Every bit of the negotiations between Tenoun’a and Shrenn was watched very carefully by Anton. Ten life transformation cultivators, as well as the crews of their ships- though the latter remained securely within those ships, as the boiling heat of the planet outside of said ships wasn’t exactly friendly. Anton kept watch on all of them, though most did not stray far. As the days dragged on, however, even cultivators of significant age began to feel confined by the limited space and the barely concealed hostility between the groups.

Unsurprisingly, centuries of conflict couldn’t be negotiated away in a short time. Anton hadn’t expected that, but he was still hoping for something to come of this. Some sort of peaceful resolution where each side at least eventually left each other alone, if they could not reconcile.

There were a few stubborn people on each side. From Shrenn, Nicanor was particularly obstinate. Lorena was trying to keep their side on the same page, but Nicanor was the least helpful in that regard. He only wanted penalties levied against Tenoun’a, and though they likely deserved them to some extent, there was no way they would put up with something heavily weighted against them. On the other side, Aleksandra was particularly unwilling to give up concessions related to her position and status. Even if both she and her city would be better off with some sort of agreement, nothing seemed to be enough for her.

Were the negotiations impossible to begin with, or was Anton simply not able to fulfill things himself? How frustrating. And his stakes in the matter were perhaps a step less relevant than the others, so he knew how they felt.

He was constantly searching for some way, but just couldn’t find it. But his patience was not the first to give out. Or perhaps some people never intended to be patient in the first place.

Anton could tell something was up immediately. People often went off alone to meditate- even the harsh environment well beyond the boiling point of water was something that could be overcome by strong enough cultivators. And in a way, the challenge was useful. Whether or not they truly were advancing their cultivation, most found time alone.

So when three people picked up followers, Anton knew something was off. The only pairing that didn’t immediately bother Anton was Lada following after Aurelianus. They didn’t seem to be friends, but perhaps they might want a private conversation. Except Aurelianus didn’t seem to be aware of the situation- and the others were of some greater concern. Aleksandra following Lorena and another from Tenoun’a- Maksim- going after Nicanor.

When seeking isolation, cultivators could be rather extreme about it. They were spread out hundreds of kilometers away in divergent directions. Isolated, at least by the standards of Life Transformation cultivators.

Anton became certain about the ill intent of the pursuers when he felt them take out some sort of pill, muting their energy. If he hadn’t already been watching them, he might not have noticed them from that point.

Then each of them took out a bow, and a single arrow. They appeared to be made out of diamond or some other crystal. Anton couldn’t clearly sense what enchantments might be on them from such a distance, but he knew it couldn’t be anything nice.

And there was Anton, nobody watching him. Was that their plan, then? There were a few flaws. First, they seemed to think they were unobserved. Second, they weren’t very good archers. Anton could already tell that from their stances. Those bows and arrows had better be something special.

On that topic, Anton took out his own bow, feeling the heat of the blue star not so far away. And the light. For this, he’d need speed more than power- though his attacks certainly wouldn’t be weak.

Nine arrows, three towards each location. The ambushing cultivators weren’t precisely coordinated, but they had all begun to draw their arrows. One released, the crystal arrow flying almost invisibly through the air. Half and instant into its flight, it was struck by an arrow formed of light, shattering it. The remaining two arrows went for the pointer and index finger of the hand that had drawn the bow- Aleksandra’s hand.

Similar results came elsewhere, though Maksim of them hadn’t even managed to loose their arrow. The resulting detonation of energy immediately in front of Maksim, the man fully focused on his assault. Little was left of him.

Lada had gone after Aurelianus, who was nominally on her side. She suffered the same fate as Aleksandra, her surprise attack failing and two fingers taken as a penalty for her actions. With that and the loss of surprise, it was quite possible the two of them would be killed by their targets. But Anton wasn’t done yet.

As many arrows as he could fire sequentially split up between the locations, though most strayed away from Lada and Aleksandra. Instead, they found their way towards Lorena and Aurelianus. Not because Anton intended to kill them, but because he didn’t want either side to be dead. Fortunately they did the sensible things and dodged back, which gave Anton an opportunity to write a message nearby. Arrows peppered holes in the ground in an unmistakable pattern. For the sake of brevity, Anton went with the single word ‘capture’.

Of course, two Life Transformation cultivators weren’t going to give up so easily. Unfortunately for them, the deck was stacked against them. They weren’t fighting one-on-one, but instead were both injured and fighting a battle that was significantly more weighted against them than two-on-one. Anton didn’t like to bully weaker people, but he also didn’t like assassins that intended to frame him.

Unfortunately, he supposed this could still end in war. The one factor that made it possible to avoid was Aurelianus, because he was also from Tenoun’a. So it wasn’t a conspiracy by the entire planet, and Anton could work with that.

Aurelianus was the first to acquiesce to Anton’s message, taking advantage of the openings Anton provided to subdue Lada. It took a bit more prodding and more arrows restricting Lorena’s movements for her to concede to capture Aleksandra. Anton doubted he could have convinced Nicanor to not kill Maksim, so it was just as well the man had died. Anton continued to keep his eyes on the remaining people, including the untargeted members of Shrenn and the single remaining individual from Tenoun’a besides Aurelianus.

The feeling of combat alerted all but the most distant of them, and the remaining individuals were quickly contacted. All gathered back together within the span of an hour, two individuals with shattered cultivations and missing fingers, and one corpse.

“I knew they were treacherous bastards!” Nicanor exclaimed. “I told you! We should just exterminate them now. With five Life Transformation cultivators lost, we can remove this thorn in our side once and for all.”

Anton stopped him. “While I understand your passion, there will be no exterminations.” Anton gestured to Aurelianus, “Aurelianus was attacked along with you. This was not a concerted effort by Tenoun’a, just three individuals who wanted to perpetuate a status quo that was working for them.”

Nicanor frowned, looking towards Lorena, the official head of Shrenn’s negotiators. “But who would stop us…?”

“He would, obviously,” Lorena said matter-of-factly. “You do realize he participated in three battles at once? By which I mean… he effectively overwhelmed five Life Transformation cultivators at the same time. You’re… not a Life Transformation cultivator, are you?” She furrowed her brow. “Are you…?”

“I’m going to reiterate right now that we have a common enemy,” Anton said. “Ascension cultivators from the Trigold Cluster. And since we’ve come to this point, I can just come out and say it. I am not an ascension cultivator, but I have surpassed Life Transformation.”

“I thought something was odd about you,” Aurelianus admitted. “You were too… unafraid? But if you have this power, then why…? You could have even offered it as a bargaining chip, the power to reach a higher cultivation level.”

“To what end?” Anton asked. “So that your planets could kill each other more efficiently? I think not. Now then, I have some suggestions about how to settle this matter…” Anton looked to the captured Aleksandra and Lada. “After we ask some questions, like who else might have been stupid enough to agree to your plan. Where did you get the arrows?” Anton asked.

“As if we’d tell you,” Aleksandra grunted. “You clearly just wanted Tenoun’a’s downfall from the beginning. Should never have trusted you.”

“And at what point did I do something against Tenoun’a’s interests? When I stopped you and your conspirator from killing one of your own representatives?” Anton shook his head. “You know, things don’t have to be this way. If you cooperate, I can provide one of you a path to survival. If you are particularly helpful, I might even throw in a way to repair your shattered cultivation or restore your fingers.”

“We’ll never-”

“I’ll do it,” Lada said dryly. “I can name the supplier, and the people who paid for the arrows.”

“You traitor!”

Lada raised an eyebrow, “You were only in this to improve your own station. Why can I not do the same for myself?

-----

In the end, Tenoun’a had to agree to some harsher terms… though only for the ruling elite. And those same elite individuals were bribed with the estates of the other Life Transformation cultivators who went down with Aleksandra and Maksim. Some immediate gains in exchange for not having as much control over the future was enough to placate them- especially when the other option was for Anton to just let Shrenn wipe out them all. The Life Transformation cultivators, obviously Anton would never allow their whole population to be killed. But those were exactly the people that had to be convinced, so it worked quite well.

By itself, the loss of two or three Life Transformation cultivators would not have made it easy for Shreen to dominate Tenoun’a, but they were already at an advantage. And with Anton in the mix, there wasn’t much they could do about it.

No matter what happened now, Shrenn would be cemented as the dominant force in the system. The only thing they could hope to do was go along with it. On the other hand, Shrenn’s dominance could easily cause trouble for the common folk if not carefully overseen. And the very fact that they considered themselves separate factions was bound to come up again at some point if the matter was not resolved.

“Thus, we will be giving the people the option to vote on whether they wish to unify once more. It’s about time you spread out to the rest of your system, regardless,” Anton said.

“What people?” Lorena asked.

“The people,” Anton said. “Everyone, from the most common up, with an equal say. But that won’t come for some time. First, we will have everyone see what a few years of cooperation can do. And no, we aren’t waiting any longer. I hate thinking of more people starving as we piddle about.”

Ultimately, Anton thought he achieved positive results. It required more threats and violence than he had hoped, but less than he had feared. It was far from the worst case scenario. But he was going to have to be present in the system for some time to make sure they could actually manage peace. It was surprising how difficult it was for cultivators not to kill each other, and Anton knew he was no exception.

-----

Captain Tiras had the squad marching almost immediately. “Since there are no convenient locations to return to, we will have to make our own base of operations. Surrender to the enemy is impossible- the Harmonious Citadel does not show mercy to those who were their enemies. So we must fight to survive.” His bold proclamations did not happen all at once, but over the course of their journey. “We cannot be the only ones to survive. Other soldiers must have fled from the cities as they were conquered. The devastation our scouts witnessed was insufficient to indicate they fought to the last. The war is not over. However, this region has experienced significant losses. That cannot be denied.” He nodded as he considered, “We will first establish our position, then find connections. A route to join back up with others, or have them join us. We will not give up just yet.”

Chidi found the speeches a little bit inspiring. Personally, he was already filled with confidence from his successful mission. The shadow of death over them couldn’t weigh him down.

The vice-captain Denitsa came up to him. “How soon?” she asked.

“How soon for what?” Chidi replied. “We haven’t read all of the documents yet, so we can’t know the full enemy battle plans…” Chidi shrugged.

“How soon until you break through to Essence Collection?”

“Well, it could be… a year or more. I’ve been on the threshold for a while and I-” Chidi took stock of himself and realized that the mental pressure had been lifted. He knew what he wanted. More of this. The elation of surviving impossible situations. And, strangely, the terror of those dangerous situations themselves. He wanted to experience the extremes… though he would most likely prefer to skew towards the positive things in life. He couldn’t say that was the right choice on his path of cultivation, but he wasn’t sure if anything could be more right than his straightforward desires. He realized he was going to have to study the Essence Collection portion of the Hundred Stars again- the sooner the better.

No wonder cultivators sought out adversity. If you survived, it could reveal many things.