Elder Cultivator

Chapter 1193

Catarina wasn’t quite certain what she expected to happen upon Shelach’s death, but it wasn’t an increase in aggression. It seemed to her like people might want to take a moment to consider a second Domination cultivator’s death in the same battle, but instead they pressed harder.

Yann. The nameless Domination cultivator from the Swirling Swarm. Koronis. Ramil of the Citadel of Exalted Light. The latter was the weakest by far, but not a trivial threat.

They had not let up their attacks on Timothy’s barriers during the entire period of Shelach’s death. They were nominally allies, of course, but now their greatest fear was dead. It wasn’t all that strange that they intended to get rid of the two fatigued Domination cultivators in front of them.

Timothy had to withdraw his energy to protect just the two of them, but it didn’t seem as if he would hold long. A massive dragon was one thing, but the smaller forms of the Swirling Swarms still provided significant danger, a constant pressure. Koronis’ flames added to the mix.

Catarina looked at Timothy, smiling. “I’m so proud of our son. And the rest of them, I suppose.”

Timothy chuckled. “You should be.” Her eyes flicked to the incoming group. “You sure?”

“I can do at least that much.”

A thousand years of companionship allowed them to communicate far more than their words and actions displayed. But sometimes, words needed to be said. “I love you. Don’t be foolish.”

Catarina grinned. “Me? Never, my love.”

The barrier cracked. A flash of light tore through, streaking towards the two of them. Catarina reached out her hand, catching Ramil’s wrist. A blade in his hand pierced towards her as the two of them disappeared. From the perception of others, at least. From her own perspective, she and Ramil were still vaguely perceptible in the surrounding energy. She caught his blade and held it, their energies struggling.

He truly was on the cusp of Domination- and she was exhausted. Her formations weren’t meant to handle so many Domination cultivators. It took a lot more active empowerment then it looked like.

“What have you done?” Ramil demanded. As if she was acting crazy. He let go of his blade, as her grip would not relinquish it. She felt him dissolve into ash before she teleported herself to safety. It seemed he couldn’t handle all that much light. Or perhaps it was the plasma.

Catarina looked at her own body. Scorched. Young Domination cultivators didn’t outmatch stars… and even if the One Hundred Stars granted her some affinity, she wasn’t bound to them in the same way as Anton.

She hadn’t intended to run… but going back to the battle now would simply place herself at risk for no reason. She had to count on the others.

-----

Ramil had been let through on purpose, of course. Unfortunately, the second collapse wasn’t part of Timothy’s will. The claw of a dragon broke through his outer defenses, reaching for him. Timothy angled his shield to deflect it- doubtless he could only last one or two strikes- when the claw went off-target.

Probably because it was no longer connected to Yann. It wasn’t Chidi- he seemed to be trying to bring Aconite and Durff to safety. And himself, hopefully. The planets might hold out for a while longer, compared to the forces in space.

Timothy’s eyes landed on Rahayu. Without him, Chidi would have been in a better state to battle Shelach… but it was a bit late to complain. Rahayu didn’t even seem interested in him. Nor was he further interested in Yann, it seemed.

The roar of the dragon was immense. Timothy rebounded it back upon him directly. He would take any opening, even if it meant leaving one himself. Yann was knocked back through Swirling Swarm and Fearsome Menagerie cultivators alike, doubtless killing many with his bulk.

The Swirling Swarm cultivator came for him. That simple club struck Timothy’s shield, breaking his arm. It pulled back… and the head was floating in the void.

Timothy only glimpsed Ratna for a second, but he very much appreciated she came back to finish the job. The flicker of energy transmitting a message made him smile wryly. “I heard you can get me a planet.”

He had vaguely heard of something like that. For a Domination cultivator? They could absolutely wrangle a planet. Timothy took a breath. That was three. None of which were himself… or Catarina. He could feel her through the anchors they shared.

“Scarlet Alliance territory is not for old fools to play around in,” Timothy declared. He wasn’t quite certain where his speech was directed. At the Scarlet Alliance? They needed a boost of confidence nearly as much as himself. Perhaps his words would shock their enemies into realizing what state they were in.

Yann was chasing after Rahayu, who was completely ignoring the Domination cultivator as he sliced his way through space towards his next target. It seemed like the galaxy would be three down… and one up. Too bad about Tauno. He was so close.

Timothy looked into the eyes of Koronis. “You could have just fought the Exalted Quadrant.”

She shrugged. “It’s a good opportunity to get rid of threats.”

“Good point,” Timothy said. As fire flared around her, he moved inward, grabbing at her throat. He didn’t actually touch her, their energies conflicting and keeping them at a short distance.

“Nice try. But I know you’re weak against continuous attacks.” The intensity of her flames began to increase. And then… she stopped. “I’m not so naive that I’d burn myself alive.” She concentrated her flames into one hand, reaching for Timothy’s wrist- which she couldn’t reach, of course. “While you’re keeping me here, what of your people?” Р𝓪Ŋо𐌱Еṡ

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“What about them?” Timothy asked. “They’re doing fine. Yours are the ones that are fleeing. I’m being watched by my people, but I’m sure you can feel them drawing away.”

Koronis grimaced. With a burst of energy, she broke through Timothy’s barrier, dashing away. He looked after her, glad she hadn’t pressed him. After all, she hadn’t had to endure attacks from several Domination cultivators for most of the battle.

-----

“Don’t you dare!” Vari said as she kicked Everheart in the face. He took it without even attempting to avoid her attack.

“And what do you think it is that I was going to do?”

“I don’t care. You could have tried to kill Timothy. Or some of our future Domination cultivators. Or to steal our loot. Do you know how difficult it is going to be for the Scarlet Alliance to recover from this already?”

Everheart stroked his chin. “I imagine it will take place much more swiftly than all the others, given how much emphasis you place on prosperity.”

Vari didn’t bother listening to him. “It’ll probably take centuries! We put so much effort into building this.”

“I see. And how are you going to stop me from doing what I want?”

“I’ll disinherit you! You won’t be my uncle anymore!”

“The same threats won’t work forever.”

“I’ll sic Paradise on you! Or Anton!”

“They’re hundreds of lightyears away, in another realm.” Everheart knew that, but he also knew that another part of him in the 13th Everheart System sensed some of Anton. Was that as far as he could attack? He might need the Tides, but still. It could be further. “I suppose I shall comply. I’ve achieved my objectives for today.”

And more. Chasing down Koronis wouldn’t benefit him much. She and her sect would need to grow more to be worthwhile. He was also going to have to grab Rahayu away from Yann. The Fearsome Menagerie sect head might finish him off.

It might be a good chance to take out Yann, actually. But who was going to take over for Shelach as the upper realms’ boogeyman if not for Everheart? And for that, wasn’t it best to have Domination cultivators?

It couldn’t just be the Scarlet Alliance. Though there were some number elsewhere still, today bore the greatest number of Domination cultivator deaths in a single day… ever. At least, in the long millennia of recorded history he’d been able to glean access to. So many cycles of farming the people of the lower realms. He might have gone along with it, too, if it wasn’t so inefficient. The Scarlet Alliance was so much better at it. He really needed to establish some outposts of his own somewhere before they took over everything. Though really, they were just a small slice of the galaxy.

Cynbel was dealt with. He had more Scarlet Alliance technology. That would be sufficient.

-----

The forces of the Trigold Cluster, Exalted Quadrant, and Everheart all retreated- except for Ratna and her one official

sect. There was just one more matter they had to deal with.

“Two planets,” Ratna demanded.

If Timothy and Catarina weren’t so exhausted, they would have taken care of the final Swirling Swarm Domination cultivator themselves. “We’re not asking for you to kill them. Just hold them for a few moments.” That individual was more or less fresh. Potentially vulnerable… but so were the planets of the Scarlet Alliance, if left to their own devices. Catarina couldn’t teleport many people with her to arbitrary locations. It had been a calculated move to remove the individual from the battle- either the Alliance survived or it wouldn’t.

“One and a half.”

“How about we seed it with trees?” Timothy asked. “It will take longer to deliver, but it could be worthwhile.” The negotiations were mostly for show. It would be quite impractical for them to send multiple planets to Ratna- or for her to retrieve them. It was unlikely the Lower Realms would accept much in the way of such demands aside from the previous offer.

But they had perhaps half a day to rest before they would risk that Domination cultivator hitting an occupied system. They might hope they would go around, but that was a bit risky. It wasn’t so bad to spend some time doing… very little.

Catarina had let herself be bandaged, but recovering in a bed wouldn’t do her any good. There were others who needed the actual medical beds more- so many more people that they couldn’t manage without calling upon other systems. Things would be tight for a few days… and the cleanup of the free floating debris and bodies would take months.

“Trees would be tolerable, I guess,” Ratna said, as if that was a concession. “How long will it take?”

“Depends on how old you want the trees to be.”

Once the agreement was reached- and they determined that they had rested as much as they could spare- Catarina brought them to between systems.

Ratna turned into a vision of death, even as she slipped behind the stars. Even Timothy felt as if a knife were almost at his throat. Her killing intent was strong enough that the lone Swirling Swarm cultivator could only take a defensive posture. If they truly let down their guard, Ratna would kill them. That just wasn’t the plan.

Catarina needed some time between instances of teleporting- especially while fatigued. She clutched her arm around Timothy, who charged the club wielding cultivator. One attack cracked his still recovering energy, but he held. The three of them teleported just inside the edge of the spatial distortion, tossing the club cultivator out. They didn’t even realize quite what was happening before crossing over. If they went back in, they would have to face the forces of Xankeshan all on their own.

Neither of the remaining two hoped that they would make that choice. Because the Scarlet Alliance couldn’t withstand much more conflict without falling apart at the seams.

-----

Anton watched the border of the lower realms. A few opportunistic sects thought to make use of the artificial tides- mainly those that were under informed about what had happened with the last cycles. The other members of the Trigold Cluster hadn’t exactly advertised their losses, though obviously they couldn’t keep them entirely secret.

He waited patiently for people to cross the midpoint. “If you dare continue forward into the lower realms, your lives will be forfeit.”

Some groups thought he was bluffing. He killed their leaders and gave them a second chance.

Anyone who turned around got to live. Some found it more difficult than others.

Not everyone learned their lesson, and some of the sects sought to waylay the cultivators returning from the Imbued Fragments.

Anton filled them full with the resentment of the lower realms. He and its people didn’t need that anymore, so he had to do something with it. They hadn’t yet received word about the state of the Scarlet Alliance, but Anton had a good feeling about things. And as a cultivator of some experience, he’d learned to trust his heart.