The past three years saw us constantly practicing with the five kata and the martial style I knew back on Earth. The five kata brought some rather powerful magic effects with them, and they seemed optimized to draw a large portion of the ever refilling stream of mana and other energies running through my spirit.

However, ever since we began to be more open about our origins and our past life intelligence, we had also gained access to other avenues toward magic mastery.

I was unable to use the order style of magic. A form of magic that used crystalized spirit energy to contain spells for later use. This was the style of magic used by most humans. However, it seemed the stream of energies through my spirit were actively destructive toward the spirit crystals.

Something I could make use of though was something called bloodline magic. My ability to make magical contact with plants and use the living wood weapons was part of the magic from my elven bloodline. However, I also had magic from my dark-elf side that I’d previously not made full use of.

Just like the kata, the dark elf bloodline used elemental magic. Ironically, this actually made it more difficult for me to practice this form of bloodline magic. By far the most difficult for me was the earth element. The standard beginner level earth magic spell, territory, was almost identical in nature to the taijutsu-tier earth kata. The only real difference was that the earth kata covered far less area with a far stronger and more localized effect.

On the other hand, the dark-elven bloodline magic I was best with was wind magic. The reason for this was simple. Fairies also had the wind bloodline, and I had a great fairy with me almost constantly for the last three years in order to teach me how to make use of it.

The dark elf bloodline, while diverse in having 4 different elements, was not quite as strong in any one element compared to others with elemental bloodlines. For instance, my wind bloodline was nowhere near strong enough to give me the free and absolute control over flight that Rimir had. He was literally able to merge himself with the air, and move about in all 3 dimensions at will.

I was only able to gain some limited control over air currents. However, with a proper use of plant magic and having shed most of the extra bio-mass I was carrying earlier, that little bit of control over the air currents was really all I needed.

I manipulated the wind to fill the wings of my leaf-glider wings strapped to my back, altering my direction and providing me with the up-drafts I needed in order to remain airborn. In this manner, I circled the city again and again under the watchful eyes of the 6 enemy agents in the towers.

I watched as a red wave gathered in one of the towers, and then went down into the earth where it dispersed throughout the city. Was that some means of communication?

Eirlathion had taught me that it is standard practice for demons to travel in units of 12. Usually, these 12 member units would be divided into 2 separate roles at an 8-4 or a 6-6 ratio depending on exactly what the 2 roles were.

Going by these towers, it looks like the ones attacking this city have divided themselves 6-6, with 6 of them in the towers maintaining the wall and being on the lookout. Considering these seem to be a group of earth mages, this would probably mean the other 6 are in the ground. Perhaps those red waves are some method of communication?

I could see people running about on the ground, no doubt the human residence of the city from before it was surrounded in this way. However, there did not seem to be any signs of chaos or destruction.

I suppose they figured they have everyone isolated in the town. They did not have to become too violent or urgent in their activities. Maybe they didn’t want to risk a deadly confrontation with Levin and Rolwen. They were supposed to be a capture team after all.

Well. The seed I planted ought to have had enough time by now. That ought to give me exactly what I need. Let’s test the enemy’s response time.

I rode the wind currents down to the location where the vine I’d cut myself off from earlier had fallen, hovering to a smooth landing.

As soon as I touched down, I started making use of the earth kata. The single most effective way to combat an earth mage was with a stronger earth mage, and the main reason for this is the ‘territory’ spell. ‘Territory’ was not just the most basic earth magic spell, infusing the local stone with your earth-elemental mana. It was also an essential first step to proceed on before casting any other earth magic. Most importantly, only one earth mage could hold a particular section of stone as their territory at a time.

This means that if you hold the area immediately under your feet as your territory, you have an absolute defense against all earth magic. This also made my earth kata even more valuable in this situation. It both used far more mana than is normally necessary for most forms of magic in this world. And, it was highly localized compared to the normal form of the territory spell. This means that my earth kata ought to be a powerful defense against earth mages.

There was some question as to whether or not this would actually work on these particular earth mages though. These were the direct servants of the demon god’s high priest. But, if they could the territory claimed by my earth kata, then that in and of itself is valuable information.

Another red wave descended down through the ground. It looked very different from ground level. It washed over the buildings and swept through the streets. However, this time something interesting happened. Somehow, the wave stopped when it came near me. An 8 foot radius around my position remained it’s natural color, showing no red discoloration at all.

We had previously measured my earth kata as being able to increase gravity up to a 3 foot radius away from me, and toughen the earth up to a 6 foot radius away from me. Was there an additional outer 2 foot circle that guarded against the influence of other forms of earth magic? Interesting.

More importantly though, I think I know exactly what those red waves are now. Shit! Company should be on its way right now.

I made a run for the tree that had grown using the reclaimed biomass from the falling projectile I’d rode in on. Having been made from the congregated biomass of an entire grass forest, it had grown into a single towering tree that made for quite the strange sight in the middle of a city street like this.

It stood over 30 feet tall at the tallest branches, reaching far above the rooftops. Despite this height, I knew this was nowhere even close to as tall as it could get. Having already grown used to the idea of being living wood weapons, the tree spirits who inhabited this tree would prefer the idea of compressing their biomass as much as possible. If they had the density of a normal tree, they’d probably reach above this crystal wall.

Well, I was about to have them compress a whole heck of a lot more.

I went up and slapped a hand onto the tree and sent it a new burst of mana and a new mental command. Instantly, the branches started to retract and the trunk began to shrink.

Suddenly, there was a sound like breaking glass. Having already suspected this very thing might happen, I didn’t even look. I just quickly changed the mental command I’d fed into the tree and it morphed into a mushroom-like shape, creating an umbrella for the crystal projectiles I was certain were about to be raining down on top of me.

The timing for this attack, combined with how deadly it would be if it was performed with any other timing, just rang out as far too convenient for me. I knew exactly what was coming next before it even happened.

Exactly 8 feet and 6 inches away from me, before the rain of crystal shards even began pelting down on my wooden umbrella, a different kind of projectile came flying out of the ground. Two of them. Both living and very humanoid. Both covered from head to toe in red fabric.

I reacted smoothly and decisively, weaving around to the back side of the wooden mushroom trunk and simultaneously giving yet another smooth mental command to my living wood weapon.

The side of the trunk facing away from me, as well as the underside of the mushroom cap, erupted in a barrage of wooden projections, shooting out in wooden spears with no regard for what was in their path. I had no time to aim this attack. And, sometimes it was actually easier to dodge an aimed attack than something that was directed randomly.

One of the red-clothed assailants was struck by one of the horizontal shafts shooting out from the trunk. It hit him hard enough to jetison him outside the cover of the mushroom cap. However, the tip shattered against him. I had half expected it to run him right through, but all it did was push him.

The other was pinned to the ground by a vertical shaft. He also seemed to only be held in place, but no lethal damage was done.

I watched as the one launched outside the umbrella of the mushroom cap was hit square on the head by a falling crystal shard. It shattered on top of him. However, he also immediately crumpled to the ground.

Judging by the size of the shard that had hit him, it must have weighed at least a ton. The chances were high it had broken the assailant’s neck. However, the fact that the guy had a broken neck instead of having become a bloody smear on the street was very concerning. Concerning enough to make me want to error on the side of him still being alive.

The other was now actively ripping his way out of the projection that had pinned him to the ground.

Alright. Time for a quick decision. Maybe I can fight back against one guy with the help of this large super weapon of a massive multi-spirit living wood weapon. But, the other guy could still be alive. And, there should also be four more of them out there somewhere. Possibly even right around here just waiting to come and join the fight.

Alright. That means I go with option 2. Time to default to the original plan and get out of here.

I shoved my back directly into the side of the now very porcupine-like wooden mushroom and vine-like vest I was wearing from my entry maneuvers merged with it, effectively securing me to the stock.

Next thing that happened was almost a repeat of the jump maneuver we had used to enter the city in the first place. The wooden construct decompressed in an upward direction as fast as possible, launching the more bulky mushroom cap upward as fast as possible. Eventually, the upward momentum became enough that the more bulky mushroom cap began dragging the stalk I was attached to along with it, firing us high into the air.

As we were propelled upward, I had the wooden mushroom cap split into several more spike-like projections. I visually confirmed the location where mother and Eirlathion were floating down from. Then, some of the lesser non-sentient plant spirits were migrated into every one of the projectiles.

They were not sentient enough to understand complex commands for very long, but what I had in mind for them did not require much complex thought on their part. After all, it was perfectly within their nature as plants to do what I wanted them to do this time.

I gave them one simple command.

You are seeds. Earth mana is your food.

After this, the sentient core spirits began launching the projections in every direction. Shortly afterward, they all sprouted dandelion-like fluff appearing very similar to the way mother and Eirlathion had set themselves up. After all the projections were gone, the stalk began cannibalizing itself and launching off more. Soon, the air was filled with hundreds of adult-size “seeds” that were suspended by massive clouds of dandelion fluff.

I kept myself lashed to the stalk even as it began to fall, making sure none of the projectile seeds hit mother and Eirlathon as I kept my eye on them as they slowly drifted downward. Meanwhile, the stalk kept consuming itself to launch off more and more seeds until finally the entire construct had completely broken itself apart.

After this, I was left with nothing but the vest with 4 sentient nature spirits inhabiting it and a far more manageable level of weight.

I spread my leaf-wings once again, and gave myself lift with my bloodline wind powers. Now came the hardest part. Well, hard for me anyway. I was going to have to work up some wind magic far beyond anything I had attempted before.

It probably didn’t matter if I didn’t get it exactly right, but the more of these seeds I could get to land inside the wall the better things would go for me.

I gave myself lift with an updraft. The wind that propelled me also tossed about some of the floating seeds as they drifted downward. The disturbance caused the wooden “pods” to burst, causing a rain of smaller seeds to begin raining down on the buildings below.

That should be fine. They were all over the target.

I flew up and got above the could of seeds, and flew out toward the outer reaches of the could and began using the wind to herd the seed pods toward the center.

I felt the attention of the enemy look-outs all focused on me, and there was an unmistakable tinge of confusion at my actions and concern over what it might mean.

If all goes to plan, this should definitely put a dent in their hold over this city. They think they have secured this territory, but I am about to throw in a few stones of my own to contest it.

Jemini

The final comment about throwing stones into the enemy territory is a reference to a Chinese board game called Weiqi, but is more popularly known by the name "go" in Japan where it is also rather popular. The game involves placing stones in order to surround sections of the board in order to claim "territory." However, if you can make a formation inside the enemy territory, you can effectively steal it from them.