Chapter 724


    Retreating in the middle of a battle was mortifying, but Luksa prioritized her life above all else. She couldnt understand how she was unable to crush mere Integration cultivators. Was she so weak? No, that couldnt be. They were simply abnormal. Though her energy <em>had</em> felt sluggish. Perhaps their formation master had been hidden somewhere behind the scenes. Yes, that had to be it.


    What was she going to do about those with her on the ship? They would know. Ugh, and <em>he</em> would hear about this. How troublesome.


    Still, at least she was currently safe. As the ship traveled between systems it was impossible to-


    The ship suddenly jerked. Then it split in half. That would solve one of her problems, but clearly there was another mess to be dealt with.


    Luksa drifted out of the ship, weapon at the ready. There were only two enemies. One the swordsman who had bisected the vessel. The other You!


    Me, Everheart grinned widely.


    I thought you were still hiding away like a coward.


    Oh, you tter me, Everheart spread his arms wide. I would dearly love to, but I have some business.


    Going to kill me, then?


    I obviously can, Everheart shrugged. But Id prefer if you juste with us.


    ... Why?


    Because you <em>might</em> survive that way. And I wont have to get my hands dirty.


    What do you want? Luksa gripped her weapon tightly.


    Everything. But this time Id settle for information. I want to know about thest of your little group of saints.


    Everyone knows about us, Luksa said.


    Oh really? Even the ninth individual who was just with you? Everhearts aura permeated the whole area. Though Luksa knew she couldnt escape to begin with. And I want to know about the other one.


    What if there are two more?


    There arent, Everheart said confidently. Nowe. Tell me how you feel about them. Im sure it will be enlightening.


    -----


    The Harmonious Citadel was able to announce that the saint of light had returned unscathed. Though the Scarlet Alliance knew that was only true because he never showed up to begin with. As for the morningstar saint, a public appearance convinced people of simrlycking injuries but something was odd about it. The Scarlet Alliance didnt get eyes on it in person, but they were quite certain Luksa should have been injured. Perhaps she simply did well to not show it. They could only hope it hindered her recovery.


    Within the council chambers of the Scarlet Alliance, the results were discussed. We finally got them to reveal one, Zazil said.


    A second Augmentation level light cultivator, Tauno frowned. They have their branch, of course, but I have the feeling that this one has the same origins as the first.


    It would be troublesome if the Exalted Quadrant continued to have an active hand in the Harmonious Citadels activities. It was already a problem that theyd infiltrated with the saint of light. The question was if this particr individual had been there all along, or what his purpose was. If he was simply another Augmentation member of the Harmonious Citadel kept hidden, then they would only have to worry how many more remained.


    Though they are doing their best to maintain their public image, they had to have known this attack would likely not be sessful, Velvet exined. We must question what they meant to gain. We have appearances for the saints of light and morningstar, which leaves axe and shield unounted for. And of course, she of the dagger.


    Ill tear her apart next time, Taunomented.


    That would be quite beneficial for us, Velvet said. But of course, you surviving an assassination attempt still puts us ahead. She surveyed the rest of the room. Now then, what do we think they will do?


    They need victories, Zazilmented. They will cut a straight line here and try to take us on.


    You think theyre that desperate? Catarina asked.


    They cant afford to let us take them on individually like this.


    Thats why we should keep it up, Tauno dered. We just have to push them a little further.


    As long as it doesnt take them over the edge, Zazil said. They still have a half dozen Augmentation cultivators who could cause untold destruction.


    -----


    The first indication of something wrong came a few dayster, and from an unexpected direction. Unexpected fleetsing in from the <em>west</em>. The only issue was that they did not appear to be Harmonious Citadel forces. If they had taken a long route about well, they should have been spotted. But the same was true for the iing fleets. They were only spotted a handful of systems away from Xankeshan, seemingly having avoided the majority of inhabited systems as they traveled.


    There was plenty of open space for a fleet to travel unnoticed, but they all had to replenish energy and stores of consumables within a system eventually. So either they had advanced knowledge of every popted system or they had greater capacity than typical ships. Or perhaps both. They were practically on the doorstep of Xankeshan, and it wasnt just a few ships but a fleet of hundreds. The exact size could only be approximated, but it had to be at least that many. That meant tens of thousands of cultivators, and unless someone was nning to throw away disciples they should be in Essence Collection or higher. Cultivators below Spirit Building would die on any higher level battlefield without anyone even having to intentionally target them.


    I dont know how they made it so far, Velvet apologized. And theck of other information is likewise my responsibility. Just because we werent expecting an attack from the west


    Zazil shook her head. Many of the territories there are part of our alliance. Your policies can only do so much. Either way, what matters is how we will respond to them.


    Are theying here? Catarina asked. As in, Xankeshan? Or might they be heading past, into the Harmonious Citadels territory to support them?


    I dont know, Velvet admitted. We only know of their existence, and little else. But we can surmise they are not friends of ours, or they wouldnt bother with secrecy.


    We can recall some of our fleets from neighboring systems, Timothy said. But I think we would do best to rely on what we already have here.


    Tauno had a pertinent question. Are they actually a threat? The barriers around Xankeshan are not to be trifled with.


    They would need at least a handful of Augmentation cultivators, Catarina said. Along with the armies, of course. If we could focus some of the devices Engineer Uzun has helped put together on just Augmentation cultivators, they wouldnt make it through the barrier. And- Catarina frowned. Perfect timing strikes once more. Or perhaps it is best to say that there is constant trouble. An attempt was made to breach the barrier.


    Theyre here already? Zazil asked, looking up towards the ceiling.


    No, it was an individual. Perhaps the dagger saint. If the two of you hurry you might catch her but


    But what? Tauno asked.


    The barrier likely deflected whoever it was quite a distance away. I dont feel any signs, but if the two of you would patrol together


    They didnt hesitate to go- but it seemed whoever it was knew they would have been noticed and thus quickly retreated. That was only the start of the troubles, but it was actually a good sign that the intrusion had been stopped.


    -----


    Attacks soon followed, not by the known iing fleets but by a smaller coalition. However, it included at least the axe and shield saints, Abhsh and Eterna respectively. Abhsh was extremely obvious as he immediately attacked the barrier directly. Eterna supported him from the retaliatory effects.


    A perfect target right there! Uzun sighed, Yet blocked by one overly focused on defense. If only we could pick out the sneaky one


    Youre not worried about an assassin potentially havinge through the barrier? Catarina asked.


    Bah, you know as well as I the strength of the barriers. If someone could pass through, we would already be dead. As he spoke he was adjusting settings on aputer.


    Can you kill him? Catarina asked.


    Depends on how stupid they are. And of course on how well this is calibrated. Our two Augmentation cultivators will be necessary regardless. It will probably overheat.


    I thought you said it was ready.


    It <em>is</em> ready, Uzun said. I didnt say it would <em>melt</em>. Which it should. <em>If</em> I werent controlling it myself.


    Sorry. I havent gotten to see things like this in action ever.


    A fair point, Uzun agreed. What I can say for sure is that it is disconnected from the power sources of the barrier and everything else, so it will not weaken our defenses unlike the inbuilt retaliations here. And it makes use of the suns light, which you should like.


    Obviously, Catarina said. Did you ever meet my grandfather?


    Anton? Yes, but unfortunately I never got to see his powers in person. Ah, here we go, Engineer Uzun grinned. Wed better get on it, before that big fleet shows up.


    -----


    Abhsh was under no illusions that he could take down the barrier of Xankeshan himself. However, he <em>could</em> test it for ws, and as long as he did not exhaust himself then whatever damage he caused would be effective. He might simply drain their power stores, but it was costly to replenish such thingspared to an afternoon cultivating for himself. Going on the offense to keep them on the back foot was the important thing.


    The local fleets seemed afraid to challenge him, which was too bad because he was looking forward to chopping them up.


    Cant you do more? Eternained. Its not even fighting back.


    Remember how long this ce stood in the control of Everheart, in the guise of his tomb. At that time he allowed people to descend to the surface, but it was still impossible to circumvent the trials he had in ce. Now, that same power simple covers the whole ce. Our formation masters should be working on methods to bring it down. Perhaps you would like to add your own efforts?


    Eterna shook her head. I must remain vignt. Unless you wish me to leave you to die.


    Bah. Their Augmentation cultivators are still a quarter of the away. What can they do?


    The answer came a short timeter, after perhaps another half hour of the man battering the barrier. A sudden buildup of energy on the below, though quite some distance away. Nothing that should threaten them, but Eterna had a bad feeling. She readied her shield and the skies lit up as the world caught ame.


    How? Eterna couldntprehend theposition of energy. It felt like light. Simple light and nothing more. It was not held together by a cultivators energy, though there was some guidance far below.


    Shed felt it before, from the new ships being used. But this was the first time shed felt something of such magnitude.


    Still, she didnt have to fully understand it to block it. She held in ce, protecting herself and Abhsh. Then a fraction of a secondter, the beam changed its angle of attack. It wasnt trying to circumvent her defenses, but instead ignoring her entirely. It simply chopped through the ships waiting nearby, with no chance at all for her to respond. And the Augmentation cultivators Zazil and Tauno were now much closer.


    We must retreat, she told Abhsh.


    Tsk. He clicked his tongue. We should have simply focused all our forces here long ago instead of waiting. It is shameful that the Harmonious Citadel had to fight over scraps ofnd. Even though he said that, he did not resist as Eterna pulled him away. She should have been able to protect the ships, but without them theyd have to return to the rest of their fleet. They didnt want to risk fighting the Augmentation cultivators without the rest of their support and certainly not with the weapon below as another factor.