Location: Mortal Battlefield, Dark Empire vs Castle Faction.
Nearly twenty trillion mortal lives fought a war. Thirteen trillion from the Great Aetherium and Castle Faction against six trillion from the Dark Empire were locked in a struggle so vast it could be seen from the upper atmosphere.
In the Endless Continent, no conflict since the Ancient Era's battle of planets had ever reached such a terrifying scale. To the immortal onlookers watching from across the Endless Continent, this was more than a war; it was a 'big play' staged by Haru.
For the Gods of Faith, who resided in the outer planets, it was a spectacle to be critiqued.
For the Gods of Truth, who shared the lineage of the local empires, it was a tragedy they were too terrified to prevent.
They knew that according to logic, they should be uniting to crush these 'invaders' from the Castle Faction. Yet, they sat in their shrines, paralyzed by the memory of Celestia defeating the Titan Lord and Haru suppressing the Lords of Destruction and Slaughter simultaneously.
…
The local Gods of Truth watched the Dark Empire's slow collapse with a macabre sense of anticipation. They weren't just waiting for the end of the war; they were waiting for the Throneveil Shrine.
In the Endless Continent, the Endless Continent's Laws operate with the authority of a God Monarch. Without the Throneveil Shrine's intervention, a divine structure currently falling from the Kronforge, any invading demon would be instantly suppressed by the Laws.
The local Gods were caught in a brutal paradox. They hated the Great Aetherium's encroachment, but they needed the Battle of Planets to begin. Only when the Shrine cracked the wall could they compete for the God King's Throne.
To these Gods, the trillions of mortals dying in the mud were merely renewable resources, while the Throne, however, was the only thing that mattered.
…
"You Gods of Faith consider this to be just a 'big play'?" An angry God of Truth hissed at a God of Faith as they observed the carnage, "In your eyes, are these trillions of lives merely performers in a drama? Do you feel nothing for the mortals of this planet?"
The God of Faith sneered back, his voice echoing with divine mockery, "Do not pretend to be pious. You pursue 'Truth' by abandoning your own kin and severing your mortal ties. At least we offer these souls a place in our Divine Kingdoms. You simply watch them die to preserve the 'big picture'."
"You aren't staying out of this war for the sake of the Endless Continent, you're staying out because you're afraid. You know that if you step onto that field, His Majesty Kazehaya and Her Holiness Celestia will erase you from existence. Oh wait! They won't erase you, they'll resurrect you to be his believer, hahaha!"
The silence that followed was an admission of a bitter truth. Even with their outdated intel, they knew that Haru had mastered over two hundred law sources. He was an anomaly that had already surpassed the Endless Continent's limits.
While the number of Laws he had actually mastered was actually over 1,400, it didn't make much of a difference for Haru to squash these Gods, most of whom weren't even High Gods. Intervening wasn't just a risk, it was a death sentence.
…
As the debate raged in the sky, a fundamental law took effect on the ground. The first rays of a new dawn touched the horizon, marking the start of a new day. For the native empires, a new day meant exhaustion, dwindling supplies, and the realization of their mortality. For the Castle Lords, however, dawn meant a 'reset'.
Throughout the rear lines, thousands of teleportation arrays flared with blinding, white light. The Castle Lords, who had vanished moments before to their respective home territories, returned with the mechanical efficiency of a production line. With them came the 'Daily Recruitment'.
Within the hour, five trillion fresh troops marched out of the arrays. Especially for the Great Aetherium. They had Titans, Dragons, Elves, Angels, and troops of Light, all top-level troops.
As they surged onto the field, replacing the weary and bolstering the lines with fresh, bloodthirsty energy, the scale of the Castle Faction ballooned to 17 trillion. For the surviving troops of the Dark Empire, this sight was soul-crushing.
They were no longer fighting an army; they were fighting a tide of creation that could simply replace its losses every twenty-four hours. As the sun rose higher, the Dark Empire realized they weren't just losing a battle, they were being buried by the sheer weight of a new world order.
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