Elder Cultivator

Fatigue was slowly building on Anton… but he imagined that the fatigue on the dual-sect that had attacked them was far worse. Because it was far easier to attack a thousand or a million times than to be attacked so many times… and be able to do nothing about it.

There had been some consideration given that, with Anton’s range, they could eventually take out all of the Imbued Fragments and Broad Eyed Harvesters without risking more of their own people. However, the enemy’s movements made that an impossibility. Many fleets were targeting their own systems and the defensive war was harder on them. If the Lower Realms Alliance gave up their initiative, the enemy might be best served by focusing only on offense. If their various fleets banded together to target just a single system, they might not be able to withstand the assault.

That wasn’t the only potential danger. While Anton was immensely strong around a bound star, their enemies weren’t completely without options. They had been consolidating fleets together… and the surrounding systems had begun to combine their planets as well.

It was clear that it was extremely energy intensive for the planets to move and build upon each other’s defenses, but Anton alone couldn’t cause much damage though the combined barriers.

Fortunately, not every system reacted with the same speed and the Alliance was able to target those that adapted more slowly. Before the enemy could consolidate too many of their forces, they managed to take apart some of the isolated systems.

They still found it possible to take on the systems with consolidated planetary mass, but they had to draw out the enemy fleets, causing as much damage as possible while minimizing their own losses. Then they retreated, taking advantage of the relative immobility of the planets.

Anton was now focusing much of his efforts on fleets traveling between systems. It wasn’t always possible for their own fleets to cut off the enemy movements, and their forces seemed to be gathering in one particular system.

Ever since he saw it, Anton knew it would be a critical system… and their greatest problem. That was the system with the star being encapsulated and slowly drained. Ocreaf, according to the local naming. The project hadn’t advanced in any measurable way in the relatively short time the war had been ongoing- a project like that likely took centuries- but it wasn’t completion that was the threat. It was its mere existence, what it represented. And of course the fleets and shells of planets gathered near it.

In any other situation it would have been vulnerable- even some other sort of megastructure could easily be taken down by a starbinding cultivator. But one connected to the star? The risks of destabilization were high, and Varghese had personally experienced the dangers that came along with that with Zunrose. While the sects might not prefer that their star was destroyed, it was possible they were crazy enough- and it was a decent defense against starbinding cultivators. Anton was in reach of the system, but he wouldn’t be maximally effective.

Before they could attempt to deal with them, however, it was best to ensure they had no backup. And from what they’d seen of the attacks on their system, this wasn’t a war where there could be a peaceful end. Unlike with Zunrose, these sects couldn’t be ignorant of what they were doing.

-----

An arrow pierced through the stars, striking a lone ship traveling between systems. Normally, that would have been the point where the arrow pierces through the ship’s barriers and hull before exploding inside of it… but instead it was snuffed out.

For a moment, Anton thought he’d fully exhausted himself without noticing. But taking a moment to check his current stores of energy, he didn’t seem to be empty. Forming a Spirit Arrow in front of him, it was if not full power at least ninety percent of what he expected. He still needed to rest. But before that, he had to figure out what was going on with that ship.

His consciousness flew with his arrow, but instead of crashing into his target he spun around it. It would make his intentions obvious, but his normal senses could only lock onto the ship’s location from a distance, revealing few details except for cultivation auras and the like. They were enemies, so he had attempted to destroy them.

The ship was certainly larger than normal, but size didn’t necessarily equate to durability. Indeed, a large ship had to spread its barriers more thinly, and a ship with a grand scale could often have a thinner hull to save on weight. Though that wasn’t the case with the Imbued Fragments.

It was a metal ship, and it only took Anton a good ponder to surmise what he was looking at. He would have come to the conclusion more quickly if it were a smaller ship, but at that scale… he hadn’t expected to find worldheart. Looking at the bow in his hand, it measured in the low number of kilograms. Anton knew that his bow was not made of a full worldheart, but the size contrast was staggering.

The Lower Realms Alliance was quite adamant on not harvesting worldhearts, because that involved destroying a planet that had occupants. Technically the planet didn’t have to be destroyed, but harvesting the worldheart would turn them into a dead planet. Obviously, these sects had no problem with that as they had been scooping out the majority of their planets, not leaving even the entirety of their surface. Still, Anton hadn’t expected them to have such a massive ship. What worried him more was the possibility that it wasn’t the only one.

Anton would need to consult with Varghese, once he returned. And of course, he would be passing the information along to the rest of the Alliance. They might have more subtle plans.

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Varghese’s first thought was to test if worldheart was magnetic. It was a reasonable question, since many metals weren’t to any significant degree.

Anton’s bow flew out of his grip- though he could have easily stopped it if he wanted to. “Well that answers one thing,” Anton said. “But I can’t imagine it’s enough on its own.”

“No,” Varghese agreed. “Not on its own, but it gives me greater potential to counter the ship. Could you make out any weapons?”

Anton was tracking the vessel with his senses still. He could have brought his consciousness closer with another shot, but his memory was sufficient. “It seemed to be a solid shell. Though knowing the Imbued Fragments… the vessel itself might be the weapon.”

“I imagine propelling worldheart would be quite useful,” Varghese agreed. “Though I could counter that as well. Assuming not too many enemies aboard.”

Anton frowned. “That’s where you might run into an issue. There were probably at least a dozen Life Transformation cultivators aboard.”

“Would your spectral energy work?” Varghese asked.

“I’m not certain. Worldheart is valuable for being supernaturally resistant in many ways. I doubt I would be completely ineffective, but if I test now they might confirm that I can’t damage them. There isn’t any extra ambient spectral energy around them for me to call upon to boost that, at the moment.”

“Would it hurt for them to believe your alternatives can’t damage them either?” Varghese asked. “What if you simply confirm the possibilities?”

“Lure them into overconfidence, perhaps?” Anton nodded. “I like the idea. If I appear to fail, they will believe that… but I’ll be able to tell us the truth. Normal Spirit Arrows aren’t good enough unless they’re foolish enough to sunbathe by my bound star. I’ll make some attempts… then maybe take a nap.”

“Good. You should. It’s not like you can’t immediately be in play again should something happen.”

-----

Ascension energy was generally considered stronger than natural energy… but against worldheart, Anton didn’t feel it. That would explain some of worldheart’s value, however. Even if it wasn’t a negation of that advantage, diminishing effectiveness could be significant.

Spectral energy… was still hindered by the worldheart. However, Anton believed he could have gotten a shot through. Just not with enough power to kill anyone important. From their perspective, however, his attack was completely negated. In the right circumstances, he could potentially do more. There were several other systems with lingering spectral energy from their conquests. Alternatively, if he used a greater portion of what he had access to, he could take a handful of shots that should be effective.

It was good to know they had the option… but Anton was honestly counting on Varghese. He didn’t want to put too much pressure on his apprentice, but there needed to be some. That was how he would grow to the next step.

Regardless of what he could or couldn’t do, the ship would doubtless become an important factor in the near future as the war was coming to a peak. Before that, Anton was going to rest. Perhaps the enemy would be emboldened by that, thinking him vulnerable. And maybe he was… but a few days off and he’d be good as new. Or perhaps good as old. New wasn’t always better.

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Varghese entered Ocreaf’s influence- cautiously. He didn’t want to be overwhelmed by enemies, after all. But he had to see it for himself. He had some thoughts.

Just as Anton determined, the star was not pleased with its situation. He could feel the strain, and was almost compelled to act. Not by the star, but by himself. Stars didn’t generally need protection so he hadn’t felt anything similar very often… but he wouldn’t be much of a starbinder if he just let his chosen Assimilation targets be harmed without repercussions.

The structure around the star was only half complete, but that was not much comfort. That would be like saying to someone being tortured that they should be happy only half their body was being destroyed.

If the structure was merely collecting the energy that the star released- and the sects involved hadn’t begun a war- then Varghese could only say that it was the choice of the locals how to manage their resources. But just like what they did with their planets, it was clear their intent was to consume. A star’s lifespan was- even by cultivator standards- endless. To bring such a thing to an abrupt halt was inexcusable. The same was true for completely dismantling their planets. Perhaps some had no life other than them, but there must have once been other life besides that which they farmed. None of that remained… and the planets could barely be called that.

Varghese didn’t regret the deaths that had happened. At most, he could only say that these people should have been killed sooner. The two sects were everything, and while among their vast numbers there were certainly some that had no choice but to be part of them, their whole structure needed to be eliminated.

Preferably in both the upper and lower realms. Varghese could only directly affect one of those, but he had heard about certain devices. One problem they were having was that replicating an Ascension took vast amounts of energy. Varghese might have two solutions in one.

It wasn’t going to be easy, though. He seriously doubted he could do it, as a mere Assimilation cultivator. But perhaps what was holding him back was not his ability, but certain beliefs.

Varghese believed Anton could achieve what he was thinking about, but he didn’t think that he could do it himself. That was the difference between an Assimilation cultivator and someone in Enrichment. Except… Varghese should be able to reach Enrichment. He knew that, not because of his belief in himself- his trust in his own abilities was not quite that firm- but because Anton believed it.

Anton had always been far stronger than him. If he reached Enrichment… well, it might still be true. But he hadn’t quite realized that, since it was difficult to measure how much Anton had grown. What did another lightyear or two of range mean to him who could only fight within a system at an entirely different scale?

But he could do some things Anton couldn’t. His master could control magnetism, but Varghese had certainly surpassed him in that regard. Maybe he could find other ways. Or maybe he would die trying… but that wouldn’t be so bad. As long as he made sure any consequences of his death fell on their enemies. He’d prefer to live, though.