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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 43

Chapter Text

Big thanks to @Massgamer for proofreading!

Chapter 43

The Corpse Golems were bad news. The regular attacks of the Atwood soldiers were not able to do much against them. I'm sure individuals like Ilvere could do more, but I'd sent them to help the Sino-Indian Alliance.

Fireballs only did limited damage, so it was time to abuse the power of [Sword from Stone]. The weapon had already been Enchanted with Volition and Fire, but I also imbued it with my Dao Seed of Volition while physically swinging it. The blade went where I willed it, even if it meant going straight through one of the golem's massive legs.

My blade cut through it and it fell over. Not dead yet, the golem lashed out and I danced back out of range while hacking away, each slice going through its heavily fortified form. Naturally, the other undead did not stand idly by. A stream of zombies threw themselves at me and made themselves a general nuisance as I tried to hack it to pieces, aware that other Corpse Golems were also threatening to breach our defenses.

I was aware of Zhou and Zoey desperately trying to bring one down, but not doing much more than distracting it. The Tinker Ishiate cannons roared to life and brought down one Corpse Golem, in part due to my additional Enchantments on their ammo, but I was also dismayed to hear secondary explosions come from our own lines.

I was told they were temperamental, but for some of them to explode while firing for the first time is nuts!

I could sense specters waiting and I began to force myself to breathe heavily and slow down my strikes. I flickered a weak magical barrier to hold off a few zombies while I retreated back toward the Outpost. Unholy Beacons continued to spew Miasma and another Corpse Golem nearly crushed me.

I surged forward, cutting through its ankle and then stumbled as a wave of sickly green poison filled the area I was in. [Lasting Breath] was running, but I pretended to double over and then narrowly avoided elite zombies crowding me. I took to the air and then let the Cosmic Energy in my boots falter as I slowly floated back down, almost making it to the Atwood Defensive Arrays.

I felt a keen sense of danger and knew I was about to get hit. My Fragment of the Forge Dao Field roared to life as I used [Temporary Enchantment] to put up my strongest magical barrier. A spike of pure death-aligned darkness hit it as a black-robed assassin struck and nearly shattered my protective barrier in one shot. I could tell my assassin was quite surprised that I hadn't been instantly filleted. The ground then erupted as Vhorra and Kim's squad made their move.

Five Dorel-designed, well, copied at least, Array Pillars rose in formation, temporarily cutting off the outside forces and trapping the assassin in with me. Meanwhile, I was already imbuing a grand [Fireball] that would fill the entire area with its explosive force. The wraith-like creature probably should have kept striking at me. I still had my triple shield amulet that hadn't triggered yet, but it was their best chance of victory. The issue was that they had just realized they had fallen into a trap; they had been suckered, so their first instinct was survival.

The assassin dashed with admirable speed and tried to pierce the shielding that surrounded us from Dorel's Arrays.

"Your world is too primitive for these sorts of Arrays! This is not possible!" it rasped as it turned toward me, seeing the massive blazing ball of fire being summoned.

"Who decided that?" I asked and then slammed the Fireball into the ground. My own Dao of the Forge protected me from heat even as it drastically raised the ambient temperature around me.

As expected, a powerful defensive treasure triggered. A wave of darkness shielded my Undead opponent, but I was already charging up [Mind Splinter]. The darkness dissipated and I flew up to the apex of the dome. My assailant did not have a flying treasure, but he could easily leap the distance, which was fine, because even though he was faster than me, once I knew the trajectory I only needed to move slightly away and back toward the ground away from his landing spot. I flicked a previously Enchanted rock that exploded right as he landed.

The shortest distance between two points is a line, so his path was perfectly direct toward me. In his zeal to get to me, he launched himself, or would have if the ground he attempted to push off from hadn't caved in and made him stumble in his headlong rush, and I again had time to move out of the way and finish my Skill.

My attack tore into my opponent's Soul. Now that I was E-grade and had gained a wealth of attributes, my attack was even more potent. The enemy reeled, shuddering and twitching as I cracked his Soul Aperture. He was probably a higher Level than me, but his build seemed focused on Dexterity and physical combat, not on Wisdom. A Peak F-grade Skill backed by an extraordinarily high Wisdom and empowered by my Dao Seed of Fury was a potent combination. Fury worked so well because, like my experiment with Fire, Fury naturally seemed to want to spread. The crack I had formed was even now likely spreading and doing more damage.

He gave a pained hiss as the Undead horde around us began destroying the pillars that had been raised. Kim, Toby, Jared, and Will surged out from the ground and started feeding me trickles of Cosmic Energy from my new Delegation-designed Cosmic Energy transfers. Meanwhile, Vhorra was throwing up earthen spiked walls to protect the Arrays.

I charged up another [Mind Splinter] as my foe desperately tried to come to grips with me again. He was faster, but now uncoordinated and dealing with Vhorra manipulating the ground as he tried to advance. All the while I continued to abuse my flight powers. Within seconds my trump card had finished charging up. The fractal on my head glowed as I unleashed a second [Mind Splinter]. That finished the job as a wave of Cosmic Energy filled me, almost completing my Level-up.

I was pretty drained, even though [Crimson Siphon] and the other Salamanders were still feeding me. Using [Mind Splinter] back-to-back along with my previous fighting had me running a bit dry. The Arrays Dorel had so carefully prepared were almost destroyed, so I quickly grabbed the Nexus Crystals empowering them and started to suck in some of the Cosmic Energy while Vhorra and the rest of the Salamanders held off the swarms of elite zombies. Those zombies now had support from scores of specters along with even more Corpse Golems.

I returned to the battle by sending the rest of my pre-armed exploding rocks ahead of me. Elite zombies were torn apart as I dropped more Forge-imbued stationary Fireballs. Meanwhile, my Salamanders proved their worth. I saw Kim actually tank a blow from an Early E-grade Corpse Golem. Her now Late Dao Seed of Sanctuary, her Enchanted shield, and my leadership aura all combined with her angled block to allow the attack to not only be survivable, but to do almost no damage.

Toby's [Frightful Grasp] distracted another mage-like revenant, allowing Jared to swoop in and rip open their throat. Zhou spammed [One Hundred Spears] while Zoey blitzed across the battlefield. Will's shield amulet triggered, but he finished his Dao Seed of Heaviness-infused strike and took off the head of a bulky skeletal Undead.

Will should be falling back, but he wasn't. I guess he sensed it too, the Undead were throwing everything at us right now in a last-ditch effort. Kim covered him more, smoothly moving in to take strikes meant for him. Zoey's own shield amulet also triggered, but she too kept fighting. I had to mix it up with [Sword from Stone] as I was now dangerously low on Cosmic Energy. With my attribute increases, I was able to slaughter elite zombies quite easily.

Kim's own shield amulet triggered, but not for a single second did that slow her from leaping into the fray and defending the other Salamanders. A poisonous cloud billowed toward us and I hastily shaped a relatively weak Fireball imbued with the Dao Seed of Volition to direct the explosive forward in one direction, creating a short-lived, but critical gust of wind that pushed the poisonous mist away.

Dad slid next to Will, who had been stabbed after a dozen elite zombies had managed to push Kim away from him. His Spirit Tool smashed one zombie as he put up a temporary barrier with his own Seed of Sanctuary. Specters swarmed him, and I imbued my own Seed of Sanctuary with my leadership aura and willed it to help strengthen the Dao Field while I continued to hack away at my own foes.

I wasn't sure if it worked, or if Dad had just got better with his own understanding of the Dao, but the specters couldn't hack their way through before Kim got there and started filling their insubstantial bodies with rime. We continued to get pressed, but Zoey and Zhou both used my offensive talismans and Peak F-grade fireballs exploded, giving us more breathing room. The last of the big Corpse Golems were now down and I signaled the retreat back to the Atwood lines.

***

Vhorra was having the time of her life. This was what she was made for. She could feel how close she was to breaking through in her understanding of the Dao with each boulder she formed. Tanya's ideas for using her Seed of Loam required precision, but it was oh so satisfying seeing even E-grade monsters stumble and fall using simple applications.

While that had been quite amusing, this was the best part. Her rock tentacles, her spikes of earth, and her weight manipulation to create more widespread carnage was what she lived for. The enemy specters had finally been thinned, the last Corpse Golems had fallen, as had several Unholy Beacons. Now it seemed just an endless tide of elite zombies was left.

She was growing weary as well, but had enough Cosmic Energy reserves left to shield their retreat.

Jared was panting. "Holy fuck, they just keep coming."

Tanya was already consuming a Nexus Crystal as she nodded. "Yes, but now that the most dangerous foes have been dealt with, it is time for Port Atwood to hold the line while we rest and recover."

Vhorra knew that was consigning dozens, perhaps hundreds of people to their deaths, but the Humans and Demons of Port Atwood were stalwart. They knew their role and they fought with fury and discipline. They also had the advantage of minor Illusion Arrays and hastily rebuilt Defensive Arrays, thanks to Dorel.

"How's Will?"

"He'll live, but he's got some foreign Dao in his pathways. The wound itself isn't bad, but I'm not sure how to fix it," Edwin answered.

"Use your Dao, Will," Vhorra said. "You have an invader that will continue to disrupt your pathways, but you can use your Seed of Loam to smother it."

The young Human was gritting his teeth. "A bit easier said than done in my current state."

"Bah, this is where you make your gains in the Dao. Not by sitting in some cultivation chamber, but by frantically using it in battle and in situations like this. Be thankful for this opportunity!"

Zoey wanted to get back out there but Tanya said no, not unless the line broke.

"I don't like any of you fighting without my defensive treasures," Tanya said, a small note of exhaustion in her voice. They had been fighting for days now.

Vhorra had great respect for the one who had defeated Ghrak. She was powerful, a brilliant master of her Dao, and fought in a most unusual fashion. But she also seemed unwilling to truly let anyone take risks. Yes, her actions kept people alive, but like with Will's wounds, you had to face death in order to achieve greatness. You had to be pushed to the brink and find your hidden reserves to achieve your true potential.

It was a matter of odds. Tanya's way may see them all reach E-grade, all of them surviving. But if that merely led to a bottleneck, what was the point? It would be better if half of the Salamanders died if it meant a few could reach Hegemony.

Only through the crucible are the great forged.

Vhorra knew this, but now was not the time to say it. This tribe of Humans were dangerous, savvy, and adept, but in many ways they were as soft as their skin. It truly shocked her that she genuinely believed that some of them would rather not reach D-grade than see their friends fall.

"Well, in that case," Kim declared, "I'm going to get some shut-eye while I can." She promptly dashed a bit further away from the frontlines, pulled out a pillow from her Cosmos Sack, and closed her eyes.

"What the fuck?" Toby said with a sigh. "How can she sleep with all…" he waved his hands around, "this?"

Tanya shrugged. "Soldiers' trick, you'll pick it up soon."

Some of the Humans looked partially confused by the statement, but Tanya hastily added. "Let's not spend time talking, either follow Kim's lead or begin cultivating to restore your Cosmic Energy reserves."

That was good advice and Vhorra began her cultivation as the battle continued less than half a kilometer away. The second line of Defensive Arrays would probably stop any random battle Skills, but it was still somewhat of a challenge to focus on circulating the ambient Cosmic Energy. It didn't help that with so many people around the natural density was lower than she would like, but she hadn't been the second strongest Yrd in the Incursion for nothing. Vhorra was talented, one of the best in her generation, and she would not allow distractions to interfere with her ability to get back into the fight as soon as possible.

***

The Undead, perhaps out of spite, or perhaps due to inadequate command and control, kept coming. It wasn't much of an issue because it was just regular zombies. We had weathered the storm and my Salamanders were well into recovery. Will had spent the better part of the day forcing the foreign Dao out of his wound, but with my dad helping stabilize him he was going to make a full recovery.

The battlefield loot was less than ideal, but still somewhat useful. The Corpse Golems, Corpse Lords, and elite zombie parts I could use for Disenchanting were important to collect. I had finally begun to run low on spare beast parts for my [Temporary Enchantment] tricks, so that was an important resource to gather.

The Undead assassin had a few interesting belongings. The black robes were low E-grade, but only provided as much defense as High F-grade armor. Instead, they provided massive benefits to stealth. The fractals embedded on the inside were fascinating as they seemed to not just minimize sound and sight, but also had some sort of Luck adjusting properties.

It didn't help him that much, so whatever it was doing was limited. When I get some time I do want to study it though, so I can understand the process.

He had a Cosmos Sack and within it was a teleportation token, a ton of Miasma Crystals, lots of herbs that were Death-attuned that I suspected were for the Undead version of Medicinal baths, and some high quality Medicine pills, which oddly enough worked on living or Undead just as well. His weapon was low E-grade and I decided I would like to Disenchant it. I had some ideas about building an E-grade armor for someone like Kim that incorporated the Death-attuned material as a sort of counter to other Death Dao-imbued attacks.

The concept should work in a similar way to crafting my fire-resistant armor that I had upgraded so I could do my enclosed-space Fireball trick. The fight after finishing the assassin off was enough for me to hit Level 77. I was advancing at a steady pace, but now I had to grind down another node. Based on my reading, I was moving very quickly compared to the average E-grade cultivator, but I hated the demand on my time. It did at least help me refine my understanding of Volition, and I felt as if Volition and Sanctuary were quite close to advancing.

It would be so nice to have another few months of peace in between conflicts. The amount of Enchanting I could do would be amazing. Even in just a month's time I could probably, if I got the supplies for it all, get my Salamanders all equipped with E-grade armor, weapons, flight tools, defensive treasures, and offensive talismans. I could make progress on my Body Tempering Manual too, finally get a chance to work with Dorel in forming a puppet, and then launch into a detailed study of Skill creation, upgrading, and fusing. At Level 90 I would get my first System-facilitated fusion or upgrade of one of my Class Skills.

Doing that with the System's help guaranteed that the quality of the Skill wouldn't degrade, unlike if you did it yourself. The literature suggested that doing it yourself required deep study of Skill Fractals, a complex understanding of your own path, and mastery of the Dao, but… my Soul Mastery Manual said it would be hard to do a faux Soul Split, so I didn't take that at face value. You also needed to have some sort of Natural Treasure that aligned with the Skill you wanted to create that would be consumed, which again, wasn't necessary for the Level 90 one that the System gave.

That was another project that I probably would delay until Level 90 so I could see how the System etched the E-grade Fractal onto my pathways. Practicing beforehand was liable to stunt my pathways, something that was fixable, but time-consuming. Still, the idea of upgrading my long-since plateaued [Fireball] was tempting. The System-facilitated one only allowed Class Skills to be upgraded, but I could fuse a non-Class Skill with a Class Skill. The problem was… Fireball didn't go cleanly into it.

The only Class Skills that had Skill Fractals were [Suppression], [Temporary Enchantment], [Careful Path], [Reusable], and [Disenchantment]. And none of them truly fit what I wanted to do. It was difficult because my Class didn't have many truly offensive capabilities. Upgrading [Fireball] or just creating a brand new E-grade Skill from scratch would be ideal, but that would depend on how well I could learn and apply the process.

Perhaps upgrading [Careful Path] may just be the most boring but beneficial option. My guess would be that it would either allow me to Enchant things that should be far out of reach, or dramatically lower the time it took to complete Enchantments. Either one would allow me to spam powerful resources for my Salamanders.

I had time to consider it, but it was only thirteen Levels away. Another day passed and with me almost fully recharged of Cosmic Energy, I cleared out another huge swathe of the Undead. There were still Undead headed our way, but when I peered through binoculars, the Unholy Beacons were in retreat and no more specters and revenants were joining in on the attack. I was half-tempted to charge out there, but just as I had tricked the Undead, so could they. Running into another Undead as powerful as that black-cloaked assassin without a trap and my Salamanders laying in wait could be tricky, especially if I was low on Cosmic Energy which a speedy flight would require.

And I still need to finish grinding open the next Node.

Two days after our big fight, Zac and Ogras arrived. I reported in and had the estimated causality lists for his people that I had Ilvere gather.

"So many?" Zac frowned.

Zhou, who was with me, was about to speak, but Alea did instead.

"Given what we faced, we are all lucky to be alive. There were multiple E-grade threats, thousands of assassination squads, tens of thousands of elite zombies, and probably at least twenty million regular zombies."

Zac nodded and they explained the issue with the Teleportation Arrays.

"Which Towns still had Teleportation Arrays functioning?" I asked as I pulled out a rough map of the area. By identifying which ones had worked back at Port Atwood, we could partially triangulate where the center of the disturbance was. After reviewing it, I came to the conclusion that they either had an incredibly High-grade Illusion Array blocking us from seeing it, or it was underground.

Ilvere frowned. "Underground? Damn, I should have thought of that. Well, I suspect it won't matter too much. Such a powerful Siege Array in such a large area must use Nexus Crystals, err, those Miasma Crystals in immense amounts. Since the Undead Empire gave up breaking our position, they probably won't keep it up for long."

"I still want it destroyed as fast as possible," Zac said. "Can we take a guess where it might be and just strike the area?"

"Yes," I replied, "I can take Vhorra with us too, with her abilities she can traverse and move earth quickly."

Zac told Ogras to wait there and let Vhorra fly on his flying disc while I followed with my boots. The area we had to search was fairly large, as we didn't have a neat circle of Towns and Outposts to properly do it, but eventually we located a place that seemed to have a larger concentration of Miasma. When Vhorra explored, sure enough, there was a set of powerful Arrays, which ironically, were being powered by nearly spent Miasma Crystals. Zac chose to pocket them.

"There are tunnels here… and they lead to more Array Discs… They've created what looks like a huge part of an even larger Fractal below the ground," Vhorra said.

"Well… that could have been very bad. Alea thought the Undead armies were taking a rather curious path and they might be forming some sort of unliving Fractal to power a terraforming Array. Since I killed so many of the smaller groups, it was hard to make out the pattern, but with this news…"

I shuddered. Arrays were nasty. They could do all sorts of things, and if you pump enough power and had the right setup you could do things like drain the life of everything within hundreds of kilometers. Or a massive eruption of an element. Or even just seep massive amounts of poison up from the earth. The possibilities were almost endless.

"Damn. We've been too complacent," Zac shook his head. "Vhorra, can you scout around us a bit, I want to talk to Tanya privately for a few moments anyway."

She glanced at me and I gave her a nod. Zac was undoubtedly powerful, but he was only Level 75. My defensive treasure was still on me and it made zero sense for him to attack me, so I didn't feel much at risk.

Besides, if he's at my strength or even above, Vhorra would likely be a quick casualty even with her Dao. This way, if I need to book it, I can.

"We have a difference of opinion about a few things and I want to clear the air. It is highly probable that Port Atwood will become the World Capital and I'll probably be the Planetary Lord, though I guess you might beat me to it… but either way, I don't think it's a good idea for us to be at odds. I'd love to have you actually join Port Atwood and focus on your crafting. I own a Nexus Mine and have a lot of unique resources. We could make a great team."

"I appreciate the offer, and I'd be willing to consider such things on a temporary basis, like all my contracts, but where the rubber meets the road is the Planetary Lordship and the insane dictatorship powers the System grants."

He sighed. "I've talked to people, not just the Demons, but others too. What you're suggesting just doesn't work in the Multiverse. I've had people advise me that you'll always be a threat, but I'm not taking any action against you. Not just because it is wrong, but because we need people like you if New Earth is going to survive."

Why is he nervous?

"To avoid that… unpleasantness, I'm here to make you an offer. Sign a System Contract saying that you won't act against me. That you won't try to rally people against me from becoming the Planetary Lord, or limit the powers I would gain. In exchange…" he looked away.

It isn't fear. Is it, embarrassment?

His cheeks took on a bit of a ruddy complexion. "In exchange. I will allow you to pick a Town or City of your choosing that never has to pay a System-levied tax, or hell, any other tax as I don't intend to try to recreate the IRS," he said with an unsure laugh. "Uh, anyway, I'll also agree to non-aggression, on the assumption you don't act against my interests or directly aid people you know are my enemies." He cleared his throat. "And… I'll let you know when I'm going to the Tower and when I plan to climb so Zhou can see what apparition I get. And… I've found a lead about your sister."

Joy flared within me. She was alive. She was alive! A smile erupted on my face, which I forced myself to dismiss. I was starting to realize what this was.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"Sign the contract and I will tell you. I don't want to mislead you. I think she's safe for the moment, but we both know how dangerous the Multiverse can be. As someone who had recently been separated from their sister, I worried over her constantly. I understand what you must be feeling. It feels a bit unfair to hold that over your head, but… this allows all of us both to sleep better at night. And it prevents any idiot underlings or allies from either camp deciding to do something stupid."

Several thoughts filtered through my head. The first was how could I fully trust what he was saying? The second was anger. It wasn't hard to read between the lines. No different than a bunch of thugs visiting a local store commenting on what a nice place it was and it would be a shame if something happened to it. And third, the reality that what he was saying did make some sense. I could easily see someone like Thomas Fischer thinking I would make a better ruler than Zac and trying to kill him off. After spending some time with the Demons I certainly knew they could act Machiavellian when it suited them.

Fury must have radiated from me for a moment, but I clamped down on it tightly. This was a negotiation and I just needed to first focus on how amazing it was that my sister was alive.

***

Zac very nearly went for his axe when his danger sense spiked incredibly high before easing back. It had been crazy how it started going off when he began talking to Tanya. Her smile at hearing that Julia was alive put one worry to rest, at least. The stakes were real; she did care for her family, and that was useful.

How could anyone not care for their little sister?

"How do I know she's alive?"

Zac had expected that and with Ogras' help he had even prepared a rebuttal.

"You have to trust me, but we can arrange the System Contract so that it only triggers if she's returned safely back to you. If I don't get her back in your hands safe and healthy, it's void. I'm not lying to you, she's alive and I found her when I went into the underworld."

Tanya's face was an unreadable mask.

"Good. To business then. You want what amounts to me abandoning my ideals. If you decided to slaughter your perceived enemies, take their wives, and turn them into your own personal harem, I can't do anything because of the System Contract, no matter how much I want to."

I'm not some monster!

Zac shook his head furiously. "I would never do that."

"But if you did, I can't come after you. That's the issue I have. Nor can I even advocate for a better form of governance. I appreciate the taxation gesture, but what about additional restrictions? The right to a trial by jury? No summary executions if someone surrenders into your custody? Ensuring no conscription?"

Zac was frustrated. She seemed desperate to cling to the old way of doing things. A jury trial? That would require way too much effort. And if enemies were powerful or had ties of Karma, the delay would allow allies to potentially save them. When you had an enemy dead to rights, you couldn't play with them in the cultivation world.

And conscription may well be necessary in the future. Zac wouldn't do so unless there was no choice, but he had already seen the report from Ilvere about how people had signed up for the Atwood army and then tried to balk when called to actually fight. What if the Shroud came down and Earth was attacked?

"I'm not here to debate this with you, Tanya. I think I'm making a generous offer. Neither of us can come at each other, and in exchange you get to be exempt from taxes. I will strengthen your right hand and give you back your sister."

The air was pregnant with restrained anger, but her porcelain face never shifted an inch.

"If that's the way it is going to be. The duration stays for a hundred years, not permanent. If you end up becoming a tyrant, I want the option to come back and kill you."

Zac smiled. "If I become a tyrant, I'd let you."

"No, no you wouldn't. But you'll be dead all the same. I'll draft the System Contract as you outlined in the next hour while we head back. Your people can then review it to make sure all the details are there. Then I'm free to go collect her."

"I'll do that, I know the underworld, you don't. I promise you she's safe. But, hey, I can tell you are still upset. I think you should actually visit Port Atwood after your contract is up. See what I'm doing for the people of Earth. Enjoy the nicer cultivation. Craft some things that we need for the coming battles."

I know Calrin has been badgering me to get her to help him juice some of his returns. Having her make some things for me before I go to the Tower of Eternity would be helpful too.

"No," she said with frosty bitterness, then paused. "Well, maybe. Zac Atwood, I need you to understand what you just did will ensure we will never be friends, but I also will not cut off my nose to spite my face. If working with people I despise ensures that my Salamanders have a better chance of survival, I'll give it due thought, but I still have some weeks left in my current contract."

Zac was a bit taken aback by her still simmering anger. He figured she'd calm down eventually. Especially when she saw her sister again. Everything was fine. She had agreed and that was one less roadblock.

Maybe we can even take Zhou up the first few Floors of the Tower of Eternity as an olive branch. Yeah, that might be good. Everything is going to work out just fine.

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Rating:

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Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

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Characters:

Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

Additional Tags:

Crossovers & Fandom FusionsStrong Female CharactersPost-ApocalypseLitRPG

Language:

English

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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 44

Chapter Text

Special thank you to @Massgamer for proofreading!

Chapter 44

Oh boy was I pissed off, but I had made my bed and I intended to lay in it… for now. The simple truth was that if agreeing to this deal made it so my sister was safely returned to me, it would be worth it to me personally, even if it leads to Zac Atwood's tyrannical rule. Once I signed the System Contract I would be stuck, so I intended to also write some messages to leaders like Thomas Fischer and Anaad Phakiwar explaining that I could no longer help them due to the stipulations I needed to abide by based on the System Contract due to my family being held hostage. Sofia would be a good ambassador for that, and her previous rational reticence to being on the frontlines would provide good cover for her leaving today, assuming teleportation was back up and running.

What they did with that information was up to them, but I would be stuck. Fortunately, the one hundred year expiration wasn't something Zac fought me on. I hoped that it would act as a deterrent to any of his more ruthless ideas. Either way, I wasn't planning to stick around to see what he did.

Morally speaking, many people would view the trade that I made as rather selfish. They could take a hike. I owed nothing to anyone except what I had previously agreed to. The language I would write would be specific and left little room for either side to play bullshit games, but that was just as much for my own protection as it was for Zac's. If I was confident he would be the only one reviewing the System Contract, I might have played some games, but I knew he would have his advisors review it and I didn't want to risk any delays in being reunited with Julia.

I finished the writing details before we even made it back to the Outpost. Zac looked surprised, but took the System Contract and looked it over. The teleporters were now working again, so he could quickly go back to Port Atwood. Zac took Alea with him and said he would return within the day.

"What was that all about?" Vhorra asked.

"Atwood playing hardball. I need to find some more Undead targets to relieve some of my frustration upon. Remain here with the others, though I suspect there won't be any further action for the time being."

I flew up and looked to see if there were any Undead in the vicinity. The grand hordes and thick fields of Miasma were cleared, but there were some stragglers. I set off to tear into them as I contemplated what my new game plan would be.

After the contract was signed I still wanted to ensure Earth would survive the Incursions. It was my home, at least for now. I didn't want to see what remained of Earth's population subjected to being turned into zombies or enslaved by Incursions similar to the Confederation. But after the last Incursion was closed? I think it will be time to leave.

I would ask the other Salamanders what they wanted to do, but if the majority wanted to stay, then they could stay. It would even make things easier for me. I did hope they would join me, but that would require some more specific teleportation tokens. When Zhou went to the Tower of Eternity, I would see about entering into a contract with the Empire of Light. I had no desire to marry into their family, but their cause seemed far more noble than other factions.

While it was very doubtful he could collect enough teleportation tokens to get all of us there together, we could also see about getting tokens from worlds that were nearby or had linked Teleportation Nodes. Teleporters could only go so far, depending on their grade, but relays existed. They were ruinously expensive, but we would get a large influx of Nexus Coins when Zhou finally went to the Tower. If he could get enough tokens for either the Empire of Light or friendly surrounding nations… it might just work out.

The nice thing was that the Empire of Light didn't have many enemies aside from the Undead Empire. Everyone liked the fact that they served as a bulwark and eternal enemy to the forces of Undeath. Any conflict between them and, say, the Allbright Empire or the Dravorak Dynasty would just weaken them all compared to the ever-expanding Undead Empire. Other, lesser powers also didn't want to deal with them and their powerful Array Masters.

Of course, I didn't know what kind of contract I might get with them, so that also put a big damper on the plans, but I could give Zhou some very specific instructions on what we might agree to as the Salamander Group and allow some flexibility.

If we successfully closed all the Incursions, I knew Atwood would be restrained by the same System Contract I would be stuck with, so I didn't fear an immediate attack. We didn't need to take the first option that came along. I just didn't want to see what became of Earth while forced to sit on the sidelines. Better to be out there, growing stronger, and have the ability to make good on the threat against the hostage taker.

I felt a good deal better about Earth's chances. The Undead Empire and perhaps the Church of the Everlasting Dao were the two top tier threats from Incursions. The Church's Beacon had somehow not been found, but the Undead had been dramatically culled. Atwood had closed several other Incursions, so that left the major remaining threat being the Dominators, who still spooked me quite a bit.

Too much is in flux, and I haven't even signed the damned System Contract yet. Let's see if he tries to push for any bullshit changes.

***

Adriel was more than just a little frustrated. To have not just his plans fail, but to have the Church laugh in his clone's face when he had proposed a temporary alliance to deal with Port Atwood was simply beyond the pale.

He didn't want to risk the wrath of his master, Lord Rexus, but he might need to. His generals had dwindled, some of his best newborn revenants had failed, and the Terraforming Arrays had been shattered. He was an Array Master, he could still fix things, but his ability to project power was now significantly curtailed.

I could kill her if she came here… but will she?

The enemy mage had been more cunning than he had expected. Her endurance in battle was puzzling, but the Multiverse was a vast place. Part of the reason Incursions were popular for factions to take part in was because of the existence of unique and rare Natural Treasures that allowed for things that otherwise would be impossible outside of the Heartlands. No doubt she had found some immense Natural Treasure that allowed her to use far more Cosmic Energy than would normally be possible. A prime example of why the Origin Dao was the largest reason, but Mystic Realms, Natural Treasures, and the Quest rewards were often almost as highly sought after.

He debated about sending one of his clones back to plead with Lord Rexus to send him more E-grade warriors. The cost would outstrip the resources this world would likely generate, but there were still several impeccable bodies that could be of great use. Not to mention the Dimension Seed within the Mystic Realm…

Yes, I can make a persuasive argument. I could convince him…

Only, that might not be enough to satiate his wrath. Even if Adriel was successful, if it drained the coffers of his master, he might still face punishment. He could be made an example of due to his incompetence. It was an unfortunate balancing act. The fruits of this planet were mighty, but he had to proceed with caution even as he saw his realm shrink as his bastions were assaulted.

With his elites concentrated on the Atwood army and Sino-Indian Alliance, the rest of this world had decided to strike. The NWG, Marshall Alliance, and even the border settlements had somehow sensed that the might of the Undead Empire was focused elsewhere. Territory and Towns were lost, and even other Incursions had decided to take their chances to score blows.

I'll see them all dead!

The Lich forced himself to calm down. He knew his defenses here were almost impenetrable. If they dare confront him in his own den, he would show them true power. He still had his trump cards available, millions of zombies, and his own Defensive Arrays. The place was thick with Miasma and strengthened his followers more so here than anywhere else in the world. He could nurture the next wave of children being born and prepare. He could improve his clones while he waited, and soon the shackles of the Heavens would truly be gone.

This has merely been a setback. None can withstand the might of the Undead Empire. I will forgo asking for aid for now – I can always do so later if I am pressed.

***

Zac had them look over the System Contract that Tanya had come up with. Calrin and Alyn were the ones who he trusted the most with the ability to look for loopholes, but Alea had been with her for over a month and he trusted Ogras' sneaky nature to detect any issues.

Alyn clicked her tongue. "This is well-written, with some important caveats. It outlines and defines terms to extreme specificity. For example, this section here states that opposition in events similar to the Eastern Trigram Hunt is allowed as long as it is not direct combat. If you sought to obtain a victory through a System-designed Trial, she could attempt to thwart you by participating herself, but not by attacking you."

Zac shrugged. "That's fair, and doesn't that help me as well as it is a mirror?"

"But why is it a mirror?" Calrin asked. "She clearly wants her sister back, why not press her to work for us instead?"

"Because that would be wrong, and she could still say no. I'm not going to threaten her sister. If we can't come to an agreement, I'm still giving her Julia."

Alea and Ogras shared a glance.

"What?" Zac demanded.

"You said she was angry, right?" Alea asked.

"Yes. I would also be upset if someone had information about Kenzie but didn't share it."

Ogras snickered. "You don't think she may have misinterpreted what you were saying? From what Alea told me of your Westfort visit, she was pretty adamant about her limitations on Planetary Lords."

"I told her directly that I just had information, not that I had her. You were the one who told me to lead with offering the clause in the System Contract so that it would only be enforceable if Julia was reunited with her."

"None of that is important!" the Sky Gnome said. "At least have her throw in some Enchanted goods. Do you have any idea how much I can mark up some of those items?! I've sampled the defensive treasure that she gave to Alea, it isn't all that powerful, but the design is immaculate! As she grows in strength within E-grade, what she can do will only get better. We have zero Enchanters in our crafting base!"

Zac rolled his eyes. "She was open to the idea of a future job after she finishes this one. Hmm, I was going to throw her a bone and let Zhou join Ogras and I on our Tower climb, but maybe I can offer a week's worth of Enchanting to your specifications when it expires for that?"

Ogras got a shifty look in his eye, but Zac was just tired and wanted to be done with this. They had badgered him about how dangerous Tanya was and he had proactively solved the issue, but they were still bickering! He had Incursions to close and every minute they wasted on this meant hundreds if not thousands of people died.

"A week? That's it?" Calrin was practically jumping up and down.

"She might not agree," Alea replied. "I'm almost certain she will look for employment elsewhere after what you've done. Better to try to include it within the System Contract or we risk not getting any Enchanting done by her at all. From her perspective, she kept your army alive and even handed out treasures. True, we also supplied her Nexus Crystals, but she's also very well liked by the army. Those whom you personally saved or who have been with us from near the start are still fully loyal to you, but the others who Sap Trang brought in? They don't know, but they've fought side by side with her and the Salamanders. And now… this."

Zac frowned. Even Alea was against this?

"So, should I back off?"

"No," she said, "you'll look weak. You've made the offer, she's tentatively accepted, and it will be one less knife at your back you need to worry about. I'm just suggesting we include some work as part of the deal if Calrin thinks it will truly be valuable."

I don't know…

"Any other changes?"

Alyn pointed out a few minor sections that could use some more clarity, but the basic framework was set.

"Let me consider it while you make the adjustments and then I'll teleport back to the Outpost. Julia is handling her time here well?"

"Yes, we figured she would get along with someone around her age. Since Emily returned with you, she's keeping her company," Ogras explained.

That would do for now. He had enough of the Demons' and Calrin's advice for the moment. He still felt a bit slimy about this whole thing, but he had done it for her protection as well. As his realm grew bigger and bigger, it was harder to keep an eye on his people. An outspoken critic of what he might do would invite potential fools looking to win his favor. The Incursions were being closed and the Undead armies had suffered a massive setback, even the NWG were picking at the corpses. Everything was working, now was no time to leave things to chance when there was light at the end of the tunnel.

***

Sofia arrived in New Washington and after a brief moment, where they confirmed her identity, they rolled out the red carpet. A literal limo was summoned and as she stepped in a cultivator was already within, asking about what business the Salamanders wished to discuss.

"Tanya Degurechaff requested I hand deliver a message to Thomas Fischer. If you need to scan me or check my identity with a Skill, you have full permission to."

"Understood. Lord Fischer is in the field, but we will arrange for word to be immediately sent. He should be back within the hour. In the meantime, would you care for a meal? We have a variety of menu items."

She smiled. "I would be delighted to."

After a world-class meal, she was taken to Thomas Fischer's office and the armored man smiled cordially at her.

"Any member of the Salamanders is always welcome in New Washington. I understand you had a personalized message, Sofia?"

She took out the letter and handed it over. Its contents were brief. Zac Atwood was holding Tanya's sibling hostage and Tanya would almost certainly be signing a binding non-aggression pact with him within the next day or so. Once that occurred she could not take any direct action against Atwood. Thomas frowned after reading it and looked up at her.

"Before you speak, I am sure you already understand, but I will be blunt as well. If you openly oppose Zac Atwood and Tanya learns of it, the System will bind her. The Salamanders would certainly have no problems with working with the NWG so long as that is not stated or evidence of such comes to light."

"Will the System really treat it that way?"

Sofia shrugged her shoulders. "Hard to say. The NWG has many enemies. If we craft a weapon for you, do we have some certainty it will be used against Atwood? Might it not be used against the Incursions or your political rivals? So long as there is a sense of reasonable uncertainty, the System Contract shouldn't trigger. And by all rights, unless you were well and truly certain of success, it would be absolute idiocy to attack someone with the power of Zac Atwood."

Thomas was nodding. Sofia couldn't imagine anyone not getting the hint.

"We were worried when communication broke down, but I sense that all is well with the fight against the Undead Empire?"

Sofia smiled. That was clear confirmation that the NWG had spies in Port Atwood.

"Yes. The Sino-Indian Alliance lost tens of thousands, and Port Atwood lost around a thousand of their troops. The Undead lost at least ten million zombies, scores of Unholy Beacons, several E-grade Corpse Golems, even more Peak F-grade Corpse Golems, hundreds of newly born revenants, and potentially one of their generals."

"Excellent news, I'm not sure if Ms. Degurechaff is aware, but the NWG has also taken up arms against the Undead Empire."

Sofia flashed a smile. "I'll be sure to tell her. If you have updated intelligence we would love to have it so we can update our own maps. Additionally, here are some designs of advanced F-grade and Low E-grade Defensive Arrays. They are many times more powerful than what you are probably using, though the Nexus Crystal requirements are also higher."

Fischer's eyes lit up as he accepted the Information Crystals.

"I'll have this information from General Wyland in the next two hours. Tell me, how much longer will the contract with the Marshall Alliance and Atwood last, and what is next for your group?"

Tanya expected that. It was pretty obvious.

"Tanya is open to a new contract, though the Sino-Indian Alliance will almost certainly also make an offer. What did you have in mind, and what are you willing to pay?"

"A grand opportunity, a place that may potentially be filled with unknown treasures, and that may be more valuable than anything else found on Earth. In terms of payment, we can negotiate an upfront fee and then a percentage of the resources that are collected while the terms of the contract are in force."

Sofia had not been given autonomy to make decisions, but she was to feel him out and determine the details so that Tanya could use that information when she approached the Sino-Indian Alliance. A quick bidding war for their next assignment would help give them resources to continue forging ahead.

"Tell me more. I'm sure Tanya will want as many details as possible."

***

I felt a little better when I returned to camp. I used my faux Soul split to truly focus on my Dao Seed of Volition as I danced across the battlefield, envisioning the Salamanders out amongst the stars and not burdened by the responsibilities of Earth. Able to act freely and accept any contract we wanted.

In short, I was coping. I did not like the idea of abandoning Earth, but I liked the idea of staying with a tyrant I could contractually not oppose even worse. I had been on the cusp of advancing the Dao Seed anyway, so my last bit of focus on internal meditations on it allowed me to finally advance it to the Peak stage.

When I returned, Zac was impatiently waiting.

"You are back earlier than I expected, my apologies for the wait," I said coolly.

"It's fine. Here is the updated System Contract. Changes are here and here, Alyn thinks you won't disagree with them."

I read them over carefully, then checked the rest to ensure no other alterations. The System had plenty of safeguards in these things, so ploys of some sort like hidden writing couldn't be used. Coercion in general wasn't allowed either, though I felt this almost teetered. Were carefully worded threats enough to fool the System? Well, if there was any backlash, it would be on Zac and not me. I took a breath and signed.

Immediately, my Dao Seed of Pledge advanced, though it did nothing to dim my unhappiness with the situation. Zac took a breath and smiled.

"The good news is that I know you were still under contract to finish your time here, so you wouldn't have the means to go follow-up on the lead, so I took care of it for you. Give me a few minutes and I'll be back with your sister."

You son-of-a-bitch! I bet you had her all this time!

My eyelid twitched, but I reminded myself that this was for the best. Seeing Julia in the next few minutes, safe and unharmed, was what mattered. I summoned the Salamanders. Dad was looking anxious as we waited.

Zac returned, and there she was. Julia. She looked healthy and she jumped into our dad's arms. Well, she was taller than Dad, but that's what it essentially was. Both had tears in their eyes, and then she hugged me. I could tell by her aura she had seen fights and had gained some Levels. I wasn't sure what I thought about that, as technically she was a child soldier. In America you could join the military at 17, but you wouldn't face combat deployment until you were fully an adult. Not that those laws mattered at all, nor was I one to throw stones. Cut off from the rest of the world, faced with monstrous people, it was wise to get stronger.

"I'm so glad you are safe. I'd like you to meet some people, but first let's talk a bit more privately. I have to make sure you are okay."

I was feeling a lot of relief. I felt lighter than I had in months. That joy was marred by the situation, and what Dad and I needed to tell her about Mom.

"Hey, before you run off, I need to talk with you about maybe…"

I whirled on him, and my fury rose within me. A futile emotion, as I could not harm the bastard.

"You deceived me." I lowered my voice as Dad pulled Julia away toward one of the private rooms within the Outpost. "Our mother died, and I'll need to tell her that. If you have something more to say, speak to Zhou, but don't think I will ever forget what you did."

"I also…" he started to respond, but I quickly moved away and caught up with my family.

***

Julia cried as her dad and sister held her. She knew the odds were long that both her parents had survived. She knew. But she refused to believe it until that certainty was staring her in the face. Most of Earth's population had died, so why should she think her family would be exempt from those terrible odds?

Hours later she finally gathered herself up and wiped away her tears. She hadn't seen her father or her sister in so long and she wanted to know everything. Tanya talked about her experience with the Tutorial, and then her wandering and forming a mercenary group.

"Salamanders? Why?" Julia asked.

Tanya shrugged. "It just fit."

Julia let out a shaky laugh. She was used to more detailed explanations and logic, and instead she got 'it just fit' from her nerdy older sister?

I guess the apocalypse changes everyone, even her.

It shocked her that Mr. Smith had essentially held her hostage for Lord Atwood. It hadn't felt like being held hostage, and she had learned about the great things Zac had accomplished. Emily had seemed really nice and helpful, even sharing about how Zac had helped her cultivation and given her a lot of gifts.

"I'm proud of you, Julia," her dad proclaimed, "you were basically alone and still managed to find a place for yourself, even became a guard for important people in the underworld. You've both done incredibly well."

It felt good hearing that, not that either of her parents had ever stinted on providing praise. Her accomplishments were nothing compared to Tanya's, but she had just hit Level 40 and didn't think that was too shabby given that she was just a mortal. They talked some more and Tanya said that she would be safe now, but that she needed to pick a path.

Their dad cleared his throat. "She's still a minor, you don't want her to fight with the Salamanders, do you?"

"Caution has its own dangers. Right now, if I were to just unleash my aura deliberately or create a Dao Field with my Fragment of the Forge, I could kill people below Level 10. It will only grow worse. It may be safer to have her Level-up higher in a controlled manner during our missions. But for now, I agree we shouldn't have her fight until we can get her some Titles."

She had Titles already! Things like Giant's Bane, Adventurer, and Full of Class. She suspected there were a lot of possible Titles. Julia showed what she had and Tanya nodded.

"We will want to have you solo some Early to maybe Middle E-grade monsters."

"Wahuh?" Julia said in surprise.

Tanya grinned. "Don't worry, we'll make it as safe as possible, and it won't be right away. There are a number of Titles you can earn by 'solo-killing' foes above your Level. Giant's Bane is just the start. Disciple of David, Overpowered, and then finally Slayer of Leviathans is next. That last one is difficult, but I have a plan, and I suspect there might be one even higher than that."

"I can't handle E-grade threats!"

"Not without the right tools, no. The key is to find you a foe that only has certain types of attacks that are predictable and then for you to abuse the items I give you. We've done some experiments and Enchanted projectiles, even thrown rocks, still count towards Cosmic Energy gain. It seems strange that a bullet fired from a gun doesn't, but a thrown rock with my Enchantments on it does… but so are the inconsistencies and idiocies of the System. There are some relatively slower moving Peak F-grade mutated turtles the NWG has been keeping an eye on. They'll probably advance to Early E-grade sooner or later, and so would be perfect for you to farm some Titles."

Julia was game, but now wasn't the time. Their reunion had been emotionally exhausting, but the world didn't wait for them. Zhou, the Asian guy with the spear, ended up needing to talk to Tanya.

"They want to move us to the Marshall front and help deal with the horde they have. I don't think you are necessarily needed, but it would go a lot faster if you participated in clearing the swarms."

"Duty calls, Dad, Julia, you two will be coming with us, but won't participate in the battle."

Uh… something isn't right here.

"What, just because you are a higher Level you get to boss your family around?"

Tanya blinked and then cocked her head. "No, but I am leading the Salamanders. I assumed you wish to join?"

"Why isn't Dad in charge?"

"That does have to do with the Level difference you mentioned, but I'm not going to bicker with you, Julia. Stay away from the fighting, for the short-term. I don't want you to gain Levels so we can more easily farm those Titles. In E-grade, those turtles aren't going to be moving anything like turtles and it will get worse the higher you get. Deep in Middle E-grade they could have movement-based abilities and have attacks filled with their Dao."

"I'm not going to go out and fight, I'm just saying you aren't… uh… just don't be so bossy!"

Her dad took her hand. "Julia, Tanya's been doing a good job leading the Salamanders. I'm not going to take that away from her. I'd prefer you not fight at all, but Tanya's probably right about it being safer to get you Titles and Levels. But let's talk more while she burns some zombies so we earn our paycheck."

Her sister looked grateful and Julia subsided.

This is weird, but it isn't like I'm not used to Tanya doing whatever she wants.

It wasn't any heartfelt anger, it just felt good not to think about her mom. As Tanya and Zhou left, she felt another wave of tears come on her as she buried her face in her dad's chest.

***

"Wait… leave Earth?" Zoey asked in shock.

"Yes, once the Incursions are dealt with," Tanya replied. "I'd already considered doing so before my sister was used as a hostage, not forever, but to gain additional strength. When the System shroud falls in one hundred years, Earth will be revealed and we might be right next to the Undead Empire, or we might be somewhere safe, it is impossible to say. When the Origin Dao begins to fade over the next five-to-ten years, and with no Incursions to face, it will be mostly just farming mutated beasts. While that can allow for advancement, the opportunities won't be the same."

"But now that Zac has revealed how low he might stoop and you won't be able to stop him, your timeline has advanced," Toby replied softly.

Zoey didn't know what to think. Leave Earth? So soon? There wasn't much keeping her here. Her parents had died shortly after Integration and she only knew distantly about her grandparents, who she couldn't imagine having survived, but this was her home.

"It makes sense," Zhou replied. "There would be minimal work for a mercenary company on Earth once things have settled down, and conflict is necessary for us to grow in power and walk the path of cultivation."

Everyone except Edwin and Julia were present. Sofia had returned from New Washington and both Ishiate were there as well. They were both quietly speaking to each other at a volume no one could hear.

Kim shrugged. "As long as we aren't booking it before we stop the Incursions, I don't have a problem with it. I've always wanted to see new things, got that wanderlust in me, so I'm with you."

"Then I'm in as well," Will said immediately.

Zoey bit her lip. This was big. She didn't know what to think.

"I want safety," Sofia said softly, "but from what we are learning, is Earth going to be safe under a man like Zac Atwood? He's probably better than many alternatives," the statement caused Tanya's jaw to clench, "but it doesn't sound great. If you can get us a safe landing elsewhere in the Multiverse, I'll take it."

Jared was petting Haze, who was growing very quickly. The panther cub was purring and little bits of shimmering darkness were drifting out of his fur.

"Well, where would we be living? And how would we get there? I thought we only had a limited number of teleportation tokens."

"Jared makes a good point," Tanya conceded, "that part is difficult. Zhou will be going to the Tower of Eternity within the next week or two. There he will be looking to gain teleportation tokens and potentially a contract if we can get enough of them. While it is unlikely we can get enough tokens to have us all go together to the same place, travel between worlds is possible once you get into the broader Multiverse. The fees are quite heavy and there are restrictions of course, but trade and movement is absolutely possible with the right credentials."

"No pressure, buddy," Will said, giving Zhou a playful nudge. Zoey saw Zhou just looked at him and Will sheepishly looked away.

I guess that means we don't have to make a decision immediately.

Zoey liked being part of the Salamanders. So much of the Multiverse seemed to be some billionaire's wet dream. She had thought the 1% was bad in her country, but it was tame compared to the horrors she'd seen in less than a year. The rich always seemed to get richer, and only good-hearted people like Tanya made any effort to spread the wealth. Any notion of equality and equity in this horrible new reality seemed to have gone to the wayside. Tanya was not only very generous with her Salamanders, but she also took time out of her busy schedule to create those defensive barriers for the children of Billyville. She also didn't make a distinction between mortal and cultivator.

With a startling realization, she knew that she would be joining Tanya. Earth wasn't even fully Earth anymore. It was a hodgepodge of different terrains, no faction cared for the little guy, and the only one who valued egalitarianism was going off-world.

"As long as there's a plan, I'm coming along too. Tanya's done right by us, by the people, and will fight to right the wrongs of the Multiverse."

Tanya looked at her oddly for a moment.

Was she surprised that I'm joining? I guess I have gone on about how much I like the Ishiate society and wouldn't mind living in their villages.

Around the gathering the others chimed in. Jared was still on the fence, seeming nervous about splitting up into the Multiverse and then trying to regroup. To Zoey's great delight, both Dorel and Shella planned to join. Shella even spoke openly about how Tanya's respect for life and nature had made her a leader worth following.

Vhorra was pleased, but also cautioned them.

"We shouldn't leave right away. I don't know when all the Incursions will be closed, but so long as the Origin Dao remains, so should we. It is simply too great of an opportunity."

Tanya conceded that point, but also cautioned that it would depend on what negotiations Zhou was able to accomplish. If a great offer was made that was time-sensitive they may need to jump on it. Zoey couldn't imagine how much harder it would be to improve her Dao without the Origin Dao, so she was also keen on staying a while longer. She had only managed to get her Dao Seed of Lightness to Middle rank. It felt like she might be close to a breakthrough, but not with that Dao. It was hard to meditate on something that she wasn't even sure she was on the breakthrough of understanding.

Either way, I will be joining Tanya, the last champion of the proletariat!

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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 45

Chapter Text

Chapter 45

Thea felt invigorated fighting under Tanya's aura. The bonus to her attributes across the board was nice, but it was more than that. There was a righteous fury that enveloped her when she fought the Undead that burned away the exhaustion she had been facing while fighting the Undead Empire. For over a month the grinding onslaught had taken place. Her family had other heavy hitters, but none compared to her. She was needed to deal with the controller zombies or the occasional undead elite, or else the Marshall Alliance suffered horrific casualties.

Every day that had gone by she had felt resigned frustration as to why Zac was taking so damn long. He had entered seclusion, her grandfather's guess had been to break through to E-grade, and instead was sending his subordinates to close the Incursions in the underworld.

Was I wrong about him?

With the relief that came with the Salamander Group, the tide had turned completely. The Undead horde was actually retreating, which came with its own set of problems. Going deeper into the Dead Zone increased the Miasma contamination, but Tanya also had a solution for that. Purifying Arrays combined with mass-produced cheap pills that could slow the rate of Miasma accumulation. It allowed the Marshall Alliance to keep their armies deployed in the Dead Zone for longer, which in turn led to even more zombies and other Undead falling to their blades and guns.

"E-grade must be incredible," she said with a smile as Tanya returned to their makeshift field HQ, "you are relentless."

"I just have some frustration that needs an outlet. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check in with my men and restore my Cosmic Energy reserves."

I'd normally be mad at the cold shoulder, but she's saving thousands of lives every day.

It wasn't until a few days later, when she talked with her grandfather, that she learned what may be eating at her.

"That doesn't sound like Zac at all," she told her grandfather.

"My dear, he has grown up. This is the Multiverse, being overly soft would hurt him and Earth in the long-run. What he did was necessary. Tanya is now no longer a threat to his Lordship. While it may lead to some animosity, Tanya is a professional. Even now, while helping his allies, she is putting forth her full effort. They may never be friends, but they can now work together without fear of betrayal."

"There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed," she objected.

"What line? The barter of highly desired information for an agreement that serves humanity? Thea, I love you, but you must learn to be as sharp and uncompromising as your sword."

Thea rolled her eyes. "Granddad, did you forget? You are also making use of medicinal baths; I won't be inheriting anything for a long time. Nor do I have any desire to if those kinds of compromises are needed."

She then went and found Tanya, to explain what she thought was a dirty trick.

"Ms. Marshall, the conversation is not beneficial. I'm literally limited as to what I can say, and I am quite busy."

Thea sighed. She was so frustrated with everything. Not the least of which was that what she had worked so hard to do was being eclipsed by others. Throwing herself into fight after deadly fight just to stay on top, only to have multiple people bypass her with ease. Tanya had so thoroughly eclipsed her accomplishments and contributions it wasn't even close to a contest. Worse, despite all Tanya had done for humanity, she had been tricked into a System Contract that violated her clearly stated ideals. Thea had thought that maybe it was just a bargaining tool to pry more resources from the others at the summit, but now she had realized it was very much her deeply held convictions.

The Multiverse is awful. First, my cousin Henry tries to murder Zac, which in turn gets him killed by my other relatives, and then Zac does that nasty scheme and grandfather approves! The horrible number of deaths is obviously the worst part, but it hurts more seeing what all this death and despair has done to people. Even I no longer flinch at seeing friends and family members die, though I still grieve. Damn the System.

***

His brilliant sister and Jeeves had done it! The Dao Funnel they had taken from Salvation was ready to be used in a day's time.

"Have you decided who will join us?" Kenzie asked.

"Not completely," Zac admitted. "Only the inner layer. How many do you think would be able to sit in the outer layers?"

"I think we could fit thirty people or so? If I make them any larger, I can't reliably contain the energies," Kenzie replied after a moment.

The closer to the release of the Dao Funnel energies, the more potent the Dao insights would be. He arranged for Alyn, Joanna, and Ilvere to nominate nine people each, and added a few specific names himself as well.

"What about Thea and the others?" Kenzie asked. "Shouldn't we invite them too?"

"No," Zac finally said. "I want to use this opportunity solely for the people of Port Atwood."

It took a lot of deliberation, but Zac had eventually arrived at the conscious decision to not invite anyone who wasn't part of his force. That included both Billy and Thea, whom he trusted but who were ultimately allies in charge of their own forces. Keeping all the benefits to themselves might be selfish, but Zac and Ogras had risked their lives for this opportunity. Truthfully, if he could keep all the Origin Dao harvested by the Dao Funnel for just the two of them, he would probably have done so since that would have the greatest impact in the fight against the invaders and the Dominators.

But since that was impossible, they would use the spillover to create more powerhouses in Port Atwood. Kenzie didn't look too pleased about his decision.

"You could invite Tanya. You have the System Contract you wanted from her and it might help clear the air."

Zac shook his head. If Tanya had agreed to work with him on a long-term contract providing supplies for the Atwood army and for himself, that would be one thing. But Zhou had been clear that he would use his Tower token once Zac used his, but that they were not going to climb together and he would keep his distance.

I tried.

The next day everything was ready. His Prayer Mat was set out and all the people of Port Atwood who had been selected were there.

"Let's hope we got this right; otherwise, this will turn into a tragedy," Zac wryly smiled as he looked across the people who would participate.

All of them belonged to the absolute peak of Port Atwood's forces; Alea, Joanna, Ilvere, Janos, Ogras, his sister, all of the top commanders and most powerful combatants. The only exception was the motley mix of youngsters who looked a bit nervous. It was the students whom Alyn had recommended, seedlings with potential to become powerful under his banner. If something happened to all of them, including himself, then both Port Atwood and Earth were finished.

Well, with the way Ilvere and Alea keep raving about Tanya, maybe not. But it would still be long odds.

"So maudlin," Ogras said with a roll of his eyes. "It's just a bunch of Origin Dao. What can go wrong?"

Zac really wished he hadn't said that. He and Ogras went on to explain the potential risks to all those gathered. After explaining the details of the Origin Dao, what Salvation had been trying to do for his master, the Great Redeemer, they imparted a final warning.

"We hope that the massive amounts of stored Origin Dao will forcibly put us into a prolonged state of epiphany, drastically improving our insights into the Dao," Ogras explained. "But we might be way off base. Perhaps nothing will happen. Perhaps we will be turned into idiots."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Mr. Trang muttered.

"Exactly," Zac said. "This is an opportunity, but there are also real risks involved. I will not force anyone to undergo this experiment; everyone here is free to leave if they want."

Not a single one chose to leave.

When the Dao Visions and the ghosts of the slain had gone after an indeterminable amount of time, Zac realized he had done a lot with this opportunity. The powerful Dao Visions had led to the animosity of the 'ghosts' that had come from the Dao Funnel, but it seemed to have been worth it. He had combined the Dao Seeds of Sharpness and Heaviness into the Fragment of the Axe, and now all his other Dao Seeds had been raised to Peak stage. Pained groans could be heard from all directions as people arduously got to their feet. He wanted to quickly check something, and let out a tired and triumphant smile as he saw that he was now 1st on the Dao Ladder.

Then his eyes took in the scene before him. Horror flooded his heart when the first things he saw were the unmoving bodies on the floor.

***

My sister was very impatient to help out, and of course wanted to. That wouldn't suit my Title-farming scheme, however, so she was stuck with Dao meditation, medicinal baths, and helping out Dorel and Shella. I halfway hoped that her doing some crafting work might put her in a position to get a hybrid Class in E-grade. I didn't like her current Class at all because it required her to get into the face of her enemies, not something I wanted for her.

We had wrapped up our two-month contract with the Marshall Alliance and Port Atwood, and now I had offers coming in from the Sino-Indian Alliance, Port Atwood, the NWG, and the Marshall Alliance. I dismissed the Marshall Alliance and Port Atwood offers, but I believed I would be able to do both of the other ones.

The Sino-Indian Alliance wanted to get an Incursion closed 'on their own' without Port Atwood's help. Which was funny, because I would basically be doing it. They had a grand plan drawn up and were willing to offer me two Dao Treasures, some Peak F-grade beast ocular parts that would be useful for my Contacts of Seeing concept, a sealed Cultivation Manual designed for pugilists, [Constitution Pills], and half of the loot taken from the Incursion. They were going to move in their massive army and overrun the enemy with my help.

I had told Daoist Chosui that I'd take his offer, but only if he and Anaad joined me on a quick strike on the Incursion Beacon, wrecked the place, and had it done within 24 hours. The damn coward was suddenly uncertain so I told him that the condition of me getting paid was that both him and Anaad survive, and that made him consent to fight.

At least Fischer doesn't whine about fighting.

I understood the issue. They were exceptional at cultivation, they had strong Daos, and were literally the type of people who could gain advanced levels just by sitting in a high-dense area and circulate their cultivation manuals. They had done that to great effect in between rounds of fighting at the start. And once they became leaders, they had others find the ideal hunting grounds for maximum benefit for their Kill Energy and did so in a controlled manner. They did not like fighting with the Undead Empire at all.

The plan was ultimately quite simple. The Human Incursion had expanded, but wasn't interested in taking slaves. They killed a bunch of people, but primarily their goal seemed to be hunting for Natural Treasures or perhaps Mystic Realms. They avoided the larger Towns unless they were attacked and just sacked the smaller Outposts. They were rather spread out and vulnerable, but that just meant the rigamarole of bringing an army would give them time to turtle up and recall all their scouting cultivators.

Instead, we were just going to smash them. Using [Temporary Enchantment] and the flying treasures we had for others; I would fly everyone high up and begin things with a bang with Vhorra's help. Inside a Cosmos Sack, Vhorra had stored a tightly compacted ten-ton boulder. I dropped a [Temporary Enchantment] which would trigger and cause it to quadruple its size when it neared the impact zone. Vhorra would also be imbuing it with her Dao Seed of Heaviness to increase its weight further.

Normally, Defensive Arrays could stop our super boulder dropping from two kilometers in the air, but I decided to further stack things in our favor. I would be closer to the impact site and using [Suppression] right before the boulder hit. On top of that, before Vhorra had formed the boulder with her Seed of Loam, I had built a core with Enchanting that would explode a couple of seconds after significant impact.

It worked like a charm. The Defensive Arrays were weakened, I added a Dao Field of Volition and stretched it as far as it could go, and our super boulder smashed through the shielding, crashed through their fortification, and then exploded. Hot on the heels of that, I began spamming Fireballs as Zhou, Vhorra, Kim, Zoey, Will, Daoist Chosui, and Anaad zoomed down to begin picking off survivors.

The massacre was quite brutal. The Incursion Leader hadn't died from our nasty bomb, but he had been wounded and almost all of the people below him had either died or panicked. Zhou got the glory of the finishing blow. The invaders only had limited time to flee back through their portal and I announced they'd be able to, but only if they dropped their Cosmos Sacks and gear. Angry but terrified invaders, who just had their leader killed and their defenses undermined, chose to allow themselves to be searched and escape with their lives.

"We should do that to the Undead Empire too!" Zoey excitedly suggested.

"These were standard Arrays, not bad, but nothing spectacular. The Arrays we encountered, that some of their poison specialists seemed to use, were of higher quality. The Undead Empire is a Peak faction for a reason, I'm sure their defenses would not crumble like this. But… this was a useful test case to see if a layered bomb like this, with all our stacked advantages, would be of use," I replied.

The required resources weren't huge, it had taken little time, and tested a concept for me. The NWG offer was of more interest. The Mystic Realm sounded promising, though it was a tremendous bummer that the Mystic Realm seemed partially cut off from the Dao. That seemed… weird to me, as why would the operating language of the Multiverse not also be present within it? The metaphysics of it didn't make sense, but regardless, I understood my biggest advantage was with the Dao. Things had progressed fairly well in that regard with Sanctuary and Fury both reaching High stage.

That left me with the Fragment of the Forge, Volition at Peak, Delegation, Sanctuary, and Fury at High, Pledge at Middle, and Investment at Early. And that still put me behind Atwood in mastery of the Dao. In some ways that was frustrating, but as much as I hoped he would manage to get himself killed in the final fight against the Incursions and the Dominators as the ideal ending, I absolutely did not want him to die before then. We needed his strength against the Dominators who I had now pegged as the now far more dangerous than the Undead Empire or the Church of the Everlasting Dao.

I could be wrong. The Undead Empire might send in a bunch of elites from their side even if it would be atrociously expensive, but we aren't in a position to assault them directly just yet. So far, all the major factions are still pushing deeper and taking even more territory from the Undead.

I took on a short-term contract with the NWG to blast through a Church of the Everlasting Dao bastion that guarded one of the entrances to the Mystic Realm. We were to slaughter those nutters and then we could join the NWG in the Mystic Realm, or at least guard the outside. I think I would split the task a bit because I wanted to remain in a more Dao-enriched environment, and the idea of being trapped inside if the Church or someone else took back control of the Earth side of the portal sounded nightmarish.

But first… it was time to let Julia get some Titles!

***

Julia felt weird about using other people's gear, but it was only for a short time. Her sister promised to get her Middle E-grade weaponry and armor soon, only not getting her even better stuff than that due to wanting her to be fully proficient with Middle E-grade before she hit the Tower of Eternity.

I don't even have a token! And if you keep babying me, I never will!

It was frustrating going from an independent warrior who may not have been near the top, but was well-respected and counted on in a fight, to now being practically treated like some precious vase in a museum. It was condescending, but she also couldn't quite be upset either. The thrum of the spear in her hand and the protective cocoon of her armor made her feel safer than she had felt since the Fall.

She let out a breath as she faced off against a Peak F-grade turtle. The other turtles had been corralled away. It was just her against the beast. With her being Level 40, that meant this monster was 35 Levels above her. Julia began the fight by throwing the one-use rocks. The beast roared and scuttered after her. It was the size of a horse and did not move like any turtle she had ever seen, but compared to other Peak F-grade beasts it was certainly slower.

Already wounded, she took the air and used her Dao Seed of Impact to slam into its leg, not its shell. The E-grade spear pierced straight through. She had almost expected it to just wound it deeply so she could just withdraw, but instead it parted the beast's flesh so easily that her weapon ended up being buried into the dirt.

"Oh shi–"

She couldn't free the spear in time to avoid the turtle rotating and slamming into her. She lost her grip on the spear and flew back several meters, rolling on the ground and coming up in time to see the turtle charging her. Fortunately, she was almost completely uninjured thanks to the thrumming power of her E-grade armor. She threw another Enchanted rock, causing it to make a warbling sound, and she dived away from an ungainly, limping charge. Julia picked back up her spear and now had a better understanding at just how weak F-grade beasts' flesh was compared to E-grade powered Tanya weapons.

It took some more doing, but she had done it! She had received two new Titles!

Disciple of David: Solo kill enemy 10 Levels or more above you. All Stats +2.

Overpowered: Solo kill enemy 25 Levels or more above you. All Stats +3.

Getting +5 to all her attributes felt like a big deal. She knew that eventually those numbers wouldn't mean much, but adding 35 attributes felt like a big deal. Julia wanted to continue, but Tanya was convinced the System had another Title even higher up. If Julia gained anymore Levels, it would paradoxically make it harder for her to achieve the potential Title.

"Good work, and now we know that the System doesn't give anything for a plus-35 monstrous beast," Tanya said.

"That was fun, and the Cosmic Energy gain… wow, I just need to kill a few more and I can Level-up!"

Her sister shook her head. "No, I still want to experiment once I'm a bit more sure about your foundations against Early E-grade monstrous beasts. They are significantly more dangerous, so I do want you to improve your Dao a bit more. Now that you've just fought, I do have a Dao Treasure for you."

Julia blinked. "Why does it matter that I just fought? Why not take it earlier?"

"Trial and error. A lot of the information that I purchased in Base Town hinted that the traditional way to improve Dao is to have a pivotal experience and then meditate on it. My thought is why not follow that course, but time the taking of the Dao Treasure right before you meditate? The Multiverse is very miserly about handing out information, so having to read between the lines is difficult, but it seems like a logical conclusion that this might be beneficial."

"Am I your science experiment? What, you can't just give me a gift because I'm your sister?"

Tanya sighed. It was an old argument. Tanya had given her a beautiful doll house when she was very little. Not just out of the box, but personally improved with a swing set and other add-ons. Her sister had worked very hard on it, and Julia had thanked her, hugged her, and gushed over it. Tanya had responded by saying, "You are my little sister, this is an expectation of being your older sibling. I'm glad you liked it."

At the time, Julia had felt the phrasing was weird, but it had become a core memory, because she loved that doll house. She realized that Tanya was always doing that. Anytime she did something nice for someone, she seemed to have to justify it. It was weird, normal people did things for others without having to explain why like she did.

She's so weird. Normal people justify bad behavior. Who the hell has to try to justify being a good person?

"There's nothing wrong with killing two birds with one stone, but let's not spend time arguing when you should start your meditation then consume the Dao Treasure, and unlock another Dao Seed. This particular one has an aura that is Life-attuned, which may help you pick up a Class option similar to our father's."

"Who says I want to be a healer? That doesn't even mesh with my Class."

"Sure it does. You have high mobility and your primary killing power is an all-out sudden strike. Using your mobility to unleash a hit, then triaging the wounded makes more sense than, say, Kim or Will's power-set. And I'm the last person who is going to tell you what you need to do, I just want to present you options that you should take. Now, go. Meditate."

Julia huffed, but thanked her sister for the Dao Treasure. Her thoughts drifted to Ben and the others, and how absurdly jealous they would be about getting a Dao Treasure for free. That was the sort of resource that only went to the Underground Council, not lowly guards.

Less than a day later, a fascinating vision of a non-Human being tending to growing plants led to her unlocking the Dao Seed of Trees. Julia grinned. Yes, it might be nepotism, but she'd take it. The world was a scary place. It had taken her mom, and she didn't want it to take anyone else. Getting stronger would make it so she could defend herself. Julia doubted she could ever live with herself if her dad or sister died trying to protect her.

I still can't believe Port Atwood used me like that. Everyone seemed so nice, but I know Tanya is still furious about it. I guess they can't really fight, but I still feel guilty. Maybe I should have protested harder, but I don't think the Council would have allowed me. They wanted to make their deal and be on good terms with Super Brother-Man. Whatever, I can't do anything about it now. No use dwelling on it, right?

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Chapter 1621 - 43-45