Elder Cultivator

Chapter 916

Tensions were high on the planet Lonkeon, which was being used as the forward military base for managing the Scarlet Alliances defensive efforts. Glances were exchanged around the table, though it was notable that only a portion of the normal figures were present. Lonkeon was close enough to the front lines that they could potentially reinforce anywhere from their current position, but there were many systems under attack on the front lines and they had to split their attention between all of them.

Chikere was never really involved in any command meetings, unless her expertise was required for something very specific. Otherwise, she was simply briefed on what she needed to know. Tauno was usually present, but he was currently fighting on the front lines. Velvet was occupied with scouting operations so she could not be physically present, and despite their best efforts they didnt have real time communication between systems. Because of that, they could only really plan overall strategy and respond to requests for aid from their current position.

Obviously things havent been going as well as we would have liked, Catarina began. Our previous successes bolstered the confidence in our Alliance. Now she bit her lip.

Zazil shook her head, Nobody would expect more against a serious assault from the Exalted Quadrant. This is far beyond the level of casual intrusion. Were facing more than the entire Harmonious Citadel could bring to bear, but all at the same time. And the fact that we have not immediately crumpled under their power speaks volumes.

Catarina folded her hands to keep them still. Controlling her body language was not her strong suit, as she had developed an eccentric image. But normally she had the comforting presence of Timothy next to her. Instead, he was off fighting at the front lines. Not at this exact moment, as far as she was aware, but the point was he wasnt close. She didnt like it.

Its still not looking good, though, Catarina pointed out. We havent been able to take down any of their Augmentation cultivators.

And in turn, Zazil replied, They have not killed any of ours.

Indeed, Prasad commented. An excellent showing.

That may be, Catarina admitted. But it is our side that cant afford the loss. If we lose a few now, then what will we do in the future?

Prasad laughed, a rarity for the man. Theres your problem. Thinking about the future. Were locked in battle with the Exalted Quadrant. Even if its just a portion of their power, we have to take them seriously like they are everything. Of course, we must think about preserving our people for future battles, but future wars? We cant afford to think of that.

This very well might be the end of our Alliance, Zazil said. But I would say weve had a fine run.

Seriously? Catarina asked. Do you just intend to give up then?

Its clear you did not grow up in the upper realms, Prasad said. We fought hard for our positions, but we understand the power of the overlords surrounding us. Your victories in the lower realms and then here they mean much to you, but ultimately our rise to power is likely to fall short. We will still fight, of course, Prasad assured her. I just wouldnt expect to live. Perhaps we will have the fortune to reincarnate with a portion of our knowledge somewhere far away though it seems unlikely that souls drift so far from their native realms.

We wont lose, Catarina said. If they reach Xankeshan our defenses are sufficient. Its just a matter of how much we are set back before then.

I hope youre right, Zazil said. We are currently on the back foot. Since we are here to discuss a change in tactics, I would suggest less reliance on our formations. She saw Catarinas look at that. Because as it turns out, youve brought with you advancements beyond simple barriers. Traditionally in the upper realms, wars have been fought on a planets surface, or near enough to it. But your ships might even outclass the Exalted Quadrants. Everything but their flagships, at least.

Prasad nodded slowly. If we can catch them away from our planets and destroy the ships carrying troops, we might manage something exceptional.

They can always fit more people in a single ship, Catarina said. Unless we take out half of their largest ships. And wed probably have to include the capacity of their flagships in that count. Taking those out is unlikely.

Unfortunately, in a realm with nearly countless Integration cultivators, Ascension-class ships were insufficient on their own. As long as any of the enemy flagships allowed their carried Augmentation cultivators to fight without restraint then they could easily take out many of those ships. And their higher tier ships were few and far between. Though they did have some exceptional cultivators who focused on ships, so that helped.

Even with all that, Catarina began nodding to herself. We need to remember that this is war. The enemy supply lines are well, practically nonexistent. They might be able to repair ships, but replacing them will be much more difficult. Likewise, they cant bring any reinforcements in a reasonable amount of time. If the Exalted Quadrant simply wanted to commit hard enough to overwhelm them with attrition? There was little they could do about it. But hopefully, things would be constrained to the people and factions already in the war.

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We can also take advantage of their supply lines in another way, Prasad commented. We are fighting a defensive war, thus most of our ships will be resupplying somewhere already secure. On the other hand, they are coming to unfamiliar planets and making them less secure. Its pretty much impossible to choke off their supply of food with what they already have occupied, but we can harass any ships going to and from the frontlines.

The only problem is if they use captured ships, Zazil pointed out. Its still a good idea, and civilian ships are much less secure regardless. But we have to consider what they might resort to, and how it will affect our people. Things can be worse for them than a temporary occupation by the Exalted Quadrant if they become spiteful.

Then we must always appear to be easier targets, Catarina said. Or achieve several significant victories all at once. But for that, we need Velvets reports. We know many of the Augmentation cultivators they have brought with them, but likely not all of them.

After that, the discussions continued with them trying to balance how and when they would send reinforcements to various planets. That also came with the unfortunate discussions of which ones they would not be sending reinforcements to. However, the Exalted Quadrant was known to have some mercy, so retreat and surrender were both viable options. At least for most people. It wasnt as clear for the leadership, since they didnt even know what the Exalted Quadrants goal was. Perhaps because they had clashed with them in small ways previously. However, they had yet to make any specific demands or declarations so it would merely be speculation.

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Some people knew little more than their own cultivation techniques and the name of their sect head, and frankly Everheart doubted that some of them knew the latter. Others, however, were veritable seas of useful information. And while such people were often useful, their martial power was often weaker and they might not be resistant to proper interrogation techniques.

Nadzeya was a direct assistant to Zaur Beridze of the Citadel of Exalted Light. And had she not been the one captured, Everheart imagined she would have been able to point fingers towards him rather easily. Instead, the blame went to the Scarlet Alliance and while Everheart was usually glad to cause such misunderstandings, his niece lived there and he also happened to find their presence in the Scarlet Midfields useful.

As it turned out, Nadzeya knew many things, including some hypotheses that were far too close to the truth for Everhearts comfort. Removing such a valuable source from enemy hands was a victory, and he could make great use of many other things he had learned. She was not so shy about sharing information about their enemies, after all. Everheart had much experience discerning truth from lies, so he could be fairly certain he wasnt going into a trap.

But for him, hed found the best way to avoid falling into a trap was to be a few steps ahead setting up his own traps. And hed keep doing it until he met someone that bested him and maybe even caught him in a trap of his own devising. If he left intentional flaws to be exploited, his enemies could do the same so he did everything with as close to perfection as he had time for, or at least on the scale he felt was necessary.

His current plan was to skirt a very dangerous line. Which was to say, more or less his day-to-day except this time he was heading deep into the Trigold Cluster. Hed heard about their little war in the lower realms. Quite embarrassing, really. Both that they lost and that they were so bad at destroying stars.

Obviously they had made a big mistake going for one Anton was defending, but to fail to fully destroy not one but two stars only attuned to his apprentice disgraceful. Disgraceful and wasteful, because he was quite certain that their methods wouldnt have come out with a well refined starheart even had they otherwise been successful.

Everheart found that the most important thing one could have in enemy territory were contacts. They could even be spies, really. It was just that there was only so far leaving a note on someones bedside table worked before they became more worried about their security and hunting him down than the message. In this case, he was going to give them a partial truth about himself. And he also planned to reveal an important truth to one Ratna. A simple sounding name for a complicated woman, and one of only a few domination cultivators hed ever encountered.

The Guardians of the Veiled Brilliance were some of Everhearts favorite people. They had much deception in their cultivation, and they displayed it in their words and actions. Because of that, they picked up many sorts of enemies. Sometimes, those enemies were powerful. Unfortunately, where people had powerful enemies they tended to stay home in their fancy citadels sunning themselves instead of going out and performing violence on the world or those they had grudges with.

But sometimes opportunities appeared, and Everheart had learned one such opportunity. A chance to resolve a personal grudge was difficult for most individuals to pass up. To also gain some social merits was a bonus. Everheart grinned. Oh, it should be exciting. Sparks would fly.

Granted, if his part was found out he might receive a few complaints, but really whatever system things went down in it wasnt his fault what the side effects were. That was someone elses business. He didnt have the time or energy to manipulate people to an exact location so that he could also benefit maximally from the side effects. He probably wouldn't have another chance like this for centuries, so he had to go with what he had.

It was too bad his visit to the Trigold Cluster couldnt result in too much upheaval. Hed love to leave with a shipful of treasure, but he frankly couldnt afford to be associated with this incident. He was more than aware that his overt actions were quite obvious, and he didnt have the time to set up a good heist and a proper clash. So he was going to aim for the one that would cause maximum damage to his enemies. That was to say, almost everyone. But surprisingly, not quite everyone. He might even think about recruiting Nadzeya if she could get over the whole abduction thing.

Which she might or might not. It was no sweat for Everheart either way.

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