Chapter 1000: The Stalemate


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    In the five months following the battle of New Alexandria, the tide began to turn for Frant.


    People from all across the country joined forces to fight against the ckguards, sessfully liberating most of the cities that had been under their control within the country.


    However, that wasn''t true elsewhere. All the other nations were still heavily influenced by the ckguards.


    Two of them, in particr, Hin and Etrium,unched their own attacks on Frant, creating a two-front war Erik and the others had to fight.


    Though that wasn''t easy, even for the well-armed troops of the two countries. That was because of what the ckguards did in the past.


    Unbeknownst to most, the ckguards'' caused many powerful thaids to migrate away from the Eldraith mountain range, which bordered Etrium and Frant, meaning that both countries were swarming with Thaidsing from the mountain range.


    However, the situation worsened during these five months. Apparently, what the ckguards were doing in Mur pushed more monsters to migrate to the Mannard continent.


    Even some weaker wyverns had been forced to leave the peaks of the Eldraith mountain range, and that madeunching the attacks on Frant harder, as now the attackers had to navigate through unfamiliar and dangerous territories full of monsters they couldn''t even kill.


    Frant''s troops had been severely weakened by what had happened during the past years. With Becker''s loyalists being killed by Volkov, andter, with Volkov''s loyalists being killed by Erik.


    This meant that now, more than ever, the citizens yed an important role in Frant. It didn''t matter they were weak; it didn''t matter they couldn''t fight.


    There was always room to improve and to help. Besides, Erik circted the modified version of Liberty Watch''s training technique to the masses, strengthening everyone and making the entire process faster.


    However, the results one could achieve in five months were not that much. Yet, it helped, if even a little.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Though the technique could also reach their enemies, and that was why Erik asked for strict regtions for the technique usage, and made Becker implement severe monitoring procedures within the city. Honestly, nor Erik nor Becker liked it that much, because they didn''t want to do the same things Volkov did, but it wasn''t like they had a choice.


    There might still be some ckguard loyalists hanging around, but there could also be some greedy folks waiting for someone to give them some New Dors in exchange for the technique.


    But not only Frant was growing stronger, even the others were.


    Now, nearly all the ckguards possessed two brain crystal powers, and those who already had such powers five months earlier had grown even stronger.


    Essentially, many things made the general fighting prowess increase.


    On Erik''s part. During these five months, he focused on training and creating new clones, the Chimaeric Demons, to reinforce Frant''s troops.


    He also increased the number of his neural links for that brain crystal power, which were essential to make it so he could make more clones.


    In fact, the greater the number of neural links, the lower the amount of mana needed to make the Chimaeric Demons.


    In the end, his hard work paid off, and Erik''s ability to create clones increased.


    He once could only make around 30 clones per day, but now, after having reached the mark of 35 neural links, he could make up to 500 a day.


    Over the course of five months, Erik had amassed an impressive army of 75,000 Chimaeric Demons, which, of course, got sent here and there to bolster Frant''s troops.


    Despite this significant increase in numbers and that Becker came back to power, all of this still wasn''t enough to defeat the ckguards in the southern cities and thebined forces of Hin and Etrium in the north.


    Frant held ground thanks inrge part to the strength of the Chimaeric Demons, but even the citizens'' support yed an important role.


    The situation had be a stalemate, with neither side able to gain an advantage.


    The slightest shift in the current state of the war could tip the scales in either direction. The thaids migrating, the ckguards asking for other countries'' help.


    ***


    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Fischer asked. The man was with Erik, Becker, and Van Dyke, discussing the things to do next.


    Erik met Fischer''s gaze. There was no shred of doubt in them. "Yes, I want to end what my father started."


    "Erik, do you realize I cannot give you the same support I gave to Lucius when he went to Hin, right?" He paused.


    "The situation there will not be simple. The war is now on Frant''s shores, unlike in the past when it was on Hin''s."


    "There''s nothing to worry about, Armand. I can reach the Mur continent easily if I go with June, and whatever help I need, well, I can simply make more Chimaeric Demons on the way, and they will take care of the rest."


    "If you say so."


    "Do you have any idea where the ckguards headquarters might be located?"


    Becker thought for a little. He recalled something Lucius had told him some time ago.


    "Well... Lucius said something about the fact it was on an ind, but there are a lot of them around Hin. So, it''s not much information to work with."


    "It''s already enough. Thank you."


    "Yes, but Erik, are you sure targeting their headquarters is the best thing to do? We really need your help here..."


    "It is, Armand. By killing their leaders, the entire organization would crumble. I will make it harder for them to coordinate their troops in Frant... No, everywhere in the world. The Chimaeric Demons will take care of the remaining stragglers then... As for my help here... I provided you with enough troops to resist any attack. The clones are strong, and thest ones are even stronger than the previous ones."


    The others in the room exchanged nces. If he could indeed kill their higher-ups, then the ckguards were going to retreat regardless of the situation.