Information from the Green Sands and the attempt on John’s life was still on the way to the Tenebach clan and the Order of the Amber Heart- and ultimately the Brandle clan- when Matayal arrived at the Blustering Peaks. She was not alone, of course. Nor did she simply have Brandle clan cultivators with her. Though she personally was quite capable against air element cultivators, there was still an elemental advantage of air over water- and the Kartal clan’s primary element was air, with water as a secondary.

Kusuma Mulyani stood alongside Matayal, her cultivation still two ranks ahead, putting her on the brink of reaching mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Other members of the Mulyani clan were present, filling out the ranks with air element cultivators. They would have a partial advantage in element, but they weren’t relying on that as much as the individual strength of Kusuma and the power of those with them. Dozens of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators in a mixture of both clans, a serious display of their might. The forces remaining at the Brandle clan were rather thin, but their allies in the area were taking care of potential dangers- and Netanel was still there, protecting the triplets and the clan in general.

Passage from the Shimmering Islands to the Blustering Peaks was not easily accessible. Normal people would not be able to make the trip at all, and even cultivators found the carved switchbacks from a place that could hardly even be called a proper place to anchor a ship. They had to leave a few to watch their vessels so they were not dashed upon the rocks in unpredictable weather.

Walking up the slippery wet switchbacks in the cliff among high winds was not child’s play, though the Mulyani clan helped shield the Brandle clan cultivators from the wind. They were able to reach the top in relative safety, though Matayal kept a careful eye on those waiting at the top.

Before the path turned into the relatively more smoothly sloped region at the southeastern base of the Blustering Peaks, there was a guardhouse. Stationed there were somewhere around fifty guards, ranging form Foundation Phase to late Soul Expansion Phase.

One of those at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase was a relatively young man, clearly having done well for himself in advancing his cultivation. He stepped forward to a prominent position atop the walls. “Halt! For what reason does such a large force intrude upon the Blustering Peaks?”

Matayal scanned over those on the walls, checking their cultivation not just for strength but for origin. “We have no quarrel with the Blustering Peaks as a whole. However, we will not be denied revenge upon the Kartal clan for their part in an attempt to annihilate the Brandle clan.”

The man looked down, thinking for a few moments. “Do you have any proof of such an attack?”

A storage bag was upturned onto the ground, a pile of heads pouring out of it. Several of them began to roll down the slope where they were stopped by those in the rear. A flick of spiritual energy turned some of the heads to face the gates where the might be recognized. “The Kartal clan was involved with the Society of Midnight from the Darklands, along with others. The rest are being dealt with.”

The man slowly nodded. “Your words ring true. You may pass. If you cause any other trouble, be aware we will not let you get away with it. Also… pick those up.”

Matayal smiled thinly. Though it was true the Kartal clan had attacked them, having some of their heads wasn’t proof. She hadn’t waited for word of the attack to spread before coming, so they could only trust her. But none of those in the guardhouse really cared about proof. They just wanted a reasonable enough excuse. One where they could claim some sort of justice, and not have to mention that they really didn’t want to fight against any Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. And from their nervous glances, some of them recognized Kusuma.

The group continued onward. They stopped in Iclinas to wait for the next morning, resting up for the journey ahead. The Kartal clan was located deeper in the mountains, not as high as the source of the Grandcliff River but a somewhat longer journey of a few days- for cultivators of sufficient power.

The group carved a path up the mountain, pushing through winds and eventually snow as they made their way towards the Kartal clan. They paced themselves, not wanting to arrive exhausted. Even if their numbers were calculated to be sufficient, they expected resistance. There was also the matter of the clan head Evren Kartal, who was in the Consolidated Soul Phase.

Though the slopes leading up to the Kartal clan were steep, they were sufficiently wide to avoid much risk of falling off. After all, the clan had to receive guests and shipments of goods. Even if they would generally escort them on the last leg of the journey, their personal guidance was only marginally better than what Matayal and Kusuma could provide together.

The guards at the gates hesitated slightly to call the alarm as they approached. After all, it was hard to believe that anyone would be coming to attack their clan directly.

“Drop your weapons and surrender and we will spare your lives,” Kusuma said, projecting her voice on the winds. While they were still processing that, she leapt into the air, cresting over the top of the ten meter high wall. She was met with a sudden bout of resistance as she approached the wall, a gust of wind pushing against her. However, instead of forcing her away she twisted and somehow caused it to accelerate her onto the wall instead of the opposite. She took the metal rod in her hands and anchored it on the wall with a thud, eyes flicking between the nearest guards. “This is your chance.”

Three of the four closest guards dropped their weapons and stepped back, while one lowered his spear at her. Perhaps he was especially brave or determined, or perhaps he didn’t realize that he was alone for the moment. Either way, it only took a single exchange. Icy air swirled around his spear as he thrust towards Kusuma, the thrust parried by her metal staff. A spiral of electricity flowed along through the man’s own spiritual energy during the exchange, and his muscles clenched involuntarily. The staff swiftly followed through from the parry to a strike to the side of the man’s head, snapping his neck and knocking him off the wall.

There were more than just four guards present, but none close enough who were willing to stop her from slipping inside the guardhouse and spinning the mechanisms to open the gates. A jolt of lightning surged along her arms as she touched it, but she seemingly ignored it and let it flow down her sides into the floor below, though it was clearly not the natural or intended path of the power.

With that, the small army was inside the Kartal clan’s grounds. Kusuma looked to Matayal, who nodded. So they were going through with that plan. It might make things more difficult, but they could also potentially divide factions. “Hey Evren! You think you can get away with attacking the Brandle clan? That was a declaration of war against more than just them, you know. Come out and fight! And bring that stupid son of yours too, since his life is forfeit!” Even in a place with naturally high winds, Kusuma’s voice pierced to all corners of the small plateau.

Cultivators from both the Brandle and Mulyani clans poured through the open gates, cutting down any who came to stop them. Matayal lead the charge, her spear taking more lives than anyone but Kusuma.

Surprisingly, there was no sign of Evren- but it was impossible for him to have returned from the Green Sands in such a short amount of time. Bora, however, came into view. And quickly tried to get out of it, slipping around the side to attempt to flee out the gate. Matayal focused on him for a moment, spinning to throw her spear a moment before he came out from behind a building. A spinning trail of water carried the spear forward where it intersected with his lower waist as he stepped from behind cover. He tried to change his momentum, but was only half successful. Instead of being pierced through both hip bones, he simply had a chunk taken out of his left side.

That did leave Matayal unarmed for a moment, but even as she turned to defend herself Kusuma was already there. With a sweep of her iron rod, she created a small tornado that picked up a dozen people running forward. Then she leapt into it, allowing her to get swept up in the winds as she spun ever faster, the iron rod outstretched finding purchase on any and every target within the vortex.

Matayal sprinted after Bora, who was limping and could barely gain any distance. “Seems I missed.”

“That’s… right,” Bora said. “If you’d hit my chest, I might not be here. But now it’s too late for you…” Four Soul Expansion Phase cultivators swarmed in front of Bora, blocking Matayal’s access to him.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you. But we can’t exactly have any more from your line roaming about.”

Even as she spoke, the four cultivators attacked together, lightning bursting forward from their hands to meet together where she stood. Matayal had moved as much as she could to avoid a direct hit, but the attacks were swift and practiced. Lightning coursed through her veins… and she found it rather unpleasant. But she hadn’t taken a stormcloud as her third totem for nothing. It served the dual purpose of directly shoring up her weaknesses against air as well as augmenting John.

Practical experience against Kusuma also helped, and Matayal swept her spear back with the tip trailing along the ground, guiding as much electricity through it as she could while the rest was encouraged on a safer path through her water element energy. Her training didn’t make it any more pleasant to deal with such attacks, but she was able to avoid immediate incapacitation while still rallying her energy for a counterattack.

Four Soul Expansion Phase cultivators was certainly a bit of a challenge, but she was up for it. A wave poured forward through the width of the alley, washing over the four. Matayal stabbed forward between them, but not using her spear as an attack but instead using both hands as a conduit for her next move. Her arms swept to the sides, sweeping the water and those caught up in the wave into the side of the alley. That wasn’t all, though.

The two on the right were frozen to the wall, while the two on the left screamed in pain as they were scalded by sudden heat. It was a new technique she had developed due to the inquisitive mind of her husband. Water element also involved ice, and he had asked where ice could come from. Where did the heat go? The answer was more or less that additional water element made up for that discrepancy, but it was much more efficient to perform something like this. And strangely enough, though her fourth totem had a tinge of fire element within it, this technique was almost purely based on the water element.

Matayal lunged forward as if she intended to stab Bora, who had stopped running briefly when he had guards in front of him. Now he twisted to flee, aggravating the wound on his hip. The two unrestrained guards would not simply let her pass, however, and a bit of extra heat wasn’t going to instantly kill them. They recklessly threw themselves in front of Matayal to stop her movement, which made her job easier because she didn’t have to twist to the side to stab them now. They were her real targets, after all. Bora wasn’t important enough to risk having four cultivators behind her waiting to attack.

Her spear stabbed through the chest of one while she avoided the other. The final two were beginning to extricate themselves from being frozen to the wall when backup arrived. Because the cultivators of the Brandle clan weren’t just going to leave their clan head to fight on her own, even if she’d rushed away from them. With the addition of allies, the four guards were dead in a few moments.

Matayal then simply had to follow the trail of blood to catch up to Bora, who she would leave alive. Because it would be extra impactful for the clan to have to deal with a crippled young master instead of just having him be dead.