Foundation of Smoke and Steel

Chapter 154

Nathan LiNathan Li had come to a very important conclusion.

His brother-in-law was a terrifying evil genius.

No—strike that.

His brother-in-law was a magnificently awesome, terrifying evil genius.

That was the only accurate phrasing.

The man had modified flying carriages so they could draw mana straight out of the air. Since when could you just do that? Mana came from cores, ley lines, arrays—everyone knew that. And yet, with that crazy machine of his, his brother-in-law straight-up modified the arrays and glyphs to do something impossible like he was fixing a nick in a blade.

It was so cool.

It was how they flew over half the southern lands like gravity was a polite suggestion, and not even having to stop and refill that often.

And that was just the start.

Before they decided to come and save their scary sister and his brother-in-law’s siblings, the battle units had really gotten their coordination down.

He’d built entire units around a system that let cultivators fight in support-based units. Not just stand in a line and throw spells or stab with spears, but real formations through connection. Rotations and support. Feedback and mana sharing. Nathan had seen his brothers and retainers fight before with great effect; that was to be expected. The Li family cultivators were among the best in the Empire. But no one had seen what the brothers and unit-based cultivators were exhibiting now. Gavin called down fire support from the sky with the kind of destructive precision unseen from any but the most powerful among their kind. Lucas was leading and coordinating ground movement, fighting, supporting, and countering attacks, all while cutting through orcs like he’d been born with a sword in his hands. And then there was Nathan himself, who had become more powerful, sleek, and dangerous than ever and more than anyone his age had any right to be.

All this because their brother-in-law had the creativity and the audacity to create a machine that literally gave them everything: plans, resources, probabilities and contingencies. Pretty much eveything they needed in a way that made total and absolute sense.

But was their brother-in-law content with that? Nope. The sword saint in the making wasn’t content with simply creating the impossible. He had to the impossible as well. And the weapon he created was —the impossible.

That ridiculous mana-scatter explodey thing. Nathan still didn’t have a real name for it, but he was pretty sure that at close range it hit harder than most Level Six or even Seven battle spells. Maybe stronger. Definitely louder. Certainly more satisfying then just about anything he had personally seen.

The of that weapon was literally the most beautiful thing Nathan had ever heard.

And because of that weapon, Nathan had watched the Murai commander get his head removed like it owed the universe money.

Absolutely insane and totally awesome.

To add to the evil awesomeness that was his brother-in-law, he landed on the battlefield in real time and took total command of everything and everyone, including his scary sister.

His brother-in-law hadn’t asked for permission. He just issued orders like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And Nathan’s scary sister had actually listened. It was like watching a pig suddenly stand up and talk. That was how jarring it was. Instead of yelling, threatening to cut him, or freezing the ground under his feet out of spite, Vivian Li listened to her husband and moved.

Which led to Nathan’s conclusion. The fact alone that Vivian Li listened to her husband—even ignoring everything else—was enough to make Nathan suspicious.

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Nathan had a sudden thought and squinted at his brother-in-law, trying to see if there were horns hidden somewhere. Maybe glowing eyes. Some subtle demonic mark.

Because Nathan had just realized his brother-in-law might actually be a demon.

That was totally possible. And if his brother-in-law was a demon, Nathan had to think about his options.

Nathan considered this reality. Being a demon didn’t sound that bad, honestly. You got to blow things up, cut enemies apart, laugh a lot, and steal stuff, which was super fun. The only downside was hurting innocent people, and Nathan wasn’t really into that.

But maybe, JUST maybe, if he were lucky...he could follow his brother-in-law into demonhood and then convince him they should kill the demons instead.

Yes....who doesn't love a good double cross??

That sounded like a solid contingency plan.

He nodded to himself. If his brother-in-law ended up being a demon, he would follow him into the demon army. If he couldn’t convince his brother-in-law to cut the demons, at least he would be able to fight Alaric.

Nathan grinned, pleased with himself, and confirmed with Lazarus. Yep, Lazarus was on board. Damn, how did people exist without Lazarus? Idiots. All of them. Every last one.

After the Murai fell—and that stupid sword-spirit armor finally failed and that bastard hit the ground—everything unraveled fast. Red orcs broke. Sword demons scattered. The Wardens of Serra pushed forward like a mountain avalanche. The Imperial Bowcasters turned the retreat into a massacre.

That was how Nathan found himself on the battlefield, wiping blood from his cheek, grinning.

“Well,” he said cheerfully, watching his brother-in-law pick up his sword, wipe it clean, give it a respectful bow, and then murmur an apology to the dead enemy, “that was fun.”

Afterward, he turned to Nathan.

“You did good, little brother. You did real good.”

Nathan blinked.

“I did good?” he echoed. “I lost to that pig-belly. But you—you shot that guy’s head off. That was amazing. Do you know how hard Murai are to kill in full armor?”

His brother-in-law just smiled, calm as ever.

Then Nathan noticed his sister approaching.

His scary sister.

And the red-haired woman beside her.

Nathan stared.

Oh.

Right.

That woman.

She looked like she had stepped straight out of a battlefield painting and then set the painting on fire. Her clothes were torn and scorched—not enough to slow her down, just enough to show how hard she had been fighting. Fabric clung where it should not have, hung loose where it had been burned away, and every rip seemed to frame motion rather than hide it. Soot streaked her skin in sharp contrast against pale muscle, sweat catching the light along her collarbone and down the curve of her ribs.

Her posture was all confidence and violence held on a leash. One hip angled forward, weight balanced for another strike, fire still curling lazily around her fan as if it belonged there. Her hair was a wild red spill down her back, half singed, half loose, catching the glow of spelllight like embers.

And yes.

Nathan mentally adjusted his priorities.

An extremely impressive chest, rising and falling with steady, unbothered breaths, utterly unapologetic about existing in the middle of a war zone.

Lazarus instantly approved, and why wouldn’t he? She was fire and beauty and confidence and an absolute menace.

Nathan blinked once, letting his grin take over as he felt a spike in the woman’s mana. She was powerful, with a higher cultivation than him. He liked that.

“Well,” he muttered under his breath, “that explains a lot.”

Yep.

Decision made.

She was absolutely going to be his next woman.

How lucky for her. Man he was generous.

His brother-in-law finished sheathing his sword and turned toward Vivian. His scary sister looked unsure, like she didn’t know what to do or where to look.

It made Nathan gape. Nathan had never seen her hesitate like that on anything, probably in her life. Her face started at brother-in-law’s and turned… pink.

Pink?

Nathan’s brain screeched to a halt.

Was she blushing? Did his sister blush? Was she even capable of that? Did people with no feelings know how to blush? What is happening right now?

He leaned closer, squinting.

“Huh,” he muttered. “I didn’t know you had actual blood in your veins. I thought it was just ice and spite.”

Scary sister instantly shifted and shot him a glare that promised death later. His brother-in-law raised an eyebrow, smile warm and genuine. He did look especially handsome today.

Had he always looked like that?

Nathan frowned.

That was unfair, being that handsome.

“Wife,” his brother-in-law said easily. “We can talk later. Right now, you’re injured. I’ll get you back to the fortress. We’ve got work to do. People to talk to.”

Scary sister nodded, still pink, and reached for her brother-in-law’s sleeve.

Nathan’s eyes widened.

What. The. Actual. F***.

Now that was unexpected.

Nathan briefly wondered if his scary sister might be a demon or at least possessed because he had never seen her act like this—ever.

He considered stabbing her just to be sure, then dismissed the idea immediately. If he was wrong, she’d kill him. And Lazarus would be lonely.

That simply wouldn’t do.

Nathan clapped his hands together, grinning as the battlefield finally went quiet.

“Well,” he said brightly, “that was fun.”

And whatever else happened next, Nathan Li was absolutely certain of one thing.

Following his brother-in-law was going to be very entertaining.