Chapter 240
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Chapter 240
Just sitting, waiting for an attack was nerve wracking. The central part of the Order had the rewards hall, armory, and other tempting targets for invading attackers. When the warnings of danger had come, many of the disciples of the Order were nearby.
Elder Evan immediately began to hand out weapons and armor and anything else that might help. It was foolish to keep it locked up when they might need it. If they survived, it would be given back.
If they survived. A morbid thought, but one that Catarina didnt think was unrealistic. After all, cultivators died all the time. Many of those who died today would be from the Order. Though specific information hadnt been distributed, it was clear this wasnt just a small scale attack. Otherwise someone else would be controlling the formations. Someone like Elder Galli.
Even if the Order didnt have an overabundance of qualified formation masters, Catarina thought there should have been someone better than her. But that thought didnt suddenly make someone else show up.
The idle thought to try to improve on the formations passed through Catarinas mind, but she knew better than to try. Even if she had the time to make sweeping changes and access to the materials, there was no guarantee anything would be better. She was a top formation expert among those at her age, but older formation masters were better. Elder Galli was able to make things on a whim she could barely comprehend, and Everheart even though he had been gone for centuries, he still had formations that were nearly impossible to sort out.
The ones the Order had should function fine on their own when they werent getting seriously bombarded. When the enemy arrived and concentrated their attacks on one area, Catarina needed to be ready to respond accordingly. But she also couldnt overreact and weaken other parts too much. But if she messed up, it would only mean an army getting through to attack hundreds of fellow disciples, most of which were in Body Tempering or early Spirit Building. Catarina wouldnt be in too much peril, given her distance from the outside of the formation.
That was the worst part, knowing that if she failed others would die. She could accept personal consequences for her failure, but others dying left a sour taste in her mouth. Yet there was little hope that the formations would hold forever whether she was the one in control or someone else was.
Anton was working at the border. It seemed likely he would have been the first to face danger, but she couldnt let her worries cloud her thoughts. As the first attacks fell on the formations surrounding the compound, Catarina felt strangely alone. She didnt want to focus on that feeling, but she couldnt help it. She wished she had her grandfather, her friends Timothy. The last one was the biggest because he had always been around, but now he was gone out on some mission for the Order.
-----
The assault on the fortified structure on the southern edge of the mountain was resulting in many deaths for the Twin Soul Sect, but they were making real headway. Several of their members had broken past the front ranks defending the doorways and made it inside, and the main defenders were injured as well. The ranged attackers on the roof were still causing serious damage, but soon enough they would tire.
A single Life Transformation expert could entirely tip the balance in the battle, but none of them joined. They would instead be looking for other opportunities. While they might receive some merits for slaughtering those well below their level, it would be very little compared to tackling the targets only they could handle. While wiping out the younger generations was valuable, crippling their leadership was also important. The time wasnt all that far away, and weakening a sect like the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars could allow enemies not directly associated with the Twin Soul Sect to take revenge, further weakening them.
It was unfortunate that the observatory was the best place to hide the center of the formation. Vandale had hoped that it would remain intact for others to use, after he was gone. But carefully removing an expensive telescope would have tipped off those approaching. It would simply have to be rebuilt.
As huge lenses shattered from the heat around Vandale, his energy suffusing throughout the area, he took stock of his opponents. Two with spears, one with a myriad of different throwing weapons, one with no visible weapons, and finally a sword wielder and one with daggers. That spoke of how they would fight to some extent, but he knew the real event would be focused around whatever illusion they tried to deceive him with.
Vandale felt something squirming inside him, trying to get out. This would be just the time it was meant to act up, since it failed to kill him. The man who had appeared to be their leader had now ascended, but hed left an unpleasant memory with Vandale on his way out. Vandale just hoped his own flames had left a mark on the man as well.
The squirming blackness inside Vandale couldnt be safely removed, but if he left it as it was it would disrupt his ability to fight. But things had already gone beyond the realm of safety. Even if none of his opponents were as close to the peak of cultivation as he was, Vandale knew that fighting six suicidal enemies was pushing himself. No, it was downright impossible. If he meant to live, that was. But just because his opponents didnt care if they died didnt mean he didnt care about their deaths. He cared about it very much, and would make it happen.
Inside of him, fires began to burn brightly. It scoured the blackness from inside of him. Vandale had a sudden feeling of inspiration. Hed long said hed given up on reaching ascension, and while that was true as much as it could be, he found himself realizing hed kept a tiny strand of desire inside of him. Once he burned that away, the path forward was clear. But he wasnt going to bow out and leave six dangerous enemies for his sect to deal with. Besides, given what hed heard from those who visited Everhearts latest mess, he wasnt sure he liked the idea of ascension even if he wouldnt be abandoning people he cared about.
Power gathered above Vandale, forming into a number of glowing spheres of varying size and power. The power radiating from him might disrupt illusions from those around him, or it might not. But if he simply attacked everywhere, then it wouldnt matter if he could figure out his opponents locations or not. A manic grin lit his face as he started raining destruction down all around him.
He twisted his body between the spears as they stabbed simultaneously, deflecting other weapons with his palms. For some of the rest he simply relied on the fires burning inside him to provide the power to resist. Meanwhile, explosions rang out all around him, bombarding his six opponents and scouring the land.
Vandale wasnt sure if the sword that stabbed into his gut from behind was an illusion or not, but it didnt matter. When he found himself in an awkward position he simply turned up the intensity of his power. Stars rained from the sky, but Vandale himself was another star. One near the end of its lifespan, but as an enthusiastic student of the skies, he knew that stars only grew more powerful near the end. But he also knew there was no going back from it.
Seven cultivators without regard for their own lives fought, and if there had been any structures still standing around them it would have been flattened and pitted within an instant. Six had the idea that they would be rewarded for their behavior, reincarnating into a life where they would have abundant resources to empower them in their next lives. They were unafraid of death because they didnt believe it was the end.
Vandale knew he might in fact reincarnate, but without special circumstances he wouldnt remember anything. For all practical purposes, hed be a different person. But he was fighting without regard for his life because it no longer had enough value to keep. It was dwindling already, near its end no matter what he did. If he could save those of value to himself, he would take that trade any day.
Vandale continued to glow brighter, distracting from the falling stars up above. Before things reached their end, he made certain to feel the integrity of the formation around him. He could sense fighting beyond it, but the barrier held. Good. Vandale smiled as he pulled down the greatest falling star hed ever created from above, directly towards all of his enemies. Of course, with them surrounding him it actually went towards himself.
If their illusions were hiding their locations, it might have seemed that they had a chance to survive. But nobody would be able to know what was real and not in the aftermath, because as the final Falling Star impacted Vandale, he also exploded from the inside out in a crescendo of power. The formation trembled around him and held but inside of it the only thing that remained recognizable were a few melted pieces of weapons and armor.
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Chapter 240
Just sitting, waiting for an attack was nerve wracking. The central part of the Order had the rewards hall, armory, and other tempting targets for invading attackers. When the warnings of danger had come, many of the disciples of the Order were nearby.
Elder Evan immediately began to hand out weapons and armor and anything else that might help. It was foolish to keep it locked up when they might need it. If they survived, it would be given back.
If they survived. A morbid thought, but one that Catarina didnt think was unrealistic. After all, cultivators died all the time. Many of those who died today would be from the Order. Though specific information hadnt been distributed, it was clear this wasnt just a small scale attack. Otherwise someone else would be controlling the formations. Someone like Elder Galli.
Even if the Order didnt have an overabundance of qualified formation masters, Catarina thought there should have been someone better than her. But that thought didnt suddenly make someone else show up.
The idle thought to try to improve on the formations passed through Catarinas mind, but she knew better than to try. Even if she had the time to make sweeping changes and access to the materials, there was no guarantee anything would be better. She was a top formation expert among those at her age, but older formation masters were better. Elder Galli was able to make things on a whim she could barely comprehend, and Everheart even though he had been gone for centuries, he still had formations that were nearly impossible to sort out.
The ones the Order had should function fine on their own when they werent getting seriously bombarded. When the enemy arrived and concentrated their attacks on one area, Catarina needed to be ready to respond accordingly. But she also couldnt overreact and weaken other parts too much. But if she messed up, it would only mean an army getting through to attack hundreds of fellow disciples, most of which were in Body Tempering or early Spirit Building. Catarina wouldnt be in too much peril, given her distance from the outside of the formation.
That was the worst part, knowing that if she failed others would die. She could accept personal consequences for her failure, but others dying left a sour taste in her mouth. Yet there was little hope that the formations would hold forever whether she was the one in control or someone else was.
Anton was working at the border. It seemed likely he would have been the first to face danger, but she couldnt let her worries cloud her thoughts. As the first attacks fell on the formations surrounding the compound, Catarina felt strangely alone. She didnt want to focus on that feeling, but she couldnt help it. She wished she had her grandfather, her friends Timothy. The last one was the biggest because he had always been around, but now he was gone out on some mission for the Order.
-----
The assault on the fortified structure on the southern edge of the mountain was resulting in many deaths for the Twin Soul Sect, but they were making real headway. Several of their members had broken past the front ranks defending the doorways and made it inside, and the main defenders were injured as well. The ranged attackers on the roof were still causing serious damage, but soon enough they would tire.
A single Life Transformation expert could entirely tip the balance in the battle, but none of them joined. They would instead be looking for other opportunities. While they might receive some merits for slaughtering those well below their level, it would be very little compared to tackling the targets only they could handle. While wiping out the younger generations was valuable, crippling their leadership was also important. The time wasnt all that far away, and weakening a sect like the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars could allow enemies not directly associated with the Twin Soul Sect to take revenge, further weakening them.
It was unfortunate that the observatory was the best place to hide the center of the formation. Vandale had hoped that it would remain intact for others to use, after he was gone. But carefully removing an expensive telescope would have tipped off those approaching. It would simply have to be rebuilt.
As huge lenses shattered from the heat around Vandale, his energy suffusing throughout the area, he took stock of his opponents. Two with spears, one with a myriad of different throwing weapons, one with no visible weapons, and finally a sword wielder and one with daggers. That spoke of how they would fight to some extent, but he knew the real event would be focused around whatever illusion they tried to deceive him with.
Vandale felt something squirming inside him, trying to get out. This would be just the time it was meant to act up, since it failed to kill him. The man who had appeared to be their leader had now ascended, but hed left an unpleasant memory with Vandale on his way out. Vandale just hoped his own flames had left a mark on the man as well.
The squirming blackness inside Vandale couldnt be safely removed, but if he left it as it was it would disrupt his ability to fight. But things had already gone beyond the realm of safety. Even if none of his opponents were as close to the peak of cultivation as he was, Vandale knew that fighting six suicidal enemies was pushing himself. No, it was downright impossible. If he meant to live, that was. But just because his opponents didnt care if they died didnt mean he didnt care about their deaths. He cared about it very much, and would make it happen.
Inside of him, fires began to burn brightly. It scoured the blackness from inside of him. Vandale had a sudden feeling of inspiration. Hed long said hed given up on reaching ascension, and while that was true as much as it could be, he found himself realizing hed kept a tiny strand of desire inside of him. Once he burned that away, the path forward was clear. But he wasnt going to bow out and leave six dangerous enemies for his sect to deal with. Besides, given what hed heard from those who visited Everhearts latest mess, he wasnt sure he liked the idea of ascension even if he wouldnt be abandoning people he cared about.
Power gathered above Vandale, forming into a number of glowing spheres of varying size and power. The power radiating from him might disrupt illusions from those around him, or it might not. But if he simply attacked everywhere, then it wouldnt matter if he could figure out his opponents locations or not. A manic grin lit his face as he started raining destruction down all around him.
He twisted his body between the spears as they stabbed simultaneously, deflecting other weapons with his palms. For some of the rest he simply relied on the fires burning inside him to provide the power to resist. Meanwhile, explosions rang out all around him, bombarding his six opponents and scouring the land.
Vandale wasnt sure if the sword that stabbed into his gut from behind was an illusion or not, but it didnt matter. When he found himself in an awkward position he simply turned up the intensity of his power. Stars rained from the sky, but Vandale himself was another star. One near the end of its lifespan, but as an enthusiastic student of the skies, he knew that stars only grew more powerful near the end. But he also knew there was no going back from it.
Seven cultivators without regard for their own lives fought, and if there had been any structures still standing around them it would have been flattened and pitted within an instant. Six had the idea that they would be rewarded for their behavior, reincarnating into a life where they would have abundant resources to empower them in their next lives. They were unafraid of death because they didnt believe it was the end.
Vandale knew he might in fact reincarnate, but without special circumstances he wouldnt remember anything. For all practical purposes, hed be a different person. But he was fighting without regard for his life because it no longer had enough value to keep. It was dwindling already, near its end no matter what he did. If he could save those of value to himself, he would take that trade any day.
Vandale continued to glow brighter, distracting from the falling stars up above. Before things reached their end, he made certain to feel the integrity of the formation around him. He could sense fighting beyond it, but the barrier held. Good. Vandale smiled as he pulled down the greatest falling star hed ever created from above, directly towards all of his enemies. Of course, with them surrounding him it actually went towards himself.
If their illusions were hiding their locations, it might have seemed that they had a chance to survive. But nobody would be able to know what was real and not in the aftermath, because as the final Falling Star impacted Vandale, he also exploded from the inside out in a crescendo of power. The formation trembled around him and held but inside of it the only thing that remained recognizable were a few melted pieces of weapons and armor.
Chapter 240Just sitting, waiting for an attack was nerve wracking. The central part of the Order had the rewards hall, armory, and other tempting targets for invading attackers. When the warnings of danger had come, many of the disciples of the Order were nearby. Elder Evan immediately began to hand out weapons and armor and anything else that might help. It was foolish to keep it locked up when they might need it. If they survived, it would be given back.If they survived. A morbid thought, but one that Catarina didnt think was unrealistic. After all, cultivators died all the time. Many of those who died today would be from the Order. Though specific information hadnt been distributed, it was clear this wasnt just a small scale attack. Otherwise someone else would be controlling the formations. Someone like Elder Galli. Even if the Order didnt have an overabundance of qualified formation masters, Catarina thought there should have been someone better than her. But that thought didnt suddenly make someone else show up. The idle thought to try to improve on the formations passed through Catarinas mind, but she knew better than to try. Even if she had the time to make sweeping changes and access to the materials, there was no guarantee anything would be better. She was a top formation expert among those at her age, but older formation masters were better. Elder Galli was able to make things on a whim she could barely comprehend, and Everheart even though he had been gone for centuries, he still had formations that were nearly impossible to sort out.The ones the Order had should function fine on their own when they werent getting seriously bombarded. When the enemy arrived and concentrated their attacks on one area, Catarina needed to be ready to respond accordingly. But she also couldnt overreact and weaken other parts too much. But if she messed up, it would only mean an army getting through to attack hundreds of fellow disciples, most of which were in Body Tempering or early Spirit Building. Catarina wouldnt be in too much peril, given her distance from the outside of the formation.That was the worst part, knowing that if she failed others would die. She could accept personal consequences for her failure, but others dying left a sour taste in her mouth. Yet there was little hope that the formations would hold forever whether she was the one in control or someone else was.Anton was working at the border. It seemed likely he would have been the first to face danger, but she couldnt let her worries cloud her thoughts. As the first attacks fell on the formations surrounding the compound, Catarina felt strangely alone. She didnt want to focus on that feeling, but she couldnt help it. She wished she had her grandfather, her friends Timothy. The last one was the biggest because he had always been around, but now he was gone out on some mission for the Order.-----The assault on the fortified structure on the southern edge of the mountain was resulting in many deaths for the Twin Soul Sect, but they were making real headway. Several of their members had broken past the front ranks defending the doorways and made it inside, and the main defenders were injured as well. The ranged attackers on the roof were still causing serious damage, but soon enough they would tire.A single Life Transformation expert could entirely tip the balance in the battle, but none of them joined. They would instead be looking for other opportunities. While they might receive some merits for slaughtering those well below their level, it would be very little compared to tackling the targets only they could handle. While wiping out the younger generations was valuable, crippling their leadership was also important. The time wasnt all that far away, and weakening a sect like the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars could allow enemies not directly associated with the Twin Soul Sect to take revenge, further weakening them.It was unfortunate that the observatory was the best place to hide the center of the formation. Vandale had hoped that it would remain intact for others to use, after he was gone. But carefully removing an expensive telescope would have tipped off those approaching. It would simply have to be rebuilt.As huge lenses shattered from the heat around Vandale, his energy suffusing throughout the area, he took stock of his opponents. Two with spears, one with a myriad of different throwing weapons, one with no visible weapons, and finally a sword wielder and one with daggers. That spoke of how they would fight to some extent, but he knew the real event would be focused around whatever illusion they tried to deceive him with. Vandale felt something squirming inside him, trying to get out. This would be just the time it was meant to act up, since it failed to kill him. The man who had appeared to be their leader had now ascended, but hed left an unpleasant memory with Vandale on his way out. Vandale just hoped his own flames had left a mark on the man as well.The squirming blackness inside Vandale couldnt be safely removed, but if he left it as it was it would disrupt his ability to fight. But things had already gone beyond the realm of safety. Even if none of his opponents were as close to the peak of cultivation as he was, Vandale knew that fighting six suicidal enemies was pushing himself. No, it was downright impossible. If he meant to live, that was. But just because his opponents didnt care if they died didnt mean he didnt care about their deaths. He cared about it very much, and would make it happen.Inside of him, fires began to burn brightly. It scoured the blackness from inside of him. Vandale had a sudden feeling of inspiration. Hed long said hed given up on reaching ascension, and while that was true as much as it could be, he found himself realizing hed kept a tiny strand of desire inside of him. Once he burned that away, the path forward was clear. But he wasnt going to bow out and leave six dangerous enemies for his sect to deal with. Besides, given what hed heard from those who visited Everhearts latest mess, he wasnt sure he liked the idea of ascension even if he wouldnt be abandoning people he cared about.Power gathered above Vandale, forming into a number of glowing spheres of varying size and power. The power radiating from him might disrupt illusions from those around him, or it might not. But if he simply attacked everywhere, then it wouldnt matter if he could figure out his opponents locations or not. A manic grin lit his face as he started raining destruction down all around him.He twisted his body between the spears as they stabbed simultaneously, deflecting other weapons with his palms. For some of the rest he simply relied on the fires burning inside him to provide the power to resist. Meanwhile, explosions rang out all around him, bombarding his six opponents and scouring the land.Vandale wasnt sure if the sword that stabbed into his gut from behind was an illusion or not, but it didnt matter. When he found himself in an awkward position he simply turned up the intensity of his power. Stars rained from the sky, but Vandale himself was another star. One near the end of its lifespan, but as an enthusiastic student of the skies, he knew that stars only grew more powerful near the end. But he also knew there was no going back from it. Seven cultivators without regard for their own lives fought, and if there had been any structures still standing around them it would have been flattened and pitted within an instant. Six had the idea that they would be rewarded for their behavior, reincarnating into a life where they would have abundant resources to empower them in their next lives. They were unafraid of death because they didnt believe it was the end.Vandale knew he might in fact reincarnate, but without special circumstances he wouldnt remember anything. For all practical purposes, hed be a different person. But he was fighting without regard for his life because it no longer had enough value to keep. It was dwindling already, near its end no matter what he did. If he could save those of value to himself, he would take that trade any day. Vandale continued to glow brighter, distracting from the falling stars up above. Before things reached their end, he made certain to feel the integrity of the formation around him. He could sense fighting beyond it, but the barrier held. Good. Vandale smiled as he pulled down the greatest falling star hed ever created from above, directly towards all of his enemies. Of course, with them surrounding him it actually went towards himself. If their illusions were hiding their locations, it might have seemed that they had a chance to survive. But nobody would be able to know what was real and not in the aftermath, because as the final Falling Star impacted Vandale, he also exploded from the inside out in a crescendo of power. The formation trembled around him and held but inside of it the only thing that remained recognizable were a few melted pieces of weapons and armor.
