In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

A fleet of gargantuan ships cut through the dark and stormy waters of the mid Atlantic, each of which was the size of a small town. The ships had been made by the millions of hands available from both the Legion and the forces of Reaper, and they were large enough to house the entire armies of both men, other than the Legion members who were already in the United States.

The ships were moving deceptively quickly, powered by the mana of their crews. Each of the ships was outfitted with mana enhanced nuclear bombs, which had been repurposed to be usable in the new world. The targeting systems that relied on electronics were gone, replaced with a blast radius that could take out an entire city, and then some. They could reach all the way into the interior of any of the world’s continents too, meaning that they could bombard the city that Sam Atlas and his faction resided in with impunity.

They had taken all of the defunct weapons from Russia and in Europe, and they had such a large stash that they could have destroyed the world many times over with their arsenal. Well, the old world that was. The new world was far larger than before, but they were still packing a huge amount of firepower. The only problem was the radiation, which had been now conceptually enhanced, meaning that it would affect even high level System users as if they were mere mortals.

Hugo Mar, Supreme General of the Legion, stood on the top of one of those ships, his flagship, the Conquest. He looked out onto the wind tossed seas, and beheld the leviathans of the deep surfacing in respect to his ships. They were a truly gargantuan affair, and he had succeeded in impressing his tentative ally, Reaper, with the resources that he had access to. One of the ships had been used to house the various skeletal warriors of Reaper, as they had unfortunate tendencies such as eating any flesh that they came across, living or dead to repurpose for power. As a result, they had been sequestered away from the rest of the united force.

Hugo heard footsteps from behind him, and he didn't bother turning around. There was only one person that would dare to approach him when he was in such a state, which was Reaper. He was cocky, brash and highly psychopathic, but Hugo Mar had found him to be extremely competent as well. He knew much about higher strategy, and he had used his skeletons like pieces of a chess board, able to take out monsters far more powerful than their individual strength. Hopefully that would be useful when they made landfall.

“How far are we now?” Reaper asked, a hint of impatience in his normally placid voice.

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“The navigation center tells me that we have another day of travel until we reach our target, which will then be another few days of marching from there. My agents within the country have succeeded in infiltrating Sam Atlas’ city multiple times, and they continue to feed me information about their capabilities. Apparently they are quite a powerful force, even though they lack numbers. It will not be an easy fight, even with our nuclear weapons.”

“Any plans on using them? I have no issue with their use, but you seemed to think that they would be detrimental to our efforts, as they would damage your soldiers beyond repair.”

Hugo snorted bitterly.

“Of course you would be for it. Your forces would benefit greatly from the radiation, as it would not affect them. However, I believe that as soon as my men die off, you would turn on us, correct?” Hugo Mar asked.

“Of course. I know that you would do the same,” Reaper responded, in a mild tone. “I might be weaker than you, but my skeletons will continue to fight after my death. In fact, they will be even more powerful than before.”

The two men were in an unlikely alliance, but one that was quite secure, as it was facilitated by fear and self interest rather than blind trust. If either man killed the other, it would lead to a devastating civil war between their forces. No, better to achieve their objective and then decide on what to do after that. Neither man would let the other live after this, as there could only be one dominating force on the planet, but they could suspend that hostility for now.

Reaper nodded, and left, heading back towards his ship of skeletons, where he would bask in the light of their deathly energy, cultivating his Dao. The man was unsettling, even to a person like Hugo Mar, and he could not wait until he could get rid of Reaper. Sighing, he returned his gaze towards the dark water, and towards his target. Sam Atlas would fall first, and then the world.

Over the next few days, Sam and his forces trained hard, unaware of the power that was pointed their way from the forces of the Legion. That was just as well in any case, seeing as they would have been demoralized otherwise. Every last citizen tried their utmost to raise their power, even those who would not be fighting. In the likely outcome where the Legion breached the walls and the force field, everyone would need to fight.

However, it was up to Sam and his captains to make sure that did not happen. More and more of the captains broke through to F Rank over those days, and by the end of the third day, they were all there. Some of them had almost killed themselves pushing their capabilities in such a manner, but it had been worth it in the end.

It was almost time for them to make their final stand, and Sam could barely contain himself. He was starting to feel a profound sense of anxiety, an emotion that he had not felt in a long time. He knew that the Legion would be coming in force, but he wasn't sure how strong it would be. Their continued survival hinged on this fight, and if they lost, it would be Sam’s fault, and his alone.