There were definitely more hiding in this valley. He anticipated they were all lurking in bushes and by the walls. Apart from him, Jex, and the Nara Cultivator, the Modules estimated between ten and fifteen others.

Nicolai wasn't concerned about them. Ultimately, he had to assault that position above because he was sure they had more than thirty-two up there. Some of them had to be taken out in order for the Tournament to end.

And he had two capable individuals to help him bring that about.

He'd used the Spectral Claw to tear a hole in the clay-like red earth that formed some parts of the cliff, which was otherwise mostly sandstone. It hadn't taken long to make a hole large enough for them to comfortably fit, and now he and Jex lurked within it.

With her smartgun, Jex could prove very useful against those Cultivators up top. All that was needed was for them to damage their fortifications enough for her to shoot through. She was up against the far wall of the hole, watching him with clear distrust.

The Nara Cultivator, on the other hand, remained outside even as further shots rained down from above, the dirt blasting up in big puffs all around her. She'd rather rely on her Silver Net than come too close to Nicolai. That'd typically be a wise decision, but just now neither she nor Jex had anything to fear from him.

He noted that most of the shots aimed down at her were far from accurate. That'd change once he and the others assaulted their position. Landing a few shots with a full-auto assault rifle from metres away was not his idea of a difficult task. Even a child should be capable of doing so, in his opinion. Though Psychology remarked that his over-familiarity was causing him to overestimate the average human, and also that it didn't matter in any case because the Cultivators would prefer familiar weapons—Soul Sense and Symbiotes—once a threat was close.

'How many of them are up there?' he asked the Nara Cultivator.

She stared at him. Then at Jex. Then up. A few more bullets blew craters in the ground either side of her. Each time, he saw faint silvery lines drawn through the air as her Silver Net worked to guide them away. Her face scrunched up with annoyance, then she took a single step forward to join him and Jex within the shelter of the hole.

With that movement a charged tension rose and hovered around them, invisible but felt through the movements of eyes and the positioning of bodies. Nicolai knew they were all calculating the space between them, the moves they'd make if someone did this or that. He was on the left, Jex the right, and the Nara held the middle. Both he and Jex were close to the edges. Him because he wanted to be able to evacuate this hole immediately if necessary, she presumably for similar reasons.

Standing in the middle, the Cultivator had the same benefit but was only able to keep her eyes on one of them at a time, forced to use Soul Sense to watch the other. She gripped her Blades tighter and he saw Jex tense. He didn't, because he wanted to give no signs of readiness—but he was ready nevertheless. But the Cultivator merely took a few determined steps forward, moving until she was at the back of the hole, where she faced them. Maybe she'd done so because she figured she had the edge in close combat in any case. Maybe because she felt it was the least safe position. Perhaps positioning herself there would be considered a power move, in her culture.

'An alliance, then,' she announced, and the Mask pointed out that standing at the back might actually be her way of communicating trust. 'It is not what I was expecting. But I suppose, at times like this, one must be willing to do what is necessary. I imagine these kinds of situations are probably quite common, for people like you.'

'Quite,' put in Jex—with what the Mask recognised as sarcasm—as she stood there clutching her smartgun tight. She kept her eyes on him, only briefly turning away as she spoke to the Cultivator. 'What's that supposed to mean, anyhow? People like us?'

'Well, you know. Barbarians,' said the Cultivator. 'I imagine you fight, then team up quite often. Then probably betray one another.'

Nicolai grinned at that. 'It's surprisingly common,' he said. He didn't need to worry about keeping everyone in his vision and so simply lounged against the wall. With the aid of the Modules he saw everything around him. He wanted to look unready, because he was the opposite.

'For some of us,' Jex spat. 'Like him, who took out my partner after saying he'd work with us. But if you're square with me I'll be square with you.'

'I had a feeling you were both angling to remove me from the moment you introduced yourselves,' he said blithely. 'If I was wrong… my bad.' He opted to keep Cyberwarfare's ability to hack into their comms quiet.

'Anyway, that lot up there seem no better,' added Jex, frowning at the Nara Cultivator. 'So I don't know where you get off acting all honourable.'

'Regrettably, some of my countrymen are not up to the standards of my clan,' murmured the Nara Cultivator, avoiding Jex's eyes. To Nicolai's astonishment she was actually blushing. This girl was even greener than he'd guessed. Looking more closely, he realised she was barely out of her teens.

'I'm Nicolai,' he spoke, aware of a need to hurry this along. 'She's Jex. How about you?'

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'I am Nara Xuejing.' The girl held her Blades against her legs and bowed, pronouncing her name like she'd practised doing many times before, and looking up, paused expectantly as though anticipating some kind of feedback on how she'd performed.

The Mask formed up his friendlier-looking H-gram to give her an encouraging smile before he could stop it. Her eyes widened in confusion at the sight of a face appearing and disappearing, seeming more confused than encouraged.

After a moment Xuejing cleared her throat. 'You asked about those above. When I left, there were thirty six.'

Jex nodded slowly, frowning. 'Then we've no choice but to go up there.' She gave him a significant look. 'Won't be easy. Shame there's only us four. Oh! No, my bad, us three. You killed Pal.'

'Eliminated him,' he corrected. 'There are others,' he added, gesturing outside the hole. 'People hiding out there.'

'If we defeat them, we will need to eliminate a smaller number of those above,' Xuejing pointed out, her face now thoughtful and her tone more businesslike. Relaxing a little now discussing matters she was more confident about, the Mask guessed. She made a face. 'Though I dislike the idea of the rest of this Tournament being nothing but us and the ones who hid up there. I feel they don't deserve it.'

'I'm inclined to agree, those up top caused a lot of trouble for us,' said Jex, eyes narrowed.

Nicolai and most of the other Modules held that personal factors such as "dislike" should be removed from decisions like this, but in this particular instance he saw tactical reasons to move straight for those above. If they started running around out there eliminating everyone, it would be very obvious to those above that they'd soon be coming up top.

'Still, smart play is to eliminate as many down here as we can despite that,' added Jex sourly. 'I just don't see how we got any chance against them up top.' She looked to Nicolai. 'If we try to run up there, going over the walls… they'll be throwing everything they have at us, and there's no cover. I've not got any stealthing capabilities. We'll just have to try and pick a few off.'

'I've a way to get us up there,' he said, and the two gave him curious looks. He'd already scanned this cliff with his GPR and, just now, checked it more closely with Soul Sense. It was rock and earth together. The Wriggler would be able to get him through, though he'd have to go slow, finding the earthiest parts.

Xuejing straightened, eager. 'If that's true, then once we're up there it won't be so bad as you think. I was up there with them, before coming down here, and—'

'What? You were up there?' Jex frowned at her, suspicious. 'Then why'd you come down here?'

Xuejing stood somehow even straighter. 'Because I disapprove of such dishonourable methods,' she proclaimed, eyes seeming to glow with inner zeal. 'And I hold a personal dislike for their leader,' she added as an apparent afterthought. 'In any case, I know who's most dangerous up there, and I know the layout—it's just an open space enclosed by walls of rock—and, if I can get in the midst of them…' She trailed off, biting her lip. 'I think I can do a lot of damage. It would be good to have help, though?' She looked questioningly at them.

'If I'm able to find a position up there and you can open up some holes, I'll be able to support from a distance,' said Jex. She slapped her rifle. 'This smartie causes hell when aimed at a group.'

'Smartie?' mumbled Xuejing, frowning at the smooth lines of the matte-white weapon.

'Self-targeting, guided bullets,' said Jex, smirking. 'Kind of like your Silver Net, but in reverse. Doesn't punch through one, though, annoyingly.'

The Cultivator blinked, and Nicolai had the distinct impression that she was only becoming further confused.

'How dangerous are massed Soul Sense attacks?' he asked Xuejing. That would decide whether he got in close or kept his distance. He'd seen how bad it could go in Starz's videos of the Tier 2 tournament, where he'd witnessed attackers on a similar fortification instantly swamped and annihilated by numerous Soul Senses.

'Depends on how calm and prepared they are, their experience working together with others, and how static the enemy,' she answered promptly. He had the impression she was pulling those words from lessons. 'If they're skilled and experienced, and the enemy is slow, it's easy. Especially if that enemy is out in front of them. But if they're less experienced, and the enemy is quick, and is running in the midst of them… coordination can be very difficult. Soul Senses don't like to mix, you see. If people are panicked or unskilled, they will just get in one another's way. You can probably feel it right now. With our Soul Senses so close together, it is obvious.'

He frowned, taking note of his Soul Sense. His, Jex's, and Xuejing's were all in the same kind of shape—the passive sphere. But where they pressed on one another, they shifted. They refused to merge together, instead deforming one another, each fighting to push out into its proper sphere. Between them, there were lines where the Soul Senses pressed together. He could feel a faint buzzing where they all touched. Notably, Xuejing's had a clear advantage. Her Soul Sense was far firmer and maintaining its shape the best, though that shape was also smaller than normal, an ovoid rather than a sphere.

That in mind, a number of Cultivators all trying to hit the same target would be in danger of getting in one another's way. If anything, the problem would become worse if the target was right in the midst of them. Just as she'd said.

Useful information. He was surprised she'd shared it so easily. This also explained what he'd witnessed in Tournament Two. That had been pretty much the ideal; the Tier 2's should all be experienced, and they'd been attacking lone individuals outside their fortifications who'd been trying to break through.

'How do you think those up top will fare at coordinating?'

Xuejing smirked. 'They're Tier 1. I'd have low expectations. Well, actually…' She tapped her chin. 'Some of them are quite skilled. But the majority are merely above average.'

Nicolai's H-gram smiled back. 'In that case, I'll join you up there.'

He sent his Soul Sense out to examine the earth and stone around them, and added in some scans with his GPR. Xuejing, noting the movement of his Soul Sense, tensed slightly. She still held those Blades in her hands, though angled down, but she wasn't close enough to attack him before he could react. If she were to suddenly move closer, he would strike.

The cliff was mostly earth with rock mixed in, especially closer to the surface where they were now. Farther in, it became pure rock. Simulations concluded that the Wriggler was capable of moving him up through the earth, so long as he manoeuvred around the rockier parts. If it was able to bring the other two with him, then he and the Modules had an actionable plan.

He explained to the other two, neither of whom seemed particularly happy about what the plan would imminently involve, but neither came up with any better ideas.

'Ready?' he asked. The others nodded.

They raised their weapons, Symbiotes rippling.

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