Chapter 35: The Gathering Storm
Recap: The Council of Clans decided to send five battalions against Fang Yuan. He gave a Light Sprite to the village of Morningfall and continues south, his pockets empty of seeds.
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Fang Yuan felt them before he saw them.
The earth trembled—not from roots or Trees, but from boots. Thousands of boots, marching in rhythm, shaking the ground like a heartbeat. He stopped on a low hill and looked north. Dust rose on the horizon, a brown cloud that stretched from east to west. Beneath it, soldiers. Ranks upon ranks, their armor gleaming, their Gu hovering above them like a swarm of insects.
Five battalions. The Council isn't taking chances.
He counted the banners. Gu Yue. Shang. Tie. Wu. Beast. Five clans, united against him. No Dragon, no Phoenix, no Jade—they were holding back, waiting to see which side would win.
Smart. Let others bleed first.
He turned and walked south, not running, not hurrying. There was nowhere to run. The army stretched across the entire plain, and he was alone.
But not defenseless.
He reached into his pocket and touched the Spring Autumn Cicada's sphere. The legendary Subject pulsed, aware, waiting. He had not used it since the door. He had not needed to. Now, he might have no choice.
He also touched the cracked stone. The First One's fragment was gone, but the stone remained—warm, familiar, a reminder of what he had been.
What am I now?
The question had no easy answer.
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He walked until dusk, the army's dust cloud never fading behind him. They were gaining, slowly, inexorably. By morning, they would be close enough to engage.
He found a cave at the base of a low cliff and crawled inside. It was small, dry, empty. He released his Subjects—the Moonlight Dragon, the Storm Phoenix, the Frost Serpent, the Magma Tortoise, the Solar Dragon, the Stone Dragon, the Spring Autumn Cicada. They filled the cave, their lights illuminating the darkness.
"The army is coming," he told them. "Five battalions. Thousands of soldiers. Hundreds of Gu. They want to kill me and burn the Trees."
The Subjects watched him, their eyes calm, their presence steady.
"I won't ask you to fight if you don't want to. You're not tools anymore. You're... partners. Friends. I freed you from the system, and you stayed. That means something."
The Moonlight Dragon chirped and nuzzled against his hand. The Storm Phoenix crackled, its feathers sparking. The Frost Serpent coiled around his legs. The Magma Tortoise's shell glowed. The Solar Dragon's leaves rustled. The Stone Dragon rumbled.
They would fight. All of them.
Fang Yuan smiled. "Then let's make a plan."
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He spent the night preparing.
He released the rest of his Subjects—the ones he had not used in months, the ones he had captured and forgotten. The Water Flea Gu (new ones, captured after the old ones died). The Sandshrew Gu. The Geodude Gu. The Magnemite Gu (repaired). The Wildfire Stallion. The White Boar Gu. The Wind Bird Gu. The Fire Cricket Gu. The Lumina Gu. And others, dozens of them, filling the cave with their lights, their sounds, their presence.
He had 47 Subjects now. Not all were strong. Not all were useful. But they were his.
He organized them by type, by role, by move. He assigned them positions, formations, contingencies. He planned for every scenario—encirclement, bombardment, infiltration. He had faced armies before, in his past lives. He had never commanded one of his own.
This will be different.
The Moonlight Dragon hovered beside him, its silver light steady. The Spring Autumn Cicada pulsed on his shoulder.
Time is on my side, he thought. If I have to, I'll rewind. I'll undo their advances, their attacks, their victories. I'll make them fight the same battle a thousand times until they break.
But that would drain him. That would cost him something he could not afford to lose.
Better to win without using the Cicada. Better to win with what I have.
He finished his plans as the first light of dawn touched the cave's entrance.
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They came over the hill like a tide.
Five battalions, five thousand soldiers, five hundred Gu. Their banners snapped in the morning wind, their armor flashed, their boots shook the earth. At their head, General Wei rode a Storm Dragon—not as large as the Dragon Lord's, but large enough, its scales blue, its wings crackling with lightning.
Fang Yuan stood at the base of the hill, alone, his Subjects recalled, his hands empty.
General Wei reined in his dragon and looked down at him. "Demon. You should have run."
"There's nowhere to run."
"Then surrender. The Council has authorized me to offer you terms. Give up the Trees. Destroy the ones you've planted. Return to the forest and never leave. In exchange, your life will be spared."
Fang Yuan looked at the army behind the general. Thousands of faces, young and old, scared and eager. Most of them did not want to be here. Most of them were following orders, nothing more.
"I have a counter-offer," Fang Yuan said. "Turn around. Go home. Tell the Council that the Trees are not a threat. Tell them that I'm not a threat. Tell them that the world is changing, and they can either change with it or be left behind."
General Wei's face hardened. "That's not an offer."
"No. It's a warning."
The general raised his hand. The army tensed. The Gu crackled.
Fang Yuan released his Subjects.
Forty-seven spheres burst open at once. Light exploded—silver, gold, blue, red, green, white. The creatures materialized around him, above him, behind him. The Moonlight Dragon at his shoulder. The Storm Phoenix circling overhead. The Frost Serpent coiling at his feet. The Magma Tortoise rising beside him. The Solar Dragon blooming in a burst of golden light. The Stone Dragon roaring, its voice shaking the hill. And dozens more—flying, crawling, slithering, hovering.
The army faltered. The soldiers stared, their faces pale. The Gu hesitated, their instincts screaming danger.
General Wei's Storm Dragon reared back, its wings spreading, its lightning building.
"Attack!" the general shouted.
The army charged.
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The battle lasted three hours.
Fang Yuan did not use the Spring Autumn Cicada. He did not need to. His Subjects were faster, stronger, more coordinated than the soldiers' Gu. The Moonlight Dragon's silver light blinded whole battalions. The Storm Phoenix's lightning arced through the ranks, disabling Gu without killing them. The Frost Serpent's ice froze the ground, sending soldiers sliding into each other. The Magma Tortoise's flames carved burning lines in the earth, channeling the charge into kill zones.
The Solar Dragon's solar beam cut through the air, not at the soldiers, but at the ground in front of them—a warning, a barrier, a line they could not cross.
The Stone Dragon's roar sent Gu fleeing, their masters unable to control them.
And the smaller Subjects—the Water Flea Gu, the Sandshrew Gu, the Geodude Gu—harried the flanks, picking off stragglers, disrupting formations.
Fang Yuan stood at the center of it all, directing, commanding, adapting. He did not kill. He did not need to. He only needed to break their will.
By the third hour, the army was broken.
Soldiers threw down their weapons. Gu retreated to their spheres. General Wei's Storm Dragon was grounded, its wings frozen, its lightning spent. The general himself knelt in the mud, his armor cracked, his face defeated.
"It's over," Fang Yuan said, walking toward him.
General Wei looked up. "Kill me. It's what you demons do."
Fang Yuan shook his head. "I'm not a demon anymore. I'm something else."
He reached down and helped the general to his feet.
"Go home. Tell the Council what you saw. Tell them that I don't want war. I don't want power. I just want to plant Trees."
General Wei stared at him, his eyes hollow. "They won't listen."
"Then I'll plant Trees anyway. And they can try to stop me."
He turned and walked south, his Subjects recalled, his pockets still empty. Behind him, the army began to retreat—slowly, painfully, but retreating.
One battle won. But the war is just beginning.
He reached the crest of the next hill and looked south. More villages. More fields. More seeds waiting to be planted.
He walked on.
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End of Chapter 35