Elder Cultivator

Anton had once chased Sudin halfway across the lower realms. Anton himself hadn't been as fast at that point, but he'd put forth all of his effort. This time, he was faster but no matter how much he pushed himself it still wasn't the hardest thing he was doing.

Instead, it took far more mental effort for Anton to not waste his energy attacking early. When the Holy Stars invasion reached a bound star- Enduriel, in the third system along their current path- he actually couldn't hold back, nor did he think he should.

As a Unity cultivator, flatly refusing to defend a system he had bound would destroy him- even more so if he received understanding of those present. If nothing else, Anton had to prove he was a better person than the Holy Stars. That they were better people.

Lev was already there, with one of his later willows. Anton wasn't terribly far, but he hadn't quite made it. The Great Queen was with him, so he had to reach the system in person- he also needed the power himself. Rather than splitting his power between movement and offense, Anton instead considered it using his maximum output in both fields. In normal circumstances, he wouldn't last long.

The first clash was Tammuz against Lev. A massive axe swung down on the planet, perfectly happy to chop it in half. Perhaps he believed his axe could cut down anything- including any tree.

Lev didn't even sit up. He just had his tree block the incoming attack with a few branches. A true insult… though of course Tammuz wouldn't know Lev was at maximum effectiveness as he was. Anton didn't know if Lev's limbs even did anything anymore. He'd always had that one arm, but ever since first connecting to Grandfather Willow, Lev's nerves had been further damaged. Anton could sense a smile on the man's face, beneath his lengthy beard.

Anton had no business trying to block an axe. He very much wanted to try to kill Daria… but he needed his first attack to be effective. Tammuz put everything he had into his swing, but Daria was covering for him. His first target was instead Siro, the Sting of Death. The Watchful String was the most dangerous foe for him, able to harm Anton directly through his energy connections to his attacks. The man was also the most vulnerable.

From the nearby star, Anton also called upon his Unity with the local cultivators. Lev was doing the same, but the locals had plenty of energy to share- especially for a good cause. Not just the locals, either. Anywhere else they were connected to was giving as much energy as they could draw.

A broadhead arrow. Optimally, it would have sliced Siro in half. Anton put enough power into it for that. Siro defended well enough, flinging himself hundreds of kilometers to the side, that he might not have died. Daria still had to save him.

Siro lived. But a few strands of his hair fell… and Anton knew there would be a tiny line of blood on his face.

"Wow, look at that," Lev spoke, his words radiating from his willow, energy projections covering the planet much like Daria's wings covered herself and her fellow divinities. "Five on one and you only lost a little bit. To a guy that's not even here and one that doesn't even have to bother standing up."

Lev's taunts were part of actual official Alliance tactics against the Holy Stars. There weren't any obvious effects, but Anton could feel the fluctuations of energy from them. Wings trembled. All of those with them had witnessed their failures.

"Do not count yourself a victor before the final blow," Daria spoke imperiously. "You will-"

"See that we will inevitably lose, or some crap?" Anton cut her off, treating the words like an attack. He created a shockwave of energy from the star as he continued to run. "The strongest among you couldn't even kill an ant."

There was no good way for them to respond to that. They tried, of course, but what were they going to say? 'They aren't normal ants! It doesn't count!'

Daria appeared to be the designated leader. Or the least patient. Or the most easily provoked. Either way, she made her retort. "You consort with demons and you will be annihilated with them!"

Lev grinned. "Tiny. Ants."

Tammuz suddenly jerked his arm. Lev hoped he hadn't given it away, but the sensory energy of the five divinities had been on full bore the whole time. It was a shame the few void ants he'd managed to deliver when countering that strike hadn't caused any serious damage. Tammuz might have properly dislodged them. Or squashed them.

Isiah of the Divine Meteor Sect and Adelardo of the Burning Hearts attacked as well. Anton could feel every impact that Lev took- splitting the load with the planetary barrier. Lower Realms fleets were engaged with angels and those weaker, but Lev and Anton were more or less occupying their divinities alone.

Anton continued to race. He was close enough that he was nearly full strength, but the Great Queen would be pivotal. And if he was a target as well, he could lower the burden on Lev.

-----

Aerona didn't believe she was a fool, but she had to admit that it was possible. Chiara might have become her blindspot. The Holy Stars might have caused her to go crazy. But here she was, facing their strongest cultivators herself.

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In some sense. In truth, she was doing little more than helping smooth the flow of energy from the planet. Enduriel wasn't an important system, but it was part of the Alliance. Most importantly, this was the place its neighbors had been bringing the refugees from the previous systems under assault. They couldn't escape forever, and the Holy Stars had been relentless in their drive, barely stopping for a few moments even as they conquered planets.

Aerona could have been somewhere else. There were lesser battles underway- the Holy Stars didn't condense all of their forces into this battle. Just all of their divinities, it seemed. Or at least the ones they chose to bring in the assault force. There should be at least two more in their home systems.

Perhaps against a lesser fleet, Aerona could have actually contributed to combat. And it wouldn't have been as foolish to bring Chiara. But Aerona had her reasons. She believed in herself. She believed in Devon- and giving him motivation to be just a little bit faster in reaching Enduriel. She also believed in Chiara.

"You must watch," Aerona said to Chiara. The woman was already doing so, of course. Rather intensely. "See your people with new eyes."

Chiara looked awestruck, her eyes sparkling. "Adelardo… he's here."

The woman looked up with more fondness than she had expressed for her dead husband. And yet… somehow, Aerona felt it was the woman overcompensating. The only question was whether the Holy Stars' brainwashing was better, or Aerona's own social cultivation.

"Let me go to him," Chiara said. Aerona was slightly disappointed, but… "I can plead your case. I have seen the Lower Realms Alliance… is worthy of being a member of the Holy Stars."

Aerona had great leeway, but not this much. But today, she was feeling trusting. "I will let you go to him. But we have no desire to be part of your people. We want to be us, without any would-be conquerors interfering." Aerona flooded Chiara with her own feelings- and that of the planet. People were afraid. Terrified of death. But none of them would prefer to live under the Holy Stars. Aerona reached out for Chiara's chains, pulling out a key to unlock them.

Chiara was stronger than Aerona. She likely could have struck her down in one blow- even though it took her full energy more than a moment to come back. She clearly thought about it. But she returned her eyes to the sky, four wings growing from her back as she flew upwards.

Aerona wanted to believe that they were ephemeral. She knew that her actions today would be greatly scrutinized, but she had no intention to face criticism. Either this worked, or she would be the first to demand her own death.

-----

Finally. It took so, so long. However, Third Watch and her people were fortunate to come across pilgrims making the journey to see Clotildte of the Holy Mountain. An ancient wagon, pulled by lumbering beasts. And it was several orders of magnitude faster than the void ants could go without attracting attention. Though they could have done better, if they were able to set up a proper rolling formation.

Everyone was excited. The humans wished to see Clotilde. Apparently, she was beautiful. Void ants had no way to judge that. Third Watch couldn't even see her face because she made way too much light for no good reason. But her energy…

It wasn't beautiful. It incorporated all of the glory of the planet around her, the mountain upon which she sat. It held the worship of those around her, including the pilgrims. Her energy rose like a pillar into the sky, declaring her presence.

It was like a terrible, awful, disgusting pile of… sugar.

"My sisters," Third Watch declared as they reached a location of one hundred meters from their target. "Today, we devour something bad for us. Don't worry about getting a little on the floor."

A stealth line wasn't good enough for their approach. Too slow, still. Clotilde could just stand and walk off. A line two thick or three was not good enough. They had to risk it.

"Split up. Strike formation 217, modern code," Third Watch gave the instructions, immediately seeing her sisters respond to the pheromones. Their limbs sought out sisters in arms, linking limbs. "No retreat." Most likely, nobody bothered to pay attention to the last line. They already knew.

Third Watch formed her own ball- more difficult than a cylinder, and unnecessary for going in just one direction. However, they had to move through a crowd, skirt around ankles. Each fist size ball was mostly empty, the void ants making nothing more than a shell. The others split apart, driving forward with a semicircular approach. If it was more feasible, some would fully circumnavigate their target, striking from behind.

Stealth and speed were both necessary.

Third Watch followed her path. Her true sisters in the royal guard were waiting for her success. It didn't matter if not even they truly expected her success in this mission. No doubt there were other void ants who had arrived by different methods- perhaps transported after them and arriving soon. But this was the only chance Third Watch had.

They were noticed, of course. A few void ants? Negligible. Their energy fluctuations? It would require active techniques to pick out a shell the size of a fist. But humans could just see them, in their peripheral vision. One glanced down just far enough to see a rolling ball. His reaction caught the attention of the divinity herself. A moment later, there was a massive eruption of energy as the ground shot up like a spear.

Cowardice.

And nearly the perfect move. Instant retreat. The thousands of lesser cultivators in the plaza could crush Third Watch and her company in a few instants. They could kill one or two. Maybe ten or twenty. No more than that.

With a twitch of her legs, Third Watch snapped her sphere into a javelin formation, springing herself forward. Two clutched onto her rear tarsal claws, one on either side. Those behind held onto them. Third Watch grabbed the flow of energy, pulling herself and her own squad along with her. Others would have succeeded as well.

Into the sky they went. Clotilde sat on a section of ground- perhaps part of her 'Holy Mountain'. All she would have to do was take a few more steps into the sky, and she would be free of her pursuers. But she turned, and she looked.

Third Watch was already swinging the tail end of her javelin formation like a scorpion tail. It just had to reach the woman's wrist. Or any of the rest of them. Third Watch would happily give up her position to the meekest private if they performed a good maneuver.

Not that any of them would be making it home for the ceremony.