Elder Cultivator-Chapter 1273

Though it seemed that Gerhard was being quite open, as well as the people of Temine, Anton knew he was only getting a surface level view of things. He was also reciprocating with a similar level of information about the Lower Realms Alliance. As he became more certain of their security against upper realms spies he was a bit more honest about various weaknesses of mutual enemies, but that was about the extent of things.

It was a bit much to spill all your secrets to someone you met recently, even if it ultimately turned out okay. Anton happened to have a lot of secrets. Though, only with regards to outsiders.

The second ring was quite interesting. No doubt scientists would have been all over it, asking millions of questions Gerhard couldn’t answer. Anton just subtly recorded some visual and energy readings.

The makeup of the second ring was significantly different. It was significantly smaller, cutting down on the total size, and Anton observed more industrial applications. Smiths and alchemists and the others who were the backbone of cultivator civilization.

Normally, being cut off from others- except via the frequent ships traveling between rings- would have indicated a sort of underclass, but it was highly practical. There was a constant haze as light was absorbed from the sufficiently closer star matrix, and the quantity of natural energy was far higher. Formations had more to work with, and cultivators could absorb more. Yet the first, outer ring had been plenty prosperous, so it wasn’t that the upper class was further in.

With each ring representing the land mass of a planet- or several planets- even with constant transportation between them Anton didn’t believe that people lived in one place and worked another. Not entirely, at least. Perhaps a few who owned their own ships were capable.

“This is so neat!” Bear Hug commented. “Look at these herbs! I don’t know any of these!” Bear Hug moved from place to place, observing various buildings. “And weapons. I don’t use weapons, but the enchantments are pretty neat. Look at this armor! Enchanted water! Void ants! Bottled sunlight!”

Anton followed Bear Hug’s rapidly fluctuating energy. He’d missed the location, only getting the feel of one of those. “What was that previous one?”

“Bottled sunlight right here,” Bear Hug said. “At least I think that’s it.”

“Just before that.”

“Armor? Enchanted water?”

Anton waited.

“... void ants?” As expected, Bear Hug pointed. Anton followed their energy, spotting something he really hadn’t expected to pick out. “I assume they are, anyway,” Bear Hug continued. “Since, you know. No eyes.”

“I see them,” Anton confirmed.

That was about the time everyone around them drew their weapons.

“Oh no!” Bear Hug said. “Are they not friends?” he gestured towards the void ants again. “Are these guys not friends? Who are our friends?”

That question was partially answered when the void ants entered a battle formation, attaching together into a curved spring pattern that pushed them along the ground, flipping over and over. If they could get dizzy, it would have been quite awkward for them.

Gerhard carried a curved blade, standing just a few steps from Anton. For cultivators, that was basically nothing. Sudden movements might cause problematic reactions.

“Hello ladies,” Anton said, doing his best to speak the local language- in the days he had been overhearing them, Anton had picked up quite a few words. It helped to have starting points with Gerhard’s speech, but of course the ability to take in vast amounts of information was also quite useful. The mental processing of a powerful cultivator shouldn’t be underestimated. “Would you like some energy?”

Anton gently extended a strand of energy towards the coiled mass.

“Seems not. Ah, you’re on duty, aren’t you?” Anton nodded.

“Are they friends with the void ants?” Bear Hug asked, his words clear to at least Gerhard and probably some of the others around. Anton could have interrupted, but he had the feeling that Bear Hug might produce good results- if they were achievable. “We’re friends with void ants. And with them. So why do people have weapons out?”

Anton placed a hand atop the watery mass around Bear Hug. “A fair question. I don’t think they know. Remember how void ants are secret in some of our places?”

“Oh, like- like the places where I shouldn’t talk about them. Is this one of those places? But they like void ants. Maybe.”

As they spoke, the void ants were inching closer and closer to Anton. He looked down. “What is it you want?” He saw something as they nibbled at the surrounding energy. Interpreting it was a bit difficult. “You want to… climb on me?” Anton turned to Gerhard. “Is that what they want?”

The man took a moment to answer. “They do.”

“As long as they promise not to eat me unfairly,” Anton said. “I don’t mind.”

Gerhard’s face was as stern as he could make it… his mask shattered by confusion seeping through momentarily. “... What do you mean?”

“I assume they intend to determine that I am not an enemy somehow,” Anton said. “If they simply mean to get close to assault me no matter what, I am unwilling.”

Gerhard said a few things which Anton only half understood- then there was a response by more energy manipulation. It was not quite the same as what Anton had seen. It seemed to be a more simplistic response- maybe yes and no, though he’d seen ‘directions’ before. Thus, his interpretation they wanted to climb on him.

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Gerhard kept himself focused on Anton the whole time. Frankly, Anton thought they were discounting Bear Hug’s prowess… but relatively speaking, he was almost the entire threat. “The commander agrees to your proposal.”

Anton nodded. “Very well. Slowly, please.” He used mixed energy language and his recollection of the local spoken language.

He bent down, holding out a hand. The void ants took a few more spring steps, landing on his palm.

The instant he felt the slightest pinch, Anton severed the energy atop his palm as well as several layers of his skin, accelerating his hand out from under the void ants at maximum speed. He grabbed Bear Hug and jumped out of the contained atmosphere, ripping through the formations holding things in place.

Had he misjudged Gerhard, or had the void ants lied to him? The man had seemed sincere.

“Did they bite you?” Bear Hug asked. “That’s not nice!” novelbuddy.cσ๓

Anton looked at the tiny wound on his palm. He’d made it worse than it had to be, just to make certain the void ant had no hold. But that was all it was- one of them.

Surrounding ships pulled away as he watched the barrier seal itself. After he had stopped, Anton had plugged the hole so no air would escape. He’d seen nothing but a twitch from Gerhard, and Anton was no longer being subtle with his energy observations. He was taking in all the details in a wide area, though still focused on the several dozen square yards where Gerhard had been.

A few of the other cultivators had jumped forward or upward, vainly trying to swing at Anton. Gerhard was saying something Anton didn’t entirely understand- no energy language at the moment. They weren’t precisely being chastised, but maybe he was saying that if they were going to act they should have been more effective?

Anton’s energy focused on the things he couldn’t observe most of all. His energy suffused the area around the void ants, taking in their shapes through how they distorted the air and created a negative space.

The void ants had all hit the ground, and within the next few seconds were all circled around two individuals- a larger individual that was the commander, no doubt, and one other. Even though he observed only twitching of antennae that had no direct meaning, Anton got the feeling that this was a dressing down. The encircling individuals responded to something- a subtle energy manipulation? Pheromones? Some miniscule sign?

Anton didn’t know. They stepped closer. Then the smaller void ant’s head was crushed by the commander’s mandibles.

Anton didn’t feel a sense of catharsis. After all, even if he assumed that was the one that bit him… he still couldn’t confirm the circumstances. Was that death for failing to properly time attacks? Normally, the assault should have come in unity. It would have cost Anton more than a bit of skin if all of them attacked at once. Maybe even his whole hand, if they were good.

Gerhard’s energy extended up towards Anton. “You… remain.”

“If I wasn’t interested in piecing together the situation,” Anton replied. “None of you would be standing.”

“I know.” Gerhard sheathed his blade, throwing it away- not that it could reach Anton. He dropped to one knee, the distance between them doubtless confusing most of the others. “This is my fault. I accept responsibility for the mistake. Please, kill no others.”

He understood. If Anton could move that quickly from a perfect standstill, his threats were valid.

Anton tilted his head. “I am not interested in killing a noble soul. However… this might be the end of our contact.”

“But we just became friends!” Bear Hug made it difficult to dwell on the severity of the situation. “We can still be friends, right?”

“Figure out what happened,” Anton said to Gerhard. “If I accept the explanation… I might forgive.”

The death of one void ant meant nothing to him. The void ants themselves seemed to consider that part resolved, however, as they had formed up once more. Anton closely watched Gerhard’s interactions with them. As expected, they did understand human speech- it would be pretty much impossible to live with them among humans if they hadn’t learned it. There were energy manipulations in response, but those proved inadequate.

Soon, the void ants began forming into letters. Personally, Anton thought void ant sign was far better. Not that these should be expected to know it, and maybe developing something similar simply hadn’t worked out. As for what the letters spelled… the alphabet was also only partially absorbed by Anton. It was clearly intentionally divergent from the ‘old speech’.

By the end, Anton had an interpretation of what was said. He wondered if Gerhard would relay it faithfully. Perhaps he could fill in the few gaps.

“Honored cultivator Anton,” Gerhard extended his energy once more. The penitent positioning he took only had a small influence on Anton’s mood. “It was a mistake by a single individual.”

“So you say.”

“I have further explanation, if you please.” Anton nodded, making his gesture apparent to Gerhard’s senses. “It was… an instinctual response. One that the commander didn’t anticipate. Apparently, you have pheromones from an unknown void ant colony. You… appeared to be an enemy.”

Anton looked at his hand. He thought he washed fairly regularly. No, he had been traveling for long enough that all his layers of skin should have replaced themselves, even ignoring the effects of vacuum and space. That said, he didn’t disbelieve that part. It was quite possible that the Great Queen had marked him deeper than that at some point. He did check to see if someone was hanging around, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Continue,” Anton ordered.

“The commander had faintly sensed those pheromones, which is why they got close to begin with. She says she did not anticipate such a sudden reaction from one of her subordinates, and that she is willing to submit to the destruction of herself and her squad when you are ready.”

“Is that typical?” Anton asked.

“Void ants… are very serious about breaches of loyalty. If you interact with them frequently, as it appears you might, I imagine you know that.”

“You can’t squash them!” Bear Hug said. “They didn’t mean it!”

Anton sighed. They made it very hard to keep a stern face. “Do you know that, or just believe it?” Anton asked.

“I was looking at them very close! The void ants weren’t in combat stances at all.”

Anton thought he was a bit more familiar with them than Bear Hug. By a number of centuries. Still, he did agree with the assessment. It was just a bit hard to read the body language of these, since they didn’t practice the same sign language. The ones he knew exaggerated for the sake of humans.

Passing thoughts of wiping out this system, even if he hadn’t been anywhere close to going through with it, made Anton wonder if he needed to be physically threatened more often. It had been so long since he felt fear that just a slight amount caused a strong reaction. Not an overreaction, he thought. It had been a serious attack- merely by a single individual. Anton was glad he hadn’t flung the void ants at the ground, though the reason he hadn’t done that wasn’t just mercy. It would have been riskier.

“The commander will need to eventually speak to our local void ants to judge if she deserves death,” Anton said. He wasn’t going to let a tiny wound ruin some interstellar diplomacy. He was also going to confer with the Great Queen ahead of time to try to determine what results were best. “But for now, she should live to spread knowledge of my presence.”