarks:88Hits:18,074

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 42

Chapter Text

Big thanks to @Massgamer for proofreading!

Chapter 42

If I were still on Old Earth, Enchanting binoculars to allow for further seeing into the distance would leave me screwed by the horizon. Even a kilometer into the sky would only allow me to see so far before the curvature of the Earth prevented me from spotting things. Thankfully, the Earth was now ten times as large, and so the curve was significantly shallower and allowed me to see in all directions for hundreds of kilometers.

We had zombies inbound from multiple directions, but they weren't the true horde. I suspected the goal here was to try to pin us in place. I flew quickly, dropped off [Crimson Siphon] to harvest some wild beasts to defray the Cosmic Energy draw, and rechecked things after traveling a hundred kilometers. I then saw the beginning of a massive horde that was heading past us. They were the encircling force and it teemed with millions.

I pushed a bit further and checked on a Town that was nearby. As I suspected, it was overrun with Undead. There were no Unholy Beacons and there weren't that many zombies, only a bit less than the original population.

Undead elites probably flew over, slaughtered them, and then turned their corpses into zombies. Their basic defenses were unlikely to be able to do much.

I cleansed the Town and checked the Nexus Node. I was able to 'conquer' it from the Undead if I sat there for an hour, which was fine, as I could quickly cultivate to restore my Cosmic Energy reserves and contemplate on the Dao. I had delegated authority and set up specific tactics for others to use. My commands would be carried out even if I wasn't directly there, though unfortunately they wouldn't be gaining my [Leader of Men] bonus while I was away. Either way, the concept of Delegation was reinforced and I progressed my Dao Seed of Delegation to Late stage.

With that insight came an epiphany. Cosmic Energy was Cosmic Energy, but the way it was used and what it could be used for differed. Enchanting required Cosmic Energy, and I could dip into my 'Leveling' energy reserves, but I couldn't use my 'Leveling' energy for fueling combat. It was almost as if incoming Cosmic Energy went into different buckets, and once inside a certain bucket it couldn't be easily used for something else.

My Cosmic Energy-leeching weapons had been designed to flow into my bucket for Leveling. I couldn't freely use that energy for combat. This was generally a good thing, because I didn't find myself in combat all the time. Though it was being pushed with this Undead Incursion. I had certainly now killed more Undead than all other types of monsters and people I faced before combined.

But there was no reason I couldn't craft weapons that instead filled my Cosmic Energy bucket for battle, much in the same way I had just used [Crimson Siphon]. The Enchantment would be more complex, but it could be done. Equipping others in a prolonged fight with Cosmic Energy-leeching weapons that directly refilled my ability to continue fighting would allow more throughput in horde clearing.

It wasn't absolutely perfect, I still taxed my Mental Energy when I used my Dao in battles, so it wasn't as if I could just fight forever, but it was quite helpful. With a higher quality Dao Seed, I could also decrease the percentage that was lost when a kill was made with those weapons. With time being a factor before the hordes converged, I'd probably want to quickly Enchant some Peak F-grade weapons for people who didn't currently have E-grade weapons. Zoey and Zhou would be significantly weakened if they used those instead of their current weapons, but Kim and the boys could make good use of them. Maybe even some of the more powerful Demons who were bottlenecked at F-grade or chose not to advance for one reason or another would be interested.

On a lark, before I left, I purchased an Illusion Array to make it look like this place was still teeming with humanity. It likely wouldn't do more than potentially cause an Undead horde to stop by, but depending on the size of the horde, they might get confused and start killing themselves. While the larger hordes seemed to have 'controller zombies' like revenants and Corpse Lords leading them, the smaller groups didn't always have that.

I had enough information now; it was time to head back.

***

Kim was rather aghast at how… ineffectual the two Sino-Indian Alliance powerhouses were. They got hit hard by a number of specters, but she doubted they were even Peak F-grade.

"Go! These may not be the true elite of the Undead, but Tanya does not want them dying on our watch!"

Vhorra rumbled in agreement, probably only because that meant she got to fight. They were hiding underground with an Array that shielded their Cosmic Energy signature as well as an Illusion Array. Combine that with the small portable cameras they were using, they could clearly see what was happening on the surface.

Vhorra flexed her Dao and ripped a chasm in the ground that they shot up through.

Fuck me!

Kim was not expecting that sort of explosive exit, and she was thrown into the air after coming up to the surface from the acceleration. Only Will, that lucky bastard, had been able to control his ascent and was already swinging [Slammer] at two of the specters. His Dao-infused attack managed to connect with the Undead, which was something that didn't always happen due to how insubstantial they could be.

These Undead seemed wispy and slight, but because of their nature, they were surprisingly difficult to hurt, even with a Dao enhanced attack. Even as Kim landed, she saw Toby's blade slash forward, strike three times, then return to Toby's sheathe without him ever touching it. It was a pretty fun trick, in Kim's opinion.

She landed on the ground, flexing her knees, thankful that a fifty foot drop no longer was much of a danger given her Level. Kim used her new Dao Seed of Chill to slice into one of the specters, leaving a bit of rime mingling in the wound. The return strike bounced off her dark shield and the fight was on.

Jared fought at the edges, slicing in and harrying an opponent, but not able to get a true killing blow. Vhorra though… she abused her Peak Dao Seeds with abandon. Rocks that would normally sail through the translucent Undead slammed into them hard. She outright killed two, and then sent a tide of earth into the elite zombies trying to break through.

Daoist Chosui disappeared in a flash of golden energy and Kim couldn't sense where he went. She just shook her head and slammed into another specter that had been about to stab Anaad in the back. Kim roared out a challenge and focused on her Dao Seed of Sanctuary to protect her as she got assailed from multiple angles. Her boys responded quickly, easily using the opportunity to get in their licks.

The Undead were pressing, but the Sino-Indian Alliance wasn't without their own tricks. Old school flamethrowers had been scrounged up, and huge swathes of zombies were burning. The more powerful elite zombies could fight while still on fire, but all the regular ones were being burnt to a crisp.

A pity that doesn't give Cosmic Energy, but it does give us breathing room!

The surviving specters eventually fled and other parts of the badly shaky Sino-Indian Alliance lines were stretched.

"Work's not done, time to earn our pay!" Kim cried out as she led the four other Salamanders deeper into battle. Anaad was following quickly so as to not get left behind.

***

Over the last few days the Undead came in swarms, and they died in swarms. Tanya had told them that it seemed as if the Undead were moving things into position for a complete encirclement, and that these attacks were merely designed to keep them pinned and slowly wear them down. Due to this, they were now working in shifts to avoid over exhaustion, regularly pulling people back when they reached around the mid-point of exhaustion of their Cosmic Energy reserves.

So far, things were going well. The Atwood army faced the brunt of the attacks on the small Outpost, while the vast army of the Sino-Indian Alliance faced more persistent, but less individually dangerous, threats.

Scores of elite zombies ripped free from the swarm and came driving into the Atwood army. Zhou ordered them to fall back as he dashed forward and then confronted the higher-level foes with [One Hundred Spears]. His Level 50 Class Skill summoned one hundred identical copies of his spear that he thrust at targets within the battlefield. Unfortunately, the power of the replicas only matched a Late F-grade warrior and not the E-grade weapon he wielded, but it was enough to deal with the elite zombies.

After killing some, and dealing vicious wounds to others, he and Zoey slaughtered the survivors. Behind them came a tide of regular zombies, who were even easier to deal with. What was different was that some revenants launched elemental magic at the two of them, making their job a bit more difficult.

Not enough.

Zhou set caution aside and used [Lancing Charge] to thrust through an Ishiate revenant. The newly sapient Undead was skewered and dying even as Zhou briefly flared his cloak to fly up, and then crash down on the heads of several zombies. The Atwood elites firmed their lines and joined the fighting again.

Elsewhere he knew Ilvere, Janos, and Alea worked as a team. When Tanya was cultivating to restore her reserves, or crafting more equipment, everyone else fought. When others rotated off, Tanya filled the gap of essentially all the other true elites. Zhou hoped Kim was doing well with putting out the fires that the Sino-Indian Alliance couldn't handle, but he suspected if something did happen, Tanya would let them know right away.

Seeing as the Atwood forces had things well in hand, Zhou sat down and immediately began cultivating. Zoey sat beside him and grumbled about 'cultivators' having it easy as she pulled out an F-grade Nexus Crystal and quickly used that to restore her own Cosmic Energy.

When she was done, she asked him, "Do you think we'll get relieved by anyone else? Tanya is going all fortress mode here, but I think the Demons want to lead a breakout attempt."

"Tanya knows that a retreating army on the move trying to put up a fight is an act of desperation. The casualties would mount and the force would fracture. The elite might survive, but the Sino-Indian Alliance's million-man army would be turned into zombies," Zhou replied. "She's also confident with our preparations, and, if it becomes necessary, an even smaller force, like our Salamanders, can force a breakout. The true reality is that every zombie or revenant that the Undead attack us with means their total force grows weaker. And for every battle we survive, our force grows stronger. Exhaustion, use of one-time treasures, and casualties also weaken us, but so far no one of note has fallen, and I've even heard the Atwood soldiers bragging about finally unlocking Dao Seeds."

Zoey nodded. "I guess that makes sense. This is just really tiring. Tanya said the Undead are going to try to cripple us with a strike on important people, so it's really nerve wracking waiting for the hammer to fall."

"That's why we have strict orders that if we trigger our defensive treasure to retreat. She can make new ones, or even some of her older F-grade ones that with the layering effect can allow us to survive an assassination strike." He smiled indulgently, while still focusing on his cultivation. "I have worked with many seasoned leaders before, with those who plan being prepared, and Tanya's plans work."

"Fair enough." Zoey stood up. "Ready for round three thousand, one hundred, and twenty two, old man?"

"Not quite yet. Our efforts are wasted on regular zombies. When the cry goes up that elite zombies or revenants have been spotted, then we will re-join the fray."

She looked almost ready to argue, as it was not her nature to stay still when others bled, but she understood. Allowing their weaker allies to 'farm' the Cosmic Energy and earn experience toward Leveling improved them, while at the same time letting the Salamanders recharge and be ready to deal with more lethal threats.

***

Zac took Julia back to the Union headquarters he had taken over. He would need to keep her safe until he had his talk with Tanya and ensure the System Contract didn't have too much wiggle room. She would be well-protected while he was gone, but he had some other things he needed to accomplish before returning to the surface. What then proceeded was his usual set of absurd encounters involving giant battle roaches, science experiments gone wrong, and other powerful foes. When he finally made it back, Ogras was there waiting for him.

Even enclosed in their base he wore a deep hood and a vast array of shadows obscuring his features. None of the Demons wanted to move around openly in the underworld without a disguise as they still had family back on their own world that they would rather not cause problems for if the Abyssal Demons took notice of them.

"Good, you're back early. There's a problem," Ogras said. "We've lost contact with the Port Atwood army."

"What?" Zac replied with shock. "They're dead?!"

"No, calm down," Ogras said with a roll of his eyes. "They're probably alive, but the whole sector of the Dead Zone where our army is stationed went dark. All Teleportation Arrays in and out of the area, including the one where our war Outpost was, have been disconnected from the network."

"How is that possible?"

"We have underestimated them. The resources needed to do something like that are unimaginable. I think they are making a statement after so many of their generals have fallen."

"Can Thea's people help us?" Zac asked with a frown.

"Have you looked at a map? We are talking about thousands of kilometers of distance and, as said, the Teleportation Arrays are not working. Besides, they have their hands full."

"Do you have any ideas?" Zac asked.

"You have the flying disk. We can head to where we last knew their Outpost was. I suspect they'll probably have realized what is going on and picked a direction to try to get to safety, it's what I would have done, but I'm not sure what that Human who was left in charge of the army will do. It has limited room, but the two of us should be able to handle most of what the Undead might be throwing at them."

"If the Teleportation Arrays in the surrounding area are dead… it will still take several days to get there. And that's if they haven't moved. Trying to find a moving target that might be enveloped in seas of Miasma is easier said than done," Zac pointed out.

"Yeah, perhaps a week… maybe more if they've made good time, but you tend to get lucky."

But does my enhanced Luck mean my people will get lucky too? I don't think it works that way.

Spending more than a week trying to reach them would give the Technocrat incursion time to reach the surface. From the way the alien had made it sound, it would mean they could send out their drones and scanners, and then it would be too late. They would find Kenzie. Firmament's Edge, and the Technocrats would have all the reason to spend an absurd amount of resources. Perhaps even more than what the Undead Empire was spending. Perhaps a lot more, as Jeeves was not a normal AI by any stretch of the imagination.

He had to choose. Kenzie, or Port Atwood.

"I… I can't go." Zac sighed, unable to meet Ogras' incredulous stare.

"You can't take time to rescue your people? Most of our elites are in that army! My three generals are there! What the hell is going on?!" Ogras growled, causing the shadows in the room to shudder.

"I can't go until I close an Incursion," Zac said as he shored up his resolve.

He didn't want to explain everything about Kenzie, but Ogras was too keen and he realized there was only one reason why Zac wasn't mounting up a rescue. Combined with the Demon's knowledge of some of the more… interesting exploits his sister had done, it had left too many breadcrumbs. He explained that it was a Technocrat Incursion and the vague danger that presented.

"Fine, let's go kill some heretics."

"How about you take my disk and head to the Dead Zone while I deal with the Incursion?"

"No point," Ogras said with a wry smile. "As much as I hate to admit it, I am not sure if I'll be enough to change anything in the face of the Undead Empire. We need the human netherbeast to mow through the zombies like you did with the silver puppets. And… if I take it, how are you getting to the fight yourself? Running still takes longer than flying."

Zac slowly nodded. "We need to go to Port Atwood first. For a couple of reasons, but first I need to make sure this girl I found is safe there."

He explained his plan to Ogras.

"Tanya's sister, eh? Are you sure she'll accept those terms? Not everyone is as fond of their family members like you. Even if she is, this could go wrong – you might make a powerful enemy. It takes a lot to impress Ilvere the way she has."

He shrugged. "I doubt it. Any lingering animosity if she refuses over the attempt should be washed away if her sister is reunited with her safely, anyhow. I'm not planning to tell her I have her sister, after all, just that I have a lead from my venture into the underworld and I can exchange it to get what I want. If I'm correct… it all works out and your concerns about her get resolved. If not, she still eventually gets her sister back and that should be more than enough to bring us back to the loosely allied partners we are against the threats facing humanity."

"If you say so," the Demon said with some doubt in his voice. "But I guess it doesn't matter if Tanya and my generals end up dead because we sat around here yapping instead of getting things done."

I would have thought Ogras would have been more in favor of this. I was trying to think like a Demon when I came up with it!

***

Imbuing my Fragment of the Forge into [Fireball] was not nearly as great as my previous Dao Braiding of Fire and Fury. However, I could use it in a different way. Instead of having the Skill explode, by containing the explosion by threading my Dao Fragment through the Skill, I could instead keep a Fireball in place and constantly burning. Well, not forever, but I could keep the ball of fire burning and stationary for half a day. By increasing the size of my Fireball, which lowered the potency a bit, I could place a ball of fire the size of a monster truck stationary anywhere I wanted.

The use of this allowed me to create artificial 'walls' of flame. Instead of blocking off a path completely, I instead made it so part of our battle lines were anchored and forced the attacking force to split-up multiple ways before eventually slamming into us.

Occasionally the Undead had revenants that would try to put out my flames with some sort of Ice or Water Dao, but when they did, I took issue and blanketed the area with Volition/Fury imbued normal Fireballs, typically killing said revenants.

I realized these revenants were once people of New Earth who had 'awakened' their sapience. That they were less than a year old, but already achieving Classes and Dao Seeds just went to further reinforce my understanding that the Undead Empire was an existential threat to not just Earth, but to the entire Multiverse. Until they had been annihilated and turned to dust, there would be no peace in Zecia or anywhere else.

It was really unfair how the Undead Empire brutally exploited the System-created Incursion Trials. It was no wonder they were able to expand so quickly given that, in just a year's time, they could have armies of millions upon millions of zombies and those millions of zombies would give rise to thousands of sapient revenants. That was on top of whatever the already-rich faction wanted to start their conquest with!

After days of slaughtering hordes of zombies, the occasional specter-led assassination groups, revenants, and even more Unholy Beacon-led elites, I hit Level 76. I took some time to see how to best grind down my Nodes. I had a few options. The Fragment of the Forge worked, and it provided a consistent 'burning' effect on the node, but it was taxing in terms of the Mental Energy. I almost never ran dry on that separate type of internal 'currency' from Cosmic Energy, but I had my limits. Less immediately impactful, but far more efficient was using my Dao of Volition to target small segments of a Node and imbue a desire to freely traverse along my pathways. Small, infinitesimally tiny bits would slip off the Node and I could tell progress was actually taking place very swiftly.

It was a bummer that I couldn't just sit and focus, but for every hour I spent on that, lives would be lost. I balanced my time as best as I could, using my faux Soul split to contemplate on my Dao as I used my Dao of Volition. I felt I was going to get pretty close to a breakthrough with that Dao Seed as well, especially now that I was using it to grind open Nodes.

I did have to hand it to the Undead Empire. They threw a variety of different tactics at us, not just zombies and specter hordes. One evening I had to fight what looked to be a Lich, but a strangely low-Level Lich with potent Skills. I assumed it was some sort of low-Level Dao savant, but his attacks were surprisingly potent.

Poisonous bolts wracked the Atwood line and my Dad was quick to try to keep people alive. Unfortunately, even for Atwood personnel in their 40s, they were often felled on contact. Realizing the danger, I responded with my typical fiery wrath. The Lich in question weathered the storm of fire pretty well due to some Arrays that had been constructed.

I got blasted by the greenish bolts, but my Dexterity and reflexes were such that at this range I had time to dodge. I dropped a Fragment of the Forge-imbued Fireball on his position. The Defensive Array did what it was supposed to do, but the Miasma Crystals were swiftly being drained as the burning sphere of fire was in contact with the shield the Array generated. The Crystals were drained as seconds passed, and as they grew weaker I hit the Arrays with [Suppression] and let [Crimson Siphon] dance with [Bloody Eight].

For someone with such potent attacks, I was surprised that [Bloody Eight] had actually killed the Lich after the Spirit Tool crashed through the Defensive Arrays. More disappointingly, their Cosmos Sack was a rather small one and only held Miasma Crystals. They weren't dangerous, but they weren't exactly useful either. I was confident we could make use of them for something, but as to what I couldn't be sure.

Then the Undead got serious.

We were used to swarms of zombies with the occasional pack of elite zombies that descended with dangerous impact. We were not used to a mob of tens of thousands of only pure elite zombies. Not when at the same time Corpse Lords, more Liches, and four gigantic E-grade Corpse Golems struck at various areas. I had been roused after only an hour of sleep, which I sort of felt was deliberate.

I may not have varied my combat time enough. The enemy can make their own plans too; they are not incompetent.

"Alea, I know you've already used your first batch, now I need the second batch used on the Sino-Indian Alliance flank."

"Why not here?" Alea said.

"Don't have time to argue, just do it. When you get there, send back my Salamanders. Your new batch should be even better than the last one, after the additional Enchanted ingredients we cooked up with Shella. I want my full team to deal with this. This is when the Undead will think we are weakest, and the time when they will almost certainly try to take me down. Go, take Janos and Ilvere and some of your elites, I've got their main thrust."

She muttered something about… monsters? I didn't quite hear it, but she was heading off so it was my turn.

Time to see if I've still got my acting skills.

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Chapter 1620 - 40-42