Chapter 298: Applying Input (2/2)

”Then let us leave this place for another.”

Krog flared his wings, as did his squad of gialgathens. The size of those spread limbs took up an enormous amount of space, enough that it intimidated even me. Not to be outdone, I synced up telepathically with each golem one at a time, letting them know what I intended on doing. After a few seconds, I facepalmed.

Linking to them all, I gave them commands. In unison, they replied to my orders without doubt or hesitation. Lining up beside me, their single-mindedness carried savage brutality. There just wasn't any mercy in them. They'd kill until they were killed themselves, and there was no questioning that motive.

That machine-like precision kept them efficient, but it also made me wonder if they'd have nuance. As if answering my internal question, a golem stomped onto a stray saysha beetle roaming through our territory. Its heel soaked up the smeared remains.

Yeah, they weren't the negotiating types.

They'd be useful here, though. I leaned down, signaling them to leave. We gravitationally leaped through the air before diving past the first forcefield made by Torix. The water surrounded me like a chilly wind. Water waved above, the ocean never settling down. Breathing water in, fractured scents wafted through my nose. It was mostly clear but with a hint of a chemical aftertaste.

That was thanks to the Hybrids. Moving on, I partitioned out a few minds for various tasks. Having each anima handle certain aspects of my fighting would make more use of my abilities. The first of those consciousnesses was a wielder of Event Horizon. They'd whip it over weaker enemies and clusters of Hybridization.

Another of my minds would wield my elemental furnace, churning out its energy. Yet another psyche would handle where I moved in battle. At the center, I operated all of my skills as a captain of a ship. Every piece came together with a primary commander staffing it all.

Even the golems were a part of this. They moved with me, listening to my orders quick as my limbs did. Oddly enough, they became parts of my body, living extensions of what I could do. I didn't even have to voice my commands with language. If I so much as directed intent at them, then the golems interpreted that motive into action. Peering at a disgusting monster? A golem would smash it. A blighted one needed to be pulled down? No problem, several golems used gravity wells to press it downward.

In the end, the golem's conformity inspired yet another avenue for expanding my potential. If I could gain enough mental strength, I could wield an entire army in sync. No matter how strong Lehesion was, he wouldn't be able to outmuscle that. Even Schema's fleets or a Spatial Fortress would struggle against something that united yet individually powerful.

And I couldn't know when Lehesion would show up. I only knew he'd come in force. Either way, I put that next step on the back burner. The super golems and I went forward into Hybridized territory. Corals and seaside sprawled out below us, Hybrid forces interspersed between Vagni and twisted Leviathans. Elysium forces amassed outside our blue core's barrier, several ships and clustered enemies rallying together.

To the Hybrids within our dominion, my golems went forward and destroyed. To those outside our barrier, I raised a hand. Endless torrents of mana channeled through my palm while my primary mind converted the raw energy into deadly potential. An outpour of gravity wells spiked throughout the enemy forces. They collapsed into singularities.

Darkness consumed them. Like eclipses under the ocean, these umbral spheres swallowed entire ships at a time. Fueling their resulting implosion, the matter converted into energy and rippled outwards in mass. Calamitous outputs of kinetic power ripped soldiers into gelatinized blobs of red, orange, and gray. Matter melted. Defiance died.

The overwhelming onslaught left nothing alive. These physical forces I generated exceeded what the Hybrids were built to handle. Stringing those shockwaves sideways, I moved an arm to aim this bombardment. In seconds, what was once a fleet was a vast wasteland of minced rubble and sliced fragments. Of what, I could no longer tell.

Steel juggernauts dotting the sky pulped like paper mache. City eating horrors disintegrated into outright voids before the surrounding water flooded the emptied space. Everywhere else caved from the nearby brunt of it all, leaving the city shaken but not quite shattered. I lowered my hand, staring at my palm with a bit of surprise.

I'd improved pretty quickly up to this point, but this defied all conventions. The ease at which I destroyed, well, it was beyond my comprehension. It was like I couldn't get used to the power jumps anymore because I didn't really know where my limits were right now. I was breaching into territories I hadn't imagined crossing, and I didn't do so in tiny steps. I leaped into this chasm, and I couldn't see the bottom of it any longer.

Catching up from behind, Krog and his soldiers flew up towards me but maintained distance,

”You...you did that, guildleader?”

I nodded. Krog shouted at his troops telepathically, ”To fight a deity, you must bring a deity.” Krog turned to his brethren, ”And we've one, haven't we?”

I made a fist, ”Naw. I'm just someone powerful. You'd be amazed at what you guys could do as well. With a bit of effort, of course.”

They listened close, giving quick nods and intent stares. My golems acting as a cleanup crew for me, and I massacred the enemy forces bunching up near our borders. By the time I obliterated the majority of the gathering foes, they had retreated away from us. Turns out that even the brainless felt fear, and these Hybrids were no exception. I wasn't one to let the monsters escape, however.

We chased the monsters down and culled them. Once our position was solidified and secure, we helped our teams and gialgathens move into the secured landing zones. Torix's water barrier shifted further out, giving us more air space to work with. We moved tainted sands and corrupted stones from the premise, returning Blegara to its natural beauty.

At the same time, our guild worked towards expanding the Vagni's purpose here. We wanted them to stay busy outside of farming, and they carried a strange but fascinating culture with them. That came with an aesthetic of their own, along with a way of doing things. Maintaining that would be key to keeping them content in the future.

To ensure their place, I commissioned thousands of artworks and buildings how they usually made them. I also had several city planners who worked in Mt. Verner help ease the process along. We'd need a denser, more compacted capital than Saphigia once was. For that purpose, I had these civil engineers map out roads and other details.

This kept everything contained, practical, and elegant. All of this was paid using the guild's funds, which pumped out a steady flow of credits. Even if the Vagni didn't fully understand what the credits meant, they could equate it to food and housing. That was more than enough.

It gave us a solid base to work with by the end of the day. Extending beyond the blue core would be difficult, however. The ships Elysium used could maintain excellent range while still firing annihilating weaponry. To exposed targets, that meant instant evaporation. Considering our guild's numbers, we couldn't afford to lose anyone like that.

So that's where the golems came in. With everything consolidated and protected by the blue core's barrier, they were free to extend outward. To get that process moving along, I took to the seas and left them awash with the dead. Figuratively, of course. I didn't actually leave corpses.

Between Event Horizon, my armor's draining, and the singularities' evaporating effects, I left a trail behind me ringing with stillness. The quiet in those places seemed louder than most echoing booms or numbing explosions because of where we were. This was a front line. Noise ebbed and flowed at all moments, even through the water. It was often loud enough that I felt it more in my bones than my ears.

Yet when I passed, that noise ceased, and silence lingered.

I didn't intend on leaving the situation so barren for long, however. After dispatching Elysium's armadas, I spent my time crafting new golems. These outdid even my second models, using my more highly leveled blood and body as the primary improvement source. Though the assault models took precedent, I still introduced a few innovations during this time. The most important one was conscripting a new model from Ophelia - the constructors.

I wish I could say the idea for these golems hit me from my own ingenuity, but that wasn't the case. They came from necessity and from leaning on Elysium's methods for managing settlements. The rebels used the twisted Leviathans as road makers who kept the waters safe. On land, Hybrids served this purpose. We needed something similar to replace their benefits and then some. Otherwise, we'd be dismantling a society and replacing it with chaos.

I wouldn't sleep at night if that was the case, though I didn't often choose sleep anyways. The point is, the constructors acted as my own take on the Leviathan/Hybrid role. This new model emphasized city building, maintenance, and protection. In fact, one of them outdid ten of my assault golems for those specific tasks. That opened up the fighter models to focus on fighting instead.

We made this adjustment so quickly because the only change was mental, not physical. All of the golems came equipped with many skills and abilities already—more than they needed, in fact. An example was how they could construct matter from mana as I did. They simply preferred destroying enemies and getting rid of Hybridization. On the other hand, these constructors loved making buildings, drafting plans, and working with engineers.

That's where my production process came in handy. I could just adjust the runic configuration I charged in my grimoire, and the resulting golems were entirely unique. The previous ones enjoyed destruction while these prospered in peace and prosperity. Serving two different purposes allowed the giants to specialize in their given roles. It also meant I didn't need to help so much with planning either. They did all this while letting the Vagni do their thing.

By the time the week passed on Blegara, I had manufactured thirty of these constructor models along with another one hundred assault models. This made us a powerful, militant force throughout Saphigia, extending our grasp well beyond the blue core's shielding. With my support, the golems, gialgathens, and omega divisions expanded outwards, clearing swaths of Saphigia.

They established high points, erecting bunkers beneath these undersea hills. We worked the Vagni hard in the meantime, paying them well to build back up their capital to its former glory and then some. During this span, Elysium raided many times. Each passing day, they sent larger numbers of troops, Hybrids, blighted ones, Leviathans, and vessels.

I massacred them all.

They couldn't dent us. The blue core's shielding stopped even antimatter blasts, and I could charge it in seconds. While doing so, I siphoned singularities over fleets at a rapid pace. I was a null void to their forces, a wall that couldn't be outdone. Any number of ordinary troops were nothing, and they would need to tear this planet apart to get us off it. That wasn't an option since they wanted this world so badly.

Still, they sent more and more with stronger and stronger enemies within. They kept their twisted Sentinels in reserve since their dimensional attacks proved ineffective against me. Everything else they had, they threw at us. Despite that relentless offensive, I found time to build between the episodes.

I grew efficient. I worked in the open, maintaining good sight of the area. We got several scouts inspecting the horizons at all times, along with gialgathens above water. This kept our lines of communication tight, so reacting quickly was a given. These efforts from us kept casualties to a minimum.

That was the best way of handling Elysium's generic strategies: kill without being killed. We couldn't afford to trade soldiers. We had to create a sustainable system for dispatching their endless waves of Hybrids and vessels. If we did that, they wouldn't be able to whittle us down.

That's what we set up in a week: a dozen vantage points with excellent visibility, a growing cityscape run by constructors, and roaming golem guards that cleared areas out.

By the time my stay here was up, I left behind an expanding settlement that already paid dividends to the guild. It would take an eternity before I actually made money from this place, but that wasn't the point. The gialgathens established a place to grow, the Vagni retained some semblance of purpose, and we held the line against Elysium. These weren't the best task forces that Elysium had to offer, but our defense illustrated an ability to stop their mundane offensives.

They'd yet to send their ultimate devastator, and I wasn't sure I was ready.

Preparing full-proof measures against that golden gialgathen would have to wait until after I stopped Plazia Ruhl for Obolis. I'd be getting a few more elemental furnaces and other resources from him, and it might not take all that long either. I didn't want to underestimate a Ruhl, but they wouldn't survive an outpour of singularities. Nothing could, outside of an Old One or Lehesion. Or any of the other hidden powers that the Overseer mentioned during our talk.

I shivered for a second. I needed to stay on guard. Overwhelming or not, getting overconfident would be the end of me. Those thoughts lingered in my mind as I sent a notice to Helios. I needed his warping to get me to the ahcorus's homeworld. While there, he'd be by my side 24/7 in case I needed to be sent back here at a moment's notice.

Poor guy. Anyways, while waiting on him, I opened my messenger and let Florence, Other Hod, Amara, and Althea know to meet me here too.

Torix and Kessiah were too vital for our stay here, and they'd have an evacuation plan if Lehesion landed while I was gone. I worried about the golden gialgathen arriving and destroying all of this, but I set those anxieties aside. We'd need to fight him at some point, and if we did, I'd figure out just how far away I currently was.

Or even how ahead.

I held onto that inkling of confidence as I gazed at the seascape. I filled with pride, finding a line of our territory. Where we landed, homes came up, Vagni schooled near, and golem protectors kept all of it safe. Outside that line, it was abject chaos with Vagni struggling to survive and horrors roaming the hills. It was one thing to destroy something and leave nothing behind. It was another task to replace havoc with prosperity. It was a fulfilling struggle, one I enjoyed.

Interrupting that bit of serenity, portals opened above our domain. It was another raid like the ones we'd stopped so far. In retaliation, mana gushed through runic configurations over my skin, and I oozed unstable flows of power. Reaching up a hand, I pointed at each of these warps and detonated the areas behind them.

Before they could shut, building facilities, out bays, and carriers crumbled. They caught us at the wrong time, and I didn't have to react. I was right here, killing some time before Helios arrived. As the albony did, he gawked at the carnage. They couldn't even escape their portals before being slaughtered.

My mind partitioned, letting me turn to Helios while still handling the assailants,

”You ready to leave? We'll be rounding up a few other members of my guild before we leave, like Hod and Althea. We'll need their stealth abilities.”

Helios fumbled his initial words, trying not to stare at the singularities, ”I-I am. I've also completed the warping lessons you'll need.” He composed himself, ”Let's hope you show promise in the field. It appears you'll still serve a purpose regardless.”

The last portal from Elysium closed, its inside gutted by another cataclysmic explosion. I nodded, ”I'd hope so. Come on, let's go.”

We took one step before yet another portal opened in the distance. I rolled my eyes before reaching up a hand. Seconds passed, yet no singularity formed over the area. I stared at my hand, wondering if it was broken before I lifted my eyes. This portal bordered gold, its rim engorged with an enormous deluge of energy.

There was only one who carried this kind of energy. Lehesion arrived.

From that warp, halcyon claws pulled apart dimensions, shearing space-time. Eyes emboldened with knowledge beyond their years surveyed our stronghold before a massive pair of jaws opened. From the enormous maw, a burst of noble, telepathic laughter poured out. The behemoth gazed at what I built with disdain.

Lehesion snickered, ”So, this is all you've constructed. It's quite quaint and simple when compared with Elysium's grandeur.”

With confidence, I shouted, ”Elysium is a kingdom built on corpses.”

My words contrasted my inner thoughts. A chill ran down my spine as I doubted myself. This was it. I had to perform. If I didn't, a massive portion of my guildsmen would die. My stomach sank. My face numbed. With a quick mental slap, I put that fear and pressure behind me, using it to spur me forward. Feeling returned along with my strength.

I took no chances, sending a message to our guild, one premade for this situation. People began evacuations as Lehesion pulled his entire form from his portal. The beast radiated majesty, the bright, energized armor both blinding and bold. He needed no air, having withstood space and cataclysms alike. He required no food, his body generating endless energy already.

That behemoth's form stared down at me, his eyes narrowed to slits,

”You speak as if the creation of a kingdom may be done without death. Even this tiny domain of yours rests on bodies. My domain is simply superior. The carcasses you've created are mere mounds by comparison to mine, and your piles disappear under the shadow of the mountains I've made. That darkness exposes the distance between you and I.”

He spread his wings while dampening his lustrous glow. He covered my entire line of sight in his dusk, Lehesion's shadow looming across a portion of my city. My knees wanted to wobble under pressure, and Lehesion grinned,

”That distance between us, you are too blind to see it. Beneath these wings, you are an insect under the mercy of a coming storm.”

I took a moment, remembering what happened to Springfield. Yawm destroyed it utterly, leaving nearly no one alive. I was helpless then. I was no longer helpless now, and I wouldn't be stalling with a conversation either. Tohtella or another Adair could arrest control of Lehesion at any moment, and he'd blast everything I built to pieces.

That wasn't an option. I'd be keeping this frog dragon busy this time, so busy he'd be unable to even unsettle some sand. I leaned over, my armor's maw growing monstrous and my metal skin rippling like a pool of dark mercury. I expanded Event Horizon over Lehesion, and the giant winced.

My form shivered as my armor hungered for his energy-laden flesh. The supergolems near me filed into ranks, each of them unspeaking and unmoving. They felt no fear, only bloodthirst. I channeled that within myself, allowing my ascendant mana to bend my mind. That part of me was a monster, and I unleashed it now.

Gripping my fingers to fists, I seethed,

”You believe I'm an insect? No. I am living metal, denser than stone and harder than steel. You so much as touch my domain, and you will suffer.”

A crack showed under Lehesion's confidence, ”And what could you do to me if I destroyed this little lot of land?”

”I will burrow under your skin and eat you alive.”