Chapter 235: Prime War [XIV]
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia.
"Welcome to Earth."
The appearance of hundreds of spacecraft filling the sky didn’t faze Doni in the slightest. On the contrary, he seemed excited, as if greeting old friends. His wide grin showed how much he relished the moment.
"Well then, my condolences, because I’m the enemy you’re facing!"
Unconcerned whether the other side understood his words, Doni activated his rarely used Divine Authority—a power gained from slaying the Heretic God Vulcan.
Return to Medieval Style!
As the name suggests, this Divine Authority nullified all modern devices and conveniences by casting a restrictive barrier, reducing the level of civilization in Doni’s vicinity to a point where technology more advanced than the medieval era became unusable within a several-kilometer radius for half a day.
*BZZZZTTT!!!*
The next second, an invisible barrier spanning ten kilometers expanded with Doni at its center. A strange wave of energy spread, causing ripples in the air that bent light.
*RUMBLE!*
At the same moment, hundreds of Kur civilization spacecraft hovering in the air instantly lost function.
Their engines shut down completely. Advanced control panels flickered and died. Power systems, navigation, and even weaponry became useless.
Technology capable of traversing the stars was now nothing more than piles of dead metal.
*FWHOOSH!*
Hundreds of spacecraft, now subject only to gravity, plummeted to the ground. They fell with a deafening roar, one by one, like giant snowflakes collapsing from the sky.
*BOOOOM!*
The Danakil Depression, already one of Earth’s most extreme environments, was shaken by tremendous quakes.
Each falling spacecraft triggered massive earthquakes and explosions. The fragile, salt-laden ground beneath collapsed, creating vast fissures.
Thousands of tons of salt and earth were hurled into the air, enveloping the Danakil Depression in thick, choking dust, reducing visibility to zero. The sound of crashing ships echoed for minutes.
Doni stood amidst the chaos, his sword unsheathed, his wide grin unwavering. To him, this destruction was the prelude to battle.
"Who needs technology when I’ve got a sword?"
Doni stepped forward, ready to face the aliens now forced to fight physically.
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Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia.
Marquis Voban stood in the heart of the world’s oldest desert.
Its vast sand dunes, normally bathed in scorching sunlight, were now shrouded in a chilling, oppressive aura.
Above, hundreds of Kur civilization spacecraft hovered, poised to attack. But Marquis Voban was unimpressed. His sharp eyes gazed coldly at the sky.
"O winds, blow."
"O rain, come. Become hail, and summon snow."
"I call upon the wind, quell the rain, and gather the lightning. Know that the searing wind and the freezing wind are mine to command. I shall bring—the fury of storms and raging waves to this land!"
Completing his incantation, Marquis Voban activated his Divine Authority Sturm Und Drang—a power gained from defeating the Chinese Weather Trio: Bo Feng, Yu Shi, and Lei Gong.
*RUMBLE!*
The clear sky darkened instantly as thick black clouds filled the horizon. Winds began to howl, carrying desert sand and dust into the air. The temperature plummeted within seconds.
"I’m not interested in playing around. Compared to fighting aliens, I’d prefer facing a Heretic God, which clearly offers tangible rewards. Voban said coldly, his coat billowing in the fierce wind as he stared at the spacecraft above.
Without hesitation, he manipulated the weather to attack the enemy.
*CRAAAACK!*
Instantly, the Namib-Naukluft Desert transformed into a battlefield ravaged by a natural disaster.
Winds roared, turning into a deadly Category 5 sandstorm. Fine sand mixed with gravel and dust swirled into a massive wall that crashed into hundreds of alien spacecraft.
The ships were rocked, their surfaces eroded by high-speed sand.
*CRAAACK-BOOOOM!*
Then, the sky unleashed its wrath. Relentless lightning storms struck downward. Hundreds of massive lightning bolts rained down repeatedly, hitting every spacecraft in the sky. Each strike produced a deafening explosion, crippling the aliens’ electrical systems and damaging their hulls.
*SWISHHHHHH!*
But that wasn’t all. Voban summoned hail. Fist-sized hailstones mixed with freezing snow began falling from the sky.
The hail battered the spacecraft, cracking glass and shattering vital sensors. Inside their cabins, temperatures plummeted, rendering systems inoperable.
The raging storm, striking lightning, and pounding hail were all orchestrated by Marquis Voban’s will.
The battle in the desert now resembled a fight against nature itself rather than aliens.
Voban stood tall amidst the chaos, his coat billowing, hair waving, and eyes gleaming with satisfaction at the destruction he wrought.
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Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine.
In the desolate landscape left by the 1986 nuclear disaster—with crumbling buildings, dead trees, and an eerie silence—a fierce battle beyond human imagination unfolded.
On one side, hundreds of Kur civilization spacecraft hovered in the sky, their cannon barrels firing volleys of lasers.
On the other, a colossal figure, as tall as a skyscraper, moved with astonishing speed. It was the Faceless Queen, summoned by Alec through the Divine Authority gained from defeating Melusine, a feminine water spirit of sacred springs and rivers from European folklore.
Standing atop a small hill at a safe distance, Alec watched the battle with a calm expression. His black cloak fluttered gently in the wind.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The Faceless Queen moved with immense power and agility. With physical strength capable of demolishing steel towers, she leaped from building to building, crushing concrete and steel beneath her feet. Whenever a spacecraft approached, she swung her fist, reducing the ships to mangled heaps of metal.
Despite her massive size, the Faceless Queen possessed extraordinary speed and agility. She executed intricate, fluid movements instantly, dodging laser fire with the swiftness of a gale. Lasers that hit her caused minimal damage, as long as her face remained unseen, allowing her to withstand significant punishment without needing to be resummoned.
"..."
Alec watched as the Faceless Queen raised her hand to the sky, conjuring a massive spear from thin air, crafted from dense magical energy.
*SWOOSH!*
*BOOM!*
The Faceless Queen hurled the spear with tremendous force. It pierced multiple spacecraft at once before exploding in a blazing inferno, obliterating several more Kur units.
"Nothing special."
Alec, seeing the Kur civilization helpless against the Faceless Queen, appeared bored.
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Marshall Islands—Bikini Atoll.
In the calm Pacific Ocean, atop an atoll infamous for its dark history as a nuclear test site, another equally devastating battle raged.
Hundreds of Kur spacecraft had appeared, surrounding a small, desolate island.
On the beach, John stood, adjusting his glasses. Behind him, the silent scars of past nuclear tests bore witness to the destructive power once unleashed there. Yet, the power he was about to release far surpassed nuclear force.
"To destroy you, let me tell you of my grandeur—as the Almighty, all citizens exist for me. The people are my slaves, I am the night wind, I rule the earth and sky, I am the noblest sorcerer! I am the night axe that summons destruction! The god of creation and destruction!"
"For destruction, I count my magnificent works—I am the night axe that summons ruin, lowering the final curtain for the world’s destruction, the messenger from hell!"
John chanted the incantation for his Divine Authority Metamorphosis.
This was the first Divine Authority John obtained from Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec God associated with concepts like the Night Sky, Jaguar, Sovereignty, and Sorcery.
As the incantation concluded, John’s body transformed. His skin darkened, as if made of shimmering obsidian. His clothes tore apart, and a terrifying, scorching aura radiated from him. He had become the Incarnation of the Sun.
*BZZZZTTT!*
The sky above the Marshall Islands was suddenly engulfed in black flames that burned without light, absorbing it instead, plunging the surroundings into pitch darkness, contrasting with the flames’ unimaginable intensity.
The seawater around the atoll evaporated instantly, fueling the black flames.
*FUUUUUSH!*
The black flames spread rapidly, consuming the Kur spacecraft. Every ship touched by the flames was annihilated, leaving no debris or ash.
The black flames were so intense that the surrounding seawater boiled and evaporated, creating a thick, disorienting fog.
The Marshall Islands-Bikini Atoll, once a site of nuclear bomb tests, now became a battlefield of black flames incinerating its enemies.
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Taklamakan Desert, Western China.
In the endless expanse of the desert, dust and sand swirled in the wind. Above, hundreds of Kur civilization spacecraft hovered, their cannon barrels firing lasers downward.
"Hmph! How absurd! Mere squids want to invade Earth? That’s utterly laughable."
With a condescending tone, Luo Hao spoke, arms crossed over her chest, her sharp eyes glaring disdainfully at the alien ships.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
Without using a Divine Authority, she activated Qinggong—a legendary Chinese martial arts technique—to evade the laser barrage.
Luo Hao moved at superhuman speed, leaping, dancing, and gliding through the air, dodging each shot with unimaginable precision. Her movements were fluid and elegant, like a dance.
*WHOOSH!*
In the blink of an eye, she appeared atop one of the spacecraft.
"Flying Phoenix Crash!"
Luo Hao’s small, slender hand struck the spacecraft’s surface with extraordinary force.
*BANG!*
The blow pierced the ship’s mysterious alloy as if it were tofu, creating a massive hole in its hull.
Luo Hao employed her martial art, The Twelve Divine Palm Strikes of the Phoenix, instead of a Divine Authority like the other Campiones. To her, facing enemies like the Kur aliens didn’t warrant the power of a God Slayer. Her peak martial arts were more than sufficient.
*WHOOSH!*
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
She leaped from the now-destroyed ship, landing on another, and delivered the next strike. Attack after attack, blow after blow, each movement demolished a spacecraft.
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Devon Island, Canada.
The barren, cold landscape resembling Mars had become a battlefield ravaged by a storm. Hundreds of Kur civilization spacecraft hovered above, firing lasers downward.
"O lightning! O lightning! I am the conqueror who defeats a thousand with a hundred, ten thousand with a thousand, and tens of thousands with ten thousand. Now, for me who stands on the side of justice, unleash your radiant light and shine, and grant me divine power!"
Godou completed the incantation for the Goat Incarnation.
Though Godou possessed only the Divine Authority of Ten Incarnations, it allowed him to wield ten distinct abilities, as if he had ten Divine Authorities. Unfortunately, each incarnation had specific limitations.
Currently, Godou could only use the Goat Incarnation if there were people at the location willing to stand with him and lend their strength. That’s why Erica was by his side.
"Amazing, Godou! Take them all down!"
Erica cheered him on.
"Ugh... I don’t even like violence..." Sighing in resignation, Godou began controlling the lightning.
*RUMBLE!*
The sky above Devon Island transformed into a canvas of electric storms.
Thick black clouds blanketed the sky, and thousands of lightning bolts struck from above. These weren’t random; they were Godou’s weapons.
The lightning bolts surged, vibrating through the air, striking every spacecraft in the sky, creating explosion after explosion. The ships detonated in bursts of flame, their debris raining down.
Godou also used the lightning as a shield. Whenever a laser from a spacecraft targeted him and Erica, he deflected it with lightning, creating blinding explosions and dazzling light.
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Broadcast live in secret, the Campiones displayed power beyond comprehension to the world’s elite, inspiring both fear and reverence.
In secret control rooms, underground bunkers, and meeting halls of world leaders, eyes were glued to monitors, witnessing the cataclysmic battles unfolding.
Though many knew of the Campiones’ fearsome reputation—God Slayers with power surpassing humanity—few had seen them in action. Thus, knowledge was often limited to stories and rumors. Now, before their eyes, the Campiones were no longer legends but a terrifying and awe-inspiring reality.
They saw Ren in the Nullarbor Plain, Australia, dancing through a rain of lasers at the speed of light, as if he were a sun god at play.
They saw Doni in the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia, disabling advanced alien technology and causing hundreds of spacecraft to crash.
They saw Marquis Voban in Namib-Naukluft, Namibia, commanding storms, lightning, and snow to annihilate his enemies.
They saw Alec in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, controlling the skyscraper-sized Faceless Queen.
They saw Luo Hao in the Taklamakan Desert, China, demolishing spacecraft with her bare hands.
And they saw Godou in Devon Island, Canada, wielding lightning to bombard the aliens.
The destruction wrought by the Campiones far exceeded anything modern militaries could achieve. They weren’t human but forces of nature capable of destroying nations if they chose.
World leaders now realized that Earth’s fate rested not in their hands but in those of seven individuals they both feared and respected.