The Sovereign's Zero-Rank Return

Chapter 7: The Chasm Supply Chain

‎‎The journey into the Cryos-Chasm was a test of planning and supplies.

‎

‎While heavy rain pounded the surface above turning the black sand into a slippery mess the inside of the newly found crack remained eerily quiet. The only sound was the ring of iron pitons being driven into the frozen rock and the steady hum of the Level 3 Void Seed on Orin Clays chest.

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‎[ENVIRONMENTAL RECONNAISSANCE: COMPLETED]

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‎[SUBTERRANEAN DEPTH: 114 METERS. INTERNAL TEMPERATURE: -18°C.]

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‎[ATMOSPHERIC DATA: HIGH DENSITY OF CONDENSED CRYOS-VAPOR. LIQUEFACTION INDEX: 82%.]

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‎[RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROFILE: CRYOS-CRYSTAL VEINS LATTICE STABLE. PURE ELEMENTAL MATRIX RETENTION: 99.4%]

‎

‎Orin stood on a platform lowered by heavy pulleys from the surface. Next to him Maren Vance adjusted her grip on her broadsword, her breath in the dim blue light. The chasm walls were made of translucent ice sheets, behind which thousands of jagged Cryos-Crystals grew.

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‎"It's beautiful " Maren said, her fingers tightening on her sword hilt. ". It's deadly Orin. My men can only work here for twenty minutes before the cold starts to freeze their joints."

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‎"That's because they're trying to fight the cold with heat " Orin said, his silver eyes unblinking. "Stop fighting it Captain. Let the matrix balance out."

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‎Orin stepped off the platform his boots crunching on the ice floor. He didn't carry a heat charm. Wear warm armor. His cloak was thin. The frost on his shoulders didn't sink into his skin; it hovered above his clothes, drawn into a pressurized orbit around the dark singularity in his chest.

‎

‎To Orin this freezing chasm wasn't hazardous; it was an optimized storage facility filled with pure wealth.

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‎[ VOID ENERGY EXTREME CORRECTION MATRIX...]

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‎[INTERNAL RESERVES STATUS: 180/200 VOID ESSENCE.]

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‎[ABSORBING REGIONAL REFUGE: CRYOS-VAPOR CONCENTRATION...]

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‎[CONVERSION EFFICIENCY RATE: 100%. SYSTEM INTEGRITY REINFORCED.]

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‎"Kian " Orin called out. "Bring the extraction chisels. Don't hit the crystal tips directly. The energy is stored along the cleavages."

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‎Kian Frost dropped down from a rope line his hammer resting against his leather apron. His face was flushed with excitement.

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‎"I see it Strategist " Kian said, scanning the glowing lines Orins system had projected onto the ice face. "The crystal grain runs parallel to the fault line. If I slice at a twelve-degree angle the entire cluster will come out easily."

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‎"Begin the extraction " Orin ordered. "I want three hundred units of Cryos-Crystal secured in the ironwood vats before sunset. This material will replace midnight lichen as our catalyst."

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‎As Kians hammer hit the chisel Orin turned his attention back to the data ledger floating in his vision. His empires physical infrastructure was stabilizing,. His risk-assessment protocols were highlighting a threat signature rising from the imperial center.

‎

‎Meanwhile in the Thorne Clan Estate in Aethelgard City Iris Thorne stood by a window her long scarlet robes sweeping across the floorboards. She held a piece of vellum bearing the Cross Family Merchant Guilds seal. Her aristocratic features were twisted in fury.

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‎"A shell company " Iris hissed. "The Vanguard Syndicate has signed a ten-year procurement treaty with Lord Cross. They're importing zero-resistance deep-iron bars into the capital using our familys customs exemptions."

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‎Felix Thorne stood in the shadow of a jade pillar looking unbothered. He was dressed in a golden-trimmed tunic of a Stage 4 True-Core Master his hands resting on a long jade-hilted longsword.

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‎"Why do you care about a frontier smugglers, Iris?" Felix asked, his voice carrying confidence. "The Cross family is seeking raw materials to offset their declining mining yields. Let them play in the sand."

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‎"He isn't a beggar you fool!" Iris snapped. "Look at the Conduction Index reports from the Ministry of Revenue! The steel this Vanguard Syndicate is delivering has a zero percent resistance coefficient. It's a material that bypasses Tier 4 defensive formations entirely."

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‎Felixs smile vanished, his eyes narrowing as he picked up the document. He scanned the numbers his knuckles turning white.

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‎"Zero resistance... That's impossible " Felix said.

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‎"Orin found a way " Iris said, her voice dropping into a whisper. "Kian Frost went missing from his workshop three days after Orin left the gates. He was recruited. Orin used Kians knowledge of metallurgy. Combined it with something else—something he discovered after his core was broken."

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‎Iris walked back to the window looking out toward the southern mountains. "We made a calculation error, Felix. We assumed that breaking his Azure Core would destroy his utility.. An asset that has nothing left to lose can restructure itself without regard for existing market rules."

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‎Felixs face turned purple his Stage 4 core flaring with blue light. "Then I will take a squad of the Inner Court Executioners. Ride south tonight. I will burn that box canyon to the ground. Bring his head back in a box of salt."

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‎"No " Iris said, raising a authoritative hand. "The frontier is volatile. If the Thorne Clan deports a military unit across the border without a mandate, from the Ministry of War the Sol Syndicate and outer factions will view it as an imperial invasion."

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‎Iris’s eyes turned into two slits of cold calculating anger.

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‎"We do not use blades, Felix " she said.

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‎"We use the law.

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‎Orin Clay is still legally registered as a citizen under our houses tax rules.

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‎I will have the Ministry of Justice issue a Writ of Asset Seizure against the Vanguard Syndicate.

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‎The reason is -declared frontier revenue extraction.

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‎To ensure the writ is executed properly I will hire the Core-Breaker."

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‎Felix’s breath caught in his throat.

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‎A cold sweat broke out on his temples at the mention of the name.

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‎"The Core-Breaker?

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‎You mean Malakor?

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‎That crazy person has not left the dungeons of the ministry in five years " he said.

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‎"He’s a Stage 5 expert who targets a cultivators internal pathways.

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‎If you let him loose on the frontier—"

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‎"He will do what he was made to do " Iris interrupted.

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‎Her voice was flat and devoid of warmth.

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‎"He will find Orin Clay seize the zero-resistance formula and dissolve whatever remains of his body into the sand " she said.

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‎"By the time the Cross family realizes their supplier has been removed the assets will already be safely recorded under our ledger.

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‎Go prepare the contract, Felix.

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‎The audit starts tonight."

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‎Back at Black-Water Ridge, the excavation of the Cryos-Chasm was going ahead of plan.

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‎Within three days of the discovery Orin had completely redesigned the Vanguard’s logistics framework.

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‎The new framework accommodated the influx of raw catalyst material.

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‎The fourteen original transport wagons had been expanded into a fleet of thirty-four.

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‎Each vehicle was equipped with double-walled ironwood vats.

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‎The vats were lined with boiled resin thread to insulate the Cryos-Crystals from the heat of the desert trails.

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‎Orin sat at his administrative table.

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‎The table was in Master Sol’s villa.

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‎His pen flew across the page.

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‎He integrated the asset evaluations into the central syndicate ledger.

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‎[SYN_VALUATION_UPDATE: ACTIVE]

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‎[RAW LIQUID CAPITAL: 12,400 HIGH-GRADE SPIRIT STONES (SECURED VIA CROSS GUILD PAYMENTS).]

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‎[MILITARY CAPACITY: 120 CONTRACT PERSONNEL. FORCE STABILITY INDEX: 94%.

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‎[MONOPOLY STATUS: ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER SOUTHERN FORGE CHANNELS.]

‎

‎Silas stood by the oak door.

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‎His greatsword was polished and clean.

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‎His eyes watched the motion of Orin’s pen.

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‎"The men are calling you the 'Liquidator,' Orin " he said.

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‎"A rare hint of amusement touched his features."

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‎"The old miners from the Sol Syndicate were expecting to be thrown into the slave pens.

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‎They were expecting to be worked to death in the sulfur shafts.

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‎When you handed them their contract performance bonuses in pure spirit stones yesterday three of their squad captains wept open tears on the plaza."

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‎"Loyalty is an unstable variable " Orin replied.

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‎"He did not look up from his calculations."

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‎". When loyalty is tied directly to a rising dividend index it becomes a predictable function.

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‎A worker who receives a share of his extraction volume will always defend the factory " he said.

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‎He laid the pen down.

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‎His silver eyes flashed blue.

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‎The system’s frequency calibration tool registered a violent anomaly.

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‎The anomaly crossed the wall three leagues to the north.

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‎[TACTICAL ALERT: EXTREME FREQUENCY INTENSITY DETECTED]

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‎[APPROACH TRACKING: NORTH-NORTHWEST SPEED: 45 KILOMETERS PER HOUR.]

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‎[TARGET SIGNATURE COUNT: 1 UNLISTED ENTITY.]

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‎[ENERGY PROFILE: COMPRESSED LEVEL 5 BREAKING REALM CURRENT DIRECTION DESIGNATION: BLACK-WATER RIDGE CENTRAL PLAZA.]

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‎[ESTIMATED ARRIVAL WINDOW: 14 MINUTES.]

‎

‎Orin slowly stood up.

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‎He adjusted the collar of his travel cloak.

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‎His face remained serene.

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‎A calm pool of calculation reflected none of the urgency.

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‎"He’s here " Orin said softly.

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‎Silas’s smile vanished.

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‎His frame dropped into a combat crouch.

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‎His hand flew to his hilt.

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‎"An imperial patrol?

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‎Did Felix send the court guard?" he asked.

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‎"No " Orin said.

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‎"He walked towards the stone balcony."

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‎"Felix carries much pride to move quickly under an official flag.

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‎This is a targeted intervention.

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‎My sister Iris sent a specialist to balance our ledger " he said.

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‎"Call Maren Vance and Kian Frost to the plaza immediately Silas.

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‎It’s time to show the empire what happens when an unoptimized contract is delivered to our floor."

‎

‎The arrival of the Core-Breaker transformed the market plaza.

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‎It became a zone of suffocating fear.

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‎Malakor did not ride a horse.

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‎He walked through the iron gates.

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‎He moved with a heavy stride.

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‎The gravel beneath his boots. Turned to fine white ash.

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‎He was a skeletal figure.

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‎He was wrapped in oil-stained black robes.

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‎The robes smelled of burning copper and old blood.

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‎His face was hidden behind a featureless iron mask.

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‎The mask had no eye holes.

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‎It had three slits across the center.

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‎They pulsed with a sickening purple light.

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‎He carried no sword.

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‎He carried no axe.

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‎He carried no weapon.

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‎His long skeletal arms were wrapped in rusted iron chains.

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‎The chains hummed with a high-frequency vibration.

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‎The vibration caused every cultivator within fifty yards to clutch their chests.

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‎They felt pain.

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‎"Where is the outcast?" Malakor’s voice was not from his throat.

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‎It was a grating sound.

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‎It resonated directly within the minds of everyone in the plaza.

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‎It sounded like two iron plates grinding together.

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‎"By order of the Ministry of Justice and the Inner Court of the Thorne Clan the assets of this settlement are forfeit to the crown " he said.

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‎"Orin Clay, present your core for liquidation or this ridge will be written off as a casualty."

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‎A dozen Vanguard troopers rushed into the plaza.

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‎They were dressed in their zero-resistance leather breastplates.

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‎They rushed from the side corridors.

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‎Their spears were lowered into a wall.

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‎They were men.

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‎They were hardened by years of frontier warfare.

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‎As they entered within ten paces of Malakor’s aura the heavy iron chains lashed out.

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‎CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

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‎The chains did not strike the guards armor.

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‎They struck the air.

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‎They released a high-frequency harmonic pulse.

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‎The pulse targeted the circulation frequency of their internal dantians.

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‎The guards let out shrieks.

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‎Their spears dropped from their hands.

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‎Their soul cores violently seized up.

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‎Their internal energy pathways completely short-circuited.

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‎They collapsed into the mud.

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‎They twitched uncontrollably.

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‎Their cultivation fields were temporarily paralyzed.

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‎"Your defense arrays are unoptimized " Malakor grated.

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‎"His iron mask turned slowly toward the villa."

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‎"Brute force cannot protect an asset.

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‎Orin Clay your time has expired."

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‎"Your analysis of our defense arrays is based on a data set, Core-Breaker " a calm flat voice cut through the mechanical hum.

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‎Orin Clay walked out from the arched entrance of the villa.

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‎His hands were tucked loosely inside his cloak pockets.

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‎His stride was slow and measured.

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‎Behind him Silas, Maren Vance and Kian Frost moved in a triangular formation.

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‎Their eyes were locked onto the specialist.

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‎They had cold focus.

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‎Malakor’s iron mask tilted slightly.

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‎The purple light through the slits flared with a sharp intensity.

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‎His spiritual senses scanned the youth.

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‎He did not find a cultivation field.

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‎He did not find a core or a frost core.

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‎He found nothing but a bottomless emptiness.

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‎The emptiness sat still in the middle of the frontier miasma.

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‎It was like an eye.

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‎"You carry no core " Malakor grated.

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‎"His chains vibrated at a frequency."

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‎"The stones beneath Orin’s boots cracked."

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‎"You are a ghost operating a file.

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‎A ghost can still feel the weight of the iron.

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‎Present your limbs for restraint."

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‎"I decline the transaction ", Orin said.

‎

‎"He stopped fifteen paces from the executioner."

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‎"He did not assume a combat stance."

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‎"He stood straight.

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‎His silver eyes were completely calm."

‎

‎His system automatically broke down Malakor’s mechanics.

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‎It broke them down into the energy lines.

‎

‎[TARGET ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS...]

‎

‎[NAME: MALAKOR (THE CORE-BREAKER)]

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‎[CULTIVATION: STAGE 5 CORE-BREAKING REALM SPECIALIST.]

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‎[WEAKNESS INVENTORY: THE HARMONIC PULSE OF HIS CHAINS RELIES ON A STEADY RESONANCE TRAJECTORY FROM HIS CERVICAL VERTEBRAE. FREQUENCY SHIFT TIMING: EVERY 1.2 SECONDS.]

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‎[TACTICAL DEPLOYMENT INITIALIZED: OPERATIONAL INTERVENTION REQUISITIONED.]

‎

‎"Your chains are a piece of low-frequency engineering, Malakor ", Orin said.

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‎His voice carried a chill finality.

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‎The surrounding mercenaries held their breath.

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‎"The chains operate by matching the natural vibration index of a human soul core.

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‎They accelerate the spin until the vessel fractures from friction.

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‎It’s a strategy against conventional cultivators," he said.

‎

‎He moved forward on purpose. Entered the exact spot where the guards had been stopped before. To Malakor's surprise, the strong purple energy waves did not make Orin move; the instant the high pulses were close to his body, they were pulled into the small space of his Level 3 Void Seed. This made their structure fall apart because of the cold compression inside him.

‎

‎"But my system does not have a frequency, Core-Breaker," Orin said quietly. His silver eyes glowed with a scary blue light. It looked like the darkness of the Cryos-Chasm. "You cannot break a core that has become the void. Kian aligned the arrow at forty-two degrees. Silas makes a sideways block at 1.2 seconds.