Nazarick 6th Floor the Arena
Shalltear grimaced as she lay on all fours, her lance lying a few metres away in the dirt. She could feel the sting of the two slashes she took, as for the final stab her spine was still regenerating so she couldn't move her legs. She turned her head to look at her trainer, it was a Dragonoid dressed in fine gold samurai armor, a black demon mask and wielding a large black Odachi. It's blade was made of the same black metal that her new lance was made in, her Spuit Lance was replaced by a lance made of Abyss alloy named Despot's Tyranny. It had inbuilt cannon trading the health absorption effect of the Spuit Lance for raw destructive power. It also came with a shield that transferred all damage blocked by the shield into additional power for the cannon.
As Shalltear felt her legs return and she rose to her feet she looked at the Dragonoid calmly standing before her, his sword resting over his shoulder. The Dragonoids were a more advanced species of dragons less powerful than the Primordial Dragons but stronger than your average Dracon. They like the stronger Dracon could transform into a humanoid form but the difference is the Dragonoids were more level headed when they transformed into their Dragonic forms.
This Dragonoid was named Issen and he was a Successor of the Blade, he was one who served only at the command of Warrior Takemikazuchi. He was sent here to train her as she would be the head of the attack when they moved to seize Jaldabaoth. That was all she had been doing ever since she arrived, it had almost been a year and she still couldn't even land a hit on this man.
What's more he was de-leveled using what is known as a Class 9 seal, the same given to Maeve and all the other Successors who were on this realm at the moment. A Class 9 seal locks away 90% of the target's power while the Class 8 seal locks away 80% and so it goes until it reaches Class 1 which only locks away 10% of the target's power. The seal is the only way most Successors can enter most realms for their very presence would burst most realms like an overripe grape. The seal can only be administered by Tabula Smaragdina sama and his Successors which also can only be removed by them. For it takes a great amount of skill to truly lock away power that vast.
"Shall we go again?" Issen asked, offhandedly.
"Yes." Shalltear said through gritted teeth as she reached out her hand and the lance flew back into her hand. She brandished her lance and raised her shield.
Again she charged, she had tried playing defensive in the past but that never worked. It was clear Issen was better on the offense as compared to on the defense. So her best chance was to charge and hope to break his guard. The seal made him physically weaker than her, she was stronger and just as fast as him even though her gear was heavier. The problem was he was so experienced and skilled in combat every attack she tried was easily countered. She noticed he would start to move before her attack even started as if he could read her mind.
Shalltear thrust with her lance and watched Issen's blade make a slight movement and pivoted the lance away from his head. Her lance missed his head by centimeters but he didn't even flinch. Shalltear attempted to swing her lance to the side in the hopes of smashing him over the head. Issen then seemingly danced under the swing and appeared on her exposed flank.
Shalltear ducked low and spun her body facing her shield towards him forcing him to readjust his swing buying her a precious second. She tensed her shield arm and waited for the strike as she readied her lance for a counter thrust. Instead she felt something seemingly use her shield as leverage. She looked up and saw that Issen had used his sword on one of the groves of her shield and used it as leverage to propel him up and over her head. Shalltear ducked her head to the side and felt the sting of a slash clipping her cheek. She knew Issen's jump would put him at her unprotected back. Her stance and form were both compromised, she was squating on the ground, her shield and weapon both not in position to respond to an attack from the rear.
Now firmly on the defensive Shalltear dived and attempted a forward roll to reposition her compromised form. She knew Issen would try to strike at her when she retreated. He called it "roll catching" it was a technique that capitalised on the fact that the moment a roll ended the user had to take a second to rise giving the attacker an opportunity to skewer their opponent. That was how she was beaten the previous time, the moment she tried to rise from her roll she found her back pierced. Now she had a new plan, when her roll completed she didn't try to stand, she used her shield to dig into the ground and push her off the right. At the same time she readied her lance and swung at the incoming Issen.
She could sense movement but just barely, usually her vampiric senses made her able to detect creatures with ease. Some of the lesser life forms breathed so loud she could hit them with a spell with her eyes closed. This man however, was like a ghost, his presence was barely there and what she could detect was like a flicker, a shadow on the wall, like something you glimpse ever so slightly at the corner of your vision. As she turned she saw her lance strike the sword that was headed straight at her.
Shalltear expected her full power strike to knock the sword loose from his grip, instead Issen switched his grip on the hilt and pivoted the blade so that her lance knocked his sword out of his hand. However, because of the angle of the strike the sword spun in place mid air and Issen easily caught it now holding his sword in the reverse grip. He closed the distance and gave a heavy swing at Shalltear. Shalltear barely parried the strike and back pedaled. She watched as Issen calmly switched his sword back into his favoured one handed grip.
It was then that Shalltear realised that the last swing was aimed right at her lance and it was heavier than usual. It was a trick she now realised, the force of the strike was to shake her mentally so that she would retreat even though Issen was holding his weapon in a suboptimal position. She internally cursed, she just gave her advantage she won using her blind parry right back to him on a silver plate.
"Realised it have you?" Issen asked jokingly.
Shalltear didn't reply; she just grit her teeth in frustration.
"That was a good attempt, it takes guts to use a blind parry. Although you are still too skittish, you need to learn to capitalise on your gains. If I was a normal opponent even if he could recover as well as I did from your blind parry, you definitely could have pressed your advantage. Well not that it would have mattered, I am proficient in reverse grip styles as well, so how I hold my sword doesn't matter that much." Issen said with a laugh.
"Right…" Shalltear replied bitterly.
"Don't be disheartened, you have improved leaps and bounds as compared to our first session." Issen replied.
"Thanks…" Shalltear muttered, she honestly hated how weak she was as compared to some of the other servants of the 41.
The Successors were all monstrous beings, yes they had specialisations but in combat few were their equals. It was said only a Successor can defeat a Successor, they were powerful and ancient. All of them are tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years old, their knowledge and experience were second to none. Issen once told her that the Successors eventually develop a kind of precognition ability known as [Ancient's Vision]; it was only obtained after accumulating enough experience that every battle seems familiar as if they had fought it before. They knew what would happen next before even their opponents did because they had seen it all.
"So shall we go again?" Issen asked.
"Yes." Shalltear said as she hefted her lance and took a stance.
Nazarick 7th Floor Research Lab
Maeve gazed at the projection of their living armor's DNA code. The code looked just like a human's to the untrained eye but there were 3 extra chromosomes and the internal code was vastly different in those three extra chromosomes. They would be going with a simple 49 Chromosome design to mimic the human physiology's 46 chromosomes. The first 46 chromosomes were identical to Neia's making it perfectly compatible with her. The other three however were Zerg DNA, designed with all of the Zerg's evolutionary advantages.
Zerg DNA was different from all the other DNA in creation, it was designed to be able to undergo Independent Meiosis or in layman's terms split the DNA internally without the use of reproductive cells like the sperm or the egg. This means Zerg does need to reproduce to evolve, it can devour creatures and assimilate traits. Not that Zerg can't breed on their own, they can as well, but that is mostly used when the zerg are required to acclimatize to a new environmental hazard without a time constraint. Most of the time the method was just to devour, assimilate and evolve since it was much more efficient that way.
Afterall, if you needed to survive a freezing world with temperatures close to 0 Kelvin you just had to eat the denizens of that world and you would gain their resistances. Although the resistances were not perfect it was good enough for the time being. Perfect adaptation can be achieved once the Zerg controlled the world over a few years if required. The Zerg can naturally evolve in years what most other organisms take hundreds of thousands of years to achieve. Which made the Zerg exceptionally dangerous, they not only evolved quickly in battle but they also grew stronger the longer they stayed in the environment. This makes retaking a world infested with Zerg almost impossible as if left to their own devices the Zerg can soon live in the world better than the original inhabitants.
This is all however, old news. The zerg has been around for millions of years and they have achieved perfect adaptation to almost every type of enemy and environment by now. Their leviathan hives now store trillions of chromosomes worth of biological data granting the zerg tools that any of the races could only dream of obtaining.
The three Chromosomes held very specific traits.
The first, adaptations for this realm's environment taken from a few individuals "borrowed" from all the races of this realm they could get their hands on. The Ordo Hereticus captured many of the Theocracy's insurgents and every nation had criminals. After all, what nation would not accept a chest of platinum for a few death row criminals?
The second was enhanced assimilation and rapid adaptive evolution also known as the [Gluttony] skill gifted by a powerful Demon Lord Slime long ago. This slime was a powerful creature that managed to achieve a stronger variant of the Zerg's assimilation ability, the only drawback was that this ability relied on a conscious control and was not suitable for usage by a wider brood of zerg. This made its use mostly applied on specific individuals that are required to fulfill specialised roles.
The third absolute resistances for divine and demonic magic, adaptations taken forcibly when the 41 grew tired of a conflict called the Eternal Conflict between two groups known as the High Heavens and the Burning Hells. These two factions refused to back down so the Zerg were sent to "resolve" the issue, these adaptations were taken from the leaders of the two factions, the Angiris Council and the Great Evils.
The fourth was the bio armour evolved from a Zerg Brood named Tyranis which was sent to a realm to help address the Slaanesh incident, formed after the fall of the Aeldari millions of years ago. The Tyranis Brood eventually evolved into an almost separate species but it was undeniably successful in its mission. It eventually managed to reset the world back to it's base empty state and became extremely powerful in the process. Granted the troublesome deities still existed in the realm but their demonic spawn were held at bay by Brood Tyranis. The armour selected was a type of armour plate of a creature known as a Carnifex Voracio. It was the strongest armour available to the Zerg made of Chitin which is constructed from an organic long chain polymer which was derived from glucose, a common substance in organic creatures. The only elements required to create it were Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Hydrogen all of which can be found in human bodies. Which is going to be the main source of fuel when the armour is initially deployed. The Chitin is formed into diamond shaped scales and reinforced with layers of atom thick carbon sheets making it extremely lightweight but harder than some Prismatic Alloys.
The final set was your typical set of weapons granted to Zerg creatures, Kaiser bone blades with monomolecular edges that can slice through the weaker Prismatic Alloys, the bone blades were also extremely dense and reinforced with carbon atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement in the style of diamonds making them very durable. The only trade off here was the weight but that is compensated with the muscles that made up the rest of the armour. There were also acid spines that were made from a lighter variant of bone used in Kaiser blades, these spines could be launched and were hard enough to pierce adamantite. The spines were adapted to be loaded with Hydrochloric Acid which comes from Human stomach acid, Ammonia from the liver which was highly toxic in sufficiently high concentration and a bacterial concoction usually found in the Human Colon. This makes the spines corrosive, toxic and causes debilitating infections when they strike a target.
This was as good as it was going to get Maeve knew, they had to keep the Chromosome count low so that the evolution could be fast enough to be usable in combat. The design has its flaws mainly being that it wasted a lot of resources and energy when it consumes the human body. It also couldn't assimilate inorganic metals like plate armour as that would require at least two additional chromosomes. The Zerg had a strategic directive for their combat organisms, keep the Chromosome count as low as possible, specialise their units for a single role and send them en masse to the enemy. The Zerg are numberless and millions of losses are perfectly acceptable as the dead can be easily dragged back and reassimilated. As long as they took ground they could always recover the dead, overwhelm the enemy and leave them no room to recover. The dead will fuel the swarm's endless march, for the creed of the Zerg is simple.
Consume, Adapt, Overcome
It has worked against every enemy they have faced for millions of years and it would work now. The Zerg have faced stronger adversaries, they have killed so called gods and entire civilisations. The Eternal Conflict ended in a year once the Zerg arrived and the denizens of the realm where the Slaanesh incident were eventually ground down to nothing over the course of a few thousand years.
"Anything else you think we should add?" Maeve asked.
"Negative, only resolution of Abyss integration required." Abathure replied as he gazed at the screen.
"Lilith you mentioned you have an idea for that." Maeve said as she looked over to the black clad woman.
Lilith wordlessly pulled out a purple crystal about the size of an apple from her pocket dimension.
"What's that?" Maeve asked.
"This was supposed to be you… as you know Project 41 failed many times, there were many attempts, many approaches. This is the fruit of one partially successful attempt. The abyssal heart, an attempt to store a soul within an abyss tainted arcane vessel. We never managed to keep a soul alive within it but it proved to be an excellent regulator of abyssal energies." Lilith replied.
"Hang on, I have abyss crystal dampeners implanted, is that something like that?" Maeve asked, surprised, the full contents of her creation were not known to her. In truth only the 41 knew of everything, everyone else only knew small portions of the process. Maeve could have been a golem, an undead, there was really no guarantee what form she would take.
"Exactly, the reason your flesh is stable even though your hollows are so powerful is because of this." Lilith said.
"Can I see it?" Maeve asked as she reached out.
"No." Lilith said as she pulled the crystal away from Maeve.
"I have instructions from Momonga sama to never let you touch this crystal directly. I know not why, but I do not question an order from the 41." Lilith replied curtly.
"Very well, if father says so, who am I to argue?" Maeve said with a nod.
"So this will stop Noah from destroying this armor?" Maeve asked as she took a step back.
"Yes it will generate abyssal resistance within the flesh of this armor and allow room for the venting process." Lilith said as she stowed the crystal away.
"Then that leaves the calculations of the threshold, I recommend a four factor redundancy in the calculations." Vel'Koz said from the side as he floated over as he scribbled a string of number calculations in thin air in glowing letters.
The rest gathered as they gazed at the numbers, individually verifying the calculations.
"Appears sufficient, however, organism Abathur not expert in this field. Can integrate this into armor." Abathur said.
"Looks fine on my side too." Maeve replied.
"Make the factor eight, the last dark soul's Profaned Flame discharge failed the stabilisation process by a factor of five." Lilith said.
"The last attempt was not made with an artefact such as the Abyssal Heart. Doubling the factor would cause problems with the armor no?" Vel'koz said to Abathur.
"Indeed, it can be done however. Increasing the initial chrysalis stage, would require longer defense." Abathur replied.
"How much longer?" Maeve asked.
"Ten minutes. Up from the previous duration of two minutes." Abathur replied.
"Twelve minutes in the heat of battle might as well be a year. The abyss energies spike the moment the chrysalis process begins. Jaldabaoth will come for Neia the moment it starts, defending an abyss unstable static object for twelve minutes is a long shot." Maeve replied.
"Still it must be done, the Dark Soul's powers grow exponentially with age. The oldest Dark Soul ever recorded was 8 years old. Neia is 15 years old, she will raze this entire branch of the world tree if the stabilisation fails." Lilith said.
"Very well, will prepare accordingly." Abathur said.
"Then we might need to use the Legion of Ash below Arwintar." Maeve said.
"Then use it. This world is a speck in the scope of potential loss. The Legion can be recalled back into the Profaned Valley once all this is over. You all know the stakes of this, the dark souls are the next step in breaking the cycle. We will sacrifice every soul on this branch if we have to. The dark soul must be recovered." Lilith said.
"I agree with Lady Lilith." Vel'koz said with a floating nod of his one eyed head.
"We who serve the 41 closely must do what must be done." Maeve replied grimly.
"Agreed, numerous souls in the world tree, dark souls appear once every few eons. Time scale too vast for opportunity to be missed." Abathur agreed.
"Very well then, let's get to work." Maeve said as she and Abathur turned back to the screen and began working on the new gene structure.
The individuals gathered here besides Maeve were all ancient beings who have lived long before the Ordos existed. They have seen the age before the Ordos and the age before that and the age before that.
Abathur was a Gen 2 organism that predates most of the life in existence and he understands the seed of creation in ways few others can even begin to comprehend. He is evolution made manifest, to him the script of life is what a stone is to a sculptor. Flesh and bone is his craft, besides the gods there are none that are his equal.
Vel'koz is the product of an experiment by Bukubuku Chagama and Momonga. An attempt to make a rational Outworld Devourer. For the Outworld Devourers are an interesting breed of creature, they are one of two type creatures in creation that was spontaneously created with no intervention from the 41. The other type of creatures being abyss hollows and it is fitting that both of these types of creatures are born from this strange and all powerful substance. In the Outworld where creation meets the endless abyss strange things start to happen. The abyss when alone is static and unchanging. However when it interacts with creation it starts to change and create an imperfect mimic. The Hollows are mimics of a normal soul or a light soul as it is now called. The Outworld Devourers are mimics of worlds, for at the border of creation the abyss mimics the only thing it can cling onto. The fruits of the world tree, the realms of creation. So just as Hollows seek to devour souls, Outworld Devourers seek to devour worlds. For the abyss always seeks what it can never be, it seeks what it tried to be. Thus was created the Outworld a buffer zone where the Outworld Devourers reside, where without the fruits they seek, they settle for the next best thing, each other. Just like how the Hollows prey on each other within the Ringed City of the Profaned Valley.
So Vel'koz was created in an attempt to understand these strange creatures and the 41 learned much from his creation. Now he holds his vigil at one of the four citadels in the Outworld. These citadels are dedicated to monitoring and studying these fascinating and fearsome creatures. For once in a while one of these creatures slip through the barrier eating everything in its path. Fortunately the truly large Outworld Devoureres that are the size of some realms are not able to breach the barrier due to their size, it's the smaller ones that usually get through. Still to the denizens of the worlds that are attacked, these creatures are the size of mountains and can only be killed by the best the 41 has to offer.
Lilith the Forlorn Owl is the second Successor of Ash with the first being Mikhael the Argent Wolf. They have few responsibilities, but those that they are charged with are of grave importance. For in the Profane Valley lies the Abyss Walkers, Farron's undying legions, Momonga's final solution. Lord Farron, the first Abyss Lord who is chained in the darkest pit of creation commands his unspeakable host from his dread citadel of Anor Londo. Though he commands the legions he cannot leave the valley making him both warden and prisoner. So when the Abyss Walkers are required to leave the valley someone must command the legion. That is the task of the Successors of Ash, they lead this dread army to snuff out a world. Every soul, all that draws breath, dies before the march of death itself. For what is dead can never die, but rises again... stronger. The Successors march forward at the head of a host that turns life to ash with their very presence. They bring a sea of negative energy that kills even the undead. A world that is green and filled with life soon turns dead and grey, a land covered in ash, all things reduced to their base components. A perfect blank slate for the 41 to try again, to start again, a clean reset as the 41 called it.
Among these ancients Maeve's life is like a peck for she has only lived a few thousand years compared to their millions. Still they were not created equally, Maeve has not even come close to reaching her true potential. Still a juvenile by the standards of any of those that serve the 41 directly, her elders offer her a respect that is only due to a creation unlike any other. Even the commanders of the Ordo's have served in their posts longer than Maeve has been alive by tens of thousands of years. Which does make some of the commanders treat her strangely, Rafnar Skaoison, the Grand Hospitaller of the Ordo Hospitaller dotes on her like one would a niece. Khirophom Rokarr, Lord Commander of the Ordo Custodes treats her like his young protege, Belisarius Cawl Arch Magos of the Ordo Mechanicus takes her as his star pupil in the mechanical arts and Uriel Seriphinus, High Arch of the Ordo Iustitia guides Maeve like a mother would a child. Though their rank is equal the elders couldn't help but see Maeve as a child, regardless of how powerful she is. You can all have power in the world but your inexperience would always show, just like when she let Prince Barbro slip right through her fingers.
So Maeve could be said to be quite spoilt, for she gets special treatment wherever she goes. She is at least intelligent enough to realise this and tries her best to match the expectations placed upon her. By mortals standards she was almost divine in her abilities both in terms of physical abilities and knowledge. Still, before true masters of their field she has still a long way to go...
Baharuth Empire Capital, Arwintar
Renner sat in the meeting room with Jircniv, the pair had become very close over this past year. The burden of the dangerous truth and knowledge that they have been gifted has brought them together not merely as allies but as friends. It was strange Renner thought idly, just over a year ago, Maeve and Momon had walked into her throne room. At the time her father still ruled, her accursed brother still lived and the 41 were but echoes and myths. The Baharuth Empire were the sworn enemies of the Re-Estise Kingdom with their stalemate in the Katse Plains.
Now she sat with the Emperor of that Empire enjoying luxuries that neither of them could have imagined possible just over a year ago. Renner brought her cup of tea once again to her lips and savoured the fruity fragrance of this rare and impossibly expensive tea. A tea made of the petals of flowers that bloomed once every few decades, only blooming when the world tree itself was in bloom and the mana winds swelled all across the realms. The price of this tea was staggering, five kilograms of platinum per hundred grams of Silver Moon tea. She had received a chest worth of it weighing over 50 kilograms for her continued support of the efforts of the 41.
Indeed you could say the Re-Estise Kingdom was both geographically and strategically at the heart of the effort. Renner herself has offered to use the platinum that she received as a reward to fund the campaign's food. Lady Tyra was now physically in her mid twenties thanks to some clever Thaumaturgy from the Sylvanian Hemomancers who were historical servants of the Von Carstein line had restored her age by four decades. They were apparently the best Thaumaturgist in the all the realms. So now a very young and very loyal Lady Tyra has kicked her domain's food production to unprecedented levels. Elven druidic magic combined with her own agrarian heritage made her domain the largest producer of foodstuffs on the continent. As for his nephew Philip, he managed to fall off his horse during a hunting trip and then proceed to fall on his spear… or so the story goes...
Renner has been purchasing a large share of this food from Lady Tyra with an assurance that the crown would buy as much as she could produce. This was a fantastic deal for the House of Montserrat for based on economic theorem if the market is suddenly flooded with a type of good the price will plummet due to oversupply. However, if someone was buying it as fast as it was being produced then the demand would match the supply maintaining the price. Renner had allocated a kilogram of platinum as budget and so far after the harvest season she had only spent about 250 grams of platinum. It seems that wheat and barley no matter how good the price were still just wheat and barley.
Now the Re-Estise Kingdom was handling all the logistics for the Lizardmen or the Saurus Defenders of the Great Plan as they call themselves, the Dwarves and the Draconic Kingdom Reserves. They were also providing the food required for the Empire's Legions that were sitting on the Theocracy Border. Renner fully intended to use the fact that the Re-Estise Kingdom has the largest amount of fertile land to her advantage. Making so many factions owe her kingdom favours after the war would no doubt be useful. The only thing that bugged her about this plan was that the Ordo Malleus turned down any of her offered help.
Reports from the front indicated that the Ordo Malleus soldiers were eating better than all the armies and their logistics corps were able to keep up with their extreme logistical demands. Her armies only needed food and materials for repairing weapons as a constant supply chain. Everything else could just be gathered in a camp and be organised out in the field. The Ordo Malleus however needed ammunition, medical supplies and advanced components that can only be manufactured on other realms for their war machines. They even had luxuries like salt, spices, sugar, alcohol, sweets and those tobacco products that Jircniv was growing so fond of. Normally armies would struggle to even feed their armies on extended campaigns let alone have enough time and energy left over to provide luxuries. She heard those luxuries still flowed even as the armies pierced deep into the beastmen territories. All the while her own armies struggled to get fresh water to the front as the Ordo Malleus were poisoning every water source and salting the earth as they advanced in a type of reverse scorched earth tactic. When General Nimble raised his concerns about the supply issue the Ordo Malleus just proceeded to supply the allied armies as well as they continued to destroy the land they marched across.
Now according to her reports the beastlands north of the Draconic Kingdom was now an unlivable wasteland. The water sources were poisoned, the earth unfarmable thanks to a combination of chemical destruction and Necromancy. That was not to say that much was lost, the beastlands had soil that was barely farmable anyway, food, water and wildlife were sparse. That was why they attacked the Draconic Kingdom regularly in order to get food.
"A lot on your mind as always?" Jircniv said jokingly from the side.
"Don't we all? After all we are charged to guide our people, the crown is heavy even if most people don't know it." Renner replied with a laugh.
"There are perks to the job." Jircniv said as he nodded at the cup of tea in front of Renner.
"I suppose." Renner replied with another light laugh.
"At this rate you are going to be called the silver queen." Jircniv said with a laugh.
"And you'll be called the bald emperor." Renner shot back playfully.
"Touche." Jircniv said as he took another deep draw from the cigar in his hand.
"You like those things don't you?" Renner said as she gazed at the smoking cigar.
"It relaxes me, just like your tea." Jircniv said as he took another puff.
"I can't stand it, it feels horrible when you inhale the smoke." Renner replied.
"You aren't supposed to inhale it, you're supposed to hold the smoke in your mouth and blow it out. You don't get any of the flavour if you inhale it." Jircniv replied.
"Well the few times I tried it just ended in a coughing fit. Quite unbecoming of a queen don't you think?" Renner said.
"Well Field Marshall Elwing did mention that tobacco is most commonly enjoyed by males. Not sure why but that's what she said." Jircniv replied with a shrug.
"Just like Cognac I heard." Renner said as she gestured to the glass of amber liquid sitting in front of Jircniv.
"Yeah, like that, I heard you don't like fortified wine." Jircniv stated.
"Yes, it burns a bit too much going down. I prefer tea obviously, but when social etiquette demands I go for a lighter blend. I quite enjoy a Baharuth Pale Red, it's very smooth as compared to the Draconic and Re-Estise varieties." Renner said as she took another sip of her tea.
"I'm not surprised, it's a wine made for the ladies of the court. The lords prefer Baharuth Fire Wine, much stronger than the Pale Red." Jircniv said as he picked up his glass of Cognac.
"Although, there is a craze for Brandy in my Empire, most of the Lords can't afford it of course. They end up going for the cheaper Bourbon's that trickle in from the Realms. There aren't many bottles as most of the [World Gate] traffic in Arwintar is used for more important things. The nobles have started to call it nectar of the gods." Jircniv replied with a laugh.
"Well they haven't tried Ambrosia." Renner replied with a laugh.
"Even we can't afford that Renner." Jircniv said with a laugh of his own.
"Amazing how wealthy some of the lords on the other realms are." Renner said thoughtfully.
"Well wealth comes with importance doesn't it. Maeve mentioned the finest bottles of Ambrosia aren't even on the market, they are given to exceptional individuals." Jircniv replied as he took another puff.
"Have you tried Maeve's personal stash of Ambrosia?" Renner asked.
"Can't say I have. I expect it to be exceptional, seeing as she is a child of a god." Jircniv said.
"It is, she gave me some when I first found out my father was poisoned." Renner replied wistfully as she stirred her tea.
"The game of thrones is not a forgiving game, few survive it. I should know, I won after all… and so did you." Jircniv said sympathetically.
"Thank you, well her Ambrosia was different from the one we tried in Eden." Renner said.
"Different how?" Jircniv asked, leaning forward in interest.
"The Ambrosia in Eden only tasted like what we wanted most but Maeve's blend stirred old memories. The most comforting ones, it was strange, it somehow knew just what to show me." Renner said.
"If we disregarded the unfortunate circumstances that would be an impressive beverage." Jircniv said cordially.
"It is... liquid courage she called it. That's the blend's name, Liquid Courage 5k, the 5k stands for 5000 years. That's how long the ambrosia was fermented for. She mentioned there was another 25k blend as well but she doesn't drink it." Renner said.
"Impressive drinks, a drink that has been prepared for 5000 years would probably cost every coin on the continent. Although why doesn't she drink the 25k?" Jircniv replied.
"She said it makes people see things, like hallucinations, it's a lot stronger you see and it affects the person greatly. Not the most ideal drink for social settings." Renner said with a smile.
"I have to agree." Jircniv replied with a smirk.
It was then that the door was opened and in stepped Draudillon with Field Marshall Elwing. Behind them followed the Elf King Balon, the Dwarf King Belegar and unexpectedly the Dragon Lords of the Argland Council State.
"Oh this is interesting…" Jircnic said as his eyes came alight.
As the group took their seats and readied themselves for the meeting that would be a prelude for the invasion of the west.
"Thank you all for coming, we will now move onto the briefing on the next phase of the plan." Elwing said as she waved her hand and a three dimensional projection appeared on the table showing the western portion of the continent.
"Now I am sure all of you are aware of the Dragon Lords of Argland Council state?" Elwing said as she gestured to the seated Dragon Lords.
Those gathered all nodded in assent, the Dragon Lords sat uncomfortably as their introduction was curt and completely without grandeur.
"Your reputation precedes you my lords." Jircniv said on behalf of the nation that traditionally held the most cordial terms with the Argland Council State next to of course the Argland Council States sister kingdom the Draconic Kingdom.
"Normally we would have a bit more ceremony but time is short. First off an update on the current situation." Elwing said as she gestured to a flag denoting the different nations positioned at the border.
"As of now we have three empire legions on the Re-Estise Theocracy Border, they are supported by the Re-Estise Kingdom Second Army. On the other side of the border is positioned a Theocracy Army. As of now both sides are just staring each other down. Neither side can achieve a decisive victory at this point. The purpose of this is just to hold the Theocracy in check. The reason for this is right here." Elwing said as she waved her hand again and the Holy Kingdom and Crescent Lake lit up in red.
"The Crescent Lake is referred to as the soft underbelly of the Theocracy and is also within striking range of their grain stores. Winter is coming and when the offensive begins we will begin an assault on the Theocracy's lands, the goal is not to conquer it is to destroy their food stores. That objective is to be completed by the elven army which will be augmented by an Ordo Malleus Militia Division consisting of four Regiments of Mechanised Infantry. They are the veterans of the beast land campaign and will serve us well." Elwing said as she glanced at Balon.
Balon nodded in appreciation, in truth besides some specialists like Solanna and Quacey the Crescent Lake has received little direct military support. Yes the presence of allied armies of the border has tied down the Theocracies forces and given them some breathing room but it is good to hear that extra soldiers are on the way. To hear they would be receiving the veterans who had wiped out the Eastern Beastmen was a great relief.
"For the Holy Kingdom the assault will be a three pointed strike. The main thrust will be done by the 1st Army Group consisting of two Empire Legions, the Re-Estise 1st army, the Dawi Royal Army and an Ordo Malleus Division of similar composition of the division sent to the Crescent Lake. They will also be supported by the two Fallschirmjager Wings currently posted on the continent as well as the air support we can provide from the Tob Airbase. They will be making a thrust towards the Ice Gate Valley and their objective is to wipe out the Holy Kingdom army posted there and make a push for the city of Prart." Elwing said as she pointed to a red arrow pushing towards the city.
"The second thrust will be done by an amphibious landing at this port town, the same town that embarked the Holy Kingdom invasion army. These soldiers will land a few hours before the main thrust contacts the Holy Kingdom army. Their objective is to swing around and cut off the Holy Kingdom army at the Ice Gate valley. If the Holy Kingdom army routs this army will mop up the routing soldiers, if the battle is indecisive this army will strike them from the rear. This force is faster than the main thrust army and can outmaneuver any interception force." Elwing said as another red arrow showed this force circling behind the Ice Gate Valley.
"The final strike would be a deep strike on a debt internment camp in the Ice Gate Valley, it will be headed by an elite small force. The objective is to recover an High Value Individual or HVI. This objective is paramount over the others, the rest of the operation can fail but this one must not fail." Elwing said, to several raised eyebrows.
"So you would risk a hundred thousand souls to save one?" Balon asked, confused.
"Yes." Elwing replied curtly.
"May I ask why?" Balon asked.
"That information is classified, just know this individual is dangerous and in the wrong hands can spell disaster." Elwing replied calmly.
"Then what about us?" the Platinum Dragon Lord asked.
"The Argland Army will sit in the rear of the 1st Army Group with an Ordo Malleus Militia Division to serve as reserves in case the main thrust needs more manpower. The valley is too narrow to accommodate that many men. Your army will push behind the main army and spread out once we begin moving into the interior of the Holy Kingdom to take objectives." Elwing replied.
"Very well, then what about supplies? This will be a winter offensive, supply lines will be stretched, that's why most campaigns take place during the harvest season when the weather is forgiving and the food bountiful." the Platinum Dragon Lord said.
"We can handle the supply lines, we have the advantage in winter combat, the Re-Estise army and Empire legions are the ones that were posted at the Katse Plains. They are accustomed to the cold and will serve well." Elwing replied.
"The Arwintar Hussars will be there as well, they operated primarily in the Katse Plains for years. I am confident they can sweep the Paladin Cavalry that the Holy Kingdom can field. I am also assigning my Hippogriff Praetorian Guard to aid the Arwintar Hussars. The Arwintar Hussars also have new mounts courtesy of the Ordo Malleus, they now ride their mounts of old. The Demigryphs, half Hippogryph, half Lion. The Arwintar Hussars are ten thousand strong and led by one of my four knights, Leinas Rockbruise. As the old saying goes, it is madness to face the Empire on an open field. The valley is too narrow for two hundred thousand men but for ten thousand cavalry it is more than enough." Jircniv said with a smirk.
"As well as new equipment from my kingdom, the Dawi have equipped them with the finest wargear we can craft. The Holy Kingdom Paladins will be facing adamantite tipped lances and mithril armour for both the riders and their mighty mounts." Belegar added.
"Hmm very well…" the Platinum Dragon Lord replied as he gazed at the projection. It was then he realised there were strange lines displayed near E-Rantel along with a string of what looked to be fortifications on the western side of the city.
"What are these lines?" the Platinum Dragon Lord asked as he gestured to the lines.
"Those are railways, a transportation system for us to help transport supplies out from E-Rantel removing one bottle neck and allowing supplies to flow smoothly." Elwing replied.
"Fascinating…" the Obsidian Dragon Lord muttered.
The Platinum Dragon Lord however was bothered by that answer. He noticed this "railway" ran along the length of the fortifications. The unmanned fortifications were extensive covering a large area. Almost like a defense line, which judging by the size of it would need a considerable amount of soldiers to man. Something wasn't right… the HVI, the fact that their plan after defeating the Holy Kingdom army was so vague. Judging by the current situation, the coming battle would be easy, yet they are preparing as if they were going to lose. Or maybe the point wasn't to win… It was well hidden, for all intents and purposes this was an excellent plan. Still there were clues of the overarching plan hidden on this projection.
The High Elf was now talking about how they had set up a webway gate in the Crescent Lake to ensure they could send reinforcements easily when the main invasion began. Were they over cautious? Or perhaps they don't expect to win, that webway gate was for reinforcements? Or refugees? It would serve well as a way to reinforce the Crescent Lake but it would also serve well as a retreat path.
So as the meeting continued the Platinum Dragon Lord listened, and again and again he caught clues of this supposed other plan. The deployment of the Lizardmen so close to the E-Rantel as if it is a backup army. The navy was patrolling the waters apparently to maintain a sea route to keep deployment location of additional troops flexible. But they were also in a position to fire on the shore as if to cover a retreat. The airbase was too far from the Holy Kingdom to cover the entire war zone, they said they were going to catch the enemy armies in range of their air power. It was also in perfect range of the defensive line.
Something wasn't right…
As the meeting concluded the Platinum Dragon Lord remained seated as his fellows rose.
"You all go on, Field Marshall may I have a word in private?" the Platinum Dragon Lord asked.
Those gathered looked to the Platinum Dragon Lord and saw the clear edge in this gaze. Jircniv looked to the Dragon Lord then to Elwing's ears and let out an internal sigh. It appears the grudges of old still hold strong. Jircniv sensed Renner was about to speak, probably having realised it as well. Jircniv grabbed her arm silencing her, Renner shot him a look as she turned. Jircniv hardened his eyes and shook his head, Renner catching his meaning turned and began leaving.
As the rest of the occupants left the room, the Platinum Dragon Lord rose from his seat.
"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Elwing asked.
"The plan." the Platinum Dragon Lord replied.
"You heard the plan." Elwing said.
"The real plan…" the Platinum Dragon Lord said as he pointed to the line of fortifications.
"Punitto Moe has a saying, you can see the future in battle lines. You are expecting to lose. What are you afraid of?" the Platinum Dragon Lord asked.
"It's a contingency as I said earlier." Elwing replied calmly.
"You may be able to fool those younglings but not me. I am the only true survivor of the Six everyone else survived due to blind luck and convenience. I didn't survive by being stupid." the Platinum Dragon Lord replied.
"It appears you didn't survive by being humble either. Regardless of what you think you know, the plan will be revealed to you as it progresses. I have heard you are on thin ice with Momonga sama, so I suggest you stick to your instructions." Elwing replied coldly.
"Very well... but there is something you should know. When the faith of the 41 fell the Six could have finished us off, the so called six great gods had powerful magics. Spells tinged with darkness and Daemonic fire. Yet they didn't, ever since the pattern on the continent is constant war. Not a day passes where some poor soul gets disemboweled in this god forsaken land. The Six called the spells Holy Fire spinning it as some ultimate form of Divine Magic. To the humans who knew little of magic past the sixth tier ate up that explanation but I knew what that was. That was Daemon Magic, easy to pass off as a higher form Angelic Fire to the uninitiated. My soldiers are versed in melee fighting and the army composition is designed to counter Demons. None of the soldiers on the ground know this of course. If what I think is true is really true, it would make sense why you would not want to commit my forces to the initial invasion. I am sure you examined my nation's armies and drew the tactical conclusion from the composition." the Platinum Dragon Lord said.
"What about your fellows do they know?" Elwing asked.
"No, your ruse… if there is one, is one that is well hidden. I doubt any of the rest will notice." the Platinum Dragon Lord replied.
"I was talking about the army composition." Elwing said.
"No, only I am aware. Judging by your reply I'm guessing I am right. How did you think I saw through your ploy, I've been doing the same thing with my own nation." the Platinum Dragon Lord said with a weak smile.
"Not bad my lord, you would make a good commander. Keep this to yourself, we already have plans and arrangements in play for this." Elwing replied.
"I don't doubt it." the Platinum Dragon said as he gazed once again at the line of fortifications.
"Very well, I have learned all I need to know. You can count on my loyalty and obedience for this campaign. Good day Field Marshall." the Platinum Dragon Lord said as he turned. As he approached the door he heard Elwing speak again.
"My Lord." Elwing said.
"Yes Field Marshall?" the Platinum Dragon Lord asked as he turned his head.
War and death is the point...
You can increase the death rates by ensuring there is constant war between two factions
The 41 and the Six
One side never overpowering the other
Locked in a ceaseless struggle…
Death is the point of it all…
Slaine Theocracy
Jaldabaoth sat on his throne as he watched the six cardinals kneel before him, their heads so low they touched the floor. They were his slaves, the fools that they were, their minds corrupted with his dark magics. It was an ingenious system really, not to drown himself in self praise but this faith of the six is his masterwork. For you see there are three paths to control an individual, the body, the mind and the soul.
Reanimating a corpse through necromancy would be control of the body, this effectively creates a golem made of flesh and bone. Mind control would be control of the mind, it gains control but at the cost of the target's mental faculties creating a creature that was much more dull than the original. The final pathway is the most powerful, the ability to control the soul, this is a much more effective method for the target to keep all of its past abilities. There was only one catch to this, the control must be given willingly.
Control of the soul is not something that can be taken, it is always a gift. Such is the nature of the soul that was created by Bukubuku Chagama. The soul is an object of pure light, which is why they say children are innocent at birth. It is the tainted environment around them that warps the soul into a pale shadow of what it once was. Many attempts have been made in the past to wrest control of a soul, Jaldabaoth himself has added many of his own attempts to the pile and alas to no avail. From what he has learned the closest thing to stealing control of a soul was not even taking control of the soul itself, it was the replacement of a soul within the body to one that is more suitable to the perpetrator. This idea was born from how Abyss Hollows are created as dark mimics of the original soul that seek to devour the original soul to seize control of the body. This method however, works only on abyss hollows as a new soul will cause the body to die over time. The only reason it works with Abyss Hollows is because Abyssal creatures have the strongest regeneration abilities of any known creatures in creation.
So when Jaldabaoth needed a way to gain followers that would follow him unquestioningly he came up with an ingenious solution. When someone believes in deity they open their soul willingly, it is through this opening that he will gain control of the mortals in this realm. For Jaldabaoth had turned his little false faith into a massive ritual. The idols, the scripture, the belief system, the prayers, they were all a single massive incantation. More accurately it was a demon incantation. Every branch of magic has a sacred number referring to the number of points of the geometric shape of the spell structure. Daemonology used the six pointed star or the mark of the beast as it is known by the practitioner of Daemonology.
So the faith of the six worshipped six gods, a six sided star and said prayers with six lines. Once the individual fully believes in the faith their soul opens and he now controls them. His six starred brand then forms on the back of their heart binding their mind and body to his will. This also had to perk of him being able to easily differentiate who is loyal and who isn't. For in this spell he knows if someone is bound for they all answer to him. He can effectively keep his true followers on a short leash and betrayal is impossible. For they are either incapable of doing so or he will see it coming from a mile away.
All he had to do was ensure that the doctrine and rituals are adhered to strictly. Saying every prayer word for word, every idol crafted to exact specifications, all engravings in perfect geometry. He created the inquisition just for this purpose to enforce the doctrine and the rituals. Afterall only the truly devout can adhere to the scripture strictly enough to unknowingly bind themselves to him.
Jaldabaoth looked at the kneeling Cardinals, he looked to his dogs and warmongers. The slaves to his grand design of ascension. His slaves bear his glowing six pointed brand upon their foreheads. They believe that the brand is a sign of true faith and the blessing of the six. Well the six were just dogs that he used, they were mortals and they died as mortals. For the spell to work he needed six and he needed six after they were in the ground. So there are six cardinals, six churches and six scriptures. Though most of his scriptures were decimated by the forces of Eden he doubted the 41 had truly turned their gaze to this world. Besides the scriptures were just a front, a paper thin mask over his true army. He was after all a demon lord, the eradication of the High Elves and Dragons left a gaping void in the mana capacity of this world. A void he gladly filled with his minions. His army lay dormant below his feet in the holding areas known to none except him, when the need arises he can drown this world in demons.
The Ordos were monolithic organisations, their size made sure that some parts of it must act independently. The fact that they only brought so much force proved to him that the 41 were not aware of him yet. He knew a Custodian was here for the guardians at the water temple in Valencia were activated. Only a Custodian could activate the guardians, their key was something he had tried to replicate with little success. In the eyes of the Ordos this must be just some small forgotten rogue world. That was what he disguised this world as afterall, hiding it amongst a sea of lesser realms on the outer rim of Yggdrasil.
"Great speaker, voice of the six, the eastern nations turn from the light of the six, they stand on the door of church. How much longer must we wait for the advent of the holy warriors?" Cardinal Dominic asked.
"Soon child, soon, the six has spoken to me in my visions. They say they need time to determine who is true and who has turned from the light." Jaldabaoth replied with practiced ease. These feeble minded fools, it was always too easy.
"The Holy Kingdom is on the cusp of defeat, the armies of the 41 march intent on destroying the six's great works." Cardinal Raymond said.
"Sacrifice is the way of the Six great gods, just as they sacrificed themselves for the good of mankind so must we. Or have you forgotten my good Cardinals?" Jaldabaoth replied.
"We have not, great speaker." the Cardinals replied in unison.
"Then prepare yourselves and trust in the Six, deliverance will come to the worthy." Jaldabaoth said.
"Yes, great speaker." the Cardinals replied reverently.
"Now go, prepare the defenses of the faith. The faith faces the greatest threat since the crisis that necessitated the advent of the Six." Jaldabaoth commanded.
As the Cardinals bowed and left the room Jaldabaoth smiled as he watched their retreating backs illuminated by the arcane construct behind his throne. He turned to gaze at the massive arcane construct behind him. An archaic technological marvel born from the minds of the Phase Smiths of the ancient Khalai.
The Abyss Reactor, a magical construct designed to siphon abyss from the deaths of creatures within a realm. It was designed to help passively harvest Abyss within a realm, when creatures died they release trace amounts of abyss, for the abyss is not just death itself, it is the entire concept of death. Most of the time the abyss is dispersed causing grief to those around the fallen, this is why death is painful to mortals, few knew this of course. For that knowledge like this Abyss Reactor was sealed away for a reason that is known to him. What grand design this reactor served Jaldabaoth knew not, all he knew was what this could give him. With every death the reactor fills, fueling his grand ambition. So he created a realm locked in eternal conflict, bred the denizens of this realm like livestock so that they may die. Humans against demi humans, believers against heretics, nation against nation.
With their deaths soon he can be truly free...
Just a bit more, then his creation would be complete...
Authors Notes:
Hey guys sorry for the long wait, kind of got stuck on a writers block for a while. Hopefully the next chapter will come out much more quickly, this is just a build up chapter with the final act beginning soon.
So once again leave a review if you enjoyed the story, I am always happy to read your reviews and it gives me that extra motivation to write. See you guys in the next chapter!