Chapter 362
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Chapter 362
Once they realized they were losing, the invaders were allowed the illusion of a path to retreat. Some were allowed to slip by out the gates, while others found their ways to the edges of the Diamond Hill Sanctuary and fled over the walls, to various levels of success. But they werent actually free from there- they were simply dealt with by groups to maximize safety. Or taken down by various individuals with sufficient ranged abilities.
From there, the forces of Graotan moved to secure a wider area, and were quite proud to find how well local areas had done at defending themselves. Smaller cities hadnt faced Ascension cultivators, but they came together to defend their homes with numbers. Not that numbers would have mattered without cultivation of their own, as they wouldnt have been able to defeat even an Essence Collection cultivator without.
It wasnt quite the scenario Anton had envisioned when he had the idea to teach everyone cultivation. His thinking had been much smaller, Spirit Building cultivators like Van Hassel that larger sects like the Order found difficult to catch. These invaders seemed to have similar motivations to Van Hassel, but less so to typical bandits.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
Not all of Graotan had been successful in driving them away. Smaller sects and some towns and villages that fought back were destroyed. Completely demolished and stripped of anything of value. The latter was typical for bandits, but unlike with Dungannon wanton destruction was actually not a mainstay of bandits. It was wasteful to destroy a village when they might build up more wealth later, and it resulted in too much notice being taken of their activities.
Learning anti-ascension techniques might have provoked them somewhat, though information previously available indicated that was how the invaders had operated before. After all, the Luminous Ocean Society was the first to be rediscovered and was completely annihilated. The same held true for others.
The true mindset of the invaders was hard to determine, because even as they seemed individually concerned about their lives they were also quite resistant to answering questions. It was hoped that allies in Ofrurg might be able to help, but first they would have to regain contact.
-----
If they were actually planning to venture into Ofrurg, a small group would have been insufficient even if it were composed of Life Transformation cultivators. Instead they were merely approaching the border, and their numbers werent quite so small as they appeared.
I dont know how you all can bear to be covered in ants, Velvet shook her head.
Theyre just sitting atop our clothes, Hoyt remarked, And we dont have to hide, so their abilities dont cause us the same sort of trouble.
It might have seemed like the ants being undetectable via energy senses should have made them perfect allies for a stealth-oriented cultivator, but in truth they made things more difficult for her. When she was trying to display a perfect falsehood of the world to her foes, points of nothingness would ruin the whole illusion. Having to cover for them added another layer of complexity to an already difficult task.
Im just disappointed there arent enough of them with the intellect for using formations, Catarina sighed. The queen can do her part, but the other ants just dont quite get anything that isnt a structure they form. Though its pretty interesting what they do make.
Most of them are only a few years old, Anton reminded her. Except for the queens, most of the ants only live to a decade on the far end.
Thats a fair point, she admitted. I doubt I would have been able to grasp much of anything about formations when I was five. Though I didnt have the chance until I was fifteen.
Fuzz doesnt smell anyone, Alva commented. Nobodys crossed the border lately.
Not with anyone native to this world, Anton grinned. Though we dont plan to stay long right now. Were merely here to check out the situation.
As they rode towards Veron, Anton saw people working in the fields. Once, they would have been slaves. Now, they were cultivators able to handle entire fields by themselves.
Things are pretty different in the past couple decades, Tallgate commented. I used to be working in those fields. I still could, but my life branched in a different direction.
Anton nodded, But youre a Life Transformation cultivator now? You must have great talent. He did look quite young, though it was hard to tell with cultivator sometimes.
I- Tallgate shook his head, I dont know about that. Would someone with talent let so many people die? Veron and the surrounding area had more than a handful of Life Transformation cultivators more powerful than myself, and Im the only one who got through relatively uninjured. Two are gravely wounded and the rest he shook his head.
The Order lost many as well, Anton commented. The six of us were nearly half of what remains from what was briefly more than twenty. You dont get to choose who lives in a battle. Sometimes, its old men like myself.
He started cultivating at the same time as us, Hoyt pointed out. Dont let him fool you on that part.
Uh I dont know how to respond to that, the commander admitted.
In the city, Catarina quickly moved to study the formations. She was already altering them when someone showed up to protest- then stopped themselves as they saw her working.
Anton hadnt been planning to actually come to the city, but now that he was present he couldnt help but do something. Clearing away rubble was within his capabilities, and he had some experience with construction as well. Hes put together a barn or ten in his time, though structures meant to have more style and comfort than pure function he had little experience with. Even so, he could hold tools, lift things, and keep an eye out for people approaching the city who shouldnt be.
-----
Though Graotan had stabilized internally, there was little time to rest. News from Ambati was still positive- in that they seemed to be fighting back with some success. Droca had less news, but no invaders appeared near the borders. The situation in Ofrurg was unknown on the large scale, but now that Veron knew Graotan was relatively safe they would be able to communicate if more news came in.
While some were assigned to that, Anton was on the northern border, looking into Estary. Sensing such a large amount of the world at once didnt make it feel smaller like he might have imagined, though certainly some places seemed closer together. Misty Hill Palace, for example, was not so far from the border that it was beyond Antons senses. Or at least what remained of it. He only felt ruins, until he started finding bodies. No living cultivators, either from the Misty Hill Palace or occupying it. Whoever had participated in the attack had already moved on. Likewise, the border was empty of anyone.
Even though Estary had been friendly with Graotan they still watched the border up until the time of the invasion, mainly for purposes of cultivators trying to evade either oversight from either country. With them gone, it meant they were either occupied, or dead. Anton hoped for the former, and did not have enough time to closely inspect the area to determine the latter. Except at one specific border crossing, where the limited structures in place were still intact.
Things might not have seemed so grim if the nearby towns and cities werent all destroyed or abandoned. Estary might need aid but the same could be the case in Ofrurg. Even if Ofrurg was doing well, joining up with allied sects there would ultimately make everyone stronger. But time was an issue. Where would Graotan aid first? They couldnt reasonably split and aid both, or they would risk annihilation. It was already nearly a miracle that they had done as well as they had, and that was with a death toll that was as high as a quarter to a third of those in the country, though obviously the counts were not finalized yet.
Of course, Graotan could choose to fortify its own borders. There were even arguments for such actions, but realistically if they waited the invaders would simply have time to consolidate their forces and wipe them out. If they helped, they could at least work with others to minimize the destruction that could happen. Defending their homeland was all well and good, but defending their world also needed to be considered. And even if alliances with Estary were vague promises, there were several sects in Ofrurg that had sworn to aid each other during the invasion if possible.
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Chapter 362
Once they realized they were losing, the invaders were allowed the illusion of a path to retreat. Some were allowed to slip by out the gates, while others found their ways to the edges of the Diamond Hill Sanctuary and fled over the walls, to various levels of success. But they werent actually free from there- they were simply dealt with by groups to maximize safety. Or taken down by various individuals with sufficient ranged abilities.
From there, the forces of Graotan moved to secure a wider area, and were quite proud to find how well local areas had done at defending themselves. Smaller cities hadnt faced Ascension cultivators, but they came together to defend their homes with numbers. Not that numbers would have mattered without cultivation of their own, as they wouldnt have been able to defeat even an Essence Collection cultivator without.
It wasnt quite the scenario Anton had envisioned when he had the idea to teach everyone cultivation. His thinking had been much smaller, Spirit Building cultivators like Van Hassel that larger sects like the Order found difficult to catch. These invaders seemed to have similar motivations to Van Hassel, but less so to typical bandits.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
Not all of Graotan had been successful in driving them away. Smaller sects and some towns and villages that fought back were destroyed. Completely demolished and stripped of anything of value. The latter was typical for bandits, but unlike with Dungannon wanton destruction was actually not a mainstay of bandits. It was wasteful to destroy a village when they might build up more wealth later, and it resulted in too much notice being taken of their activities.
Learning anti-ascension techniques might have provoked them somewhat, though information previously available indicated that was how the invaders had operated before. After all, the Luminous Ocean Society was the first to be rediscovered and was completely annihilated. The same held true for others.
The true mindset of the invaders was hard to determine, because even as they seemed individually concerned about their lives they were also quite resistant to answering questions. It was hoped that allies in Ofrurg might be able to help, but first they would have to regain contact.
-----
If they were actually planning to venture into Ofrurg, a small group would have been insufficient even if it were composed of Life Transformation cultivators. Instead they were merely approaching the border, and their numbers werent quite so small as they appeared.
I dont know how you all can bear to be covered in ants, Velvet shook her head.
Theyre just sitting atop our clothes, Hoyt remarked, And we dont have to hide, so their abilities dont cause us the same sort of trouble.
It might have seemed like the ants being undetectable via energy senses should have made them perfect allies for a stealth-oriented cultivator, but in truth they made things more difficult for her. When she was trying to display a perfect falsehood of the world to her foes, points of nothingness would ruin the whole illusion. Having to cover for them added another layer of complexity to an already difficult task.
Im just disappointed there arent enough of them with the intellect for using formations, Catarina sighed. The queen can do her part, but the other ants just dont quite get anything that isnt a structure they form. Though its pretty interesting what they do make.
Most of them are only a few years old, Anton reminded her. Except for the queens, most of the ants only live to a decade on the far end.
Thats a fair point, she admitted. I doubt I would have been able to grasp much of anything about formations when I was five. Though I didnt have the chance until I was fifteen.
Fuzz doesnt smell anyone, Alva commented. Nobodys crossed the border lately.
Not with anyone native to this world, Anton grinned. Though we dont plan to stay long right now. Were merely here to check out the situation.
As they rode towards Veron, Anton saw people working in the fields. Once, they would have been slaves. Now, they were cultivators able to handle entire fields by themselves.
Things are pretty different in the past couple decades, Tallgate commented. I used to be working in those fields. I still could, but my life branched in a different direction.
Anton nodded, But youre a Life Transformation cultivator now? You must have great talent. He did look quite young, though it was hard to tell with cultivator sometimes.
I- Tallgate shook his head, I dont know about that. Would someone with talent let so many people die? Veron and the surrounding area had more than a handful of Life Transformation cultivators more powerful than myself, and Im the only one who got through relatively uninjured. Two are gravely wounded and the rest he shook his head.
The Order lost many as well, Anton commented. The six of us were nearly half of what remains from what was briefly more than twenty. You dont get to choose who lives in a battle. Sometimes, its old men like myself.
He started cultivating at the same time as us, Hoyt pointed out. Dont let him fool you on that part.
Uh I dont know how to respond to that, the commander admitted.
In the city, Catarina quickly moved to study the formations. She was already altering them when someone showed up to protest- then stopped themselves as they saw her working.
Anton hadnt been planning to actually come to the city, but now that he was present he couldnt help but do something. Clearing away rubble was within his capabilities, and he had some experience with construction as well. Hes put together a barn or ten in his time, though structures meant to have more style and comfort than pure function he had little experience with. Even so, he could hold tools, lift things, and keep an eye out for people approaching the city who shouldnt be.
-----
Though Graotan had stabilized internally, there was little time to rest. News from Ambati was still positive- in that they seemed to be fighting back with some success. Droca had less news, but no invaders appeared near the borders. The situation in Ofrurg was unknown on the large scale, but now that Veron knew Graotan was relatively safe they would be able to communicate if more news came in.
While some were assigned to that, Anton was on the northern border, looking into Estary. Sensing such a large amount of the world at once didnt make it feel smaller like he might have imagined, though certainly some places seemed closer together. Misty Hill Palace, for example, was not so far from the border that it was beyond Antons senses. Or at least what remained of it. He only felt ruins, until he started finding bodies. No living cultivators, either from the Misty Hill Palace or occupying it. Whoever had participated in the attack had already moved on. Likewise, the border was empty of anyone.
Even though Estary had been friendly with Graotan they still watched the border up until the time of the invasion, mainly for purposes of cultivators trying to evade either oversight from either country. With them gone, it meant they were either occupied, or dead. Anton hoped for the former, and did not have enough time to closely inspect the area to determine the latter. Except at one specific border crossing, where the limited structures in place were still intact.
Things might not have seemed so grim if the nearby towns and cities werent all destroyed or abandoned. Estary might need aid but the same could be the case in Ofrurg. Even if Ofrurg was doing well, joining up with allied sects there would ultimately make everyone stronger. But time was an issue. Where would Graotan aid first? They couldnt reasonably split and aid both, or they would risk annihilation. It was already nearly a miracle that they had done as well as they had, and that was with a death toll that was as high as a quarter to a third of those in the country, though obviously the counts were not finalized yet.
Of course, Graotan could choose to fortify its own borders. There were even arguments for such actions, but realistically if they waited the invaders would simply have time to consolidate their forces and wipe them out. If they helped, they could at least work with others to minimize the destruction that could happen. Defending their homeland was all well and good, but defending their world also needed to be considered. And even if alliances with Estary were vague promises, there were several sects in Ofrurg that had sworn to aid each other during the invasion if possible.
Chapter 362Once they realized they were losing, the invaders were allowed the illusion of a path to retreat. Some were allowed to slip by out the gates, while others found their ways to the edges of the Diamond Hill Sanctuary and fled over the walls, to various levels of success. But they werent actually free from there- they were simply dealt with by groups to maximize safety. Or taken down by various individuals with sufficient ranged abilities.From there, the forces of Graotan moved to secure a wider area, and were quite proud to find how well local areas had done at defending themselves. Smaller cities hadnt faced Ascension cultivators, but they came together to defend their homes with numbers. Not that numbers would have mattered without cultivation of their own, as they wouldnt have been able to defeat even an Essence Collection cultivator without.It wasnt quite the scenario Anton had envisioned when he had the idea to teach everyone cultivation. His thinking had been much smaller, Spirit Building cultivators like Van Hassel that larger sects like the Order found difficult to catch. These invaders seemed to have similar motivations to Van Hassel, but less so to typical bandits.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Nvl1n.Not all of Graotan had been successful in driving them away. Smaller sects and some towns and villages that fought back were destroyed. Completely demolished and stripped of anything of value. The latter was typical for bandits, but unlike with Dungannon wanton destruction was actually not a mainstay of bandits. It was wasteful to destroy a village when they might build up more wealth later, and it resulted in too much notice being taken of their activities. Learning anti-ascension techniques might have provoked them somewhat, though information previously available indicated that was how the invaders had operated before. After all, the Luminous Ocean Society was the first to be rediscovered and was completely annihilated. The same held true for others.The true mindset of the invaders was hard to determine, because even as they seemed individually concerned about their lives they were also quite resistant to answering questions. It was hoped that allies in Ofrurg might be able to help, but first they would have to regain contact.-----If they were actually planning to venture into Ofrurg, a small group would have been insufficient even if it were composed of Life Transformation cultivators. Instead they were merely approaching the border, and their numbers werent quite so small as they appeared.I dont know how you all can bear to be covered in ants, Velvet shook her head.Theyre just sitting atop our clothes, Hoyt remarked, And we dont have to hide, so their abilities dont cause us the same sort of trouble.It might have seemed like the ants being undetectable via energy senses should have made them perfect allies for a stealth-oriented cultivator, but in truth they made things more difficult for her. When she was trying to display a perfect falsehood of the world to her foes, points of nothingness would ruin the whole illusion. Having to cover for them added another layer of complexity to an already difficult task.Im just disappointed there arent enough of them with the intellect for using formations, Catarina sighed. The queen can do her part, but the other ants just dont quite get anything that isnt a structure they form. Though its pretty interesting what they do make.Most of them are only a few years old, Anton reminded her. Except for the queens, most of the ants only live to a decade on the far end.Thats a fair point, she admitted. I doubt I would have been able to grasp much of anything about formations when I was five. Though I didnt have the chance until I was fifteen.Fuzz doesnt smell anyone, Alva commented. Nobodys crossed the border lately.Not with anyone native to this world, Anton grinned. Though we dont plan to stay long right now. Were merely here to check out the situation.As they rode towards Veron, Anton saw people working in the fields. Once, they would have been slaves. Now, they were cultivators able to handle entire fields by themselves. Things are pretty different in the past couple decades, Tallgate commented. I used to be working in those fields. I still could, but my life branched in a different direction.Anton nodded, But youre a Life Transformation cultivator now? You must have great talent. He did look quite young, though it was hard to tell with cultivator sometimes.I- Tallgate shook his head, I dont know about that. Would someone with talent let so many people die? Veron and the surrounding area had more than a handful of Life Transformation cultivators more powerful than myself, and Im the only one who got through relatively uninjured. Two are gravely wounded and the rest he shook his head.The Order lost many as well, Anton commented. The six of us were nearly half of what remains from what was briefly more than twenty. You dont get to choose who lives in a battle. Sometimes, its old men like myself.He started cultivating at the same time as us, Hoyt pointed out. Dont let him fool you on that part.Uh I dont know how to respond to that, the commander admitted.In the city, Catarina quickly moved to study the formations. She was already altering them when someone showed up to protest- then stopped themselves as they saw her working.Anton hadnt been planning to actually come to the city, but now that he was present he couldnt help but do something. Clearing away rubble was within his capabilities, and he had some experience with construction as well. Hes put together a barn or ten in his time, though structures meant to have more style and comfort than pure function he had little experience with. Even so, he could hold tools, lift things, and keep an eye out for people approaching the city who shouldnt be.-----Though Graotan had stabilized internally, there was little time to rest. News from Ambati was still positive- in that they seemed to be fighting back with some success. Droca had less news, but no invaders appeared near the borders. The situation in Ofrurg was unknown on the large scale, but now that Veron knew Graotan was relatively safe they would be able to communicate if more news came in.While some were assigned to that, Anton was on the northern border, looking into Estary. Sensing such a large amount of the world at once didnt make it feel smaller like he might have imagined, though certainly some places seemed closer together. Misty Hill Palace, for example, was not so far from the border that it was beyond Antons senses. Or at least what remained of it. He only felt ruins, until he started finding bodies. No living cultivators, either from the Misty Hill Palace or occupying it. Whoever had participated in the attack had already moved on. Likewise, the border was empty of anyone. Even though Estary had been friendly with Graotan they still watched the border up until the time of the invasion, mainly for purposes of cultivators trying to evade either oversight from either country. With them gone, it meant they were either occupied, or dead. Anton hoped for the former, and did not have enough time to closely inspect the area to determine the latter. Except at one specific border crossing, where the limited structures in place were still intact. Things might not have seemed so grim if the nearby towns and cities werent all destroyed or abandoned. Estary might need aid but the same could be the case in Ofrurg. Even if Ofrurg was doing well, joining up with allied sects there would ultimately make everyone stronger. But time was an issue. Where would Graotan aid first? They couldnt reasonably split and aid both, or they would risk annihilation. It was already nearly a miracle that they had done as well as they had, and that was with a death toll that was as high as a quarter to a third of those in the country, though obviously the counts were not finalized yet.Of course, Graotan could choose to fortify its own borders. There were even arguments for such actions, but realistically if they waited the invaders would simply have time to consolidate their forces and wipe them out. If they helped, they could at least work with others to minimize the destruction that could happen. Defending their homeland was all well and good, but defending their world also needed to be considered. And even if alliances with Estary were vague promises, there were several sects in Ofrurg that had sworn to aid each other during the invasion if possible.
