Chapter 46

"Report: so far, no other military forces have been sighted. Aside from the first two Group Armies and the Wendigo Legion, no reinforcements have arrived in this area during this period."

"Excellent. It seems our esteemed Red Dragon Emperor has indeed been blinded by greed. To dare to hold us in such contempt while advancing deep into enemy territory alone—truly audacious."

"We are all dukes who have rendered illustrious service to Victoria. Yet the current Emperor insists on branding us as rebels. No doubt, having only recently ascended to the throne in Victoria, His Majesty's foundation is shallow, and he has been deceived by treacherous sycophants at his side. This campaign must purge those villains and make His Majesty understand our heartfelt intentions."

"Pass the order: rest for one night. At noon tomorrow, we launch the assault on Londinium!"

P.S.: The second chapter should be around eleven o'clock.

Chapter 98: Beneath Heaven's Strike, All Are Ants—Annihilation of the Duke Coalition Army!

The next day, atop the walls of Londinium, capital of Victoria.

Soldiers drawn from two Ursus Group Armies stood guard in full readiness, while Talulah and An Xiu stood alone on a section of the wall, their gazes fixed on the vast Duke Coalition Army in the distance.

Having known in advance that they would face at least two Ursus Group Armies, the Victoria dukes had scraped together every last resource. The Duke Coalition Army now besieging Londinium numbered at least four to five hundred thousand.

An Xiu wasn't curious how these dukes could muster such a massive force. After all, as the nation occupying the richest land on Terra and the one with the most overt national strength, these Victoria dukes could only be described as disgustingly wealthy.

A single duke's holdings could independently fund a war on a national scale, let alone several dukes joining forces.

These troops weren't rabble conscripted from infected or mercenaries; they were elite soldiers rigorously trained to regular army standards, well-equipped and fully supplied. It was easy to imagine that if they didn't prioritize quality, the force they could raise would be at least double that size.

"How should we respond next? Do you need me to command the Group Armies in battle against the Duke Coalition?"

Talulah asked An Xiu beside her.

"That's not impossible, but I think there's a better way."

An Xiu shook his head in response.

In truth, despite the enemy's massive scale, if An Xiu wanted to win, even just two Group Armies plus the Wendigo Legion would be more than enough.

Not only were there ways to win, but there was more than one.

For instance, replicating the operation that conquered Kazimierz—having the Shadow Troopers airdrop hundreds of Wendigos directly onto the enemy command post, letting those dukes and high-ranking officers experience what it felt like to have a group of Wendigos, each on par with an Inner Guard, jump them. Kill every officer and high-ranking official capable of command, and the remaining rank-and-file soldiers, no matter how numerous, would instantly fall into chaos, easily defeated and absorbed.

Or An Xiu could simply charge into the Coalition with Talulah, going full one-man-army mode and slaughtering everything. Talulah might not manage it, but with his current strength, he could definitely break the Duke Coalition Army. Even if An Xiu didn't want to act personally, he could stall for a few days, call Mobius over to give Talulah a round of Flame Chaser Surgery, and then let the enhanced Talulah—a Fusion Warrior plus ultimate boosted version—give the Coalition a proper lesson.

But while all these ideas could secure victory, they lacked a certain shock value. For these beasts who, upon hearing of their arrival, didn't welcome the king's army with food and drink but instead formed a coalition to resist, An Xiu needed to make them truly taste despair.

Thus, An Xiu decisively chose the flashiest approach.

"Order the Group Armies and garrison troops to hold the city and not engage. As for the Coalition raised by these rebellious dukes, leave them to Jibril."

Yes, An Xiu was going to let these ignorant Terra bumpkins experience firsthand Jibril's earth-shattering power—the kind that could single-handedly crush the entire world!

"Leave it to Miss Jibril?"

Thinking of Jibril, who often floated behind An Xiu and looked like a Sarkaz but not quite, Talulah scratched her head and nodded in agreement.

"Understood."

She'd never seen Jibril fight before. Could Miss Jibril really have that kind of strength—enough to take on a regular coalition of this scale all by herself?

According to common sense on this land, no matter how strong an individual was, they couldn't change the outcome of a war. A lone powerhouse, no matter how formidable, couldn't stand against a High-Speed Warship. But then again, An Xiu and Mobius had already shown them the Improved Monster Cells and Limit Break Potions that doubled one's strength with no side effects, the Wendigo Legion that spawned over a thousand new members every month out of thin air, and the Shadow Troopers and Shadow Kingdom that could teleport troops straight to the enemy's rear...

Was any of this in line with common sense?

So at this moment, even though An Xiu made the absurd declaration of sending Jibril alone to face a coalition of hundreds of thousands, Talulah didn't question it. She chose to trust him without hesitation.

It felt like her common sense and brain were being violated, but Talulah didn't mind. In fact, she hoped it would happen more often.

This feeling of tossing aside her brain and just charging ahead was incredibly satisfying. If only handling government affairs could be as easy as fighting.

Thus, noon arrived.

The Duke Coalition Army, long prepared, began its advance in orderly waves.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

Countless Originium Cannons roared, and a barrage of energy shells hurtled toward the walls of Londinium.

The soldiers on the walls stared grimly, ready to defend. But before the Originium shells could land, they were intercepted midair by some force and detonated in place.

Rumble! Rumble!

A massive volley of Originium shells exploded simultaneously, unleashing a blinding light that engulfed the entire sky above Londinium. Soldiers on the walls, Ursus Group Army troops waiting inside the city, and even the Duke Coalition soldiers outside all shut their eyes involuntarily.

When the light faded, what came into view was Londinium completely unharmed, along with a faintly glowing transparent barrier enveloping the entire city.

"[Fourth Ancient Blessing]."

Midair above the wall, Jibril withdrew her hand, a troubled expression on her face.

"Master really knows how to give me difficult tasks. Defeat this coalition in the most shocking way possible, while ensuring minimal damage to the city, and without affecting other cities or nations."

"It's not impossible, but wielding just enough force to crush ants without destroying the anthill is a tricky balance."

Still, he was her master.

The greatest value of this power was to entertain her master. As for this coalition... being expendable material in a show meant to please her master gave them some worth, she supposed. In that case, she'd put in a little effort.

In the distance, through the barrier enveloping the city, the Duke Coalition spotted Jibril as well.

"Was that Sarkaz woman flying in the air the one who blocked the artillery barrage?"

A duke snorted coldly and immediately ordered his men to prepare the army to continue the attack.

One person alone, even if protecting an entire city was worthy of admiration, how long could a single individual hold out?

Could that one person outlast the endless barrage of Originium Shells from their Duke Coalition Army?

Yet before the soldiers who received the order could resume their assault, the situation suddenly shifted again.

"That Sarkaz woman seems to have flown out of the barrier? And she's still climbing higher!"

"What is she trying to do?"

Under the gaze of countless coalition troops, the Winged One girl with her pure white wings 'slowly' ascended into the sky, her gaze calmly looking down at the insignificant masses below.

The halo above her head brightened slightly, and a complex Magic Formation unfolded.

In that instant, hundreds of thousands of coalition soldiers simultaneously felt a suffocating pressure, as if some force had materialized in the air, making every breath a struggle.

The primal instinct buried deep in their bodies awakened. Everyone bowed their heads and clutched their chests, sharing an overwhelming sense of danger and death, yet unable to pinpoint its source.

Finally, one coalition soldier seemed to notice something. His face twisted in terror as he tremblingly pointed a finger at the sky.

"The, the sky... there's something in the sky!"

The surrounding coalition soldiers followed his gaze and gasped in shock. Within moments, the entire coalition had spotted the anomaly.

Where the Sarkaz woman had risen, the sea of clouds parted abruptly, spiraling into a vortex over a hundred kilometers in diameter. At the center of that vortex, a pitch-black 'sun' slowly descended.

Yes, a pitch-black sun brimming with an aura of annihilation—the coalition could think of no better description.

Everyone lost the ability to speak, watching helplessly as if a divine judgment had descended upon the mortal world.

"Heaven's Strike."

Above the sea of clouds, Jibril spoke softly.

The next second, the black sun exploded, transforming into a blinding white light that engulfed everything.

Boom—!!!

Sky, earth, city, coalition...

Kilometers, tens of kilometers, hundreds of kilometers!

In that moment, every nation across Terra saw the towering white light rising from Victoria. Countless powerful beings felt their hearts tremble, their bodies shaking instinctively.

"Victoria, what in the world is happening?!"

Update Delay Notice

Today's update is postponed to after 12:00, before 6:00 the next morning. The next day's update schedule remains unaffected.

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Chapter 99: The New Nation's Name Shall Be the Holy Terra Empire

As the white light faded, the scene outside Londinium slowly revealed itself to those within the city.

Mountains had turned to dust, plains had become basins, and the Duke Coalition Army outside the city had vanished without a trace—ashes and all. Hundreds of thousands of coalition troops were annihilated in a single strike, wiped out in an instant.

All that remained was a Sky Pit hundreds of kilometers in diameter, centered on Londinium.

Staring at the sight, as if divine punishment had descended upon the world, the soldiers on the city walls stood dumbfounded. This earth-shattering scene was far beyond their comprehension.

Jibril's figure descended from midair, landing beside An Xiu to claim her praise.

"How was that, Master? I controlled it pretty well, didn't I? This Heaven's Strike was just at the limit of not affecting other cities. The commotion just now should have been felt by every nation on Terra."

"Not bad at all."

Looking at Jibril, whose face showed no strain or shortness of breath—clearly the attack had cost her little—An Xiu nodded in approval. Then he patted Talulah, who stood beside him with a similarly dazed expression.

"Alright, now that Victoria's Duke Coalition is wiped out, you can arrange for the Group Army to fully take over this nation."

With the Duke Coalition gone, Talulah's takeover of Victoria would face no further obstacles.

After spending about ten days commanding the Group Army—now fervently fanatical after witnessing a fraction of Jibril's power—to sweep through all the major cities within Victoria, the strongest nation on Terra had officially changed hands.

Inside the Londinium palace.

Using the Shadow Troopers to travel from Ursus and Kazimierz, Mobius, the Doctor, and Kal'tsit—whom the Doctor had brought along—gathered in the conference room. They were discussing the merger of Ursus, Kazimierz, and Victoria with Talulah and An Xiu, who were accompanied by Ablana and her sister as attendants.

But aside from An Xiu and Mobius, everyone else's gaze kept unconsciously drifting toward Jibril, who floated behind An Xiu and Talulah.

After all, the Sky Pit hundreds of kilometers wide outside Londinium wasn't just for show. Anyone who came here could see it with their own eyes, unless they were blind.

And An Xiu had no intention of having Talulah cover up what happened that day. So even the Doctor and Kal'tsit, who hadn't been present, could learn from the soldiers exactly what occurred and who was responsible.

The Doctor, currently suffering from amnesia, took it in stride. But Kal'tsit, with her vast experience, found Jibril's power deeply unsettling.

This was no longer something that could be described as a humanoid disaster or a Giant Beast. The Twin Emperesses of Leithanien could unleash Originium Arts rivaling natural disasters, but that required terrain advantages and extensive preparation. Even a godlike Giant Beast had fallen in the past under the assault of Great Yan's True Dragon-led army.

Yet Jibril before Kal'tsit had single-handedly annihilated hundreds of thousands of coalition troops in one blow, leaving behind a massive Sky Pit that even natural disasters couldn't match.

What was more terrifying, according to the soldiers on the city walls that day, was that such an attack seemed to require no prior preparation and likely didn't even drain much energy.

After all, Jibril showed no signs of weakness whatsoever.

So this was the confidence the other party had spoken of that day—the ability to easily destroy every nation on Terra even without activating the Originium Project?

Kal'tsit took a deep look at An Xiu, then quickly averted her gaze before he could turn to meet it.

In the end, it was Talulah who broke the silence first, steering the conversation toward business.

"As you can all see, Ursus, Kazimierz, and Victoria have all been brought under our rule. Kazimierz has already been fully integrated into Ursus's territory, but Victoria is different."

On paper, Kazimierz was merely a defeated nation; its absorption into Ursus's borders was reasonable and unlikely to draw much objection. But Victoria, strictly speaking, had never been at war with Ursus. Instead, Talulah had legitimately ascended the throne in Londinium, crushed the rebellious dukes, and brought it under her rule.

In other words, Victoria was not a defeated nation. It remained a sovereign, independent state—only its emperor happened to be the same person as the emperor of neighboring Ursus.

Under these circumstances, whether Ursus annexed Victoria or Victoria annexed Ursus, it would inevitably provoke fierce resistance from their respective citizens. This wasn't rebellion, but pure patriotic sentiment—and an instinctive refusal to suddenly find themselves beneath another nation. It was also the first time since Talulah ascended the throne in Ursus that she encountered a crisis that couldn't be solved by killing, killing, and more killing, even with An Xiu's help.

Thus, An Xiu proposed that Talulah simply rule as the shared sovereign of both nations, merging Ursus, Victoria, and Kazimierz into a single new country. This would minimize the resistance from the citizens of all three nations.

And that was the reason for this meeting.

"But announcing the merger of three nations at a time like this will severely provoke the other countries, won't it?"

The Doctor spoke after a moment of thought.

If Talulah had merely led Ursus to conquer Kazimierz and become the shared sovereign of Victoria and Ursus, it might have been tolerable. After all, it wasn't a true unification of hearts. The other nations of Terra would be afraid, but not so severely shaken.

But merging two of Terra's top-tier powers into a single new super-empire? The surrounding nations would absolutely explode in unison the moment they heard.

After all, from the moment Talulah inherited the title of Duke of Koschei's Domain and stormed Holy Steed Castle to become the Emperor of Ursus, the other nations of Terra had viewed this Red Dragon emperor as a fanatical warmonger.

The only principle guiding the nations under this Red Dragon's rule was relentless outward expansion.

And now, if the most terrifying war machine on Terra—Ursus—merged with the strongest nation, Victoria, into one new country, anyone with half a brain could guess that this dream lineup of a galactic battleship would set its sights on them next.

"What's there to fear? The commotion Jibril made when she wiped out the Duke Coalition Army has probably spread across all of Terra by now. Those nations are curious about what happened in Victoria, aren't they? After we announce the merger, we'll just set the founding ceremony's location in Londinium and invite representatives from every country to attend. Simple."