1964 Worries

The ground began to rumble. The near immediate commotion was so great that it made Leonel's ears ring. Even so, he walked out from the core of the village calmly.

"Take your positions on the wall. The rest will be left up to me," Leonel said lightly.

The Skies family and the Oryx were already in position. However, the way they took up their positions could only be said to be odd. Along the walls, there were only enough positions for a few hundred of them. With what could only be described as precise organization, they formed lines behind these positions, only one stepping up and onto the wall at a time. At the same time, at the end of the line, a sleeping pod was lined up.

These first few hundred in the first batch positioned themselves behind railguns that reminded them eerily of the one Allan had used previously to hold off the Constellation Bow Alliance. However, these somehow seemed more... complete.

Despite seeing this, the worry on the brows of the Morales family elders only deepened. What were a few hundred railguns going to do? Even if it was thousands it wouldn't be enough.

These beasts were created to not have consciences. They didn't care about how many of their allies were dying and they only felt bloodlust. Their only thoughts were of rushing forward as quickly as possible and reaping as many lives as they could. Even if a hundred thousand fell, another hundred thousand would be right there to replace them, even if it was the last hundred thousand. They had no concept of morale or momentum, normal war tactics simply wouldn't work.

These upgrade challenges were designed to mimic the real life patterns of Invalids. There was simply no simple way to deal with them, and lining the walls with a few guns just seemed foolhardy.

These upgrade challenges were designed to mimic the real life patterns of Invalids. There was simply no simple way to deal with them, and lining the walls with a few guns just seemed foolhardy.

The only saving grace was that if the upgrade failed and the walls fell, Leonel could at least run away, but that would also unleash these millions of Invalids on the continent. At the same time, that would ruin all of Leonel's progress and his advantages would vanish into thin air.

At this point, even those who wanted Leonel to fail didn't say anything. They didn't feel there was a point, the outcome felt inevitable. However, whether this was an outcome that Leonel wanted or not was what they were on the fence about.

Now that they thought about it, maybe Leonel had sent his most powerful combatants away on purpose, what if this was another scheme of his?

This worry had resulted in them remaining silent. It seemed that Leonel's previous successes had left their scars, even at this point, many were hesitant to make their final judgments.

As Leonel stepped into the air calmly, his expression indifferent and his coarse linen shirt and pants ruffling in the wind, his confidence seemed to be palpable.

The ground continued to rumble as Leonel continued to rise into the air, a simple silver-gold platform of Emulation Spatial Force becoming his seat as he flew several hundred meters into the air. He closed his eyes, seemingly unable to sense the rumbling ground at all. However, his lips slightly parted.

"Fire," Leonel said lightly.

His voice was soft amidst the rumbling, and yet it traveled to each one of their ears. The few hundred on the walls gripped the handles of their railguns tight, swinging them forward.

A black sea of enemies appeared not even a kilometer away. Their roars and clanging weapons grated on the ears, a suffocating heat and bloody scent quickly rising through the air. They seemed endless, felt boundless...

And then the first railguns fired.

Sparking lightning howled and solid rays of golden-yellow lasers streaked across the air, their projectiles hidden within.

The first volley connected with the front line, causing a rain of blood and gore to surge into the skies. Just a single ray seemed to take out dozens before it was eventually blocked. After a collective volley, thousands had fallen.

The railguns swung once more, lightning sparking once again as they fired.

The loading process seemed smooth and seamless. Once again, another few thousand died.From .

However... what was a few thousand to several million? And to make matters worse, after just two volleys, the "marksmen" were already pale. Most would only be able to withstand just a single more volley, while all of them only have a maximum of four to give.

The situation seemed helpless, and yet Leonel's voice descended calmly.

"Swap.

The lines shifted forward. The first group fell back and rushed to enter the resting pods and a new marksman stepped in on each railgun. Renewed and rejuvenated, the firing continued at the same rhythm, not a single beat was missed.

By the time the army had closed the distance by half, almost ten volleys had been sent and over 50 000 had died. There was no doubt that Leonel's approach was effective, but it still felt like it wasn't nearly enough.

But it was at this moment that Leonel slowly opened his eyes. They didn't seem sharp. In fact, they seemed almost dull and lifeless, almost as though his attention was elsewhere.

Down below, the army was only a hundred or so meters away from crossing the first line of his formation and he was ready and prepared.

Three silver Stars appeared to Leonel's back, slowly rotating as large amounts of Dream Force rushed into his body, replenishing his mind and soothing his soul.

Then, one after another, familiar valiant souls began to appear on the battlefield. Donned in violet battle armor, they seemed prepared to face the world.

Even so, when they appeared, the hearts of the Morales family elders sank. If Leonel had done something else, anything else, they would have still had some hope. But they had already seen this trick before, it had already been pushed to the limits when Leonel had to take on his most recent Silver-Grade upgrade, what good would it be here?

Despite this, Leonel couldn't seem to sense the worries of anyone else.

Two more Stars appeared to his back, Runes beginning to dance across its surface. The temperature sky rocketed as the twin pair of red-gold balls of fire appeared.

At that moment, one after another, the eyes of the soul constructs below suddenly began to blaze with fire as well...

Scarlet Star Force.