It was simple enough to predict the speed a fleet could travel given certain parameters, at least within a certain period. Scouts confirmed the incoming enemy fleet some hours before their arrival. It was possible that the scouts would have been spotted by the incoming fleet as well, but it would likely be more unnatural for there to be no traffic around Pualani to begin with. Travel had shut down except that between the sub-islands- even if the neutral clans expected to be safe they weren’t willing to risk unnecessary travel when they could wait a day or two, and merchants left early once they caught onto what was happening.

Matayal stood at the head of the Zenobia. It was better than what the Brandle clan had as their flagship as they had not been so heavily investing in ships as of late as they’d been more focused on the breakthroughs of Netanel and Matayal herself. The Purunomo clan must have stretched themselves thin to reach their current point, and now they were due for a disaster.

There was little worse for morale than having your clan head’s visage mounted on the front of your own flagship, and even those who weren’t part of the Purunomo clan would be concerned about the death of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator.

Matayal stood proudly next to Nurul’s head, projecting her voice as the fleet approached. “Surrender now and you may receive a measure of mercy!”

Most wouldn’t surrender, of course. Cultivators were proud, and in truth many wouldn’t expect to be spared. Even so, they had to consider the consequences to their clans… and whether or not they had a chance to win. While the Zenobia and Nurul were significant losses, the fleet had still expected some amount of resistance. The attitude might change once they fully grasped the alliance backing the Brandle clan, but a battle was inevitable.

The first target Matayal set her sights on was one of the ships carrying members of the Kartal clan. Since they were from the Blustering Peaks they really shouldn’t have gotten involved in this at all. Given how they had seen a display of her power before- and John and the Tenebach clan’s- they should know better. Even if they had succeeded in this particular plot, they should have expected retaliation. Some of them had seemed to understand, but either those particular guardians had changed their minds or someone higher up ignored them. As for the young master of the clan, Bora, Matayal already considered his life forfeit regardless of direct involvement. But that was later, as he was at least smart enough to not be present in the fleet.

Normally a ship battle would involve some amount of maneuvering where the ship mounted weapons and any ranged abilities the cultivators aboard were proficient with would be used. That would hopefully soften up the enemy forces for engagement.

But standard tactics weren’t always desirable for various reasons. And there were other ship-to-ship tactics that were quite appealing to Matayal at the moment. Doubly so because it appeared that the Zenobia was rather sturdy. She planned to test that, and if it fell apart then they could at least salvage what bits were valuable and make something better.

The crew aboard the enemy ship was quite surprised when the Zenobia rammed into them, even those native to the Shimmering Islands. While ramming had indeed been a popular naval tactic at some level, it was less popular nowadays in the Shimmering Islands. The reasons were simple- ramming an enemy ship could lead to it sinking, damaging the ramming ship in the process. When a ship could instead be captured it was a huge loss in value for little tactical advantage. After all, many cultivators from the Shimmering Islands could fight just fine atop the water if their ship sank.

Matayal expected members of the Kartal clan to be capable of at least the basics in that regard, but they weren’t specialists in the water element. And she didn’t care about either ship involved in the collision, so that made it easier.

Wood cracked as the smaller ship nearly split in two. The forces aboard had a few moments to brace themselves for impact, but some were still sent flying. The rest leapt through the air towards the Zenobia, planning to board in retaliation. Walls of water were immediately raised around the prow of the Zenobia at Matayal’s command, and only a small portion of the enemy crew landed on their ship- those who had been fast enough or lifted themselves high enough. The others were delayed for at least a few critical moments.

The forces were in the favor of the Zenobia even if the other crew wasn’t split apart, but fighting them a few at a time shifted the advantage even more. Matayal barely even had to make use of her spear, though she certainly didn’t hold back. The first round of enemies was dead by the time the rest really understood what was going on, and they had the choice of leaping from the sinking ship to the Zenobia or trying to flee.

No cultivator of any note was unable to swim, but finding oneself swimming in a battle against water element cultivators was not a good position to be in. Those who retreated at least had the rest of the crew between them and Matayal, so they survived a bit longer.

On the other side of the battlefield things were going better for the attacking fleet, as that one consisted primarily of the other local clans who were best prepared for shipboard combat. Many of the Kartal clan ships understood their vulnerability on the water and had angled themselves for the island between the two parts of the fleet, but they weren’t going to easily find positions there easier.

Matayal spotted one of the enemy Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators attempting to slip by along her channel, no doubt planning something nefarious upon reaching the inner islands. The Lavea clan was one of the up-and-coming clans in the Shimmering Islands, with the young Magua having just recently broken through to the Consolidated Soul Phase. He could be considered a great talent, but unfortunately he had chosen the wrong side of the battle.

The Zenobia was limping somewhat upon turning to intercept Magua Lavea, having not been fully repaired from the damage in the storm and of course having just rammed another ship. It was probably a waste of perfectly good construction, but Matayal might have felt a bit of bitterness towards the ship itself. Even so it was swift enough to catch up with a little encouragement from herself.

The battle was somewhat more traditional given that the Zenobia had to use all of her momentum to overtake the enemy, with attacks being traded and walls of water being raised to deflect as many as possible. Somewhere in that exchange harpoons attached to strong chains had pierced into both ships- ropes durable enough to withstand even Foundation Phase cultivators got prohibitively expensive.

Both sides were interested in a melee, it was merely a matter of who tried to board who. The defending side would have an advantage, but Matayal was still confident enough to leap forward. She was not alone, of course. Livna and Yonit flanked her, and several other squads were immediately attached.

A token wall of water was raised to stop her, but Matayal simply used it as a ramp to land herself on the deck. Then she was a whirling dance of spear and water. Fighting with Livna and Yonit by her side was familiar but ultimately somewhat disappointing. Neither could quite keep up, and there wasn’t the same synergy as with her husband- not that it could be expected.

Magua quickly repositioned himself to face off against her. He wielded a spear that was somewhat larger than her own. He had the advantage of reach, and his totems fit the theme of raging oceans and crashing tides. In short, the direct power of water. The overall tier of their four totems were similar as well, though Matayal’s had been nurtured better by her dual cultivation with John.

Heavy attacks rained down on Matayal, but she swept them all away, redirecting them around her. She found no direct advantage in their confrontations, but as the battle continued she couldn’t help but compare the level of power he displayed. It was strong, but not without faults. Overpowering in some ways… but if she were to compare it to the sea god it was nothing special. She hadn’t fought the sea god of course, but it seemed that Magua’s style partly relied on overwhelming his opponent with his oppressive aura. That simply wasn’t going to happen to Matayal.

And even if her cultivation hadn’t directly improved a great deal… she’d gained some understanding of the power of water from her time of training. A deep breath mimicked the sea god, a drawing in of a vortex of water followed by a sudden expulsion of power. She directed Magua’s spear where she wished it to go, stepping closer to pierce his side with her shorter spear. With one more Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator out of the picture, the attacking fleet was at an even larger disadvantage against the prepared defenders.

-----

When the Milanovic clan sent a missive asking for aid from the Tenebach clan, John didn’t hesitate to put together a group to head to the Green Sands. The Tenebach clan proper would still have sufficient defenders, and their alliance with the Order of the Amber Heart made Marble County more secure as time went on.

There was some debate about whether John should go himself. His position meant he was too important to casually risk, but on the other hand the power of cultivators often hinged on their leaders. He was a significant portion of military force. In the end John chose to go because of one thing- the enemy would be fire cultivators, and he had an elemental advantage by being a water cultivator.

It could also be said that he had an elemental disadvantage for being an earth cultivator, but it didn’t quite work like that. When he only had two or three totems fire was at an advantage against him. He had in the past overcome that disadvantage, but with a water element totem those battles could have been easily won. With his fourth totem he had enough of a cycle of elements that his portion of water was augmented. His multiple totems augmented his strengths and minimized his weaknesses, and if he made clever use of his power then it was not an issue. Earth was offensively fine against fire, and in the Green Sands could be useful in shifting terrain to his advantage in a way that fire cultivators couldn’t exploit his earth energy.

Fire cultivators being on their home turf would be an issue still, but water cultivators weren’t at such a big disadvantage in a desert as it might seem. There were still sources of water, and their spiritual energy was still just as effective. The one disadvantage they had was not being able to recover well, but that was true of any cultivator in an area dominated by other elements. With John’s ability to convert his spiritual energy between elements it was less of a concern.

John also brought along the few Brandle clan members staying with the Tenebach clan. Adding a little versatility into the mix was good for both, and they might have had permanent residents from the Milanovic or Mulyani clans if it didn’t involve living in a country on the wrong side of the elemental divide.

The members of the Golden Tomb Guardians… would have to stay behind. Though they would be useful against cultivators who worked with darkness, they were needed for organizing efforts with the Tenebach clan. And they weren’t really his to command regardless.

Aydan managed to convince John to take some other precautions as well. It would ultimately result in less comfort for him, but John was willing to deal with discomfort for personal safety.

In total they had more than a dozen additional Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and several squads of Foundation Phase cultivators, a sizable force. A handful of years prior that might have been close to the limits of the Tenebach clan’s resources, but the reverse empowerment ceremony had allowed the older generation to make up for lost time. Meanwhile, the younger generation had significant talent of their own to make use of. Combined with recent successes, the power of the Tenebach clan had swelled significantly.