Floating Islands: SSS Gacha Lord-Chapter 379 - The Convergence War Begins
Thirteen lords of the Vanguard Dominion Alliance gathered inside the Noble Meeting Hall of Gacha Haven. Today, Atlas would officially issue the Dominion Convergence Challenge, a declaration of war they had planned since the very beginning.
Atlas double-checked the status of Bolin’s alliance to make sure they were still active. Yes, they were. A faint smile crossed his face. Bolin’s group had not yet begun any official campaign, which meant the timing was perfect.
He looked around at the lords gathered before him. Each one met his gaze with firm resolve. They had made this decision together, and they would face whatever outcome awaited them, together.
Bolin would take this challenge seriously. He had to. After all, Atlas had already dealt heavy damage to his alliance before. There was no way Bolin would back down now. And Atlas knew that Bolin would be ready to unleash his full power to crush him and the entire Vanguard Dominion if he could. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Atlas exhaled quietly. "Let’s do it," he said in a low voice.
He pressed the Challenge button. Immediately, a glowing system message appeared before him.
[Atlas, Leader of The Vanguard Dominion, has issued a Dominion Convergence Challenge against Bolin, Leader of The Celestial Sovereignty.]
He watched as the system processed the declaration, then another message appeared.
[The Celestial Sovereignty has accepted the Dominion Convergence Challenge issued by The Vanguard Dominion.]
[The Convergence War between The Vanguard Dominion and The Celestial Sovereignty has officially begun.]
[There are 63 days remaining in the campaign.]
[Victory will be determined by the total accumulated score achieved by each alliance during this period.]
[Should either side surrender before the campaign concludes, all territories, resources, and strategic assets owned by the defeated alliance will be automatically transferred to the victor.]
Atlas smiled faintly when the system confirmed that the challenge had been accepted almost immediately after his declaration.
[A Virtual Convergence Space has been constructed between The Vanguard Dominion and The Celestial Sovereignty to facilitate strategic discussions and battle coordination between both alliances.]
[You may now set up the Convergence Gate at any location of your choosing.]
[Inside this virtual space, all participating lords can communicate freely, but no physical interaction or combat is permitted.]
A soft flash of light appeared before Atlas, and he felt something materialize in his palm. A small coin engraved with the symbol of an open portal at its center.
He rose to his feet, turned slightly, and tossed the coin toward the far side of the room. The moment it hit the ground, the air shimmered and twisted, forming a tall gate with a glowing circular portal at its core.
Atlas gave a slow nod. Luna stepped forward first. Moments later, Edrik, Luna, and Ember followed behind him as they all stepped through the portal together.
**
Atlas found himself standing in a room that was... uhm... rather strange. It was an open space, a wide field covered with grass, almost like the surface of an island. Yet right in front of him stood a transparent barrier that, despite being see-through, was clearly visible, dividing two separate spaces between them.
He quickly noticed an old man with long white hair and a matching beard, wearing a white robe combined with light maroon armor. The man’s eyes were sharp, filled with the same annoyance that Atlas remembered from that night. The night Atlas had fallen from the sky and slaughtered his people.
Three figures stood beside the old man, Bolin.
Bolin walked forward until he was standing quite close to Atlas. It was easy to see that he was tall, even taller than Atlas himself.
"I thought you’d run away, making excuses. But it seems you’ve chosen to surrender your life instead," Bolin said firmly.
Atlas smirked. "I actually thought you would be the one running, looking for weaker opponents to face. But here you are, still standing. I have to admit, your courage is impressive. You really hope we’ll take your challenge for this battle."
"You’ll soon learn not to speak so recklessly in front of your superior, Atlas," Bolin replied coldly.
"Oh?" Atlas raised an eyebrow, pretending to look surprised, his jaw slightly dropped. "I only learned from the best. And of course, that means you, senior Bolin. So tell me, how do you want this battle to go? Should we take it slow, let my alliance crush every lord in yours one by one? Or shall we end this quickly, just me against you? It’ll save us both some time, and I’ll only need to take one head."
"Such arrogance," Bolin muttered. "I’d like to see how long that arrogance lasts. Fine, we’ll do it slowly. One by one. I’ll make sure to win every battle between us. And don’t you dare surrender before it’s all over."
"Good idea," Atlas replied calmly. "Just to make it clear, I won’t show any mercy in any of the battles we fight." He ended the opening exchange with a thin, challenging smile.
According to the agreement they had made, Atlas and Bolin immediately began preparing as a virtual table appeared between them. The table was divided into two sides, and on each side, there were five glowing points that could be filled.
They would start with the Defense and Attack categories, where both sides would assign five lords for each category. The two would then take turns attacking and defending based on their chosen formations.
Atlas followed the plan he had prepared from the very beginning, carefully setting the names of each lord he was sending into this battle.
[Defense Category:]
[1. Arveline SS-Rank (King’s Rebirth)]
[2. Thryssia SS-Rank (Law of Dominion)]
[3. Nysera SS-Rank (Eclipse Dominion)]
[4. Gwyndelle A-Rank (Mystic Crop Growth)]
[5. Variel A-Rank (Soul Ward)]
[Offense Category:]
[1. Atlas SSS-Rank (Ultimate Gacha)]
[2. Lumea SS-Rank (Spectral Legion)]
[3. Thaliera S-Rank (Heavenfall Pact)]
[4. Nysera SS-Rank (Eclipse Dominion)]
[5. Katriel S-Rank (Predator’s Memory)]
Atlas had made a quick adjustment to the lineup he had set earlier. In the Defense category, he replaced Luna with Gwyndelle, a change made after several careful considerations that he and his team had already discussed. The rest of the lineup remained the same as before.
The system’s ability ranks appeared only from Atlas’s perspective as the alliance leader. What both sides could see, however, were the names of each Lord and their individual ranks.
From Atlas’s alliance, all his lords were at rank 2. But what caught his attention was Bolin’s lineup. Bolin had placed all of his rank 2 lords in the Offense category, and then put two rank 3 lords in Defense. It was clear that Bolin was saving his strongest forces for an all-out confrontation in the final battle. Interesting.
"Where’s your rank 3? Only two of them? I thought you’d go all-out from the start to put up a real fight. I just hope your rank 2s won’t disappoint me, Senior Bolin," Atlas said casually.
Bolin began walking slowly, their eyes locked as they now stood directly face to face.
"Atlas," Bolin said, his tone low and sharp, "let me make this perfectly clear. I will destroy you, down to your very roots. I will kill everything you hold dear. Your people, your friends, your family, your alliance. I will wipe out every single one of them. Remember my words, Atlas. You’ve bitten the wrong dragon, and you’ll soon understand just how badly you’ve misjudged your place before me. You think your little tricks have weakened my alliance? You’re giving yourself far too much credit."
Atlas gave a faint smile. "Please, let’s begin. I’ll give you the honor of choosing which of your lords will be the first to lose their head."
Bolin’s eyes glinted sharply as he glared at Atlas. For a moment, they both stood still, as if ready to tear through the barrier between them and settle their grudge right then and there. Then Bolin smiled faintly and took a slow step back.
He turned toward the virtual table that hovered between them, reached out, and picked up one of the shining coins representing his chosen lord for the first battle. Without saying a word, Bolin flicked the coin toward the area where Atlas had already placed his defensive lineup.
[Bolin has chosen Zhen Liang to face Gwyndelle from the Vanguard Dominion Alliance in the defense position.]
Gwyndelle?
Atlas glanced toward Bolin. Whether by coincidence or intent, Bolin had chosen a lord with one of the lowest system ability ranks within Atlas’s alliance.
But... never underestimate the value of a system rank, especially when that system was specifically designed for defensive warfare.
Right after that, the virtual table shifted and expanded into a full 3D projection. Two islands materialized side by side, and two massive virtual screens appeared, each one facing Atlas and Bolin respectively.
The first battle was about to begin, with Gwyndelle standing as the defender against the enemy’s assault.
Atlas then turned around as the ground beneath them began to collapse rapidly, breaking apart like a massive moving puzzle.
In just seconds, only a small patch of land remained beneath their feet. Soon they realized that this small floating platform was suspended directly above the two islands, which were now facing each other and ready for combat.
[The battle will commence in 120 minutes.]
