The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2021: A hand that rips into the heart of the enemy (I)

The first campaign of the Scarlet Kingdom in the Everstrife World War ended with victory. After months of relentless bloodshed, the armies of Cain claimed three new continents, forcing their banners deep into enemy skies and weaving new threads into the glowing network of the Scarlet Intercontinental Formation.

With each conquest, their power expanded like a tide of crimson light, reaching farther, binding more tightly, and making the world itself bend under their influence. And it was not just territories; it was gained, since as the runic lines expanded, so did the ideology of the Scarlet Path. A war was a tumultuous event, but it was also a very good catalyst for the development of ideas and a change of mentality.

In the aftermath of that massive intercontinental battle, a strange quiet descended—a new intermediate stage of war. The Scarlet Kingdom consolidated its hold over the seized territories, fortifying cities and enhancing the power of the Scarlet Intercontinental Formation within those territories, making sure the runic lines were so deeply engraved that they could not be easily broken. And the same went for the ideology of the Scarlet Path.

Everything moved very fast, but it was important for the changes to be deeply engraved, so they would last the passage of time.

Meanwhile, the warriors who had bled for conquest tended their wounds. Even ArchDeities require time to heal the scars left by divine battles. Camps across the new domains echoed with the sound of meditation and training.

But on the other side of the war, the Imperium of Time was no less busy. Their leaders nursed their wounds in silence, while their minds turned to strategy. The greatest threat lay not in Cain’s sword but in his runes. The Scarlet Intercontinental Formation had allowed entire armies to vanish from one end of the world and reappear at another in an instant. Ambushes had been reversed. Traps turned inside out. Whole campaigns undone by a single teleportation.

The Imperium had no Rune Masters capable of replicating such a miracle. The knowledge to forge a world-spanning teleportation array was beyond them, and it was not like they could train ArchDeity Rank Rune Master in a short amount of time.

Their only answer was crude: a network of relay circles. With massive expense of energy and precious resources, they created a chain of teleportation arrays across their dominions. It was far from ideal, but it would at least allow their armies to reposition in hours instead of days. In war, speed was often the difference between survival and annihilation.

But respite is a luxury war seldom grants. Barely five weeks after the first campaign ended, the skies burned again.

The Scarlet King himself marched at the head of his army into the Radiant Soul Continent, target fixed on Juda’s Heaven. Cain’s aim was clear: seize the continent, uproot the Dark Tree, and claim Juda’s Heaven as a prize of conquest.

On paper, victory was within reach. The Scarlet Kingdom still possessed numerical advantage in ArchDeities, and Juda’s strength had diminished. The spear of Nihility and Entropy had scarred his soul, leaving lingering wounds in both spirit and mind.

Yet the Dark Tree revealed unexpected power. Its roots, sunk deep into Radiant Soul’s foundations, unleashed torrents of energy that fortified the power of Azazel and the rest of the Imperium of Time’s ArchDeities and blunted every Scarlet Kingdom assault.

The battle raged for more than fifteen hours, a clash of titans that shook mountains into rubble and set seas aflame. And still, the Scarlet King failed to breach Juda’s defenses. Exhausted and bloodied, Cain was forced to order retreat. The Radiant Soul Continent remained in Imperium hands.

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Day 205 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

The Imperium of Time retaliated with cunning. Their core forces moved through the planet’s orbit, descending behind Scarlet lines. Their objective: strike at the Everlife Continent, the heart of the Scarlet Intercontinental Formation, and cripple Cain’s greatest weapon.

But the Scarlet Crown’s scanning wards flared with warning. Cain’s armies intercepted them before the blow could fall, and the skies above Everlife became a battlefield.

This time, the Imperium fought with renewed strength. Tibet, once broken, had returned to the battlefield, his body healed, his power burning like a new sun, and carrying faint traces of Depravita’s power.

Yet even with Tibet’s return, the Scarlet Formation tipped the balance. Its endless empowerment filled Cain’s armies with unnatural vigor, allowing them to withstand and overwhelm. After brutal losses, the Imperium of Time was forced to retreat once more, fleeing with grievous wounds carved into body and soul.

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Day 206 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

Cain wasted no time. Using the teleportation web of his Scarlet Formation, the ArchDeities of the Scarlet Kingdom appeared suddenly at the border of the Radiant Soul Continent.

This time their assault was lightning-fast. With Cain at the front, the Dark Tree was uprooted and paralyzed in less than an hour. Scarlet armies stormed forward, breaching Juda’s Heaven.

The Imperium scrambled to respond, rallying their battered forces. But the tide was against them. The Scarlet Kingdom’s momentum was too strong, their coordination flawless. Defeat seemed inevitable.

When victory became impossible, the Imperium of Time made a grim choice. Juda’s Heaven was detonated from within. As Cain and several ArchDeities pressed inward to claim it, the entire domain erupted in cataclysmic flame.

The explosion scarred the land beyond recognition. Juda’s Heaven was annihilated, its treasures lost. The Radiant Soul Continent became a wasteland steeped in radiation so dense no Dark Tree or rune could ever grow there again. Cain and his allies survived, but they bore severe wounds that would take a long time to heal.

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Day 239 of the Everstrife Empyrean World War

Still scarred but unwilling to relent, Cain and his ArchDeities launched an assault on one of Calypso’s continents, the one next to the SilentHeart Continent. For ten straight hours, rivers boiled and skies cracked under the weight of their battle.

But again, the Dark Tree tipped the scales. Empowered by its roots, the Imperium of Time resisted every strike. The Scarlet King was forced to withdraw with his ArchDeities severely wounded.

At first, the Imperium rejoiced. It was a rare, clean victory. Yet their celebration soured quickly.