The time was rapidly approaching to determine if they could afford to defend the Worthy Shore Society. Of course, there was no question about the people. As an island sect they had ships aplenty even ignoring the continental fleets. However, the sect itself was a small foothold in enemy territory. Valuable in some ways, but extremely difficult to hold.

Ceretos’ fleets simply couldn’t match the Trigold Cluster and the Exalted Archipelago’s combined forces- not if they moved as one unit. That was simply because they had to leave a sufficient amount of their forces to defend their homelands.

Treloar’s face revealed nothing of what he felt at potentially having to give up not only their history of connection to the Exalted Quadrant in the upper realms but also the land every generation had grown up upon. Anton knew that he would have been extremely reluctant to give up the Order’s land, or any piece of Graotan. Though that had grown to extend to most of Ceretos. And as they were allies, Anton even felt some of that for the Worthy Shore Society.

“To have a chance at this, we’ll need everyone possible to join the fight,” Anton sighed. He was specifically thinking of Everheart, who had run off at the earliest excuse. The troublesome part was that there hadn’t been any word from Erin about what was going on with Paradise. “What do you think about engaging?” Anton asked. “Is there anything to be gained from attempting more complicated tactics here? A direct confrontation would be too risky.”

“Hmm,” Treloar stroked his chin. “It would give us an opportunity to assess the forces of… the Exalted Archipelago. Which I guess we aren’t part of now.”

“They managed to foster more than a few Assimilation cultivators among them- without it being obvious, even. I thought I would sense such advancements, but apparently I was wrong.” Anton shook his head. “What could we learn?”

“Their quality,” Treloar said. “There’s a huge difference depending on how long they’ve been in Assimilation and the results they produced. Should we count them as equal to each of ours? I would be surprised. Though we did not completely lock down the knowledge, none of them received personal guidance from you.”

“I’m not the only one who could have done it,” Anton pointed out.

“Well, I didn’t guide them. And neither did Lev, or I imagine anyone of note on the continents. They all had… reasons to be cautious around them. The worst case for us would be Naamah having guided them.”

“She hasn’t responded to inquiries, either…” Anton frowned.

“I’m not saying I suspect her, necessarily. The important part is that we don’t have a long history of Assimilation. Our techniques were all meant for optimal Ascension. Changing that with only secondhand information would take… someone of sufficient genius.”

“The Exalted Archipelago has many people. Surely you have geniuses among you? You consistently produce Ascension cultivators after all.”

Treloar shook his head, “Geniuses? Sure, we get some. Every few centuries. But in truth, most of us are simply average or slightly above and rely on the extremely refined techniques that push us towards one goal. I could not have hoped to alter the Worthy Shore Society’s techniques without your aid. I would still not have broken through,” Treloar held up a hand, “Don’t bother with politeness. I know my own skill well enough. And more importantly… I know my own connection to Ceretos. I gave up Ascension for a different path… but I can’t believe all of the others truly wished to give up Ascension. They should have been instructed on what they should do… and nobody can make another’s cultivation choices for them. Not and expect the same results.”

“So that means, what?”

“I expect them to be individually weaker… and less advanced. Comparing yourself now to you when you first completed Assimilation? It’s not even close. Your power now could have managed that entire war with the Exalted Archipelago alone, no need for support.”

“So we try to make them display their power… but we can’t fully commit to a battle.” Anton pondered. “Still risky, but it is important information. Unfortunately, that means… likely giving up on your place here.”

“I’m hoping that they will leave things intact with the intent to occupy our sect,” Treloar shook his head, “But I can’t say they won’t just level the place. I have people clearing the libraries and treasury. We can at least take take all of that with us. And I hear you know a talented formation master. A sudden appearance, I mean. Similar to your granddaughter, who was also of an amazing caliber before she moved on to the upper realms.”

“Similar in caliber…” Anton said. “Well, I’d have to fully comprehend what either of them could do to be sure of that. But we can certainly rely on the formations of both.”

-----

There was one simple reason Anton chose to position himself on one of their flying ships rather than anywhere else. That would allow him optimal mobility while still giving him the solidity of somewhere to put his feet. He was able to perform his archery well enough without his feet on a solid surface, but he would be somewhat more effective if he took the opportunity. In a battle where they needed every advantage they could get to avoid casualties, that was the best option.

Besides, nothing restricted him from flying away for his own defensive needs or to draw fire away. Surely he could get a few individuals interested in chasing after him if the fleets were in a tight spot.

The difficult part would be keeping certain individuals from going too deep into the enemy fleet. Then again, Chikere could deal with the consequences of her own decisions. Though it was morbid, Anton knew if she got herself killed she would at least take a few powerful foes with her. And she probably wouldn’t regret it. Though he would prefer minimizing casualties and sacrifices as much as possible.

As the enemy fleets approached, Anton instructed his pilot to keep a wide arc from them. No point in getting within ten kilometers. Most important was staying outside of Fajra’s aura. Though it was her greatest contribution to battle and her personal combat prowess was less relevant, preventing their entire army from fighting at full capacity was something that couldn’t be ignored. Some would even drop comatose.

Anton didn’t hesitate to harry the incoming fleet, looking for weak targets. Even if he only caused annoyances like minor punctures in a ship that could be repaired, taking advantage of his range was important. And if he could break down a barrier without exhausting himself, the lesser combatants could say goodbye to their lives. Life Transformation cultivators from the upper realms could be killed as he pleased, many at a time, if he could fire freely.

It was not surprising when some enemies were able to fire back at around a hundred kilometers of range. They had Integration cultivators and some in Assimilation as well. A few archers were of little concern to Anton- the only thing they did was force him to counter their arrows. A more complicated situation arose when the ship was attacked by spikes of ice, seemingly appearing from nowhere above them.

But though Anton hadn’t expected the Exalted Archipelago to join the war, he had studied their sects in the past. This was a technique from the Falling Clouds. It seemed one of the Assimilation cultivators was theirs, able to turn the moisture in the air and especially clouds into deadly projectiles. All he could do was try to keep them from forming anything immediately around the ship with his own aura and ready himself to shoot down projectiles when they formed.

“Be careful of the clouds!” Anton called out to the pilot. “Anyone with air styled abilities, blast the clouds out of our path… and if possible wring out the moisture.” The latter was rather difficult directly above the ocean, but the others on the ship were there just for such supporting moves. The pilot twisted and turned, avoiding incoming attacks while predicting future danger zones.

That at least forced the hand of one individual which Anton could pick out, while the battle elsewhere was just beginning.

-----

There were sometimes conflicting orders given to Chikere. She had been told to not dive deep into enemy forces. She did have the self-restraint for that to work, so she could have complied with that. However, she also was given the direction to fight in the manner she thought was most efficient, and it was simply impossible to do that at the same time.

Taking the spirit of the orders to heart, Chikere decided she should at least not go too many layers deep into the enemy forces. For example, there was a pretty decent sword on someone next to Fajra herself. She would have to leave that one for later, even if it was the best one present. Her allies were counting on her, after all.

Nothing stopped her from dashing across the water towards the oncoming ships, however. That did leave her alone, but she would be more effective without worrying that her dodging would leave allies vulnerable. She did have to pull out every blade she had to cut down the hundreds of arrows, spears, javelins, harpoons, and everything pointy or edged coming at her. And a few cannon balls, though in her estimation the Exalted Archipelago was about a century behind in that field. It was surprising they bothered at all.

The first ship she came to, she cut in half- from the side. Though ships didn’t function if you cut them in half on any axis, so it hardly mattered which angle it was. But the front and rear halves did provide her a good amount of shelter as she dashed through it.

Then a heavy aura focused on her. Chikere turned to see Fajra. The woman probably thought she was beautiful or awe inspiring. That was certainly her intent, but as she was not a sword she couldn’t really be either of those in Chikere’s eyes. She could be a hindrance though. Chikere glared back, cutting through the woman’s aura with her own. It seemed Fajra didn’t find her important enough to devote a greater amount of her attention to overcome Chikere’s resistance, so she was free to move around mostly unhindered.

Chikere couldn’t help but glance over that was occasionally, tempted by the sword. And while she was there she might as well cut down Fajra. But no… not today. She couldn’t do it entirely alone, and today’s battle was just a test.

-----

Devon found some joy in entangling enemy ships with his chains, slamming them into each other. That would damage the formations and hulls of both, a quite efficient use of his own efforts. The greater danger were the cultivators on the ships, but they would need their vessels to chase after the group en masse, so he was simply preparing for then. Others were engaging with Integration cultivators and the Exalted Archipelago’s Assimilation cultivators, but Devon focused his efforts on the fleet.

Because of that, he also paid attention to their sea fleets as a whole- with only half an eye on their flying ships. He could feel Fajra suppressing their cultivators, but something was missing. Then one of their ships was lifted from the water and snapped in half by giant crab claws. That was Juta, then, in yet another form. She had only been in a few battles, but she didn’t seem to have a preference for anything specific.

Devon supposed he’d better go help with that. What was the best method? Perhaps binding closed the claws, or drawing allied ships into the area so she could not so easily target one fleet. He would also have to keep himself safe, but he was not the only one moving to head off Juta. Anish and Annelie were closest, and Devon would be able to coordinate with them quite well. Though it did seem that they should be pulling away soon, as it seemed unlikely they could take out one of the enemy’s leaders without preparation and a bit of luck. Trying to force it would only result in more losses for their side.