Blood dripped down from the sword, heavy in Chidis hands. All around him lay fallen cultivators, though Chidi was aware he had not been far from being one of them. But that was how things were. He was simply the one who survived. That was always how it was with cultivators. Was there anything that made him so much stronger that he should win such a battle? Chidi didnt quite know. His blade, of course, was quite exceptional. It was forged at great expense for an Integration cultivator, and it fit well in his hands. But beyond that, he was only blessed with the fortune of training in a different style. He simply happened to know the flaws of the Harmonious Citadel, but not his own.
The true test would be the incoming cultivators from the Exalted Quadrant. They had a different feel to them. More variety, if nothing else. Along with that, Chidi had the feeling they were closer to true swordsmen. Able to grow as they pleased, not forced to fit into a style that might not suit them. One that was flawed but never corrected. Though to be fair, Chidi hadnt exactly told anyone from the Harmonious Citadel the flaws in their style. They would only learn about it as they perished.
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A few kilometers away, grandmaster Chikere had gathered up the best blades among her attackers. Chidi did not think any of them would ever see use by her, even those that had been held by Integration cultivators. But perhaps they could replace some individuals from fifty to one hundred. Or maybe, if she had reason, she would expand the number of blades she wielded simultaneously.
Even as she waited for the incoming ships, they danced around her. Chidi was quite pleased by how they altered the flow of energy, half knowingly and half by instinct. They would not form anything on the level of a concrete formation, but the grandmasters efforts were always both powerful and efficient.
Nearby, Aconite was replenishing the poisons in her battlefield of death. She wasnt one of the actual targets, merely a distraction and a great boon, protecting one of Chidis sides. If the enemy had been able to fully surround him, he wasnt sure if he would have made it this far. There was no promise from grandmaster Chikere that they would win this battle. Instead, it was as it always was- they would win, or they would die in the attempt. That was simply the way of things with her. And like the grandmaster, Chidi simply refused to accept the second option.
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Catarinas senses focused on the battle above. She trusted Timothy to protect her, and she was already contributing to his support as much as she could. Directly involving herself in the melee would only make her vulnerable. More importantly, she was uncertain if she could ignore the situation with the barrier for even a few moments.
She had said that the barrier would last for several days of siege, and she still stood by that statement. It was just that it required active maneuvering to overcome not only the enemys formation masters, but also the pure power of the attacking Augmentation cultivators. The barrier had some of the adaptive ability that the lower realms had developed, but it wasnt perfect.
The barrier trembled under the attacks of three cultivators in particular. Abhilash was the axe saint, the heavy power of his chopping weapon causing more damage than hundreds of surrounding ships. Along with him was another burly individual who was most certainly not Luksa the morningstar saint. That was immediately obvious even without being able to see the individual in person, unless she happened to gain twenty kilograms of mass and ten centimeters in height in the past month or so. And became a man. And while that wasnt the most impossible thing for a cultivator, there was also the matter of the aura. Catarina had fought against Luksa before, and this was clearly a different person.
The final issue was the saint of light himself. Hopefully. Having never seen Hans Sigismund before, Catarina could only go with the descriptions she had heard secondhand. The man was somewhat reclusive, so even those were going to be inexact. Though he didnt carry a heavy weapon- or indeed any weapon- he was probably the most impactful in terms of attacking the barrier. Each strike with his fist or feet sent bursts of light radiating out from them, and even adapted his energy frequently to better damage the barrier.
Catarina kept her focus on the way energy shifted and flowed on a large scale, both the positions the Harmonious Citadel and the Exalted Quadrant were focusing their attacks. But she was only able to help them hold on. They needed something more if they were to hold on, beyond Uzuns planetary laser and their fleets and their two Augmentation cultivators.
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Sparks flew as Timothy twisted his shield to block the daggers trying to end his life. For the moment the dagger saint once called Kristel seemed to be focusing on defeating him first, though Timothy wouldnt let down his guard. Catarina was counting on him. He was just barely able to keep up with her footwork, extending his shield wherever necessary to restrict her motion. He made use of the reach of his sword as much as possible, though he was only able to be a threat because the surrounding formations were restricting her energy and augmenting his own.
Timothy felt that it was not just his cultivation as a member of the One Hundred Stars that was augmented, but even his own personal fighting style. Not that he was surprised, because it was Catarina herself who was responsible for the situation. He could feel her fighting alongside him even as she dealt with her own problems.
Though Timothy was holding his ground, he knew he would eventually slip up. As he grew more fatigued, a simple mistake would become more likely. Even with the formation reducing the difference, he knew he was at a disadvantage. But on the other hand, she might not be able to wear him down. Timothy knew reinforcements were coming from the outside of the facility. While there were restrictions on how fast they could be reached, if he just held out for a minute or two while protecting Catarina, the balance of combat would tip.
Unfortunately, a single minute was almost an eternity as far as battles with Integration and Augmentation cultivators went. Each of them exchanged multiple blows per second, two daggers against Timothys sword and shield. He also kept a close eye for her throwing a blade.
His movement pressed her back towards a wall. The intention was to reduce her mobility, and it mostly worked. Timothy actually managed to nick her eyebrow, creating just the slightest trickle of blood.
But an instant later, before he could even congratulate himself, she sprang forward. The blade in her left hand slashed at his neck, while the other was a stab towards his heart. His sword parried her left, and his shield moved to block her right. But it was a feint. Her momentum stopped right in front of him. Her left hand dropped the dagger, grabbing the edge of his shield. Her right arm came around his frozen shield as she punched her arm through his extended energy, her dagger coming up and around to stab him in the armpit.
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All he could do was focus his energy internally and minimize the damage to just the area of the blade, stabbing into his heart and lung. But Timothy wasnt willing to let that be the end. His elbow twisted down, catching her hand as he slashed at her. She ducked underneath his counterattack, her energy rallying to pull her arm away.
She somehow managed to do so while also twisting her body out of the way of the dagger stabbing into her spine. Velvets second dagger only managed to pierce a kidney on her left side, which was significantly less impactful. For a cultivator, such a wound wasnt lethal- and they could suppress the shock as well. Though injuries still mattered- every bit of blood loss or focus required to prevent it was a boon.
Though Timothy hadnt sensed Velvets arrival, that was exactly the point. But upon realizing her presence, he immediately adjusted his tactics. He kicked away the dropped dagger, then instantly became more aggressive with wide swings of his sword, even as Kristal wrenched her arm and dagger away. He knew with his injuries he wouldnt last long in a fight, and he had to keep her occupied, unable to counter Velvet.
If he could just hold her still for a moment, they could secure the victory. That was what he concentrated on as poison coursed through his veins, despite his efforts to expel said poisons from his body.
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Catarina bit her lip. She had to trust in Timothy. And Velvet, apparently. Her own martial abilities would barely help. And the barrier was straining towards its limits. If it broke now, a large section might remain open for long enough that all the Augmentation cultivators would get through, and maybe the rest of the enemy forces. Even half of them would be a disaster.
She did her best to alter the flow of energy to resist the unconscious rhythm of the enemys attacks. That got them a few more seconds. But they still needed something. The first wave of cultivators she let through was still being cleaned up- Kristal the dagger saint among them. It was too early to relax the barrier for even a moment, and if she did so it might result in the attackers tearing it open completely.
Then an alarm went off. Catarina didnt remember the particular alarm- maybe it was infrequent. But they really couldnt afford it. She twisted her head, since her energy was tightly tied up in manipulating the flow of the formation. The warning label was quite simple. It was also the biggest red light they had available.
Everheart. The scanners at the edge of the system had detected Everheart. No, worse. The outer scanners had missed him. He was closer.
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Honestly, Everheart was impressed. Though he thought that this alliance really should have poured more resources into things. There was no point in keeping things around for next year when you could use them now. If you ran out, you should just go steal them. That was where the plan fell apart, of course. Not that stealing was an issue, unless you were some sort of goody-two-shoes that only stole from enemies.
Everheart didnt come alone, of course. He knew one Augmentation cultivator was not invincible alone. So he brought his most trusted backup. That was, of course, a dozen projections of him that could be sustained away from his own system. And Rahayu, he supposed. The man was quite intriguing, for a simple Integration cultivator. He didnt follow the typical path of a genius or ancient cultivator.
The information hed gathered from the morningstar saint had brought him here. After all, if he ever got the chance to ambush an ambusher, Everheart would take it. Though this wasnt exactly that situation, he still found it favorable. Less risk, same reward. Everything he could ask for. And sure, this might technically count as part of the deal hed made with his niece. That was purely happenstantial.
His opening salvo of attacks took out twice as many ships as he had versions of him present. After which Everheart expanded his aura to cover the pack of Harmonious Citadel cultivators. Hands off my planet, assholes!
It took less than a tenth of a second for Hans Sigismund, the saint of light, to both react and reach Everheart. Then he punched his hand through Everhearts chest, exploding him into a pile of ash.
Which was exactly why Everheart never liked to taunt from the real him. Sure, these projections might be vastly weaker than him but nobody could tell the difference until they tested it.
The saint of light picked another target, being less excessive with his use of energy. This time it took him three sweeps to take out another projection. The whole time, Rahayu and additional Everhearts were taking out enemy ships. And Everheart was scooping up the best pieces of them, obviously.
Everheart smiled. It always filled his heart with something wonderful to attack fatigued enemies and take their most valuable loot. It was like, what did they call that? Happiness. Yeah, that was it.
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