An explosion of energy tore through the area, rocking the building around it. Catarina looked at the pile of scrap that had once been an interesting device and was now just slag in her hands. She’d been trying to avoid this situation, but unfortunately she had failed.

That was too bad. So far they’d barely obtained any communication devices from the Exalted Archipelago, and they hadn’t been able to co-opt any of them. She’d picked up some information on how they worked, though. This latest one had come from her grandfather, more or less. She hoped it would be the one to finally let them break through, but it was another failure.

At least she had ideas for how to secure their own communications. The easiest one was simply keeping careful track of who had what. They only linked to one other communication plate, and traditional code phrases and passcodes could be used to provide some security. That wouldn’t always be enough, but it was working for the moment, and would soon be replaced.

As things went, this was the most drawn out war she had been a part of. Cultivators moved quickly when they wanted to, but the significant distance between the Exalted Archipelago and Brogora was an issue. There was also the fact that the enemy didn’t seem ready to commit to anything. That was good for the moment, but it also put a damper on their other plans. At a certain point, there was only so much waiting that could be done.

With wins and losses on both sides, Catarina was most glad for the recent ones. Not only did she have another go at cracking the enemy communications, but they also got their hands on a ship. Not just any ship, but one built by Golden Star Island. They were formation specialists, and their ships were decidedly less explosive than the communications devices. There was a lot more to lose if that went awry somehow. At the moment Catarina hadn’t gotten her hands on the ship, but she was receiving communication from Eira.

The ship had been transported to the eastern shores of Facraona, as far as possible from the enemy forces. Transporting it inland would have technically made it more secure, but the effort required to carry a ship overland was not insignificant. Bringing formation masters to it was easier. Thus, Eira. She was one of the formation masters from Heavy Mountain Gate, and though their style was quite different from what Catarina had learned they could still communicate information properly. What could be conferred over the communication plates, at least. Sometimes words weren’t enough… and the limited way they worked was insufficient.

A project that would be completed… eventually. When there was time.

-----

Some time later had found Anton on the other side of the continent, the north of Estary. There had been some indications that the Exalted Archipelago would try an attack there next, and various scouts had confirmed that. Now the enemy was close enough that he had confirmed it with his own senses. They were less than a hundred kilometers out, but he could already sense several different categories of energy. Multiple sects working together, and more than just a couple handfuls of Life Transformation cultivators involved. This was something serious, and they had to be ready for it.

Anton also didn’t forget to check the skies. Though he had to cover significantly more area, skyships disturbed the air and natural energy in a way he was beginning to recognize. There were two he had spotted so far. Hopefully the local defenses were up to the task. Grant and his crews had finished some options for shooting down skyships, but it was unsure if it would be enough.

Anton would try it himself, but he didn’t think he could overpower one. If they had a formation master study the defensive formations for weaknesses he could do something, but before then it wouldn’t do to exhaust himself unnecessarily.

Among those present were Golden Star Island, the Ponderous Turtle Clan, and the Soaring Air Sect along with a few others. Most importantly, their numbers were sufficient to finally put some plans into motion elsewhere. Anton hoped they did well, but his own focus was on defending this area.

That was what he had ultimately attuned to- the idea of guardianship. Everyone had some they held dear that they wanted to protect, and Anton could admit that he had some he would prioritize over others… but the scope of his desires had expanded along with his cultivation. Now, he wanted to protect entire countries, continents… the world. Not that he had the power to truly have the latter within his reach. He could only do what his current abilities would allow, and push himself to continuously improve. It would still be a slow process, even after having completed the prime tempering, but advancing once more felt good.

-----

“Well then,” Vasu said, speaking generally to the entire fleet but specifically to Chikere. “News has come in that the Exalted Archipelago has finally committed to an attack. Among them are Golden Star Island, from the interior. The Ponderous Turtle Clan, to the north-”

“I’m surprised they showed their faces again,” Chikere said.

“Rumor is they are quite livid about the results,” Vasu shrugged, “But they did it to themselves. Back to the topic at hand, the Soaring Air Sect’s skyships have been spotted as well. So we now have a target.”

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“I don’t know how to get to a sky island,” Chikere said. “Should we try cutting it down?”

“We might find a way to do that,” Vasu grinned. “But for the moment we must go where required.”

“Is it the turtles at least? I’d like to try some more giant turtle soup, preferably not made with swamp turtle.”

“Even better,” Vasu tapped the sword at his side. “I didn’t mention one important group. We don’t have to change our target after all. The Void Blades finally showed up in force.”

Everyone cheered.

“That’s right. It’s finally time. We’ll be making our way there. No doubt they have some truly impressive swords. For their own part, other forces from Aicenith have been persuaded to move on other sects.” Vasu drew his sword, cutting apart the air. Normally, it would simply have been for show, but the ripples of his slash continued onward cutting into the sea below… and leaving a small trail in the clouds above. “It’s time to fight! We’ll show those ‘exalted’ fellows that nobody is so far above others they can’t be cut down!”

The general excitement was not just of warriors going to battle, or sword enthusiasts anticipating what they might add to their collections. It was also a large number of people who were very tired of eating salted meat, fish, and whatever other aquatic creatures happened to attack them as they held a position east of Aicenith but still far enough from the Exalted Archipelago to have escaped their notice. It would still be a matter of days, maybe a week before they arrived… but they were finally moving.

-----

The Void Blades were problematic. That was Anton’s assessment of them as the battle broke into full swing. They were strong and terribly efficient in battle, cutting down swathes of Brogora’s cultivators. The key was the difficulty of defending against their sword strikes. Their weapons didn’t actually disappear when they attacked, but it sure felt like it. Anton didn’t have to deal with them directly as he was sniping from the rear lines, taking down as many as he could, but he found some of them were also uncomfortably good at slicing through incoming attacks.

But he didn’t have to fight alone. Infinite Wisdom Forest and Misty Hill Palace, among others, were doing the majority of the work. Local cultivators knew the area best and were the most motivated, so the main movement of cultivators had been to adjust people closer to the coasts to be ready to fight. The skyships and the potential for the enemy to infiltrate in other ways meant they couldn’t fully focus on the coasts, but they could still pull from landlocked Graotan and the majority inland Ofrurg.

Speaking of skyships, they were at their most troublesome when they were unseen, able to drop a number of powerful cultivators behind enemy lines for a stealthy mission. In short, the way they had first been used. With their locations known they were still a significant factor on the battlefield- shooting down below, ignoring traditional walls. Even formation barriers were generally weaker directly above since fewer attacks were expected to be able to reach the area properly.

Grant’s modified weapons were nothing particularly groundbreaking. There were ballistae that could be angle almost directly upwards as well as trebuchets that could do the same. The latter were generally less effective since they were fighting gravity with heavier attacks, while a ballista dealt with less weight, and the power was made up by cultivators combining their energy together. If the enemy got too low, the trebuchets could be quite devastating, and the ballistae were sometimes able to puncture the defensive formations of the ships- but nothing could hit the sails or whatever mechanisms existed that made the ships fly.

Yet now that the ships were over the city, aiming for the backlines like Anton himself, the next form of attack came. At first they appeared no different than a ballista. A large spike of metal or metal tipped wood, basically a large arrow, was flung into the sky. Some pierced into the enemy ships while others passed uselessly over or under… or so it appeared. Those that fell short of their targets couldn’t do anything, but going over still actually had a value. For one, it allowed the ropes to dangle over the enemy ship.

Making ropes of any sort over a kilometer in length was an expensive project, even by cultivator standards. Only a few dozen had been made and they had hurriedly been shipped to this location when it was clear a battle was happening. And it was reasonable to make the mistake that there was no rope at all. There were other options for something strong, but the element of surprise was something special as well.

Ropes made entirely of diamondsilk, the nearly invisible webs of the diamondsilk spiders. Tough enough to be used as armor with only a thin weave, practically unbreakable when formed into rope.

Elder Tshering had been one of the first to recognize the value of the void ants, but even some time before that he had been working to expand the farming of diamondsilk spiders. The Order wasn’t solely responsible for the production necessary for these particular ropes, but they were certainly a large contributor- and had sparked the idea of taking care of the troublesome arachnids. The issue of course being that the spiders themselves were likewise nearly invisible, and requiring special care.

So there were a few ropes… in harpoons, or the equivalent at least. Those that pierced the skyships formations and stuck in the bottom of the ships were the best suited for what they wanted, but those that went over and got entangled on the outside of the formation were good enough as well. One skyship took several hits, and soon was being dragged towards the ground by a hundred people below.

When the crew of the ship above tried to cut the ropes, they found quite a bit of difficulty. Diamondsilk was tough, and they didn’t expect to have to reach beneath their ship to cut ropes. They had some balconies for archers to shoot from, but they still had awkward angles. And when they tried… Anton would counter their shots with his own. Climbing down the surface of the ship wasn’t any better, as they would be outside the defensive formation of the ship- and it certainly wasn’t made for anyone to hang on.

Even so, a few of the ropes were eventually cut- only to be replaced by additional harpoons targeted at the same ship. It was rapidly pulled low- below a few hundred meters- with people climbing the ropes towards them to not only add weight but potentially board the ship. The dangling harpoons that went over the ship had not all been removed, and were grabbed onto as well. At a certain point the ship suddenly gave out, crashing into the ground away from the intended back lines… and though they had Life Transformation cultivators ready to fight, their plan had been delayed enough for the continental defenders to reorganize.