Though John wasn’t fully able to hear Charlotte’s words, he would have agreed that they were the right ones. Even though they were already scrambling down the remaining portion of the middle peak and definitely wouldn’t be toppling all of the Black Peaks, it was likely to provoke the most extreme reactions from the city.
Which was why they needed to move quickly. There were already people gathering at the bottom of the rear of the peak- guards who had leapt from the walls and run around the back of the city, as far as John could pick out. Since there had been a distraction at the front gates, there weren’t that many just yet. Maybe a couple dozen? However, they could still be a problem for people climbing down a wall.
So John jumped down. Even a Soul Expansion or Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was likely to take some damage from a fall at terminal velocity- but that was only if they did little more than shield themselves from impact. For his sake, John had the benefit of the air element to push against him, slowing his fall. It also allowed him to direct his motion to land behind the bulk of the cultivators waiting.
Obviously they didn’t just let him drop down unimpeded, but the strongest warriors were not present. A large number of arrows were shot towards him, but he swept them up in a cyclone before launching them back at the group, not even bothering to aim at any particular individual.
Even before his feet touched the ground, he was throwing out daggers wrapped in earth and darkness. Even a small cut would cause significant damage, feeding on their darkness energy with Spiritual Energy Absorption until its efficacy ran out. Against those weaker than him, that might be enough to take them out of the fight if they couldn’t figure out how to handle it.
When he landed, John sprinted off towards the spires behind the city, glancing over his shoulder to make certain he was being followed by sufficient numbers. And also to help guide his ability to dodge. They were still around huge quantities of the muted crags, after all. Relying only on his spiritual senses was a good way to get shot in the back. Though now that he was at ground level most people were running after him with swords and spears.
He managed to draw away about half of their numbers- he was a priority target, after all. Soon he found himself weaving through the cover of the spires playing a deadly game of chase- but who was being chased was in question. Both sides tried to conceal themselves from the other, with John often circling around to catch people from the back or the sides. A single swing of his sword or a couple thrown daggers, and he would be darting away once more.
Bringing down the top of the spire hadn’t exactly been easy. Because of that, John was at about half of his maximum capacity for spiritual energy. He was of course drawing in and converting the surrounding energy as rapidly as he could, but there was only so much he could do in a limited time with the pressures of combat.
His quarries soon became more cautious, moving with their backs to each other to watch more directions. He could still strike out with throwing daggers, curving them through the air to strike his foes, but with them more focused on defense they were half as effective.
John led them a bit further into the stone forest, then fully cut off his presence and moved as quickly as he could back towards the base of the peaks. Obviously they would notice after a minute or two, but until then they might presume he was waiting for them to drop their guards. He wanted to get back to his people, especially to help protect those who were climbing.
A number of others had made it to the bottom, including Helen from Firepine Palace. Her cultivation in the mid Soul Expansion Phase helped suppress the enemy… and with John suddenly coming in from behind, he was able to cut down several of the remaining foes. The state of the battle quickly shifted as they were able to get a proper foothold, but the remnants of those chasing John would return soon- and he would bet that more were coming.
Once everyone had their feet on the ground, John gave his orders. “Get moving! We’re not stopping to engage from here on out!” With a great stomp, he created a wave of earth that separated most of the remaining enemies, making space for everyone to run along with him. “Air cultivators, take care of the rear defenses!” John ordered. Ranged attacks could be most easily deflected by air at a greater distance, and thus they could cover for more people.
John led them around to the west. That was the same side of the city as the greatest impact from the toppled peak, but hopefully it would provide sufficient distraction. John was glad their efforts to bring down the muted spires hadn’t reached that far, as they were able to reach cover more quickly. John directed the darkness cultivators in his sect, hiding their own movements while creating false trails of spiritual energy that would at least force people to take a few wrong steps. Slowing their enemy by ten or twenty percent might be enough for them to gain a proper lead where they might be truly hidden.
John had seen the devastation from above, and while that gave him a good overview of the damage he hadn’t been able to look for long. There were only a few moments he could even glimpse the walls, but he could see a section of toppled wall where chunks of the peak had cracked off and plowed through the surroundings. John knew that just beyond that was the grounds of the Swirling Shadow Sect, many of their buildings crushed.
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Good. They deserved it. They were too secure in their walled city, thinking one fellow with a bit of cultivation made it alright to reach their grubby hands towards his allies, and his region. The Black Peaks were already lucky that they’d only provoked the response they did- there could have been far more forces marching upon them. And perhaps there should have been. He had to admit they’d somewhat underestimated the threat, which forced them to use tactics like this.
So far, they were managing to stay ahead of most of their pursuit. More might rally, but they were already halfway around the city. The only thing they had to watch out for were groups peeling away from the main army to cut them off. But in that direction, the muted nature of spiritual energy senses was significantly lessened. He could feel the conflict, and so far there weren’t any groups breaking away. Perhaps word of their presence hadn’t even reached that far yet- it would have taken determined runners or proper ranged signaling, but there were no towers like what originated in the Sunfields and were now spreading throughout the Stone Conglomerate and even the Green Sands.
Their path wasn’t entirely unimpeded, however. John managed to pick out a group lying in wait just before they would breach the last layer of stone and be able to move directly to meet up with the core of the army.
They could go around them- potentially being chased by fresh enemies- or try to take them out, removing a potential thorn in the side of the army. John wasn’t sure which choice was actually better, but he knew he had to make one, and quickly. He’d found himself in an audacious mood lately, and directed himself and his disciples directly towards the back of the enemy squad.
It was clear they hadn’t been expecting any foes from that direction. John led his group directly into them, taking out a half dozen before anyone even began to turn around. The concealing nature of the spires coming back to bite them.
John swept aside foe after foe, not relying on his own strength but on a fighting formation with his sect. He directed the flow of five elements- handling light was still a bit too difficult at the moment- focusing their strike team’s strength towards the front. They were doubtless still being pursued, which was why they had to break through quickly.
Somehow, they managed to make it through with minimal casualties. John didn’t like to accept any, of course, as they were all disciples he’d been working hard to raise, the efforts of his recent years. But it could have been much worse. The enemy scattered, and they rushed out onto more open terrain where their own side’s ranged attackers could cover for them. And it wasn’t a moment too soon, because pursuers were hot on their heels. Those pursuers went just beyond the line of stone before turning back. They had missed their chance.
Just making it back felt like a victory, but the battle was not over. No, John could feel Charlotte and Deirdre clashing with Rezso. John had to admit that the power of the Ascending Soul Phase was significant, but it wasn’t enough to make a single cultivator control the whole battlefield. Beyond that, the Black Peaks weren’t suited for combat on an open battlefield. Yet their forces had made a sortie, striking out at the armies from the Phoenix Forest and beyond.
Provoking such a mistake had been the whole point of what he had set out for, so John was vindicated. But they had to capitalize on it. Specifically, Rezso had to die. John knew him to be a cautious man, and while he was clashing with Charlotte and Deirdre, he made certain he always had squads around him at all times, concealing himself among their numbers. It wasn’t perfect, of course, but each fraction of a second their reactions were delayed to a new attack was an advantage for him.
John focused his senses- glad that this area allowed that, to some extent. The man certainly appeared to have recovered from the injury to his elbow. He was swinging his right arm without restriction. He left his strike team to rest at the rear of the battle while he alone approached the conflict, slinking between Phoenix Forest cultivators.
It felt healed. But somewhere in there, John felt just the smallest grain of his own earth elemental spiritual energy. With perhaps a third of his energy left, he knew he wouldn’t have a huge impact on the larger battle himself… but if he could tip the course of the fight with Rezso at just the right moment, he could help assure their victory.
Fire. It was John’s newest element, and the least familiar to him. Mostly, he used it to bolster water. There weren’t many earth cultivators here, so it wasn’t necessarily more efficient for attacking than anything else.
What he needed it for right now was to blend into the others. To tell the world that he was a fire cultivator. For a moment, he was part of a squad launching mortars of fire towards the enemy lines. Then those making more focused attacks into the group around Rezso. In both, Jon launched his own attacks. He doubted they made much difference, but it could make all the difference to some individual warrior.
Then he found himself just a dozen meters away from the conflict, mingling with those comfortable beyond close range that were focused on Rezso. John knew what he needed to do. Fire fed into water, then air, then earth, completing the cycle. Darkness concealed his true intentions while bolstering its allied elements.
Rezso would feel him coming. But even so, John waited for a moment when he drifted near the edge of his cover. Charlotte was the man’s target, his daggers enshrouded in darkness. She was flanked by two others from the Black Peaks, not easily able to retreat. Thus, Rezso made his move. And along with that when John sprang forward, ready to strike. A great mass of earth energy on his sword, the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator moved to block him with his left hand while still striking towards Charlotte with his other.