Do You Really Wanna Fight? (1)

The war on 3 different fronts broke out. But it was only natural. It was nearly 300,000,000 soldier units from the Blauw Empire's side, with 4 Regions. Against 3 Regions, of which 1 was the strongest. They also used more than their most capable soldier units and had their First Step cultivators ready in positions, controlling some massive weapons, launching missiles and armored vehicles to at least make a distraction or take a few Blauw Empire's troops' lives.

Each Region had at least about a dozen organizations in the Second Step, of which most were at early levels, and only a few, counting the ruling organization, were at the middle levels. This alone secured tens of millions of troops, and while the southeastern Regions’ unity in their Region wasn’t as elevated as it is in the Indomitable Heartspree Region, it was better than in the northern Regions.

They could rapidly move all their civilians out of the war’s harm. This meant their regrouping capabilities were good enough to contend in an all-out against the Blauw Empire… if it wasn’t because of the simple superiority the latter had over the former in navies. Thus, the enemy could only take defensive positions, which was decided by the ‘leader’ of the 3 Regions’ alliance. This tri-alliance that was now resisting the first day— night —of the Blauw Empire’s strike.

The Region to have suffered the most during the night incursion and the start of the war, whose notice wasn’t necessary with both sides preparing so much beforehand, was the Eclushisk Contrail Region. They were in the middle. Hence, the Blauw Empire placed utmost importance on gaining an advantage there. While the numbers sent there were more or less equal to the troops sent to the Indomitable Heartspree and the Wheel of Presence Region, they had the Blue Force!

Every other Region was attacked with half of a special force’s numbers, and while only the Yellow Force was spread in all 3 enemy Regions, the Blue Force was single-handedly sent to the one in the middle. The intention was simple, but the enemy might not know of this until it was too late. For starters, the most resources for neutralizing enemy communications were sent with and were protected by the Second and Third fleets.

This was to ensure the Blue Force’s presence in the first southeastern Region, but it wasn’t just these fronts who were using this strategy to cover any ‘possible’ sight of the Blue Force in the other enemy Regions. If anything. All the enemy managed to realize was that some special forces were present, or just one. But after the battle commenced and fighting broke out, the enemy didn’t have the chance to communicate with their fellow resisting forces.

That was everything the Empire wanted to accomplish, at least from the beginning. Besides testing their special forces against a prepared enemy with equal might but unaware of their tactics still, the Empire looked to see the efficiency these special forces could have. It was a success on the first day, as most enemy Cities and settlements were taken from their hands, gaining from the already empty 25% to 30% of territory after all the armies in each Region found victory before the morning sun went up.

However, the enemy didn’t lose their cool even after their organizations’ individual territories, better protected, with too many protective and trap array formations, were ignored despite the Empire having those enemy individual turfs closer than even enemy settlements. Fortunately for the enemy, the next day, the Empire’s forces, in high morale from their initial conquest of lands they had never seen before and without civilian casualties, set off backwards while leaving garrison units behind to protect their occupied locations.

That decision proved worthwhile, as the enemy sent small forces to probe their recently occupied locations while they were out, investigating the terrain surrounding the enemy organization’s individual territories and those organizations in particular. The enemy probing the Empire’s garrison units didn’t stay for long, although most were exterminated by the Empire’s soldier units because the latter waited for the former until they were in a sure-death range.

The enemy troops couldn’t flee safely, and most were thus exterminated. Some others were more cautious and managed to survive but with half their numbers. There were less than 100,000 enemy troops, but it was no small matter for a defensive point vital at the beginning of the war. However, only the enemy could send this many people since this was their turf, and everyone was working hard to resist the villainous Blauw Empire.

Nevertheless, as a few days passed, and the enemy Regions felt peace for 3 days or more, the Blauw Empire’s encampments around the organizations’ individual territories were dismantled, and the troops moved towards the latter. This put nerves on everyone’s shoulders as they transmitted the same information to the other Regions and their other fellows’ turfs. It seemed, to them, like the Empire had coordinated after planning for days among their commanders, but that wasn’t the truth.

While the Empire’s ground forces attacked after 3 to 5 days of peace, and it seemed to be planned altogether, the truth was that they didn’t need to constantly communicate with each other. It wasn’t just the Blauw Empire who knew how to sneakily steal information from the other side’s communications, so they kept Region to Region communications as short and lesser as possible. Their coordination was purely following according to their tactics and the fact that some enemy organizations’ individual territories were tougher to crack data from than others.

The enemy was prepared, however. When they saw the Empire’s armies come towards them, till divided as before, they sent as much detailed information as possible. They were specific in analyzing the Imperial Guards and citizens’ outfit colors. Those who detected some special force sent the news immediately, and those who didn’t relaxed a little but still helped with sharing their information. They knew it could get bad really fast anytime, so they didn’t hesitate.

But their sheer confidence slowly crumbled when they saw that the Empire’s forces weren’t just moving in armored vehicles. Fighters rapidly approached them from thousands of meters above the ground level. The worst part was that, as these enemy organizations’ individual territories believed in their trust as they defended their own home and had more cultivators under their command, they found themselves overwhelmed.

In the one hand, armored vehicles and Art techniques were moving towards them at fast speeds, threatening to attack them as their protective array formations were targeted by navy bombardment. On the other, the Empire’s Fighters were flying towards them at an equal pace, but these held more missiles and artillery guns —since most were Bulldogs— and could fly much faster than their troops’ Spirit Sense could follow, at least for the First Step and most Second Step cultivators with machine guns.

In the end, while receiving the Empire’s navy bombardment, most chose to fire at the sky and concentrate on destroying the Fighters flying towards them. It wasn’t a wrong choice, though. But due to this choice, many armies without special forces suffered nearly no casualties while they took down the remaining protective array formations’ barriers after the navy bombardment focused elsewhere.

Even as each fleet in the Empire had a complete arsenal and ample improvements for storing ammunition, they had to be fast in their approach so the other enemy organizations’ individual territories wouldn’t send some reinforcements to a nearby turf of theirs. Or a farther enemy settlement or City from sending actual reinforcements to help repel the Empire’s forces. They also couldn’t cover every location. Because, more than anything, the enemy had so many defensive methods that didn’t allow the fleets to be lazy.

With these complications, some Empire armies had to stop in their tracks, attack the protective array formations, and tumble them down before invading the enemy's individual territories. But for those who received the enemy’s firepower, from massive weapons to energy attacks, they were bound to suffer a lot. Fortunately, only a few armies had to shoulder the brunt of the enemy’s firepower before the Fighters took the protective array formations down.

And more than anything, only a couple armies from all 3 Regions were focused on by the enemy without having special forces among them. They had it rough, alright. Despite their training and armored vehicles projecting mini Elemental Water Eyes barriers, their numbers rapidly declined before the Fighters, whose attitude became overly reckless since the enemy dared ignore them to attack their fellow soldier units, destroyed their barriers, and proceeded to assault their individual territory.

It was different in the cases where the Fighters were focused on by the enemy’s firepower, as they had to leave once the enemy barriers were down. When the enemy noticed their barriers were destroyed but had destroyed dozens or even hundreds of the Empire’s renowned Fighters, they would want to finish their jobs. The enemy didn’t want to waste it, and the Empire didn’t want to lose their Fighters and piloting teams.

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Afterwards would come the enemy’s surprise once again. They would find out the Empire’s ground forces had devices to neutralize all communications, and right after, the special forces would meddle in the battle. Some saw Light and Wind flash everywhere as puppets and hidden weapons flew into the enemy’s bodies and armored vehicles and pulverized their smallish defensive points within the enemy's individual territories that could’ve caused trouble and carnage for the Empire’s side.

Others witnessed flying Fauna ridden by potent, bodily strong cultivators, of which some were accompanied by citizens and brought death with light blue beams shooting from the sky and descended to the ground to deliver at least 3 deaths on the enemy cultivators’ side with each shot. There were also sights of fearless-like warriors giving their all, either driving an armored car or their bodies to utter destruction before being forced backwards by their fellow Imperial Guards and even citizens or dying after marking a huge score against the enemy’s lives.

Lastly, some saw just a plethora of elite Imperial Guards and citizens flying and rushing through, working together with intricate, efficient, and mighty teamwork and synergy that they left the enemy almost no way to stop them, let alone counterattack them. But even as just one enemy saw the growing legendary Blue Force attacking them, sweeping with an azure dragon’s head, followed by its implosion into several Water snakes that obliterated the enemy… None of them could tell this news unless the enemy could hear the dead.

But even after death, those who saw a long azure dragon made of energy and Water element, or the Water snakes after they destroyed their body… also saw the terrifying, obscure image of a ferocious, bloodthirsty face. The face had the brightest, cutest, but coldest azure, aquamarine eyes, and they looked deep into the enemy’s eyes, reached the Soul, and consumed their consciousness. It was an image to die for…

The week finished with the Blauw Empire’s ground forces eliminating those little points in their gained territory. Now, they could continue to move further towards the Region’s center. However, before the enemy could prepare their front to the fullest, in the second week, the Blauw Empire targeted the extreme North and South of each Region. The ground forces used half their armies to storm into these borders as they ‘met’ each other from a distance but didn’t engage in communication and continued on their rapid operation Eastwards of each.

The enemy Regions weren’t fully prepared to deal with it. Although they were ready to respond to any movement the Blauw Empire did, their forces were spread in every vital location, be it a settlement, City, or individual territory. However, when half the Blauw Empire’s overall army in each Region moved like lightning through the northern and southern borders, they obliterated each of these distanced locations, not wasting the opportunity.

The enemy tried responding swiftly, preparing the least amount of reinforcements to move out of each location they still occupied, fearing the remaining half of the Empire’s army would attack their center if they mobilized more soldier units. However, as they moved small forces from each defensive point, the Empire sent a small force as well to intercept the enemy and harass them.

The Blauw Empire wasn’t looking to kill these enemy reinforcements. As long as they were delayed and lost a few troops, it would have been more than enough. Because the enemy wasn’t truly good enough at cooperating altogether between Regions, their lack of ideas in just half a day, which was when they received news of even some of their small forces getting annihilated, that they were too slow to impede the Empire’s second success.

The territory the empire was gaining wasn’t that much, but it was enough to cover the whole northern and southern borders, basically cutting off every possible route of sharing resources or rapid mobilization between Regions. Because of not ideally fighting as a coalition of Regions, the Indomitable Heartspree, Eclushisk Contrail, and Wheel of Presence Regions lost yet another week to the Blauw Empire’s undergoing strategy.

However, it was also a terribly amazing performance on the Empire’s part. To conquer a whole border from one extreme to another, even if the line they gained on the Region’s map was thin, was quite commendable. In one day, the Blauw Empire’s forces, half an entire army in each enemy Region, conquered them all. From then on, the other half, still at the 1st frontline in every Region, pressed on the enemy’s defensive forces.

Meanwhile, the Empire’s armies in the north and south were in danger of being crushed by the enemy’s advantageously numerical forces. However, whenever the enemy tried that, the Blauw Empire would force carnage forward, stepping into the enemy’s territory and forcibly taking another 3-5 % of their territory. In this way, as the northern and southern divided armies slowly advanced further into the enemy’s Regional territory, the front forced the enemy to keep their strength at their western front.

This was the result of the 3 Regions and the Blauw Empire’s war by the end of week 2. From then on, it was a notoriously tedious everyday daily life of the Blauw Empire’s soldier units advancing forward, taking enemy territory, sometimes failing and having to rest and amend their injuries before taking a step forward again, and if not, try again!

When one part of the Empire’s army was too advanced compared to another who lagged behind, they would slowly send their forces to the neighboring upcoming battles to occupy more vital defensive points. Slowly, the other parts of the army would send a few more forces while the one with the most advantage would return some of their forces as they helped the others, all the way until arriving where their comrades had it the worst.

After the part of the army that lagged the farthest behind was helped catch up with the rest, the other soldier units would return to their respective armies and wait a few days before resuming the slow advancement. Naturally, those parts of the army that did best were those with special forces, who would return to their respective ones unless the General and Admiral agreed to change them.

Either way, as the weeks passed and the western fronts were met with the enemy’s Small Cities, half the army in each enemy Region detoured around it carefully and after days of investigation and preparation. They didn’t want to suffer harassment and damage to their armored vehicles while avoiding the enemy’s Small City’s humongous forces. The enemy was well-equipped and filled with at least 100,000,000 soldier units in those.

However, as it was in the first 2 weeks, it was the same in the rest of the war, and where the Blauw Empire triumphed more easily, faster, and with a much more impactful result every few battles, was still the Eclushisk Contrail Region. When the war was just 2 months old, and both sides were careful to keep every soldier unit they could, with prisoners being taken after a month and serious debate on the enemy’s side, the Eclushisk Contrail Region was 90% the Blauw Empire’s. Only the Small City’s adjacent defensive locations and their ruling organization’s headquarters remained before the enemy could be said to be defeated

The only reason the Blauw Empire didn’t target the main defensive location, such as the Small City or the enemy’s headquarters, was because they were too fortified, especially the enemy’s Small City. Fighting either once was equal to 20 days of bitter fighting without stopping for even a second. It made no sense for the well-trained Blauw Empire’s Generals and Admirals to do so.

Even though the Empire still lost its soldier units with each occupation, as the war continued, it arrived at a certain point, and when the enemy watched the Blue Force make a ‘surprise’ appearance in their location, the enemy surrendered more often than not. But it wouldn’t be the same in a battle to destroy the enemy’s headquarters or in the occupation of the Small City. If the Empire wanted to surround them, they really had to make the enemy’s hearts kneel before their very knees did.

… However, before the Blauw Empire’s army in the Eclushisk Contrail Region, and had already finished preparing the plans to besiege the enemy’s headquarters. A situation that was expected but had been avoided so far finally occurred. Blauw Ishikyy’s Blue Force was spotted and exposed to the enemy’s intelligence!

The enemy was in an uproar. None of the battles for occupying the vital settlements, Cities, or individual territories showed sights of their blue forces. It was always speculation, and the Eclushisk Contrail Region was indeed the biggest suspect of being targeted by the Blue Force, but the enemy realized too late! And it made their gnawed-at-brains feel incoming headaches.

But, as it was apparent, it was too late to mobilize troops now that the thin line the Empire occupied of each Region’s northern and southern border had become immeasurably thick and was even more than the western front, stopping any possible incursion to obliterate the Empire’s, Blue Force. Not even Fighters could be used here as the firing systems the Empire had were better than the 3 Regions, and the Empire also had a much better aerial force than them.

But the enemy wasn’t without plans. As the Blauw Empire’s ground forces in the Eclushisk Contrail Region decided to spend more time after Ishikyy’s whereabouts were exposed and to make do with it, the war continued to rage on, and another month passed just like that.

Only 2 weeks remained before the end of the year. The Blauw Empire, after arduous, long warring with battles that could decide other Region’s major victories or result in an immense low in morale for the losing side or the invading side that kept failing at occupying the same objective until finally managing to— but becoming too tired to celebrate or feel worthwhile. The ending point of the war commenced, and all 3 enemy Regions were on the brink of either losing or starting to win back this war and their home!

The Empire’s side was ready after 2 weeks of rest in which both sides remained peaceful, recuperating morale, strength, and mentality, even for cultivators. Seeing and knowing that millions of their comrades had fallen was new to them, and it was rare in Second Step-leveled wars. Only brutal wars like the Dragon’s Tail Region and the Phoenix’s Cry Region knew such wars, and they were always spirit-consuming, so to speak.

Yet, in the air, 2,000 km above sea level, in the Indomitable Heartspree Region’s sea. Heian Ciemnosc crossed his arms as he relaxed with the breeze caressing his closed eyelids when he suddenly opened them softly and remained narrowed as they gazed at a tiny dot becoming larger and larger… flying towards him from the ground and the Region’s center.

…