Powerful auras spread out from a single ship, covering an entire fleet. Through that, Anton projected his voice. "That was a rather extreme form of greeting, but we haven't even introduced ourselves." A calm tone would help their situation more than anything accusatory. For one, it showed far greater confidence in their own power than anger. "I am Anton Krantz. It is possible that you have heard of me before."

Devon and Aerona introduced themselves as well. Bear Hug looked like they really wanted to, but as usual 'sounds were hard'. Plus, they weren't there for diplomacy. Though Anton thought that eventually, Bear Hug would be an excellent choice for certain situations.

The man that Anton already knew to be Milosh held a hand over the small hole in his chest. Though perhaps rather than small, narrow diameter was a better description. It did go rather deep into his torso, reaching his heart. Blood oozed out… though only a relatively small amount as Anton had specifically not penetrated into his heart. Any cultivator could easily manage a wound on that level.

"I am General Milosh of the Tanewen fleets. It was I who gave the order to attack. There is no need to go after anyone else."

Anton actually chuckled at that. "Did you think we would? It's quite a bit easier to kill people than hold them in place, if that was what we wished."

That was true for the most part, however, Devon might actually be an exception. Then again, there were few challengers of the sort that could resist him no matter what he chose to do. During the latest invasion from the upper realms, he was limited more by getting to his foes than defeating them. Anton had an advantage in that regard because his range was far greater.

"We came here for a reason," Aerona said. "One that does not involve violence."

Milosh grit his teeth. "So you say, but you come upon the orders of Kazimir to suppress us. Forces us to conform."

Anton could sense a hostility that hadn't been present in Eret. It had been immediately obvious from the different responses to their presence, but it wasn't really directed at them. "Do not make the mistake of overestimating those you hate. Neither Kazimir nor anyone within the Shining Cooperative has the ability to order us to do anything."

Realistically, the only people who might be able to 'order' Anton or Devon were each other. And maybe Aerona, in the latter case. That said, they had no reason to depart from the guidance of the council.

"Perhaps we should take this discussion elsewhere," Devon said. "Somewhere we can be more comfortable."

Milosh reluctantly agreed, giving the proper orders to stand down. After he did so, Devon released them. Even he would get tired from holding a fleet in place.

-----

Anton listened in to Milosh's words as he contacted the rest of the system. Ultimately Milosh led them to one of the smallest moons in Tanewen, judging that if they destroyed it the system would lose the least. Anton could have surmised that without overhearing him, but he figured he was owed some snooping for someone trying to kill him- even if there was no realistic chance of success.

There were no fancy accommodations waiting for them. There was barely even a landing pad on the planetoid that wasn't even large enough to compress its form with gravity. It was a typical lumpy asteroid, only counting as a moon because it was trapped around one of the system's few planets and because of the lack of other material in the system.

Among other things, Milosh called a proper diplomat to meet with them. However, that didn't mean they were going to let him leave. It was good to have access to someone so direct and passionate. The matter of him trying to kill them was honestly in his favor to a certain point.

Randulf was nervous. The same was true of Milosh to some extent, but the fact that he wasn't already dead seemed to have calmed him down. Anton could tell he was paying frequent attention to the hole in his chest, however.

"I suppose before we go any further," Randulf began, "I must know what your mission is here."

Aerona nodded. "Despite what Milosh believes, Kazimir did seem to want a peaceful resolution. And he was not the only one who spoke as such. Ezhil wished the same. And whether that was their full intention or not, that is our intention. We want what is best for everyone as much as possible, and that doesn't include more battle. It seems you already have had enough strife here recently."

Unlike Eret, which was minimally damaged, the system of Tanewen had sustained more, even just going off of what they could pick up from the planet below and the other moon. The fighting had clearly been more intense, at least relative to what they could handle. Eret, despite its unusual composition, had significantly more population as an individual planet than the entire system of Tanewen with its three small planets and six moons.

With no immediate response from the other side, Aerona continued. "There are a number of other systems along with yourself who are concerned with how the Shining Cooperative handled things. The lack of control you feel despite what was promised. So far, we have only been to Eret, but we intend to resolve things properly with everyone."

"What can you even do?" Milosh asked. That was why he was kept around- so that someone would ask directly instead of Randulf saying it more politely, much to the latter's consternation.

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"Among the Lower Realms Alliance," Devon began, "We have great sway. And given that the Shining Cooperative called us, we should expect them to go along with our decisions to a reasonable extent. It depends in large part on what you want."

"Independence," Milosh declared.

That desire was certainly true, and with Aerona's ability to interact with the will of people as a whole it wasn't limited to just Milosh. However, they would have to dig deeper to come to a final understanding.

At the moment, it didn't seem as if Tanewen could survive on its own as a system. At the very least, it wouldn't be easy. Their agriculture was rather lacking due to the unsuitability of the planets. That could be improved, but so far it hadn't been to any great extent.

-----

While discussions continued, Anton's senses explored the system. Several of the rocky moons were volcanically active. That didn't prevent people from living there, but the quality of life they had was rather diminished. They had to cultivate to survive, but Anton didn't feel like their cultivation methods matched the potential of the area.

Anton didn't know quite what that meant immediately. However, as he took a look at the system as a whole he decided that they had been neglected. No, perhaps it was better to say intentionally held back. After all, Anton was quite certain that the Lower Realms Alliance had solutions to all of the troubles they were facing- including their lacking military might. Furthermore, he knew they had shared said information, at least some of it.

That was because he'd written books on low atmosphere volcanic farming as well as low gravity soil nutrient development. It was possible that the cultivation methods they had were chosen out of tradition- humans wouldn't always pick 'optimal' paths of development, if there even was such a thing- but some individuals were so inefficient as he observed them that he couldn't believe that anyone provided proper instruction on developing a path.

Maybe some. Anton found schools, touting the knowledge of the Shining Cooperative. It was rather difficult to read books on separate planets, so he didn't get the full details… but he was disappointed. He really wasn't sure what was different between here and Eret, fundamentally. Perhaps Eret, though on the surface appearing to be a harsh environment, had naturally come with its various benefits of high natural energy and unique flora, as well as a planetary structure that allowed dense populations to survive without much additional infrastructure.

Tanewen didn't have that… so perhaps they didn't receive as much help in their advancement. Yet even so, Eret had discontentment with the Shining Cooperative. Whatever that was. Anton knew the Lower Realms Alliance. He was part of it, and had once helped hold it together. Maybe he still did, but he wasn't a necessary structural component. Or at least not as necessary.

No single detail was why Tanewen took such an aggressive stance against the Shining Cooperative. Poor military support was unfortunate, but they would have been fine if they had been better set up to fend for themselves. Mediocre information available wouldn't have been so bad if they could easily move between systems to later return 'home'.

Were they too far from the core? That didn't seem to be the case. Several of the surrounding systems were content. Were the trade routes poorly set up? That wasn't something Anton could answer in a single moment, especially without any demonstration of the traffic levels. Nobody besides them had entered the system, which was quite reasonable given the response.

Though their intentions had been to find an overarching solution, Anton just wanted to get started with a few things he could think of. If he improved their agriculture, it would be good for them regardless of whether or not they continued to seek independence later. And better growth couldn't push them any further from the Shining Cooperative. In some ways, the ability to be independent could potentially make them more accepting. Or maybe not, but that didn't bother Anton.

-----

"If I needed soil, I would probably want to be around volcanoes more often," Bear Hug commented. "Look at this! It's so high quality, I think. Full of nutrients. I presume. The water quality… well, it's good for me. I could filter it to be good for other things."

Anton nodded. "Yes. I can see much potential for this place. However, at the moment things aren't well managed." He would have to recommend heathaze algae for both water filtration and retention. It would cover the ashy surfaces of water sources and slow its evaporation.

Milosh and Randulf were showing them around the system- showing them the people and places important to them. It had taken some time to build up that level of trust, though perhaps it helped that they couldn't really stop their visitors from going wherever they pleased.

Several of Anton's suppositions appeared true. It hadn't been brought up because it had been assumed, but the Shining Cooperative had a sort of merit and contribution based system in place, where those that provided for the greater whole would receive more aid to advance. It was a very typical cultivator mentality, though they did at least have the basic decency to have a minimum threshold.

No system was left entirely on its own. By certain standards that Anton felt were quite outdated, that was actually generous. People weren't starving… but some were malnourished. Everyone had the opportunity to cultivate, but not everyone had a good opportunity to cultivate. Restrictions were in place on how people could use natural energy. Anton felt as if they had taken the minimum recommended proportion of natural energy that should be fed back to the planet as the exact amount.

There was growth, but in a realm with Enrichment and Unity cultivators, there was far too little for this system to achieve the latter in any reasonable timeframe. And that was Anton stretching the limits to millennia.

Obviously, he didn't expect every system to produce top tier cultivators year after year, but he did expect them to have a chance to do so before their star burnt out. That might be a little bit harsh- surpassing Life Transformation was already a big step. But Anton wasn't certain that their available energy had been growing faster than their population, which meant they might be choking each other out.

All that, and Tanewen's population wasn't that high- even before the war, presumably.

Anton could see why they would be upset. Milosh even had a specific individual to blame… whether or not it was actually Kazimir's fault was another matter. It could be partially his fault. Perhaps his sect- the Glowing Sun Sect- might be taking advantage of things. Or maybe that was just perception in this particular system.

There were many factors to consider, and Anton didn't think they could resolve all of the issues quickly. Then again, time was something they had- regardless of what was happening in the upper realms.

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