Conquer sect wars book.., p.1
Conquer - Sect Wars: book 3, page 1
Sect Wars
Conquer
A Knowles
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Connecting Series!
More from Alex
Cultivation/Litrpg/Gamelit Links
Litrpg
Other Recommended books
Sect Wars - Conquer
Copyright © 2022 by Alex Knowles
Published by Alex Knowles
Set in the Ocean Slayers Universe © 2021
Cover Design by Atlantis Book Design
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the author, except in the instance of quotes for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the internet without the permission of the author and is a violation of the International copyright law, which subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and place are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real except where noted, and authorised. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.
The author and editor have taken great effort in presenting a manuscript free of errors. However, editing errors are ultimately the responsibility of the author.
This book is written in American English and includes relative diction.
Chapter 1
Monday, August 16th—Late Evening
Year - 27515
“Here,” Taru offered, passing me a glass of sweet-smelling juice. “You need to sit down and drink this.”
Doctor Mon had left us a while ago, and I glanced around the hospital room at the beautiful women I loved. Lan, my Second, moved to Da’s bed, and climbing on top of it next to her, she settled down and stroked Da’s hair soothingly. The bond among all of us was new, but it felt wonderful.
I sat down in a chair, and Taru massaged my shoulders from behind. “Relax, just a little. That was a lot of work.”
“It was,” I said. “Worth it, though.”
I don’t think I’d expected the sheer quantity of messages that had come through to me. Looking inside, the streams of notices overwhelmed me.
Emahtar - Da Zhong - is now joined to you and your Taharri as Third.
Debuffs - Takes 10 points to survive from each of your Taharri, not from you.
I’d thought it was the beverage that had set my stomach churning, but no; this was the first time, when completing a Taharri bond, that I felt physically ill—and ill in a way that I never had before. Maybe it was related to Da, because this bond was Emahtar, not Taharri. I pushed myself up and away from the chair, and my knees wobbled.
Taru put her hand on my arm. “Kei?” she asked. “What is it?”
“I just need a little space,” I said. “Some air.” I looked to the door with a little hope in my eyes. I could make it; I knew I could.
“They’re waiting out there,” Taru gently cautioned. “The people, the press, everyone.”
Lan carried on stroking Da’s hair as she slept. I glanced at her, and she shook her head. “You aren’t going out there till you’re ready to speak to them—properly. They’ll lynch you.”
“Any idea where I could go?”
There was a shimmer to my side. Though Itazi wasn’t physically there, he made sure I knew he was present. Follow me. He beckoned.
Taru raised her eyebrows at me. “You need a guard everywhere you go from now on, even more so if we’re not with you.”
I winked at her weakly. “Not today,” I said. When she went to protest, I put my hand up. “No.” And despite her warnings, I slipped from the room and made my way, wherever Itazi wanted me to go.
Brief stop by the hospital canteen, he advised. Grab a drink and a snack.
I followed his instructions and entered the hospital canteen. This was the only place I’d seen, but here, even this late, there were people.
When they saw me . . . Crap.
I hadn’t expected it. Everyone dropped to their knees immediately. One gentleman at the counter didn’t have any space to actually kneel; the spot he occupied was far too small for him to do anything. His eyes met mine in pure panic. Then somehow, he managed to squeeze himself into the area below him and vanished from my sight.
Itazi?
I didn’t know what to do at all, so I just stood there, my mind and voice betraying me. Nothing would come out.
Just grab a drink, and some food. They’ll understand.
As I moved to the counter, not one person would look at me. With some reluctance and a need to pay for what I chose, I found myself staring down at the young man at the counter.
“Please, take these,” I said, offering payment.
He rose, face furiously blushing, scanned my items in and then took my money.
“Thank you,” I said. “You’ll see me again. Please don’t be so scared.”
“Err, yes, sir.” His voice was low, squeaky. “Sorry, my lord.”
Come on, Itazi said. Follow me.
His form flickered before me this time, pulling me out of my funk. I walked slowly and steadily. Stretching my legs, breathing in the sights and sounds of the hospital all around me. When Itazi took me inside an elevator and we went up, far up, I knew where we were going. The roof. That would do; it would be nice up there.
A little further, he encouraged me. One more set of stairs.
I ascended the short set of stairs, pushed open another door, then relished the cool, fresh air.
The roof of the main hospital building. It was stark. No one else, and nothing else, was up here, and we had a view to die for. It stretched on for miles.
I made my way cautiously to the edge, the short wall and ledge not really stopping me from tumbling over. As I looked down, the ground loomed up into my view, and I shied back—only a little.
“You sure I should be up here on my own?” I asked.
You’re not on your own, he said. His form fully manifested by my side.
I stared into his eyes, into the man he was. The person he was.
Did we just elicit this response? I asked, upon noting the line of people still walking past the front doors, the line that stretched the whole road of the hospital and out of the grounds, the line of devotees ready to give homage and donate qi to help heal my precious Emahtar, Da.
He followed my line of sight. “Yes, we did,” he said aloud and lowered his head.
With a hand, I gently lowered myself onto the short wall, turning my back to what was going on down there, staring at the door I’d just walked through. Easily unscrewing the lid of my beverage bottle, I downed its contents.
“You have a lot to digest,” Itazi said, and sat next to me.
“Just a soggy sandwich,” I replied, holding out my meager snack. I looked his way, wobbling it in front of his face.
“Heavens help me,” he teased. “Did I bond with a joker?”
“Did I really bond with royalty?” I held his eyes with mine. I knew I had; the power running through my cultivation pathways was incredible. And he was right, I had a lot to digest. Mostly my own stats, my own changes, and the changes within my Taharri.
Itazi swallowed, and visibly sucked in a breath. “I . . .”
I took a bite of the sandwich and chewed. It was indeed soggy, but not stale at all, and the taste was enough to kick my starving body into “eat as quick as you can” mode.
Itazi let me eat, and we sat in relatively comfortable silence. The soft light of the sun was dipping. It was getting late already. Time seemed to be moving so fast, so very fast. Yet . . . so slow, too. I knew what we needed to do, but it also seemed so far away from fruition. I sighed and continued to chew the sandwich.
Moments later, I took my last sip of my drink and set the bottle down.
When I turned to him, he smiled. “Better?”
“Yes.” I extended my hand to him. “I’m Kei Tullius.”
Itazi looked at me as if I was crazy, then offered his own hand to me. “Itazi Raiz Hajiro.”
I shook his hand gently. The power inside him connected to mine. Just that one simple act took me by surprise.
“It’s good to meet you, Itazi, for real.” Our qi shifted inside us both, changing all the time, sparking, excited.
“For real,” he nodded.
I closed my eyes for a moment, keeping hold of his hand. Then I felt him put his other atop mine. “Let me guide you,” he said,
I did; it was chaos. Messages from everyone, from everywhere. “I have no way of—”
“I’ll sort it, filter it all out, with your permission.”
“Of course,” I said. “I trust you, more than I trust . . .”
“Trust for yourself will come. You went from taking on a sect to taking on a planet.”
“It might have been the goal, but it really wasn’t something I thought possible.”
“I know.” His eyes shimmered in the light. “Let me.”
Itazi Hajiro is requesting access to your system HUD.
Grant him permission - Temporarily.
You may cut him off at any time.
Y/N
It was an easy click.
“I’ll explain as I go,” he said, and messages started to flicker past, so fast I couldn’t even read them.
“Good, because I do want to do this myself.”
“Of course,” he replied. “You know the recent events and law much better than I do. I’m just good at sorting.”
“How do you even know what’s important?”
“First thing is easy. Finding Oto’s messages.”
I shivered at the mention of his name. “Oto.”
There, filtering down, were several messages.
Oto Sawa/Fraser/Giannetta
I laughed at that. “You think he’ll pick another name?”
It changed before my eyes, and Itazi choked. “I guess he did.”
Oto Aetos
“What does that mean?”
“He wanted to make his own mark; it means he’s accepted his destiny.”
I swallowed, my stomach needing the nourishment but also churning. “Like I will mine?”
Itazi squeezed my hand. “Yes, Kei, your name is powerful already. Oto is finding his way, not only in life, but also in the universe. Aetos means, literally, king of the skies.”
“I like that,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. It really suited him. His future—and mine. Side by side we meant the most: Tullius, one who leads. Aetos, king of the skies. Together, we were perfect.
There were also messages from the Sect Leader, Shuko Sawa, and from my father. A message even came up from Shui Zhong, and I worried a little as she was in charge of my house on Halara. There were several from people I didn’t know at all. Council members, I presumed. Leaders here on Copter, people I’d soon meet even if I didn’t want to.
Several messages Itazi deemed more important than others.
I kept hold of his hand as I clicked on Oto’s, needing to see what he’d been saying.
Oto Aetos - I’ve seen the news from Copter; we are on our way. Hold the line.
Even Itazi shivered at the “we,” his thoughts and feelings reverberating within me as if they were my own. Hope, love, nerves. Was he really that worried?
“Hey,” I said, placing my other hand atop his and opening my eyes to look at him. “We’ll hold the line, don’t worry.”
I clicked on Shuko’s message next; after all, he had been my Sect Leader for many years and was my father’s lead.
Shuko - Call me when you can. You have a lot going on. I know you’re overwhelmed right now. Your father and I will advise you when you are ready, but we will not be allowed near Copter at the moment. The council there has put you in lockdown.
Lockdown? That was bad. That meant no one could pass in or out of the planet’s safe zones. It meant they deemed Copter unsafe.
Who are the council leaders here? I asked Itazi.
He filtered out the information I needed. Then I saw message after message. I opened some of the “names” I didn’t recognize, to be met with hostility and straight-out demands. Then I just focused on the council, and the rather ranting messages.
You will answer us now, you coward.
We are waiting—answer us.
Even your Sect Lord will not talk to us.
Answer us, now!
Pathetic. You’re not worthy of being here.
I looked at the last one. Didn’t want to open it.
Marat Duletev - Apologies for my directness. I am sorry for the loss of your direct Taharri Third. I believe choosing Da Zhong as Emahtar was a wise decision. I will await your message. Please take your time.
I noted the name because this message made me pause. No snark, no demands from him; he seemed reasonable. I clicked to reply.
Me - Directness appreciated. Thank you for your kind words. May we meet tomorrow afternoon?
I wasn’t sure I’d get a message back straight away, but there was a ping and I felt Itazi filter it up.
“Can we tag them with importance, maybe?”
“Yes, I just did. They’ll come through in order of priority now, with Oto, Shuko, and family first. Then all others. Each will have a color assigned.”
“Thanks.” I opened the message.
Marat Duletev - Here are directions to somewhere private, neutral. Come at 4 p.m. You may bring one other with you, as will I.
“That seem fair?” I asked my bonded partner.
“Yes,” he replied.
Me - We will be there.
I then hit my comms and knocked on Shuko’s internal.
I didn’t expect him to answer right away. He never could. But when he did, he also did it with a video link, which was a little unusual.
“Kei.” His face looked strained, tired, and he rubbed his chin. “It is good to see you.”
“Shuko.” I dipped my head with respect, and he laughed at me.
“Now then,” he said.
I looked up at him, and he reciprocated my gesture. “You’re going to have to start to accept that you command your own respect, and I need to let you know how much so.”
“I . . .” I really didn’t know where to start.
“There’s a little time difference between Copter and Halara,” Shuko reminded me. “Give me a moment.”
I heard him move and then realized he’d been in bed. Oh shit. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, “I never even thought.”
“Semantics,” he said, unconcerned. “Let me grab a drink.”
I waited while he walked around, then settled somewhere, probably in his office. “I’d hoped you’d contact me today. I’ve asked your father to join me this afternoon. It will give you some time to sleep.”
“Sleep, ahh, yeah.” I really did need to sleep. My body and mind were exhausted. “The council really won’t let you in?”
“Not yet, no. They need to organize. . . . You need to organize,” Shuko emphasized. “It’s a reprieve from outside influence. I don’t even know how you got this through; all transport and all communication in and out, the planet’s council has been blocking with its shield.”
“That is the gem . . . it provides empowerments that surmount most obstacles,” Itazi agreed.
Shuko glanced to my side, but he looked confused. Can’t he see you? I asked.
No, Itazi said. Not over distances like this.
“I’ve changed a lot,” I replied. “This distance is no issue.”
“You look tired,” Shuko said. He frowned then. “Freshen up for your father tomorrow, please.”
“I will,” I said and rubbed my chin. I really did need to clean up, shave, look after myself before anyone else could see me. “I called because I have a meeting with one of the council members tomorrow afternoon.”
“We’ll cover the basics you need to know in the morning. How are you?” he asked.
