Chapter 995

Chapter 995

The general understanding of what could be done with formations was constantly expanding, though it seemed to have stagnated in the powerhouses in the upper realms. That wasn’t quite true, but any advancements were generally adopted by individual sects instead of becoming more widespread. Actual information about what they were doing was limited, of course, but that much was clear.

With the information that had come in from the Numerological Compact and the Nighstar sect, Catarina had enough information to assimilate to last her a century. Regardless of the actual purpose of the facilities, the way they had functioned with connections to stars and deep dives into subdimensions was fascinating. The patterns that the creator- who was still suspected but not proven to be Everheart- had worked into the formations opened up entire new fields of thought.

“But what if I...” Catarina muttered, pacing back and forth in her lab. “No, that’s too, extreme, isn’t it? I doubt people would go for that...”

Timothy watched his wife, quite pleased with how things had gone. She was happiest when she had new things to obsess over. But she could spend a long time on topics that weren’t really practical. “What is it?” Timothy asked, startling her out of thought. “What’s the idea?”

“It’s foolish, really,” she said, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you going to stop thinking about it?” Timothy asked, walking forward and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Um... eventually,” Catarina replied.

Timothy nodded. “Then you should probably tell me about it. So I can tell you that it’s crazy.”

“It’s just... connecting to stars opens up new possibilities. I could upgrade the teleportation stations we already have. Or someone else could do it. It’s not even that hard. Bolster our defenses and all that.”

“So?” Timothy asked. “Where’s the crazy part?”

“I’m still getting to it. You know how we created a spatial distortion field to focus enemy intrusions on fortified positions?”

“I do,” Timothy said. He should know, as defensive strategy was one of his main jobs.

“So, that. But more.”

Timothy frowned. “I fail to see how adding more avenues of attack would benefit us defensively.”

“No, no. More.” Catarina wiggled her fingers right in front of his face. “We can bend space so much further.” She arranged her fingers in a circle, then contracted them. “We just have to bring everything... in.”

Timothy took a slow breath. “Alright, you’re going to have to be more specific. Because what you just described sounds like a good way to collapse the Scarlet Alliance into a black hole.”

Catarina’s eyes lit up. “Of course, a black hole!”

“No,” Timothy said. “Absolutely not.”

“No, it’s fine! We can make use of their spatial distortion properties! There are a few good ones around here!” Timothy waited. “We just need to take advantage of that and then-” she did something extremely disturbing with her fingers that he had no idea how to replicate, though it reminded him of their recent trip where spatial dimensions were turning things inside out and outside in. Though it was worst when things were halfway. “Bam! All of our defenses are on the outside!”

“We have those,” Timothy said.

“But they’re not our best ones.”

“Our best defenses are on Xankeshan,” Timothy pointed out. “We can’t replicate that enough to defend our borders.”

“Unless...” Catarina drew out the word. “Everyone who came into our territory ran into Xankeshan first.”

“That’s...” Timothy shook his head. “Putting aside the matter of whether or not we can do that, it’s tactically unsound.”

“I was planning to get it myself, soon,” Chikere explained. “It’s not something that can be cultivated normally, and it should be reserved for important cases. I’ve grown quite used to this arm. I only bring this up because it is an opportunity.”

Chidi nodded. “Should I bring Aconite?”

“I do believe that would be much more effective than constantly trying to ditch your best friend,” Chikere chuckled. “There’s no way you could go alone, so it might as well be on purpose. Having backup is always nice, too. And getting used to allied interference seems critical for your purposes. Starting with a consistent presence seems valuable.”

“Right,” Chidi agreed pleasantly. “I suppose this is my best option. I don’t think waiting will help.”

“Just follow your instincts,” Chikere said. “That’s my best advice.”

“I agree with your assessment,” he said. “And having an outside target should be useful.”

“Don’t prioritize it over yourself,” Chikere warned. “Your parents would try to kill me.”

Chidi waved her off. “I may be a couple centuries younger, but I know what I’m doing. Your guidance has been quite helpful, thank you.”

After he walked away, Chikere looked down at her arm. She didn’t like to lie to her apprentice, but sometimes it was necessary. Even if she hadn’t said anything untrue, it was deceptive. Her eyes followed him. No, he’d sense that wouldn’t he? Her senses caught the lingering feel of his blade, unique in its construction. She followed after him, not a single sword near her body.

There would be no point in him perishing while he tried to collect another round of Dubet’s Heart. Even if Aconite successfully returned with it, it would be an empty accomplishment. Of course, he couldn’t know anyone was watching out for him.

-----

Aconite sniffed as she looked down at the gas giant. “My senses are going to be greatly hampered by the gasses of this planet.”

Chidi turned his head towards her, opening his ‘eyes’. “Oh no, how awful.”

“It’s going to restrict you as well,” she growled. “The flow of energy will be disharmonious, even if you can overcome it.”

“I understand,” Chidi said. “I know the risks of using my abilities deeper in this place. I’ll make sure to test myself on those nice gentlemen coming to meet us.”

“Need any help?”

“If I get crushed by the atmosphere, yank me out.”

They were only early Integration cultivators. That meant Chidi could beat them even with the energy he had. The quantity of energy he wielded currently correspond to Life Transformation, but that wasn’t an issue.

The trio were set up to cover all ranges between them. A crossbow user with some fantastic enchantments wielded the weapon more like a gun- weapons with bulkier ammunition were more popular among cultivators, even when it was an option- but his accuracy was pointless when Chidi could cut his attacks out of the air. They were simply too slow, and their power relied on the bolts remaining intact.

Chidi dropped into the atmosphere of the planet, where the trio would have a harder time spotting him. The other two moved to intercept him, a setup where one would use their polearm to attack while taking shelter behind the frontline defender. Their teamwork was adequate, and Chidi might have praised them except for the part where they had come to attack without even having some sort of claim nearby they were defending. They probably just wanted his stuff.

A pick was crashing towards Chidi’s head as a halberd thrust towards him. From another angle, the crossbow fired towards his side. From the perspective of the other combatants, everything slowed down except for a sword. In actuality, if they were in tune with their weapons their attacks would have gone much faster.

The incoming bolt was immediately carried away by the planet itself, and the crossbowman would have been too had the event lasted any longer. Instead, there was a single sweep of Chidi’s sword, cutting through two people. Their armors were made of decent material, but without enchantments it was their insight versus his specially made blade.

When energy returned, Chidi turned towards the crossbowman, but Aconite had taken care of him. That was fine, he’d already proven he could do what he needed to. There was just a slight issue. He thought he’d negated the pressure, at least momentarily, but clearly that wasn’t quite the case. Blood trickled out of his ears. At least it was just his eardrums. Still, he’d have to be extremely cautious going any deeper. Perhaps his body would collapse in an instant. That would be the same for his enemies, though. Negating just his enemies was an interesting idea, but didn’t really mesh with his insights. If he didn’t go far enough, they’d likely still have use of their energy.

Learning to practically use his new abilities had already taken a long time, and he still had much more to learn. Like how to not die to the environment, apparently. That was something he’d only given slight consideration to.