When the Magi army heard Zatiel's proposition, everyone cheered, and the dissatisfaction they were feeling was immediately erased and changed into fighting spirit.
Even though Dante will remain in the commander position regardless of the outcome, if the best of them win, he will have the authority to interfere with the battle strategies, giving him the chance to correct any possible mistake happening due to the boy's youth and apparent inexperience.
They would have preferred to obtain full control of the commander and strategist position, but they understood that Zatiel will not give control of his people to anyone he does not trust.
Those who fulfill the role of commander in the Magi army were satisfied with this arrangement, especially when they hear about the reward they will obtain if they win.
The Daybreak runes were already very popular in the empire, due to their ability to always work over their limits, and although they did not know much about their armors, the ones that those dragonborns were wearing was something any one of them will want.
It didn't take long for those that considered themselves the best of their armies when it comes to strategy to gather together.
A fighting contest did not make sense since it was not their personal battle abilities that was being tested and after a small discussion, they decided the best method to choose the one who will fight against Dante will be a game of "go".
"Go" is a strategy board game, very popular in the mortal world that despite its apparent simplicity, requires a great level of strategy. The one that the Magi were about to play was a little different, as it was played in a three-dimensional board, with several battles at different battlefields, happening at the same time, separated from each other but that influenced the rest.
This type of battlefield with diverse layers was useful to represent how battle among supernatural beings works.
When two armies fight, the life forms with superior Rank will usually fight against each other not interfering with those weaker until their opponent is defeated but once the winner is set among them, they will interfere in the fight with those of lesser power, unless they are seriously injured and the number of their opponents is too much.
Seeing that everything was in motion, Zatiel decided to focus on recovering his depleted energy. So he proceeds to sit down and starts taking cubes of food from his spatial ring and devours them.
Dante was beside Zatiel, and despite everything, he was calm. He was wearing a black Rank 2 armor and rotating around his hand were thousands of miniature arrows filled with runic inscriptions.
Although he could have chosen a Rank 3 armor, the energy needed to activate its magic defenses will be too much for him, and it will mean he will only be using a piece of metal that could not protect him from the magic properties on his enemies attacks.
He was not wasting his time, and with his Eye of Life and Creation, he was analyzing all of those Magi that were contesting for the commander position, and simulating thousands of different scenarios in his head and preparing the best possible strategy to fight against them and win.
The sun was about to rise and currently, there were only two people left of those who are skilled in strategies and were testing their abilities to see who will lead the Magi army against Dante.
All those Soul Forging existence were very interested in this battle, especially those whose people were in the final round.
There is no one among them that is not competitive and having the best people under their command was something they take great pride in since it meant that they had a discerning eye for talent.
Finally, the winner was decided. He was an Advanced Rank 2 Magus named Rolo and was a middle-aged man with short black hair and a very serious expression.
No one was surprised that he would win since despite his battle power not being greatest, he has been in several world wars and his skills have improved with consecutive battles.
Seeing that the commander of the Magi side was decided, Heinz, spoke.
"I am willing to bet fifty million magic crystals and ten high-quality origin stones on Dante's victory," Heinz was giving a challenging smile at the rest as he made the bet.
Some Soul Forging existences were surprised by Heinz's bet.
For them magic crystals, although useful, were very easy to obtain, but origin stones were things that everyone wanted. But even if you had the money, you could not just buy it.
"You are very confident in the boy's abilities," A man whose body resembled a Trent spoke.
He was a Rank 4 Magus named Ronald and was the leader of Rolo. He has seen the capabilities of his man in diverse scenarios and he knew what he was capable of. So he was interested when Heinz mentioned the bet.
"Do you want to bet or not?" Heinz has always been very straightforward, so he went straight to the point.
He was there when the boy was born and knows his abilities so he was sure that leading an army of one hundred and five was something incredibly easy for him.
In the end, Ronald along with four other Rank 4 individuals bet against Heinz. They could feel that the boy was extremely young, and they were confident in their chances of victory.
As Heinz was accepting those bets, all of a sudden he looked at Zatiel and after a moment he spoke again.
"I have another thing to bet, a Star Heart and ten personalized High Rank 3 runic sets, but I will only do it for the soul and body of a Void Creature with swallowing abilities"
Heinz's bet and condition raised interest in a lot of the Soul Forging Magi, and they looked at the person on the dragon's head since he was the only one in this place that could create runic sets.
Most of them were tempted since the Star Heart was something needed in any world war and although a High Rank 3 runic set was not useful for them, it will be a great reward for their most powerful people.
Unfortunately, a Void Creature with swallowing abilities was not something easy to obtain and just when Heinz thought the bet was not going to happen, a soft voice was heard.
"I am willing to bet but with the condition that in case I lose, I can buy those runic sets at a later date."
Zitra was the one who spoke, and she glanced at Zatiel before looking back at Heinz.
Heinz did not respond immediately, but after a second, he nodded.
With all the possible bets out of the way, they all looked at Rolo and were seeing how he was forming his army.
The one hundred Rank 1 Magus were all chosen from his original group, the ones he was more familiar with, despite not all of them being at the Master level.
His action made the rest of the strategists and some Soul Forging nod in approval. Although individual power was relevant, in a battle like this, it was more important to know your army's weaknesses and strengths and being able to make them act as one.
For the five Rank 2 slots, he chose four of the people of his original group and one from another.
The new integration was not very powerful and his strength was only at the Advanced level, something that raises questions since there were more powerful Rank 2 Magi in his original group.
Dante had also already selected his Sunlight Champions, with eighty Sunlight Warriors as the vanguard carrying a shield in their left hand and a spear in the right one, and twenty Sunlight Mages in the rear carrying each one a staff.
Both groups have activated their Ranks Spells, with the Sunlight Warrior using Sun Form, which allows them to partially transform their bodies into sun flames, giving them impressive speed and also diminishing any type of physical and magical damage that reaches them.
The Sunlight Mages were using the Sun Guard that created a dome of flames around them, shielding them from damage and also helping them channel their energy faster.
All the people that were not going to fight had retreated to a safe distance and only the two armies facing each other in the center were left.
The Magi army under Rolo was also in battle formation and had activated their Rank Spells, creating all sorts of phenomena around them.
Most Sunlight Champions had just entered the Advanced level of Rank 1 and were weaker than those Magus that were mostly at Master Rank 1, but that difference was mended by those armors and runes in their bodies, which were much better than that of their opponents.
Although they had obtained this power by the use of external means, neither Rolo nor the rest of the Magi thought there was something wrong with it since the equipment has always been a very important part of an army.
After all, who could be so stupid as to think that in a war, your enemy will not use their armors and weapons, just because theirs were better than yours.
Dante, along with the three giants in black armor and the two dragons had flown in the sky, as did Rolo and his five Rank 2 Magi.
Around Dante, a Sun Domain appeared, and a bow made purely of golden flames was generated on his hand.
With both parties having finished their preparations, they were waiting for the Soul Forging existences to cover all of them with their consciousness.
With their consciousness around every single person fighting, those Soul Forging could generate a membrane that will save anyone in case a fatal blow was to land on them, of course, that will mean they will need to leave the fight.
Thanks to this, both armies will be able to fight without any restrictions and showing their true capabilities.
Rolo and Dante were looking at each other, ready to make their move the instant they felt the consciousness touch them.
Without alerting anyone and with an incredible speed, a red and green consciousness covered both armies and signaled the start of the battle.
