2338 - War Sovereignty
“…The Sky Opening City Master of Middle Sector 100 has finally decided to leave!”
“…!” Jabba froze in place for a moment before looking toward the source of the familiar voice.
It was a man with a large mustache, dark skin, broad shoulders, sky-blue hair, and very clear eyes.
“Klein, can’t you lower your voice?!” Jabba shouted in a low tone, then began looking around to see everyone’s reactions.
He certainly didn’t want the shout of a Third Level Truth Chosen to draw attention to him, causing everyone to crowd around asking for help or trying to get acquainted—he had something important to do!
“….” But soon, Jabba’s wary glances turned into frustration. “Alright, this is starting to get annoying.”
No one cared about Jabba’s identity. Everyone gave him an extra glance to note his general appearance, then returned to what they were doing.
After all, they had come to benefit from Lord Robin’s vast experience and push humanity forward, not to get acquainted with a nameless face.
Of course, most of them didn’t know that 90% of the research they were discussing or carrying around relied on Jabba’s blood research.
"Haha, you've finally come out! It's been almost five years since you went in!" Klein opened both arms, showing off his masculine muscles.
Klein, a Truth Chosen of the Third Level, specialized in Arrays—he was the authority of this place and the source of its power. Anyone who stood with him or needed something came to him for advice.
Yet, unlike all the ignorant people around him, he seemed genuinely happy to see Jabba!
"Heh~ I achieved a theoretical breakthrough in what I was pursuing. I need to meet the Master," Jabba replied calmly, then began looking around. "Aren't there any Shadow Swords here?"
As Jabba approached, a Shadow Sword emerged from nowhere.
"How can I assist the First Disciple?"
"Of course there is..." Jabba laughed. "I want to meet the Master. Where is he now?"
"His Majesty's current location is not precisely known. Please wait a moment; I will retrieve the required information and return to you." The Shadow Sword nodded, then vanished again.
"Good!" Klein nodded as he watched the Shadow Sword leave. "It will take some time for him to go and come back."
"How is that good? I wanted to—" Jabba furrowed his brows deeply, then: "Huaa!"
Klein grabbed his wrist and began walking hurriedly toward the exit. "I have to say, His Majesty's disciple, you're truly a genius, even though you're just a Truth Chosen of the—" Klein turned back to look Jabba up and down. "Oh, you've already reached level 17? Well, you're still first level."
"What's the matter, Klein?" Jabba narrowed his eyes. His irritation at being evaluated this way didn't outweigh his curiosity about the reason for Klein's words.
"Honestly, when you handed me those theories, I didn't think they'd be this profound. I assumed most of the work would fall on me in terms of modification and experimentation. I established the first Array to perfectly implement your theory, starting with finding the flaws and improving them in subsequent versions."
Klein explained: "...But I did it gladly, because developing the War Sovereignty Array System would be a major mark for me and a pride in my record." Then he turned toward Jabba. "But you decided to ruin that fun, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Jabba furrowed his brows, and then both of them stepped out of the main headquarters of Sky Opener City. Immediately, Jabba's eyes widened to their fullest. "Good heavens..."
Bam bam.
The vast square in front of the hall, the wide space connecting the main hall to the rest of the city's annexes, was occupied by a giant!
Jabba began to slowly raise his eyes upward, briefly examining the giant's details while trying to see its highest point at the same time.
That thing was terrifying; its aura exuded power and uniqueness, as if looking at an entire army in a single man... but Jabba was not afraid, for he knew in one glance what he was seeing.
It was a War Array, or more precisely... a War Lord.
"This is the improved version..." Jabba muttered.
The War Lord's height was approximately fifty meters, taller than a fifteen-story building!
Its body shone with an artificial golden hue, as Jabba had requested from Klein in the details. Externally, there was a light array preventing anyone from seeing what was happening inside the War Lord, and on top of that, there was an Unreal Armor Set, designed as soon as the worker took the measurements and tested moving inside it.
The War Lord held a massive spear nearly as long as its own height, and its enormous face was full of expression and detail. It was the Face of the Commander and the Heart of the Array, giving the giant a more natural spirit.
"Of course it's the new version—your version!" Klein slapped Jabba on the shoulder and pointed upward. "There are five World Calamities inside, linked by flexible energy bonds as you designed. They also form five Potential Hearts of the Array, each knowing its command order. If one dies, the next takes over the task, making this array nearly immortal in battle."
Then he continued with a big smile: "Right now, we're in the middle of taking measurements for suitable weapons, armor, talismans, and curses, and gathering enough resources to begin mass production."
"..." Jabba asked with some hesitation: "Is there really no problem with it?"
"Nothing has shown up so far." Klein shook his head. "There's only the issue of cooperation and energy flow between the five hearts while performing techniques, but that will be resolved with some experience, and we'll be able to assess it better when we throw this war lord into a real battle."
"We can't throw it into a battle and have it fail—the array's reputation would be damaged, and thus the Master's face would be harmed. He was the one who invented this type of war array, and I'm only modifying it because he doesn't have the time..." Then he furrowed his brows. "It must be perfect in its debut."
"Do you have a solution, then?" Klein turned to his side, then pointed at the Array. "Go ahead and take a look. I tried using the Eye of Truth at the Third Level, and I couldn't find any flaw."
"...." Jabba's iris began to rotate.
"...Perhaps you were looking at the wrong thing."