In the Moon Country, the yin tide that had spontaneously gathered in the ancient castle was dispersed by an almost solidified majesty, causing both "Purple Moon" Liana and "Full Moon" Olmer to momentarily lose themselves in a trance, as memories long dormant were stirred.
Amidst the oppressive and stifling silence, Liana, who had already made up her mind, let out a light breath:
"Your Majesty, the Sanguine will not betray our past vows and will do our utmost to help the Trunsoest Empire rebuild!"
"Full Moon" Olmer, unable to conceal his declining vigor, also nodded slightly, but he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, knowing full well what Liana's "utmost" implied.
As a drawback of being a long-lived species, the Sanguine's existing high-ranking Beyonders were already solidified and mostly old and frail.
Aside from the two ancients, Full Moon and Purple Moon, who had experienced the Great Cataclysm, the remaining earls and marquises had mostly been re-promoted after the Sanguine experienced the decline of demigods during the War of Four Emperors, including "New Moon" Jorna, who inherited the legacy of "Blood Moon Queen" Auernia and advanced to duke. This also meant that their average age had already exceeded one thousand years.
A considerable portion of these Sanguine had bodies that were already decaying and could only rely on various methods to prolong their existence. In normal times, such a situation could be called the Sanguine's foundation, but with the apocalypse approaching, once the barrier isolating the Outer Deities shattered, without the favor of a deity, no one could guarantee that they would be able to resist the temptation of "new life."
This trend had already become apparent after "King of Curses" Barranca of the Rose School of Thought advanced across Pathways to become the "Beauty Goddess," let alone when the true apocalypse arrived.
For the continuation of their race, the best course of action was to go with the flow, emulate the War of Four Emperors, and let the Sanguine once again experience the baptism of war, allowing the new generation to replace the aging Sanguine.
This is a necessary sacrifice… This thought inexplicably surfaced in his mind, and "Full Moon" Olmer slowly rose, meeting Aaron's gaze, and respectfully added:
"From this day forward, I will begin sending messages to the Northern and Southern Continents, summoning all Sanguine of Baron rank and above. At that time, New Moon Duke and I will also participate in the war."
Aaron was quite satisfied with this declaration of almost total aid. After gaining control of East Balam, an area larger than the entire Loen Kingdom, through a clever maneuver, it was also his first time experiencing the scarcity of Beyonders.
Even if the Nation of Disorder had a corresponding Grade 0 Sealed Artifact for the Lightseeker Pathway that could progressively extract Beyonder characteristics, whether acquired or left behind, to cultivate more Beyonders.
However, the acting method ultimately had its limits, and High-Sequence Beyonders, even mid-sequence ones, required time to accumulate. Relying solely on the foundation of the East Tucker family and the evil spirits of the Imperial Guards within the Specter Empire was already proving insufficient.
If he could receive the full support of the Sanguine, all starting from mid-sequence, some of his plans might be able to become more aggressive.
With this thought, Aaron immediately raised his arm slightly, allowing thin, dark golden mist to seep out of the void, transforming into a pair of dark golden double doors.
Dozens of spiritual light points then flew out from the open doorway, clearly being the various Beyonder characteristics of different ranks obtained from scavenging the Forsaken Land of the Gods and clearing East Balam, three of which exuded a divine oppressive aura.
"These are the advance rewards. As for the matter of George III, only New Moon Duke needs to participate. You and Purple Moon Duke only need to assist in summoning historical projections within the Moon Country."
Pushing these characteristics towards "Full Moon" Olmer, Aaron snatched a crystal-carved book from the Gate of Bestowal before it closed and handed it to "Purple Moon" Liana.
There was no need to leave behind the "Crown of Stars" for simply summoning historical projections; the Mystical Item specially crafted by Bornova with the Planeswalker characteristic was sufficient. At most, the spiritual digestion from using its recorded "historical projections" would accelerate, but this slight impact was negligible for a Sequence 2 Life-Giver.
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In the Sonia Sea, at the center of Pasu Island, atop a towering peak, was the Church of the Chasm of Storms.
This was the headquarters within the headquarters of the Church of the Lord of Storms, the sanctuary within the sanctuary, a place blessed by a deity.
The dome, over a hundred meters high, obscured the crimson moon in the sky. In front of the rough murals outlined in blue, silver, and green, "God of Song" Ace Snake, who had been transferred back to the sanctuary after the Great Smog event, frowned slightly and spoke with a hint of displeasure as he watched the two approaching figures:
"Amyrius, who is he? Your meeting request submitted to His Holiness the Pope did not mention any outsiders!"
As a concession for the Great Smog event, ever since the royal family allowed the three major Churches to dispatch personnel into the military, the Loen Navy, being the home ground of the Church of the Lord of Storms, had largely been infiltrated by the Church, aside from the ironclad fleet directly under the royal family, which had suffered heavy losses.
As the supreme naval commander of the Central Sonia Sea, Amyrius Rieveldt was naturally a key target for the Church of the Lord of Storms to win over, but this did not mean he could deceive himself.
Looking at Ace Snake, whose eyes shimmered with silver light, Amyrius slowed his steps, a faint smile appearing on his stern, rigid face. He half-bowed respectfully, maintaining his etiquette, and introduced:
"This is the First Grand Duke of East Tucker. Your Eminence, the Archbishop, can first inform His Holiness the Pope, and His Holiness will decide whether we can enter."
First Grand Duke of East Tucker? Ace Snake stared at the figure behind Amyrius, who was entirely covered in black armor. The moment his gaze met the pair of deep purple eyes beneath the faceplate, his body beneath the archbishop's robe began to tremble instinctively. Only then did he realize that this was actually a puppet soldier!
For a Sequence 1 Conqueror, conquering inanimate puppet soldiers and transforming them into one's own soldiers, sharing one's own rank, was not difficult, aside from the extremely massive spiritual consumption.
"Let him in, Ace, you may withdraw first…"
A low, rumbling voice echoed from deep within the Church of the Chasm of Storms. Ace Snake finally broke free from his stiffness, no longer daring to look at the puppet soldier, and could only clench his right hand into a fist over his chest:
"The Storm be with you."
After leaving the peak with slightly hurried steps, Ace Snake finally let out a long sigh, turning his head back and muttering softly:
"An Angel…"
Guessing what the God of Song had just experienced, Amyrius's lips twitched before resuming his solemn expression, following the important figure into the sanctuary of the Church of the Lord of Storms.
Illusory, overlapping thunder rumbled, and Gaard II, the Pope of the Church of the Lord of Storms, wearing a triple crown and a dark blue, almost black, robe, had already emerged from the depths of the sanctuary.
This Grounded Angel, the spokesperson of the Lord of Storms, exuded a profound and majestic aura, like a massive storm about to strike. After gazing at the puppet soldier for a moment, he spoke in a low voice:
"I didn't expect you to actually advance to Conqueror, and even establish contact with that one from the Zoroast family."
"However, did you think merely parasitizing a Worm of Time would fool me?"
As he spoke, Gaard II turned his head to look at Amyrius, who was standing beside him. This Imperative Mage, only Sequence 4, was completely unaffected by the pressure, maintaining a composed demeanor.