Reappearing back in the Central Circle, Gaius cast his senses out and immediately detected the huge mass of energy from the north and the south. The Mortal Light Dynasty and the Southern Assembly was the initial staging area for the huge invasion, but the bulk of the enemy forces would be coming from the south first, since most of the Five Lands’ forces were at the Heaven-cleaving Fortress prior to this sudden diversion.

These poor soldiers probably hadn’t had much of a break. It was good news for him, since enemy morale had to be at an all-new low. The Five Lands already had their nose bloodied by the demons, back when they tried to invade the Wildlands — this second war would not help lift their spirits.

“What’s your initial estimate on the enemy numbers?” Gaius asked.

Nexus popped up from his clothes, which was now a robe of swirling black mist. “One-point-one million infantry troops, Master Gaius. Of that, nine hundred thousand troops are coming from the south, while the remaining two hundred thousand are from the north.”

“Keep an eye out on the North’s troops. These guys will be the troublesome ones,” said Gaius. “Any signs of Ark City?”

“No. In addition, the Locomotives are far enough, such that Clipped Wings would not be effective yet,” Nexus replied.

“Okay. As arranged, you will maintain control over Clipped Wings. Use it at your discretion.” Gaius closed his eyes and reached out to the enormous tide of spectres that he had called out onto the Central Circle.

The mass of black far below rippled immediately. At the same time, Gaius gathered his will and cast it outwards, and the heavens began to rumble as they seemed to speak.

“People of Orb.” His voice resonated throughout the world. “This is your first and only warning. Should you advance any further, I will take it as an act of aggression and send out my troops. Stay back, and you will be unharmed.”

The advancing troops faltered as a boundary appeared in front of them. It was nothing more than an illusion of burning black flames, but such a sight was more than enough to make them wary. Gaius took in that sight for a moment, and then dispersed the illusion with a wave of his hands. There was little point in keeping it up, save for the shock factor, and the illusion was unlikely to stop them in their tracks anyway.

Sometimes, what really mattered were how things were presented.

After five minutes or so, the troops began to move again, but this time, their rate of advancement was far slower. For the general infantry, who were unable to fly, their only means of approach was via boats, but the sheer number of them meant that they were packed up nice and tight. A single disruption to their approach had messed up their schedule and slowed them down adequately, which presented a huge opening to him.

Distant explosions followed as the innumerable weapons Gaius had created to protect the Cradle of Creation began to fire, controlled by Nexus. From his vantage point, all he could see were streaks of light scattering outwards, creating a hail of projectiles that would batter against the enemy defences.

At the same time, the spectres he had conjured out began to rise into the air. Clumping together in tight formations, the dark shadows charged towards both the north and the south, making use of the covering fire and their de facto immortality to hinder the approaching enemies. Individually, their strength wasn’t all that great, but as a limitless horde…

Flowers of flame began to bloom as the forces of Orb began to fire at the first of the spectres, creating a spectacular set of fireworks. Shadows fell by the hundreds within first contact, proof of just how competent the militaries of the Five Lands were, but to the never-ending Abyss, this was but a drop in the bucket.

“I’ll leave it to you, then,” Gaius muttered. “The sky is blue. Cannons are singing. Flowers of fire bloom madly. The leaders of the Five Lands will want to talk.”

“Are you going to take the initiative and talk to them?” Nexus asked.

“Now? No.” Gaius watched the fleet of ships, as they struggled onwards under the storm of projectiles. “Why would I? I will not accept any compromise. Save for the great gods, there will be no need to talk.”

“Why not?”

“The rulers of the Five Lands seek to maintain the status quo. I, who seek to herald change, will never come to an understanding with them,” Gaius replied. “And why would I need to compromise? Whether this festival succeeds or not, I will have met my goals. Victory, defeat…none will stop the fact that there will only be two outcomes.”

“An ideal world, and a not-so-ideal world.” Nexus chuckled. “Yes. You’ve already won.”

“Exactly. Does the winner need to compromise?” Gaius asked. “No. I think not. For the me right now, this festival of creation — not the outcome — is the source and destination of my life. No matter what happens next, I will have attained my goal. Therefore, what need is there for a compromise?”

Black lightning struck the Cradle of Creation as he uttered those words, and the world seed within seemed to resonate with his voice. The winds howled, and the streaks of black charging at the forces of the Wildlands sped up, their guttural cries melding into the shrieking gale.

The Five Lands were putting up a decent fight, but Gaius didn’t really care about the losses that the spectres were taking. He had shifted the Oblivion Portal over to the base of the Cradle of Creation; thousands of them were flooding outwards without any restraint whatsoever. Six thousand years ago, the only reason why the Oblivion Portal could be suppressed was due to Weiwu’s intervention. If he hadn’t closed it back then, the spectres would have continued to stream out of the Oblivion Portal forever.

Unfortunately, the Five Lands were in no position to know about such details.

Gaius chuckled to himself, and then took out the Canvas of Memory.

Unlike most Zeroth Armaments, the Canvas of Memory was fairly useless. Its main purpose was to help store and play out the final words of anyone whose name was written on it.

No one, however, apparently had the sense to question how such a thing was possible.

In truth, the Canvas of Memory was a Zeroth Armament that dealt in the area of souls. The matriarch of the Lorenze family gave it to him back to protect his soul, but its Zeroth Release could be used in ways that didn’t make sense, even for Orb. Gaius had gotten Nexus to research its use, and the more he knew, the more the whole thing didn’t make sense.

But beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“You should watch your divinity levels,” Nexus warned. “You’re maintaining the clones, empowering the Holy Temple’s Vault…and now, you’re trying to expand its Zeroth Release to cover the entire Five Lands.”

“I need the insurance,” Gaius replied. “I don’t know what Aldnath did, after all. And gathering the souls of the fallen is the only way to protect them from any corruption.”

Power welled up in his right arm as he pressed down on it, and the innocuous-looking metal frame lit up with a blazing vermilion.

“Canvas of Memory,” Gaius muttered, “Zeroth Release!”

The blazing vermilion that followed scattered even the black thunderclouds that had covered the sky.