Chapter 369 - 369: Collecting a Few Native Gods, Preparing of the Next Conquest

Iron-Scale received the digital transmission while standing on the Tarnstead docks. He adjusted his dark coat and signaled Krax to join the expedition.

They descended into the ocean to rendezvous with Sludge and Old-Shell. The miserable Ash-Drake was forced to accompany them as their primary thermal deterrent.

The Vanguard team waded into the deep trenches to approach their first target. The Coral Sovereign, a Rank 11 deity resembling a massive armored crab encrusted with venomous anemones, occupied a sprawling underwater canyon.

The Coral Sovereign spotted the intruders and clacked his massive claws together. He summoned a swarm of ten thousand stinging jellyfish to block the canyon entrance.

"You dare enter my ancient reef?" the crab deity bellowed, snapping his pincers to intimidate the Vanguard. "I will string your corpses across the coral as a warning to all surface dwellers."

Krax did not wait for the posturing to finish. The Orc general swam forward and channeled his gravity core into his iron greataxe. He swung the weapon to create a localized singularity right in the center of the canyon.

The massive gravitational pull dragged all ten thousand venomous jellyfish into a single, tightly compressed ball of squished tentacles. Sludge tossed a single acid core directly into the center of the trapped swarm.

The alchemical vial detonated to turn the entire defensive line into a harmless cloud of dissolving mush.

Iron-Scale swam past the dissolving jellyfish and presented a glowing golden contract to the terrified deity.

"The Red Spiral is canvassing the neighborhood," Iron-Scale explained in a polite, bureaucratic tone. "You have two seconds to cast your vote by signing this parchment. If you decline, the lizard will boil your reef."

The Ash-Drake released a menacing growl through the water. It flared its thermal throat pouch to cast a blinding red light over the terrified crab.

The Coral Sovereign dropped his pincers and frantically pressed his claw against the golden document. He signed his entire domain over to Rubedo without a second thought to avoid becoming boiled crab meat.

The Vanguard moved down the list to their next destination. They approached the Abyssal Vent Lord, who resided in a labyrinth of volcanic rock. The Vanguard team expected another grand display of divine arrogance.

Instead, they found the Abyssal Vent Lord waiting outside his cavern. He held a massive white flag woven from bleached sea kelp. He had clearly watched the brutal subjugation of his neighbors from a distance.

The Weaver of Tides swam sheepishly behind Iron-Scale and offered an apologetic wave to his former friend.

"I vote for the Red Spiral," the Abyssal Lord announced loudly before Iron-Scale could even present the contract. "I wholeheartedly support the Sovereign. Please tell the angry dragon to close its mouth."

The 'democratic' process continued for the next three hours.

The Vanguard swept through the eastern seaboard to collect signatures through sheer intimidation and overwhelming firepower. Any deity foolish enough to summon a monstrous guardian immediately watched Krax crush it into a dense cube of flesh while Sludge melted their armor.

Up in the orbital sanctuary, Rubedo watched his faction registry expand rapidly. Dozens of native oceanic gods populated his vassal list.

The entire coastline of the second Continent fell under his control simply because his commanders treated divine conquest like a routine tax collection.

Rubedo closed the naval tactical map with a satisfied smirk. The deep-sea trenches were now fully militarized and crawling with Sylara's corrosive spores.

The macro-server warlords would face an impenetrable underwater fortress long before their ships ever reached the beaches.

The Seventeenth, Second, Third, and Fourth continents glowed with the violet hue of the Red Spiral to signify his total control. The Vanguard had secured the coastal trenches flawlessly. His focus drifted eastward toward a sprawling landmass connected directly to the eastern edge of the Fourth Continent.

A deep canyon separated the regions to act as a natural geographic border for the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Continents.

He tapped the crystal console to open a secure video channel. Seven holographic windows materialized within the orbital sanctuary.

Connor, Leo, Ophelia, Ilyas, Nelson, Evan, and Lucy appeared on the screens. They looked exhausted as they balanced their high school routines with their secret roles as corporate investigators.

"The oceans are locked," Rubedo announced. "My Vanguard secured the maritime borders. We now share a direct land route with the eastern territories."

He highlighted the canyon dividing the Fourth and Fifth continents. "Identify the rulers of this connected landmass."

Connor leaned closer to his camera. "Those continents belong to other players from our school. They formed a separate alliance a few months ago."

"Are they your friends?" Rubedo asked.

Leo shook his head inside his respective video feed. "We despise them. They belong to a rival clique in our graduating class. The guy running the Fifth Continent is an arrogant jerk named Brad. He constantly raids our borders just to annoy us during the weekends. Although because of exams and stuff, they haven't logged into the game either."

Rubedo rested his chin on his knuckles. The mundane high school drama translated into continental warfare inside the game engine. He found the dynamic highly exploitable.

"You will contact Brad and his alliance," Rubedo commanded. "Tell them to log into the server and sign a vassalage contract. They will surrender their territories to the Red Spiral today."

Ophelia adjusted her headset. "They will never listen to us. Brad thinks he is the top strategist in the school. If we tell him to surrender, he will probably launch a large-scale invasion just to spite us."

"Then you need to explain the reality of the situation to him," Rubedo replied. His voice carried a chilling finality through the digital connection. "Describe the fate of Aethelgard and Tarnstead. Make sure he understands that I do not play for points on a scoreboard. If they refuse to submit peacefully, I will march the Vanguard across that canyon and annihilate their empires by force."

Connor rubbed the back of his neck. "Brad does not care about the NPCs. He might just log off and ignore the game until graduation."

"If he ignores the warning, his digital citizens will burn," Rubedo stated. "I will command Eon and the Vanguard to flatten every single structure on those four continents. I will turn their lands into a barren wasteland. Contact your classmates right now. You have exactly twenty-four hours to secure their surrender."

Lucy frowned and crossed her arms. "You expect us to just call them up and say a rogue boss from the game is going to destroy their bases? They will laugh at us."

"Show them the footage of Eon crushing a Calamity-rank entity," Rubedo suggested. "Show them the mechanized foundries churning out thousands of star-iron weapons. Prove to them that my army is real. You are my operatives in the physical world, so use your human connections to win this war without costing me a single soldier."

Connor nodded slowly and reached for his smartphone resting off-camera. "We will set up a group chat and send them the server logs. But if Brad decides to be stubborn, you will have to follow through on that threat."

"I always follow through," Rubedo promised. He severed the connection to close the holographic windows.

He leaned back against his throne and watched the digital map. The canyon acting as the border looked like a tiny crack on the screen, but it represented the next stepping stone for his expanding empire.

If the rival teenagers refused to yield, Eon would finally get a new playground to test his spatial magic.