As it turned out, Abritt was indeed not hiding. As if she thought that reaching the forty-fifth rank made her immortal or something. It took another few days to pilot the First Peak towards her location, but even though she must have been aware of the incoming assault she didn't flee. Very brave of her.

Most likely, she thought she would win. Perhaps there was some secret she obtained. Maybe Abritt actually had broken through to the Exalted Soul Phase. If that was the case… it wasn't going to save her. It would be far more costly for the continental forces to take her down, but she would die. They absolutely couldn't afford anything else.

Well, there was Ursel. John wasn't going to place all of his eggs in one extremely durable basket, but his earth element daughter had a pretty decent chance of taking out Abritt all on her own- even if by some miracle she had reached the Exalted Soul Phase. Winning a battle in a confined arena wasn't a guarantee of future victories in different locations… but it was also the case that Ursel wouldn't be fighting alone.

Currently, John had Renato and Astrid with him atop the First peak- no others. For what he intended, having additional people simply wouldn't help. There was some chance that he would be assaulted before reaching his destination, but there couldn't be a significant enough threat for them to not be able to handle it.

What about Abritt? She was the destination.

Approaching by land were Ursel, Tirto, Verusha, as well as Anna and the rest of their armies. Three Ascending Soul Phase cultivators to match up against however many Abritt had. Minus the ones that had died on the First Peak, she might have a handful left if none had perished in the assault on the Wuthering Steppes.

John was pleased when he finally felt Abritt's energy. She was strong and he didn't plan to face her alone… but on the other hand he thought the absolute distance between them had shrunk. Her wild rush had been intended to reach the Exalted Soul Phase, but unless she'd greatly improved her concealment abilities she hadn't managed it. They wouldn't let her.

The biggest indicator of her current status, in John's opinion, was not the total quantity of spiritual energy she displayed. Instead, it was the balance of earth and air elements. It was still three parts air and two parts earth. Even in the worst scenario, she was short on spiritual energy or imbalanced, both of which could be exploited.

The ground forces marched forward at a pace only cultivators could manage, keeping up with the flight of the First Peak… more or less. They were slightly behind, but that wasn't because of a lack of ability.

"Abritt!" John spread his voice on the winds, scattering his shout throughout the region. "You die today!"

The direct provocation finally merited a response. Abritt took off into the air towards the first peak, followed by a number of others at various levels of the Ascending Soul Phase or late Consolidated Soul Phase.

Astrid shifted nervously. "I appreciate you keeping me around, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here against someone a full phase ahead of me. I'm not really sure I can blind her like you asked."

"Do you trust me?" John asked.

"It's a bit late to change my mind," she joked. "Of course I do."

"In that case, it's simple. You just need to blind her for a single moment."

Astrid grimaced. "That might take all of my spiritual energy."

"I know," John nodded. "That's why it requires trust. Throw everything you have into a single moment. And I do mean everything. We'll cover your safety." John looked to Renato, who doubtless remembered his role quite well. He was reliable as the stone he wielded.

"I am ready," Renato said. "I am not sure this is the most efficient use of our abilities, but I can do it."

"In terms of combat efficiency… you may be right. But morale is important," John said. "And I'm making a statement. A statement to the whole continent."

Renato nodded. "They're almost here."

Three cultivators gathered their energy, faced off against easily a dozen others- including one particularly powerful individual. However, John's team had the terrain advantage. Obviously those of the Sky Islands used the sky as their domain, but they weren't actually terrific at free flight. Most of their time was spent on the Sky Islands or the paths that actually augmented their flight.

Plus, John brought the terrain with him.

"How dare you come after the First Peak!" Abritt said. "You feared my might before, but now I am even greater!"

John didn't dignify her with a direct response in that moment. He was focused on the important details.

"Astrid, now!"

A directed flash of light and flame burst forth. She put everything she could handle into it, and while not the entirety of her spiritual energy such a large burst would destabilize her for some time. A whirlwind around Abritt caught the flames, but the burst of concentrated light was something that their defenses couldn't completely prepare for. It wouldn't last long without any sustained interaction, but that didn't matter.

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The intention of John and Renato was focused mainly on the island beneath them, and as the incoming cultivator's senses were overwhelmed briefly, they released their energy into the First Peak.

All at once, a great weight bore down on them- if John hadn't supported Astrid, she might have been crushed against the First Peak, without her own energy to support her. At the same time, the incoming cultivators tumbled towards the First Peak… as it began to drop from the sky.

The levitating crystals were fascinating, to allow a heavy island to remain perpetually aloft. A proper infusion of earth element could also produce interesting results with such potent features.

Abriitt and her people crashed into the underside of the First Peak, pressed against it. John directed the surrounding air to reduce friction as the island continued to fall. It had already dropped to five kilometers along the journey, and now it was swiftly descending towards the continent.

John spoke, partially to air his grievances and partially as a distraction. "Abritt of the Sky Islands! You are a traitor to your own region, a breaker of vows with your neighbors twice over. You are unworthy of your position as the master of the First Peak. Thus, you will henceforth be known as Abritt, master of No Peak!"

It was a tremendous strain to keep Abritt restrained, even with the augmentation of the island and Renato's aid. However, moments before their impact John was able to let go, snatching Renato and Astrid up into the air as they released the binding restriction.

The momentum of the island carried it down towards Abritt's war camp. Abritt herself and those around her mostly got out from under the island at the last moment, negating their own momentum. It was a shame that they weren't crushed under the island like most of the rest of their people.

The First Peak hit the grounds of the Wuthering Heights, causing massive tremors and exploding into fragments that went as far as the approaching armies- though with most of their momentum lost by that point.

It was the best repayment John could think to give to the besieged region for the repeated losses they suffered at the hands of the Sky Islands. Perhaps if Abritt had been a step more ruthless, she would have recognized the bounty of air element resources that were untapped within her own region. She might have really broken through to the Exalted Soul Phase if she tore apart the Sky Islands.

A shockwave hit John and the others, but he had already angled them back towards their incoming allies. At a distance of a few hundred meters, it was only at the level where it would cause normal humans to go deaf. He protected Astrid's ears, but Renato could handle himself. They were pushed up and back- though their ultimate momentum was still downward even since before they leapt off of the First Peak.

John managed to set everyone down gently right in front of their approaching allies. A perfectly fantastic display that went even better than he could have predicted.

"Great work Astrid," John said. He really meant it. If Abritt had been able to directly focus instead of having her nervous system thrown off by the flash, she might not have even been caught against the First Peak. Then they would have had no choice but to flee, doing their best to defend themselves against numerous assailants. "You should rest now."

Astrid just nodded. Fortunately, the local area was air element dominant so she should be able to regain her balance fairly quickly, converting some to her aligned elements. Though not before the battle was over, John suspected.

"You filthy continentals!" Abritt began screaming at the top of her lungs, the spiritual energy augmentation of her voice a secondary factor. "I'll ruin your lands! I'll-"

John tuned her out.

"It's no fair!" Ursel complained as Abritt shouted in rage. "Why didn't I get to drop an island on her?"

"It's simple," John said. "We needed you here to bury her. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure, dad. Might as well."

"That's Sect Head Dad to you, young lady!"

She stuck her tongue out at him… though he only knew that because he could feel it with his spiritual energy. Her helmet covered her whole face except for the small eye slits.

John kept pace with his kids- and his daughter in law. Renato fell back to join a different part of the assault, but even with what the two of them had done so far they weren't out of the fight yet. A one versus one with Abritt was out of the question for John, but he could direct their forces in battle. And he might be able to recover enough to deal with some other threats.

"... flay your skin and consume your heart!"

Abritt finally finished her tirade of threats. The remaining fraction of her armies- nearly half of those below hadn't been able to avoid the fall of the First Peak or the shrapnel shot out as it collapsed on itself- were about to meet with the front of the continental reinforcements. John was fairly sure he could sense the spiritual energy of local Wuthering Steppes cultivators far beyond, rushing towards the battle. They'd been informed as much as possible, but they might not have expected such an extravagant start.

They'd have to hurry if they wanted to make it to battle. Ursel looked like she planned to take John's instructions literally.

"You're gonna feed the local worms!" Ursel declared. "And you won't even be dead for it."

Abritt was at the head of her armies- cowardice wasn't one of her flaws. Or perhaps caution wasn't one of her virtues. John happily let Ursel go first. He'd help control the flow of battle… and she could pummel Abritt.

Of course, the air element cultivator wasn't restricted by the size of the arena. She flew far higher than she would have otherwise- limiting her attack options but protecting her from certain ground based forces.

In theory. In practice, Ursel simply jumped off of the faces of the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators leading the charge against them. John couldn't possibly see how that would get her higher than leaping off of the earth below her feet… but it really didn't matter. It was good enough.

Abritt pulled back slightly.

"Running away?" Ursel called after her.

Apparently, Abritt hadn't heard the full details of Ursel's battle on the coast. Ursel's club flew through the air, drawn towards the high concentration of air element. Abritt caught it… and was immediately pulled downward.

John interpreted a slight twinge in her face as remnant trauma. Maybe she should have learned her lesson the first time. Ursel caught her ankle as their paths intersected. John did wonder how Ursel was going to bury her alive when Abritt had her own earth element… though at the very least she was slightly fatigued from the whole sky island drop. And maybe it was just a battle threat and Ursel would actually crush her skull.

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