After Pandora left, the Imperial Palace buzzed with discussion for a while, and then went quiet, because no one could determine whether her mission would succeed.
The ministers turned to Asher.
"Can she actually persuade that emperor?" One asked, "Will he really stop the war on her word?"
Asher didn't know. He wasn't the Goddess of Fate. But he reasoned through it aloud. Pandora had a genuine relationship with Elunara, and Elunara's Pantheon alongside the Elf Empire had a formal covenant with the Great Aetherium.
Through that connection, Pandora's words would carry real weight with Haru. Beyond that, she was a Supreme Goddess and the ruler of a major Pantheon of Faith. Haru should at least give her face if nothing else.
And regardless of whether the persuasion worked, Pandora had personally promised to help the Light Empire through the crisis. Her real body coming to the empire's defense meant the Light Pantheon would effectively be there too. After all, could they sit idle while their leader faced danger?
He had thought through the logic of the Banner carefully before agreeing. In his hands, the [Tempest Titan Banner] might delay the empire's destruction by some measure. But once the empire fell and he was suppressed, the Banner would fall to the Great Aetherium anyway.
Trading it for Pandora's presence, a late-stage Supreme Goddess, stronger than him, was not a bad exchange. An artifact for a Supreme Goddess' support. He'd take that.
"With Her Holiness here we can hold the imperial capital until the 'battle of planets' begins." Asher said, "We must hold until then. This crisis will definitely end."
The ministers exhaled. The fear that had been sitting in the room since the war began released slightly.
Then one minister looked further ahead, "Your Majesty, what about after the battle of planets ends? What then? The Great Aetherium borders us. The conflict doesn't disappear. In the next war, we may not have another Supreme Goddess to call."
Asher's expression went cold.
"There won't be a next war." he said, "The Great Aetherium is too conspicuous. The Angels are the Dimensional Demons' natural enemy. The demons will designate the Great Aetherium as their primary target. Even if the Great Aetherium isn't destroyed outright, it will take heavy losses in the upcoming war. When that moment comes, we strike and finish what the demons started."
The ministers' eyes lit up, but Asher himself didn't look wise. He looked like a man who had just paid more than he wanted to and was cataloguing the debt.
"Monitor the battlefield." He said, "Watch the Great Aetherium's movements specifically."
After they left, he sat alone in the hall.
"One day." He said quietly, to no one, "I will take back everything. The territory. The Banner. When I hold the God King's Throne and its bottomless power, the Great Aetherium, the Castle Faction, the Dark Empire, even Pandora herself, all of them will answer for what they've done today."
The words echoed in the empty hall.
…
Back in Angel City, the morning was quiet.
Haru completed the day's recruitment first. The numbers had grown again.
Thirteen Angel Reincarnation Pools now, seven at the God Level and six at the Level 9. The God Level pools produced three thousand God Class Angels each per day, every one of them at minimum a Six-Winged Angel, no Demigods.
Seven pools meant 21,000 True God Tier Angels daily. With Nova continuing to build a new God Level pool daily and upgrade one ordinary pool once every three days, the total Angel count would keep rising daily.
By now, the Great Aetherium had roughly 2.7 million Angels, of which 290,000 were True Gods, the outside world's figure of 200,000 was already outdated. Combined with 38,000 true gods of other races, the Great Aetherium's true god count was approaching 330,000, and climbing.
The battlefield had also contributed around 600,000 additional Angels through Troop Summoning Blueprints acquired in the war against the Light Empire. Those were working their way up through combat, trying to attain Godhood.
After the daily recruitment, Haru went to the [Holy Light Temple].
The temple had started as a [Holy Temple] and been upgraded through a special blueprint into the Great Aetherium's first God Level Building.
Its effects were straightforward but significant: 20% attack and defense boost to all troops under Haru's command, something even his two top-level Supreme God Tier natal artifacts couldn't replicate.
Moreover the [Holy Grail] attached to it, which could baptize and transform captured souls, including Supreme Gods, including Dimensional Demon Gods. That latter function was why Haru had chosen to seal rather than destroy the souls of strong enemies.
------------------
Become A Member At My Patreon For Access To Bonus Chapters Or Even Multiple Chapters A Day!
» Patreon.com/LordArchduke