After they had established a foothold on Waral, a relatively populated moon under the control of the Numerological Compact, the Lower Realms Alliance was able to observe many things first hand they had only heard about.
The Numerological Compact had an iron grip on their systems, but their overall population was actually in the minority. As far as cultivators went, the Numerological Compact made up less than ten percent of the population. The majority of the cultivator population- around seventy percent- were previously unseen free cultivators from other sects. As for the remaining twenty percent, they were enslaved to be used directly as power sources.
At the moment, Devon stood in the midst of a dead city- not that its people had perished but the city itself. The people lived, but nothing else did except a small number of animals and stray plants in parks that had been established. Even then, those parks seemed drained of life, and they certainly possessed no natural energy to speak of.
Though he had only observed it briefly during the conflict, the city was filled with formations providing all sorts of conveniences. Those same formations were now lacking power, making the city feel empty, despite all of the people around.
They had temperature control, something Devon had only seen rarely before Rutera’s technology became prominent- most cultivators endured any natural temperatures as part of training and at best limited such control to small areas.
Many other systems replicated what he had seen elsewhere, with some features being more prominent via formations or technology within the Alliance. Water produced via formations had become more common than pumping it through pipes via pressurization- though very few places exclusively used the former as it had to take water from the air for it to be real. Most material formed directly from natural energy was transitory, existing only long enough to complete its purpose.
Industrial production facilities were also something Devon sensed- no longer active, but with many partially built components for what seemed to be pre-fabricated formations. There were also military construction facilities, where there were half constructed ship segments- previously powered by the very people those ships were going to contain.
Only a few small parts of the city were still powered, but that was not because their sources of energy were any more ethical. Instead, they were simply made up of smaller groups of cultivators bonded to energy draining devices. If Devon had anything to say about it- and he very much did- they would be freed immediately.
Even though Devon took in the situation calmly and rapidly, the city was anything but calm. The Lower Realms Alliance had after all just attacked and taken out their highest power structures. The moon only had ten or so larger cities, with people packed together to take advantage of their ‘power sources’. The others were no doubt making plans on how to respond, while the citizenry of the current city were acting in confusion.
Those who had been used as batteries were mostly unconscious after being disconnected from the now completely destroyed central power station. Leaving them laying on top of rubble wasn’t necessarily polite, but there were more urgent situations that had to be taken care of.
With most of their artillery useless, some of the local cultivators were attempting to attack the incoming ships directly- but while they had numbers, they didn’t have the range, coordination, or ability to concentrate their firepower.
It was still a situation that needed to be dealt with, however. Devon spread his energy out over the city. “Lay down your arms or suffer the consequences. Stay out of our way and you will be treated fairly.”
Some people made the sensible choice upon feeling the power of an Enrichment cultivators when nobody left in the city was even equivalent to Assimilation, withdrawing their attacks and trying to slink away. Devon didn’t bother thinking about any of them, as it would be too much trouble to deal with them.
More important were those who thought it a good idea to move towards him, mostly Numerological Compact cultivators. Of course, even the majority of them knew better, but there were some foolish Life Transformation cultivators leading hundreds of Essence Collection cultivators. There were more of even lower cultivation.
Some of them tried to attack right away, launching attacks from over a kilometer away. There were a few of them who were proficient in such ‘long range’ techniques, while others stretched the limits of their power. Devon could have easily moved to the side, but he was currently sheltering the unconscious mass of people.
His chains spiraled out, guiding the various energies inwards where they clashed with each other. Even those of the same sect couldn’t prevent their energy from conflicting, erasing most of the momentum of the assaults. Then Devon turned the rest back on the stronger cultivators.
Elsewhere, the Valor was taking out key targets from orbit, and Ty Quigley was focused on the strongest remaining members of the Numerological Compact. There was a world of difference between their ‘Confluence’ cultivators empowered by hundreds or thousands of others and their Life Transformation cultivators fighting under their own power. Even when aided by allies, they had only a small portion of the purity their formations provided.
The Numerological Compact couldn’t be praised for much, but if it were possible to ignore the way their formations were implemented their effectiveness was without question. But fighting in the streets with their power grid down? They were like struggling babes.
Devon didn’t feel much when he killed them. Though they were part of the corrupt system, they weren’t those at the top. It was simply something that had to be done- and he was planning to leave those who were reasonable enough to not attack for later. While it was highly likely that they would receive harsh punishment for their membership in such a foul sect, Devon and the rest of the fleet had to deal with the immediate issues.
Stolen novel; please report.
It took twelve long hours to finally get the city to settle down somewhat. During that time they had grown concerned about the lack of retaliation via additional ships coming to support Waral, but a transmission from their forward base on Kathariel helped explain something about that. A not insignificant portion of their forces had been pulled away for the assault, leaving other places stretched thin.
No doubt they were organizing something to drive the Alliance off of Waral. Devon was even concerned they would bring their Magnitude IV ship into play- Devon hoped they only had one, at least. While he could overpower their Magnitude III ships consistently, a potential tenfold increase in power was troubling. But now that they had a foothold, they couldn’t leave Waral behind without good reason.
Not least of these were the cultivators waking up from their collapse after the power plant was torn apart. Devon spoke to the first of them with the intent to have them prime the others on what was happening.
“It seems you are quite surprised to find yourselves freed,” Devon said, looking them over. “You are free to go where you please, but be warned that if you start violence within the city we will have to treat you like anyone else who does so.” Devon held up a hand to stop some of them. “If you have grievances against particular individuals, there will be time to resolve them later. Right now, few of you would be successful. You are weakened from your imprisonment. I ask only that you wait a short time for the situation to settle. We will provide what you need to survive.”
The Lower Realms Alliance now controlled the city, and that included the supplies of food. While some of that was in private hands, the planet didn’t produce enough food to feed all of its population. Anton would have been appalled, of course, but they did at least have the sense to store a sufficient amount of food to last them in emergencies.
The situation would be a bit more difficult as further supplies likely wouldn’t be forthcoming. Even if the Numerological Compact was compassionate, it was unlikely that they would risk sending food to the as of yet unconquered cities over the rest of their planet. If they actually planned to send supplies the Alliance would negotiate- but for the moment the plans were to call upon the rather efficient bureaucracies of their home systems.
Transporting food for millions of people between any of the core systems would have been a trivial matter. The distances involved where they were, including bringing supplies into a mostly-enemy-controlled war zone would be a bit more difficult. But that wasn’t Devon’s job to deal with. They were going to take control of the rest of the moon, and those who were specialized in managing supplies would then do their jobs.
There was some consideration about culling around a tenth of the population- the Numerological Compact cultivators, of course- but while they were definitely guilty to some extent for their complicity, and others outside of the sect as well- rash decisions would lead to later regret.
For the moment, Devon made an offer to the newly freed slaves. “I can teach the Shattered Chains to anyone who wishes to do so. It was a personal style meant only for myself, but I have found many of those like yourselves suited.” While bringing new disciples into a war zone wasn’t something Devon wanted, he did have the idea to get his ‘experienced’ disciples to help. They might only have a month or two, but they could still be quite valuable. Even with his low cultivation, Fen was making great strides and could be an inspiration. Of course, they’d have to be apprised of the risks.
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“I’d like permission to take out the rest of the Confluence Cultivators,” Ty Quigley said at a strategy meeting. Most of the people had not slept since their approach to Waral, with varying effects depending on cultivation and personality. Ty had expended a great amount of his personal energy, but he was still chomping at the bit even with his energy stores below half.
“Denied,” Devon said without further consideration. “You can participate as part of our larger operations, but the risks if you move alone are too great. We need to keep our forces consolidated here.”
“Fine,” Ty said. “I’m gonna go nap. Call me when the interesting stuff happens.”
And they would. No use wasting that enthusiasm and power.
“Ashildr, what is the report on the city’s status?”
“The formations are useless,” she said. “Which means no planetary barrier here, and weakened effects elsewhere. People are having trouble completing daily tasks like cooking.”
“... Did I make the wrong choice?” Devon asked.
Aerona shook her head. “No way. They brought this on themselves.”
“I have to agree,” Ashildr confirmed. “It is possible for those with the proper control to inject their own natural energy into the formations to activate their functions, but they did not make it easy on themselves by relying so much on slave labor. Basic survival isn’t a problem for now, but with the natural energy here being somewhat lacking, they’re struggling.”
“I have to admit,” Devon said. “I only vaguely sensed the lower levels of natural energy here.”
“Have you not had a hard time recovering your expended energy?” Ash asked. “I certainly felt it, and you used more.”
“I am practically swarmed with devotion,” Devon pointed out. “Intense feelings from millions of locals- including some in other cities. Not many of those, but still.” He shrugged. “I’d share if I could, but I think that mostly means other people need to show themselves more and myself less.”
“No,” Aerona said. “You need to continue to be active. These people need a strong leader right now.” She put a hand on Devon’s shoulder, “And I know you don’t want to be a leader, which makes you quite suited for the task. You will listen to our guidance.”
Devon nodded. Aerona had experience with both diplomacy and leadership. She was an elected empress of her home planet for a time, which is how they met to begin with. “I’ll certainly need help for anything that doesn’t involve excessive use of power.”
“Speaking of which,” Ashildr said. “If you could survey the planet and confirm the locations of the Confluence cultivators and power stations, and anything else of note, it would be very valuable. Normal scouts have to fly outside the planetary barrier, for safety, but your World Encompassing Chains should work, correct?”
Devon nodded. “They will. And since I’m not keeping my presence secret it will be easier.”
“I would suggest doing it as soon as possible. I know none of us have had much rest, but the Numerological Compact has been hard at work sealing the remaining cities into a new barrier. This is the best time to push through before they close it off properly.”
Nobody would be getting much sleep in the near future. Even so, Devon felt invigorated for the moment, and he was going to make use of it until his fatigue caught up to him. Hopefully, that would be after reinforcements arrived and they got things to a stable state. Going all in on securing a single position might seem foolish at first, but it would be a huge blow to the morale of the Numerological Compact on top of their recent losses.
While the population of Waral wasn’t anything impressive, that didn’t meant it wasn’t worth saving with their whole effort. And forcing the enemy to come to them might be worthwhile.