Throughout the battle, the Castle Faction's Gods floating above the western camp had been doing what they were permitted to do, adding divine arts and buff auras to their troops below, continuously boosting their combat strength without technically engaging in the mortal-level battle directly.
A voice rang across the battlefield from the void, carrying Divine Power fluctuations, shaking the air, reaching every supernatural on the eastern bank simultaneously.
"Brave warriors of the Light Empire! Our ancestors defeated the Dimensional Demons. You can defeat the castle faction as well. No one conquers the Light Empire. Not Demons, not Castle Lords from another world. Hold until the 'Battle of Planets' begins. Victory will be ours!"
More Divine Arts followed the voice, falling across the Light Empire lines, forcibly boosting the strength of the supernaturals below. Cheers broke out across the defensive positions. The morale that had collapsed began, slowly, to reassemble.
Then a cold snort from above cut through all of it.
"A mere Intermediate God, peeking at the battlefield. Since you're here—"
A beam of light fired from one of the Astral Cities. It crossed hundreds of thousands of kilometers in an instant, found its target, and compressed into a giant palm that seized the figure and burst it apart. Golden blood scattered across the sky.
The Light Empire's Intermediate God, the one who had just rallied the troops, was dead before he could make a sound. The killer was Angelia, a Sixteen-Winged Angel like Mary, a Peak High Goddess. Suppressing an Intermediate God was as effortless as reaching out a hand for her.
On the eastern bank, the silence that followed was complete. Mortals who had been cheering thirty seconds earlier stood with pale faces. A God, an immortal being they spent their lives aspiring to become, had just been killed in front of them like it meant nothing. The morale that had started to recover collapsed again, even faster than before this time.
…
"The Angel Race of the Great Aetherium, you go too far!"
A figure descended onto the battlefield, several hundred meters tall, but not a divine body. It was a projection. This being's true body was still in the Light Empire's Imperial Capital, behind a massive God Tier barrier. This person didn't dare come in person, and the projection's combat capability against Angelia was essentially zero.
She stood and looked at him without expression.
The projection said, "Why can your Gods add buff techniques to the Castle Faction troops while ours cannot do the same for our own? This is hypocrisy!"
"This battlefield is guarded by the Angels." Angelia said, "If you want to interfere, defeat us first."
"You won't be so proud for long!" The projection said, voice tight with anger, "One day you'll taste the consequences."
"The Almighty Lord protects us and the Castle Faction." Angelia said, "Ask the entire Endless Continent, who dares stand against us?"
Castle Lords, Rangers, and the troops across the western bank erupted. The cheers were enormous, shaking the air above the river. They had slaughtered tens of billions of Dimensional Demons on Arboriel. They were afraid of nothing here.
The projection's voice dropped quieter, "The enemies who will truly destroy the Great Aetherium and you Angels are coming. When they arrive, you'll understand what we're feeling right now."
Angelia's expression didn't change, "My Lord's Divine Power is unmatched. He will lead us Angels across thousands of planets. Your Light Empire is just a minor obstacle in our path. Tell your ruler Asher, only by believing in the Lord will he find the 'Truth' he seeks."
The projection went still for a moment. The irony was not lost—the Great Aetherium, a castle force, was now using the language of 'Truth' against the empire that had built its entire identity around the pursuit of Truth. The Light Empire had abandoned faith for truth. And now an Angel, a supposed creature of Faith, was telling its ruler that their Lord's word was truth.
"Madness." The projection said, "No one makes the Light Empire surrender. Not the Dimensional Demons, not your Great Aetherium, not the Castle Faction. Even if only one of us remains standing on this battlefield, that person will still be standing. His Majesty Asher fights alongside you, imperial warriors, hold the lines!"
The cheers from the eastern bank answered, just as loud as the Castle Faction's, just as committed.
When the projection dissolved and Angelia returned to the Astral City, both sides of the Nivara had their morale at its peak simultaneously and the war resumed.
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