Since the attack on Kathariel, Anton had kept careful watch while also pushing forward his progress on binding the local star. The binding would be complete soon enough, but there was still some possibility of the Numerological Compact organizing another attack before he finished. Most likely they would focus their efforts on Waral, but that wasn’t a certainty.
In addition to his binding, Anton also practiced a particular technique. It was inspired by Ty Quigley, and could be of great use against the Numerological Compact. Specifically, if he wished to protect the lives of the cultivators they carried on their ships.
Antong had long since been able to change the form of his Spirit Arrows into any practical shape, but what he needed wasn’t merely slashing at the formations of the ships. It was an audacious move by Ty to completely dismantle the formations in a single move, but he was the sort who could get away with that kind of thing.
It was a bit more difficult for Anton. His main focus was on attacking a single target. It could be argued that the formation was one thing, but even then he was still used to making multiple moves. Even if he shot a thousand arrows from his energy bows and they all arrived at a target, they were still separate moves. That might not matter in most circumstances, but the precision required in their circumstances was much higher.
If he were merely targeting the outside of the ships, Anton could precisely time his attacks. Since he had to target the command deck, that required reaching that point with all of his attacks. If he had a fully bound star wherever he was engaged in combat it would be an easier task, but that still limited his angles of attack unless each and every arrow pierced through the enemy ship all on its own.
To most outside observers, Anton’s swarm of arrows looked as if they would split apart the formations all at once, but when precise measurements were taken there was some doubt to the equation even after his practice. With the full power of Enrichment he might be somewhat more accurate, but the technique was the most important part. At least they could spare another ship for him to test. They’d captured more than enough of them now. Hopefully, they were significantly draining the enemy’s resources.
-----
On the matter of captured ships, they also had three Confluence cultivators who had surrendered. They were the individuals who had been in control of the largest ships assaulting Kathariel. Of the three, only the first woman was actually fully cooperative. Her name was Nindaanis, and she had been controlling one of the Magnitude III ships. There were two others, but one had already been executed.
That was not a breach of Anton’s oath, because the others had continued to fight. Anton hadn’t given them the same promises when they capitulated out of fear… and he wouldn’t have, sensing some lacking sincerity.
The one who had been executed already was named Sipho. From all accounts he was a horrible man- and that included both Nindaanis’ testimony and his own ‘crew’. There was quite a bit that could be learned about the Numerological Compact cultivators from their actions. The large number of cultivators freed from their ships had been given a chance to voice their grievances.
Those on Nindaanis’ ship had many things to say about the Numerological Compact as a whole, but even they had to admit she didn’t cause them any unnecessary harm. Most relevantly, she hadn’t actually detonated any of the cultivators while she was under assault by Grain and the locusts. It was a low bar, to be fair, but she had passed it. And she’d been quite cooperative, unlike Sipho who seemed to think that the Lower Realms Alliance was filled with bleeding heart cultivators that wouldn’t dare to kill him while their captive.
The third of them, Carmina, was cooperative literally only to the point it kept her alive and no further. The cultivators from her ship had harsh words to say about her handling of their energy, but for the time being she would be kept alive.
On the topic of the cultivators from their ships… Anton had heard the news from Waral and harbored some suspicions that they had also formed some level of hivemind. There were tens of thousands of cultivators on Magnitude III ships, and when they were all disconnected in an orderly manner some of that connection could reasonably linger.
Anton couldn’t be certain, as the effect was definitely less prominent. The connections he could feel between them could be as simple as a mutual devotion, given their experiences. Either way, he found it more likely that each ship was separate. The cultivators on Waral had all been part of the same planet spanning network of energy formations, so even if they were from different cities the connection and the greater numbers involved sensibly led to the deeper connection.
The easiest way to figure out if they were connected would be to ask, but for the moment Anton was only observing, along with others. There were a large number of rescued individuals on Kathariel- some hundreds of thousands at the moment- but as long as they were not causing trouble they were left alone. For the most part, they seemed happy to simply be able to move about on their own, to eat and drink and sleep when they wished to.
Finding things for them to do was somewhat difficult. While the Alliance was transporting them to larger planets in batches, they could only bring so many at once. Kathariel wasn’t exactly good for farming… though there were hydroponics bays and the like. Anton gladly taught people what he could, and they had others teaching skills that were considered basic for the Lower Realms Alliance, but it would take more than a month or two for them to really begin their process of recovery.
One exception were the Shattered Chains. They turned their former slavery into power, and while Anton couldn’t say that they all had perfect mental states they still were doing something with their trauma. There were other opportunities to cultivate as well, but Kathariel’s natural energy was far below what was available in the Alliance proper. It was just a planet that was inhabitable enough and decent for constructing a base.
-----
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Grain watched Ammar while Ammar watched him. The locust was not comfortable standing still, and the two were unable to directly communicate. Grain understood some of the human cultivator language, but Ammar’s dialect was different from what he was used to. Grain could reproduce humanlike words with his energy, but it was also something Ammar would have to get used to.
Devon worked as an in-between for them, when they actually had anything to say.
“This one has an interesting connection,” Grain admitted. “It is not inborn like our swarm, however. Nor is it like the communal cultivation of the meerkats- of Aipra.”
After receiving the translation, Ammar nodded. “I don’t know of all that you speak about, but I can certainly see our differences. This connection,” Ammar waved his hand vaguely around him. “It was not intentional, perhaps not even on the part of the Numerological Compact. But I now believe we can be more intentional with its existence.”
“Is it fading any?” Devon interjected. “Now that you are no longer… forcibly connected.”
“We could let it fade,” Ammar said. “Indeed, some have chosen to do so, and will be withdrawn from this… hivemind… soon enough. But for those who maintain any interest in keeping it active, it will stay. Unfamiliar as it is…” he tilted his head. “It feels almost natural. And it has its uses, despite a certain lack of privacy.” He shook his head. “Yet in a way, the privacy that we lose does little but draw us closer. I think none of us would violate it… certainly, they wouldn't last long doing so.”
Grain hopped around with his swarm, speaking to them with the intent for Devon to translate to Ammar. “Do you think we could create some sort of deeper bond among ourselves? Would it be valuable?”
The responses were impossible for Devon to interpret given their magnitude, but he got a vague feeling of assent. They would, at least, try.
“I would not know how to create such a bond intentionally,” Ammar admitted. “Though perhaps together we could figure something out.” He stepped closer to the swarm, watching their movements. “All of you act in concert. Is that not dangerous?”
“We protect each other,” Grain spoke for the group. “Our cultivations allow us to do so, though in other respects we might be like void ants with our communal focus.”
Devon hesitated a moment on bringing up void ants, taking some liberties in translation.
“Ants?” Ammar asked. “If they have cultivation as well, could they not also defend themselves in harmony?”
“These particular ones don’t have any cultivation. At least not in a way anyone would consider it traditionally,” Devon explained. Ammar seemed to understand Devon didn’t want to say more.
-----
Various bits and pieces of Waral were being rapidly dismantled and rearranged. That included some Numerological Compact ships. Nobody was fond of the idea of being forced batteries for anyone else… but the hivemind at least found it valuable to work in concert. They would be able to operate Numerological Compact ships, once there were some modifications.
Or rather, they could operate them without modifications, but would not let themselves be restrained except for a small number of tests by others in the hivemind. Devon fully understood that, of course.
Ashildr and the other formation experts were working on alternative ways to connect them to the power of the ship, with the largest concerns being voluntary contribution of energy, absence of restraints, and protection from feedback. In short, they didn’t want there to be some way for the formations to detonate those offering up their energy.
“Regardless of what else they are,” Ashildr explained to Devon. “The original formations are very efficient. However, all of the necessary changes, without any breakthroughs, will result in a significant drop in functionality. Except… the connection that the hivemind has will make up for a large amount of the drop in efficiency. They might be able to get similar output from a Magnitude II ship with a Life Transformation cultivator at the helm. Once they have some training.”
“That’s actually quite a bit better, isn’t it?” Devon asked. “Normally, they would require Confluence cultivators. Aren’t they like Assimilation?”
“Yes… but the formations do a large amount to smooth over talent,” Ashildr explained. “And Confluence is a very particular form of advancement. It’s more of an extension of the formations than a normal state of cultivation. I would be willing to bet that was how they developed it,” she said. “From my study of the few Magnitude I ships we’ve found, those were controlled by cultivators of lower power.”
Ammar was present as well, as the hivemind deserved to be informed about work directly affecting them. There were stronger cultivators among them, but he was the one most comfortable with Devon. “So we can draw greater power from these ships with cooperation?”
“Potentially,” Ashildr said carefully. “However, there are other restrictions I didn’t speak about. First, you’ll likely need to have as many people as possible share cultivation methods on an individual ship. And the specific crew will need to train together. That’s quite different from plopping any Confluence cultivator in any random ship. Oh, and the ships will likely need custom modifications according to style…”
“Interesting,” Ammar said. “There are no formation masters among us for… perhaps obvious reasons. However, many of us are interested in learning for similarly obvious reasons.” He paused, then clarified. “Individuals other than myself. I think I would perform better by focusing on the Shattered Chains. I am far too weak to captain a ship, but that is what I would like to do.”
“It’s not going to be possible anytime soon,” Ashildr said. “We might get something functional in a few weeks. But to get any consistent results I’d expect decades of research and development.”
“You speak as if certain we will be around then,” Ammar said. He looked over at Devon. “Though I can see why your people are so confident, with one like him.” He tilted his head. “Or… two? I heard fellow disciples speak of your grandfather. They mentioned unbelievable strength, those seemingly below your own.”
That would be Fen and the others who came from Kathariel.
“They’d be half right,” Devon said. “In the right circumstances, he’s far stronger than me instead.”
Ammar nodded. “It was worth surviving, to get to this point.”
Devon could see the young man’s aspiration for the future. Devon had so many new disciples he’d never intended to have, but here he was.