Out in the ocean, on the endless, calm, blue water, a giant, five-masted ship bobbed gently up and down, far enough from the coastline to turn it into nothing but a thin line on the horizon. Above them, the night sky was clear, and the Calm Blue reflected the image of the two moons, making it seem like the ship was traversing through the Cosmos.

  The idyllic picture, however, hid a different reality: inside the ship, in a big, luxurious room decorated with the finest rugs, at an oval, polished wooden table made from trees of the Catharine's Forest, sat six figures in red-velvet-covered chairs. All of them looked like someone in their 30s, yet their real ages were at least five times that. Every person present was a leader of their own gang... they had long ago risen to the Harmony Realm, and they were meeting once again to reach a mutually beneficial consensus in their cooperation.

  This meeting was their fourth in the past 2 years, orchestrated by a number of unknown nobles who stayed in the shadows and employed their services. At first, the gang leaders were hesitant, but after the first meeting and receiving such wealth that they usually made only after years of 'work,' they were immediately hooked. They were no longer thinking about who was behind it all... but only about making more money.

  The six leaders were, namely, the Scargang leader Talhabat, a bald man who reflected his gang's namesake, his head bearing dozens of old and new scars every time they met. Then came Batku, the leader of Windfeet, the nomadic gang Lulu had exterminated, yet they knew nothing about it... for now.

  Third was Eisen, one of two women who rose to leadership positions and also the one who led the group Yanda had taken care of, the aptly named Enjoyers. She was thin and short, wearing her bck hair in a ponytail while half of her body was tattooed with colorful, drug-fueled sex scenes right up to her scalp.

  Fourth was a giant, fat man; nobody knew his real name, but he was called The Blob, which he took pride in. His gang, the Rats, numbered in the thousands, being the biggest as he took in any beggar that wished to join, having bases all over the Empire. He had an extensive flow of intelligence between his fingers, coming from more than a century of covert operations and bribery. He was also the one who brought the first meeting together and the sole contact with the so-called nobles on the other side, financing their endeavors.

  The fifth member was the other woman in their midst, Sezel, who wore a pink, sleeveless one-piece dress and had her wavy, auburn hair fall over her shoulders, cascading into her deep cleavage, showcasing her bronze, shiny skin whenever she could. She was once a concubine in a noble family in the Kingdom of Ten, but after her affair with another noble was discovered, she barely escaped execution and fled to the Empire's territory. Of course, she wouldn't fall into despair, and she quickly started a new life and soon took over a gang named Dreamnd, running a region-wide, underground sve trade, trying to pioneer something that was already a booming business on the Kingdom's side.

  Last but not least, the sixth member of the meeting was a proud-looking man dressed in fancy, noble-like clothing, Weygon, who, by strength, was the strongest among the six. He was hailed as a genius a long time ago, but because of his common background, he was ultimately suppressed by the local nobles. It was a tale as old as time, and it led him to a life of crime. He had, since then, formed his vagabond group, going by the name of Justice, assaulting and robbing noble caravans wherever he could.

  The six of them operated for a long time in their own territories, usually alone. Sometimes they were chased out by the local militia or the nobles' army, yet they always survived, going silent for decades before returning. When The Blob had initially gathered them up and id out the pns of the nobles coming forward, they were skeptical at first. The first meeting stated that some of them would let them rampage around without interfering, and it seemed too good to be true, especially because they even gave out information about where they could rob and pilge caravans, vilges, or hidden caches.

  But after some time, it proved all of it was true and not just a trap, reaping big scores in the first months alone. When the second meeting came, they were eager to continue their newfound success, especially the Weygon group. During the third meeting, they received another boost in the form of military-issue weapons, allowing them to build up their bases' defenses, and by then, all of them were fully ready to continue this new... cooperation. Deep inside, they were even excited about what the fourth meeting might entail.

  "Dear friends," the Blob had begun, but nobody could see his mouth moving or look into his eyes as the unbelievable amount of fat had already distorted his face. "Our sponsors wish to infuse another big amount of resources, namely weapons, armor, and even some top-of-the-line new techniques used in the Imperial Army!"

  His words made the others look at each other as Weygon leaned forward.

  "Are we getting ready for a war or what?"

  "Yes." The Blob nodded, surprising the rest. "We have already been spreading the news for half a decade that the Empire is rotten, bowing to the demons, and people are finally starting to listen."

  "Heh…" Eisen chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Who cares! Some of the best drugs are made from materials from the forest. My newest batch sends you to such a vivid pce no other can do!"

  "Still." The Blob continued, "The fire is lit, the pot of water is already boiling, and the lid is starting to rattle. We are just heralding what is inevitable."

  "I don't really care. If there were a civil war, even better," Talhabat chuckled. "I could get more and more pythings for my boys! A chaotic world is the best world."

  "The problem is those conformists' and not ours." Batku nodded. "We feed off of this nd, and nobody can tell us what to do."

  "Yet you are here anyway." Sezel snorted. "The gold, armor, and horses did come in handy, no? Don't be a hypocrite; my skin crawls listening to you."

  "Shut it, woman!" The nomads' leader smmed on the table in response, sneering at her.

  "You have a problem?" Eisen looked at him sideways, siding with Sezel. "Or is it just the horsefucker gene of yours that spoke up, you short dicked cumguzzler?"

  "Enough!" The Blob cut in, making his fat shake by the strength of his voice. "No matter what any of us think, the only thing that matters is the benefits we get. They are using us to rile up the masses and put pressure on the royal family, exposing their weakness, and we have a chance to pursue it further. We need to grab this chance, rake in as much as we can, and when the lid is blown off, we can disappear for a few decades and sit out the storm with enough wealth to buy an entire city."

  His words quickly cooled down the rest as they started to listen to him.

  "So." He cleared his fat throat, continuing, "We are going to get another big shipment of goodies. We can expand our groups and start organizing more and more willing and able people."

  "Do we know which noble houses are behind us?" Weygon spoke up suddenly.

  "I do know some, but not all." The Blob nodded after a brief hesitation.

  "Who are they?" Talhabat asked with curiosity. "Just so I don't accidentally kidnap one of theirs," he added with a wide grin.

  "I can't tell. It's best if few people know about it!" The fat man said, shaking his body, "But I can tell you we are not the only groups; we are just the ones in this region, but the same is happening in different parts of the Empire."

  "Heh… the storm is coming, huh?" Talhabat ughed, leaning back in his chair. "Well, my boys are getting ready for a raid anyway. I almost forgot to come; they were not happy when I told them to wait for my return. So, if this is all, then I'm in; I don't care about the rest!" he snorted, clearly ready to leave, as his mind was somewhere else by now.

  "We still need to fix where you all are going to get your shipment of goods; as always, you name the pce, and we name the date." The Blob continued.

  "No need," came a foreign, young voice, disturbing all six of them, and when they turned, a young, white-haired girl was sitting amongst them, leaning back on her chair, rocking back and forth. "Mmm? 'Sup!" Ren grinned at the group, enjoying their shock.

  "Who are you?!" Talhabat stood up first as his strength burst outwards, starting to rock the ship itself.

  "Me? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. My name is Ren. Nice to meet you all~!" She giggled, not showing any fear as his aura bounced off of her like nothing. "As I said, you don't need to work out anything." She put her legs up on the table. "All of your gangs are being exterminated as we speak, and honestly… You six are nothing more than walking and talking corpses."

  Ren's calm, matter-of-fact voice was deeply unnerving, yet, because it was six against one, it gave them strength and courage. They all stood up by the next moment, assaulting her with their own auras, ready to fight.

  "I never heard of you." Sezel spoke up next, "And even if you were someone from the military, even the Emperor wouldn't be enough to stand up against six of us alone!"

  "This is where you are gravely mistaken." Ren sighed, only looking at them with one eye. "He could… and would. But you aren't worth his time! You got caught up in your dreams or maybe snorted too much rainbow dust. Do you really think any of a little fart from a cockroach group of yours amounts to… anything?" She looked up at them with contempt in her eyes. "You are delusional. You are nothing but tools for others. Rusty, shit-covered hoes."

  "The only one who is delusional here is you, girl!" Eisen spat at Ren, but The Blob, who had been silent so far, suddenly shook as recognition fshed in his eyes.

  "You are…" He tried to speak, but his voice was weak. Seeing him recognize her, Ren just grinned. It seemed the one with the information network finally recalled who was sitting beside them as her picture circuted amongst the people back then. Still, she had been out of view for years by now... because the little genius of the Empire had disappeared from public memory.

  "You know who this little fuckable meat is?" Talhabat snorted, noticing that the Blob was acting strangely.

  "Trouble." Weygon gulped; the other, who by now recognized her as his group usually targeted nobles, hence he was keeping track of everybody important in the Empire when they appeared.

  "Ahaha~!" Ren giggled, standing up and fixing her uniform. "Well, I think all of you are ready, gathered up your strength and whatnot, hm? Can we start? I tried to give you enough time, but I am starting to get bored," she stretched with a yawn.

  It was midway through her carefree sentence when Batku materialized a bow from pure energy and shot out three arrows made from the same greenish-colored affinity of his, targeting Ren. He was quick as the wind, yet all three of his shots were grabbed between Ren's fingers before they could nd.

  "Oh my, what a nice surprise attack!" Ren chuckled, looking at him while just cracking them apart with ease.

  "Together!" Weygon shouted as all of them released their attacks, and six types of powers crashed into Ren's body.

  From the outside, a shockwave bsted out in every direction as the giant ship just cracked into two parts, spewing wood and splinters everywhere, alongside the ruined furniture from within its rooms. The sailors who operated the ship were thrown into the water or just torn to shreds by the impact as the wreckage started to sink, while the five tall, thick masts cracked like toothpicks, falling over, crushing those beneath them.

  "Did we get her?" Weygon panted heavily as the six of them floated above the water, looking down at the wreckage that was quickly sinking, dragging screaming sailors underwater with it.

  "Not even someone at the second level could stand up to our six, fully powered attacks," Eisen added, wiping her mouth.

  "Are you sure about that?" came the mocking voice, and when they turned towards it, Ren stood behind them without a scratch.

  Their answer to her was another instant attack, and soon wind-powered arrows, fireballs, shadowy tentacles, blue electric sparks, golden, metallic shurikens, and icy spikes flew toward her in tandem. The power behind them was strong and deadly, but Ren just stood there, letting them hit her without trying to dodge... And then... Her body was instantly torn apart before their eyes. At first, they shouted out in excitement, but quickly realized something was off. There was no blood, organs, or even chunks of flesh being bsted apart; only violet electricity cackled like nature's ughter as the small body disintegrated, followed by dark clouds that filled the previously clear sky, lightning fshing as they quickly formed another body of Ren, who stood before them with a grin.

  "So… what else do you guys have?" She asked, picking her ear with a provocative expression, "I could do this all day. Come, come, show me!"

  "Don't waste energy on her; this must be some kind of… clone technique!" The Blob warned the others, looking for its source.

  "We need to find the original body!" Weygon agreed immediately, looking up at the dark clouds that constantly fshed with purple lightning.

  "The clone must be weak, that's why-" Baktu tried to speak, but Ren's voice cut in quickly.

  "Nah, I just want to have some fun and give you guys a chance to throw at me everything you got!" She shook her head before cpping, and from the sky, lightning came down, and another five Ren formed around them. It was suddenly... six against six. "See?" all of the clones said at the same time.

  While they felt pressure weighing down on them, Ren's true body sat crossed-legged in the clouds, projecting her powers downward. She wasn't alone, as Xendar was standing behind her with crossed arms, and under her daughter's buttocks was a metal pte with dozens of inscriptions, supporting her technique.

  "It still consumes too much energy, Ren. If you draw it out too much, your clones are going to get weaker and weaker, and they are going to run away!" Xendar warned her, "Even with the prototype energy-gathering disc, you can't keep this up for more than five minutes. Ten tops."

  "I know," Ren replied with a soft voice, opening her eyes a little and looking down. "I could maintain the clones for days if it is just about existing… but as soon as they need energy for fights, they really drain me…" She smiled softly. "But your prototype works miracles. It still refills me quicker than a pill does! Pnting this in the cultivation rooms will be a great improvement. Or to take it on a trip with us!"

  "But it is still too fragile." Xendar shook his head as the metal disc already showed cracks on its surface. "It can't be used the way you do it now! Also, you need to be stationary… too many drawbacks to be viable. It takes too many resources to produce, and it isn't cost-effective. Using it as a 'consumable' also is not a viable option; this simply won't do… I need to return to the drawing table with this!"

  "That is why it is just a prototype. Anyway, let's finish it then; this data should be enough for both of us, I won't drag it any further!" Ren closed her eyes once again, making Xendar smile proudly, watching his daughter.

  Down below them, above the water of the Calm Blue, the six of them were frantically fighting Ren's clones as all six of her body doubles held spears, attacking the bandits. The most disturbing part was that, even when any of the gang leaders nded a blow, Talhabat's bckish tentacles pierced her head, Baktu's wind arrows went through her body, or The Blob's golden shurikens fused with Sezel's electricity, tearing the clone into two, nothing really worked. The clones just reformed their bodies and continued their attacks, albeit at a noticeably weaker power level.

  "This is unfair!" Weygon screamed, brandishing his sword, striking down with a bluish color, spewing frozen ice chunks everywhere, and every time he nded a hit, he was trying to freeze her, but without any real success. The heat, coming from Ren's electricity, melted his powers and traveled far and wide, using it to shock him multiple times as a counterattack.

  "Ahaha, crybaby~!" Ren giggled as a cut-off arm of hers reformed from purple lightning, holding a spear that quickly went through Weygon's chest, who finally lost his composure and was unable to defend himself in time.

  “Un… fair…” He coughed up blood, but Ren just hugged him closer like a child, looking up at him.

  "How many people said the same thing when you murdered them? You fucking loser…" She whispered into his ear, stroking his head like he was her own little baby. Finally, she just looked into his eyes, sticking out her tongue before blowing up, tearing Weygon into tiny shards of scorched flesh, killing him on the spot.

  The first death quickly stunned the rest, especially because it was someone who was always out, fighting guards and militia alike, attacking nobles' caravans one after another. Now, as only five of them remained, they realized that the clones seemed to have gotten stronger all of a sudden.

  The second to die was no other than Talhabat, who, after tying up his counterpart in tentacles, tried to run, but Ren's clone just blew herself up, and from the bst, tiny lightning spears shot out like javelins being thrown, piercing his back. He was vomiting up blood constantly as the spears turned into snakes, digging right into his body, frying his nervous system completely, and killing the leader of the Scargang once and for all, letting his corpse fall into the ocean.

  "I surrender!" Baktu screamed first, throwing away any resistance, going onto his knees in the air, raising his hands high. Surprisingly, the clone of Ren before him stopped with an unsatisfied grimace.

  “Tsk… you are no fun…” Ren grumbled, halting her attacks but pointing the tip of the spear at his forehead as a warning.

  Seeing the result, the rest also gave up, as they were dangerously low on energy and, above all, their lives were most important to them.

  "You are leaving them alive?" Xendar asked with a surprised voice.

  "Not by choice." Ren sighed, standing up, and the disc under her cracked into little pieces, disintegrating. "I am out of energy." She put a pill into her mouth to start a quick recovery. "If I continue, they will realize it, and if they run in different directions, we won't be able to catch them."

  "I told you." He knocked on her head pyfully.

  "Ehehe… But that is why you are here, Dad!" she giggled, rubbing her head with an innocent face. "Also, we can bring them back, no? Don't worry, I can make the fatso talk and get the information out, which nobles got hooked on the Kingdom's lies! The rest…"

  "You want people to experiment on? I know that look on your face." Xendar shook his head.

  "I need people to test my ideas, and I can't experiment on my fellow disciples, no?" She looked up at her father with puppy-like eyes.

  "Do it in secret and not let it spread! You are already feared enough inside the Sect as it is."

  "Wha…? Me?! No way!" She protested, taking it as her father teasing her.

  "Hmf, you know they call you the Smiling Devil, don't you?" He flicked the tip of her nose.

  "Me? Really? I thought I did well with the Inner Disciples..." She murmured, biting on her thumb. "Look how many of them produced incredible results! Those little bastards, just wait until the next inner competition comes..."

  "Haaah… anyway. Let's wrap this up and bring them back!"

  "Okey-dokey~!" Ren nodded as both of them fshed from the clouds, drawing an electric trail behind them, one blue and one violet, arriving before the surrendered gang leaders.

  Xendar's appearance and aura were unbridled, summoning new, powerful lightning bolts that fshed above them all, instantly destroying every pn of theirs to escape. They could do nothing but watch as Xendar took out multiple sve colrs, ones that were modified by Ren, and pced them on their necks. When one nded on The Blob's 'neck,' it contracted so heavily that it pulled back the fat, finally revealing its actual facial structure... It looked... like some grotesque flesh puppet.

  "I'll bring them back to the Sect. You?" Xendar said as he turned towards his daughter.

  "I'll go, pick up my disciples, then check on my lil' brother. After that, I'll come back." She said, stretching, "I may stay behind a little more if the other group of disciples needs help cleaning up the gangs in the region… but it shouldn't be a problem, now that their leaders are gone."

  "I agree." Xendar nodded, "Try to hurry, it would be best if we could get the info about the nobles we need to visit... About who got bought out by the Naulins, so Feynor can start dealing with them!"

  "Hehe… don't worry, Dad, I'll pry it out from their mouths~!" Ren giggled, looking over the now-defeated gang leaders before licking her lips. Hearing them talk like that, the Blob trembled the most, shaking his giant sbs of fat all around, because he knew that, even if he survived this, his contacts would hunt him down.

  "Good! Tell that good-for-nothing, son of mine, get his buttocks ready!" Xendar snorted loudly as he grabbed onto the prisoners, forming an electric leash between their colrs and his palm. "I heard the stories; it seems as soon as he steps out of my sight, he thinks I won't know about his shenanigans? Hah! Naive!" He thundered as he left, going back towards the Sect with a fsh, dragging them behind.

  Watching her father go, Ren just giggled, waving at him before flying towards the coastline... watching the sun rise by the time she reached it.