Carving out the stairway and forming a simple stone pier in the harbor would have been the limit of what John did on his own. However, when he gave an offhand comment about extending the edges of the harbor, Ursel responded with great seriousness. So now they were fully reconstructing the edges of the natural harbor on Storm Rock Isle.
If he just left Ursel alone, John was quite certain she would accomplish the task. She had shoved the rock walls that formed the edge of the natural harbor further out, dredging sand and stone from the harbor itself to gather more material which was pressed into solid structure and fused with the rest. Except for its placement and lack of weathering, everything seemed quite natural. Fusing stone into a continuous piece was a discipline that rock based earth cultivators would be able to accomplish by the Soul Expansion Phase, but that didn’t mean they could perform the task so smoothly or in such bulk.
John’s role wasn’t so much adding to what Ursel was doing, but instead being the brakes that kept her from building stone spikes in the shallows around the island to sink incoming ships that didn’t know the correct route.
“We don’t want to make the harbor unusable for our own people, you know,” John said.
“Alright, but if we’re using this as a base we need some defenses,” Ursel pointed out.
“Yes. But we’ll be up against water cultivators, so they’ll most likely be able to sense upcoming trouble.”
Eventually, he managed to get her to limit the area. The area directly around the harbor would be kept free of dangers, which would more or less force anyone into a direct assault. In fact, with the way Ursel had extended the harbor walls, one wrapped around the other meaning there was no direct line to stationary ships. It would make navigating in and out more awkward, but this wasn’t meant to be a trading port but a shelter for their conflict with the Stormy Sea Sect- and any allies they might have in the area.
There was no guarantee they would achieve victory in one fell swoop, so having somewhere safe to retreat and regroup was ideal. The island would provide a defensive position that could give them an advantage, since they had with them many cultivators that weren’t used to seafaring.
The vaguely natural look of the new cliffs was somewhat marred by adding proper fortifications, but the overlapping walls of stone would allow them to assault anyone trying to enter the harbor from both sides.
Author’s note: If a picture is worth 1000 words, is this 1.5 chapters or 2? These are important questions.
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The fleets rested for a few days in the shelter of Storm Rock Isle, something Ursel found necessary despite her enthusiastic manipulations on the first day. It was good to know that even she had her limits in how much stone she could shove around. Though if anyone was relying on walls against her, John figured they were out of luck. Maybe someone somewhere had enchanted walls to be able to resist an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, but he knew that the Six Elements Crossroads certainly wasn’t at that level.
That said, their walls would at least slow someone like Ursel long enough to mount a proper defense so it wasn’t like they were without purpose- and they would hold well enough against weaker cultivators. Given that some portion of their probable enemies would be able to fly, focusing too much effort on having impenetrable walls seemed like a waste of resources.
Rather than sailing out with their entire navy, they split into three parts. One remained at Storm Rock Isle to keep the position secure, while the other two split off to explore the area. The information they had from the Stormy Sea Sect was likely incomplete- and their maps didn’t necessarily indicate whether surrounding sects were friendly to them or not. Before diving headfirst into things, they wanted to have a better picture of everything.
To that end, John made use of his ability to fly. Unlike when visiting the Sky Islands there wasn’t a place he could rest at the far end of things, but he had also grown more powerful in the more than a decade since he had first seen the Sky Islands. Carrying a few people up with him a handful of kilometers straight up was within his abilities.
Lingering in place while others made observations was actually relatively easy, and as long as John wasn’t trying to fly all day he was more than capable. Actually, if he was alone then as long as he didn’t push his speed to its limits he likely could fly all day. It was a sobering thought, showing how much he had grown.
From five kilometers up, they could make out most of the island chain. Doubling their height was possible, as that was about where the lower Sky Islands made their place, but clouds could be an issue. The name of the Stormy Sea Sect certainly wasn’t entirely inaccurate, as different areas were stormclad on different days of their investigation.
They were able to pick out movements of different ships- their own fleets and some they could presume were their enemies- though even with enhanced sight it was difficult to make out details aboard any ships at such a distance. After all, at such a height the horizon extended for hundreds of kilometers. Their actual height provided only a very small proportion of the distance.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Having such a perspective was quite useful, and John resolved to make use of it elsewhere- though hopefully they wouldn’t need to scout out enemy territory terribly often. Then again, he couldn’t simply assume the current age of peace would last. While he had allies he would trust implicitly in many of the elemental regions, they didn’t represent the attitude of everyone around them.
It was good that they had an opportunity to focus aggression externally. Maybe that was why certain nations on Earth seemed to find themselves in wars so often. John would have to consider what that meant later… though the standard rate of violence in this world was far worse than anything on Earth, so perhaps he didn’t have too much to worry about.
For all that John could convert the local elements into air, he eventually ran low on spiritual energy and had to descend. Not that there was much to be gained from long term observations, but the most difficult part was rising to a suitable height to begin with so they made the best use of it they could.
It wasn’t a surprise that the Stormy Sea Sect’s maps were generally accurate, though it was clear they weren’t extremely precise. That was a common technique for making it more difficult to invade an area- at sea, it meant never being quite sure when you would come upon certain islands.
However, with a few days of observation they were able to correct the most egregious mistakes on their maps. Since they would have reached their destinations eventually it was of minimal benefit, though taking down the topography of certain islands would definitely be useful in planning their attacks.
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Though Tirto was responsible for the discovery of the pirate’s origins, as this was a matter that involved the affairs of the whole continent John was taking a leading role. Though he had turned over leadership of the Tenebach clan to Melanthina- not entirely by his intention- he was intending to continue to take an active role in the world as the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads.
Despite being somewhere around ninety years old, he expected for that to continue for a long time. After all, Luctus had lived far beyond a hundred years old and had spent most of his life in the Soul Expansion Phase. John expected his lifespan to reach at least two hundred years old even if his cultivation didn’t advance any further, though various factors could influence that age. Aside from being killed, obviously.
Even though he’d experienced multiple times as long in this world of cultivation, he couldn’t help but think of Earth. He was fully part of this world now, but his early years had molded him, and those memories reigned more strongly than Fortkrans. It was natural for people to be shaped by their early lives, but any time John did something differently he hoped it would be better.
The fleets were filled with clear confidence, having a mid Ascending Soul Phase cultivator at their head. Then there were Tirto, Verusha, and Ursel. While the Glass Hills and Wuthering Steppes had recently begun to develop their own Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, none were from the coastal region. Thus, though they were relying on the powers of others in the alliance- which was the whole point. They had to trust others would work for their own benefit, or the alliance wouldn’t last unto the next generations.
The goal was the closest island that they knew for certain was under the control of the Stormy Sea Sect. It was an outpost of little note, but that was perfect for their goals.
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With the benefit of good winds and of course a bit of spiritual energy enhancing their speed, their ships were able to reach their target in less than half a day. The island wasn’t large enough to have a proper port, just a few ships of various sizes. As they approached in force, at least one ship darted away. It was possible for them to catch it, but they let it go.
While it would make their enemies more prepared to have foreknowledge of their presence, for their purposes it was appropriate. They weren’t intending on conquest or annihilation, but punishment. More than a mere slap on the wrist, but going too far could breed animosity with other sects in the region. They wanted to show that the continent was to be left alone, not to provoke a stronger counter-reaction.
Their arrival could not be missed except by the most energy insensate individuals. Thus, besides the departing ship, they were met with forces prepared on the island outpost’s walls.
“We know not who you are,” the woman in command of the outpost called forth, “But the Stormy Sea Sect will not tolerate such an aggressive stance in our territory!”
“If you do not know us,” John retaliated, “Then who gave you the guts to pirate upon our coasts? Your intrusion upon the continent shall not be forgiven so easily!”
John displayed his spiritual energy clearly. Being domineering was a traditional part of any diplomatic exchange among cultivators, and John certainly couldn’t expect people with which they had no contact to have developed more social niceties. Especially considering the reasons that they had come into contact.
Likewise, the outpost’s commander couldn’t easily back down- but it was obvious that her side would lose a battle, both in terms of numbers and individual strength. “You come in great numbers, but dare you fight alone?”
“Of course,” John retorted. “But do not expect us to send one of those with low cultivation to face you. You will face myself, or one of these three,” John swirled his spiritual energy around his children- one through marriage- though it would be pretty obvious who he meant. “Fight with honor, and your subordinates can be spared.”
Frankly, a duel of some sort was the best option they had. It would reduce losses on both sides- even the overwhelming power of their fleets might risk some casualties against the outpost. As for the defenders, having a proper excuse to surrender would be better for their own lives as well.
“I choose you!” the commander said. “I will face only your strongest!”
“Very brave,” John said. With a cultivation at the top end of the mid Consolidated Soul Phase, she was still nearly a full Phase behind him. Against any of the others she would be four ranks behind- still a serious gap, but potentially surmountable. Clearly, she didn’t intend to win. John decided that being maximally dramatic was not only appropriate but also most convenient, and he left the ship, flying towards the island alone.