Strength, influence, weapons—they held the advantage in every respect.
The supreme status of the eight Holy Emperors went without saying. Each ruled a territory of his own, and the Eastern Extreme Holy Emperor's territory lay in the eastern reaches of the God Realm.
Ascension Pools were where people ascending from the Lower Realm appeared. Their number throughout the God Realm was fixed at nearly eight hundred. They had appeared when the God Realm was born and could not be destroyed. They would exist forever.
Beside one Ascension Pool in the eastern reaches of the God Realm stood ten armored soldiers. Their squad's turn had come up, so they had to remain beside the pool for a thousand years. Only then would another squad relieve them.
For now, the ten soldiers were passing the time with idle chatter.
"Years can go by before anyone ascends, and we still have to sit here waiting. What a dull assignment. Hey, Captain, I hear you're getting promoted. Going to be a company commander?" a thin young man asked the middle-aged man beside him.
"I heard that too," another soldier said with a sigh. "Last time, one of our battalions went out to hunt a powerful demonic beast and ran into a terrifying ant swarm. All thousand of them were wiped out. What a disaster. The city lord is recruiting to bring the army back up to strength, and the captain's been picked to command a company."
"Don't bring up the ant swarm." The captain shook his head. "Unless you've reached the Heavenly God Realm, a swarm that blots out the sky... Hmph. You're as good as dead."
"Captain, your pay will go up when you become a company commander, won't it?" asked the prettiest woman in the squad. "Will your pay for each thousand