Back at the Shendron Temple, Charles had learned a bit about this world's history—particularly the most recent world war.
On the surface, it had been a war between two opposing camps, but in truth it was orchestrated by a single man: The Tyrant Adamas Gaetia, a figure who had ruled the underworld long before.
The Tyrant had used his abilities to control the ruling classes of both factions, endlessly escalating the conflict with the ultimate aim of placing Blazers under his command as the new global ruling class.
Of course, soone eventually caught on to his true intentions—the current Minister of the Magic Knights' League, "Whitebeard" Arthur Bright.
Whitebeard gathered elite Blazers from both sides and led an assault on Rebellion's headquarters, eventually forcing back the Dark King.
That was the official history. But as an eyewitness, the Great Elder told Charles a deeper truth.
Whitebeard's forces hadn't rely repelled the Tyrant—they had sealed away his life and ti entirely, tantamount to killing him outright.
With the Tyrant dead, who then led Rebellion? And how had it grown into one of the world's three great powers?
Charles didn't need the Elder to spell that part out.
Rebellion was the perfect scapegoat for war—a group that could draw the hatred of all nations.
After the war, it could also serve as a counterbalance between the League and the Alliance.
But only a Rebellion with the Tyrant "present" could serve that role. Thus, the Alliance and the Coalition had tacitly agreed to hide the Tyrant's death, installing people to prop up Rebellion as one of the three global powers.
For example, among the Twelve Apostles were figures like Hikaru Kazematsuri… and the "Grand Professor" Karl Ahrens, whom the Elder had ntioned.
The White Eagle's casus belli against Japan—and even against the League—stemd from this.
They intended to accuse the League of concealing the Tyrant's death and secretly controlling the terrorist organization Rebellion, then declare war on the League in the na of justice.
Their confidence in victory ca from the truth of "Superman" Abraham Carter, the so-called world's strongest.
Abraham's ability was conceptual interference: "superpowers." That ant he could use any ability recognized as a "superpower"—teleportation, mind control, psychokinesis, telepathy, and so on.
It was certainly a power worthy of the "strongest" title.
But to those who had lived through the previous era, who had seen or fought the Tyrant, this ability was all too familiar—because the Tyrant's own ability was identical.
This was no coincidence. In truth, "Superman" was not a normal human at all, but a clone created from the Tyrant's genetic material.
The Grand Professor's greatest research achievent was Superman—and not just one, but mass-produced. The cost was high, but mass-produced Demons were exactly why Superman was considered the strongest.
Individually, a Superman might be inferior to a Demon who had trained and grown naturally, but the number the White Eagle had created… that was the terrifying part.
Charles now understood why the Grand Professor was the key. Superman's status as the strongest wasn't just about the Tyrant's genes—it was also the result of the Professor's genius and the White Eagle's national power.
The Elder said, "From my information, the Professor is also driving this war. His goal seems tied to one of his ongoing research projects, which happens to align with the White Eagle's ambitions. That's why this war has co about.
Our holand cannot allow itself to be dragged into war over such nonsense. Without you, our only hope would be for Japan—backed by the League—to hold off the White Eagle and keep the conflict from spreading.
But with you here, we finally have another option."
"I understand the situation," Charles replied. "Japan should have more specific intel. I'll coordinate with them."
"I'll leave it to you, then," the Elder said sincerely.
Ending the call, Charles sighed. Another troubleso job. But if the Elder was personally asking, it ant there really was no alternative.
This world's "holand" might not be the one bound to him by blood, but he couldn't just stand by and watch it get dragged into war.
Besides, White Eagle nations seed to have the sa temperant in every world—and he'd disliked them for a long ti. If this gave him a chance to vent, so much the better.
Unfortunately, what Moya Tsukikage could tell him about the Grand Professor was little beyond basic information.
The only useful detail was that the Professor had last been seen at a White Eagle military base. Minami Torajirou and Saiguu Ningyin had gone there to rescue Tsukikage, but failed to capture him.
What they did find at that base was the dead body of the Tyrant—
—but the Device that should have been on the Tyrant's remains was gone, presumably taken by the Grand Professor for unknown purposes.
As for his current whereabouts, no one knew. But it was certain he would intervene in the war with Japan to further his research.
According to Tsukikage, the Professor hadn't gotten any testimony from him that could serve as a war pretext.
Still, the fact that a Japanese minister had been seen at Rebellion headquarters, coupled with the League hiding the Tyrant's death, was just enough to start a war.
And Tsukikage's fears ca true. While he and Gensai worked feverishly to prepare for war, the Pacific Fleet—long prowling Japan's nearby seas—moved in.
The war began in earnest when the White Eagle's vanguard forces landed on Japanese soil.
Perhaps because the last world war had left Japan deeply scarred, Tokyo had been transford into an extre fortress. At the sound of the alarm, massive steel dos closed overhead, sealing civilians in protective shelters.
Charles couldn't help wondering why this world's technology was so advanced despite the existence of supernatural abilities.
He had no position in the war, and both the Elder and Tsukikage had advised him not to get involved.
Stella, too, couldn't directly join the fighting—her actions as a princess of Falion would reflect her parents' and nation's stance, and she wasn't saintly enough to risk drawing war to her own country.
So while Ikki fought on the front lines against the White Eagle's psychics, Charles and Stella busied themselves helping evacuate civilians.
Even so, Gensai occasionally sent updates on the battle.
The White Eagle demonstrated the vast gap in military power between a small nation and a great power.
Their vanguard wasn't even human soldiers, but war robots—deadly machines far beyond the capabilities of normal armies.
Gensai had to send in Blazer units to hold the line.
Ikki, anwhile, was making a na for himself—single-handedly holding a sector of the defense, his fa building atop his Seven Stars Sword Art Festival performance.
The front remained stable for now, but Charles could feel the strain on Gensai. Even the outwardly calm Tsukikage had to admit the insurmountable gap between Japan and the White Eagle.
If just one robot unit forced Japan to reveal its trump cards, what could they use to stop the White Eagle's next wave?
After all, the [PSYON] psychic unit and the mass-produced Demon "Supern" hadn't even appeared yet.
As expected, the war soon spread deeper into Japanese territory.
Looking up at the airborne aircraft carrier, Charles couldn't help thinking it looked ready to fall out of the sky at any mont—after all, in movies, big flying things usually ended up as "sky tombstones."
Then he sensed sothing unusual about it. This wasn't a technological craft at all—it was soone's Noble Art.
Well, Devices ca in all shapes and sizes. If soone's Device was a full aircraft carrier… why not?
This was Douglas Upton, the "White Whale"—the White Eagle's strongest psychic before the appearance of Superman, and the actual commander of the Pacific Fleet.
Bringing the world's largest Device, he himself had descended into the heart of Japan's defenses.
But no one seed to notice another figure appearing before Charles and Stella.
Charles looked at the handso Caucasian man who had just removed his combat mask. "That lifeless aura… you're 'Superman' Abraham, aren't you?"
Abraham didn't answer. Instead, a voice ca from a speaker on his body.
"Rubbing salt in people's wounds is rather nasty, you know. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself—I'm Karl Ahrens. And this ti, I hope Her Highness the Crimson Lotus Princess will cooperate with in a magnificent research project."
Charles's brow twitched. So the man he wanted to capture had co here with his sights set on Stella?
Well… didn't that an he'd just delivered himself right to the door?
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I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in Arica's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the Arican Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
Arican Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
Arican TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supre GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
[ 50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter][ 5 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter]
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