And it's done.

The last remnants of Imperial forces were either shot or vaporized by the final volley of Hammer projectiles. There's nothing left but silence and the few agonizing cries echoing in the air. Each wail is soon followed by a detonation, an indication that the Legionaries found the survivor and ended their misery.

This battle wasn't a battle; it was mass murder. It made me realize how much carnage this war will cause. Our weapons are strong, no doubt about that. But the top tier spells of the Empire must be on another level, not to mention that the Oracle is even stronger. So casualties are bound to happen on every participating side of this ever-growing conflict. We haven't suffered any losses yet, mostly because of our tactics and a few well-placed Rewinds, but I know that I will not be able to save everyone, that those soldiers who believed in me will die because of me.

The burden of a leader isn't a small one, and I wonder how the Family heads dealt with it...

They probably didn't care in the slightest, did they?

But agonizing over the carnage I caused isn't going to change anything. We need to remove the Empire by all means necessary, and then it'll be the turn of the Enforcers to suffer the same fate.

Of course, I'm assuming that we'll not be stopped. I have my doubts about that, and even the Rewinder might not be enough to save us when the Enforcers decide to, in their infinite wisdom, release ancient demons that they cannot control. I was lucky with Beelzebub, but who knows what would happen if I faced him again. Even the Hammer might not be able to do any damage.

A sigh escapes my mouth as I teleport back to the command room. Pondering about the far-future isn't going to make things easier; it probably has the opposite effect. I lean back in my chair and look at the ceiling. We still have so much to do. And, ironically enough, we don't have enough time.

"Prometheus, you should take a look at this." Terrence's voice takes me out of my thoughts, and I look up towards the massive screen. I can't help but smirk, hundreds of news websites on the HiddenNet are talking about the battle. The crushing defeat that the Empire suffered is plastered in the front page, and my declaration of war is written in big, bold letters.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The comments section is also in a frenzy, hundreds of comments appear every second, and they show no signs of slowing down.

I'm also surprised to see that the 'normal' media has picked up on our story, although they are only talking about weird seismic activities. If I had to guess, It's probably related to the Hammer projectiles smashing against the ground.

But I know that my existence has been revealed to the regular human world, the governments are just trying to keep it under wraps for now. I can be certain that we were discovered because we didn't put up any form of barriers during this battle, so satellites must have seen the massacre; the Hammer can't really be categorized as a stealthy weapon.

I wonder how the nations of the world will react to this reveal. Or maybe they are already aware of the Hidden World. I have no way of knowing. The Organization is also probably something to watch out for; I doubt they'll stay inactive. There's also the more than likely possibility that other groups similar to the Organization who are also aware of this "World Code" are going to make moves in response to the massive chaos that this conflict is bound to cause.

In hindsight, I may have started World War 3.

I shake my head; the situation cannot be that bad.

...I should really stop jinxing myself. I turn my head towards Terrence instead of thinking more dangerous thoughts, "How are the reactions so far?"

"The inhabitants of the Shard are thrilled; our recruitment offices were swarmed the moment you ended the battle." The Commander reports. "As for the HiddenNet, we can't really tell just yet; there's too much data to process."

I nod, this was something I kind of expected since we are broadcasting propaganda 24/7. But I'll admit that the reaction on the HiddenNet is surprising; I cannot be the first one to openly rebel against Enforcer authority, and from what I've heard the few rebellions all failed miserably.

Maybe it's because I showed a lot of firepower? Or because I wiped out forces from the Empire? No, it can't be that because, despite its rapid expansion, the Empire shouldn't control that much territory.

Or it's just that the media is looking for a good story that will generate clicks.

Man, I never thought I would ever be the source of magical clickbait.

But let's stop thinking about that for the time being. Instead, I need to plan what we'll do now that the Order has been revealed to the world. First, I think it's time to go on a full frontal assault of key Imperial infrastructure to cripple their production capabilities and destroy their morale. We should also focus on destroying the Empire's headquarters. It would ruin their chain of command, and it would be very likely that the Empire would fall to infighting before it falls to the myriad of enemies they have. But I'm not too optimistic on that front since the Empire seems to be strong and well-organized.

Normal Enforcers would have probably fled as soon as the Hammer made its first casualties, but Imperial soldiers didn't falter and stayed at their post. A futile but commendable attitude which shows excellent loyalty towards their leaders.

Or the soldiers were simply scared of what would happen to them or their loved ones if they deserted. Considering that the Stonecrusher leader used to be a lackey of the Wolfheart, then I imagine it's more likely the latter than the former.

The effects of the battle are also to be taken into consideration since the Shard showed that it could significantly bolster our numbers.

Having a large amount of barely trained soldiers worked well enough for the Soviet Union... at least until they collapsed.

I'm so good at making myself motivated; it's incredible.

At least I hope that history won't repeat itself, even if common sense and my own experience tells me the contrary...