"... I can't cook either," Astrid admitted.

John pondered that. Did anyone expect cultivators to cook their own meals at all? Even if they assumed traditional roles for female cultivators, they would generally have sufficient status that certain aspects didn't fall under their care. For example, if Matayal had been married to him but not heir to a clan, she would have likely been expected to run certain aspects of the household and clan affairs- but cooking and cleaning wouldn't be part of that. John didn't expect that non-clan traditions would be terribly different. Then again, he was probably woefully out of touch with the common people of this world.

"I mostly just cook one thing," John replied. "In different forms." Grilling was often considered more traditionally masculine… because it often took less preparation? Because it was done outdoors? Because there was slightly more fire sometimes? He didn't actually have an answer for that, and in this world people would first think of roasting beast meat over an open fire. Though people were often pretty bad at that, from what John had seen. "You should try my burgers at some point."

"I did hear something about that food," Astrid admitted. "Unfortunately, getting the proper ingredients fresh was rather difficult."

It wasn't actually that far from Astrein to her part of the Sunfields- but the bison didn't live in the Sunfields. Having some brought would be feasible enough, or they could be shipped. Cultivators could preserve things if they were willing to put in the effort- they could create ice anywhere, for example. Recently, John had been focusing on improving the roads. Just because cultivators could walk everywhere didn't mean that the roads were good. If they had good roads from coast to coast, they might not be currently sailing around the continent to deal with another issue.

John very much hoped they would get a proper update when they reached Verdant Landing. That would be their last stop before either circling around beneath the Wuthering Steppes or crossing over through the Darklands. It would depend on the reports said which made more sense. They might want to strike the Sky Islands directly and then make a move on Abritt's position.

-----

There was indeed news waiting for them on the coast of the Viridia Wildlands. It wasn't good news, but it wasn't the worst news. They found a motivation behind Abritt's attack- a very cultivator motivation. She was snatching up air element resources from the Wuthering Steppes and adjacent Glass Hills with wild abandon. So far, she had used them to push her cultivation forward two ranks- from the forty-third to the forty-fifth, the limit of the Ascending Soul Phase.

Even if it wasn't outright stated, her goal was obvious. She wanted to reach the Exalted Soul Phase, regardless of the consequences. Perhaps she thought that if she did, all would be forgiven- or everyone would be too afraid to act against her. However, she was still thinking thoughts of previous centuries.

No matter what happened, she was going to die. The continent didn't need a powerhouse that wasn't for the continent.

As for her increased power? John wasn't afraid. She'd gained two ranks, and but he'd gained just as many ranks since he'd last seen her fight. He wasn't completely confident about defeating her himself, but he didn't have to be. Because he would just throw Ursel at her. It had to be remembered that Ursel defeated Abritt while not in the Ascending Soul Phase.

Was that a feat that was replicable outside of the arena? Most likely not- but Ursel was three ranks higher, properly situated near the end of the early Ascending Soul Phase. And John didn't intend to give Abritt an easy one-on-one battle.

Another relevant piece of information was that she didn't appear to be supported by the other Island Masters. That meant that as far as Ascending Soul Phase cultivators went there was Abritt herself and a small handful of others that should all be in the early or mid Ascending Soul Phase. That wasn't too hard to match.

That didn't mean they could relax, because if she actually did reach the Exalted Soul Phase, their losses wouldn't be insignificant- aside from whatever damage she'd already caused. Just because John was confident they would ultimately win didn't mean he could guarantee any particular individual would survive- including himself.

John consulted with those around him. Renato, Ursel, Tirto, and Verusha made up the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Then there were those who were fairly close, powerful Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators like Astrid and Anna, as well as a few others. Some of those he relied upon like Steve and Yustina were currently fortifying the northern coast, so that the Sovereign Primacy couldn't simply return and cause more havoc. Deirdre, however, hadn't remained there- light cultivators had been great for offensive purposes, but not for long term fortifications.

"We can go around behind them," John said. "But if they catch us at sea…"

"We drown them," Verusha declared. "Or boil them. But we have sufficient forces here to face them, unless they somehow instantly gather everyone. We don't need to secure huge supply lines- we just need to take out the leader."

"All that said," Tirto commented, "I think that's a good reason to seek out even more allies- or at least guard against a potentially greater number of enemies. We need the other peaks to join with us to stand against her, or the continent will never be at peace."

"Most of them are pretty set," John said. "I'm not sure about whoever took over the Fifth Peak position, but Mirka, Venera, and Sitora should be with us. Even if they send only token reinforcements as they secure their positions, it will make our position more stable."

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"Just one issue," Renato said. "How are we going to get there?"

"We fly," John said.

"Hate to break it to you, but most of us can't do that."

"It's fine. I can get all of us-" John's eyes flicked over Ursel. "-that aren't staying here to protect the ships."

Ursel grinned. "This is because I'm fat, isn't it?"

"I think it would require redefining the word for that to apply," John said. "It's because you're dense."

"Fine, I get it. I'm too stupid to go with you."

"Exactly," John nodded. He was ready to dodge the 'playful' punch she threw his way. "But seriously. I don't think I can support your weight and arrive with much available spiritual energy. We might have to fight right away. Renato and Anna can cover most of our earth needs. With Verusha and Astrid as fire cultivators, we have sufficient weaknesses for the whole of the Sky Islands. And if anyone threatens our ships, you can bury them however you please." John looked around. "Any objections? Modifications?"

Nobody seemed to think they should take the land route and launch an assault that way. The one modification was that they were going to stop by ports in the southern Deadfields to send messenger squads asking for coordination from the Prism Underfields, in case they hadn't already been contacted properly.

-----

Acting decisively was a lot harder when you had to spend weeks in transit. There was plenty of time to second and third guess decisions. Fortunately, John found himself surrounded by helpful people. He did need to make sure that they hadn't been agreeing just because he thought something, but Astrid settled that.

"You know Ursel would have called you a dumbass to your face if she didn't agree," Astrid pointed out. "And I doubt Renato would be much different. I have the feeling Verusha would have spoken up for Tirto."

"That doesn't stop them from subconsciously believing in it more than they should because they trust me."

Astrid shrugged. "Capable people working together on a single ill advised mission will do at least as well as an incapable group performing the 'most effective' maneuver."

John was pleased that as she grew more used to him, she was also more capable of speaking her mind. She'd never been exactly timid, but there was still a sort of demure attitude she liked to portray. And that was appropriate sometimes, but John really wanted to be corrected if he was going off course.

"My previous life didn't prepare me for this at all," John sighed.

"I thought you said you were in a leadership position?" Astrid tilted her head.

"You were supposed to catch the hidden quotes," John said. He was revealing details a little at a time, and it simply hadn't come up. "I was the manager for a restaurant, which meant doing everything an employee had to do at least some of the time- from taking orders to cooking to cleaning."

"It must have been a wonderful restaurant."

"It was fast food," John said. She wouldn't have context for that, so he explained. "We were proud of what we did, but the food was meant to be cheap and quick. Not a fancy restaurant that people travel across the world for. We mostly got people from down the block. The main location sometimes got people from neighboring cities, but that's not much different."

Astrid pondered for a while. "I don't think there's anything wrong with doing humble work to the best of your ability. But isn't drawing people from surrounding cities a reasonable accomplishment?"

"Not with cities tightly packed together. You get a few hundred thousand people crammed into different jurisdictions within five or ten miles. Something like eight to fifteen kilometers," John corrected himself. Technically, this world didn't precisely use kilometers, but it was startlingly close as far as he could tell. He just thought of the words as the same thing.

"It is still a significant distance to go for a meal. You catered to the common folk, correct? Not cultivators? It could have taken them half a day to reach this 'fast food' restaurant."

"Not with cars," John said. "More like fifteen to twenty minutes. Unless there was traffic, in which case people were going to be going somewhere closer."

"Cars?" Astrid asked.

So John explained cars. And various other things.

"... You've been trying to replicate many of these devices, haven't you?"

John nodded. "I don't know any of the technical specifications, but 'wheels plus power' is an easy enough start. Too many cultivators just rely on their own feet, though. I think we'd have to get them cheap enough to be popular among common folk first, which is a bit much. But the thing is, the benefits are more than just the speed. Even if a cultivator can go faster, they can't do that and arrive fighting fit." Even if that wasn't a concern for most people on Earth, it was very real here.

Previously, John had spoken with Matayal about all these things. Now, it was Astrid's turn. John almost felt like he was telling stories of a forgotten mythical kingdom… and for all he knew, he could be making things up by now. His memories seemed pretty firm, but it had been something like eighty years. Plus another twenty of mixed memories from Fortkran himself.

-----

They spotted the first of the Sky Islands high on the horizon. Unlike John's first visit, they were taking military ships- thus they could approach as close as they wanted to. That also meant they could go closer to the Peak themselves, instead of taking the longer journey on land and air. Their approach would be noticed, but hopefully that would reveal the true colors of the Sky Islands. If they had to fight… at least they'd only be dealing with whoever remained in the Peaks. Though with only their Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, they might have to retreat.

Actually, they did have a number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators that could fly at least themselves and a couple others. They would likely find the whole task more difficult, but the battle power they brought with them might be significant. The important part was balancing their perception- they didn't want to look like an invasion even if they might be.

Ursel was still staying, though. Those cultivators who could lift her couldn't necessarily do so for ten vertical kilometers.

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