Having dealt with all of the battles that were in dire condition, Rei sighed as he saw the damages.
The casualties were high as several high and peak gods had died in battle. With their souls already back in reincarnation, Rei wasn't able to revive them. He could only apologise mentally to the families they belonged to.
Connecting a telepathic link to both Ophelia and Miko, Rei told them about the progress.
'Thanks, that'll help out a lot in terms of distributing our manpower. Head back first, we need to deal with the aftermath of the system god's death. After that, we'll be heading to the main battlegrounds.' Ophelia said telepathically before giving him the coordinates.
'Got it.'
Cutting the link, Rei proceeded to heal everyone at the current base.
"We're heading back. This battlefield is safe so you can either return to your families or you can help out in future battles. It's your choice." Rei said as he could already see some broken wills in the crowd.
Having said what was needed, Rei re-entered the 5th dimension as left for the main base.
When he reappeared, it seemed like the main figureheads were having a disagreement.
"Like I said! If we attack the main base and kill the head of all this then we'll be able to put an end to it faster!"
"So you're telling me we have to leave the main city defenceless?! Are you out of your mind!"
"I'm not saying that! I'm saying we should split up the attack force with a portion remaining to defend the city!"
"Then the attack force won't be at full power and the chances of failure are higher!"
"Then what do you suggest huh?!"
"I say we should slowly chip away at their numbers. Little by little. We need to be prudent in the war as our losses have already been devastating."
"Then we also increase the chances of losing through attrition! We don't know if they can make more of the Forsaken Beasts. Not only that! If we fight a battle of attrition, our gods will eventually become weak from all the fighting. The mental toll will stop them from exerting their full power."
"Isn't that the same for them?"
"No, it isn't. These Forsaken Beasts are essentially mindless minions controlled by generals. They don't feel fatigued and will eventually overrun us by using beast wave tactics."
"...."
Silent ensued the room as the figureheads didn't know what to do. The enemies were too numerous and their powers were frightening. Not only that, they didn't even know who was the main enemy behind all of this.
Feeling a tap on his back, Rei turned to see Miko.
"As you can tell, they're stuck on what we should do. If we attack, our attack force will either be ok and leave the city defenceless or be weakened but the city will be defended. If we defend, there are too many variables which will affect the outcome." Miko said as Rei nodded.
He was about to speak when a god stood up.
"I've gotten some new information." He said with a serious face.
"These Forsaken Beasts work with a hive mind. However, the hive mind is the most annoying one. It sends information in an instant with the leader. Even if we kill the leader, the Forsaken Beasts won't die off. Instead, they'll continue to carry out the last command they received until a new leader emerges. So even if we kill the leader, if the last command was to keep attacking, we'll still be at a standstill."
"How did you get this information?"
The god clenched his hands.
"My subordinate traded his life for this."
"Wait... what if the last order was to retreat?" A god said as everyone perked up.
"Yeah... if the last order was to retreat then we'll be able to protect the city whilst killing them off."
"The problem is the 'how' we're going to make them retreat. If we attack their main base, they can still order the horde to attack the city. What then?"
Listening to the gods discuss, Rei shook his head.
'Kyra isn't dumb. She's the goddess of fate who can read the fate of anyone except for hers. What she can or can't read depends on the situation, but all she needs to do is to read her subordinates fate and adjust to the outcome. If the result of death was due to dive and conquer, then she can split her forces to attack the city should she wish to. Or, she can lay ambush ready for the attack force. There are a few ways to counter this, but the easiest way to make it a fate she cannot overcome. Overpower the ambush would be an example.' Rei thought. She was a troublesome opponent if you didn't know how to counter her ability. They would wonder about how she found out or why can't we track her.
"Who's this?" One of the gods asked seeing a new face in the hall.
"This is Rei, the one I was mentioning earlier." Ophelia said as the gods all turned to Rei.
Some of them held slight hostility whilst some held hope.
One god, in particular, was frowning slightly.
"Are you sure he's a True God Emperor? Maybe the kids trying to bullshit us." He snarled as some gods thought and nodded. He was within the top five in terms of strength within the True God Realm. Seeing them treat a newly ascended god as a messiah annoyed him as it meant his training and efforts weren't as useful as a new god. It was even more so since his aura felt almost non-existent.
"Shall I?" Rei asked as he turned to both Miko and Ophelia. He was suppressing his aura as letting it run amok will be akin to letting the enemy know where he was constantly.
"Please." Ophelia gestured as she was pretty tired of the commotion already. Using Rei to shut them up would be a blessing.
Getting permission, Rei walked to the centre of the room.
"Audacious! As a junior, you should be bowing to us with respect!" The god bellowed seeing Rei walk nonchalantly to the centre of the room.
Before he could continue, a bloodcurdling killing intent locked onto him making him pale instantly.
Even though the pressure wasn't directed to anyone else, the sheer unrestrained presence of this intent made them shut up hoping to not displease the youth in front of him.
Right now they understood this. Rei wasn't a True God Emperor; he was much more dangerous than one.
"Better?" Rei smiled as he turned to Ophelia.
"Thanks." She replied with a smile.
"As I have stated before, Rei here is a newly ascended god who reached the True God Emperor realm. It would be best if he were to be a part of the front lines. It is also him who the system god chose as a successor and passed down a message to just before he died." Ophelia said as the gods started to pay more attention due to the guillotine, known as Rei, hanging above their heads.
"Before he died, the system god had told Rei about the one who killed him. She is the goddess of fate and true death. Being killed by her means no more reincarnation." Ophelia continued as some of the gods became uneasy at the fact that there will be no more reincarnation.
"Is there anything else you can tell us about this goddess." Another god asked.
Ophelia looked over at Rei who understood that this was his cue.
"There are numerous enemies, but we know that she is most likely one of the figureheads behind the enemy army. Since she is both the goddess of fate and true death, she won't be an easy opponent. The system god had informed me about some of her abilities as it allows for her to change her fate once every 24hrs. Not only that..."
Rei started to explain what 'might be' her powers as a precaution. Such as reading her subordinates fate as she can't read her own.
The more he talked the more worried the gods became.
"If she does that then we can't do anything! We can't ambush, we can't split up, we can't fight against her at all!" One of the gods said.
"No. You're wrong. It's not that we can't fight against her, but rather the options are slightly limited." The first god said. He was the one who was displeased at Rei but knew he couldn't be petty anymore. Especially since he proved his prowess just from killing intent itself.
"Then what options do we have?"
"We can either make it so that she's helpless against the chosen fate or we find a god with similar powers that deal with fate. Another way is to combine several gods' powers to try conceal the true fate whilst giving her a fake one to work with." The god said as a few others nodded in agreement.
"Then how should we plan this? Do we attack or defend?" A god asked as Rei decided to take this as a chance to get what he wants.
"I say let me attack alone. If it is just me, she'll most likely lay an ambush, but unless she has a True God Emperor on her side as well she'll be helpless against me." Rei suggested.
"No! What if she does have a True God Emperor. Not to mention, what if you're swarmed with countless Forsaken Beasts ranked True God in physic?" The god rejected.
"Even if I'm swarmed, I'll be able to escape. My skill, 5th-dimensional manoeuvre, takes me out the confines of all four dimensions. So even if she locks the space, I'll be able to leave." Rei smiled as the god shook his head.
"How are you sure it'll work? What if it failed as you're attacking?" The god said as Rei thought about it then nodded.
"Understandable, in which case then we can make some countermeasures and test my skill out. The sooner we deal with her, the easier the rest of the fight will be." Rei persuaded. However, if they were adamant about this then he can only seek her out without their permission.
"...fine. We'll test it." The god said after a pause.
As all the gods walked towards a large open space, Rei stood in the middle of the encirclement with a calm smile.
"Ready when you are." Rei said nonchalantly.
The god nodded as a neon blue sphere rose up around Rei.
Tilting his head, Rei examined the barrier.
'I can probably break this if I tapped it with my Chaos element." Rei thought seeing the overall structure.
"Get out of this if you can. When you do, I'll believe you as this was made with the collective power of True Gods and Peak Gods." The god said making sure to keep an eye on Rei.
As if a visual glitch, Rei suddenly disappeared.
The god blinked in surprise before he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"I'm out." Rei said with a smile.
"...." The god was speechless as Rei literally appeared and disappeared.
"Fine. But don't engage fully, try scout for some information first." The god said in defeat.
Rei nodded as he walked away.
Entering the 5th dimension, Rei locked on towards one of the main battlefields.
Teleporting deep into the enemy lines, Rei reappeared as the full aura of his cultivation realm suppressed all the beasts.
Walking calmly through the horde, Rei sent his senses out as he found one of the hive mind generals.
Rei could feel that the general was about the flee.
< 5th-Dimensional Manoeuvre + Spatial Lock + Barrier + Time Lock + God of Space = True Dimensional Lock
True Dimensional Lock
Locking down even the 5th dimension, you prevent any means of escape from working.>
Each step of his was calm as he approached the general. he could feel the fear increase with each step.
However, when he came face to face with the general, he could feel the fear decrease exponentially. It wasn't entirely gone but it was significantly less than when it was just his aura locking onto him.
"My lord, what brings you here." The general said as he bowed.
'Lord? Does he know me? No, it shouldn't be. I have no memory of him from my past.' Rei thought quickly hearing the address.
Moving forward, Rei mercilessly ripped the soul out of the general surprising the general.
Reading the soul, Rei frowned when he saw himself. Or rather, Kyra in his body.
'What the hell happened when I died?!' Rei thought with a frown.
'Lia's also with her, it seems like she forcefully reawakened her memories of her past so she's weakened right now.' Rei thought seeing Lia's condition.
Controlling the general's soul, Rei made the enemies retreat as he walked towards the main base to find his sisters. Since he could kill two birds with one stone, he might as well take the opportunity.