The positions on the battlefield would naturally shift to some extent, but the section of the Graotan army outside of Stregate intentionally circled around to be closer to the city. That had been the plan all along, since they had no other safe location they could retreat to. Counting on their opponents to just let them go was an unacceptable gamble, and the same was true for assuming their victory. Dealing with only half of the enemy forces had helped, but there were serious losses on both sides.

One Ascension cultivator was among their opponents, and though Anton had done his best to wear the man down as he approached, ultimately it was impossible for a single Life Transformation cultivator to defeat someone of that power even with anti-ascension techniques that were constantly improving in efficiency. Anton was glad that someone in Stregate had gotten his hints, and they were now more effective as well. They needed their best… or perhaps even more than that.

Hoyt and Devon were currently matched off against the Ascension cultivator. Devon was a few years behind, but had still managed to reach early Life Transformation. The Chain Harmony Sect’s techniques and information from the Exalted Archipelago had let him continue to develop his style, and he now used his chains to restrict the movement of their opponent while Hoyt provided the main threat.

The man wouldn’t just allow Devon to grab onto him, but Devon had more than a handful of chains weaving throughout the area around them. He was able to avoid interfering with Hoyt’s movements while blocking the man’s path. Hoyt spread flames throughout the area as well, forcing the man to move through it to attack either of them.

The combo was effective enough that Hoyt sensed the man might direct his attention elsewhere. Though it was a bad habit for cultivators in combat to engage in conversation, Hoyt supposed he had good enough reason. “You’re quite strong. Who are you?”

The man glared at Hoyt, though willingly answered in return. “I am Elder Shyam of the Twin Soul Sect. I must admit I am surprised at how… enduring the lot of you are. Like insects.” Speaking of insects, he had already divested himself of the chain of ants. Some were dead, while others had simply been flung away. Since they were lacking the use of energy, they had to rely on their legs for speed- and even if they were more powerful than a normal insect it provided an upper limit on what they could accomplish. “You will also be eradicated like them, as we can’t allow continued use of these… annoying techniques.”

Hoyt had two paths. He could taunt the man, indicating he was afraid. That might help, as enraged opponents were often easier to deal with. But it could also backfire, as if he was able to focus on either himself or Devon for a few moments he had the power to tear them apart regardless of the effectiveness of the anti-ascension techniques. Instead, Hoyt went with another option. “How unfortunate that you were stuck with the rest of these weaklings,” Hoyt commented. The others might take offense at that, but they were already quite occupied by their own opponents. The words were good enough to keep the man engaged with Hoyt and Devon, at least, and the battle drawing longer was ultimately in their favor.

-----

The enemy forces were barely twenty meters away from the walls of Stregate when they ran into a barrier. The cultivators loading the ballistae were just as surprised as the enemy forces, but their movements still continued to fire their last shot. Or what would have been the last shot. With the enemy packed in closer, it was impossible for everyone to dodge the weapons. Grant coordinated them all as he demonstrated the insights he’d picked up with regards to the anti-ascension techniques.

As for why the enemy army suddenly stopped outside the walls, it quickly became obvious. The formations on the walls only covered them and those atop the walls… a few moments before. Now, there was a small army positioned in front of the walls holding formation flags, which those with the training could sense were extending the standard defensive range of the formations. The forces had been invisible moments before but were now very clearly seen by both sides.

“Excuse me,” Catarina called to the gates. “We’ll be much more effective inside than out, if you’d let us in.”

The question of whether or not the new group were their allies was rather simple. None of them had an ounce of ascension energy, and there weren’t so many Life Transformation experts that nobody would recognize the Order’s Formation Master. Grant was pretty sure she was Anton’s granddaughter or something like it.

After giving people a moment to settle, and having received a positive response from those immediately on the walls, some of the soldiers below began to climb the walls. Normally they would have been prevented by various elements of the formations- and the soldiers atop the walls- but neither was the case at the moment. Yet the process wasn’t expedient, and those with lower cultivations would find it nearly impossible.

“Open the gate!” Commander Alfons declared. “Hold positions inside the gate as we cover our allies from Edelhull!”

The attacking armies found that they were able to clash with the front lines of the group outside the gates to some extent, but they couldn’t break through the combined soldiers and power of the defensive formation. Even the Ascension expert among them found his attacks repelled. He very quickly leapt into the air… and continued to fly upward. Flight was an extremely rare ability for cultivators, even those of great power, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected that an Ascension cultivator could achieve it. When the man dove towards the walls from above… he found that the formation covered all angles.

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On the ground, Catarina was guiding people in a fighting retreat. She carefully organized how their positions collapsed so that those holding formation flags wouldn’t disrupt the overall effect. Some of that involved her personally adjusting thing, creating temporary runes or throwing flags that were quickly sacrificed to the incoming forces. While the defenses were still holding, everyone could feel them weakening.

Grant looked at the ballista in front of him. Unfortunately it hadn’t been designed to fire at targets high in the air. Certainly not directly above. He pulled out his hammer and gave a few whacks to bolts holding it to the castle walls, then hefted it onto his shoulders. “Ready!” he called out to shake the others working with him out of their stupor. “Charge energy… fire!” He triggered the release with a bit of his own energy, projectiles shooting into the air.

There was no chance that even an especially well made and enchanted ballista was going to kill an Ascension cultivator… but it did produce interesting results. Only a few clipped the man as he twisted through the air, but a moment after that he was tumbling, bouncing off of the formation and towards the front of the area. It seemed even a minor disruption to his energy flow prevented him from flying.

The formation was trembling as Catarina coordinated the fighting retreat. Some of the ballistae were actually beginning to run out of ammunition, which was a mixed blessing. It was obviously awful that they were running low, but that meant some crews had been able to fire continuously… and if they took down even a few foes per shot that would equate to hundreds. The enemy forces only numbered in the low thousands, and some of those that had been killed were Life Transformation cultivators. The only forces that had died so far were the soldiers from Edelhull- and those from the Order in the other battle. They all knew it wouldn’t last, but the more they could take out before it reached the inevitable melee on the walls, the greater impact they would have.

Though some of the soldiers continued to fall, the toughest soldiers kept their positions in the collapsing group in front of the walls. Unfortunately, it seemed they wouldn’t be able to close the gates behind them. The enemy forces were pressed right up against them, and the formation likely wouldn’t hold regardless.

Catarina was the last through the gate- simultaneous with several others. She staggered forward, her sword planting in the ground. Even as Commander Alfons ordered them closed the formation trembled one last time, then shattered as the flying Ascension cultivator shoved his palm through. Cultivators began to leap onto the walls, Life Transformation cultivators being the only ones who made it to the top immediately while the rest had to climb in several hops. The forces on the wall were only Essence Collection cultivators at best, but they were barely holding on with the advantage of numbers.

Enemies also began to pour through the gates without the formations able to stop them, and the gates could not be closed fast enough. Then the world shuddered as the formation reasserted itself violently. Those climbing the walls were blasted away, while the enemies fighting atop the walls were knocked off their feet. The gates swung inward with sudden force, sending squads flying- if they were lucky enough to not be crushed. The gates slammed together exactly around the Ascension cultivator’s arm, which had not moved since the moment Catarina staggered inside and stabbed her sword into the ground.

Catarina slowly turned, holding aloft a glowing crystal and grinning. “You always have to bring a little backup.”

A scream of rage echoed throughout the city as the Ascension cultivator pulled away… leaving his arm behind. With the formation back in place and only a portion of the enemy forces facing them- along with the forces of two cities- they began to truly fight, hoping to eliminate as many enemies as possible. Catarina stepped forward, grabbing the arm as blood dripped from it, her face curious.

-----

The cultivators of the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars had hope that their opponents would act similarly to the others… and they were right enough. After suffering a number of casualties the invaders began to retreat. Anton very carefully focused on the closest enemies who were still engaged so that people wouldn’t be reminded of how far away they could be with him still shooting at them. The Order’s forces were also pulling away, heading towards another side of Stregate. Blocking in the enemy forces would have been tactically sound only if they had the advantage of strength, and even with anti-ascension techniques that was still iffy.

When the Order’s forces were safely moving through the side gates of the city, Anton took a position on the walls and began to make use of his remaining energy bombarding the forces at the main gates. While Stregate had been able to mobilize most of their soldiers in that direction, they had to man the other parts of the wall in case the enemy forces had tried something tricky. Ultimately attacking a single point was better for the invaders if they had been able to break through, but Catarina was there to renew and augment the formation. She was still doing that, in fact, pulling out expensive crystals and formation flags and sturdier stone pillars of varying sizes.

Though Anton had certainly expended a good portion of his energy in the fight already, being able to pick and choose targets as the second group began to retreat as well. The invaders still had the ability to conquer the city if both halves worked together on the assault, but they first prioritized their lives.

Well, some of their lives. The thing was, Anton continued to take shots at them until they were well beyond fifty kilometers away… and those who were easiest to kill were also the slowest. Anton methodically set about killing those who were lowest in cultivation, killing dozens of early Essence Collection cultivators, and then dozens more. His fatigue was building up, but he had the time to find the best and most efficient shots. Then his arrows began to lag at the seventy kilometer mark, before he stopped firing after he shot several dozen useless arrows.

When the invaders stopped to make camp far to the northwest- almost halfway to the border with Estary- Anton considered whether or not he should continue to harass them. He decided against it, not because they didn’t deserve to have people shot in the middle of the night but because giving away his true range was wasteful at the moment. Besides, he would like to be fresh in case they chose to march on Stregate once more. And if they chose a different target, he wanted to be able to join the forces following them.