They came all at once from six directions, and initially, they seemed no different from the Heroes of the Order who had fought before.
It was the way they were clothed that gave away their special identity, and it was clear that this detail had not escaped the eyes of the group of analysts who were all watching like hawks to do their job so they could keep their lives.
"Incoming threat of unknown danger level! Please proceed with caution!"
The voice of the same woman who had explained Daneel's power-up from before was heard in the room, and right away, the Bishop and the rest of the commanders focused on these newly-arrived individuals.
They were all clothed in black, flowing robes that allowed them to almost blend into the darkness. This was the reason why they had been able to partially conceal their appearance for a few seconds until the analysts had spotted them.
Rather than by coincidence, it seemed to have happened by design as it soon became clear that their clothes had been enchanted with various formations that allowed them to often go invisible even though the image had been zoomed in to show them. It had also been split into six parts to show all of them, and so, the first thing that Jonah noticed… was how incredibly coordinated they were.
They were moving as if they were but one body with one soul. Even the most minute of gestures was the same across all of them, such as when they shifted direction occasionally to bypass the second volley of attacks so that they could reach the weapons of the Church.
"Engage defensive measures!"
As soon as she gave this command, the twenty-three barrier-breaking weapons that had been lying idle until now moved rapidly to come in front of the seventy-three assault weapons which had paused their attacks. Meanwhile, the sounds of all kinds of Energy attacks hitting barriers were once again heard from below, but as Jonah closed his eyes and filtered them all, he saw that none of them had been successful and breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that after the mishap from before, Angaria had gone to great lengths to strengthen their defenses and that was now paying off. Still, if the Church's weapons were allowed to attack as they pleased while not even being impeded by the best barrier they had, their resources would definitely be used up, which was probably why they had dispatched this elite force which had been kept under wraps so far.
With growing anxiety, the Bishop and the commanders watched as the six groups began to near the area in the sky where the weapons were present. It looked almost as if a six-fingered hand was reaching up from Angaria to grab their enemies and crush them until nothing was left, and as Jonah heard the sound of creaking wood which meant that many of the commanders were close to leaning forward so much that they might fall on the floor, he knew that others had seen this image to.
As the spot from which they were watching was now much closer to the attackers, the only other detail about them became visible. They were all wearing featureless masks that looked like they were made out of a variety of dark-colored wood that also helped to conceal them, but inside the eye holes, their eyes…were golden.
Those golden irises troubled everyone present as they didn't know what it meant, but when the first group whose number they could now count finally reached one of the barrier-breaking Artifacts that was completely on the defense, all such thoughts fled their minds and they focused their eyes to see what would happen.
There were just a hundred of them, but this detail was only seen by a few as the rest were captivated by the curiosity regarding what they could do.
There was no specific pattern to them. They kept shifting around each other as if to conceal whatever formation they were in, but when the one who happened to be at the front of the hundred came so close to the weapon that he could simply stretch his hand forward and touch it, the continent-wide formation above came alive and glowed with a dim light.
This wasn't the only source of light over Angaria, though…there was another, and that belonged to one of the ten thrones that were present all around the continent.
As soon as this particular throne lit up, everyone present in the room saw that there was a young man seated on it. His face had a natural mischievousness about it which made it seem as if he was a prankster, but when he raised his hand in response to the activation of the formation above, there was only seriousness visible on his features.
At the same time that he did so, all of the hundred individuals glowed, too. The glow had no specific color. It just looked like it was simply the trapped light of the sun that they were now letting out, but the moment they become beacons in the sky…the yellow-colored light around the weapon they were assaulting which represented the Energy resources that were being burned to keep its barrier alive went out.
"What? What the fuck happened?!"
It was so abrupt that a commander behind him could only scream her question out, and even as the last word left her mouth, the hundred individuals all tore through the weapon and exposed the members of the Church within.
All ten priests were clutching their heads with their faces in agony. Tears of blood also dripped down from their eyes, but that was the last thing they saw before ten of the group from Angaria parted from their formation and simply used wind blades to turn all ten defenseless priests into a shapeless of flesh and blood.
"I've got it! The level of the continent-wide formation needs to be upgraded… it wasn't just a formation for defense or Energy concentration! It can also relay the abilities of certain individuals! This person had an ability connected to striking at one's consciousness, so-"
"NO!"
The explanation from the analyst was instantly cut off as a scream was heard from a different commander who was pointing at one of the six images in front of him.
In it, accompanied by the glow from a different throne on which an aged, familiar man was sitting, the hundred individuals struck with a woodcutter's axe that almost look plain. Yet, when its edge reached the barrier of the Artifact, it cleaved right through with only a little resistance and exposed the priests inside, who were also quickly killed.
"It's the essence of woodcutting! Such a-"
In a different image, deep-gold flames had appeared that burned through the barrier of a weapon and cooked all the priests inside.
"Flames of the Phoenix! But-"
By this time, the rest of the groups had also reached their targets, so the attacks they used were quickly addressed by the analyst who had had to keep stopping herself from speaking due to how quickly the situation was changing.
"Blade of an assassin, Void of a Black Raven, and the Staff of a Goddess! Based on our data…they're his followers! And that woman on the throne in the middle…the Path of Plenty! It's those he calls 'sovereigns'!"
As soon as that word echoed in the room, Jonah's face flashed with realization and at the same time, the Bishop stood up and shouted, "No more holding back! USE EVERYTHING!"
…
Meanwhile, Daneel was happily watching his sovereigns show their prowess. This hadn't been the plan in the beginning, but after noticing that a majority of his followers had unique Paths that would work great if they were employed by a highly coordinated force, he had made it a priority to have them train with the new Domination Corps which comprised of both the Angarians who had joined him so long ago and the Mage Corps who had been presumed to be disabled.
This combination of forces had happened long ago, itself, and they had been training in secret to move as one. Hence, as the coordination was the main thing that would take a long time to form and because they had already accomplished the goal of working together seamlessly after spending years together, it hadn't been that difficult to have them become the vehicles of his sovereigns' power.
The credit went to both of them, but if he was being frank, the Domination Corps had to be commended more as they were like perfect soldiers who could use any weapon given to them. It was their talent and hard work that had enabled them to adapt to the sovereigns' power so quickly, and the result was truly remarkable.
This was the first card that he was exposing, and it was going very well. Just like they had said, the Domination Corps seemed to be thirsty for blood. They left no one alive, and this was to be expected as he had found out that some of them had belonged to the families of those who had died before.
Daneel wished that they could end the confrontation with this reveal, but he knew that there was at least one more move from the Church that might upend the battlefield again. He was already displeased due to how none of them had known about the Bishop's plan to send forth assault-type weapons of war disguised as those barrier-breaking Artifacts that were pretty harmless after they had done their job. In a way, he could blame this on himself, too, as they had established themselves as tricksters who would definitely have had a trap prepared for the Church to fall into.
Working on this assumption, it had been easy for the Church to blindside them, but Daneel vowed that it would not happen again.
Only…that was when a command reached the weapons that were still on the podium in the air, and a second later, he had to rub his eyes to see whether they were working properly.
Half of the second row had been left behind, but now…they had somehow doubled their numbers magically.
You inflated this wave, too? Dammit, I should have known!
Just like she had done with the first wave, the Bishop had apparently taken great pains to keep the increase in the size of this force secret.
Barrier-breaking weapons were the most effective at piercing through defensive measures, but that didn't mean that simply assaulting a barrier would not be effective, too. If all hundred of these uncontested weapons in the sky were allowed to attack for as long as they wanted, Angaria's resources would start disappearing at a pace that they could not stomach.
Reluctantly, Daneel prepared to use one other card up his sleeve. It had been meant for the third wave, but there was simply no way that he could allow the Church to deplete all of their energy.
Yet, just as he was about to do so, he felt the Emperor freeze up beside him. He wondered whether the man had seen something that he hadn't, but a second later, he found out the reason as it came to him in the form of a whispered message.
"Knock knock! Guess who?"
He knew that voice right away, so he didn't need the Emperor beside him to tell him to open the barrier.
He did so in an instant, and as the glow of the Godnet disappeared, many looked to the sky with confusion.
Yet, with eyes filled with delight and the satisfaction of a bet well placed, Daneel and the Emperor walked forward and set their gaze on the army of a hundred assault weapons…which all turned in the direction of the other part of the second wave, and fired.
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