Chapter 507

Chapter 507

The two Worldbinding cultivators were a concern for Anton, and though he would have liked to fly out and meet the incoming fleet he had no guarantee that he would not be tied down by the two cultivators long enough for the rest of the fleet to harm him. Instead, he would have to wait until there were other targets- Ruteras other defenders. As the enemy approached, Anton was glad he hadnt been foolish.

It was difficult to pin down exactly how powerful the two were, even as they approached, but Antons estimation was that the weaker of the two should be a close match for him, even away from their home. The other was definitely stronger, perhaps retaining a better connection than the other. It was difficult to say if it was something inherent to their methods or experience- or some combination.

Anton was not shy about launching his attacks once the enemy was vaguely in range- a few thousand kilometers and still rapidly approaching. If he didnt have such powerful targets to lock onto it might have been more difficult, but without the atmosphere to interfere it was reasonable enough. Anton was concerned that he might have trouble striking any other ships in the fleet, but it turned out to not be an issue though not in the manner he would have liked.

As his arrows reached their target, they were absorbed by a barrier around the flagship carrying the two Worldbinders. That had been more or less expected- it was a larger ship, not a kind that had been seen in Rutera. It was close in size to the mightiest in the shipyard or at least the one that would have eventually been comparable, when finished.

The issue came when he diverted his target to the other ships and encountered the same barrier. Not a similar one, but instead he was able to determine that the flagship was sharing a barrier with the whole fleet and if he was not incorrect the more powerful Worldbinding cultivator was augmenting the whole thing. He had just enough time to report that to the local military and consider his options before the enemy ships came to a sudden change in speed and visibility- they were still moving fast, but their trajectory wasnt straight towards Rutera, instead taking a strafing path.

It would have been convenient if they had been foolish enough to directly impact the barriers, but if anyone so high ranking in the Sylanis Cluster was that foolish, theyd no doubt have died long ago. As ships engaged, Anton tested the limits of the enemy barrier. It was most powerful on the front side, but it certainly wasnt trivial in other directions. One thing he swiftly noted was that it didnt seem to physically stop allied ships near the edges, though a few pilots who didnt get or perhaps believe the information Anton gave tested the center and found it quite unyielding. It was likely the last mistake they could ever make, as their ships turned into little more than bricks of metal and components.

If the defense was not enough, Anton felt the aura of the weaker Worldbinding cultivator weaving through both the enemy fleet and beyond. The attacks that came from the invading cultivators were all tinged with the same energy, no doubt enhanced in some way. A deadly combination with the enhanced barrier, and that wasnt the end of it. Though Anton couldnt quite determine what without subjecting himself to it, the aura seemed to have a detrimental effect on local cultivators. It was quite clear why those two cultivators in particular had been chosen for the assault- they were both functional in general, and a valuable asset to the fleet as a whole.

Rutera had their own defenses- orbital stations coordinating with fighters to bombard the enemy barriers with as many different attacks as possible- but it wasnt sufficient. Unlike the previous experience with the barriers, the enhanced power either allowed it to respond to a wider variety of attacks or simply bolstered the minimal effectiveness to nearly invincible levels.

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Upon returning from his adventures in Azoth, Ty Quigley had taken his mandatory days off and then gone right back to training. Missing a week or two of training might not seem like much, but he was decades behind some of these cultivators. Centuries, on the extreme end. He couldnt afford to just sit on his ass doing nothing. Instead, he had to sit on his ass in his fighter and make himself better. After some people threw stuff on his ship that had a natural purple-black sheen without paint. He wasnt quite sure what it was, hed forgotten the names of the crap he brought back, but Intan said it was good material so he didnt argue.

The enemy fleet flew together in formation, the defensive barrier making them nearly invincible. Ty certainly couldnt find any way to sneak through the barrier, and he scraped his wings on it trying more than a couple times. He was glad for whatever upgrade he got because with the harsh impact they could have been torn off.

The formation was a pain but their biggest strength was also a weakness. Individual ships were not able to break off to more efficiently attack the local defenders, and the maneuverability of the fleet as a whole was minimal. They were sweeping through a wide area causing as much destruction as they could, but not every ship and the cultivators upon them were able to act effectively. Ty had literally been following the fleet around for the past five minutes shooting at their rear, and only a few people even managed to lob attacks in his direction. Sure, ninety-nine percent of his shots hadnt made it through the barrier, but he managed a few gashes on some sails.

And then one ship drifted slightly out of formation to try to get to Ty. With them dropping back towards him, it was simple for him to put on a burst of acceleration and approach them just as they drifted out of the barriers optimal range. For some reason they didnt immediately pull away- maybe they thought he was going to crash into the barrier or something, but he instead pulled an impossible ninety degree turn and sliced them in half with his wing. Intan was very adamant that any sword cultivator worth their chops should be able to change the trajectory of their blade instantly- and what was a fighter but a very big sword? Or maybe three swords or something like that, if the nose and wings were counted differently.

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A few smaller ships being taken out was hardly a decisive blow, but Anton felt something odd as the first few fell. Fluctuations in the flow of natural energy that he felt obligated to trace. They of course led back to the Worldbinding cultivators. They were the only ones who could cause a disturbance on that scale, and the overall coordination of the rest of the attackers simply wasnt sufficient to have that sort of feeling.

Tracing it wasnt difficult, it was determining what it meant that was important. A couple ships gone, and there was a ripple effect. Were the Worldbinding cultivators bound to the fleet? Anton wouldnt say it was impossible but it wasnt quite right, either. The flows and connections werent the same for the two individuals. One seemed connected to the cultivators- no, only some of the cultivators. The stronger one was connected to the ships themselves, though not in their entirety.

Anton wasnt quite certain how he could make use of this information, but he knew it would be important. It was simple to say that he should destroy the ships and everyone on them, but they were already trying that. It was a battle, after all. But maybe, if they picked things apart piece by piece they might manage something more.