Beyond the Bloodline

Chapter 447: The Vanguard Expands

After briefing Olivia and Richard on the outline of his plan to force the Cosmic Realm combatants of the Neo-Extinction Legion into the open, Jamie left Zanerth and headed over to Akari’s domain to gain her cooperation in executing the plan.

With all the Hybrids except Jamie currently in Zanerth, they assumed full control over every matter related to the ongoing war, unlike before, where Richard and Olivia partially commanded forces while mostly focusing on researching the dead lifeforms to uncover their weaknesses, and Sarina simply stayed behind the front lines overseeing the supply routes through which the Intergalactic Accord’s frontline forces received weapons, vital military equipment, starships, and other resources.

Miranda headed over to Zanerth-O1 to oversee matters from the universe’s seat of power. Sarina, Richard, and Olivia maintained their previous responsibilities, but Richard and Olivia now devoted far more attention to commanding the Accord’s frontline forces.

Most importantly, John, the most militarily experienced and currently strongest combatant among the three Cathedral siblings, finally joined the war effort together with his forces, the adventurers, mercenaries, and explorers across the universe and from other universes where he held major influence.

The inclusion of these forces expanded the theatre of war, lengthening the frontline and increasing the amount of territory across which the Neo-Extinction Legion had to spread its forces, since the Accord could now attack them from multiple directions simultaneously.

To put it simply, if the Accord had previously only been pressing against the Dead Zone from the north, John’s inclusion now made it possible for them to pressure the Dead Zone from the west as well.

The Hybrids were informed about the outline of Jamie’s plan, while the Supremes currently within the universe were only told the bare minimum details.

All they were informed about was that Jamie had returned and was hatching a plan to force the Neo-Extinction Legion’s major combatants into the open, and that they should prepare for deployment because once those major combatants revealed themselves, the Supremes would be the ones confronting them. Jamie revealed none of the finer details regarding what the plan actually involved.

Even so, those Supremes, none of whom had forgotten Jamie’s declaration at the beginning of the war that Estea would stay back while the other intergalactic forces of the universe acted as the vanguard, knew that whatever plan Jamie had prepared would definitely work them to the bone.

Several weeks after Jamie left for Akari’s domain, the fighting resumed.

The Dead Zone expanded outward slightly as more Neo-Extinction Legion forces poured out from within it. The majority of the combatants this time were dead lifeforms, and perhaps due to the devastating losses suffered in the previous battle, the Neo-Extinction Legion did not hesitate to deploy their Sub-Cosmic Realm existences.

Leading the forces entering battle were Phantasmal and Assimilation Realm existences, with a few Firmament existences scattered here and there among the trillions swarming out from the Dead Zone.

Naturally, the Accord responded in kind, deploying their own Firmament Realm existences to keep those of the Neo-Extinction Legion in check.

While these major combatants kept one another in check, the Monarch and Deity Realm existences clashed in bloody battles.

Like before, the exchanges stretched over several standard days.

Soon, the battlefield reached a stage where the weakest combatants visible were all inferior Mid-Tier Deities, as Low-Tier Deities had been pushed toward the outer edges of the battlefield, far away from the primary combat zones.

Before long, Primogenial Realm existences also began actively participating in the fighting.

It was then that, suddenly, every Cosmic Realm existence within the universe sensed an immense burst of cosmic energy.

That burst of cosmic energy was immediately followed by a crushing pressure descending upon the universe itself.

The outer galaxies closest to the universe’s barrier trembled violently, their gravity disrupted under the weight of that overwhelming pressure upon space-time itself.

Those currently fighting against the Neo-Extinction Legion on the frontlines also sensed the immense pressure descending upon them.

The Neo-Extinction Legion’s Cosmic Realm forces nearly revealed themselves immediately, believing that the Accord had suddenly deployed Grand Supremes onto the battlefield. However, they barely restrained themselves after realising that the overwhelming pressure and that burst of cosmic energy both originated from outside the universe.

Suddenly, the entirety of the Zanerth Universe trembled.

Literally.

Every single existence within it could feel the space surrounding them shake violently, their bodies moving uncontrollably for a moment as the very space they occupied quaked beneath the weight of an immense force.

The force of a catastrophic impact smashing directly through the Zanerth Universe’s barrier before violently crashing into and through its spacetime continuum.

Space ruptured at several points, higher dimensions trembling as something crashed through several of them before breaking out into the third dimension in the space above the Dead Zone, directly above the primary battlefield between the Accord and the Neo-Extinction Legion.

A massive explosion of cosmic energy erupted outward, sending blackened shards of broken space flying in every direction as a streak of light shot straight toward the Dead Zone, tearing through several Neo-Extinction Legion warships and blowing them apart.

However, right before it could crash into the fog of pseudo-nonexistence, the streak of light abruptly stopped.

Richard and Olivia, who had rushed over to see what was happening, widened their eyes in shock when they realised that the streak of light was actually Jamie, who had been blasted through space with overwhelming force.

Jamie wiped the blood from his lips, the wound healing within a second as he extended his right hand and summoned the Galaxy Sword into his grasp.

|Dictum of the Azure Paragon: Flames of Gehenna!|

Powerful blue flames erupted around the Galaxy Sword as Jamie swung it with all his might, a massive arc of blue fire spreading outward and consuming everything across the space it passed through.

Millions of dead lifeforms and Neo-Extinction Legion combatants caught in its path were burned into ash as the expanding flames rushed toward the giant rupture in space from which Jamie had emerged.

And just when it seemed the attack was about to land directly, a loud true voice echoed out.

|Devour it all, Obsidian of Greed!|

An immense black light erupted outward, expanding like a blooming flower while releasing a terrifying, attractive force that swallowed the azure flames into its dark core within moments.

Then the same voice echoed once more.

|Prayer of Amplification! Prayer of Binding! Return to Sender, Pearl of Charity!|

A blinding flash of light erupted outward, and before the light even began fading, the flames that had been absorbed by the giant black flower were instantly returned with nearly twice the original power in the form of a catastrophic explosion that engulfed everything nearby.

The fabric of reality distorted under the overwhelming power of the blast as entire regions of the battlefield were consumed by the raging inferno.

The edges of the Dead Zone were burned by the power of the flames, the grey fog of pseudo-nonexistence overwritten in seconds, carving a massive gap into the borders of the Dead Zone itself.

Millions of Neo-Extinction Legion combatants died instantly, their bodies and even their ashes burned completely into nothingness, while violent shockwaves blasted through the battlefield and sent Accord forces flying in every direction.