Yoruichi held a hand on Soifon’s shoulder, preventing her from acting. That was good; he didn’t need her acting on his behalf arrows and lances weren’t deadly unless they hit him in the eyes. Eugene looked completely unamused, cluing Silas in that it wasn’t his doing. Silas wasn’t sure if the woman Yoshino wasn’t involved, but the braves clearly couldn’t see the Shinigami.

 

A part of him, the pure rational cultivator who cared nothing for feelings, already wrote off the braves as more cultivation materials. He calmly used his aura to snap the binding of their arrows and lances. Silas could see them lose their nerve when he calmly lifted his hand and plucked the shaft out. One pulled a knife from his belt, and Silas moved in, grabbed the man’s head, and snapped the brave’s neck.

 

Greasy fat from the man’s hair slicked Silas’s fingers as he let go of the body as it fell limp. Silas stepped out of the wagon while the men backed away moments before retreating. He plucked the arrow from his chest; it barely bit into his skin.

 

Another arrow from further away smashed into his shoulder, pierced through Silas’s doublet but failed to pierce deeper. Spiritual energy flowed through his body, continuously strengthening it. Even in the first stage, he was significantly tougher than a normal human. If they had used a musket, that would have been different.

 

They turned tail and ran like the hounds of hell were nipping at their heels. “Thou can’t allow this to stand,” Soifon said.

 

“Little Bee let it go; it’s a matter for the world of the living. If Silas wants to let them escape, that is his prerogative.” Yoruichi said.

 

“They aren’t escaping,” Silas said.

 

“Should I, thy loyal vassal, chase them down?” Eugene asked.  

 

“I want them to think they got away, so let them run back to their village. While they art weak, I can pick them out well enough. Methinks it would be good to raid them. We will take their women, horses, and whatever else we want.” Silas said.

 

“They deserve it,” Soifon said.

 

“Art thou certain a raid tis necessary. While they meant to take thy life, they art but powerless mortals. Our government won’t look kindly on thee if thou art aggressive.” Kisuke said.

 

Silas watched the retreating braves and paid close attention to their direction. “Genghis Khan once said the greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms. By that arrow in the chest and shoulder, they have made themselves my enemies and the key to a kind of joy few men get to partake in.” Silas said.

 

He flicked his fingers, and the corpse floated in the air before flopping into the wagon’s bed. A hunger that all cultivators felt wormed its way into his chest at the prospect of fighting, looting, and getting more than ever.

 

Indulging in that side of himself was a dangerous thing. Even at the best of times, the values of a cultivator were destructive. When he wielded his power, the world would one day shudder. Silas had been on the other side of a powerful cultivator’s negative attention and hadn’t lasted long.

 

It's why normally he would hesitate to do something like raiding, only they started it. Silas had two holes in his fanciest doublet from Red Indian arrows.

 

“I’ll leave two men to send their souls on so they don’t become hollows. We need to leave and report back to Soul Society. Methinks there will be many curious about a land in the world of the living that feels like home. Water in the world of the living that a Shinigami can drink tis a rare treat.” Yoruichi said.

 

“Mayhap thou art ignorant of how it is created. Thy distillery tis an interesting creation mayhap if thou let me into thy immortal’s cave, I can show a trick to thee.” Kisuke said.

 

“Tis a private space, but if thou promise to behave, I can allow it,” Silas said.

 

“Art thou still marrying that witch?” Soifon asked.

 

He paused and measured what he planned to say to her. While yes, he planned to marry Mary and get some of her witch bloodline for his descendants, he wouldn’t mind adding some Shinigami either. A shame there weren’t any sexy Arrancar with big mommy milkers yet. Then there was the upcoming Quincy massacre and the future rarity of Quincy. He needed to find one to either have some children off of or betroth to a future child to improve his bloodline even more.

 

“John tis a good cousin and wishes to be my father-in-law. I know thou think little of the wizard, but he is rich and powerful in these lands with many slaves. His estate covers hundreds of acres, and besides his odd desire to keep a hollow alive, he has shown himself to be competent.” Silas said.

 

“Competent people don’t lose their prize to a jumped-up human leading an army. I would have rather seen the hollow eat him than let it be taken away. The beast took a lot of lives and managed to wound me. What will happen when it gets out?” Soifon said.

 

“I will weaken it enough for the Shinigami nearby to put it down. Methinks that is the best I can do.” Silas said.

 

Oscar was already a killer of Shinigami and clearly got a taste for them like a lion that first tasted man's flesh. It would go after them after taking a swipe at Silas again. By that time, he planned to be much more powerful. Raiding would help with that.

 

Silas needed more men, and as his servants proved, purchased help was unreliable. The bounts were apparently sterile, and he needed a way to get more cultivators. Survival was a team sport, and Silas was completely outnumbered. If there were a million cultivators, central 46 would hesitate to threaten them. Numbers mattered, and he was by himself.

 

…

 

He watched Kisuke and couldn’t believe what the man was doing. Space warped, stretching out the cave's interior until it became a massive room. By the time the warping stopped, Silas had a room that stretched for miles. It changed his understanding of spiritual energy but gave him access to a wider workspace. Suddenly building a better spiritual energy generator with a malignant energy converter wasn’t impossible.

 

Plans were underway to feed trees with spirit water for superior material. Still, with the widened room with an artificial light that felt like the sun, Silas could start an herb garden in the center of his land’s power.

 

Despite being in a dimension layered atop the physical world, Silas was sure his generator would work fine.

 

“Thou did me a great service; what do thou want of me?” Silas said.

 

“Consider this karma for helping out Soifon. My captain would have been distraught if anything happened to her.” Kisuke said.

 

“We haven’t known each other long, but I consider her a friend, thy captain too,” Silas said.

 

“Mayhap, I am also a friend,” Kisuke said.

 

“Methinks that if thou returned when my land was more settled, we could go fishing together. I wouldn’t mind hearing more about thy job. I can talk about my taxes that art coming soon.” Silas said as he looked over the vast expanse of his immortal’s cave.

 

The change had guaranteed his ability to get a leg up in development. He might even figure out Kisuke’s space distortion with time.

 

Silas smiled as they left his immortals cave, even as his thoughts went from boosting his spirit energy generation to plans for the raid. They had enough horses and saddles to mount up 12, and he planned to hit them at night a few hours before dawn. They were going to kill who they could and capture horses, women, and anything else they wanted.

 

He hadn’t shown how angry he had been because Soifon and her captain were there, but he was furious. Attacking him on his land was completely unacceptable. If those Red Indians thought they could do so with impunity, they were mistaken.  

 

“That tis one scary look on thy face.”

 

“I was thinking about digging a quarry; we could use some bricks for more stable homes. Unfortunately, I don’t know a thing about brick making or laying. Methinks I will need to hire a stone mason, but that can get expensive. Prices will soon level in town, so taking my harvest won’t be lucrative. Another form of revenue is needed, but I’m having trouble figuring out where I will find it. Don’t concern thyself with my problems.” Silas said.

 

He had his pride, and a source had already presented itself. They may not have much, be he would take what he could get. In the spring, the horses would mate and foal ten months later. Pigs would lay into each other, and soon he would have hogs to sell. Once he fenced in the lake, he could grow tobacco and make real money. He had 26 bodies to animate into tireless servants that worked like farm equipment.

 

The only fly in the ointment was his neighbors and soul society. At any time, they could decide he was more trouble than he was worth and have him wiped out. His only real recourse was to appear useful while he gathered power enough to contend with them. Kisuke Urahara had changed his timetable on a lot of things.

 

Silas still needed to see about his chickens that were eating possessed worms. They were bound to have been changed, but he wasn’t sensing any malignant energy from them. On the other hand, their spiritual energy was much larger than before. He was almost scared to see what they looked like after only a few days of feasting on the worms.

 

After he checked on the chickens, he would carve a wooden coffin and fill it with alchemic ingredients to prepare the bodies for animation. Then one at a time, he planned to carve the needed formations into the bodies before animating them. Once he got the process down, he might be able to raise 5 a day until he did the initial work; it would take weeks to raise one.

 

Soifon stood next to Yoruichi and Kisuke in front of a gateway to the soul society. “Shouldn’t we run in there? I thought it was our goal to go to soul society.” A Bount growled while other bounts held him in place.

 

Eugene spoke to the man quietly but with authority. “This place is the next best thing, and our landlord doesn’t want to execute us.” He stopped listening after that.

 

While he didn’t believe for a moment they were completely loyal, he couldn’t get any more alert for an attack than he already was.

 

Soifon ran up to him and bowed, and he returned it. “I will return in a month if I can. Don’t get married before I come back.” Soifon said.

 

“Come back soon; we’ll go on a ride without interruption,” Silas promised.

 

Soifon nodded seriously before returning to her position beside Yoruichi. They stepped through the gateway, and he let his shoulders sag. Soifon was a sweet girl, but dealing with Shinigami was exhausting. With them gone, he could finally get back to work or was it really work when it was what he wanted to do anyway.

 

“Eugene, select men from thy group willing to get their hands dirty. We’re going in for a raid tonight. Gird thyself in thy finest for pillaging, and I want to make a statement. There art matters I must see to like some potentially mutated chickens.” Silas said.

 

He waited long enough for the man to nod before going towards his next obstacle.

 

Dotty pranced over to him, and he mounted her in a single smooth step. Being taller than the people around him gave him a feeling of control. He liked that, especially when his fate was in someone else's hands. If he wasn’t sure Aizen had already slaughtered central 46, he might wipe them out if they opposed him. Then there was the bastard himself. Kisuke wasn’t yet the captain of squad 12, but it wouldn’t be long after that when the captains became hollowfied. Then, knowing Kisuke, the man who would wear a bucket hat, would drop them off on Silas’s farm.

 

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