The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew heavy.
“Damn it!” Commander Victor scratched his hair in sheer frustration.
“We have worked ourselves to the bone these past few years just to build up our grassroots and mid-level military strength.
We were right on the verge of stabilizing for another decade to completely crush those Barbarians and Bug Demons!
And now look at what has happened!” The suffocating weight of the council chamber was near-absolute.
An imbalance in high-end, strategic combat power often meant a total loss of strategic initiative, and could ultimately lead to the absolute annihilation of a race.
Right then, Regional Governor Clarence spoke up again, his synthesized voice remaining flat and devoid of emotion, though the intelligence he delivered was even more chilling.
“We have breaking news.
The newly ascended Mythical-class professionals of both the Barbarian Sovereignty and the Myriad-Bug Demon Faction have successfully cleared their respective initiation trials.” “Ten minutes ago, the leadership of both factions simultaneously issued formal diplomatic statements to the human race.” He paused, the gaze of his holographic projection seeming to sweep across every general at the table.
“They have proposed that our three empires hold a New Generation Joint Trial Tournament in exactly ten days.” “Hmph, they are clearly up to no good,” Commander Victor snarled, his eyes flashing with rage.
“They are targeting us because they know humanity only secured a single newly crowned legend this year.
They want to exploit this opportunity to kick us while we are down, reclaiming every single economic loss they suffered in terms of equipment over the past few years!
In my objective opinion, we should refuse to participate in their tournament entirely!” “Before their newly formed myths fully mature into the late game, let’s concentrate our elite forces, strike first, and completely wipe out either the Bug Demon Faction or the Barbarians!
Every single one we tear down is a victory for our survival!” “That is impossible.” A woman dressed in a crisp military uniform, her short hair radiating a sharp silver sheen, suddenly cut into the conversation like a cornered lion.
This was Commander Sharon, the head of the Second War Zone.
Her expression was more severe than it had ever been as she looked directly at Marshal Christopher.
“The Dead Forbidden Zone has been expanding at an accelerating pace lately.
Our field data suggests the once-in-a-century eruption wave is manifesting much earlier than our initial models predicted.” “My scouts suspect the ancient seal guarding the Dead Forbidden Zone is structurally failing.
I cannot redeploy a single soldier from my front line.
You all know the catastrophic consequences if my defenses collapse.” Hearing this, Commander Victor fell completely silent.
The Dead Forbidden Zone had always been an unyielding nightmare hanging over humanity’s collective conscience, a tightening noose slowly suffocating the human race.
The Dead Forbidden Zone was also known across the Endless Continent as the Evil God Calamity.
The Evil God Calamity was universally recognized as the most terrifying cataclysm in the world, a structural disaster that frequently resulted in the total extinction of ancient civilizations.
Over the centuries, the military command had purchased a substantial amount of intelligence from global Goblin merchants regarding these anomalies.
They frequently received reports of entire sovereign races being thoroughly wiped from the map due to the sudden onset of an Evil God Calamity.
The historical departure of the primordial Creator God had left this world without its ultimate, omnipotent guardian, leaving the plane exposed to the predatory, covetous eyes of countless extraterrestrial entities.
These outer gods corrupted native populations through insidious mental whispers, anchoring perverted faiths before using their fanatical believers to manifest their cosmic power through the world’s dimensional barriers.
The Evil God Calamity was the physical, world-breaking disaster triggered by the infiltration of their dark energies.
The calamity manifested in various terrifying shapes, and the Dead Forbidden Zone running along the borders of the Second War Zone was merely one localized variant.
The Omnic Crisis, the Blood God’s slaughter, the Chaos of excess, the Plaguofather’s decay, the Weaver of Fates’ deceptions, specter tides, and gluttonous famines—all of these were recognized classifications of an active Evil God Calamity.
Furthermore, based on fragmented archaeological records recovered from ancient ruins within the perimeter over the centuries, the truth was even more horrifying.
Beyond the defenses of the Second War Zone, that desolate expanse currently shrouded in a gray-white mist of death—completely devoid of natural life and teeming with infinite hordes of Aberrant Monsters—was once the territory of an incredibly glorious and powerful civilization.
Historical excavations indicated that during its golden era, that extinct race commanded over thirty active Mythical-tier professionals.
Their total military output was vast enough to effortlessly crush the combined forces of the modern human race, the Barbarian Sovereignty, and the Bug Demon Faction simultaneously.
Yet, that terrifying superpower was completely annihilated by the Evil God Calamity within an incredibly short timeframe, their empire transformed into a rotting dead zone that continued to creep outward, eroding the boundaries of living matter.
“The Second War Zone is legally forbidden from moving a single asset,” Marshal Christopher said, slowly closing his eyes as memories stretching across three centuries churned within his mind.
As a veteran of the first generation of awakened combatants, he had personally lived through humanity’s darkest historical era.
When the human race first transmigrated into this world, their arrival coincided exactly with a minor outbreak originating from the Dead Forbidden Zone.
Caught completely unprepared, humanity suffered a catastrophic population reduction of 80% under the terrifying rot of decay and the endless onslaught of Aberrant Monsters.
Corpses littered the plains, and human civilization was on the absolute verge of permanent erasure.
If a massive pillar of Holy Light hadn’t suddenly erupted from the absolute core of the zone, piercing the heavens to temporarily suppress the corruption, humanity would have never secured the critical breathing room needed to organize a mass migration.
They would have long since become forgotten dust in the annals of history.
Marshal Christopher opened his eyes, his tone carrying an unquestionable military authority.
“The Dead Forbidden Zone is an existential crisis.
Its defensive containment holds an absolute priority over all standard border disputes.” “This won’t work, that won’t work!
Are we just supposed to sit here quietly and watch those Barbarians and Bug Demons ride over our heads?” Commander Victor growled in deep frustration.
“I can provide an alternative solution,” Regional Governor Clarence’s flat voice resounded, startling the generals at the table.
“A Mythical-class professional is not invincible before their level scaling and tier milestones are officially established.” “With the assistance of our deep-cover intelligence agents embedded within both rival factions, and if I personally coordinate the decapitation strikes, our analysts project a 90% success rate to permanently eliminate one of the newly ascended myths.” He paused briefly, before adding, “Of course, if I deploy for this operation, I will not be returning.” Marshal Christopher frowned, slowly shaking his head.
“The situation has not degenerated to that threshold yet.
We still have cards left to play.
Master Alistair is currently in the final refinement phases of forging that specialized Mythical-grade growth weapon.” “If the crafting sequence succeeds, given the weapon’s unique power, a high-grade Legendary vanguard professional wielding it should be fully capable of briefly matching an early-game Mythical combatant.
This remains one of our hidden countermeasures.” His gaze swept across the generals, ultimately locking onto Commander Sharon.
“Our primary directive right now is to exhaust every financial and military reserve to prepare for the predicted early eruption of the Dead Forbidden Zone.” “Commander Sharon, submit your resource requisition forms directly to my desk.
The supreme command will prioritize all logistical allocations to the Second War Zone.
As for the Barbarians and the Bug Demons…
their respective territories also border sections of the Dead Forbidden Zone.
They will likely be forced to divert substantial forces to police their own perimeters during this window.” “Marshal, should we formally accept the invitation to the joint tournament?” General Arthur inquired, breaking the silence.
Marshal Christopher pondered deeply.
Refusing the challenge would make humanity appear profoundly cowardly, dealing a severe blow to the morale of the frontline legions.
But if they participated, they only commanded a single newly awakened legend, Claire, while their opponents each brought two.
A tactical defeat was almost mathematically guaranteed, and their top talent would be exposed to targeted execution parameters.
After a long moment of deliberation, a sharp, decisive glint flashed within the old marshal’s eyes.
“Faced with overwhelming adversity, victory and defeat are common variables in warfare, but the spiritual backbone of the human race must never be bent.” “Inform the lower echelons that the top-performing graduates from this year’s regional trials will be selected to form our delegation for the Joint Tournament.
Even if we must face a tactical defeat, we will face it with absolute honor.” Right at that exact second— Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A crisp, heavy knock shattered the tense atmosphere of the council chamber.
Regional Governor Clarence’s holographic projection paused slightly, before he spoke directly to the head of the table.
“Pardon the interruption, Marshal.
I have an urgent operational matter that requires my immediate attention.” Marshal Christopher nodded in permission.
Clarence’s actual physical body, stationed within his secure command bunker, strode to the heavy, soundproofed steel blast doors and unlatched them.
An intelligence officer, his facial features flushed with extreme excitement, stood waiting in the corridor.
“Governor!
The Cyber Intelligence Division has recovered an explosive, top-tier intelligence breakthrough!
It must be presented to you immediately!” the officer gasped, breathing heavily.
Clarence’s brow furrowed tightly beneath his camouflage mask, his synthesized vocal output carrying a trace of distinct displeasure.
“I am actively participating in a Supreme Theater Command briefing.
Unless the data involves a large-scale planetary invasion force or an active Tier 1 strategic annihilation crisis, the Cyber Division’s intelligence must, according to standard military protocol, be filed for review after the conclusion of this meeting—” “Governor!
Please let me finish the summary!” the intelligence officer interrupted, completely breaking protocol out of sheer urgency.
He rapidly delivered the core metrics of the report.
“What did you just say?!” Regional Governor Clarence’s voice violently spiked, completely losing its flat, mechanical synthesis as his composure shattered into pure, unadulterated shock and structural disbelief.