Loggerheads (Patreon)

Year 208

After watching the heroes show off their new weapons, we tried to make our own glass weapons, and we found the best way was to actually make them the non-magical way. Magical fires interfered with the anti-magical qualities, and conventional fires didn’t. Or at least, mana-powered fires were weakened by the antimagic sand and just made it harder to actually work with them. That didn’t stop my craftsmen from trying, and the end result from our first few ‘successful’ attempts were quite similar to obsidian, and these glass weapons felt very much like glass cannons, that they shattered after a few uses.

Our own tests suggested that they were extremely effective against creatures with high amounts of mana, thanks to the mana drain effects, and they also seemed to trigger some kind of nausea if one wasn’t able to handle the effects of the drain on the body and senses, when we tested them lightly on our own folks.

The spears also caused the mana with a person or creature to become more ‘unstable’, again, any one with levels should be able to suppress and control their mana, but if not controlled it could cause the mana to combust.

I suspect this ‘mana-ignition’ quality to these anti-magic sand and the antimagic solar rays were the cause of my treechikomas combusting into flames. They had little mana regulation or suppression ability, and as such, once the mana in them went crazy, they couldn’t stop it.

These weapons also didn’t like magical ‘storage’, so they worked against things like bags of holding. Still, Roon’s super range meant he could still exploit it, and I could still move these things with my portals. They even interfered with certain kinds of teleportation, though not portals. Magic could be applied around them, but not through them without significant force.

It really was fascinating to work with these kinds of unique resources and I wondered what was unique to each of these worlds. Surely, even a world like Treehome must have something unique that wasn’t found on the other worlds?

So far, I don’t have much idea of what truly was unique between my world versus the Mountainworld or the Threeworld. Not without significant trade and knowledge exchange.

I also commanded my assistants and artificial minds to search the parasite world, though we didn’t find anything so far, and we even tested the waters too.

I wondered whether it was something like ‘tier’ or ‘epoch’ unlocks. Like how in Civilizations, we’d have to acquire the necessary research and technology knowledge before we were able to locate natural resources like Oil or Uranium.

If so, maybe I’m just too low on the tech-tree. I can’t see what’s really unique to our worlds until I get the right skills.

***

We had about three years left before the demon king would come to our world, and our preparations to face the anti-magic demon king were in full swing.

So, Lumoof then brought up the topic of the otherworldly heroes, shared their trauma and also their appeal for help.

“We should help them.” The heroes themselves volunteered for it. Prabu and Colette were keen to assist once we shared the circumstances of the other world. Ken, of course, realised this tied into his idea for a League of Heroes.

“That involves a deployment of Aeon’s seed on that world. Something we’re still considering as it’s Aeon’s last one.” Unless I gain more seeds in the future, but with levels so scarce, it is something to be considered a bit more strategically.

But honestly, there really were really just two types of choices. One, against the demon king, and two, here, on the Mountainworld or the Threeworlds. After my failed attempt on the demon king on the Antimagic world, I was quite open to the idea of a clone here.

“From what we know so far, each world gets invaded by one demon world at a time, correct? So, each world in itself represents an opportunity to explore one more demon world. More demon kings to fight, which is the only good source of high level experience as it is.” Ken spoke up for the idea.

“But we have three years left before this world gets invaded-”

“Which shouldn’t matter. Reality is, we need to be stronger if the demon king from this anti-magic world is as strong as Aeon described. We need to participate in the fight against this demon king, which we can fight on our own terms because it’s there, stagnant and waiting. It’s abilities are also largely known, due to Aeon’s own past experience with a similar demon king. On top of that, it is stationary, which means there’s a whole list of abilities that Aeon and the rest of us can abuse.”

I thought back to Harris and gang, and even before that, of Meela and Alexis. I remembered they had long range weaponry and spells.

Edna thought over it, and concurred with Ken. “In truth, we’re only risking the heroes. The domain holders will survive this, and we will gain levels. If we can minimise the risk to our four heroes, that would make this exercise a net gain.” This was simply because cannot be added to my pantheon, and they also could not receive my Court of the Deitree. They could only get normal familiars.

“If we make sufficient emergency teleportation devices, we could avoid most of the risk from a sudden detonation.”

The main cause of death for past heroes was actually the post-death detonation, and that was something they needed to prepare for, so, with a few redundant countermeasures, Roon and Johann eventually relented. They were not keen on assisting at first, but Ken’s focus on gaining levels did outweigh the risks, especially with the right countermeasures.

After I heard both sides, I too eventually accepted that supporting the heroes was a good idea. The levels we could gain would help, and there was no reason to stop it.

We also had to consider the risks of defeating the demon king, because Sabnoc did nuke almost a quarter to a third of a continent to death. “Aeon, you are much stronger now compared to the time when you faced Sabnoc. Do you think a wall of your trees could block off the demonic corruption, if it happens?”

I wasn’t sure. Maybe? I remembered the energy from such a detonation was exponentially stronger at the core, than at the edges. I remember the wave of demonic energies crushing the trees further away from me. I’m pretty sure my clone can survive the wave, it’s just whether my wall of subsidiary trees and normal trees could withstand the demonic corruption.

We could use the anti-magic glass weapons to weaken the demonic energies too, and so,, I started experimenting on anti-magic trees. Trees that were made from the sands of the demon world.

It resisted assimilation into a tree, but the anti-magic weapon could help. For now, they made large anti-magic glass barriers. These glass barriers would serve as an additional protection for the heroes and my domain holders.

Roon was enthusiastic as we worked out the offensive plan. A stationary target was the perfect target for him to exploit his ‘shot from the stars’, especially with the anti-magic ammunition and Alka’s wide repertoire of star mana bombs.

As everyone worked out their part of the plan, I felt nervous, and even felt privately quite suspicious. Was this anti-magic glass weapon really that much of a super-material? Was everything really going to work so well?

I wondered whether this was going to overstretch us before our own demon king. I had doubts, even if I knew it didn’t make sense. Logically fighting every battle and gaining levels is the best path forward.

We just had to stack the deck, and make sure we attacked every demon king with sufficient overwhelming force.

***

“Aeon, our patron,  agreed to assist with the battle against the Demon King, but there are conditions, and it will be our plan.” Lumoof spoke to the council of Kings, the heroes and the gallery of their high level individuals. “And in return, the two heroes would help us with our demon king.”

The two heroes agreed. Then, Lumoof outlined our battle plan for the benefit of those present.

Six heroes in total, four from our world, would face the demon king, and they would be supported by my domain holders. Edna would be present to tank, Roon for ranged weaponry and bombardment, and Lumoof for field healing and to suppress the demonic bomb.

I would have to deploy my clone somewhere close to the demon king, and when the time is right, teleport the heroes over. The plan also involved walling off the demon king’s post-death corruption, just in case it detonated..

We outlined a possibility that the demon king would ‘wake up’ and attack us once the four heroes from our world arrive, or when my main tree was deployed. If that’s the case, it’d be a simple mad scramble to fight the demon king.

If there was some time before we fought the demon king, I would start to gather more of those ‘forest rods’. At the same time, we’d use the time to stockpile star-mana ammunition and bombs. Of course, this would be our ideal outcome.

At the same time, this strategy involved deployment of my clone, and I would like to have a permanent place once I deployed my clone. So, Lumoof also negotiated for one of the demonic lands as the spoils for my assistance.

This was contentious, and some of them said it was like we were annexing a plot of land. Which we were, I guess. Still, it’s no one’s territory as it is, because of the decade-long war. Once my tree was deployed, that location would be the staging point for the assault.  The kings haggled a bit, but eventually agreed in principle.

I could sense that they grew weary of the long wars, and I even sensed some underlying frustration with their heroes. There were some murmurs in the crowd that this was some sort of land grab and invasion, and the priests looked uncomfortable with letting another ‘force’ claim their world.

But they couldn’t deny it in the end. Even in their world, heroes who survived frequently went on to start their own kingdoms, sometimes by force. This was similar.

Lumoof and the councils went over the maps of the world and eventually settled on a spot that was once a forest. Once.

***

A group of elites escorted Lumoof to the target site, mainly just to ensure that we didn’t put the seed anywhere else. It wasn’t hard to blaze a path through demon territory, though we encountered a few demonic champions along the way.

It was located about two-three days away from the immobile demon king, and already we could feel its pulsing presence in the air. It was like an ambient pressure that could be felt in the mana, and even the ground itself was filled with demonic mana.

There was a very clear possibility that the demon king may immediately attack us once I deployed my clone, so everyone was ready for a jump.

Once we arrived, Lumoof immediately entered avatar mode, and my mana cleared the land around us. The clone deployed.

I felt something in the ground once my roots started spreading in the ground. There was once a leyline that flowed underneath, that was now streaked with demonic energy, and that line of demonic energy headed to the core. It was subtle, mixed with the energies of the leyline, but I could sense it because I’m very familiar with demonic energy now.

It was there, slowly pushing into the ground, and I could feel some kind of resistance.

“The demon king has already started tunnelling to the core, but it does so through a magical leyline.”

The demon king tapped into the leyline. I wondered whether this was another piece of the puzzle.

As my own clone grew, I wondered whether the demon king would immediately move, but the demon king did not react.

I was relieved, and my clone took just two days to fully form. The benefits of a world that still had reasonable quantities of ambient mana.

Once I was ready, I began to flood the area with beetles, spawning trees constantly and began pushing back against the demonic corruption in the area. Roon, Johann and Edna arrived soon after.

All this while, the elites stayed put, and the elites of the Mountainworld were frankly horrified when they faced my gigantic clone tree and my three domain holders. Their reports to their masters back home were filled with similarly colorful words.

At the same time, once my presence stabilised, I felt something different in the air, and I knew something was up. I wasn’t sure why it didn’t happen instantly-

[You’ve connected to the energies of another world]

[Soul Forge : Green Unlocked]

[Artificial Souls Level Cap increased to Level 80]

[All artificial souls now have Green option unlocked]

[Soul Spiritualisation unlocked : Souls empowered with Soul Spiritualisation no longer need a physical body to appear outside of the Soul Realm. They will take the form of ghosts and spirits. Ghosts and spirits can gain levels like normal. You may create artificial souls as ghosts or wraiths.]

[Mountainworld Soul synchronised. You may now collect souls from the Mountainworld]

[Tree-Bounded Souls unlocked : You may now stop any chosen soul from reincarnating. You may stop no more than ten souls simultaneously with this ability.]

“Something happened?” Lumoof asked.

“I just got a new Soul Forge Color.”  I had forgotten that the Soul forge needed a ‘permanent’ connection, not just a temporary one through my Avatar mode. But, I didn’t get this back in the Cometworld? Was it because it was a dying world?

And why was there such a long time lag? Because the demon king was fighting or in the process of capturing the core?

“Huh.” It’s been a really long time since that happened and I didn’t even know what to do. And now’s not a good time.

No matter, I focused on the plan. Since the demon king didn’t react to us, did not seem bothered by my presence, my beetles fanned out in all directors. We hunted for the demonic rods, I only had one left, and I wanted more. My subsidiary trees pushed outwards, and we attempted to encircle the demon king. These trees would form a containment ring, and at the same time, spawned beetles that helped me capture the rods.

It was actually really difficult to find the rods before they were deployed, but this was a matter of time.

We eventually collected about seven more rods, and I sent these rods back to the valley. Meanwhile, Lumoof returned to the cities to coordinate the heroes’ movement.

***

He was greeted differently this time around, the reports of the elite had already gone to the Council, and I could tell they all felt like they bit more than they could chew.

Previously, he was treated respectfully, and the kings conducted themselves cordially. This time, Lumoof picked up a sense of fear that was not there before. My priest had a calming presence, and his aura, on its own, was gentle, like the lapping waves of the sea, the gentle but present breeze of the beach.

Mine was different, it was the thick, overwhelming presence of the jungle, and even for just a moment, the elites remembered it. It was imprinted in their minds, just as how my own Valthorns remembered me.

“The heroes are not here yet?” The two heroes of the Mountainworld were very eager to meet their otherworld counterparts. I learned their names this time, Adrian and Kelly, and they were in a bus with their friends, when a truck came for them. It’s always a damned truck.

“They will.” Lumoof smiled. “But not yet. We will try to arrange a session for all of you to meet before the battle. They are also eager to meet some people from their homeworld.”

I soon learned that Kelly was also a dark knight of some kind, but unlike Edna, she was more of the offensive type and had a mixed skillset between a barbarian and a knight. Adrian, on the other hand, was actually a food-monk-hero, and excelled in physical abilities. He had to consume food before battle to release them as power.

Why did the gods think this was a good combination against a Sabnoc-type? Did the gods make a mistake with this demon king?

My trees spread quickly, and some soon covered the cities. With that, came information. The kings and elites were visibly disturbed by the beetles that flooded the entire theater of war, and that fear manifested through their conduct. Already, there were private discussions of what to do after the war.

How to ‘deal’ with me.

Fear and suspicion. This was the nature of people. Lumoof had to quickly intervene before this got out of hand, and met the kings and priests.

“Our patron has no intention of invading your world. Once the war is over, we would return the lands back to you, except for the agreed plot, since that is a part of my god.” The agreed plot was still pretty large, comparable to a medium sized kingdom. Sufficient for a presence. “This wall of trees is merely to contain the demon kings.”

What could they do but accept Lumoof’s explanation at face value? The armies of beetles were each in the tens of thousands, and the sight of beetles duking it out against demons was truly gruesome.

We were still not yet ready to hit out at Akkila, and about three to four months after my clone was deployed, the demon king seemed to detect my presence and began to attack. We endured multiple attacks from the demon king’s subordinates. Champions came for us, and the battlefields were covered in craters, from all the demonic champions’ bombardments.

Still, it refused to move, and I felt the energies of the Core fluctuate. As I also began to notice the leylines were also ‘taking’ from me during the ebbs.

I had a feeling that time was slowly, slowly running out, and called the four heroes to prepare for teleportation.