Chapter 1083: At the Brink of Attrition

Nearly four hundred days had passed since the incident where Diablo had ended the existences of seven Universal Masters and six Main Entities from their respective universes.

Over the months that followed, the armies of the Divine Alliance and the Infernal Coalition traversed billions upon billions of light-years in their coordinated advance towards those seven universes.

All factions knew that Diablo and the forces of Hell he controlled were up to something, but they also knew that regardless of whatever Diablo was planning, they had no choice but to dive headfirst into it, especially since it was most likely going to be a trap meant for the members of the Divine Alliance.

For those belonging to the Infernal Coalition, they hoped to take advantage of whatever damage Diablo dealt to the Divine Alliance, weakening them even further and allowing themselves to emerge victorious in the war.

Spaceships carrying hundreds of thousands to millions of soldiers from both sides of the war arrived around the seven universes, and the instant they spotted those of the opposing side, fighting began.

Armies of Hell, along with armies of demons and giants from other universes in the Infernal Coalition, had already occupied the seats of power within those seven universes, so when the soldiers of the Divine Alliance arrived, they immediately launched attacks into those universes, attempting to drive away the Infernal Coalition forces and regain control over the universes that had once been ruled by the divines, a rule that had come to an end with the deaths of the god Kings at Diablo’s hands.

They joined the remnants of divine rule within these universes, helping them mount a resistance against the Infernals.

Over time, the battles spread out from within these universes and into the surrounding space, encompassing other nearby universes as well, and as more forces from both sides of the war arrived, the scale of the battles increased alongside them.

Observers from other regions of the Multiverse also showed up in the chaos of the constant battles, and some of them even began to interfere in the fighting, taking advantage of the opportunity to attempt assassinations against major figures within the armies of both sides, aiming to further weaken the overall power of this region of the Multiverse.

Main Entities like Athena of Olympus and Minerva of Romersk lost count of how many times they, the chief strategists of the Divine Alliance’s armies, were targeted. The bold assassins even dared to go after consorts of the Infernal Alliance’s Kings, like Hell’s Inglis and Muspelheim’s giantess of Wisdom & Foresight, Gera.

All these battles, schemes, conspiracies, assassinations, deaths, and destruction continued over the course of several months, until the bigwigs, after fortifying their home bases to prevent external attacks while they were away, began arriving in secret.

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The battlefields were no stranger to High-Tier Deities, who unleashed attacks capable of snuffing out entire galaxies on a daily basis as they battled against one another.

Deaths among their ranks were no longer considered ’shocking’ news, and it was such a war theatre that the notable fighters, Main Entities and Masters from the leading pantheons of the Divine Alliance and Infernal Coalition Universes arrived to see.

Although having drawn the attention of dozens of Universal Masters and hundreds of Main Entities, the battles seemed to be turning out just like almost every other major battle throughout this war.

However, both sides knew they couldn’t allow things to continue to play out like that.

The ones who made the first big move to change the status quo were the Masters of the Infernal Coalition.

Within a pocket dimensional realm created by the power of a Demon King, several Monarch Realm Existences of the Infernal Coalition met with one another to discuss the state of the ongoing battles.

Jotuns of several breeds, Greater and Arch Demons, Devils, and even Dark Elves and Dwarves made up the attendees of this meeting.

"I know I’m simply stating the obvious, but we cannot allow this to become a battle of attrition," one of them said.

"That would mean we have to enter the battle personally," another replied.

"Of course we do," a third said. "That’s the quickest way to end this thing. Our forces are stretched too thin, and although many of us here wouldn’t admit it out of pride, we have poured too many resources into this war. Its continuance would not be in our best interests."

"I second that," another voice said, before continuing, "I’m sure you all already know that Masters from other sections of the Universal Sea have been snooping around these past few years. There are even a few who have snuck into this battle."

A cursory glance around confirmed that all of them seemed to be on the same page—that they had to make a move.

But this then brought up an important issue.

"Entering the fray would draw out the gods and Celestials on our level who are hiding within the folds of space. The problem now is deciding who should strike first, and who to target to draw out as many of them as possible."

When an Archdemon raised that issue, one of the other existences in the meeting raised his hand and declared.

"I will go."

All eyes immediately turned towards them, and then a figure wreathed in flames leaned forward and asked, "Are you sure? You put yourself at risk by choosing to strike first."

Faced with that question, the man leaned back in his seat and confidently declared, "I understand the risk, and in my perspective, it is negligible."

Hearing the confidence in his tone, one of the existences sitting close to him then said, "If that’s the case, then I should ready my battle axes."

Small laughs escaped the lips of many of the others, but through all this, the figure wreathed in flames stared at the one who had declared his intention to strike first in silence.

After a few moments, they nodded and then said, "If that is your decision, then I shall support you."

The flaming existence then turned their gaze towards one of the Jotuns present and spoke.

"My consort."

"Yes, my King," came the response.

"Unlock my sword."

"!"

Expressions of shock coloured the faces of many of the Masters present upon hearing that declaration.

"Are you sure?" one of the Archdevils asked, eyes narrowed.

The flaming figure simply nodded before turning to them and returning a question.

"When is he arriving?"

"I know not," replied the Archdevil. "All he said was to tell you to proceed however you wish to."

"However we wish, huh?" the flaming figure repeated. "Very well then. We’ll do just that."