John sunk ships and slaughtered cultivators. He wondered how many people could have possibly killed as many people as he had throughout all of history. If one were measuring by total power, the last time would have had to be during an ancient cultivation surge. In terms of total kills, even those famous for their slaughter usually didn’t kill that many people throughout their careers. Hundreds or thousands, as people would quickly join together against people of such power.

  But here, the scale of the war had expanded. John could easily kill a hundred people in every battle, sometimes more. If he battled every few days, the numbers added up to over ten thousand in less than a year. Probably less than a hundred of them were Ascending Soul Phase cultivators… though as a percentage of the total population they were by far the highest. Even with the Sovereign Primacy ruling the rest of the planet, between himself and Aldara they had to have taken out at least ten percent of their Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, and more when they counted their nations.

  Their own losses weren’t much better… but they were holding on.

  Another disaster happened every month or two. Perhaps John had fallen into a strange mental state, because he couldn’t help but be relieved that something like the Triptych showing up and wiping a city off the map occurred only every month or two and not more frequently.

  He still couldn’t let it continue, but he was getting a more accurate picture of their movements. How far they could go in what time, how frequently they would strike, and how they communicated.

  For the most parts, the continents were too overwhelmed with constant assaults to strike back, but that didn’t mean they were helpless. They often took out two or three times as many high ranking cultivators as their foes, and that included the great disasters. A defensive position was valuable, and both of the Exalted Soul Phase cultivators were constantly active.

  They had been balancing their forces, securing their borders, and preparing for their next steps. Offensive fleets had been formed and plans laid. Ultimately, the determining factor in whether their plan could work was pride.

  Cultivators had a lot of pride, and found it difficult to refuse a challenge. John knew that himself. If he was honest, he would have absolutely launched an ill advised strike on the Triptych if they had been a little less cautious about their retreats. Knowing what he did now about their abilities, he thought he would have had unfavorable odds- less than a fifty percent chance of victory, and loss would mean death for him and likely for most of those he cared about.

  They had little choice but to directly challenge the Triptych. It was seemingly impossible to do so to their faces, so the next best option was to do so in their most population dense areas.

  John and Aldara set out in a sleek ship along with a small crew. While the two Exalted Soul Phase cultivators had great power and could likely run or swim for days, it was simply a waste to not take advantage of what mechanical assistance they could.

  The reason they didn’t set out with a whole fleet, however, was because of the risks. In most potential scenarios, they had to reach friendly or at least neutral territory before they engaged with the enemy Triptych. That meant whoever came with them might die. Of course, that was the truth for every cultivator- but it still bothered John. Yet at the same time he was pleased to have so many beside him.

  A more kindhearted John would have told his friends not to come. That would be one who wasn’t resolved to do what was necessary to win, to survive. A fool that would have only saved himself from his own fears, but not a single life.

  Renato had been the first to volunteer. “The Order of the Amber Heart doesn’t need me more than you do. Just make certain that no matter what happens, you win.”

  John had merely smiled in return. He couldn’t trust anyone to have his back more than someone like Renato, but that was precisely why he couldn’t imagine abandoning him. The mere possibility that it might be the right tactical decision made his heart ache.

  “Who else would be better than us?” Steve had said. “We’ve already died. I’m not afraid.”

  Those things had nothing to do with each other, even if Steve was speaking the truth. Having experienced death himself, John was well aware how terrifying it was. Getting a second chance at life could easily make one hold onto life more tightly. John was fortunate he hadn’t become paranoid and fearful.

  Yustina, of course, would fight alongside her husband. “There is no point in standing by while the fate of the world is decided.”

  Sitora was the last of those close to John, even if they weren’t as connected as the rest. Circumstances and distance should have made them little more than acquaintances, but they did share a mutual first world. The same could be said for Steve, but he wasn’t as nostalgic about it.

  Sitora didn’t have to say anything to John. He could see the look in her eyes. His grandfather had it once. Kusuma. Ayden. The resolve to battle until death. She would hold nothing back in their trials, and only luck would see her through. Even as the oldest among them, she could still live for decades more if she wasn’t killed.

  Along with Aldara came Elder Roi and Amalric. They were some of her most trusted people. Yet she also had her own transmigrators with her- Ida and Kori. They were not from Earth, but another world. They had been revealed during Aldara’s search for reincarnation and transmigrators due to their power and strangeness, though they didn’t seem to have been trying to hide it.

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  The crew was quite weighted towards those who had died once and lived again… but that was in part because they were strong. They would be needed to strike deep into the heart of enemy territory. The previous assaults on Blightfire Island and the core element island chain had been part of the Sovereign Primacy, but no more than a couple hundred kilometers into their territory. The current target was a quarter of a planet away, somewhere around ten thousand kilometers.

  It was possible that John and Aldara would decide their mission was complete far before then. They didn’t exactly expect to sneak the whole way, so they would be causing chaos along the way to provoke their intended response. But they at least expected to be a great distance into dangerous territory, surrounded by foes. Their first plan would be avoidance if they could- thus the fast ship- but plans rarely survived contact with the enemy. Certainly not repeated interactions.

  -----

  “No one will protect you!”

  That was the truth. John could make it so.

  “Your leadership is weak. Cowards. They have not the courage to face us!”

  Sometimes, you just had to say things to get a reaction. If they were actually weak, John would have defeated them alone. But everything was relative. In some ways, he had to convince himself that it was true so that he had hope.

  Aldara was less passionate in her declarations, but John couldn’t say they were less effective. “Capitulating to the Sovereign Primacy has only brought you ruin. You failed to stand against them, so you wouldn’t dare raise your heads around us.”

  It was harsh, but generally true. As long as people thought they could be spared, they were very willing to surrender. It likely helped that they weren’t taking captives, so nobody was worried about either of them changing their mind later.

  They still left a trail of destruction. Their course could later be plotted with sunken ships and damaged cities. Each island they passed close to, John and Aldara cut through the middle. Their ship was always waiting on the other side, allowing them to rest for most of their journey. Sitora was there to fill the sails with wind, with the bow itself enchanted to maximize the flow of water around them.

  -----

  Even knowing that their planning was as good as it could get, John was nervous. What if their reports had been wrong and their estimations thrown off? The Triptych could have already received news of their approach and be moving to cut them off. Fighting them in their own territory would force John and Aldara to settle things quickly, but it was clear that the enemy trio had an immense power output. John liked to think he could dodge any sort of attack that was meant to strike down a city, but he had only experienced it from afar. Actual certainty was impossible.

  Actually going ten thousand kilometers was a bit much. At least a third of that would have to be on land, which was far slower travel. They had discussed various possible forms of air travel, but flying under their own power would exhaust them, and they didn’t have anything properly like airships. A hot air balloon was something they did have, but they weren’t known for their rapid speed. At least directing them was possible, since they could control the winds.

  Rather than the one to approach him being Renato, Steve, or even Sitora, it was Aldara who was first aware of John’s mental state. “Don’t worry. We will succeed.”

  If things had been different… that would have been everything he needed to hear. Matayal had always been able to calm his heart. But every time, he subconsciously- and perhaps consciously- rejected positive interactions with her. He couldn’t help but think about the deaths of both her and Astrid.

  “It has to work,” John said. There was no point in pretending she had been wrong. But he had to manage himself. Though it wouldn’t be for much longer. That… actually made it far easier. When he let it, everything inside of him began to return towards balance. “Are there any strategies we need to discuss? Tactics to practice?”

  “Yes,” Aldara said. “We should annihilate an island.”

  -----

  It wasn’t okay to blow up an island for stress relief. John firmly believed that. But, since they had to kill some people who would happily do such a thing… doing it for practice was reasonable. And they truly did have a good reason.

  Caelnon. The youngest member of the Triptych, which in a way made him most talented. Yet he had formed a core cycle… then included earth and water a second time. He leaned significantly towards water and earth. The others, Enniaun and Folasade, had trained the darkness and light allied cycles respectively. They lacked balance in a different way, but together they fit.

  So Caelnon was the point of weakness. An island was a perfect analog. Earth surrounded by water. They destroyed the island with fire and air. Then another, and another. Each time, they changed methods. Forming a ring of lightning around the edge, drying the island out with winds, turning it into a sort of volcano. They’d made a fire tornado that burned trees, tore up topsoil, then flung melted bedrock everywhere.

  Most attacks were too large of a scale, but they couldn’t necessarily expect him to sit still. If the three members of the Triptych fought together properly, they might form a wide zone of defense. Hopefully, the elemental weakness would be exploitable.

  To that end, they had to test each other for weaknesses. Assuming that their full cycle was perfect might get them killed. And just in case they couldn’t see the flaws in their own style, they tested themselves against friend and foe.

  The journey was long, even if they moved at a rapid pace. It had already been two weeks, and they were expecting one to two more. Their return trip would be faster, but it was pointless to exhaust themselves on the approach. Even so, they were going several times as fast as a sailing ship ought to go. Even if John and Aldara didn’t physically tire themselves from the journey, the faster they got to each conflict the more they began to build up mental fatigue from battles. But they needed to spread their message as deep into enemy territory as possible.

  The plan was to get an immediate response. The Triptych madly chasing after them all alone would be… unlikely. But if they could only gather fleets from the surrounding regions as they approached, it would be something. Unfortunately, neither continent could afford to gather a sufficient fighting force in one position, not with the various attacks all around their territory just waiting for a moment of weakness.