The Empire's army hadn't been in outer space for ten minutes before the Gods of Endless Continent lost their composure entirely.
"Two hundred thousand gods, and the vast majority are Angels. That's the Great Aetherium's Divine Army."
"Last week they had a few hundred True Gods. A FEW HUNDRED."
"The other top-level Castle Lords I've seen are nothing compared to this."
The Native Gods, from both the truth and faith faction, even the rulers of the native empires, all felt it at once. Not just the numbers. The quality. Dozens of High Gods radiating full Divine Power among those two hundred thousand. As for the Supreme God Tier auras, one, two, three—
"There are THREE Supreme God Tier auras in that army."
"Four. Count again. Her Holiness Celestia isn't there yet."
Silence fell across the surrounding area.
A force not yet two months old having four Supreme Gods. The entire world of Gods in the Endless Continent had run for hundreds of thousands of years without a single Pantheon or Empire fielding four Supreme Gods simultaneously, not since the Ancient Titan Pantheon at its prime.
Then someone spotted a few familiar faces.
"That's Kaelix, the God of Destruction. He *fell* in the previous battle."
"Maddox. The God of Death. I watched an angel seal his soul."
"Zylo. Gavin. They're all… alive."
Every God who had died in the previous battle was standing in that army. Same strength as before they fell. Not reborn, not undead—restored, whole, and flying under the Great Aetherium's banner.
The surrounding area went very quiet. These guys haven't destroyed those souls. They *collected* and then brought them back. Without reversing Space-Time. This was a technique any God on the Endless Continent had ever seen.
"Looks like the Great Aetherium has mastered resurrection."
Nobody disputed it. The Gods of Truth from the Light Empire stared at each other. During an Imperial War, one Supreme Goddess and a few hundred True Gods had been a manageable threat. Now: four Supreme Gods, two hundred thousand True Gods, and a resurrection ability that meant every enemy killed could simply come back.
"Report this to His Majesty Asher. Now."
They vanished, back toward the central region.
…
At the edge of the star cluster that was supposed to be used as the battlefield, the Castle Lords who'd gathered to watch kept their voices low.
"As expected of Lord Haru, still the most dazzling one out here."
"During the Demon Slayer Tournament, there were three Supreme Gods. In a blink there's one more."
"When will our forces ever reach this level?"
"You wanna rival the Great Aetherium? I'd settle for becoming a High God."
They weren't wrong to be awed. In the eyes of every watching force—native Empires, Pantheons of Faith, Gods of Truth— the Aetherium Empire 'was' the Castle Faction. The other castle forces, the Aelith Kingdom, the Nightreign Kingdom, the Silver Kingdom, all of them were invisible next to that behemoth. If the Empire fell today, the entire castle faction would lose its only credible power.
…
"The surrounding areas are filling up." Lysandra said quietly beside Haru, "Nearly ten million Gods are watching."
Lysandra was an Eighteen-Winged Seraphim and the supreme commander of the Imperial Army, a peak High Goddess. She kept her voice neutral, but her eyes moved across the spectators maintaining careful distance from the Empire's formation.
Haru didn't look at them, "They won't interfere. This is between us and the Evil Pantheon. Anyone who tries to fish in troubled waters gets only one outcome."
He left the outcome unsaid. His Space-Time Law alone could erase ordinary True Gods with a sweep. If anything, he was mildly hoping someone would try, which meant more Godheads, more Artifacts, more souls. He was also hoping this battle would yield a Supreme God Tier Godhead for Lysandra or Eveline.
The headline 'Six Supreme Gods in the Great Aetherium' had a certain ring to it.
"When will Her Holiness Celestia arrive?" Lysandra asked.
"Soon. Her breakthrough has reached its final stage." Haru's voice was calm, "She won't miss this battle."
Among the watchers, most had already written their assessments:
Celestia, known, terrifying.
The two new eighteen-winged Angels, unknown but clearly Supreme Goddesses.
Haru, a new Supreme God, Castle Lord with limited combat experience, probably the weakest of the four.
It was a reasonable conclusion, but it was completely wrong. His Natal Artifacts, once his only real weakness, were no longer a weakness. Three Supreme God Tier Artifacts, two Growth-Type Natal Artifacts at the Supreme God Tier.
Not to mention the almost two hundred Divine Laws he has mastered and his late-stage Supreme God Tier strength. His actual combat power was comparable to peak Supreme Gods, yet none of it was visible from outside. Nobody had detected his real level, and he was content to let them keep guessing.
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