Being instantly revealed by Anishka and failing a vital component of the mission had been unfortunate… but the Sergeant still believed she could fulfill the mission. And as Anishka didn’t seem to be an enemy, secrecy was still intact for the moment.

There was one problem unforeseen by the Sergeant. Any sort of spying had to be done in person, and everything was far. She was, after all, just a tiny ant. At her comfortable speed, she could travel only a few kilometers per day- the same sort of distance a non-cultivator human could cover in a single hour. Some void ants were capable of going much more quickly, of course… but the Sergeant was not large or powerful.

Determined strides could bring her a bit further. Pushing herself to go longer, she could achieve ten kilometers in a day- but if she wanted to return to a specific point the same day, she was quite limited.

It took the Sergeant several days to find a reliable way out of Arioron, to see anything that was not city. It was a half day’s travel in the shortest direction.

Trudging through the wilderness was a dangerous task for a lone ant. Leaving behind pheromone trails would do the Sergeant no good, except to find her way back. No reinforcements would be coming, at least none she had been informed of. Perhaps there were other independent agents, perhaps not. The Great Queen had not said, and it was not her place to ask.

Food was abundant, at least. The Sergeant began idly cutting pieces of a leaf before realizing there was no colony to return gathered food to. It was better to take tiny nibbles of things, after checking for toxins. It was lonely, having no one to share with.

But being alone was not just mentally taxing, but dangerous. The Sergeant spotted a massive beetle charging towards her. Alright, so what if it was smaller than a human’s pinky? It was still probably a hundred times her weight, or more. Massive jaws opened, intending to swallow her whole but the Sergeant wanted none of that.

If she were back home, she would have an army of hundreds to call upon to make optimal use of the communal nature of void ants. Here, she could only dodge to the side- a move that seemed to confuse the beetle. If confusion was even something it could feel. This was the void ant’s main advantage- where energy was out of the equation. A thinking mind, and though the Sergeant knew that her age limited her cognitive ability, she was still far above a common insect.

She ran, not away from the beetle but under its legs. As it spun around to try to catch her, she latched onto one leg, climbing up close to its carapace. It didn’t even seem to notice her. Instead, it just looked for more prey, moving far faster than the Sergeant could hope.

Then she spotted something- a bird, diving from the sky. The sparrow snatched up the beetle in its even more massive jaws, a fitting retribution for its attempts. The Sergeant of course detached herself before that moment, flopping to the ground… and being ignored. Even as one of the smaller birds, a single ant was beneath its notice. Hopefully.

The next danger was a massive undulating monster- a caterpillar. It nearly got her, but its reflexes were too slow. Understanding that it was a larger target, the Sergeant merely latched onto its side to be further from other aggressors. And, as a show of dominance, she nibbled on the significantly softer creature, feeding on its power. Surprisingly, the mouthful of flesh not only had nutrients but also a small amount of natural energy imbued in it. That was a good sign for habitability. Void ants could live anywhere normal ants did- but they would hardly be elevated above any other without natural energy to feed upon.

Eventually the Sergeant made it back to the city. Obviously her survey was not conclusive, but if any portion of the planet even closely resembled that wilderness, the void ants could establish a number of colonies. It was not up to the Sergeant to negotiate for such a thing. The Great Queen would likely take care of that job herself.

-----

The fastest way around Arioron was, of course, riding upon a human. As long as the Sergeant could avoid being directly stomped upon- actually easier than it seemed, given the propensity for human footwear to not impact every portion of its sole with significant force- she would be an unnoticed passenger.

Going places quickly wasn’t that useful when it wasn’t somewhere she wanted, but the Sergeant had compromise. Asking Anishka could have worked, but not only did she not want to push the good will of the individual keeping her secret, she could stumble upon the other purpose for her presence on planet. Though simply going along with Anishka to monitor her allowed her to continue the tertiary objective. Though that wasn’t much different from knowing where she stayed at night, because the Sergeant couldn’t actually provide any sort of safety. At best, she could try to share information of peril, if something should happen. Not exactly something she was equipped to accomplish. But it was her duty to do her best.

Anishka’s energy was both hot and cold. Like a frozen chili pepper, full of deliciously fatal compounds. Except of course in the form of natural energy, it only helped the Sergeant develop.

Though she was fairly certain Anishka wouldn’t notice or care, she still restrained herself from taking much. She did not want to antagonize the princess nor bloat herself on too much energy. And humans were not meant to be fed upon.

All of the other cultivators were part of the mission. The Sergeant did not know any other way to determine the efficacy of future allies, and her instructions had been nonspecific.

Anishka’s friend Patka had the same flavor, of course, but her energy was weaker by more than an entire tier. She was just a beginning Body Tempering cultivator, after all. The Enkindled Sun Sect tasted like soup that was a little bit too hot. Perhaps that was simply in comparison to other spice, but the Sergeant couldn’t help but compare. Not only to Anishka, but also to that one time she’d been allowed to visit the colony on Paradise and one of the phoenixes had let her nibble their energy.

There were the sharp flavors of weapon focused cultivators, the vegetal taste of plant cultivators, gritty stone cultivators, pure water cultivators, and various sorts of weapon focused methods. Cultivators ranged from weaker than Aniskha, around the threshold of Essence Collection if not quite there yet, to all the way into Life Transformation.

Then she tasted one that tasted like nothing. The Sergeant thought she’d somehow not grabbed anything, so she took another larger bite, which almost killed her twice. First was the surge of internal energy which still tasted like nothing, second was the man swiveling his head. “What was that?”

Of course a powerful cultivator could sense even a tiny fluctuation in their own energy. The Sergeant stood perfectly still as an uncomfortably absent energy flowed over her. But it would not pick her out. And unless one specifically trained to detect millimeter pockets of lack, void ants wouldn’t be noticed. That was the only thing that saved her. If the Sergeant was any bigger, she probably would have been spotted visually.

The cultivator left, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t risk disturbing the energy inside her, which felt like the vastness of space trying to explode her from the inside. This was not Life Transformation energy. It had to be Integration. No, that should involve ascension energy- the taste had been described to her, and even if the flavor of a cultivation would change it, it should be recognizable. No Ascension energy. Then, a Worldbinding cultivator? Assimilation?

How? Ekict wasn’t supposed to have any of those. And they’d driven off the invaders from the upper realms… right?

The Sergeant had a bad feeling as she watched the figure continue along the road. She was going to have to follow him… placing herself in greater danger. But this was clearly the true mission. The Great Queen knew, somehow, and the Sergeant had to provide proof.

-----

Back on In’istra, Anton was reunited with a Spirit Building Varghese. It had been several years, after all, so it was only natural progress. Anton was glad to see that Varghese had shared the Hundred Stars with his family. They seemed to be the first, but there were a few more among the Iron Plate Mercenaries.

Obviously the kid was no Vincent, but could he really be blamed for that? Vincent was the only one like him, and if Anton were to compare in percentages then technically Varghese had recruited a higher proportion of the local planetary residents. It should be everyone but himself, in fact.

After observing the situation for a time, Anton finally approached when Varghese was practicing on the same abandoned rooftop with several others. He greatly restricted his energy and climbed up the same route the others would have to take.- past the western creepers which were carefully maintained.

Sensing his arrival, the closest woman greeted him. “I was not expecting new arrivals. Welcome, bro…ther.” She stumbled over her words upon seeing Anton properly.

Anton had all sorts of responses to that, like pointing out that even old men could be brothers. But she had probably sensed a portion of his true energy, and Varghese had also focused on him. “Sect Head,” he clasped his hands and bowed deeply. Everyone else panicked for a moment and followed suit. “I did not expect you.”

“I said I would return when I found time. I have time.” Anton waved his hand towards the group, “Go ahead and raise your heads. I am a Sect Head, but as far as I’m concerned Varghese here has a similar position. He just has less experience, and I suppose I’m technically his master.”

“There are many reasons to show respect to someone like yourself, Sect Head Anton.”

“I will gladly accept respect. But people can also look at me. I’m not going to get angry about that.” Anton took a good look at Varghese- though he was already well aware of the man’s status from his observations. “Spirit Building, of course. Well on your way to Essence Collection, even.”

“I’m not so certain about that,” Varghese admitted. “It’s a slow process.”

“Don’t be silly. Your lifespan is still expanding much more quickly than you’re using it up. I’m not going to speculate on you going beyond Life Transformation, but based on my judgments you should at least get that far.”

“... Beyond Life Transformation?” the woman who’d first greeted him asked.

Anton shrugged, as he was slowly letting his true cultivation be felt. “Of course. Ascension is but one branch. No one knows what the limits of cultivation are. So, Varghese. How have things been going?”

“As you can see, I have recruited some disciples. I… admit my hands are full with only a few and my own training. Plus my work with the Iron Plate. I do have to earn money somehow.”

“True,” Anton nodded. He could have thrown a huge pile of wealth on Varghese, but that would have only gotten him robbed and killed. Teaching him a new cultivation technique that would feel just like one of many until the true power shone through at the later stages- where they could properly protect their position- was much more reasonable. “And what about… that other task?”

Varghese nodded, “You can speak of it here. I know none of those present are part of the Twin Soul Sect. Though of course you can discern that for yourself. As for our progress… I have little impact, personally. Perhaps if I reach Essence Collection, as there aren’t too many Life Transformation individuals left on In’istra.” Varghese frowned. “There has also been trouble with some particular members or suspected members.”

“I’m not here to solve your problems,” Anton pointed out. “But… the Twin Soul Sect also isn’t just your problem. They’re everyone’s problem. So I might be inclined to help out somewhat. But first, something even more important. Speak of your cultivation woes.” Anton sat down on the edge of the roof. “All of you. I am certain you’ve run into struggles that Varghese is not yet experienced enough to perfectly handle… and that’s alright. That’s what those of us who’ve been around a while are for.”