Chapter 948

Chapter 948

Never in his life had Chidi been able to defeat his master, and that wasnt any more true since his advancement. No, perhaps it was significantly less true. A single exchange and he was dead.

Youre slow, Chikere commented, one of her blades at his neck.New n0vel chapters are published on

Chidi shrugged. Looks like I am. With his cultivation reminiscent of Life Transformation, there was no way for him to match Augmentation. And yet, if Chikere was serious the results would always be exactly the same for him. Even if he had advanced to Augmentation himself, he wouldnt have been able to suddenly close that gap between them.

Ten more times, then another ten he lost each match in a single move. Though he was able to naturally sense the flow of energy, it took him more than a single instant to catch and break it. And thus, in that moment he would die. It seemed quite different from lasting a few exchanges, but that was only a surface level comparison.

A few instants could indeed make all the difference in combat, but that was only if it could somehow lead to a chance of victory. If loss was inevitable, there was no difference between a tenth of a second and ten seconds. This was ignoring the impact of allies, of course.

Rather than being discouraged, Chidi redoubled his efforts. Twenty attempts became a hundred, and though he had a complete loss rate with no visual difference he wasnt concerned. Despite being his master and perhaps the most familiar energy to him aside from his own, Chikeres flow was also the hardest for him to read. That was her style, now. So if he was able to obtain even the slightest victory against her, he would be confident against any other opponent.

Then his chance came. He wasnt sure how long it had been, how many instantaneous matches throughout the day. He caught the flow, finally making proper use of Negation. Just because he had an advancement didnt mean it happened naturally. He needed to read the flow, and this time he shattered the energy in the area for more than a single instant. Chikeres blades of blood fell apart, losing their cutting power. His sword cut towards her neck.

Before he could think about slowing his blade, her right hand came up and caught his sword. She twisted her arm and a moment later the hilt was in her own hand, the point of his own sword against his chest. He could feel the motion of the blade cutting through the air, but he hadnt been able to do anything.

Decent, she said. But its no good if you arent better than your opponent.

Chidi nodded. I understand that. But that was already going to be the case. He frowned. Cybernetics might be a problem, though.

Perhaps you should get some, Chikere suggested.

No even if they didnt manipulate energy directly, I think they would throw off the flow.

Understandable, Chikere said, returning his blade to him. Now lets see if you can do that again.

It wasnt easy, but Chidi did manage to properly activate Negation a few times throughout their training. He would have to match against different sorts of opponents to make sure it was consistent, but fortunately he had access to a good number of Augmentation cultivators. Even if that wasnt as good as Domination Chidi didnt exactly intend to go running off and challenging any of them just yet.

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Back in the Lower Realms, a very different sword was being readied to battle a strangely similar problem. At the very least, it required the complete negation of the flow of energy- though only within a specific area instead of a larger zone of control.

Some people wouldnt have called it a sword, but Ty Quigley would show them that his ship was just as much a sword as anything else. Everything ready? he asked Naid.

Yes. Just remember youll only have one chance. And most people wont even get that one opportunity.

Relax, I dont plan to waste it. Ive studied the diagrams long and hard. How long does your artificial setup remain stable?

Ten minutes to an hour, Naid confirmed.

Well, I only need a second anyway, Ty said. Maybe a full minute if I pull away for a realistic scenario. Im ready whenever we set things up.

The setup process was actually the longest part, as it required not only moving a ship into a believable trajectory, but also filling it with energy sources to represent both the power sources and the controlling captain of the vessel.

Yes you seem to be employing similar principles to this group, Devon said as delicately as possible. The combination of many cultivations to act as one. I cant quite pick out how many of you there are, though.

There are one thousand and twenty five of us, the leader declared. Formation! He made some other movement that Devon thought was actually the more recognized part of the command, and suddenly the locusts all moved as one.

Devon could see, once they stopped moving, that they made up a thirty-two by thirty-two grid. Plus the commander. They only remained in formation for a few moments before returning to their back and forth swaying motions. I see. And youre the 782nd swarm?

Thats right, the commander agreed. There are about 800 swarms of similar size at the moment, so there really arent that many of us.

Wasnt that almost a billion? No, if he thought about it that way it really wasnt that much. After all, the humans on some of their core planets numbered in the tens of billions. They just didnt tend to pack this much natural energy into such a small area.

Do you have a name?

Ah yes. I have chosen the name Cultivates and Consumes Grain. But you can just call me Grain. Our ancestors gave up their reckless consumption many generations ago. And no, were not related to the swarm that attacked the first of the alliance. Those were just bugs.

I wasnt going to ask, Devon replied. Though the thought had briefly crossed his mind before he came to the same conclusion. This was just another legion of people that were different. So, Grain, have you met my grandfather?

Not personally, the locust admitted. But I have heard many great things.

Would you like to? Hes here, after all.

It would be an honor, sir, Grain replied. I am not even an Assimilation cultivator.

That's not something hes ever cared about. It was trivial for Devon to catch Antons attention, even on the other side of the base. Specifically, Anton had to intentionally ignore most things most of the time. Besides, you all are going to be fighting on the front lines just as much as the rest of our soldiers.

Devon could count on the Lower Realms Alliance cultivators to be accepting, but there was a reason they were currently separate from the freed groups. They wouldnt have grown used to the idea of non-human cultivators yet, or at least Devon would have been surprised if their systems had many.

Devon! Anton waved as he approached. And youre the commander? Cultivates and Consumes Grain well, that could have been my name too.

The locust seemed to straighten up slightly. It is a reminder of what you brought to our people. We used to wander into dangerous territory constantly, trying to find suitable energy laden foods to consume. Yet mostly we were seen as tasty treats for the others of Akrys. My parents passed on the tales of the beginning of our growth, where people no longer ate other people. We learned to cultivate food and ourselves. Grain twitched slightly.

You know, you dont have to stand still if it isnt natural for you, Anton pointed out.

Grain immediately relaxed and slipped into the swarm. He was still visible as one of the largest, but he traversed around the room with them. It is difficult for us, Grain admitted. But we learned the doctrines of cultivating in motion.

Anton nodded. Thats the basics. Training yourself as you do something practical.

As a farmer I know that you would be traditionally opposed to us. We appreciate the opportunity you provided.

That was just others passing on what they learned, Anton said. If I took credit for all of that, my head would be as big as a star. And while I do like stars, Im quite comfortable with my own size. Its not like I was the first person to teach people anything.

Even so, you did bring prosperity to all of Akrys. Even the weird guys in the deep sea.

Devon found that Grain seemed much more comfortable speaking from within the group. Perhaps he should have recognized that himself, but hed been distracted by various things. He hoped this new group would be able to make good use of their training.