Chapter 516
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Chapter 516
Even as the barrier around the Ultimate Phoenix Sect was broken open, the battle continued in the skies above as some of the assaulting ships made to land while the local ships had finally made it up in the air. Ruteran starfighters were included in that battle, including their ace pilot Ty Quigley. Before learning about personal cultivation hed been above average, but he took to cultivation and Elder Intans training in swordsmanship like a fish to water. While others used their diverse weaponry to batter their way through enemy shields, he mainly focused on a more direct approach where his vehicle was the weapon. It had taken some convincing for Ruteran leaders to accept his odd approach, but as the majority of the expenses for his modified ship were paid for by others they had little reason to reject the attempt. It was effective, with him slicing his way through the fields of fire and any ships that stood in his way.
If Anton were going to judge it- and he was- the Ultimate Phoenix Sects control over fire was fine. Average. Certainly, their fire was powerful, and their cultivators had some regenerative properties. They werent useless. They just werent as good as Anish or himself. Their buildings survived not due to precise control of the cultivators spewing flames everywhere but because they were specially made to resist the heat. That was all well and good if they fought in their own sect, but outside of it they would doubtless destroy things they didnt intend to. That would include their allies.
The Ultimate Phoenix Sect had quite a variety of ways they displayed their flames, from powerful breaths to wreathing themselves in fire to fiery wings sprouting behind them, giving them a small measure of flight. They had the skill to not hurt themselves, and the cohesion to avoid hitting each other, but they would have had much greater attacking opportunities if they could fight freely.
The trifold alliance quickly exploited those tactics, weaving themselves between the enemies. Battles settled into close melees where weapons and personal flames reigned supreme instead of wide area attacks. In that manner the Ultimate Phoenix Sect held some advantage as their numbers were superior, but only on the surface. The Ultimate Phoenix Sect had somewhere around a hundred Life Transformation cultivators when the battle started, fewer than the trifold alliance. It was the thousand Essence Collection cultivators that were able to stop them from being instantly overwhelmed. They were, however, lacking Worldbinding cultivators- while the other side had Anton and the Great Queen to fill that power bracket.
And their numbers werent quite superior. Just as the Essence Collection cultivators were many in number void ants were even greater. Rushing onto the battlefield behind the initial waves, the weaker void ants bundled themselves into larger rolling constructs. Flames struck them, but the power of those flames came from a reliance on natural energy. The lower ants werent entirely immune, but they could withstand incoming attacks long enough for others to rotate into the line of fire. The tumbling bundles of ants surprisingly sought out mostly Life Transformation cultivators- the difference in power between the stages was less relevant to them.
With their strongest cultivators being picked off by Anton and the Great Queen as well as swarmed by ants they could only kill in small bundles, the Life Transformation cultivators began to fall swiftly, freeing up the trifold alliances forces to cut down weaker cultivators who couldnt all reach them at the same time.
The Ultimate Phoenix Sect quickly fell back to secure inner walls, but the speed at which their outer barrier had cracked open had thrown them off balance. No, losing their patriarch should have been the start of that. Instead of returning with a glorious victory and plunder, their claim to power had instead perished with many of their forces- including the all-important phoenixes.
As Anton continued to shatter their collars, more and more of them chose to fight against their captors. If Ceretos had once had its own phoenixes it had lost its native population, but there were always legends of such things- and their power and intelligence. Whether they were matched with humans was currently unclear- perhaps they might be more like void ants where mature members developed deeper sapience. Or like Paradise, such things might be an exception. But they werent stupid.
When they were free to act as they pleased, they either fled or took out their anger on those who had wronged them. Members of the Sect tried to draw upon the Phoenixes for recovery- they didnt have a proper channel between them like the Great Queen determined the patriarch had, but there was some connection. Unfortunately, without the collars it was mostly pointless.
And yes, he was already thinking about that because the last of the enemy sect was falling. Strangely enough, the incoming enemy forces were hardly even close, as if they never intended to protect their allies to begin with. And maybe they didnt.
While some pried the most valuable bits out of the walls, tossing everything into freshly emptied storage bags, Anton went to the deepest parts of the palace where his energy had instantly wormed its way searching for the vaults. The formation masters came along, and soon they were prying open heavily reinforced doors- surrounded by walls that were at least as strong, else they could have torn their way through that way.
Inside the vault was well, it was a large pile of wealth, but nothing Anton thought a sect with one of a hundred Worldbinding cultivators ought to have. He had several thoughts- perhaps it was stored elsewhere, if they were able to trust banks. Then there was the possibility that they preferred to display their wealth instead of having it. Finally it could have been lost over time. Or recently.
The internal politics of the Sylanis Cluster werent exactly friendly. Perhaps the Ultimate Phoenix Sects loss of a Worldbinding cultivator had caused them to be cleaned out, to some extent. It was obvious they hadnt actually been assaulted, but the loss of influence could have caused a rapid calling in of debts.
Anton shrugged. He would have preferred they profit more from this venture since they were doing it, but that wasnt their only goal. It was for revenge, and to send a message. As they cleared out everything as quickly as they could, swiftly venturing into bedrooms and lobbing whole sealed chests into their storage bags, Anton considered how they would leave their more explicit message. Obviously razing the place to the ground would send a message- but he planned to carve some actual words as well.
He finally settled on something short, concise, melodramatic and yet true as far as he could enforce it. You will gain nothing and lose everything.
He worked with others to carve that into the rubble- with the power making the enchantments functional removed, the palace was torn down within the hour. Only at the tail end of it did Anton start shooting at approaching enemy ships as they returned to their own.
They took their loot and their dead, as well as the phoenixes that seemed to think they were the best method of egress, landing on their ships. Their starfighters returned to the larger ships hovering in orbit, and they began to pull away, distributing various sources of fuel as necessary for their return trip.
Several more ships fell to Anton as they drew further from Zimora- no point wasting an opportunity. He could have done more if he waited behind or shot to the very edge of his limits, but he didnt want to push anything and bet on no Worldbinding Cultivators rushing in from nearby planets. Nor did he want to give away his exact range information, though if they counted down to the kilometer the enemy would likely be surprised in his next engagement. Anton was always on a path to improvement as much as possible, and he found shooting with no resistance to be something he quite liked practicing. Range was one of his great strengths, and he would never say he had enough.
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Chapter 516
Even as the barrier around the Ultimate Phoenix Sect was broken open, the battle continued in the skies above as some of the assaulting ships made to land while the local ships had finally made it up in the air. Ruteran starfighters were included in that battle, including their ace pilot Ty Quigley. Before learning about personal cultivation hed been above average, but he took to cultivation and Elder Intans training in swordsmanship like a fish to water. While others used their diverse weaponry to batter their way through enemy shields, he mainly focused on a more direct approach where his vehicle was the weapon. It had taken some convincing for Ruteran leaders to accept his odd approach, but as the majority of the expenses for his modified ship were paid for by others they had little reason to reject the attempt. It was effective, with him slicing his way through the fields of fire and any ships that stood in his way.
If Anton were going to judge it- and he was- the Ultimate Phoenix Sects control over fire was fine. Average. Certainly, their fire was powerful, and their cultivators had some regenerative properties. They werent useless. They just werent as good as Anish or himself. Their buildings survived not due to precise control of the cultivators spewing flames everywhere but because they were specially made to resist the heat. That was all well and good if they fought in their own sect, but outside of it they would doubtless destroy things they didnt intend to. That would include their allies.
The Ultimate Phoenix Sect had quite a variety of ways they displayed their flames, from powerful breaths to wreathing themselves in fire to fiery wings sprouting behind them, giving them a small measure of flight. They had the skill to not hurt themselves, and the cohesion to avoid hitting each other, but they would have had much greater attacking opportunities if they could fight freely.
The trifold alliance quickly exploited those tactics, weaving themselves between the enemies. Battles settled into close melees where weapons and personal flames reigned supreme instead of wide area attacks. In that manner the Ultimate Phoenix Sect held some advantage as their numbers were superior, but only on the surface. The Ultimate Phoenix Sect had somewhere around a hundred Life Transformation cultivators when the battle started, fewer than the trifold alliance. It was the thousand Essence Collection cultivators that were able to stop them from being instantly overwhelmed. They were, however, lacking Worldbinding cultivators- while the other side had Anton and the Great Queen to fill that power bracket.
And their numbers werent quite superior. Just as the Essence Collection cultivators were many in number void ants were even greater. Rushing onto the battlefield behind the initial waves, the weaker void ants bundled themselves into larger rolling constructs. Flames struck them, but the power of those flames came from a reliance on natural energy. The lower ants werent entirely immune, but they could withstand incoming attacks long enough for others to rotate into the line of fire. The tumbling bundles of ants surprisingly sought out mostly Life Transformation cultivators- the difference in power between the stages was less relevant to them.
With their strongest cultivators being picked off by Anton and the Great Queen as well as swarmed by ants they could only kill in small bundles, the Life Transformation cultivators began to fall swiftly, freeing up the trifold alliances forces to cut down weaker cultivators who couldnt all reach them at the same time.
The Ultimate Phoenix Sect quickly fell back to secure inner walls, but the speed at which their outer barrier had cracked open had thrown them off balance. No, losing their patriarch should have been the start of that. Instead of returning with a glorious victory and plunder, their claim to power had instead perished with many of their forces- including the all-important phoenixes.
As Anton continued to shatter their collars, more and more of them chose to fight against their captors. If Ceretos had once had its own phoenixes it had lost its native population, but there were always legends of such things- and their power and intelligence. Whether they were matched with humans was currently unclear- perhaps they might be more like void ants where mature members developed deeper sapience. Or like Paradise, such things might be an exception. But they werent stupid.
When they were free to act as they pleased, they either fled or took out their anger on those who had wronged them. Members of the Sect tried to draw upon the Phoenixes for recovery- they didnt have a proper channel between them like the Great Queen determined the patriarch had, but there was some connection. Unfortunately, without the collars it was mostly pointless.
And yes, he was already thinking about that because the last of the enemy sect was falling. Strangely enough, the incoming enemy forces were hardly even close, as if they never intended to protect their allies to begin with. And maybe they didnt.
While some pried the most valuable bits out of the walls, tossing everything into freshly emptied storage bags, Anton went to the deepest parts of the palace where his energy had instantly wormed its way searching for the vaults. The formation masters came along, and soon they were prying open heavily reinforced doors- surrounded by walls that were at least as strong, else they could have torn their way through that way.
Inside the vault was well, it was a large pile of wealth, but nothing Anton thought a sect with one of a hundred Worldbinding cultivators ought to have. He had several thoughts- perhaps it was stored elsewhere, if they were able to trust banks. Then there was the possibility that they preferred to display their wealth instead of having it. Finally it could have been lost over time. Or recently.
The internal politics of the Sylanis Cluster werent exactly friendly. Perhaps the Ultimate Phoenix Sects loss of a Worldbinding cultivator had caused them to be cleaned out, to some extent. It was obvious they hadnt actually been assaulted, but the loss of influence could have caused a rapid calling in of debts.
Anton shrugged. He would have preferred they profit more from this venture since they were doing it, but that wasnt their only goal. It was for revenge, and to send a message. As they cleared out everything as quickly as they could, swiftly venturing into bedrooms and lobbing whole sealed chests into their storage bags, Anton considered how they would leave their more explicit message. Obviously razing the place to the ground would send a message- but he planned to carve some actual words as well.
He finally settled on something short, concise, melodramatic and yet true as far as he could enforce it. You will gain nothing and lose everything.
He worked with others to carve that into the rubble- with the power making the enchantments functional removed, the palace was torn down within the hour. Only at the tail end of it did Anton start shooting at approaching enemy ships as they returned to their own.
They took their loot and their dead, as well as the phoenixes that seemed to think they were the best method of egress, landing on their ships. Their starfighters returned to the larger ships hovering in orbit, and they began to pull away, distributing various sources of fuel as necessary for their return trip.
Several more ships fell to Anton as they drew further from Zimora- no point wasting an opportunity. He could have done more if he waited behind or shot to the very edge of his limits, but he didnt want to push anything and bet on no Worldbinding Cultivators rushing in from nearby planets. Nor did he want to give away his exact range information, though if they counted down to the kilometer the enemy would likely be surprised in his next engagement. Anton was always on a path to improvement as much as possible, and he found shooting with no resistance to be something he quite liked practicing. Range was one of his great strengths, and he would never say he had enough.
Chapter 516Even as the barrier around the Ultimate Phoenix Sect was broken open, the battle continued in the skies above as some of the assaulting ships made to land while the local ships had finally made it up in the air. Ruteran starfighters were included in that battle, including their ace pilot Ty Quigley. Before learning about personal cultivation hed been above average, but he took to cultivation and Elder Intans training in swordsmanship like a fish to water. While others used their diverse weaponry to batter their way through enemy shields, he mainly focused on a more direct approach where his vehicle was the weapon. It had taken some convincing for Ruteran leaders to accept his odd approach, but as the majority of the expenses for his modified ship were paid for by others they had little reason to reject the attempt. It was effective, with him slicing his way through the fields of fire and any ships that stood in his way.If Anton were going to judge it- and he was- the Ultimate Phoenix Sects control over fire was fine. Average. Certainly, their fire was powerful, and their cultivators had some regenerative properties. They werent useless. They just werent as good as Anish or himself. Their buildings survived not due to precise control of the cultivators spewing flames everywhere but because they were specially made to resist the heat. That was all well and good if they fought in their own sect, but outside of it they would doubtless destroy things they didnt intend to. That would include their allies. The Ultimate Phoenix Sect had quite a variety of ways they displayed their flames, from powerful breaths to wreathing themselves in fire to fiery wings sprouting behind them, giving them a small measure of flight. They had the skill to not hurt themselves, and the cohesion to avoid hitting each other, but they would have had much greater attacking opportunities if they could fight freely.The trifold alliance quickly exploited those tactics, weaving themselves between the enemies. Battles settled into close melees where weapons and personal flames reigned supreme instead of wide area attacks. In that manner the Ultimate Phoenix Sect held some advantage as their numbers were superior, but only on the surface. The Ultimate Phoenix Sect had somewhere around a hundred Life Transformation cultivators when the battle started, fewer than the trifold alliance. It was the thousand Essence Collection cultivators that were able to stop them from being instantly overwhelmed. They were, however, lacking Worldbinding cultivators- while the other side had Anton and the Great Queen to fill that power bracket. And their numbers werent quite superior. Just as the Essence Collection cultivators were many in number void ants were even greater. Rushing onto the battlefield behind the initial waves, the weaker void ants bundled themselves into larger rolling constructs. Flames struck them, but the power of those flames came from a reliance on natural energy. The lower ants werent entirely immune, but they could withstand incoming attacks long enough for others to rotate into the line of fire. The tumbling bundles of ants surprisingly sought out mostly Life Transformation cultivators- the difference in power between the stages was less relevant to them. With their strongest cultivators being picked off by Anton and the Great Queen as well as swarmed by ants they could only kill in small bundles, the Life Transformation cultivators began to fall swiftly, freeing up the trifold alliances forces to cut down weaker cultivators who couldnt all reach them at the same time. The Ultimate Phoenix Sect quickly fell back to secure inner walls, but the speed at which their outer barrier had cracked open had thrown them off balance. No, losing their patriarch should have been the start of that. Instead of returning with a glorious victory and plunder, their claim to power had instead perished with many of their forces- including the all-important phoenixes.As Anton continued to shatter their collars, more and more of them chose to fight against their captors. If Ceretos had once had its own phoenixes it had lost its native population, but there were always legends of such things- and their power and intelligence. Whether they were matched with humans was currently unclear- perhaps they might be more like void ants where mature members developed deeper sapience. Or like Paradise, such things might be an exception. But they werent stupid.When they were free to act as they pleased, they either fled or took out their anger on those who had wronged them. Members of the Sect tried to draw upon the Phoenixes for recovery- they didnt have a proper channel between them like the Great Queen determined the patriarch had, but there was some connection. Unfortunately, without the collars it was mostly pointless. And yes, he was already thinking about that because the last of the enemy sect was falling. Strangely enough, the incoming enemy forces were hardly even close, as if they never intended to protect their allies to begin with. And maybe they didnt.While some pried the most valuable bits out of the walls, tossing everything into freshly emptied storage bags, Anton went to the deepest parts of the palace where his energy had instantly wormed its way searching for the vaults. The formation masters came along, and soon they were prying open heavily reinforced doors- surrounded by walls that were at least as strong, else they could have torn their way through that way. Inside the vault was well, it was a large pile of wealth, but nothing Anton thought a sect with one of a hundred Worldbinding cultivators ought to have. He had several thoughts- perhaps it was stored elsewhere, if they were able to trust banks. Then there was the possibility that they preferred to display their wealth instead of having it. Finally it could have been lost over time. Or recently. The internal politics of the Sylanis Cluster werent exactly friendly. Perhaps the Ultimate Phoenix Sects loss of a Worldbinding cultivator had caused them to be cleaned out, to some extent. It was obvious they hadnt actually been assaulted, but the loss of influence could have caused a rapid calling in of debts. Anton shrugged. He would have preferred they profit more from this venture since they were doing it, but that wasnt their only goal. It was for revenge, and to send a message. As they cleared out everything as quickly as they could, swiftly venturing into bedrooms and lobbing whole sealed chests into their storage bags, Anton considered how they would leave their more explicit message. Obviously razing the place to the ground would send a message- but he planned to carve some actual words as well. He finally settled on something short, concise, melodramatic and yet true as far as he could enforce it. You will gain nothing and lose everything.He worked with others to carve that into the rubble- with the power making the enchantments functional removed, the palace was torn down within the hour. Only at the tail end of it did Anton start shooting at approaching enemy ships as they returned to their own.They took their loot and their dead, as well as the phoenixes that seemed to think they were the best method of egress, landing on their ships. Their starfighters returned to the larger ships hovering in orbit, and they began to pull away, distributing various sources of fuel as necessary for their return trip.Several more ships fell to Anton as they drew further from Zimora- no point wasting an opportunity. He could have done more if he waited behind or shot to the very edge of his limits, but he didnt want to push anything and bet on no Worldbinding Cultivators rushing in from nearby planets. Nor did he want to give away his exact range information, though if they counted down to the kilometer the enemy would likely be surprised in his next engagement. Anton was always on a path to improvement as much as possible, and he found shooting with no resistance to be something he quite liked practicing. Range was one of his great strengths, and he would never say he had enough.
