Until this point, both sides had only been sending out 3rd class soldiers and the occasional 4th class to manage them. Even Niflheim's mass-produced Puppet Mechs couldn't surpass the barrier of 4th class strength.
This was the result of choosing quantity over quality.
When Long Chen and his private militia entered the fray, things became even more chaotic. Asgard and Niflheim weren't able to just focus on each other anymore, they had to be wary of countless others who wanted to reap benefits from their conflict.
But Long Chen's group was different from those vultures. Their advent onto the battlefield earned them the nickname of "Bloody Cavalry," depicting how they charged in without fear and caused a river of blood to flow under their feet.
The Bloody Cavalry was one of the most difficult threats to deal with, because they weren't interested in anything other than killing. Whenever battle broke out in important capture points, they'd always appear and ruin the flow, taking the battlefield as their own stage.
And due to their interference, the battlefield itself slowly moved away from the Hub Cities and territories of the two organizations. Because this was the only way the Bloody Cavalry would lessen their intervention.
Long Chen grinned as he watched this change take place in real-time. From the beginning, his goal wasn't to kill.
He wanted to save people.
The innocents residing in these Hub Cities unaware of the world's undercurrents, he didn't want to see them harmed as collateral damage. This was why the Bloody Cavalry only acted when important capture points or facilities within Hub Cities were involved.
And their reputation slowly grew to a point where it preceded them. The thick bloodlust that signified their arrival would immediately cause battles to end and relocate, achieving the purpose Long Chen aimed for all along.
While Long Chen led the Bloody Cavalry from its head, Athan Strohm acted as their tail, staying behind the desk and taking care of the troublesome matters. The two together formed a perfect combination.
As for Long Chen, he was ecstatic. If this was how Damien felt whenever he acted, it was no wonder he became an arrogant asshole. Living like this was simply too good!
"Hahaha! Good job, boys!" Long Chen laughed raucously as he raised his mug of liquor into the air. "We've become heroes of our generation, but this isn't our end! By the end of this war, the entire universe will know our names!"
""OOOOOOOOOH!""
The Bloody Cavalry was a brotherhood, and they celebrated like one as well. Now that their main goal of diverting the battlefield had been achieved, they had the capital to celebrate for a bit.
But not everyone was as jovial as them.
Within Evotech Headquarters, a woman stoically stared at the screen in front of her. On it was a status report of the happenings in Avalon.
'So that bastard actually managed to absorb it. I don't know if I should praise him or curse him.' Lynn Carter thought to herself.
She had originally put the World Core Fusion Reactor up as bait to lure Damien into her plans, but who knew the situation would erupt without her help? Ironically, things had developed to the point where it'd actually benefit her more if Damien became more powerful, making her loss hurt far less than it would have.
But as she looked at the screen, a frown still colored her face. 'He won't wake up in time to guide the conflict, and his friend is too justice-minded to be of any help. Is it finally time to begin?'
Lynn hesitated for a second. After building strength for so many years, it almost felt like a waste to use it all. But then again, what else was the strength she built for if not this very moment?
The hesitation coloring her face faded, replaced by a cold determination. Without suspense, she took out a communication device.
"Victor, proceed with the plan. Let everything loose and stir things up. Make it so that even the 4th-class experts are unable to persist. Only at that point will things be saturated enough for us to usurp everything."
"…I understand, Master." A hoarse voice responded to her cold command. This was the same voice of the rancid man Damien had seen when he first entered Lynn's workshop.
The rancid man, Victor, put down his communicator and sighed. "Haa, it's such a shame. A force like this would normally be enough to conquer an entire world, but this world is just too convoluted. Just how many years of hard work will be destroyed in the coming days?"
Even while complaining, his hands danced along a holographic keyboard. Parts of his body turned into smoke and drifted into different parts of the room, activating certain mechanisms that had never seen the light of day.
"I feel bad for whoever ends up dealing with all this shit, but I'm also incomparably excited. Just how will things develop? And how will they change after that man finally wakes up? Hahaha, the master is always up to something interesting!"
Victor pushed down on the final command he needed. Now that everything was properly loaded, it was time for Avalon to show its strength.
***
Deep below Victor's location, Damien's body lay curled up in a fetal position submerged in a vat of red liquid. This was the same position he'd maintained for almost an entire month at this point.
Within his mind, countless scenes kept flashing by. The creation and destruction of stars, the foundational workings of the universe, these esoteric concepts flooded his brain until he couldn't think of anything besides them anymore.
At the same time, he watched supernovas and black hole formations, understanding the relations between stars and celestial bodies. Slowly but surely, something within him was awakening.
And at the same time, the three projections in his spiritual world that represented his three bound worlds were inching closer and closer to each other, influenced by the power of the mysterious red liquid around Damien's body.
The World Laws stirred in excitement. Thunder clouds formed in the roof of the massive cave, shrouding the entire place in shadow and sparks of lighting.
Damien's consciousness jolted awake. "No!" He exclaimed inwardly. Now that he had control over his body again, he rapidly suppressed his mana, coating his body in a cocoon of Void Essence.
And when he was finally hidden away from the world, the thunderclouds and worldly phenomena began to disperse as well.
Within the cocoon, Damien sighed a breath of relief. 'Hah, to think I almost crossed into 4th class on accident! It seems the comprehension stemming from this mysterious treasure-machine hybrid was enough to finally push me over the edge and saturate my boundary…but it isn't time yet. I can't promote until I've finished absorbing the World Core Fusion Reactor, or the consequences will be disastrous.'
Because his realm had been saturated, it could be said that Damien was at the perfect state to attack 4th class, but reality was different.
As Damien submerged himself into the World Core Fusion Reactor's illusory world and experienced the visions it showed him, his World Cores had already begun the process of fusion. If he stopped now before finishing this process and wantonly promoted, he'd suffer a heavy injury from the backlash.
'It shouldn't be long. Another week at least, a month at most. Within that time, the Celestial and Star Squadrons should arrive and the war should begin. I need to hurry.'
Damien returned himself to the Fusion Reactor's illusory world, sinking into the visions of universal truth once more.
Only, he never would've expected that, unlike what he assumed, the war had already begun, and it was blazing with fervor more intense than the sun itself!
