"S-Sorry!"
After snapping out of it, March 7th immediately lowered her head and apologized to Su Mo. It was so wrong of her to not only fail to thank the person who had helped her but also to secretly take his picture!
"It's fine. If anything, the fault lies with my management of my subordinate."
Su Mo shook his head, then brought Jibril before March 7th. "Do you have anything to say?"
The childlike Jibril drooped her wings, looking pitiable, like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have deliberately scared you. Can you please forgive me?"
Under Su Mo's hand, Jibril was exceptionally well-behaved.
Seeing the little girl in this state, even though she was still annoyed by her previous behavior, March 7th couldn't bring herself to stay angry.
"Apologizing while looking like a kid is just too unfair! Fine, this beautiful young lady will be magnanimous this once and forgive you!"
Hearing this reply, Jibril immediately brightened up.
"Thank you! I'll repay you later!"
"Just don't scare me again, and that'll be enough!" March 7th pouted.
"Don't worry! We're friends now! Group members don't lie to group members!" Jibril patted her chest with a solemn promise. "Besides, what I said before wasn't a complete lie. At the very least, what you see before you is indeed a spectacle that happens once every hundred thousand years."
Hearing this, March 7th glanced around the battlefield, her mouth twitching slightly.
"If you're talking about a world-ending war, then yes, this is indeed a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-years spectacle. But why would you call a small fry like me to a scene like this? You don't want me to join the battle, do you? I get nervous in big scenes."
At this point, a wary look appeared on her face.
In the Astral Express's previous trailblazing journeys, she had been tricked into being a grunt laborer more than a few times, helping people solve their problems all over the place and only getting a "thank you" in return.
If it were anything else, with her soft-hearted nature, she might not be able to refuse. But the scale of the war before her was simply too vast, almost on par with a small-scale interstellar war. She couldn't possibly get involved in a battle of this level!
Seeing her cautious look, before Jibril could even speak, Su Mo shook his head.
"Of course I won't make you fight. However, since you've come all this way, it would be a bit anticlimactic to just go back. How about watching the battle from a safe place?" he invited, looking at the girl.
From what he knew of March 7th, her Tier 4 strength was likely just her surface power. Although she herself didn't know it, considering her connection to Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, the upper limit of her power could potentially reach the level of an Emanator.
A powerful Emanator often possessed the strength of a Tier 5, or even Tier 6 being. A powerhouse of this level, even Artosh might not be able to defeat. Moreover, given Artosh's own divine essence, he might not lose even if the odds were stacked against him.
Of course, no matter how much power March 7th had, or whether she could unleash her hidden strength, Su Mo had no intention of letting her fight. He didn't need anyone's help to deal with Artosh.
The main reason he wanted to keep her here was that he was very interested in her power. In this regard, Jibril had actually done him a favor by luring her over.
Of course, given how easy March 7th was to deceive, he could have easily gotten his hands on her without such means.
Unlike Artosh, who used his divine essence to communicate with Imaginary Energy, March 7th, as a Pathstrider, was a user of Imaginary Energy in its purest form.
Studying Artosh could at most reveal the properties of Imaginary Energy, but from March 7th, he could analyze the power of a Path.
The upper limit of a Path was at least an Aeon that could cover an entire universe. The lowest strength of an Aeon was Tier 6, galaxy level, and the highest could even reach the level of a single universe. The power ceiling of this system was much higher than that of a normal mythological system.
At least, for now.
With that thought, Su Mo continued, "If you want to take a few photos for memories, although the current environment isn't great, there should be scenes later that will satisfy you."
Hearing Su Mo say this, March 7th relaxed slightly. After a moment's thought, she felt he was right. Since I'm already here, how can I leave without taking a few more pictures?
"Then thank you very much, Lord Su Mo!"
"You're welcome." Su Mo shook his head and looked at the sky in the distance. There, a black dot was gradually growing larger. It was the Flügel's home base, Avant Heim.
Seeing that Su Mo seemed easy to talk to, March 7th hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Um… Lord Su Mo, if you don't mind me asking, why are you starting this war?"
Such a massive war would inevitably cause countless deaths. As a trailblazer with some experience, March 7th was not a saint. She wouldn't say naive things like "why can't we all just get along?"
In fact, on their journeys, the trailblazers usually remained neutral. As long as things weren't too out of line, they generally wouldn't take sides. It was just that, since she had seen it, her kind nature wouldn't allow her to pretend she hadn't.
March 7th's question also represented the thoughts of some of the chat group members. Although the smarter ones had already understood Su Mo's intentions, those who were not as sharp about warfare really didn't understand why a war had suddenly broken out.
Faced with this question, Su Mo's gaze swept across the barren land and the blood-red sky.
"In a war that has lasted for over tens of thousands of years, this planet is already on the brink of its limit," he said faintly.
Hearing this, March 7th took a closer look around and found that it was indeed true.
If the blood-stained sky and the desolate land weren't enough to prove that this planet was on the verge of its end, then the massive abyss that spanned the entire continent was like a giant scar on the planet, heralding the world's impending collapse.
Looking down from space, it wouldn't be surprising if this planet shattered at any moment.
At this time, March 7th still didn't know that this giant scar was Jibril's handiwork. So, in her eyes, if this planet were left alone, its doom was only a matter of time.
"But if we start a war now, won't it accelerate the world's destruction?" March 7th asked, puzzled.
"No." Su Mo shook his head. "This time, it is the war to end all wars."
"Oh!" Although she didn't quite understand, March 7th guessed that Su Mo's goal was to save this world, so she said no more.
At this moment, Avant Heim had reached its designated location and stopped. The thousand Flügel who had previously been under Su Mo's command had now returned to the War God's camp.
Under Azriel's leadership, the Flügel faced the allied army before them with the gaze of a great enemy and a slightly complex attitude.
The battle was about to erupt. Su Mo glanced at Jibril.
The childlike Flügel immediately understood his meaning and reached out to take March 7th's hand.
"The battle is about to start! You should go to the spectator seats first. Only that side is safe here!"
"Okay!" March 7th naturally did not refuse. After nodding, she hesitated for a moment and waved at Su Mo.
"Good luck, Lord Su Mo!"
In the next moment, she was taken away by Jibril using Heaven's Shift and appeared on a warship in the center of the allied fleet.
On the deck of the warship, a knightly girl with a golden ahoge was looking up at the enemy in the sky. Seeing someone appear beside her, she immediately looked over vigilantly.
"Jibril?"
Recognizing the childlike Flügel, Artoria relaxed, then looked at March 7th at the side. "And this is?"
"A friend of Master's. Lord Su Mo wants her to stay in the spectator seats. Senior, you have to remember to protect her later!" Jibril was still very respectful of Artoria, who had once defeated her. At least, her attitude was much better than how she treated Azriel.
Hearing Jibril's words, Artoria's expression immediately became serious.
"Understood! I will do my best to complete Master's command!"
After speaking, feeling the immense pressure coming from the Flügel's home base, the ahoge girl hesitated for a moment before asking, "Jibril, does my lord really not need me to participate in the battle?"
Even those Dwarfs, Elves, and Dragonia were participating in the battle. Artoria felt that she shouldn't be left out. The power of the Holy Sword of the Stars should be more helpful to her lord, right?
Faced with this question, Jibril shook her head. "Of course not!"
Seeing Artoria's still-puzzled expression, she patiently asked, "Senior, do you know why these legions are here to participate in this decisive battle?"
"…Manpower?" Artoria hesitated for a moment before guessing.
The overall strength of these allied legions was indeed very strong, a force capable of destroying the world. Since they could be used, there was no reason not to. Her reasoning was quite sound.
However, after hearing it, Jibril just shook her head.
"No, Senior, you guessed wrong." She looked at the Knight King with a faint look in her eyes and replied, "Their greatest use this time is to be the atmosphere team."
"?"
Artoria found it a bit difficult to understand for a moment.
Suddenly, an incomparably vast divine might radiated from the throne at the highest point of the Flügel's home base, spreading throughout the entire world. The sky shook, and the earth trembled.
Amidst this heaven-and-earth-shaking event, the War God Artosh let out an incomparably hearty and cheerful laugh.
"Hahahaha! O mighty one from another world! Has the decisive battle I have long awaited finally arrived?"
Behind the bold laughter was a boiling fighting spirit. After ten thousand years, the War God had finally found an opponent who could make his blood boil.
Faced with this divine might that surpassed all gods, Su Mo was as calm as a gentle breeze, calmly answering his question.
"Let's do it now. I don't want to wait too long, and I think you feel the same."
Although his voice was not loud, his words were clearer than Artosh's to everyone on the planet.
Someone is challenging the War God Artosh?
Those less-informed civilizations only learned of this matter now. Most of them believed the battle was a foregone conclusion, with only a few praying for the end of the nightmare.
And amidst thousands of prayers, the War God's unparalleled vigor overwhelmed everything.
"That's right! Waiting too long will cool the boiling blood. Now is the best time for a decisive battle!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the allied legion before him, his golden pupils slightly puzzled.
"Su Mo, you're not… pinning your hopes on these toys, are you?"
The Ex-machina legion before him had been modified by Su Mo, their strength increased severalfold. All of them combined were enough to easily slay a high-ranking Old Deus.
In the original story, the War God had his divine essence stripped by the Ex-machina, and their numbers were even smaller than now.
But at this moment, facing an enhanced version of the Ex-machina legion, Artosh still maintained an attitude of disregard, as if he didn't think these beings could cause him any trouble at all.
And to his attitude, Su Mo did not deny it.
"It's just a side experiment. Care to cooperate?"
"Try me!" Artosh raised his right hand, a ferocious smile on his face.
In the next moment, a pillar of divine light that could pierce a planet appeared in the War God's hand.
"All Flügel, prepare! Entrust your Heaven's Strike to Lord Artosh!"