Irina reads the letters calmly in the middle of the night. The letters briefly describe the plans, the route the merchants they could bribe are supposed to take, the identifying mark, and how they are to split up, while the maps are the same as the old map her young master Feicui Long used to reach the place where he founded the village, meaning they are very outdated maps that she might be able to take advantage of. It also states the total number of troops: around 100 between the elemental realm and the early stages of the mystic realm.
Everything goes well until she gets to the squad leader's bag. In it she finds more complete information describing the squad number and the assigned leader for this whole centuria. It is a knight at the earth palace level, but although that is truly important, what catches her attention are the letters marked with little drawings… the letters are from children asking their father to come back safe and sound…
Irina sighs. It is late at night and what's done is done. There is nothing she can do. If she hadn't killed him, the barony's troops or her young master himself would have done it. That's how these things are. As a former mercenary, she knows better than anyone: either you kill the enemy or he kills you.
So she simply lies down to sleep. Tomorrow she will decide what to do with the corpses of these five people. After all, she senses tomorrow will be another very long day and she needs to rest well to face it.
…
The next day she gets up and sighs. She feels sorrow for having left some children without a father, but that is life. Even if they are not yet at war, that is just for now. Sooner or later they will be, and just like she learned in her life as a mercenary in her adoptive father's mercenary group, war is cruel and spares no one. So all that's left is to hope that those who die are from the other side, so you don't have to cry over anyone.
Maybe the other territories, which probably sent the same number of troops, will avoid conflict, and war won't necessarily happen. But with the county of Krötenheim, war is inevitable. She hears her master speak of this precisely, about how the village must grow to help the Skylion barony after taking the forest to conquer Krötenheim. But even without the help of the village, the barony could already defeat them, because not only does it have more troops, 5,500 versus the county's 3,000.
But also, with the young master lifting the curses over the Skylion family and them now being able to awaken their bloodline, which comes from a beast with a lineage equal to the weakest dragons, born at the epic realm and capable of reaching the peak of that realm in adulthood, and with potential to reach the pure realm.
This means that if other members besides the heiress awaken the bloodline, their cultivation will grow like foam, and considering the highest power in the area is peak earth palace, except for the county of Silberthal which has a single earth master grade 1, if the Skylion family has more than two earth masters, it will become the lord of this region. So the fate of Krötenheim is a fate they brought upon themselves by attacking through betrayal and snatching territory from the lion's claws.
Irina sighs again. She approaches the corpses and takes out an instant incineration talisman made by Feicui Long. He gave them to her to burn corpses she couldn't take with her, so as not to attract attention. This time it is to show respect to the dead. It is the only thing she can do for the father of those children, since if she doesn't, they will end up turning into natural undead. Just like the golems that are part of the elemental clan can be generated naturally from the accumulation of specific energy like any other elemental, the undead can too.
Irina gets lost in her thoughts again, this time with the memory of the words of her late adoptive father, Aleksei...
…
A 13-year-old Irina, just beginning her cultivation, stood in front of a rare sight for someone so young. The mercenary group was cremating corpses in mass. Curious, she asked her adoptive father: "Daddy, can I know the reason for doing all this work?"
Aleksei answered, impressed by the composure of this adoptive daughter of his, and said: "Ohoho, little one, this isn't about giving them honor or anything like that. The reason behind this process has to do with how all existing beings are made. All of them have a body, soul, spirit, and mind. In the case of those without a tangible body, their energy is their body. All four parts do not arise from nothing. When a man gets a woman pregnant or a beast lays a fertilized egg, life doesn't begin there. It really begins with something called... the original soul, a soul different from the common soul that sustains the individual's life or the special one that only gives special abilities."
Aleksei continued: "This original soul is the most important part of any existing being. If a being takes damage to it, it can drop in cultivation level, be severely weakened, or worse. This soul originates from the so-called origin core, a core that holds the abilities and is the source of the entire being. It is very important and can cause many things if damaged, but it can regenerate. If lost, it can still be regenerated as long as the so-called four origins are intact. Origins that arise from this very core and split off to go to the four parts of a being, called the origin of the soul, the origin of the spirit, the origin of the mind, and the vital or body origin."
Irina looked at him with sparkling eyes as she learned something new.
Aleksei, who had taken a moment to breathe, resumed speaking: "These origins sustain those four parts by name, and also generate the energy they use to maintain themselves and other functions. If damaged they can regenerate, or if destroyed they can regenerate thanks to the origin core or the so-called cores. These cores are the soul core, the spirit core, the mind core, and the vital or body core. Each being starts with one of each, although they can be born with more and they increase as cultivation grows."
Aleksei then took a sip of liquor from his personal bottle and added: "These cores store the energy of those origins, as well as other functions. For example, the vital core holds the vital or life energy, so they are intrinsically related to a person's lifespan and stamina. If damaged or broken nothing happens because they can regenerate and are produced by the origins. All of the above and these are possessed by all existing beings, including the undead, with one small exception. These are stored in the internal dimension and are only exposed after someone dies."
Irina asked: "But what happens if they are all destroyed at once?"
Aleksei smiled at her innocence and said: "Now, what happens if all of them are destroyed at once is that the person is dead. For example, the origin core is extremely difficult to damage, the origin soul hides too well in the internal dimension which is the result of the fusion of the four parts. The origins hide perfectly because they emit the same energy as the parts they originated. The cores are more susceptible, but it doesn't change much. Even the vital ones, you won't lose years of life because the vital origin will absorb that energy momentarily. And if you can do that much damage, better to kill in a normal way."
Aleksei then said in a voice so low Irina barely heard him:
"Besides, the origin cores have a secret, girl… when you're older you'll be able to know what it is…"
Irina then tilted her head and said:
"Very doubtful, but what does this have to do with cremating the dead?"
Aleksei then said:
"It's simple. When someone dies, the energy of death enters their bodies to extinguish the life energy in the vital origin and the vital cores. But there are times when that doesn't happen and instead the two energies mix, fusing into one…"
Aleksei, putting on a very serious face she had never seen before, said: "Death energy is feared by many, but most would rather be killed by it than by this new energy. And it's that this energy, a product of the fusion, is called undead energy or wrongly named undead miasma, and it is deadly to the living. Anyone at all, including those without a physical body and of pure energy. But also that energy can... raise your remains, your inert body, transforming the vital origin and the vital cores into undead origin and undead core."
Irina opened her eyes in fear and said: "But when one dies… doesn't your soul go to heaven, hell, limbo or reincarnation?"
Aleksei placed his hand on her shoulder, calming her: "Yes, that is true… for most. There are ways for the soul to stay. One, that you have unfinished business. Two, that you remain anchored to a place or person out of hatred and resentment or something else. Three, that there is an artifact that prevents it. Four, a formation or inscription that prevents it for whatever reason. Five, a necromancer that prevents it. Six, a natural treasure that prevents it. Seventh, a special place whose characteristics prevent it."
Aleksei then looked toward the sky and said: "If you notice, only a few of those exceptions are completely natural. The rest are due to external interference, but that doesn't have much to do with this. You see, although the undead also have the four parts, including a soul, the soul they normally use is not captured or the same, even the undead with spiritual bodies."
Irina looked extremely worried about her biological parents who had suffered a tragic death. Aleksei noticed this and hugged her, placing her on his lap.
Aleksei then finished by saying: "Instead, it is produced with the fragments that remain in the body or the area. When someone dies, part of their soul gets trapped in the place or the body. These parts do not harm the soul much, and in reincarnation or wherever the soul goes, it will regenerate. But they are enough to give a weak soul like that of a golem to a natural wild undead or one created by a necromancer, a soul that normally hasn't fully awakened. So don't worry. But still, it is ugly to see your body become a lifeless thing. That's why we cremate them."
Irina almost started crying. Then, an imposing woman, seeing this, angrily approached and struck Aleksei on the head with the hilt of her weapon and said: "What the hell are you doing teaching that to a child, and even worse, to our daughter, you damn idiot!?"
…
Irina smiles as she remembers her adoptive father. At that time, she was afraid that her biological parents, who died in that city razed when she was 7 years old by the superior races and used to be the house name that ruled that territory, had suffered such a cruel fate, and that is why, as a sign of destiny, she decides to incinerate their remains. And although a natural undead, formed by nature, is a rare probability, that probability increases if there are other corpses nearby or if it is a site of many deaths, and a forest is precisely that type of site.
Irina leaves. She still has one week of exploration, which she will use to eliminate as many enemies as possible, although she knows she cannot take them all on. Each of the 7 territories that came to explore the forest brought 100 men each, at least assuming that of the county of Krötenheim, and she only has 350 arrows in total. There is no chance of killing each one… at least not by herself since she has a plan…
To use the forest for this purpose and use them against themselves. She certainly isn't from here and only knows the political context of the Skylion and the Krötenheim, but she is sure that if many die near another force, the force they belong to would grow suspicious.
With that in mind, she departs, jumping from tree to tree thanks to the boots her young master Feicui Long gave her, until she finally comes across 5 squads from Krötenheim. These squads are stronger, they have 2 mystic realm cultivators each, 5 grade 3 and 5 grade 2, the rest are elemental realm, and they are fighting an ice puma, mystic realm grade 2…
Irina is shocked. A mystic realm grade 2? The beasts of higher cultivation are settling in quickly. This she must tell her young master. She has no doubt that he can solve this problem, just like he did with the protection formation of the village in the middle of nowhere, but that is not important now. She has to focus on the battle.
The fight is going moderately, with the beast winning. The ice puma is stronger than a fire wolf, although they have the same potential and when they reach adulthood, they reach the mystic realm grade 1. Although normally an energetic beast needs between 5 to 10 cultivators of the same grade from the 14 mortal races to fight it, difficult beasts like this one do need at least 10. Luckily for the Krötenheim soldiers and unfortunately for the beast, there are 5 grade 3 cultivators, which would be the necessary number to fight this beast, but additionally there are another 5 of grade 2. So even though the beast is winning, it is only temporary.
Irina waits and waits. Finally, after 30 minutes, the beast dies, but in return the strongest cultivators are quite exhausted, both from the fight and from accumulated fatigue. Irina sees this as an opportunity and signals to Kagetsume, her young master's giant crow, to come closer. They coordinate what they are going to do.
Kagetsume nods and quickly flies over the group, launching five rounds of Black Steel Feather Rain, while Irina, 500 meters (1640.42 ft) away, begins firing arrows at incredible speed, even using a technique: "Golden Ice Arrow Barrage!"
This combination makes it very difficult to defend, but more importantly, to know who is attacking them. Still, the group is a professional army. Those who could, dodged and counterattacked, or at least tried to, because the scream they heard was horrible…
The sound of the 10 mystic realm men dying, who had exhausted their energy fighting the beast, leaves them frozen. At that moment, Kagetsume rains down more steel feather arrows again and Irina's arrows hit them once more. This causes the remaining 6 people to try to flee, but Kagetsume is faster. She dives like an albatross catching fish, killing them one by one. The last one left is killed by Irina with her swords.
Irina then drains the blood from each mystic realm corpse, while leaving the others as they are. Then she pulls out another of her family's relics… the 8 daggers of the golden ice eagle. They are a multi-artifact, meaning a single artifact made up of multiple parts, growth-type with spirit. They are 8 throwing and close-combat daggers that have a special ability. Besides returning to their owner like all growth or spirit artifacts, these can change between three forms: a straight blade perfect for piercing, a curved blade perfect for slashing, and a shape similar to an eagle's claws.
These, along with her bow… her greatest secret is her family lineage and her companion creature, the family's greatest treasure, the golden ice eagle. These are what she inherited. Of the 7 treasures, she inherited 3, her brother 4, but that's because he is supposed to protect her, since she is the heiress, having been chosen by the eagle.
Her companion and best friend, yes, "she," the eagle, chose her. It was part of the family ritual. Whoever the golden ice eagle, descendant of the golden ice eagle queen, chose first would be the heir. Her brother was chosen by a male eagle, immediately disqualified, since the descendant of the eagle must always be female in order to inherit the queen eagle's legacy.
In any case, she is going to use her daggers because she wants it to look like the bodies were killed by an energetic beast, and the third form of the daggers is perfect for that, so she quickly begins stabbing the daggers into the spots where the arrow holes had been and then moves on to the next body.
She spends a total of 15 minutes on this and on looting the spatial bags, taking things that wouldn't be noticed as missing like medicines and cultivation resources. As for the ice puma, she gives the core to Kagetsume and absorbs the blood with her swords, then stores the body and leaves as if nothing had happened…