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Chapter 863: Nevermore: Wartime

War…

Floating far above one of the smaller battlefields of the Vast Plateau, this group of five appeared as the fighting was ongoing. There were only a few hundred on both sides at this point, primarily because most of the weaker C-grades were already dead. The fighting also didn’t happen as one would usually expect from a war like this in the multiverse, which, for reference, was quite a bit different compared to wars on Earth before the system.

Usually, based on what Jake had read, even if an all-out war did happen at the beginning of a conflict, it would often devolve into a standstill. The most powerful beings on both sides would be hesitant to enter the fray out of fear that they would be teamed up on by the most powerful people on the opposing side.

This resulted in the weaker C-grades fighting in a big skirmish, with the stronger ones standing back for the most part. Only when it was clear one side would win the stronger people would step in, and even then, it was done with caution.

To become a C-grade, one had to have walked far on one’s Path. C-grades were not weak in even the context of the multiverse, and only a scarce few of the enlightened races would ever manage to reach it. It was only natural that someone would be careful after making it that far and not want to die needlessly in some big war just because thirty people decided to attack them at once.

Due to all this, what usually happened in big wars after the slaughter of those on the weak side was that the strong ones would only do smaller skirmishes. If one side sent out three fighters, the other side would respond with three in kind. If one died, the one with a death would send out another. If it could be avoided, neither side wanted to send out a fourth to get a numerical advantage because all that would result in the other side doing the same, making it a four versus four now.

If more was sent out, it could quickly become a five versus five, then six, seven… until suddenly everyone was fighting at once, and none of them wanted that. Big wars like that were simply horrible for the individual. As a C-grade, everyone had a strong sense of self-preservation, and entering a conflict where you could get unlucky and have a hundred people decide to attack you at once was not fun for anyone involved.

Even if one side did have a numerical advantage, such as having six hundred fighters while the other only had five hundred, the larger group wouldn’t just rush in. Sure, they would more likely than not win, but how many of them would die? Half? To the individual, the danger was simply too large, resulting in an all-out fight pretty much never happening.

This was also how war and just single battles during the war could last for extreme lengths of time. It was more akin to a sequence of duels between fighters from opposing factions, with neither side ever running out as they kept up getting new fighters to join them. At least, this is what Jake read as part of the explanation why factions like the Risen and Holy Church could have ongoing battlefields for thousands of years. This entire structure of war was also far more beneficial, as it allowed those fighting to improve more and gain Records without risking just getting unlucky and dying during a massive skirmish.

All this had to be clarified to understand why the wars on this floor were... off. When Jake and company arrived at this first battlefield, expecting things to be pretty calm, with things proceeding as usual, they instead found around a thousand total C-grades in a massive skirmish, just trying to tear each other apart.

There was no structure, no caution, just reckless fighting. Jake was really taken aback until he felt something, and he wasn’t the only one, either.

“Their souls are… polluted,” the Fallen King noted.

“I sense a negative energy inflicting them, affecting their mental states,” Dina also added.

“It’s a curse,” Jake finally said. “And a pretty damn powerful one at that. I can’t say for sure, but I get the feeling it’s there to amplify hatred for the other empire. At least that would explain what we’re seeing right now.”

“The picture is coming together, huh,” the Sword Saint said. “This entire conflict is truly manufactured. But, this does make me wonder… if these Twin Emperors want everyone to kill each other during these battlefields, won’t we just be helping them by interfering?”

“Isn’t that the plan?” Jake grinned. “To let them do whatever they plan on doing and let them get as powerful as possible… to then have a proper damn fight to finish out Nevermore.”

The old man smiled. “I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.”

“Ree?” Sylphie asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s time to put an end to this war once and for all,” Jake smiled.

“By leaving no fighters alive on either side,” the Fallen King agreed.

“And then kill whoever is behind it all,” Dina nodded.

Without further ado, Jake pulled out his bow as the others also prepared to enter the battlefield.

The C-grades fighting were all around level 290 to 310, meaning the guard they faced had been on the weaker side of this world. At least of the remaining survivors after the Twin Emperors had borderline wiped out the population of the Vast Plateau with their scheme.

Spells were flying as the air repeatedly exploded with magic. Melee fighters clashed as they flew through the sky, sometimes crashing into each other as groups spiraled toward the ground. Whenever someone seemed to have a flash of clarity from the curse and tried to escape, they were hunted down. Jake watched all this as he nocked an arrow and concluded that without any interference, everyone would be dead within the next couple of hours.

Jake and company would cut that time down by a lot. Releasing an Arcane Powershot, Jake took down one C-grade before he even had a chance to react. The Sword Saint dove in from the side to pick off some of the ranged fighters, while the Fallen King and Sylphie dove straight into the middle of it all and unleashed their skills. Dina had the unfortunate job of watching out that the two of them didn’t mess up and got ganged up on.

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Even as their party interfered, the two warring groups didn’t team up or anything. Jake and the others just become more fighters of the enemy side for both factions. The entire situation was also so damn chaotic that even if some of the C-grades did notice Jake and company weren’t part of either faction, they didn’t exactly have the opportunity to voice this insight.

Thus the slaughter continued, but after ten or so minutes, the situation did change. Hundreds had died at this point, many of them easy kills due to their existing injuries. However, as numbers reduced, some stability did return to the situation, and the surviving C-grades had their level of bloodlust subside as more and more gained clarity.

More tight groups were formed on both sides, as everyone backed off a little, regrouping with their own factions. Jake and the others tried to incite more fighting, but soon enough, they noticed a clear target on their backs. Not necessarily because they were a third party interfering in the battle but because of the small size of their group. In a battle where two groups had over a hundred each and a third group only had five, they would definitely stick out as the weaker prey, right?

Just not in this case.

“Seems like the real fighting starts now,” Jake said through the Golden Mark.

“Leave them no quarter,”the Sword Saint also said without hesitation. “Focus on the left group and get behind them.”

They all did as the Sword Saint said as their group began to retreat and circle around to get behind the group on the left, putting them between their party and the other faction. Sylphie helped as a wind tunnel was created, and while their movements weren’t quite teleportation, it was nevertheless damn fast.

The moment they appeared there, they all attacked as arrows, crescent blades of water, and wind, along with golden shockwaves, rolled onto the army in front of them. Jake instantly knew what the Sword Saint wanted as the opposing faction noticed their sworn enemies suddenly under attack and decided this was a great time to restart the battle.

“Avoid using boosting skills and do not tire yourself out, but fight with longevity in mind,” the Sword Saint reiterated, as they were very much taking this first battle as a trial session for the many more fights to come. “Simply watch the fires burn across the river as we wait at leisure while the enemy labors.”

“For those who forgot, he is telling us to chill while the enemies tire themselves out before we attack and wipe them all out,” Jake made sure to explain as he already saw Sylphie look confused from the old man talking like an old man.

Following the Sword Saint’s elementary plan, one group was rapidly wiped out as they were attacked from both sides. When desperation set in, some did break completely free from the curse, but at that point, it was too late. Jake and company made sure to not advance too much during this fight, resulting in many from the other faction also dying. Those who managed to survive till the very end were also well and truly tired out, making them easy picking as Jake’s party let loose and cleaned up the rest of the battlefield.

After they were done, they quickly moved on toward another battlefield. On the way, they also ran into some smaller groups of soldiers and groups coming as reinforcement to other battlefields spread throughout the Vast Plateau. One of them even had a map detailing the few closest battlefields. Through some extrapolation, In total, there were at least thirty active battlefields, with even more now-abandoned areas filled with only undead and curse energy.

The Vast Plateau was truly vast, but as they traveled, Jake did notice how odd things were in regard to the placements of these battlefields. They weren’t in a line as expected if two factions with borders fought but were far too spread out throughout the Vast Plateau. Jake began to consider if they were maybe placed purposefully to set up some form of large magic circle, but he couldn’t make that fit either with any of the knowledge he had.

Things were weird until they reached the two-month mark since arriving on floor eighty. On one of the battlefields, where more curse and death energy than usual had already begun to appear, Jake questioned how it happened so fast. He and Dina had already talked about it plenty during their travels and how it felt off, but after reaching this particular battlefield, they understood.

Jake landed on the ground as he inspected the soil in the process of turning gray, and right as he did, he felt something from his boots. A natural treasure of some kind, hidden in the middle of the battlefield, pretty deep underground. With the help of Dina, they quickly dug it up as a sphere of bones attached together appeared before them.

Unsure what it was, Jake inspected the sphere as, surprisingly enough, it was the King who had some insight. “This is a soul-sealing hex-trap created from collecting all the ancient bones long-buried here. Bones that are connected to the land. It creates a field that seals in the soul energy of those who die in a ruthless way… which often results in the birth of curses or undead in the land where one is deployed. Based on the runes on it, I believe it even serves to amplify the curse.”

“You have come across one before?” Jake asked.

“No, I learned about things like this from the witch on the World Council. And while this Totem Bone Sphere, as they are called, is not witch magic, it isn’t far off. Whoever made this is a powerful witch doctor or shaman,” the Fallen King responded.

“Likely one of the Twin Emperors,” Jake said with a frown. “Can any of you use Identify on it? Mine isn’t doing anything.”

Everyone shook their heads as the Fallen King added. “It has protection against such things placed on it. In fact, it should have been hidden from most forms of detection. Something that doesn’t seem to matter to you.”

Jake shrugged, not going to deny that one.

“What are we going to do with it?” Dina asked. “Destroy it now?”

“Hm,” the Sword Saint hummed, and Jake felt everyone glance at him.

“I got nothing,” Jake shrugged. “I could absorb the curse energy in the sphere with Eternal Hunger, but it doesn’t really have much in it yet.”

“I would reckon it has the function to absorb all the energy in the domain,” the Fallen King shared. “Doing so will complete the item. In most cases, these totems are made to cultivate curse and death energy, likely to be used in some form of ritual at a later time.”

“In that case, we probably shouldn’t mess with it,” Jake said after thinking a bit. “Destroying it may mess up unlocking the event boss. Maybe a bit like how you needed the Demon Lord to have all its artifacts intact for the fight.”

“It’s possible, if not probable,” the Sword Saint agreed. “Let us do that then.”

“Alright,” Dina didn’t argue as she put the sphere back underground, and they buried it again, trying to act as if they had never been there.

Knowing what was going on now helped a lot as they continued their crusade. Their objective was clear: end the fighting on every battlefield and complete all the preparations for the Twin Emperors to come and extract them. Or, at least one of the Twin Emperors. They still needed to figure out what was up with them and how the two were connected. It could just be the same person acting like both, but that was something they had to confirm.

Perhaps by going to actually see one of the two leaders of the Vast Plateau.

On a particularly large battlefield at the five-month mark, Jake and company had to be careful as they often had to retreat and reenter the fight again later. Each side had commanders who were effectively mini-bosses around level 320, and that forced their party to be very careful, as both had at least five commanders. While killing a single commander wasn’t that difficult, killing several at the same time sure as hell wasn’t.

And this is kind of what happened. Sylphie and the Fallen King messed up and got overwhelmed with enemies from all sides, forcing Dina to go all-out and use one of her trump cards to bail them out. While she succeeded, this did leave Dina in a weakened state for at least several days, making them hesitate if they should keep fighting or maybe take some time to recover.

Ultimately, they decided to recover, but in order to not waste time, they agreed on at least still doing something productive. A job for Jake and the best bird.

“Getting to the capital shouldn’t take more than a week, especially not with Sylphie assisting you,” the Sword Saint said as he looked at a map, showing this battlefield pretty close to one of the capitals. “Remember, the job is not to fight anyone but to get a feeling for who or what one of these Twin Emperors is.”

That’s right… it was time to finally figure out the true identities of the Twin Emperors. Or at least one of them.