The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Bang! Bang! Bang! Garbed in his fabricator uniform, Oscar struck the swiftly with measured power, not too hard and not too soft, striking just right for his purposes. On the bottom hull of one of the airships, a part glowed brightly from being heated to a malleable, shapeable state. His hammer pounded, striking flatly to round out the hull. Embers and excess impurities sparked like fireworks and showered on him, pitter-pattering like drizzles of sleet hail on his uniform.

For the past month, he had worked on the Vorpalares and fixed up Garantulem as much as he could take it. Finally, with this last airship, all the preparations were completed. Oscar splashed some oil and was immediately surrounded by the toxic fumes of the quenching process. Fumes plumed as the red glow diminished until the black color returned, the repair completed at last. Oscar nodded in satisfaction and flicked out a slight Ripple Shroud, the fumes bursting away and dispersing into nothing.

Finished, everything was finished. It was ready…he was ready. The last battle, the final gambit to return home, was sure to be the harshest battle so far as it was close to the crux of the enemy's frontlines, and Oscar had to get Garantulem ready to endure until its job was done. Stuffy inside, he removed his helmet and let the winds wash off the sweat overflowing on his face. He gulped down an entire jug of water for his parched throat and sat on a metal beam.

Under the night sky, the clouds stretched thinly across as if being pulled by whatever waited beyond the horizon. As they swayed and drifted away, many dots of glimmering stars peeked out and embraced the open air, centered around the crescent moon. The waves moved lazily, barely able to be called waves, more like tiny ripples pinching over the ocean surfaces.

Serene and calm. Oscar enjoyed nights like this but also didn't. Reflecting on his past, whenever he stared out at the grand scenery of nature at its most peaceful, he usually had to dive into danger later. These moments were always so fleeting to him, barely a beat in his memories among the storms of conflict and war.

Oscar patted Erden's head by his side and murmured, "Glad you're here."

Erden chuckled and rested on the metal beam. He spoke with his real voice, "Who else would accompany you?"

"Avril…." Oscar answered instantly and fell silent for a few moments before continuing, "I hope she's well." He rubbed his left hand, tracing the ring through the thick glove. He missed her. He missed her a lot. He wanted nothing more than to share this peaceful moment with her and fall asleep in her embrace.

"Well, until we see her again, you're stuck with me." His deer friend snorted and yawned deeply. "It's getting late. Get some rest."

Oscar grunted, "Right." He put his fabricator helmet back on, floated with Erden to the flagship, and returned to his room. Before closing the window, he took a final glance at the peacefulness of tonight, basking in it for as long as he could. He knew there would be none tomorrow.

…….

Avril stopped her feet and turned around, keeping her hair still against the whistling winds. Her heart thumped faster for no reason, and she darted her eyes around for the source of the strange feeling in her chest. The chirping of crickets resounded through the thick foliage of the forest. Tall spiral oaks coiled upward like screws holding the heavens together.

Nothing was lurking except for the snake lazily wrapped around the trunk of an oak tree, holding itself together by biting on its tail. Then what was the source? Fear didn't grip her heart like this, nor did anxiety. She soon found her answer and smiled.

"Hubby? Oscar?" Avril called out, then exclaimed to herself self-scoldingly. Oscar couldn't be here right now. She cupped her hand over her ring and held it close to her chest, softly humming while crunching the leaves under her feet as she continued her route.

"Dear husband, you must be thinking of me right now, aren't you? She laughs, knowing how you think." She retrieved a book from her cloak and wrote about what happened just now into it. After separating from Oscar, she bought an empty book to use as a diary so Oscar could know about her travels. She wondered how much Oscar would love to read it once they reunite. "Don't be so full of worry. I'll be back soon."

She found a dirt road and strode down it until it became a more well-paved stone road, the signs of closing in on civilization. Following it, she exited the forest and rested her staff upright on the stone. She bit her lower lip and nearly welled up with tears before she forced them back.

A village lay before her. Small houses stood side by side, completely dark inside. The doors were closed, and the windows were shut as everyone probably rested for the night. The place had changed since the last time she was there. Flashes of flames overlapped the homes, and howling screams replaced the soft whispering of the winds. She groaned and wiped the cold sweat off her brow, forcibly pushing out the horrid memory with that of her time with Oscar.

After briefly mumbling some pages they read together long ago, she faced the village and said, "I'm home…."

…….

Early morning, on the flagship, a mess of activity took place like a circus or festival. Soldiers in uniforms darted to and back from several hallways, meshing their feet on the metal floor, carrying crates of supplies and equipment. Citizens marched in droves, clamoring in conversations thrown from one end of the line to the other, exiting the flagship and traveling across the bridges between ships. Oscar watched the exodus of the people with a heavy heart.

He was responsible for their lives now. Garantulem had done a great job protecting them, but that time was near ending. He patted the flagship's hull and thanked it for carrying them for so long. In a faint whisper, he wished for it to hold on until the job was done because their fate would be determined today, life or death, a massacre or liberation awaiting them.

Stolen novel; please report.

Faint metallic steps clinked closer, and Oscar looked to see it was Hugh, the elder Marshal Exalt. The old man drew closer and bowed even though his position outweighed Oscar's, speaking in a weary voice. "Everyone is in position. We're ready to set off, Shipmaster."

"Sorry," Oscar apologized. "I'm sorry for what you have to do."

Hugh patted Oscar's shoulder and sat down with him to watch the sun begin to rise from the east, a faint sliver of orange peeking from the horizon. "I'm old. Many of my friends have died or retired into obscurity after failing to advance. Others of my generation have moved far past me, and the younger ones like Reni and Elias are already caught up." The wrinkles deepened on the old Exalt as he coughed and drank some water to calm himself down. "I've wasted away for most of my life, never achieving what other greats have done, what you have done. Everyone believes that a moment comes with a person can truly shine. It never came for me."

"Do you truly believe that?" Oscar asked solemnly.

"I always wondered why I kept living for so long when my potential had all but dried up. But now I know. It's not any different from what you did for the Divine Essence." Hugh rasped and smiled. "This will be my moment. Thank you, Oscar Terr, for giving this old life a final chance to be a great Exalt."

"So you believe in my identity?" Oscar turned away from the sunrise to the old Exalt.

"At this point, if anyone says otherwise, they're fooling themselves." Hugh rose to his feet and offered Oscar a hand, which he gladly took. After Oscar got up, Hugh clenched his hand and nodded, "I'll make sure everyone can get through."

Oscar said his farewells, and Hugh went his way inside the flagship. The old Exalt's back was straight, unlike his usual hunch, and his shoulder broad and wide, almost as if he had returned to being a younger man. Oscar sighed and flew away, whispering, "All the luck to you, Lord Hugh."

He went inside an airship at the edge of Garatulem, and the numerous Exalts inside parted to create a pathway. Walking down the path, surrounded by the trusting gazes and smiles of the others, Oscar entered the main bridge, smaller than the flagship's, and rested on a chair set out for him. Garatulem flew high into the sky, controlled not by Oscar but by Hugh. For the past month, he had taught Hugh how to form to link and the intricate commands engraved in the control orb, and now the time had come to put that training to use.

Garantulem set out in its directed course, flying straight toward the plains before the Spiraling Willow Forest. Oscar sighed and held his lowered head in his hands, not wanting to look outside the window like everyone else. His plan had to work; it had to….

"The enemy!" Someone shouted.

Oscar lifted his head and followed their gazes to the window. A vast fleet blanketed the horizon, hundreds or even thousands of them waiting for them. Willet's fleet didn't even come close in numbers and quality of ships. Behind the initial line of enemy ships was a floating city. From here, he could see the vast number of cannons and weaponry on the fortresses and buildings sprawled along the triangle base. The ship was the Excrusier, the most powerful airship with vast firepower and a city-level barrier to protect it. A gleam of sunlight reflected from the sharp points of its triangular base, well-suited for ramming into enemies.

"Surrender now or be destroyed!" An announcement came from the enemy. Their aim was obvious. They wanted the plans to Garantulem and the recovery of the four Vorpalares that Willet lost.

Oscar gripped the armchairs of his seat and said, "It's up to you now, elder."

Garantulem went full throttle, bursting across the open plains. By thirty miles in, its cannons started to fire, and scores of enemy airships fell, but the Excruiser remained untouched. Still, the Gatnons had done good work, sticking every spiderweb projectile on its barrier, electrifying, and piling on each other.

Going through this blockade of an Excrusier and several other Vorpalares would have been a reckless death if not for the fact he had Garatulem and the four Vorpalares. Hugh controlled the ship well, spiraling it into the air to evade the enemy's return fires. High-tier ships and Vorpalares gave chase, but the biggest problem was the Excrusier, thundering sparks and earthquakes following its flight as it gained on Garantulem.

So many ships remained ahead, swarming on Garantulem, hitting their hulls against the barrier to slow it down. Oscar gave the signal to Reni and shouted, "Now!"

A black pyramid shot out and destroyed everything in its way, ships shredding into scrap metal, paving the way for Garantulem to continue its maniacal flight. At the end of its flight, the black pyramid exploded and broke apart the enemy's formations. Oscar cheered along with the others. The Vorpalare worked wonderfully. Garantulem alone couldn't break through, but the Vorpalare gave it the piercing power to create the openings.

"Again!" Oscar said once, twice, and thrice. The four Vorpalares had been spent, the vastly expensive and powerful airships used as mere piercing rounds fired from Garantulem's body.

"The barriers are down! Their Vorpalares have penetrated through." Reni shouted, redfaced from exerting too much Ein to hold back the crushing pressure of the enemy's Marshal Exalts.

"It's all on Hugh. Trust him." Elias clenched his teeth, sweating profusely onto the floor.

Garantulem spun rapidly, and everyone held on to the closest object, trying not to be tossed around. Then, it stopped. Garantulem entered Kraken Mode, stretching out a tendril, and flicked it. It fired a few ships, Oscar's included, detaching them from its structure and sending them barreling through the air past the last line of enemy ships. Nothing but the blue sky greeted them forward.

Oscar ran and forced through the crowd to look behind at the surrounded Garantulem. The enemy ships had surrounded it, and others chased them, but not too close, even slowing down after a few seconds. They seemed focused on procuring Gol-4's pinnacle design.

"Farewell, Hugh." Reni saluted by Oscar's side. Everyone in the room stood at attention and saluted as well, giving their solemn, silent praise to the old Exalt.

Flames sprouted from Garantulem's hull. Bright light blasted out like beams, spreading until nearly every inch of Garantulem was leaking. Oscar held his breath and watched his creation explode with the force of a thousand thunders. He grimaced and knelt on the floor, bowing his head in honor of Garantulem and Hugh.

The force of the explosion reached them. Shockwaves of devastating winds rammed into their ships, and everyone returned to clinging on for dear life. The Marshal Exalts tried their best to stabilize the ships, but they had to take care of five. Oscar's ship spiraled out of control and hit the ground. It didn't end there. His ship bounced like a ball and rolled over willow trees until it finally stopped.

Oscar punched his way out of the wreckage. A ruined path of tossed-up dirt and felled willow trees greeted him, a scattering of metal lining the path like cobblestone on the road. He grunted and got out of the ship, planting his feet on the ground.

"Halt!" Someone shouted.

Oscar paused, not because of what the person ordered. That voice was familiar, so familiar. It had been so long that he nearly forgot what his friend sounded like. It sounded more mature and rough, but it was him. Oscar didn't doubt for a moment that it was him. He could never mistake him for another. Hot tears overflowed from his eyes, hidden by his helmet.

He turned around and said, "Fred?"

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