"This doesn't make sense…this doesn't make sense. THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!"
Seeing the outline of the meteor, there were all kinds of reactions in the crowd where the members of the Big Four had gathered.
Chief among them, though, was bewilderment, as it was obvious that the meteor was easily strong enough to strike and wipe them off the face of the continent.
But...how?
This was the main question that the more intellectual sect members were asking themselves, and in fact, even the leader of the Sect of Hedon had the same thing going through his mind.
Saying those words, he narrowed his eyebrows and focused, but again, he saw nothing.
The vast part of the landscape that was taken up by the people of Angaria had been veiled by some sort of unique camouflage formation. If a normal one had been used, its Energy usage had been catastrophic, but here, a very simple phenomenon had been caused where the elementary particles had been scrambled, leading to multiple false flags that made it difficult to ascertain exactly what was going on among all of the large squads that had been formed.
He grudgingly had to admit that this was pretty damn effective, but he felt no admiration: instead, all he felt was mounting pressure, as it was already looking like this would be another gambit he would fail in.
He, along with many of the Heroes who were still standing in the same place, were wondering the same thing: how could anyone transform the population of Angaria, who had been deemed useless all these years, into such a formidable force that was directly putting up a fight against the combined might of the Big Four?
True, the fight hadn't started yet, and even the meteor was only in its beginning stages.
However…it had become clear that if it was allowed to fully form, then it would definitely accomplish its purpose, and in fact, with the anti-teleportation formation that had come into effect along with its creation, it was clear that the Big Four had nowhere to run either.
Still, the main thing which was baffling even the sect members below was this: if something like this was possible, and that, too, in merely a few weeks, then how had no one else done anything similar over all these many, many years?
It just didn't add up!
"I strongly suspect that he is taking the help of something off-world. See, all the indications are clear! Maybe he is an agent of the Church!"
As these words were uttered by one of the Heroes in the crowd who had always been so paranoid that he didn't even trust his own shadow, many turned around, but this was something that was even more implausible than what they were seeing.
So…the leader of the Big Four kept looking, as he didn't want to give any order without first understanding the situation. Information was king, and without any at his disposal, he would just be walking into another trap.
Looking down, he saw that there was at least some consolation in the fact that not everyone had acted in the same manner as the son of the Hero who was now so thoroughly embarrassed that he had conjured opaque barriers around his head to ensure that he wouldn't need to see anyone else, or have anyone else see his embarrassment.
Squad leaders who had been assigned beforehand had stepped up, and they had restored order among those assigned to them. Right now, there were still quite a few who were very apprehensive of the attack which was making them feel as if they were taking a cold shower on a freezing day, and even though they shivered with slight fear, they looked down to see the people and found courage in the fact that there was no way that they would be able to really pull off something like what they were seeing.
'Maybe…it's all an act, to scare us?'
The leader of the Big Four could see this thought in the eyes of many, but alas…things weren't so simple.
"Your impetuousness has not left you yet, Narhok. Look beneath."
An ancient voice sounded in his ears, and it seemed that the same had been heard by the Heroes around him, too, as all of those who had been puzzled looked as though they had seen light in the darkness.
As one, they cast their gazes underground, and as their eyes widened, Daneel chuckled from where he stood.
"The gig is up. Engage defensive measures!"
Before the Heroes could say anything, dazzling barriers sprung up in front of all of the people who had gathered, and right away, this allowed them to confirm that they were right.
It was the leader who responded first, and he made sure that each and every one of the sect members heard him.
"Fools! They're making use of formations underground to focus their power! He chose the battlefield, so he made preparations to make the people win! Make them move away, and it will all fall apart! Attack!!!!"
"…"
For a moment, there was silence, and then, burning shame could be seen on many faces of those on the ground, as they couldn't believe that they had been taken for a ride.
"'Fools'? He's talking as if he wasn't fooled, too…"
Still chuckling, Daneel said this to the sovereigns who were standing beside him.
"People do like to project their opinions on themselves onto others…anyway, is it just me, or does this entire thing feel off?"
As Elanev said this, the other commanders among the sovereigns nodded.
"Yes. If we were fighting against the Church, we would probably be decimated by now due to all of these delays."
As Cassandra said this, Daneel shrugged and gave the answer.
"That's because nothing about this situation is normal! First, we are all supposed to be on the same side. Second, everyone is cautious as they are wary of my planning. And third, this is actually the first battle where the Big Four have to unite. Well, all of that is past us, now: look- its finally starting."
On hearing him, the sovereigns all looked down, and indeed, the Big Four had finally recovered.
It seemed that shame had turned into anger due to the fact that they had been fooled by those they considered to be nothing, as most of the sect members had red faces and furious grimaces while they took their place, and summoned their power.
"Oh…so they're not useless, after all."
While Daneel said this in a low voice, the sovereigns all watched as Fighters from the Fortress first stepped forward and gathered in the shape of an arrowhead.
3 men stood at the front, forming the point, and behind them, more and more Fighters lined up to create the formation.
Behind them, the Goddesses of Sanctum took their place. They shot a look filled with malevolence in Daneel's direction before assembling into a circle where those with more power took up the spots in the center, and finally, the Sect of Hedon gathered behind them in two ways: first, the mages formed a square right behind the circle, and then, the Fighters formed another one behind them.
All in all, it was a strangely-shaped arrow that was formed, and at first, no one except Daneel could understand why they had decided to do so.
But soon…it became clear.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
With remarkable coordination, all of the Fighters from the Fortress raised their right legs and brought them down on the ground with all of the force that they could muster, and this caused a loud sound akin to that one would expect when an earthquake was wreaking havoc on the land to resound all over the place.
Even the group of people right in front of the Fighters were disturbed, even though Daneel had ensured that they would be able to concentrate on their task by blocking the sight of the sect members. They felt the ground rumble, and some even lost their balance, but with the urging of the leaders who had been told before that there would be all kinds of disturbances, everyone remained calm.
Yet…that wasn't the case with the sovereigns, who were all quite surprised by what they were seeing.
A moment after the loud sound, the entire arrow had lit up with a red light, which congealed into a solid object that radiated a feeling of danger outward.
"Strenght turned solid- they've been training well. This is why Fighters can take down mages easily if they know how to work together."
Elanev said this, and it was obvious that he was paraphrasing whatever the old man in his head was telling him.
Next up was the Goddesses, and they seemed determined to show everyone that they were not to be messed with.
All of the Goddesses began to cast a spell, and at first, it looked as if all it did was make a white light form above where they were standing.
Only…after a second, just like what had happened with the Fighters, all of these white lights congealed into a singular object, and in their case, it was circular, and so dazzling that everyone had to avert their eyes after it was formed.
Finally, the Sect of Hedon did the same thing, too, and soon, two purple-colored square objects could be seen on the ground.
"What…is going on? It almost looks like a child's playground, down there!"
Eloise was right. The objects that had been formed by magic all looked like they were the blocks that kids would use to learn basic things about shapes, and at first glance, it would all seem so exceedingly simple that one would think that there was no way that they would turn into an attack.
Only…Daneel knew exactly what they were doing, and honestly, he was impressed.
He didn't say anything, though, as all of the sect members moved anyway, and in the next moment, the answer was made clear.
The Fighters at the back moved first, causing their edge of what they had formed to strike that of the mages in front of them.
They had to physically do so, and in a feat of extraordinary coordination, the mages of the Sect of Hedon moved in sync with the Fighters.
All of them thrust their hands forward at the exact moment that contact was made, and this resulted in the two purple blocks merging and becoming one gigantic block that was moving forward.
Everything was on such a massive scale that it would be hard for it to be imagined by those not watching it with their own eyes. The millions of people who had gathered were all like a sea that surrounded the sect members in the middle, and in a way, it was as if the sect members formed a continent of their own, like Angaria, which was being attacked from all sides by the Endless Sea.
The Sea of people was many times larger than the area in the middle, but now, the block which was the size of at least two football fields stood out brightly.
This block then struck the globe made by the Goddesses, and again, in a fluid motion, the globe was absorbed.
The corners of the block became rounded, and its color had actually turned deeper.
Finally, as the sovereigns held their breath, this massive object which had doubled in size struck the arrow, and once more, the power of Mages and Fighters combined to create something…extraordinary.
The point of the arrow held its shape, giving the vaguely globe-shaped object a sharp edge, and the entire thing had turned crimson.
It was so radiant that it seemed to overshadow the sun, itself, and the moment it struck the barrier in front of it…it became clear that there was no contest.
"Yes!"
Many of the Heroes rejoiced as they saw this, and even the sect members got elated expressions on their faces as they waited for victory to take form in front of them.
The barrier was so strong that it was supposed to withstand even the might of 100 Heroes attacking at once, and this, more than anything, showcased just how powerful the combined might of the Big Four was.
It broke not even a moment after the impact, exposing the million people behind it, and to everyone, it seemed as if the triumph of the Big Four was near.
The object had been created primarily to break apart barriers, and precautions had been taken to ensure that it wouldn't massacre the people. Even the Heroes did not want such a thing to happen, but the people would all at least be injured, and in some cases, there might even be lost limbs.
The sect members waited for this to happen so that they could gloat and declare their supremacy, but as soon as their attack reached its target…something that they would never forget happened.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?"
Daneel's words were heard once again, and as he raised his hand, the ground below the people…collapsed.
The attack passed over the area harmlessly, and as the hidden formation that he had activated did its job by transforming a layer of earth underneath into an express tram, the million individuals all found themselves a few hundred meters away.
With raised eyebrows and hanging jaws, the sect members could only keep watching as their attack continued in its path, which was now devoid of enemies.
A feeling that they couldn't identify struck them all, and as the King's voice once again echoed over the battlefield, they realized what it was.
"And that…is how it feels to be bullied. Not very pleasant when you're on the receiving end, is it?"