Only a short time was spent at the foot of Zolvolj in the Milanovic clan’s territory, and then they were on the road again. John found he already missed his proper carriage. The others were fine, but simply not as good. It was a shame to lose it, but as far as he could tell it had done its job as a decoy. The third presence with a shard of Ciaritzal had not come to Vrona but moved away until John could no longer feel it. It was unlikely they could learn exactly what happened, but traces of it were available to be found. Evren Kartal would also have information for them once they learned he fled, though John was unsure how well they would take that.

Though he had already been ambushed once on the trip, John actually found himself traveling without concern. It was simply a matter of practicality- if the Society of Midnight was planning to kill him, splitting their forces into smaller groups meant to attack him in sequence was a waste. Plus, there were limits to what they had available, even an old sect like them. The same was true for the Kartal clan whose leader had fled, as well as the Shadowflame Disciples who were mainly embroiled in the battle with the Milanovics over the Greensteel mine.

Adding to that sense of security were the other two coming along with him, Steve and Yustina. They were strong, and even if they had only recently advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase he trusted their power- and he would have even if they hadn’t shown it when saving Aydan. They had to be strong, because Steve was the kind of person to get himself killed if he wasn’t. John got himself in a number of dangerous situations, but Steve seemed to actively provoke them.

It was only when they were close to the mines that they began to be cautious. It was reasonable enough for their enemies to stage an ambush for incoming reinforcements, and it wouldn’t require going far from the rest of their forces. But either there weren’t any ambushers waiting, or they decided not to make the attempt.

They arrived without additional fuss, and John found himself reinvigorated and brimming with spiritual energy, though his recovery was certainly slower in a fire-dominant area. He had some small wounds that were not yet fully recovered, but three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and a few dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators would tip the balance of power significantly, even if a few were not quite in optimal states.

John recognized many of those present. One he hadn’t thought about in some time was Erik, who he’d had previous conflicts with. They were relatively small as things went, mostly a young man attempting to improve his own position within the clan, and that of his faction. Erik was now at the peak of the Foundation Phase, and while that could have been considered reasonable talent for his age in normal times, during the current wave of cultivation it was subpar. Greatly so. But John didn’t let his thoughts linger on the man or his guardian Patrik. Matters had been settled between them long ago, and it would be undignified to do anything more. It would simply be pointless, petty revenge. Besides, the way they avoided his gaze was good enough.

Next on the list in terms of power was Tena, who had been attacked along the road by bandits. She was now in the early Soul Expansion Phase, which was a position of reasonable power even in the current wave.

Then of course there was Alina, one of the shining stars of the Milanovic clan. She was at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase, and would almost certainly reach the Consolidated Soul Phase. As John and the others arrived, she approached them. “I am glad to see the Tenebach clan was able to respond to our call for aid. Your support is much appreciated. And…” her eyes turned to Lucanus and Yustina, “Congratulations on your advancements. I had not heard…” Despite her polite words, she seemed a bit uncertain.

“It was fortunate timing,” Yustina stepped forward, smiling pleasantly. “Perhaps if you had been present at old Zolvolj’s latest eruption you would have advanced as well. Though I’m certain you will do so at the next given opportunity.” Yustina’s words and demeanor remained friendly, but the way she moved close clearly made Alina nervous. Was there some conflict between them or…?

The workings of politics were important for a clan head to function, and John had learned what he could. Among other things he knew that the Milanovic clan was larger than the Tenebachs, with more factions vying for power internally. Alina was a prime candidate for the next clan head, and yet here Yustina was. Just a handful of years prior she had been average at best, climbing Zolvolj only to collapse from dehydration. Now, she had surpassed Alina in cultivation. And her husband was Lucanus, whose cultivation far outweighed Alina’s own chosen Tempkeit. That could reasonably make her uncertain about her position.

There were brief glances at John as well, and he had to admit that if it came between the two of them he would likely side with Yustina. They were part of the same club, after all. But he would prefer there were no conflict between them, as he considered both allies.

The tension was broken by Steve. “So, who should we be beating up?”

“Straightforward as always, Lucanus,” Alina relaxed slightly. “There has been somewhat of a standoff between our groups. We have the support of the Furnace Sect and some others from the Green Sands, while the Shadowflame disciples have the support of the Twisting Terror Clan, from the Wuthering Steppes to the southeast. They have a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, though we lost track of one from the Shadowflame Disciples.”

“I know where that one was,” John commented. “They were part of an attempt to assassinate me on the way, along with some of the Society of Midnight.”

“That’s…” Alina frowned, “Can you prove it? It would help sway the Green Sands.”

“I unfortunately wasn’t in a state to carry bodies out of the desert. I should have at least brought along his head, my apologies,” John shrugged.

“Unfortunate but very understandable. And you are… you seem to be in good health. I’m glad.”

“There were some losses,” John admitted, “And my uncle nearly died in the process.”

“Aydan, wasn’t it?” Alina nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. We did not predict that possibility, but we will of course honor our agreements for fighting alongside us.”

John could have said that getting attacked by his enemies while coming to help them wasn’t their fault, but he felt obligated to try to squeeze a little bit more out of the Milanovic clan because of the incident. It did involve the Shadowflame Disciples after all. Anything extra would go towards Aydan and the loved ones of those who had been lost, of course. And the Milanovic clan would be quite happy to increase their rewards when they had control over the mine.

-----

Despite how well they fought together, John was not assigned to work with Steve and Yustina. At least, not at the moment. That was quite sensible, because the pair were rather unsuited for scouting work. If those two came upon an enemy squad, they’d probably rush them and take them out. And even if they were successful- which John had to admit they probably would be- that wasn’t necessarily the optimum way to deal with things.

There were some difficulties trying to pick out the locations of the Shadowflame Disciples. John recalled quite well how they had buried themselves, blending in with the land. Darkness to conceal, and their fire element was natural to the local environment. He didn’t expect them to actually be buried all the time, but they could blend in for the sake of energy senses.

Picking out their allies was easier, as the air element around them was less concealed. Air was aligned with fire so it wasn’t a direct contrast with the local elements, but they simply had less ability to conceal themselves.

At the moment John was on his belly on the hot sand, watching a camp from the peak of a nearby dune. He couldn’t be certain that his squad remained unspotted, but he carefully controlled the balance of elements around them to feel at least vaguely natural, and all could dim their presence with darkness. Even in the worst case, if they were spotted they should be able to flee towards their allies.

The local area was not just sand and dunes, but also rocky outcroppings holding back the sands. That was how the Greensteel had been discovered, with small tidbits of ore poking out of the surface instead of buried under mountains of sand. John could feel the depth of the sand was generally lower throughout the area, and even the dune he found himself atop had a more solid hill underneath past a handful of meters.

The enemy was taking shelter among the outcroppings, not much different from the camp of his allies. That wasn’t a surprise, and was already well known. The important detail was the particular arrangement of the area, and if they might be able to find a stealthy avenue of attack- or a time of weakness. Night attacks were always possible, but more in the favor of the Shadowflame Disciples even with the Tenebach clan now present.

One important detail was that John spotted no sign of the Society of Midnight fighting with them, and specifically had no sense of shards of Ciaritzal. They seemed unwilling to be openly involved, which was sensible because the Darklands did not have a good reputation… anywhere, really. The Shadowflame Disciples were tolerated as members of the Green Sands because of their history and the fact that they were at least in part fire cultivators.

With John and the others arriving, the combat power had shifted significantly, but it was still important to find the best possible route to fight. Sustaining unnecessary losses was not acceptable for any reason, but when the inevitable battle came people would die. Preferably that would be the enemy.

John and the rest of the Tenebach clan found little in the way of information that was not already available, just some potential routes through the area. There was little to be gained there, but they did have enough of a power advantage now to take a chance.

-----

A small army marched straightforwardly towards the entrance of the mines. Operations had not been completely set up before the conflict began, but some initial work had begun. The Milanovic clan was marching in force, clearly intent on taking control of the area. While making actual use of the mine would be impossible without defeating the Shadowflame Disciples- not without requiring a constant stationing of their army- the Shadowflame Disciples couldn’t simply let them take over the position.

The central area was more defensible, but even that wasn’t the most important part. Control over the mine provided legitimacy to the claims, and whether their own claim was real or not it would decrease in value if they let the Milanovic clan have control for any significant period.

The recent bolstering in forces would likely have been noticed. Even if it hadn’t, the Shadowflame Disciples would still at least be aware that the Tenebach clan was planning to send reinforcements even if they hadn’t arrived. Even so, the Tenebach clan and the cultivators from the Brandle Clan were hidden off to the side, as the first of two surprise tactics. They would stealthily insert themselves into the battle wherever it seemed appropriate.

Lucanus and Yustina would be the second phase of that plan. Two new Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators would be a significant factor, though the only way they could have a stealthy entrance would be for the others to be seriously distracted. After they entered battle everyone would know where they were, so the point was to get them and the squads assigned to fight along with them into a critical position. And if their presence hadn’t been found out already, the sudden appearance of two high ranking cultivators would be a serious blow to the enemy morale. While it might be optimal to defeat as many as possible, simply forcing them to flee would be sufficient for immediate purposes.