A single Ascending Soul Cultivator along with a full squad of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators had snuck their way into the backlines of the fleets, though their choice of target was unfortunate. For them. Obviously they intended to take out the threats, and they had picked the greatest threat available.
It was unfortunate for them that the duo they came for were able to flash boil a section of the ocean- while they were still swimming. Obviously the Glorious Veil believed their stealth skills would provide them a better opportunity, but they hadn't expected the readiness of Lucanus and Yustina. Perhaps they thought the display their leadership made would have caused a better distraction. Ultimately, the way they disturbed the water tipped of Yustina to their presence.
A bit of boiling water wouldn't kill cultivators like that, but as they leapt onto the ship the water chased after them in gouts of steam guided by Yustina. The lot of them landed on the deck where they far outnumbered their foes. Lucanus and Yustina stood alone, with the crew of the ship keeping back.
It wasn't because the crew was particularly weak- though they would have some trouble dealing with a large number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, and certainly couldn't handle the woman in the Ascending Soul Phase. They just didn't need to.
Lucanus noticed how the auras of the various cultivators blurred together. Which one of them was the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator? The greatest threat needed to be handled more carefully. He gave them a good look as they began to circle around, trying to pick things out.
Eh, that wasn't really his style. "Guard the deck, will you?" he asked his wife. The enchantments wouldn't be good enough.
He took a deep breath. Normally, he took a bit longer to get heated up, but they knew they were coming into a battle. He was ready enough. Blue flames spewed from his mouth as he spun around, spraying in all directions. He didn't need to know which cultivator was the strongest if he just removed all of the other ones.
They didn't fall that easily, as they seemed to practice a combat formation that let them share their spiritual energy. They weren't too uncommon, of course. However, it wasn't perfect. Lucanus spotted a weakness in one cultivator's defense, though he kept that to himself for the moment.
Over a dozen Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators stood with daggers at the ready, but they didn't move in. They couldn't. The heat that Lucanus and Yustina were radiating meant they couldn't. They shuffled about, obscuring their positions. The whole time, they carried a veil of darkness with them. Too bad they picked specialists in area attacks.
They moved as one- though not in precisely the same way. Their coordination allowed them to cut off potential avenues where Lucanus and Yustina could dodge. So they didn't. It was as simple as that, meeting deception with strength and finesse.
Lucanus focused on no one in particular, instead sweeping a wide arc that opened up more space to move. Meanwhile, Yustina targeted one specific cultivator among those left, sharp needles of flame piercing into her target. Shared spiritual energy might have defeated the attack, but only if they had been ready for that level of concentrated power.
Unable to complete their assault without risking further casualties, they pulled up short. None among them were brave enough to risk anything further- including their leader.
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John of course expected Steve and Yustina to handle their opponents just fine. He'd never been worried about them to begin with. Lochan was also doing well enough against a man matched close to his cultivation- subordinates on both sides supporting them. Beams of light threatened to annihilate their targets, and darkness cultivators were no exception. Even if they endured the light element, flames could arise. The Great Eye Sect magnified light, so flames were the natural result. Even though they were the same elements that Astrid practiced, it was quite a different method.
Even if Locan was doing fine enough, it was still better for the rest of the fleet to provide support. They didn't have to let the Glorious Veil pick their own battles. Supporting Steve and Yustina might be difficult because of the potential crossfire, but the rest of their fleets weren't just going to hang around. A few ships were monitoring that battle, while the rest were on their way forward to aid the two ships out front. Likewise, the Glorious Veil's ships were on the move after their initial ambush.
Harta Mulyani and Emilia angled their ship towards Lochan. Soon enough, air and fire would rain down upon that attacking group. Even if they weren't yet Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, John knew their strength. Dina of the Graveshore Society was also on the move with her own vessel.
John was also confident in the strength of his disciples. Three cultivators of the core elements, plus one water and one darkness. They supported himself and Astrid against Atreus and Satu and their squad. A bit of lightning in the water hadn't been enough to take them out, but John and Astrid were focusing on light element attacks to disrupt them now that they stood on the flagship's decks.
Astrid flung motes of flame around the decks, forming into flaming grass. Then, with the slightest twist of her energy, the reversed the process that true firegrass displayed- fire became light instead of light becoming fire. A simple but effective principle of spiritual energy transformation.
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The Glorious Veil weren't incapable of battling against light cultivators- they were enemies with the Great Eye Sect after all- but light was still at an advantage. As they attempted to close the distance, John flung daggers laden with all sorts of spiritual energy to fend them off, sweeping his sword when they approached closer. The mixed aura kept him from being precisely certain which of his foes were the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, so he kept a mostly defensive stance. For the moment.
He and Astrid fought back to back, the Six Elements Crossroads disciples keeping their foes arranged in a half arc instead of allowing full encirclement. Cycling elemental attacks kept their foes on their toes, both from John and the others. They had no opportunity to get used to one method of attack, while the Glorious Veil was relatively consistent.
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Lucanus reached out and grabbed one of the cultivators on a whim. He got a cut along his outstretched arm, but it wasn't terribly deep. He could have declared that he figured out which of their foes was the real threat, but he didn't actually know. So he was just focusing on one at a time and taking them out with his full effort. He'd done it twice before. He probably couldn't keep it up over a dozen times, even with Yustina's support.
Maybe his intuition had been right, or maybe he got lucky. Either way, the woman he grabbed didn't disintegrate right away. Lucanus shook her around when she tried to make another slash at him, the darkness element around her preventing him from properly grabbing her wrist. He raised his energy, ready to fight through the power of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator and-
She turned to ash. Yet with his hands on her, he was certain she'd been Ascending Soul Phase. Oh right, early phase. What had it been, thirty-seven or thirty-eight? He was teetering on forty-three himself, not quite solidly in the late phase. A few ranks was a significant difference, even at higher phases.
Enchanted clothing fluttered to the ground, a dagger dropping. Lucanus turned his gaze on the next closest cultivator. That one and the one following were foolish enough to fight. At that point, the remaining half dozen Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators turned and fled.
Lucanus looked towards the approaching fleets. John appeared as if he would be fine. Yeah, there were two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators there, but he and Astrid could handle that. More important was preventing them from being overwhelmed by extras. Fortunately, the crew had been sailing them towards the frontlines.
He wiped his hand along the cut on his arm, searing it closed. He was an expert at recovering from burn wounds, but he could bleed to death. In theory, of course. Obviously it hadn't happened yet but he had no reason to believe he wasn't subject to that just like anyone else. He'd died before, just because he was stronger didn't mean it couldn't happen again.
Smoke was coming out of his ears. Yustina would make certain he didn't fry himself. If she spotted a better target, she'd direct them towards it. Otherwise, he had picked out a ship that didn't need to remain atop the seas- nor did its crew.
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There was a certain pattern among the Glorious Veil that allowed John to keep up a solid defense. Even if they covered up their individuality, he could still feel the overall flow of energy. If they hadn't gathered sufficient spiritual energy to make an attack, he didn't need to be concerned. If they did, he just had to figure out the target. Obviously figuring out which attacker he had to deal with would be even better, but that wasn't always possible.
On the surface, John and Astrid were outmatched. She was still in the early Ascending Soul Phase, and even the disciples the sect head and his wife fought alongside outranked most of John's backup. However, nobody would bother cultivating a cycle of the elements if it wasn't at least potentially better. The momentum John and his disciples were building by consecutive conversions of elements improved both their strength and endurance- John also provided the same for Astrid.
The battle wasn't easy, but maintaining a neutral state was also fine. Lucanus and Yustina had already won their battle. Lochan appeared to be winning as well. They just had to use what advantages they had to hold on.
John misjudged one incoming attack, and Astrid suffered the consequences. A slash on her shoulder- instead of her neck. Nothing serious, except…
John pressed himself up against her as his sword swept the attacker away. Atreus, he thought. The man was soon blending back in with the others as they weaved between each other. John couldn't handle that at the moment. He was manipulating Astrid's blood.
He found something. He wasn't quite certain if it was the same poison as before- not many worked well from wounds and ingestion- but his assumption that they wouldn't resort to poison in just a single case now had merit. The poison was hard to sense, just like the other.
"Astrid! You're hurt!" he made an unnecessarily large movement, sweeping her up into his arms. His free hand rested on her shoulder not far from her wound. "Be careful!"
As it turned out, grabbing your own allies in the middle of combat wasn't great for them. Astrid easily complied with John's movements, but that still put her in a compromised position.
It made their foes a little bit too eager to strike once more. With a slight movement, John produced a throwing dagger from his sleeve. He wasn't sure if the poison would retain its potency when diluted by blood, but it didn't matter. He had picked out his target. When they rushed forward, John threw his dagger- his own light element hidden by Astrid's.
His dagger sailed just past the neck of the man rushing towards them as he tilted out of the way. Even if he hadn't registered how much spiritual energy the attack contained, it was still more appropriate to dodge instead of take a hit, especially if a small movement would do it.
That opened the way to John's actual target along the same trajectory. The Glorious Veil hid things in the darkness and their biggest rivals were straightforward light cultivators.
It didn't matter if the poison worked, as the light element did its trick. Unprepared for such a sudden shock, John unraveled defenses and caused just a little bit of spiritual energy annihilation. Satu wasn't instantly killed, but she was wounded. Meanwhile, Astrid did an excellent job of repelling Atreus as he came for John's back.
The leading cultivator who had dodged the throwing knife didn't matter. John casually swept his sword towards the man's wrist to keep him back as he disentangled himself from Astrid. It was useful to appear vulnerable for a single attack, but the trick wouldn't work twice. At least, not precisely the same one.
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