Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?

Chapter 1643 - 1643: Welcome to the Game

War, by default, is a chaotic mess where no one can truly win without suffering a few losses in the process.However, there are some factors one can control to keep that number as low as possible.

First, one could make sure that their army is of sufficient size and quality.

The larger the army, the more likely the soldiers will be able to protect each other from attacks. Of course, said soldiers need to be taught to do so.

Second, the weapons wielded.

An army using weapons that outclass their opponents is more than likely going to take them out before they could cause any real damage to them.

Third, the terrain on which the war is waged.

Defending a narrow passage turns a large army into a liability and makes a small army thrice as deadly, while an open field has the opposite effect.

An army stationed on top of a steep hill can easily defend against attackers, while those on the bottom of a hill can set up a barricade and trap their opponents with ease.

An army with the sea to their back can't be surrounded...but they also can't retreat.

The last thing, though, which is the most important factor to control but can also be horribly neglected is... strategy.

Everything, and I mean everything I just listed, can be maximized, minimized, or ruined by the usage of strategy.

-The words of a general, lecturing their son on their first battle.

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"Alright," Zhen Liu declared as he finished the last part of his secret plan. "Time to put on a fucking show."

...POV change…

"Is that the clearing?"

"It appears to be, your highness."

"Not sure why it's called the [Clearing of the First Spark]. It looks positively dreadful."

Looming on top of a hill like an ill omen, the First, Fourth, and Seventh Prince of the Erupting Dawn Empire were observing the designated meeting spot that the Kaijin Lord had arranged for them.

Accompanying the princes were General Legante, an elite squad of warriors that were chosen from the very best of the army, and several dozen Raidmen.

Every last one of the elite members was an Aether Grandmaster with varying ring levels and was able to coordinate with one another to exercise the Empire's most potent aether formation arrays.

In other words, if push came to shove and the Kaijin Lord was someone that could even overpower the First Prince, a bonafide Aether King, then the elite warriors would be able to coordinate with him and double his strength with a timely formation.

At least, that was the hope.

As the imperial princes and their retinue continued to march to this so-called holy site, they finally noticed that they weren't the only ones being called out to this place.

"Wait a minute…" Lauvanne grumbled as he used aether to enhance his vision and look off into the distance. "Is that…a procession of Theocrat soldiers? What the fuck are they doing here?"

"Did we get compromised?" Galban asked with a panicked tone of voice. "Should we prepare for battle?!"

"I don't think so," Lofarro assured his younger sibling after looking in the same direction. "If they were here for us, they would've noticed and tried to attack us by now. If anything, they're probably here for the same reason we are. On top of that, look who is leading those forces."

…On the other side…

"Are…are those Imperial forces? Being led by three of the Erupting Dawn's princes?!"

"They're not here for…wait…"

Travelling through a flat and empty field, Abbot Hulna and Abbot Feroxxa were leading a procession of False Guards and a group of four False Crusaders to the holy site that the damned Kaijin Lord had designated as the battleground.

When they first realized where this battle was going to take place, the two religious leaders were more or less...absolutely fucking livid about the fact that their holy ground was being used in such a brutish manner.

However, once they had a quick discussion with their benefactor, they realized that this location was oddly poetic and quite auspicious.

The land where the holy fire first landed is now the place where the new one will form?

That's practically a religious text onto itself.

Of course, this all hinged on whether or not Hulna and Feroxxa would be able to defeat all of their fated foes.

No, not "if."

When.

"From the looks of things, the Imperial forces are marching towards the same spot we are," Hulna noted. "Does that mean that they also…"

"That's…more than likely," Feroxxa answered after a moment of thought. "The chances of them understanding the significance of the clearing are incredibly low, unless one of the princes had a change of faith in the past few weeks that we're unaware of."

"..."

"What?"

"That letter mentioned that there were double-dealings and secret deals being made," Hulna said outright for Feroxxa to acknowledge. "Do you have any idea what that was possibly referring to?"

Feroxxa did not outright dismiss or shirk in response to the not-so-subtle accusation, but he did let out an audible snort of disapproval as a means of conveying his thoughts on the matter.

"That accusation was probably thrown in to sow discord and distrust between us," Feroxxa said with a confident tone. "And before you start slinging accusations at me, keep in mind that my letter said the exact same thing. If anything, you and your love-focused ideology are the more likely candidates when it comes to making dirty deals with the enemy, don't you think?"

"I refuse to entertain that idea with a response," Hulna protested, yet didn't outright refute it either.

As the abbots bickered about loyalty and dirty dealings, the False Crusaders accompanying them stared at them with unblinking, unknowing expressions. However, if one were to look deeper into their lifeless eyes, they would notice that the force animating them almost seemed to laugh.

…And now it's time to get this show started…

Precisely one mile away from the city of Emberona, in a place known as the [Clearing of the First Spark], two rival armies stood opposite to one another.

On one side were the Erupting Dawn Empire forces, which were led by three of the Imperial princes and consisted of mostly elite warriors and a whole mess of undead warriors known as Raidmen, which were puppeted by a strange slime aether beast that was several thousand miles away from here.

On the other was a force led by a hidden conspiracy embedded into the Sacred Flame Theocracy, which was led by a pair of bickering religious leaders who would honestly rather rip each other's throats if they didn't need each other. The army they led was composed almost entirely of beings known as False Guards, corpses that were refined and repurposed by a strange aether flame that sought to replace its predecessor.

For all intents and purposes, these two sides should be ripping each other to pieces because of the ongoing war between their two nations. But for some, unknowable reason to the rest of the world, they didn't do that.

Instead, the two armies stared each other down and waited with bated breath.

Thankfully for their nerves, they didn't have to wait too much longer.

"Huh…and here I thought that you two would be trying to kill each other onsite when I sent out my invitations. What a pity," a strange voice noted.

This voice was laced with [Chaos], and caused both sides to be momentarily disturbed. Especially when they heard the line that followed.

"And I thought I made it clear that you two were only supposed to bring elite warriors with you. No cannon fodder," the voice chided. "Well, I suppose I might as well do everyone a favor here and clear out the chaff."

[Howl of Damnation!]

Before either side could fully react, a soul-shaking scream reverberated throughout the clearing as if it had somehow been relocated into the inside of a massive cave.

The leaders and elites of both sides managed to throw up defenses in time to prevent the scream from doing too much damage, but it was somehow still powerful enough to rattle their senses and force them to cover their ears like children being forced to listen to their teacher scream bloody murder at them.

As for the Raidmen and False Guards they brought with them, though, they weren't as lucky.

The scream had pierced whatever pitiful defenses they had in an instant and caused every single last Raidman and False Guard to suddenly collapse or double over as if they had their guts torn open.

Mere seconds later, one of two reactions occurred.

Amongst the Raidmen, every single last one of them suddenly began to vomit out torrents of slime that rapidly dissolved into nothingness.

Amongst the False Guard, they mostly looked to the sky as plumes of dark-colored smoke exited from their mouths before flying back to wherever they originated from.

With the power inside them no longer being present, every last corpse warrior returned to just being simple corpses.

"There, isn't that better?"

As soon as this question was asked, a third person appeared between the remaining warriors, as if he had been sitting there this entire time.

"Now, let's have ourselves a proper introduction."