Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?

"Nope1!"

"Oh come on!"1

"No way, Xiao Liu. You and I both know that our family just got out of being the reputational black sheep on the international circuit. Granted, we didn't even know that we had a black mark up until recently, but still."

"So this would just be another bundle of black wool associated with the sheep; what's the big deal?"

"Bruh."

After being reminded that he was sort of from a rather prestigious family that had an intentionally recognizable reputation, and having a lot of time to kill as he waited for the new metallic bodies to cool down, Zhen Liu decided to see if it was possible to use that aforementioned familial reputation to protect the [Mines of Malevolence] from any possible future incursions or invasions.

This wasn't going to be a permanent thing, as he did bestow upon the newly freed populace a whole collection of aether formulas and arts that they could use to dig themselves out of their literal and metaphorical hole in life, but cultivation took a whole lot of resources and a whole lot of time.

Time and resources that could attract the attention of other parties with unfriendly intentions.

A part of him had wanted to just "maintain the status quo" and have his kaijin and zako play the role of Dante's old horde, but Zhen Liu knew that such an act could only last for so long.

A former customer of Dante's would eventually realize that something was different about the place, maybe that slaves were looking healthier and happier in comparison to past interactions, and would definitely try to make a power play of some kind that would inevitably snowball into being a massive headache and a half. Alternatively, there was a very real possibility of somebody or someone on his side making a minor slip-up that would also snowball into a bigger problem.

Then again, the kaijin would probably welcome such problems if it meant being able to rampage like the walking natural disasters they were, but it would still be a pain in the ass.

Either way, Zhen Liu knew that he needed the "shield of reputation" to help prevent someone from doing something stupid.

Fortunately for him, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai hadn't left to go see the main family yet.

Unfortunately for him, his cousins refused to relay his idea to either their grandfather or the main clan matriarch.

Granted, it was for a very good reason.

"Okay, I know international politics isn't really any of our fortes, but even I can understand that it's probably a terrible idea for a notable military clan from Roaring Tide to be planting a flag in the middle of the Dozing Salamander continent," Zhen Xing explained. "Not to mention the fact that our own branch Clan is from Stampeding Bison, one of the only continents in the entire world to outright ban slavery regardless of how it's done and whomever is involved."

"Wait, why are you bringing that up? We literally freed all the slaves of the [Mines of Malevolence]," Zhen Liu retorted. "Okay, the Gallop Brothers and I really have to figure out a new name for the place."

"Okay, we know that's the case," Zhen Xing said while gesturing to himself, Zhen Tai, and Zhen Liu. "But as you said, the wider world probably doesn't know that. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, the mines are still under the ownership of the now very deceased Dante, who had a reputation so vile that other underworld organizations considered him poison."

"I feel like you're building up to something…"

"You're the one with the brain that seems to cook up schemes to deal with problems before they even happen. You think about it."

With those parting words, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai both proceeded to exit the library and fly back to Stone Claw City in order to relay the news that Zhen Liu was alive and well.

As for Zhen Liu, well…Zhen Xing wasn't wrong in having him think about the millions of little possibilities.

Now that he was being forced to think about the deeper consequences of having the Zhen Clan act as the shield for the people of the mines, he could see now why it was such a dogshit idea.

'The Zhen Clan is known for being a righteous group of warriors that would lend their aid to whomever they consider an ally. If, for whatever reason their emblem showed up in a place closely related to the underworld like the [Mines of Malevolence], it would cause ripples in both the world of the orthodox factions and the underworld factions alike…despite it being a bit of an open secret that the two sides have a tendency to intermingle.'

If the [Mines of Malevolence] suddenly started flying the banner of the Zhen Clan, then that would imply that either the Zhen Clan had decided to start meddling in the business of the underworld or that they had decided to make a very public alliance with an unidentified underworld power.

Either way, the Zhen Clan would be finding itself being attacked from both sides.

'The underworld powers would do all they could to not only identify whomever the Zhen Clan was working with and grind them into dust but could also end up performing all sorts of sinister deeds that could undermine the Zhen Clan in devious ways. The branch clan were used to dealing with this kind of bullshit before they became the hegemonic power of Stone Claw, but the main branch was a different story.

The powers that chose to live in the light, righteous opportunists who had a bone to pick with the Zhen Clan, could use this information to publicly try and denounce them. Hell, if they were bold enough, perhaps they would even commit acts of open warfare. Honor and glory were silly things, yet they were also powerful motivators to righteous warriors who relied on their pride more than their bank accounts.

'Either way, my family would probably end up dealing with even more bullshit than before,' Zhen Liu eventually realized as he finally established his web of thoughts.

It was at this point in time that Zhen Liu realized that the only surefire way to protect the people of the mines, and subsequently his investment in the place, was to rely on the one reputation he could create that nobody dared to publicly challenge or fuck with.

He was going to have to transform the Kaijin Lord persona that he had been crafting from being an enigmatic nightmare to an infamous powerhouse that nobody even dared to fuck with.

There are was just one problem with this approach: Zhen Liu had done his job of making the Kaijin Lord and enigmatic entity a little too well.

Zhen Liu had only ever don his [Stigma] in situations that we're either so chaotic that the appearance of one strange warrior could've been easily dismissed as being related to the heat of the moment, or he had made sure to only use it in situations where there would be zero to two survivors.

Of course, these more violent appearances were usually accompanied by the presence of [Chaos] in the environment, but not everyone knew what that stuff was anyways, let alone detect it.

And Zhen Liu had the distinct feeling that whomever did know what that stuff was would make sure to not share that information for fear or inciting riots or the like.

...wait a minute.

'Did I not very publicly use my abilities not just once, but thrice in front of people of grand reputation?' Zhen Liu asked himself as he recalled his previous adventures across the isthmus that connected Dozing Salamander. 'Holy shit, I did.'

Excluding this latest adventure through the [Mines of Malevolence], Zhen Liu had exposed the existence of the Kaijin Lord, three times.

The first time he had done so, it was in the presence of that small time clan that was monitoring Lythero and making sure that his cultivation remained sealed.

While he didn't really keep track of them or their army, he was fairly certain that his appearance was stuck in their minds.

The second time, he revealed himself to that famous Buddhist warrior, Elder Tusk.

From what he recalled, that monk was travelling with not just one, but two scions who came from prestigious families. If there's one thing Zhen Liu knew about prestigious families, especially their young ones, is that rumor, gossip,and hearsay was their bread, butter, and reason to live.

Maybe the whispers of the Kaijin Lord were already in the ears of kings and queens who dared to spy on their children.

As for the third and final time, he had exposed the Kaijin Lord's appearance in the presence of Duke Diamoro, his allies, and Lord Smoking Mirror.

However, a Zhen Liu had no idea if Duke Diamoro was the type to share such life altering events with others, or lie through his teeth.

This was something he was going to have to confirm, personally.

'Huh. How strangely convenient...'

Zhen Xing

Zhen Liu.