"Our lookouts in port city returned just now. The armies are here and they've already started making their way north. It'll take them about two days to reach us." Leonard relayed some news inside of a room filled with kings, princes, and generals. One would never think that such a group up was possible, but thanks to war, it did.
"That's fine, we're prepared. Let the soldiers know we'll move out at night and intercept the army before it can make its way to Avalon." Arthur got up and started discussing things with Leonard. He found out that the armies that came would meet up with the surviving Blood sect members scattered around the continent, and their allies, the Beastmen and Oni. They managed to amass an army of 200.000 soldiers by having multiple kingdoms meet up and fight against Blood sect. Still, their enemies outnumbered them 5 to 1.
"Sir Arthur, is Ed not back yet?" Hayato came up to Arthur and asked him. Next to him, some of Ed's friends waited for an answer.
"I'm sure he'll be back soon, don't worry." Arthur smiled and reassured them. Ed had his way around disappearing during critical times, but he would appear no matter what.
Alicia and Uther were talking, as she had left Scale kingdom in order to train at Avalon. Both of them heard Arthur and nodded along with his words. They knew just how much they could depend on Ed, and how he didn't disappoint.
Avalon was busy for the last couple of days. The armies of different nations set camp right next to it. Problems happened between different soldiers; either due to old grudges or new ones, but their generals hurried up and put a stop to it. People felt sick in their stomachs and couldn't stop thinking about the worst outcome. If not for their respective kings leading their armies, the morale of the soldiers would be rock bottom.
Avalon's soldiers weren't in a bad position compared to the other armies, same as Scale kingdom's. The last liberation war of Scale remained in their heads, while Avalon's soldiers remembered Ed's gallant figure. His presence could have helped raise the morale a bit more, but there was no use crying over spilled milk.
Inside of Glory sect, ten figures stepped outside of a room and the disciples started cheering. The ten Elders of the sect carried a certain charisma that wouldn't lose to any normal general. After being endowed with Ed's upgraded weapons, they looked even more daunting.
"It's a war, Bard."
"It certainly is, Audun."
Bard and Audun chatted with each other while smiling. Their blood boiled inside of their veins and their QI danced in their bodies. After a long absence from the battlefield, they were finally back.
The armies marched outside of Avalon and prepared for departure. The generals made sure to keep the food supply of each army inside a spatial ring they kept with them at all times. Right as the kings emerged out of the castle, a figure appeared in front of them.
"Edward!" Leon, Charlie, and Liza rushed out from the group and surrounded the figure as soon as they managed to recognize it.
"Long time no see, you guys." Ed smiled as he also recognized them. Charlie didn't change much, as his black hair and eyes shined as brightly as ever. Liza seemed to let her hair grow longer. Her orange hair grew even redder, and her skin was fair and white. Ed had already met Leon before, so his changes weren't unknown to him. Garu and Goburou stood right behind Ed and released an intimidating aura. It seemed like they were concentrating on something.
"We don't have much time, so let us catch up some more once we win this war." Ed's words came as a surprise to most people present. Many of them were thinking about minimizing the damage or reaching a stalemate with Blood sect. Some simply wanted to die in a blaze of glory. Yet, Ed was confident in winning. If someone asked them now, they would say they felt their morale rise just by his words.
Those that marveled in Ed's confidence started holding their breaths one by one. His companions that did their own thing started gathering as they felt his return. Ed leveled up to Heavenly Establishment level 10, so all of his companions were Immortal level 3. Most of the kings present were above Immortal Establishment, but they had never seen so many monsters with such a level inside a kingdom.
"Father, Sir Akira, and Sir Uther. I would like to speak with you," said Ed. The three of them looked at each other and nodded. "Hayato, you as well." Five people walked back inside the castle. Those that remained outside remained puzzled as to what happened, but more pressing matters took priority, so they left.
"Here is fine." Ed stopped them in the corridor and created a barrier around without notifying them. Yet, they could still feel the change in atmosphere, as all the sounds and odors disappeared.
"I took the liberty of traveling around the continent this past week preparing for some stuff. And I will tell you about it right now." Ed started speaking while the others listened intently. The more he told them about his plans, the more astonished they became. His plan baffled all of them, and at the end, Hayato couldn't help himself.
"Ed! That's suicidal." His eyes opened widely and his face and his face looked aghast.
"But that's what we need to win. We're up against an overwhelming amount of enemies. They can control monsters, and they have allies. If we don't come up with a suicidal plan we'll have to kiss our lives goodbye." All of them knew that Ed told the truth. They felt it themselves and they could see no way out of this war where they come out on top. Now, they had no choice but to rely on Ed's strategy.
"No matter what creature it is, once their head falls off, they die." Ed left them with these words as he undid the dimension. Although unwilling, the others accepted his plan and were going to follow through with it.
That day, the armies finally departed from Avalon. A gruesome war awaited them.
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The armies walked in sync for a day before setting camp. They had one more day to prepare for the invading army, and then the war would start. Ed chose not to teleport such a huge number of people, as it would have sapped all his KI without leaving a single drop.
Soldiers started preparing tents where they could rest, while all the important figures set their own huge tent. Inside of it, all of those with a significant cultivation level stood inside. Arthur was chosen as the supreme commander of the coalition army, while the other kings acted as the respective generals of their armies. Currently, the distribution of army forces was being discussed.
"All the kings will have to wait with me in here. The commanders will need to lead the armies and will have the help of two lieutenants. The armies will be split into three, with the main one having 100.000 soldiers, and two more with 50.000 each. Hayato, as most of the soldiers in the main army will be from your kingdom, you'll be the commander. Leonard and Dean, you two will take care of the right and left armies respectively."
Arthur started delegating roles according to the knowledge he had. Dean referred to the general of Scale kingdom, and he seemed eager to prove himself after his blunder. Hayato, although young, seemed capable of leading such a huge army. Of course, he wouldn't need to do it alone. Arthur started delegating lieutenants to help the commanders of the armies.
Bard and Audun joined Hayato's army as his two lieutenants. Their experience with war proved to be valuable and would plug any holes Hayato's inexperience could create. Edmund and the general of Avalez joined Leonard. Titan and Kaebor's generals joined Dean. Some of the younger generations were split up over the three armies. Ellie, Alicia, and Emilia joined Leonard, Leon and Liz went to Dean's, and Charlie, Griffin, and Eric were put under Hayato's command. No one commented about working under Hayato who seemed too young to lead an army. Their supreme commander let out his thoughts and they would not refute them.
However, even if they respected Arthur's decisions, one thing remained inexplicable to them. Ed and his monsters, arguably the ones that could change the whole flow of the war, didn't join any of the armies. Arthur noticed this and commented immediately.
"Ed and his companions would remain as an independent unit. They are given the right to join any army at any time to provide support." No one seemed to understand the reason behind this. Only the ones that spoke to Ed back in Avalon looked different. As if they couldn't accept what Ed would do.
"That is all. We will discuss things further the next morning, for now, get some rest." Arthur dismissed everyone, and instead of resting he started reviewing things even further. Which army needed the most war horses, which ones would need weapons, so on and so forth. Blood didn't plan on exhausting their entire forces in this war. They came to this continent with the intention of conquering it. So, they needed to preserve their strength to fight some of the remaining kingdoms. Defeating the coalition army would be 80% of their job done, but they couldn't forget about the 20% that remained.
"I guess this is the end for us hahaha!" Among the group of soldiers, many were talking to pass time. Some stayed in a state of meditation, some looked at the sky, and some slept. They did not have much hope of winning this war.
"You've always wanted to die in a blaze of glory in the wilderness instead of inside a house, surrounded by walls." A man, seemingly the friend of the first one, answered him. The two of them looked like polar opposites. The first one was fat and big, while the second one looked weak and skinny.
"That's right! There is nothing better in dying in the freedom of the wild. Being confined inside a house and dying without even looking at the sky is a shame!"
The group of soldiers kept talking amongst themselves. Though they were nervous, afraid, and hopeless, not one of them had the idea of deserting.
"I'll have to rely on you two, Sieg, Raikou." Inside his own tent, Ed set up a dimension and discussed his plans once again with his companions. None of them said anything. They only nodded and moved on.
Nighttime caught up with them, and even though 200.000 stayed in the same area, one could hear crickets. People struggled to sleep, but they needed to so they could prepare for tomorrow.
Morning came, and the commanders introduced themselves to the armies. The armies got deployed the way Arthur decided and they stood still, waiting for the enemy. One figure stood in front of all the armies and army commanders.
Ed activated his En and sent it in one straight line. By concentrating his En this way, he managed to extend its reach to thousands of meters. He maintained for a couple of hours until he finally picked up on something. He turned around and nodded, not knowing if anyone even saw him. But, they did. The army commanders and kings back at their camp understood that this meant the enemy had appeared.
"The enemies have come!" Leonard and Dean shouted, and were followed by Hayato. The soldiers couldn't see the enemies, but they felt the change in the atmosphere.
Soon enough, a giant cloud of dust appeared on the horizon. After a little bit of time passed, they could hear the footsteps of the giant army. The footsteps seemed like thunder striking in the ears of the soldiers. Their hearts beat harder, and they could feel their body heat increase. Once they started seeing the army, they felt like they saw a black sea. The human soldiers covered the entire wasteland where they came from. Beasts started howling and soldiers started shouting. Faced with this, the armies of the coalition started trembling. Those with a weak will couldn't keep themselves together, but those strong enough seemed right at home.
The enemy army stopped and spanned the entire area in front of Ed. It looked like they were split into five gigantic armies of 200.000 humans and monsters. Each one of their armies totaled the entirety of the coalition.
One horseman detached himself from the enemy army and approached Ed. Once he stood face to face with him, he started speaking.
"Surrender, or die." The man pointed his spear at Ed as if threatening him.
"We refuse," said Ed.
"Then die." The man tried to impale Ed with his spear, but he couldn't move his arm. His whole body couldn't move, and his point of view started dropping. Once he stopped, he gazed at Ed from below and didn't understand what happened.
In fact, it was rather simple. Ed understood what the man would do, and acted before he did. Before the man could move, Ed sent a flying slash, decapitating both the man and his horse.
Ed walked over to the head of the man and impaled it with his own spear. He raised the head very high, causing the armies behind him to shout in victory.
This was Ed's declaration of war.
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