In the faction headquarters

Sam sat with the rest of his captains, reading over the damages that had been dealt to the city by the coming of the Corpse Titan. A quarter of the farming area had been damaged by the corrosive Death energy that had coursed through the veins of the Titan. An eighth was completely ruined. Over a thousand people had died from the attack, most from the wave of undead that had followed in the path of the Titan. However, they had fled when their master died. It was by far the greatest loss that the city had ever taken, even including the assault from the Legion. Despite that, their losses should have been far higher. The city should have been wiped out to a man, with only rubble standing in its place.

Against all the odds, Sam’s faction had defeated a being far more powerful than themselves. There were still eleven more Titans however. The satellite imagery provided by the many spacecraft that Thomas had created told a story of devastation. Both of the enemy factions had been uprooted by the coming of the Titans. Only the Arbiters of Justice had survived and had kept their city. However, extensive repairs would need to be completed in order to bring the city back to its former glory. Even now, they could see the ruined part of the city from here. It was a reminder of their failure in keeping the city completely safe from the many enemies that they had.

“Well, what are the next steps?” Lao sighed, tearing his gaze away from the picture of the city from above.

It was spread out across the table, revealing a picture of desolation. Rivers of blackness wound across the fields, spoiling the crops that they touched. Craters littered the ground near the wall, and the many buildings that stood within the farming district were nothing more than piles of wood and rock. At least the Titan had not made it to the main part of the city. Had that happened, far more people would have died. Even now, a group had set out to gather the bodies of the slain and return them to the city center for a funeral ceremony. They had died defending the city.

“What do you think?” Sam asked. “We need to repair the damage, and build back stronger than before. The money from selling the Titan parts should be able to buy the best defenses that we can find. We have access to F Rank buildings now, do we not?”

‘We’ve had that since the faction ranked up during your absence. However, they are extremely expensive. An F Rank upgrade to the force field costs half a billion credits. Money that we cannot simply spare.”

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“How much money do we have?” Sam asked.

“A little bit over a billion, but that amount is constantly in flux. Money comes and goes from the city every day. If we were to spend half of that, it would take weeks or months to recover. We’ll have to see how much we can get from the Titan’s body.”

Sam nodded, but still felt angry that there hadn’t been more done to safeguard the city. Then again, there was only so much safety that one could gain in a world like this. There were always threats, from rogue cultivators to powerful beasts. This was no different. Deaths were simply a part of the calculus of life. In any case, many preferred having a shot at immortality at the cost of an uncertain life. It was a step above the meaninglessness of life on Old Earth. However, it was still hard to fathom.

Sam left the room a moment later, not wanting to see the extent of his failure once more. He could have done more to the Titan, had he really tried. During that last assault, he could have ignored the pain in his body and moved faster. Even earlier, he could have opened with his strongest skill. Dao Juggernaut combined with Sky Splitting Vengeance would have done enough damage to the Titan to make the aftereffects worth it. However, it would have likely killed him in the process.

Sam was still used to being a nobody, but the fact was that his continued existence was essential to the survival of his faction. His captains were strong, but the Corpse Titan would never have fallen if he had not been present. His strength was simply too out of the ordinary for him to live a normal life. Even without his faction, he would have had to fight for his life. However, this was who he was. The last few months of constant fighting had forged him into a new man, creating an implacable warrior who fought to defend his people against all threats. He was a juggernaut, capable of fighting above his level. His strength and potential was beyond legendary for his rank. Constantly he had been challenged, and constantly he had overcome those challenges. All of his foes had been broken before him, from the tournament to the Legion. He was of an indomitable spirit, even if his body was not. He would never stop in the endless pursuit of power that was life in the Boundless Expanse.

As he walked the corridors of the city hall, he considered what would have to happen next. He did not have to have an active role in the city’s reconstruction, as the Metropolis Core was open to any of his captains. His main priority was getting stronger. If he reached the very top of F Rank, breaking through his other thresholds, he knew that he could defeat one of the Titans on his own if he used all of his abilities together. It would likely be able to kill one, judging from what he had seen from his fight with the Corpse Titan.