Ice cracked around the edges of a large structure, leaving it to sink into the depths of Atania where the vast majority of the cultivators dwelling inside would not be able to survive on their way to the surface. Yet they also had little hope of surviving if they made it out right away, with The Independence and the rest of the trifold alliance still on the assault. Anton would have preferred to kill only who they had to in the Iceheart Ocean, but they didn’t have the luxury of being selective. As a sect they were participating in the war, and without some reliable method of communication they couldn’t even warn them off without something extreme like this. Setting up some method of communication was on the agenda, however.

Spirit Arrows pierced into enemy disciples. Their individual combat strength varied, but their real value lay elsewhere. Healing was of extreme value after a combat, returning people to full fighting capability- but even the best could hardly contribute to such an end meaningfully mid combat. Destruction was simply more efficient. Thus, the Iceheart Ocean’s combat power seemed somewhat on the weaker side, though Anton understood that his personal strength was skewing things as well.

They were most of the way finished with their intentions for the first region when the local Worldbinding cultivator finally showed up. That was the weakness of there being limited things in place to catch them further out and provide advance warning. Either the Sylanis Cluster didn’t have the techniques necessary to do so or they couldn’t work together well enough to create a system-blanketing option. Anton leaned towards the latter, but it could have been both- though he expected them to develop it as they saw the successes of the trifold alliance.

According to their information, this man was Carlitos Anselmo. He had great healing capabilities, but also strong defensive capacity… and more importantly he was bound to the entire planet. Anton began his offensive with a simple shot that he fully expected to be dodged, blocked, or negated by energy defenses. He was surprised when his arrow went right through the man’s chest. A hole, straight through his heart. Then the hole closed immediately.

Anton’s thoughts moved through the various possibilities as quick as light. An illusion? An artificial body? No, Anton had felt the proper power as he passed through with his arrow. This was the real Carlitos. Instant regeneration? He’d already determined that was inefficient and likely beyond anyone on that level, regrowing vital things such as pieces of the heart was nearly impossible. Then the only answer was… he’d simply not taken any real damage. Anton had no more time to ponder as he tested with more attacks, because Carlitos retaliated.

Not against Anton specifically- though it was possible that he would be on the list. Instead, he first focused on the weakest masses… all at once. Mountains of ice rose up and valleys dropped as everything shifted, freezing liquids that should be gasses anywhere else splashing out of the sea below. Attacks took the form of spikes of ice or simple entrapment, at high speed and on a wide scale. Many perished, but while the casualties were unfortunate that was still within expected tolerances for a Worldbinding cultivator. He didn’t kill much faster than Anton could for those who were equivalent. Being at his source of power, however, the man could use his full strength.

Anton tested piercing the brain and every limb, eventually determining that he did in fact inflict damage. Just not much. Instead, the body of Carlitos rippled like water, Anton merely carving out small portions of his body, tiny wounds which were quickly recovered while the rest flowed back together. He changed tactics- usually he had to pierce through defensive energy, so a concentrated attack was optimal. Now, he switched to something more widespread, widening his arrows into blades. Even if he only cut a very thin line, that was vastly more than a point. Anton’s assumptions were justified when Carlitos began to surround himself in sheets of ice to protect himself.

It was unfortunate for him, strong as he was, that he was just one man. The Independence was able to ignore lesser opponents who had come with him and instead focus fire on the man with their strongest attacks, blasting through his defenses and forcing him to dodge and expend energy directly protecting himself. That gave Anton more opportunities to utilize his attacks that were focused on an area smaller than a building, slicing off an arm- though it instantly reattached, Anton felt there were brief moments where it was held on merely by energy and not knit flesh.

Between the power of The Independence and Anton, Carlitos stood no chance. Perhaps that was why he was desperately killing as many cultivators as he could. That wouldn’t last long, because there was one more… not counting the Great Queen. Great chains of fire and blood wound their way through the area, radiating auras of passion, pain, and determination. Devon was on the ground, merely a few hundred meters from Carlitos. The man instantly felt the danger and slammed together two mountains of ice in an attempt to crush Devon… but even if Devon was merely in the early stages of Assimilation, he was still more than a couple steps above Life Transformation in power.

A sphere of chains formed around him, creating a barrier that absorbed the impact of the ice while his other chains continued their motion, snaking their way through the openings in the terrain that The Independence provided. When they snaked their way around Carlitos, no doubt he intended to let his body turn to liquid and let them slide through him… but he found their grip on him firm as anything. Because they weren’t just links of energy, but of the very concept of binding. It was possible to counteract such a thing, but expecting things to work differently left Carlitos open.

Anton filled him with arrows, and not merely by shooting them through the man, but having them stop inside him. The fact that he had a body at all meant that he ultimately needed it to function, and while small moments with holes in him as an attack passed through seemed to have negligible effect on his health, leaving them there meant his body was suddenly lacking blood flow in countless places, among other things. His reaction was swift, crushing Anton’s energy within him, but more arrows were already on the way and Devon’s chains bound tighter, digging into him. Already, the man had lost all offensive capability, focusing solely on surviving as Devon’s chains raised the man up into the air away from his domain. A short distance of a few dozen meters wouldn’t massively affect his ability, but with Devon latching onto a ship raising up as well any counterattacks would have to lift the freezing slurry of ice and liquids from their resting place below, making every effort that much slower and more difficult.

Powerful cold could easily freeze or kill people, but its downside was that if it did not do so its damage potential was much less than something like fire, or any sort of weapon that left proper wounds. The time taken for him to crush someone added up, and the man found himself in a sorry position. Then he screamed in pain as the Great Queen bit into him, drawing upon his energy.

Being bound and drained he was momentarily weakened, at least long enough for their purposes for them to declare an ultimatum. That honor was left to Devon, since he had to be close regardless. “Unlike what you might think, we of the trifold alliance don’t find ourselves with the inclination to destroy or control everything. It is no benefit to us to be locked in eternal conflict with your Sylanis cluster… so you and anyone else who does not intend to be systematically destroyed should think about communicating properly with us. If nothing else, we might prioritize going after your rivals instead of you.” Devon tossed him a few different communications devices. “You can use any of these to contact us. Details are in that scroll. If we find the Iceheart Ocean participating in the war in the future, you can expect us to return… and we won’t leave you alive again.”

-----

“You think he’ll listen?” Devon asked his grandfather as they rode on The Independence towards their next destination.

“Him in particular?” Anton shook his head. “Doubtful, though I don’t know the man in detail. Still, by random chance he might be the one that does. I imagine we’ll only get one or two out of a handful who are willing to entertain the idea, at least until we beat it into their heads that we have strength and that their major sects and clans are directly subject to retaliatory attacks. I have the feeling they see themselves as invincible, especially against outsiders.”

“Not gonna lie,” Devon shrugged. “I kinda feel the same way.”

Anton flicked Devon’s forehead. “Bad Devon. No arrogance.”

“Only kinda,” Devon grinned. “I know that with the right combination of factors, these Worldbinding cultivators can work together and devastate our homeland. I’d rather stop them before they realize that, or at least manage the unity to organize it.”

“It is troublesome,” the Great Queen added her own input. “I understand humans lack the same unity void ants tend to share, but these humans are particularly far from that unity.”

Anton shrugged, “Ceretos just got lucky that we had a proper cause to unite behind, which we really don’t want to give to the Sylanis Cluster. That’s why we’re intending to pick and choose our targets.” Anton focused his energy senses on one portion of The Independence that was being carefully defrosted- it had remained in orbit and its barriers were sufficiently powerful to protect it, but the Worldbinding cultivator had still managed to cause a bit of damage in his brief assault on it directly. Nothing that couldn’t be quickly repaired, and Anton was glad that the first real field test of the vessel was successful so far.

“Where are we heading next?” Devon asked. “I forgot what order we decided on.”

“Cheitov. A terrestrial planet. It’s one of the places where the most popular wood for the local ships comes from, as well as some of the rarer sorts,” Anton said. “I suppose you didn’t see them. There were some that carried regenerating thorns launched and controlled by one of the local sects. In a way, you could consider them archers.”

“Will we see you in an archery contest, then?” Devon asked. “Or perhaps something like the Grandfather Willow?”

“We don’t have any indications they have anything quite that size,” Anton said. “We’ll be staying away from some of the larger ones for safety reasons. Besides, destroying planetary treasures if we’re planning to press for peace is bad for our successes. Probably,” Anton shrugged, “Perhaps it would drive them into despair or awe of our power, but the more likely result is rage and indignity.”

-----

It was only a matter of hours for them to arrive over Cheitov. Some ships could have been much faster, but for the sake of giving people a chance to rest and recover- and for The Independence to perform basic repairs on itself and the fighters it carried- they took a more measured approach. Keeping a large fleet together with different methods of movement was also somewhat difficult, but the different origins hadn’t consolidated into some perfect whole yet. Perhaps they never would- each system had reasons they did what they did, and they simply preferred certain tradeoffs over others.

Anton’s initial view of Cheitov made him think it was quite pleasant. Its massive continents were coated in the green of treetops- though there were clear sections that had recently been harvested where nothing had grown back yet. At least they were sensible enough to manage their forests, though Anton didn’t imagine they would have lasted long if they didn’t. It wasn’t necessarily a matter of care as much as practicality. And though certain cultivators certainly didn’t care what damage they caused to an area, any who lasted multiple centuries had to find some sort of balance or risk destruction.

The Independence and the rest of the fleet maneuvered themselves towards one of the larger cities, on the outskirts of which was a starport where a good portion of the local wood exports took place. That meant they had massive warehouses just full of wood, dry enough to catch on fire unlike the surrounding forests. Not that burning down all the forests on the planet would have been advisable even if it was practical. They weren’t intending a war of extermination, quite the opposite. They just wanted things to stop… while taking out those most responsible for all of the trouble.