God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 242: Episode _Ruler of the Battlefield (4)

6.

The method the Celestial Realm used to send its agents to the continent was both simple and profoundly complex.

For demons, it required a being like Grokile—one who had been summoned via a warlock’s contract and knew how to exploit loopholes to bring other demons to the continent without restriction.

It was the same for the celestials. They needed a medium.

A key, so to speak, to open the path.

Of course, the Celestial Realm’s methods were not as finicky as the Demon World’s. They had researched their own techniques and, unlike the demons who did nothing but fight, had given such matters a great deal of thought. It was their sacred duty to safeguard the balance between the Celestial and Demon Worlds.

Furthermore, unlike the handful of warlocks who lived in hiding, the Celestial Realm had temples across the continent that served as conduits for communication. They simply chose not to use them, but contact with the continent was possible whenever they wished.

Of course, this kind of interference was something God did not desire, so even if it was possible, they were not supposed to do it. This time, however, they could not simply overlook the situation.

Thus, the Heavenly King personally initiated contact.

With the Pope.

The only being, other than God, who could make contact with humans.

“For the sake of the continent’s stability, I shall send an upper-rank angel. Prepare to receive her.”

After that one-sided notice, he cut the connection.

And he waited.

Until now, the Pope had never once betrayed the expectations of either God or the Heavenly King. This time was no different.

The upper-rank celestial chosen to descend to the continent stepped onto a massive magic circle. Countless celestials gathered, activating the circle with their divine power, while on the other side, those who had answered the call did the same.

The amount of divine power on the continent could not compare to that of the celestials, but the continent’s greatest priests had gathered and were pouring in all their strength. They barely met the minimum requirement to activate the magic circle.

The magic circle hummed to life.

Light poured out.

FLASH!

And it swallowed the celestial.

*

A great many priests had gathered. High Priests, and even the newly appointed Elders. The Pope himself was present. In such a place, who would dare complain or deny the call?

No one showed the slightest sign of strain. They couldn’t. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if that. They should be rejoicing.

And indeed, they were, pouring out their divine power to their hearts’ content. They poured it out with the determination to wring out every last drop, down to the strength they’d possessed as infants.

Even so, the faint light of the magic circle barely stayed lit.

Just as their divine power hit rock bottom and their minds began to blur at the limit—

VMMMM.

“Ohhh!”

The magic circle responded. From the ancient circle, which until then had only leaked the faintest trickle of light, there burst forth a radiance brighter than ever before, a light that seemed capable of blanketing the entire world.

That light continued for a long time. And all the while, the gathered priests did not relent. They were terrified that if anything went wrong, the light might fade. The decisive battle with the warlocks was only days away, yet they gave no thought to managing their condition. It was as if such concerns didn’t exist.

God answered the sincerity of those priests.

“Ahhh! Oh, my God!”

When the light, which had seemed as if it would never end, finally subsided—

A single goddess stood in their midst.

She had silver hair that fell to her waist, a single piece of sacred cloth draped over her body, and in her hand, a long silver spear as tall as she was.

She looked like a goddess of war.

Her beauty did not lose out in the slightest when compared to the Saintess. In fact, to some, she might be even more attractive. By comparison, the Saintess possessed a delicate frailty that stirred a natural desire to protect, whereas this celestial radiated an aura of strength and reliability. She seemed proactive and assertive.

Of course, she was not someone they should be harboring such feelings toward.

“So this is... the Human Realm?”

Just as they realized that and tried to rein themselves in, she spoke.

Upper-rank celestial Aria.

Her voice carried a warmth that seemed to gently embrace the entire world.

7.

The large-scale war was finally at hand.

Contrary to some worries, the warlocks did not flee from the approaching Continental Army, nor did they try to stall for time by retreating and dragging out the conflict to cause more casualties.

After all, what they wanted was war and blood.

The site of the historic battle was to be a vast, open plain. It wasn’t a formally agreed-upon location. It was simply where the warlocks’ advance and the Continental Army’s march intersected, and the terrain happened to be exactly what both sides wanted.

A place where few variables were allowed, yet where the greatest possible damage could be inflicted.

A place where wide-area magic would be most effective.

And a place that made the most sense for the numerically superior Continental Army to surround the warlocks.

Thus, their confrontation here was inevitable.

It took a very long time just to close the distance and come to a standoff. A heavy silence fell over the battlefield, a stark contrast to the countless channels broadcasting the event live. Game channels cleared their entire regular programming schedule, and the conflict was so massive it was even being covered on the evening news.

It might have seemed like overkill, but no one denied that it was worth the attention. The fate of the continent truly hung in the balance. This was especially true for the vast majority of people whose level was too low to know the true reason the warlocks had started this war.

They had to win.

If they won, they could stop the demons’ invasion.

There were some users who thought that, from a story perspective, a demonic invasion would be more fun, but the warlocks alone were already more than most users could handle. Players were leveling up quickly through various events and with the help of NPCs, but time was still short.

No matter how big and flashy the content, fun is multiplied when you can actually participate and have a chance to be the hero. If demons stronger than the warlocks appeared before users had even caught up, players were more likely to feel exhausted than entertained.

And what if the continent were actually occupied by demons? If, to put it bluntly, the demons killed anyone who refused to become their slave?

Sure, users could die and come back. But there were limits. Who would want to play a game where every single login meant enduring a two-day penalty, losing levels, and dropping items—not just once or twice, but over and over?

Right now, half the users playing the game logged into Fantastic World simply to enjoy a small, peaceful life there. If those users quit and the game gradually became something only a small hardcore group enjoyed, Fantastic World would eventually go under.

The game company’s response? Judging from their track record, it would be faster for God to personally annihilate the demons than for the company to step in. They left everything to BetaGo. In a game whose theme was realism, they weren’t the sort of company to tweak the rules just because the game was driving users away.

That was why they had to win.

The conviction that they had to win made everyone cheer for the Continental Army. Of course, even in the midst of that, there were still plenty of people rooting for the warlocks.

—The continental army definitely has the numbers.

—The warlocks aren’t exactly few either.

—If you look at average level, the warlocks are overwhelmingly higher, right?

—True. I’m hyped. Can’t wait to see what happens.

—The key is that every single warlock is a mage. I heard the numbers differ by almost tenfold, and yet the forces still feel comparable. That’s how insane mages are...

Armchair analyses of every kind flooded the forums. Who would win? Illegal private betting rings were going wild, and articles were being written one after another.

But regardless of all that, the people actually involved were about to collide.

They took no time for mutual probing or to gauge each other’s strength. They had already studied their enemy exhaustively in preparation for the war—how they would conduct the battle, how they would endure the warlocks’ magic, and how they would deliver direct blows.

VMMM.

They were more than ready. If they simply executed the plan, they would win.

To that end, the Continental Army fired the first salvo.

With their mages.

VMMMM.

The warlocks, unsurprised, began their own chants in response. It was only natural that mages would appear on the other side. Most of the warlocks had originally been white mages themselves. The Temple hated the warlocks, but the Mage Tower hated them even more. How could the Mage Tower possibly sit out a chance to exterminate those traitors?

Brilliant, multicolored spells from the mages and black magic from the warlocks filled the sky and collided. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that even the distant rear lines on both sides reeled from the unleashed mana.

At the same time, the Continental Army charged, empowered by the priests’ blessings.

It was practically an all-star game. If not for the threat of warlocks and demons, when would the Temple, the Mage Tower, and the continental armies ever have the chance to unite and fight like this? They had simply never had the opportunity, but when the three factions combined their strengths, they created a synergistic momentum that was nearly impossible to withstand.

No matter how powerful the warlocks were, it would be difficult for them to handle a force ten times their size charging in under blessings and supportive magic.

The warlocks acknowledged that. No matter how wide-reaching their spells were, they could only cause massive casualties if those spells landed cleanly. With interference from mages and blessings from priests, things could be much harder than expected.

That was why they had prepared.

“Charge!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

The warlocks had prepared as well.

At their commander’s shout, an enormous horde of monsters burst from the dense forest bordering the plains.

The people of the continent, and even the Users, had briefly forgotten about them.

They were the monsters from the Gates, imbued with demonic energy.

*

Once a dam bursts, it cannot be stopped.

A thin trickle from the tiniest crack widens under the pressure until its force is enough to bring down the entire massive structure.

War is no different.

Once both sides begin to reveal the cards they have been hiding, one by one, the conflict inevitably devolves into a brutal slugfest where everything is laid on the table.

The warlocks had prepared monsters.

While the continental army still held the numerical advantage, there was a world of difference between facing a mass of exposed warlocks and facing those same warlocks shielded by a living wall of monsters.

Even so, the continental army did not back down.

They had blessings and mages supporting them from the rear. They were several times stronger than usual, and they were not alone; they had comrades fighting beside them.

Monsters from the Demon World?

They felt they could take them.

“Waaaaah!”

“Kill them all!”

“Send them to hell!”

The monsters and the continental army crashed together in a tangled melee.

At the same time, another of the warlocks’ hidden cards spread out to cover the sky.

VMMMM—

Tiny insects.

They shot forward at high speed, swarming into the heart of the battlefield.

Then, they exploded.

POP-POP-POP-POP!

In an instant, hell was unleashed.

“Kegh.”

“Cough! Cough!”

It was the beginning of a chaotic battle that would spiral completely out of control.