Elder Cultivator

Chapter 953

The raw fury Devon felt around him as a great crowd of people stood around five of their most direct oppressors was completely justified. Truthfully, he was a little bit surprised that nobody had attempted to kill them just yet. As they were freed, they stood in front of their restraints, slowly getting their bearings. It was clear they were recovering from their numbness, but they had only slowly grown in their visible rage.

As Devon had spoken to the group, telling them that they would be able to personally take their revenge, a young man stepped forward to represent the group. That was unsurprising, as he was both in the best condition and likely to be among the most reckless among them, but the fact that only he stepped forward was odd. Devon would have expected some form of argument.

You said we can do to them as we please? asked Ammar, the young fellow.

Within reason, Devon said. I expect you to be better people than them, and I will allow no enslavements. Unfortunately, I was unable to swiftly capture them without destroying their cultivations so that particular choice has been made for you. But you could organize a public execution or leave them to die slowly.

Would either option truly repay them for what they have done? Ammar asked. However, the question didnt seem to be primarily directed towards Devon. Do any among us oppose the most thorough destruction we can achieve? He turned, looking around through the crowd. There were enough people to fill a large arena.

The power station that had once held them was one of the most prominent features in the city, and now they stood packed in the streets around the largest nearby square, even covering the buildings.

There was no audible response from the crowd, until they muttered one response. Destroy them.

Ammar nodded, turning back to Devon. Unsurprisingly, we have reached an accord. I must ask, mighty senior, what you know of reincarnation.

What about it? Devon answered. I know it is possible, in the correct circumstances.

Is there a possibility these five will reincarnate?

That theory had already been postulated, though there was no evidence the Numerological Compact expected such except for the way some of them seemed to disregard their own lives. It is possible, Devon admitted.

How can we stop it?

As you said, Devon said. They must be destroyed thoroughly. He paid close attention to the captives. With their cultivations recently shattered, it was trivial to hold their bodies in place. If you cannot manage it, I can help.

We will try, Ammar declared. He gestured with his arms, drawing people forward. They crowded around the five, with one individual standing over each of the Confluence cultivators, and hundreds of others pressed close. This will require some coordination.

Devon watched as he reached out, along with those behind him. Together, they channeled their natural energy into a torrent that completely covered the body of their target, digging a hole into the ground underneath them and completely erasing the body.

It was a surprising result, because it very much reminded Devon of the flow of energy the Numerological Compact used. Without the formations involved it seemed rather less efficient, but the coordination between individuals was still far ahead of what could be expected for random individuals of different cultivation styles.

Each of the five were disintegrated by a different group, with one primary channeler controlling the energy. Some destructions were less permanent, and Devon added his own efforts to accomplish the will of the former slaves, making certain their souls were beyond functionality.

Now that this matter has been dealt with, Devon continued, We would like to minimize the chaos that happens here on Waral. I would appreciate your cooperation, and I would ask that all of you stay out of trouble. Plans are underway to provide all of you the necessary food and shelter you need. We of the Lower Realms Alliance are aware of the continued presence of Numerological Compact cultivators. We ask that you refrain from conflict with them as much as possible. The same goes for the other cultivators in the city. Dont start any conflict, and that includes provoking it.

We will not cause unnecessary trouble, Ammar said. Strangely, Devon believed him- and that he spoke for everyone. There was a strange bond between them. Far more than he had seen for those rescued from the ships, and indeed even in the first city they liberated on Waral.

Was this place special? Or perhaps it was the first location that was the exception, given how they had been disconnected from the power station.

Come with me, Devon said. We will begin to set things up, though those who are most adept at such matters are currently occupied elsewhere.

In the other cities, Ammar nodded.

Thats right.

Devon was quite certain that wasnt an educated deduction, but something he knew. Though to what extent, it was unclear.

-----

Freeing three cities at once was disastrous for the planetary barrier, and a risky maneuver that came with threats of chaos. But contrary to what had been expected, while there were indeed some problems, none of them came from those who had been freed. Some were foolish attacks on the Lower Realms Alliance- who had several Assimilation cultivators assigned to each city.

There had also been the Numerological Compact cultivators who fled the first city, and while they would be dealt with eventually cutting them down hadnt been appropriate at the time.

Those from any faction who were inclined to flee the planet and who were able to do so were gone before they had finished with the first city. Surprisingly, it wasnt that many people. The technology clearly existed for interstellar travel, and interplanetary migration should have been rather simple yet there was little evidence of large scale transportation of any kind available.

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Even in the hands of the Numerological Compact, their standard ships didnt move many of their own cultivators- and it didnt seem any of them would be willing to act as part of the batteries. There had to be some ways to transport things beyond food and other supplies, but they seemed quite rare. The vast majority of ship production had been for the modular combat vessels that they had already dealt with.

The four cities made a continuous path around Waral, though it was far from a straight line. The final city that Devon and Ty had been primarily responsible for had actually been closer to the first, but the plan had been to take down one with their full forces first.

Now, many of their leaders were meeting- either in person, or from the city they were overseeing through holographic representation.

Ashildr opened the discussion directly. Im sure all of you have noticed the odd behavior of our most recently freed friends.

I certainly have, Devon said. Others assented as well. Though, odd may not be the right word. I would expect odd, given what they have had to go through.

Ashildr nodded. It is my theory that they have formed something of a hivemind due to their long connection through the formations.

Thats not quite right, Aerona commented. Or at least they arent completely unified as a single consciousness. They seem to actively inquire of others, though they are able to process the intention of the group. But importantly, they still have social interactions among each other.

Also, Ty commented, Some of them like swords.

Ashildr narrowed her eyes. ... If you could explain why that is relevant?

Its not all of them, he said. They still are what they are, and also something else.

Aerona concurred. Ive seen that. Im sure we can learn more over the following days. I think the most notable thing is that they are not separated by city. If I am not wrong, there is only a simple connection for the planetary barrier, correct?

It is true, Ashildr agreed. Any fusion of their energy was done on a local level, and then automatically processed into the barrier. The mental connection isnt that absurd on a city-wide level, but they seem to have something beyond that. Whether it is weaker or not well have to figure out.

We can ask, Aerona pointed out. They should be the ones that know best. And they know that we know about their situation to some extent. Were not all unreadable.

Im not sure if- Ashildr was cut off as a transmission came to most of them. Well have to continue this discussion later. Enemy ships are incoming.

We need to cut them off before they get close to the cities, Devon declared. Though only the first one was completely devastated, the weird sort of hivemind was not as efficient as the formations. He wasnt going to suggest they got back into the power station, nor would there be anyone of sufficient cultivation to control the artillery if they had the energy. Killing five people without defensive energy- even rather thoroughly- was quite different from taking out active combatants.

-----

Devon was already outside of the atmosphere when he received the next round of information from their scouts and he had to admit some concern upon learning that they had brought along a Magnitude IV ship. His energy reserves were far from full- though the inpouring of devotion might have brought him there if he had a few days.

Rather than thinking about whether or not he could fight it, however, Devon just knew that he had to. So why bother worrying about it? He certainly wasnt going to let the Numerological Compact undo all of their work, shoving people back into their life-draining cages.

Their own fleets formed up quickly, moving to cut off the enemys approach.

When Devon felt the Magnitude IV ship, he put out of his mind any thought of carefully removing its operator. The captain was a Confluence cultivator of significant power. While the man himself was somewhere around the strength of a mid to late stage Assimilation cultivator, that still put him far above the norm. And of course, the size and thus total power of his ship was significant.

Devon estimated his ship alone carried tens of thousands of individuals. He would absolutely love to save them all, but that was a more difficult task than killing the one who held them. Even as an Enrichment cultivator, Devon would have to focus simply on victory.

It was his task, of course. The CSS Valor would likely only last a few minutes against that ship at best, and none of the others would fare any better. While they might be able to wear it down with smaller fighters that could avoid its attacks, they would be needed to deal with the other ships, of which there were many. Perhaps fifty smaller ships, those called Magnitude II, as well as seven Magnitude III ships.

It was a force much larger than what they had encountered before, but they also hadnt remained stationary in enemy territory for over a day previously. Even so, it wasnt entirely outside of their predictions.

As they approached, Devon felt the enemy leaders energy reaching out. You seem confident in your own power. Would you be willing to risk an individual match?

I assume youll be drawing upon the power of the slaves you keep? Devon replied.

Naturally, the man replied, not quibbling about the terminology. They are my power, after all.

Then I will accept.

The Magnitude IV ship began to pull ahead of the rest of the enemy fleet, and Devon set out himself.

Aerona called after him. You know hes either supremely confident or planning to cheat or both, right?

Devon turned and smiled back at his wife. I did learn some manner of social adeptness from a wonderful lady. But I also know that I can count on all of you to figure out what the trick is before it is unleashed, or at least to handle it afterwards.

As Devon moved forward, he felt a sudden shudder of power. Not from the ship in front of him, but from the planet below. He wasnt sure what happened, but a vast amount of natural energy had been unleashed all at once on Waral. He reached his senses for the planet and picked up a general idea of what had happened.

In just a few moments, there were bodies in the streets. Tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of them. It seemed like the start of a great conflict but instead, perhaps it was the end.

That was a situation he couldnt deal with at the moment. He doubted the Numerological Compact would agree to a temporary hold on the battle while he went to try to handle a situation on their planet.

Obviously the reactions from the rest of their people were significant, but as Devon approached the massive ship in front of him, they were able to sort out the general situation. If they were going to do something it was already too late, and they had a battle to fight.

Devon wondered what his enemy planned to do. Would he make use of wide area attacks or large numbers of carefully directed beams? And of course, how would he go back on his word? There was no way he was going against an honest slaver, and Devon wasnt just saying that because of personal bias. The mans words smelled of rot.

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