Spicing It Up

Under normal circumstances, a Celestial Stage expert would simply crush any weaker foes to death with solely their Numen. There was no need for them to exert themselves any further than that–their Divine Will was powerful enough to ensure that nobody could escape with their life.

However, when faced with those on their own level, or exceedingly rare, extraordinary individuals, such an approach wouldn't lead to a smooth and painless victory, but rather would put themselves in danger instead.

An ant-like existence wouldn't be able to harm their Numen, yet someone more or less capable of holding their own against them might. And that–to put it lightly–would be a problem.

One's Divine Will was of utmost importance during breakthroughs at the Celestial Stage. Recovering from any damage it had to endure was very difficult, therefore most strongmen of this level would avoid letting it come to harm in the first place.

Because Spitamaneh had recognized early on that Theodore posed a significant danger–despite his low cultivation stage–he hadn't attempted to crush him with his Numen yet. A part of him had been hoping to get out of this practically unscathed somehow, yet it was now evident that he truly had to use all of his means to corner that cunning, slippery fellow.

Shrugging off physical pain was relatively easy, but torment of the mind and will were far more tortuous to deal with. Fully aware of this, he steeled himself and let his Divine Will radiate outward without restraint, drowning vast swathes of the entire arena in his terrifying might.

By sheer happenstance, his foe actually got caught in the very first blast, but he reacted exactly as Spitamaneh had feared. Utilizing his own Numen–which any regular cultivator of his stage should have barely become accustomed to–he fashioned extremely sharp and thin needles, letting them clash with the looming tsunami of Divine Will whilst retreating.

He positioned them in stages, letting Spitamaneh's Numen 'run into' them countless times over, using its frightening momentum to his advantage. A constant barrage of tens of thousands of simultaneous slight aches began to torment the Naxsir commander as a result, warping his visage into a resentful scowl.

'It's exactly as I feared! No matter how I decide to strike him, I myself simply cannot remain safe. Merely managing to hit him is already very challenging, but even once I do, I don't get to rejoice about it. Unless either of us slip up, this is going to develop into a battle of endurance from here on out. If only I had some means of attack that could utterly suppress him and deal with him in one go...! But alas...'

As the seconds passed by, both men flickered back and forth, fending off the other's assaults over and over again.

Theodore kept harassing Spitamaneh with his Eternal Ice, some different elemental attacks which he threw in every now and then, plus too many generous servings of Divine Will needles. Meanwhile, the latter's dimensional rifts acted as both his means of defence as well as a constant, arena-encompassing method of attack. His Numen unabatedly radiated outwards in continual bursts.

Ice shields shattered then got reformed, and spatiotemporal shelters frosted over before being replaced with new layers of protection. They bled and healed, always dancing on the edge of the blade. A sort of routine began to settle in, yet neither of them allowed themselves to grow used to it. Experienced combatants that they were, they knew that any sort of rhythm to one's actions mixed with complacency spelt a death sentence.

Just like that, the seconds flew by, then the minutes followed. In their efforts to outlast the other, they were both constantly draining their Energy, Numen and mind–and that was exactly what Theodore wanted. After all, in at least two of these aspects, he outright dominated his competition!

-----

Meanwhile, Theodore's Subordinates and the Naxsir army finally met in battle. Yet, to the attackers' dismay, not a single one of their enemies exhibited fear or worry on their face. Instead, a minutely guarded, yet calm and somewhat excited expression was nearly omnipresent amongst them!

They were not some sort of rabble, or a flock of sheltered geniuses–nay, they were war veterans with just as many tough battles under their belts as the majority of these Naxsir! Although barely a century had passed since they had been unleashed on far too many worlds, they had never once been excessively lazy. One battlefront unceasingly followed another, with short rest periods in between.

There was one more thing that everyone here had in common, and that was their ultimate goal: It wasn't to kill their enemies, but to subdue and capture them! To do so, however, was much easier said than done–and many times more difficult to achieve than simply taking their lives.

'But we're practically experts at this point!'

Smirking to herself, Xie Mei clenched her fists in jubilant excitement. Having newly advanced to the Holos Acclimation Stage alongside her sister, the both of them were more than eager to get in a little workout.

For almost the entirety of the first round of the Heavenly Succession, they had been cultivating in seclusion, only occasionally venturing outside to travel or battle. It had been draining and boring, yet also simultaneously fulfilling, in a way. The Dawning Numen Stage had moulded them into far more mentally resilient individuals, yet that didn't mean that they would say no to introducing some additional variety into their lives.

"Qiao'er, how about a little bet?"

With a confident smirk playing across her lips, she ignored the approaching army and poked her sister with her elbow instead. This earned her an eye roll before she finally received the response that she was waiting for.

"What do you have in mind? And what are we wagering?"

Despite having a pretty good idea what she was going to say, Han Junqiao still chose to play along, as she herself was also itching for a friendly competition.

"It's simple: Whoever captures more of these chumps gets to call dibs on Theo when we're done here. What do you say~?"

Licking her lips in anticipation, Xie Mei shot her a provocative gaze–and she got exactly what she wished for. With a wide grin, her sister nodded, not the least bit afraid of actually losing.

"I'm in, of course!"

Before they could rush into the incoming tide of bodies, though, another familiar voice chimed in from the side.

"With a prize like that up for grabs, how could I possibly stay out of it? Count me in as well, girls!"

Cheong Suhyeon had appeared next to the pair before they knew it, the corners of her mouth lifted into an innocent yet dangerous smile. Her arrival wasn't met with welcoming warmth and sisterly love, though–at least not this time!

"Yeonnie, that's unfair! We won't stand any chance at all!"

Huffing and puffing in an exaggerated manner, Xie Mei shook her head and began to pout, appearing as if she'd throw the entire contest out of the window at a moment's notice.

"... if I handicap myself to your cultivation realm and give you a head start, would that be better?"

Pretending to have to think about it for a little, Xie Mei considered Cheong Suhyeon's proposal, then gave a resolute nod.

"Yeah, that'd be alright. It'll still be tough for us, but at least this way, we won't be allowed to take it easy. What do you think, Qiao'er?"

Responding with a shrug, Han Junqiao shot her sister an amused glance. Clearly, this was exactly the arrangement that she had been hoping for from the very beginning.

"I'm obviously fine with it, too."

Regardless of how rapidly the trio had been interacting with each other, the Naxsir army was already upon Theodore's Subordinates by now. Naturally, they should have also become embroiled in their own battles–yet there was someone who had been shielding them in the meantime, allowing them to happily chat away.

"Couldn't you have talked about all of this in the days and weeks prior!? We all had plenty of time!"

Glaring at them from amidst enemy lines, Navya's annoyed admonishment reached their ears, causing Xie Mei to blush in embarrassment, and an awkward cough to escape Han Junqiao's lips. Cheong Suhyeon, however, was utterly unaffected by the reproach.

"Sorry, Navi! I only thought of it right now..."

Explaining herself as best as she could, Xie Mei begged for her forgiveness with the cutest puppy-dog eyes that she could muster. This seemed to do the trick, as their Spirit companion's expression began to soften.

"... it's alright."

Sighing to herself as she was casually releasing Soulquake upon Soulquake with carefully calculated and adjusted intensities, toppling their foes, Navya's gaze soon sharpened.

"Can I join as well?"

The hopeful, lascivious glimmer in her eyes was soon extinguished once more, as the trio rebutted her instantly, entirely of one mind on this issue. The chorus of their voices was cold, yet also dripping with slight amusement.

"No."

"No."

"No."

There had been many times over the past century that they had stood their ground against Navya, whose obsession with their beloved knew no limits. It was hard to say if she actually felt some sort of love for him, or just pure adoration mixed with plenty of desire. However, regardless of what was truly the case, it didn't really matter: Theodore wasn't interested in her.

This wasn't a Cadi situation, or one where he would eventually come around to being with her. His stance on the matter had been firm all this while, and by now, Navya's occasional attempts at bridging this insurmountable chasm had little real intent behind them, becoming more of a performance rather than genuine yearnings.

In fact, she had never seriously wanted to get with him–at least, not really. Some decades ago, she had grown comfortable enough with these women that she began to joke with them about this matter, and she had been continuing to do so until today.

This wasn't to say that she would be fully opposed to getting a taste, but her feelings for Theodore were of an entirely different nature than those of his lovers. If the target of her obsessive stalking suddenly turned around and made her his, then she would be more spooked and bewildered than actually happy. His praise and attention was all that she truly wanted.

"Hmph, you meanies!"

Leaving them with a vexed retort, she shot off into the distance, many a Naxsir dropping from the sky like flies.

"... well, you two should get started. I'll give you five minutes, alright? Do your best~"

Following the disappearing Navya's back with her eyes for a little while, Cheong Suhyeon soon turned to face her sisters, an encouraging smile on her lips. If one looked closely, however, it was evident that she was really just smirking in merriment.

"Best of luck! I'll see you after I'm done with Theo~!"

Winking at the others with a mischievous, smug look on her face, Xie Mei darted into the distance, a torrential downpour and radiant yet soft moonlight following in her wake.

Instead of responding to that provocation, Han Junqiao chose to focus and shut out unnecessary external stimuli. Contrary to her sisters, she wasn't restrained to a singular, relatively manageable path or direction of development–she was more of a jack of many, many trades.

This didn't mean that she was weak, though. With plentiful options at her disposal and a sharpened, strategic mind, she excelled at using as little effort and force as possible to achieve the maximum result.

Wading into the Naxsir soldiers' ranks, sometimes, she would simply physically knock them unconscious when the chance presented itself. At other times, she would burn or drown them, or transform them into Energy projectile-pincushions from afar with her normally rarely used bow.

Her Archery Prodigy might just be a Superior-grade Talent, but she had put in quite a bit of effort in raising her Archery Proficiency whenever the opportunity had presented itself. From someone prone to engaging in friendly fire, she had transformed into a dangerous, adaptable sniper.

'They pressure themselves a lot, but both Theo and I... we're really proud of how far they've come!'

Her gentle smile losing any hint of teasing, Cheong Suhyeon observed the overall battle situation calmly. Both she and Vigdis hadn't joined the fighting yet, each one responsible for making sure that nothing irreversible happened to Theodore's people.

One thing was certain, though: When they finally made their move, the Naxsir army wouldn't last much longer.