Currently, the Outer Wilds were a massive battleground. It wasn't just one or two battles that were taking place within the vast expanse of corrosion; practically the entire plains were covered in the flames of war.
On one of these battlefields particularly close to Avalon, two separate fronts were being occupied. On the ground, leagues of 3rd class existences fought to the last breath like common soldiers. Their numbers blotted out the earth, painting a sea of black and red.
In the sky, dozens of 4th class beings were engaging in their own battle. Now that war had completely broken out, these forces were not being spared any longer. And they were fighting with everything they had.
This massive battle created a swirl of rampant mana and blood that enveloped the area outside of Avalon.
"Haa! Your vile kind will not triumph over us!" A man dressed in all white yelled as he brought his greatsword down. A large sword projection made of light followed its path, crushing down on his opponent.
"Hahaha! Vile?! You call us who just want to survive vile?!" The man across from him was dressed in dark green clothing and had a particularly ugly face. It was clear he'd been experimented on at least a few times while in Niflheim.
The two fighters' mana clashed, causing a wolf explosion that consumed them both. But even within these chaotic shockwaves, they continued fighting. Greatsword against spear, their every collision shattered space, creating dangerous pockets in which if they ever accidentally entered, they'd die.
The clash between these two wasn't even the greatest among the 4th classes on the battlefield. Across from them, two massive men stood facing each other, their fists connecting hundreds of times every second.
Just like everyone else, they caused massive destruction as they fought, however, there was a stark difference. That was, these two men only used physical strength and mana reinforcement to battle.
Although it was strange to do so in a life-or-death confrontation, nobody questioned their actions. After all, if those two began to utilize their Nodal Weaponry and push their mana externally, everyone around them would die without fail.
This was because they were both peak 4th class existences just a single step away from Divinity!
The battle continued to rage on for many minutes, but before anything even close to a proper conclusion could be reached, the air began to tremble.
The ground followed soon after. A terrific earthquake shook the earth, creating chaos on the battlefield taking place there. Even the 4th classes in the sky weren't safe from these wild shockwaves.
The battle inadvertently paused as everyone questioned the ongoing situation. Their eyes wandered and their awarenesses spread, but to no avail.
"What's going on?!"
"Are we being sieged?!"
"Shit! It's a trap! Everyone run!"
It was unknown who said it, but after it was said, chaos ensued. Everyone in the vicinity rushed to escape, trampling each other as they did so.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a single place for them to go.
Far in the distance, the earth pulsed around a certain Hub City. The entirety of Avalon buzzed as if the city had a life of its own.
As the oscillations continued, a massive moat began to form around Avalon, disconnecting it from the surrounding land.
From the start, Avalon was different from the other Hub Cities. Because under Lynn's command and careful years of hard work, the entire city had been turned into a siege weapon.
RUMBLE!
Avalon dislodged from the ground, finally letting the earthquakes end. It became a floating island that slowly ascended into the sky.
And not long after, it began to move.
With its sheer size, Avalon wasn't a target that could be easily missed. From the battlefield many kilometers away, countless practitioners witnessed its ascent.
"That is…!"
"Oh my god…"
"We're done for…"
The exclamations became muted, and the chaos came to a halt. With such a striking visual impact, the fighting spirit of these weaker 3rd class fighters had been directly crushed.
But was Lynn a kind person?
Within Avalon's main control room, the same room he always occupied, Victor watched the proceedings outside through the countless camera devices placed around Avalon's perimeter.
When he saw the battlefield, there was only one order he needed to give.
"Kill."
Whether it be Niflheim or Asgard, they were all the Master's enemies. This made things far easier for him.
Avalon listened to his command. Massive cannons spanning tens of feet in length surfaced on the city, perimeter. An even larger number of smaller weaponry units did the same.
And then, they fired.
DU! DU! DU! DU! DU!
The sound was deafening. These dozens of cannons all gathered and compressed different kinds of elemental mana, forming an array of blasts that razed everything in their path.
When they reached the battlefield in a mere instant, a heaven-shaking explosion rang out. All the 3rd classes immediately perished in the blast.
As for the 4th classes…
"Fuck!"
The white-robed man cursed while coughing out a mouthful of blood. His body was hit by the explosion's shockwave, blasting him even closer to Avalon's position. He was incredibly unlucky!
As he saw the siege city preparing to fire again, panic washed over his face. He knew that in his current condition, he didn't have enough mana to escape. Hell, none of them did.
But if he was going to die…
His eyes landed on the green-clothed man he'd been fighting before. His body moved rapidly, arriving at the man's position in an instant.
"If I'm dying, I'll at least do it after I kill you! Hahahaha!"
He laughed maddeningly, burning his blood vitality in a final attempt to kill his enemy. His body turned into a beacon of holy light that was even able to cleanse a small portion of the corruption in the atmosphere.
"You…!"
The green-robed man called out in panic. He rapidly revolved his mana and attempted to form a sturdy barrier, but how could he have that sort of time?
The white-robed man's light beam fell onto his body, cleaving him directly in half. And only a second later, Avalon let off its second volley.
The white-robed man grinned without fear. "To eliminate one more enemy before I go, and fight until the bitter end!"
He charged fearlessly into the coming barrage, his sword in hand. As the light of explosion swallowed him whole, nobody could bring themselves to scorn him.
He'd died better than the rest of them at least.
That was their final thought before the explosion swallowed them as well. Coupled with the precision weapons that were firing at the same time, this blast guaranteed their deaths.
When the battlefield cleared with not even a single bone remaining, Avalon stopped firing. Victor's lips curved into a bright smile.
"On to the next location."
As he hummed happily, the siege city drifted away, ready to peruse the Outer Wilds and kill anyone it saw.
Of course, there were two forces safe from this death sentence. First was Shadow Garden, which Lynn was a part of, and second was the Cloud Plane's forces, which Damien was a part of.
Luckily, these two forces were quite easy to differentiate from Asgard and Niflheim, so there was no need to worry about friendly fire.
