Blood and Qi: A Vampire Xianxia LitRPG

When the dark times ended, the Peerless had to make a lot of adjustments. And again, after advancing to Tech 1. And again, after they faced and were soundly beaten by one of the two major umpanian sects.

How war was waged continuously evolved throughout these events. Oli were no longer considered fodder to be forced into a meat grinder, knowing the best of the best would come out the other end stronger, true warriors worthy of passing their superior genes down to the next generation. Now, Alii were expected to minimize Oli losses.

Having a need for more leadership and direction of the increasing numbers of higher-tiered Oli in the empire, more and more Alii were born.

The average kauwa ka went from a size of about five hundred strong, at least half being raw recruits, down to about two hundred mostly hardened veterans.

Mele crunched the numbers, Alii created best practice guidelines, and those guidelines eventually were put out as a standard operating procedures, or SOPs, by the applicable Nani.

Stories used to promote the courage and valor of low-tier Peerless bravely throwing themselves at higher-tier foes. Now, stories highlighting competence, cost effectiveness, engaging the enemy with an overwhelming force, waiting for backup, complete devotion to Alii, and the like were promoted instead.

That Peerless forces should match and outnumber the highest-tier enemy by three to one or exceed the highest-tier enemy by a full tier was now the rule of thumb.

But the Aikapu didn't and couldn’t change. Credits were earned the same way as in the dark days. The libidinousness of Oli, Mele, and even Alii was bred to be much higher than it was for normal, unmodified ganians – Kahaki.

Everyone wanted to live, everyone wanted to win battles, but not as much as everyone wanted to earn credits and spray pollen.

Alii wanted to award credits as much as Oli wanted to earn them, so some independence was taken from Alii, and the clan Nanis began to micromanage more and more by requiring most missions to be approved and the like.

The Alli Pono of Heiau Hanani, Kauwa Piapa Ka and her Meleua planned a very risky mission.

After all was said and done, many questions were asked of why Nani Heiau Hanani approved the mission, or specifically why it was greenlit for Kauwa Piapa Ka. It was the type of mission that went to Heiau Koa, the clan that contained most older versions of Alii without breeding rights, if any kauwa within that heiau were even willing to take on such a risky mission.

Long ago, the Alii Pono of then Kauwa Piapa Pi had bought a specially designed ship. It had little offensive or defensive capability. What it did have was the greatest capacity of any ship in all the Peerless Empire to go unobserved and undetected.

The Alii had a certain type of mission in mind for this ship. If war had proceeded with the council races, her ship and kauwa would’ve been given mission after mission. Her boys would’ve won endless credits and there would’ve been a never-ending queue to fill her sacs. Honor and glory. Being appointed to serve on an important Nani would’ve been a forgone conclusion.

But that war never proceeded. The Nanis Heiau were in agreement. They wanted to consolidate, focus on subduing the conquered ch'ran worlds, and renew efforts to pass the accursed bottleneck.

The Alii and her Meleua finally thought of a mission requiring her special ship. A great mission. A glorious mission.

But the mission would require higher-tier Oli to have a chance. Only her Oliua and Meleua had made the next Tree.

For years, she hadn’t replenished her losses. Her kauwa was less than a hundred strong, unheard of for a kauwa with ka status. She had been saving up all her points.

All the good and highly decorated Olini willing to consider buyouts were swooped up as Oliuas for new kauwas. The Alii knew she’d be limited to ‘sunks,’ the nickname for Oli that had seen too much war and were teetering on the brink of defectiveness. She was able to acquire two sunk low-Transcendents relatively cheaply, a two-two-one-four and a two-one-five.

But she needed another Transcendent. The highest tier and rank allowed. She’d love a two-three-five, but her Oliua was a two-two-five, so she could only look at two-two-fours.

There were no sunks she considered good and dependable at that rank and tier.

She was forced to look at problematic two-two-fours with red flags. One stood way out. He was highly decorated and had earned a mind-blowing number of credits throughout his career. His record said he was a pseud, but there was no evidence at all of heresy. Still, he would never be promoted to Oliua.

There was also a note stating all he cared about was earning credits and was ridiculously lascivious. She thought that was a strange note. That’s exactly how she wanted her boys, and she thought it was great Two-two-four’s lust hadn’t yet diminished, a common issue with older Oli.

When that problematic two-two-four accepted the buyout, the Alii became giddy with excitement and immediately went to pitch her mission to the Nani Heiau Hanani. She had answers for all their worries. Her mission was approved.

The third most powerful being in the sector was a mid-high Transcendent of the Kaw’n Federation nicknamed Terror of the Deep. She was the only cultivator not of Umpani to have passed the bottleneck. She had been on the fourth tier of the second Tree for a long time and had only achieved the second rank within the tier.

Terror of the Deep was being paraded around the Kaw’n Federation in their capital ship. A lightly escorted capital ship because no one was stupid enough to attack the third most powerful being in the sector. No one besides the Alii Pono of Kauwa Piapa Ka.

The plan was to infiltrate the capital ship with a small team made up of all her Transcendent Oli and her only Mele other than her Meleua, a seven-five. They would be equipped with top-of-the-line veiling tech.

The Mele would hack into the ship, steal all the vital and important information he could, find the location of the ship’s jump drive, and fit the drive with a special device.

If the plan went perfectly, when the capital ship exploded, the infiltration team and her ship would all be safely away.

The information to be stolen was almost as important as what would be done to the ship’s drive. Mele could wreak havoc with the right information. Or bring the Peerless Empire to even greater heights if new pathways forward in tech were discovered.

The capital ship’s drive would be fitted with a specific type of converter. When the drive exploded, the converter would turn the energies released into a type of radiation poisonous to a specific and well-known aspect Terror of the Deep possessed.

Being in an exploding capital ship wouldn’t kill Terror of the Deep. It wouldn’t kill her Oli either. Not much could kill Terror besides a higher-tier cultivator. The gap between mid and mid-high Transcendent was huge, and in a straight up fight, Peerless tech couldn’t close it.

The Peerless were too reliant on tech. Their way of using crystals in Advancement Chambers made for easy and fast advancement, but it made for weak and faulty aspects too.

The specific radiation the drive energy would be converted to could possibly kill Terror, but the chance of her dying was extremely negligible. It would definitely sicken and weaken her. If she used any essence of that poisoned aspect to manifest while near that energy, it would further poison her. And once away from the energy, any use of essence related to that aspect would continue to weaken her and embed the poison deeper.

Only a small team could be approved for this mission. A large force attacking would kick off a war with not just the Kaw’n Federation, but all the council races of the sector. The Peerless weren’t ready for that.

If a small force were able to hurt Terror of the Deep, the Kaw’n Federation would bury the event and never admit the attack happened or that Terror had been hurt. They’d lose far too much face if they did.

Everyone hoped the mission would succeed without a hitch, but most missions didn’t.

This mission went sideways early on. Claxons blared shortly after the Mele finished stealing the data. As soon as the infiltration team was detected, the Alii pulled her ship out. The Oli were on their own. That’s what contingency plans were for. They all knew their new objectives.

When her Meleua confirmed the stolen data had successfully transferred to her ship, she let out a sigh of relief. The mission was a partial success. She cheered along with her boys.

Long minutes later, as her stealthy ship continued to flee, though she wasn’t expecting it and was extremely surprised, she cheered enthusiastically along with her boys again as images of the capital ship exploding reached her ship’s viewscreen. Everything was going perfectly!

Sure, she lost her Oliua, a good Oliua, but with the points she’d receive for both goals of her risky mission succeeding, stealing the info and poisoning the third most powerful being in the whole sector, she’d get a much better one.

And the three other Transcendents were teetering on the brink of defectiveness, their deaths were no real loss to the Peerless Empire. The Mele was only a seven. There was an endless supply of sevens.

Her heart almost burst out of her chest when the two surviving escort ships turned and headed towards her own. Those ships couldn’t have detected hers. It was impossible.

She learned how her ship had been tracked a moment later. Her Meleua stated Two-two-four, the Olini with all the red flags, was in the main airlock and requesting permission to come aboard.

The Alii had to take a moment to calm herself. Her heart pounded as it filled with bitter anger.

Every mission had ‘if/then’ contingencies. For this mission, if the infiltration team was detected but were able to complete both objectives, once the ship exploded, the team was to follow two orders unto death. Mission critical orders.

If the Mele survived the explosion somehow, the first order was to ensure he couldn’t be captured. The second was to then engage Terror in combat, forcing her to manifest essence while within the radiation cloud. That would also keep Terror’s senses away from the Alii’s fleeing ship.

A two-two-four fighting a two-four-two wouldn’t be much of a fight, but the kauwa escaping and getting the stolen data back to Nani Heiau Hanani was far more important than the life of any Oli. They were to die in battle for the glory of their Alii, Kauwa Piapa Ka, and the Peerless Empire

Orders were orders. To be followed unto death.

The Alii prayed Terror was dead or incapable of fighting. If Terror could still fight, her ship and kauwa were royally screwed.

Once her boys found out Two-two-four survived, they whooped and hollered louder than when the capital ship exploded. The Alii had no choice but to let him come aboard.

Thankfully, Terror never joined the pursuit, but the Alii’s ship was greatly damaged in the fleeing battle.

When all looked lost, Two-two-four became the hero again. He debarked to destroy the pursuing ships.

She wondered how the Oli couldn’t see Two-two-four was the reason those ships attacked, the reason the mission would fail, the reason all their brothers had needlessly died in the fleeing battle. He was the reason the whole kauwa would die. He was the reason their Alii would die.

She had never disliked anyone before. She felt bad for defectives, but she never disliked them.

She didn’t even dislike Two-two-four. She hated him.

Kauwa Piapa Ka went from seventy-eight strong down to nineteen strong during the fleeing battle. Only the bridge had life support. As a Diamond, the Alii wouldn’t be able to survive in the vacuum of space. Only her Meleua and the hated Two-two-four could.

It really bothered her Two-two-four was snapping out orders like he was her Oliua.

The only non-Kaw’n Federation controlled habitable planet with a nav beacon the ship had any chance of jumping to was controlled by the aomians, far away from Peerless controlled space. The aomians weren’t nearly as powerful as the Kaw’n Federation, but they’d certainly attack a Peerless ship near any of their worlds as soon as it was spotted.

She was still dead. Her kauwa was still dead.

Two-two-four gave the order to jump to that world without even consulting her. It was her decision to make. She would’ve given the same order, but still, it was the principle of the matter.

“What do you think you’re doing, Two-two-four!?”

The hated man turned to her and said, “Only choice we have. I knew you’d give the same order, my Alii Pono”

She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t his Alii. That every Oli she knew would’ve died to protect their Alii. She wanted to rant and rave and tell him how defective he was. Get it all off her chest before she died.

Instead, she angrily snapped out, “That’s the last time you pretend to make decisions on my behalf. Once we land, mission critical priority is to find a transmitter capable of reaching Peerless space and relaying the data we acquired. Once that objective is complete, we seize a ship and fight our way home. And you are not my Oliua, Two-two-four.” She left off Olini on purpose.

Two-two-four just smiled and asked her to join him near the Meleua’s console. “Alii Pono, if planetary defenses don’t take us out on the way down, they sure will on the way up if we steal a ship. All the points you earned for this mission will go down the drain if you die. I have a better plan I’d like you to consider.”

The Alii tried to calm her anger. It was impossible. “Two-two-four, we’re only in our current predicament because you failed to follow orders and made your own plan. We’re all going to die because you care more about yourself than your kauwa and your empire. Your last plan killed us all and ensured this data never makes it back safely.”

Two-two-four smiled again. “Slight correction, Alii Pono. You're alive. Terror was manifesting like a mad demon. The mission was as successful as it was getting. She could’ve still punched a hole straight through my head, poisoned aspect or not. I like my head the way it is, and I can’t spend credits if I’m dead. The praised Aikapu’s clear on what I should’ve done once a mission like that’s successful – and that’s live and pass my genes on. And I can’t spend credits on you if you’re dead, so I’m aiming to get you home alive.

“This ship isn’t landing in one piece even if we aren’t targeted. Me and your Meleua will fly you and a few of the Oli down once we’re in the atmosphere. And there’s no need to find a transmitter planet-side. I could make a beacon-hopper capable of quickly reaching Peerless space myself from what we have here. Your Meleua is making a much better one than I could. See?”

The Alii had noticed the Meleua was working on something a while ago. He hadn’t told her what it was, and she was far too angry to think clearly. She couldn’t remember ever being angry before. She wasn’t used to it or suited for it.

That she’d be able to transfer the data to Nani Heiau Hanani made her feel a little better about her impending death. “Okay, Two-two-four, what’s your plan once we’re planet side?”

“To have any chance of getting a ship off-world in one piece, we’re going to have to take out all the planetary defenses on one whole side of the planet. We’ll also have to disable or destroy all the ships besides the one we’re stealing. That’s a big order. I can make it happen. But if I’m doing all that, I may as well just take the planet as a gift for my Alii. Since we’re crash landing it’s already a free invasion, so why not?”

The Alii waited for Two-two-four to continue. He didn’t. She realized he was being serious. “The aomians will have some Transcendents on world. They have other worlds connected through internetworks. Reinforcements will arrive. They’re subhuman, not brainless. They could request help from the kaw’ns. Help that would eagerly be given.

“My chair and all our essence batteries in storage were destroyed because of you. Your essence must already be low by now. How many Oli can you both fly down along with me? Five? Six? And you’re wasting my time on a plan as stupid as taking a whole planet?”

“Yup,” replied Two-two-four. “I’ll need the Meleua to either refit my EB slot or mod every EB we come across to fit my slot. Just like in the dark times, we take what we need from the corpses of our enemies. I was bred for this. I can do it. The Oli and the Meleua follow behind me, keeping you safe.”

Two-two-four turned to the Meleua and told him, “I won’t need you to fight much. Keep hidden as best you can, keep our Alii safe, and keep feeding me EBs as fast as you can. If there’s heavy incoming, using your peripherals to take them out would be a big help. Just try not to draw too much attention. It’ll be easier if I can just do my thing without having to constantly check on Alii Pono.”

“Easily done,” replied the Meleua. “Since you marked a spot near the interplanetary communication array as our landing site, I assume that’s your first target. I’ll patch into their network and mark and feed your CSL priority targets such as defensive systems and ships as we move about.

“I recommend silence during approach. This ship isn’t visibly Peerless. We shouldn’t be engaged on sight. It will take some time for them to react. When we reach minimal survival in atmosphere, I’ll carry our Alii and seven others down with me. You ensure we make it safely to the ground.”

Two-two-four’s smile grew wider. “We’re on the same page, Meleua. We just got to get her out alive and the credits will roll in. They’ll have to offer me Akeoli.”

Two-two-four turned to face her again. “Speaking of credits. I have six coming to me at a bare minimum. I’m guessing you’re none too happy I didn’t die back there, so I’m not banking on anything but the bare minimum. I’m also guessing gifting you a whole planet will go a long way towards changing your opinion of me.”

Even though the Alii hated Two-two-four very much, the thought of ending this extremely important and already successful mission with the conquest of a whole planet filled her with excitement.

She didn’t think it was possible, but her Meleua seemed to think it was, and his reaction to the plan raised her spirits, and thoughts of such glory couldn’t but moisten her flower.

Hyavod was far from Peerless controlled space, but it was also an answer to the malaise afflicting the Peerless. It would give a new front to fight on. It would most likely start a proxy war with the Kaw’n Federation.

No one cared about consolidating and building up forces besides the old women of the Nanis Heiau. Everyone else wanted war, glory, credits, and sticky stamens. This would force the hands of at least her Nani Heiau Hanani to fight on another front. A new arena for credits to be earned.

The Alii now had some hope she’d survive this mission. If she did, if the planet was taken, she’d be showered in unimaginable glory. And points! So many points!

She agreed with Two-two-four’s Akeoli claim. If he was actually able to conquer Hyavod, he’d have to be offered Akeoli, despite how terrible and awful he was.

She said, “And why would you want those six credits now, Two-two-four? You can’t spend them yet. We’re crash landing in less than four hours.”

“We are, Alii Pono, but getting all this pollen out of me will help get my head on right. Help me focus.”

The Alii scoffed. “I can’t really get to my bedchamber, now, can I? It was destroyed because of you. Sorry, my flower is still going to be there if you accomplish what you’ve stated.”

“Your flower’s there now, Alii Pono. The Aikupu’s clear on this. Credits are to be awarded as soon as they can be, and if there’s no other pressing matters, allowed to be spent.”

And as quickly as her flower moistened, it withered up and dried. She didn’t think it was possible to hate someone so much. She snapped out, “Alii never pleasure any of her kauwa in front of the others. Never. There’s no privacy on this bridge.”

“I don’t mind the boys watching, Alii Pono. There’s nothing in the praised Aikupu about not being watched or needing privacy. I earned credits and I’m spending them while I can.”

The Alii’s heart sank. “While you can? I thought you were certain you could take this planet by yourself.”

Two-two-four smiled wider as he said, “What I think and what happens don’t always match up, Alii Pono. Now, where’d you want to do it? I’m taking three deuces for those six credits, so you’ll want to get comfortable.”

While continuing to look his Alii in the eye, Two-two-four yelled out, “Hey, boys, stack up your EBs. I need every single one of them. If any of you have credits, this is the time to spend them. I’m pretty sure most of you aren’t making it home.”

Two-two-four sprayed pollen three times well before reaching Hyavod. Somehow, he did manage to take the whole planet. Peerless ships arrived many hours prior to the off world aomian reinforcements.

And the Alii did change her opinion of Two-two-four. Seeing him battle like an ancient god of old did something to her flower.

She was awestruck after watching him fearlessly wade into overwhelming enemy forces. He’d shrug off injuries and calmly turn to face whatever else his enemies were throwing at him. His rifle blared nonstop, his bolters flew around expertly, his bracers clanked loudly together and released destructive manifestation after destructive manifestation, as he killed enemy after enemy and conquered a world. For her. His Alii.

Her extreme hate turned into extreme desire. The credits he won for taking the planet all went to purchasing deuces. As the new credits were spent on her, she performed much more enthusiastically.

Then he left her kauwa, much to her disappointment. Olini Two-two-four was offered and accepted Akeoli status, becoming Akeoli Two-two-four, Conqueror of Hyavod.