V13: Chapter 6

  …

  3000 words added by Chaosbrain

  …

  Interlude: Celia

  …

  Devastation and destruction lay before me.

  The battle between my forces and the Ascendant had taken a month. A month where vast swathes of undead foot soldiers were swept aside like chaff and where the armored carriages made by the merchants were almost all undone. The footfall of tens of thousands of skeletons, the treads of hundreds of vehicles, and the legs of the Ascendant war machines upturned ground, destroyed forests, created craters, and created a battlefield that engulfed nearly an entire region.

  Their advance had only been stopped by the arrival of my elites along with thousands of Citadel Guardians pulled from the border we held against the King of Wisdom. We unmade the force making its way through the border region, but at the cost of nearly all the Citadel Guardians that we had in the region. That we broke an entire armored regiment of the Ascendant with sheer weight of numbers and flensing blades, taking so many of the war machines and their weapons whole, was a minor victory compared to the cost.

  Our Citadels were needed for the creation of factories, of rail lines, and even of engines used by the merchants. If our core regions around each citadel could be industrialized and that industry connected to the front, then we could hold the line. But only if we had the time to industrialize, while we could not have the Citadels dedicated entirely to creating more Guardians to act as our all-cutting sword.

  That we now had new weapons and machines for our scholars to understand and replicate was a silver lining to a dark and heavy storm that loomed over my nation.

  Especially as the true victors of the battle were now hard at work.

  Through the lens of my telescope, I looked upon a great and terrible construction. They made use of our former fortification’s foundation but primarily made use of the materials from the mountains. They carved immense chunks of rock from the mountains and stacked them atop one another. Immense moats and trenches were dug, along with fortified fallback positions, and whole trees were shredded down and turned into immense spikes. They dug shallow ramps into the ground from which they could take shelter and aim their weapons freely.

  The more I looked, the more Jack’s written word resounded in my mind.

  It may be impossible for you to hold the pass, so create overlapping defenses that will flank them with long-range fire from every angle. Meanwhile, our agents in his land reported him building immense fortifications in each pass into his lands, along with supplemental defensive positions. They spoke to us of fallback positions, layers of cannons, and most importantly, grand fortifications; he implied that we could not man ourselves.

  I rose, galvanized my forces to match him, to show we were equal, and now this was the result.

  A pass held by the Ascendant staring down the lands of the Guardians of the Moon.

  A mere handful of weeks from our Citadel.

  We were fortifying, bringing all that we could spare here, and moving supplies and troops from the front with the King of Wisdom here.

  But it did not feel like it was enough.

  Especially with the other threats that now reared their heads.

  “Lady Celia, Zenith has returned.” Mallory spoke, and suddenly some of the weight on my shoulders lifted. Mallory, tired as she was, gave a smile as I turned her way. “With good news, too. She hunted down the Stymphalian pack ravaging our lands and crushed them.”

  It was a small mercy, but one that I was willing to entertain.

  I moved out of the command tent, mimicked from the King of Wisdom’s own operational style and the accompanying communication system, and found Zenith waiting just outside.

  “You could have come in.” I told her while she raised a hand my way. She rode a massive eight-legged undead horse aflame with blue fire. On the saddle were a dozen heads. At first glance they were the heads of beautiful women, but at another I saw that they had fangs instead of teeth, there was a thick membrane over the eyes of those who were open, and their ears were flush against their skulls. Some of the hair on their heads was also feathers. They resembled Harpies but were obviously of a deadlier genetic varietal. “Despite your lack of commission, everyone knows who you are.”

  “Discipline rewards those who uphold it.” Zenith answered easily and disembarked. She gave a deep bow complete with a sweep of her arm. Dressed in knightly armor with a cape, she was like a hero of legend made manifest. None denied her worth after she aided us in stabilizing the entire realm after the Citadels were conquered. Even those of recently conquered lands spoke well of her. “Permission to enter the command tent, my master?”

  “Permission granted.” I informed her, and she dipped her head in thanks while taking off her helmet. Her squire was quick to take it, while another took her sword. They were both champion aspirants, and they were quick to gain strength under her tutelage. “How was the battle? Were they strong, or were we simply lacking in defenses?”

  “A single champion sent against them would have been defeated. They worked very well together and were strong besides. Though my troops suffered no losses, it was because I had them all stay behind while I took on the brunt of the fighting; even then I suffered some scratches.” She took off her cloak, and I noticed on the sides of her armor and her shoulders were great gouges surrounded by melted metal. “The poison that they use melts metal with ease and enchants each throw of their spears to make them pierce armor. We’ll be able to make use of the techniques and methods against the Ascendant.”

  As the King of Wisdom told us they would, given how the enemies of the Ancients fought against one another.

  Zenith was not privy to those documents, but her similar assessment to him was a good sign.

  She was not just a weapon but also a keen mind that could match Jack.

  “Good, very good. We’ll have those heads processed and their knowledge gleaned as quickly as possible. Now, what did you discover regarding the Sahuagin?” I took a spare table and chair, and Zenith sat on the carpet. With her size we were eye-level even with her sitting on the floor. “Catherine’s reports depicted a scene of horror. She lamented that the Forger’s burning all that they knew of them.”

  “They are vile creatures that use the bodies of others as incubators and manipulate the minds of others without care nor consideration.” Zenith reported steadfastly. She produced a sheaf of papers from her pouch. They were encoded, so I gave them to my aides for decoding. “Not only that, but they make monsters with terrifying abilities when given just moments of time. Each one different and better than the previous.”

  Jack’s information regarding the Sahuagin depicted an underwater race that saw ground-dwellers as resources. He warned against allowing them a place on the surface, as they were the creators of monsters. His information depicted a fearsome creature with burning blood, a strong hide, great speed, and claws, a razor-sharp tail, and a vicious set of fangs. These creatures were to be produced in large numbers, using living bodies as incubators, with eggs implanted into them via the larval stage of the lifeform.

  Their aim was to make a self-sustaining predatory life form with a larval stage that came from eggs, which would grow rapidly into terrifying monsters, which would have brood mothers that created eggs themselves. Feral and bestial, but capable of learning and understanding their master’s desires, they were to be a swarm of harvester insects as large as mortals with superior predatory traits. The Sahuagin would make use of the biomass not used by their monsters and have their monsters rule the surface while they kept to their seas.

  They were the weapons used by the Sahuagin before they were cursed and made to fall, according to Jack, and they were working to recreate them now.

  From Zenith’s explanation, it seemed that those final weapons were yet to be deployed.

  “Focus on hunting both the Sahuagin and the Stymphalian. The Ascendant is a more conventional foe that I can work to contain. Work with Catherine and find as many allies as you can, and make sure that they cannot establish themselves in our lands.” She was strong and capable, as well as able to speak to the various peoples in those lands that still held a grudge against me. With her covering those fronts, I could focus on the Ascendant. “Keep an eye on the Warden’s lands. They border the King of Wisdom’s own, so you will need to watch for any military action from him.”

  Zenith nodded in agreement at my words, but when I made mention of the border and Jack’s lands, she paused.

  “My master, has word not reached here yet? The borders of the King of Wisdom with us only hold skeletons. They are preparing for a counteroffensive.” Zenith spoke, and I froze as I processed her words. I looked to my aides, and they all looked as surprised as I. With the Sahuagin appearing in the lands formerly held by the Forgers and Wardens, I had most of my operatives scouring those lands for any more infiltrators ready to create abominable hives. “The King of Wisdom is set to launch a vast army a quarter of a million strong with his most elite champions to ravage the lands of the demons. I heard this from merchants that I met in my travels.”

  I shook my head and grimaced.

  “I have placed most of my clandestine operatives against the Sahuagin. I need to recruit more just to gather information in passing.” I confessed with a heavy heart while I recalled Jack’s missives. Nothing in the ‘advice’ he provided suggested to counterattack, but then I realized a bitter truth. He knew that we would be unable to mount such a thing. We did not have the sheer numbers of troops, let alone the ability to transport them to our enemy’s doorstep. “What agents I have are watching his chokepoints and discerning what we could implement from his strategies to support our own efforts. “Are you sure of this information?”

  “He will be setting them loose within this month. An inquiry will solve the matter swiftly.” Zenith proposed, and I gave a nod and turned to my nearest staff. I spoke with her, and she went to fetch the ‘Scarlet Slate,’ which was a direct communication line between myself and Jack. A means for us to contact one another via the Ancient’s creations at any time in an instant. The briefcase arrived soon enough. “Master, perhaps we should send supporting forces to gather information on how they are operating. Not only that, but none of our fronts face the Demons. The Sahuagin, Stymphalians, and Ascendant are providing much for us to study, so I have every reason to believe that the Demons may provide assets as well. We cannot lay claim to them if we do not fight against them.”

  I nodded at Zenith’s suggestion while sending the inquiry regarding his military’s movements to Jack.

  I asked him if the operation to send a quarter million soldiers along with his strongest champions to confront demons was true.

  The reply was simple and succinct.

  ‘It is true.’

  It was only three words, and yet it made me deeply aware of the vast gulf between his nation and myself. Even now tens of thousands were being trained in vast camps to create armies wielding automatic firearms, cannons, and bodies enhanced with ancient serums. Each soldier in his army could match a knight who has trained their entire life in physical combat, and one can slay entire throngs of cavalry on their own when armed with their most standard of arsenals.

  While we were desperately trying to unite… no, while we were fighting for Citadels, he was already putting his plan into motion. His cities took in the masses of the continent and gave them lives seemingly free of responsibility, but in truth he made use of them to create an army. The free quarters and the guarantees of work and food, along with safety, were all meant to simply provide him with soldiers. His workers had children, and they were cared for, educated, and raised in his ‘schools.’ They were given jobs that suited them, but now they were being called to war… and they answered with zeal.

  How could they not?

  The country that raised them and protected them and had weapons ready for them to use was in danger. Not by people who simply believed differently, but by those who would tear away all their creature comforts and luxuries from them. While few would fight just to face the Ancient’s foes, all would fight to protect their warm homes, their guaranteed meals, theaters, vacations, and other such things he provided freely.

  He started making this army almost two decades ago, along with all the factories that would be needed to supply them, while we were all scrambling to catch up.

  Knowing that almost made me freeze in terror, but I took a measured breath, nodded, and moved forward.

  Instead I requested a place for a contingent of my troops in the war to observe and assist where possible, to understand the threat that the Demons posed.

  A craven, foolish part of me told me that he would refuse to give me that advantage.

  But I knew in my heart that was not the case.

  He did not fear me enough to deny me.

  His reply came within a moment.

  ‘One thousand troops with 1 champion. Send them to the northern border gate within a week. They fall under Grand Commander Morgan’s command.’ He permitted it, but as always, he was cautious. He placed them all under his fiercest and most loyal general. Someone who would act out his every order without a hint of hesitation. ‘Send someone strong, so they don’t die.’

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I wrote back to him in confirmation before turning to Zenith, my mind tired… but she was ready, and she had already proved her ability to see the world as Jack did.

  So, without hesitation, I asked more of her.

  “Who do you recommend for the task?”

  Catherine was no longer the only person who I could rely upon.

  With their help and that of others, I will reach Jack one day and wrest this continent away from his grip.

  …

  Yeah, my scientists and scholars are definitely smarter than I am now.

  Who knew giving anyone who shows signs of advanced intellect board, housing, funding, and their choice in projects accelerates research progress like crazy?

  I mean, sure, giving them goals to reach is important, but for the most part after I established the universities and their research departments and screened for high intellect in my schools… they just did the rest of the work on their own.

  For example, oil.

  I knew from my past life that oil was used for a lot of modern society. So, I told the alchemists to determine the worth of the resource that the Ancients left us millions of tons of in the ground to use. I had the Citadel fabricate some old, worn papers saying it was somehow used to make fields for various vehicles and materials for products and told them to figure it out. They had some sample products made by the Citadel, but they understood that the assignment was to process the oil on our own into things that we needed.

  After they figured out how to get pure enough fuel from oil to power our aircraft through the engines Erlan made, I considered their job done and just kept them funded just in case.

  Now, though, I was being given a walkthrough of the showcase fair, where a ton of items on the tables looked incredibly modern.

  The first being a ball of synthetic rubber and various things made from it, ranging from boot soles to rubber gaskets and wheels.

  The wheels even had ridges carved into them for traction.

  “This is an excellent design. Have it scaled up and producing rubber in… pellets. Make them small, easy to transport, and ready to be heated and injected into the molds you’ve developed.” I spoke to the two leads of the group at the booth. The large auditorial room had booths set up by my scientists. Ayah and I were just two of many people present to look over the products. I knew that I had limited mental energy, so I had extra eyes going around ready to draft reports for me to read later just in case. “Excellent work. I’ll have you connect with engineering departments to industrialize your works. I will make sure that you are all commended and receive honors for your efforts.”

  I extended my hands, and people much smarter than me offered me their praises with teary eyes full of gratitude.

  Then, Ayah led me to the next booth, and the next exhibition stall introduced themselves while the others were still cheering.

  I listened partially, but I already saw enough.

  It was asphalt.

  “Hold your heads high. Our roads in the cities are fine, but intercity roads must now be traversed by larger vehicles and thousands of soldiers. Cobble is costly. This is not.” They took the sludge made from distilling oil, which was below even the thickest crude, and turned that product into a binder for crushed-up rocks. Heated up, added to rocks, and laid flat into stone panels. They marketed it as a weather-resistant panel for fortresses, and the small team looked ready for a tongue-lashing. All because they’ve never seen highways where asphalt was the key to allowing millions of cars to make modern life possible. “I will have you work with the engineering team to make a machine that lays a flat layer of this material whilst dragged over a prepared surface. This will reinforce our logistical lines. Well done.”

  I gave another set of handshakes and smiles to the team. I noted that a Conqueror, Forger, and Scholar were part of the team, just like most of the others. Everyone had different tech trees and developments, so I wanted as many different minds on every project as I could. They all had the best education that I could provide, so I thought that personal views and cultural differences gave small groups different insights and perspectives. They can work with their own people on specific projects later, but for these young, new scientists I could afford to be experimental.

  Not to mention the fact that I wanted them to all be able to work together on emergency projects.

  If something crazy popped up, I wanted all my scientists and scholars to be able to work together to figure it out as fast as possible.

  Anyway, with asphalt secured and hopefully road-making machines with them, I moved onto the next product.

  Ah, this one already reached me before I arrived, so I had my hand out ready to shake the team lead’s own.

  “This finding is exceptional. This is not just a replacement but an improvement over the oils we once used to keep our machines running.” Oil cans became a common feature in life all over the city once more machines with moving parts were introduced. Pressed oil was put into little cans with nozzles and added in droplets to gears. It was constant and tedious work to the point I was considering just giving everyone working in factories their own oil cans. Now, that was not needed. We now had industrial lubricant jelly at our disposal. “I already have engineering teams developing applicators. Testing on existing machines is showing immense promise. They last longer, make less of a mess, and prevent wear and tear to a greater degree.”

  Again, I shook hands with the scientists involved while patting myself on the back. I found people smarter than me, solved their needs, and hired them to be smart and investigate things that I couldn’t.

  Now, I was reaping the benefits.

  I wanted gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel, but now I was getting almost everything oil could provide that was essential for modern infrastructure.

  And, of course, modern warfare.

  Breaking down oil was leading to us breaking down and recombining other elements through various methods. These guys are the trailblazers remaking industrial chemistry as more than just us replicating what the Citadel can produce. The first forms of plastic were now here, and I hoped that we were towards discovering plastic explosives. Our current explosive assortment has provided all that it can. All we can do with them is pack more in, make bigger and more robust cannons, and basically scale things up. There was only so much that we could derive from replicating the chemical propellant recipe made by the Citadel and using it in creative ways.

  I can only hope that with enough scientists researching different avenues, we’ll figure it out.

  I’d have had them look for it first, but being able to mass-produce Citadel-based propellant and getting planes and trains had been more important. Then there was a whole slew of other systems needed to get everything up and running, like industrial-scale steel production. As advanced as everything was now, it was only thanks to a lot of scientists and scholars innovating and working hard to make what I knew into reality. So, while I could’ve made armies earlier for the cost of all the universities and schools that I built, I wasn’t about to complain because their results were beyond reproach.

  And, undoubtedly, important for continued progress while multiple apocalypses bear down on us.

  So, with that in mind, I kept moving through the ad hoc exposition center, ready to promote and support as many scientists as possible.

  I may be the man funding them, and the engineers were the ones making their discoveries practical, but in the end we’d all still be using bows and swords without these guys.

  They deserved every ounce of credit that I gave them.

  …

  Interlude: Conquest

  …

  With Father’s death, I was given a period of one year to put everything in order at home, and I first believed that it was too long. Father had many able lieutenants, and I had siblings that could take the mantle. The Conquerors was in good hands, and so I only needed a handful of months to mourn his passing and assist my household with the transfer of power.

  Then, I arrived at home and found myself mistaken.

  The Conquerors had changed immensely in the years I spent within the King of Wisdom’s army, fighting all over the continent and doing all that I could with the training that I was given.

  Not even a decade had passed, but the home I once knew was utterly changed.

  The roads were filled with laborers carrying goods on their backs onto carts. The Colosseum’s expansions were completed, and bouts were held every day. Wyvern roosts were in full swing; the first generation was raised long ago, and every year a new generation came of age. They were the only mounts my people could ride into battle, and they were being massed in groups of two hundred. The once-ruined city was filled with gigantic, towering buildings where Conquerors needn’t bow their heads or stoop to gain entry, and there were so many of our people that I could scarcely wonder how much food the city consumed each day.

  I understood that our people could reproduce quickly and our children could grow to maturity fast when provided with food, but to see our capital with nearly a half a million souls was breathtaking.

  Already most of my siblings were the heads of districts. Each one is responsible to represent tens of thousands on the grand council. What was once a political arena for less than fifty chieftains was now a vast political battlefield of nearly three hundred representatives forming political blocks. The King of Wisdom encouraged all under his banner to govern themselves as states, though his word was final. He rarely exercised his authority in that regard, providing advice at most, and so our people flourished under his rule and found themselves even after our rescue and inclusion under his banner.

  Father had told me much and informed me of all the changes, but to see and understand it all firsthand took me weeks.

  Weeks when I was away from command.

  In those weeks, I coordinated with my brothers and sisters to find my bearing. I contacted Father’s old friends and allies. With their help, I was able to represent those whom Father once represented with their vote of confidence at my back, and we marshalled together a majority on the council floor. Some people denounced me as the King of Wisdom’s agent, others challenged me to see if I truly was as strong as rumors claimed, and more challenges arose. I confronted them all head-on, and after expending much, rose to lead my people as a champion with even my foes respecting me.

  In that time, the ancient foes of our people arrived, were rebuffed, and an entire assault was launched to knock one out of the war for months if not years.

  I nearly lost myself to anger as I asked why the Conquerors were not deployed to face the enemy.

  In the innocuous slate that I was provided that was directly tied to one near him, I received a reply within seconds after my question.

  “The Conquerors shall safeguard the entirety of the realm. My trust in your people is only second to the Iterants.” Each word in response was like a hammer blow that blasted away my anger. Each word filled my heart with a fierce feeling of pride unlike any other. The trust he placed in my father had not vanished. It was granted to me. “Conquest, troubles will arise whilst the first army is away. Now more than ever, I shall rely upon the Conquerors. Are your people ready for this burden?”

  He called for us.

  He did not demand our subservience or our blind obedience.

  With that call, everything I took for granted was given stark clarity.

  He gave us more than any other people. The Forgers may have their own council and factories upon which the nation relies, but they do not have an army. The Wardens and Children of the Elm are both watched with care, and they have no factories, and they are governed by Iterants. The Scholars have incredible numbers, but they are disseminated across the land as academics and have no true cohesion. Perhaps some may say that the Goddess of Life rules over the budding Church and its growing congregation with its slowly growing army of paladins and zealots, but they had no factories in their realm producing cannon and munitions.

  We are truly a state within a state, an ally who could be influenced, especially because the King of Wisdom never countered our own laws.

  So, while he sent away his finest generals and his true, first army, he looked to us with head bowed and neck bared.

  If we betrayed him now, then he would lose everything.

  This was the ultimate showcase of his trust for us, thanks to the efforts of my father and even the Deliverer and those who died long ago due to the Academy’s machinations.

  There was only one answer I could give in reply.

  The King of Wisdom has called to us for aid; therefore, the Conquerors shall answer.

  …

  Naturally, with most of my professional military off getting veterancy upgrades and hopefully smashing through demonic lands like a wrecking ball, I kept an eye on my Iterant population.

  This was the best time for them to rebel and the worst time for me to have them rebel.

  So, I was ready to lock down every Citadel, call on all my Citadel Guardians, and lock everything down while calling on the Conquerors for help. There were only half a million of them, but I made sure their lands, factories, and assets were iterant-free for a reason. If the Iterants rebelled, I was going to crash down on them hard by drafting the entire Conqueror populace, activating all my militia reserves, and sweeping through the land with all the Guardian reserves that we had.

  I hoped that I’d clear them all out in three months, before each one of their million-strong domestic numbers produced two more each. With the big kick-off of the crises, any newly produced Iterants from the million that I had were being sent out into the rest of the world to infiltrate the enemy and wait for a global uprising. With the million-strong Iterant population producing two million Iterants every turn/three months, I planned on using them like a massive surprise terminator army to bring the Demons, Ascendant, and the Stymphalians down.

  I figured we’d do our best and hold out for seven turns, and then I’ll pull the trigger when the total number of existing Iterants reaches… 2.1 billion all over the planet.

  Yeah, with a million Iterants producing two each, there’ll be three million by the end of the year. The Iterants being sent out will produce two of their own, while we’ll keep sending out any of them above the million present on the continent.

  Three million will become nine. 2nd turn.

  Nine will become twenty-seven. 3rd turn.

  Twenty-seven to eighty-one. 4th turn.

  Eighty-one will turn into 243. 5th turn.

  243 into 729. 6th turn.

  Finally, 729 million will be 2,187 million, otherwise known as 2.1 billion. 7th turn.

  I had Ayah crunch the numbers after I did it on a napkin, and the Ancient Administrator confirmed it was possible, though there were naturally a lot of hiccups to the plan. There were no guarantees that we’d have 28 months without the catastrophes of finding out about the Iterants. Iterants can be destroyed, even if their instructions are to just go as far as they can, stay in the outskirts, or even dig underground if they must, and just replicate. Not to mention the fact that even with how massive the planet is, it’s hard to not notice millions of people.

  Realistically speaking, the total Iterant global population rate isn’t going to triple every quarter until they reach their cap of somewhere in the four billion range. Whatever interdimensional powerplant giving them power and letting them replicate can only support that much, since the Ancients went for multiple superweapons for their descendants rather than just one. Then, there was the fact that while they were tough fighters, they didn’t have magic, and we couldn’t resupply them once things kicked off. They’ll be out there fighting with their bare hands and whatever they can requisition in the field, basically as living waves against entire empires of monsters.

  Living waves of shapeshifting terminators against cursed post-humans with massive globe-spanning empires and matching populations.

  The crisis factions will adapt.

  They’ll create countermeasures.

  They’ll secure areas, make fortifications, and cordon the Iterants off, discover their limits, and sweep through them with professional militaries. They’ll use any materials that the Iterants are made of since there’ll be swathes of the stuff available, and that’ll give them Citadel-grade materials for weapons, armor, and maybe for manufacturing.

  The more I considered the Iterant plan… the more worried I was about the Iterants rebelling against it.

  From my point of view, I was sending them and their children out there to go and sucker punch the enemy while taking horrendous losses. That was basically the biggest negative happiness modifier you can give Iterants, and it just got worse the more of them you drafted to fight your enemies in the game. No matter how much you favored them, signed all the laws promoting them, and supported them, if you used Iterants as shock troops in every battle, they would rebel and kick off their event chain.

  Even with Ayah’s assurances that they’ll do it, and even with a few talks with the established Iterant leaders confirming that they’re ecstatic with the plan, I kept an eye on them with a finger on the metaphorical trigger. So, when it was suddenly reported that a thousand Iterants were suddenly missing, and the pop-up message came the turn before the Iterants rebelled, I had to stop myself from pulling the trigger and purging them all.

  All my instincts told me to start deleting Iterant populations the instant the news came, but I decided against it.

  All this time that I’ve worked with them, I’ve found them to be good and decent people who just wanted a chance. Of course, they’d rebel when they’re told that they’re going to be sent out to act like disposable human waves. If I were them, and they were me, and I knew that rebelling was the only chance that I had to see hundreds of millions of my people die in human wave tactics, then I would rebel even if I was given the most luxurious life possible in return.

  So, knowing that, I wanted to try and see if the event chain could be avoided if I didn’t go through with the plan.

  I hoped that, unlike the games, there was a ‘back the fuck down’ option and I didn’t have to liquidate a million Iterants… or get killed in an Iterant Rebellion.

  So, I went to find the newly created Iterant Faction Leader and Champion with the intent to prevent a war.

  Only instead of finding a skyscraper-sized column of glowing red mechanical eyes and tendrils, I found myself looking at a Divine Engine that shouldn’t exist.

  Devs, how much fanservice did you put in the next expansion!?