Defiance of the Fall

It took a moment for Zac to come to grips with the numbers. The War Machines hadn't left a single body intact, but the biggest culprit, by far, was the Heart Curses. The only way you could get an intact body from the Kan'Tanu was if you destroyed the Heart Curse before or simultaneously as the opponent, while neither damaging the heart nor head. Such a feat was easier said than done when only a fraction of his soldiers walked the popular body-preserving paths of the Undead Empire.

Certainly, they got a huge influx of body parts for raising Corpselords, but the lack of torsos and heads was also a problem. They couldn't exactly raise undead tangles of legs and arms in a morbid replication of the Void Beast called the Collector. Besides, his faction's foundation in Corpse-stitching was still quite shallow. Sewing together leftover parts of these unremarkable Kan'Tanu Warslaves was barely worth the effort.

Whatever they raised this way was extremely unlikely to become a Cultivator, and even reaching E-grade was an almost insurmountable task. Still, Elysium needed normal non-combat citizens, and they would at least be able to raise some decent Corpselords and Revenants.

The vast majority of the Kan'Tanu would be buried, though it wasn't exactly an act of benevolence. It was because of a suggestion from Serzo. He'd provided a specific array that would slowly remove the resentment from the corpses and urged Zac to create massive burial grounds at specific spots on Elysium. Corpses were natural generators of Death, and the burial grounds would slowly refine the Dao of Death that covered the continent.

Serzo had always done the same on newly realigned worlds. At the very least, it created pockets of elevated energy. And if his people kept racking up bodies at this pace, they could birth new Nexus Veins or possibly even create Holy Lands for cultivation. The Kan'Tanu would literally become fertilizer for Elysium's cultivation. It was macabre, but Zac felt it among the nicer things he'd done with the corpses of his enemies since stepping onto this path.

The scouts and treasure hunters returned an hour before the teleporter activated.

"Anything?" Zac asked when Joanna and Carva came walking over.

"Not much," Joanna sighed. "We did discover a few hidden vaults of the previous inhabitants, but nothing too impressive. Our returns barely reach 200 D-grade Nexus Coins and another 50 for the harvested gear. It's almost impossible to unload low-quality equipment nowadays, though. The whole sector's flooded with the stuff."

Zac grunted in understanding. 250 D-grade Nexus Coins was nothing to him, and it didn't even cover the opening salvo of his assault. However, it would be quite the haul for normal Early D-grade forces for a few days' work. If an army only used Late and Peak E-grade siege weaponry, they could likely finish a battle of this type for less than 100 D-grade Nexus Coins.

Certainly, such a battle could take weeks, depending on the enemy's resilience, and the loss in manpower would be far greater than what the Calamity Company suffered. Still, weaker D-grade forces could steadily extract wealth from the neutral battlefronts and make much more money than relying on their traditional channels. And there was always the small chance of stumbling onto a real treasure trove.

For example, Zac had heard that the Azh'Rezak Clan had been doing quite well for themselves since the war began. Ogras' old family didn't have a very impressive heritage and were dirt-poor, but their strength wasn't hollow. The clan had eked out a living selling themselves as mercenaries since their founding, and their elders and regular armies were battle-hardened veterans, one and all.

He still kept constant watch on the small faction in case a bout of bad luck placed them against a dangerous enemy. If things went awry, he'd quickly zip over and at least save Ogras' grandfather.

Minutes passed, and the last warriors emerged from seclusion, some with excited expressions. Zac could tell there hadn't been that many breakthroughs this time, but it was no wonder considering how they utterly steamrolled the enemy. Zac eventually walked over to the Battlefront Array with the others.

"Everything is ready, Warmaster."

"I recommend bringing both the outsiders," Petrus said. "The Dreamers are fearful of death, but that's a strength on its own. Their soldiers had already built four walls around our base before they were called over."

"Better that than dismissing them and being stuck with some nuisance," Zac agreed. "So, what are our options?"

"Left for an easy conquest, center for potential merit," Petrus said. "As we suspected, the Central Array leads toward a world with sacrificial farms. The farms are considered strategic resources, and destroying them provides significant Faction Merit in addition to damaging an important facility. But those worlds are always heavily guarded. The other two lead to random worlds at the edge of their sector."

Zac hesitated a moment before shaking his head. "There'll be time to strike at such targets later. Besides, picking that direction on the first victory gives them too much time to prepare."

"Indeed," Petrus said. "There'll be time to harvest merit later. For now, focus on working out all kinks."

After winning a Neutral Battlefront, Zac could activate any of the three Kan'Tanu Battlefront Arrays. You could even split your army and activate multiple Battlefronts if you were confident in yourself and your allies, though that meant fighting at a numerical disadvantage. Whichever you picked would lead you toward the faction that emerged through the teleporter.

The targeted faction would remain, but the other two groups of cultists would likely be swapped out for other worlds. This way, you could pick the Kan'Tanu world you wanted to conquer.

There was, however, a chance that the System would throw a wrench in your plans, teleporting you toward another world than the one you picked. It was a safeguard against people always playing it safe, and it seemed to trigger more often the more you stalled and avoided dangers.

The Kan'Tanu could also reset their battlefront using Faction Merit to avoid further battles. When faced with a powerful army like the Calamity Company, they would definitely do so if they had any merit remaining. Some would wait until the last minute in hopes their enemy would be sent somewhere else, while others immediately forfeited to save on Faction Merit.

In those cases, you'd also be sent somewhere else at random. If lucky, you could skip neutral battlefronts. The only safeguard for defenders was that foreign armies never could show up on your world out of nowhere. You had to lose at least one battle before facing an actual invasion.

That didn't mean you'd always be matched against a weakling when appearing on a random Kan'Tanu world. It wasn't that uncommon a strategy to intentionally back down so that you could deal with your enemy on your home turf. Ultimately, only the most powerful factions had the strength and resources to conquer a whole world with a size-restricted army. Most gave up after reaping some harvest on the neutral fronts or performed a quick raid in the Kan'Tanu sector before returning home.

The various options and strategies available created a dynamic scenario where the System kept you on your toes. Zac could only play the odds and avoid some dangers, such as picking another battlefront array than the one leading toward the curse farms.

Zac looked back at the square of people, including the two outsider factions who filled up the flanks. The soldiers looked more motivated this time than before their first engagement, especially the outsider forces. Even if the Corpselords had lost more combatants than the Calamity Company, their casualties were likely lower than normal.

And with such monstrous momentum, it was almost a given that the campaign would end with a decisive victory even in the hostile sector. And even if they only got a small chunk of the awarded merit, it was likely more than they'd make in a month or two by resetting neutral battlefronts over and over.

It was worth remembering that Faction Merit meant different things for different factions. For the Atwood Empire, it was a way to improve its long-term potential. For weaker forces, it was a crucial lifeline that would let them prevent having their planet overrun at least once.

"Let's go," Zac said, and the array lit up. "Same strategy as last time."

The next three conquests went the same way as the first, even with Zac scaling back on their use of D-grade War Machines after every engagement. By the third fight, their casualties decreased at half the expenditure. Still, Zac was bleeding money at a shocking rate. A normal D-grade faction would go bankrupt within the week, though his shipyard was still generating revenue more than three times the expenditures.

Thank the Heavens for the renegotiated contract. Without the bump in price, he'd be losing money by the time he'd set up the second elite army if you included the cost of the other twelve battlefronts.

As promised, Zac mostly stayed his hand, only slightly putting his thumb on the scale while moving through the battlefields. Seeing deaths all around him hurt, but he could only harden his heart. He channeled his complex emotions into purpose, and he was almost ready to explode by the time they found themselves in front of the final array that'd finally lead them to a proper Kan'Tanu world.

"The training wheels are off now that we're stepping onto their soil," Joanna reminded. "The System will only offer protection for an hour, and anything can wait on the other side. It will be booby-trapped if nothing else."

"I understand," Zac said as he cracked his neck. "I'll make my move if it looks bad. It's about time I earned my keep."

"We should be able to handle it, so try to hide until we've found the World Lord. With how we've bulldozed through the neutral zones, there's a high chance our target has forfeited. The only way they stay on is if they don't have enough Faction Merit to avoid us."

Zac nodded. This was the upside of possibly being sent to a random world. You didn't know what you were dealing with, but neither did your enemy. The Kan'Tanu wouldn't have any idea their enemy came with an almost incomprehensible number of arrays and siege machines. And since the World Lord always had a decent bounty on his head, you didn't want to give him any reason to run off-world before you could scramble space and seal the planet.

The Teleporter activated, but Zac didn't take the lead this time. Instead, a mixed group of Bearkin Corpselords, advance guards, and engineers made up the vanguard. Zac only snuck inside after ten minutes, hidden among a squad of Revenants and using every tool in his repertoire to hide his strength. As usual, he was greeted by a prompt upon stepping onto the new world.

[General assignment: Conquer Kerkos VI. Merit awarded after successful conquest, depending on individual contribution. NOTE: Capturing capitals, resource points, strategic resources and structures increases awarded Faction Merit. Killing or capturing World Lord increases awarded Faction Merit.]

[Fated Flamebearer: Kill or capture World Lord, 2,5x merit. Conquer World Capital, 2,5x merit. Kill or capture Outer Court Sealbearers, 25,000 merit (repeatable). Kill or capture Left Imperial Palace Flamebearer, 250,000 merit (repeatable).]

Both general and designation quests looked quite different this time. The general assignment was far more generous, awarding Faction Merit for all kinds of things. But the thoughts of Faction Merit were quickly thrown out the window upon seeing his Flamebearer quest. Kill Outer Court Sealbearers? Left Imperial Palace Flamebearers? And they were repeatable?

Zac quickly calmed down. For a moment, he'd almost thought he'd fill out his seal early, but there was simply no way there were multiple sealbearers on this world. It was most likely a special bounty he'd get on every Kan'Tanu world as part of his identity as Zecia's Flamebearer. Nothing else was a surprise, so he closed the prompt to inspect where they'd ended up.

The skies were a shimmering orange and pink, like a summer sunset on old Earth. Large birds leisurely glided about far up in the sky, and Zac even spotted floating islands in the distance. You generally didn't see such things on D-grade worlds, but Zac could tell the planet had a decently strong affinity to metal. Was the whole world perhaps a large magnet, holding the islands aloft?

The scene was beautiful, and it was hard to reconcile the skyline with a world controlled by an unorthodox cult using human sacrifice and Heart Curses. Of course, the gauntlet waiting for them outside the protective bubble was a poignant reminder this wasn't some vacation. A towering wall was rising with speed visible to the naked eye, but Zac could still see the sea of cultists waiting for them.

A killing field of Cursed Ground acted like a moat, pushing right up against the golden barrier. Beyond was an enormous sea of Kan'Tanu soldiers at least five times the size of his combined army. They didn't come empty-handed, either. There Zac spotted three types of War Machines surrounding their location, one model radiating energy that clearly was in the D-grade. They were even erecting a huge metal cage to seal the whole battlefront.

As Joanna expected, these people weren't the same as they'd fought until now. The Kan'Tanu sector was mostly Human, but there were distinct differences between regions. These defenders had a grey, almost steely, skin hue, and many had purple irises. They were also better equipped than the world they'd targeted, though Zac noted they didn't wear the special liveries of the seven Kan'Tanu Chapters.

The Kan'Tanu Sector was ruled by one sect, but it was separated into units for logistics. Each chapter was a branch of the cult and the equivalent of a Zecian top-tier Empire. The whole sector was cleanly split between these even chapters, but most planets had no real connection to their overlords beyond providing bodies and resources.

Zac guessed this was a world with decent mineral deposits thanks to its affinity, which generated some wealth and warranted slightly stronger defensive measures than normal worlds. However, the Ambient Energy was noticeably lower than in both his worlds. The planet couldn't be too valuable, mostly holding large quantities of low-grade metals.

Judging by the line-up, these invaders must have opted for a decisive attack while they had their enemy gathered in one place. Their retreat was possibly even intentional to set up this kind of siege. However, the appearance of undead and other unfamiliar races had clearly caused a stir. Zac could see hesitant and fearful looks among the frontline soldiers.

The minutes passed, and the hastily-erected fort rapidly filled with veteran soldiers. Meanwhile, new warriors were constantly joining the already massive Kan'Tanu ranks from two directions, likely the closest teleportation arrays. More War Arrays were erected, and Zac frowned upon seeing their opposition grow fiercer.

Neither side called for an attack. There was no way the Kan'Tanu could break through the System's protections, and Zac had no reason to call for an early strike. They had essentially entered an arms race, a fight the Calamity Company would win any day of the week. Meanwhile, if they started shooting at the Kan'Tanu from within the golden barrier, the System would see it as the Atwood Empire forfeiting the protections.

Zac silently observed the enemy ranks from a slightly obscured spot next to a [Godslayer Cannon], trying to gauge the winds of fate to pinpoint elites and potential dangers. When ten minutes remained on the grace period, he suddenly spotted something by one of the larger constructs behind the Kan'Tanu's rearguard—a newcomer.

He didn't look special, and it was impossible to gauge his strength at this distance. Neither did he have any particular swirl of fate around him which would denote a powerful elite. However, it almost looked like he was glowing to Zac's vision, a metallic sheen that Zac instinctively knew wasn't something the warrior was doing himself.

Could it be?

'How do you normally find the enemy World Lord?' Zac asked through a Command Array.

'They're generally the strongest person. You can also ask any random civilian on the street. Most commoners don't have any Heart Curses, so they spill everything the moment they're faced with a whole army,' Joanna answered. 'We've always had a name and description by the time we reached the World Capital.'

Zac inquired with a few more, and even Rhubat, who had killed two World Lords, said the same thing. Neither had any special means to track down the leaders, but Zac was certain. That glowing man, it was him—the World Lord of Kerkos VI. He must have joined the ambush upon learning that the enemy weren't the ones they'd been expecting. If things went well, they'd stay and reap some merit. If the enemy proved to tough a nut to crack, he'd sneak back to the World Capital or perhaps even off-world.

But how could Zac let him go now that he'd served himself up on a silver platter? Four days he'd held himself back. Four days, he'd watched some of his Empire's most promising warriors fall so that the army could find its way.

No longer.