I frowned slightly as waves of explosions took out my ground troops and then my aerial troops I sent in to attack after the people on the walls were distracted. This only confirmed in my mind that the city was Michael’s true source of strength. If it fell, then Michael would not be able to stand alone.

My forces advanced to take the beachhead, but I did not commit them. The City Shield would be an issue. I had no doubt that Purgatory had one. If they didn’t, well I would soon find out after they were forced to use it to counter me.

I maneuvered summoner ants to the top of the wall and summoner squirrels and summoner scorpions to the breach of the wall, with the later too being outside the radius of the City Shield. It aligned with the outer portion of the wall.

I felt my energy drain slightly as I produced hordes of monsters. That was why I had sacrificed one of my worms so easily. While my energy reserves and Regeneration stat were prodigious, I had to manage my army formation and usage carefully.

Oh, summon monsters with primed crafting crystals. My long range monsters began laying down fire and then my mental monsters struck. The crystals detonated in midair, killing the summons and crippling those weak summoners who thought to challenge me! I invented this strategy, and they could be ground beneath my boot.

The weaker disposable summons poured forth. I saw Champion Michael standing on a building looking at my army with frustration. Now you had a choice, both of which were terrible. He could either retreat, and I would engulf the city and initiate a long-term siege. Or he could try and fight in some way, which would just exhaust him.

Champion Michael leapt right on top of the wall and rushed my ant summoners. I frowned as the low-level ants did nothing. He was just tanking the attacks, completely steamrolling my low-level monsters. He had improved as well. I knew this, but I hadn’t realized he would be willing to wade right into the mix.

I sent in my other flying monsters to take him out and focused on him with mental attacks. Champion Michael targeted the closest ones with his acid skill, killing them and then he retreated along the wall. I redirected the low level summons towards the plaza.

Champion Michael came to a stop and turned towards my flying monsters. He was going to be a thorn in my side. I would have to commit some troops to force a City Shield activation. I sent in two of my worms and 400 hybrids, most of them were wounded. A decent chunk of my army, but not the core of my strength.

The move was back in your court Champion Michael. What were you going to do now? He just stood there. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing. He wasn’t retreating or attacking. He was just waiting and watching to recover his energy.

He wouldn’t leave or risk being trapped outside when the City Shield turned on, but neither would he retreat and allow me to do whatever I wanted. It was too hard to get monsters on top of the wall and my flying monsters and hybrids didn’t have the strength or the power to really pressure him. If I committed too many of my troops, the City Shield would cut them off.

Champion Michael was always canny like that. Picking a third option where there would only appear to be two. I considered what I could do and smiled. If they wanted to play games with the City Shield, I would as well.

It was time for me to act personally. I had my hybrids carry me forward towards the city while I spread out my troops to cover for me and scan for any threat.

I reached the rubble pile where I had breached the wall. I considered the boundary. While keeping an eye on Champion Michael. He still wasn’t moving. I had been hoping to lure him out to directly confront him, but apparently, he wasn’t interested in trying to assassinate me.

No matter, I would use the more annoying plan, but time was on my side. The city had a supply of crystals and a use of the City Shield. While they might try to have multiple uses, I doubted it due to the cost. They would fill it up once and then leave it at that. Another reason why I moved on the city of Purgatory so quickly. I couldn’t allow them to stockpile crystals.

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I flicked my hand in the air and the summoning circles that my monsters had made were activated. Three more great pulsing red worms were wormed. I carefully gave them instructions and then tied off the tether on their end. They rushed forward towards the plaza like homing missiles, no longer under my control.

They would only last 100 minutes, before turning to dust. But I could avoid upkeep by using summons like this. A trick I had absorbed from the Puppet Master’s level 4 crystal. My army moved and more supplies were set up.

I flicked my hand again. Another three worms were formed and sent on their way. I did this again for a final three, sending a total of nine freshly summoned level 3 worms at the plaza. I had several primed summoning crystals in reserve. I had chosen to make fake summoning circles so that Michael might think me low on energy and act.

The worms would rampage and disrupt any formations and defenses. Then the large amount of level 1 monsters that were amassing would rush the plaza and overwhelm the defenses with the aid of the higher level hybrids I had sent.

The people there would be forced to activate the city shield or die. I moved my summoner monsters back, they had dispatched enough minions for now and I was at my limit. It would take them time to reach the plaza. It was unfortunate I hadn’t been able to progress more with consumption, but the Astrologer had warned me of the risks, and I had tested them out.

The store was too useful to lose access to for now. In time I would figure out a way to bypass it easily enough. Humans that I had turned into my puppets could not use the store unfortunately. It was a mental process and using proxies did not allow me to bypass this restriction in some way. I could control someone physical, but not their mind.

I still had not managed a level 4 summon or hybrid which was infuriating. A summon would turn to dust as it tried to form, and a hybrid would be mishappen. There was something more at the level 4 tier. The summoning and the hybridization process needed to be more guided.

I felt I was close, with the integration of the level 4 crystals inside of me providing me with knowledge and understanding. But it still wasn’t enough. I felt a slight pain in my neck where the crystals were embedded into the back of my spine. A minor issue for the understanding I now had and the abilities I could use by instinct.

As the knowledge of the level 4 monsters seeped into me, I felt like I was close to a breakthrough. With level 4 hybrids, nothing would be able to stop me. Once I crossed that barrier, I would quickly climb up the levels of power without stop to stand at the top of this world and free myself from its clutches.

Then I would take more and more powerful crystals and use the instincts and knowledge of higher-level monsters. That was why the Astrologer was wrong. He gave up at a single setback. I doubled down. Summoning and human experimentation was the path forward.

Ah, the people were attacking to try and slow down my advance. Hmm, time to engulf the city. I began to dispatch my forces to surround Purgatory away from the wall. Escape would not be easy. If they were going to allow themselves to be swallowed whole, who was I to say no?

Michael was taking a peek at me. I let my ranged monsters unleash their attacks at him and he stepped back from the edge. He wasn’t even tempted. It was disappointing. After putting on such a show he didn’t take the bait. There was nothing I could do to make it more tempting other than risking myself even more.

While I was confident in my ability to take him on in direct combat, I wasn’t sure I could win. My previous losses still resonated with me. Each wound, each bout of pain and suffering, and each defeat had pounded the lesson into my head to not underestimate Champion Michael.

A grin crossed my face as I noted something quite interesting. Hiding all the way up there? Mister Astrologer, you clearly aren’t happy. But the fact you haven’t acted yet meant you were weak. The flying trick was neat, but he wasn’t really here.

That was a far more troublesome prospect, hunting down his real body. The Astrologer was a rock in my shoe. Something to ignore until I could remove it. Well, he would probably be making his move any second. I adjusted the position of my monsters. They would be ready to act, but I let him have his shot.

Not that it would him any good with how I was immune to all his tricks. If he could really snap his fingers and kill me, I would have died already. He was a trickster, with no real power. And what little power he had would be useless.

While I was waiting, time to wreck this city and take Champion Michael’s advantage away. I had worms I was controlling begin digging out the ground in front of the walls. Three worms in each direction, to dig down below the foundation. I would have my worms loop to the far side of the city and then dig out the foundations on their way back.