Much time and effort was put into analyzing the data from the battle with Enymion. That included the recordings from the fleet at large, but also Devon’s personal experiences. He spent a lot of time trying to predict how Endymion would adapt his strategy in the future- and how long it might take for that to happen. There were also plans for dealing with the other Magnitude IV ship and their Confluence cultivators.

The most vital step was not leaving enemy fleets open to combine their firepower with the larger ships. While there had been a significant drop in secondary power from the assault, even a momentary boost to the capabilities of their strongest enemies would be problematic. Even if they couldn’t guarantee to take out Devon, if the Numerological Compact destroyed several of their capital ships in quick succession it would be quite problematic.

It was clear that they couldn’t do the same thing again in quick succession, combining the firepower of their fleet. Determining whether it was issues in formations or of cultivator control was something they could only speculate on, but they could determine that it wasn’t something that could be done consecutively. Otherwise, they would have truly tried to kill Devon.

Their scouts were doing the best they could to keep track of enemy movements, but they could only do so much. The Numerological Compact’s formation expertise was sufficient to breach their stealth systems consistently, so they had to rely on distance and speed- limiting their information.

-----

The captured cities on Waral were lacking power, though given the status of the moon itself that wasn’t a complete disaster. Things were quite inconvenient for the populace, but the vast majority of them were cultivators to some extent. They mainly lost luxuries rather than necessities, and though food supplies might become an issue in the near future that was a separate problem.

Not all of the captured cities were completely without power. With the guidance of the freed slaves, those cities which had been captured intact were having their power stations refitted. Any cultivators would be able to contribute natural energy while not being restrained once they were done… though they had less than a single percent of the maximum capacity available at the moment.

Nor were any of those previously restrained eager to return to such a task without compensation. That was a matter for the people of the cities to settle, balancing how much they were actually willing to contribute against what their energy needs or desires. The Lower Realms Alliance had no intent to force anyone to interact with that system, and it was clear that the structure of the local society had to change for them to function. It wasn’t going to be easy.

-----

Reinforcements were close to arrival and plans were being finalized to take over the remaining cities on Waral based on the incoming forces when the situation suddenly changed. This time it wasn’t due to outside events, but local changes- outside of the cities they controlled.

Devon’s energy was recovering nicely, enough that he felt comfortable surveying the planet with his World Encompassing Chains. The size of the planet wasn’t an issue as much as the barriers surrounding the enemy cities. There was only so much information he could gain without straining himself, so he just watched the general situation. Something in about half of those remaining cities caught his attention, as there was increased activity at the same time.

Among those that had received an influx of Numerological Compact cultivators fleeing from the first city, there had been a greater tension. Devon hadn’t quite been able to pin it down, but less than a week after the battle with Endymion something snapped- and not in just one place.

There were riots in the streets as large numbers of cultivators moved on particular locations- specifically the quarters of the Confluence cultivators and the sect’s starports. That activity drew Devon’s attention to those cities, but also made him check for similar activity in the others. He quickly determined the situation.

The Confluence cultivators had coordinated with each other to try to flee the planet simultaneously- and in some cities, others had gotten wind of it. A nearly even mixture of lower ranking Numerological Compact cultivators and others had taken a stand, trying to prevent the Confluence cultivators from fleeing and leaving them behind. There were only a small number of ships, and even if they were to replace all of the enslaved cultivators they could only carry so many… but nobody wanted to be left behind in what they reasonably understood to be a hopeless situation.

As soon as he understood the significance, Devon relayed the information to the others. No doubt the Confluence cultivators were hoping that with every ship leaving at once they could get past the Lower Realms Alliance fleets. And perhaps some of them could have at the sacrifice of others. But with even a short warning they would lose the advantage of confusion.

Importantly, with all of the Confluence cultivators leaving, the cities would be protected by little more than the defensive barriers. Other Numerological Compact cultivators could likely man the aerial defenses, but they would be far less effective- practically worthless. While their numbers might be an issue, that was only assuming the rest of the population stayed out of things.

The Lower Realms Alliance scrambled their forces as quickly as possible, preparing their fleets for action. In the rioting cities, only a few of the Confluence cultivators managed to reach ships in time, and the presumably secretive departure became desynchronized. It was clear that the other Confluence cultivators caught wind of what was happening and sped up their departures to match the urgent fleeing- both to use the other ships as cover and to avoid riots in their own cities.

The plans of the Lower Realms Alliance were technically thrown off, but only because their enemies were throwing away their fortified positions. With their fleets, catching around a hundred ships was something they could accomplish with relative ease.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Not long after enemy ships came out of their barriers, ships were swarming them. However, some of the ships were smaller than expected, and faster. Not very many- only a handful from each of two cities- but they were able to avoid immediate capture while the larger Magnitude II ships were taken down, freeing the cultivators tied to them.

The Lower Realms Alliance also intentionally let slip some ships not carrying Confluence cultivators- and slaves. There were some ships that ran off of more traditional power sources, and letting them go should promote friction with the highest layers of the Numerological Compact. They might simply be executed wherever they ended up, but that wasn’t the concern of the Alliance.

All of the local forces had to act, with Devon flying towards one of the cities undergoing riots. Just because the Confluence cultivators had already escaped or failed to do so didn’t stop a surge of cultivators who were feeling cornered. That was a perfect time for Devon to break through the barrier, though his following decision was made to preserve order.

Though he wished to, Devon didn’t immediately shut down the power station, freeing the entrapped cultivators. Instead, he appeared above the rioting cultivators.

“Settle down!” Devon’s voice shook the city, and the cultivators. He was not just one but two whole stages above the very best of them- the Confluence cultivators having been overwhelmed by numbers or having already fled to space where they would be captured.

Though he looked down on tens of thousands of cultivators with heated blood, they couldn’t help but recognize his strength. Though as with any group, there were always a few recklessly defiant individuals. In a group this size, there were over a hundred who thought they stood a chance, even if their cultivation didn’t say so.

They yelled various profanities and attacked him- simultaneously, but not together. It was quite simple for Devon to remove himself from the area where all of the attacks were aimed long before they arrived. Then he took a moment to make sure his next move was lined up properly, sending out chains in the same number as the offending cultivators. They quickly found themselves strung up by his chains, before being flung into a single pile- their necks snapped.

“Let’s try this again. Settle down. There are no longer any methods for you to get off this planet without the aid of the Lower Realms Alliance. Your overlords have abandoned you. Not that any of you should have expected any different. There’s no value for any of you killing each other now.”

“Yeah right!” said one slightly more cautious Numerological Compact cultivator. He was a Life Transformation cultivator near the peak. Perhaps if things had gone differently, he would have been among the Confluence cultivators in the next decade or two. “We heard you slaughtered everyone in the other cities!”

They clearly had incomplete information… which was probably for the best.

Devon shook his head, emphasizing the movement with a larger projection of his form over the city. “Many perished, that is true… but the majority of deaths were at the hands of other citizens. Much like yourselves.”

Devon was bending the truth there, because he doubted the slaves counted as civilians in their eyes. At least, not the Numerological Compact. Maybe not even the others who were still all potential slaves.

“We have no quarrel with those not of the Numerological Compact…” Devon waved his hand. “And for those of you of that grand sect, your actions will be judged fairly.”

Did that mean that most of them would be put to death? Absolutely. But the other cultivators, complicit as they were in some ways, were also victims in large part. Devon’s true intention here was dispersing the crowds, which was working to some extent.

Some people were slinking away, and Devon had no problem with that. At the very least, most were moving away from the Numerological Compact.

The man clearly thought about his words. “Even a Confluence cultivator is nothing without backup.” Devon could see what the man was doing… which was why what happened next wasn’t going to help him any.

“Yeah!” shouted another member of the Numerological Compact. “Right! If they’re going to kill us all anyway, we might as well take this one out first!”

Devon shook his head. They knew their weaknesses, and yet they were so tied to them. And not in a good way, like Vincent of the One Hundred Stars and other communal Assimilation cultivators. Willing contributions to others were so much more stable, and the Numerological Compact had convinced themselves that just because their formation expertise was sufficient to make forced labor work somewhat efficiently that it was actually correct.

It was foolish, really, for them to launch another round of attacks. There were far more of them, but most of the cultivators couldn’t even really reach Devon standing in the sky. A small fraction of them could, and even then their attacks interfered with each other.

Devon wasn’t a fan of communal responsibility. Even though only a tiny fraction of the Numerological Compact had managed to live when judged by their victims, that showed they weren’t all completely irredeemable.

But the crowd below had their chance to separate, and there was an easy core for him to target. A few hundred individuals, including the Life Transformation cultivator who thought he was clever, not directly telling people to assault Devon.

“So be it,” Devon said. “You choose to continue the mistakes of the rest of your sect, believing in your own invincibility.”

Even though he was still recovering his energy, creating a dome of chains covering the core group was simple. He most likely could have covered the whole crowd, but he wanted to give a chance for people to run away. There could be a few members of the Compact among them that were simply scared of dying on Waral and nothing more.

Devon fought directly against against the concentrated group, and while they were from the same sect and vaguely able to combine their energy, the only way they could have stood against him with just a few hundred is if all of them were Life Transformation cultivators. Devon didn’t necessarily enjoy killing them, but the city needed to see what could happen.

That group was slain in a few moments, and then Devon continued on to stray individuals who were foolish enough to continue attacking, perhaps thinking he couldn’t pick them out in the crowd. When the remaining Numerological Compact cultivators began to run, Devon didn’t stop them.

“This was the choice you should have made in the beginning,” Devon commented.

Hopefully, the crowds would be calm enough to leave him alone as he dealt with freeing the people in the power station. Because while he could take on thousands, if the whole city of millions actually wanted to take him down, they might be successful. And even if he won, it would be a hollow victory.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There would still be all the freed slaves. He wondered if they would become part of the hivemind, or if there would be a new one, or if there were specific circumstances. Though there was only one way to find out.