In some ways, dealing with the much more powerful Citadel of Exalted Light was simpler than dealing with the Silver Fang. That was because the Citadel had been so confident in their superiority that they didn’t bother with things like tactics- and for their first assault and much of the second, they had been justified in that belief.
The Silver Fang, meanwhile, were undoubtedly weaker than the Scarlet Alliance. They weren’t able to take and hold planets, nor could they threaten their core systems in the slightest. But they were able to cause trouble, raiding planets within their sphere of influence. Not all were officially part of the Scarlet Alliance, but they couldn’t allow such intrusions to happen near their territory if they wanted to continue to grow. More than that, they couldn’t ignore the calls for aid.
With their complement of Augmentation cultivators, the Scarlet Alliance could take down any of the attacking groups- the only issue was actually catching them. They had swift ships, but unless they could predict the enemy’s path it made little difference. A single ship carrying a modest number- seemingly two Augmentation cultivators and a couple hundred others split between Life Transformation and Integration- was the biggest thorn in their side. Others had similar numbers but seemed to have only a single Augmentation cultivator taking the lead- or none at all.
The Scarlet Alliance had sufficient forces to completely fortify ten or twenty systems beyond their borders. They could have smaller complements in others… but they couldn’t completely cover the great number of systems that the Silver Fang could reach.
Various options had been suggested, but it wasn’t possible to implement them all. The one that would be guaranteed to work to some extent came with other problems- launching a proper counterattack onto Silver Fang worlds. But that meant committing to a proper war, and the costs in life and other resources involved in that. The Silver Fang wasn’t considered particularly important within the Trigold Cluster, but they still had to consider how the great power would react.
The one tactic that was able to be implemented quickly and that should have some effect was the creation of small teams meant to supplement the defenses of the predicted targets. In general that meant forces similar to the greatest offending ship. They could only hope to catch some of the roaming enemies while they prepared more of their forces.
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Chidi and Aconite, rather than leading other cultivators, were operating independently. Both of their styles were far too disruptive to allied cultivators. They were also confident facing greater numbers, though if they ran into the pair of Augmentation cultivators they would have to carefully assess their odds with the inclusion of the enemy’s numerical advantage.
“We should bring your family next time,” Chidi commented, speaking of his trip to the lower realms. “I bet Fuzz would be delighted to see things.”
“Probably,” Aconite growled in agreement. “I don’t know if mother would be willing to take the risk of weakening herself, however.” She turned to sniff around the area- the site of a recent attack.
Chidi nodded. “True, it is quite uncomfortable- especially for those who have little experience with lower energy. What are you sniffing for, by the way?”
“Signs of those who were here,” Aconite said. “Also, they smell weird. Or the ship.”
“I assume they absconded into space,” Chidi commented. “That’s what everyone said.”
“Yes. But maybe they also smell like… herbs unique to a particular planet. Or some sort of mud found only outside their hideout.”
Chidi sniffed. “I think it’s a bit too faint to get anything like that, and how would we know before we were practically standing upon said hideout?”
“Maybe I should have studied spatial techniques,” Aconite grumbled. “I could sniff them from afar. I guess we just move on.”
“Now hold on one moment. You might have a point,” Chidi commented. “Maybe not via scent… but can we determine how much energy their ship had stored?”
“... Difficult,” Aconite said. “It would be contained, and the signature has faded significantly. Though we might be able to follow the tracks out of the system? At least until they entered subspace.”
Chidi nodded. “Good idea. Too bad they didn’t have modern scanners here. That might have gotten all the info we needed for us.”
“You know why we don’t export tech to unsecure areas.”
“Yes. Though even what has been stolen has been implemented extremely slowly. Our main enemies are ancient and appear to lack certain sorts of adaptability.”
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Departing the planet, Chidi was just able to feel traces outside the atmosphere. They had to approximate what direction the enemy departed, but of the three main options only one had a populated system. That was their best bet. The enemy could be heading towards a further system or they could retreat back towards the Trigold Cluster, but they often went for several targets in a row.
It turned out they guessed right… but the enemy had already arrived and moved on before they did. However, because they were faster they had gained some time, and they were able to follow their energy trail to the edge of the system more easily.
“It still smells weird,” Aconite commented. “Not like a proper ship at all.”
“Unfortunately, none of the locals really got a good look at it,” Chidi commented. “They just mentioned people dropping from the sky. Not that I’m surprised they were paying attention to the more immediate issues.”
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On their next attempt, they actually managed to catch their quarry. Their industrious opponents had already completed their raid, but were still leaving the system.
“Finally,” Aconite said. “Now you cut them down.”
“About that… I can sense some captives aboard. How about you do it?”
“... You think I have any poisons that can kill only enemies?”
Chidi shook his head. “I was hoping more for something that would incapacitate them all. Some sort of sleeping powder?”
“Oh yes. I do have some non-lethal options, I suppose,” Aconite confirmed. “However, getting into position to deploy it will be tricky. I can’t just leave a packet for them to run into.”
“Really?” Chidi tilted his head. “I thought you had the technique down.”
“I don’t know what sort of air filtration they have on their ship. Or its structural layout.”
“Right. So we try to get ahead and just hope for the best. I’ll cut something important that doesn’t destroy the ship, and we go from there.”
Aconite nodded. “Fighting within atmosphere is so much easier.”
“Ty would probably disagree,” Chidi said. “But I don’t have any interest in training for centuries as a fighter pilot just for that.”
Their ship wasn’t equipped with grand stealth systems, so even though they kept their own energy low as much as possible, the enemy spotted them as they were heading to cut them off. But rather than attempt to flee, they turned towards the smaller ship. To them, it likely felt like a single Life Transformation cultivator and a weak Augmentation cultivator. Against a crew that included dozens of Integration cultivators, it seemed like a decent match for them.
Chidi didn’t plan to give them a chance to recognize their mistake. The two of them set the ship to automatically pull away from the battlefield, then rode outside so their attacks would be unhindered on the approach.
Aconite suddenly growled fiercely. “I figured out what smelled weird. I’m gonna kill them all.”
“Just the Silver Fang, please,” Chidi said. “What is it?”
“You’ll sense it in a moment.”
And he did.
“... You’d think that someone would have mentioned this aesthetic,” Chidi commented as he prepared his sword. “Did we miss a meeting?”
There was no response, as he was already swinging his sword at the enemy ship- one that was decked out to look like a giant howling wolf. Complete with real furs and teeth, if Chidi understood properly.
Their ship turned away at the last moment, leaving them with only their momentum carrying them towards the enemy ship. Chidi already had a read on the ship’s energy, and he cut twice. His attacks pierced through the barrier as he struck at its precise weak points, then carried on to quarter the mast.
Chidi used the counterforce from the attack to reduce his relative velocity to the ship, using his own energy to match its speed while he was just past the rear of the ship. Meanwhile, Aconite leapt onto the prow and sunk her claws into the surface. Though she was only the size of a regular wolf, her ferocity displayed in a great howl that echoed through the ship.
The Silver Fang didn’t appear even slightly bothered by the wolf, and charged at her with their weapons- mainly spears. That was their first mistake, as her howl hadn’t been merely for intimidation but was instead a way to distribute poison. Chidi knew that half of them would fall by the time they got within range, and the others a few moments later. The few who attacked from afar wouldn’t be much better.
But that was for Aconite to deal with. He had his own concerns at the moment, such as the other half of the crew coming for him. Most of them wouldn’t be affected by the poison. Chidi had to make full use of his energy to avoid the various incoming attacks, both melee and with ranged extensions of their spears. Each of their Integration cultivators technically had more energy than him, after all. It was wasted in their hands, though.
Using complex movement techniques, Chidi twisted himself around their assaults, focusing on how their energy would overlap and negate each other. That was the best part about facing a crowd of attacks by uncoordinated people.
It was both more difficult and simpler to enter a proper state of Negation. There were many energy signatures competing with each other in the area, but none of them were consciously controlled to make the process more difficult. Instead of a single instant, he managed many back to back, moving rapidly from foe to foe and cutting them down with his blade.
When he found himself without any conscious opponents, Chidi assessed himself. Blood was trickling down from no fewer than a dozen wounds. One on his neck had nicked an artery and needed rapid consideration. He wasn’t a doctor, but he could hold blood in and would be able to stitch it up in a manner that would hold together well enough. That was necessary when undergoing active and near-fatal training like the Million Sword Vault performed- and thus that had been part of Chikere’s training.
Around Aconite there were only fallen foes, and the only blood on her was concentrated around her head and upper torso. Considering how much was dripping down her fangs, he presumed it was only from her enemies.
They began to make their way inside the oddly adorned ship. Chidi could sense a few active individuals still, but the majority had already rushed to fight them. However, upon stepping down the stairs they came to a scene where an old man- presumably the captain of the ship- had a dozen people in front of him and his remaining crew, spears pressed up against their back.
“These are your people!” the old men shouted. “Stop right there.”
Chidi stopped. Though he wondered what would happen next. If the old man told him to drop his weapons and surrender… well, that would be stupid. That would just be consigning the hostages to a fate potentially worse than death along with himself. It wasn’t something that could be reasonably discussed.
Aconite growled, but it was doubtful that these people could understand her. So Chidi spoke for her. “What do you want?” he asked. All he really needed to do was draw things out.
“If you want them to live, you go back where you came from. Oh, and leave the wolf.”
“Good sir,” Chidi said in a manner he hoped was sufficiently supplicatory to the man’s ears. “I certainly wouldn’t want any of our citizens to be harmed. We can certainly withdraw, but I cannot in good conscience leave behind my companion.”
“This isn’t a negotiation. Do you want their blood on your hands?”
This old man had far too naive of an opinion about the Scarlet Alliance. Just because they cared about their people didn’t mean they were completely useless. But… he didn’t have to explain that. Aconite growled. “Fine, but be careful. She bites.” Chidi began stepping away… but he didn’t even make it up three stairs before enemy cultivators began falling. Then suddenly all of the hostages.
“It’s so much harder to make the strong people collapse first,” Aconite grumbled. “Good thing they assumed that my ‘aura’ was just for intimidation and not carrying doses of deadly poison.” Chidi gestured to the captured people. “Deadly because I’m going to tear out their throats. The hostages are fine.” Aconite paused. “Okay, they might be in a coma for weeks but after that they’ll be fine.”