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Post by Duke Satan on Jan 1, 2020 10:40:31 GMT -8
"You're really going to go through with this, big bro..." While applying a little bit of powder on her brother's face in order to make his face stand out more in front of cameras, Lilith Satan grumbled under her breath, knowing that she lost her bet with Luciferius all along. She had to concede, though - the Duke of Satan was certainly well equipped to make his dream come true. He travelled across the entire planet to get the favors, connections and money needed to fund and erect the entire massive venture, he even managed to acquire the time he needs on national television to get his message across to the entire planet. When he wanted to achieve something, then, by God, he will continue striving to achieve it until the last drop of blood. "It's just crazy, you know?" Lilith continued speaking as she fixed her brother's suit and finally stepped back to see the full picture. He only had about a minute before he had to step into live TV and make himself known to millions of people. "Building an entire city out of nowhere and inhabiting it with all of the martial artists of Earth so they could all train together there? Only a person like you could have possibly come up with something this ridiculous." "Thanks, Lily." "That wasn't a compliment." The Duke suddenly stood up from his seat, a wide smirk struck on his face. "Well, I shall treat it as a compliment anyway!" In response to which, Lilith merely scoffed, turned her face to the side and continued: "Alright, so, next time I call you, I should assume you're out there somewhere in the Southlands?" "I know that's a trick question, sis! Because you never call me!" Lilith, hearing her brother catch her trick, merely raised her right hand for a faint thumbs-up. After Luciferius sent her a playful salute, he finally departed, straight into the TV studio from whose floor he shall speak to all of Earth. The chairman of the TV station which offered its services, a jolly old man with a passion for martial arts himself, said that they will try getting access to TV transmissions across the whole planet - anyone who turns on their channel in the following half an hour, will witness Duke Satan and his speech. The broadcast will, of course, also be repeated throughout the following week, for anyone who might have missed the live broadcast, as well as get uploaded into the Internet for everyone's comfortable viewing at any time. Duke Satan fixed his somewhat loose coat and struck a toothy smile. Show time. " Good morning, afternoon, evening, or what have you today, ladies, gentlemen, and creatures of gender I cannot easily define. I am Luciferius, the fifteenth holder of the title of Duke of Satan, counting lineage from the greatest martial artist to have ever walked the surface of this planet, Mark Hercule Satan.
Ever since the title of Duke of Satan was bestowed upon me and I began to wear it with honor, I have considered myself holding a duty to the peoples of Earth in general and its martial artists in particular. The legend of Mister Satan speaks to me in person, and it tells me that a person who bears the blood of such a legendary warrior must do everything he can to foster martial arts on Earth. I am no warrior myself, however. Those who have met me and perhaps sparred with me usually describe me differently, but my skills, talent and potential pale in comparison to true martial artists, all I can claim for myself is a dutiful training regimen which allows me to push myself to the peak of my admittedly meager abilities. And while I understand that my ancestor is perhaps disappointed in me for that, I have resolved to help Earth's martial arts in my own way.
Ever since I first set out from Satan Mansion in Orange Star City to see the wide world which stretches before me, I have met many martial artists, from the wildlands of the West to the mountains of the East. And I have witnessed that while, indeed, there are individuals out there with astronomical potential - however, they lack the tools, they lack the equipment, and they lack the facilities to draw their potential out to its fullest capacity. And, most importantly, they lack the ability to connect with others. Training by yourself in the mountains can only reach you so far, when you don't have access to healthy, vitamin rich food, the most modern and technologically advanced gravity training facilities, and the helpful hand of your friends and peers on the way! That is my vision. That is, and always has been, my dream. To create something which will help push the potential of Earth's martial arts to their maximum capacity.
This is when I came up with the project of Satan City. With my blood, sweat, toil and tears, I have gathered enough capital, resources and allies to begin the construction of what I can only dub the capital of Earth's martial arts. Standing in the Southlands, it shall be dubbed Satan City, and at no cost or tolls, it shall provide everything which a martial artist could possibly need in their training and growth. It shall provide the most technologically advanced training facilities which any one of us could possibly imagine. It shall provide extensive databases on all martial arts knowledge passed down through Earth's lineages througout generations, from the legendary Kamehameha to the most obscure energy flashes, all accessible to those wishing to learn. It shall provide relaxation, entertainment, and sparring arenas for everyone wishing to take a break from the arduous work of improving their strength, or wishing to test that strength against others. It shall provide housing for those martial artists who still travel across the planet without a home, and grant plenty of room for them to open up their own dojos, where they shall be able to pass down their knowledge, experience and expertise to younger generations. And the only price to gain access to all of that is to prove that you are willing to dedicate yourself to your own improvement and the improvement of others.
We are an amazing species, capable of feats which science believed to be physically impossible, and still suffers headaches from trying to explain. And I sincerely believe that all our species needs to achieve all of our boundless potential is someone to stand up and help us lift ourselves up from the ground. As the descendant of the greatest martial artist in history, I believe this duty falls upon my shoulders, and I shall carry it no matter how strenuous it becomes. Like a united fist, we shall unlock our potential and take to the stars in order to claim our mortal godhood.
The coordinates of Satan City shall be distributed across the Internet and anyone who wishes to lend their help in its construction is welcome to join. I have seen the feats which powerful martial artists can achieve with my own eyes, and I know that one dedicated man or woman powered by ki can surpass a thousand construction workers. Adios!" The construction site stretched as far as the eye could see - Satan City was going to live up to the "city" in its name, after all. Over two miles wide and densely packed, with a grid format, it needed dozens of construction companies working at once just to lay down the foundations, much less start working on all of the buildings which were going to compose the entire thing. From the factories and Capsule Corp assembly lines in West City, complex electronics and machinery were safely being transported via air and dragged to one of the numerous sectors of the city. The streets were being paved, carcasses of towering skyscrapers erected in order to serve as the backbone of the apartments where visitors and martial artists would be able to spend their free time. Everything was going just as foreseen. And it was exciting. A helicopter carrying the Duke landed atop a hill just outside the construction site, from which the smiling descendant of the House of Satan could watch the construction site unfold with a smile on his face. If any martial artists arrived to the site in order to offer their services to the construction, they would be directed straight to him. [Words: 1411 / 1411] [Stronghold word count: 1411 / 20000]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 1, 2020 12:05:21 GMT -8
"Since when do you care about stuff like this?"Zaru let out another exasperated sigh from the passenger seat of the car that he was travelling in. Driving it was his large, and in his opinion unintelligent cousin, Burgen. Lina, his other cousin who was playing on her phone it looked like, and his older cousin Ketchin were sitting in the back seats. This was just about the least favourite road trip he could have imagined. When he had asked for volunteers, he had expected he'd get some of the quiet ones. The type who would be more likely to do construction, and who likely weren't actual martial artists. Despite the fact that their family was descended from the old geezer, who was allegedly one of the greatest martial artists to have ever lived and one of the masters of the Turtle Style, not all of them were really into it. Right now, he was just trying to figure out how to even comprehend Burgen's stupid question. "Martial arts? I've always cared about martial arts! Everyone in this car is a martial artist, Burgen!" Burgen glanced over and looked at him like he was growing two heads, and Lina leaned forward, a mischievious look on her face. "He means the whole 'city construction' thing. I've never heard of you asking for any of us to actually come with you to these things, Zarrie. You're always sitting around all glum at dinners." Zaru's face went red for a moment as he immediately responded by raising his voice, which nobody in the car seemed particualrly startled with. "Do not call me that! My name is Zaru! Zaru!" He let out another sigh as Lina laughed from her chair, seeming to find annoying her cousin a lot more fun than just peering at what was on her phone. Zaru turned towards the front of the car again, speaking with a bit more of a serious tone this time. "Look, it's important. The whole point of martial arts is improving yourself to be the best you can be, or being the best in what you do, whatever. The geezer and the old lady help out as best they can, but there's so many of us now. Do any of you even know who cousin Pistach is? Uncle Amon? How about Auntie Hazel?" Zaru's gaze glanced from Burgen, then to Lina, who both looked confused. Ketchin, bearded and stoic, just stared out the window, clearly not that interested. "Yeah, didn't think so. All of them do martial arts, too. Uncle Amon even teaches up at the Crane Academy up in the Northern Mountains! The point is, our family's good at it, and so many of us want to do it, but they don't have the means. A city like this? If we can get in good with the Duke Satan, we'll have space and good facilities for the lot of them." Zaru had his eyes closed and his arms crossed, doing his best to look sagely and as though he'd made a wise decision. His eyes opened for a moment when Ketchin actually spoke. "How exactly do you plan on getting in with a guy like that?" Zaru had hoped nobody would ask that; he hadn't really thought through a plan of how to convince him, he figured he'd come up with something once he got there. After all, four ki users? They'd be great at construction, him most of all. "Well, I'll speak to him, of course." There was an air suddenly in the car of annoyance, perhaps at the realisation that he had no idea what he was doing. "Oh yeah, our star diplomat. Also, I'm telling Grandma 18 that you called her old lady." Zaru turned, his teeth bared as he growled in Lina's direction, only causing her to laugh again. Burgen actually laughed with her, which only made him more annoyed. Thankfully, Ketchin was far too taciturn for anything like humour. The fact that it was only two thirds of the entire car laughing at him did soften the blow, just a slight touch. "Besides, it's not like you'll get in any actual trouble with her. You've always been her favourite, Zarrie." Zaru just made another exasperated noise, and turned to the front of the car. He didn't even have the energy to be mad at her like this anymore. Besides, it was just what she wanted, anyway. "You're insufferable." The giggles from both driver and the backseat continued pretty much all the way to Satan City, at least until Burgen was happy with his parking space. Lina and Ketchin had forced him to agree to not backseat (or passenger seat, in his case) drive, so Zaru managed to keep silent during the excruciating minutes that they spent waiting for Burgen to adjust the vehicle to just the right angle. Why any of that even mattered was a puzzle to him. Still, actually getting into the construction work of Satan City wasn't a problem. It seemed that the workers were more than happy to have a few martial artists who knew their way around ki attending the whole thing; it made the actual construction go far faster to have people who were far beyond what a regualr person could reach through pure strength training. Strangely enough, Zaru was actually directed to head straight to the Duke himself, without even having to ask. Even stranger were how gracious his cousins were about just getting to the work and leaving him to handle that. Maybe they did trust him, after all. Not that he cared. He certainly didn't. He tried to reassure himself of that as he was given directions to the Duke, and decided he'd try something impressive of his own, even if he couldn't compete with building a whole city. The young martial artist at first began to float, but then he actually raised in the air, above the construction project himself. He flew through the air, heading in the direction of a hill nearby, where a helicopter and the Duke himself were waiting. Landing on the grass in front of Duke Satan, Zaru gave a confident smile. "Hey, I'm Zaru. Your supervisor said I was to come see you, and let you know that me and my cousins are here from, the uh-" He didn't really like mentioning it, so there was a moment of hesitation. He didn't even want to bring out the geezer's name - it carried a certain respect and 'gravitas' some people paid a lot of mind to, and it hung over him and the rest of his family. The man was so short, but the shadow he cast was so long now. "...Well, from the Krillin family. It's not all of us, but I think at least several more are gonna get here when they can." He didn't really feel any nerves for talking to somebody so important, even with the self-inflated view of himself that he had. "We want to help with constructing this city of yours, and hopefully make use of the facilities you'll have here. There's a lot of us, and we don't really have anything state of the art in our family."That was an incredible understatement; their grandmother was the most technologically advanced thing in the house.
WC: 1,230
[Stronghold Word Count: 2641 / 20000]
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Post by Duke Satan on Jan 3, 2020 4:45:39 GMT -8
It did not take long for the first volunteers to finally arrive to the Satan City construction site and make their way up the hill upon which Duke Satan stood - the towering, muscular Earthling saw a glimpse of a bald martial artist followed by a whole slew of bickering relatives make their way towards him after having been informed to seek the Duke's orders. A smirk immediately struck itself on his face - what has fate decided to bring him today? What sort of mythical, unprecedented warrior have the Heavens bestowed upon him today, what sort of strength does he wield, what is the story of their life and the path they took to dabble in martial arts?.. The truth exceeded almost all expectations. The bald martial artist, bearing a confident smile, introduced himself as Zaru and explained that the people following after him were his cousins - then he stated that they were the direct descendants of one of the most famous students of the Turtle School himself, Krillin. Right as Zaru explained the reason why they ended up arriving here and offer their help with the construction, Duke Satan released a powerful, jolly laugh and explained: "You are the descendants of Krillin, really? That is amazing! I have heard a lot about your ancestor during my travels, in fact - and, I have to say, while he certainly did not fall in the same unstoppable tier as Mister Satan, I have to agree, there is certainly a reason why his legacy remains to this day!" Did Krillin ever meet Mister Satan? He wasn't sure, as far as he knew, the bald monk participated in Tenkaichi Budokai tournaments in his youth, before the greatest martial artist to have ever graced the surface of Earth got his chance to shine and begin his unstoppable string of victories. If the two of them ever fought, be it in the preliminaries or somewhere outside of tournament grounds, however, then the Duke needed no more info to tell which one of them prevailed. There is simply no chance Krillin could have ever defeated the most powerful human in history. "Alright, now that that's over..." Duke Satan continued, deciding to leave his memories and rampant fanboyism for another time. The descendants of the Krillin family needed a job, and there were a lot of them! "Alright! Since you are a group, I know exactly what to hook you up with!" With one hand, the Duke pressed onto his radio to begin informing the necessary people that they will be receiving volunteers, and with another, he pointed to a giant smoking machine standing just outside of the construction site. Its cabin in the middle was large enough to accommodate a dozen people alone. " That, my friends, is a paver. And not just any paver, but the largest paving machine on the surface of Earth, brought to my disposal thanks to good and friendly men in Capsule Corp!" the Duke explained, then raised his hand to the sky. Suddenly, a helicopter buzzing above tossed out a massive rope through a window, straight into the towering Earthling's hand. That was enough for the Duke to crack a bright, toothy smile. "Even Satan City needs paved streets and roads, after all! However, while this machine provided by Capsule Corp is certainly a lovely marble of technology, it has one issue - it is really, really slow. Twenty miles per hour is its top speed, and those are rookie numbers! That is where you come in, my good friends! Take this rope, tie it to the front of the paving machine and show just how more powerful a wielder of ki is than the most powerful engines science can build! The construction workers will show you the way you gotta go and help you steer so you don't spill asphalt in places it shouldn't be in - so just concentrate on pulling the machine along!" [Words: 652 / 2063] [Stronghold Word Count: 3293 / 20000]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 4, 2020 4:53:47 GMT -8
Most of the time, Zaru could just continue on and be happy with the idea that he didn't care for the geezer. Krillin's name and reputation made no difference to him; the old man didn't even like people to know he was alive, if they could help it. Zaru had no idea, but everyone had claimed there was some really important reason for it - that he and the old lady's being alive had to be kept as secret as possible. So he'd shut up, and just never mention him in public for the most part; for the few times that he had to, he'd just act like he was long-dead. Easiest way was to just not bring it up, everyone assumed he was anyway. Everyone else maintained their happy smiles, and although he tried to for a moment, just hearing the words 'unstoppable tier' brought him back to the expression that his face often rested on. It looked blank and flat, almost machine-like in the complete lack of emotion across his face. He knew where he got that from, at least. Still, he didn't understand why hearing this bothered him - he had no idea how strong the old Satan guy was, or if the old man could've taken him, but in the back of his head, it felt like some kind of disrespect. Even if it was, why did he care? It shouldn't have mattered, right? He didn't care about the geezer. Although Zaru was listening when the Duke was talking about his paver and the job he and his cousins had to carry out, he wasn't so focused on it, like they were. Instead, Zaru was more interested in sizing up the Duke. He didn't think he'd ever get a fight with the guy - he was the ruler of a Duchy and the kind of guy who appeared on TV, and standing in front of him, Zaru kind of got the point of how very insignificant he was, even in their clan. He was the fourth son of the black sheep of the family that nobody liked to talk about; even now, nobody would mention his father or older brother in front of his face. Still, he wondered if he could take this guy. He was pretty tall and tough-looking, that was for sure, and Zaru could feel how powerful he was - he'd been all humble and nice on the TV, but he was pretty sure this guy was more than capable of laying out most martial artists. That was what made him appealing. Living in this city, would Zaru get a shot at him someday? Maybe. He'd wait and bide his time, and see how things went for their family in Satan City. First and foremost, it was a home and facilities for them; he wouldn't ruin it for them, no matter how bad he might've wanted one match-up or another. "Sure, we can handle the paver. Shouldn't be a problem at all. Just let us know if you need any of us for other things around Satan City, we'll have it done in no time." Lina and Burgen looked genuinely puzzled at how personable Zaru was being, and looked at each other in a small state of shock. He turned back to the three of them, speaking firmly. "Let's hurry up and get over there. The sooner we're done, sooner there's a city for us to live in!" Zaru began floating in the air for a moment, and as Lina looked like she was about to say something, he took off, flying through the air to arrive at the paver much quicker than the rest. She only let out an exasperated sigh. "Show-off."Zaru adjusted his grip on the rope, waiting for the rest to catch up and standing at the far end of it, clearly intending on leading the group of them. He'd trained the most out of them after all, so it only made sense that he'd find this the easiest. The others were still far on enough to help get this done, though. "Hurry up and get on the rope. I'm not going to stand here holding this all day." They finally got into position with Lina behind him, Burgen behind her and Ketchin taking up the very rear of the group. They got themselves in the correct positions and began to take stances to properly use their ki when the directions came through from the man actually handling the paver's controls; for the start, it was just straight ahead, all the way down a long stretch of road. Alright, easy. "Alright, on three. One, two, three." Zaru immediately began pulling the rope, with visibly less effort then the other three. Zaru retained his flat expression as he moved forward, and his thoughts went back to the Duke again. He really wanted to have a shot at fighting that guy still - for so long he'd been taking out nothing bandits and no-name martial artists in low-level tournaments, with some of the older cousins blocking him to make sure he didn't take any glory from them. Now, though? They weren't in the way. He didn't have an excuse. He wanted to see how far he could take this - if he stopped, then it was admitting he wasn't good enough, that he was happy with being mediocre. This city was as much for him as it was a nice thing for the family. He'd have all sorts of people to test himself against, to compare to.
WC: 925 TWC: 2,155 [Stronghold Word Count: 4218 / 20000]
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Jan 7, 2020 9:08:14 GMT -8
ADHQ-01 "Blue Thunder", Southlands Sector 32The armoured combat vehicle rolled along grassy fields, occasionally trampling little rocks underneath its wheels, or climbing over larger ones. Mountains to one side, and the pristine treeline of a forest on the other side, and with distant spires of structural skeletons rising on the horizon, anyone riding along would surely enjoy the view. Alongside it rolled at least half a dozen machines of similar design and make, all headed for the shining infant city in the distance. Bearing the silver wings and blue sworded crest of the erstwhile humble Azure's Dragoons, this vehicular formation was protected by a number of layers of defence. First off, the fact that you had an armed formation of armoured combat vehicles. Second, the crest itself. In the two years since they first rolled up to Central City in a similar fashion, established a contract with the King to provide security, and carried it out with professionalism, Azure's Dragoons have gained something of a growing reputation in the Southlands. Third, the automated vulcans mounted atop their vehicles were capable of providing a withering stream of defensive fire sure to shake off most bandits. Lastly, the actual soldiers riding inside the ACVs. If anyone was stupid enough to ignore the first three, the last would give them a rude awakening, even if these bandits were at some average power level. Inside the lead ACV, reorganised into a mobile command centre, Major Carnation reclined into her seat, boots on her desk and pump-action shotgun in her lap as she watched the Duke's broadcast on the hardened display monitor hanging from the ceiling. "Speaking of work with Satan City, Hoss, she waved at her superior, sitting strapped into a seat just outside the sealed cab, facing the back of the MCC. "Are you sure this ain't gonna end up a conflict of interest for us? I mean, it's a city meant to develop martial artists, and we use guns, bombs, missiles..."General Cerola - Colonel Azure to over half the people in this unit - shifted her eyes to lock on to her adjutant and gave her answer. "The long-term proliferation of martial artists is far from a conflict of interest, Major." Not that this wasn't a sufficient answer, but she understood that her adjutant deserved to learn the reasoning for why this was no problem at all. "More martial artists means more opponents for us to test our strength against. As this number grows, so will our capabilities.""Yeah, but... No offence, Hoss, but the gun has had a thousand years to evolve," Carnation pumped the shotgun, chambering a slug, and pointed it out at the open firing port across the cabin from her. Taking aim at a passing bird for a good few seconds, she fired a leading shot that turned the animal into a puff of red paste and bloody feathers. Some of this splattered the officers strapped in near the firing port, much to their annoyance, but most of it fell behind as the mobile command centre drove along. "Far as I can see, martial artists have us outgunned. Now we're gonna do work to protect a place that'll get em to outnumber us too.""The beauty of science is that once a technology has been refined, it can be mass produced," Cerola answered again, "The crossbow rendered the longbow obsolete because its more easily produced technology replaced the years it took for a longbowman to build the strength and skill to use it effectively. And as we all know, skilled soldiers are far more expensive than a peasant taught the basics of firing and reloading." Simple economics, really. "But how long will that take? And look at us. On average, we can reliably take down a bandit with a PL rating of 250. 350 if we commit to losses." And with the relatively poor quality of recruits outside the fractured Golden Gate Army, those losses were undesirable. "The fact that you can just put on a scouter and read numbers off of it, instead of spending years learning how to sense and measure ki, tells me it's sooner than you think."Carnation blinked as the realisiation dawned on her. "Huh... ain't that the truth..."The General pretending to be a Colonel finished the discussion with a simple conclusion. "Martial artists will never outnumber grunts. And once technology catches up with ki techniques, the existence of Satan City will be justified as an excellent source of opponents. As a means for the soldier to match strength with the warrior.""Well if ya put it that way... I guess I'll wait for that to happen!" Carnation shrugged and went back to watching the Duke's speech on the screen. The convoy rolled along, until finally reaching the city's outer perimeter, where Blue Thunder's driver provided the Orange Star City-sourced guards with the appropriate documentation. After a brief confirmation with the supervisory personnel, Blue Thunder and its convoy were directed to a hill overseeing the construction site. They stopped in formation at the foot of the hill. Cerola, Carnation, and an armed escort of two Auxiliary troopers in tactical gear, marched up to the top of the hill, just as a number of individuals, including a particularly hair-free one, went the other way. Evidently, they had already received their instructions and were now off to help build this city. The General began with a deep bow, her long icy blue hair touching the ground for a brief few seconds before she stood straight again. Her subordinates followed her lead. "Your Grace," she started, "I am Colonel Azure, leader of the Private Security Service Azure's Dragoons. Our contract with Central City has recently expired, and we have been searching for new employment for some time now."She gestured toward the formation of vehicles parked at the foot of the hill. "While we might not be martial artists, we soldiers know what it takes to thrive on the battlefield, and understand the value of your project to the world. Our equipment is state of the art, and our discipline tested against the fires of the Southlands. Our numbers are a thousand strong, and our contracts guaranteed. We will stand guard at your gates and around your walls without sleep. Should you need a threat preemptively neutralised, we will assault their stronghold with the fury of a thunderstorm. We only ask that you honour a simple condition in our contract, that we not be turned against our last employer."Simple enough terms. And the General sincerely doubted that such a man would even think of assaulting Central City. There was enough chaos in the world as it was right now, and he looked like one who intended to build a brighter future for all. That said, even if he somehow turned out to hold ill will and violent intent toward Central City, they could always just leave and find work elsewhere. WC: 1156 SHWC: 5374/20000 Duke Satan Zaru
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Post by Duke Satan on Jan 7, 2020 11:32:39 GMT -8
With a big, stupid grin on his face, Duke Satan watched as the descendants of the legendary Krillin family, led by Zaru, made their way to the paver machine and began preparing themselves to pull it across the streets of Satan City. After a few stragglers got out of the way of the enormous advancing machine, it finally gained momentum, moving along the streets and leaving them coated in a soft, pristine sheath of asphalt. From there on out, workers would hop in to smoothen the hot grey mass into something cars would be able to drive on as soon as it is cooled. Sidewalks were being laid down behind the paver, workers were shuffling in to erect benches, lamp posts, and install reinforcement in order to make everything durable enough to at least somewhat withstand the sheer force thrown by the average martial artist.
The Duke could not feel energy, but he could feel when a person was excited, he always had this hunch - and Zaru certainly appeared into this ordeal. Perhaps, after all of this is said and done, he might be able to reach out to the bald martial artist personally and see exactly what a descendant of the Krillin lineage is capable of. For now, however...
"Watch out for the moles!" he yelled towards the family, then grinned. Not any ordinary moles, mind you. The Southern Lands, and this patch of land in particular, were home to a rather annoying species of Southern moles - they might appear similar to the average mole from the outside, but don't let that distract you from the fact that they are six foot tall. And really, really hate the smell of asphalt. Road construction workers in the Southern Lands often share horror stories of having to deal with those little buggers during their work. Would a martial artist fare against them better than a squad of veteran road workers would? That's a question which Zaru hopefully won't need to answer, but who knows...
For now, however, the Duke had to turn elsewhere. A new group of people was introducing themselves to him, and he soon realized that he had been waiting for them for a while. This was Colonel Azure, leader of her private mercenary unit, the Azure's Dragoons - who, despite carrying a title usually ascribed to cavalry units, did not seem to bring any horses. Ah, but that doesn't matter, perhaps they simply adopted that name because of how well it rolls off the tongue. Searching through all the options he had for manpower to the field, the Azure Dragoons is what Duke Satan stumbled upon, and while providing necessary defense was not at the top of his priorities when he had martial artists on the playing field, maintaining order in such a massive construction site was certainly going to come of use.
Having introduced herself and her men, Colonel Azure explained the experience, numbers and firepower she brought to the table, while at the same time stating the one caveat which comes with their employment - that they will not be required to turn their guns against their last employer, this being Satan City. The seriousness with which she delivered this request to someone who only wanted to build a massive city and get someone to protect the people constructing it... immediately got Duke Satan to break out in a jolly laugh:
"Splendid! If that's the one caveat you have, then I look forward to a bountiful partnership! Aside for sports rivalries, I really have no issue with Central City existing!" the Duke exclaimed, striking a confident smile at the stern and, dare he say, handsome looking woman. Orange Star City Superstars will win the Earth Football League one day, no matter how many times they have to lose against Central City Buzzards to do so! The Duke placed his hands on his hips, turned from side to side, and continued:
"I thank you for showing up to fulfill your service to us - but while you are here, may I ask you to help us out with an additional task?" the towering mountain of muscle suddenly spoke up. "You and your lot are soldiers, aren't you? And, serving as mercenaries, you should have experience not only in combat, but in maintaining yourselves - including making and providing food, right? After all, all armies march on their stomach!"
The Duke turned around and pointed towards a series of tents placed just outside the main construction site, surrounded by trucks and fridges, where several dozen cooks and many, many more helpers worked their backs off preparing meal after meal to a line which was growing longer with every passing second.
"There's thirty thousand people in this construction site and all of them need meals in order to stay strong and continue working - and our good boys down there need any help they can get! I know this might not exactly be what you signed up for, but if you could get a few hundred of your lads go down there and help by chopping salad and peeling potatoes, what harm could it cause?"
[Words: 852 / 2915]
[Stronghold Word Count: 6226 / 20000]
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Post by Will O. Wisp on Jan 7, 2020 18:11:14 GMT -8
While Will O. Wisp has a C-Phone he does not use the internet on it often. He mostly only uses it to check important news or current events on the go. Or to play solitaire in his spare time during long rides on his Nimbus. So he has been flying around the non-Demon Lands parts of the Southern Lands trying to find the construction of Satan City. However, he soon felt a familiar presence nearby, which he then followed and began to see what looked to be a city in the middle of construction. He looked down to see the old man and could hear his jolly laughter from up in the sky. He certainly appears to be enjoying himself. He flies over to him and floats down to be behind him. "While your idea of Satan City was an admirable goal and a very interesting idea. Had you tell me before you were going to build it in the Southern Lands, where Demon King Piccolo and his spawn's kingdom is in as well. I would probably have thought it as more something either very brave or incredibly foolish. Fortunately, most of them don't seem to think much of this place at all, from what I heard from demons I encountered before I got here. They planned to start an attack on this place and thankfully I got rid of them before they would have came with a bunch of demons from the north, they were tough but not enough for this old cat Nya ha ha ha!" Will said. He then looked over and turned to face the city that was being constructed. "So this is it huh? I don't know how much it would cost to live here or buy a place, but I suppose I can pay for it by helping to construct it free of charge. After all, constructing with my own hands was one of the many training sessions I did in the Turtle School and ones that I gave to my students. It's a sort of rite of passage within the school, of course not that I have my own interesting ways of training, nya ha ha ha." Will said twirling his whiskers. "After this is all done I hope I can finally be done with my vacation and have a place to stay in, while the time in the Western Lands had it's ups and downs a nice new home to rest for a while sounds very pleasant right about now. You still got that Dragon Ball Shard from that kaiju right? Don't know how you're going to use it power this city, however. I am sure you had found a way already otherwise you wouldn't have built this in the first place. Speaking of which I have something to tell you," Will said. He then floated closer to Luciferius and looked around making sure no one else was watching or listening. "I have received a Dragon Ball Shard as a gift from my father, I have it with me right now kept safe and secure in my bag in a nice secret pouch. However, I have no idea what to do with it yet, but Kiryu said about it being used to make magical items of power. I figured I might also have one made as well. One that I can use my own power along with it to allow me to use some form of technique that wouldn't be possible otherwise. If I were just to make it into some kind of weapon or the like it would feel like I would be relying on it instead of my own strength so I would rather have something that compliments my own power you know?" Will whispered. He then began to jump down onto the ground and stretched his muscles. After sitting down for a while, he needed to loosen his body up. He then turned to look up towards Luciferius.
"I may be small but you should know by now that size does not matter, it's what inside that counts nya ha ha ha. Well, what can I do to help build this place faster? Carry large construction supplies around, carry steel girders, you name it and I will get to work right away Duke Satan." Will O. Wisp said.
(Word Count: 719)
(Stronghold Word Count: 6945)
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Celerai
Prospect
Hey, wanna spar?
Posts: 303
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Post by Celerai on Jan 9, 2020 15:46:41 GMT -8
The Saiyan has been searching for Nal for days, and finally he decided to take a break. He sat on the bench, that was just outside of a store, looking at the sky, observing the clouds, and the birds as they passed by. He got pretty bored from all of the stuff that he has been doing. Then he remembered something. He remembered one of his most recent spars, when Duke specifically invited Celerai to 'Satan City'. Oh, how could I have forgotten about that..To be fair, he had been hearing about it being constructed during the course of the week, and also heard that it would be in the Southlands. Which is great because he didn't have to be on a goose chase, looking for the place. He got up from where he was sitting, and looked at the road ahead of him. After which, he focused his ki on pushing himself into the air, in order to fly. His bright neon green aura burst to life, as he leaped off the ground, and soon enough, his figure looked like a streak of neon green light, swooping through the sky. After fifteen minutes of looking around, he couldn't find anything at all and then he realized that if he tries to sense Duke's ki signature, he might actually find him. Which is exactly what he did. Once he flew around the area for about five minutes, searching for his friend, Duke, he realized that it was a rather large area, and there were people, working down there. There was a large paver on the site, paving the road. But something interrupted him while he was sensing The Duke of Satan's ki signature. He sensed a rather familiar ki signature and once it seemed like he found the Duke's position, he swooped down, heading straight at him, until he finally decided to slow down, and he landed. They were on top of a hill. Once he got up from his crouching position, in which he landed in, he realized why he was sensing someone's ki that was extremely familiar.. because it was. It was Will O. Wisp, or Master Wisp, as Celerai would call him. "Hey there little guy, I mean Master Wisp. I'm so glad to see you here. I didn't know that you knew Duke. He actually invited me here and then I heard that he needed help to build it so.. here I am.""Wait.. did Shinryu accompany you here?"If he did, Celerai would be pretty.. happy. "Hey, Duke. I thought I might actually show up. I couldn't turn down my invitation. But you didn't tell me that it was being constructed.. you should've atleast told me because if you did, I would've been here a long time ago, I actually got here yesterday so..""Man, I can't for this to be finished so that I can use all of the facilities you have and.. guess what.. I've gotten extremely stronger than I was in our last spar. Wanna see?"Without waiting for the Duke's answer, he proceeded to ignite his neon green aura, increasing his power and ki. It caused most of the pebbles to slightly raise themselve off the ground. His aura danced around him violently, like a wild flame that couldn't be extinguished. Everyone on the construction site might've felt that power increase, even though it wasn't that powerful. Once he stopped, he turned and looked at Will O. Wisp saying "Nice, huh.. you've trained me well Master Wisp. You should be proud. Maybe we could catch up some time, or even spar after all of this it is finished." He went to the cat, crouching slightly, whispering "I might have realized that we are pretty balanced in terms of power, but I would really want to fight you again.. one on one. Actually, since it was a three way spar the last time, I didn't think it was fair to go all out, you see. So.. if we could do this sometime, you could see how strong I actually am."After which he started talking at a moderate volume so that Duke and Will O. Wisp could hear. "I don't think we can do that on the construction site, we don't wanna break anything, do we.."
He looked at his friend, Duke, and said "Hey, Duke. I'm sure that the name 'Duke' just comes from your title, which is 'The Duke of Satan'. What is your actual name?"After all of that bickering, he went straight to the point. "I'd love to help you. Just name the task and I'll get right to it. But, I would appreciate it if I could work with Master Wisp."WC: [785 | 785] Total Stronghold WC: [7730 | 20000] Tags: Zaru, Duke Satan, Emargine "Azure" Cerola, Will O. Wisp
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Post by Emargine "Azure" Cerola on Jan 10, 2020 8:43:41 GMT -8
While it was welcome news to hear that the Duke would be taking on the contract without any issue, it was not a surprise. After all, Orange Star City and its people were one of a number of factions who supported the idea of peace and order. Protection of this planet and its innocent populace. Nor was it surprising in the slightest, of course, that a city that was currently being built for martial artists by martial artists would need a fighting force such as the Dragoons to provide security, when the crew itself could do so. It was, however, good news that they would be assigned such an active role in assisting the construction effort, to serve within the logistics at the heart of the machine. This was a far greater honour than serving as a ceremonial at best - superfluous at worst - security detail that didn't even hold a candle to certain members of the construction team they were supposed to be protecting. And while she was certain that there would be complaints from her men, the General was sure that they would obey regardless. Cerola bowed in gratitude. "We will fulfill the contract as you require, Your Grace. My men are as you suspect, equally capable in the area of logistics as they are in the art of combat. Your construction crews will have their rations as required."It was around this time that a cat man descended from the sky and landed just behind the Duke, speaking to him at an equal level. Most likely another martial artist, a ranking one, given his disposition. If the General had her scouter equipped, she would have checked the two out, but that would honestly be a serious faux pas. Her next contract, after all, would prevent her from engaging with the Duke and his up and coming city. And even if you decided to play the Machiavellian who prepared to fight against literally everybody, that power level reading would be grossly outdated by the time her succeeding contract expired. Given the rate at which people on this planet grew in strength, such a thing would be foolhardy... unless, of course, they had the appropriate algorithms to extrapolate power level gains over time. Which was more of an ISLET technology than a Golden Gate one. Not something she wanted to feed to the Battalion just yet. That said, when such a day came, well... truth be told, this entourage she brought with her did not take scouter readings for diplomatic reasons. But a number of the gentlemen aboard the MCVs were no doubt doing so right now, predicting the future "development" of such technology. Cerola reached for her commlink to get the men started, but before she could even tap the little bud in her ear, another individual landed. Saiyan, from the look of it. What with his attitude toward fighting and then showing off his recently acquired power level - ah, the boys in the MCVs definitely got a whiff of that one - what else could he have been? This one apparently new the cat, now. Master Wisp. Hmm. So he was a Master after all. Not a bad guess. Of course, it wasn't her mission to fight against Saiyans. At least, not as directly as engaging one in combat. Not at the moment. For now, her mission was simply to survey the doctrines, codes, strategies, and such of the world's nations. Intelligence surrounding these factors would make ISLET's job easier. In which case, it was best that she actually got to it. Turning around to see her adjutant's frown, Cerola only huffed as she led the way down the hill back to the MCVs. "Permission to speak freely, Major.""Are we all seriously gonna head down there and pull Kitchen Patrol?" Perhaps she had more important things to do? "Your Bourbon can wait, my good Carnation," Cerola answered. She didn't even need to look back to know that her adjutant was already bearing a defeated frown of despair. Not that she wasn't going to be having time to sit back and drink because of Spud Bashing, but because, of course, the Colonel knew why she preferred that they got a low-risk security job. Because there was plenty of time to knock back a few shots. Cerola stepped back into the MCV and reclined into her desk chair, summoning a touchpad with the wave of her hand. The General tapped on the screen and opened a commlink to various parts of the chain of command. "Dragoons, I'm drafting the contract with the Duke as we speak. That being said, he wants us to start with assisting with the construction crew's logistics, rather than its security, as expected."His voice faint with the hum of VTOL engines in the background, Executive Officer Lieutenant Colonel Teal cracked a joke. "What, don't tell me he wants us peeling potatoes for the cooks or something!" His laugh was loud, at first, along with most of the other faces on the split screen. When the General didn't laugh with them, however, theirs became nervous, before finally petering out and returning to silence. "... you mean they actually want us on kitchen duty, Chief?""That is correct, Colonel Teal," the plain and simple answer. "His Grace, the Duke of Satan, wants 'a few hundred of my lads' to handle kitchen duty." Cerola reclined and poured herself a soda. She was on duty. This was no time to be drinking the 'bad' stuff. Teal went quiet for a few moments as he pondered this situation. After about ten seconds, his big grin returned. "Roger that, Chief! I'll take care of it!""Carry on then, Colonel Teal." In a few minutes, the MCV's high-power scanners would begin to pick up a number of aircraft in the distance, closing at high speed. A few minutes more, and the drone of VTOL engines could be heard... finally, over a dozen dropships would fly overhead, unloading scores of troops before flying back off into the horizon, no doubt to fetch more. Those who arrived marched down to the kitchen camp and got to work, putting on display their discipline and skill in dealing with edible provisions. In less than fifteen minutes, the kitchen camp had doubled its output, and most certainly increase this even more, when 'reinforcements' would arrive within the hour... Yes, this was a good start... WC: 1066/8796 Zaru Duke Satan Will O. Wisp Celerai
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Post by Atalan on Jan 10, 2020 12:31:20 GMT -8
Atalan had gathered a large crew of demon's and his human subjects, promising those who volunteered for the construction of Satan City a tax reduction for 5 years. They rolled down the road in large trucks, carrying stone, wood, and the workers towards their destination in the far distance. Atalan sat on the passenger side of one of the cabs, leaned back with his feet on the dash, watching as the construction zone that was Satan City rose into view in the distance. It looked to be quite busy; obviously Duke had made the same offer he had made Atalan to many others. That was great... it meant there were plenty of people to meet while his peons labored on building the city. He would pitch in here and there for some of the heavy work, never let it be said that Baron Atalan didn't keep to his word. After all, he meant to hold people to their promises.
Finally the trucks pulled into the edges of the construction zone and found places to park near ongoing projects. Atalan opened the door and stood, stretching to his full height and enjoying the feeling of stretching his muscles out once again. He pointed truckloads of his peons as they exited, assigning them work, "You, and all of you, go and help with the nearest building project. You over there, go and help those soldiers set up the kitchens. You lot go and find another building to assist with. I am going to find Duke Satan to see if he has more specific instructions for us."
Atalan began walking through the city, some of it built but much of it still under construction. Some of the people working were obviously martial artists from the speed and precision of their movements. Some even carried loads normal people would be unable to budge. It was quite impressive, indeed, to see this actually set into motion. He hopped out of the way as a paver zoomed by with a bald fellow at the controls... he seemed to have it mostly in hand, even if it was a little wild. He had to stop and ask a few times, getting pointed in clearer direction as he neared the Duke. Finally, he found the Duke, his large frame and boisterous nature making him stand out among the throng of workers.
He approached the Duke, aware that he looked much different that the scrawny wielder of arcane magics the Duke of Satan had met in their battle. His shoulders were much wider, his muscles had tripled in size and his long flowing hair was tied back. One thing that had remained the same was the burnished gold color of his eyes. He approached the duke and held out his hand to clasp his in greeting, "Hello, Duke Satan, I am Atalan. You may nit recognize me, as I look much different now, but I have come as promised to aid with the building of your city; I even brought some of my underlings to help. Is there somewhere you need us to start with? I gave them orders to help wherever they could until I could find and speak with you."
[533/9329]
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Post by Duke Satan on Jan 11, 2020 9:16:47 GMT -8
With a big grin on his face, the Duke of Satan watched as Colonel Azure stepped away with a new order at hand and immediately began to command her Dragoons to join the kitchen cooks in preparing rations for everyone involved in the construction site. The cooks and aides working their backs off would soon find themselves confused at the dropships landing near their camp and men in armor joining with them for menial kitchen tasks - but when they had to provide food for thousands, they absolutely could not complain. Would Azure’s Troopers be able to handle the incoming wave of hungry workers, however? Right now, all they’re dealing with are early birds who decided to take their lunch break earlier than others - but, in a matter of minutes, a mass of people the size of a small village will head their way. That will surely serve as a challenge to their drilled discipline…
For now, however, the Duke turned his attention elsewhere. After all, new martial artists were dropping down and climbing up to join him in this project to see Satan City pass. The very first was a walking talking cat whom the towering mountain of muscle had already had the pleasure of meeting before - Will O. Wisp, master of the Turtle School, alongside whom, Kiryu, Bass, and some girl he forgot Duke Satan fought to defend the Southern Islands from a Kaiju. After introducing himself, expressing his awe at Satan City finally coming together, and explaining how he got into trouble with a few demons before he finally landed here, Will brought those memories up, pointing out the Dragon Ball Shard at the Duke’s disposal and wondering how he is going to employ the artifact to power the city.
“Bahaha! Good old Will! It’s amazing to see you again!” the Duke exclaimed, waving his hands as if he was trying to get the talking cat into a bear hug, then stepping back and pulling out a small shard within his trench coat. “The power of humanity, good sir, it’s greater than some might imagine! There’s a lot of trapped power within this relic, sure, and yet we’ve managed to find a way how to extract it! I have no need to turn it into a weapon, to find a way to have it power the capital of Earth’s martial arts is a lot more attractive to me!”
The master of the Turtle School was soon joined by a yet another martial artist who immediately struck the Duke as a familiar face. Celerai, a Saiyan who came off as somewhat childish and quick to the trigger when the two of them sparred, yet one whose skills in battle he could not possibly deny. Turns out he personally knew Will as well - what a coincidence, isn’t it? After introducing himself once again and stating that he has come here to join the noble in constructing Satan City, Celerai pointed out two things - first, a complaint about how it took the Saiyan a while to find the construction site after blindly stumbling around the planet, and second, a question about what the Duke’s true name was. He cracked a jolly laugh and replied:
“The answer to both of your inquiries lies in the Internet, young man! I began the construction of Satan City with a televised speech, whose recording is all over the web nowadays, and clearly introduced myself as Duke Luciferius. Hahaha! But I don’t use that name often, you are free to simply call me Duke Satan! I’m far, far more proud of my last name, after all!”
Since Celerai wanted to work with Will, the Duke clapped his hands and announced:
“Alright, my good friends! Since you seek to work as a tandem, your task will be a strength test!”
The Duke of Satan raised his hand and pointed to a massive carcassus in the center of the construction site, somewhat resembling a giant bird’s nest. It wouldn’t take a genius to tell that it was going to become an arena.
“To me, Satan City should not be just a place for training - the capital of Earth’s martial arts should have adequate facilities for martial artists facing off against one another, as well, be it in one versus one staged matches or in entire tournaments set up for the entirety of Satan City to watch! But you know the issue, right? It feels terrible if the arena underneath your feet shatters into pieces if you strike it or blast it too hard… Me and Capsule Corp have cooperated extensively to solve this conundrum, and my good friends in their laboratories have created several compounds which they hope would be strong enough that even the most powerful martial artists would have trouble shattering them! This is where you come in! Get out there, give those materials the classic karate chop treatment, and stop when you finally reach the material you can’t punch through! Ya got it?”
The area in front of the arena was already getting ready for such a strength test. Blocks of heavy metals, plastics and even weirder materials were being dragged from trucks and placed on slabs in preparation for someone to chop them. All of them were two meter long, one meter wide and one meter high. Some were somewhat recognizable, such as reinforced titanium or carbon nanotubes, while others were esoteric compounds with increasingly esoteric names, but ones which survived all shock tests in Capsule Corps laboratories. It is now up to Celerai and Will to prove that they can endure in practice, too.
The Duke, on the other hand, saw himself faced with a third newcomer - one which he did not recognize at first, but who introduced himself as Atalan, the noble wielder of magic and ki alike whom he had the pleasure of sparring some time ago. The familiar voice gave away the man’s identity as well, even if the extremely buff muscles, taller height and hair flown back did not. Having brought a band of demons and humans under his wing, Atalan stood before the Duke requesting a task for him and his followers to help his cause. The Duke fixed his sunglasses, allowing a glimmer of light to reflect off of them, and pointed to a corner of the construction site. There, a massive water tower stood, its tank almost a hundred meters wide.
“When this city is launched, it will need water, and lots of it - washing, watering plants, drinking, you name it! We need it even before the city is launched, for all the thousands of workers laboring alongside us!” The Duke explained, and then turned his eyes towards the river flowing not far from the city. Over three kilometers wide, it was the most powerful stream to run across the Southern Lands, straight to the Southern Ocean. “We are going to connect the city to the water network of the rest of Earth in the following days, but while that’s being done, we need a lot of water, and fast! This is where you and your friends come in! Get up there, pick up that massive water tank, and fill it to the brim with water from the river!”
The Duke, right after explaining the task, cracked a jolly laugh. “Just make sure you don’t get any fish in there! Especially not the Southern Giant Pirahnas! Those are plentiful in the area, large enough to chomp three people at once, and we really don’t want them in our water!”
[Words: 1274 / 4189]
[Stronghold Word Count: 10603 / 20000]
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Post by Zaru on Jan 12, 2020 15:05:33 GMT -8
Admittedly, dragging a huge paver wasn't what Zaru had in mind when he had considered helping in the construction work of Satan City. In fact, as it turned out when he looked back, he was just about the only person actually doing it. Ketchin was still trying, but his body needed some rest before he could go any further. Burgen was putting on some kind of show, pretending as though he was putting any effort into pulling the rope. In reality, he was just trying to time his steps with Zaru's and make sure that he stayed in the same position in their convoy. Lina, however, was currently sitting on Burgen's shoulders, playing on her phone, which only brought a slight twitch to Zaru's eye. Burgen continued to walk, not realising that he wasn't dragging the paver anymore and being forced to stop in his tracks. He looked up in confusion at Zaru standing in front of him, his arms crossed over and an irritated look on his face. The young martial artist simply reached over and poked his finger into Burgen's chest, his exhausted cousin not able to resist stumbling back and nearly falling, catching Lina as she tumbled off his shoulders. The three of his cousins, and even the man at the controls, looked at Zaru in confusion as he let out an exasperated sigh. "The three of you just take a break. You're not much use like this. Just let me handle the rest of the paving, go help out with other things around." Without waiting for a reply, though he did wait for them to move out of the way, Zaru picked up the rope again, now dragging the paver on his own. After a long while of dragging, Zaru had elected to take off the top part of his gi and his black undershirt with it, letting them both sit up in the paver with the one of the men directing it. He continued to drag it, gritting his teeth as he'd been doing it for a good amount of time now. In that period of time, he'd seen all manner of people, or at least felt them, arrive at Satan City. There were all kinds of different presences around, some that felt different from your average human who worked out or even did martial arts to a serious degree. There were crazy strong people here, it felt like. Some of whom had Ki swelling in their bodies far more than his. He was confident he'd still be able to take them in any kind of fight, but that didn't matter so much right now. What mattered was that Satan City was doing exactly what it said it would. It was attracting all kinds of crazy types; even ignoring all the insane amounts of Ki he could feel flowing around the city-to-be, there were armoured vehicles turning up. He'd seen what looked like guys from some kind of army turning up to help, or at least running around the place. They weren't that strong individually, but as a group, he was sure they'd be a force to be reckoned with. He was a bit more skeptical about them; he didn't recognise them, and he was pretty sure he knew the uniforms of Orange Star Alliance military, the militias from the Great Plains and even Ox-Corp Security. Didn't seem like any of them. Rent-a-guns, maybe. It wasn't really his business, but he was wary all the same. Even if he was just the guy meant to drag the paver. Suddenly, Zaru stopped moving, and the paver came to a complete stop with him. The man at the lead controls blinked in confusion again as he saw Zaru staring forward, at a spot on the ground just slightly ahead. Finally, he leaned out of his cabin, yelling down to the martial artist. "Hey! What's the hold-up down there?" Zaru didn't reply at first, simply holding still. He let out a deep breath and began cracking his neck from side to side, loosening up his shoulders as he rolled them back and forward, generally relieving tension from his body. He stretched his arms once, cracking his knuckles before turning and yelling back to the foreman. "Just gimme one second." The foreman blinked, seeming to wonder whether or not he was starting to get as tired as his relatives had been just a moment ago. The man shouted once more. "If you need a break, we're coming up to lunch anyway! Don't worry about it." Zaru let out a deep breath, stepping back for a second before he took a fighting stance that was obviously Turtle Style in its origin, one hand remaining low near his abdomen while the other was up high, in front of his face. "One sec."Suddenly, a mole, far larger than any other he'd see, burst from the ground in front of them. It was taller than him and stood with the bulging muscles, the kind necessary to force away ground that could accommodate its size. Without a moment's hesitation, a large claw was swung directly at his face. Zaru leaned his head back, barely moving the rest of his body as the beast's paw swung and only hit air. Still, the force of its swing did create a nice breeze that helped with the sweat he'd worked up so far; that, and he only had sympathy for the creature. No doubt this Southern Mole would hate the smell of asphalt, and what they were doing here. Perhaps it had been trying to mind its own business, but was unable to deal with the smell overpowering it. The thing wasn't in any way able to control itself, and he had to protect the roadworkers, who had already recoiled in horror in the moment it appeared, knowing how dangerous such a thing could be. Not wasting any time, Zaru rushed forward, too fast for the creature to follow as he extended two fingers from each hand. He appeared to start tapping the creature gently in random spots with each pair of fingers, even if it only took a couple of seconds. The creature seemed to stop, almost freezing in place, before simply falling forward into Zaru's arms, unconscious and paralyzed. The martial artist turned again, looking back towards the foreman, who looked shocked and confused. He supposed it wasn't something your average roadworker saw every day, and he was pretty impressive if he said so himself, so he wasn't going to act like he hadn't been expecting it. Despite how pleased he was at the reaction, Zaru kept his composure, still sporting a blank expression. "Actually, lunch sounds good. I'm gonna put this big guy somewhere the smell won't bother him. Should only take a second, but call for some extra security in case anything else comes up. Oh, and save me something to eat!" With that, Zaru began to float in the air, gently ascending before his aura began to burn around him, the man flying towards an area just nearby where he could leave the mole to rest and recover, and create new burrows. Hopefully he didn't miss anything fun by the time he got back. WC: 1,211 / 3366
[Stronghold Word Count: 11814 / 20000]
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Post by Will O. Wisp on Jan 12, 2020 20:09:29 GMT -8
Luciferius eh, how fitting, still it was nice to see him so happy. It was also great to see his new student Celerai as well to help in the cause. After all, this place might be where he will set up his new dojo. When Celerai asks if Shinryu was with him to the petite master shook his head. As it's been a while since he has seen them since his recent holiday excursion. Surely the boy is doing alright, could not have gotten into too much trouble. "Sounds fair enough, wouldn't want the arena to break under the pressure of two giants powering up now would we? Come along Celerai, let us get this over with," Will said. As they walking to the arena to test out the bricks Will stopped to look at a bald Martial Artist fighting with a giant mole, common in this area they are. However, what caught Will's attention was the stance he took during combat when he knocked the mole unconscious and placed it to another area. Will knows the stance perfectly well, as he has been using that stance in many battles he has been. And the shaved head could only mean one thing. "You go and start without me Celerai, I like to talk to that gentleman first, call it an old cat's intuition," Will said. As he hops on his Flying Nimbus Cloud he meets with Zarun halfway. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, I couldn't help but notice you and I seem to have a lot in common," Will said. Will then did the same fighting stance as Zarun did earlier, plus his Gi and the insignia there isn't a doubt that this cat is a part of the Turtle School. "And since you're part of the Turtle School as well, not to mention your skill in handling that beast, and your smooth-shaven scalp. I may not gamble but with what I have gathered I do wager that I am in the presence of one Krillin's spawn am I correct? It's a pleasure to meet you, I am Will O. Wisp and I also trained under the old hermit long ago. I am glad to see other Turtle School members out and about helping this world, we all need to stick together in these hectic times. I think this city might help in uniting and preparing us for what's to come," Will said. He then looked over to the arena, Celerai might have already gotten a head start, he didn't come here just to talk and meet with new people. "Well, I best be doing what Duke Luciferius assigned me to help with, once I and my pupil start my break we can discuss things further, be seeing you," Will said. He flew off with great speed as he jumped and landed on to the arena. He then started with the reinforced titanium, he then powered up to his maximum power, focused his Ki into his left hand, and with a quick chop, the titanium was broken from the extreme force. Next was the carbon nanotubes, Will didn't know much about science but from what he does know these things are supposed to be hard as diamonds. Will then chopped at the nanotube with all of his might, although it didn't seem to do much as he hand bounced off, or as much as he can tell on the pure black sheet cause there does not seem to be a scratch. Certainly much better material than the titanium, maybe it can be used for creating a cage or fence around the area. He should definitely make a note of this and let them know so that it can be used for the construction of this arena, although maybe he can find another material on here much stronger than the Carbon Nanotubes that might be able to withstand people stronger then the two of them, the only way to know if such a material would be of such quality is if they hurt their hands while chopping it. Well, time to check out the more out there materials.
Word Count: 688 Total Word Count: 1,473 ( Stronghold Word Count: 12,502)
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Celerai
Prospect
Hey, wanna spar?
Posts: 303
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Post by Celerai on Jan 15, 2020 1:33:37 GMT -8
Celerai chuckled when Will O. Wisp mentioned something about two giants powering up. His power wasn't.. there as yet, maybe it is? He didn't know, but he didn't plan to test it. Duke agreed on the Saiyan working with Master Wisp, and assigned them to what he considers a 'strength test'. Celerai observed the area in which Duke Satan pointed at, and realized that the area in front of it, which looked like it would be an arena pretty soon, had blocks of heavy metals, plastics and some other stuff were being dragged from trucks and placed on slabs. At this point, Celerai realized that he would be chopping these materials in half.. with his bare hands. There wasn't a problem, and he quickly accompanied Will O. Wisp to that part of the construction site. While he was walking, he said to Will O. Wisp "I've been training a lot you see, but I find 'training by myself' kind of boring. I don't know, maybe I just want to have a team, or a duo or.. something.""So.. I hope you understand what I'm saying about what I'm saying. So should you spar with me and go all out? Yeah and one mo-."
He was interrupted by Will, when he asked to be excused for a moment, and Celerai took the head start that he was given. He was just about to get to the 'good' part about being at the Southlands. The fact that he might be staying, and that he has my new people, well.. a lot. Once he walked over, he did a few stretches. After which, he charged up a ki blast. Then after, he crushed it, and the neon green aura was still left lingering around his fist, and not long after, his aura flared up yet afain "Ok, let's see how hard these things are."
He picked up the first block.. which was metal. After which he laid it down in front of him, in order to chop it. He raised his hands in the air, and swung it at the object, and it was.. somehow easy. Chopping right through the metal piece, he picked up a few more materials and did the same routine, well, until Will O. Wisp finally showed up. "Man, you should try this."He picked up a metal block, and handed it to Will O. Wisp. He probably wants to have a competition right now, testing who could chop through most of the stuff on the ground. WC: [418 | 1203] Total Stronghold WC: [12926 | 20000] Tags: Duke Satan, Emargine "Azure" Cerola, Zaru, Will O. Wisp, Atalan
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Post by Atalan on Jan 16, 2020 13:13:10 GMT -8
Atalan gave Duke Satan a nod as he layed out his task, "Water tower, got it. We'll get it filled for you one way or another." He turned and took a few steps away before he bent his legs, and leaped into the air, flying towards the water tower. It was a large steel cylinder that was almost as wide as it was tall and set onto a pedestal supported by steel legs. It had an old faded logo on it from somewhere, likely the Duke had bought it and had it shipped in as a stop gap until he could get the water hooked up, like he had said. A smart idea; logistics often made or broke huge endeavors such as this. He considered the crew he had at his service and the task at hand and quickly developed a plan. He thought he would probably leave some of the details of the steps to completing this task when he reported back into the Duke. He didn't need to be burdened with every little detail. Atalan flew under the container and carefully settled his shoulders against it and began lifting it from its platform. He was a little wobbly at first as he adjusted his balance to account for the awkward weight, but soon enough he had the contained floating towards the large river in the near distance. He set down about 25 yards from the river in a clear spot that seemed solid enough. He sat the container down and flew up to grab the lid and flew counter clockwise around it a few times to make it release. He sat it down a short distance away and considered the problem before him again... he would need to be able to pick this up once he was done. He flew about and found four huge boulders and used his ki enhanced hands to flatten the tops and make them roughly the same size. He grabbed the cyclinder and sat it on top of his impromptu stand before he grabbed his phone to make a few calls... * * *
A few hours later, the rest of his crew had arrived from his lands to help the smaller crew he had gathered. Atalan quickly organized the humans into two lines leading to the edge of the river and going up the ladder on the side of the huge reservoir. He had a few of the larger demons begin filling up imps with water, dipping them into the river with the imp's teeth clenched just enough to keep the fish out of their stomachs. If they behaved maybe he would let them get dipped back in for a feeding. The demons passed the full imps down the first line until they reached the top of the reservoir and released their load of water into it, then were unceremoniously dropped off to the side where the second line passed them back down. Soon a steady stream of water was building in the bottom of the cylinder. It would take a few hours at least for his servants to fill the container using the bloated imps, so he decided to take a walk. He had seen something that had interested him greatly... something like looked like an army unit. He made his way back to the kitchen area, a commissary he believed military types called it and watched the uniformed men and women move with great precision and detail. There was pride in their bearing, and a snap to their movements. Well trained, and proud of their skills. And maybe a little discontent with being on kitchen duty. He would have to discover who their commander was... a unit such as this would be an invaluable asset when he made his move on the throne of the southern demon lands. The ones that were armed had odd weaponry; some wore suits of some sort of powered armor that looked intimidating. He was sure they would be something the demon king wouldn't have accounted for; he would have to find out who their leader was and inquire about the costs and availability of contracted them for some work. He continued on past the commissary and looked around at the other martial artists working for a bit. Some of them were quite strong, but some of them he had the feeling he could defeat... and perhaps he would do so. Time would tell. For now, he decided it was time to go back and check on his project.
He flew back over to the river and watched as the line of imps continued to be cycled; it looked like they were nearly done. He landed with a thump and waited impatiently, firing a few random ki blasts through the ranks to encourage faster results. The imps bagan being passed with more fervor and the baron nodded in satisfaction. It was less than an hour later that the reservoir was full; Atalan picked up the huge lid and carefully put it back into place before spinning it clockwise to lock it back into place. He waved his crew off towards the city in the distance, "Go, fools and make yourselves useful. I don't want to hear or see anything about you lot slacking off or your homes will pay the price for your laziness. Go on, then."
Atalan watched as they headed towards the city that continued to rise in the distance. He rolled his shoulders and stepped under the water tower, setting himself into place to lift it again... but before he began lifting he reached inside of himself and tripped a trigger in his system; his body began growing, his bones snapping and elongating, his muscles bulging, every part of him becoming a bit larger and sharper. Horns of onyx sprouted from his brow, signalling the end of the transformation. He grunted with effort as he strained and picked up the full water container and felt the water slosh about inside, making it hard to balance. He waited until it calmed down a bit and then pushed off against the earth, leaving a cracked crater as he took off and slowly flew back towards the reservoir's original location. His flight was a little slow and wobbled a bit as the water inside sloshed about inside. Finally he got the tank lowered down into place on the stand, almost groaning with relief as he surrendered the weight to the steel pylons. He floated down to the ground and leaned against one of the legs of the tower, taking a breather. He would go find the Duke in just a bit... for now he would take a breather. [1110] TWC: 14036
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