Demonic Tribulations - Chapter 43 preview (Patreon)

Chapter 43 – Tou He

It was a beautiful land, this demonic realm. He still had no understanding of how big it was, surely big enough to have multiple demonic clans and a ruling empire. Then again, what did he know of size? Unlike his friend, he had never traveled far afield in the Middle Kingdom either.

Still, this portion of the demonic realm was beautiful with its red sand and purple skies, the glitter of grey and green plants and the darting animal life. He breathed in, pink clouds high above drifting along, depositing water – true water, not acid or a juice or nectar like some demonic realms – on the ground below.

A stark and different beauty, perhaps, but one that the monk tried to revel in. The smell of the realm was so different, a little muskier, a little heavier in his throat and a lingering sweet taste in the back of his throat. The chi itself was different too, more caustic on his nerves, like constantly staying in a warm bath that was just a touch too warm.

He had adapted, of course. Managed to find an understanding, a balance to the realm. Tou He knew that had changed his flame too, had altered his dao this understanding. It might lead to problems in the future, when he returned to the Middle Kingdom.

It was beautiful, but it was hard to take it all in, when his mouth was moving as he chanted the rites for the dead, asking for mercy on their souls and forgiveness for what he was about to do. It was here, that he found himself at odds with parts of the philosophy of his religion. Buddhism, at least in certain sects, spoke of militant pacifism. His own monastery had not believed in any form of violence beyond that of self-defense, and that only because attempts at complete pacifist living had failed as rampaging demonic beasts and the occasional dark sect cultivator had caused untold grief.

Now, though, he was here. Taking the lives of countless creatures. Though this was self-defense, it sat ill with Tou He. Every life had worth, even the smallest ant. How could one not believe that, when the creatures approaching had found a dao and at least one of their brethren was moving towards immortality.

On the other hand, the burden of intelligence was that of choice.

“They’re approaching your border,” Biamin said, softly. “Are you sure you wish to do this?”

 “Yes.” Tou He murmured. “My flames should ward off against them normally. That they seek to cross it, even after its presence will indicate their willingness to engage.”

“Not what I’m speaking of,” Biamin scoffed. “Leaving such a mark on the ground, it’s obvious what we’ve done. We should let them close in first, then destroy them in one attack. Not warn them off.”

“You know…”

“I know you’re stubborn,” Biamin eyes narrowed. “That stubbornness is going to get us all killed.”

“You may leave at any time.”

“And you many change your mind.”

Tou He returned her glare with a little heat of his own. He hated having this argument over and over again, though he understood her point of view. It was just that he was unwilling to change his mind either.

“They’re not stopping.” Minsci interrupted the argument, gesturing forwards. A small flat disc popped out of the ground, holding itself a little higher with open gaps. At the same time, the first few ants to encounter Tou He’s warding flame that lay close to the ground burnt up, crisping to death and leaving their bodies behind.

As though guided by a greater intelligence, the ants stopped their wanderings, converging on a spot that held the most dead ants. Then, rather than attempt to find a way around the line, they began to pile onto it, converging four abreast. Corpse after corpse burnt up, but they began to form a bridge of corpses above the flame.

The living carpet of red ants before them poured through the gap, a few of the bodies falling to the side one as the heat and dryness overwhelmed them, one after the other. In less than a minute, the ants were streaming across the newly formed bridge and were spreading out once more, running into the small flat discs of Minsci’s.

The ants entered the discs but nothing emerged. Unlike true ants who might be lured within for a further period of time, these cultivator ants shifted away from the discs within moments, ignoring the lures rather than be drawn within.

“That didn’t work,” Tou He said, mildly.

“Just wait.” Minsci smirked, touching his mechanical arm with his original one. He traced over a series of lines, before depressing them when the ants had passed the line of discs. Those began to rotate in place, spinning round and round in place and immediately began suctioning ants into their center. The motion was so fast and unpredictable that the creatures were unable to stop it, and the aura around the ant horde surged and flattened as hundreds of ants died in moments.

“What happens when they enter the disc?” Biamin asked, fascinated.

“They’re compressed.” Once more, the ants stopped, hovering outside the line of fire and gathering around. They began to spread out, staying far away from the spinning discs and rerouted themselves along the edge of the flames on both ends, splitting to encircle the group and bypass the danger.

“I don’t believe we’re hiding from ants,” Biamin grumbled, watching the ants as they kept moving.

“If they touched us, they could inject their poison. Tear us down, rip us apart. It’s not the single bite that is the problem, but the hundreds,” Tou He said, softly. “More importantly, we need to deal with this incursion before it draws attention.”

In the distance, the living blob of the ants continued to surge forwards. It was nearly a half li long, thousands of ants packed in a single moving organism that could sweep over the surroundings, consuming anything its way. As it stood, even the grass in its path had been trimmed down, nevermind the plants that were consumed fully or any unlucky animal.

“Now for part two…” Minsci grinned, hands playing over the metal controller in his arm. The discs stopped spinning, instead adjusting themselves now. In moments, small balls were released from the discs, launched like tiny cannonballs that smashed into the ants and sent them sprawling into the fire.

“Are you shooting ant remains back at them?” Biamin said, horrified.

“Of course. Waste not, want not.”

“Why did you not do this against the general?” Tou He asked curiously. Not that he would have enjoyed seeing demons sucked into a machine like this.

“How would I fit them?” Minsci said. “Where would I find the materials? I can do this with the ants, but the materials required to make even a single one meant for demons would beggar my entire clan.” He paused, then pointed downwards. “Also, I want my machines back after this.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Tou He said, eyeing the tiny discs and the ants. So far, the entire ‘battle’ if one could call it that had been rather simple.

So, why was he bracing for additional problems?