Endless vines erupted around the entire perimeter of Last Bastion and flew up high, well beyond the city’s walls and even the tallest building. The tips of the vines converged and began weaving together into netting that covered the entire city. And then another wave of vines sprouted, stitching itself into the already existing coverage.

Layer after layer, the vines piled onto the gigantic barrier, each layer thicker and stronger than the last. By the end, the final set of vines were larger than the widest trees in the world. What was created couldn’t be called anything else but a giant cocoon, completely enveloping the entire city as well as part of the cliff to protect the land from all sides.

Drim remained motionless at the center of the city, still tethered to the vines, his mind rooted and connected to the structure. He could feel the entire area around him and control the cocoon as needed. The man had used up almost every drop of nature energy he had in its construction but kept just a small amount for any repairs.

This was how the Fiends For Hire were going to ensure the safety of Last Bastion, not just by keeping the citizens safe, but by not allowing even a scratch of damage. Since they couldn’t create an artificial barrier, a natural one would have to do. But it wasn’t entirely impenetrable. While undoubtedly one of the strongest defenses in the world, they were still facing the might of the world.

But thankfully, Drim wasn’t facing this all alone. Even though he couldn’t fight himself, he’d rely on the strength of those he’d come to know like family, and put his trust in them implicitly to keep the cocoon safe and all those it protected.

“Alright, everyone, two minute warning!” Phon called out over their comms. They were wearing special earpieces that had been enhanced with Egawo’s and Tize’s blood. Egawo’s allowed the devices to talk directly with no interference. It also didn’t emit any sort of frequency that could be hijacked or interrupted. Meanwhile, Tize’s blood let them control the devices just with their thoughts. They could choose who they wanted to speak to by thinking of that person or an entire group.

And speaking of the man, he was currently affixed to Phon’s face as a mask, and the pair was scanning the sea of opposition. 【It seems a few in the rear are actually heeding Victori’s words.】 Tize noted, a little surprised but also disappointed that there wasn’t more rebellion.

I’m guessing those closer to the front don’t see retreat as a choice, Phon replied to her parasitic partner. I’ve got all the data to last me a while, so go ahead and join up with Xard. I’ll call you when things start getting fuzzy again.

『Unsync』 Tize slipped away from her face but didn’t return to his usual self. Instead, he stayed as dots of orange light and floated out of the trench where Phon was stationed. He began flying up into the air, towards Xard high up in the sky, and got a good glimpse of the soon-to-be battlefield.

The land just in front of the cocoon had been dug out into dozens of trench rows. It was dotted with barricades, traps, repulser fields that repelled projectiles, and all sorts of nasty goodies intended to impede progress. But none of it was actually meant to halt their opposition in their tracks. It was all just to buy time in the event that someone actually made it past their army—distractions to slow their progress until they could be promptly dealt with.

While the cocoon could likely withstand relentless attacks for quite some time, they didn’t want to put that kind of pressure solely on Drim to keep it maintained. If all went well, then he shouldn’t need to lift a finger beyond what he’d already done. And Tize himself would probably be the busiest of them all.

The man likely wouldn’t set foot on the battlefield for the entire duration of the war. While his skills in combat were undeniable, he was far more useful helping the others be the best Fiends they could be. Though there was something that had been discovered about his own Curse. Rather than unlocking a new power that the Fiends couldn’t use without him, it seemed rather that he was helping show them their potential of what they could achieve.

In Phon’s case, where he helped stabilize her vision in a crowded area, she had started to memorize that feeling and had been steadily getting better at it on her own. Now she could use her Curse more effectively in overpopulated areas. Having Tize still helped as a crutch, but eventually, she’d no longer need his assistance.

For Kada, she’d become so much better at swimming, as if she actually was a mermaid just without the flashy tail. And for Xard, he’d gotten better at energy boosting and distribution to the point that he could almost make a portal to expel it like Drim with his plants, negating the limitation of it having to match the shape of his own body.

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And when it came to Drim, well, the man had outright refused synchronizing with Tize ever again since their first experimentation. He touted their sync rate as the reason. Since they were completely compatible, it meant Tize could entirely read Drim’s mind for the duration and vice versa. And while pretty much all secrets up to that point had been revealed to the soldier, Drim still had some things he’d rather keep to himself—already burdened with someone else constantly in his head.

But for every other member, Fiend and Lesser alike, training with Tize had become routine. Too many of them had become content with their progress, feeling that their potential had peaked. But now that they could see their new ceiling, it gave them something to strive for. For now, though, until he could no longer be of service, Tize would offer his assistance for whoever called for his help.

The glowing dots of Tize’s existence twinkled around Xard’s arms and morphed into blaster cannons. As soon as they were fully synchronized, the host started charging for what was to come. When they got down to the last minute, a countdown was played through their comms.

It seemed the soldiers below were fully aware of it as well, stirring restlessly along Last Bastion’s border. Surprisingly, when the timer hit zero, an announcement was actually played to the entire area. It didn’t come from the Fiends, and was impossible to decipher the origin in the mass of mixed armies. “The bounty for Last Bastion has been activated. All countries must be a part of the Central Peace by any means necessary. Force has been authorized.”

Through their shared connection, Tize could feel the angst swirl in Xard’s head for what was to come. But it didn’t happen right away. No, there was the slightest moment of hesitation on all sides, a single second of silence before it all went to zjik. And his host’s anxiety grew, as if he was begging the soldiers below to cease their foolishness at once, to turn around and leave it all behind.

But he wasn’t so lucky. It only took one soldier to take the first step, and from their perspective, it honestly looked like they were pushed. That started a tidal wave of invasion. Every army that was at the line pressed forward, rushing ahead. Some were in vehicles, tanks, and other artillery, but most were infantry on foot.

I’m sorry, Tize could hear Xard’s thought. Even if it had been said aloud, no one else would be able to hear it. I understand that most of you are just doing your duty, and that you don’t deserve this. But I also have a duty to fulfill, and you have literally crossed the line.

Xard aimed his arms and sent two massive pillars of energy down at the thickest crowd of soldiers, as if Cosmos himself was smiting them for their transgressions. Some lucky few had made it past the rays of death, and most had yet to push forward into their blast radius. But those unfortunate souls caught up in the attack were vaporized from existence.

While keeping the flow going, Xard spread his arms apart, tracing the border of Last Bastion and Kazji, erasing all those unfortunate enough to be teetering on the edge. He redefined the line between safe haven and battlefield. There was no room left for uncertainty anymore. Threat had become a fulfilled promise, that they’d have no mercy.

But tragically, it barely slowed them down. A few turned around and bolted after witnessing such a horror, but the vast majority just pushed on through, rushing into Bastion once the lethal attack had finished sweeping in front of them.

That just enraged Xard even more. However, he had to take a quick breather before he could start charging up again. The attack had been so massive and draining that he’d barely been able to retain his suspension in the air. Every second he paused, more soldiers flooded over the line, trampling over what little remained of their fallen comrades.

And just as the man was about to start preparing for his next attack, countless distractions came looming over the horizon. From the oceans, swaths of battleships and other seafaring vessels came sailing into view. They’d been stuck out in international waters until the bounty was activated, so they had been slower on the charge. But it was clear that they’d begin firing on the cocoon as soon as they were in range.

From every other direction, skycrafts, helicopters, and even a few war blimps zoomed forward, polluting the sky and the previously gorgeous view with their very existence. The redhead wasn’t too worried about any of this, though now he’d have to divert his attention. He’d been on air-assault duty from the start, but had been ordered to deal as much damage as he could once the war began. Though he’d been expecting to get more than one shot off.

While he didn’t expect much threat from the flying machines, and would leave the ships to other members, he certainly wasn’t expecting to have to suddenly dodge attacks coming up from the ground. Zjik! Bolts of energy whirred by him as he desperately blasted a few feet away.

It took him a minute, but he spotted the anti-air guns that were firing from within the sea of infantry that likely had been designed especially to counter his Curse. And unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to deal with them either. If he delayed much longer, the aircrafts could become a real threat. Xard prepared himself for the idea of having to dodge the relentless attacks while engaging in countless dogfights.

But hope chimed in over his earpiece. “Hey Tize and Dice, meet on me!” Itsy hopped out of her trench. “Let’s take out those air-shooty thangs!”