The swarm of thorns had some limitations in how it could target Anton, acting more like one grand thing or at most some dozens of smaller groupings, which was extremely beneficial for Anton’s safety as he wove his way around and through the attacks while remaining wary of changes.

His efforts that were not dedicated defensively were limited to occasional shots at the one causing all that trouble, the local Worldbinding cultivator Aridasa. Fighting in his domain was troublesome, but Anton managed to fire off a few shots in the man’s direction, attempting to coordinate with The Independence’s attacks. Beyond that, he continued to provide a distraction, keeping the Worldbinding cultivator occupied while other forces on the planet Cheitov were dealt with by landing ships. It also kept the man’s thoughts off of Devon, though no doubt he was aware of his presence.

It seemed Aridasa wasn’t quite at his limits with the swarm of thorns, however. He managed a few smaller swarms as well, targeting ships or cultivators as well as controlling the movements of some of the local trees. Those same trees were some of the main targets of The Independence, and those of any practical size for a cultivator battle were quickly being turned into charcoal. No doubt he could call upon more from the surrounding kilometers , but that would take time that they didn’t plan to let him have.

With a few thorns in his body, Anton didn’t dare leave them. He felt no further connection to Aridasa after they punctured his energy defenses, but he burned them to ash regardless, focusing the flames around him into specific points. If things continued like that, he would have to retreat to a further distance soon, allowing the man to target the trifold alliance more easily.

Finally, Devon was close enough to spring into action- closer than strictly necessary to encompass Aridasa within his range, large chains springing up around the cultivator. Anton immediately felt attention switch and punished the action with a few shots at the man as well as a wave of fire around him scourging some of the thorns.

Weaker cultivators attempted to assist Aridasa, but the trifold alliance had its fair share of Life Transformation experts to match. There were some at the peak of Life Transformation on either side or with otherwise exceptional power, but the cultivators of Cheitov were pressed by the starfighters and The Independence- its powerful weapons operated by dozens of individuals in a coordinated fashion.

A tendril of thorns- narrow around the front where the fastest thorns had pulled ahead- darted towards Devon. Instead of fleeing or forming a shell of chains around himself, he stretched out two, wrapping them around the flowing thorns. As the chains spun around the thorns without touching them they continued to approach him, before they suddenly fell to the ground, their connection severed. It was just one part of many, but Devon kept himself safe for a few more moments.

Then every thorn of the swarm reversed its trajectory or simply dropped to the ground. A small swarm of ants appeared in a ring around Aridasa, visible only with the naked eye on the battlefield of hundreds of human soldiers. It was sensible that they had been overlooked until that point, even if the man had been cautious. In fact, Anton supposed that noticing them before any of them sunk their mandibles into him was a decent feat.

Most of the ants retained their position, hovering in position even for those without wings. A few, including the largest, charged forward. Aridasa countered with a wooden sword, but the small targets swerved away with great agility. They descended upon him at the same time as the first thorns reached the area, a final layer of sizable chains blocking the area from being clearly seen.

In the end, several chains remained while the thorns dropped away, one prominent void ant with her mandibles resting casually upon the man’s throat. Somewhere in all that, Aridasa had been informed he could surrender- and he took that opportunity. Seeing their leader captured, local forces coagulated into defensive groups as the information spread. Those who laid down their weapons or at least stopped attacking were spared further violence.

Then it was Anton’s turn to be a friendly but not too friendly negotiator. He tossed some varied communication devices to Aridasa, some more familiar to the man but all sufficient to get information to the trifold alliance. “We speak the same language,” Anton said.

Aridasa waited for something more, before determining he was expected to reply. “We do.”

“Good. Then we can negotiate.” While he was fulfilling this job, the Ruterans were going around setting up small, nearly invisible devices. Some were specifically cloaked from energy senses so that even if the others were noticed they might remain. Their job would be to help enforce some of the provisions Anton was going to declare. “We have a list of demands, and no, that does not include access to your vaults or your head.”

Anton had the advantage in the negotiations from the fact that they could just kill Aridasa. As for why they didn’t and chose to negotiate, that was Anton’s job to make him understand. Eventually, everything had been laid out. Aridasa frowned, “So, you want us to completely cease operations for a decade? Such a thing would cripple us.” From the way the man held himself, Anton figured it wouldn’t actually be quite that bad. Not directly, anyway. “We couldn’t manage that, especially not against the demands of others.”

“We could raze your planet right now,” Anton shrugged. “Or you can find some way to convince them. If they want materials for now they’ll have to look elsewhere. Or we’ll have to come visit again.” Anton could see the man weighing his options in his head. Certainly he was considering just agreeing now and preparing to fight them later. If he was smart- and any cultivator who reached Worldbinding had great intellectual capability in some regard even if they didn’t make use of it- he would realize that whatever preparations he made Anton and the others would prepare further counters for him in specific.

“A decade, though…”

“Further negotiations could be arranged,” Anton said. “And let it be known that we grow tired of these hostilities. Nobody from the Sylanis Cluster is benefitting from this.” With the exception of shipyards and material suppliers like Cheitov, which was why they were some of the targets. “If the Sylanis Cluster truly wishes to conquer us at all costs, they will regret being unaware of how high those costs can truly be as we will systematically wipe out your sects. Or, you can be sensible.”

“My word alone won’t get even close to a peace,” Aridasa finally said.

“But if you follow our conditions, there can be peace for you, at least.” That wasn’t a lie, technically. The trifold alliance wouldn’t cause them further trouble. As for the rest of the Sylanis Cluster, he wouldn’t bet on it. But if anyone came to attack Cheitov, they would still have to deal with Aridasa… and then whoever was looking out for other groups making moves. Anton had the feeling things were on a precipice of either fostering civil war within the Sylanis Cluster or them agreeing to some sort of peace, even a white peace where nothing happened except a promise not to attack each other for a while. If they actually negotiated such a thing, both sides would have to trust each other- at least a little. This was just another step in that direction.

Eventually the discussions ended. Minimal additional devastation happened in the area, the secret monitoring devices left to observe as much as possible. Aridasa might not care about the other penalties for disregarding the agreed upon terms except for his life- and he should understand that they could come for him. If he chose to flee, his powers would be diminished and he wouldn’t be involved anyway. Or if he reneged on the deal but hid himself on Cheitov without fighting, they could cause enough devastation to weaken him and achieve their other goals. Only by working together with others could he be a problem.

-----

Anton had vaguely noticed the Great Queen’s lack of presence during their negotiations, but he found her afterwards. She was in the medical bay of The Independence, a thorn two fingers in length through her thorax. It was only a few millimeters thick, but it was much equivalent to having a spear through her. As a medic gingerly tried to pull out the spike with some tweezers, the Great Queen signed to Anton with little concern.

“I don’t like this one,” she signed. “The planet. The thorns. The man who controls them.”

“You think he’ll go back on his word?” Anton asked as the medic carefully pressed down on the Great Queen’s back with her fingers, as if afraid of crushing her. Though it would take a body temperer to do so with any certainty.

“No,” the Great Queen said simply as the thorn slowly slid out. “I just don’t like dealing with clouds of thorns. Too hard to dodge.” There was a rather worrying hole in the Great Queen when the doctor was done, but the Great Queen’s version of blood was only slowly oozing out of her. She turned to the medic. “Thank you for your assistance. I will recover on my own from here.”

“Of course, uh, queen,” the woman said awkwardly.

-----

The next target was the planet Roistea, a gas giant with many moons inhabited by various individuals. Not the same he’d skittered past in his first sabotage mission in the area- that was in orbit around the other star. There were still two Worldbinding cultivators in the area, but they couldn’t simply target those who were weakest. Nor did they want to get predictable, attacking only the outer ring.

The particular group they were after were known at the Children of Fortune. They were said to be manipulators of fate, another supporting force for not only individual battles but theoretically guiding the course of the war as a whole. It was unclear how much they could actually do, but people believed in them, and two Worldbinding cultivators was sufficient power regardless.

Anton paid close attention ahead of them as they approached. The gas giant itself was easy to pick out, but the moon they were after first had just come into his senses. He once more stood with Nicodemo on the bridge of The Independence. The general frowned, and Anton made a sudden declaration. “We’re aborting the mission.” The chain of command was fairly clear in combat, but outside of it Anton had the influence to say such things. More importantly, Nicodemo would listen to him.

“Why?” Nicodemo asked.

“Why did you frown?” Anton countered.

“... I’m not sure, a bad feeling maybe. Happens before battles.”

“Does it?” Anton asked.

“Of course,” Nicodemo said. “Even generals get nervous. What did you sense?”

“Nothing,” Anton said.

“They’re shielded?”

Anton shook his head.

“Something feels out of place?”

Once again, Anton denied the assertion. “I just have a feeling.”

General Nicodemo drummed his fingers on his bicep, thinking. “That is completely unscientific. I suppose you’re leaving even if we stay?”

“... No,” Anton said. “If you remain, I will remain with you. To death, if necessary… though I would like to prevent that.”

“That bad, huh? But you don’t really feel anything.”

“Just a feeling,” Anton confirmed. “I’ve not found myself in unsurvivable trouble until now, but a cultivator learns to trust such things. I believe it isn’t a coincidence. Before you make a decision, I would consult with the rest of the fleet.”

Nicodemo thought for a few moments. “We have to decide quickly, correct?” Anton nodded. “Then we’re leaving. I have the authority to call off this whole thing whenever. We’ve accomplished enough, and I assume Weos will accept your reasoning, such as it is?”

“From me? Yes.”

“And that no doubt goes for Ceretos, though with you and your grandson and the Great Queen representing Ceretos, they wouldn’t have much choice but to listen.” Nicodemo gave the order, and the fleet adjusted their course, no longer approaching the planet but instead pulling away from the system’s orbital plane to angle back towards their homes.

“I suppose that’s another thing,” Anton said. “The Great Queen’s injuries, I mean. But I’m not certain if her health would make any difference in potential disaster.” Perhaps they could have accomplished more if they stayed, but Anton felt justified when he felt ships lifting off from the nearby area as they began to pull away. “We have pursuers,” Anton mentioned. “Let’s keep well away from that planet, shall we?”