When the war began, Aerona wasn't quite sure how to handle Chiara. The one thing she knew was that she couldn't hide the war from her. There was some risk that she might try to make a move to somehow help her people as she was unrestrained, but Aerona's judgment told her it would be best to let her continue. The void ants were of course still on their task, ready to take her down should it be necessary. Hopefully they weren't getting complacent with her being well behaved. Even Aerona almost was, as she now considered Chiara a friend- even though she was the member of a group with which they were at war.

Revealing specific news of the attacks was riskier, but Aerona focused on those taking place further away. "They're quite determined to strike wherever we might not be prepared," Aerona commented.

"Wouldn't you?" Chiara asked.

"Generally, yes. But only military targets. The fact that they were able to defend themselves is simply due to our general necessity, with the invasions from the upper realms."

Chiara nodded. "You have experienced a very different world. Our foes were in the lower realms, many systems around us. They struck first."

Aerona wasn't certain about that. But certainly, that would have been what Chiara was told. With no counterexamples to provide, she just had to let that sit for the moment. "You know what has happened here, though."

"... I am certain there were good reasons. If I could only ask…"

From what Aerona understood, Chiara would accept any reason. Or at the very least, the risk was still too high that she would return to unquestioning behavior. Centuries of behavior weren't overcome in just a few years. Aerona didn't also have the specific details about how the Holy Stars worked that would be necessary to speed up the process.

Rather than being a waste of time during the war, Aerona still believed this was the best application of her abilities. If the Holy Stars were willing to negotiate peace she would lend her words, but if they weren't then nothing she could do would matter. Unless she was willing to directly target their planets, but that was currently impractical. If she had the support of an angel, however, the prospects might be quite different.

-----

Arrows flew away from Anton in one direction towards a nearby system, while in the other he extended his energy to speak to an incoming group. "Holy Stars cultivators, your leadership has opportunity to retreat, or to surrender if you wish."

The other group that he was already targeting had refused. He was hoping that when he'd peeled off the top layer, others might be willing.

A woman flared her aura in return. "We will never surrender to unworthy beings! We will slaughter every last one of your heretical population!"

Anton didn't know what to expect from the group. They were new. The Holy Stars had a vast number of sects under their umbrella, though they still tended to move within their subgroups. The same was true for the Lower Realms Alliance to some extent, though any fleet could have cultivators mixed in from various sects with only individual squadrons being tied together. Though sometimes squads from different sects also trained together, which was the main reason they wouldn't always mix. Variety in abilities was a great tactical advantage.

"Very well, your warning has been delivered. Prepare to face the consequences of your refusal."

Feeling secure in his position, Anton had no thoughts for defense. That was why he paid little heed to the surge of energy around them. But he should have been more cautious when facing an entirely unfamiliar group. He was right to assume that they couldn't launch an attack that would reach him- and even if they could he would have time to respond. But they didn't have to reach him, when he had already come to them.

At least, enough of him. In fact, when he was refocusing his energy to target just their leaders it was already too late. Their amplified energy was simply following through on the attack they had already landed.

The feeling hit him suddenly, overwhelming his senses. His energy became chaotic, threatening to tear him apart. He wouldn't have needed even the tiniest fraction of his power to destroy his body from the inside. He responded as soon as he sensed something was wrong, and he was not alone. Maheg was the first, as a star directly connected to him. Then those around stars tied to his Unity cultivation.

During a few short moments when his physical senses focused, the Great Queen was fussing over him. "No! We can't tear it out." That was what he got from the small portion of her movements in void ant sign. More would be communicated in other ways. Then his body faded from his perception once more, and his natural energy returned to being his focus.

Anton was in control of far more of his energy than was rebelling, but destroying his own energy wasn't something to do carelessly. Especially when it laid within his dantian. Somehow his connection over a great distance had been used to target him. He had different levels of finesse he needed to control… and he had enough to launch an attack. He waited a moment, uncertain if that thought was implanted somehow. He might stupidly kill himself. It was better if the group got away.

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His insides churned, but through all of that Anton felt small pricks of pain in his physical body. He only hoped that the Great Queen knew what she was doing. He had to assume he was safe physically.

When things finally settled down, Anton was bleeding from his gut. But based on the amount, it couldn't have been that long. That wasn't the most significant damage, either. Anton felt his meridian and dantians. They were rather tender.

"Do your eyes focus?" the Great Queen waved in front of Anton's face. "They do. How are you?"

"Been better. How long was that?" It could have been a few minutes, or a few hours.

"Nearly two hours," the Great Queen explained. "We have extracted some rogue energy connected to yours. I suggest caution."

Anton grunted. "I'm not about to give up on my previous tasks." He ran a small bit of energy through himself, checking to make sure that he wouldn't cause any further damage. Depending on how much he had to use, he could set back his recovery time from whatever this was- but he didn't think it would worsen. As long as he didn't get caught again.

First, Anton dealt with the group he'd already been harassing. The leaders seemed to have thought they were safe, with hours since the last attack. It was some members of the Sublime Branch, nearly as far as they could have gotten from Akrys. They were all over, like the others. Their abilities were pretty much useless for defending against Anton… but they were getting uncomfortably close to an occupied system.

A couple angels and several dozen saints died in moments. Anything less than twenty lightyears felt like short range to Anton now, at least when he could take into consideration bound stars. Here, he was shooting from a place of his own power. "The rest of you ready to surrender now?" he asked.

They could have tried to run, but they did surrender. Running wasn't feasible against Anton in normal circumstances, but this time it might have worked.

As for the others… he had to be more careful with his energy. Just a diffuse field for speaking with them had been exploited. Now that he was ready he could certainly sense some sort of intrusion, but he should still be cautious. His energy followed along their trail- nothing actively controlled, not even touching their aura, but only what they left behind.

Judging from that, Anton picked out his targets. He hoped nobody was foolish enough to step into the path of his arrows. He would have to rely on speed and power, because he wouldn't be able to reorient his shots.

None of them would be making it back anyway. Ascension energy it was, starting with the woman who had said she would slaughter a whole system. Anton picked out fragments of her energy blasted out of her on the other side, proof that he had hit. It was significant enough she should be dead. But he kept his energy far, never lingering or keeping the same path. He could only barely sense them reaching out for him, but he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

No doubt this group was sent with him in mind. A sneaky trap. But just because Anton could appreciate their tactical success didn't mean he was going to let them live.

With no divinities protecting them, how could they survive? Anton couldn't attack in quite as unrestrained of a manner as normal, but his defenses were more in how he approached his foes rather than actually avoiding attacks. Their energy maneuvering simply couldn't keep up with him, and only served to provide him a better feel for where they were.

One by one, they fell from the top down. Anton wanted to continue for those at Life Transformation and below, but he had to be fair. It was unlikely they could cause as big of an effect now, even if they did strike back. "Here is your chance to surrender. I have not yet heard the name of your sect."

No response, until another woman took charge. Perhaps she was the highest ranking left, or the only one with courage and a decent status. "We are the Watchful Sting. Is retreat no longer on the table?"

"I appreciate your boldness," Anton said. "It most certainly is not. But I will guarantee your lives if you surrender."

"We would be unable to stop you from killing us, now. We will surrender."

"Continue along your path, then. But do not raise your weapons. The system you were headed for will take you in."

He kept himself cautious, in case they did anything. He had a vague inkling of how they connected to his energy before, though his retrospective memory searching might be flawed. He could just be doing his best to believe he wasn't helpless.

There was no way they could cause any similar level of trouble again, though. Their fighting power should have been reduced to a tenth, if that. Even if there were a majority of the total people left, losing the top two phases pretty much meant they were a negligible fighting force.

Anton made a face.

"Are you alright?" the Great Queen asked.

"My pride is hurt more than my body and soul," he commented. "I did not think it was so inflated and vulnerable. And I really should have been able to handle that better." The Holy Stars were not to be underestimated in their competence. And even if they couldn't reach him over many lightyears, it seemed they weren't completely helpless. He wasn't sure how long it would take to recover the damage he had done to himself, but it didn't matter. What was truly important was that they not learn if they had been successful. Unfortunately, the two hours might have given him away.

And if someone came to kill him now? Anton was fine with that. Not that he would let himself die in shame with people still relying on him. He would just let the Great Queen handle it. And probably some others.

How much would his efficiency lessen? Anton pondered that, and decided that it wasn't too severe. He hadn't been operating at his limits before. Now, if he couldn't stretch his energy as far and as reliably for a few months, he could at least cover the same area as he'd been attacking before. Though his scouting abilities might be lessened, so they would need to make certain they had functional beacons in the area. From what he knew, they were generally pretty good. It would just take a few dozen scattered about to cover all of the systems Anton had been handling.

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