Chapter 924


    A fast ship carried Tauno from Lonkeon along the path of the Disciples of the Beyonds retreat- not all of the Exalted Quadrant were flying together. He wasnt the only one, but his condition was one of the best among the Scarlet Alliances Augmentation cultivators. Others were heading towards other systems to reim them and hopefully secure as many of their resources as possible. Tauno was going to do the same, it was merely that some of those resources would be with their retreating foes already.


    The Exalted Quadrant forces on the were quite surprised when Tauno arrived ahead of their own forces- with the exception of Zaur who was apparently still moving with great speed. Tracking his movements was quite easy, as they still had active remote systems on the upieds. The Exalted Quadrant didnt understand their technology not based on energy, and they hadnt brought sufficient forces to perform more than token upations, forcing the local citizenry to keep their heads down.


    The Disciples of the Beyond that Tauno tore his way through didntst long. Those with skills leaning more towards formations and technology were able to get a portion of thes defenses functional before the Disciples arrived. They were being followed closely by more Scarlet Alliance fleets, and wresting the from their tenuous control meant they couldnt stop and recoup for even a moment.


    Just as they were passing by, however, battle sprung out and it wasnt the Scarlet Alliance catching up to them. No, they were still somewhat behind having taken a short time to properly reorganize around Lonkeon. Instead, the attacking ships appeared from nowhere just like Ratna.


    Information specialists helpfully provided Tauno with the name of the sect. Guardians of the Veiled Brilliance. Their threat rating had been high <em>before</em> it was confirmed they had a Domination cultivator, and now they were even more so. However, their current hostility was not towards the Scarlet Alliance and thus Tauno was content to sit back and watch the sh.


    Not that it was much to look at. The Disciples of the Beyond were already exhausted, and the Veiled Brilliance cultivators were fresh. The former were also down an Augmentation cultivator, while Tauno counted three among the fleet a fleet that wasnt as small as the Scarlet Alliance had presumed. Merely detecting them had apparently been the limits of their current sensors.


    Tauno had some time to think for the first time in a while, and what he thought about was Zazils role in things. It was true she hadnt caused any harm to the alliance, but he didnt know if that was just an excuse. Either way, she was still back on Lonkeon.


    Ultimately, theyd known each other long enough that Tauno was willing to believe her betrayal hadnt been genuine. That wasnt what bothered him so much as theck of trust in him. Certainly, he was not much of a diplomat but that was exactly why it wasnt that big of a deal to tell him what was going on. He might not be good at keeping secrets, but he also didnt have many people he <em>could</em> reveal secrets to.


    But she <em>had</em> helped secure the death of Zhelyazko, and much more easily than it could have been. Without that, Tauno might have currently been injured or exhausted, unable to participate in <em>this</em> part of the war efforts.


    Tauno watched as the Guardians of the Veiled Brilliance brought down the Disciples of the Beyond and started gobbling up the remains of their ships and of course taking what resources they carried. Resources that probably half or more came from the Scarlet Alliance. But what were they going to do about it? Frankly, they couldnt have retrieved most of those themselves, and it still felt good to see them suffer the consequences.


    -----


    A few ships with longer ranges shot down as many fleeing ships from the Citadel of Exalted Light as they could. The Hardened Crown Sect built their ships as tough as themselves, so it was easier to focus on the Citadel. With them having the biggest stake in the war, it was also the best form of retribution.


    The Scarlet Alliance didnt suddenly have enough forces topletely wipe out the rest of the intruders, and though they would have liked to chase them all the way back to the Exalted Quadrant they left them at their own borders.


    There was other work to do that didnt involve risking lives for limited gain. And while many people were left with personal grudges they were unable to fulfill, that was the case with most conflicts. They were already fortunate to have stood up to a slightly serious assault.


    Reconstruction efforts would begin immediately, and various ns were reconsidered- specifically Catarinas most extreme ns. Suddenly it seemed like pouring all of their resources into some sort ofrger defensive project wasnt so unreasonable. Even if it took decades or centuries toplete, it was clear the Scarlet Alliance couldnt continue as it was.


    Someday they might have enough cultivators of sufficient caliber to stand independent without worry, but that would be an even further future.


    -----


    Only a few monthster, Uzunnded on Bounty. The Scarlet Alliance was having to rethink many of their policies, and one of those involved the void ants. They were aware of the risks, of course. If they were known to be sheltering or worse <em>allying with</em> void ants, the Exalted Quadrant and Trigold Cluster might even work together to wipe them out. On the other hand, it would only take a small portion of either to eradicate them as things stood.


    Personally, Uzun favored the void ants. He was from Rutera, and while hed trained in energy cultivation hed also studied pure technology. He had no worries about void ants suddenly trying to devour him, probably even less than he was concerned about any of the Scarlet Alliances other allies suddenly turning on them. But he also understood that the void ants could draw in further trouble if their association was known.


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    So it simply couldnt be found out. And he was here today to begin what might be a very long process. If nothing else, void ants could live on Xankeshan. They would still have to remain secret from the general public there, but <em>not</em> having void ants among the Scarlet Alliance nearly proved to be a fatal mistake. Because their enemies were stronger than them which was exactly the sort of thing void ants helped bnce out.


    Xaur himself would have been a problem. Void ants werent <empletely</em> immune to all energy. However, with enough void ants they could have taken him out. And while sacrificing thousands or millions of sapient or potentially sapient individuals sounded horrific well, Uzun was the practical sort who would prefer to bnce that against billions. He wasnt going to say that void ants were worth less individually- the void ants themselves could judge how they felt about that. But if they could take out a domination cultivator, it was really a small sacrifice overall.


    For all those reasons, Uzun finished his proposal to Crossed Antennae. We now invite you to establish a colony on Xankeshan.


    The void ants response was clear and swift as she signed. No.


    Uzun waited for a moment, sure there would be more. ... Why?


    That is not my purpose here in the upper realms. And if we get revealed among you, it may alsopromise our people on the border and thus our coordination with the lower realms. That is, ultimately, where weve had our homes.


    Uzun frowned, but nodded. I too was born in the lower realms, he said. And I would like to think I keep their interests in mind. Or rather, the Scarlet Alliance is made up inrge part of those from the lower realms who are still quite attached. What if I could assure you you would not be found out?


    Then I would say you have fooled yourself with false numbers. Because there is no perfect guarantee of such a thing. Even a small risk of one in a hundred or a thousand could jeopardize our operation and cost far more lives than even the greatest colony could make up for. And that before even considering the lower realms.


    I see you have a good head for numbers, Uzun nodded. What if we could improve the efficiency of your operations here?


    Then you should do so without a colony on Xankeshan, Crossed Antennae said. It is ultimately also in your interests.


    Weve been trying, Uzun said honestly. But there are problems with testing, you might imagine. We cant exactly ship prototypes out here months away, especially of modules not capable of interster transportation. If you yourself were on Xankeshan, you wouldnt be much further from the edges of your expanding influence, and there would be many benefits.


    It still sounds foolish. Would not shipsing and going be obvious?


    We could transport an entire colony on one of our normal cargo ships without even making a noticeable dent in their storage. And I dont just mean at maximumpaction.


    You should, Crossed Antennae countered. You can fit many more of us if you do not care aboutfort.


    But we dont need to. Also, I thought you were against this.


    I am, Crossed Antennae said. But I will still consider your proposal seriously. How long are you staying?


    Long enough to talk to your engineers, at least, Uzun said. Because were still going to be supporting this project as much as possible. Wed also like to ask your help with some tests. Weve been working with the lower realms, and were ready to go into testing for small inter-realms ships. Like the capsule that brought you here except hopefully faster and capable of multiple uses.


    Transporting cultivators between the upper and lower realms through any process without relying on the tides of the world was outside of the scope of what theyd be doing anytime soon but they had already seen the Trigold Cluster simply toss things between realms- more or less. Uzun thought they could do better than that. And void ants were great for both things that worked at a small scale and with little or no energy involved. Cryogenics apparently worked much better on them as well.


    -----


    The losses of the Scarlet Alliance could have been far worse, even ignoring the potential threat of total annihtion. The loss of Kseniya hurt those who knew her, and while theyd lost very few Augmentation cultivators they also didnt <em>have</em> many to begin with.


    The war had still taken quite a few lives of those who had the <em>potential</em> to reach Augmentation, including some who had hoped to advance in the next few decades. Slys advancement was a great boon, especially for the sake of the Hardened Crown Sect cultivators ascending from the lower realms- both the faction that had broken away from Ceretos, and more recently the fewing from Nidec.


    The total forces avable to the Scarlet Alliance simply werent sufficient. They could only hope that Zaur wouldnt be making any moves in the near future. The ripples of his battle with Ratna had been tracked all the way to the border with the Exalted Quadrant- so unfortunately he hadnt perished- but if they were lucky he might be injured enough to have to spend decades or more in recovery.


    The fleets from the Trigold Cluster and Ratna herself passed back through the Scarlet Alliances territory without asking for permission in any form not that they could have been stopped regardless. The Scarlet Alliance couldnt afford to anger <em>more</em> people.


    They still didnt know exactly <em>why</em> the war hade when it did, nor did they know who exactly had tipped off Ratna. That was their saving grace in a very unfortunate situation. They only hoped that Zaur would want to enact his inevitable revenge himself- there was no way such a man could ept a loss to them. Hopefully, he would be too ashamed to ask for others in the Exalted Quadrant to act immediately.


    Soon enough they would know. Either greater fleets woulde, or they would be left alone for a while. They could only n to rebuild and grow stronger, because no amount of fortifying their borders in the short term would have any effect if an equally strong assault happened within the next decade, let alone one that carried the full might of the Citadel of Exalted Light.