Yuan Ting looked at his hands, observing the Courage Mist carefully. He felt a surge of confidence and power stemming from the mist, he knew what it was of course but he'd never been affected by it personally.
The Courage Mist was the signature move of Elder Nine Clouds Strategy Mist, it was ok the same level of notoriety as Nine Clouds Purple Miasma's miasma army.
He clutched at his sword and drew it, shouting out to the crowd. Almost simultaneously, all those affected by the mist drew their weapons and pierced the sky, "Fight!"
There were a million different reasons one would want to fight, which were all amplified from the Courage Mist. While the exact of the technique is kept secret, everyone knew that it would cause them to gain courage as per the name; it was the ultimate technique for controlling an army.
Of course, if one held a distaste for the fighting the Courage Mist would have limited effectiveness…but Yuan Ting was not one of those.
His eyes glared dangerously into the distance, he had been affected directly by Yi Sect. In addition, he (like many others) had reasons to protect the world.
An image flashed into his mind, a young baby girl, a child, a teen, his little sister. She had a rare disposition which meant she could not cultivate, a blessing really.
It meant she would not, could not, fight in this war…he would do it in her stead.
Elder Nine Clouds Strategy Mist nodded and Jin and Yan, as the Formation Masters, activated a massive teleportation. All those affected by the Courage Mist were transported randomly around the battlefield.
Round two began.
***
Yuan Ting flung his sword in the air and blood flew off it, standing the ground beside him. He walked forward in a daze and wondered, "It's so easy…"
He gritted his teeth, "Is this even–" he was cut off by another attack. A fireball the size of three men flew towards him from the sky.
He swung his sword, cutting through the flames, each half of the fireball going past him; exploding the ground beside.
The falling Yi Sect member fell down and threw small fireballs in quick succession. Yuan Ting deflected them with ease and easily side stepped the enemy, slicing their neck in the process.
Head detached, flying through the air, splat.
He sighed, and continued, "Are they even Yi Sect, they're so weak…"
Yuan Ting was calmly walking through the forest, occasionally slicing through a few weak enemies when suddenly–
***
Hamar was spread much thinner, his influence was much weaker now. He had to deal with ten of thousands before, now he had millions.
No matter how strong he was, he was just spread so think to do much. He merely affected small odds, making a enemy miss when they should hit, a friend to hit when they should miss.
His causality was being consumed at similar rates to before, while each use was smaller, he had so much more to do.
One such case where he used a more substantial amount of causality was when he chanced upon Yuan Ting.
"Peculiar…he must have good luck. I've not affected him at all but looking at his trail and essence, he's been cutting down Yi Sect numbers heavily in this sector…Something seems off…"
Hamar called to Hou, "Look into this, is there any reason that You Sect is so weak there?"
Hou looked over and requested permission to take over Hamar's body temporarily. He gained it and they switched, instantly the aura he let out changed form.
Hou tuned himself to make sure his aura would be compatible with the aura surveillance grid around the battlefield.
Then he looked over and used his impression of laws and aura to look into many causes. After a few moments he made a noise and bit his lip, "That is weird…"
He handed over the body's control back to Hamar and explained while Hamar was fixing up the aura, "Remember that sub-formation that activated before?"
Hamar finished what he was doing and looked up, "The one with the vampire Baron? It was some sort of Reversal Crystal right?"
"Yes, that one. I think something is happening beneath the surface. We felt that the power was stemming from underground, perhaps the Reversal Crystal Formation activating their affected this whole sector, draining their power?"
Hamar knitted his brows, "It sounds plausible…" he cracked his fingers and focused on Yuan Ting again, "Let's see if we can not find out if there's anything underground."
***
Like a lighting bolt, a thought flashed into his mind. Yuan Ting felt the ground under his feet and licked his lips.
He looked around, making sure he was alone, and spun his sword in the air; ultimately slamming it into the earth.
Sword Laws created a channel through the ground and he sent an explosion through which caused a small ravine to form.
Yuan Ting looked down and saw a tunnel, "What's going on here…" he looked down to his waist. On it, was a flare which he was told should be kept only if he needs extreme help or if he finds something that could be crucial to the war.
He fingered the flare and thought for a few moments before he grasped it and stuck it into the ground. He looked within his Spirit Stone Soul and set up a few laws gained from a candle.
He would use these Candle Laws to set up a fuse, or a failsafe. If he were to not come back shortly, the fuse would burn and the flat would activate.
"Thank god I never followed the brutes choosing to only cultivate sword laws. Versatility over power, always."
He channels his mental energy into an instruction set full if intents and imbued the makeshift 'formation' with them.
"If I don't return in an hour, let's hope it's not because I'm dead." he turned his back and jumped down the ravine he had made, sliding down the earth.
He fell into the tunnel, a hard rock floor causing his entrance to resonate down the long corridor. He waited for a few seconds, listening close for any response.
Once he was sure it was safe, he started moving forwards carefully.