"No but why are you lot getting scared as well!?" Ares sighed and slapped his forehead in frustration as he disabled the effect of the scarecrow to prevent the tied up border guards from meeting a similar fate. Curiosity killed the cat and these fools all very nearly took a one way trip to the afterlife just to get a sneak peek at the scarecrow for far longer than they should have. Luckily the scarecrow could exist in one of three states: active and ready to spread, inactive but present and activatable at any given moment, or destroyed. Ares simply left it in the second state for now so as not to unintentionally cause collateral damage to the people he said he wouldn't kill not even five minutes ago. Interestingly, the last state, 'destroyed', was more complicated than it seemed at first glance because how it functioned depended on how that state came to be. The scarecrows were sort of like landmines in that they needed to be disarmed or else they'd go kaboom. More specifically, Ares could freely detonate the scarecrow and it would produce an explosion that was roughly as big as a Shock Bead explosion, perhaps a tad bigger. If an enemy destroyed it first, however, then this possibility vanished and Ares could no longer detonate it but it was still frightful none the less as approaching a literal bomb was always risky. Not only could a single scarecrow take over an entire kingdom by its lonesome, if the spread wasn't halted, but Ares could even detonate however many thousands spawned off of it with a single thought. This was a tool the aesthetic of which didn't much align with Ares' personal tastes in many ways but this specific detonation aspect is what tied it all together and brought things back to Ares' domain. Self-multiplying, set it and forget it, mental attack landmines that had to be disarmed from range or when Ares wasn't looking, basically. Extremely dangerous.
Ares snapped his finger and the scarecrow flashed a brilliant gold and vanished in a small scale, but definitely still lethal, explosion. All the flags buried inside he scarecrow faded away and confirmed Ares' thoughts in that they were completely unusable. They weren't like the regular flag he summoned, just decorative set pieces to really drive home the visual aspect of conquering a foe and any force in opposition of Ares. He was still limited to one weaponised flag for now! Ares shook his head and untied the border guards who all scrambled away from the scene of Ares' crime, running as fast as their legs could carry them to Xasca, while he lamented his new method of attack. It was a mental warfare type of strategy with nothing but upsides... But he really didn't like the look of it! Since when did Ares become some kind of knock off horror show cultivator!? Why the scarecrows!? Perhaps this was still an adjusting period after the war aura transferred to a new host so not everything had accustomed itself to the personality of its new wielder. Even though the way auras worked was different from person to person some things remained roughly the same. A mental attack that killed weak-willed foes was probably a staple of the war aura and this was just the form it took when wielded by the last guy who owned it. Ares had quite literally inherited somebody else's attack here. Maybe the scarecrows would change into something else down the line if Ares left it long enough as the war aura would begin to mould around him and his wishes. The scarecrows exploding was already probably due to his own destruction-oriented influence so there was no reason to assume there wouldn't be further changes if he was patient about it. Still, he couldn't deny the sight of hundreds of scarecrows, surrounded by raised flags on all sides, would be rather daunting when displayed in all of its glory. No matter how it looked, though, functionally it was superb and Ares was glad to have it.
As for the Frozen Throne debacle... Well the two clan members who didn't fight Ares initially, due to fear and wisdom respectively, were already long gone. They hadn't been directly affected by the Asura Rondo so fled as soon as they realised things were looking grim and unsalvageable. Naturally they'd be reporting to the clan right about now about how much of a disaster class nightmare Ares was. Hopefully things would end here but, knowing how pompous and snobby cultivators of elite clans and backgrounds tend to be, it was unlikely. There was a certain kind of pride people in positions of power in the cultivator world had in which they refused to let anything go no matter how big or small the initial altercation really was. It wasn't uncommon to pursue slights such as accidentally bumping into one another or purchasing something from an auction that somebody else wanted but couldn't afford. Generally speaking, the word that encompassed expert cultivators the most accurately was 'petty'. Who among them hadn't been through countless life or death scenarios and proved their mettle a couple hundred times over? And what? After all that they were supposed to bow their heads and accept being pushed around by some nobody? Not likely, their arrogance wouldn't allow it. Sure some experts tempered their minds and didn't act that way but, typically speaking, if there was something an expert cultivator wanted you would be hard pressed to make them give up on it. No matter how many threats, bribes, or logical warnings you threw at them they would still believe in their own accumulated experience and ability to survive. Even someone like Enyo would fight to the death for the family and while that was a more noble and selfless goal than what others picked fights for the underlying contempt and scorn for those who thought they could stop her was still there. So for the Frozen Throne to give up on Ares... Even in spite of his deterring strength and magical might they probably wouldn't falter.
Ares dusted his hands off and activated Voidwalk to leave this bloody place, filled with slain and crushed cultivators, before anyone else showed up. He had a mountain or two to explore and getting tangled up in this Frozen Throne nonsense was unnecessary when he could just try and avoid them. At the very least, Ares remembered that the mutated mountain, or at least a lot of it, was 'rented' out by the 'Nu Kings'; the neo Vikings with tech brought directly from neo gear. The Frozen Throne probably didn't have much say in who their neighbours were, as the Nu Kings forcibly commandeered the land right from under their noses, and so the mutated mountain would be mostly devoid of the clan's presence and Ares could relax while he scaled it... So long as the Vikings didn't also have a bone to pick with him for whatever reason, anyway... Plus the heat would probably die down after a couple of days of not finding Ares so his current plan of taking a detour would help smooth things out as well. He was prioritising heading towards the mountain with the spatial rift to take a small trip outside the Primordial Barrier. If he left for a while, a couple of days at most, the Frozen Throne might think he disappeared completely and go back to an unalert state, minding their own business. It's not like Ares was planning on heading to any major city or anything during his stay in this region so if he left this domain for a while, and then headed straight for the mutated mountain upon returning, he should theoretically not see hide nor hair of that clan again. From now until he left Isaz completely he would be able to skirt around their area of influence near the centre of the region, a short distance away from the foot of the mutated mountain. Regardless of all that, Ares had a rough destination in mind and simply kept heading there with head strong determination. Even if the Throne had a presence at his destination he would head there regardless. Avoiding them was a convenience, not a necessity; Ares was not afraid of fighting them to the death if it ended up coming down to that.
Ares had no idea how this region was structured in the more desolate parts but he was entirely self-reliant nowadays and wasn't in need of civilisation to live and travel comfortably. He had the Roving Elliot for camping, food in his Blade for sustenance, and the Insulator to keep warm. All was well. In fact, he was being rather leisurely and taking in the sights freely like a tourist. Of note, though there really wasn't much to say in this frigid place, was an iciclops that fled the second it caught sight of Ares. Normally they were rather hostile creatures and defended their rough territory with unmatched vigour and unfaltering aggression, actively chasing trespassers out until they were miles away from the home they'd set up. This particular's iciclops' behavior seemed strange but then a lightbulb went off in Ares' head and he remembered why this was happening!
Small world, huh?
The iciclops, cyclops with white fur basically, that fled from Ares just now was the same one who had a fear of him ingrained into his very being from their previous encounter. Every bone and pore of that iciclops dreaded getting beaten to a bloody pulp by annihilation enhanced Ares because it had already happened once before albeit on a completely different continent. This was the same iciclops that Ares battered back at the international! The one that team of cheaters brought in via Lex. They sabotaged the training field with a rune that prevented / reduced the effectiveness of arts and then crushed the competition with the monstrous physical strength of the iciclops that none could match. Ares had played them at their own game and followed their own rules but still won regardless and then proceeded to dismantle the trickery in front of everyone. There was no definitive proof of Lex's involvement so he go off free for a while until the assassination incident, and Ares couldn't even remember the name of the runemancer who got caught but he was replaced by Julio later on, but there was one individual Ares hadn't known the fate of up until now!
The iciclops!
It had been dragged out of its homeland and treated rather poorly. It was also an idiotic, dumb creature so it really had no idea what it was doing and just obediently followed orders at the time so that it would continue to be fed instead of actively starved. Objectively it was closer to animal cruelty than anything else so, rather than executing the iciclops, like what happened to the team that dragged it in the first place, if Ares remembered correctly, they transported the iciclops back home here to Isaz and let it run around in its natural habitat. It had been a while since then but the iciclops still clearly recognised Ares and fled for the hills upon seeing him which Ares got a small and insidious chuckle out of. Sheer curiosity drove Ares to stealthily, with the help of Visitation, follow the iciclops and see what it was up to as of late. Ares was surprised to find the iciclops nestled in an icy cave with a partner and child so it seemed like he'd formed a happy family and was living comfortably. Good for him... He was still picking his nose like a moron, though... Ares shook his head with a small scoff and smile and left; he had no reason to interfere any more than this. Arguably, killing the iciclops, to protect future cultivators, mortals, and other innocent creatures, was the best course of action but Ares disagreed. Iciclops defended their territory and their home fiercely so it would be hypocritical for Ares, who just took on the name Redhome, for very obvious reasons, to use that as a justification. If someone got dangerously close to his home, and was looking to skin his family for materials, he would get defensive too! If the iciclops was merely protecting its family, and not pursuing those who were nowhere near his home, then who was Ares to barge in and destroy everything he'd built? Better yet, everyone else should leave the big guy alone if anything!
Ares gave the negative IQ iciclops his blessing and continued on with his journey but there really wasn't much to discuss. There were some small villages he passed by but they were relatively tiny and no with mentioning, barely big enough to even be called a village in the first place as it was more like a collection of a handful of huts. He could have maybe crashed in one of them for the night if he intruded and offered food or money but there were probably no spare houses or rooms and so he'd likely be imposing and bothering the locals more than he felt comfortable with doing. it wasn't unexpected he didn't find any sort of large settlement on his path because he wasn't heading towards the centre of the region right now but, rather, a mountain near the outskirts. It was tucked away, far from the hustle and bustle of the region, and so the chances of finding a city, or anything resembling one, out here was slim to none. All he found were predatory birds, more iciclops but this time ones that weren't afraid to attack him, and various other indigenous monsters and animals. Ares had to fight more than a few of such creatures but at his current level of strength calling it a 'fight'.,.. Well that was a bit of an exaggeration. A small flick of the wrist and the pressure bullets he generated on the fly were sufficient to take care fo the task.
Ares was basically unstoppable and there was probably not a single monster in the entire region that could withstand his power or put up a meaningful resistance before him. For once, it seemed like he could explore a country without having to fight something in an entirely different weight class and that was relaxing. Still, though, Ares could bat away monsters with his eyes closed but he could do nothing about the encroaching night befalling the region so he was preparing to stop for a while and rest in the Elliot. He would have to stay somewhat alert in case of monsters, and he would have to park the caravan somewhere he could react in time to avalanches, but it was better than staying out in the open at least. That or he'd have to build an igloo but Ares couldn't be bothered with such a task even if it would be relatively easy using telekinesis because there was no valid reason to.
Had Ares not continued Voidwalking for another minute or so he would have given up and pulled out his portable home away from home but his intentions changed as he happened across a small wooden hut in the middle of seemingly nowhere. He spied it halfway up a mountain, nestled away in an alcove underneath a cliff edge hanging above so it was actually rather safe. Monsters that couldn't fly would never be able to get there and any avalanches would sail off the ramp overhead and not affect it in any way. Unless the roof above collapsed it was in a perfect location to function as a hideaway and the only issue with it was actually getting there. It probably belonged to a transition realm cultivator, as flight seemed mandatory to avoid any difficulties with returning to this home after leaving it, but Ares was curious enough to go peek and see if anybody was home. If not, he might as well sleep in the rough area and set up his Elliot there as it would allow him to rest with more peace of mind. It's not like every single living person in the world had a grudge against Ares so surely there would be no reason for things to not be amicable with whoever was living there? As long as he promised to just stay nearby overnight and then leave afterwards in the morning there shouldn't be any fuss. Of course, if Ares had enough reason to believe the hut was abandoned he could even sleep inside it and put up some small runes here and there to alert him in case anyone returned in the middle of the night. Long story short, Ares was already heading over to the cave-ish formation buried halfway up the mountain and he had no intention of leaving well enough alone. Was this a terrible decision or a wise one? Only time would tell!
His Voidwalk carried him up the mountain and he was able to scale it was essentially no issues. He did notice that the altitude caused some minor breathing problems but they were resolved by concentration as he channelled his mana to overcome that uncomfortable feeling as he wasn't that high up yet. Normally, as a cultivator getting closer to transition realm, he could ignore altitude related issues but Isaz was special thanks to its freezing cold air. It prevented people from flying too freely which was why something like the mutated mountain was hard to climb as you had to do it manually for the most part. Managing flight for a few minutes was fine but trying to go above and beyond that would lead to an Icarus-esque situation. Instead of flying too close to the sun one would fly too close to the tip of the mountain, run out of breath, lose consciousness, and their corpse would tumble all the way down to the very bottom or snag on something like a tree and remain there until eaten. Of course that wasn't an issue that could stop high realm cultivators from Vraizon, for instance, but it was believed that there was nothing of note in the skies above the mutated mountain and so nobody bothered with exploring any further after various preliminary searches. Reaching the tip was considered to be a neat achievement for those who couldn't fly freely but little else as there were no mysteries to be found there...
Or so everyone thought, anyway. Ares could tell, roughly, that the Moongate Mountain was indeed somewhere near the top of the mutate mountain. How it went undiscovered up until now was beyond him but evidently Dominus had hidden his toy pretty well. Maybe it had something to do with illusions and mental magic given what the treasures itself was capable of? Regardless, it was because the treasure had yet to be found, even after all these years, that Ares wasn't in too much of a rush to head over there o find it and was ok with taking this detour first. Heading to the spatial crack, which could very well disappear at any moment, was an opportunity that was more pressing than the Moongate Mountain, funnily enough. Ares wasn't sure what he'd gain from this trip outside the barrier but it was worth doing even if he only gained some knowledge here and there and made his presence somewhat known. If he could come into contact with any of his external allies too there was a non-zero chance he'd get his hands on some really high-tier resources or treasures from higher domains. It was a bit of a stretch but not impossible! As this chance was limited he opted to go for it first and, when considering the Frozen Throne matter, it just made more sense to take things in this order.
Ares arrived outside the hut and the landed before it with a light step as he deactivated Voidwalk. His feet sunk into the piled up snow and this alone was a sign that nobody lived here otherwise they probably would have cleared out this build up right in front of their doorstep. Getting into the hut without letting snow in, or leaving visible footprints, was basically impossible given how much snow there was so either the person living here really didn't care about such things, and constantly let it build up, or they hadn't come back in a long while. Ares figured the latter was more believable so he trudged through the bundles of snow and used telekinesis to fling it aside whenever it was too troublesome to walk through. He cleared a small path and checked through a frosty window just in case his assumption was wrong but, again, there was no sign of life inside the hut. There were plenty of cobwebs, however, which reinforced his belief that the original owner of this place was MIA or out of commission entirely.
The inside of the hut looked cozy but not well maintained so it was rather suspicious. The person who lived here clearly cared about creating a luxurious and homely environment, and went to a lot of effort to make sure it ended up that way, but then didn't keep it clean afterwards? Such an approach made no sense so Ares was all but certain he was alone here. He trudged back over to the doorway and knocked but even after waiting for a few minutes, and occasionally knocking again to make sure he was heard, nobody answered. According to Ares' omniscience there were no barriers, traps, or runic ambushes in place so made up his mind and decided to unlock the door and enter without permission. If someone showed up later he'd apologise and leave but he'd spied a nice warm bed during his peek through the window earlier and it was far too tempting to pass up on! Ares was somewhat versed in lockpicking thanks to his days working under Hans as a street rat bandit but he had a better method up his sleeve and just wriggled some nothingness through the lock until it reached the other side. Once the patch of magic arrived beyond the door Ares connected with it and Shifted himself to it in the blink of an eye. It was dark inside the hut so Ares flicked a light switch he caught sight of earlier, when looking through the window, and patiently waited for the light to actually come on. The bulb groaned to life slowly and flickered in and out of wakefulness, slowly managing to find some form of stability and shed a consistent but somewhat dull warm glow over the wooden interior. The bulb seemed to be relatively ancient but still had some life in it yet, thankfully, and so Ares took advantage of what remaining energy it possessed to rifle around through the house.
Ares mostly found small day to day items but there were quite a few picture frames that clued him in as to what kind of people lived here and so he felt even more assured this place was currently abandoned. Put simply, it was an older couple that had passed away somewhat recently that used to live here. From what Ares gathered they were a transition realm cultivator couple that settled down to enjoy the rest of their life in peace and this was their secret little love shack hidden away from the rest of the world wherein they could find peace. There was a diary Ares found inside the topmost draw of a desk, in what appeared to be a study of sorts, but Ares decided to flip through it tomorrow as it was getting rather late. He was only going to do it out of passing interest in what kind of people lived here, as it likely contained the life story of the elderly couple, but it would turn out to be somewhat more important than that as he would recognise one of the names that cropped up in it fairly often. For some inexplicable reason, although he didn't know it yet, this book often mentioned the name 'Appa'...