Warlords: World Conquest RP

[Backbackback]

"Well, after contracting myself with this ass sword-" I said as I unsummoned Desire. "-I suddenly woke up in an unfamiliar forest, confused and shaken. And that when I meet with this woman, wielding a sword and have a wing on her back."

"Did you know what she instantly do to me?" I said with a graver emotions, reliving one of my trauma. "She stab me, in the chest. She ******* stab me, an innocent civilian that just woke up, confused in the middle of a forest. And that bitch ******* stab me."

Breath in, breath out.

I hold myself back from shouting and throwing a tantrum as I exhale and inhale, trying to calm myself. I really should already overcome that incident.

"I can feel my mana getting sucked up by her sword while I was groaning in pain. Then suddenly- another winged woman comes to my rescue, she killed the one that stabbed me and bringing me to her house."

"I was being healed there by another woman like her. Apparently they are another races that inherently have an eternity sword from their birth. Spirit."

"These spirit are a soldier of a kingdom named Rakios, that kingdom is on a war with their neighbours. They taught me how to speak and read their language, they taught me the common sense in their land."

"And when the news of my appearance came to the king-" I balled my fist, anger comes at me. "-he literally force me to come at his castle, force me to fight their human soldiers and even the spirit that healed me before."

"After surprisingly defeated the spirit, the king instantly enslaved me and make a commander of his army."

"Can you imagine that?" I asked Zlata rhetorically. "A teenager without an experience in a death and life battle, that haven't even lead anyone in his entire life, taking a mantle of a commander in a war?"

"That is such a funny jokes that I sometimes feel grateful for them. If not for those ***** that came at me, I won't be standing here in front of you."

"And so, I learn war tactics, strategy and more importantly- how to fight."

"Territory upon territory me and my army conquered, yet that greedy king still hasn't satisfied with his ambition. He was determined to conquer the entire continent, and so I was there- fighting through a bunch of spirits in the desert, alone. Before I suddenly appeared at Ankara, Turkey."

"So... What do you think about my story? Quite interesting isn't it?"

"That's why you said you were a slave..." Zlata murmured, "Now... I... I understand..."

She didn't quite relate given her past as well being unique on its own right, however. "However...."



Her eyes looked at him, "That's all the more reason I have to be someone who will help you get through it." her voice beamed with an aura of sincerity.

"There's Warlords out there who would do evil for the sake of being evil. Destroy because they exist to do so. Manipulate others to do their horrific bidding, without any form of remorse nor mercy. And so many bad things that it's practically endless. They're... they're the villains of this world. Evil lords who wants nothing but to spread mishap whenever they go."

She spoke like she was speaking to a crowd, enough to inspire millions, even billions, with her mere words.

"And that's why, I want to become a symbol of peace and hope. I have to be a hero that gives light to people that were once like you, tortured and enslaved, transported to a world they know little about."

There is a concept called charisma that exists. One that allows a person to seemingly go on and follow them simply because what they're saying closely is tied to them in some way. But there also exists another...

National patriots and martyrs alike, those well-known in history did the same thing.

They embody change. Change for the betterment of the world, change for the people.

And if there's anything like a superhero in a comic book given form...

"I will save as much people as I can to the best of my abilities. I won't let anyone hurt your people, nor anyone else any longer. Because I will be a hero who would bring your smile back, bring everyone's smiles back. No matter what happens, I will keep pushing forward. I'll fight against fate and twist the malignant bleak darkness into a bright future."

...then Zlata embodies that completely.

"Because in this world. People who smile are the strongest..." smiling as she said it.

 

[Rakih_Elyan]

"That's why you said you were a slave..." Zlata murmured, "Now... I... I understand..."

She didn't quite relate given her past as well being unique on its own right, however. "However...."



Her eyes looked at him, "That's all the more reason I have to be someone who will help you get through it." her voice beamed with an aura of sincerity.

"There's Warlords out there who would do evil for the sake of being evil. Destroy because they exist to do so. Manipulate others to do their horrific bidding, without any form of remorse nor mercy. And so many bad things that it's practically endless. They're... they're the villains of this world. Evil lords who wants nothing but to spread mishap whenever they go."

She spoke like she was speaking to a crowd, enough to inspire millions, even billions, with her mere words.

"And that's why, I want to become a symbol of peace and hope. I have to be a hero that gives light to people that were once like you, tortured and enslaved, transported to a world they know little about."

There is a concept called charisma that exists. One that allows a person to seemingly go on and follow them simply because what they're saying closely is tied to them in some way. But there also exists another...

National patriots and martyrs alike, those well-known in history did the same thing.

They embody change. Change for the betterment of the world, change for the people.

And if there's anything like a superhero in a comic book given form...

"I will save as much people as I can to the best of my abilities. I won't let anyone hurt your people, nor anyone else any longer. Because I will be a hero who would bring your smile back, bring everyone's smiles back. No matter what happens, I will keep pushing forward."

...then Zlata embodies that completely.

"Because in this world. People who smile are the strongest..." smiling as she said it.

"Thank you" I said as I smile back to her. The weight in my shoulder lessen after I hear her words. I grab her shoulder.

"Thank you for becoming my ally and supporting me, I will also protect you and your people from any harm."

I stared at her softly.

"Any other thing you want to say to me?"

 

[Backbackback]

"Thank you" I said as I smile back to her. The weight in my shoulder lessen after I hear her words. I grab her shoulder.

"Thank you for becoming my ally and supporting me, I will also protect you and your people from any harm."

I stared at her softly.

"Any other thing you want to say to me?"

"..." Zlata looked at him, gently holding his hands with her softer hands, "Young man, you too can become a hero."

 

[Overlord775]

With his roots in place both in the physical realm and the governament body of the countries, taking over Zambia is relativelly quick and very painlessly.

Next up, with his roots needing more time for the rest of the countries, he'll just let them grow by themselves.

Yorsha will move back to the horn of Africa, to expand his territory there, starting with the conquest of Guinea.

 

[Hl3_or_bust]

Kane quickly retreats back to his lab with his new spikes in tow, though it takes him a moment to calm down enough to properly assess the power contained within these objects.

As he noticed before, these spikes carry some innate power stemming from the very metal used to create them. This power is qi-like in nature, though it has a good few differences. For one, its a tad simpler overall, but it also seems to follow more concrete laws that govern how it interacts with objects and itself. Scanning more deeply, this power appears to be tuned towards the plundering of energy from a target, acting on a spiritual level to steal parts of them and apply to another.

"What demonic items, these are."

Kane amusedly says to himself. This is definitely something the demonic sects of his old world would kill to have, but he thankfully doesn't have to worry about that, nor the orthodox faction getting on his ass over them. He recalls Mile's warning about too many spikes tearing apart the receiver's soul, which makes sense with what he knows now. The soul isn't an incomplete construct, trying to staple more onto it like this is like using a hammer to force a book into an already full bookshelf. You'd be lucky if it didn't break somehow even after the first application, but what about the second? The third? Of course, methods to heal the soul were quite common where Kane comes from, and pills to do so, while somewhat high-end, are by no means unable to be made.

Of course, while he is enthusiastic about this, he realizes that utilizing this energy in this form is significantly less effective for him. While he could stretch his definition of alchemy to include this, it still wouldn't allot him much talent in the process. In such a case, he decides to pay particular attention the properties of metals used for these spikes.

He first holds up an iron spike, detecting a void of "strength" that aches to be filled. He repeats this process in sequence for every spike, but he stops at a few of them for longer. That is because these aren't metals normally found in this planet, but are instead much closer to spirit stones in composition. One has a void that seems to wish for any attribute, one yearns for the natural energy of the planet itself, and another seeks the sensory "experience" that is a person. How intriguing.

He puts down the last of those odd metals, moving back to the start with the iron spike, now attempting to draw out this qi-like power from it. It takes him a moment to find the correct way to pull on its energy with his divine sense, but it does seem to eventually work. Perhaps too well, as Kane notices that the spike in his hand seems to be slowly eaten at by invisible flames. He quickly notices many sources of quiet scraping in the room with him, looking around only to notice that it is coming from the various other spikes he had laid down. They seem to be slowly and faintly drawn towards the "burning" iron spike.

"What?"

Kane looks more closely at the "burning" spike, noticing something odd: The power it is emitting that draws on the other metal isn't coming from it. It is being released from every part of the spike equally, but its as if it is being beamed to it from somewhere very distant. Kane attempts to trace this connection, but suddenly his vision is filled by an odd scene. A huge mountain stands surrounded by forests, deserts, and tundras, somehow at all once. Looking closely, he can even see human-build structures and animals, everything blurring together into a mess that would be completely indecipherable for any normal human. It's as if a million years are passing by all at once, every second overlaid on top of each other and compressed into a single point of time. He feels a faint yet profound power from this scene, the power of many, many moments compressed into one.

"This is a dao?!"

Kane blurts out the moment he comes-to. He finally realizes why this power seemed so strangely enticing to him, though that may be some revisionism on his part. Whatever the case, he is fully aware that he just stared into a dao related to time and preservation, or perhaps preservation surmounting time. It's a bit unclear, but the fact that he can even form proper thoughts after doing such a thing is already miraculous to him. Though, he finds it odd how a power drawn directly from a dao could be so faint, but he suspects he is using it incorrectly to produce such an outcome.

Another thing for him to test as he delves into the secrets of this qi-like energy and the metals holding it.

 

[Lou_change]

Defender takes the last three nations in Oceania available Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
That took a while but now I am going to over my tracks.
"I decree that no mentions of my protection of Oceania shall be made on social media or to those outside your borders. In addition any white chess kings found at the extreme points of any islands are to be hidden using appropriate material also don't mention that on social media or to those outside your borders." Defender says.

 

[Adem_Warlock69]

Should Maria look back, all she'd see is Zlata sobbing as she left her.

Maria soared through the air, away from Zlata and when she glanced back, all she'd see was the memory of Zlata's tear-streaked face, their once unbreakable bond now dissolving into the far-off horizon. Her guilt was almost suffocating, like an anchor pulling her down. She had deserted Zlata at a time when she needed her the most.
It was a betrayal, plain and simple.

As minutes stretched into hours, Maria's feelings of remorse evolved into something more.
She couldn't simply mope in self-pity. She needed to go back, to find Zlata and try to make things right.
But even as the thought coursed through her, doubt gnawed at the edges of her resolve.

What could she say? What could she do to mend the rift she had created?
'I'm sorry' didn't cut it, a mere bandage on a wound that ran far deeper.
No, she needed to do something bigger, something that shouted to the heavens how much Zlata meant to her.

As she flew on, a daring plan took shape in Maria's mind.
She remembered the cryptic message she had received at the very beginning. It spoke of 'signifiers', of using them to take over countries.
What if... What if she used Zlata's signifiers? What if she dared to claim not just one, but multiple countries with them?
It was a concept so outlandish, so outrageously grand, that it elicited a laugh from Maria.
It was quintessentially her, to dream big and then dream even bigger.

Now, to turn this wild notion into reality, she needed to find Zlata's signifier.
Maria couldn't be certain, but she had a hunch that the signifier she needed was somewhere in the vicinity.

 

[Torlikoff]

@Junko

"...I think you and I are going to get along just fine, little lioness," Deimos responds to Svard, seeming unfazed by the threat and responding in turn with a little taunt of his own. "Buckets are of no consequence, you can find them in any city on this planet,really. For Lava, you're shit out of luck. Gotta find a volcano, which probably means barging into someone's territory. Ah, preferably not mine, though~ No volcanoes here."

@Faruel

"Poor little warlord,lost and on his own. You'll find one in the city ahead. Don't cause any trouble, and I'll let you walk around as you please."

The phantom turns into a formless cloud of smoke and heads right towards London's center. "Keep up if you can!"

@Courser

"Very well. Have them distributed across our lesser marksmen, those who need the crutch. Send half of them to Greenland."

Deimos frowns internally at this, his mood being killed a bit. Hopefully Romulus regains her senses enough to participate in the coming battle, it would be more than a bit inconvenient to have his strongest asset-

He considers the secret stone.

It would be more than a bit inconvenient to have his strongest impersonal asset out of commission.

 

[Junkoposter]

@Torlikoff

“Mhm.” The swordswoman just nods her head, buggering off to the nearest town to get some metal buckets. Buckets acquired woo.

And then, she starts the process. Breaking through the floor the second after acquiring her buckets, she starts mining down at a slight right angle, creating a blocky mineshaft downwards that by all logic should collapse, but isn’t.

Only coming back up to get lights and craft more tools of stone, she begins her quest to reach the magma layer, gathering insane amounts of stone and whatever materials she finds down there as she goes.

This may take a while.

 

[ThisThingisReallyBroken]

@Torlikoff

“Copy.”

In Greenland, large portals open across the shoreline of Nuuk. Swathes of black cargo ships pour out. They carry shipments filled with the green material. Soldiers scan the area, watching for anything that could intercept them.

@The_man_with_the_Midas_touch

Christina nods.

“Important information needs to be relayed, first. An introduction to my abilities, mainly. I am a Class 0 cyborg made from my master production’s line. We share the same potency in firepower and abilities. However, I do not have the same physical strength as my master or any current warlords.”

She opens two portals to the remaining signifiers, and pulls out a large armor-piercing sniper rifle from her trench coat.

“My main utility will be to provide you cover fire and amplifications if necessary.”

Christina loads her a round into the chamber.

“That’s all. Awaiting orders, Alfonso.”

 

[ZoroNotZolo]

"Oh, great! Someone answered!" the girl exclaimed, "Hey, Miss Zlata, come look at this! Someone just answere- Oh! Oh, okay... Okay..." she soon came back to the microphone to continue the call, but it's not like La Diosa didn't hear what she said— Miss Zlata.

"Hello, my name is Qunti. On behalf of Miss Zlata, may I know your name, miss?" she asked.

"La Diosa. What do you want?"

 

[Faruel1998]

Vidarr followed the instructions of Deimos and flyed towards the nearest city.
There he found a library in which he started to find information about the location of Iðavöllr, which was probably in the modern Germany, Weser River.

"Mmm ... Germany", he murmured before leaving and flying towards location of the river.

 

[Paul_Frank]

Elio and Dewi arrived in Pontianak, rumors of crying from nowhere, and the smell of a particular species of flower had been circulating. Cursed energy flows through everyone, and negative emotions amplify it, so it only stood to reason that in a territory held by Nakya, especially with her spreading cursed energy to others, there'd be an influx of cursed spirits. The one they were after now was a Grade 1 Potential Apparition, a Kuntilanak, a vampiric vengeful spirit. Arriving and getting to work, they located traces and followed reports of missing people.

Rules and symbolism are important for cursed spirits, from things like crossing over water, to following certain conditions, they couldn’t always just manifest anywhere and kill whoever they pleased. The Kuntilanak was no different, only appearing under the full moon. The sorcerers had no way to really change the sky to a full moon, but thinking logically it must not need the moon in the sky if it had appeared this often recently. This left two possibilities, either something else could function as the full moon for it, or its own innate domain would be projected outwards and conjure an image of the full moon for it. There was another way to find it though, it was said to reside in banana trees during the day, and following its traces, they located a specific tree, oozing cursed energy.

“Remember, the mission is to capture it alive if possible, and return it to the mountain.” Elio places a hand on the tree as he instructs Dewi, who simply nods.
As they had predicted, upon being located, the spirit deployed a domain, resembling a night sky under the full moon. Instantly they were assailed with the effects of the domain, Dewi began bleeding, and Elio had his eyes scratched, their own reinforcement from cursed energy seemed to have stopped the effects from reaching their maximum potential.

“Its legends talk about causing sickness and bleeding in women, and tearing out the eyes of people that observe it. It also seems like it can only do one effect per person even if multiple conditions are met, which is why my eyes are fine.” Dewi speaks now, her cursed technique being unable to activate within the domain, allowing free communication.

The cursed spirit swoops down, morphing from a bird-like form into that of a woman with a massive hole in her back, as it transforms, the effects of the domain increase, and it charges Elio to try and drain his blood manually. Unluckily for it however, blood loss could no longer stop the incarnated sorcerers, and Dewi, who it counted out, drives a nail coated in cursed energy directly into its head, a method to subdue it according to its own legends. Upon doing so, the domain quickly fades.

---

As the process Nakya subjected herself to neared its end, she couldn’t help but think about what she had been recruited for.

A battle between Zlata and her forces and whoever has decided she’s a threat. But who could fit in that category?

The issue Nakya ran into when trying to think of answers to this is that she hadn’t really seen many Warlords, because of this she didn’t really know any of their personalities or goals, not that she’d ordinarily be concerned with that anyway.

Zlata has made a big name for herself as some saintly ruler who is able to pacify nations instantly, holds concerts for her people etc, but that alone wouldn’t cause conflicts. The cause would then likely be her rapid expansion, and the threat she made at the meeting. Meaning if this threat exists, it's likely that whoever will end up waging war against her was at the meeting at the least to have heard it.

But no, that only works under the assumption it was a single person, that didn’t seem to be what Zlata was expecting, which made her attempt at narrowing things down there null. If it were multiple people, it could be anywhere between one person who was there and one person they recruited, and the entire remaining cast of supernatural beings brought to Earth.

Being no closer to being able to narrow down a list of potential enemies, Nakya resigns and finishes her transformation, stepping out of her proverbial cocoon, and back into fresh air, her body looking mostly the same despite everything.

“I’m not sure it's even possible for her to win in any case, at least, not with her current attitude, she'd have to have recruited people not of a like mind, who are willing to kill as a first resort.”

Nakya’s lesser sorcerers, who had returned by this point with several incapacitated cursed spirits, looked at her, and they couldn’t sense anything besides a deep, glacial cold which threatened to overtake everything. She simply looks over the curses that were brought and waits for them to heal themselves, and while she does so, Elio and Dewi return with a slightly stronger curse.

After a while they’re all back in a condition where they can hear the offer they’re being given, and so Nakya begins.

“I offer you all here, a binding vow, in exchange for you fighting at a time of my choosing, you will not die here, and will get to remain inside me instead.” She gave a simple decree, though she posed it as an offer, it was more of an ultimatum akin to ‘join or die’.

Out of fear of her, the majority of the weaker ones and even some stronger ones agreed, but even still there were those who refused. For them, they were quickly accosted by the sorcerers on the mountain, who pinned them to the floor, Nakya simply placed the Engulfing Lightning on the ground and let her people get to work on turning it into a cursed tool.

 

[Torlikoff]

Over in Greenland, meanwhile, Deimos heads underground, to the depths of his castle. It's a gauntlet the whole way down, with legions ofmonsters lying patiently in wait, on top of being a valuable laboratory and protected area. In particular, he's having a group of moblins carry a series of large metal... things down there. he's told the detonation of enough of these could end the world as we know it. Could always use a backup plan.

They arrive at a massive chasm, and Deimos skydives down into it, deep below the earth. As he lands, he surveys the handiwork. It's an arena, to be sure, spiralling roots and earthen constructs twisted together in a truly hellish amalgmation, forming a roughly circular arena full of root platforms and cover. For fun, of course. The whole thing is the size of a small town, and pulsing with gloom.

Deimos buries the bombs, and places his hand on the floor. Even more dark magic pulses form his hand, beginning to permeate the very space. If he gathers enough, it will become a place where no outside help can interfere. Only the strength of those inside will be a deciding factor. Well, hopefully he doesn't have to use it.

Tapping into his link with Astaroth, he has the demon engineer open a heavy-looking vault door in space in front of him. Stepping inside takes him to a place that defies physics, geometry, and basic architecture, a sprawling dimension of iron and forges.

Iron Infinity Castle

"Ah, you're here, Master," Astaroth greets him without so much looking his way. The spider demon is currently making adjustments to the power armor he's been working on, built with the technology stored inside Deimos' body, both of Earth and of the strange blue tech that came with him to this world.

"I am. How goes our little project?"

"Should be done on schedule if my men keep their shit together. I swear, you make me work with Philistines."

"They're the best engineers in my territory, surely they can build a few warships."

"Not as well as I can."

"Well, quantity is its own quality, friend. After all, we're dealing with someone who can summon colossi in the millions with a wave of her hand. Can't help but to be prepared, right?"

The demon grumbles and returns to his work. He moves to Asmodeus next, who is inside Deimos' castle proper. Many permanent entrances connect the pocket dimension to the castle.


"Doctor, what's the prognosis?"

The room he enters is dark, and theink-like demon laughs madly, glowing to provide a crimson illumination over the room. "Oh, just lovely, sir. The Demon Art Formulas are turning out just like you wanted~"

"Great to hear! So they're working as intended?"

"Psssh, as if I'd do any less. One swig and you'll be able to use our blood demon arts! Temporary, of course, but I doubt that matters to you, right?"

"Temporary's enough for me. The experiences I gain are the important thing, after all! Speaking of..."

He's realized something in his meeting of other warlords. In exchagne for his great power, there's some critical weaknesses he's been falling behind the others in.
1) The sun. An obvious problem that needs to be dealt with. While he can mitigate it with storms, that only goes so far in preventing other warlords from piercing holes in said storms, or just attacking him with something like holy or sacred power.
2) Skill. It's not to say he's a slouch by any means, but he's seen the biology of others, the sheer degree to which they've honed their bodies puts even his malleable one at risk. He needs to adjust quickly in order to deal with what's to come.
3) Other supernatural power. He can only get a taste of it by dominating the souls of others, but he's seen and felt it. Aster, Kane, that mute one from Greenland. Spiritual power is out of his wheelhouse to genuinely perform. He needs a way to mitigate this if he's to succeed.

And so he does.



Deimos moves to the highest point of the castle and sits, cross-legged. He focuses his powers inward, grasping his body, mind, and soul once again. And he meditates.

[Level 5 - 1 Charge Used]
[Level 5 - 1 Charge Used]
[Level 7 - 6 Charges Used]

He expends the power of the Lesser Antilles, turning the eight motes of power he collected from them in on himself.

The first is an adaptation of the soul, absorbing the souls he's gathered and trapped within his body more properly into it. If one were to look into it, they would see not a sphere of energy, but something more akin to a grand spiked pillar, with spokes and pins reaching out in all directions through his body. Essentially, he's growing a nervous system, overcoming previous weaknesses. Though it's still bootleg to the real thing, this should afford a much greater array of shapeshiftings to let him freely alter his magical output, channel it through his body, and most importantly, to use a form of spiritual energy control using the souls he's gathered thus far. Roughly 3,000 in total now.

Through this entire process, his body is breaking down and repairing itself constantly, so he repeatedly downs the pills given to him by Kane to confirm their effects.

The second is an adaptation of the mind. In order to use this properly, he has to enhance himself greater. His eyes appear to shift, growing and changing colors several times as he dominates the unseen, forcing himself to evolve, to see what could previously not be seen. The invisible creature those acolytes arrived on was proof enough of this.

The third... Well, that's a little more important. He buries them deep within his own being to amplify a power he already had. Of course, before, he could adapt to having his head cut off, or having his body wracked with poison, but it's become more clear than ever that that won't be enough. He'll have to achieve true domination over himself, destroying every weakness and vulnerability he comes across. Reworking his magical barriers against certain attack types, altering his senses to perceive or keep up with those of greater speed, reworking his own cellular structure against what opponents can throw at him. It won't be instant, but it's survivability. And that's exactly what he's looking for.

Within his mind, a gear ticks. It's started to function, and even the cold around him feels less prominent.

Deimos stands. It's an investment to be sure; He's expended almost half of his stored-up charges. But he believes it's necessary for what's to come, while leaving just enough to continue functioning against the higher warlords.

And for now... He has a meeting to attend.

@WHYNAUT @Overlord775 @Hl3_or_bust @The_man_with_the_Midas_touch @ThisThingisReallyBroken

Deimos doubts that swordswoman will attend, and predicts that she'll be more of a nuisance than a boon, so for now, he leaves her to her own devices. He can eliminate her at a later date. So instead, he'll focus on the people he knows he can get in contact with through whatever means. Social Media, messenger demons, simple magical messages.

"The meeting will start soon, come to Greenland as soon as you can. Malphas made food."

The demon king moves to the meeting room, plopping down inside at the round table he's brought up, with food already laid out around it. He decides to send one more message...

@ZoroNotZolo

The woman, should she check online, receives a message once again, from Deimos.

"Come to Greenland. I have already arranged a flight. This regards the previous incident."

 

[Adem_Warlock69]

This... this is the signifier?
An entangled yarn with a face of a decapitated Cattle...
She had expected something more... grandiose, perhaps.

"Now with this, I can..." she began to say, but her voice trailed off.
But then, reality struck. She needed four signifiers for a single country. This one piece wouldn't suffice.
"I need more... four for each country..."

Maria racked her brain, desperately trying to devise a way to replicate the signifiers.
She tried to dissect the structure of the one she held, but it was far too complex for her to comprehend.
She considered every angle, hoping for a stroke of genius. But her efforts proved fruitless.

Frustration bubbled up within her. She couldn't afford to be stuck at this impasse.
...
Maybe...
The China Warlord, Runto...
Machines could replicate things perfectly, couldn't they?
If anyone could help me make more of these signifiers, it's that robot.
Rusco was the first warlord who really clicked with Zlata.
Even in this signifier thing turns out to be a bust, it might still hold the key to a solid plan B.

With a sigh, Maria stashed the peculiar yarn away and set her sights on Rusty's territory.
Another long, five-hour flight, man I really need a better way to travel.

 

[ZoroNotZolo]

@ZoroNotZolo

The woman, should she check online, receives a message once again, from Deimos.

"Come to Greenland. I have already arranged a flight. This regards the previous incident."

La Diosa's blood boils even seeing Deimos's name come up. She remained on call with Qunti, wondering what Zlata had to speak to her about, walking out toward her destination.

 

[Junkoposter]

@Torlikoff

“Mhm.” The swordswoman just nods her head, buggering off to the nearest town to get some metal buckets. Buckets acquired woo.

And then, she starts the process. Breaking through the floor the second after acquiring her buckets, she starts mining down at a slight right angle, creating a blocky mineshaft downwards that by all logic should collapse, but isn’t.

Only coming back up to get lights and craft more tools of stone, she begins her quest to reach the magma layer, gathering insane amounts of stone and whatever materials she finds down there as she goes.

This may take a while.

From inside the long mineshaft down, an orange glow starts to come from the end.

Crust breached. Magma reached.

Bucket it up, gather multiple Lave Buckets. Mission accomplished.

Leaving the mineshaft the swordswomen starts to sword-hop back to Sealand, where she starts to get to work, gathering buckets of water along the way.

Building up atop Sealand with all the cobble she has gathered, she starts to tower up, eventually breaching the clouds high atop the sky.

Build out, build up. Enough cobble gathered to create rudimentary skybase.

Chests are made, tables are crafted, furnaces placed down…

And with all the lava and water buckets gathered, the final step is made.

“Heh-hm~.”

Creating a small pool of lava, she gets to work, combining both water and lava to make obsidian in an odd 4-by-2 blocky frame.

And with a spark of flame created by burning wood near the frame…

…a purple portal opens, the swordswoman giving off a small cold smile all-the-while.

It begins.

 

[WHYNAUT]

Like everyone else, Aster was preoccupied with her own project. Her Devas had been spreading Level-Upper through as much of her territory as possible; most them had at least gained several hundred levels. They would've been at even higher levels had they not been donating part of their levels to others in order to speed up the distribution of Nen. Aster had secured the signifiers of the new additions to her territory the same she had with the others.
She had spent most of her time preparing her territory for the coming change however.

Aster sits on her cat's back as they levitate high up in the sky. She takes in a deep breathe as the wind blows her hair backwards.

"Aaahhh..." She breathes out, "it's finally time. I'm so very curious what stories will unfold in the era that is about to be born."

The space within the abandoned warehouse had merely been a prototype. Now it was time make a real change.

10 CHARGES USED - LEVEL 8 ABILITY:

'A River of Souls'. Aster had wanted to combine the use of Shinsoo, Nen and her power over physics for a while now. Reality-as-it-was-before had ties between them, but those were rather mundane. Within her territory this would change. All three of them would link together and create a world of wonders. Consciousness affected the world, this is a concept that was taken to the extreme in the case of her manipulation of physics. Nen is the force of the mind and a way of harnessing one's own life force. Shinsoo, the divine water, it makes up the life energy of beings and it can manifest in an infinite different ways, from the natural elements to geometrical shapes. Consciousness lies at the center of all of this, but it in turn is merely the result of the rules that govern the universe, it's a case of emergence. Lastly, mundanity was the result of strict rules, so the first order of business is to make physics paraconsistent, similarly to the flow of Shinsoo. Next the concept of consciouness, of a mind-like quality, existing as a fundamental part of reality would be realized. Immense Shinsoo concentrations started to flow through the atmosphere, filling everything with power. This in combination with mind force now existing everywhere gave rise to what was essentially a space filled with aura. A space that was largely and quite literally isolated from the rest of the world by an invisible barrier. Travel through this barrier was only possible through official passages or with Aster's permission. The land itself was now capable of growth, of breathing, and nothing would ever become stagnant, the very rules of existence now promoted complexity. Mountains could slowly take different shapes, forests became truly animated and the wind whispered sweet words. Physics was now more open to influence by consciousness and almost anything could potentially develop its own Nen now. All of this happened without destroying human society, thanks to Aster's carefully preparing her territory and setting the parameters of this ability. Although there would be chaos, the high concentration of Shinsoo and the abundance of aura flowing through everything would make the humans stronger than ever. Not only that, Aster's territory, present and future, had now become a place of endless possibility that could sustain itself as long as the earth existed. Within it Shinsoo flowed and manifests according to her will; she had become akin to a miniature version of the 'gods' that ruled a tower in a faraway story. She could even create contracts like them.

Aster closes her eyes and breathes in the Shinsoo filled with aura and lets out a content sigh with a smile. She starts to chuckle, but it quickly turns into maniacal laughing. Her cat happily sways its tail as Aster lets it all out.

"Ah, this is a work of art if I do say so myself." she says as her surroundings take on a new shape, "Now this vessel can grasp the true essence of power both within one's self and without."

She gets a call on the aura phone she had received from one of her Devas: "Yo, boss. Looks like it worked. Congratulations." it was Aaron.

"Hmmm, yes indeed! Gather everyone at the warehouse; I have some more gifts for all of you. After that you should go and prepare for the meeting, Aaron."

"Got it, boss. I'll get to it then." he responds before hanging up.

Aster could now sense all her Devas moving to the warehouse through their portal network. She could hear the land calling out to her: "Oh, our fair lady, our creator, what are you?"

She smiles, "I'm your guardian angel."

 

[The_man_with_the_Midas_touch]

Christina nods.

“Important information needs to be relayed, first. An introduction to my abilities, mainly. I am a Class 0 cyborg made from my master production’s line. We share the same potency in firepower and abilities. However, I do not have the same physical strength as my master or any current warlords.”

She opens two portals to the remaining signifiers, and pulls out a large armor-piercing sniper rifle from her trench coat.

“My main utility will be to provide you cover fire and amplifications if necessary.”

Christina loads her a round into the chamber.

“That’s all. Awaiting orders, Alfonso.”

"Orders? You aren't a slave, girl. Just watch my back, and well be right as rain~." The man said, waving his hand dismissively. He began to step through one of the portals, gesturing for her to follow.

Deimos doubts that swordswoman will attend, and predicts that she'll be more of a nuisance than a boon, so for now, he leaves her to her own devices. He can eliminate her at a later date. So instead, he'll focus on the people he knows he can get in contact with through whatever means. Social Media, messenger demons, simple magical messages.

"The meeting will start soon, come to Greenland as soon as you can. Malphas made food."

The demon king moves to the meeting room, plopping down inside at the round table he's brought up, with food already laid out around it. He decides to send one more message...

The man received the magical message as he was in the midst of his conquest of Greece, his glowing eyes raising ever so slightly.

"I guess I really do need to hurry...seems it's about time to meet the boss~" The man muttered. He began to move quickly, working to place his third signifier.

 

[Hl3_or_bust]

Kane quickly realizes several limitations in his initial testing methodology of these metal spikes and the energy they contain.

For one, activating the energy outside of a human body exponentially decreases the effect for reasons he cannot quite determine, but that's not particularly important. He is a cultivator after all, of what use would he be if he could die to eating some granules of metal? He quickly determines the effects of the various metals when "burned" inside of his body; for example, steel pushes way metal while iron pulls it closer, pewter increases strength while tin increases senses. He notices several conceptual similarities between the effects of what should be unrelated metals, organizing it into a table for future reference. Pushing and pulling, internal and external, physical, mental, temporal, and enhancement. The effects of this "burning" are nothing to scoff at, either. Of course, he is immediately intrigued by the temporal effects of certain metals, but he comes to realize that the enhancement quadrant is perhaps even more potent. Affecting the "burning" of himself and others is merely the start, as it takes little work to tune it to his own conception of qi.

However, through all of this, he had been slowly absorbing small quantities of this qi-like energy into himself in order to study its properties. While it doesn't seem to have many inherent powers, the same can be said of qi, so he doesn't become concerned at that. Drawing out the absorbed energy and infusing it into objects causes several unusual reactions, though it generally has no practical use after the fact. This momentarily stumps him, but he recalls the metal spike's focus on attributes. Somewhat miraculously, he finds himself able to store his own attributes into these metals! While it drains him somewhat while he stores an attribute, such as strength or speed, he can tap into the stored attribute through contact with the metal it was channeled into, granting him a burst of power.

It doesn't take him long to come to an important revelation: what if he infuses attributes and this energy into a piece of metal he has consumed, something he comes to call a metalmind, and then "burns" it? While this doesn't result in the usual effects of "burning", it does result in an extreme burst of the appropriate attribute, which he unconsciously attempts to store into another metalmind in order to prevent damaging his surroundings. To his amusement, this not only works, but leaves him with significantly more of the attribute stored as energy than he started. While a few of the metals don't store attributes conducive to this recursive growth, many do. As if riding the momentum of this discovery, he makes another important development.

Of the five phases, metal is one that tends to stump people the most. Its attributes are at once simple and complex, plainly visible to anyone with functioning eyes and so profound that even most dao-seekers cannot fully grasp it. Metal qi is, similarly, at once singleminded and versatile, but these new discoveries relating to the inherent and inherited power of metal give Kane an idea. He quickly creates a few hundred of these metal alchemy dragons, having them sit idle inside of his body as he would attempt to store an attribute into them. This doesn't initially work, but as he feeds each of them a distinct metal, created through various formulas that Kane created during this period to destructively test these discoveries, it does, in fact, become able to the store the attribute! Furthermore, the alchemy dragon is already able to directly consume physical metals, allowing it to autonomously grow its capacity over time. This is, at least, aside from the three non-standard metals, which he needs some more time to formulate an appropriate method of creation for due to their unusual properties. Besides that, is also a bit more cautious of them then he was before, as when he attempted to trace the conceptual link one had he saw what he is fairly certain was a sun cool and dissipate into dust. He might be a bit batty, but he isn't insane enough to treat lightly whatever power is behind these metals. Back on the topic of the alchemy dragons, he was in the process of egging himself on to initiate trials to test if they can directly consume an attribute from someone, but he is interrupted by Deimos' message being delivered to him through some messengers.

"Ah, it seems it's finally time for that. Help me pack my things."

----

To the south-east, Navassa Island is completely unrecognizable. Huge amounts plant material appear as something between a mountain and a connected skyscraper, rising multiple kilometers into the air, dotted with every color of vine and flower. The island itself has been completely converted into Chlorophyte, a material more than strong enough to maintain structural integrity even as the whole of the island is filled with an ant-like network of tunnels and chambers. Many of these are open or lead outside, serving as resting grounds for the various monsters that Kain purchased and modified earlier. Three Colgeras can be seen idly circling the whole of the structure.

From one of the central spires, Kane overlooks this creation. His lab, as well as the labs of over thirty thousand of his most capable juniors conscripted to crew and man the island, have been moved into the structure so that their work will never need to cease, in addition to four of the Rebirth Pools. Of course, Kane isn't idle, as he applies the finishing touches of his Divine World Refining Formation to the outside of the island, sheathing it in the formation to make the rate of work identical to that of his normal territory as well.

With a deep rumble, huge waves of air send massive waves flying away from the island, which slowly but surely rises into the air. At around a hundred meters above sea level, it stops rising and moves west, over the Mucktorok's quarantine island, which now additionally houses a poison alchemy dragon that Kane came up with. A few cultivators, covered from head-to-toe in seals, descend with massive golden chains in hand, wrapping them around the island to completely cover it in many times its own size in gold, sealing the structure air-tight. With a light tug as Navassa Island begins rising again, eventually coming to fly above the cloud layer, the island is broken off of its thin connection to the sea floor and rises into the air with the flying island, though hanging far below for somewhat obvious reasons.

"Ah, how wonderous. I perhaps lack notable "commander" underlings like the others, but they'd be swallowing their tongues if they dared to scoff at this."

Kane bemusedly mumbles to himself.

"I'll call it Navassa. It is a unique, living organism after all."

With that, and with a thunderous sonic boom, Navassa, the Mucktorok hanging under it, and the three Colgeras chained to its north face head northwards, to Deimos' territory in Greenland. Of course, Kane and his juniors are not simply idly riding, as they all resume their prior projects, through with perhaps a bit less focus than before for the few strongest among them that were designated to drive.

 

[Junkoposter]

With her Nether portal settup, the swordswoman gets back to work, smelting all the resources she got while making that fuckhuge mineshaft.

Full iron: get. Gold boots: get. Other assorted things for the Nether: ready to roll.

And for the finishing touch, the swordswoman puts down a bed that she took from the Sealand platform onto her skybase before laying down on it.

Spawn Point set.

…She gets up with a small grin, geared up and ready to head on into the Nether.

Let’s do this~.

 

[ThisThingisReallyBroken]

@The_man_with_the_Midas_touch

Christina tilts her head, like a curious puppy.

“Right…as…rain…?”

She follows him through the portal, scanning the location.

“Hm.”

@Torlikoff

Romulus perks her head up the moment she hears Deimos’s message. She quickly enters the coordinates to Greenland in her portal, and rushes off.

As she enters Greenland, Romulus still maintains the sullen look on her face. She puts on a thick, pyramid shaped helmet to hide her face.

“…Father, I’m here…”

 

[WHYNAUT]

The first gift Aster had in store for her Devas was one that was shared by many other residents of her territory: a Shinsoo contract, allowing them to make use of great amounts of Shinsoo. The second was exclusively for her Devas: an immortality contract. Even when killed, they would not die. One could say that the fundamental changes to her territory were another of Aster's gifts. It steadily made everyone more powerful.
After that it was back to business. Everyone was assigned their role and Aster took off with Aaron on her giant cat. Their destination was Greenland.

 

[Torlikoff]

"There you are, my dear!"

Deimos pulls her into a one-armed hug, squishing her against his side a little bit. He doesn't even acknowledge her sullen mood. "First to arrive, as suspected of the best in my army."

He slips a few cookies into her hand. "Knock yourself out, kiddo. The others are arriving soon enough."

In fact, he senses another two approaching... one of them riding something extremely large and bursting with life energy. Interesting.

 

[Faruel1998]

@WHYNAUT

Aster could see a huge, unnatural storm approach Germany, a man flying under it.

 

[WHYNAUT]

@WHYNAUT

Aster could see a huge, unnatural storm approach Germany, a man flying under it.

Aster observes the storm for a moment with a blank expression and sighs. Oh well, maybe there was a pleasant surprise in store for her.

"Can I help you?" she asks the man as she flies closer. Both her cat and Aaron quietly observe.

 

[Junkoposter]

And so, the swordswoman enters the purple portal, venturing into the Nether…

Cool.

And out of the portal, and into the Nether. Surroundings?

A Soul Sand Valley, it would seem. Could be worse.

And so, the swordswoman goes off to explore and find loot. Let’s get back to her once something interesting happens, yes?

 

[Faruel1998]

Aster observes the storm for a moment with a blank expression and sighs. Oh well, maybe there was a pleasant surprise in store for her.

"Can I help you?" she asks the man as she flies closer. Both her cat and Aaron quietly observe.

Vidarr looks at the woman and at the cat.
"Mh, do you know the direction for Iðavöllr? In this modern terms is known to be in the Weser River, Germany"

 

[WHYNAUT]

Vidarr looks at the woman and at the cat.
"Mh, do you know the direction for Iðavöllr? In this modern terms is hypnotized to be in the Weser River, Germany"

"I do indeed, mister...what's your name? Mine is...Aster. What business do you have with this river?"

 

[Faruel1998]

"My name is Vidarr, Guardian of the Forest, Strider of the Land, Avenger of the Fallen Gods... and Iðavöllr was the home that remained after Ragnarok"

 

[WHYNAUT]

Oho, a follower of the divines.

"Aha...so it has sentimental value to you? What exactly is it that you're searching for there?"

 

[Faruel1998]

"Returning to where I left, silently guarding and avenging when the time requires it"

 

[WHYNAUT]

"Avenging? All parties involved either died or left this world long ago." Aster thinks.

"Right, I have a meeting to attend, so I can't help you right now. We can discuss this afterwards if that's alright with you. Though if you're asking me to give up Germany, I'll tell you upfront that that's not happening." Aster shrugs.

 

[Overlord775]

Deimos doubts that swordswoman will attend, and predicts that she'll be more of a nuisance than a boon, so for now, he leaves her to her own devices. He can eliminate her at a later date. So instead, he'll focus on the people he knows he can get in contact with through whatever means. Social Media, messenger demons, simple magical messages.

"The meeting will start soon, come to Greenland as soon as you can. Malphas made food."

The demon king moves to the meeting room, plopping down inside at the round table he's brought up, with food already laid out around it. He decides to send one more message...

Yorsha, having conquered Guinea by this point, so he figures he can attend the meeting.

A bright flash of light booms into existance above the location of the meeting, Yorsha and his giagantic, dragonic mount appearing out from it. The giantic beast circling around, with the king dropping down.

The warlord's body phases through the very materials that make up the castle, entering directly into the meeting room from the roof, while his dragon kinda just dissapears for now.

"Greetings, Demon King Deimos."

 

[Faruel1998]

"Avenging? All parties involved either died or left this world long ago." Aster thinks.

"Right, I have a meeting to attend, so I can't help you right now. We can discuss this afterwards if that's alright with you. Though if you're asking me to give up Germany, I'll tell you upfront that that's not happening." Aster shrugs.

"I never said I wanted to conquer it, nor that I wanted to be involved in the affairs of this warlords, but if I have to earn the right to return to my home, so be it ... let me be the Guardian of your lands, my sword it's yours"

 

[Listentomyrhytm]

Bardock started to upgrade his troops. Teaching them better about Ki control as he thought to himself... he could do better. But for now, he would dash over to Belice, starting to terrorize the country slowly.

Over time, he would cause destruction, kill civilians and soldiers alike. Violently covering himself in blood. He enjoyed it, but he didn't look maniatic. It was merely the thrill of the battle and well, the strength he earned from seeing these people in fear. Hatred.

He would cover Punta Gorda, San Ignacio, Corozal and Dangringa. All four corners marked with an Insignia, not a bother for him really. Minor turbulence but he was getting the hang of it. Loving it... Another territory down, and he could feel himself getting more and more into things.

 

[Hl3_or_bust]

@Torlikoff

That sense of immense life energy grows closer and closer, but nothing is clearly visible coming over the horizon. Suddenly, something breaks through the clouds far above, a ball of golden chains leading further above. It descends quickly, the clouds suddenly opening up with great force to show what is quite literally a flying island, the sheer force of air that keeps it aloft kicking up massive waves even with it being kilometers above sea level. The island is inconsistently shaped, covered entirely in every color of plant that Deimos had seen in this world and several more, with towering spires extending multiple kilometers up from its center. He can also see those three Colgeras he sold Kane, chained to the front of the island, but they seem... different. They're several times larger for one, and they give off an immense feeling of death, like he's looking at a mass grave, or rather three of them.

The island slows to a halt above the outskirts of meeting area, a flash of light coming off from the tallest spire and landing near Deimos, revealing itself to be Kane. He seems substantially more ragged than before, though he has a wide grin on his face nonetheless.

 

[WHYNAUT]

@Faruel1998

"A guardian? It's risky, but if he doesn't have an expensive territory then I could always off him while he's in mine. I hope that wouldn't be necessary though. I guess it's worth considering..."

Aster looks at the man for a moment, stealthily using Photon with In, before answering, "You do seem genuine in your request. So I have a deal for you. There's a war coming and I could use someone who looks after my territory during it. If you prove yourself trustworthy during this war, I'll give you full authority over the Weser River and its surroundings. We can work out the details when we get there. How does that sound, sir Vidarr?"

 

[Junkoposter]

The swordswoman continues her off-camera mining Nether adventures, getting into all sorts of fights and wacky hijinks.

Loot is gathered, biomes are found, fortresses are found, all sorts of structures and mobs…

And exploring.

At around 200 blocks out from the portal, she sits down her marker. A blood-red sword. Suppose she can move it farther out later.

And now, back in the opposite direction. This’ll take a while, and I need to do it about three more times.

Joy.

 

[Faruel1998]

@Faruel1998

"A guardian? It's risky, but if he doesn't have an expensive territory then I could always off him while he's in mine. I hope that wouldn't be necessary though. I guess it's worth considering..."

Aster looks at the man for a moment, stealthily using Photon with In, before answering, "You do seem genuine in your request. So I have a deal for you. There's a war coming and I could use someone who looks after my territory during it. If you prove yourself trustworthy during this war, I'll give you full authority over the Weser River and its surroundings. We can work out the details when we get there. How does that sound, sir Vidarr?"

"I'll make sure no one will provoke harm to you nor your land, you're my Thane and I'll be your Huscarl", he nodded.

"You also mentioned a meeting, may I accompany you?"