Elder Cultivator

Chapter 1199

The southern portion of the Scarlet Midfields was in a terrible state. The great powers had come in and taken all of the easily accessible resources with no regard for the damage it would cause. Resources, in this case, also included people. There were few individuals in the great powers who cared about anyone who was not strong enough to stop them from acting as they pleased.

Timothy knew he would see many more such worlds as he pushed towards the end of the decades long process of removing any remaining traces of their influence from the region. It wasn’t long before he came to a world controlled by the forces of the Trigold Cluster.

Timothy had given everyone a chance. He sent ships ahead, telling them to flee or suffer the consequences of their actions. The occupying army seemed to have thought to grab just a little bit more, hollowing out mountains haphazardly or leveling old forests even as he arrived.

“I see you have no respect for me,” Timothy said, projecting his voice over the whole planet. That was easy enough to do even as an Augmentation cultivator, let alone with his recent improvements in power. “Perhaps I will let a few of you live, as a warning.”

Timothy could sense the concern in the cultivators as they began to flee for their ships, but they were far too late. Timothy and the fleets with him targeted their ships first. Those who had been a bit quicker were already leaving the planet, or trying to make their way out of the system. By splitting up, they tried to make it so that they weren’t targeted.

There simply weren’t enough of them for that- even with the presence of some of the Swirling Swarm. They were just lingering remnants. Perhaps Timothy should have expected their foolishness, given the fact that they hadn’t fled long before he even sent a message. Either way, their ships fell, stranding most of them. Those who could fly wouldn’t be faster than their ships, and would be more vulnerable alone.

That was when some of them had the clever plan to try to take hostages. Not just one or two, but many around the planet. Timothy couldn’t process all of the individual sentences, but it was obvious they were counting on him being a bleeding heart. Some called him soft. Perhaps he was. However...

“You wish to threaten the lives of these innocent people?” Timothy said. “Very well. Go ahead. But know that none of you will survive.”

A few of them followed through on their promise. They were going to ‘show him they meant business’. Those were the first to die- and not their hostages. Timothy’s energy had already permeated the planet, and detecting hostile energy allowed him to focus his attention where it was necessary. Those who feared death practically called out to him with their souls- as they did so literally with their words.

It was so much easier to reflect someone else’s attacks than to make thousands of his own. The few who didn’t die simply hadn’t been sufficiently committed to their attacks. They wouldn’t be spared, though.

“I told you,” Timothy said. “But you are fortunate. One in a thousand of you will be allowed to survive and tell your tales. So that your brethren don’t continue to make the same mistakes.”

His promise was complete by the end of the day. Hopefully, those who were spared would be sufficient to educate others, but sometimes people just wouldn’t listen to witnesses.

Most cultivators were smart enough to respect a Domination cultivator, but they had various assumptions. They thought a defender would have trouble killing people, or that he was limited in how many he could take down at once. Both were true to some extent... but Timothy was not alone, and just because wide scale damage was his weakness didn’t mean he was incapable as they had seen.

He was still very much a true Domination cultivator. He could easily kill those below Integration with just the weight of his aura, if he wished. If he focused on a few, the same would do for Integration cultivators. That only extended to a certain distance, but actually focusing his energy into an attack was far more effective. And even if he was only modestly effective in offense, people also underestimated how far his other abilities went. After all, none of those who remained in the Midfields had been at the final battle itself.

Timothy saw the state the planet was in after they were done, and his heart sank. Should he have done more to protect the people? If he had come earlier- or prevented them from being taken over to begin with- things wouldn’t have gotten so bad. Wasn’t that his responsibility, as a defender of the lowly?

Timothy’s heart stilled. No. It was not. At least, he was not beholden to everyone. He had done what he could to save the people, most of which had long had the opportunity to leave and join the Scarlet Alliance. In essence, they had rejected the safety of their presence- whether consciously or not.

Minimizing the interference in the war between the great powers had been a decision that was correct. The Scarlet Alliance being drawn into the war would have resulted in many unnecessary casualties. The fact that it had resulted in the war coming to them anyway didn’t make it an incorrect choice.

It would have been worse, if the Alliance had fought outside their territory. It might even have placed the locals at greater risk even as they tried to protect them- though that was merely speculation.

The Scarlet Alliance could only do so much... but now they had to take responsibility for the Scarlet Midfields. Whether it took centuries or millennia, they would secure the area. They were not as burdensome as those who had chosen to keep their independence might have thought.

-----

“Of course not. The hundred million that died. It is the larger number,” Zazil explained. “And I may say, their planets might not even notice anything less. But there is still the matter of how it would be accomplished.”

Catarina clutched Timothy’s hand. “We intend to make it clear it was our retribution, correct?”

“Of course,” Prasad said. “Otherwise, we might as well do nothing. It is of little benefit for us to kill at a large scale.”

“Too bad,” Catarina said. “I had a good idea. We could have pinned it on the Disciples of the Beyond. Distortion beasts love devouring large numbers of cultivators. Most systems take precautions to avoid drawing their attention, but it’s easy enough to do on purpose.”

“That would be strangely appropriate,” Timothy said. “But we really should be seen to act. Though we should expect some tensions at the border... to say the least. Better than reacting in a way that will make us seem small.”

“You should manage that response,” said one individual who had been silent the whole time. Engineer Uzun. “How obvious do we need to be? I have various options that can be covert... until it happens, of course. Things that are not too distasteful, as far as killing goes.”

“What sort of options?” Prasad asked. “Technological, I presume?”

“That is what I mean. It would be far easier to smuggle something of the sort into their territory. We’d only need a single ship to bring, say, a bomb.”

Prasad shook his head. “We’re not looking to blow up a single building in response.”

“The population density of the Swirling Swarm is quite high,” Uzun commented. “Frankly, we’d have to limit the blast to hit just a hundred million.”

“You speak as if they were simply piled atop each other,” Prasad said.

“It’s not far from the truth. And you might be thinking of the wrong scale of bombs. Rutera had some ill advised advancements that we have not used since long before reaching the interstellar stage.”

Zazil pursed her lips. “I am aware of the destructive potential of technology. However, could such a small device overcome their planetary barriers?”

“... You vastly overestimate how much the Swirling Swarm cares about their own people. Or most factions that aren’t us,” Uzun commented. “At most, I expect their important buildings to have their own wards. And I do believe the scouts made a special note of certain missing defensive elements. Though I could provide a more powerful device, just in case.”

“Would we need another ship?” Prasad asked.

“Hardly. They’re not something you could hold in the palm of your hand-” Uzun stopped himself. “Your normal, flesh hands. But they’re not so large that we can’t fit a pair on some of our stealthier ships. Just not the smallest ones.”

“Will people know it was technology?” Timothy asked.

“There would be no traces of upper energy. People would be hard pressed to think it was anything else,” Uzun commented. “But we could also make a giant sign to let them know, if that’s a concern.”

The council continued their discussion- and reconvened at a later date to make certain of their conclusions, as a manner of such import shouldn’t be decided all at once. But ultimately, it was agreed that they had to act. And the very fearlessness that the Swirling Swarm had such that they would engage in wanton slaughter would likely lead to a similar level of disregard from the sect itself. Or the Domination cultivator would have to determine if they wanted to risk their life a second time- alone.