Chapter 577
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Chapter 577
Falling stars rained down from the sky, targeting anything on the battlefield its masters wished. With defensive formations shattered, they were no longer protected from aerial assaults of any kind. Cultivators fell by the hundreds, two forces that would have previously overwhelmed Ceretos and might still, if they could fight on fair footing. Of course, that was never possible- upper and lower energy did not inhabit the same place. Integration cultivators and their lower realm equivalents were merely in the stage following Life Transformation- it was impossible to say how closely matched they actually were. In the actual circumstances of an invasion, the lower realms would have the advantage of fighting with their preferred natural energy.
The upper realms, on the other hand, had the advantage of drawing from a much larger population, many different planets that could move freely between each other. Even if Integration cultivators had been one in a billion like the Worldbinding cultivators of the Sylanis Cluster, there were many thousands of planets to draw upon.
The Harmonious Citadel itself had far fewer than that itself, but it still had a large population under control of one sect. However, while they had brought a reasonable army for invading a lower realm, if they had expected a possible attack by their enemies they had underestimated the forces they could draw upon. Up to that point the Dark Ring and others had rarely engaged in direct battles, and the Harmonious Citadel had done its best to keep the location of the border planet a secret. They had simply missed one thing.
Hoyt had encouraged absolutely everyone who they could to join them- if they had been wrong and Varis signal had been for a smaller force of enemies than they currently faced perhaps they would have looked foolish. But that would not have been as devastating to their relationship as bringing insufficient forces.
The varied weapons of the Harmonious Citadel allowed them to cover each others weaknesses- when they actually fought side by side instead of in their own discrete groups. However, knowing their weaknesses, it was also possible for cultivators to seek out their preferred opponents among the Harmonious Citadel.
Currently there was only one force of note, a gathering of all of the strongest warriors. Hoyt was tempted to work with his grandfather to continuously bombard them, but together they simply werent strong enough to wear down more than a dozen others. He wasnt sure they could ever be as long as they were in the same stage- and his grandfather had not even reached Integration yet. There was no doubt that Prospero would advance, but he still needed some more time.
Hoyt sought out those devoted to the shield. While he could easily face axes with his own, he was not interested in a match with which the enemy would be familiar. The shield users no doubt also trained against axes, but Hoyt personally found Timothys expertise with the shield greater than any of these others. Using it as a weapon was an interesting route, but that led to gaps between offense and defense. Not as much as one would expect, but Citadels Downfall was quite clear about the differences- and a couple centuries hadnt seen any change in that regard.
It was strange to think about sects that had survived for over a millennium. The Order of One Hundred Stars was more than half that age now, but the upper limit upon Ceretos was just shy of eight hundred. Some claimed a longer history, but as all of their strongest cultivators had been wiped out in a former invasion they didnt really have a legacy beyond a name.
A weighty ball of flame built up speed as Hoyt directed it towards his target, intending it to arrive along with himself. The man he was targeting had a century or two on Hoyt but he still didnt appear to have advanced beyond the early Integration stage. Hoyt cleaved down with his axe, a wave of flames washing over the man and sending him a step back. The meteor followed up, slamming into the shield with a mass of momentum. The man deflected it with his shield, but imperfectly. He staggered back, the attack not being negated but simply redirected into the allies he was supposed to be defending.
Hoyt took the opening to swing his axe low, chopping at the mans legs. Of course he was agile enough to bring his shield to bear against something like that- if he was so incompetent as to fall so easily he would likely not have reached Integration at all. But the man was wholly focused on Hoyts energy, missing the subtly different signature of Prospero who was also honed in on him. His shield blocked low, and he kept enough defensive energy on the rest of his body to protect him from Prosperos attack but not completely. The momentum of the blow finally knocked him off his feet, and Hoyt spun his axe around, chopping in an obtuse arc that slipped past the raising shield, chopping off the mans leg. It was still the correct choice for him to defend his upper body, because if hed failed to do that Hoyt would have just cut him in half. But the blow was ultimately fatal either way- it just took him a few swings more to die as his mobility was hampered.
-----nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.
On the other side of the battlefield, Timothy held his own defensive position next to Catarina. Should I know what youre doing? he asked.
Im just dismantling their formations, Catarina commented. Im sure they can be used for something better.
Then a moment later the metal in the middle of the formation melted to slag, whipping people back in the other direction as it channeled more energy than it could handle. Ultimately, the gambit caused more than a handful of the enemy Integration cultivators to be injured or killed within a span of seconds, and the shift in dynamic allowed for the surrounding attackers to push for more. Soon enough another five fell, and within a matter of minutes the battle was basically over- not solely due to that moment, but it sped it up by a step or two.
-----
Word of battles in the upper realms kept reaching Antons ears, and he was quite glad for that. It was unfortunate that he could currently do nothing from his position. He could not attack the upper realms- and even if he could, it would have only been practical from stars on the border.
Thoughts occasionally passed through his mind- if he Assimilated stars upon the border he could patrol the area. But how many would he need? Ten? A hundred? More?
And that was a pointless attempt anyway. If they didnt have to stop in any of the systems, they could simply go around. Above or below if nothing else. Even if he controlled an entire ring of systems around another, the vast majority of the space around it would remain uncontrolled. Though if he could actually attack between systems, he might have something to work with.
I cant believe you agreed to provoke them, Everheart said to Anton.
Got a problem with that? Scared?
Im Everheart clutched his hands to his chest. ... So proud of what Ceretos has become. This might be the best trap Ive ever been part of.
Is it a trap if we intend to overpower them in a weakened state? Anton tilted his head.
I think you answered that question for yourself. Of course it is. Everheart grinned, But can we make them even weaker than just the transition to natural energy? Thats the question. If youd let me dismantle a planet for resources-
Youll have to make do with the myriad of asteroids.
But theyre so far apart! Everheart complained. I have to go to each one and figure out what bits of it are good. Ah well. Ill do what I can. Dismantling an entire planet would be kind of inefficient anyway.
Anton just smirked. At least Everheart was enthusiastic about causing trouble for the invaders. Though he still didnt know if the man would stay and fight if there was risk to himself.
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Chapter 577
Falling stars rained down from the sky, targeting anything on the battlefield its masters wished. With defensive formations shattered, they were no longer protected from aerial assaults of any kind. Cultivators fell by the hundreds, two forces that would have previously overwhelmed Ceretos and might still, if they could fight on fair footing. Of course, that was never possible- upper and lower energy did not inhabit the same place. Integration cultivators and their lower realm equivalents were merely in the stage following Life Transformation- it was impossible to say how closely matched they actually were. In the actual circumstances of an invasion, the lower realms would have the advantage of fighting with their preferred natural energy.
The upper realms, on the other hand, had the advantage of drawing from a much larger population, many different planets that could move freely between each other. Even if Integration cultivators had been one in a billion like the Worldbinding cultivators of the Sylanis Cluster, there were many thousands of planets to draw upon.
The Harmonious Citadel itself had far fewer than that itself, but it still had a large population under control of one sect. However, while they had brought a reasonable army for invading a lower realm, if they had expected a possible attack by their enemies they had underestimated the forces they could draw upon. Up to that point the Dark Ring and others had rarely engaged in direct battles, and the Harmonious Citadel had done its best to keep the location of the border planet a secret. They had simply missed one thing.
Hoyt had encouraged absolutely everyone who they could to join them- if they had been wrong and Varis signal had been for a smaller force of enemies than they currently faced perhaps they would have looked foolish. But that would not have been as devastating to their relationship as bringing insufficient forces.
The varied weapons of the Harmonious Citadel allowed them to cover each others weaknesses- when they actually fought side by side instead of in their own discrete groups. However, knowing their weaknesses, it was also possible for cultivators to seek out their preferred opponents among the Harmonious Citadel.
Currently there was only one force of note, a gathering of all of the strongest warriors. Hoyt was tempted to work with his grandfather to continuously bombard them, but together they simply werent strong enough to wear down more than a dozen others. He wasnt sure they could ever be as long as they were in the same stage- and his grandfather had not even reached Integration yet. There was no doubt that Prospero would advance, but he still needed some more time.
Hoyt sought out those devoted to the shield. While he could easily face axes with his own, he was not interested in a match with which the enemy would be familiar. The shield users no doubt also trained against axes, but Hoyt personally found Timothys expertise with the shield greater than any of these others. Using it as a weapon was an interesting route, but that led to gaps between offense and defense. Not as much as one would expect, but Citadels Downfall was quite clear about the differences- and a couple centuries hadnt seen any change in that regard.
It was strange to think about sects that had survived for over a millennium. The Order of One Hundred Stars was more than half that age now, but the upper limit upon Ceretos was just shy of eight hundred. Some claimed a longer history, but as all of their strongest cultivators had been wiped out in a former invasion they didnt really have a legacy beyond a name.
A weighty ball of flame built up speed as Hoyt directed it towards his target, intending it to arrive along with himself. The man he was targeting had a century or two on Hoyt but he still didnt appear to have advanced beyond the early Integration stage. Hoyt cleaved down with his axe, a wave of flames washing over the man and sending him a step back. The meteor followed up, slamming into the shield with a mass of momentum. The man deflected it with his shield, but imperfectly. He staggered back, the attack not being negated but simply redirected into the allies he was supposed to be defending.
Hoyt took the opening to swing his axe low, chopping at the mans legs. Of course he was agile enough to bring his shield to bear against something like that- if he was so incompetent as to fall so easily he would likely not have reached Integration at all. But the man was wholly focused on Hoyts energy, missing the subtly different signature of Prospero who was also honed in on him. His shield blocked low, and he kept enough defensive energy on the rest of his body to protect him from Prosperos attack but not completely. The momentum of the blow finally knocked him off his feet, and Hoyt spun his axe around, chopping in an obtuse arc that slipped past the raising shield, chopping off the mans leg. It was still the correct choice for him to defend his upper body, because if hed failed to do that Hoyt would have just cut him in half. But the blow was ultimately fatal either way- it just took him a few swings more to die as his mobility was hampered.
-----nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.
On the other side of the battlefield, Timothy held his own defensive position next to Catarina. Should I know what youre doing? he asked.
Im just dismantling their formations, Catarina commented. Im sure they can be used for something better.
Then a moment later the metal in the middle of the formation melted to slag, whipping people back in the other direction as it channeled more energy than it could handle. Ultimately, the gambit caused more than a handful of the enemy Integration cultivators to be injured or killed within a span of seconds, and the shift in dynamic allowed for the surrounding attackers to push for more. Soon enough another five fell, and within a matter of minutes the battle was basically over- not solely due to that moment, but it sped it up by a step or two.
-----
Word of battles in the upper realms kept reaching Antons ears, and he was quite glad for that. It was unfortunate that he could currently do nothing from his position. He could not attack the upper realms- and even if he could, it would have only been practical from stars on the border.
Thoughts occasionally passed through his mind- if he Assimilated stars upon the border he could patrol the area. But how many would he need? Ten? A hundred? More?
And that was a pointless attempt anyway. If they didnt have to stop in any of the systems, they could simply go around. Above or below if nothing else. Even if he controlled an entire ring of systems around another, the vast majority of the space around it would remain uncontrolled. Though if he could actually attack between systems, he might have something to work with.
I cant believe you agreed to provoke them, Everheart said to Anton.
Got a problem with that? Scared?
Im Everheart clutched his hands to his chest. ... So proud of what Ceretos has become. This might be the best trap Ive ever been part of.
Is it a trap if we intend to overpower them in a weakened state? Anton tilted his head.
I think you answered that question for yourself. Of course it is. Everheart grinned, But can we make them even weaker than just the transition to natural energy? Thats the question. If youd let me dismantle a planet for resources-
Youll have to make do with the myriad of asteroids.
But theyre so far apart! Everheart complained. I have to go to each one and figure out what bits of it are good. Ah well. Ill do what I can. Dismantling an entire planet would be kind of inefficient anyway.
Anton just smirked. At least Everheart was enthusiastic about causing trouble for the invaders. Though he still didnt know if the man would stay and fight if there was risk to himself.
Chapter 577Falling stars rained down from the sky, targeting anything on the battlefield its masters wished. With defensive formations shattered, they were no longer protected from aerial assaults of any kind. Cultivators fell by the hundreds, two forces that would have previously overwhelmed Ceretos and might still, if they could fight on fair footing. Of course, that was never possible- upper and lower energy did not inhabit the same place. Integration cultivators and their lower realm equivalents were merely in the stage following Life Transformation- it was impossible to say how closely matched they actually were. In the actual circumstances of an invasion, the lower realms would have the advantage of fighting with their preferred natural energy.The upper realms, on the other hand, had the advantage of drawing from a much larger population, many different planets that could move freely between each other. Even if Integration cultivators had been one in a billion like the Worldbinding cultivators of the Sylanis Cluster, there were many thousands of planets to draw upon. The Harmonious Citadel itself had far fewer than that itself, but it still had a large population under control of one sect. However, while they had brought a reasonable army for invading a lower realm, if they had expected a possible attack by their enemies they had underestimated the forces they could draw upon. Up to that point the Dark Ring and others had rarely engaged in direct battles, and the Harmonious Citadel had done its best to keep the location of the border planet a secret. They had simply missed one thing.Hoyt had encouraged absolutely everyone who they could to join them- if they had been wrong and Varis signal had been for a smaller force of enemies than they currently faced perhaps they would have looked foolish. But that would not have been as devastating to their relationship as bringing insufficient forces. The varied weapons of the Harmonious Citadel allowed them to cover each others weaknesses- when they actually fought side by side instead of in their own discrete groups. However, knowing their weaknesses, it was also possible for cultivators to seek out their preferred opponents among the Harmonious Citadel.Currently there was only one force of note, a gathering of all of the strongest warriors. Hoyt was tempted to work with his grandfather to continuously bombard them, but together they simply werent strong enough to wear down more than a dozen others. He wasnt sure they could ever be as long as they were in the same stage- and his grandfather had not even reached Integration yet. There was no doubt that Prospero would advance, but he still needed some more time. Hoyt sought out those devoted to the shield. While he could easily face axes with his own, he was not interested in a match with which the enemy would be familiar. The shield users no doubt also trained against axes, but Hoyt personally found Timothys expertise with the shield greater than any of these others. Using it as a weapon was an interesting route, but that led to gaps between offense and defense. Not as much as one would expect, but Citadels Downfall was quite clear about the differences- and a couple centuries hadnt seen any change in that regard. It was strange to think about sects that had survived for over a millennium. The Order of One Hundred Stars was more than half that age now, but the upper limit upon Ceretos was just shy of eight hundred. Some claimed a longer history, but as all of their strongest cultivators had been wiped out in a former invasion they didnt really have a legacy beyond a name.A weighty ball of flame built up speed as Hoyt directed it towards his target, intending it to arrive along with himself. The man he was targeting had a century or two on Hoyt but he still didnt appear to have advanced beyond the early Integration stage. Hoyt cleaved down with his axe, a wave of flames washing over the man and sending him a step back. The meteor followed up, slamming into the shield with a mass of momentum. The man deflected it with his shield, but imperfectly. He staggered back, the attack not being negated but simply redirected into the allies he was supposed to be defending. Hoyt took the opening to swing his axe low, chopping at the mans legs. Of course he was agile enough to bring his shield to bear against something like that- if he was so incompetent as to fall so easily he would likely not have reached Integration at all. But the man was wholly focused on Hoyts energy, missing the subtly different signature of Prospero who was also honed in on him. His shield blocked low, and he kept enough defensive energy on the rest of his body to protect him from Prosperos attack but not completely. The momentum of the blow finally knocked him off his feet, and Hoyt spun his axe around, chopping in an obtuse arc that slipped past the raising shield, chopping off the mans leg. It was still the correct choice for him to defend his upper body, because if hed failed to do that Hoyt would have just cut him in half. But the blow was ultimately fatal either way- it just took him a few swings more to die as his mobility was hampered. -----novel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.On the other side of the battlefield, Timothy held his own defensive position next to Catarina. Should I know what youre doing? he asked.Im just dismantling their formations, Catarina commented. Im sure they can be used for something better.Then a moment later the metal in the middle of the formation melted to slag, whipping people back in the other direction as it channeled more energy than it could handle. Ultimately, the gambit caused more than a handful of the enemy Integration cultivators to be injured or killed within a span of seconds, and the shift in dynamic allowed for the surrounding attackers to push for more. Soon enough another five fell, and within a matter of minutes the battle was basically over- not solely due to that moment, but it sped it up by a step or two.-----Word of battles in the upper realms kept reaching Antons ears, and he was quite glad for that. It was unfortunate that he could currently do nothing from his position. He could not attack the upper realms- and even if he could, it would have only been practical from stars on the border. Thoughts occasionally passed through his mind- if he Assimilated stars upon the border he could patrol the area. But how many would he need? Ten? A hundred? More?And that was a pointless attempt anyway. If they didnt have to stop in any of the systems, they could simply go around. Above or below if nothing else. Even if he controlled an entire ring of systems around another, the vast majority of the space around it would remain uncontrolled. Though if he could actually attack between systems, he might have something to work with.I cant believe you agreed to provoke them, Everheart said to Anton.Got a problem with that? Scared?Im Everheart clutched his hands to his chest. ... So proud of what Ceretos has become. This might be the best trap Ive ever been part of.Is it a trap if we intend to overpower them in a weakened state? Anton tilted his head.I think you answered that question for yourself. Of course it is. Everheart grinned, But can we make them even weaker than just the transition to natural energy? Thats the question. If youd let me dismantle a planet for resources-Youll have to make do with the myriad of asteroids.But theyre so far apart! Everheart complained. I have to go to each one and figure out what bits of it are good. Ah well. Ill do what I can. Dismantling an entire planet would be kind of inefficient anyway.Anton just smirked. At least Everheart was enthusiastic about causing trouble for the invaders. Though he still didnt know if the man would stay and fight if there was risk to himself.
