Chapter 1072
The eastern border of the Scarlet Alliance was seeing as much if not more activity as it was during the war, as among other things they worked to fortify the border region. Previously, much of the territory had only been loosely claimed by the Scarlet Alliance- now all of the populated systems were actively trying to maintain their support.
The Scarlet Alliance had no intentions of abandoning them, especially not after they had gone to war for them. Or at least, in part- since the Silver Fang’s assaults had been a direct strike at their legitimacy. They hoped that the Silver Fang was now filled with regret… though it was unfortunate they hadn’t been able to deal a finishing blow.
Defensively, the greatest asset of the Scarlet Alliance was their grand barrier covering their core systems. It didn’t simply prevent intruders, but redirected them to fortified locations. That allowed the Scarlet Alliance to defend a much larger space more successfully.
The grand barrier only extended so far, but it had always been intended to be modular to some extent. To do that, it had to be slowly built outward. That meant that it would take time for the eastern systems to be properly encapsulated- anywhere between a few decades and a century or two. Until that time, the Scarlet Alliance was working on integrating the various systems to work together for mutual defense.
Upgrading their capabilities was an expensive undertaking, but one that the Scarlet Alliance couldn’t afford to skimp on. They needed the trust of their citizens, as well as those within their broader claimed domain if they wanted to expand. And while the Scarlet Alliance wasn’t in a rush to grow larger, remaining static in size was riskier than focusing on a pattern of growth. Especially if they were going to be targeted by sects from the great powers on either side of them.
Those weren’t the only plans underway. While it was tempting to try to assassinate the Domination cultivator Koronis- or the near Domination cultivator by Chidi’s estimation- there was nothing to be gained from such a move. They could cut off a potential threat in the future… and draw in immediate repercussions. The Creeping Fire Sect would not stand idle, and merely adding their presence to the crippled Silver Fang would put the Scarlet Alliance in an untenable situation.
Nor was Koronis a great risk to their Alliance in the near future- just an annoyance, for forcibly ending the war just as they were about to secure a key victory. Directly entering into conflict with her would be a waste. Nor would they risk her wrath by attacking the Silver Fang once more after she returned to the Creeping Fire Sect. Instead, they made other plans.
They couldn’t get away with killing the higher ranking cultivators in the Silver Fang or wiping out their forces… but they still had knowledge of some of their citizens who had been taken as slaves- not as a practical matter, but merely to provoke them. They didn’t intend to leave behind a single person, as long as they could be found.
Koronis might protest such action, if she ever heard about it. But she had very much expressed her only interests when she stopped the battle. As long as it wasn’t affecting the prestige of the Trigold Cluster as a whole, she likely wouldn’t interfere. Though they would still be waiting for her to return to her own territory, whether that took months or years. They hoped it would be a shorter time period, given her advancement appeared incomplete.