Elder Cultivator-Chapter 1250
It was a good thing there were so many Bear Hugs, because people had lots of questions about transforming upper energy into lower energy. Or perhaps it would be most correct to say local energy into what Second Gift needed. Bear Hug did their very best to explain whatever way people could understand. Most of them needed sounds, but a more direct method was available.
They could just watch. Because Bear Hug was constantly doing it. Planets were big, so there was never enough. It was nice to be good at things. Even when humans started teaching each other, some still came to Bear Hug. It was a good thing each demonstration was practical, otherwise Bear Hug might not get anything done. They were even transforming some of the energy within the sunlight they absorbed. Not all of it, because immediately letting it flow through was easier, but the plants really did better when it was pre-transformed.
And when the plants were healthier, everything else was. Because everything was a plant, ate plants, or ate things that ate plants. Some were in multiple categories. Like carnivorous plants. There weren’t any herbivorous plants here, except maybe a few parasites. But they were part of a balanced ecosystem, unlike Briar who just wanted to eat everything- but fortunately didn’t.
At this very moment, Briar was taking a break. Bear Hug knew that, because the parts of them in the lower realms could see it. Most of them were meditating on the idea of energy control. Some were doing the inverse of the process, just so that Bear Hug could get the tiniest bit better at conversion. Because there was no way they were going to give up on Second Gift now. It was so close to its destination, where they could make stable long term adjustments.
That would be so great. If only people weren’t constantly trying to kill them and take all the stuff they were working so hard to keep healthy.
The Swirling Swarm came back. The one good thing about them is that they weren’t subtle. Everything else was bad, because even with prior warning it was pretty much impossible to prepare for them.
They were going to be everywhere. Death was inevitable- either for them, or for local cultivators, plants, animals, and all the lovely life of Second Gift. Maybe some of Bear Hug too… but they would be working doubly hard to remain safe, with the recent damage they suffered. Safe, but at the same time doing nothing was worse than possible death. It would be giving up on all the effort of so many people.
Bear Hug gathered together what portion of them would fight. The rest would be responsible for keeping Second Gift together. It was a good thing they weren’t supposed to be responsible for most of the fighting, though. They just weren’t strong enough for that.
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The Swirling Swarm was a menace, now that they had chosen to roam so far west of their territory- usually to cause trouble for the Scarlet Alliance. This was no different, in Prospero’s opinion. Ratna was part of the alliance, though they didn’t share borders currently. Perhaps someday, if Ratna’s western stretch was successful.
Picking out targets among the Swirling Swarm was an exercise in futility. Prospero simply launched attacks through the center of mass, Falling Stars obliterating everything in their path. If strong individuals revealed themselves he would focus on them, but otherwise he called upon the power of his anchor and the devotion empowering him to generate constant attacks from the moment they entered his range.
He didn’t know how many hundreds or thousands he slew in a single moment, but the Swirling Swarm always had more. Enough to properly assault a planet. Billions, at least, with ships to carry them. Those were the most valuable targets, in Prospero’s assessment, but they were difficult to pick out of the swarms of self-mobile cultivators.
Prospero watched their approach, wondering if it would be possible to obliterate them in a single assault. Perhaps, if they all moved together- as long as they didn’t have any properly strong cultivators. If they were all Integration and below… he really might have been successful. Sadly, they swarmed in from different directions, perhaps aware of such possibilities. It wasn’t a secret that he, a Domination cultivator, was protecting Second Gift.
Ratna might not have been much help against them as a swarm, but she would have been able to pick out some number of individuals. Augmentation cultivators and the like. Maybe the Domination cultivator… if they were in there.
Prospero felt the pressure as their assault swarmed the planet, including his position. The sunshield made of ice and stone cracked in many places. Any foes that got near Prospero himself were consumed by an aura of fire around him- sufficient to kill weak cultivators, at least. And when you were in Domination, most cultivators were weak.
He couldn’t think about protecting individual people, though. Not against such chaos. He just trusted them to defend themselves, making certain his attacks took out the most enemies possible- without harming allies, of course. The press of foes made it feasible enough to hit only the Swarm.
Something came for his neck. A blade of some sort, from a more powerful member of the swarm. Prospero deflected the attack, blocking with his forearm and protective energy. An attack strong enough to move through the aura around him… Augmentation or-
His question was answered quickly enough. His aura was suppressed to a small area around him, barely a few meters, as aggressive Domination energy flooded the area. Instead of trying to force his flaming aura to expand, he launched proper attacks in the general direction he had sensed the foe. If they wanted to stop those, they would have to concentrate their own energy.
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But of course, this was the Swirling Swarm. They just let people die as people pressed close to Prospero on all sides. Dozens of assailants were around him on all sides, and that was just the first layer. Individually they didn’t matter. As a group, they barely mattered. But they were cover for the true assailant.
… Had the remaining Swirling Swarm Domination cultivator used slashing attacks? Perhaps there had simply been more to begin with. It was unexpected, but that would be better than the other possibility.
Prospero tried to pick out two individuals. His current assailant was most important… but he also wanted to track Chidi’s path. Had he sensed someone wielding a blade? Prospero had no doubts that Chidi would be far more effective against this particular opponent. Or any Domination cultivator. The mass of cultivators might be a problem, though. Chidi had to do something with all the energy fluctuations in the area.
He’d moved from his last location. That was all Prospero was certain of. Furthermore, Chidi wasn’t advertising his position with a wide area of Negation, so Prospero would have to trust he was moving towards an important objective.
Prospero did his best to continue taking out masses of enemies while still defending himself. He couldn’t commit too much to his attacks, but at least his foe made no effort to protect their allies.
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If their forces were overwhelmed, it would hardly matter if Prospero won his personal battle. Obviously he wasn’t going to be careless with his own life, but launching counterattacks into clumps of enemies wasn’t a waste. He didn’t seem likely to strike his actual target in the near future, especially since building up momentum with his Falling Stars was difficult, but he might familiarize himself with their energy flow.
Prospero was doing just fine holding his own until a mountain was swung at his head. It wasn’t a true mountain… most likely. But a blunt weight crashed towards him, shattering one of his arms as he found himself unable to dodge. Better than his ribcage, though.
Two attacks came simultaneously. One blade towards his spine, and the same blunt attack meant to crush him. Two Domination cultivators. He couldn’t take them both. He launched a burst of flame towards the incoming club or hammer- he couldn’t tell even as it pushed through the final layers of people.
He launched himself away from the attacks as much as possible, but he had to face one nearly head on. The other…
Prospero suddenly felt nothing behind him. Just for a moment, but there was no longer an attack incoming after that. Hopefully, Chidi did alright surrounded by so many foes. Relatedly, Prospero resolved to keep his energy predictable- specifically by Chidi. He was vulnerable against so many foes…
To some extent. Because Prospero noticed a kilometer deep gash that passed through hundreds of enemies. It still wasn’t the optimal place for Chidi to fight. Prospero drifted towards the planet. He didn’t want to cause damage to the ice shell, but that would minimize the number of directions foes could easily attack from.
Prospero already had his next half dozen attacks lined up, building up momentum outside the mass of assaulting cultivators. Unlike normal, he would never have a situation where he missed and circled his attack around to build up momentum. His attack would be used up no matter what. It was unfortunate how much his attack weakened by the time it got anywhere close to his true foe, but Prospero thought he managed a glancing blow or two, his energy clashing with other Domination power. Enough to slow the incoming assaults.
He just had to assume Chidi was winning. The sword cultivator was that sort of individual, and Prospero couldn’t even feel most of his attacks as they occurred during a point of maximum negation. As they weren’t aimed at him, the killing intent was less clear.
Prospero focused his thoughts on his anchor. A single instant crashing to the ground. It was far too early for his time to end. He had to live, because Hoyt had died. Nor would he flee, leaving their allies to perish. Thus, he simply had to win.
He stopped his attacks. In every situation Prospero Vandale had found himself previously, a single massive attack was precisely the wrong move. Especially a well telegraphed one. But circumstances changed.
He needed more power. It started growing, condensed flames growing from a spark as it began to fall. Soon it was the size of a person. A house. A mountain. A meteor large enough to cause serious damage to a planet. He was going to wipe out a huge portion of the battlefield… and hopefully strike his target at the same time.
There was but one single miscalculation he made, and it nearly cost him his life. They weren’t facing two Domination cultivators, but three.
The attack came for his heart. It should have pierced clean through him, with his defenses focused as they were. However, the actual weapon never reached him, its energy being cut off by another great power. A series of rings around a spear- the former holding back the latter.
Prospero still received a hole in his stomach. That was going to be a mess, later. But at least his whole torso wasn’t annihilated, and his dantian was intact.
His attack took out perhaps a third of the Swirling Swarm gathered near him, exploding unequally- not in all directions, but according to his will. And he wasn’t dead.
“Couldn’t you boys have waited to get attacked a little bit further on?”
Maybe he had died. Because he was seeing a dead woman. On the other hand, there was no reason to let that stop him. “Wasn’t our choice,” Prospero grunted.
If he was dead, he was going to continue fighting. If he wasn’t dead, he had questions for Zazil, but those could wait.
Ring blades spun and expanded, clearing out a large area around Prospero- and even revealing a glimpse of Chidi. He was bleeding from countless small wounds- attacks from his Domination foe, or others? Prospero couldn’t tell.
“Three Domination cultivators… is this their limit, or do they have so many to spare?” Zazil wondered aloud. Her blades slashed in all directions around them, creating an expanding vortex. “If I catch one, can you kill them?”
“Depends on the timing,” Prospero said. Either way, he began reading more conservative attacks. Partially because there wasn’t as serious of a density of enemies around. He just hoped he’d caused some consternation to the one he’d intended to attack, even as he was nearly killed by an unexpected foe. Seems their side had been one step more patient, though.
