Chapter 531
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
Chapter 531
A short message came through one of the communications devices that Aridasa had not used previously. The extras were simply for the sake of reliability, but it seemed there was some intention to use it differently.
It was only a single sentence.
Ivory Maw Worldbinding cultivators on the offensive. One remains behind. Likely target [Weos].
The last part had to be interpreted from the different names the Sylanis Cluster had for each place. Based on the lack of communication so far, it was possible they didnt even know the local name of the system.
The question was whether or not they should trust the message. It could easily be a trap. One that was intended to draw people away from Rutera or to set up an ambush in Aphuna, where the Ivory Maw made their home. By now, the Sylanis cluster must have realized they had only a few truly mobile cultivators. There wasnt much they could do about that- simply Anton alone wouldnt have been able to accomplish much. Besides, that might have made them appear to look even weaker, and thus a more tempting target. The enemy could have easily chosen to commit more all at once and then where would the trifold alliance be?
The message was information that Weos needed to hear regardless- though if it was correct there wasnt much time to exchange information. It couldnt even be certain that the message would arrive before the Worldbinding cultivators, depending on the timing of various things. Still, it would arrive before any help could, and putting them on a false alert for a few days wasnt a big concern if the information turned out to be false.
That basically left Anton in the Rutera system discussing with General Nicodemo, Nthanda, Devon, and the Great Queen. The latter was mostly recovered from her injuries, but Anton knew there was still internal damage and that her chitin was not as strong in the replaced areas yet.
If anyones going anywhere, it should be me, Anton said. The question is what well do. We cant leave Rutera defenseless, nor do I imagine we have time to gather a large fleet. The Independence should remain here, he looked to Nicodemo, who nodded. Plans for if we think the message is true we can either reinforce Weos or assault the Ivory Maws headquarters. I dont think we can manage both.
Not when either place could have two or three Worldbinding cultivators, Devon agreed.
Supporting Weos is safest, Nthanda postulated, But they can likely handle their own defense. Striking a proper blow to the Ivory Maw in their own realm should be a great victory. If we can kill any of their three cultivators, their power will diminish. If our hopes are fulfilled, that will make them more tempting targets for rivals.
They were already on their way, their small fleet moving as swiftly as possible. There was some chance that the enemy was already approaching or already assaulting Weos, so depending on what happened there they might not even make it to Aphuna before they returned. There could be several layers of information delay involved.
Anton looked ahead intensely, thinking of Aphunas star. It was slightly larger than the others hed assimilated with, though it didnt have oddities like Weos star as far as he was aware. He was interested in this offensive for an additional reason- so far, he had only appeared in their own systems and Okloi. Showing up in Aphuna would make them uncertain, though perhaps they didnt even consider his limitations. The others who were freely roaming had their own circumstances. Devon empowered himself with a concept, with Nthanda and the Great Queen relying more on a powerful body supported by energy in one way or another.
He was debating whether to directly assimilate the star now or wait. Someone had to be able to notice his efforts and thus he could tip them off if he did it beforehand. Waiting, however, meant that he wouldnt be quite as familiar with the stars power. He ultimately decided to wait for one reason- he was hoping for a burst of power as he assimilated with the star. For most of them hed assimilated them from afar, except for his first. He knew hed made some mistakes the first time, minor as they were but connecting from up close might provide a short term boost, if he could control it. No. He could control it. He was confident of that- he just wasnt certain it would happen outside of the first one.
-----
Aphunas star was more of a pulsing blue than a yellow or white like the other stars hed dealt with- Weos star having the strange weight also added a feeling of dark lines from Antons perspective. It was slightly larger, but in practical terms Anton didnt feel it was terribly different. It wasnt unfriendly or helpful, it just was. As they wound their way through the system, avoiding the orbits of planets, he basked in its feeling.
In a short time, at least from Antons perspective, they were close enough to see Keitera. It was boring. Even as they approached, Anton found nothing of interest on the planets surface. He saw only a dull brown light radiating reflected sunlight. As they drew closer he picked out some slight variations of ashy gray, but little in the way of actual terrain. He hadnt expected much, but it seemed the limited information on Keitera wasnt just because the Ivory Maw claimed it. There was nothing of interest, as it was a dead planet.
As they rounded it, Anton spotted in its shadow their actual target- the Ivory Maw itself. Perhaps it was once a moon of the planet, though such details had been lost. It certainly held no natural orbit now, remaining relatively closer to Keitera and always in its shadow, blocking it from the sun. As for the Ivory Maw it was clearly unnatural, its form much like a giant skull. As it had to conform to gravity at given its size, it was mainly round. The teeth were likely a mountain range of some sort, at least Anton hoped for that instead of some of the other options. Where the skulls eyes would be were instead dark voids. Grand formations, perhaps, serving some nefarious purpose. Unlike some sects, Anton could easily say that everything the Ivory Maw did was for a nefarious purpose.
Get ready, Anton said, though it was mainly for himself. As they continued to round the planet, he reached out for Aphunas star. The process was not a long one, once he had done it the first time, but he still needed as direct of access as possible to the star. He could probably Assimilate with one without seeing it, but that would be an unnecessary strain. Once he was properly attuned, he could draw upon its power relative to his distance from it instead of caring about line of sight, though perhaps the latter might help somewhat.
He felt it flowing into him, another gate of power opening inside of him. He also determined that if he didnt want it, there was no concern about a burst of power from a star as he first bound to it, not now that he had experience. But he did wish for it, drawing upon the sudden outpouring of power to extend his senses and fire a great flaming arrow, fully impractical in size normally but necessary to rid himself of the power he was drawing in.
The flames werent fully tinted blue- for yellow or white stars he still had orange flames- but there were some traces. His presence was already announced as he shot the bolt from the prow of the ship he was upon, but hed already determined that only one Worldbinding cultivator was within the range of his senses. He could be wrong, which was why he needed the power at his current distance- they could still retreat if necessary. However, his arrow dove deep into the void of one eye and found in the center a simple crater. Yet one that clearly stored something regularly. As the arrow tore through barriers it ultimately crashed into little of value- a few formation runes at best- Anton noticed fragments of bone littering the area. Was that where Balas bone mountain resided?
Before anything else could happen, there was a response from the Ivory Maw itself. The entire thing, all at once. Blood welled up from beneath its surface, pouring into the gaps of its eyes and nose as well as squeezing its way between the teeth. That should be Vaarlams power, one of the three Worldbinders of the Ivory Maw. So far, no signs of the others as a blood sea formed on the surface of the moon sized false skull.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 531
A short message came through one of the communications devices that Aridasa had not used previously. The extras were simply for the sake of reliability, but it seemed there was some intention to use it differently.
It was only a single sentence.
Ivory Maw Worldbinding cultivators on the offensive. One remains behind. Likely target [Weos].
The last part had to be interpreted from the different names the Sylanis Cluster had for each place. Based on the lack of communication so far, it was possible they didnt even know the local name of the system.
The question was whether or not they should trust the message. It could easily be a trap. One that was intended to draw people away from Rutera or to set up an ambush in Aphuna, where the Ivory Maw made their home. By now, the Sylanis cluster must have realized they had only a few truly mobile cultivators. There wasnt much they could do about that- simply Anton alone wouldnt have been able to accomplish much. Besides, that might have made them appear to look even weaker, and thus a more tempting target. The enemy could have easily chosen to commit more all at once and then where would the trifold alliance be?
The message was information that Weos needed to hear regardless- though if it was correct there wasnt much time to exchange information. It couldnt even be certain that the message would arrive before the Worldbinding cultivators, depending on the timing of various things. Still, it would arrive before any help could, and putting them on a false alert for a few days wasnt a big concern if the information turned out to be false.
That basically left Anton in the Rutera system discussing with General Nicodemo, Nthanda, Devon, and the Great Queen. The latter was mostly recovered from her injuries, but Anton knew there was still internal damage and that her chitin was not as strong in the replaced areas yet.
If anyones going anywhere, it should be me, Anton said. The question is what well do. We cant leave Rutera defenseless, nor do I imagine we have time to gather a large fleet. The Independence should remain here, he looked to Nicodemo, who nodded. Plans for if we think the message is true we can either reinforce Weos or assault the Ivory Maws headquarters. I dont think we can manage both.
Not when either place could have two or three Worldbinding cultivators, Devon agreed.
Supporting Weos is safest, Nthanda postulated, But they can likely handle their own defense. Striking a proper blow to the Ivory Maw in their own realm should be a great victory. If we can kill any of their three cultivators, their power will diminish. If our hopes are fulfilled, that will make them more tempting targets for rivals.
They were already on their way, their small fleet moving as swiftly as possible. There was some chance that the enemy was already approaching or already assaulting Weos, so depending on what happened there they might not even make it to Aphuna before they returned. There could be several layers of information delay involved.
Anton looked ahead intensely, thinking of Aphunas star. It was slightly larger than the others hed assimilated with, though it didnt have oddities like Weos star as far as he was aware. He was interested in this offensive for an additional reason- so far, he had only appeared in their own systems and Okloi. Showing up in Aphuna would make them uncertain, though perhaps they didnt even consider his limitations. The others who were freely roaming had their own circumstances. Devon empowered himself with a concept, with Nthanda and the Great Queen relying more on a powerful body supported by energy in one way or another.
He was debating whether to directly assimilate the star now or wait. Someone had to be able to notice his efforts and thus he could tip them off if he did it beforehand. Waiting, however, meant that he wouldnt be quite as familiar with the stars power. He ultimately decided to wait for one reason- he was hoping for a burst of power as he assimilated with the star. For most of them hed assimilated them from afar, except for his first. He knew hed made some mistakes the first time, minor as they were but connecting from up close might provide a short term boost, if he could control it. No. He could control it. He was confident of that- he just wasnt certain it would happen outside of the first one.
-----
Aphunas star was more of a pulsing blue than a yellow or white like the other stars hed dealt with- Weos star having the strange weight also added a feeling of dark lines from Antons perspective. It was slightly larger, but in practical terms Anton didnt feel it was terribly different. It wasnt unfriendly or helpful, it just was. As they wound their way through the system, avoiding the orbits of planets, he basked in its feeling.
In a short time, at least from Antons perspective, they were close enough to see Keitera. It was boring. Even as they approached, Anton found nothing of interest on the planets surface. He saw only a dull brown light radiating reflected sunlight. As they drew closer he picked out some slight variations of ashy gray, but little in the way of actual terrain. He hadnt expected much, but it seemed the limited information on Keitera wasnt just because the Ivory Maw claimed it. There was nothing of interest, as it was a dead planet.
As they rounded it, Anton spotted in its shadow their actual target- the Ivory Maw itself. Perhaps it was once a moon of the planet, though such details had been lost. It certainly held no natural orbit now, remaining relatively closer to Keitera and always in its shadow, blocking it from the sun. As for the Ivory Maw it was clearly unnatural, its form much like a giant skull. As it had to conform to gravity at given its size, it was mainly round. The teeth were likely a mountain range of some sort, at least Anton hoped for that instead of some of the other options. Where the skulls eyes would be were instead dark voids. Grand formations, perhaps, serving some nefarious purpose. Unlike some sects, Anton could easily say that everything the Ivory Maw did was for a nefarious purpose.
Get ready, Anton said, though it was mainly for himself. As they continued to round the planet, he reached out for Aphunas star. The process was not a long one, once he had done it the first time, but he still needed as direct of access as possible to the star. He could probably Assimilate with one without seeing it, but that would be an unnecessary strain. Once he was properly attuned, he could draw upon its power relative to his distance from it instead of caring about line of sight, though perhaps the latter might help somewhat.
He felt it flowing into him, another gate of power opening inside of him. He also determined that if he didnt want it, there was no concern about a burst of power from a star as he first bound to it, not now that he had experience. But he did wish for it, drawing upon the sudden outpouring of power to extend his senses and fire a great flaming arrow, fully impractical in size normally but necessary to rid himself of the power he was drawing in.
The flames werent fully tinted blue- for yellow or white stars he still had orange flames- but there were some traces. His presence was already announced as he shot the bolt from the prow of the ship he was upon, but hed already determined that only one Worldbinding cultivator was within the range of his senses. He could be wrong, which was why he needed the power at his current distance- they could still retreat if necessary. However, his arrow dove deep into the void of one eye and found in the center a simple crater. Yet one that clearly stored something regularly. As the arrow tore through barriers it ultimately crashed into little of value- a few formation runes at best- Anton noticed fragments of bone littering the area. Was that where Balas bone mountain resided?
Before anything else could happen, there was a response from the Ivory Maw itself. The entire thing, all at once. Blood welled up from beneath its surface, pouring into the gaps of its eyes and nose as well as squeezing its way between the teeth. That should be Vaarlams power, one of the three Worldbinders of the Ivory Maw. So far, no signs of the others as a blood sea formed on the surface of the moon sized false skull.
Chapter 531A short message came through one of the communications devices that Aridasa had not used previously. The extras were simply for the sake of reliability, but it seemed there was some intention to use it differently.It was only a single sentence.Ivory Maw Worldbinding cultivators on the offensive. One remains behind. Likely target Weos.The last part had to be interpreted from the different names the Sylanis Cluster had for each place. Based on the lack of communication so far, it was possible they didnt even know the local name of the system.The question was whether or not they should trust the message. It could easily be a trap. One that was intended to draw people away from Rutera or to set up an ambush in Aphuna, where the Ivory Maw made their home. By now, the Sylanis cluster must have realized they had only a few truly mobile cultivators. There wasnt much they could do about that- simply Anton alone wouldnt have been able to accomplish much. Besides, that might have made them appear to look even weaker, and thus a more tempting target. The enemy could have easily chosen to commit more all at once and then where would the trifold alliance be?The message was information that Weos needed to hear regardless- though if it was correct there wasnt much time to exchange information. It couldnt even be certain that the message would arrive before the Worldbinding cultivators, depending on the timing of various things. Still, it would arrive before any help could, and putting them on a false alert for a few days wasnt a big concern if the information turned out to be false.That basically left Anton in the Rutera system discussing with General Nicodemo, Nthanda, Devon, and the Great Queen. The latter was mostly recovered from her injuries, but Anton knew there was still internal damage and that her chitin was not as strong in the replaced areas yet.If anyones going anywhere, it should be me, Anton said. The question is what well do. We cant leave Rutera defenseless, nor do I imagine we have time to gather a large fleet. The Independence should remain here, he looked to Nicodemo, who nodded. Plans for if we think the message is true we can either reinforce Weos or assault the Ivory Maws headquarters. I dont think we can manage both.Not when either place could have two or three Worldbinding cultivators, Devon agreed. Supporting Weos is safest, Nthanda postulated, But they can likely handle their own defense. Striking a proper blow to the Ivory Maw in their own realm should be a great victory. If we can kill any of their three cultivators, their power will diminish. If our hopes are fulfilled, that will make them more tempting targets for rivals.They were already on their way, their small fleet moving as swiftly as possible. There was some chance that the enemy was already approaching or already assaulting Weos, so depending on what happened there they might not even make it to Aphuna before they returned. There could be several layers of information delay involved.Anton looked ahead intensely, thinking of Aphunas star. It was slightly larger than the others hed assimilated with, though it didnt have oddities like Weos star as far as he was aware. He was interested in this offensive for an additional reason- so far, he had only appeared in their own systems and Okloi. Showing up in Aphuna would make them uncertain, though perhaps they didnt even consider his limitations. The others who were freely roaming had their own circumstances. Devon empowered himself with a concept, with Nthanda and the Great Queen relying more on a powerful body supported by energy in one way or another. He was debating whether to directly assimilate the star now or wait. Someone had to be able to notice his efforts and thus he could tip them off if he did it beforehand. Waiting, however, meant that he wouldnt be quite as familiar with the stars power. He ultimately decided to wait for one reason- he was hoping for a burst of power as he assimilated with the star. For most of them hed assimilated them from afar, except for his first. He knew hed made some mistakes the first time, minor as they were but connecting from up close might provide a short term boost, if he could control it. No. He could control it. He was confident of that- he just wasnt certain it would happen outside of the first one.-----Aphunas star was more of a pulsing blue than a yellow or white like the other stars hed dealt with- Weos star having the strange weight also added a feeling of dark lines from Antons perspective. It was slightly larger, but in practical terms Anton didnt feel it was terribly different. It wasnt unfriendly or helpful, it just was. As they wound their way through the system, avoiding the orbits of planets, he basked in its feeling.In a short time, at least from Antons perspective, they were close enough to see Keitera. It was boring. Even as they approached, Anton found nothing of interest on the planets surface. He saw only a dull brown light radiating reflected sunlight. As they drew closer he picked out some slight variations of ashy gray, but little in the way of actual terrain. He hadnt expected much, but it seemed the limited information on Keitera wasnt just because the Ivory Maw claimed it. There was nothing of interest, as it was a dead planet.As they rounded it, Anton spotted in its shadow their actual target- the Ivory Maw itself. Perhaps it was once a moon of the planet, though such details had been lost. It certainly held no natural orbit now, remaining relatively closer to Keitera and always in its shadow, blocking it from the sun. As for the Ivory Maw it was clearly unnatural, its form much like a giant skull. As it had to conform to gravity at given its size, it was mainly round. The teeth were likely a mountain range of some sort, at least Anton hoped for that instead of some of the other options. Where the skulls eyes would be were instead dark voids. Grand formations, perhaps, serving some nefarious purpose. Unlike some sects, Anton could easily say that everything the Ivory Maw did was for a nefarious purpose.Get ready, Anton said, though it was mainly for himself. As they continued to round the planet, he reached out for Aphunas star. The process was not a long one, once he had done it the first time, but he still needed as direct of access as possible to the star. He could probably Assimilate with one without seeing it, but that would be an unnecessary strain. Once he was properly attuned, he could draw upon its power relative to his distance from it instead of caring about line of sight, though perhaps the latter might help somewhat.He felt it flowing into him, another gate of power opening inside of him. He also determined that if he didnt want it, there was no concern about a burst of power from a star as he first bound to it, not now that he had experience. But he did wish for it, drawing upon the sudden outpouring of power to extend his senses and fire a great flaming arrow, fully impractical in size normally but necessary to rid himself of the power he was drawing in.The flames werent fully tinted blue- for yellow or white stars he still had orange flames- but there were some traces. His presence was already announced as he shot the bolt from the prow of the ship he was upon, but hed already determined that only one Worldbinding cultivator was within the range of his senses. He could be wrong, which was why he needed the power at his current distance- they could still retreat if necessary. However, his arrow dove deep into the void of one eye and found in the center a simple crater. Yet one that clearly stored something regularly. As the arrow tore through barriers it ultimately crashed into little of value- a few formation runes at best- Anton noticed fragments of bone littering the area. Was that where Balas bone mountain resided?Before anything else could happen, there was a response from the Ivory Maw itself. The entire thing, all at once. Blood welled up from beneath its surface, pouring into the gaps of its eyes and nose as well as squeezing its way between the teeth. That should be Vaarlams power, one of the three Worldbinders of the Ivory Maw. So far, no signs of the others as a blood sea formed on the surface of the moon sized false skull.
