Watching the final members of the army take their places, Daneel drew in a deep breath and waited for the system to speak in his mind.

[Simulation completed. Result: 93% positive.]

A small smile came on his face as he heard this, which broadened when Eloise, who was beside him, said, "Everything is ready."

Turning around, he nodded and walked to the other end of the podium. From there, he could see the Angarians who would not be fighting now protected beneath layers of the layers of all kinds of barriers.

Most of them were silent, but a few were trying to distract themselves by gambling or playing card games. According to his sovereigns, the scene had been very different during the first wave when all of the people had been filled with much more confidence, but after seeing so many of their kin die, this was the atmosphere that was present now.

No one could blame them. They didn’t know exactly how monumental victories so far had been, so they could not know that all of the people who had died had been avenged. They were scared that the same could repeat, so unconsciously, they huddled together with the hope that the company would give them some amount of protection.

Daneel was tempted to talk to them and put their fears to rest, but he knew that actions were always much louder than words. If they saw the second wave being defeated, too, everything would definitely change...so right now, the best thing he could do was focus his efforts on the battle that was soon going to begin.

[Estimated time of arrival: six minutes.]

The same timer was present in the middle of the podium, too, so he didn’t need to give an update to the rest. They were all a bit tense, but it was with anticipatory eyes that they all studied the Heavens while waiting for the Church to arrive.

When they had first found out that the second wave would be attacking from above, none of them had really been surprised. From the data given by the assassins which they had started to use with much more caution, they knew that there was a way that Energy could be used wastefully to send a large force so far into the sky that they would not be affected by the Sea in any way. Just like that eye from before, it would be able to move without any trouble, and anyone would need to be in possession of special spells or Artifacts if they wanted to reach them.

The second wave would not be going as high up as the eye, but still, if Angaria decided to contest them, they would have to leave their land and all the advantages therein. The original intention of rendering the threat of the sea powerless was also achieved, so without a doubt, the sovereigns knew that this battle would definitely be a head-on confrontation of the sort they had been preparing for.

So far, it could be said that they had gotten lucky, in a way, but it was time for that luck to end. A direct contest of strength that would be decided by the ultimate power of each force was coming their way, and for this, they were ready.

"As per your command, only the forces that they already know of have been placed in front. They will attack first, with the rest on stand by to step in when ordered. Also, the commander of the Domination Corps asked me to send you a message... they wanted to let you know that they are ready for the battle they have been preparing for for all their lives. I saw their excitement, and frankly, it scared me."

Percy had been denoted as one of the main individuals who would be sending and receiving messages. There were some that needed an individual to travel instead of using other means, and for them, this new sovereign would be dispatched.

When he gave this message, Daneel grinned and replied, "Good. Long ago, I told them that they would have the opportunity to awe the entire continent if they swore to follow me... it’s finally time to make good on that promise. Sovereigns, get to your stations."

Seeing that there were only five minutes left to go, all of the sovereigns nodded and began to disappear one by one. Both Xuan and Eloise came forward to plant a kiss before they left, and so, it was with that sweet taste on his lips that he waited for the army to appear in the sky.

historical

He was left with only the Emperor who had been disguised as a normal man. Thus, when the clouds parted on his command and revealed the army that would soon descend on them, he was the one who saw it and said, "Magnificent."

Daneel agreed with the man, even though he didn’t like it. That was one word that perfectly described what they were seeing, and he would be a liar if he said that he wouldn’t remember this sight forever.

On an invisible surface that was inclined in their direction, the ranks of the second wave were visible. They were standing at the ready to fly forward and destroy everything they could see, but right now, they were standing still, so Daneel had the opportunity to study them and match what he was seeing with the data that he possessed.

The assassins had assured him that the lapse in the data from before would be the only instance of something of that sort happening that Angaria would have to endure. They claimed that they had had no way to know that the Saint, himself, would dispatch one of his personal squadrons just in case it turned out that Angaria did have outside help, and after reviewing all of the data they had already given which had mostly turned out to be accurate, Daneel had had to grudgingly admit that they might be right.

As if to make up for the fact that they had almost led Angaria to ruin even though they knew that their lives were tied to the fate of the continent, they had made great efforts to try and get as much information as possible on each and every war weapon that was being deployed now.

The row that was nearest to Angaria was made up of battering-ram type equipment that had the ability to pierce through any and all barriers in its way. Over 50 of these were present, shaped in various forms that looked grotesque and unnerving. According to the assassins, these were all the beasts of the Mainland which invoked fear in even its strongest residents, but despite all of them looking different, their function was all the same. The moment they were launched on Angaria, they would all take up a formation that would conjure a giant-sized reinforced lance that was designed to output the most devastating piercing force possible.

Behind them were the weapons meant to pick off enemies in the event of the success of the forward force. Consciousness-corrupting crossbows, Energy-sucking harpoons, Earthquake-inducing catapults...the list was exhaustive, but what was common among them all was that each could contend against ten Heroes, alone.

There were at least a hundred of them, all together, and while they stood there, glinting in the sunlight, Daneel felt a small chill in his spine.

Behind them stood the special weapons that were the most dangerous. Both the dark fog that was clearly ’Darkness’ and the large vial of churning liquid that was surely ’Nightmare Mist’ were visible, but between them, a hidden weapon was also present that looked like it was under wraps.

Another surprise. Well, you’re not the only one with them...Church, welcome to hell.

As soon as this thought came in Daneel’s mind, it looked like a command had been received as the member of the Church standing closest to ’Darkness’ moved.

Walking to the fog that looked like it had been constricted against its will, he raised his hand...and set it free.

Like a nest of bats released into the wild after being trapped for days, the mist began to spread like wildfire.

Only...what it spread across was the sky, and soon, the sun that had been shining in all its glory was no longer visible. Night fell upon Angaria, and just like that, with not a word being said...the war began.