Chapter 2415

2415 - The Bear's Resolve

Sector 99 Medium—Planet Kizar

*Step* *Step*

*Clamor*

Shaddad walked among the researchers, builders, and soldiers, and so on~ but no one paid him any attention or stopped what they were doing. Only those who saw him sufficed with a nod or a bow depending on their rank, then continued with what they were doing.

The recent period had been full of activity for Shaddad. He hadn't taken a single break or retreat throughout the entire past decade.

When Renara and Hedrick's invasion began? He nodded toward the screen and left.

When they won and Darvion was killed? He smiled while casually strolling past the screen, then nodded and left.

The rest of the successive events? He most likely hadn't learned of them yet.

But he knew one thing...

All the funding problems and the search for required resources had been resolved, and everything now depended on him.

Almost daily, he made adjustments to the Array, experimented, failed, then returned to making more adjustments.

"Ughhh!!"

Shaddad cast a glance toward the source of the muffled scream, then continued on his way at the same pace.

It had been an officer from the special forces under Supreme General Kaden, one of the residents of the Middle Belt, in the midst of attempting a breakthrough to World Calamity through physical strength alone!

And he wasn't the only one...

On both sides of the street where Shaddad was now moving, there were at least twenty completed Arrays, with twenty officers inside undergoing Breakthroughs into World Calamities!

The matter was no longer as terrifyingly dangerous as before; the success rate had risen significantly, and the chances of paralysis had also decreased after Shaddad devised a method that made the Array stop when it detected signs of the onset of paralysis or death.

There remained the point that talent was a factor... among those twenty, some would walk out on their own two feet after two days, and some would be carried out on a stretcher after two months.

But in the end... the Empire would have two World Calamities ready for battle!

The twenty Arrays on this street were the prototype versions under Shaddad's direct supervision, but they were not the only ones—there were ten other Arrays distributed across Middle Sector 99 under the supervision of the Grave Empire, five in Middle Sector 100, and ten more being constructed under the supervision of Truth Chosen Klein, Jabba's Deputy.

"Was I teaching the wall?!"

"Hmm?" Shaddad turned toward a certain direction right after crossing the street, having heard a familiar voice.

Jin, his deputy, a Truth Chosen of the third degree and responsible for developing combat arts for the fifth training path.

"I'm very sorry, My Lord!!" The officer replied in a loud voice and stood at attention, even though he was much stronger than Jin, he behaved like a child learning to walk in front of him.

"For the third time, focus!" Jin struck him on the shoulder, "As a World Calamity with body strength, you have a massive amount of energy inside your body. You must leak that energy from the skin cells alone and form a thin layer as I taught you, then use the cells of the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands to push out large amounts of stored energy. You must learn how to balance so you can fly like your peers!"

"Yes sir!!" The officer exhaled then focused, "Here we goooo!!" A tremendous energy began to emerge from his foot, lifting him upward, then the energy around his body made him glide as if air resistance didn't exist, "Hahaha this is amazing!!"

But *poof* he soon slammed into an old building.

"Ugh." Jin went to the side muttering, "At least there's progress," then he picked up a small booklet and began writing on a blank page... The book's title was "The Method of Flying as a Body Strength User."

"...." Shaddad smiled, then continued on his way.

Those with physical strength have always been accustomed to jumping across distances; some use Energy to glide for longer spans, but they lack the precise control that would allow them to fly like their peers among internal Energy users.

What is happening here is a miracle... something the Universe has never witnessed before.

But this is nothing new for this planet.

"...Is everything prepared?" Shaddad asked when he reached his destination.

In that spot stood an open palace... no, rather something different.

Shaddad was gazing toward a facility built over an area of hundreds of acres.

Filled with massive pillars of varying sizes, with rivers of different colors flowing around and through them, and its sky consisted of heavy, shifting-colored lights...

Yet despite the size and enormity, there was only a small stone seat in the center of the open palace.

"Everything is ready, My Lord!" The hundreds of workers, researchers, and Truth Chosen performed their salutes and withdrew; everyone who had been writing notes or copying something stopped and put their books away.

Only one stepped forward and performed a salute with a bow, "City Lord, the volunteer for the experiment is here. Please place the Heart of the Array, and we can begin at any time."

Shaddad nodded... this person was a third-degree Truth Chosen who had recently volunteered to assist and had taken The Oath not long ago.

...Then Shaddad let out a breath and went to a specific area, taking something out of his ring—*vroom*—that thing was a blazing crimson sphere surrounded by a number of metal rods with inscriptions drawn on them.

Then he placed the sphere in the center of the Tablet.

*Oooooooom*

"Alright," Shaddad's assistant raised his hand and called out, "Come on, Zoldar, it's your turn now to—"

"Wait." Shaddad raised his hand in front of his assistant's face, then let out a breath, "...I'll do it today."

"My Lord!!" The Truth Chosen raised his voice in concern, "The Breakthrough Array for the Nexus State hasn't succeeded even once so far, and the death rate has reached 70% of the volunteers!"

"I'm optimistic this time." Shaddad swallowed his saliva.

Then *thud* he stomped his leg on the ground and leaped once toward the center of the Array, sitting down.

Afterward, he gestured to his assistant, "Do it."

"City Lord!!" The assistant shouted again, not daring to begin.

"Do it!" Shaddad yelled, "I must be the first person to break through to the Nexus State using the Fifth Path, and that will happen today!!"

"..." The assistant swallowed his saliva, then placed his hand on the Tablet and nodded, "Please live."

*Bzzzzzt*

"Arghhhh!!!"