Chapter 489 Failed Battles
Chapter 489 Failed Battles
"Again!" Ashton roared in a fury.
The cold rage within Ashton had subsided a bit. The reason behind it was extensive training. It was okay, as he was used to surplus training, but that wasn't the case for his recruits.
Continuous training for twelve hours wasn't a herculean feat for metahumans. The problem was they weren't training against each other but against Ashton's summons!
It wasn't just the metahumans who were in a pickle; the Giholos were in the same boat. Following their blind faith towards the 'flame god', they decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train with their revered lord.
The aliens knew that their *lord's* training regime would be challenging. However, they had not expected to shed blood, tears and sweat simultaneously! Had it not been for their blind faith, most of them would have collapsed in a matter of minutes.
"He sure is angry." While watching everybody train from the sidelines, Nora scoffed, "I hope he doesn't tire out my little guy too much."
"You're supposed to be my clone, but thoughts couldn't be dissimilar." Mera retorted, "We should be thankful he's using his rage positively, or else, it would have been a sight none of us would want to witness."
"Pfft- you think too much, sis. That aside, I heard the expedition party was forced to retreat before they could reach Contingency?"
Mera sighed but didn't say a word. The expedition squad's failure was half the reason why Ashton was forcing everyone else to their limits. No one had ever taken out their anger on an innocent party like Ashton was. Regardless of the reason, strict training was beneficial for everyone.
"A war is on the horizon; everyone needs to be prepared," Mera mumbled, gazing towards the rising moon, "There's no holding him back now."
***
At the same time, Nirvana was thrown into chaos. Silence shrouded the President's chamber. Moments ago, Hana had reported back to her 'father' with nothing but praise for the ones who uprooted Tartarus in a matter of hours.
Hana had always been the President's favourite, but praising the enemy was an unforgivable offence. Even then, Hana would have been safe if she hadn't taken it upon herself to do something worse.
"Never in a million years would I have imagined one of my children threatening me."
The President's love for Hana didn't allow him to kill her, but it wasn't enough to stop him from imprisoning her. However, silencing her wasn't going to rid of the issue at hand.
"One month, huh?" He whispered, "Never in my life have I seen someone so brazenly announcing the death date of their enemy."
Although the President didn't want to admit it, he was impressed by Ashton's confidence. The last time someone dared to do so, they ended up as Tartarus's most prized test subject.
"Sadly, that bastard was killed in the attack." The President thought while calmly sipping Vermillion tea, "At least the replacement would be here in a month. All that's left is to capture the moron and make up for the lost time."
Suddenly there was a rap on his door.
"Come in."
Short and diminutive, the tan-skinned man had a depressed feeling about himself. Despite being a member of the upper echelon of society, the man preferred to remain faithful to his roots and rarely, if ever, let his presence known to others.
"Father! I heard-"
"You heard right, Roman." The President interjected, "The facilities in the west have been reduced to dust."
"Huh, no wonder," Roman replied, brushing his overgrown beard, "About time a loose screw appeared out of your mental facilities."
Roman was the only one amongst his siblings who could freely speak his mind in front of their father, and there was a good reason for it.
While the President might be seen as the strongest in Nirvana, it was far from true. In fact, four of his children were far more competent and stronger than he ever hoped to be.
Thankfully, they all loved their father more than anything in the world, or else the 'President' wouldn't have been the President for long.
"What do you want us to do?" Roman yawned.
"Gather your siblings and prepare for battle-"
"Yeah, that ain't happening. The Twins are in seclusion for some reason. Elder bro is busy playing with his toys, and as for 'her', well, no clue where she is."
That was different from the answer the President was expecting to hear. Without the monsters he had nurtured, his hope of 'overwhelming' victory dwindled considerably.
The victory would be his no matter what, but it wouldn't come to him as effortlessly as he had imagined.
"However, who says we need to fight with the forces we have with us?" Roman mindlessly murmured.
"What do you mean?"
"Father, sometimes your stupidity makes me want to disown myself." Roman shook his head, "Unlike the rest of the world, we have an unparalleled force to abuse. We can hire outworldly mercenaries to aid us!"
"Continue," the President said with a serious look on his face.
"As long as we can pay them, we'll have the strongest soldiers in the galaxy on our side. No matter how strong our enemy might be, they can't be stronger than the mercenaries from space. You know it as well!"
The President got quiet, processing Roman's words. What his son said was true; no one on the planet could compare to the might of the outworlders. However, calling mercenaries for help had its own set of problems.
First and foremost was the finances. Just hiring one mercenary could empty a tenth of Nirvana's financial reserve. As if that wasn't enough, there was no guarantee the mercenaries won't abuse their strength on them instead.
After all, powerful beings naturally want to abuse their strength over the weak. Just like the undead had been doing with the humans. Inviting mercenaries over was like telling a starved undead to protect meat.
In other words, it was a recipe for disaster, but at the same time, it would also ensure their victory.
"You're excused now." The President mumbled, "While I think about your suggestion, try to get in touch with your siblings."
"Fine~ Don't expect much, though. Those bastards are as selfish as they come."