Chapter 438 You built a church? [1/2]
At that moment, all the girls started laughing heartily. It was as if someone had tickled their funny bone. The happiness and joy that radiated from them was contagious. I found myself smiling at how joyful they were.
Robyn was slapping the inside of the car as she laughed. Jo had the same reaction, stomping on the floor while holding her stomach. Jas and Aki couldn't even open their eyes despite their best efforts to remain composed.
Liv and Bella were also bent over as they couldn't stop laughing. Lilly, who was next to me, even wiped away her tears, obviously delighted. At first I thought it was okay not to hear the joke. But I became curious, what could make them act like that?
"What's so funny, everyone? Can I hear the joke?" I asked awkwardly.
They all stopped and looked at me. Then my whole harem started laughing again, as if they hadn't heard me.
It was strange, I couldn't join in because I didn't know what was so funny. But they refused to tell me what they found funny. No matter how annoying it was to be left out, I didn't want to spoil the joy my girls were experiencing. So I just let it go.
'Hmm, now what? If it were up to me, I would immediately go to our hotel and make love to my girls. But that would be against Noelle's wishes. Maybe we should go to Vegas and have a shotgun wedding?'
I checked the time and noticed that it was only 8:30 PM. Normally I would be at Hellsgate by now. It felt weird to suddenly skip work. But I figured I deserved a break. Having survived my first major hurdle, my journey could continue.
David met me after my victory and ordered me to defend North America. When I refused, he tried to force me. Risking the Revenant's fury, I negotiated instead.
"Of course I am, you fucking idiot! I have created a force capable of killing a greater demon in a little over a week. If you touch a single hair on my girls. Either kill me now or watch as I raze the North American battlefront to the ground."
Technically, I had nothing to bargain with except my potential. Objectively speaking, I was pretty awesome. I didn't know how rare a greater demon was, but the implication of the word "greater" meant that it should be a big deal.
The memory of the bastard's answer made me chuckle a little.
"Good. Very good! If you had only bowed, I would have killed you on the spot. I, David Thomas the Invincible, accept your terms!"
Only David would know how close I was to death at that moment. The one thing I understood about him was that he would never cheat. He had no reason to. He was like a block of iron. What you saw was what you got.
Still. My new job was both better and worse at the same time. It was better because I didn't have to kill everyone. I only had to defend. Contrary to what people believed, casualties and fatalities were not the same thing.
You could theoretically scare people off without killing them. And since they were Reapers, they wouldn't die unless I shattered the Soulgems of Phantoms and above. I guess for the Wraiths I just have to aim better.
While I didn't back down when people were after my life, it was different when I just needed people to stop. With the Seeker War, I had no choice because Robert and I couldn't allow each other to continue to exist.
As for the Reaper invasion, I still had no personal issues with them. That could change, but just as it could be for the worse, it could also be for the better.
The worst part of the whole thing was that I had to face three different armies. In the same fucking month. Facing just one army was difficult enough. The way people fought wars naturally differed based on where they came from.
It was extremely difficult to adapt to three different opponents. The strategies that worked for one might not work for another. History has proven this fact. The reason Alexander was so great was because he adapted so well.
'I mean, even Sparta and Rome, for all their power, faded into memory.'
David expected three groups to attack the North American battlefront. South America, Asia, and Africa. I wasn't surprised about South America and Asia.
After all, Zach told me that the Asian revenant Li Wudi specifically said he would invade if Krishna Sagan was not terminated. As the person who took him under my wing, our confrontation was practically set in stone.
"Li Wudi does not take kindly to deserters. He gave us an ultimatum. Send them back or kill them. If we don't, he will invade North America. What would you have done? Would you risk antagonizing a Revenant and bringing war to our land, all for a bunch of Pajeets?"
Logically, I knew the best course of action was what Zach told me. That was partly why they had Robert try to assassinate Krishna. Still, rather than lose people of such impeccable character like Krishna, I would rather kill the scum.
Krishna and the Yuddha Rakshas were by no means powerful. But they were the kind of people who would throw their lives away for one another. The Saviors, on the other hand, were despicable bastards who did not deserve to live.
Still. I didn't know if Asia was invading because of what I had done or because of something else. When Roland told the truth, his words made it seem like using Krisha was just an excuse.
"David broke the armistice of the seven battle fronts. As the manifested are used to defend against Hellsgate, the Revenants seek to arm the Formless as quickly as possible."
"To do what exactly?"
"What else, to assault the other battlefronts. With your rise, the flames of war have been lit ablaze John Smith. The Formless will rapidly increase in power, and they will cause the battlefronts to experience floor breaks. Hastening the apocalypse."
As far as I could tell, the other Revenants all had their own agendas. While Li Wudi even made an excuse, South America did not and was already part of David's concerns.
"Do you have any idea how many Reapers Asia has? How many of ours would die if that Chink decided to invade us? We cannot fight a war on three fronts! David's got his hands full with the necrophiliac bastard from South America on top of the undead."
And as if that were not enough, Africa joined in. Frankly, they were the ones I feared the most. If Reapers were evaluated by their regrets and desires, then it was not the wealthy countries that created the most powerful Reapers, but the shitholes of a country instead.
Unlike the other continents, Africa was notorious for being a shithole while the rest of the world was experiencing unparalleled prosperity. Not much news is shared about this continent, but I know that unlike the rest of the world, it was involved in war all the time.
If you took even the world's richest economy, the USA, and subjected it to civil war and terrorism repeatedly, it would end up in shambles in less than a decade. War usually has a price that can rarely be paid over a long period of time.
However, with the amount of atrocities committed on a daily basis, war was a guaranteed breeding ground for powerful reapers. What kind of army would such a country be able to produce?
My thoughts began to scare me a bit. How difficult would the coming battles be? Would it only consist of Formless? What if there were Specters among them?
Hellsend was powerful, but they had not yet tried to fight against fellow reapers.
I had no qualms about killing Savior because only Robert was doing his job. The rest of their army abandoned their duty to defend and just paid the tax by converting cash to souls.