Chapter 209: Chapter 165: War Begins
Because this power was waiting for its master, Angel.
Thus, the already worried Astaros decided to go against the ancestral code of Demons and directly seek out Angel to serve her. All he asked in return was that if he were ever targeted by a Legendary Mage and had his Temporal Authority stolen, she would alter that past.
Of course, if possible, he could also look for a plan to directly seize the Original Scripture!
’Her having it is nothing compared to me having it.’
Of course, Astaros didn’t have such thoughts at this stage, which is why he seemed somewhat personable during his interactions with Angel.
Returning to the topic at hand, Isaac looked at the Great Sword Ghosts before him, who seemed unchanged, and asked curiously, "How long does it last? What are the specific effects?"
"One month. After a month, the Casting will need to be done again. Also, because there are so many of them, I cut out some of the effects. The Time Reincarnation only affects their energy structure, meaning their existence will cycle within a single day. Other than that, neither injuries nor fatal blows are within the scope of the Time Reincarnation’s influence."
"...Damn!" After a moment of silence, Isaac couldn’t help but curse.
Honestly, in that moment, he had to admit he was tempted by Astaros!
’Is Time Power always this domineering?’
Although his relationship with Angel seemed fine for now, he never forgot that this woman was a Witch—and most likely the kind of Witch with a twisted mind. He couldn’t get too close to her.
Besides, ’why should she have it when it would be so much better if I did?’
"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"
"No, it’s just... Time Magic is truly powerful!" Isaac said with a sense of awe and longing.
Hearing this, Angel also fell silent. If anyone else had said that, even Philo, she would have assumed they were simply marveling at the power of Time Magic and wanted to learn it.
After all, one could begin to study Time Magic upon reaching Tier Three, though it was incredibly difficult.
But since these words came from Isaac...
It was a different story. ’That guy is definitely thinking about snatching it from some Outer God!’
’As expected, he’s still that madman!’
’I can’t get too close to him!’
And so, the two, mutually agreeing that the other was not to be trusted, exchanged a few more words before parting ways. Angel wanted to wander around and see if she could find a place to lay a few traps to screw Philo over later.
Isaac, on the other hand, was in a hurry to connect the Dimension World to his ritual.
Time passed quietly. A week later, Smith and Remington successfully arrived outside the fortress with a large army. At the same time, according to the intelligence Philo had, the Rebel Army had also started dispatching troops.
Early one morning, in the main hall of the fortress, the group began to discuss their next course of action.
Philo was still seated in the Lord’s main seat. To her left stood Remington and Angel, while to her right stood Isaac, with Smith and Lorna behind him.
However, although Philo occupied the main seat, it was not she who led this pre-battle meeting, but Isaac.
"The main event is about to begin. I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" Isaac said with a broad smile.
"Can’t you just get to the point? Let’s hear the bad news first," Philo sighed.
"Alright, so the good news is..." Isaac gave a confident smile. "For now, as long as no High-level Life forms get involved, we are still the strongest force in this country! Both in terms of our army and individual combat strength!"
"I knew it... So what’s the bad news?" The expressions of the others grew solemn; they weren’t relaxed by Isaac’s antics.
After all, if even Isaac considered it bad news, it was definitely bad news!
"The bad news is, my ritual has made a bit too much noise. From now on, both the Kingdom Army and the Rebel Army will prioritize dealing with us. In other words, we have to fight everyone!"
At these words, everyone’s brows furrowed even deeper.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t win. As Isaac said, as long as no High-level Life forms intervened, their group was invincible!
Two thousand Great Sword Ghosts were enough to sweep away an army of millions!
In terms of individual combat strength, even Lorna, the lowest Level among them, possessed power comparable to a Tier Two when she got serious—not to mention she could now temporarily summon the Saint Master from back in their territory.
But if they simply steamrolled their way through, the outcome would undoubtedly not be what they wanted—at least, not what Isaac wanted.
Everyone now understood that this guy, Isaac, was never satisfied with an Ordinary ritual. He wanted to pull off something huge!
Philo wasn’t satisfied with that either. She wanted not just victory, but also the Faith of this country and its people.
Neither of these goals could be achieved in a short time.
Therefore, a war of attrition was the most suitable strategy for them.
"You’re only bringing this up now. You must have a plan, right?" After a moment of thought, Philo looked at Isaac. Though it was a question, her tone was firm and certain.
"Of course," Isaac smiled faintly. "But before that, I want to confirm one thing. With the Kingdom Army now considering us enemies, can we still exchange for more soldiers from the Itra Royal Family?"
"That is certainly possible. The Itra Kingdom never cares what we do. But is it necessary? That little bit of strength would just give the enemy another opportunity to attack us."
"Then that’s settled." Isaac nodded in satisfaction. "As for the problem you mentioned, it’s not important. A fight is a fight, no matter where it happens. What’s most important is that we hold the initiative to acquire more Artificial Humans. Good!"
CLAP!
Isaac clapped his hands together, drawing everyone’s attention, though it was already focused on him.
"Alright, I’ll lay out the plan. Remington, you will have full command of the current and future Artificial Human army. Your job is to conquer cities and strongholds, coordinating with Philo to take down the entire Itra Kingdom! Note, I said ’take down.’ You’ll have to hold the territory afterward.
Smith, you will lead all the Great Sword Ghosts. You have only one mission: conduct guerilla warfare throughout the entire Kingdom. All non-allied military targets are within your scope of attack!
Angel and Lorna will stay with me to hold Roton Fortress. This is the core of all our plans, a position that absolutely cannot be lost. It will also be the target for all our enemies, so prepare for a bloody battle!"
After speaking, Isaac revealed a crazed smile.
Even Isaac felt a trace of pressure in this situation of being an enemy to all. It wasn’t that he was worried about losing, but that he had to ensure the "crystal" of Roton Fortress didn’t shatter.
That was the most difficult part of this entire operation!
Who knew what kind of insidious Magic might be used for a surprise attack?
But at the same time, this feeling of being an enemy to all was also exceptionally thrilling for Isaac. This could be considered a small rehearsal. Given his identity as a Mad Witch, it was likely that sooner or later he would truly walk the path of becoming an enemy to the entire world!
Take the future seen by the Emperor, for example. Another interpretation was that while the future Isaac destroyed the Terra Empire, the Terra Empire might have been only one of the empires he would destroy!
This was not impossible!
Although Isaac himself couldn’t imagine what kind of scenario would lead him to that point.
But that didn’t stop him from having a small rehearsal.
Hearing this, the others nodded solemnly, clearly feeling the immense difficulty of their tasks.
As just mentioned, their difficulty never lay in the fighting itself, but in the things beyond it. Even though Philo had a Magic like the Faith Steel Seal, which could forcibly bestow Faith, this was only a temporary solution, not a fundamental cure. She would eventually have to truly rule this country, which required careful thought and effort.
The same went for Remington. Conquering cities and strongholds with forty thousand disciplined soldiers in hand was a piece of cake for someone who had grown up in the army, even if this was his first time leading so many troops.
But with Princess Philo assisting from the side, combat was still not an issue.
But how to defend the territories they occupied... that was another matter entirely.
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