Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP

Chapter 356: The Briefing – The 99 Inversions

Below the barracks were not exactly what one may think.

Though from the outside it looked like a fortified tent, inside was actually a realm big enough to hold not an army, but their entire civilization…. such as the people who were injured or those cultivating and etc.

Inside there were

Grassy plains stretched beneath a false sky of bruised purple and faint orange auroras.

Distant mountains rose in jagged ranks.

Rivers of slow-moving silver wound between fortified settlements—low domes of iron and crystal, training fields where Deva’s sparred with weapons the size of small towers, cultivation platforms where figures sat cross-legged drawing thin threads of existence from the air itself.

The alarms sounded—three long, horns that vibrated through the ground underfoot.

As Ash and the others floated above the Barracks, the tent flap snapped open.

Then suddenly, thousands upon thousands began to pour out.

The Deva came in all shapes—some were four-armed warriors, others were slender figures draped in cloaks, and more.

But one thing they all shared was their skin tone: every one of them had shades of blue, some even shimmering like the cosmic night sky.

Seeing this Ash spoke, “Alright let’s blend in for the moment, just morph your skin tone.”

As he said this each of them changed in an instant, all taking on dark blue skin tones for the moment. When this was done, they descended as the concealment broke and mixed with the others.

—-

The central keep rose like a black iron monolith at the realm’s heart. Its single gate yawned open, wide enough to admit a hundred Deva’s shoulder-to-shoulder.

Inside, the briefing chamber was a vast hollow cylinder—walls of black obsidian, ceiling lost in shadow, floor tiered in concentric rings descending toward a central platform.

Thousands already filled the seats—silent, disciplined, weapons resting across laps or planted beside them.

Ash and his wives simply took empty seats, all in an effort to better understand the situation. Since he couldn’t instantly gather information here, this was the best approach.

This was also why his race remained incomplete—he needed the Eldritch races as a blueprint to fully harness nonexistence.

[A/N: Yes, he does have his knowledge from his foresight. Them attending this meeting is all a part of his plan.]

While he could potentially create his own using his thoughts, he preferred to leave no stone unturned.

He would acquire the Eldritch and then improve it countless times over. As for the information, he only required one race of nonexistence to assimilate it.

He looked ahead to where three figures stood on the central platform.

The General of War commanded the center, while to his left was a tall, lean woman with skin like a cosmic nebula and hair cascading in black waves.

She wore no armor, only a robe of black silk that flowed like shadows, and her eyes were twin voids—pure black, without a hint of reflection…

To his right stood a broad, scarred man with skin the color of Earth’s sky, faint glowing runes etched across it.

One arm ended in a stump, while the other gripped a spear twice his height.

“Two days ago, those damned Eldritch advanced again,” the General began.

“The situation’s getting worse by the minute. Across the first ten Inversions, the Reapers and Curators have launched a full-on assault… and it looks like the Fifth Great War is upon us.”

“They have taken control of the second Inversion completely. Their forward camps now sit on the edge of the first…. ” His eyes narrowed as he spoke again,

“We all know, the first inversion…. our land is the weakest of us cultivators, yet we are the most important. Only from here do new beings have the chance to come.”

The black-haired woman spoke next—voice soft, yet carrying to every ear in the chamber.

“Which means, their first real target will be us… like always. The moment the flames of war set off here, the Fifth Great War would likely begin across all 99 Inversions.”

The scarred man with the spear leaned forward—runes flaring along his skin.

“The situation is as it always has been. We are the frontier to all of existence… The weakest is what they call us on the higher inversions.”

He said with a scoff, “Those are only the words of those pitiful ancestors of ours who already abandoned existence. So, behind us there is already nothing left to defend and ahead there is nothing left to lose.”

“When the flames are ablaze, we have no retreat… no surrender. For us, the Frontier of Existence… there is only life and death.”

A long silence followed, before the General of War stepped up again.

“Listen up, we are deploying all three of our battalions. There will be 100,000 each following one of us as we fight to secure the second Inversion while also reinforcing the third.”

Then the General’s gaze drifted roaming around as if he were looking for someone. And then as if purposely revealing his aura, he spotted Ash and the others then frowned.

’Impossible… how could they be Deva’s without seeing an Ancestor?’ He thought as he frowned even more.

’How arrogant! To think a measly illusion will work in a place like this.’

“You eight,” he rumbled. “The newest blood of existence…. and quite the arrogant bunch.”

The crowd murmured—thousands of heads turning.

The General continued—unmoved.

“Disregard their illusion as it will be corrected after the meeting, personally by myself.”

He paused and then continued.

“Three Hundred thousand will stay behind to defend the first inversion and also for reserves. It will be in your best interest if you stay behind and not run along to your deaths.”

With those words, the briefing ended. Yet through it all Ash only smiled hearing the nonsense the guy was spouting.

The crowd rose—disciplined, quiet—streaming toward the exits.

Ash and his wives remained seated as they began chatting.

He glanced at them, golden eyes steady.

“So, what do you think?”

Madison chuckled softly, flashing her fangs.

“Sounds like this damned general is getting tired of living.”

Sylvie leaned against his shoulder, green eyes glinting.

“Fufufu~ right? He says he wants to teach us a lesson?”

Seraphiel joined in their laughter.

“Exactly, we can’t help that his power is too meager to grasp anything.”

Aeloris gave a single nod.

“Enough of that. If I’m not mistaken, husband, you already knew this information. So, what’s the plan?”

Rune murmured, “I’m starting to think you only pay attention to what you want.”

Ash chuckled, their words carrying loud and clear, and as everyone else left to prepare for war… well, the three Generals were eyeing the eight of them like they were complete bozos.

Well, not all of them, at least…

[Vetri Alo’s Affection 75% (Mid Eternal Hierarchy Saint)]

The moment Ash intentionally revealed himself, it was clear that a sense of affection began to grow.

Aside from the three Generals, everyone else present were merely Hyperversals.

Even the weakest of the Devas on the first Inversion were Early Hyperversals. This meant he had amassed a significant number of Strata, steadily accumulating and waiting to be merged into his Verdict.

“We take over this place, of course,” he said, standing up and casually walking through the air toward the Generals.

“Like I said, it won’t be a walk in the park—these Eldritch are no joke. But it’s nothing we can’t handle, right?”

He spoke as he stood before the General of War, locking eyes with him.

“The briefing’s done. Weren’t you planning to give a lesson?”