The invasion had been just as bad as everyone expected in Estary. Though the local sects intended to put up a fight, their success had been limited. Adrastea couldn’t pin her finger on exactly what led to their failure, though part of it was likely due to their failure to maneuver enough forces to the locations the invaders landed in. There was really only a short period of time to anticipate that landing, and nobody had really been sure how the invaders would arrive before that. Some of the sects and cities had held on, but Yedo in particular had fallen quickly to the power of the invaders- their initial descent crashing through the city’s formations and landing them within the city. At least that was what information had been gleaned by those to flee the city.

Tranquil Cloud Palace had the good fortune to have developed a number of formations masters, and instead of focusing in direct barrier they focused on concealing formations. The peaks upon which they made their home were large enough that accidentally stumbling upon their community was unlikely, and their exact location had been kept secret.

For a long time Adrastea had believed it to be unnecessary paranoia. Estary was one of the most peaceful countries to be found on the continent, and the Tranquil Cloud Palace among the stronger sects. In truth the border skirmishes with Ofrurg had been an issue, but after slavery was rather forcefully abolished from within their borders the tensions had faded somewhat.

But Tranquil Cloud Palace had kept their location secret in the one way that mattered, and now it was saving now only themselves but many others. Too many, probably, but that couldn’t be helped.

Adrastea passively felt the cultivators scurrying around the nearby peaks. Nothing could be so secret that they wouldn’t know about the peaks the Tranquil Cloud Palace inhabited, but with the formations inhibiting the ability to use energy senses it required manual searching to find them. Some got very close to the sect, but the bewildering nature of the formations was stronger just outside in a way that wouldn’t be noticed. The thick layers of snow and their placement at the same level as the clouds provided natural cover and confused the landscape for the searchers.

They could have just killed anyone who got close, but in a way that would reveal them more than others. There were plans to kill some of the searching invaders away from the sect but enacting them was dangerous. Their presence might be revealed too far away from the formations, and anyone who went out might find it difficult to return. There were tokens that responded to the natural energy of members of the Tranquil Cloud Palace that could guide their way and protect them from the effects of the formation, but they didn’t want to risk losing any and having their enemies discover some other way to use them.

But now they were sitting here with too many people. Tranquil Cloud Palace numbered in the thousands with their disciples, but now they had tens of thousands sheltering within their gates. Even without knowing precisely where they were, local towns and cities had many fleeing in their direction. They didn’t have the heart to refuse anyone, and during the first days there hadn’t been invaders directly breathing down their necks.

Now they were one of the remaining pockets of resistance in Estary. Hopefully there were more than they didn’t know about, but obviously cooped up on top of their mountain they didn’t get much information except a sense of the largest masses of invaders- and those scouting their mountain.

Remaining in hiding wasn’t glorious, but unfortunately there were other issues with it not being sustainable either. Tranquil Cloud Palace had stored up a large amount of food for the sake of emergencies, but even with some of the fleeing refugees bringing some of their own there were simply too many people to feed for long. Even now the rations had been cut several times. Even for Life Transformation cultivators like Adrastea herself.

They had to do something, but what…? That would have to be answered by a new presence she sensed. One of a group that showed no hesitation to openly display themselves as they walked the slopes… and were quite enthusiastic about how they engaged with any invaders they came into contact with.

The interesting part was she recognized one of them. The last time she’d felt that aura in person was decades before, so many times weaker. After that, their paths had never crossed again, though she’d certainly heard about Hoyt’s rise in cultivation. Even with more Life Transformation cultivators than ever, how could they have not kept track of the names of the Life Transformation cultivators of their neighbors to the south?

There were others from the Order as well, plus a pair from… the Frostmirror sect and the Glorious Flame Palace? Yes, she remembered hearing about that unlikely marriage, and unless there was another pair of Life Transformation cultivators from those sects who would walk through the mountains holding hands as if they were going on a stroll through town… it should be the same ones.

Adrastea carefully made her way towards them. They weren’t exactly close to the proper center of the Tranquil Cloud Palace, and she didn’t want to be noticed with them. Being tracked back to the sect was theoretically possible if the wrong person got a lock on her. She kept her spear at the ready and her energy restrained but ready to react to anything.

A short while later she reached the group as they were postulating how to navigate a ravine. For cultivators of their strength nothing was impossible, but jumping tens of meters to the other side might be unnecessary. Yet while they talked a woman riding upon a wolf did so several times back and forth.

Approaching a group of cultivators who were nearly as high in cultivation individually as herself was a bit dangerous, not because she suspected the Order would choose to attack her, but because they might act without thinking as she revealed herself.

She started with slipping a portion of her energy over to the side and slowly revealing it, making sure her style was clear so they could recognize she was not one of the invaders. With another portion of her energy she threw her voice from a different direction. She wanted to announce her intentions, and while the situation was serious she couldn’t help but be a little bit playful.

“Hoyt. You didn’t sneak anyone across the border again, did you? What would your grandfather have said about that, hmm?”

Well, that was that. It would be rather embarrassing if he didn’t remember their encounter, but at least her cultivation should have been notable at the time. That was the sort of thing most cultivators tended to remember.

The man turned his head back and forth between the voice and the revealed strands of energy. “You… were one of the border guards, correct? We’ve been looking for people. Locals, obviously. The invaders are rather easy to find. Are any others with you?”

“That’s right, I did spend some time protecting the border. It’s Adrastea, by the way. As for others… I’m alone here.”

“We’d hoped to find more. We’ve brought armies from Graotan, Facraona, Droca, Ambati… Ofrurg. Basically the rest of the continent.”

“Ah, I misunderstood,” Adrastea admitted. “We have many sheltered with our sect. I would love to talk but… all of you have been too obvious. If you could go to that peak to the southwest, I will meet you there. We’ll throw off any observers.”

“What about grandpa?” the woman on the wolf asked. “He made some stupid excuse about his knees hurting and is still at the bottom of the mountain.”

“Anton will be fine,” Hoyt said. “And he’ll be able to cover us as we approach.”

“Ah, you have Kseniya’s apprentice with you?” Adrastea asked, then shook her head. “Is he really nearby?”

“Twenty kilometers at most,” Hoyt shrugged. “Which is close enough.”

“I do recall hearing something like that. Well, you can bring him along or not… when we get back to the sect we can talk more about these armies.”

-----

The sect head of Tranquil Cloud Palace was Arezou, a woman that Adrastea looked up to as a mentor and teacher. Even if they fought in different styles, there was much to learn from her. Arezou had suggested several times that Adrastea might become the next sect head, but such decisions would obviously now be waiting.

“Greetings, allies from the Order… and elsewhere.” Arezou bowed, her flowing robes exaggerating the movement. “I have heard tales that you bring armies to Estary.”

“That’s right,” Hoyt nodded. “Though our losses have been great, the majority of the invaders have been slain throughout the continent… except for those in Estary. Until now we had not been able to find… and active groups.”

“That matches our understanding of the situation as well,” Arezou nodded. “Things are dire here. Perhaps Infinite Wisdom Forest might have been able to conceal another large group. Maybe others, but we have received no contact. As for your armies, we should warn you. A cultivator of great power advanced their stage to a level difficult to comprehend.”

“We took note of their presence already,” Hoyt replied. “But we were unaware that they had advanced while present here. Are you certain?”

“Quite. It is not something that could be mistaken by any within hundreds of kilometers.”

“That’s somewhat concerning,” Hoyt said. “It makes me wonder where there have been no others of… whatever that next step beyond ascension is.” He looked to his companions to see if they had answers.

Catarina lit up, “Well, it’s just speculation but… I imagine they can’t come here. Or at least it would be very uncomfortable. This world isn’t meant to have power of that sort, and the disconnect from our natural energy would be even greater for them. If we consider the effort for a stronger cultivator to come here scales in a similar fashion as teleportation- even if it involves a smaller sacrifice- then it would be a difficult undertaking. Perhaps the cultivators at the first step of ascension are the best they can send. Or they just thought they wouldn’t need more.”

“I am concerned that it might be the latter,” sect head Arezou shook her head. “Unfortunately, that’s not something we can solve right now. Another question, if I might. You must have noticed how many people we have sheltered here. Along with your armies, did you bring food?”

Hoyt shook his head. “Not enough to share, but… it should be possible to get more. Bringing it here, however… might be impossible.”

“That is an area of concern,” Arezou admitted. “But with the support of your armies, it might be best if we simply left the area. That would unfortunately reveal our location by moving so many people, but it’s better than letting them stay to starve. And many of us can help join the fight. Such as it is. Tell me honestly, do you believe your forces are sufficient to defeat the invaders occupying Estary?”

Hoyt thought for a while and shook his head. “Not for certain. That specific cultivator is one of the major concerns, and how Yedo has been fortified. However, as unpleasant as this might sound, we might not have to defeat them. They must leave at some point, and the window for that activity begins at the end of the season, and in theory should last approximately most of the rest.”

“Hm.” She grimaced, “And so they might simply be allowed to leave? A bitter taste, but… not unreasonable. I do believe all of us would prefer to survive, if that is the only option we have.”

“We haven’t given up on some sorts of assault yet,” Hoyt said. “Though Yedo may be unassailable, other parts of the country may be possible to save. At the very least we might reclaim some of the resources…”

“Things are that bad, are they?” she shook her head. “I suppose there’s nothing to do but what we can.”

“If we can find anyone else, we’ll do our best to get them out of danger. If there are others as well hidden as yourselves, perhaps things aren’t quite so grim as they seem.”

“Hah. Perhaps,” Arezou admitted. “But I wouldn’t bet on it.” She carefully placed her hand on a spear resting nearby, “Even so, it’s good to know there are still things worth fighting for. We were beginning to think we might be all that was left. News of victory elsewhere… it won’t make things instantly better, but the people could use some good news. After that, we’ll figure out what is possible with what we have.”