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92.85% Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos / Chapter 2191: Prelude to Battle

บท 2191: Prelude to Battle

Though there was less than a week until the succession ceremony in the North, the majority of the Little Garden's inhabitants were focused on the Battle Royale hosted by the Sage Dragon's Hearth. Hundreds of millions of people had migrated to the East in order to witness the event directly. After all, while the establishment of a 4-Digit Community wasn't particularly rare, competitions between the organizations occupying the lower-digit Gates were exceptionally so.

Even if it were just Kotoamatsukami and Trayastrimsa competing against one another, the entire Little Garden would have paid attention to the affair. Now that their Gates were on the line, even the most reclusive entities within the Divine Realm had come out to see what all the fuss was about. Everyone could feel that great change was afoot, so, despite several other notable events occurring around the same time, even the Royal Family of Salamandra, was paying close attention to the East.

Taking advantage of the rather drastic increase in publicity, Vahn allowed Katana, the journalist he encountered during the Vahnatus, to interview everyone who would be participating on behalf of the Sage Dragon's Hearth. This garnered a considerable amount of interest but also left many at a complete and absolute loss for words.

One of the greatest strengths of the Sage Dragon's Hearth, at least from the perspective of those in the know, was the fact that very little was known about the organization and its members. Everyone who visited the Sage Dragon's Hearth on business would meet, at most, Leticia, Vahn, and whoever he was entertaining at the time. The only other known members were Shiryukihime, Fenrir, Mikoto, Seraphina, Usalia, and, to a lesser extent, Sarina and Nono. Everything else about the rapidly rising Community was shrouded in secrecy, so much so that, prior to the exclusive interviews, the general public had thought the entire organization was comprised of Vahn and half a dozen or so powerful women.

Nobody, not even the members of Kotoamatsukami, had expected the Sage Dragon's Hearth to show their hand prior to the Gift Game. Everyone was under the assumption that Vahn was going to great lengths to keep information about his Community a secret. Thus, the moment the interviews were made public, speculation regarding each of the girls' identities and Vahn's true intentions ran rampant throughout the Little Garden.

Most people interpreted the event for what it was, a publicity stunt intended to give the girls a bit of exposure. Others, reading a bit too much into things, believed this was Vahn's way of saying he had nothing to hide. They thought he was going out of his way to slap Amaterasu in the face, and, due to the message she had received from Kenshin and Musahi, the aforementioned Sun Goddess believed this to be the case. In reality, Vahn was just keeping his promise with Katana and helping his loved ones increase their fame and infamy. They wanted to be able to stand at his side, so, while it wasn't particularly difficult to lend them his Authority, he wanted to give them a platform to build their own.

To this end, Vahn allowed Katana to interview Shirayukihime, Fenrir, Mikoto, Seraphina, Usalia, Kusu, Vados, Marcarita, Caulifla, Kale, Chronoa, Sarina, and, for the sake of further inflating tensions with the members of Kotoamatsukami, Amaterasu, Tamamo, Musashi, Kenshin, Tomoe, Okita and Nobu. Quite a few of these were 'on loan' from other Communities, but, as his affiliation with said groups had been made public prior to the announcement of the Gift Game, Vahn could borrow their talent at his leisure. In fact, if he really wanted to go all in, he could mobilize the Imperial Fleet and bring forth every single person living within his Little Garden. After all, with very few exceptions, all those living within Vahn's Little Garden could be considered Players.

Instead of amassing an army, a surprisingly common tactic among well-established Communities, Vahn would rather hit his foes with a relatively small group of elites. The more enemies there were in comparison to his forces, the greater the impact it would leave on the hearts and minds of the Little Garden's residents. This was the double-edged sword of mobilizing an army, as, the moment a genuine powerhouse appeared, numbers meant very little. Wu, for example, could lay waste to the entire Imperial Armada on her own. In other words, unless he brought out Da Vinci's more powerful armaments from the very beginning, deploying an army would simply be providing an opportunity for his enemies to increase their fame.

As the penultimate purpose of the Gift Game was to give his loved ones the opportunity to increase their fame, keeping the number of participants low was ideal. The fewer there were, the greater the impact they would leave on the citizens of the Little Garden. Twenty was the number Da Vinci had come up with after countless simulations, so, while Amaterasu, Tamamo, Musashi, Kenshin, Tomoe, Okita and Nobu were harassing the members of Kotoamatsukami, everyone else would be splitting into much smaller teams to tackle the forces of entire Communities. Caulifla and Kale, in particular, were planning to take on Trayastrimsa, one of the most well established Communities in the entire Divine Realm, by themselves.

Though their chances of success weren't particularly great, Vahn was confident the two Saiyanesses could put on a good show. This would, in turn, provide them with the means to inflict damage on their opponents. After all, from the perspective of normal people, there had to be a reason for them to challenge the entirety of Trayastrimsa on their own. There would be tens of billions, if not trillions of people thinking this during the Gift Game. As a result, attacks that would have been ineffective in every other situation would break even the defenses of the Asuri Tribe. From that moment onward, even Wu might not be impervious to their attacks.

In the Divine Realm, popularity and perception were second only to Authority and comprehension of the Laws. If the vast majority of the Little Garden's populace believed you could defeat even the mightiest foes in a single blow, the only thing that could possibly prevent you from doing so is a lack of willpower. In that regard, Caulifla could even compete with Roger in terms of mental density and resolve...

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"Welcome, one and all, to the inaugural ceremony celebrating the Sage Dragon's Hearth potential rise from a 5-Digit Community to a 4-Digit Alliance! I trust that everyone is just as excited as I am to witness this historic moment in the Little Garden's history~!?"

Capitalizing on her recent popularity, Katana, having recently joined the Thousand Eyes Community, had been chosen as the primary Caster for the Sage Dragon's Hearth's promotional Gift Game. This was clearly a ploy by Shiroyasha, but, having already accepted the impish beauty's scheming nature, Vahn enjoyed the little surprises she presented on a near-daily basis.

In response to Katana's shout, a massive crowd that appeared to stretch beyond the horizon issued a thunderous yet festive roar. Everyone was keen to witness if the Sage Dragon's Hearth could live up to the hype, but, more important than even that was the fact that Katana was currently wearing little more than a black bikini top and short-shorts. This wasn't just an opportunity for the members of the Sage Dragon's Hearth to increase their popularity. Rather, as someone aspiring to be a Poet, Katana was willing to do whatever it took to increase her fame, and, if necessary, her infamy.

Assisting the faux-redhead in her endeavor was a woman with remarkably similar features, the only notable differences being the color and shape of her hair and eyes. This was actually Katana's non-identical twin sister, who, upon learning of the former's agreement with Vahn, decided she wanted a piece of the pie. More specifically, she wanted to capitalize on her sister's popularity to increase her own, so, much like Katana, the blue-haired woman, Dagger, wore a black bikini top with blue flames and a pair of tight, form-fitting short-shorts that revealed a hint of her bright blue, t-back thong.

Piggybacking her sister's words, Dagger held up her own mic, a seductive smile on her face as she answered, "I know I am. Vahn and his Sage Dragon's Hearth are well on their way to breaking the record for the fastest-promoted Community in the Little Garden's history. I can't way to see what the members of his Community have in store for their opponents."

Nodding her head in approval, Katana briefly exchanged glances with her sister before the two of them shifted their gazes to the massive display that had appeared behind them. It showed Vahn, and, alongside him, the Leaders of every other participating Community. This included the golden-haired Amaterasu, an inordinately handsome man with medium-length brown hair and a tanned body, a rather demonic-looking individual with fiery red hair, a disinterested looking girl with fang-like teeth, and several other prominent figures.

Seeing the graphic from within the Sage Dragon's Hearth's waiting room, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as Caulifla shouted, "That damned monkey is also participating!? I can't wait to kick her ass...!"

Located in the 9th position, representing one of the teams affiliated with the Jade Palace, was none other than Sun Wu Kong. She had, quite literally, strong-armed the Jade Emperor into allowing her and the surviving Sages to participate in the event. Thus, rather than the original throwaway teams, the Jade Palace was being represented by Wu, a remarkably petite girl with vermillion hair, an idol-like man wearing an eyepatch, and, somewhat surprisingly, a middle-aged man with long black hair and azure eyes who Vahn recognized as Meng Zhang, the Azure Dragon.

("It never ceases to amaze me how 'petty' those with tremendous pride can be...")

(*Well, you did kind of stand him up. It's only natural that he would come to 'teach' you a lesson.*)

Restraining a chuckle, Vahn shifted his attention to the remaining representatives as Katana and her sister continued to pump up the crowd. He hadn't done very much research prior to the Gift Game, so, much like the crowd, he was just now learning who the representatives were. The inordinately handsome man acrros from Amaterasu was none other than Indra, one of the most powerful beings outside of the 1-3-Digit Gates. As for the red-haired man and the rather voracious-looking girl with white hair, the former as the Divine Realm's version of Shuten-dōji while the latter was the leader of Akuma, the 'Devilish' Community comprised almost entirely of former Heroes who had been invited to and exploited by the Little Garden.

Though she looked like a relatively normal, albeit tomboyish woman at a glance, the white-haired girl, Tokudaiji Shion, gave Vahn a similar impression to Fenrir. She had cold, disinterested blue eyes and an expressionless face, yet, in spite of this, even her image exuded an aura of perennial hunger. The look in her eyes were reminiscent of an Apex Predator, someone who had sat at the top of the food chain for so long that they stopped viewing the people around them as people and more like livestock...

("That one is going to be dangerous...")

(*She is the Leader of a Community comprised of Isekai'd Heroes. Even without asking Loi-chan for confirmation, I can pretty much guarantee she has an ability similar to Rimuru. She may even be the type that absorbs the skills and abilities of whatever she eats. If that's the case, you may want to tell everyone to avoid her. She will most likely come to you.*)

Resisting the urge to ask Loi-chan to reveal all of the girl's secrets, Vahn responded to Sis with a curt nod as he focused on the final representative, an unconventionally handsome and muscular man by the name of Johnathan. He didn't stand out much compared to the other representatives, but, as someone brave enough to compete against two of the most powerful factions in the East, he couldn't be underestimated...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Fame and popularity really do let you get away with anything...','A white-haired, blue-eyed Isekai protagonist with multiple ahoge!? Run for the hills...!','(O w O)...')

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh


บท 2192: Deployment

After an inaugural ceremony that involved introducing each of the Communities and the various teams of Casters representing them, Vahn and Co found themselves teleported to a vast chamber located near the very center of an artificial planet, six thousand kilometers below the surface.

Taking a seat atop the throne located at the very center of the chamber, Vahn maintained a relaxed, ostensibly amused expression as he leaned against his armrest, head supported by the knuckles of his right hand as he looked around at the nineteen inordinate beauties and said, "Have fun."

Though the crowd had been expecting Vahn to give some kind of speech, the girls weren't all that surprised by his casual demeanor. Their triumph was assured even before the Gift Game began, so, while they each had their own objectives, it was most important they enjoyed themselves. With this in mind, each of the girls, many dressed in outfits reminiscent of swimwear, made their way over to the teleportation nexus located in the adjacent antechamber. This left Vahn alone within the throne room, as, rather than protecting him directly, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita had the duty of guarding the aforementioned nexus...

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..

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Taking advantage of the fact she was aware of everything touched by the Sun's light, an annoyed snort escaped Amaterasu's nose as she witnessed Vahn's casual display from the perspective of a spectator.

"What's wrong, Aneue...?"

Snorting a second time, Amaterasu narrowed her eyes at her younger brother, Susanoo, as she answered, "Concern yourself less with my thoughts and more on your objectives. Your Strongest Storm Division is tasked with the elimination of Onigashima. Do not fail me."

Smiling wryly in response to his sister's words, Susanoo donned his helmet and joined the large group of people waiting to use the teleportation nexus. He knew better than to speak against his sister when she was like this, so, as she suggested, he decided to focus on leading his army rather than dealing with the temperamental Sun Goddess...

Following Susanoo's departure with her fiery purple eyes, Amaterasu waited until the throne room was empty before retracting her scowl. Fortunately, she could tell when Casters were observing her, so, with the vast majority of perspectives focusing on the deployment of each Community's forces, she allowed herself a moment of reprieve as she shifted her attention to the massive sphere of fire and gas dominating the very center of the Game Board...

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"What do you want us to do, Shion? Should we split up and tackle the various satellites or do you want us to focus on eliminating one of the lower-digit Communities as soon as possible?"

Asking the petite, white-haired girl for orders was a kind-looking youth with peculiar, black and white hair. At his side, standing barely half his height was a young girl with similarly colored hair, but, rather than appearing plain, she was among the most eccentric-looking people in the room due to her cat-inspired attire, inordinately large pigtails, and massive, paw-themed hammer.

Shifting her icy blue eyes towards the duo, Shion maintained a completely neutral expression as she answered, "Our priority should be capturing or destroying the offensive satellites...other than that...I don't really care what you do...just don't embarrass us..."

Though she was confident in her ability to defeat pretty much anything, the rules of the Gift Game made the Model Omega out to be a Win Condition. There was a fair chance it was indestructible by conventional means, so, while she was tempted to simply destroy the presumed machine outright, Shion decided to play it safe by personally protecting their control room.

"Right..."

As it was pretty rare for all of them to gather like this, the dichromatic youth, known to his friends and companions as Ryouma, had forgotten how anti-social Shion could be. In the distant past, he had found this aspect of her character to be cute, but, as it quickly became apparent she was even more of a 'main character' than even he was, he eventually gave up trying to add her to his harem.

Understanding that Shion would probably just ignore him if he asked for clearer orders, Ryouma turned to the inordinately petite girl at his side, a loli-baba with a split personality named Cheshire, asking, "You ready to cut loose, Chi-chan...?"

Raising her massive hammer as if it was an inflatable, weightless toy, a mischievous grin spread across the demure Dwarfette's face as she animatedly answered, "Of course~! Chi-chan is always ready to smash some heads! Nyahahaha~"

Returning a smile and a nod, Ryouma extended his hand for the petite girl to grasp before guiding her towards the large group of women waiting at the side. They, like himself and Cheshire, each had black and white hair, as, despite his fondness for their original hair color, Ryouma wanted to make it very clear who they belonged to. When half of your companions were 'Heroes' with harems of their own, precautions against cuckolding were, unfortunately, very necessary...

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..

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Though she was technically a part of the group opposing the Kotoamatsukami, Tomoe, appearing in an outfit resembling a blue and white sports swimsuit, had been designated as her team's pilot. The Model Omega was perfectly capable of taking action autonomously, but, for the sake of preserving it against more powerful foes, it was better to have a skilled pilot in the cockpit. Tomoe was pretty much unbeatable in this regard, so, while Amaterasu, Tamamo, Musashi, and Kenshin invaded the planet of Kotoamatsukami directly, she, alongside Okita and Nobu, assaulted one of the Offensive Satellites.

Unfortunately, while her skills as a pilot were nigh-unmatchable, Tomoe's skills as a combatant had waned with the passage of several decades. She had trained hard in preparation for the Gift Game, but, against opponents on the level of Imperial Dragons, her bow was pretty much useless.

"My apologies, Nobu-dono, Sou-dono...It has been quite some time since I've been active on an actual battlefield..."

Without so much as batting an eyelash, Okita, sporting a stylish black bikini, used her inordinately long sword, Rengokuken, to casually deflect hundreds of powerful lasers as she flatly replied, "It's not an issue..."

Nodding her head in approval, Nobu, appearing as her younger self and sporting an even more revealing black and gold bikini added, "Mochita is correct. Your duty is to pilot the Model Omega and fuck everyone up. Our duty is to get you inside the cockpit. Don't you dare look down on us, you horny nun."

Though she didn't appreciate being called a horny nun, Tomoe nodded her head in response to Nobu's words. At the same time, however, an accusatory glimmer flashed across her ruby-red eyes as she stared at the petite, raven-haired woman currently squatting behind Okita, clearly admiring her butt. She presumed Nobu was doing it just to garner additional attention from the Casters, but, at the same time, Tomoe couldn't help condemning the woman for her shamelessness...

In truth, Nobu simply couldn't help admiring Okita's pert, shapely, and remarkably tanned bottom. Her bisexuality wasn't exactly a secret among the members of Vahn's harem. She had always had a certain fondness for women, and, thanks to Vahn's 'accepting' nature, she had basically established a harem of her own among the girls with eastern origins. This included Okita, who, feeling Nobu's breath against her bottom, developed a faint blush as she allowed a beam of energy to slip past her guard...

Deflecting the beam with a wave of her hand, a moderately annoyed expression developed across Nobu's face as she rose to her feet and said, "That does it. You can all go to hell."

Manifesting a military-style cap with the emblem of the Oda Clan emblazoned on the front like a luminous sun, a vicious smile developed across Nobu's face as she placed it atop her head. At the same time, a vibrant red cloak manifested across her shoulders, golden flames decorating the edge as the sky overhead shifted from a crystal clear nightscape to a hazy, blood-red atmosphere.

Realizing what Nobu was about to do, Okita sheathed her sword faster than the 'cameras' could perceive before unleashing a sword beam that seemed to separate the heavens and earth. Each of the Imperial Dragons affected by the unfathomably swift beam had their torsos cleanly separated from their lower bodies, but, unlike normal machines, there was nothing like an explosion to mark their destruction. Instead, the torsos continued forward in defiance of gravity, mindlessly launching forth volley after volley of penetrating energy beams as the openings in their waists quickly sealed themselves.

Clicking her tongue, Okita swept her sword in a half-crescent that produced a curtain-like veil of light. Each of the energy beams that impacted it was subsequently nullified, so, taking advantage of the opportunity she had created, Okita promptly moved behind Nobu as the latter pulled down her cap, an even larger grin developing across her face as she said, "Bankai...!"

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Though the spectators had previously been focusing on Nobu's, Okita's, and Tomoe's swimsuits, the tensions in the crowd shifted once the two-syllable word echoed throughout the Little Garden. Even though it was just an image on the screen, everyone witnessing the event felt a chill spread through their body, as, rather than simply unleashing her Bankai, a functionally infinite number of malicious-looking rifles, Nobu also activated her Mangekyou Sharingan. More accurately, she activated one of the most powerful abilities associated with the Mangekyou, the Susanoo.

While all Susanoo's were intimidating to look at, Nobu's took on the form of a blood-red skeleton with a demonic visage and four arms. The aura exuding from it resembled mist formed from blood, and, due to the energies of Destruction contained within, it eroded everything in her surroundings like an unfathomably corrosive acid...

Had it just been the skeletal visage and the countless rifles that had manifested behind her, the crowd wouldn't have cared about Nobu's ability. What shook them to the core were the tens of thousands of blood-red skeletons that manifested from the unceasing tide of corrosive, carmine mist. It was like witnessing a scene out of hell, as, even when an energy beam passed through their head or chest, the monstrous skeletons would instantaneously regenerate as they took up the rifles produced by Nobu's Bankai and surged forth like an unstoppable tide...

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Witnessing Nobu's performance from the relative comfort of his throne, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he remarked, "I should have known Nobu would be the first to activate her Bankai..."

(*She always was a bit of a show-off...*)

Nodding his head in response to Sis's words, Vahn shifted his attention away from the swimsuit-clad trio to focus on other matters. Now that Nobu had activated her Bankai, the only thing that could stop her from taking over one of the offensive satellites was enemy interference. Even then, the odds of them breaking through her Susanoo were pretty slim, as, the moment a dangerous foe appeared, Okita would invariably take action.

"Hmm...?"

Though it had nothing to do with the members of the Sage Dragon's Hearth, Vahn's intrigue was piqued when he noticed the members of the Araki Community, the Community led by Johnathan, invading the planet of Wu. He didn't know if it was a coincidence or if the group of inordinately muscular men had intentionally targetted her, as, rather than defending his control/throne room, Johnathan was leading the attack directly.

Reacting to the invasion, hundreds of demonic beasts, ranging from palm-sized marmosets to hill-sized apes, charged towards the inordinately muscular group. These were the inhabitants of Mount Huaguo, so, despite their animalistic appearances, many within the monstrous horde were able to contend against the Gods of the Heavenly Domain.

At first glance, it was easy to imagine Johnathan and his allies being defeated by the swarm of demonic beasts. Instead, they unhesitantly threw themselves against the seemingly unstoppable horde, illusory figures manifesting behind and around their bodies as they mowed through the tide of monkey-like beasts in a manner reminiscent of bulls in a china shop...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The danger of teaming up with other isekai protagonists...','Nobu is a woman of culture...','*Rock music plays in the background*')

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

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