The Primal Hunter

War…

War never changes…

Except for when a group of five extremely powerful beings decide to just fuck shit up. In cases like that, war would very much change, and not for the better. At least not for those already involved in the war.

Floating far above one of the smaller battlefields of the Vast Plateau, this group of five appeared as the fighting was ongoing. There were only a few hundred on both sides at this point, primarily because most of the weaker C-grades were already dead. The fighting also didn’t happen as one would usually expect from a war like this in the multiverse, which, for reference, was quite a bit different compared to wars on Earth before the system.

Usually, based on what Jake had read, even if an all-out war did happen at the beginning of a conflict, it would often devolve into a standstill. The most powerful beings on both sides would be hesitant to enter the fray out of fear that they would be teamed up on by the most powerful people on the opposing side.

This resulted in the weaker C-grades fighting in a big skirmish, with the stronger ones standing back for the most part. Only when it was clear one side would win the stronger people would step in, and even then, it was done with caution.

To become a C-grade, one had to have walked far on one’s Path. C-grades were not weak in even the context of the multiverse, and only a scarce few of the enlightened races would ever manage to reach it. It was only natural that someone would be careful after making it that far and not want to die needlessly in some big war just because thirty people decided to attack them at once.

Due to all this, what usually happened in big wars after the slaughter of those on the weak side was that the strong ones would only do smaller skirmishes. If one side sent out three fighters, the other side would respond with three in kind. If one died, the one with a death would send out another. If it could be avoided, neither side wanted to send out a fourth to get a numerical advantage because all that would result in the other side doing the same, making it a four versus four now.

If more was sent out, it could quickly become a five versus five, then six, seven… until suddenly everyone was fighting at once, and none of them wanted that. Big wars like that were simply horrible for the individual. As a C-grade, everyone had a strong sense of self-preservation, and entering a conflict where you could get unlucky and have a hundred people decide to attack you at once was not fun for anyone involved.

Even if one side did have a numerical advantage, such as having six hundred fighters while the other only had five hundred, the larger group wouldn’t just rush in. Sure, they would more likely than not win, but how many of them would die? Half? To the individual, the danger was simply too large, resulting in an all-out fight pretty much never happening.

This was also how war and just single battles during the war could last for extreme lengths of time. It was more akin to a sequence of duels between fighters from opposing factions, with neither side ever running out as they kept up getting new fighters to join them. At least, this is what Jake read as part of the explanation why factions like the Risen and Holy Church could have ongoing battlefields for thousands of years. This entire structure of war was also far more beneficial, as it allowed those fighting to improve more and gain Records without risking just getting unlucky and dying during a massive skirmish.

All this had to be clarified to understand why the wars on this floor were... off. When Jake and company arrived at this first battlefield, expecting things to be pretty calm, with things proceeding as usual, they instead found around a thousand total C-grades in a massive skirmish, just trying to tear each other apart.

There was no structure, no caution, just reckless fighting. Jake was really taken aback until he felt something, and he wasn’t the only one, either.

“Their souls are… polluted,” the Fallen King noted.

“I sense a negative energy inflicting them, affecting their mental states,” Dina also added.

“It’s a curse,” Jake finally said. “And a pretty damn powerful one at that. I can’t say for sure, but I get the feeling it’s there to amplify hatred for the other empire. At least that would explain what we’re seeing right now.”

is coming together, huh,” the Sword Saint said. “This entire conflict is truly manufactured. But, this does make me wonder… if these Twin Emperors want everyone to kill each other during these battlefields, won’t we

plan?” Jake grinned. “To let them do whatever they plan on doing and let them get as powerful as possible… to then have a proper damn fight to finish out

smiled. “I just wanted to make

“Ree?” Sylphie asked.

an end to this war once and for

no fighters alive on either side,” the

whoever is behind it all,”

further ado, Jake pulled out his bow as the others also prepared to enter the

weaker side of this world. At least of the remaining survivors after the Twin Emperors had borderline wiped out the population of the Vast Plateau with

as they flew through the sky, sometimes crashing into each other as groups spiraled toward the ground. Whenever someone seemed to have a flash of clarity from the curse and tried to escape, they were hunted down.

an Arcane Powershot, Jake took down one C-grade before he even had a chance to react. The Sword Saint dove in from the side to pick off some of the ranged fighters, while the Fallen King and Sylphie dove straight into the middle of it all and unleashed their skills. Dina had the unfortunate job of watching

report any instances of

the others just become more fighters of the enemy side for both factions. The entire situation was also so damn chaotic that even if some of the C-grades did notice Jake and company weren’t part of either faction, they didn’t exactly have the opportunity to voice this

to their existing injuries.

to incite more fighting, but soon enough, they noticed a clear target on their backs. Not necessarily because they were a third party interfering in the battle but because of the small size of their group. In a battle where two groups had over a hundred each and a third group only had five, they would definitely stick out as the weaker prey,

not in

fighting starts now,” Jake said through

hesitation. “Focus on the left group and get

around to get behind the group on the left, putting them between their party and the other faction. Sylphie helped as a wind tunnel was created, and while their movements weren’t quite

as arrows, crescent blades of water, and wind, along with golden shockwaves, rolled onto the army in front of them. Jake

with longevity in mind,” the Sword Saint reiterated, as they were very much taking this first battle as a

all out,” Jake made sure to explain as

the Sword Saint’s elementary plan, one group was rapidly wiped out as they were attacked from both sides. When desperation set in, some did break completely free from the curse, but at that point, it was too late. Jake and company made sure to not advance too much during this fight, resulting in many from the other faction also dying. Those who managed to survive till

groups of soldiers and groups coming as reinforcement to other battlefields spread throughout the Vast Plateau. One of them even had a map detailing the few closest battlefields. Through some extrapolation, In total, there were at least thirty active battlefields,

regard to the placements of these battlefields. They weren’t in a line as expected if two factions with borders fought but were far too spread out throughout the Vast Plateau. Jake began to consider if they were maybe placed purposefully to set up some form of large magic circle, but he couldn’t make that fit either with

where more curse and death energy than usual had already begun to appear, Jake questioned how it happened so fast. He and Dina had already talked about

treasure of some kind, hidden in the middle of the battlefield, pretty deep underground. With the help of Dina, they quickly dug it

ancient bones long-buried here. Bones that are connected to the land. It creates a field that seals in the soul energy of those who die in a ruthless way… which often results in the birth of curses or undead

across one