The ultimate move prepared by the Outer Gods had failed. They had removed most of the restrictions on the God of War and even destroyed one of the axis to create a weapon with that power. With this level of preparation, they thought it would be more than enough to easily defeat Iron, who had only recently become a Grand Master. However, contrary to their expectations, Iron’s growth was rapidly accelerating, and in the end, they failed. No, it wasn’t just a failure, they had taken a heavy hit. The problem was that it wasn’t over yet. “One of the axis in the central region has collapsed!” “Six axis constructed in the eastern terrain have collapsed!” “More than five locations in the northern forest area have also collapsed!” At the reports pouring in from all directions, the Cardinal, who had come to lead the vanguard, had his expression twisted. “…Even with the God of War deployed, this is the extent of the damage?” The Cardinal’s eyes began to shake in disbelief at the news. He could understand losing with the incomplete Zodiac, the God of Berserkers. But not the God of War. The move that had been meticulously prepared to capture the Apostle of the Lord God. That was the God of War. “…We’re going to be pushed back.” The Cardinal sighed deeply, lamenting his own fate. Due to the failure of this operation, he would be pushed aside. It was painful to give up the hard-earned position of Cardinal, but now was not the time to think about that. If he wanted to survive, he had to regain control, even now. The situation was already disadvantageous since their plan had been exposed, but it had been manageable up to this point. If they recovered here, there would be no major problem with the final plan. Therefore, he had to stop them, even at the risk of his life. “Gather all troops. We stop the Imperial Army here.” “But, Your Eminence! If we do that, the Apostle of the Lord God and the reconnaissance unit stirring up the rear…” “Leave them to the Inquisitors.” The Cardinal responded firmly to the priest’s words. “Summon all those of bishop rank and above. We will stop the Imperial Army here.” At the Cardinal’s resolute command, the priest bowed his head and quickly rushed out of the command tent. And shortly after, all those of bishop rank and above were gathered in the command tent where the Cardinal was located. “I believe you have all heard.” At the Cardinal’s words, everyone showed heavy expressions. Original content can be found at novel⸺fire.net “A Grand Master has joined the Imperial Army.” At the Cardinal’s words, the bishops lowered their heads without a word. With the joining of two Family Heads, the Holy Alliance Army had suffered yet another defeat. And they had finally realized. That with an incomplete descent, it was impossible to defeat a Grand Master... The absolute existence of the Holy Alliance, the so-called gods, was shaking. “The god we serve has been defeated again by them.” At the Cardinal’s words, the expressions of the bishops darkened. It was understandable if it were the Apostle of the Lord God. With powerful divine power and even a Divine Beast, it made sense to lose. But not the two Family Heads. Against those who had only just reached Grand Master level, their Avatars had been torn apart, and the god who had descended in haste was extinguished once again. Given the situation, not only the soldiers but even the priests were beginning to lose faith. “We must concentrate all our strength on the Imperial Army. Just once. With a single victory, the faith of our forces can become firm again.” At the Cardinal’s words, the bishops nodded slightly. The belief that even with an incomplete descent, they could still defeat a Grand Master. As long as they had that, the soldiers’ faith would return. Considering the grand plan to come, they had no other choice. “…Will it be alright? Even if we block the Imperial Army in this state, Your Eminence will not only be removed from your position, but may even be reprimanded later.” When a middle-aged man of archbishop rank spoke with a worried expression, the Cardinal replied in a resolute tone. “There is no turning back for us. Even if I am reprimanded later, I can endure it for the sake of the grand plan… Do not think of political matters anymore.” “Yes, Your Eminence!” At the Cardinal’s words, all those of bishop rank placed one hand over their chests and bowed deeply. Having gained the agreement of all the bishops, the Cardinal immediately gathered all forces to prepare for war against the Imperial Army. The great army of the Holy Alliance began preparing for the sole purpose of achieving one victory. Meanwhile, Iron and the reconnaissance unit penetrated even deeper into the western part of the continent. “There’s not even minimal resistance left.” Iron fell into deep thought with a serious expression as the Holy Alliance's forces vanished. Even as they destroyed the bizarre structures installed throughout the western region of the continent, the Western Confederation forces showed no signs of appearing. In response, Iron increased his speed and penetrated even deeper into the region. Nevertheless, the Western Confederation forces still did not appear. “Gather all the knights here.” At Iron’s command, a reconnaissance soldier immediately activated a communication orb and issued the order. In the meantime, Iron pulled out another communication orb from his chest. After mumbling something quietly, Iron retreated together with the gathered knights riding the Divine Beasts. “Something’s definitely suspicious.” “It certainly is suspicious.” At Iron’s words, a Drake Knight flying nearby responded in agreement. Although they hadn’t reached the vicinity of Saintrea, they had penetrated deep enough into an area that would normally provoke the Holy Alliance, yet no resistance had appeared. This meant one of two things: 1. The pressure from the Imperial Army was so intense that they couldn’t afford to stop Iron. 2. A trap had been set, and they were simply waiting for him to take the bait. From Iron’s perspective, the second was far more likely. Compared to the war with the Ancient Species, the current war was almost leisurely. There were ongoing casualties, but for a large-scale war, the numbers were extremely low, practically negligible. This was the third story of the Apocalypse. Considering that the Apocalypse was expected to become more difficult as it progressed, the current situation made no sense. ‘They must be preparing something to wipe out the reconnaissance unit… but what could it be?’ Thinking that, Iron returned once again to the outer region. He had already contacted the main Imperial Army just in case, and he had withdrawn to the outskirts to prepare for the possibility of a trap. In short! He had done everything possible at this stage. All that remained was to figure out the enemy’s intent. “We’ll just have to keep destroying things until they’re forced to respond.” With those words, Iron began moving again. He proceeded with the determination to destroy all axis forming the enemy bases in the northern region of the Holy Alliance. Even so, there was still no response from the Holy Alliance. They didn’t seem desperate, nor did they dispatch a large force to stop them. They merely stood by, as if it wasn’t worth bothering over. So Iron, thinking, “Let’s see how far they’re willing to stand by,” moved further south and continued his operation. It was while he was frantically destroying more axis that it happened. [20% of the axis forming an unknown formation have been destroyed. A crack is beginning to form in the upper section of the formation.] -The Outer God's plan begins to falter slightly. [Destroy the northern central Axis of the unknown formation! Additional rewards will be given.] -The northern central Axis is absorbing power from the destroyed axis. -If the central Axis is not destroyed, some of the destroyed axis will naturally regenerate. With a system notification, a black pillar began to rise into the sky in the distance. At the same time, streams of black light flowed like waves from various locations and were sucked into the black pillar. Murmuring quietly, Iron looked toward the black pillar. This was the reason the Holy Alliance had remained still while the axis in the northern region were completely destroyed. 1. It was difficult to defeat Iron and the reconnaissance unit with ordinary forces. 2. To descend an Outer God, a device was needed, but it was difficult to match the mobility of the reconnaissance unit. To overcome these two unfavorable conditions, the only way was to make the enemy come to them. They created an unavoidable reason for the enemy to approach and gathered everything they could at that location. In that sense, their operation had succeeded. “We can’t avoid it, can we?” Iron murmured, letting out a sigh. Anyone could tell at a glance that a battle there would be dangerous. Iron had a hidden move prepared for such a situation, but even with that, it would still be risky. But he couldn’t avoid it. Even if he bypassed that place and continued destroying the axis in the western region of the Western Confederation, it would be meaningless. Not only was the power accumulated in the destroyed axis flowing into the northern central Axis, but the biggest problem was that over time, the destroyed axis would naturally regenerate. “Whew… Are you all ready?” At Iron’s question, all the knights answered with determined expressions, nodding their heads. They, too, could sense from the atmosphere alone that they would have to stake their lives in this battle. Though the knights had gained much experience following Iron until now, they were still lacking in both power and experience. “I’ll draw their attention. You all stay nearby and focus on finding an opening to enter.” “Please leave the soldiers to us.” At Iron’s command, one knight stepped forward and spoke. Until now, Iron had always volunteered to be the bait himself to minimize casualties and had even assigned the Divine Beasts to protect them. But this time, they didn’t want to just be protected. As if sharing the same resolve, all the knights asked Iron to give them a chance too. Iron fell silent for a moment at their request, then sighed and nodded. “When the enemy's main force reveals itself, I’ll leave the remaining troops to you.” “Do not overdo it. Even without pushing yourselves, this battle will end in victory.” At the knights’ loud reply, Iron smiled and nodded, then ordered the Divine Beasts to carry the knights. And without delay, he flew toward the location of the northern central Axis. Upon arriving nearby, he had all the knights dismount, then selected a few and mounted them on the Drakes and Two Moons. “You are bait. Just pretend to charge in with me and engage them moderately.” “Do not enter until the enemy's main force has been revealed.” Iron sternly warned them again before heading straight for the northern central Axis. As Iron soared through the air and created a massive white sword to strike the barrier, a part of the seemingly solid barrier shattered in an instant. Despite continuously striking the barrier and completely breaking through, there was still no reaction. Iron took a deep breath and entered. The knights on the Drakes and Two Moons also entered the broken barrier behind him. A small number of Rangers scouted the surroundings, and the knights set up a formation on the outside. As this small reconnaissance unit carried out the first phase of the operation, Iron deliberately entered deep inside. “Still no reaction? In that case…” Iron decided to deliver the most fatal blow to the enemy who was trying to lure him deep into their trap. Swinging the white sword toward the distant black pillar, he simultaneously summoned the Blue Baepsae. The moment it was summoned, the Blue Baepsae emitted a brilliant light. The resulting white domain erased the barrier created by the Holy Alliance and completely purified the surrounding corrupted energy. At the same time, the chaotic energy flowing in from all directions was returned to its original state the moment it entered the sanctuary. At that moment, powerful presences burst forth around Iron. “So they finally came out.” To support me for my translations, you can check out my here –>https://.com/Pai_ If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊