The city of Stregate was quite reasonably sized for being in a lower realm, and given the signatures of lower energy coming from the cultivators inside it should have plentiful resources. The defensive formations were annoyingly sturdy given that they rely had use of lowly energy. None of that should have mattered, however, as they should have already been taken down from the inside. The local mbers of the Twin Soul Sect should have infiltrated every major sect, and if there were settlents of this size they would be expected to do the sa.
Elder Shyam could rember when he had done the sa himself, back during the previous cycle. He had been successful, though hed given his life for it. The rewards had been worthwhile, of course. After he was reborn he was raised through the path of cultivation with many rewards, and had reached the Integration stage. He was fully suffused with upper energy and could use its devastating power as he pleased.
He had admit that he was a bit restricted by the lack of decent natural energy in the lower realms, but he was still above all of the residents. He rely had duties to fulfill propping up the younger generations. Though he couldnt make use of most of the resources they would secure from this mission, he would be rewarded separately.
But the thin stores of natural energy irked him. Lowly energy was so inefficient, he could feel himself drying up. Slowly, but he had no ti to sit around waiting. If the defensive formations did not run out of energy soon he would tear them apart himself.
The slightest bit of caution was rited given that another group of lower cultivators had shown up the previous night. They seed indecisive in their determination to attack, or perhaps they were intending to sneak around for so sort of tactical advantage. Elder Shyam had not lost track of them, however. At their distance tens of kiloters away they wouldnt be able to do anything, but they could begin closing the distance at any mont.
Elder Shyam only had a mont to sense a fluctuation of energy before a disciple of the Phoenix sect was struck by a beam of light. It was an arrow, and it directly struck a womans eye. Jagoda, if he rembered correctly. From the Phoenix sect.
Centuries of training didnt fail him, and he ford a barrier to block subsequent attacks. Yet instead of impacting against his aura, arrows simply swerved to target other cultivators outside of his reach, striking down those who stood on the fringes. It didnt make any sense. Sure, they had been standing rather carelessly with only the basic levels of defensive energy but Jagoda had been at the peak of Essence Collection. It would have been one thing for her to be struck down by those at the peak of this world in a single blow, but the archer was only in early Life Transformation.
Several more disciples died or were injured before everyone strengthened their defenses. Elder Shyam sighed. He would hear about this later, regardless of it being the individual disciples carelessness. But that was later. Now was ti for revenge. After ! Elder Shyam called out. He looked towards Elder Mazhar, of the Boundless Skies Sect. He and those with him would remain in position sieging the city.
Shyam began to charge towards the archer. He was aware that the rest of the army was there as well, so he kept his pace moderate. Enough for the Life Transformation mbers to keep up at least. They would be able to break apart the enemy ranks before the rest arrived.
A more powerful but practically leisurely arrow flew towards Shyam himself. That was a bit arrogant. He batted it away with his hand. Then he winced. It wasnt painful, exactly but tingly? Furthermore, hed felt a wrenching of his energy. How was he so off balance? He, at least, had kept the opponents within his senses- there was no way he should have any difficulty blocking an attack from a re early Life Transformation cultivator. Unless there was so trick to it.
Before he could finish that thought, his leg thorns pierced into his leg. The thin spikes penetrated through the textile armor he was wearing between the weave. Only a few of them, but it should have rely been an annoyance. Instead, he was bleeding. The plant was torn asunder a mont later as its grip on his leg tore it apart, but sohow it had pierced through his skin. Ridiculous. For the sake of efficiency he made note of the thorny vine. As for the arrows flying at him, he dodged them with grace and efficiency. It was better to not deal with them at all if blocking them produced unexpected effects.
Yet the arrows he dodged began to hit those behind him. Life Transformation cultivators who should have been able to withstand the attacks with ease were staggered, their defensive energy penetrated in a single blow. That was the limit of the attacks, and wounds were minimal- but Elder Shyam knew it shouldnt have been so easy.
Then he ran face first into a dangling strand of ants. He had thought it was one of the other hanging vines in the area, and it hadnt stood out as noteworthy. It should have been decimated upon contact, but instead he had little bugs all down his front.
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Anton was glad that western creeper was just as effective on ascension energy as normal natural energy. He would have been happier if the thorns had pierced deep into the mans muscles instead of being nearly superficial, but with only the mans own montum to sink them in it was impressive enough for a simple plant.
How are things going over there? Hoyt asked.
Practical experience does wonders, Anton comnted. My anti-ascension techniques are several tis better than the beginning of the first battle. I knew we had all improved, but this magnitude Anton nodded. This is what its really ant to be like, I imagine.
Good to know, Hoyt nodded. What about our allies?
Largely being ignored, Anton said in reference to the ants. At the very least, the enemies are still on the approach. They likely dont understand the magnitude of our small friends. Despite the ants being, well, ants, they were intelligent enough that their loss of life was best avoided. They were willing to fight and die on the orders of their queens, and for the sake of their holands but they werent willing to do it alone. Still, they were brave enough to position themselves along the way. It was practical, since they couldnt move fast but it still ant they were the first line of defense.
Soon enough the enemys front lines were within range for those not possessing Horizon Shot. The sa was true in reverse, with arrows and conglorations of energy being launched towards them as well. Anton switched tactics, maximizing his number of bows to shoot down the attacks so his allies could fight freely. A simple hit would unravel an attack on the way before it got to them. Those who werent ascension cultivators seed to still have that type of energy inextricably tied to their effectiveness, and more so the higher their cultivation. In short, it narrowed the effects of increasing cultivation for their enemies.
The thorny vines and ants did little to slow the approaching forces, but it was better that they did not. When the enemy cultivators arrived, they were matched two or three to one. There were equivalent forces behind them, but they would not arrive for at least a few critical monts. Formations sprang into place as well, their components hidden among the natural trees and boulders in the surroundings. Nothing was as grand as what Catarina was capable of, but the previous best formation user among the Order- Elder Rana- was still present with them. Catarina, anwhile, was bringing the soldiers to join with Stregates.
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Atop the walls of Stregate, Grant stood next to one of the contraptions he was most proud of. Sure, ballistae had existed for ages and were basically just big crossbows but the scale of these particular specins was greater. More importantly, the ammunition was relatively cheap but highly effective. It would take several cultivators to draw back the string and empower the bundles of smaller bolts with energy, but it allowed those who were not particularly skilled in ranged battle to participate.
In the distance Grant could feel a familiar presence. It was a bit vague and indistinct at that distance, but practically every resident of Windrip would recognize Antons energy. Much of Stregate, too. At least among the highest ranking cultivators. Grant had made it to mid Life Transformation since he ended up in Windrip, but despite his cultivation lacking slightly compared to well, Anton, he felt he had grown as much as could be expected. His abilities as a smith had grown beyond what he could have ever expected was possible, pulling strength out of lesser materials and raising better materials to great heights.
The enemy forces had half split towards Anton, but when the second group seed to be considering joining them Commander Alfons ordered the first volley. They had to fight eventually, and now seed to be the optimum ti.
Though they were positioned over a kiloter away, tal spikes tore through the lesser cultivators among the enemy. They werent precise, given how many were launched together, but they were accurate to the point that the siege engineers could target a specific region of the battlefield. They had ranged every position on the battlefield years before, and had kept up the condition of the instrunts. Cultivators in Spirit Building and Essence Collection took out cultivators a step higher than themselves in the first volley. There were only around twenty ballistae on the correct side of the city, but a visible portion of the enemy forces went down. Cultivators hurriedly began to reload.
Then sothing strange happened. It wasnt the enemy forced beginning to charge. That was absolutely expected and according to plan. No, it was a lone arrow streaking into the side of one of them. It was absolutely overkill for the early Essence Collection target. Then there was another, exactly the sa- piercing into the side of a man already dead.
Regardless of the improbability of two stray arrows hitting the sa point, Grant knew that with Anton there was no such thing to begin with. If an arrow went of course, it was either redirected- or dissolved. Yet clearly there was no tactical value to killing a single person. Grants arms worked hard as he helped arm his ballista. Was he being told sothing? What was it? It was Antons normal Spirit Arrow technique, combined with anti-ascension thods of course. Ah. That was it. Anton was always better than anyone else at those, but it was different now.
Grant focused on what he felt. Anton had mostly taught him the basics of using energy, though the man had always returned to Windrip as the core of his efforts to teach everyone to cultivate. With word of the invasion, everyone had devoted effort to learning the anti-ascension techniques. Grant now wished he had a few more years devoted solely to that task, but it was difficult to practice sothing without any real thod of observing effectiveness. Cultivators who practiced that one technique Fleeing Youth, he thought, were few and far between.
With a change in how he empowered his portion of the ammunition, Grant thought he saw so of them pierce straight through a Life Transformation cultivators. His eyes could have been fooling him, but the man was at least injured. It was a sha they probably wouldnt be able to fire the ballistae at the approaching enemies more than a couple more tis, but such was life. Every enemy they killed at a distance was one more the city didnt have to face. So had thought them excessive, but now Grant had wished he had the ti and resources to make twice as many.
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