Chapter 1003

"What about the rest of us?"

Amir looked at the others for several seconds before replying, his finger drifting from one person to another with military precision.

"Train. I need you all to be able to manifest a domain in time. That is all I require from you; Scarlet, Greg, Jay, and Raze. Give me a domain!"

Then his finger drifted toward Kael.

"Aside from teaching them to manifest that power, I need you to meet the Emperor for me. Ask him to open his treasury for your inspection."

"Why?" Kael cocked a brow, clearly curious about the specific request.

"... We need any artifacts that he could have in his possession. Specifically, something we can place in various corners of this world to alert us in case a massive attack is heading our way."

"Like a satellite?" Grey lifted a brow, making a modern comparison.

Amir nodded.

"You see... we only have the date and the knowledge of where they are headed, which is our world. But in order to intercept them on time, we need to know exactly when they arrive. So Kael, it is your duty to confirm the existence of such an artifact with your father."

"... But if we do obtain it, we can’t just hop from place to place planting them in every corner of the globe. That could take ages."

Amir nodded in agreement. "Not if we place it in the center of the world."

Grey nodded along, his mind already racing.

"I will also check Vayun for any such relic. Or truly, any artifact that could assist us in total."

Amir smiled at him.

A few seconds later, a new thought formed in the Captain’s mind.

"Is there someone like me in that world? Someone strategic who can help coordinate?"

Grey thought for just a second before an image settled in his mind.

"Yeah. Leo. He was the vice principal of the academy for warriors I attended back there."

"Good." Amir nodded, then dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a communication orb.

"Give this to him when you head back. I want the two of us to always be in touch so we can coordinate both forces of mages and warriors seamlessly."

Grey received the orb with a nod and stored it away using his spatial magic.

Amir then snapped his head toward Arthur and Vanica.

"When Kael brings the artifact, you both will be responsible for placing it where we want it, as Kael will be busy training the others on how to manifest their domains."

Max heaved a tired sigh as he rubbed his temples.

They had all been so silent since Vince’s arrival that it felt as if they didn’t exist for a moment.

During the whole verbal confrontation, they had remained quiet because they didn’t know Vince as intimately as the others.

All they truly knew was his relation to Amir.

"So... what do we do?" Max asked.

Amir scanned them for a few seconds.

He had actually forgotten they were even in the room. "Can you use a domain yet?"

Max shook his head.

Amir lifted his head and looked toward Viktor.

"If I recall correctly, you possess a domain, yeah?"

"Un."

"Good. Lyra, Charlotte, Dante, and Max—you are to be under Viktor’s tutelage as he instructs you all on how to master a domain. Sol, you are going with Arthur and Vanica when they position the artifact."

Thinking for several seconds, Amir’s brows furrowed.

"Wait a second. For the Otherworlders to be confident enough to inform us when they will strike, they must possess an incredible amount of forces."

"Warriors, mages, and beasts are all under their command," Grey interjected as he looked around the room.

"... When I was on the Dwarf continent, we encountered goblins placed there by the Otherworlders to hunt any remnant dwarves.

The goblin leader mentioned that one of the Zodiacs is the commander of all beasts. He is the King of Beasts and is likely the strongest Zodiac there is."

Everyone’s brows furrowed at the implications.

Max’s eyes lit up suddenly.

"Hold on. If he is the King of Beasts and perhaps the one producing these creatures, doesn’t that mean all the dungeon and portal breaks we encounter are the Otherworlders’ doing?!"

"...!!!"

The realization finally dawned on them as Grey’s pupils dilated in sharp, sudden clarity.

’Damn it! I have been a fool. The moment that goblin informed me, why didn’t I realize this sooner?! Fuck! The Otherworlders have been the root cause of every single portal and dungeon break.’

A parallel thought surfaced in Scarlet’s mind as she looked up, her expression grim.

"... It’s been months since we last experienced a portal or dungeon break, if I’m not mistaken."

Grey lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"It’s been months since I last saw any beasts in the warrior world as well."

"That means the Otherworlders have been gathering every bit of their scattered forces in preparation for the designated day. They have been long prepared and are merely giving us a measly window to catch up," Raze added, his jaws tightly clenched.

"... Knowing about all of this doesn’t change our current reality. We need to look toward the future and prepare against every single thing the Otherworlders will throw at us," Amir interrupted, cutting through the teens’ heavy realizations.

Scanning the room once more, the Captain added:

"Everyone should go and secure communication orbs. I will also be distributing chokers to every person present here."

Grey looked at the man, his mind turning to logistics. "The Kingdom—how many men do we have in total?"

Amir’s face darkened immediately at the question.

"After the Otherworlder attacks a few months back, our ranks have been reduced to a mere shell of their former selves. That’s exactly why the Velzoria Kingdom took the opportunity to strike the other day."

"How many?" Grey pressed.

"A measly hundred thousand men."

Grey exhaled sharply, his mind calculating.

"I have about four hundred thousand men under my command back in the warrior’s world. Combined, this should have to do."

Raze’s teeth clattered against each other as a shiver of doubt ran through him.

"Will we even be able to win this? The enemy has been within our borders for years, searching and watching for every one of our weaknesses and strengths.

They are coming hard, and we barely know anything about their true numbers. How are we supposed to defeat them? We are essentially going in blindly."

Grey dug his hands into his pockets, his gaze hardening with a fierce, determined light.

"... We will have to win this no matter what. There is no backing down. We are going to rid this universe of the tyranny of the Otherworlders once and for all!"

Amir straightened his back immediately, the command returning to his voice.

"Understood? Now, let us all get to work! We don’t have much time left!"