After cursing her ex-lover for a while, Kierra eventually regained her composure.

''Hah...''

As expected, only that woman was able to shake her this much. Still, now that she knew what to do, the process should be straightforward. She just needed not directly to involve herself in the battles, and that was it.

With that in mind, Kierra quickly stroke out of the meeting room—

''Kierra.''

Yu Chen stopped her with a sour face.

''Oh.'' Kierra exclaimed.

Right, she had to deal with jealous women before that. After all that unhinged flirting from August, one couldn't ignore her and Kierra's deep involvement with each other, even if they were simultaneously blind, deaf, and stupid.

Yu Chen and the others were neither of those three.

Still, directly confronting Kierra about this sensitive matter was nothing easy. Yu Chen jumped out in the heat of the moment, but now she had to think of a way not to hurt her crush.

''...Do you have trouble dealing with that woman?'' She uttered in the calmest, softest way possible.

At this, Kierra furrowed her brows lightly and diverted her eyes.

''It would be a lie if I say I don't.''

''Consult me—no, consult us.'' Yu Chen determinedly said, holding Kierra's shoulder. ''This should be obvious, but you have helped us immensely, so now, it is time for us to help you.''

''...''

''No matter how strong you are, when you need help, you should seek help. I'm sure you know that, right?''

The archwizard gently bit her lower lip. At this point, she had to admit—she was having a problem. It wasn't as though she didn't know it—no, she definitely realized it.

That she couldn't forget her exes no matter what.

Even if she determinedly dumped them, she still had feelings for them. It wasn't because of nothing that she still engaged in intimate acts with August, even after their breakup.

In some ways, she didn't want to bother with them anymore, yet when she met them, her mind and body couldn't help but yearn for them. It was a dilemma that Kierra had faced for centuries following her initial breakup with August.

Now, facing Yu Chen's unrelenting will, Kierra once again rethought her actions.

Yes. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't talked about this problem to anyone. Maybe, just maybe, if letting it out now could do something...

Wait.

''...But none of you had been in a relationship?''

'''' ... ''''

Boom!

A slap right in their faces. Objectively speaking, why would Kierra rely on a bunch of inexperienced virgins to give her relationship advice...?

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''Hah...'' Kierra sighed, suddenly feeling a bit better now. ''I appreciate the effort, at least. This matter... I will resolve it with August later. For now, we should focus on the war.''

Without any objection to be had, Yu Chen and the others had no choice but to follow the archwizard; heads hung low like a bunch of dejected chickens.

Having participated in numerous wars, Kierra knew the first thing to do was to secure the logistics and infrastructure side. Even if rations and such won't matter much to these cultivators, having supplies of equipment and medical care would still be necessary.

That night, she spent several hours working with the sect leaders to establish plans to defend and counterattack the unorthodox sects. While arranging the battlefields in advance, Tian Yun came up with a question.

''She said that you couldn't directly interfere in our battles, right?'' She tilted her head. ''Then, would your summons be illegal?''

''My summons are my strength. Therefore, they are considered illegal.''

''I see... Ah, right. Wasn't one of your dragons named August as well?''

''...I named her after the August you just met.''

''Oh...''

Facing questionable gazes from the surroundings, Kierra was once again reminded of just how much of a love slave she was. Before the salty feeling took over her again, however, she quickly shook her head and returned to work.

Just like that, a few more weeks passed by, with Kierra taking over control of the whole warfare, and soon enough, the tension at the border had reached its peak.

Originally, the Land of Death was formed by a strange meteorite's explosion, which ate away the land's vitality and turned it into what was present now. So, its shape was undoubtedly round.

When the first movement inside it was detected, everyone had predicted that their enemy would focus on one spot to break through and directly attack their stronghold, yet what they encountered was war infrastructure spanning the barren land's entire edges.

This was a bold move, and it essentially made the war more complex and costly than ever.

'These idiots...'

As much as Kierra wanted to nuke the whole area with a ten-star spell and be done with it, that would violate the agreement between her and August. That monster of a swordswoman would be able to defend anyway, and then, she would definitely come and punish Kierra.

''...''

Whatever. It wasn't as though Kierra craved physical touches all the time. Only sometimes.

For now, it was the battlefield that Kierra had to focus on. Her opponent this time was actually August, who, like her, excelled at tactics and strategy, not those mindless demon worshippers.

When she judged that the time was nigh, the archwizard silently sat back on her chair and activated ⌈Clairvoyance⌋. Immediately, her vision was transferred directly to the battlefield.

There, a group of cultivators—no, a group of wizards could be spotted, standing in formation around a magic circle.

At this point, Kierra was quite sure the other side's commander was only waiting for her force to engage first. If not, there was no reason to postpone, considering the unorthodox folks' impatience.

So, feeling a bit salty, she decided to deliver a devastating blow as a signal for war. Among her new disciples, Yu Chen, Tian Yun, Mie Xieren, Bai Qing, and Kang Shuren, whose skills were honed by Kierra herself, were the best.

That was why, this time, heeding Kierra's command, they would perform a joint spell of high mastery, one that met the archwizard's standard for 'decent' magic.

One by one, the now full-fledged wizards cupped their hands together and began to chant.

'''' FROM THE CRUST OF THE EARTH, WE CALL, ''''

'''' TO THE DISTANT SPACE, WE WISH, ''''

As it was, a strong wave of mana escaped their bodies, quickly asserting its dominance by causing a storm in the immediate area. A strong wind was generated, squashing the nearby plants as the pressure in the storm's eye increased, and soon enough, in response to the five's earnest wish, a bright pillar extended to the night sky as if wanting to capture the stars above.

'''' FOR YOUR MIGHT TO DESCEND UPON THIS CURSED LAND, ''''

'''' AND BRING DEATH TO ALL CREATIONS! ''''

⌈METEOR RAIN—7★⌋

That night, soldiers—cultivators of both sides gazed at the starry sky. Following extremely faint screech sounds, tiny orange dots began to emerge on the dark canvas as they quickly and persuasively outshined the stars themselves.

This marked the start of the Great War between the good and the evil of the Central Divine Realm.