Rather than relying on maps or any knowledge they could pry out of captives, John thought seeing the terrain with his own eyes was the best option. Flight allowed him to view a very far distance, at the cost of potentially revealing himself. But they weren’t planning to stay hidden for long regardless. The current point was to scout out their initial movements as they reached the largest landmass under the Sovereign Primacy’s control. Another continent, most likely, depending on definitions.
In this particular case, they happened to be approaching a peninsula of sorts. Planning whether to land or continue alongside in the sea was an important choice, because they had to do something with their vessel. Leaving it hidden on its own, even for just a few days, seemed likely to end up with it being discovered. That would greatly slow their retreat, forcing them to capture another vessel that might be inferior. Or they could swim, which would still be slower.
Not a state they wanted to run into if they actually managed to draw the Triptych. Even if the flaws that John and Aldara surmised they might have in their balance were accurate, the two of them having any disadvantages would greatly limit their chances of success. Of survival.
Anyone on the mission could die, but they needed to make it worthwhile. For their families and all of those back home.
John took in the topography then returned to the vessel below. “There is a mountain range further on that would limit passage. If we move towards the more populated side and send the ship on the other, it should be safe enough for a short time.”
It had become clear they wouldn’t be able to strike as deeply inland as they wanted, but that was the sort of adaptation they had expected going in. So far, they hadn’t had to significantly divert from their plans.
Aldara pondered for a few moments. “If we’re going to do that, perhaps splitting their attention might be valuable. I don’t believe it would be wise to take overly long within their territory. Were there no cities on the far side of these mountains?”
“They appeared to be a lower population. Weaker spiritual energy and the like. Though of course, I wasn’t close enough to go in depth.”
Having the planet out of the way certainly helped with the distance of his senses, but even so they fell off significantly. The only thing John was absolutely certain about was that there weren’t any Exalted Soul Phase cultivators in that area… and not too many Ascending Soul Phase cultivators.
“Then,” Aldara said. “We should send the majority of our forces along that route, attacking whatever seems best. The two of us should move further inland with the intention to meet up with the ship as you said.”
John didn’t like sidelining the rest of those with them, but he had to admit that it was somewhat expected. The gap between the phases was too large, even for those with great talent. This would be the best way for them to participate, not struggling to keep up with John and Aldara but relieving the pressure indirectly. “Any thoughts?” he asked the rest.
“So…” Steve looked around. “We finally get to fight for real?”
“As much as makes sense,” John commented.
“We need to find some concentrations of power,” Steve said. “So that we can blow them up. It’s no good to do it to some random city, we should target the biggest sect or clan around there.” He pointed to Amalric. “You’re good at volcano stuff, right?”
“I’d like to think so,” the man nodded.
“Great. Renato and us can help knock down or melt walls or whatever. We’ll have you target the most durable part. Though that doesn’t include everyone.”
“I will remain on the vessel,” Sitora commented.
Elder Roi joined in, “You should not be alone with such a task. I am certain there will be many attacks, and you should not have to split your attention between the ship and defending yourself. But the twins would be better suited to the assault force, I think.”
Ida and Kori agreed, speaking together. “Yes. We will blind our foes with the power of the Bright Trinity.”
As it appeared that all were in agreement, the plan was set once some of the important details were worked out. They were expecting to meet up within thirty hours, though the exact time was flexible. Within that time, they could cover hundreds of kilometers.
-----
Flight formations weren’t particularly interesting with only two participants. John and Aldara simply took positions that limited the aerodynamic burden on the two of them. Far short of the flying v of certain birds, it was just two people generally near each other.
It didn’t particularly matter which of them was at the head. The strain was similar for both, as they were combining their spiritual energy with regards to the control of the surrounding air and thus their flight.
It was… easy. Simple. Most of the time, John avoided his emotions causing fluctuations on his own portion of the spiritual energy. Aldara likely noticed it, but she didn’t say anything. Neither of them spoke. It would have been an unnecessary effort when their focus should be on reaching their destination. Without spiritual energy, their words would be carried away on the winds as they moved.
They had some idea of what their target was. It was impossible for the Sovereign Primacy to completely hide information about their largest cities. Indeed, they would wish to brag about such things.
The target region was clear to the pair before they even got near it. From a great distance away, the sky blackened. The region they were approaching was known as Evernight, and the origin of the name couldn’t be more simple.
It wasn’t a land of perpetual darkness, exactly. People could see just about as well as normal for night time. However, sunlight didn’t reach into the area. One consequence of such was that few normal plants grew- lines of crops abruptly ended as the borders of the region began. Of course, the land wasn’t completely barren- it simply had very specific flora and fauna that could live in a region with dominant darkness and no sunlight.
Upon entering the region, both the earth and sky sparkled. Stars in the sky above, cities on the ground below. In cities of constant night, people needed light sources. Not everyone was a darkness cultivator, and not all darkness cultivators had eyes suited to seeing in deep darkness. If nothing else, people needed light inside their buildings to read.
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“It’s beautiful,” Aldara commented. Perhaps she had decided that it was significant enough to put in the effort.
“It is,” John replied. He wondered if the stars were somehow more pure- and how the region only blocked out sunlight and not the light of other stars. It was unfortunate that the circumstances reminded him of unpleasant tales. “If they truly understood they were at war… wouldn’t they extinguish their lights?”
“We already know where the cities are.”
“So we do,” John agreed.
Even so, he couldn’t help but think about bombers that would target any signs of life. This world hadn’t developed such things, but that was likely due to the sudden spike in cultivation ranks. If the rest of the planet was similar, only a small number of cultivators had previously been able to fly. Sufficiently powerful beasts were also nearly impossible to attain, so bombing a city from above simply wouldn’t come up.
And any proper sect would have a barrier that covered above their structures anyway. Though barriers were usually weaker away from physical structures, it was deemed a sufficient level of safety.
-----
Their target eventually appeared upon the horizon, brighter than anything else. The beautiful lights that filled the city were more diverse in color than elsewhere, standing out because of the tall towers within. Luminous Beacon was a center in which many surrounding darkness sects gathered to trade. With the rise of the Sovereign Primacy the location was relatively peaceful, but the struggles for control had been constant in the past. At least that was the story according to what John had heard during interrogations, and he had no reason to disbelieve that.
The city was shaped like an eight pointed star, expanded from a simple square city shape. That was reasonably clear from the inner walls. “I think I have a plan,” Aldara commented. She reduced her speed to a slower pace, making conversation easier.
“I’ll hear it,” John said. “How will we cause the most damage?”
“We only need to move to two positions each. If there were another arrangement of an eight pointed star that might not be the case, but you can see how the structure links up, can’t you?”
“So we attack at those points?” John asked.
“We infiltrate our energy at those points,” Aldara said. “Then we let it destroy itself according to the structure.”
John nodded. “Alright. What do we want as the results?”
“If we collapse the walls, it is barely more than a regular city. Though we might also strike down some of the highest towers afterwards. Depending on how many people throw themselves at us.”
“I suppose we should position ourselves on opposite corners for proper balance. Shall we rotate clockwise?”
“I doubt it matters,” Aldara said. “So that is what we will do.”
With that, the two of them split apart. It was easy for both of them to hide their approach by blending in with the natural darkness element. Even if anyone noticed them, it would only be a few moments before they took action.
John set down gently atop the barrier over his chosen segment. He began to attune himself to the energy. He could feel slight fluctuations, indicating Aldara had also begun her work on the other side.
He was almost through when the formation reacted. John stopped for a moment, until he both saw and felt a burst of light from the other side. Aldara had decided simply to break through.
They did want to draw attention, so it might as well be now. John infused some light element into the area around him, forcing the barrier to dissolve at least for a moment. The other option was to explode in reaction to light element, but it was better made than that.
Spiritual energy swirled. The city reacted immediately.
“Your Triptych cannot protect you,” Aldara’s voice spread throughout the city.
John added his own air element. “They chose this war, and you shall be the ones to suffer because of their hubris.”
Cultivators were readying themselves throughout the city, but John was the one attacked first. He was standing atop the wall, analyzing the composition of the enchantments and the materials underneath.
Poisoned darts were tossed at him from several directions as guards poured in from all sides. They did their best to conceal themselves, but John had already been aware of their positions before they actively used their darkness element.
Their only real chance was to hit him somewhere he wasn’t concentrating defensive energy, but he could easily split his energy between defense and planning a city-wide disruption.
John countered with his own thrown daggers, filling them with whichever element felt best at the moment. It didn’t precisely follow a cycle of elements as his cultivation stirred, but it was fairly close. Most people didn’t survive long enough to pick out the patterns, and even if they had they wouldn’t be strong enough. But there were indeed a few Ascending Soul Phase cultivators available in the city.
How unfortunate for them that they had to split their attention between both cultivators. They couldn’t leave either John or Aldara alone… but they also couldn’t stop them. Even using just half of their power to fight, they were able to overcome the great odds around them.
John swung his sword, lopping off heads as a man tried to pin down his position. The pure darkness cultivator tried to deceive John’s senses, but the minute flaws in his technique caused by lacking other elements was sufficient for John to keep perfect track of him. It was a bit tough to kill the man in a single hit without focusing his energy, so he was clearing up some of the others first. Meanwhile, his energy was twining together with the enchantments on the walls.
His energy reached the ends of the spurs that went towards the outer sections first, finally intersecting with Aldara’s at the other corners of the central square. Then it was time to move.
John let the man chase after him, trying to keep just faster than the man could comfortably chase. Unfortunately, his pursuer caught onto the ruse and didn’t over commit to his movement. John would have absolutely cut him down the moment he did so. That said, he wouldn’t last long.
More than half of the job was already done. Keeping his spiritual energy steady at a distance was more difficult, but John had a smaller section to cover now. He could feel a few people trying to undo his work, but most of the powerful cultivators had been cut down. They would need hours or days to do anything with what they had left, but there were only minutes to spare.
The man continued to assault John with his two handed sword. Such a weapon was not as slow as it initially appeared, but it also didn’t have as much of advantage in reach as it might have if their cultivations were lower. With one hand John parried. The man held firm, solidifying his swing, but John overpowered him… just enough. His own sword rebounded, but that was actually the intention. The sudden shift in momentum brought his weapon away to the wall before reflecting back towards the man’s wrists before he could reassert his control over his sword.
John spent more than enough energy to kill the man- and yet he didn’t even do that. But one wrist was cut clean through, though the man managed to protect the other. But with a single hand, his control over his blade was diminished. His power was already inferior to John, and his weapon was flung away. John then kicked him backwards.
He could have killed him, of course. He simply had something more important for him to do, and it was more meaningful coming from someone strong.
“You must remember this moment. Curse your leaders for having no courage to face us. Tell them we will meet them on the battlefield should they dare to follow.”
A rumbling sound. The walls began to tremble all around John. With one final push, he and Aldara accomplished their task. The stone tore itself asunder, turning into small chunks and fine powder. Sections of the city that had once been separated were suddenly visible to each other, but the brightness of the lights didn’t bring them any joy but simply despair.
They were lucky to be alive. It was quite possible for the two Exalted Soul Phase cultivators to have leveled the city instead. They had already killed many members of the Sovereign Primacy… but they needed people to be alive to report on the damage here. And they weren’t quite done yet. Those towers in the middle were looking tempting.
