Rudra looked at the war report about the composition of enemy troops and the vampire forces and then took a glance at the terrain they would fight on.
Basically on paper the army of Satan was about 100 million strong, but Rudra quickly understood that in reality that would not be the case at all.
Satan's army was probably the worst army to encounter in the entire dark faction, because the army consisted of whatever nefarious creature one's imagination could think of.
Necromancers, Undead Zombies, Wraiths, Hellhounds, minotaurs, werewolves, ugly flying creatures with talons and every sort of dark faction creature that was not a demon.
Satan who himself was not a demon, nor a complete Minotaur, but just an abomination with horns had collected the weirdest conglomeration of army under his fold and the problem with it was that it was hard to kill.
Every dead would become a new undead for the necromancer's and for those who knew how to use [corpse explosion] they would also become bombs.
Marching in formation would prove to be difficult if every dead could be blasted into pieces which would make mounting an assault significantly difficult.
A big smile spread on Rudra's face as he realised that the problem presented to him was way more interesting than he thought it would be, but instead of speaking his opinion he decided that it was best to first understand the report from the man who compiled it to make sure he was not missing any context or emotions hidden within the report.
" King Regus, If you can summon the scout who compiled this report and make him read it out, that would be immensely helpful " Rudra said as Gambino immediately grit his teeth at this request.
In his mind he thought the old man was so old he could not even read the small text on the paper properly, but after being thoroughly humiliated by this same old man just moments ago he did not dare voice his unhappiness with the request.
Regus consented to Rudra's request and the scout which compiled the report was summoned to read and explain it.
"My King," the scout began, his voice carrying the heavy weight of what he had witnessed. "The desert surrounding the disc is an infinite expanse of sand. But it's not just an open field; it's a labyrinth of colossal obsidian fortresses. They've used dark magic to mould the sand into formidable parapets and towers."
He paused, collecting his thoughts before delving into the next part. "The aerial defence is overwhelming. Millions of tier4 and tier5 winged creatures circle the skies, forming an impenetrable cloud of living, flying shields. Any airborne assault would have to confront this daunting obstacle first."
The scout continued, "The ground defence is equally menacing. Legions of tier3 and tier4 monsters rove the spaces between the fortresses. They are led by tier5 generals, adding a layer of tactical manoeuvring that cannot be underestimated."
He took a deep breath before he addressed the most daunting part. "Their forces consist of twenty tier6 gods, my king. Each one a formidable entity in their own right. But what's more concerning is the tier7 god in their midst. He is a werewolf, my lord. His aura alone is enough to make even our bravest shudder. He is...different. He has a deep-seated vengeance against our kind. His presence there is a clear statement from Satan."
Concluding his report, the scout said, "Satan himself oversees the battlefront from the highest tower. His tier8 presence is palpable, even from a distance. His forces are ready, my lord, totaling an estimated 100 million strong."
Regus Aurelius listened, his sharp eyes never leaving the scout.
The information presented was grave, yet not unexpected. As the Vampire Monarch, he understood the challenge that lay before him.
But what interested Rudra in the report was the fact that the scout said that the tier7 werewolf seemed to have some deep hatred for the vampires.
Now this was the sort of emotion that could not be understood through reading just a mere report as Rudra asked the scout curiously " Why do you think the werewolf hates the vampires? "
It was an innocent question on Rudra's part as he was unaware about the age old conflict of Ixtal between vampires and werewolves and he was narrated a tale of gruesome fighting in parts by the entire vampire council to fill the gap in his knowledge.
Once Rudra understood everything, he looked at the map of the battlefield in front of him in a new light as the creativity of the greatest mastermind to ever exist began to flow.
********
( Meanwhile Khnum and Angakok )
" The boy had summoned your powers, how close is he to Godhood? " Khnum asked Angakok as the two sat outside the time chamber's entrance in a meditative posture.
" He's close, I'd say one big fight away " Angakok commented as he understood that the plan he had for Max to participate in the Faction war was the right one.
" Are you sure you wish to give your strong tier8 body to me so that you can downgrade your real self to a tier6 boy? " Khnum asked, still not believing Angakok's promise to give him his body only if he agreed to help Angakok complete the soul takeover.
" My goals are higher than tier8 Khnum, but don't you worry, with the time stone firmly in my grasp, even as a tier6 warrior I'm more than capable of ending your life if you double-cross me " Angakok said, his voice containing a spicy warning as he reminded Khnum to not have other ideas after he downgraded himself to tier6.
" I would never - I know better than to antagonise you by now " Khnum said like a true weakling which Angakok knew that he was.
Khnum was the kind of God that would bully all those under him but be subservient to all those above him which was exactly why Angakok chose him as his ally.
" What I don't understand though is why are you waiting? If you wish to do a soul takeover isn't it easier to do it before the boy reaches god-hood? " Khnum asked as his question made Angakok sigh.
Not answering Khnum's question, Angakok continued to meditate and strengthen his own soul as he knew he would need the strength in the days to come.
When an individual reached Godhood their soul underwent a qualitative transformation and exited the cycle of reincarnation.
For mortals, death was not the end, if they died they could always reincarnate as a new lifeform with their memories washed away.
As for who they reincarnated as it depended on their karmic value accumulated throughout their life, but it was different for god's.
One of the biggest prices of Godhood was that the soul became eternally bound to the body.
The price for all those extra years that one could live and for the body to unlock the potential to use divine essence was the fact that once they died their very soul would perish overtime and would never re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.
What Angakok hoped to do was to change his soul from one body to another, which was an impossible task to do for an individual unless their profession was a soulmancer.
In the universe, many soulmancers existed but the truth behind them was that they were all apostles of that higher being.
Thor that fool even had a soulmancer as a part of his kingdom, never understanding the reality that the soulmancer only served him because they wanted to locate the whereabouts of his father Odin.
But even soulmancers could not transplant the souls of god's because it went against the very laws of the universe.
For Angakok to somehow pull it off would mean losing a significant portion of his divine strength, but he would still need a divine vessel to shift into because a mortal could never handle the weight of his soul.
Naturally he had no need to explain these intricacies to Khnum, a fool who did not even understand the most basic knowledge about souls.
All Khnum needed to do was to follow his instructions to the T and then hope that his own soul transfer would be a success and he could live after taking over Angakok's body, an outcome that Angakok doubted would ever happen since Khnum's waning soul did not have nearly enough strength to occupy his body.
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