Elunara noticed tens of thousands of auras, hidden in the core area, with forms exactly like Dimensional Demons, but carrying no Abyssal Aura. Instead, they actually radiated pure holy and light Divine Power. Demonic appearance, sacred essence. One of them was even a Supreme God.
She turned back, "Your Majesty has demons in the Imperial Capital?"
"They're a new species." Haru said, "I call them Holy Demons. I killed them at Arboriel and resurrected them later. They are my believers now, the same as Amelie."
Elunara was quiet for a moment. Even Dimensional Demon Gods could be resurrected and converted into Haru's believers. She couldn't imagine the mechanics of it, and she was a Peak Supreme Goddess herself.
She said, "Your Majesty's resurrection ability is genuinely beyond what I can comprehend."
"It has its own limits." Haru said simply. He didn't elaborate. These were the Great Aetherium's secrets, and she was wise enough not to press.
She bowed, turned into a nine-colored light, and was gone.
Haru settled into cultivation. Three of his law sources had reached the threshold. The Law of Slaughter, the Law of Destruction, and the Law of Abyss. All three were at the critical point just before God Monarch Tier. One breakthrough from any of them would push him into the Pseudo God Monarch Tier.
He turned his attention inward and began to push.
…
The battle of the Nivara River had drawn a massive audience.
Hundreds of thousands of meters above the Endless Continent, Gods from the major forces had gathered. There were Gods of Faith and Truth, watching from the highest altitude they dared. Since the Demon Monarchs had descended on the Blood Moon, no God was willing to linger in outer space.
The Endless Continent's wall at least offered protection. So they clustered inside it and watched the war below. What they were watching was one of the largest battles in the continent's recorded history. Ten trillion combatants. Eight trillion on the Castle Faction's side, against two trillion defenders of the Light Empire, holding a fortified river bank with every weapon the native empire possessed.
The observations that circulated among the watching Gods were consistent. The Light Empire's army was fighting heroically and losing ground steadily. Every hour, more defensive positions fell. More giant military fortresses were captured. The empire's line was retreating, slowly but without any reversal in sight.
The thing that drew the most comment wasn't the scale. It was the ascensions.
On the Castle Faction's side, the golden lights flashed constantly, visible even from this altitude. Mortal-level ascensions were unremarkable, but Peak Demigods were constantly ascending to Godhood on the battlefield, in real time, and doing it without any shackles.
Among all the Castle Faction, the Great Aetherium's Angels had the highest ascension frequency, because they were a God Class Race. Six-Winged, Eight-Winged, all the higher-ranking Angels carried the innate potential to become Gods. They just needed to kill enough enemies, and they ascended automatically, without any struggle.
The watching Gods had also been discussing the Great Aetherium's strength relative to other known powers. The Titan Pantheon, previously the strongest Divine Faction on the Endless Continent, had only two Supreme Gods: the Titan Lord Varkath, and Obrys' Great Prophet.
The Great Aetherium had six displayed Supreme Gods, two of them at the peak. Six against two meant the Great Aetherium could sweep the Titan Pantheon outright, with the one caveat that no one knew whether the Titans have inherited hidden trump cards from the Ancient Titan Pantheon. If they hadn't, suppression was beyond doubt. Either way, the Great Aetherium was now what the Gods were calling it among themselves: the Endless Continent's Overlord.
"The billions of Castle Lords followed His Majesty's call and attacked the Light Empire." One God said, "He has half-dominated the entire Castle Faction already. If the Divine War doesn't arrive soon, the Great Aetherium will continue past the Light Empire and burn the war across the entire central region."
This was the consensus. The only thing that would stop the Great Aetherium's expansion was the Abyssal Army's arrival. The native empires watching from the sidelines understood this and were waiting.
A God of Truth from the Dragon Empire said it plainly, "As long as the Battle of Nivara ends and the Light Empire's core is swept, it will fall. Asher and his hundreds of thousands of Gods cannot hold the Imperial Capital against the Great Aetherium. It's only a matter of time."
Beside him, a Lion God of Truth said with audible relief, "I'm grateful His Majesty descended into the Dark Forest when he first arrived, and not near the Royal Beast Court. If it had been us instead of the Light Empire..."
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