Elder Cultivator

At the moment, Anton, Devon, and Lev could not afford to be in the same place. As the three Unity cultivators of the Lower Realms Alliance, they could be needed in vastly different locations. Lev had been spreading his domain for some time, planting offshoots of Grandfather Willow. Some were in the upper realms, though that path wasn't of much benefit to Lev. He still cultivated natural energy, so the lower realms would always be where he was strongest. And now, most needed.

A very expensive conversation was taking place, making use of the instant comms that the Lower Realms Alliance had developed. It didn't include anything complicated like energy samples or holographic representations- they were lucky to be able to transmit a few snippets of audio instead of just text. Though it was still a bit more convenient than speaking through Bear Hug- and more relaxing for them, because Bear Hug wasn't perfect at relaying certain details.

Anton began the conversation. Around each were other cultivators of note in the lower realms. "The Holy Stars have promised further conflict. Do we believe they will risk their 'divinities' or are they more likely to focus on vulnerable systems?"

There was only minimal chance that they would do nothing. That would be the best option for everyone, but it didn't seem likely. Over the past year, more than a few scouting ships had been spotted. Some were intercepted and captured, depending on the local circumstances. All signs pointed to the conflict escalation- the question was when. Massive fleets could already be on the way. Alternatively, it might be a year. A decade. A century, as they prepared. Which time scale was appropriate would change how the Alliance had to respond.

Lev typed the first reply. "They likely want to eliminate you, Anton. I would expect a direct assault on you, if your location remains known. Likely involving two or three individuals, depending on what they have."

"They will regret it," Devon added swiftly. "They don't know about her. Engagements with the void ants in general were minimal."

Anton agreed. "Anyone but a defensive specialist like Daria will find me far more troublesome. And I have some tricks still saved up if she reveals herself again. I do believe this network is secure enough to mention the Great Queen directly."

Devon nodded slowly, not that anyone at the other locations could see him. "They seemed to have very little technology. They might have long distance communications via other means, however. Our scouts have only been able to determine so much. Likely no instant communication, though."

"My purpose," Anton returned the topic to what he began with. "Was to consider that if they do have three divinities, which was implied heavily enough to be their minimum, that we cannot defend multiple locations successfully."

"What if we undercut them, like you did?" Lev asked. "Focus on their subordinates to weaken them."

Devon answered that. "That might not work for those beyond Daria. She is seen as a defender. We simply don't know enough about them individually. Fortunately, they only know about Anton. Chances are that I could bind one of them successfully. But I don't believe that is where you are heading. We really can't expect anyone else to advance to Unity in a functional timeframe. Did you have a suggestion?"

"It doesn't come from me," Anton commented. "Nthanda pointed it out, quite simply. We might have to hit their home planets. If they are off on a… crusade… and fail to defend their homelands, they could be severely shaken. The difficulties with that is…" Anton let his message end with that.

"Civilians," Lev intuited. "We're not willing to wipe out whole planets. We can't guarantee anything less would help."

No words passed for a few moments. "Aerona might reach Unity soon," Devon finally commented. "She won't be combat viable no matter what happens. But she might have influence in that field. Direct psychological warfare to break their morale. The problem is that they're too prosperous. Happy and successful."

Anishka leaned towards Anton. "The feeling of invincibility is easily shattered. I don't know if we could reach enough planets with the right timing though."

He turned aside towards her. "Do you have something to offer, or…?"

"It's just an observation. If we won't kill people, we have to do something." Anishka shrugged, "It might actually involve a lot of killing still. Just not planetary populations. If we cut out the angels, do those at the top have anything to stand on?"

Anton shook his head. "If only we had the answer. I would presume that it wouldn't completely ruin them, but if we can convince enough of the population that their divinities failed them… it might work." He looked her over. "You don't happen to be about to reach Unity, right?"

"It's difficult for me," Anishka said. "Fire and ice… it's not really a community. Just my home sect, maybe some others. I could maybe manage to include Ekict?"

"You might be a bit weaker not tied to a specific location," Anton suggested. "But we'll just continue with it not being a realistic expectation for the moment. Nthanda might fare better against another foe as well."

The Great Queen drew attention there. "My void ants will easily destroy any without physical defenses, or those who rely merely on enchantments. We are already proud to have caused great harm to a single limb of power. But perhaps we can do more. Send us, and we will wipe out the strongest."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Everyone had to consider that. Anton also passed that along for the conversation.

"It's viable, I suppose," Lev commented. "Not having her defensively would be a bit of a concern, but assassinations are reasonable here. They'll hate us, of course, but realistically there's no reason not to target those at the top."

Devon also had to agree. "Miniaturized tech in the lower realms is viable enough for a pure void ant ship to go, though we could send a larger infiltration vessel.

"But," Anton cautioned, "We must let them strike once more. If we can avoid a war, that is the best result. If we can get away with some small skirmishes from now on, then we should."

-----

The Lower Realms Alliance hadn't agreed that assassination was the best option, but the Great Queen was all in. "If we set up an outpost with instant comms, I can be waiting to launch an attack. It would only take a week or two to hit somewhere big instead of months."

Unfortunately for her, that possibility was held back by a lack of infrastructure. Instant comms didn't have infinite range. Creating an independent outpost that could reach all the way back to Alliance territory would require it to be a larger facility, which would in turn increase its visibility. One of the few things that could wipe out the void ants and the Great Queen would be an orbital bombardment that collapsed the ceiling on them. Or something similar.

Assuming that the Holy Stars didn't have any idea how to combat void ants would be foolish, so they had to be cautious in various ways. If their foes were right on their borders, or if they knew they were going to inevitably fight to the death then they could send the Great Queen on a direct assault. Until then, it would be better to have her in reserve. Anton didn't want Daria to come back with backup and not have the Great Queen on hand.

-----

Intruding within the domain of the Lower Realms Alliance was forbidden. However, it soon became clear that the Holy Stars were pushing those boundaries as much as possible. Would the Lower Realms Alliance seek them out in unoccupied neighboring systems? Two away? Three? The answer to all of those were yes, though it certainly grew fuzzier at a certain distance beyond. Patrolling all of the systems within twenty lightyears of the border was quite a monumental task, and they didn't have detection systems that could reliably pick out intruders like that.

Small sensory outposts that they could place around systems were being rerouted, those with low enough power that they wouldn't be noticed. Pure tech was preferred in their current circumstances. The enemy's top cultivators might have a wide enough perception to pick them out as the only pieces of matter that were out of place, but anything less than a system's worth of full perception wouldn't pick them out.

The Lower Realms Alliance made many preparations for different eventualities. Having a focus was almost a good thing- though they could easily sustain their economy without the threat of war, so it really wasn't optimal.

Aside from smaller skirmishes, however, the next few years brought nothing of note to the lower realms.

-----

Circuit Chewer and Ace had been chasing 'Project Apocalypse' ever since they heard about it a decade back. Velvet herself had gotten involved at several points, as something so ominously named couldn't be brushed off. Given that it involved computer systems, it could be devastating if they had some sort of widespread vulnerability that could affect the Scarlet Alliance.

There was enough different architecture that it was pretty much impossible to take down everything, but taking out a random ten or twenty percent of critical servers would shut down outsized proportions of industry, healthcare, and trade. If that came with a simultaneous attack on the Little Alliance, they might not be able to properly call for aid. Not everything relied on tech, but it was hard not to use it when it was the best thing for particular purposes. For some tasks formations and energy were far more efficient. Sometimes mixed was best. But if you just needed a trillion calculations per second, tech was what you wanted.

The chase hadn't just brought them to the Western Mirage Sect. There were remnants of the Citadel of Exalted Light that had joined up with other powers, such as the Disciples of the Beyond. The latter hadn't fully collapsed just because of Ramil's death, though the former had been pretty thoroughly eradicated by Everheart. It was safe to say that they no longer existed as a sect.

The Hardened Crown Sect… had nothing to do with Project Apocalypse. Circuit Chewer didn't know if they knew how to plug in a computer.

The Ponderous Turtle Clan, however, had a few pieces of the puzzle. Circuit Chewer supposed that since their biggest turtle was dead- and the guy who went with it- it was reasonable to branch out. There was no reason they should hate the Scarlet Alliance for any of that, but it had happened in their territory.

This was where Circuit Chewer found herself, with the Hardened Crown Sect being relevant because they seemed to have rented out some of their bullheaded members to the turtle people. She wondered if they competed head versus shell. Maybe she could sow that idea and cause either brain damage or hurt some turtles. Except the turtles didn't deserve it, probably. They were just innocent, extremely big creatures.

The facility Circuit Chewer infiltrated had massive turtle shells protecting it, carved with wards and heavily enchanted. The slight defensive issue they had was that they left seams between the shells. Chewing through that would have taken forever, but squeezing through- even with tech packs- was quite doable.

Circuit Chewer and her team were looking for an isolated computer. It made sense, because nobody would want to connect a doomsday program to their networks. Though presumably they would have patched their own systems. Ace had been looking at the backends for updates to see if anything matched Alliance architecture. It was all based on Alliance stuff to begin with.

As she was climbing over a cord, Circuit Chewer was struck by lightning. She immediately checked her tech pack to make sure it was fine, then cursed whoever left exposed wiring in the area. Obviously any self-respecting tech officer would be resistant to electrical flow, since sometimes they needed to bite right through live wires, but it was still concerning.

After guiding her people around the hazard, Circuit Chewer took a look at the computer. It was on, but not logged in to anything convenient. Well, that was expected. Hopefully some sort of external injection would get them access. In the worst case, they would rig tiny explosives to all of the drives in the room- after making sure it wasn't connected anywhere else.

But preferably they would find out if this data had been copied anywhere else first. Otherwise, it could still be used. It wasn't like viruses couldn't exist in two places- exactly the opposite. If they couldn't copy, they wouldn't do much.