Chapter 234: Prime War [XIII]
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia.
"Whistle~ That was a cool opening attack! That’s gotta be Ren’s doing, right?"
Doni, dressed in beach attire—floral shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and sunglasses perched on his nose—whistled while watching the arrow streak into the sky.
"Man, he stole the starting line!"
"Just seeing it gets my blood pumping! Hurry up, aliens! Give me a passionate fight!"
With a wide grin, Doni swung the sword he always carried, eagerly awaiting the enemy.
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Taklamakan Desert, Western China.
"Hmph, not bad. That man didn’t disgrace China’s finest archer reputation."
Wearing an elegant hanfu, Luo Hao raised her chin haughtily.
"That’s good. If he’d performed poorly, I’d have gone to that barbaric land and beaten him to death."
Initially, she hadn’t cared much about the Seventh Campione—Rokuhara Ren.
To her, he was merely a newborn calf. But then, Luo Hao learned that the Heretic God Ren had slain was Hou Yi, a mythical figure from China.
Though only slightly, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of interest. Still, Luo Hao had no intention of initiating contact unless provoked.
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Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine.
"That guy’s such a show-off, huh..."
His brows furrowed, Alec was mildly irritated, recalling how Ren had tricked him during their last encounter. Though he’d obtained the Holy Grail, he had to face Marquis Voban first.
Worse, before he could study the hard-earned Grail, a mysterious Heretic God ambushed him and stole it. Thinking back on it all, even the usually composed Alec felt annoyed.
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Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia.
"That damned brat... Last time, he pitted me against Alec. That grudge hasn’t been settled." Marquis Voban muttered.
A terrifying aura radiated from him, enough to scare anyone who saw it half to death.
Like Alec, he harbored resentment toward Ren over the Holy Grail incident in London.
The reason Marquis Voban hadn’t gone to Japan to confront Ren was that Japan had another Campione. If a conflict arose, he feared the Eighth Campione—Kusanagi Godou—might team up with the Seventh—Rokuhara Ren.
Though Voban wasn’t afraid of facing two opponents, he felt the losses would outweigh the gains. So, he postponed his revenge. After all, it wasn’t a grievance worth fighting to the death over.
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Marshall Islands—Bikini Atoll.
"So that’s the power of the Seventh Campione."
John Pluto Smith adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his expression unreadable. Whatever he was thinking remained a mystery.
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Devon Island, Canada.
"Wow, Ren’s attack was incredible! He can even strike into outer space?! That’s just amazing!" Godou exclaimed in awe, watching the stunning scene on his monitor. "To protect Earth, I have to do my best!"
Clenching his fists, Godou pushed aside his fear, determined not to let the aliens succeed in invading the planet.
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Except for Madam Aisha, whose whereabouts were unknown, each Campione had their own thoughts about Ren’s ultimate attack.
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Meanwhile, the Kur civilization’s spacecraft armada showed no fear, despite 77 of their ships being obliterated in a single attack. It was as if the minor loss meant nothing to them.
The armada continued flying toward Earth at a steady pace, their formation now more spread out, as if anticipating similar attacks.
As the armada entered Lagrange Point 4 (L4)—a stable point in space chosen by the Mages as the trigger—a large-scale teleportation spell prepared across Earth activated simultaneously.
*WUUUUUUUM!*
The space around each Kur spacecraft fluctuated violently. Invisible lines of magical energy twisted and swirled, creating visual distortions like ripples in the air.
Suddenly, the space shattered into millions of glimmering fragments, enveloping each spacecraft. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from outer space.
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At designated locations on Earth—Nullarbor Plain, Danakil Depression, Taklamakan Desert, Chernobyl, Namib-Naukluft, Devon Island, and Bikini Atoll—pillars of mystical energy light shot up from the ground, piercing the sky and swirling rapidly. Each pillar pulsed, as if awaiting something’s arrival.
*RUMBLE!*
The next moment, with an earth-shaking roar, each pillar of light manifested a Kur spacecraft. The teleportation process was rough; the ships appeared with blinding flashes, followed by shockwaves that tore through the air and cracked the ground beneath.
The ships materialized as if printed from nothingness, so fast that residual energy lingered around them. It was as though thousands of invisible hands had flung them to their predetermined locations.
Thousands of spacecraft were now at different locations, isolated, each facing a single Campione on their respective battlefields.
The true Prime War had begun!
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Nullarbor Plain, South Australia.
As hundreds of alien spacecraft appeared with a deafening roar, they immediately realized the forced teleportation spell prevented them from attacking right away.
But after adapting to their new environment, the red eyes and cannon barrels of each ship locked onto the lone human standing on the barren plain: Ren.
*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*
*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*
*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*
Countless laser beams fired, streaking at the speed of light, carving scorching paths through the air. The attack was so swift and massive, it seemed intent on obliterating Ren in an instant, leaving no chance to react.
"..."
Fortunately, Ren, with his finely honed instincts, had anticipated being the priority target.
Without hesitation, he decisively switched from Sun Conqueror Divine Authorities to Solar Flash Divine Authorities.
"Radiance of the sun, shine your light within me! Carry this body across space and time, leaving a shadow even the world cannot chase!"
Completing the incantation in an instant, Ren entered a state of Godspeed.
Immediately, his body became living light, moving at the speed of light. He was no longer human but a beam of radiance dancing through the rain of lasers.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The ensuing scene was a blend of terror and absurd beauty.
Ren, now a flash of light, maneuvered and danced among the barrage of lasers. Each movement was so fast it left trails of light framing his silhouette in the air, like the afterglow of a moving star.
He zigzagged, dove, and leaped, as if performing an intricate dance amid a storm of destruction.
Below him, the Nullarbor Plain turned into hell. Every missed laser that struck the ground caused massive explosions that shook the entire plain.
The once-barren red soil was now riddled with enormous charred craters, some large enough to swallow a small city.
Rocks and pebbles were flung into the air, melting into magma upon contact with the lasers. The extreme heat waves caused the air to shimmer and distort, creating terrifying mirages of fire and dust.
The once-blue sky was now filled with thick black smoke and blinding flashes of light.
The silent, tranquil Nullarbor Plain had become a battlefield ravaged by a man-made and alien-induced natural disaster, its devastation far surpassing volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.
Yet, amidst the chaos, Ren, in his form of light, remained untouched. He moved with perfect precision, dancing through death, waiting for the right moment to strike back.