Chapter 690: Home Ground

What the hell is he talking about?

Upon hearing Nathan's declaration, the real Nathan, who had already left the moment the airship ignited, couldn't help but grunt in frustration, regretting he hadn't followed the "future" more strictly.

In the future he had seen, such a thing had never occurred.

The Gate to the Other World does not forcibly replicate a specific future—it merely offers a brief glimpse of it. So, just as the same person singing the same song twice won't produce identical notes, it can only guarantee the information from the future remains the same, not that the future itself will unfold exactly that way; even a slight deviation in action may lead to a different outcome.

Whatever. A little difference is fine.

After glancing at the soldiers surrounding the boarding tower, then at the powered armor squad approaching from afar, the middle-aged Joshua nodded in satisfaction.

His true identity had long been exposed; he no longer intended to use the name "Nathan." As long as the final outcome matched the future he had seen, that was enough.

"Duuu!!!"

A piercing, shrill whistle rang out, signaling the full commencement of the assault.

"Enemy numbers unknown, weapon types unknown. Ambush team moves first! Slow advance!"

Under the middle-aged Joshua's expectant gaze, the first troops to arrive beneath the boarding tower, under the command of their captain, swiftly and skillfully split into four groups according to the new soldier manual promoted by the Minister of Defense.

The ambush team split into three: two squads took cover on either side of the main path away from the tower, while the third began constructing temporary fortifications farther out, ensuring that even if enemies inside the boarding tower broke out, they couldn't escape quickly.

Next came the fire team: four squads equipped with heavy weapons quickly dispersed and began setting up rapid-fire nail guns at optimal positions, preparing to suppress any potential fire support from within the boarding tower.

Finally came the breach team and reserve force: roughly fifty elite soldiers divided into two groups; three assault squads armed with pneumatic shields entered the boarding tower under cross-cover from two support squads, beginning to break down, clear, and sweep rooms while slowly advancing.

The command team, stationed with the fire team, shifted position alongside them, covering the fire team's weapon setup while temporarily assuming their role, initiating preemptive suppressive fire toward likely ambush points.

…

Holy shit, could those old generals who got crushed six years ago really be this elite now?

From seventy or eighty meters away, Leon glanced down and couldn't help but whistle inwardly at how the troops had sealed off the entire area and begun methodical floor-by-floor advancement in under two minutes.

When he trained in hand-to-hand combat with the female cop Isla, she had once told him about her father, saying that six years ago, the Minister of Defense and the Princess had already begun reforming the military with the King and royal family's support.

After six years of effort, though budget deficits remained unaddressed, the soldiers' combat effectiveness had become unrecognizable. And as a perpetual schemer like himself—a "rebel"—he had to be sharp during undercover ops, never daring to charge head-on against the military's regular forces.

Also, when he first obtained the Holy Spirit Pendant, the Director had once remarked that with this anomaly, which combined offense and defense, he could barely defeat a fifty-man elite squad in complex urban combat.

If not surrounded or pinned down, and if he avoided rushing, he could even use his two-kilometer-long soul vision to slowly wear down a company of two or three hundred men.

Back then, he'd thought the Director's assessment was overly conservative—after all, his soul vision was like a black goat mapping terrain, and his lethal power could instantly kill within fifty meters. But now, watching these elite soldiers, he realized the Director's evaluation was spot-on.

With the limited tools he had back then, and his painfully short stamina endurance, if his position had been discovered and these troops advanced layer by layer, even with his strange abilities and terrain advantage, he wouldn't have lasted long.

But now…

"Wahahaha! Finally! Finally, it's my stage!" Accompanied by wild, exuberant laughter, two black, spiral-patterned diagonal shadows slowly rose from Leon's head, drifting like smoke and mist, occasionally spilling faint crimson sparks.

Immediately, an acrid stench of sulfur spread rapidly from the two "ram-horn smokes." Leon took just one whiff, and a faint burning pain flared in his lungs; a hellish roar of battle suddenly echoed in his ears.

【Name: War's Diagonal (Fallen, Wrath, War)】

【Appearance: …】

【Ability: Demon Horns, Amplified Malice, Bloodshed Never Ends】

【Cost: …】

【File: …】

【Evaluation: Thanks to your careful cultivation, after repairing its shattered authority, this anomaly has once again become a terrifying battlefield weapon.】

【If you bring it into a large-scale war, you will gain temporary immortality and inexhaustible stamina until one side collapses completely and the war ends.】

【Corruption Level: 8 (5. )】

"Kid, don't worry!"

As Leon frowned at the 【War's Diagonal】 interface, the Black Goat, finally able to "show his stuff," spoke with smug pride:

"Once the war begins, I'm invincible! Go ahead and kill freely!

I guarantee you won't lose a single hair before we wipe everyone out—whether it's three hundred, three thousand, or thirty thousand. Just follow me… Oof!"

"Shut the hell up!"

After slapping the Black Goat, who tried to seduce him, Leon grimaced—his lungs felt like they'd inhaled a massive dose of cheap "Gao Te" smoke—and snapped:

"No wonder you love Gao Te so much—it smells exactly the same! Get rid of this smoke right now! It's choking me!"

"But… you can't really make me stop this…"

Hearing Leon's "unreasonable" demand, the Black Goat's spirits deflated instantly. He looked miserable as he pleaded:

"This smell is the trigger of Bloodshed Never Ends—it won't stop until the war ends. Even if you're blown to pieces on the battlefield, as long as this stench lingers, you'll reassemble exactly as you were.

Plus, it's great for restoring stamina. Even if you've run a hundred kilometers and are about to collapse, one whiff of this smell and you'll bounce right back up and run another hundred. If I disperse it, you lose all these benefits."

"Fine…"

Leon gritted his teeth, sniffed the sulfur scent again, confirmed his stamina had indeed been restored, and gave up on making the Black Goat retract the "goat stink." He reached up, gripped the Holy Spirit Pendant, and crushed the nearest flame in his soul vision with all his strength!

(End of Chapter)