Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

After Kaze's battle harangue, he walked up to the military leaders with a cold expression.

"What is it Kaze?" General Michaels asked with a beating heart.

"The Maltian forces are already moving up the mountain." Kaze replied decisively.

The general looked at him in confusion, unsure how he knew. "How long has it been?"

After turning away, the emperor looked to the southside gate. "Around four hours."

"The soonest they should be able to move is six!" General Michaels replied in confusion, "Between the influx and organizing time, that's a minimum."

"I doubt this is an official operation." Kaze replied dryly, "Their entrance is a barefaced showcase of their desperation. Their soldiers are sick."

The general felt an icy wave of anxiety crash into him. "Everyone who is part of the Immortal Skye suppression unit is a cultivator. That was a requirement...."

"Having a technique and using it are two separate things, general." The emperor replied frankly, "Without practice, even an earth-grade technique will not save anyone from death.

Now hurry. We must contact Malta; I'm certain they're trying to reach you."

The general nodded reluctantly and walked the communications shelter with him alone.

When he visited last, it was an ordinary guest house with T-walls and patchy concrete walls. Now, the building's exterior was made exclusively of reinforced concrete.

Unbeknownst to the military leaders, he had also reinforced the building with Soul Qi and bribed trades workers with techniques to remove the exploitable errors in the missile defense system.

The general pulled out a communications device in the control room and entered a code into the touch interface.

"This is General Michaels; do you read me, Major Wheatfield?" General Michaels asked.

After ten seconds, a panicked voice replied. "General Michaels, thank god you're here. What is the operation status at Immortal Skye?"

"The soldiers are fine, albeit heavily strained, Major Wheatfield." The general brazenly lied, nodding to Kaze, "Lexicon and his members look healthier and stronger than before.

Their strength and cultivation require a higher classification than our maximum estimates."

Silence met his words. The soldier on the other end was terrified but also desperate.

"General Michaels, we need immediate assistance and cultivation aid." Major Wheatfield announced, with the sound of the humvee and other vehicles pulling over in the background.

"Our force is en route to Immortal Skye and will arrive shortly. Please negotiate with Mr. Lexicon to take us in."

General Michael's eyes flashed with panic. "Do not move, soldier! I repeat, do not move!

Mr. Lexicon has closed its borders due to the bombings. I'm here to disclose that information."

"What!?" The major replied sharply, "We're allies, right? Countries make alliances for situations like this!"

"Calm down, soldier!" General Michaels snapped, "Our presence here is a breach of that alliance. You will stand down unless you want to spark a conflict with Immortal Skye."

"With all due respect, General, I cannot follow those orders." Major Wheatfield declared coldly, "If we don't get help, over half my soldiers will succumb to the sickness.

Worrying about fighting Immortal Skye when deaths are guaranteed is pointless. Especially when reinforcements are already on their way."

The general's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean reinforcements are on their way?"

"Have you not contacted anyone?" The major asked in perplexion, "Malta's political and military leaders need cultivation aid. Therefore, every inactive military force is on standby to invade Immortal Skye to force their hand."

A ripple of static pulsed through General Michael's body, making his vision hazy. "Has the military forgotten that the shadow cat is on site?"

"No, the military is prepared to execute Code 87." Major Wheatfield replied straightly, "Contact General Peyton immediately. In the meantime, we will continue moving. We can talk at the gates."

"Soldier, stand down! That's an order!" The general snapped. However, the line was already cut.

"It's time, General." Kaze said coldly, "Malta has broken its alliance; it's time to make your only warning. You have five minutes."

"F-Five minutes!?" General Michaels stuttered.

"The soldiers will be here shortly, yes?" The emperor asked mockingly.

Facing his betrayal, the general looked at the handheld communications device with an agonized expression.

He wanted to ask if the emperor would provide emergency aid to the soldiers if they left. However, he knew it was pointless. So he picked up the device again and put in a code.

"General Peyton, do you read me?" General Michaels asked with a grave tone, speaking to the top military officer in the nation, two ranks above his own.

"This is General Peyton; I can read you!" General Peyton growled, "Where the hell have you been Eddison? You should have been able to communicate after the first out!"

"My apologies, General." The ex-general replied with a beating heart, "Lexicon had everyone use their tranquility technique on the soldiers. As a result, we entered a meditative state."

"Drop the excuses." The top general snapped. "Is your line and location secure?"

"It is." The ex-general replied soberly.

"Good. Prepare to mobilize." General Peyton ordered coldly, "We must destabilize Immortal Skye from within before the invasion. The Airbreaker Unit will arrive if they don't surrender.

Secure your escape route off the mountain. If 25% of our force falls, we will eradicate Immortal Skye and bomb the mountain to ensure the shadow cat dies."

General Michaels felt an icy chill crawl down his spine. He stared into dead space blankly, questioning whether he had made the right decision to choose Immortal Skye.

Seeing the man's hesitation, Kaze grabbed the device from his hand and hit the talk button. "This is Kaze Lexicon, the leader of Immortal Skye."

General Peyton was taken aback by the sudden change in speakers and more so by the person speakingthe end. Moreover, the relaxed yet fierce confidence in the leader's voice horrified him.

"You have broken our treaty and declared war on Immortal Skye." The emperor boldly declared, "Prepare to face swift retribution for your ill-judged transgression."

"Are you insane!?" The general asked in aggressive bafflement, "We plan to level the mountain. A retreat is futile since we've surrounded you, yet you threaten Malta!?"

"No, it's you who has abandoned reason." Kaze replied arrogantly, "Your soldiers are inbound.

Make sure to watch the drone footage. Perhaps then you'll attempt leveling the mountain instead of squandering your soldiers and resources on this delusional endeavor."

"What do you mean, [more]!?" General Peyton yelled aggressively. However, the emperor had already cut the receiver and handed it back to the ex-general.

"Tell your soldiers that Malta plans to strike without regard for their lives." Kaze ordered, "As that's the true nature of your situation and always has been."

Without further discussion, he walked out the door, triggering the dazed general to follow behind bitterly.

"Immortals!" Kaze boomed after arriving, snapping everyone out of their trances.

"Malta is attacking!" The emperor roared, sounding like a general fact, not a warning, "So open the gates and watch closely.

Today you will learn what strength is and why Immortal Skye is the most feared country in the world!"

Excited whispers exploded in a cataclysmic chain reaction when they saw him fly a hundred feet into the sky. Everyone was excited to see the power of their leader—and past enemy.

The Immortals and soldiers made their way to the southside gate and exited to look down the mountain. Once they were watching, the emperor began.

"Foolish troops trespassing on Immortal Skye's mountain, cease moving at once!" Kaze boomed in an amplified voice that echoed down the mansion.

His words stopped the troops only a few minutes away,

"Malta has declared war on Immortal Skye." He announced boldly, "Therefore, turn around before facing us if you wish to avoid a meaningless death.

For we shall show no mercy to enemies trespassing upon our lands!"

Major Wheatfield pulled over and picked up a mic for a humvee-mounted loudspeaker.

"This is Major Wheatfield of the Maltian Special Forces." The soldier announced boldly, "You are surrounded from the outside and from within, and reinforcements will soon arrive shortly.

Surrender immediately or face the consequences! Be warned that if we cannot capture you, we will bomb this mountain until nothing remains!"

The Immortals and soldiers both froze in terror when they heard the news. Everyone believed they had chosen the wrong side. After all, a frontal assault was far different than a wide carpet bombing!

Kaze gazed down the mountain with a murderous glint in his eyes after the declaration.

Immortal Skye was at the top of a steep mountain, accessible only to skycruisers and individuals taking a single windy road.

As a result of its steep incline, he could see the green sea of dark green pine trees and blotches of white aspens in full from only a hundred feet up, with his vision unhindered for fifteen miles.

It was a beautiful sight—

—in times of peace and prosperity.

However, he could also see his wartime enemies driving up the area and had thus condemned the entire area to fall alongside them.

"Since you've chosen death, I shall oblige you!" Kaze yelled, raising his hand like a god, "I pray that your pathetic lives prove valuable in serving as a warning to others."

A large sphere of space around his body warped sharply, creating an inextricably terrifying blueprint of sharp, amorphous shadows. Thousands of shards expanded outward like releasing a compressed foam ball before sharply contracting into a tight sphere around his body.

"W-Wait!" Major Wheatfield screamed—

—But it was already too late.

The major only got a mental snapshot of the sphere before the emperor waved his hand, and it exploded outward, cutting through the air in an intricate pattern.

A split second later, the entire mountainside in front of him lost its form as thousands of blades cut through all of the trees, leaving wood cubes suspended in the shape of trees before falling.

That was the last sight Major Wheatfield and his soldiers saw before they simply ceased to exist.

The Immortals and special forces soldiers watched in shock as the trees fell like dominos, allowing them to see the full effect of the attack.

That included the massive field of crimson flowers that bloomed on the mountain, replacing the old trees. Over a thousand soldiers died instantly from the one attack.

While the traumatic snapshot carved itself into everyone's memories, the emperor didn't stop.

Kaze lifted his hand, and the nightmarish tidal wave of blood rose to the sky in a gruesome reverse waterfall. "Hear me, Malta! Today marks Malta's fall and Immortal Skye's rise!

What you've witnessed is a warning for those who seek life and an invitation for anyone seeking to join our legend and immortalize their deaths on the wrong side of history!"