Two weeks ago, at the same spot where Daneel was standing right now.
The King of Lanthanor clearly remembered being in a lot of pain. He had just stepped out of a pool that almost looked like molten lava, and although he had felt his body surging with power, there had also been pain accompanying it, which hadn't faded for a long, long time.
This was to be expected, though, and was nothing surprising - breaking through from the Amateur Champion level to become a Peak Champion was a completely different thing when compared to his previous experience of simply reaching the peak of the Warrior level. He had known this, but it was only after going through it did he really understand what it meant to be 'reborn'.
The system had also given him some stats before he had gone into the pool, and it was only after he got out that he understood their significance - it had told him that the number of resources that had been used to create what he was stepping into was 100 times what any normal Champion would use on average to breakthrough from the Amateur to the peak Champion level while trying to train as quickly as possible, and at that time, he had wondered whether a lot of the resources were being wasted to ensure an instant power-up.
However, after his experience, he realized that it was because so many more resources were needed when Energy had to be bombarded into one's body, as compared to when it was calmly being observed over a period of time.
Whatever the case, Daneel had stepped out as a true-blue Peak Champion Fighter and Mage, and it had to be commended as the stats were apparently that in those who use the same process, only about 30% had the chance to succeed. In fact, it was even the case that many would succeed in breaking through in one Path and fail in the other, but thankfully, Daneel's grit had carried him through.
Only he knew how enticing death had felt, or how tempted he had been to close his pores and take some or the other defensive action against the solution that continuously went in and out of his body. Even though he hadn't been certain, his instincts had told him that it was a bad idea, and later, he had figured out that that must be why this method had such a high rate of failure, even though so many resources were being used- many would opt for the easy way out instead of being roasted alive for weeks on end, and nothing worth anything had ever been recorded to have been achieved without putting in effort or going through pain.
After this, he had traveled to Angaria secretly, and because of his increased power which allowed him to bypass many of the specific traps that had been laid of for an Amateur Champion, he had managed to penetrate easily into the Central Continent, which he knew would be targeted if everything went according to plan.
His plan had always revolved around giving the Overseer everything to expose him, and then taking everything away by ending his existence. In that process, he knew that Angaria would definitely enter a vulnerable state.
He hadn't expected that it would be this vulnerable, but even then, with the almost endless resources he had found in the primary vault behind his back, he had decided to set a trap for anyone who might come out of the shadows, seeing that the time was ripe.
Then, he had considered whether he should hold back and save a majority of the resources, but seeing the citizens who would be the first ones to die if someone did choose to attack, he had made the decision that had, at present, allowed him the chance to escape certain doom.
His trap had had 5 layers, built to accommodate different types of enemies who might attack.
Each layer corresponded to a different over all power level, with the last being the ultimate trap that would be able to annihilate even one of the Big Four, in case they decided that they might want to revolt.
Now, as Daneel saw the millions of mosquitoes crowd around the citadel, almost blacking it out in the process, he felt pride welling up inside him. True, they weren't as large as the ones that had started to appear at the borders of Axelor due to the actions of the Domination Corps, but what they lacked in size, they more than made up for in numbers.
And as he gave the command…a sight that he would remember forever appeared in front of him.
It reminded him of the fourth of July from back on Earth, but instead of fireworks…a million individual explosions lit up the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BO-...
Initially, one might have been able to hear each of them, like loud grenades which imploded on the defensive barrier, which looked like it could withstand a thousand such attacks without even being disturbed.
But what if it were a million, and that, too, all at the same time?
The answer…was displayed to the Head and Daneel, who were standing side by side.
With the loudest cracking sound that they had ever heard, the defensive barrier broke, and seeing this happen, Daneel told the system, "Change maneuver from 'Blow 'em up from the outside' to 'Blow 'em up from the inside'."
[Acknowledged. Sending mass communication. Mosquitoes will attack to sources of Energy and explode.]
True, it was a childish name, but Daneel had felt that it fit. Of course, if any bard asked him in the future when they were writing down the tale, he would never admit it, but right now, it gave the most perfect explanation.
As soon as the smoke from the explosions cleared, swarms of more mosquitoes which were still being generated started to travel inwards, to the citadel which was no longer shining pristinely where it stood upon the graves of hundreds of thousands of Angarians.
As for the one from the Church and Arnold…they both had livid expressions on their faces, but this was not because of the sight they were seeing in front of them.
No, they were staring at a display trinket which was showing a different scene, and seeing this, Daneel knew that they had figured it out.
This…wasn't the real fight.
Raising a hand, he brought up a display trinket, too, and what it showed him made him smile, and made him understand the reason behind the exceedingly panicked expressions on the faces of the two who still stood exactly at the same spot from where they had attacked Daneel.
The image it showed was that of a cave that seemed to have been newly extracted, and if anyone was told that this was the most securely protected place in all of Angaria…they would definitely not understand.
In fact, the protection had existed ever since the formation of the continent, itself, when there had probably been nothing atop it but a vast landscape with little to no life. Even these forms of life would have only been those that would take many, many years to even take on a semblance of what they were now, but still, this spot was guarded by the Will automatically using various methods, which was something that was not seen anywhere else.
As for the reason behind this…was that if the continent was considered to be a normal human body, then this was the location where the most vital and critical part necessary for life, the brain and the nervous system, would be. If one succeeded in destroying it…then the continent, itself, would be no more.
It was the crust of Angaria, which was at the bottom-most part of the continent, and it was what Daneel was actively blowing up at the moment with the special breed of mosquitoes which were each half the size of a regular human.
"FINALLY! Annihilation Corps, your targets are those teleportation formations! They're sending those f*cking monsters to blow up the part of the crust that supports this part of the continent to set us adrift. If that happens, we will be mobbed and destroyed by all those beasts in the Sea! Our foothold in Angaria to teleport more troops over will be lost! The Bishop will send us all to the Absolution Camp! We have no time! Cloak your Energy signal and ignore those mosquitoes! GO!"
Daneel's thoughts were interrupted by the one from the Church, whose statement had actually accurately summarised the rest of what was going on.
Indeed, after gaining access to this place using the Head's role as the Overseer, Daneel had begun this process of sending Bomber Mosquitoes to accomplish this crazy goal.
That's what he called them, and this time, it was a name he was proud of. These mosquitoes had the special ability to absorb a large amount of Energy in a small amount of time before blowing up in a manner that actually amplified all of what they contained, and they were perfect for this task.
Their only problem was that they had a short time period in which they could live, and hence, Daneel had had to place the teleportation formations on the border. In this way, they could teleport straight down to the spot where they were supposed to explode and do their job, before flying away to mosquito heaven.
He had considered directly creating the mosquitoes in the place where they had to blow up, but in that case, the apparatus that was creating them would be destroyed each time. Hence, this was the best solution.
But of course…its obvious fault was that it could be targeted by their enemies.
After the statement from the man who had delivered in a tone that was filled with fright, which had been great to hear, there was no change, and Daneel started to wonder whether the effects of arriving via Blood Sacrifice had caused more damage than he had expected.
However…a second later, he understood why the one from the Church had called them the 'Annihinlation Corps'.
100 figures in green robes flew out from the citadel, and in fact, they were even familiar to Daneel.
Each of them had a globe of green-colored fire in their hands, in which one could see a dancing human skull, and as Daneel saw it, he frowned and said, "Head, now."
Instantly, the same barrier that had blocked Daneel before, and which had been around the citadel until now, changed location to appear around the border, to protect the many, many teleportation formations spaced equally, which were all sending mosquitoes straight down.
It was a magnificent sight: an entire section of Angaria, spanning over 200,00 square kilometers in area was now surrounded by a glowing barrier that rose to the heavens. In fact, it even looked as if it had been 'chosen' by someone from above, and in reality, it had been 'chosen', but to be split apart and sent away, like a rotting limb that had to be cut off, lest it risks the survival of the entire body.
"Release!"
This change did not seem to perturb the Annihilation Corps, though, because after reaching a certain spot, they all threw forward the globes of fire in their hands.
As they shot forward in the air, each globe enlarged to grow as big as a hot air balloon from Earth, and as each one struck the barrier…the skull which had also grown in size opened its mouth wide, as if to swallow whatever it could find.
BANG!
At first sight, it looked as if the barrier of the Order would break down.
The green flames, after all, had the infamous ability of being able to burn through everything. In various places, they could be seen growing more and more, beginning to blanket the entirety of the barrier.
The glow of the barrier began to diminish, but thankfully, at the end…it held.
"King! We're safe, for now, but those flames might burn through soon. We need something else!"
Daneel, who had realized this, too, frowned, before turning back to look in the distance, at the vast field, where Champions, Warriors, and Heroes were lying unconscious on the ground.
His own Heroes and the ones they had been fighting had also collapsed, and even though it was more out of exhaustion, in their case, the truth was that they couldn't fight.
Hence, there was only one, last option.
With a frown, the King spoke in his mind, and his tone was filled with unwillingness.
"Well…I wasn't going to do this, but I guess we have no choice. System, repeat 'Apocalypse Protocol', but this time… get 'em all. There's nothing like forcing someone awake by turning them into a monster…