Elder Cultivator

One would think that Devon, as an Enrichment cultivator, would be suited to answer general cultivation questions and they would be right- except on a certain topic. That specific topic was of great interest to those they had captured, given that it was the goal of most cultivators in the lower realms- or at least, it once had been.

That aspect was of course Ascension. And while Devon knew quite a bit about it, he had no personal experience. Nor did anyone who was able to personally speak with them- but that didn’t mean there was no information available. In fact, there was quite a large quantity of information available from ascended individuals regarding common questions people had. That was one reason the Lower Realms Alliance had a constant flow from the lower realms to the upper realms- previously, there hadn’t been much experience worth sharing since most of it came from those who failed to reach the next step. Of course, planets having cultivation knowledge reset every cycle hadn’t helped.

Teaching enemies to cultivate, especially to cross one of the great thresholds, was not really the norm, even for the Alliance. Teaching former enemies? Absolutely. But nobody could say that these captive individuals weren’t still currently their enemies.

But even so, that sliver of their goals aligned. They wanted to ascend, and the Alliance needed them to do that to cause damage. Of course, not everyone would want to ascend if it was followed by nearly assured death, but each person rationalized it differently. Some doubtless hoped that they would reincarnate, keeping some portion of memories or even a vague impression on their soul. Others imagined that what the Alliance was trying to do was impossible, or that they could overcome it.

They weren’t precisely willing participants in sabotaging their own sects… but there was a certain level of deep resonance that Devon could accept the way things were being done. He had returned to the frontlines with Aerona, focusing not so much on stamping out the last bits of resistance but instead reaching a particular goal. Their victory in the lower realms was inevitable- especially with the growth of new Enrichment cultivators.

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The western war was nearing completion, while the eastern war was practically wrapping up. It seemed the old factions from the upper realms truly couldn’t comprehend their strength, or they would never have provoked them again. Any weapons they brought could be dismantled… and if they thought the lower realms would be afraid of void ants, they had another thing coming. They tried to deploy them like feral animals, but they were allies. Tiny and admittedly a bit unusual allies, but steadfast. They’d been around almost as long as any humans, and a stable part of Ceretos before the Alliance was formed.

With conflict after conflict, they were just looking for a moment of rest. But the moment for that was not just yet… at least for the combined Alliance.

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In the upper realms, a box twitched. On its own, an unremarkable sight as it had done so quite frequently for the past few years. However, combined with certain other information coming in it provoked a carefully prepared response.

Zaur Beridze was on the move once more, and the Scarlet Alliance couldn’t afford to be timid in their response. Activating their defensive fleets could be delayed slightly, as the Exalted Quadrant would take some time to reach their territory- even the Domination cultivator himself could only move so quickly- but their counterattack had to begin immediately.

A somewhat familiar group gathered. It had become clear that taking out an anchor was the more achievable option, so they didn’t hold back. Velvet was of course a key part of any infiltration team- they would likely never reach their target without their best stealth specialist. But aside from Durff, the supporting cast was quite different.

Catarina would be taking the role of the formation master- it had to be assumed that the Citadel of Exalted Light had received defensive improvements for the actual Citadel. Timothy was of course not going to let Catarina go alone, and they needed a defensive expert to cover the assault team.

Chidi was also going as part of the assault team. The logic was that Zaur Beridze would almost certainly be looking to kill him… and he wasn’t quite up to fighting a Domination cultivator alone yet. There was also very little chance they could repeat the prior traps and have any level of success.

Finally, Prasad would be there. One Thousand Palms was a technique highly suited for wide area suppression. They didn’t expect him to be able to defeat all of the incoming enemies, but any space he could provide would be extremely welcome.

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Remaining behind to defend the Scarlet Alliance were all of their other Augmentation cultivators, and of course their great fleets and the formations of Xankeshan. Their offensive team was rather conservative- just slightly less conservative now that they had time to prepare further in advance. It simply couldn’t be much larger and still manage to reach their goal in secret.

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The hopes that the movements were a false alarm rapidly faded as agents in the western portion of the Scarlet Midfields reported approaching fleets. More than a few sects were participating, and while that was a worrying prospect it was still far short of being a combined effort of the Exalted Quadrant. Just the Citadel of Exalted Light and some others they could draw to their cause. Most importantly, there were no signs of other Domination cultivators being involved.

It was a matter of months for their fleets to reach the proper borders of the Scarlet Alliance, hopefully surpassed in the other direction by their strike team. They were aware that they might not be able to damage the Citadel if Zaur wasn’t engaged in combat, but they couldn’t expect the battles to last long. Rather than a situation where they forced enemies to push past their outer planets one at a time, the Scarlet Alliance had committed to concentrating around Xankeshan.

Though it was possible that things might turn into a protracted siege, it was still rather important for their assault team to arrive sufficiently early. That way, they could better arrange their own opportunities.

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Alva sighed, looking off into the distance.

“What is it?” Prospero asked.

She shook her head. “I’m just annoyed that this guy can effectively just keep throwing himself at us, and common logic dictates that he’ll come out on top.”

“That’s what happens when you get strong enough,” Prospero said. “Though… I do believe we are beyond common logic already. The first time he was stopped by another Domination cultivator, but failing even once without that? He probably hasn’t wrapped his head around it. Or he wouldn’t come back.”

“... Do you think she got our message?” Alva asked.

“Someone with a grudge like that probably didn’t even need us to tip them off,” Prospero pointed out. “As for what she’ll do with the information, we can only assume something that causes maximum damage to him. Which might not be coming here.”

“I wasn’t really counting on that,” Alva admitted. “I’d just like to know that he’ll probably go down even if we die here.”

“Where’s all your positivity?" Prospero asked.

“Buried under my realism.” Alva shook her head. “I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling about this time.” Alva turned and looked over her shoulder. “Like some sort of doom creeping up on me.”

“Well now,” Prospero said. “That is something we need to discuss. I have no such feeling… but perhaps you are sensitive to different things. Do you fear Zaur is bringing dangerous allies? That he has some other tricks?”

Alva frowned. “I do, but… not enough to feel like this. It might be something else. Or nothing at all.”

“Never discount your hunches,” Prospero said. “You are more sensitive to spatial disturbances than I. Perhaps something along those lines? Distortion beasts?”

Alva frowned. “It could be the Disciples of the Beyond again. We heard about their movements.”

“It would be logical,” Prospero agreed. “But you don’t seem to believe that’s it either.” Alva looked over her shoulder again, and Prospero simply turned to face the other way- galactic east, more or less. “What’s over this way?”

Alva turned with him. “The Trigold Cluster.”

“Koronis?” Prospero asked.

“Can you feel her nebula?” Alva asked.

“I can, vaguely,” Prospero said. “Distant as it is. I don’t feel any disturbances from there, however. Should we consult a third party?”

“It’s something about stars,” Alva said. “But I don’t know if it’s there. We should contact Hoyt.”

The best part about being prepared for a defensive war was that they could easily gather others. While it was true that quite often the majority of them were around Xankeshan, it wasn’t as if they stayed entirely in one place. They roamed in and out of the Scarlet Alliance’s territory somewhat regularly.

Hoyt joined them as well in just a few minutes. Upon explaining the situation, he focused his thoughts eastward. “I don’t feel anything different about the Creeping Fire Sect. Maybe it’s the Silver Fang?”

“We can expect them to jump on this situation,” Prospero admitted. “We should reconsider how we deploy our defensive forces.”

Alva nodded. “At least we’ve extended our eastern border. They won’t be able to cause too much trouble. But… I’m still thinking about different stars.”

“Should we pull up a chart?” Prospero asked. “Or the telescopes?”

“I don’t think a chart would tell my gut anything,” Alva admitted. “But… perhaps if I see the stars…?”

“It’s not a bad way to spend the time, I think. Even if it leads to nothing.”

“You and my grandpa both,” Alva shook her head.

“Indeed,” Prospero said. “If I was reborn in the lower realms, I think I might have become a starbinding cultivator.”

“I appreciate stars just fine,” Alva said. “I just am less excited about simply looking. If we had time, maybe I’d go visit a few hundred to see if we could solve anything.”

“Should we consult the rest of the sect?” Hoyt suggested. “Even if the next generation is short of being Augmentation cultivators… they might have some impressions. Though we wouldn’t wish to cause unnecessary worry. It’s difficult to know if this is worth escalating.”

“It is,” Alva said. “Now that I realize I was looking the wrong way, I can tell there’s something… though where in the Trigold Cluster is another question.”

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Velvet would have thought that with all of her experience, sneaking into the Exalted Quadrant would be easier. And maybe it was, but the situation was more serious so she found the task much more draining. Planning out their route was a pain as well- they had one pre-established but they would almost certainly have to adapt based on enemy readiness.

“Do we risk passing the Everheart System?” Velvet asked. “The one near the Citadel of Exalted Light, I mean. And on our retreat… is that a viable safe haven? Should we have brought Vari? Or Alva?”

Catarina responded first. “Using his structures as a method to escape is not particularly a reliable plan. Repeating our tricks isn’t a good idea.”

“Wait, hold on,” Durff interjected. “Does that mean I… shouldn’t hammer the Citadel?”

Velvet smiled. “We brought you for a reason. You’re much stronger than last time, so we should expect different results from you. But you absolutely should be focused on smashing it. Likewise, I’m still here to sneak us closer. We simply have to assume they’ll have adapted. That’s why we have Catarina, as we’ll be relying on her as our top formation expert.”

“Indeed,” Catarina said. “As for our route, I’d avoid Everheart if possible. Whatever his reaction, it might delay our plans or tip people off. No doubt he’s already received word of what’s going on and he might cause trouble… but asking him for aid is too much of a risk. We’re not allies, we just happened to have many mutual enemies.”

Ultimately, their route was a mix between their need to be efficient with their movements and safety. Velvet doubted she would change anything even as they went deeper, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Because if she did and something came up, then everything would be her fault.