Elder Cultivator-Chapter 1251

-----

Chidi wasn’t used to fighting on ice. He was, however, used to fighting on top of blood or piles of bodies. Usually they were a bit smaller, but usually people cared about being alive. The Swirling Swarm didn’t seem to, without being entirely devoid of personhood. They were more insane than mindless, in his estimation.

He couldn’t see his opponent, because there were too many bodies between them. And also because he was blind. He wondered if his opponent had figured that out yet. If they fought him head on, they would have noticed in an instant- or at least that his eyes were closed. But they never remained within visual range for more than an instant, so they really might not have noticed.

They were a surprisingly competent sword cultivator, though. Especially given the ‘style’ of most of the Swirling Swarm, beating people to death with clubs. Where had this person come from? Well, aside from out of the vast population of the Swirling Swarm, which was sort of an answer. With enough people, someone had to find both the right path and have the talent. Maybe that’s where they got so many Domination cultivators, by brute forcing the statistics.

Chidi wanted to reject that, but he couldn’t. It was logical. They could individually have talent, and once they reached a certain point they wouldn’t have all the drawbacks of the rest of the Swirling Swarm, such as lack of individual resources.

Someone else might figure that out eventually. Before that, he was going to kill a swordmaster.

Every time the enemy struck, their blades clashed. Neither had managed to touch the other just yet. Chidi had killed a great number of others- though fewer than Prospero and probably not that many more than his opponent was with the shockwaves.

But Chidi had been holding back. Not to play, but just in case his opponent had something up their sleeve. He wasn’t moving more slowly, but he only responded to his opponent once they were out of the mass of the swarm. But he could counterattack far sooner, since he was tracking their energy everywhere. It was distinct, even among the masses around them. Even if it was meant to blend in, there were two reasons. First was the way the energy moved- the Swirling Swarm members worshipped this individual. Masses of devotion were something that caused a significant energy flow, and Chidi needed to be able to account for such things or his Negation would do nothing.

Second, of course, was that there were precisely two notable swords within a hundred kilometers. His, and his opponent’s. The blade itself could be his target… though he did consider that a member of the Swirling Swarm might attack like a madman and divest themself of their weapon. Or even worse, swap to a different one.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He’d been keeping alert for that. But now he was just parrying incoming attacks, waiting for the perfect moment. Behind him. Above him. Left, right, front, back, up, down, and all of the angles in between. He waited for one that seemed to be an awkward angle to his left. Then his blade slashed out.

He could have destroyed his opponent’s weapon long before- without energy, his blade was far superior, made to be durable in exactly such situations. A Domination cultivator would obviously rely on the strongest enchantments they could buy or steal.

But Chidi wanted to slay his opponent. Both personally, and for the sake of the Alliance. So he performed negation, stopping all flow of energy. As much as possible, he counted the Swirling Swarm as a single entity. Chaotic, yet predictable in some manners. He cut his opponent in half from shoulder to hip. It was unfortunate that he had to accept a stab into his left shoulder, piercing all the way through. He yanked the sword out, but the wound would still bleed. He’d have to continue with one arm to avoid exacerbating the wound.

Most likely he wouldn’t be able to kill another Domination cultivator today. So he focused on picking out hidden Augmentation cultivators that might cause Prospero and apparently Zazil trouble. He’d felt her coming slightly before she intended, because of the way her energy had filled the space. It had nearly thrown off his calculations, but fortunately the mass of foes evened it out.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

-----

Zazil felt comfortable pursuing the Swirling Swarm quite a distance- this random intersystem area was now her domain. But eventually she had to stop. She wasn’t invincible, after all, and there were two of them in there. At least they’d chased them off.

If they’d been in territory that belonged more to ‘enemies’, Zazil might have been slightly stronger. Or if she’d had longer to integrate herself with it. Slipping into unwatched spaces had its own peculiarities.

Part of the reason she chased so far was to put off the inevitable conversations. Prospero was a reasonable fellow, but she wanted to prepare her words. So she took a leisurely trip back towards the planet. Zazil had kind of been hoping her first appearance could have been somewhere more isolated- not more distant from other systems, because this was sufficient, but rather not in front of millions of people. If she could have killed a powerful foe and the only ones remaining could keep quiet, she might have managed it a second or third time. It was an unlikely hope, but a hope nonetheless.

“So,” Prospero commented as she approached- projecting his voice to just her and Chidi, for privacy. “You survived.”

“So I did,” Zazil nodded, continuing her approach. She didn’t want to chat at the remnants of the battlefield, and the others seemed to agree, moving a bit off of the shell into a decent orbit. “Koronis is going to be mad, I think.”

“She’s always mad,” Chidi said. “She’s like an emotional child. Perfectly friendly when things are going her way, and then she throws tantrums when they are not.”

Zazil raised an eyebrow. “Were you a problem child, perhaps?”

“Not in the same ways. I just stuck my hands into the mouths of giant wolves.” He turned his head downward to suggest looking. “Spikes, specifically.”

“I didn’t pay much attention to it,” Zazil admitted. “Cultivators tend to have no descendents at all or far too many. Or the worst case, a single individual treated overly precious. But yours let you join a war.”

“They couldn’t stop me,” Chidi shrugged. “So. How is your anchor here?”

Prospero answered that. “It’s mobile. Right?”

“Something like that,” Zazil said.

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m not the one who tried to capture a temporal instant as my anchor.”

Prospero shrugged. “It’s not as if I planned that. It was pure grief and inspiration mixed together.”

“Mhm,” Zazil nodded solemnly. “Anyway, I think the details should be kept vague but… I’m most effective in enemy territory.”

“Truly?” Prospero asked. “That’s… convenient.”

“Planned, really. I found an angle and went for it. And I nearly died for it.”

“Not everyone gets to shape their own anchor,” Prospero commented. “But I suppose as plans go, one that sounds completely insane might be the most appropriate. Domination isn’t something that conforms to normal logic. Of course, we have another here who has followed that path… but with less energy.”

“Once I felt the path forward,” Chidi said. “I couldn’t help but want to expand upon it. My parents were quite supportive of my odd choices, even if they were risky.”

“Indeed,” Prospero said. “Now then, we can catch up later… but we should at least help with the cleanup a little bit. We need to assess what we lost- people and materials. I don’t suppose you’ve miraculously learned a method to insulate a planet from the cold?”

“Not so much, no,” Zazil grinned. “But I can help protect it, in secret. Even if people expect me, they won’t know. Though it is good this journey is in its final stretch.”

-----

Chidi’s ability to help with the cleanup was limited to carrying a small number of bodies or chopping them up. A bit morbid, but sometimes necessary. And with the Swirling Swarm… there were many.

He figured the best place to help was where Aconite had staked her claim, mainly because other people were hesitant to help.

“Is it contagious?” he asked. He couldn't see the bodies, but what he felt was… very goopy. Boils and pus, as well as various other quite unhealthy signs.

“Not yet,” Aconite replied.

Chidi paused. “I must advise against it.”

“Ah, don’t worry,” Aconite said. “If it works, it will be safe for allies. And if it doesn’t, nothing will happen.”

“I have some vague idea of what you’re trying,” Chidi said. “What about the third thing?”

“Safety measures are in place such that anything problematic would die with me,” Aconite said.

“I don’t like that option, but I’m not in a situation where I can tell you to not try something esoteric,” Chidi admitted. “But still, try to make sure it’s the success option. For everyone’s sake. And once you have plans you can talk about, go over them with people you trust.”

“I will,” Aconite confirmed.