Elder Cultivator

Chapter 769

The warthogs stood in position behind their leader, whose name was simply a Forceful Snort. Deep Purr stood with the other meerkats surrounding him, taking up as much space as they could. What is your business here? the meerkat captain asked.

We want food. You have made food. The Tall One must have food as well.

And you simply expect us to give it to you?

Forceful Snort made his namesake sound. No. We will help. We can do work.

Even if we needed you for anything Deep Purr said. Last time you showed up here, it was joined with an assault from the eagles.

Payment for work. They promised food for our aid. We promise more fighting for the same. Will fend off munchy gazelles or toothy jackals.

As Deep Purr seemed about to reject them, Three Squeaks put a paw on his side. We should give them a chance. See what they can do.

Perhaps, said the captain of the guard. But we can fight for ourselves, now. We are stronger. Can they provide anything else, besides rooting in the dirt?

At those words another figure came onto the scene. With a slow waddle. One step at a time. Rooting in the dirt is good, Meep said as he came up on them. Can aid farm. Share found food.

We cant spare anything, Deep Purr said. But if you can find more food, or get aid from the One of Energy, I will not stop you. But the two of you will be responsible for the deal, Deep Purr said to Three Squeaks and Meep.

Anton made sure he was visible on the hill, and the group began to march towards him. Anton let them explain. He was glad he didnt have to suggest too much himself.

Yes, the warthogs will be better at turning more soil than you. But they cannot plant or weed as well. It is a good partnership. It would take too long for food to grow, of course. They only had a few days worth of locusts for the meerkats, and the warthogs didnt have a large amount fat built up to provide them more time. But Anton could help direct them towards places with more food. Buried root vegetables might be eaten by the other animals in the area or they might root in the ground, unnoticed. Either way, with the warthogs the meerkats would feel more secure ranging wider, and they could intentionally help replant after the locusts devastation on their own.

And if the warthogs proved reliable, Anton could begin teaching them proper cultivation as well. It would be yet another arrangement of organs and meridians, but he had the feeling that would be the case for every single group he came across on Akrys. Even different sorts of birds could have wildly different features in important ways, and many creatures were more diverse than that group.

-----

Crossing the border into the Scarlet Midfields, the group of escapees was able to snatch some amount of proper rest. But they wouldnt be staying anywhere for long.

I imagine that there are bounties on our heads already, Sly said. Ships are probably already on their way to come after us.

Agreed, Margriet nodded her head. But we should be able to avoid them, since they wont necessarily be able to follow our trail now that were out of their territory.

If we had our ships we could outrun them, Chikere said. ... But I dont have my communicator.

How far is it until we can contact your alliance? Margriet asked.

Pretty far, Chikere said. Though you could ask someone how big the Scarlet Alliance is if you care.

Best to not, for now, Margriet shook her head. Well aim for the edges of former Harmonious Citadel Territory. That should bring us somewhere familiar to you, at least.

Yeah, Chikere said. Thanks for carrying me along, by the way. We didnt really even know each other.

Margriet smiled, You did free us. Even if it was merely with the intent to use us as distractions.

Was that why? Chikere asked. She hadnt really thought about it.

Plus, the large Sly said, Youre our best ticket to a sizable group that doesnt want to kill us. And might save us from further retribution.

You could have stayed in the cells, Chikere said.

Sly shook his head, Better dead than imprisoned there forever. I was hoping for an opportunity, even if I didnt truly expect it.

It was too easy to leave, Chikere said.

You call that easy? Sly asked.

At full power I wouldnt be able to cut through Xankeshans formation barrier.

Certainly, but thats your capitol planet, Margriet said. This was just a backwater.

... A jail should be more secure, right? Chikere asked.

It worked for centuries, Sly said.

Thats because everyone here is too slow, Chikere complained. Instead of trying to get things done properly.

They didnt have any money, but they were able to hunt some wild beasts for actual food. Chikere brought skewers of roasted meat to her mouth with her one good limb. The others didnt do much of anything right now, and she didnt really have a way to recover on her own. But she had one good arm, so why couldnt she have more?

Margriet breathed a sigh of relief. This is so much better than relying on absorbed energy. I wish I could sleep longer, though.

I can at least watch for incoming enemies, Chikere said. Her senses were just as good, still well trained to pick up threats.

-----

Ultimately, Chikere did have to shake the other two awake. Hey. Bad news, she said. Either there are a lot of people following us or they have some way to track us.

They had gone further than just the border, which gave them several dozen options for which planets they could have ended up on.

Dammit, Margriet said. How far are they?

Theres a moderately fancy sword about an hour away, Chikere said. At the edge of the system.

Sly picked himself up off the ground. Whats the criteria for moderately fancy?

Sharpness. Materials. Bloodthirst. This one lacks perfection.

Doesnt everything?

Not the Limitless Edge, Chikere said.

Ill take your word for it, Sly said. We were never properly introduced. Not that there would have been a reason. Shes a proper Augmentation cultivator, after all.

Shes very strong, Chikere agreed.

Margriet carried them off, trying to keep ahead of the enemys senses- and changing direction as they traveled between systems. After a few weeks of travel they were fairly certain they had lost their pursuers only to pick up another group. Each time they lost one, more closed in for the pursuit.

... I dont think we can make it, Margriet said. We wont even make it a third of the way there before I cant bring us any further. And I dont think weve passed any ships that would carry us along faster.

I did tell a few people to tell Catarina what was going on, Chikere said.

Were any of them members of your alliance?

I dont think so, Chikere said. But eventually someone will hear and pass the message on.

Sly snorted. I admire your confidence. But I am concerned about your lack of concern for our imminent deaths. Its not just that, is it?

Chikere shrugged. As you said, it might be better to be dead.

Certainly, the man agreed. But would you not rather snatch the opportunity before you?

As long as I can reach it with my right arm, Chikere said. The other isnt any good for snatching now.

You should also be more concerned about that, Sly said. Its quite difficult to recover from intentionally crippling wounds.

Uzun can help.

Who is this Uzun? Margriet asked. A great healer?

He makes guns and robots, Chikere said. But he talks with the same people who made my arm, Chikere held it up.

About that, Margriet asked. ... What is it?

A bunch of fancy metal and fake stuff, Chikere said. And electricity.

That doesnt really explain much, Margriet admitted. What sort of formations conceal its power?

None, Chikere said. It basically doesnt use any. Because it was made in the lower realms for me for use here. I was going to re-ascend but that was too hard so I just chopped through space. Chikere frowned. Do you think that was why I lost?

Sly tilted his head. I dont know I tracked all of that.

I thought about re-ascending and I didnt, maybe that was why I wasnt good enough.

Sometimes you just lose, he said.

I know, Chikere agreed. But its not supposed to be like that. An unsurpassable distance beyond conceivable limits.

Even if you did reach your limit, Margriet said, Would that be so bad? Its not like life ends at that point.

... Doesnt it? Chikere asked.

You can make use of what power you have. For your friends. And your alliance.

Chikere nodded. That would have been pretty good. When I had power.

What are you going to do if this Uzun can heal you? Sly asked.

Figure out if I can still use a sword or not. Maybe die. I havent figured it out yet.

The latter would be a rather poor way to pay back someone who healed you, Sly pointed out.

... Not that one, then, Chikere shrugged. But I dont know. Because I dont know anything anymore.

-----

A tree toppled over. Not a particularly large one, just a handful of meters tall and less than twenty centimeters thick. Warthogs and meerkats didnt have much use for building materials at this current time, but this particular tree was dug up by the warthogs for a project of Meeps. It would be a host to some fungus, in a little grove he was putting together. Most of it had been ruined, but the trees were regrowing their leaves already after the locust swarm. Enough would survive.

Anton did his best to only provide advice, as well as directing the groups to some alternate sources of food. If necessary he would bring some food from afar- there were many places the locusts hadnt passed by, if one went far enough. It wasnt some worldwide phenomenon, after all. Just an ordinary swarm of insects. As for why he didnt just provide what they needed It wouldnt mean as much if they didnt work for it.

But Anton made sure that everyone had enough to survive, at least. A season or two and the area would recover. This was simply a bad year, even without his help both groups would likely survive, though with some losses.

He might have slightly supplemented some of the food they found by encouraging its growth before they reached it. After all, he didnt want there to be too much disparity between the burrow and his own disciples. He didnt want people trying to join his training because they needed to eat, but rather because they wanted to take those steps to thrive. There was an important difference in motivation and the effort it produced.

Ultimately, Anton would influence every individual he could along his path of growth. Enrichment was his path, and it didnt just apply to himself or distant stars in the sky. A star was just one part of a systems growth.

Speaking of the star, however, the red supergiants properties were becoming more clear to Anton. It certainly felt a bit special, but then again Anton hadnt actually encountered others of the same size and type. He had the feeling it wasnt solely responsible for the rise of sapience in this place, but he couldnt yet find any other cause. Maybe they would never know, and ultimately that didnt matter. What mattered was how things were now, and the people that existed upon the planet. Even if they were quite different in form than the people Anton typically thought of.

Anton was still going to have to continue his survey of the border planets, but he would wait a season or two for things to settle down. He wanted to see if he could build lasting bonds between the local species, or if the current teamwork would be ephemeral and solely based on the necessary temporary rewards. That was the way of many relationships among humans, which is why it took work to get a functioning community, and more work for every layer above that. But ultimately, Anton knew that planetwide communities could exist. And that they could expand through a system and beyond, while still working together for the prosperity of all. And while some people came out ahead compared to others, it was a far cry from the standard power disparity seen among cultivators.

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