The main forces of the Milanovic clan were moving into place, taking over positions within the rocky terrain around the entrance of the mine. The Shadowflame Disciples and Twisting Terror clan moved to prevent them from gaining full control of the area.

All of the words that might have been spoken between them had already been said. Neither recognized the other side’s legitimacy, nor were they willing to split the rights to the mine.

Around to the side where the sands deepened but tall rocks still stood above, John crept forward with his forces. It was likely the Shadowflame Disciples would try a flanking maneuver, and if they didn’t he would be the one to do so. Otherwise, he would be ready for them and they might not expect him. Even if they knew he was around, keeping his exact location unknown provided just enough uncertainty.

As it turned out, they weren’t attempting to flank along the same path he was- but they had a squad watching. John wasn’t charitable with how he began the ambush. The Shadowflame Disciples had been directly involved in the assassination attempt on him, and they’d had no prior history at that point. They chose the wrong side, and would pay for it.

Two were dead by his own blade before anyone could react, and simultaneous attacks from others took down several more. John wished Aydan were present, as he was a step above the rest… but he had to take solace that at least his uncle was still alive. It had been close.

Blows were exchanged, darkness fighting against darkness and flame. The Brandle clan cultivators were able to overwhelm the fire of just a single squad with a wave of water element, and being both surprised and outnumbered the group was down in a few moments. The short scuffle would have undoubtedly given away their location, but that was fine. Splitting the enemies’ attention was half the point.

John and the few dozen following him made their way to a nice chokepoint with solid rock on either side. The area could still use a few improvements, though it was decent as it was. Even so, John began to work some earth elemental spiritual energy into the stone along the base of one side, pulling away sand.

There was little reason for John himself to hide, since they would have doubtless noticed someone at the Consolidated Soul Phase present. With him out in the open with a dozen others by his side, the mixed group that came to fend them off was less prepared for the extra numbers that came in from either side, entrapping them in a reverse wedge.

A whirlwind of sand whipped up by some members of the Twisting Terror clan attempted to blind John and throw him off balance, and while the former worked to some extent he was able to hold his footing. Just a bit of earth energy to anchor him to the ground and the strongest winds would find it difficult to push him away. The sand did threaten to choke up his mouth and nose, but he quickly wrapped a cloth around his face. Just because he traveled by carriage didn’t mean he wasn’t ready for a bit of sand.

Fighting with just his energy senses was not the worst thing for John. His enemies were similarly impaired, though the Twisting Terror clan clearly had experience fighting in the swirling sands and were clearly at a bit of an advantage against the clan members around John.

The next event that required John’s attention was a group of the air cultivators breaking off towards the Brandle clan members. Though the Brandle clan was quite familiar with fighting against the air element, water cultivators were still at a disadvantage. John shifted to cut them off, all the while continuing his project with the nearby rocks.

There were no individual cultivators that could match John’s cultivation, but he made sure to never let himself get surrounded. He moved through the cloak of darkness the Tenebach clan was forming together, slashing at his opponents with his sword. Small portions of his energy were devoted to pulling away the air and darkness energy from the various opponents. Spiritual Energy Absorption was quite efficient for long battles, as it drew from his enemies and empowered him.

Redirecting some of the swirling sand onto Shadowflame Disciples was also quite satisfying. A little bit of water element and it was suddenly a cloud of wet sand that dampened the power of their fire significantly.

-----

A group of Shadowflame Disciples stealthily made their way around to the east. They kept low to keep hidden behind the rocks without being overly reliant on spiritual energy, merely keeping their energy wrapped up tightly inside themselves, with the barest amounts blending into the natural fire of the area.

Even focusing on stealth, they were aware enough of their surroundings to notice something up ahead. The leader held out a hand to silently stop them, surveying the area in front of them.

A fountain of sand shot into the air as a burst of blue fire rocketed forwards towards them. “Oh come on I was subtle and everything!”

With the eruption of Steve- known in this world at Lucanus- several squads of Milanovic clan cultivators charged forward behind him, revealing themselves from behind rocks. They had not really expected to properly ambush their opponents anyway. Yet despite noticing him, Steve’s crazy charge threw some people off balance. Twisting black flames rushed forward, meeting his own blue flames, but he held his arms wide and caught the core of the fire, carrying it along with him into the front ranks of the enemy.

With Steve being a destructive force of chaos there was time for the squads to back him up before he was overwhelmed, and when things looked like they might ultimately be balanced, Yustina revealed herself from the side. Her flames were like ocean waves, splashing over and around and counterattacks or defenses the enemy had. Some flames clung to people, but hers were quite content to settle in a pool under people’s feet. She could control her flames in more traditional ways as well, but the most effective was using an element the Shadowflame Disciples thought they understood in a way they were simply unprepared for.

-----

In the center of the battle, Alina was leading the forces. She was meant to be gaining experience as a potential clan head, but at the moment she was unsure of her chances with Yustina already being in the Consolidated Soul Phase. Sure, she wasn’t that far behind, but the other woman had grown explosively from middling power to where she was now. All due to that Lucanus fellow. He’d been a solid ally of the clan so she didn’t begrudge that, but it just made her uncertain of her own future prospects. At least she was friendly with those two, and Fortkran Tenebach as well. If their presence promoted the Milanovic clan to greater heights, it would hardly matter if she became clan head or not.

Before all that, she had to live through the current battle. Things weren’t exactly going poorly, but the Milanovic clan hadn’t been able to mobilize any of the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Until they simultaneously got two new ones. It wasn’t exactly a surprise that those two made the advancement, but nobody thought it would come with so little warning.

The Shadowflame Disciples had a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them, and had brought three to the mines. One had disappeared- and subsequently died in the assassination attempt on Fortkran- but that left two more, and two from the Twisting Terror clan.

One of the latter was facing off against her, which wasn’t exactly comfortable. Alina needed the support of her surrounding allies to keep up, and even then she found the swirling sands were getting to her. There was a howling in the winds that chilled her. Simply knowing it was part of an enemy technique didn’t make her invulnerable to it.

She swung her sword, creating an ephemeral arc of fire to protect her. It was quickly swept away in the winds, but she was beginning to see a way she might use that to her advantage. She just needed to get the timing right and draw upon the power of those beside her.

-----

John finally found himself perturbed by the swirling winds and sand when a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator came to head him off. No amount of wind caused by anyone vaguely normal would concern him by itself. He’d weathered far too long on Cyclone Island training with Kusuma to be thrown off by just that. The abrasive nature of the sands was still a problem, however, and it was difficult to keep it from chipping away at his defensive energy.

It also didn’t help that a fraction of his focus was still divided. Someone had to be able to notice what was happening, but nobody changed their positioning. To that end, John chose to reposition himself instead, dragging some of the battle with him. He wasn’t willing to attempt throwing any daggers in swirling vortexes of green sand, so he had to rely mainly on his sword. Quick movements were his bread and butter, finding openings and striking before his opponent could react. Feinting to create his own openings worked just as well.

John caught on to some of the winds around them, feeding and empowering them with some of his water element, while wrestling for control with wind. When the vortex he was focusing on ultimately flattened between the indistinct battle lines, his opponent might have thought they won. But the burst of power it released was used to make one last tug on a bit of earth, the power supplementing it.

With the sands beneath it dug out, one of the larger and more unstable rocks toppled over when provided with a little extra motivation, crashing down towards John and the figure in the wind fighting him. John was expecting it, and was easily able to retreat. Some of the Shadowflame Disciples were clearly unprepared and didn’t move out of the way in time, finding themselves trapped under its weight and pressed into the sand. Unburying them might have been simple enough outside of a battle, but taking out half a squad even for a short time was valuable.

Then there was the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator hidden in the winds. They chose to follow John’s quick movements… which turned out to be a mistake. They were quickly isolated beyond the fallen wall of rock, with only a couple lucky others around them- and over a dozen Tenebach cultivators along with John himself.

The Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator attempted a hasty retreat, forcing a huge gust of air towards the sands below, meant to push them up and over the rock protrusion. It would have worked, had the sand not been caught around their ankles like two powerful hands. They only succeeded in creating a large dust cloud, and the unexpected lack of movement left them open for John to impale. An air cultivator that couldn’t move wasn’t easily able to resist a straightforward attack, and John wasn’t the only one who moved simultaneously.

When the dust settled, John saw the face of a woman. It wasn’t the first woman he had killed in battle, but he still felt a slight twinge of guilt. Even if it wasn’t really more wrong to kill a woman than a man. They were an enemy in battle, and they made that choice. Though he really wished more people would choose a route other than fighting.

Not that he could say he’d been helpful in promoting such an atmosphere. It seemed impossible to change anything, so he simply had to be strong. He would defend himself and his family and allies, and anyone who tried to take those things from him would have to contend with that.