Chapter 1235 New Title

Dozens or even hundreds of soldiers could pour their energy into a shared formation while designated individuals acted as the core, allowing them to create enormous projected constructs capable of fighting opponents far beyond the strength of any single participant.

The soldiers themselves effectively became part of the formation materials.

It was one of the methods the empire used to allow weaker soldiers to challenge considerably stronger enemies.

Michael had already asked Jester to research something similar for him. Unfortunately, doing it with undead was far more complicated. His legion wasn't composed of a single race or even a consistent form of energy.

Some possessed darkness. Others used fire, poison, blood, plants, physical force, or stranger energies like Shojo's blood energy. Their bodies also differed tremendously and couldn't simply be placed into one standardized military array and expected to cooperate perfectly.

Layering a shared formation over creatures whose very foundations contradicted one another risked instability rather than synergy, and instability inside a formation meant collapse at best, backlash at worst.

The Silver Guard had it easy by comparison. Every soldier in their formations was, at the core, still human, still built from the same basic template the empire had spent generations refining arrays around.

Michael's legion had no such luxury. Whatever system eventually emerged would need to account for wildly different bodies, energies, and instincts all at once, which meant it couldn't simply be borrowed. It would have to be built from scratch.

Theoretically, if Michael could overcome those issues, the final result might be far more powerful than anything the Silver Guard currently used.

But that was for later.

Neither Michael nor Arianne paid much more attention to the distant training.

Michael lowered them toward the plain. Once his feet touched the ground, he opened the relevant interface.

A familiar translucent panel appeared.

[Universal Cornerstone]

[Subsidiary Territorial Anchor]

[You are preparing to establish a Subsidiary Territorial Anchor connected to your Universal Cornerstone.]

[Once established, the Anchor will form a permanent territorial connection with the primary Universal Cornerstone.]

[Confirm suitable placement before proceeding.]

Another projection appeared immediately afterward.

Blue light spread across the ground in front of Michael. It rapidly expanded. Soon, an enormous translucent outline covered a huge section of the plain.

Michael's eyes narrowed slightly.

The projection showed the exact area the structure would occupy after establishment. It was considerably larger than an ordinary building. Several additional blue lines extended underground as well, showing that whatever was being constructed would affect more than just the visible surface.

Fortunately, there was still more than enough open land.

Michael moved the projected location several times. The blue image followed his will, shifting across the plains while continuously displaying its boundaries. He could place it almost anywhere within the suitable area.

After several adjustments, Michael settled on a position. The projection stabilized.

[Placement Selected.]

[Establish Subsidiary Territorial Anchor?]

Michael glanced toward Arianne and wrapped an arm around her waist again. Both rose into the air.

Once they were several hundred metres above the plain, Michael looked down at the enormous blue outline.

He had come all this way specifically to test this. There was no reason to hesitate now.

Michael selected the option.

[Confirmed.]

[Beginning Subsidiary Territorial Anchor Establishment.]

The moment Michael confirmed his choice, the enormous blue projection beneath them changed.

Light erupted from every line at once.

At first, Michael thought it would simply condense into a structure directly, but the phenomenon was far more familiar than expected.

It reminded him of evolution. Whenever one of his undead underwent a major evolution, its body would usually be swallowed by a brilliant cocoon of light while the surrounding energy gathered toward it.

This looked strangely similar.

Except the light was not white.

A myriad of colours surged across the plain.

Red.

Blue.

Gold.

Green.

Purple.

Black.

Silver.

Countless shades intertwined with one another, forming an enormous radiant cocoon that covered the entire projected area.

The surrounding mana immediately reacted. Streams of energy were dragged from every direction, entering the cocoon continuously. Even the distant projections created by the Silver Guard flickered slightly as some of the surrounding ambient mana was pulled away.

Michael watched carefully.

Fortunately, unlike the evolution of some of his higher-grade undead, the process did not last long.

Within less than a minute, the countless colours suddenly contracted. The light collapsed inward. Then vanished.

What remained beneath them made Michael pause.

A large section of the grassland had completely transformed. Smooth grey stone now covered the ground, polished so perfectly that it almost looked artificial.

At the center of the platform was an enormous magic circle. Its lines were incredibly complicated, extending across almost the entire stone surface in several concentric layers. Strange symbols moved slowly along the engraved pathways, occasionally flashing with faint multicoloured light.

However, neither Michael nor Arianne paid much attention to the formation at first.

Their attention was drawn elsewhere.

A statue stood beyond it. No, calling it merely a statue did not properly describe its scale.

It towered high above the stone platform, easily visible even from hundreds of metres in the air.

And the person depicted was unmistakable.

Michael.

The statue possessed his face, his long hair, his build, and even the ceremonial clothing style he often wore in the Land of Origin.

Its posture, however, was what made Michael's expression become strange.

The enormous stone Michael stood with his face raised toward the heavens. Both arms were spread wide to either side. It looked almost as though the figure were welcoming the entire sky into its embrace.

Arianne slowly turned her head toward the real Michael. The corner of her lips lifted.

"Well, it certainly captured your modesty."

Michael's eyebrow twitched.

Arianne's smile widened.

"And the likeness is impressive. Very heroic. Very grand."

Arianne continued examining it with exaggerated seriousness.

"I think the people will like it."

Michael turned toward her.

"You're enjoying this too much."

"Maybe. But while I know you're very amazing, isn't this too much? Creating something out of nothing?"

Before Michael could reply, a translucent panel suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

His expression immediately changed.

The words at the top were different from any normal notification.

[Universal Milestone Achieved]

Michael's attention locked onto it.

[Congratulations, Michael Norman for accomplishing an unprecedented feat by successfully breaking all universal borders!]

[Title Acquired.]

[Universal Pioneer]