Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

Kaze's eyes became annoyed by the news that a Sky Plane cultivator attacked the Scavengers, but he wasn't shocked by it. "What is the status of the cultivator?"

Brad blinked in confusion. "Aren't you concerned about our people?"

"Are you rabid?" The emperor scoffed in vexation, "You'd have me worry about the lives of the fallen when a major military threat may be seeking to claim the lives of the living?"

"I...." The athlete said, frozen and anxiety-stricken by the harsh rebuke.

"The cultivator is injured." Jake said sharply, throwing the panicked elite a lifeline, "She wasn't prepared for the Guided Arrows but was prepared for resistance against mortals."

"Are there plans to bring her in?" Kaze asked.

"No, she flew away." The regent replied, "The team prioritized getting wounded back to Immortal Skye for healing and providing you information on the situation.

Moreover, I figured that you'd want information from her."

"Good man." The emperor said, putting his hand on his Human Affairs Director's shoulder. "You've done well. Now, take me to the wounded and someone who can provide a description."

***

"That's when I pulled back an arrow and shot it at her bitch ass!" An animated brown-haired man recounted, making a bizarre clamping motion with his hand like a crab.

It was not a motion for firing an arrow, Qi-created or conventional.

The man was lying in a bed in a standard bedroom, covered by blood-soaked bandages, necessary only a moment before. However, one would never get that impression, given his enthusiasm.

"You shoulda seen her, Emperor Scrawn." Larkin said dramatically, "She was like, WHAT!? IS THAT A GUIDED ARROW!? Then she was like, GAH! IT REALLY WAS A GUIDED ARROW!"

Kaze's mouth descended, dropping lower and lower by the second as he listened.

His only question to the teen was, [What did the woman look like?]. However, he was one minute into the story without a single visual description.

Still, he couldn't cull the man's enthusiasm. Larkin was an invaluable resource for morale, and he was pumping up the injured mercenaries in the room as he spoke.

Morale was critical. So the emperor listened intently, fighting against his pulsing jugular vein, tensing every few seconds.

"That's when it happened!" Larkin announced, "Rein fucked Matilda up, man!"

"Matilda?" Kaze jumped in, gaining relevant information, "Is that what she said her name was?"

"Nah, Scrawn, she didn't say shit except to mutter in shock about our mad skillz, complain, and cry like a little bitch." The jester replied relaxedly.

The corner of the emperor's mouth twitched after hearing the lax response, clearly not capturing the nature of the question. "What of Rein? You said she was critical in the fighting?"

"Hell yeah, she was!" Larkin exclaimed, "She's one bad bitch! You shoulda--"

"Where is she now?" Kaze asked, losing patience.

"Huh?" The jester said dumbly, looking left and right, "I don't know. She was in here a moment before you arrived."

The emperor closed his eyes in frustration, taking a deep breath.

"LET ME GO!" A familiar female voice said outside the window, in the courtyard of the southside medical guesthouse, "I'm gonna rip that bitch's throat out, grow a dick, and skull fuck her with it!"

"Ah, shieeeeee~et!" Larkin laughed, pointing his thumb to the window, "She's thata way."

Kaze laugh-scoffed in involuntary amusement, getting up to figure out what would make the calm, socially conscious brunette threaten the most disturbing scenario she could think of.

"Thank you, Larkin." He said, walking out of the room.

The emperor walked outside the front door to find the brunette, missing an arm, trying to get past a group of soldiers. "Rein."

Rein turned around sharply, feeling her heartbeat quicken instantly. "Kaze...."

She turned away with a shameful gaze, remembering her state. The last thing she wanted was for someone she couldn't refuse to tell her to back off for her health. However--

"You're free to pursue the cultivator foolishly if you wish." Kaze smiled mockingly, making her eyes widen in surprise, "But first, I need information about her."

"I can go?" Reina asked, seeing the soldiers back down instantly.

"Two-step process, yes?" The emperor scoffed in annoyance, his patience at an all-time low, "Give me what I need, and you can come with me."

Her eyes filled with protesting humiliation. "Kaze, we killed cultivators far stronger. I'm only hurt because she ambushed us.

I can handle this; place more faith in--"

"Yes, we--fledgling mortals--killed enemies far stronger than normal Sky Plane cultivators." Kaze interjected, cutting her off, "Do you not think that would attract unwanted attention?"

Anxiety-laced static pulsed through Rein's veins, giving her goosebumps. "Are you saying she might be... a spy?"

"She could be anything." Kaze said calmly, "That's why speculating about her identity lacks purpose, and we must take her alive to find out."

The short-haired brunette bit her lip bitterly, feeling crushed.

"Focus, Rein." He ordered calmly, taking a deep breath, "If you wish to fight her, I can put you in an arena together and let you rip her arm off as compensation.

For now, prioritize your people instead of a personal grudge."

"That woman killed five team members and took my arm." Rein replied bitterly, "I feel that goes beyond [personal]."

"When did you become a child?" Kaze scoffed in exasperation, making her jaw clench, "Look down, you disillusioned leper.

You'd pursue a flying woman in a wasteland of zombies--alone--when you're missing an arm, anemic, and have opened wounds? You're not even aware of how injured you are.

You can't achieve retribution if you're dead, and you're dead if you leave in that state."

Rein's heart pulsed when she heard his words. She looked down and found that her stump was bleeding through the bandages, and she didn't notice. "When did...."

"It doesn't matter because you're dead." He said coldly, "Now sit.

Once I have what I need, I'll heal your wounds and take you to find this cultivator. Until then, stop acting like an unlicked cub when lives are on the line."

The short-hair brunette took a deep breath and nodded, feeling her energy draining and the pain returning. "Understood."

"What did the woman look like?" Kaze asked calmly, pleased he would finally get answers--thirty minutes into the crisis.

"The woman was brunette with her hair in a bun, wearing white robes." Rein replied calmly.

The emperor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "That means that we must find her with haste."

Without discussion, he waved his hand, and Rein's entire body radiated with a golden light, stunning the soldiers in the area.

They were in awe that they could personally see his healing cultivation in action, witnessing skin grow in real time.

Rein was stunned, feeling the warm, gentle healing enveloping her body, restoring her blood.

She felt it was a miracle and never would guess Kaze could reverse time and restore her limb with nothing more than Elemental and Soul Qi. "Amazing... I don't know how to thank you."

"Fortunately for you, I have the answer to your dilemma." Kaze smiled, capturing the gaze from her vibrant blue eyes, "First, tell me what happened.

Then, lead me to where you fought; we must capture her at any cost. It's far more important than we originally thought."

The short-haired brunette met his impatient gaze with fear in her eyes. Now that she was calm and not running on adrenaline, she realized that she had never seen Kaze so pressuring.

It made her think that whatever was happening was far more important than she thought.