Michael's return to Aterna was like a storm. As soon as he returned, he called all the nobles of the plane for a meeting. This was the first time after the establishment of the Empire that such a gathering was called.

In the capital - Rageberg city, inside the imperial palace.

All the lords of Aterna were present, either with incarnations or physically. Michael was seated on the imperial throne, his aura unrestrained causing all people present in the palace to feel suffocated. After fusing his dao tree with his will, his power had received a qualitative leap. The bedevilment after experiencing grief had also caused his dao to mature a bit more. Currently, his cultivation in the psychic and dao path was already at peak great-master stage. Going further, he would have to chart a path unique to himself and try to reach the grandmaster realm. With the addition of his powerful will, he could go toe to toe with the weaker law masters.

As a result, his aura gave off similar suppression.

Looking at all the nervous nobles, Michael spoke, "First of all, I will give you all the official updates of the war. We had a big battle between the devils and the army of the sect a few days back. The battle was very intense and both sides have sustained severe casualties. We killed millions of devils in this battle. As a result, we can expect a period of calm for a few months. But the next assault will probably be the final phase of the war. If we manage to get through it, we will be victorious. But before that, we need to take a few steps. First of all, we need to start creating shelters around the plane. In the few months of peace we have, we must complete the construction of these shelters. I have already asked help from the sect and a team of architects is already on their way. These shelters will be the final contingency plan for us. Each shelter will be powered by a portion of the plane-will itself. In case of complete defeat, these shelters will be propelled into the law ocean. These shelters will be our final beacon of hope of survival. The sect has agreed to save these shelters after the war is over. I hope that you all can take this seriously and ask your citizens to relocate."

"Yes, Lord!", the crowd of nobles agreed.

"Secondly, we need to provide reparations to the ones who have been injured and harmed in the catastrophe. Currently, the relief works are still in progress. I will be opening the imperial treasury completely for this purpose. I want to make sure that all citizens have access to healers and people who have lost their family members are compensated generously. Also, people who are permanently disabled, the empire will take up the burden of their survival. All war orphans are to be enrolled in the future in a boarding school affiliated to the tower that will take care of all these children till they become adults. I will be asking Shadow-eye agents to investigate the flow of finances, so make sure that if you try to embezzle the funds, you don't get caught. Or else, it will be execution!"

The nobles all shuddered. Shadow-eye was a fearsome organisation under the imperial family headed by Lord Ambrose. None of these nobles was confident in hiding secrets from them. Generally, the imperial family would turn a blind eye to such dirty acts as long as they were in moderation. But now, Michael's attitude had been made clear, so none of the nobles would dare to steal any funds.

"Also, we need to provide hope to the scared citizens. I have created a recording of the battle a few days ago. It shows the power of the sect as we slaughter a million devils. Distribute these recordings to all regions, play them on public squares. Show the citizens that the empire and the sect have taken bloody revenge for their suffering."

"Yes, Lord!"

"Now, we will move on to the other important points on the agenda."

Soon, more and more matters were finalized for the upcoming emergency. After completing the discussions, Michael called out,

"It has been many years since the wars between the races have stopped. Many years ago, Reez and the Zenid family contributed tremendously in the establishment of the empire and eradication of all wars. As a result, they have accumulated a lot of merit. Thus, I don't want to make a decision for their transgression on my own and will leave it up to all of you to decide. Reez Zenid, do you know of your blunder?"

Michael's words caught all nobles off-guard. Reez trembled and bowed towards Michael saying, "This citizen does not know what transgressions you are talking about lord but if you want to punish me, I am here before you to take the punishment."

"You don't know your error. This already shows how negligent you have been with your family members. Your scion Azeer Zenid was a part of the army's special teams that were responsible for clearing teleportation anchors. In the last mission, his team was caught unprepared against the surprise attacks of devils. Azeer Zenid abandoned his comrades and escaped putting the lives of his fellows in danger. Samuel Joss, the scion of Joss family was killed in action while Mark Gregory, the heir to Gregory household barely managed to escape due to the sacrifice of two disciples from the sect. Do you think that for scion can pay for the deaths of such important people? Even though these people were killed by devils, it is also true that Azeer Zenid cowardly escaped from the battlefield. According to military laws of the sect, he should be executed. And the fact that his actions have caused a diplomatic issue means that the Zenid family also has to pay a price."

Reez was left dumbstruck at this revelation. It was evident that he had no idea about the incident.

Michael continued, "You don't need to doubt the veracity of this information. The monitoring methods of the sect are very thorough, especially for those who have some status. What I want to know is how you will atone for the sins of your descendant?"

Reez knelt down in the middle of all nobles as he said, "Lord, I shall kill this unfilial descendant myself. The Zenid family is also ready to shoulder any punishments that you want to give. My only request is that you leave us a lifeline of survival."

Michael remained silent for a while before speaking, "Azeer Zenid has to be put to death. The Zenid family will be demoted to the rank of an ordinary noble household. You shall be allowed to keep your territory but know that this shall be the last warning. Initially, I was planning to strip away your nobility but since you have accumulated quite a bit of merit, the punishment will be mild."

Michael's actions of settling the chaos and widespread fear bore instant results. The construction of shelters was also approved by the sect and began at a breakneck pace. The masses also felt delighted by the slaughter of devils and were reassured by the power of the empire and sect.

After calming the populace, Michael met with the Krill and the convoy from Divine Sea Sect.

"Lord Krill, for what reason have you asked for me?"

"Michael, I am sorry for our failure in misunderstanding and underestimating the situation. The power that the devils have put into this operation has exceeded the expectations of the sect. Let me first represent the war department in apologizing to you for the loss suffered by your hometown." Krill bowed towards Michael in apology.

Not having expected such conduct, Michael was stunned for a moment. Who was Krill Nash? A rank-7 ascendant and a battle-tested commander of the war department, a legacy disciple of a divinity. What was his status? And Michael was only a core disciple. Michael could not compare to Krill either in strength or background. In fact, Krill being the commander of the army and leader of the convoy showed that his status was higher than everyone else, including the divine children. For him to bow and apologize to Michael was unimaginable to most people.

"You don't need to apologize Senior. I know that the destruction of my hometown in a work of devils. Why should I blame the defenders?", Michael replied. In his heart, the respect he had for Krill Nash became even deeper.

Krill said, "The mistakes that we made were all because of one reason - lack of intel. But now, most of the hidden pieces of the devils have been revealed. On the other hand, we still have our moves hidden from them. First of all, the elders in the convoy have never made a move till now. The mission of these elders was to protect divine children. As a result, they did not take part in the war until now. But yesterday, the sect sent the order for those in the convoy to participate in the battle as well. Hence, we have gained many peak-experts on our side. Since we will be fighting a defensive battle, we will be able to hold on for a long time till reinforcements arrive."

Michael bowed to the elders from the sect. "Many thanks for protecting my home."

The elders nodded towards him accepting his gesture.

"Also, we now know who our opponents are. The commanders on the other side are Theo Black, Jaren Bone and Medussa Green. They have brought in one of the devil treasure-cities for this expedition. But Medussa was very far from the city when the attack of that divinity landed. Thus, we believe that there is a high chance that she is either dead or seriously injured. Overall, she is no longer a threat. Neon Blood is completely held down by the sect's reinforcements. Thus, we will be facing Jaren Bone and Theo Black. Both of them are rank-7 like me and are also extremely powerful. I can barely contend with Theo. Jaren is even more troublesome as he is a powerful psychic cultivator. Viridian from our side is no match for him. Thus, we need another psychic on the team. I want to ask you to join. Viridian already approves of your strength and there are no psychics that can be deployed from the sect currently."

"No problem, I will be happy to join."

"You should understand that this is a dangerous mission. Jaren is a terrifying psychic. There is a chance for death in your battle. You will truly be risking your life. To reward this, you will be made an official member of the convoy and will be a part of the team that will explore the secret realm. Secret realms represent danger and opportunity. If you don't want to go to the secret realm in future, you can sell off the chance for a large sum of resources."

Michael said, "Since my home is facing a calamity, it is only natural that I put my life on the line. As for the reward, I will not reject the sect's generosity."

"Very good! You are a respectable cultivator. I hope that you will be able to grow and become a pillar of the sect. I have a feeling that Theo will be collecting his strength to erupt in the final battle. As a result, there might be rank-8 existences from their side as well. Thus, we need to prepare a secret trump-card. This is a secret so keep it to yourself. This plan will be called the apostle plan. It will be the final weapon in our arsenal. In fact, the divinities had to give approval before we could begin this. What you need to do is ....."

The discussions between Michael and Krill continued till late at night. From the next day onwards, Michael became a formal member of the convoy. He started practising his teamwork with Viridian for the upcoming battle.

After the calamity, Aterna had a period of peace. During that time, preparations were made on both sides. Six months after the first shocking battle, the final crescendo of the war was played.