?1962 The Ocean None had ever seen Leonel Force Craft before. He had left everything to the Segmented Cube until this moment. From the beginning, most had assumed that Fifth Nova was the most talented Crafter of them all and that Leonel was probably the most talented in Combat. Most didn't understand the intricacies of the Divine Armor technique and as such couldn't make accurate deductions about them, only the Morales family understood for certain that it must have been Leonel who created his Life Grade armor, for others, it was easier to assume that there must be a different sort of explanation. However, no one had expected Leonel to go from a path of murder to one of Crafting supremacy. His demeanor seemed entirely the same, and yet his actions couldn't have been any different. It felt like his quill had become a spear, carving out everything in its path and crushing all it came across. Leonel's drawn Force Arts could only be said to be perfect. His Finger Designation left afterimages in the air as his hands danced across the skies. Leonel tossed a plain plate of silver metal into the air. Little Tolly snaked forward, enveloping it as Leonel's fingers tapped at the air. The crushing sound of the sound barrier shattering again and again resounded as Leonel's fingers only seemed to become faster and faster. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 Little Tolly responded in kind, the plate of metal becoming long and wire-y before folding over itself and stretching out again. With his other hand, Leonel's Force Arts appeared one after another. They danced in the wind like fluttering butterflies. Each had their own unique expression, breathing life into the surroundings. The weathered grass beneath his feet became more vibrant and the wind smelled sweeter. In the end, a long, curved bar appeared and the Force Arts shot forward, embedding themselves and sinking into the metal rod as though they had always been one. With a thought, Leonel planted the curved rod into the ground, perfectly connecting it with the one he had finished last. As he moved across the exterior of his village, moving up and down the mountainous region and even diving into the long rivers he had created with the irrigation reward, a picture slowly began to form in the heads of those watching. Leonel was setting up a formation. Not only was he setting up a formation, but he was setting it up alone and without even the slightest deviation in error. By the time he was finished, the sun had begun to appear over the horizon as dawn presented itself to the world. As Leonel set down the last bar, a ripple spread out in all directions. The formation solidified just as the Umbra family began to return one after another. Leonel listened to their reports one by one, building up a solid understanding of the day side of the formation. However, there was something that he was quite interested in, so he looked toward Radlis for an explanation. "No one seems to have stepped foot into the water on the surface, there are no signs of any waterfront villages being claimed, even the Water Force prominent families are taking their time." Leonel's gaze narrowed. The water was difficult to deal with, it was hard to tell what might be down there. Leonel had thought about expanding in that way specifically because it was difficult, but he changed his mind in the end, it wasn't worth it. The effort it would take didn't end up being worthwhile according to his simulations. However, Leonel knew that there would be others who had similar thoughts. Controlling the waterways might become a huge pitfall in the future. "In that case, that means there are only small groups dealing in the waters currently. I also assume that the Pisc and Quarius families are expanding in that direction. Radlis nodded. "Yes. Although they didn't start there, they are definitely making a move toward it. It also seems that they've sent small groups, just like you've said. However, their targets are clearing the challenges and dungeons no one else can reach. Leonel nodded. The Heir Wars were meant to reflect the challenges in the real world. One only needed to look toward Earth to understand how difficult it was for fledgling worlds to deal with oceanic creatures and territories. If Earth hadn't terraformed and built a supercontinent, their trouble after the Metamorphosis would have been countless times worse. Now, that trouble was being reflected here. One might wonder why the ocean was so much more trouble than land, and there were multiple reasons. The first was the obvious fact: humans couldn't breathe in water. Although Force could replace it for a time, that wouldn't be indefinite, it also didn't help that the density of Water Force in the ocean meant that it was practically the only Force available to absorb and you would need special affinity with Water Force to separate out the Forces you wanted from its special brand of neutral Force. The second was the vastness and the relative secrecy. It was far too large and there were too many secret corners and crevices. Even Emperor Fawkes hadn't managed to find an easy way to deal with the ocean. The third was strength. Creatures that could withstand the water pressure of the ocean, especially after the Metamorphosis, were all bound to be exceptional. There was no great change in gravity in the beginning, and any changes were slight and gradual. However, such slight changes could result in exponential changes in water pressure in the deepest reaches of the ocean. In addition, there was another glaring issue that fit into this third category: Invalids. Emperor Fawkes had wiped almost all Invalids in a single move... invalids on the surface, that is. Falling Paradise Islands might have caused devastating effects on the land, but in the ocean, given its depth, there was only so much their falls could have done. This made the ocean a prime location for the fostering of Beast Invalids, and more shockingly than that, Beast Variant Invalids. It was unknown whether or not Ancestor Hito would actually use Invalids, it was doubtful. But, he would make the difficulty of the ocean reflect real life, that much was certain. Leonel knew this, and as such, it was on his list of things to monitor despite the difficulty in doing so. [Author's Note: bad news looms over the horizon. Potentially just two chapters today. As always, will do my best to get no3 out]