Chapter 562

Trapped within a ball of burrowing steel vines and thorns, pierced through in a dozen locations with steel invaders seeking to tear himself apart, Arthur was not certain he’d ever been in as much trouble. Concentrating on reinforcing Steel Skin and Heavenly Sage’s Mischief helped slow down the attack. He could almost sense the energy being utilized to power the strands, and the strain his opponent was facing.

He had not been entirely wrong. Severing the metal from his opponent’s touch and the source of other metal had increased the difficulty of his opponent’s technique. It had not been required, but it had made things simpler.

Now, facing Arthur’s own defenses, his opponent was unable to progress further. Instead, they walked closer, speaking to the remaining opponent.

“Damn. He took out three of us,” a muttered voice, British this time.

The strain of sensing them, of trying to hold his Energy Darts outside of the ball was too much. The ones above unraveled, exploded and tore at the steel, but his opponent held the structure together. Arthur grunted, feeling the minor backlash from the unraveling, nearly losing control of the pair near his head.

Too close to let explode within, so he began the process of unraveling the two Energy Darts quickly.

Another English speaker, their voice different though. Something closer to Australian but not, somehow. He could not place it, though the tone was rather annoyed. “He killed one. You killed the other, with your attacks. And Marco fled.”

“Coward.” A sniff. “But we’ll get a good bonus on this.”

They were close now, nearly at the sphere. Arthur discarded the Energy Darts, reformed another attack instead. Refined Piercing Energy Dart. He aimed the attack using his Shadow Senses, but strained to listen to them.

“We better. Our primary objective is a failure.”

“Told you that the locals are not trustworthy. Bunch of thugs.” A hitch, and then the hand rose up, contacted the metal. Arthur sensed the difference immediately, as the energy controlling the metal surged, the thorns burrowing in with greater force.

No time to waste. Except… There. On the edges of his perception.

He held on, dropping everything but three weaves. The Refined Piercing Energy Dart. His Steel Skin. The Heavenly Sage’s Mischief. Utilizing the last two to reinforce one another, to build upon one another to strengthen muscles and tendons, not just the skin itself.

Something in there, in the way they mixed gave Arthur an idea. He would need to explore it, later, when he had time. When he could risk a mistake. In the meantime, he held on.

“What’s taking so long?” the other growled. “We got to go.”

“He’s got a defensive skill. Give me a moment…” Strain in his opponent’s voice, but he was winning anyway. Ants eating him alive, tearing him apart on the inside. Like open wound surgery done without anaesthesia. It was all Arthur could do to keep hold of his techniques, to pay attention to the world.

To wait.

“Here. Let me.” Energy surging, forming around a hand as the one camouflaged poured power into their hand. A mistake.

Fire bloomed from a spear, thrust straight through the back. Cutting into chest and crisping heart, killing the other immediately. At the same time, Arthur released his Refined Piercing Energy Dart. Watched it tear its way through the thin metal strands, punch into his own opponent’s neck and nearly behead them.

Immediately, the ball of steel collapsed, dropping him the rest of the way to the ground. The thorns embedded in his body did not retract though, leaving Arthur twitching in agony as he lay there, struggling to breathe.

“Bodoh!” Jan snarled, coming over. Stared at the metal piercing Arthur, then shrugged and started tearing the thorns out. They came out, not without removing chunks of flesh and muscle though, causing Arthur to twitch and groan.

She stopped after the third, bending down to apply a bandage to the open wounds. “You need to start healing, boss.”

“Trying…” Somewhere along the way, the torn in his mouth had torn free. It left a gaping wound in his cheek, one that made him slur when he spoke. Pain, as he refocused his energy on healing rather than just surviving. “Others…?”

“They’re fine. None of the infiltrators were in the auction hall, since we only had our people there. We lost two people and…” A hiccup, a pause, then she gripped another thorn and tore it out of his shoulder.

Arthur waited to see if she would keep speaking as he stopped the bleeding. Keep the bleeding contained first, let the passive portion of his technique heal and patch things over. Replace the blood with the extra energy, dull the pain and the sudden inflammation.

Heal.

Until the next blow, because he knew it was coming.

One last root, right in his torso. She ripped it free, causing him pain like she held in her heart. Tore it out of him, leaving a gaping wound. “The other tower team. Ah Jing. They killed him and those he led.”

Arthur stifled his scream of pain. Stopped the blood pouring of his stomach, even as he felt as though he had received a second blow in his chest. He preferred the one in his torso. At least that was physical. Easy enough to heal.

The one in his heart, in hers. That might never close.

Chapter 563

 

He had to see. That was what he had told himself, but when he made his way over to see the damage done, Arthur could not help but regret it. Half the Tower had been shattered, the bodies of the Clan members – some who hadn’t eve made it all the way to the Tower – littered around. Yao Jing himself had been slain before he could do any damage, the attack – the surprise – overwhelming. His body was beaten, cut and blasted, the twisted metal pole jutting out of his chest holding the broken body upright.

The patrol that had gone missing were found in a stairwell, a pair killed and their bodies hidden with barely a whisper. Arthur stared down at their bodies, tried to remember their faces and promised himself to get their names, their details.

Knew that he likely would forget.

Raged, a little, when he found out that one of those he had thrown off the building had survived and fled. Calmed only hours later, when said Climber was taken into custody by the police at the airport, caught moments before he would have flown away.

Events passed, in a blur, over the next few hours and days. The auction had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, even with the minor disruption of the attacks. For the Climbers, it was an uncomfortable but unconcerning reminder of the violent world they lived in. For those corporations, Clans and Guilds who showed up, the managers and other stooges could only shrug their shoulders and pray for a better bonus at the end of the year.

Or even any bonus.

The appearance of additional armour pushed the auction to new heights, added a surplus of funds that the Clan was happy to put into play. The headquarters and other, minor satellite offices would receive funds to upgrade – or establish – facilities as necessary.

The biggest change, the establishment with Master Masahor’s aide, of a treasury and the necessary enchantments of the headquarters. The presence of so many beast cores slowly losing their energy empowered the building itself, increasing the ambient level of Tower energy and allowing the easier use of techniques.

It also allowed them to begin the proper training of cultivation techniques, allowing individuals to begin the process of actually perfecting the cultivation process before they entered the Tower. It would accelerate their progress, a change that would see the Clan grow in strength.

In a few months or years, probably.

All future gains, all the establishment of a true foundation for the Clan. A foundation that had been attacked, over and over again. By locals and now, international enemies. It was that concern that kept Arthur up, late into the night. That had him training in the gym with his Master, that had him interrogate Eric and Leia and Uswah for information.

Until, at last, results arrived

“This never happened,” Uswah said, dropping the file folder before Arthur. They were deep below, in the room before the treasury, the most secure location in the entire building. They had turned off the cameras, unplugged them to ensure that nothing that could be said would be recoded. With them was Mel, Eric and Leia. The core of the team, for Jan was still off, unable to return to her duties.

Good thing Arthur himself had not been moving much.

Arthur picked up the file, flipped it open. Blinked, since he could tell immediately it was an official police report. Nice thing about letterhead’s, they gave such things away. It also helped that the front page included a mugshot and detailed information about a familiar face.

He started reading, scanning down the document, but he did not need Uswah’s helpful suggestion to locate what had to be the reason she had given him the document. His attacker’s interrogation had been long, taking multiple hours and conducted over multiple days.

No torture, that had not been necessary, but also, no lawyers to stop the interrogation or the ongoing talk. Climbers had fewer rights in some ways, the cost of being basically a living weapon. That hints had been dropped of there being a possible deal if he had been cooperative probably helped.

“Paranoid fella, eh?” Arthur muttered, eyes dancing to the highlighted portions of the document.

His employer had been quite good at staying anonymous. However, good or not, they had made mistakes, enough that the paranoid assassin had managed to trace details back to the original source. After that – and some minor confirmation on his part – he had agreed to the job itself, never actually expecting it to be as dangerous as it had turned out to be.

Arthur had to admit, perhaps if they had been fighting on stable ground, if he had not been pursuing growth in the Towers as heavily as he had in the last six months, the estimation of his own abilities would have been correct. Their initial overestimation had given him a foothold to victory and even then… It was only Jan’s appearance that had saved him from certain death.

A debt he knew he had to repay.

“So what do we know about the Savoy Mining group?” Arthur asked, softly.

“Well, they’re not really miners. Not anymore,” Mel said, pushing her tablet over. “They still have some mines, of course. The world still needs resources after all, and their mines in Africa continue to churn out lots of metal. But they’re mostly a Climbing company now.”

“Go on,” Arthur said, picking up the tablet to flip through the articles she had downloaded.

“They’re a Canadian company, based in British Columbia. Rather not nice people-” Mel said.

“Canadians? I thought they were the polite ones,” Eric said.

“Not their mining companies. A lot of exploitation in Africa When the Towers came, they lost a lot of workers to the Tower at first. They adjusted, but when those miners started coming back and spreading money and trying to take control again, they  took steps to deal with it.”

“Steps?” Arthur said.

“Started hiring Climbers. Started sponsoring soldiers or paying for their healing, making them indebted to the company. Hiring from other African countries to come in and deal with their own.” Mel grimaced and pointed to the article Arthur was reading. “It got bad enough, even the papers covered some of it.”

“Two articles,” Arthur said, flipping through it. Blinked at the photograph of a mass grave, his eyes going flat. “That’s it?”

“More than you’d get normally, if it’s happening in Africa. At least, in papers to the West. The local ones were already squashed, of course, and even these disappeared soon enough.” She waggled her fingers at the document. “We didn’t bother covering it, of course.”

No need to add why. It’s not like activity in Africa was much of a concern for their newspapers, especially when so much of the job had been handed out to freelancers who focused more on local news. Most international work was just drawn from the Associated Press or citizen journalists who had active payment feeds set-up.  The local news organisations knew what their readers were interested in, and catered to it.

“So, bad, bad.” Arthur’s lips compressed. “Still doesn’t explain why they’re after us.”

“Keep reading the Inspector’s file,” Uswah said.

“Did we…?” He gestured down at the file.

“Your Manager Kong really likes you.” Uswah leaned forward, added. “I… managed to pick it up while having coffee with her.”

“I see…” He didn’t, not exactly but that was fine. He didn’t need to know exactly how things worked sometimes. Instead, he turned his gaze to the document and kept reading, searching for the explanation of why they had sought to destroy or disrupt their business.

It was in a single picture, really. One taken in a conference in another country, showcasing two men whose faces Arthur would never have recognized. Yet, the Inspector had done her job, such that their names and positions were documented in a taped, handwritten note.

There was not much more, beyond their titles. A map, of mining locations and a refinery not far away owned by TG Group. A financial document that Arthur’s burgeoning business knowledge was able to parse, though the dropping line was enough. A failed deal, a year ago to sell one of the mines. When he finished reading it, he looked up and stared at the group.

“This why you wanted a private meeting?” Arthur said, tapping the document. “Because nothing we have is… uhh…” Searched for the word. “Coincidental? No. Circumstantial. It’s all circumstantial.”

“Yes. Two department heads meet, a month before you’re attacked. The fact that the TG Group are looking to divest themselves of their holdings in Africa, the failed deal and the fact that the Savoy Mining Group have mines right next to it, so that they could make most use of it all…” Mel sighed. “There’s no proof. No sale documents, not yet.”

“Might need your head first,” Eric rumbled.

“Or actual success,” Uswah confirmed. “Depends on how the deals structured.”

Leia snorted. “Stupid lah, if they only get the mine if Arthur dies.”

“Depends on how confident they were,” Arthur said. “But you’re right, there’s nothing that would hold up in court. It’s a good thing we’re not a court, are we?” He looked around, lips pressed tight. “So the question is, what do we do now?

“Because I’m rather tired of getting attacked.”

 

Chapter 564

 

There were three targets available for the Clan. The first was the company itself, TG Group. They had been attacking it, of course, via proxies, via client poaching and supplier intimidation and all the ways companies fought. None of it fast, all of it slow and meant to strangle the flow of money. It was a bloodless way of fighting, at least if you were not one of the workers who was losing a job.

There was another way. Active sabotage, the full utilization of criminal behavior to hurt the other. Blockades, robbery, sabotage of machines or even the attack on key personnel in the company. It could be bloodless – somewhat – but veered certainly into the criminal.

“Can we ask the triads to help?” Mel asked, looking at Eric and Leia.

The pair grimaced, shared a similar look and then nodded slowly. “There’s a price. Once we start using them like that… They’ll have a hold on us.”

“They already do,” Uswah said.

“It’s different. Once you start using them…” Eric tried to explain, glanced at Leia as he couldn’t find a way to explain it.

“You become like them. You become a…”

“Accomplice,” Arthur murmured. “You become a criminal too.” He laughed, softly. “But I think that’s kind of past the point where we can play the good guys.” He looked at Uswah, added. “That’s why Manager Kong gave you this, right? Because the Inspector is stuck. She doesn’t have anything. Might never find anything.”

“Yes.”

“So we’re going to do this. I just…” Arthur shook his head. “I’d prefer to keep the triads of out of it, if possible.” Lips pressed together, he added slowly. “Also, anything we do to the company, it is risky. We might hurt the workers. Destroying machinery, blowing up factories…” He sighed. “If we had hackers…”

That was sometimes the best way to shut down a company. Drop the right file in the right place and you could shut down entire factories. More than one factory had faced those problems, and while there were ways around it – from formatting the files in the machines and replacing it with base code – it required prior planning.

Sadly, most corporations preferred to cut costs in their IT departments, ignoring such security concerns rather than planning for the worst case.

“Never thought I wanted to be more criminal,” Eric muttered and his comment drew laughter from the group.

“Yeah, so. We can attack the TG Group’s managers. Or shareholders instead.” Mel leaned forward, focused on Arthur. “Do what they’re doing to us. Kill their people, their Climbers and their managers and shareholders. Go after the people giving orders.”

“I like the idea but…” Arthur tapped the document in front of him. “We don’t know who is giving the orders. Even this guy… all he might have done is set-up the initial meetings. Everything else…”

“Are we ignoring the Savoy Group?” Leia asked.

“What do you mean, ignoring?” Arthur muttered.

“We not attacking them?”

“How?” He gestured at the tablet. “They’re in Canada.”

“We could hire some people…”

“If they keep coming, sure.” Arthur shook his head. “But they’ve failed twice already. It can’t be cheap, hiring Climbers like they did. Especially since I killed so many of them.” He shrugged. “If they pull out, we won’t follow up.”

“And if they don’t stop?”

“Then we’ll find out for sure how much it costs to hire Climbers, no?” Arthur grinned viciously. “But one battle at a time. We keep an eye out for them, begin planning and watching them.” His gaze slid over to Uswah, then nodded. “We do it in close circle, and we also ask Rick. But we get him to give us information wide, about all the groups there can be. Widen our understanding of the Climbing world.”

“That will be expensive,” Mel said, softly.

“We just made a lot of money.” He caught the shake of her head and he sighed. “We can pay with beast cores too, if necessary. I’m sure we can set some aside, get access to the right groups. So long as it’s an organizational connection, not his, we should be fine.”

“There’s too much information,” Eric said. “Too much for anyone of us to read. If Rick was dedicated to it, maybe…”

“But he’s going to be climbing with me.” Arthur’s gaze flicked over the smaller group, grimaced. “We need more who will follow me up too.” Mel stirred when his gaze landed on her.

“It’s not that I don’t want to…” She started.

“No excuses. While I’m gone, you need to push as hard as you can and get ready to enter. Maybe even go in, with a group.”

Eric and Leia glanced at one another, a mulish look gathering on their face. Arthur sniffed, ignored them and looked at Uswah. “You too. You might have to-” involuntarily, his gaze drifted to her missing arm.

“Take it easy?” Caustic bitterness in the words. “I’ll be ready with Mel.”

“Good.” Another breath, a slow exhalation. “We need more. People we can trust, to climb with us.”

“A team,” Mel said.

“Yes.” He looked at Eric and Leia, added. “I trust you, Seniors. Need you all too, in your place. Eventually, you’ll have to Climb, so don’t wait too long.” He gestured around them. “You can’t wait here, forever.”

“We know. Just… not yet.” Leia ducked her head low.

Arthur sighed, rubbed his face. Got back to their points. “So we go after the TG Group, directly. The people who probably made the deal, who targeted us. Maybe even set-up the first few assassination attempts.” Another exhalation. “But we might need to do more…”

“Managers give the orders, the directors and the shareholders are the ones who, eventually, drive the point.” Uswah smirked. “Want us to kill all the shareholders?”

“Pretty sure that would include a large percentage of the country, since they’re on the index and the Employee Pension Fund buys that,” Mel said, sarcastically.

“My point,” Uswah pointed out.

“Can we get them to remove them?” Arthur asked, curiously. “It’d hurt them, in their pocketobooks most.” A frown. “And instead of the institution groups, who are the ones who are actually dictating things. Who are putting directors in play.”

Eric stirred, opened his mouth, shut it. Mel gestured for him to speak, but he hesitated until Leia prodded him.

“Could we not have our own directors? Buy enough to get on their board?”

“Theoretically?” Arthur said, searching the tablet for information. It did not him long to find what he remembered reading once a while ago. “Nine director spots including the chairman. Enough to break a tie, a little on the larger side. Three institutional directors including a representative from the EPF, not that they turn up much…”

“Obviously.”

“Six left to worry about, four of them are from personal groups.” Arthur jerked his chin out the door. “Like the Chin’s.”

“Then, those…?”

“Yes. We should get the voting details, acquire more information; but if we are targeting individuals, the directors too.” Arthur exhaled. “If you aren’t willing to take part in this, I suggest you leave now. Once we start, there’s no going back.”

There was a long silence, as they looked at one another. What they were speaking of was murder. Assassination, even if couched in terms of revenge or self-defense, was still murder. That they were being driven to it because their own enemies were unwilling to allow them to rest in peace and their other options, the legal ones, had failed did not change it.

Sometimes what was necessary wasn’t what was right or moral. Nor would it likely bring them any accolades if it was ever known what they did. As it stood, they were likely to receive some degree of approbation.

Even so, as Arthur looked around, he noted that none left, a fact that left a warm feeling in his chest.

He had good people. If some were missing…

 

Chapter 565

 

Arthur hesitated at the door, staring at the pale blue apartment door and hesitated at knocking again. Like many apartment blocks in Malaysia, the building was constructed with an inner ‘well’ such that the wind could blow through the building itself, with the central portion and the walkways open to the air. Add in green roofs, creeping ivy, solar paneled windows and the entire building itself was quite heat and electricity efficient.

Of course, such construction was only within the last couple of decades, though some of the changes – green roofs, the solar panels – could be retrofitted to older buildings. His own residence had lacked such additions, which had left the entire apartment complex warm during the day and required the constant use of air conditioning.

This place probably was decently chilly without, and probably kept electricity costs quite low. It was the kind of place that Arthur had once hoped to move his family into when he had cleared the Tower. A slightly higher-end condo, but not so expensive that it would leave them in debt. Something that he could hope to buy outright with his surplus stones, while he looked for work.

Now…

“Sir?” The Climber beside him, an older woman who had emerged from the KL Tower in the last few months prodded him. One of four bodyguards, one other beside him, one below keeping watch over their vehicles and a the final one moving about near the elevator and fire exit.

“Just thinking…” Arthur pushed aside the sense of trepidation and knocked. Too gently at first, before he repeated the strikes with a little too much force.

“Oy!” The cry of annoyance from within preceded the sudden, violent opening of the door. The metal grate behind still separated the pair, of course, but the woman behind it was snarling. Only to freeze when she realised who it was. “Boss…”

“Jan,” Arthur ducked his head. “Can I come in?”

“Huh? I… uhh… yes.” She fumbled the metal grate open, waved him in. Was annoyed, briefly, when the bodyguards insisted on going in first, the first to sweep the insides before allowing Arthur in. He dismissed them to hang out outside, though, much to their disagreement but he pulled rank.

Leaving him inside the apartment alone with Jan.

He took a seat in the island connected to the kitchen, eyes roaming over the surroundings. Simple living room, well kept with minimal garbage. A surprising amount of books, many of them with coloured spines and filigree covers, with names that he did not recognize but could tell were fantasy based. Nothing familiar, like the Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings though, but that was fair enough. It wasn’t as though Arthur had ever spent much time reading such things.

Well, beyond a few comics and watching the movies. There was enough commentary going back and forth on the boards that having a passing familiarity with such Ips when they talked about ‘monsters looking the Uruk-Hai from the original trilogy’ that such information was useful.

Three other rooms in the location, at least one bathroom. A small apartment, but with an outdoor kitchen space and an indoor one, and a living room it was quite comfortable for two. That they had enough space for  a whole room filled with training equipment that Arthur could see.

“How are you?” Arthur asked, as she finished serving him the can of 100 Plus. The sports drink was quite popular, the slightly alkaline taste and low sugar content better than some of the other pop options that were common. Not that Arthur had to worry about calories as much, but old habits…

“I’m… ok lah.” She smiled tightly. “Kasiah ah. For coming funeral.” Another grimace. “And tolong saya with the… incident.”

“They had no right to get angry with you,” Arthur said. “It wasn’t your fault he died. It was mine.” She didn’t protest that statement, which was more than fair enough. After all, Yao Jing had been his bodyguard. “And they certainly shouldn’t have invited his ex.”

“They were childhood friends,” Jan said. “She said…fiancé too.”

Arthur grunted. “That was a big rock.” He sniffed. “If fake.”

“You sure?” She said, curiously.

“Mmmm… Casey was.” He shrugged. “I figure she knows.”

“Casey eh?” Jan seemed happier at the confirmation from the other. “His money ah…”

“All taken care of. His shares, a small pension, all of it.” Arthur waved his hand idly. It had been simple enough to set-up with Mel’s help, since he had a constant income as part share for being the Clan Head. Paying out a pension for Yao Jing’s family after his death was not a bad thing, to continue till his parents were dead. Nothing for the ‘fiance’, of course, though he was certain that might become an argument in the future. But that was for the lawyers to handle, not him.

“Thank you.”

“So, how are you?”

“Asked already lah.”

“And you said okay.” He gestured around him. “This seems…” He frowned, shrugged. “Okay. But you aren’t back.”

“I needed time.”

“How much?” Arthur said. “One week? One month? One year?”

“I don’t know lah. Just time.” Arms crossed, she looked away from him and Arthur fell silent. He waited, content to sip on his drink and eat the sunflower seeds. In the end, she answered, softly. “Why? You want me back already ah?”

“Always.” He grunted. “But if you aren’t up to it, I get it.” Arthur shrugged. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. And that we’ve done what we can.”

She nodded, left it at that. Arthur smiled grimly, looked away for a moment. He debated whether to tell her what was coming, what they were going to do in a matter of days. Could not decide if it was better or worse for her to learn about something like that, to take part in it.

That kind of revenge could not be good for the soul. Then again, some might ask whether they had any souls at all, after all that was said and done. In the end, he chose to stay silent on the matter, engaging in small talk for a few more minutes.

When he left, he felt unsatisfied, uncertain about his choices. If there had been any resolution to be had, it was not to be found with her.

 

Chapter 566

 

It was all about timing, in the end. The attack was meant to happen just before he was to leave. Flying out on a private plane, charted to leave and take him to the Tower. By the time any official reaction to the events were meant to occur, Arthur – at the very least – would be gone.

That his leaving was semi-well publicized, the details given to both the Inspector and Manager Kong, helped lay the groundwork for him not ‘fleeing’ but a legitimate, panned excuse. That such a departure might coincide with an unprecendeted attack on their enemies was just coincidence, right?

And if the police or anyone else believed that, Arthur would make sure to find a bridge or two over the River Thames to sell to them.

His own targets, unlike those of Uswah and his Seniors – or those that Uswah had organized to take part in this – were the very directors he highlighted. It was another ‘coincidence’ that the group he was targeting were having another meeting, this time in a golf club’s private rooms.

Pity none of them actually played golf and were on the course itself, since sneaking in to deal with them while they were standing in the middle of a hole would have been much simpler. Instead, Arthur had to make his way into the building itself, hide from their bodyguards and the employees of the building itself, do the deed and then escape. Preferably without alerting anyone.

For once, his past came in quite handy.

Finding all the gear Arthur had once used for food deliveries took a few minutes of digging through his old room. After that, to really sell the act, he made sure to rent an electric bicycle – one of those oversouped ones that the professional delivery drivers utilized which might as well have been actual motorcycles for all the speed that they could achieve – and then, he was on his way.

There was a small matter of disguises, of course, but Uswah had access to the right equipment. It was surprising what could be done to hide a face, especially with the advent and popularity of cosplay. A good wig, some rouge for the cheeks, contact lenses and cheek inserts to subtly alter how Arthur looked all helped. Then, adding a mole to his jaw on the left side gave people something to look at, along with painted fingernails.

“You want people to look, but not too much.” Uswah explained, softly. “If you were a girl, I’d give you a low cut top and padded breasts. This will work just as well.”

Arthur snorted, but understood. He really did have to work on getting more abilities that allowed him to sneak through the dark, but it was too late to worry about such things.

All that done, Arthur made his way over. He had to drop his delivery – picked up and delivered legitimately, because someone might actually look into all that – at reception, but they were kind enough to let him use the washroom.

Once within, he locked himself in the washroom, changed his clothing and then slipped out under the open space beneath the bathroom stall. Finding the actual meeting room the group were within was fast, and a baclava at the end hid his face as he stepped within.

For all his desire to make pronouncements, to ask questions or get clarifications, there were just not enough time. Thankfully, the room itself was empty but for his targets – a factor that they had checked before deciding on the course of action.

Four men – all of them men. It made Arthur a little happier, though he was not certain why it would matter. Inherited misogyny probably. Three of them in their sixties, the other in the mid-fifties. Old enough to have power, not that old that they were the true heads of their clans, except in one case.

When he stepped in, face covered, they reacted with surprise. Even as the door swung close, and they started to cry out, he moved. No magic, no Tower techniques like Energy Dart. Just good old physical attributes, though boosted.

He crossed the space before the first could speak, cut across the throat and shoved the head down onto the table. The crack of the head on hardwood was still resounding as he put the knife in the temple, ripped it apart and lodged the edge in a throat. He kicked, hard, the motion cracking a neck and killing the final target even as they were standing.

Violence, done fast. There was no challenge, not when fighting plain humans.

Once more, Arthur could not help but think about the consequences. What would likely happen – the jail time, the necessity of fleeing, the near certain death sentence – if he was caught. A quick check, to make sure those he attacked were in the process of dying.

A couple more quick motions, to cut open deep arteries to ensure they bled out before help could arrive and Arthur left. It was cold blooded, but better to get it done properly than get caught. It took just over five minutes, between entering the washroom, killing his targets and returning and getting changed.

He left, soon after, on the bike. Pushing the bike to full speed, weaving through the small side streets when he could and then dropping it off to be returned, though not before wiping everything down. The clothing, the food bag, the phone he utilized for the delivery – all of it was destroyed.

In another hour, he was on the plane.

Half an hour later, he was in the air.

And still, the bodies lay cooling; his target’s private meeting continuing without interruption. Discussions on what to do with the Clan abruptly ended.

Tonight, even more attacks would happen. Tomorrow, Uswah’s aides would finish the job. Fourteen targets spread across the TG Group, all of them having some degree of responsibility or authority over what had happened.

Consequences, brought low.

It was only when they were in the air that Arthur let the box that he had shoved all his emotions away unfurl. That he let himself contemplate his actions, and when he saw his hands shake and tremble. It was only when he was alone and safe, when he had gotten away with it, that he asked himself the question.

What had he become? What had he done? And more importantly…

What else would he do? To stay alive? And keep the Benevolent Durians thriving?

The upset in his stomach, the coiled unease was answer enough.

Sometimes, Arthur thought his Master had taught practicality too well. That the Yin Body that calmed his mind and made him cold and logical was just too good at its job.

Sometimes, he knew that it was all just excuses.

 

Chapter 567

 

Russia. Krasnoyarsk. A non-entity of a place, for most people; located as it might be in Siberia on the Yenisei River. Not a place Arthur would ever have visited, if not for the presence of an Intermediate Tower. A strange Tower in a sense, for the trials in here were mostly individual.

Even the ones that came in teams were short-lived. His presence as a Clan Head would offer little advantage here, for there were no residences, no stopping points that would benefit others for him coming here.

Oh, there might be some small advantage, from new quests, new options and trials made available. But it would matter little, in the greater view of such things. Except for the fact that it allowed Arthur to try this Tower himself, that he could climb with speed and alacrity without waiting on others.

Extending his lead as a Climber, over everyone else, but also safeguarding him from attacks from within. It was still possible, of course, but it would take great preparation and some degree of luck for such an attack to arrive.

Easier to just wait for him to exit, and in the middle of his exit interview, shoot him.

Arthur had made arrangements, made sure the bribes – and the knowledge that more could be found – was spread amongst the group before he stepped in. He understood how this worked, even had prepared to be forced to rebribe the group twice more if necessary.

Surprising, only in that so many of the guards here were Beginner Climbers. Weak, barely past their second transformation the strongest, but Climbers nonetheless.

He walked through the checkpoints, trusty new spear by his side, new armour and a few new tools taken from their new ‘friends’, purchased to give him an edge. It was not perfect, but it would do. The rest, he would pick up in the Tower, the way everyone else did.

Arthur knew there were gaps in his technique, in how he fought. Nearly dying not so long ago had shown that much. He needed ways to break free of being held, needed ways of dealing with multiple opponents and more stealth options. Maybe even an escape technique that was reliable.

Lots of things to improve upon, but that was the point of climbing. He was hitting the limit of what basic techniques could do, it was time to see what else the Tower had to offer. Certainly, by the time he exited, the world would have changed again. His enemies would have gathered, and realizing that they were not false tigers, would be attacking.

He needed to grow stronger in the Tower, but he also needed to hurry.

So.

One last look at his Status Screen, the only thing he could view before stepping through.

 

Cultivation Speed: 5.51 Yin

Energy Pool: 41 (Yin) + (7/7)

Refinement Speed: 0.2991

Refined Energy: 0.444 (64) +(3/3)

 

Attributes and Traits

Mind: 30 (Multi-Tasking, Quick Learner, Perfect Recall, Intuitive Leaps, Pattern Recognition, Plastic Mind)

Body: 36 (Enhanced Eyesight, Yin Body, Swiftness, Fast Twitch Faster, Lightning Reflexes, Explosive Strength, Deceptive Build, Enhanced Senses)

Spirit: 30 (Sticky Energy, From the Dregs, Strengthened Aura, Resonant Energy, Drip Refinement)

 

Techniques

Night Emperor Cultivation Technique (95.8% compatibility)

Focused Strike (161.8%)

Accelerated Healing – Refined Energy (Grade Vd) (19.8%)

Heavenly Sage’s Mischief (205.9%)

Refined Exploding Energy Dart (225.8%)

Steel Skin (181.9%)

Seven Cloud Stepping Technique (464.3%)

Poket Simpanan Tua (243.7%) (Refined Exploding Energy Dart 98% Integrity)

Imbued Strike - Yin Poison (164.3%)

Yin Aura (Level 1) (178.7%)

Yin-Yang Energy Exchange (125.9%)

Simultaneous Flow (431.7%)

Book Spirit of Diligent Study (141.3%)

Shadow Sense (184.8%)

Heavenly Sage’s Heaven Beating Stick (141.3%)

Yin Poison Darts (109.2%)

Eleven Pagodas of Thought and Defense (115.9%)

Sticky Threads (104.8%)

Impartation (118.9%)

Energy Dart (983.1%)

 

Partial Techniques

Water Walking (83.1%)

 

He was balanced, the limits of what his body could handle pushed before he entered the Tower again. Energy was bleeding out at an astounding rate, such that backing it up with stones from basic towers were insufficient. He needed more stones, he needed a better cultivation technique. He needed strength.

Arthur had an objective, an understanding of what he required from this Tower.

Most of all, though, he needed to survive.

The End