Chapter 421 - 'Amen'
The appearance of a large Exoskeleton drew everyone's attention.
The moment it appeared out of the ship, it was as if a weapon of mass destruction could be detected. The defenses of the Exoskeleton were roughly three times harder than the Supreme Exoskeletons. In addition, it had the ability to create a massive amount of energy which produced high fluctuations.
"Andronze. Test its might. I just need to see what that thing is capable of." Hermes ordered.
Even without Hermes's order, Andronze would have given out the order. But, when Andronze saw it, she could tell that Exoskeleton's power was something that could challenge her in her Throne!
All the Flood Dragons that remained began to attack. Andronze's forces have been so diminished that she even called upon Egypt's various secret weapons that were flying up the sky.
Huge sand creatures were also flying, and even the Locust Swarm flew through the high skies.
All of her techs were on display.
But the large Exoskeleton did not move. Instead, a fleet appeared outside of the ship.
"As I thought, although she won, she lost a lot. She can only rely on these weapons of war now." Hermes heard Lowengren's instructions and relayed them to Andronze.
"She's on her last leg?"
"Yes. Don't underestimate the attacks we made. She can't do those previous shrinking techs anymore. That beast she deployed is one of her last weapons."
"If it's this kind of war, then leave it to me. I will command Egypt's armies!"
And so, the battle in the sky began.
"Your friend, Arthur, is asking if Lowengren has left," Octarion spoke, and as Hermes had already made the link with him, he naturally heard him talk.
"We're still finalizing a few things." Hermes answered.
"Hurry. I am dying to try out this suit." Octarion laughed and waited.
As Octarion stood, Hermes and his winds continued to talk. The moment Hermes and his four winds saw it, they saw a familiar scene the moment they saw it.
"Boss! Isn't that like Lynd's...?" Austin stuttered as he saw it.
"It is. Using the Exoskeleton as the reactor complements Octarion's body and creates one-half of the Cultivator's body. We're fighting a real body cultivator here." Hermes smiled.
"My Blade's screaming to clash with that man." Omricon smiled.
"Looks like we're into for some fun!" Alvin laughed.
"An Overcomer. Finally..." Omega gave a small sneer as the wind around them gathered.
"Don't get careless, boys. One punch from that, and you might just die that Arthur knows how to put on a fight, and look! The army is organized again."
"How are we going to fight against that and the army? Even with Andronze, their techs are still too strong! We are clearly at a disadvantage! There are Supremes and Sun Devourers there!"
"Relax! It's all part of Arthur's plans. He knew that Seeker, Lynd, and Meryl would be here. This was arranged to help us all grow in this battle. The previous battle would be too much for us. But now, we have the opportunity to test our might against their techs clearly. And look! They are already here. The WGP's forces will join us."
Several Rules suddenly appeared nearby. Behind the Rules were the Many Mansions.
"There hasn't been a war that has made Emperors nervous. This is a good chance to test our techs." Miranne appeared in the sky. The Many Mansion had flown and was now wrapped around strange energy that was similar to her Nile technology.
At the side, Andronze saw the arrival of the many mansion, and she was secretly relieved. All the Flood Dragons that she summoned from the Nile were about to be depleted of all energy. Even with Egypt there, she would be forced to fight with her Pyramid.
"Lowengren. Arthur is asking if you left. What did he mean by that?"
"I just figured out what his plans are. Just have Andronze give her 100% here."
"What's going on?" Hermes asked.
"Simply put, the preparations have been made. I think Arthur has perfectly predicted this battle, which is near-impossible to do so since our enemy was also able to do something similar to what Arthur can do with her wisdom and the array of techs she has. But the pieces are all in place for us to make the right moves." Lowengren called out. He finally understood the fullness of Arthur's plan.
"That sounds worrisome since I am about to clash with him." Hermes laughed.
"Don't worry. He is actually at his weakest now. Don't assume that predicting the future is something easy to do. He's at the last of his wits. He intentionally fought and made ample preparations to pierce through the fog of uncertain future to weary himself. And when he is at his weakest, he aims to use his current state to fight against you."
"Oh? He can run out of gas?" Hermes laughed.
"He wants to fight in a desperate scenario where his mind has been pushed past its limits. And he is now fighting us so that even if he loses, he won't die." Austin understood.
"What a genius. He planned all this so that we could have a nice training experience. Hey, isn't this a good training for your wisdom, Austin?" Alvin laughed.
"Yeah..."
"Well, you guys have fun. While you are at it, Akasha and Gallium will meet up with Vender and me. My real battle starts from here."
"You will be infiltrating Andonze's base?'
"Yeah. Arthur's grown quite a bit. He's trusting me to save his sister. You won't be able to communicate with Vender or me after this."
"Alright. I think I understand what I must do. Any last advice as to what lies I will tell Andronze to keep her distracted?" Hermes asked.
But the answer of Lowengren made Hermes use his unlocking to contain his laughter at the absurd instructions given.
"Andronze. Use whatever techs you have to help the WGP. I'm going to go all out. All of our men that went inside that ship are already dead. And I may die as well. But the glory of my lord shall not be wasted. We have acquired what we came here for. All that is left is to fight this Presider to the death." Hermes laughed.
"What?"
"Presider Shakstress is stronger than I thought she would be. She countered the Macarena. She has a base inside where pioneers are praying non-stop. Those who pray without ceasing are in there." Hermes lamented.
"Pray without ceasing?" Andronze was amazed.
"Yes. It's a tech higher than our own. She has Prayer Warriors."
"Prayer warriors?!" Andronze was frightened at the term. To think that all allies, including that man who literally punched a hole inside the ship, were easily killed!
"Have all of Egypt perform the counter for Prayer Warriors."
"What's the counter?" Andronze was frantic.
"We have to beat them at their game. We need more people praying. Before dying, my ally used his life to create a digital totem of worship. He has already posted it online, and you must share that picture and have everyone like and share it too! Have your nation also comment 'Amen' to that post and make them sincerely believe that post. Even if the power of their prayer will be weak, we can use the numbers to counter the might of the prayers of those Prayer Warriors! So we need the might... of Keyboard Warriors!"
"What...?!" Andronze couldn't believe her ears. This was just too weird!
"Search the social media for Prayers for Egypt. You should find a certain post that shared a link to the sermon of Pastor Eagle. But this post talks about prayers for this battle. It has been shared on social sites, and now have everyone shared it. Type amen and pray! Do it now! That big Exoskeleton is about to move!" Hermes warned and slowly began to move.
"Everyone, until the power of prayer returns to us, we might have to fight in this severely weakened state," Hermes warned the Four Winds.
"For the glory of Bob!" Alvin shouted.
"For the glory of Bob!" The rest echoed, and they charged.
"Who is Bob?" Andronze was so confused. But she had no choice. The actions and powers of Hermes were proven to be true even though it was so weird. From the start of how she had to do that weird dance to initiate prayer, to how the dances were able to stop the shrinking techs, and now Shakstress and Pridgeon somehow disappeared. She felt like a pawn being manipulated and had no choice but to aid Hermes to survive.
She tried reaching out to the Pioneer, but there was no answer.
She sighed and found the link that was shared in the Americas. She copied the link and gave the directive.
"All Pillars of Egypt! Here me! Share this on your social media page and make everyone type amen! I want all who are citizens and do not have any tasks in the current war to keep sharing this! Share it internationally! Everyone should share it and have at least three amens! Force everyone to do that prayer! If there are any citizens you who do not do this, I will kill their closest kin!" Andronze announced.
The confused Pioneers quickly did that. They had just experienced the wild, angry rage of Andronze in demanding biscuits and strange information. They dared not laugh at the oddity of their Presider's orders.
"So... if I don't share this, my mother will die?" A certain Pioneer asked another.
"Yes! Hurry!" The other answered and was busy sharing the story.
In the Americas...
The youth volunteer who had posted the sermon along with the prayers of Eagle was shocked as his post was being shared several million and millions of times. The amount of 'amen' comments also shocked him.
"What... the? I'm trending?" The youth was amazed. It didn't matter that the world was ending.. His post was trending and was receiving the likes that many can only dream of in a lifetime.