The conversation between Castle Lords drifted, as it often did, toward the Great Aetherium itself. With the Battle of Planets approaching and the projections of Demon Monarchs still visible near the Blood Moon, the Castle Lords had started thinking past the current Imperial War.
Everything captured so far, all the cities—all the noble territories, the five border cities—amounted to less than one-fifth of the Light Empire's total territory. The remaining four-fifths were still out there, and the eastern core regions were the richest part.
[I've decided. After this is over, I'm going back to the no-man's land and not leaving. The Great Aetherium is right there on the western border. It is the safest place on the planet.]
[Same. The thirty-eight affiliated castles in the wilderness already count as the Great Aetherium's territory. His Majesty won't let the demons get close.]
[What about our territories?]
[Just bring the hearts of your territories and rebuild with the resources taken from this war, which are more than enough.]
[As long as His Majesty doesn't actively expel us, we stay.]
The consensus built quickly. The Great Aetherium had Celestia. It had Lysandra. It had two hundred thousand True Gods and an Angel Army that nothing on the planet could match one-on-one. Even the Titan Lord Varkath had lost to Celestia. If the Abyssal Army came, the Great Aetherium would be the last place standing, and the Castle Lords had decided they intended to be near it when that happened.
[We'll settle this after the war. Right now, defeat the Light Empire.]
…
On the western bank of the Nivara River, something had changed. The Castle Lords noticed it almost simultaneously, and the chat channel lit up again.
[Strange. The city we just took had less than a hundred thousand defenders. A similar city this morning had hundreds of millions.]
[Same here. The supernaturals are gone. The forces of the Chamber of Commerce, the ordinary population, all have drastically reduced.]
[The defectors have confirmed it. Orders came down from the top of the Light Empire. All defenders and supernaturals in the western cities are to evacuate to the eastern bank of the Nivara immediately.]
[So they've abandoned the entire western region?]
[Nivara's eastern bank is their core territory. The prosperous cities, fertile land, the Imperial Heart. They're concentrating everything there.]
[They want to make the Nivara River their defensive line, to stop us there.]
[Then that's where this war gets decided. Push to the river, consolidate, and then cross together.]
[The 'Battle of Nivara' will be their last hope. We'll end it there.]
The western cities, stripped of their defenders, fell faster than anything had fallen before. The Castle Faction swept through them almost without resistance, compressing the front toward the river at a rapid pace.
…
Stonebridge City, the ninth 'large city' captured by the Great Aetherium's army, second in scale only to Havenloch itself.
Since separating from the other Castle Lords after Havenloch's fall, the Great Aetherium had operated independently, and every resource from every city and noble territory it took went exclusively to its own ledger.
Two days of this had been enough to push Angel City, which was already an Intermediate Imperial Capital, through one more level, to an Advanced Imperial City.
Beyond that was a Divine Dynasty, a tier no force on the Endless Continent had yet reached. If the Great Aetherium reached there and Haru claimed the God King's Throne, his rule over the Endless Continent would be legitimate in both power and name simultaneously. No one would be in a position to object.
After Stonebridge City fell, the Angels moved through the captured territory with practiced efficiency, organizing the surrendered supernaturals, cleaning the battlefield, distributing Bloodline Evolution Blueprints to troops whose growth potential had hit its ceiling and to the top-level troops worth continued investment.
The 1.8 million Holy Spirits were broadly at King Tier now, the stronger among them pushing into Demigod territory. A number had already ascended to Godhood and joined the Imperial Army's 'Divine Legion'. The Imperial Army's overall strength had roughly doubled since the war began, and it was still climbing.
The Light Empire's surrendered supernaturals continued to integrate without friction. The Scepter of Sovereignty made sure that their loyalty was maxed out as soon as they chose to defect.
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