Elder Cultivator

There was a thin web of formations surrounding the system of Eckit, just like most of the systems in the Lower Realms Alliance. That formation did nothing to stop the intrusion of the invading forces, so they put it out of their mind. They likely thought it was little more than a useless alarm, as it didn’t leave any lingering traces of energy to even track them.

Anton wondered what their reaction would have been if they took more time to inspect the formations. Anger? Fear? Indignation? Clearly, the invaders thought they would win the battle, so most likely something akin to the latter, that some lower realms deplorables would think to act against them.

To be fair, they did have a Domination cultivator. But the thing was, Anton didn’t have to think about if he could win. He just had to do it. There wasn’t another option. The same was true with all the others in the lower realms. The only alternatives were total annihilation or victory.

The best aspect kept by the people of Ekict that their previous generations had held was a rejection of the dominance of the upper realms. The problem had been when that extended to include everyone not from them, even those who meant good instead of harm. But the younger generation had fought in the war, and now they were full blown Assimilation cultivators of their own, not having to steal cultivations from others. They could continue their growth properly, knowing the paths behind and before them.

Now the enemies who had forced their predecessors to tread down dark paths in despair had returned, and they were prepared to fight.

What was a Domination cultivator? To Anton, the man was a pain in the neck, covering the entire fleet with his energy. But as they entered the system, Anton’s shots grew stronger and more frequent. Soon, he began to penetrate the outermost reaches of the man’s aura. Whatever light based cultivation method Sudin was emulating, it did well when widespread- good for large scale battles such as this- but it was unable to perfectly protect everything.

From a position next to the star, Anton shot down incoming enemy ships, stranding the cultivators aboard when he failed to kill them. Even if they could move in space, their arrival would be staggered from the rest of the fleet.

Sudin attacked, a wave of light wiping out a squad of local ships, cultivators and all. A foolish thought in Anton’s mind told him he should have been there to block for them.

And foolish it was, because he was most effective offensively where he was. He had no reason to place himself in the line of fire, as he was a big threat in his current position. He did not enjoy watching his allies die… so he focused harder on taking down what enemies he could. Occasionally, some of his arrows targeted Sudin directly, but they ran into a wall of upper energy that he could not break through.

Now he had firsthand experience of the struggle that had been relayed to him. Domination cultivators were powerful… but also not unbeatable. The Scarlet Alliance had proven that, and here where natural energy reigned supreme Anton would prove it once more. He never left the man alone so much that he could get entirely comfortable. He couldn’t instantly kill him like most of the others, but the fact that Sudin shifted his energy to block Anton’s attacks, even if subtly, indicated he was cognizant of his vulnerability. Anton just had to make that into a reality.

Along with the other forces nearby, of course. If they had known ahead of time that the Domination cultivator would be coming here specifically, they would have had the Great Queen and more of her royal guard. Instead, they simply had the local void ants and cultivators. They were waiting for an opportune moment to strike as the battle began to swell in earnest.

Ekict had a huge diversity in cultivation styles. It was a major planet, so of course it did- but the war had broken up many of the large sects, while introducing opportunities for those who weren’t particularly committed to particular styles. They simply had joined the most powerful sect they could find. Given the opportunity, people preferred styles that fit them. That was something cultivators could feel given some experience.

It was quite different from the diversity of technique the Twin Soul Sect was displaying. It was clear that many of the invaders were from that very sect, as they fought alongside each other and their techniques didn’t quite fit.

Anishka clashed with cultivators who wielded fire and ice. Given the opportunity, they would have swapped to any other opponent. Integration cultivators could not stand against her, and while there were at least ten or more Augmentation cultivators mixed in among the enemy, they were hesitant to attack her as well. She was not quite at the level of Enrichment, not because of level of training but because of the necessary insights. It wasn’t as smooth for everyone as Anton had made it seem. In truth, he’d been lucky to find something that fit him and properly execute it.

Being just short of an Augmentation equivalent would have put Anishka at a disadvantage, but in the lower realms ‘upper energy’ could not be recovered. It was theoretically still ‘stronger’, but even that was in question as it easily broke down when the control of a cultivator went lax.

And then there was the influence of a very tiny friend she had. The Sergeant had hardly grown larger than the size of a regular ant, but her power had continued to improve over the centuries. She was an oddity, but Anton would have placed her in the second tier of void ants- below only the Great Queen, who stood out in a field of her own. Too bad she was dozens of lightyears away at the moment. They might have already won the battle.

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Sudin was the only dominant force on the enemy’s side, and even with his aura bolstering allies and hindering enemies the enemy continued to fall. Sudin could only slay so many at once- and Anton finally felt a dip in his stores of energy. He would eventually tire, more so if he tried to win the war alone.

The stars inside Anton rippled as Varghese and Three Squeaks lent Anton their support. Without having bound the local star there was little they could actually do, but smoothing the flow of energy from some shared stars was helpful enough. Their own battles had already resolved weeks before, depending on positioning. Thus, they could afford to expend the effort.

Anton took advantage, finally using his first batch of stolen ascension energy. That arrow was mixed in with a flurry of others, meant as a surprise for Sudin. The man might have been surprised, but he didn’t show it. That particular arrow crashed against his defenses just like the rest, but the impact was greater than it seemed. Because his own energy struggled to stay in his grasp, instinctively wanting to annihilate Anton’s stolen energy.

The gaze of the man fell upon Anton from half a system away. Unfortunately, he wasn’t foolish enough to rush towards Anton and attempt to fight him next to the star. Anton was quite confident that a good solar lashing could melt even a Domination cultivator into a pile of ash, and then nothing at all.

Though Anton’s attack didn’t cause any visible injuries, it did provide a perfect distraction. Even Anton hadn’t sensed the incoming void ants. When he noticed their bites on the man’s energy, starting from one arm, Anton unleashed a hail of thousands of arrows.

Sudin’s reaction to the void ants was extreme, but not unwarranted. He must have had prior experience, or at least forewarning, as he immediately scraped his opposite hand along his arm, wiping them away. His energy was dense enough that even the void ants had not been able to bite through all in one go.

In a burst of light, Sudin converted some of his energy into true light- no longer a construct of energy nor controlled by him. It was far more effective than any other sort of attack against void ants, destroying the hundreds or thousands who had reached him. Anton’s arrows rained down on him, trying to find holes in his defenses as he was momentarily distracted.

Anton wasn’t able to break through, but in that moment Sudin’s aura shrunk to cover just himself- leaving the rest of the battlefield open for others to fight at full strength. Anton kept up the pressure, hoping more void ants were close. Across the rest of the battlefield, which he could have generously called in favor of the lower realms, Ekict’s forces began to dominate as a whole.

Void ants in small groups began to land on Sudin, causing the man to first throw them off- or annihilate them with his energy, strong enough to damage even void ants- then flicker around the battlefield to seemingly random positions, moving as fast as light or sometimes even faster. Previously, he had been more or less stationary, not needing to move to attach anywhere he pleased.

Cracks appeared in his cultivation, not damage to the man himself but to his facade. Perhaps there was value in the cultivation he displayed, as he held onto it as long as he could before eventually displaying the proper cultivation of the Twin Soul Sect.

Anton shivered, feeling the man’s true power. It wasn’t necessarily stronger than Sudin had been displaying, but it was far more malicious. Spectral energy was a component of reincarnation, but aside from himself the man clearly focused on the deathly aspects. His energy swept out, instantly reaping the life of those around him.

When he focused on Anishka for a moment, Anton did his best not to panic- instead continue his efforts to whittle down the man’s defenses. Perhaps Sudin noticed the connection, or the way the locals rallied around Anishka. Either way, his palm pressed forward, a skull the size of a small moon roaring forward with jaws open.

Anishka’s fire and ice would not defend against that, but as she turned to flee she could not get far enough. Except… just as it closed on her, one of the teeth shattered. At such a distance Anton couldn’t make out the specific void that the Sergeant filled to determine if she was fine after such a clash… but even standing up directly to one assault from a Domination cultivator was sufficient. Anishka was able to relocate to a safer location on the battlefield- more invaders having died around her than allies during that attack- and Sudin hesitated, just for a moment.

That was when Anton destroyed one of his lieutenants, one of the Augmentation cultivators. A single arrow with a core of spectral energy lodged directly into the man’s dantian, annihilating him- and not just in body. It was at that point that Sudin noticed something that had been happening the whole battle. As Twin Soul Sect cultivators died, their souls fled the battlefield- only to be caught in the nets around the system. That was the only thing the formations were for.

Twin Soul Sect cultivators would not survive. And it wasn’t just their bodies that would be killed. Sudin faltered for a moment, then renewed his attacks with vigor. However, that further hesitation on his part showed weakness to the defender- and more importantly to his allies, whose morale was rapidly faltering. The first who turned to flee was annihilated in body and soul- not by those from the lower realm, but by Sudin.

However, such tactics didn’t help. Instead, it led to three of the Augmentation cultivators turning to flee at once, intending to get out of the system and ride the Tides of the World back to the upper realms. Sudin killed two of them himself- and the third fell to void ants who were positioned to grab the woman. But regardless of how they died, it was the Trigold Cluster who lost. And if Anton read the situation properly, the situation would continue to spiral.

If Sudin were not present, he could even say they had already won the battle. But the Domination cultivator seemed as if he might try to annihilate the planet alone… and Anton wouldn’t put it past him to be a possibility, even with their planetary barrier and defenders. It certainly wasn’t something they could simply ignore.

Anton burned inside, flames made of his stars and of himself. He would not allow Sudin to act as he pleased. His arrows grew in power several fold, and Anton avoided thinking about what the consequences would be later. After all, how could he accept having a future at the cost of billions of others not having said future?

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