Chapter 333
A myriad of lights arrayed itself in Vandales consciousness. Each of them was a potential point of attack, and he chose all of the best ones. His power gathered and was propelled down from heights above the area, releasing their energy in an explosion at his whim.
It was a small scene that Anton encountered containing only a minor insight by Life Transformation standards, but it triggered other memories of the man. They were friends, and despite their gap in cultivation and actual age they had a similar heart. Vandale had the most potential to ascend of any member of the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars in his same generation. He didnt fail because he didnt have the talent or the will, but because he could not bear to leave those he cared for behind.
He was not the only one the Order lost during that time, the number of Life Transformation cultivators dropping from twenty to thirteen. Only now was it finally recovering, though nobody could yet match Vandale.
The Order had not lost its stability, despite the setbacks. Other sects lost similar numbers, and the war with the Twin Soul Sect and Flying Blood Cult had practically eradicated their presence on the continent. Now it seemed they were nearly expunged from the world. There was some uncertainty about the Exalted Archipelago to the west, but the limited contact with them had indicated they understood the threat of allowing the Twin Soul Sect to remain. Ayotunde and those with him had been convinced that at least those they talked to were genuine in that regard.
Anton was not at ease though. He knew it was not his job to go into an area and solve all their problems, but issues of the Twin Soul Sect were a problem for the entire world. If he could at least know enough about the situation to determine for himself that they had eradicated them or at least were working on the issue, he would feel better.
He was not the only one with the same concerns. The Order and other factions were not satisfied with the results of the previous expedition, and the people of Ambati were most concerned about the possibilities. As Ambati extended to the western coast they were some of the first who might run into trouble, should the invaders gain a foothold in the Exalted Archipelago.
It was decided to send another group. They had to be of sufficient power to broker some respect without being so strong as to seem like an invasion. Even if the general desire of the Archipelago was to be left alone, some minor intrusions of their privacy would get the people out of their hair more quickly. Though it was much preferable to simply find groups more open to the exchange of information. It was the uncertainty that was the issue.Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.
Anton volunteered to go, of course. Catarina quickly signed up as well. She had not been present with Anton for the first expedition to the Aicenith, and with her current studies completed she wanted to go. Of course Timothy would come along with her. Hoyt and Velvet were eager to join as well. Devon hoped to participate in something new. Alva was the last member of the Order, unless Fuzz was counted.
Glorious Flame Palace and the Frostmirror sect sent disciples as well. Anton didnt have any deep connections to the cultivators from the former, but he did know Marsen from the latter. As for the two he was most familiar with from those sects they were staying behind. Anish and Annelie had responsibilities to their sects, though even if they didnt they would still be staying behind for the sake of their children. Anton suspected they might even have another one underway.
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Fuzz had decided that he did not like being aboard a ship. It was much too small and cramped. When he was up on decks, people seemed to think he was in the way. They never appreciated when he tried to help with the sails or anything else, though perhaps that was because the sailors themselves hardly did anything. Most of the time the wind and weather didnt change so suddenly that the sailors had to be active at all points.
Since he didnt like being on the ships and people thought he was in the way, he went in the water. There were all sorts of interesting things beneath the surface he could catch. He wasnt that good at swimming, but he found that his energy helped make up for that. He could even make fins like a fish to propel him forward.
Fuzz liked to catch the various little creatures. Some of them had a lot of teeth, like the sharks. They were interesting because they were crunchy but their bones were not like bones. They were definitely better food than the rations on the ships though.
When Fuzz came back onto a ship, people complained about him being wet. When he dried himself, they complained about that. Fuzz wondered if humans ever did anything but complain. At least Alva understood. She apologized for there not being much space. Fuzz was happy to put up with the various difficulties to stay with her- and the other members of the pack.
It was unfortunate that Alva couldnt ride him around. She weighed basically nothing, but he found that he missed her presence on his back. Eventually he coaxed her to get on even though they couldnt run around. When he jumped in the water she was surprised, but didnt really complain. As he dove underwater he found that it was extra hard to swim with a person on his back. On the surface of the water, he was not very fast.
That was until Catarina and Alva worked together to teach him something interesting. He could use his energy to stand on top of the water! It wasnt exactly stable, and would throw him off balance based on the shifting of the waves- but it allowed him to run around. That meant Alva could probably hang out on his back, and they got to run around, circling the ships.
Some of the cultivators joined them as well. While the ships could only travel up to a certain speed, cultivators at Essence Collection were able to support themselves on water and keep up with the ships. Most cultivators quickly got bored, but Fuzz thought that was because they didnt know how to enjoy the best things in life like running. Or eating anything you could catch in your mouth.
There were a couple problems with being out on the very big lake called an ocean. One was that the water wasnt very drinkable. It was salty, which was tasty, but it only made him more thirsty. If he wanted to drink it he had to filter out the salt, which made it taste like fish. The second problem was that it was hard to smell stuff underwater. If he took a sniff water tried to get into his lungs. It was a lot of work to avoid that. Overall, though Fuzz enjoyed the ocean, he would prefer it when they were back on land.
