Chapter 461
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Chapter 461
The news on Rutera about the attacks framed it as a victory on the part of Rutera, and while Anton agreed in a certain manner it also wasnt quite correct. The attackers from Azoth- if that designation was correct- had sustained minimal losses. No ships destroyed, though Anton had killed some individuals aboard one of the ships and perhaps a commander of some sort. It was a victory- but he had the feeling that the other side was satisfied with their results as well. It must have been a probing attack of some sort. They were prepared with targets, and while nothing major had been destroyed, it was clear that Ruteras defenses were not entirely sufficient.
Anton was impressed how quickly they scrambled their actual ships, though. They reached nearly arbitrary points around the planet within minutes, and multiple locations at once. Rutera wasnt weak, but they werent prepared for something like this to happen.
The attack came with unfortunate casualties, but there was the possibility that Rutera could learn more from this than the attackers. The biggest issue was the adaptable barriers. Just seeing how they worked certainly would make combating them easier- defense stations were already being retrofitted with wider varieties of weapons- but the attacks from Azoth should know that was a possibility. Which meant they had either shown their hand and would be less of an issue, or there was more to it.
-----
Soldiers on Rutera seemed to be fond of push-ups and other similar exercises. Training with weights and the like was also quite common. Anton deemed all of it to be fine. It strengthened the body to some extent, and it provided a decent basis to work from. It was certainly better than attempting to begin Body Tempering without a strong physique.
The best part about push-ups in Antons opinion was that they were a communal activity. Right now he had a whole field of soldiers in front of him straining their bodies, building up fatigue and sweat. Among them was Nicodemo. Though he was a general, he trained with the others. Having seen some of the other higher ranking military officers, Anton had been unimpressed by their training. Nicodemo had at least kept himself in shape fit for combat duty, though it seemed that Rutera hadnt been involved in any real conflicts for some time. Now they were recruiting. It seemed an awful lot of effort to have to train thousands of individuals from a sedentary state to fighting fit in only a short time, but Rutera was not a planet of cultivators.
There were other issues as well. Anton had hardly paid attention to it before the battle, but Ruteras natural energy levels were unimpressive. Lower than the general level of Ceretos when Anton had begun cultivating, even. Anton didnt have other lower realm worlds to compare to, but it would make cultivation harder. Perhaps that was why they had developed differently.
The energy swirling inside Anton was slowly building towards more comfortable levels, the heat of a star filling Antons belly. He was not going to be apologetic for connecting himself to this star, because he might have reason to fight here once more. And in the grand scheme of things, he only caused unexpected fluctuations and not a fundamental change in the star.
At the moment, the majority of the energy he was drawing was being released back into the world for others to use. It wasnt a perfect system, but it provided sufficient energy for those around him to train more efficiently. Anton wished hed brought a series of tomes on growing natural energy through everyday activities- both internal to a cultivator and for a world as a whole- but he hadnt expected to need them. They would have needed translating, of course, but that was a minor issue. Now he had to split his time between diplomacy and teaching. Though in truth, he would happily give up the former and spend all of his time on the latter. It would just be easier with proper materials and not just his memory. His memory was good, keeping key details, but minor things could slip through the cracks. And he could only answer so many questions at once.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
Enough, Anton declared to the group of soldiers. Time for a break. Though he called it that, it was actually still work. There was a time for active fortification of muscles, and a time to let them rest while the body as a whole was slowly tempered. For those who werent even in the first star, grasping the basics of meditation was an important practice.
After meditation was sparring. The Ruteran soldiers were reluctant to fight with seriousness and lethality, but they were getting used to it. Besides, they were learning how to not kill each other. To measure the right amount of energy to use offensively and defensively. Anton stopped a dagger that was about to go two centimeters into someones shoulder. Harrison. Careful with your levels.
Yes, sir!
Given they barely had any experience, Anton couldnt blame them for their inexperience. He was considering allowing them to make minor mistakes soon, just a little bit of damaged skin or the like. He wouldnt always be around to manage them.
Nicodemos sparring partner was nervous- both because Nicodemo was higher ranking, and because he was good. That made Nicodemos victory easier than it should have been, so when he swapped partners Anton pulled him aside for a moment. Everyones still learning, but its clear youre still better than most of those here. I want you to limit your energy usage to half.
Of course. But I dont think I will be able to provide a proper defense and still pierce through theirs if thats the case.
Not everyone does their best learning from books, Anton said. I think youll do fine.
-----
Entering the Labyrinth was not terribly difficult. It was finding something in particular within it that would be complicated. But at least this time they were probably not paid attention to more than any other. Discussing their plans any further would be risky, but ultimately it was simple. Prospero would do his best to point out the dangers he was aware of, and to guide them to several points of interest which might or might not be what they were looking for. Hopefully, Catarina would be able to determine that upon arrival.
... sub-runes are everywhere, Catarina said as she looked at the walls around them. Thats true throughout most of the Tomb, but its more prominent here. Odd.
Why? Timothy asked.
Because Everheart made all of it, Catarina said. Why would it be different here?
There are still projections, right? They manage this place. They might have developed this place in a different direction.
... the various projections do seem to be divergent in their own ways, Catarina agreed. Perhaps that is the case. Discussing sub-runes in this place was not an issue. This was where she had learned about them- in an official capacity, even. The name wasnt quite right, but usually hidden smaller components of runes didnt exactly roll off the tongue. Sub-runes was good enough. She was beginning to see through some of the complexities of the Labyrinth, but Catarina couldnt honestly say she understood the whole of what was being done. And things always changed, sometimes by walls physically moving and sometimes different spaces connected together. The most impressive part was not being able to pick out any seams where this happened.
. There were traps in the labyrinth of course, but they were all passable. It was impossible for even Everheart to keep up a huge array of traps over a wide area that could stop Integration cultivators- and a Life Transformation cultivator tagging along. Or if not impossible, prohibitively expensive in materials, energy, or both.
But with a bit of cleverness he could kill those who were unprepared. A scything blade that appeared to have no energy backing it up seemed completely ignorable, but Timothy focused on it over everything else, blocking it with his shield while doing his best to avoid the other incoming blades. He found himself justified when he only received small slashes from the other weapons and a small scratch on his shield from the unadorned blade.
A scratch that completely ignored the energy he had used to block. Whether the blade was made out of void ant chitin or something else, it clearly had similar effects for negating energy. It was sharp enough and carried enough momentum to puncture most armor, and it wouldnt feel like much. It could have taken someones head clean off if they were careless.
If it was only traps, perhaps they could take their time. Except those locations where every square centimeter of floor was deadly, spotting the signs of a trap ahead of time allowed it to be navigated around safely. The wandering beasts and other cultivators were an incentive to keep moving at a steady pace. Most beasts were not a challenge on their own, but they all contributed to a main feature of the Labyrinth, gradually wearing people down. One trap might do little but bounce off of someones defensive energy, but even that would cost them something.
Over the course of a week they made their way deeper into the Labyrinth. It was intentionally disorienting, but there were always signs somewhere to go off of.
Left here, I think, Catarina said. I feel something
Lets hope were close, Prospero said. Id like to avoid running into more trouble.
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Chapter 461
The news on Rutera about the attacks framed it as a victory on the part of Rutera, and while Anton agreed in a certain manner it also wasnt quite correct. The attackers from Azoth- if that designation was correct- had sustained minimal losses. No ships destroyed, though Anton had killed some individuals aboard one of the ships and perhaps a commander of some sort. It was a victory- but he had the feeling that the other side was satisfied with their results as well. It must have been a probing attack of some sort. They were prepared with targets, and while nothing major had been destroyed, it was clear that Ruteras defenses were not entirely sufficient.
Anton was impressed how quickly they scrambled their actual ships, though. They reached nearly arbitrary points around the planet within minutes, and multiple locations at once. Rutera wasnt weak, but they werent prepared for something like this to happen.
The attack came with unfortunate casualties, but there was the possibility that Rutera could learn more from this than the attackers. The biggest issue was the adaptable barriers. Just seeing how they worked certainly would make combating them easier- defense stations were already being retrofitted with wider varieties of weapons- but the attacks from Azoth should know that was a possibility. Which meant they had either shown their hand and would be less of an issue, or there was more to it.
-----
Soldiers on Rutera seemed to be fond of push-ups and other similar exercises. Training with weights and the like was also quite common. Anton deemed all of it to be fine. It strengthened the body to some extent, and it provided a decent basis to work from. It was certainly better than attempting to begin Body Tempering without a strong physique.
The best part about push-ups in Antons opinion was that they were a communal activity. Right now he had a whole field of soldiers in front of him straining their bodies, building up fatigue and sweat. Among them was Nicodemo. Though he was a general, he trained with the others. Having seen some of the other higher ranking military officers, Anton had been unimpressed by their training. Nicodemo had at least kept himself in shape fit for combat duty, though it seemed that Rutera hadnt been involved in any real conflicts for some time. Now they were recruiting. It seemed an awful lot of effort to have to train thousands of individuals from a sedentary state to fighting fit in only a short time, but Rutera was not a planet of cultivators.
There were other issues as well. Anton had hardly paid attention to it before the battle, but Ruteras natural energy levels were unimpressive. Lower than the general level of Ceretos when Anton had begun cultivating, even. Anton didnt have other lower realm worlds to compare to, but it would make cultivation harder. Perhaps that was why they had developed differently.
The energy swirling inside Anton was slowly building towards more comfortable levels, the heat of a star filling Antons belly. He was not going to be apologetic for connecting himself to this star, because he might have reason to fight here once more. And in the grand scheme of things, he only caused unexpected fluctuations and not a fundamental change in the star.
At the moment, the majority of the energy he was drawing was being released back into the world for others to use. It wasnt a perfect system, but it provided sufficient energy for those around him to train more efficiently. Anton wished hed brought a series of tomes on growing natural energy through everyday activities- both internal to a cultivator and for a world as a whole- but he hadnt expected to need them. They would have needed translating, of course, but that was a minor issue. Now he had to split his time between diplomacy and teaching. Though in truth, he would happily give up the former and spend all of his time on the latter. It would just be easier with proper materials and not just his memory. His memory was good, keeping key details, but minor things could slip through the cracks. And he could only answer so many questions at once.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
Enough, Anton declared to the group of soldiers. Time for a break. Though he called it that, it was actually still work. There was a time for active fortification of muscles, and a time to let them rest while the body as a whole was slowly tempered. For those who werent even in the first star, grasping the basics of meditation was an important practice.
After meditation was sparring. The Ruteran soldiers were reluctant to fight with seriousness and lethality, but they were getting used to it. Besides, they were learning how to not kill each other. To measure the right amount of energy to use offensively and defensively. Anton stopped a dagger that was about to go two centimeters into someones shoulder. Harrison. Careful with your levels.
Yes, sir!
Given they barely had any experience, Anton couldnt blame them for their inexperience. He was considering allowing them to make minor mistakes soon, just a little bit of damaged skin or the like. He wouldnt always be around to manage them.
Nicodemos sparring partner was nervous- both because Nicodemo was higher ranking, and because he was good. That made Nicodemos victory easier than it should have been, so when he swapped partners Anton pulled him aside for a moment. Everyones still learning, but its clear youre still better than most of those here. I want you to limit your energy usage to half.
Of course. But I dont think I will be able to provide a proper defense and still pierce through theirs if thats the case.
Not everyone does their best learning from books, Anton said. I think youll do fine.
-----
Entering the Labyrinth was not terribly difficult. It was finding something in particular within it that would be complicated. But at least this time they were probably not paid attention to more than any other. Discussing their plans any further would be risky, but ultimately it was simple. Prospero would do his best to point out the dangers he was aware of, and to guide them to several points of interest which might or might not be what they were looking for. Hopefully, Catarina would be able to determine that upon arrival.
... sub-runes are everywhere, Catarina said as she looked at the walls around them. Thats true throughout most of the Tomb, but its more prominent here. Odd.
Why? Timothy asked.
Because Everheart made all of it, Catarina said. Why would it be different here?
There are still projections, right? They manage this place. They might have developed this place in a different direction.
... the various projections do seem to be divergent in their own ways, Catarina agreed. Perhaps that is the case. Discussing sub-runes in this place was not an issue. This was where she had learned about them- in an official capacity, even. The name wasnt quite right, but usually hidden smaller components of runes didnt exactly roll off the tongue. Sub-runes was good enough. She was beginning to see through some of the complexities of the Labyrinth, but Catarina couldnt honestly say she understood the whole of what was being done. And things always changed, sometimes by walls physically moving and sometimes different spaces connected together. The most impressive part was not being able to pick out any seams where this happened.
. There were traps in the labyrinth of course, but they were all passable. It was impossible for even Everheart to keep up a huge array of traps over a wide area that could stop Integration cultivators- and a Life Transformation cultivator tagging along. Or if not impossible, prohibitively expensive in materials, energy, or both.
But with a bit of cleverness he could kill those who were unprepared. A scything blade that appeared to have no energy backing it up seemed completely ignorable, but Timothy focused on it over everything else, blocking it with his shield while doing his best to avoid the other incoming blades. He found himself justified when he only received small slashes from the other weapons and a small scratch on his shield from the unadorned blade.
A scratch that completely ignored the energy he had used to block. Whether the blade was made out of void ant chitin or something else, it clearly had similar effects for negating energy. It was sharp enough and carried enough momentum to puncture most armor, and it wouldnt feel like much. It could have taken someones head clean off if they were careless.
If it was only traps, perhaps they could take their time. Except those locations where every square centimeter of floor was deadly, spotting the signs of a trap ahead of time allowed it to be navigated around safely. The wandering beasts and other cultivators were an incentive to keep moving at a steady pace. Most beasts were not a challenge on their own, but they all contributed to a main feature of the Labyrinth, gradually wearing people down. One trap might do little but bounce off of someones defensive energy, but even that would cost them something.
Over the course of a week they made their way deeper into the Labyrinth. It was intentionally disorienting, but there were always signs somewhere to go off of.
Left here, I think, Catarina said. I feel something
Lets hope were close, Prospero said. Id like to avoid running into more trouble.
Chapter 461The news on Rutera about the attacks framed it as a victory on the part of Rutera, and while Anton agreed in a certain manner it also wasnt quite correct. The attackers from Azoth- if that designation was correct- had sustained minimal losses. No ships destroyed, though Anton had killed some individuals aboard one of the ships and perhaps a commander of some sort. It was a victory- but he had the feeling that the other side was satisfied with their results as well. It must have been a probing attack of some sort. They were prepared with targets, and while nothing major had been destroyed, it was clear that Ruteras defenses were not entirely sufficient.Anton was impressed how quickly they scrambled their actual ships, though. They reached nearly arbitrary points around the planet within minutes, and multiple locations at once. Rutera wasnt weak, but they werent prepared for something like this to happen.The attack came with unfortunate casualties, but there was the possibility that Rutera could learn more from this than the attackers. The biggest issue was the adaptable barriers. Just seeing how they worked certainly would make combating them easier- defense stations were already being retrofitted with wider varieties of weapons- but the attacks from Azoth should know that was a possibility. Which meant they had either shown their hand and would be less of an issue, or there was more to it.-----Soldiers on Rutera seemed to be fond of push-ups and other similar exercises. Training with weights and the like was also quite common. Anton deemed all of it to be fine. It strengthened the body to some extent, and it provided a decent basis to work from. It was certainly better than attempting to begin Body Tempering without a strong physique.The best part about push-ups in Antons opinion was that they were a communal activity. Right now he had a whole field of soldiers in front of him straining their bodies, building up fatigue and sweat. Among them was Nicodemo. Though he was a general, he trained with the others. Having seen some of the other higher ranking military officers, Anton had been unimpressed by their training. Nicodemo had at least kept himself in shape fit for combat duty, though it seemed that Rutera hadnt been involved in any real conflicts for some time. Now they were recruiting. It seemed an awful lot of effort to have to train thousands of individuals from a sedentary state to fighting fit in only a short time, but Rutera was not a planet of cultivators.There were other issues as well. Anton had hardly paid attention to it before the battle, but Ruteras natural energy levels were unimpressive. Lower than the general level of Ceretos when Anton had begun cultivating, even. Anton didnt have other lower realm worlds to compare to, but it would make cultivation harder. Perhaps that was why they had developed differently.The energy swirling inside Anton was slowly building towards more comfortable levels, the heat of a star filling Antons belly. He was not going to be apologetic for connecting himself to this star, because he might have reason to fight here once more. And in the grand scheme of things, he only caused unexpected fluctuations and not a fundamental change in the star. At the moment, the majority of the energy he was drawing was being released back into the world for others to use. It wasnt a perfect system, but it provided sufficient energy for those around him to train more efficiently. Anton wished hed brought a series of tomes on growing natural energy through everyday activities- both internal to a cultivator and for a world as a whole- but he hadnt expected to need them. They would have needed translating, of course, but that was a minor issue. Now he had to split his time between diplomacy and teaching. Though in truth, he would happily give up the former and spend all of his time on the latter. It would just be easier with proper materials and not just his memory. His memory was good, keeping key details, but minor things could slip through the cracks. And he could only answer so many questions at once.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.Enough, Anton declared to the group of soldiers. Time for a break. Though he called it that, it was actually still work. There was a time for active fortification of muscles, and a time to let them rest while the body as a whole was slowly tempered. For those who werent even in the first star, grasping the basics of meditation was an important practice.After meditation was sparring. The Ruteran soldiers were reluctant to fight with seriousness and lethality, but they were getting used to it. Besides, they were learning how to not kill each other. To measure the right amount of energy to use offensively and defensively. Anton stopped a dagger that was about to go two centimeters into someones shoulder. Harrison. Careful with your levels.Yes, sir!Given they barely had any experience, Anton couldnt blame them for their inexperience. He was considering allowing them to make minor mistakes soon, just a little bit of damaged skin or the like. He wouldnt always be around to manage them.Nicodemos sparring partner was nervous- both because Nicodemo was higher ranking, and because he was good. That made Nicodemos victory easier than it should have been, so when he swapped partners Anton pulled him aside for a moment. Everyones still learning, but its clear youre still better than most of those here. I want you to limit your energy usage to half.Of course. But I dont think I will be able to provide a proper defense and still pierce through theirs if thats the case.Not everyone does their best learning from books, Anton said. I think youll do fine.-----Entering the Labyrinth was not terribly difficult. It was finding something in particular within it that would be complicated. But at least this time they were probably not paid attention to more than any other. Discussing their plans any further would be risky, but ultimately it was simple. Prospero would do his best to point out the dangers he was aware of, and to guide them to several points of interest which might or might not be what they were looking for. Hopefully, Catarina would be able to determine that upon arrival.... sub-runes are everywhere, Catarina said as she looked at the walls around them. Thats true throughout most of the Tomb, but its more prominent here. Odd.Why? Timothy asked.Because Everheart made all of it, Catarina said. Why would it be different here?There are still projections, right? They manage this place. They might have developed this place in a different direction.... the various projections do seem to be divergent in their own ways, Catarina agreed. Perhaps that is the case. Discussing sub-runes in this place was not an issue. This was where she had learned about them- in an official capacity, even. The name wasnt quite right, but usually hidden smaller components of runes didnt exactly roll off the tongue. Sub-runes was good enough. She was beginning to see through some of the complexities of the Labyrinth, but Catarina couldnt honestly say she understood the whole of what was being done. And things always changed, sometimes by walls physically moving and sometimes different spaces connected together. The most impressive part was not being able to pick out any seams where this happened.. There were traps in the labyrinth of course, but they were all passable. It was impossible for even Everheart to keep up a huge array of traps over a wide area that could stop Integration cultivators- and a Life Transformation cultivator tagging along. Or if not impossible, prohibitively expensive in materials, energy, or both. But with a bit of cleverness he could kill those who were unprepared. A scything blade that appeared to have no energy backing it up seemed completely ignorable, but Timothy focused on it over everything else, blocking it with his shield while doing his best to avoid the other incoming blades. He found himself justified when he only received small slashes from the other weapons and a small scratch on his shield from the unadorned blade.A scratch that completely ignored the energy he had used to block. Whether the blade was made out of void ant chitin or something else, it clearly had similar effects for negating energy. It was sharp enough and carried enough momentum to puncture most armor, and it wouldnt feel like much. It could have taken someones head clean off if they were careless. If it was only traps, perhaps they could take their time. Except those locations where every square centimeter of floor was deadly, spotting the signs of a trap ahead of time allowed it to be navigated around safely. The wandering beasts and other cultivators were an incentive to keep moving at a steady pace. Most beasts were not a challenge on their own, but they all contributed to a main feature of the Labyrinth, gradually wearing people down. One trap might do little but bounce off of someones defensive energy, but even that would cost them something.Over the course of a week they made their way deeper into the Labyrinth. It was intentionally disorienting, but there were always signs somewhere to go off of.Left here, I think, Catarina said. I feel somethingLets hope were close, Prospero said. Id like to avoid running into more trouble.
