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Chapter 532: State of Peril

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While Apollo amassed power, a completely different situation unfolded within Astarat. As he spent over a year consolidating his influence over the Nihilistic Rings, over ten years had passed on Astarat. Those who were once his peers were no longer in their adolescence; time had already shown its inevitable effects.

More importantly, the catastrophe that all of the War Academies, Great Families, and Supreme Families feared took place―over these ten years, the Terror\'s power swelled to new heights. Compared to the first coming of this catastrophe, most felt this one far surpassed its lethality.

As such, the War Academies entered warfare preparation mode, resulting in a severe change in their teaching style and content.

Meanwhile, those who attended the academies with Apollo had long since graduated and migrated to the frontlines.]

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Within the Catastrophe Lines…

A scene of utter bloodshed and mutilated bodies, both human and overgrown grotesque beings with toxic-looking green skin, spanned farther than one cared to look. Amid this devastation, a few camps and structured outposts guarded by thick ramparts defended the thin separation between humanity and the Terrors.

However, the post wasn\'t the most eye-catching presence in this area. The most notable sight on the field was a young lady, seeming to be at least 25 years of age. Her silver eyes seemed filled with a budding mercilessness as she gazed at an extensive collection of people with her pale white yet luxurious hair flowing in the wind.

From the compliant posture of the people kneeling before her, it was evident that her status within this sector\'s outpost was high, if not the highest. Despite the respectful mannerisms of the kneeled soldiers, her gaze seemed unfazed as she glanced to her side.

Like her, another young lady appearing to be around the same age stood this woman. While their appearance was on par with each other, causing awe within any male blessed to learn of their valor and beauty, she possessed a different feeling.

Whereas the soldiers respected the white-haired beauty, their eyes portrayed their fear towards the scarlet-haired beauty with her cold golden eyes.

Soon enough, the atmosphere grew heavy as the white-haired beauty made a gesture. "Nadida, these are the new batch of soldiers recently dispatched from the War Academies. How do you suppose we deal with them to get them up to speed?"

Needless to say, the scarlet-haired beauty in which this question was aimed at was indeed Nadida, one of the people closely related to Apollo before he left to take hold of his true identity. Nevertheless, a deep frown appeared across Nadida\'s lips instead of answering the question.

"Battalion Commander Odessa, most of these newcomers seem like they have barely scratched the level of a Zul Commander. Why does it seem like each following back is becoming progressively weaker? Not to mention, only eighty percent of these people are emitting spiritual fluctuations," Nadida said.

As inferred from her words, Odessa was named the successor of her Crux Family\'s Battalion following her graduation.

Unfortunately, they were driven to make some changes as they had to shift away from their main action of defending and healing on the battlefield. Everyone was mandated to carry their weight, forcing Odessa to alter the structure of her battalion.

Now, forty percent of the battalion\'s forces were devoted to offense, which is why Odessa ensured that Nadida joined her and even bestowed this role of Vice-Commander upon her. Typically, the Commander could only give this role to another vital member of the Crux Family.

But, it was acceptable to ignore some rules in the presence of a calamity, especially since Nadida was a talent that seldom appeared. Numerous elemental affinities as well a vibrant potential in both Body and Spirit Cultivation.

"We can\'t be picky now. You know the situation back at the War Academies. Their main priority is to create soldiers by increasing their military knowledge and etiquette and performing mass training. As a result, it is up to the individuals to delve deeper into their cultivation," Odessa replied.

At the start of the calamity, the first batch of new soldiers, including Nadida and Odessa\'s likes, were amongst the strongest ever seen. Since the older generation possessed time, they poured all their resources and teachings into these individuals.

As a result, a hundred percent of the people in that batch were spiritual cultivators, possessing Spirits to assist in combat. However, as time went on, the acceptable baseline continued to fall. It dwindled to the present eighty percent from the initial one hundred percent.

Although they weren\'t as strong as possible with the right leader and correct conditions, the War Academies felt they could squeeze every ounce of potential from the chosen contenders.

"I know we can\'t be picky, but also can\'t waste time by sparing too many resources to condition them, much less make sure they can keep up with the others in time of combat. It\'s brutal out there," Nadida said with a deepening frown.

Eventually, her hand touched the hilt of the dual swords fastened to the back of her waist. Once she performed this movement, a strong ripple flooded the area, forcing a reaction in those who continually released spiritual fluctuations.

As a result, numerous portals opened up with giant beings or items emerging from the depths of these rifts. It went without saying that these beings were the Spirits, and Nadida released a type of interactive ripple that caused a chain reaction.

In other words, Nadida was now strong enough to bring out others Spirits since her energy signature was dense enough to appear as a threat, triggering the current situation.

However, Nadida appeared unaffected by the Spirits abrupt presence as she took a step forward. On the contrary, her expression became more severe as she scanned the area before her. "As one who agreed to a contract with these individuals, it is up to you to protect them, that is unless you want to suffer the backlash of your contractee\'s death."

Numerous grunts of displeasure sounded, but Nadida couldn\'t be bothered since her words were the truth. The death of a Spirit\'s contractee meant they would face a severe backlash on their end as well. In the most severe case, their true body would be forced to heal for years before returning to their former strength.

Meanwhile, Nadida continued. "You are all versed in military knowledge. So, I\'ll tell you now; we stick to the basics, but we perform them swiftly and effectively. Every new member will be split into pairs and added to all existing teams and squadrons. Is that understood?"

"YES!"

"Understood!"

"Roger!"

A wave of remarks sounded as Nadida gave a faint nod before passing off the task to a lower-ranked member. In the meantime, both she and Odessa walked into a luxurious tent outfitted with lavish furnishing.

Although they were on the frontlines, Odessa\'s status as the Paragon of the Crux Family was not to be overlooked. All of her needs were taken care of as well as having the family\'s arsenal at her complete disposal in times of need.

Fortunately, the situation had yet to deteriorate that far. Within these ten years, there had yet to be sighting or even rumors of a Disaster-Grade Terror being born.

"Is there something you need to talk about?" Odessa questioned while taking a seat in a comfortable chair. All signs of her prior ruthlessness vanished as she ruefully massaged her temples.

"The older generation, your father and the others, they\'ve begun to suffer casualties. We\'ve kept the information related to the depths of that zone hidden for long enough, but it\'s only a matter of time until that Terror truly reaches the level of a Disaster. Either you or Alistair will be forced to make a move," Nadida said with a grim expression.

"Hah… so it\'s that bad? What about him? Has he been active?" Odessa asked. Her expression was strange as her tone seemed to contain hints of apprehension.

"Him? No, he\'s grown inactive once again. Actually, no one has heard from him since stepping beyond the Catastrophe Line. However, his Vitality Stone is intact and more vibrant than ever, so we know he hasn\'t perished," Nadida replied.

"Mm," Odessa nodded while taking a sip from a small cup. The one mentioned wasn\'t the other Paragon, but an anomaly that appeared shortly after the calamity\'s beginning. In a short time, they rose to the height of being on par with a Paragon while administering zero signs of doing so.

"It won\'t be long before the next wave of Terrors assault the Catastrophe Line. What has it been? Seven days? They must have spent this time amassing their forces," Odessa remarked.

"That\'s another thing, I came to alert you that is it time. The scouts have confirmed that their next siege has already begun."

"Then… it is time to mobilize everyone," Odessa responded. She stopped massaging her temple and recovered her earlier expression as she rose to her feet.