Day 30 Post-Impact - Morning
The first outreach team returned with good news.
"The Eastside Runners," Chen Wei reported. "Sixty-three people, eight awakened. All E and F rank. They've agreed to join."
"Terms?"
"Full integration. They keep their people together as a unit, but they answer to Harmony command structure. In exchange, they get food, shelter, protection."
"Any resistance?"
"Their leader, a woman named Siti, was pragmatic. She saw which way the wind was blowing." Chen Wei pulled up notes. "They've been struggling. Lost twelve people last month to void creature attacks. Another eight to the Iron Wolves' recruitment efforts."
"Recruitment efforts?"
"That's what she called them. More like conscription. The Wolves have been pressuring smaller groups to join or face consequences."
Sarnav nodded. Exactly as predicted. "When can they relocate?"
"They're already packing. Should arrive by tomorrow evening."
One group down. Two more pending.
The second team's report was less encouraging.
Hafiz delivered it personally, his expression grim.
"The Harbor Rats refused. Their leader, some guy calling himself Admiral, said he'd rather take his chances with the Wolves than submit to another faction."
"Submit?"
"His word, not mine." Hafiz shrugged. "I think he sees joining us as weakness. Pride thing."
"How many people?"
"About forty. Six awakened, nothing above E-rank." Hafiz paused. "But here's the concerning part. While we were talking, I spotted Wolf scouts watching us. They know we're making moves."
"Expected. What's their likely response?"
"If they're smart? Accelerate their own recruitment. Lock down the remaining groups before we can reach them."
"And if they're not smart?"
"Direct confrontation. Test our strength. See if the B-rank rumors are real."
Sarnav considered the options. The Iron Wolves had numbers and territory, but they lacked information. They didn't know exactly how powerful Harmony had become.
"Let them wonder," he decided. "We don't hide, but we don't advertise either. If they want to test us, they'll learn the hard way."
The third team returned that afternoon.
"Mixed results," the team leader reported. "The group near Bangsar, about fifty people. They want to join, but they're asking for time. Their leader is negotiating with the Wolves too. Playing both sides."
"How much time?"
"Three days. They want to see who offers better terms."
"And if the Wolves offer better?"
"Then we lose them. But I don't think they will. The Wolves don't negotiate. They demand."
Jade spoke up from her station. "I've been monitoring Wolf communications. They're aware of all three contacts. Their leadership is meeting tonight to discuss response."
"Can you intercept their decisions?"
"Already working on it." Her fingers flew across her tablet. "I should have actionable intelligence by morning."
"Good." Sarnav addressed the room. "We've gained sixty-three people, potentially another fifty. Even if the Harbor Rats stay independent, we're expanding faster than the Wolves expected."
"And the dungeon?" Dr. Lim asked. "Your hacker mentioned an anomaly near the airport."
"Jade?"
She pulled up the relevant data. "I've refined my analysis. Ninety-one percent confidence it's a dungeon. Energy signature is consistent with documented cases from other regions. It's been stable for at least a week, possibly since the impact."
"Why hasn't anyone found it before?"
"Location. It's inside the old KLIA terminal. Most survivors avoid the airports. Too exposed, too far from resources, too many void creatures in the early days." She highlighted the area on the map. "But the creatures have dispersed. The dungeon itself appears dormant. Waiting to be activated."
"Activated how?"
"Someone enters. That's how dungeons work, according to the data I've gathered. They remain inert until a cultivator steps inside. Then they generate challenges scaled to the intruder's power."
"Scaled meaning?"
"If you go in alone at B-rank, you'll face B-rank threats. If you bring a team of E-ranks, the threats adjust accordingly." She met his eyes. "It's designed to be challenging regardless of who enters."
"And the rewards?"
"Proportional to the challenge. Essence crystals, cultivation resources, possibly artifacts or techniques. Dungeons are how cultivators in other regions have been advancing rapidly."
Sarnav studied the map. Thirty kilometers to the airport. A day's travel with a proper team. The risks were significant, but so were the potential gains.
"We scout it first. Confirm Jade's analysis. Then we decide on a full expedition."
"When?"
"After we've integrated the Eastside Runners and resolved the Bangsar situation. Three to four days."
The meeting adjourned with new priorities set.
Day 30 Post-Impact - Evening
Ishani found him in the training yard.
She moved without the careful gingerness of the past few days. Her injuries had healed, accelerated by her cultivation and the network's passive regeneration. She looked like herself again. Strong. Vital. Dangerous.
"You're avoiding me," she said.
"I'm giving you space to recover."
"I'm recovered." She crossed to him, stopping close enough to feel her body heat. "The healers cleared me this morning. I've been waiting for you to notice."
"I noticed."
"Then why are you out here hitting practice dummies instead of celebrating with me?"
"Celebrating?"
"We won, Sarnav. We destroyed a rift, secured our territory, and I didn't die." Her hand found his chest, pressing against his heart. "I want to feel alive. Really alive. And you're the only one who makes me feel that way."
Through the network, he felt her desire. Not just physical, though that was certainly present. She needed to reclaim her body, to prove to herself that she was whole again.
"The others—"
"Know exactly where I am and what I want." She smiled. "Nisha told me you needed reminding that I'm not fragile. Minji suggested the training yard for ambiance. Even Jade sent a message. Something about elevated heart rates being good for recovery."
"They're coordinating."
"We're wives. It's what we do." She pulled him closer. "Now stop making excuses and fuck me. I've been patient long enough."
The training yard was empty at this hour.
Ishani didn't seem to care either way. Her exhibitionism had always been part of her appeal, the thrill of potential discovery adding to her arousal.
"Here," she said, pushing him against the weapons rack. "I've been thinking about this for days."
"About the weapons rack?"
"About having you inside me again." She kissed him hard, aggressive, staking her claim. "About proving I'm still me. That the injury didn't break anything important."
"It didn't."
"Then show me."
She stripped off her training clothes with practiced efficiency. Her body was a work of art, toned and curved, the faint scars from her injuries already fading. She stretched deliberately, showcasing her flexibility.
"Like what you see?"
"Always."
"Good." She dropped to her knees, pulling at his pants. "Because I'm going to make sure you never forget it."
She took him in her mouth without preamble. No teasing, no buildup. Just aggressive, demanding attention that made his knees weak.
"Fuck, Ishani..."
She pulled back, grinning. "That's the idea." Then she swallowed him again, deeper this time, her throat working around him.
He let her have control. She needed this, needed to feel powerful after days of vulnerability. Her mouth worked him expertly, bringing him to the edge before backing off.
"Not yet," she said. "I want you inside me when you come."
She stood, turning to grip the weapons rack. Her ass pressed back against him, invitation obvious.
"From behind. Hard. Don't hold back."
He didn't hold back.
He entered her in one thrust, burying himself completely. She cried out, the sound echoing across the empty yard.
"Yes! Sayang, yes! Just like that!"
He set a brutal pace, using his enhanced strength to drive into her. The weapons rack rattled with each thrust. Her moans grew louder, shameless.
"Harder! I can take it! Show me what a B-rank can do!"
He showed her.
He lifted her off the ground, her feet leaving the floor as he fucked her against the rack. Her flexibility let her adjust, one leg hooking back around him, opening herself wider.
"Oh god! So deep! You're so fucking deep!"
"You wanted to feel alive," he growled in her ear. "Feel this."
He reached around, finding her clit, rubbing in tight circles while maintaining his pace. She shattered almost immediately, her scream loud enough to alert anyone nearby.
He didn't stop.
He fucked her through the orgasm, building her toward another. Her body trembled, overwhelmed, but she pushed back against him, demanding more.
"Don't stop! I want more! Give me everything!"
He gave her everything.
By the time he finally came, she'd orgasmed three times, her voice hoarse from screaming. He spilled inside her with a groan, holding her tight as the pleasure crashed through them both.
The network amplified everything. Somewhere across the compound, four other women felt echoes of what they'd shared.
"Better," Ishani gasped when she could speak again. "So much better."
"Recovered enough for you?"
"Recovered enough to do that again. Later." She turned in his arms, kissing him softly. "Thank you. For not treating me like I was broken."
"You're not breakable."
"Everyone's breakable. But you help me forget that." She pressed against him. "I love you, sayang. Never doubt that."
"I don't."
They cleaned up and dressed, the training yard bearing no evidence of what had transpired. But through the network, Sarnav felt the satisfaction of all five wives.
Show-off, Minji sent.
Jealous? Ishani responded.
Maybe. You're loud enough to wake the dead.
You love it.
...Maybe.
Day 31 Post-Impact - Morning
The Iron Wolves made their move.
Jade burst into the morning briefing with her tablet clutched like a weapon.
"They're hitting the Bangsar group. Right now. A full assault team, maybe thirty people, including both their C-ranks."
"The group that was still deciding?"
"Not anymore. The Wolves are making the decision for them."
Sarnav was already moving. "How far?"
"Eight kilometers. If we leave now, we might get there before it's over."
"Might?"
"The attack started twenty minutes ago. I just intercepted the distress call."
Twenty minutes. At full speed, he could make eight kilometers in under fifteen minutes. But bringing a team would slow him down.
"I'm going alone."
"That's suicide," Chen Wei protested.
"They have two C-ranks and thirty fighters. I'm a B-rank with five wife abilities." Sarnav met the older man's eyes. "The suicide would be theirs."
I'm coming, Ishani sent through the network.
No. You stay. If this is a trap, if they're trying to draw me out and hit the compound, you need to defend.
Sarnav—
That's an order.
He felt her frustration, but also her understanding. She was second in combat capability. If he left, she needed to stay.
"Jade, keep monitoring. Feed me updates through the network. Everyone else, defensive positions until I return."
He didn't wait for acknowledgment.
He flew.
The Bangsar settlement was burning when he arrived.
Bodies littered the ground, most of them civilians. The Iron Wolves had come in hard and fast, overwhelming the small group before they could organize a defense.
The fighting was still ongoing in the central square. Survivors huddled behind makeshift barricades while Wolf attackers pressed from all sides.
And at the center of it all, two C-rank cultivators directing the assault.
Sarnav landed between the attackers and defenders.
The effect was immediate. Every head turned, every weapon shifted toward the new arrival. The two C-ranks froze, sensing his power, processing what his presence meant.
"Who the fuck are you?" one of them demanded.
"The person who's going to give you one chance to leave."
"One chance?" The C-rank laughed. "There's thirty of us, asshole. And two C-ranks. What are you going to do?"
"Kill you if you don't take the chance."
The laughter died. The C-rank finally registered what his senses were telling him. The pressure emanating from Sarnav. The depth of power that marked him as something beyond their experience.
"You're... B-rank?"
"Last chance."
The C-rank's face hardened. Pride overriding survival instinct. "Bullshit. There's no way some random faction has a B-rank. You're bluffing."
"I'm not."
"Kill him."
The Wolves attacked.
It was over in ninety seconds.
Sarnav moved through them like a force of nature. His borrowed abilities flared, light and vines and illusions creating chaos while his physical power did the real damage. Bodies flew. Weapons shattered. Screams echoed and then stopped.
The two C-ranks tried to coordinate, tried to use their superior experience against his raw power. It didn't matter. He was faster, stronger, and the five-wife bonus made him fifty percent more dangerous than they'd calculated.
He killed one with a single punch through the chest.
The other died trying to run.
When the silence settled, twenty-three Iron Wolves lay dead or dying. Seven had fled into the ruins. None would make it back to their masters without wounds that would take weeks to heal.
Sarnav turned to the cowering survivors.
"Harmony Sect extends its protection. Anyone who wants to leave with me, gather your things. Anyone who wants to stay, we'll send supplies."
No one chose to stay.
[COMBAT SUMMARY]
[ENEMIES ELIMINATED: 23]
[ENEMIES ROUTED: 7]
[C-RANK CULTIVATORS KILLED: 2]
[COMBAT ESSENCE GAINED: +8,000]
[CIVILIANS RESCUED: 31]
[REPUTATION IMPACT: SIGNIFICANT]
[IRON WOLVES STATUS: LEADERSHIP WILL BE NOTIFIED]
[NOTE: FIRST DIRECT CONFRONTATION WITH MAJOR RIVAL FACTION]
[THEY NOW KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH]
Day 31 Post-Impact - Afternoon
The return journey was somber.
Thirty-one survivors, many wounded, all traumatized. They'd lost nineteen people in the attack. Friends, family, community members.
But they were alive. And they were joining Harmony.
Sarnav walked among them, offering what comfort he could. His clothes were still stained with blood, a reminder of what he'd done to save them.
How bad? Nisha asked through the network.
Bad. But it could have been worse.
The Wolves?
Lost two C-ranks and most of an assault team. They know I'm real now.
They'll respond.
Let them.
He felt her concern, and beneath it, the concern of all his wives. They understood what this meant. The Iron Wolves wouldn't ignore the death of two C-ranks. Retaliation was coming.
But Sarnav had made a statement. Harmony wasn't prey. Anyone who came for his people would pay in blood.
When they reached the compound, the survivors were welcomed with food, medical care, and shelter. The integration would take time, but they were safe.
Six hundred people now. Growing every day.
And a war on the horizon.
[DAILY CULTIVATION SUMMARY]
[INTIMATE ACTIVITIES - ISHANI: +9,500]
[COMBAT ACTIVITIES: +8,000]
[LEADERSHIP BONUS: +1,000]
[TOTAL ESSENCE: 293,500 / 500,000 TO SOUL TRANSFORMATION]
[HAREM STATUS: 5 / 32]
[FACTION POPULATION: 612]
[AWAKENED COUNT: 79]
[TERRITORY: EXPANDING]
[THREAT STATUS:]
[- IRON WOLVES: ESCALATED (RETALIATION EXPECTED)]
[- DUNGEON: CONFIRMED (EXPEDITION PENDING)]