Elder Cultivator

The Lower Realms Alliance was facing larger and more frequent battles with the Holy Stars. It seemed that the floodgates had opened up after the combined assault of Daria and Tammuz. Perhaps they intended to end the war swiftly, or perhaps their purpose was to regain lost faith in their power.

With numerous confirmed divinities, the Alliance couldn't send any of their Unity cultivators to assault the Holy Stars- it was too much risk. It was also far better in terms of logistics- they had to cover a significant distance to launch any attacks against the Alliance. Even if at first it seemed ill advised, they did seem to have the power to back up their confidence.

Their fleets frequently possessed multiple of the Enrichment equivalent angels, and at least one of their most powerful cultivators was active at all times, threatening the systems of the Lower Realms Alliance. Some systems had to be abandoned, as they were pushed back against an unexpectedly superior foe.

The Alliance needed something more. Another clear victory. That would not only improve their own morale, but might physically weaken their foes. It was difficult to pin down their foes, however. Even if the Alliance could defeat one or two divinities with their own, actually engaging them was difficult. When they did, it usually resulted in the deaths of many weaker cultivators. Even if that might benefit the Alliance in some ways, it wasn't something they were eager to let continue for long.

Anton was growing frustrated. Perhaps if he had been able to cause greater harm to Daria, or finished her off, things might never have come so far… but of course, the past couldn't be changed. And it was entirely possible they would have responded with an immediate mobilization of all of their forces- including at least six remaining divinities. It was seven with Daria. More than double what they had… though according to their scouts there were always at least three or four publicly visible in the Holy Stars.

It didn't help that the Alliance was slightly slower to respond because of having to deal with other matters- such as the virus that was infiltrating their systems. Everheart appeared to be the origin, and if he dared to show his face in the lower realms Anton would shoot him and then demand answers. Even if he somehow ended up not responsible for this particular trouble, he would deserve at least a few arrows through his torso.

The Great Queen was perhaps more frustrated than Anton. "They are developing some tactics to fight void ants," she complained. "If this drags on, we will be useless!"

That wasn't true, of course. The very fact that they had to constantly be looking out for void ants would inhibit the Holy Stars. And being able to somewhat manage them wasn't nearly the same as being effective against them. It was true that if the void ants were alone- with just their miniaturized tech- they might have great issues. But there were many human cultivators that were quite happy to help deliver void ants to their foes, and it was more than twice as difficult to use the same tactics to defeat a human and void ants.

"We're looking for what forward bases they might have," Anton said. "So we can take the fight to them. Alternatively, we might find another opportunity to force a fight with two of us, if possible. Well, if we count you and me, that might be enough. But they're quite wary of me already."

Anton wasn't useless, but he felt like it. He covered a broad swath of territory where nobody would even dare step a foot- unless they wished to die. Because of that, as long as he stayed mobile they were constantly guessing where he actually was and his effective domain expanded. But he could still only cover so much, and he couldn't move at top speed if he wanted to maintain effectiveness for the duration of a proper war.

-----

The time came when Anton got to shoot people, but it was disheartening. Not because he wasn't effective, but because of what he had to add. "Your divinities can't protect you. They won't."

His words traveled far. And then he killed people. Though it was probably effective in reducing the overall power of their foes, or at least slowing their potential growth, it simply wasn't pleasant to bring despair to people. Taunting people in front of the divinities was a bit better, but he hadn't had the opportunity in a while. They were monitoring his position carefully, and it was difficult for Anton to actually disappear. Though that might be the plan. He would have to leave his protected region undefended- by him, at least- but he could at least manage something.

Anton was cautious about the Watchful Sting, as he still had a bit of lingering damage from his last encounter, but he was growing more confident in counteracting their uniquely troubling abilities. Poisoning him through his connection to his sensory energy was a result that must have taken great skill, and many of them could do it. But if he couldn't learn and adapt, he wouldn't have made it very far. Anton hadn't started his career shooting things at multiple lightyears of distance.

In fact, he'd once looked his targets in the eyes. Or eye, usually. Since prey animals like deer had eyes on the side of their head, and he tried to shoot the predators before they were directly looking at him.

Anton didn't like his home being threatened. His definition of home had grown vastly since Dungannon, but that hadn't changed. He let the Watchful Sting strike as his arrows sought them out. But when he severed his control, his arrows still hit their targets- just not the ones that they appeared to have been headed for. As they had attempted to counteract, their defensive energy was less complete. Any weakness meant he could kill them.

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Too bad they didn't have any teleporting void ants. Maybe that would be easier, since they were small? It would have to be pure tech, though. Or solely through insight, which doubtless couldn't be accomplished at such a scale. Not during the duration of this war at least. Maybe not for millennia. Or maybe there was at true limit to cultivation, and some things weren't possible at all.

Daria's face filled Anton's mind. Next time he had the chance, he would kill her. He wasn't quite certain how, but he would. Or more likely, he would give the Great Queen a chance to do it. But for now, they moved together. It was the most power that the Alliance could afford to gather in one place.

-----

Third Watch had arrived long before. Unfortunately, Daria's vessel had stopped in an entirely different system, and the local ships were not designed for void ants. For the last few months, she had been attempting to lead people to the correct system. Which one was correct? Literally any one with a divinity. From there, she would have to get to the right planet before they moved on.

Unfortunately, they seemed to possess a great number of luxurious suites, and frequently traveled between them. It might have something to do with their cultivation. Being seen by people would likely bolster them, and at the very least it would improve morale. Third Watch didn't overhear any reliable news about the war. From what she heard, the Holy Stars would have things wrapped up within a year. They were winning every battle- with some casualties, certainly. They couldn't explain away the deaths. But since nobody was returning from the front lines, how would anyone correct them?

As if anyone would, even if they were present. The word of the divinities were absolute. What they said was a victory had to be a victory. Perhaps they simply wouldn't see it.

Third Watch was tempted to kill angels. They were strong enough to threaten the Alliance. Each one she removed, they wouldn't have to face. But that would reveal their presence. They had one chance. Even if there were other void ants on a similar mission- unknown, because they didn't have any long distance contact- they couldn't expect the luxury of multiple great successes.

That was why it had to be a divinity. They had been getting closer to one- a man of the Divine Meteor Sect. But it appeared he had gone to the front lines now. It was disheartening… but fortunately Third Watch had her team.

"We will not give up."

"We have not failed."

"As long as we live, our mission remains."

Feeling encouraged, she pushed on. Choosing another destination was difficult, when humans wouldn't conveniently transport them around the planet or charter them between worlds. Remaining secret wasn't all that difficult, even if Third Watch did get the feeling there were some people looking for them. As nothing had happened yet, it was mostly a passive effort.

The Sublime Branch. She would be the next target. A woman named Oriana. Just a woman. No more difficult to kill than any random human. Easier to track down. Harder to catch, because they could and did often move. But Third Watch would do it. Even if she wished her siblings were around to take shifts with her.

Being able to later tell them of her victory would be sufficient.

These humans weren't good at space travel. They managed it, of course. They weren't even particularly slow. They just had terrible spaceports without proper readouts for people to see the flight schedules. They just assumed only cultivators were doing it and they would hop on a ship in time, or miss it.

Some of them didn't even land. The one Third Watch needed didn't land. What a waste of energy, and she couldn't even grab a strand of it as it dispersed into the atmosphere. Finding a way to reach the vessel was a challenge.

There were no buildings tall enough near the ship to climb onto it. Obviously. Even poorly organized humans didn't put towers in the middle of their spaceport. There were a few towers hundreds of meters away, but that was quite a bit out of the bridging capacity of void ants. They could manage a few meters before physics defeated them. Further, if they had time to build. But it would be terribly obvious to anyone with eyes.

Third Watch nearly bashed her head against the wall trying to come up with a solution. She was up on top of a roof with her people- the squads remained together in case they needed to move suddenly. Nobody would be left behind. Not even if the inclement weather was threatening to wash them away.

They'd found a nice dry spot, until the wind changed directions and began to splatter water under the overhang. It was annoying that trivial liquid could cause problems for void ants, but most of them were small enough that they simply couldn't do anything. Not alone.

So now they had to spend more effort to hang onto the walls, where the wind threatened to rip them off of the wet surface. And that was where Third Watch got the idea.

She had to consult with some of her formation engineers on the task. No void ant was meant to design things alone. It was ultimately a simple design that they ended up with, but with a few critical features. A sort of mesh balloon that would allow them to catch the wind… but also leave room for raindrops to pour through. Extra components were required to catch any unfortunate void ants that were knocked loose. The mesh, of course, was them. There was no time to steal human materials, and they obviously didn't have anything that massive on them.

Third Watch formed the anchor point- hanging down at the bottom where humans might put a basket or something, were this a flying balloon. She was biggest and heaviest, so it was her job to hold various strands together.

They walked to the edge of the roof… and waited for the perfect gust. They didn't get it, but they did get numerous pretty good gusts. They threw themselves into the wind over and over. They didn't lose anyone, but sometimes… they fell.

It wasn't dangerous for the most part. But they had to climb up, again and again. Humans might eventually spot them. But this was the ship they needed. When would they get another chance? A day, a week? It could be months before they actually succeeded at boarding one, and their target could have moved on.

They were going to make it. And then they were going to eat a divinity. Or the next one. But they only had to catch one.