NOVGO.NET Chapter 4457: Olethros! V
Chapter 4457: Olethros! V
Casualties in war were unavoidable.
The strongest commanders knew this fundamental truth.
Because war was not pretty or kind...no matter how eloquent the speeches justifying it, no matter how noble the cause supposedly driving it.
Despite how one planned and strategized and executed everything with immense calculation considering every possibility... they would inevitably discover that their enemy had done exactly the same.
Even in the most glorious victories, there would be losses. Bodies that would not rise. Existences that would cease. Names that would be mourned.
This was the inescapable weaving of conflict.
At this moment.
In the Desiccated Sleeping Shore.
The skyspace above had transformed into region of molten authority and systematic collapse as existence itself had been fractured and torn through concentrated application of overwhelming force.
Rivers and seas of molten Primus Mana and Hunger spread gorgeously through the wounded sky...obsidian-blue and crimson-gold currents flowing like arterial blood from a body that had been grievously injured.
The molten currents created patterns that suggested both beauty and devastation, artistic destruction on scale that transcended comprehension!
The molten skies were littered with hundreds of thousands of figures of Primus Inevitabilities that were all gazing downward with cold eyes.
Their crimson stares fixed upon the aftermath of battle that had tested them for first time since their emergence.
In some regions of the skies, there existed massive blinking singularities shining the colors of Mana and Hunger.
At least nine Primus Inevitabilities surrounded each singularity as if engaged in grand ritual...their forms creating protective formations around something precious that required safeguarding.
Dozens of such singularities could be observed across this grand domain, each one pulsing with rhythmic intensity.
And yet, down below, it seemed as if existence was still reeling and struggling to stabilize...as if being put to fundamental test regarding how much devastation reality could absorb before collapsing entirely.
Because at this moment, a terrifying battle had concluded in less than one minute after it began.
Noah stood on the gray sands of this Desiccated Shore, his crimson visor-covered eyes piercing as they surveyed the battlefield.
On his shoulders, Khor also gazed upward as the two of them looked at the singularities.
Those singularities represented... collapse of Primus Inevitabilities!
They represented casualties.
There was heavy silence that settled across the domain as the surroundings where eight descended Avatars should have been visible showed only devastation.
Seven of them could not be perceived anywhere...consumed entirely through Infinite Hunger.
The only one currently visible in surrounding existence was none other than Ambessa.
Her appearance was devastating testimony to the battle’s intensity.
Her attire- pink bloomers and white tank top that had appeared so casual yet regal, now looked torn and shredded.
Her body lay deeply embedded in the center of point of impact on the gray sands, the crater suggesting she had been driven downward with catastrophic force.
Across her radiant form, countless small wounds showed bleeding Civilizational Authority of Paradox...golden light seeping from injuries.
All around her, 2 Million Primus Inevitabilities surrounded her and imposed their terrifying hunger onto her existence with coordinated precision.
At this moment, she could not even move...her 5 Sextillion power completely suppressed through sheer weight of accumulated Hunger Propagation.
That was how devastating the battle had been.
The only other entities visible in the surroundings were the very real figures of Primordial Primus Mana-Flame Wyrms who floated with terrifying eyes, their nine heads per Wyrm swiveling as if still ready for additional enemies to descend.
Noah looked at such scene as prompts appeared before him.
|Infinite Hunger has revealed a unique quality about its weavings of existence.|
|It has been determined that 124 Primus Inevitabilities faced collapse during engagement with Ambessa. Her 5 Sextillion power combined with 5 Grand Principles allowed her to systematically eliminate targets despite overwhelming numerical disadvantage.|
|However: Primus Inevitabilities within your Civilization burning with Infinite Hunger will have their identity in existence preserved within the collective Infinite Hunger.|
|These collapsed existences will be systematically reborn within 24-hour period in the Sanctuaries of Inevitabilities with half of their original power. The Collapse due to Civilizational Authority that would normally devastate one’s foundation and potentially prevent resurrection is negated through grandeur of Infinite Hunger.|
|This capability is nullified should you, The Leader of The Primordial Civilization of Mana and Hunger, is ever collapsed by another Civilizational Authority.|
...!
These prompts were radiant in their implications...transforming what should have been devastating casualties into temporary setbacks that would be systematically corrected.
After reviewing this information, Noah commandingly allowed such knowledge to spread through the communication channels connecting all Primus Inevitabilities.
The moment this revelation propagated through their collective consciousness, all of these terrifying titanic entities turned to look toward him with brilliant crimson eyes that blazed with renewed fervor.
Protos nearby raised his fist high as he bellowed out.
"Under the light of Infinite Hunger, the dead may never die! Our Brothers and Sisters will return! Our Civilization cannot be diminished through simple collapse!"
...!
HUUM!
The others in response to his declaration raised their fists with glory and purpose as they roared out in synchronized chorus.
"THE DEAD MAY NEVER DIE! THE DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!"
Crimson winds of Hunger and accumulated complexity raged across the battlefield as at this moment, Noah turned his gaze toward the only remaining Avatar.
The other seven had fallen either to him personally or to Ozymandias, Khor, or Protos...with them dealing finishing blows after systematic weakening through coordinated assault.
All seven had their existences collapsed into Event Horizons of concentrated Hunger, with every single aspect of what they were being systematically harvested.
At this moment, this harvest was being amplified by Perpetual Harvest...waiting for final addition from the strongest among their enemies before it would be distributed across the Civilization.
And so Noah turned his attention toward the enemy who was the reason for the casualties of Primus Inevitabilities despite overwhelming numerical advantage.
Ambessa!
Noah’s glorious titanic armored form...radiant with obsidian-blue-and-gold-crimson light, the Sword and Shield of Hunger and Mana gleaming in his hands...walked toward the crater that contained the enemy who had withstood Hunger Propagation and Void Appetite with such immensity that even her attacks squeezed through gaps in their assault to instantly collapse dozens of Primus Inevitabilities.
Ambessa’s glorious body lay sprawled on the gray sands of the Desiccated Sleeping Shore, her neck mangled from devastating strike, her chest caved in from concentrated impact.
She turned her head with visible effort to stare toward Protos and Noah’s approaching figure.
Even though the current situation seemed utterly dreadful and her body was systematically failing, her eyes were immensely calm and even filled with light of genuine curiosity rather than fear or rage.
After all, these were just Avatars of beings who remained safely within THE Loom.
Noah expected substantial damage to be inflicted upon their main bodies due to his Civilizational Authority of Mana and Hunger devouring their projected forms, but toward such powerful beings even this damage might prove negligible.
Was this the reason for how remarkably laid back she currently appeared?
Her calm and grand words emerged as she actually looked around at the surrounding devastated existence.
"How has life been outside THE Loom? I received opportunity to observe briefly after we descended, but it was not truly sufficient time to satisfy my curiosity. I have always wondered how things have unfolded since we entered...how many eons have passed, what has changed, whether anything recognizable remains."
...!