Over the next few days I caught up with my military affairs while pulling every last ounce of knowledge I could from Maxwell.
The advancement formation to Authority 10 was just as complex as I had thought it would be. For one, it wasn’t a simple 3D formation anymore. It incorporated 4D elements alongside his Living Arrays, allowing it to pierce beyond the material plane and thereby give it unparalleled capabilities.
Authority 9 had given me an absolutely massive increase to my raw power. Authority 10 would do the same thing, bringing me even more proportional power than Authority 9, but even that effect was secondary to its true purpose. Authority 10 would evolve my Sparks yet again, bringing them together and consolidating them into a single, magical mind.
Not even Maxwell was sure what would come of it. His theories said that I would simply gain a second mind, one that worked separately yet in parallel with my current mind. But we both knew that the secrets of Psykic power went deeper than that. Neither of us knew what kind of consequences would come from gaining a second true mind, not to mention that it technically wasn’t a mind rooted in the physical world. A Psykic mind would not work the same as a mind rooted in a fleshy brain, and that was IF the mind truly was rooted in the brain instead of the soul. We simply didn’t know.
The potential was there, especially if I figured out ways to incorporate my Quantum Psionics, revamping those parts of the formation that utilized Living Arrays. Only issue at that point was actually completing the formation and using it to cultivate to Authority 10. But that was precisely my issue.
The formation wasn’t complete, it never could be until I finished it myself and proved its validity by advancing. The biggest hurdle toward that goal was combining the Sparks into a Psykic Mind. Unlike every other advancement, that goal was the only one that Maxwell had been unable to test and verify. Sparks were already a proven and utilized aspect of Summoner advancement. This Psykic Mind was not.
My path had finally disappeared. I was now venturing into the untrodden, and the only thing that Maxwell could give me was all of the knowledge he had accumulated over time. There was an extreme amount of that, but it was easy for me to have him duplicate it and send it to me so I could put it into a repository on the Beacon network.
I’d have plenty of time to read through all his data, and with my perfect memory, it wouldn’t be long before I could begin my own developments. Hell, the advancement formation itself likely wouldn’t take longer than a couple months to comprehend. It would just be completing it that took the longest, not that I could know how long that was.
For now though, working on my next advancement was low on the priority list, all things considered. Given a few days, I made all of Maxwell’s applicable knowledge accessible before moving on to other issues.
The war was still ongoing, and even without catching up on its affairs, I knew what I’d have to do. The Nexus we had just destroyed was effectively the last. Now our only course forward was toward the land bridge itself, but that would also bring us into new territory. Not the Scourge’s territory, but the Church’s.
Although the Scourge stretched across the northern regions of the continent, moving from the northeastern corner where the land bridge was all the way to the western side, they only did so because the Church held the line against the point of entry. While the Church didn’t hold them all back, they at least prevented them from flowing down the continent and toward the River of Desolation. The Kingdom did the same, holding them back with their Strongholds, always keeping the Scourge in the north.
Now though, Iron Legion would be approaching that battlefield. I had already received correspondence from the Pope regarding it, but back then the other ‘me’ had ignored it. Now I’d have to tackle the problem of joint cooperation.
It was an opportunity. If I could push Iron Legion further, we would be able to link up with the Templars and combine our efforts to push the Scourge back onto the land bridge. Then, once we secured the choke point, it would just be a matter of defense. We could build another Line and hold the Scourge back with overwhelming firepower. Except I’d also have the Church to rely on, recieving more manpower as well as resources and supply channels. I wouldn’t have to do everything myself.
I’d be able to delegate the task to mine and the Church’s generals. And with no immediate goals, I’d be able to step back from managing the army, focusing on everything else I needed to put my intellect toward.
For now, that was the end goal. We still had quite some distance and many more monsters to cross before I needed to start cooperating with someone like Valdemar, but when that time came, I needed to be prepared. There would be consequences if and when I cooperated openly with the Church.
And of course, all of this hinged on whether I’d ever actually get that far in the first place.
I remembered what I had concluded in my mania, and while I couldn’t see the same things I did back then, I trusted myself enough to believe even a version of me being driven insane by knowledge beyond human comprehension.
If Iron Legion was destined to fall, I just needed to figure out when, where, and how. And if it was impossible to devise those answers then I simply needed to be ready for whichever outcome befell me and my army.
Until then, I could only continue as I have. Despite my personal issues, my army continued to operate like a well oiled machine. I would continue to fight my war on all fronts, continue moving toward my goals while guarding against any surprises. And as much as I hated it, everything else was a waiting game.
I could only find solace in the fact that if the Scourge was going to make a move, they were going to do it sooner rather than later. I had cornered and killed three Sovereigns in my campaign without any significant losses on any level. Now I was about to push them all the way back to a defensible choke point. They knew that if they allowed me to entrench myself, then all of their plans on this continent would go up in smoke. They couldn’t allow it, and they’d be doing something before I could get too far.
Something I couldn’t avoid. Something thorough enough to unravel my conquest.
Perhaps it was my own arrogance, but I had a hard time thinking about what that something could be. I had eliminated my weaknesses so well, protected myself and Iron Legion in ways that would maintain their superiority for multiple technological generations. Besides the overwhelming power of the Sovereigns, there was no amount of tech, knowledge, or scheming that could stand in my way.
I was confident, but I decided that I needed to remain just as cautious and paranoid as I always have.
After spending some more time with Maxwell and giving my wife more attention, I finally headed back off to the front lines. While the work I needed to conduct there personally was minimal, I still needed to adjust to my newfound power. A battlefield where my friends were at was more conducive to that goal than sitting in my estate.
……
…
October 16th, 629
“Home sweet home.”
I sighed while the helicopter brought us down toward the camp Iron Legion had set up. After another recent battle they were taking a day to recuperate, the sun high in the sky and the camp vibrant with activity despite being on a hellscape battlefield.
Supplies were being dropped and ferried by other helicopters, and while many were busy unloading and handling logistics, there were also plenty who were simply trying to find something to stave the boredom.
Umara and I pulled a lot of eyes when we stepped out, General Gaffney already there to greet us. I shook his hand.
“General. So good to see that everything is still on order.”
“Thank you, sir. I hope that your recovery has been smooth.”
“It has, and you have my apologies for the little mental stunt I pulled during the battle. I hope nobody was hurt too bad.”
His face slighted into a small frown, likely from the memory of it. Although I had implied the question, I already knew exactly how okay everyone was. I knew what kind of consequences would come of what I did even before I did it.
“Nobody was hurt, just a little jarred mentally. After enough recovery, everyone is back in working order, though some healers have discovered some long term effects that will be lingering for the foreseeable future. At the very least, most troops have learned to either deal with it or utilize it to their advantage.”
“Good. In that case, I’ll leave the rest to you. It seems like we’re still on the right track, so I’ll focus on making sure I’m up to snuff. If you need me, I’ll be with my Deagles.”
“Of course, sir.”
With that, Umara and I split from the man before heading over to another portion of the campsite. It was near all the other troops since there was little point in keeping separate in a temporary camp like this, so when we arrived, we found the platoon sparring with some of the other soldiers.
It looked like some friendly competition, Ponteck currently in the middle of a wide open circle surrounded by cheering troops, dashing back and forth in clashes with another knight of the same Authority.
It was clear to my senses that Ponteck was taking it easy as opposed to his opponent who was just short of going all out. Regardless though, it made for a fantastic show that got a couple hundred troops excited, bets and contraband being passed around.
Umara and I caught more attention when we slipped through the wall of spectators to get a front row view, but when I just puffed on a cigar and leaned against Umara, they got the idea that I wasn’t here to bother and went back to enjoying the show.
Several minutes later, Ponteck decided to put an end to the fight, putting his opponent through a deceptive and complex series of attacks that left no room for retaliation. By the time his opponent realized what was happening, a sword was already at his neck, the troops cheering with the end of the fight.
The two gave each other a handshake, going back to their corners while I walked over with Umara to my Desert Eagles.
I smiled at the group of them, half of them frowning at me, especially Feiden. He and Tana had left the estate well before I advanced, so they could guess what it meant for me to be here.
Feiden muttered.
“How much stronger?”
“I’m now worth well over a hundred of me from before the advancement.”
“Fucking monster…”
“Aww come on now, pretty boy. Just cause I’m in the big leagues now doesn’t mean I’ll leave you behind.”
I put my arm around his shoulders, making him flinch as I laughed.
That’s when I heard a shout, my eyes flicking to the side and seeing one of the random young troops run over.
“Commander! You should jump in the ri-!”
“Shut it, you fucking idiot!”
He was promptly tackled by both friends and spectators, five of them dragging the young guy away as a few others saluted me.
“Sorry, Commander!”
“Nothing to apologize for. In fact, he gave me quite the idea.”
I suddenly tightened my grip on Feiden as he tried to twist out of my hold, pulling him to the ring.
“Let’s go for a round, pretty boy!”
“You’re going to kill me.”
“I would do no such thing! That would demand that I aim for the head, and how could I ever hurt that handsome face of yours.”
He suddenly zipped away with a flicker of space before one of my hands could snake around to his juicy bits, appearing on the opposite side of the ring. His armor and spear deployed with a thought, already in a defensive posture.
I laughed and took one last puff of my cigarette, all the troops cheering with renewed fervor seeing me getting ready to fight.
It wasn’t every day that they got to see their Commander fight in such a personal fashion.
“Alright, time to exercise.”
I stretched a bit, Feiden still on his highest guard. Once I had put my body through a few motions, I finally brought out the Monarch.
Unlike the first time where it had to customize itself to my body, this time the suit unfolded over my form with speed and ease. First was the bodysuit that replaced my clothes and meshed with my nervous system. Then came the actuated armor, plates snapping across my body and interlocking.
My head was the last to be covered, the metal of the suit taking on a matte black color.
I heard Charon in my head.
“MONARCH deployed. Have you finally decided to marry us, Cooper?”
“Easy now, Charon. We’ll need to go on a few dates first. I don’t put out so easily, you know?”
“Doing so will amplify our combat effectiveness by nearly a magnitude. It is not wise to delay it further if you intend to engage in combat.”
“It’s still a big decision. What if I get something better than you in the future?”
“You won’t.”
I hummed at that response, focusing on Feiden.
Then I pulled out a long knife, twirling it in my hand while warming up my mobility system.
“Ready, pretty boy?”
I got no response. He was still primed, silently watching me from behind his helmet. I smiled, then felt a jolt as the reactor on my back sent power to my suit.
My body moved, then the mobility system added power with thrusters, sending my body flying with enough G’s to kill a man.
I came to a stop just as fast beside Feiden, the MONARCH flush with my Psyka enhancing every bit of its functions.
My traversal couldn’t possibly catch Feiden off guard. Doing that would require me to cross two points as fast as he could by bending space, which at this point was nearly instant for him. That much was impossible for me as I was now, but that was also perhaps MONARCH’s greatest weakness.
Feiden pierced forward with his spear, space bending with enough power that it seemed to teleport before me, my suit creaking underneath the warping space around the blade. It looked to anyone else like he was going to a kill shot. In my vision though, not only was it slow enough for me to react to, but his aim would do nothing more than peirce my shoulder even if I let it go all the way.
Instead, I moved my body as if I had queued my movements before hand. I felt the sheer power behind my muscles, and then my suit taking it a magnitude further. The piezoelectric muscular system contracted in parallel with my own movements, no discernible delay or separation from my reactions. It was so thoroughly tied in with my nervous system that it felt like my own body.
But it displayed power so far above anything else I had been capable of before that it felt foreign, even as I sailed my hand toward the spear, grabbing it, pulling, and using that momentum to bring myself closer to Feiden.
I could see his reactions in real time, my mind so fast that it was like I could read his mind without even touching his Aura. It was like I could sense the activations of his neurons, his intentions painfully clear to me.
That’s when I realized what it was. As I took a step forward with speed that made Feiden nearly desperate to create distance, I noticed the oddity with what I was sensing.
It was wrong to assume that I was just inferring the activations of his nervous system and his reactions. Nay, I was actually sensing them.
Every living thing with a neural network had Magika tied to its body. Even the ordinary people of the world had all three magical energies through their flesh. It was faint, and they couldn’t utilize it, but it was there, like a law of physics.
And it was attached to their physical processes. Their brain and mind utilized Psyka, their body used Vigor, their senses used Mana. And right now, what I was sensing in Feiden was just that.
Despite not having control or even a connection to the Psyka in his body, despite having my Aura retracted and being deaf to his own, I was still sensing the activity of his Psyka. His body caused the Psyka to react, and through that effect I was able to interpret the cause. It was intuitive for me, and not just because I had experience with it.
No, I was using channels far above me, and when I felt myself brushing against the Great Barrier once more, I knew that I was correct in assuming that I was touching upon something Conceptual.
I smiled and pushed forward, slamming my fist against Feiden’s chest and sending him flying. He was stopped when he slammed into the magical shield around the ring protecting the spectators, sliding to the floor and landing on his feet like an agile cat.
I chuckled, Feiden launching himself forward through space, a tinge of anger flowing through his body, releasing adrenaline and hormones that adjusted his mental state and leaving him far more obvious than before.
“Tired of slamming into walls, pretty boy?!”
“I’m going to help you find the limits of that stupid fucking suit!”
“Hahahaha!!”
I laughed and met him in strength when he sent his spear away. He took out his own knife, slashing down and meeting my blade. My suit flared with power, delivering it exactly as necessary just as my body would have. Then he torqued his leg around, the air screaming with his speed and power, Vigor coating his armor and flooding his body.
I swung my free hand around, my palm meeting that leg, their collision releasing a shockwave. My palm stung with the impact, my armor groaning with the strain until I pumped more Psyka through it.
Feiden reacted even faster than before, his Vigor preventing my fingers from wrapping around his armor as he brought his leg down.
That’s when I saw it in my vision, my HUD lighting up with a predicted pathway. It said he was going to swing his fist, Charon tapping into our Psykic connection and using stimulations from the suit to tell me how to move my body to meet it.
I decided to follow it, and I watched as Feiden swung his fist in exactly the path that Charon had predicted.
My palm met that fist like a choreographed dance, another shockwave snapping outward, my force nullifying his and breaking his momentum. I followed up with a punch to his ribs, Feiden eating it while sending out another fist toward my chin, which I deftly dodged with a smooth tilt of the head.
I delivered a knee to his gut, and he responded with another kick, which I took while slamming my elbow into his thigh and denting his armor. Feiden kicked off to create some distance, and then Charon spoke.
“Pattern analysis complete. Recommending counterstyle.”
My vision lit up with modes and paths of attack, all of them aimed at dismantling Feiden’s fighting style, breaking through the weaknesses in his armor and defenses, and delivering vital strikes that would give me the greatest chances of incapacitating and killing him.
It wasn’t working off mere predictions. No, the counterstyle was custom made to break Feiden himself. In a short moment, Charon had mapped out Feiden’s psychology, idiosyncrasies, and habits based on how he responded in ou few exchanges. Unless Feiden changed, the style would counter everything he did even before he did it.
I chuckled, Feiden’s frustration growing as we reengaged.
“Let’s dance, pretty boy! LET’S HAVE A TANGO!”
“AHHHHH!”
He roared as Vigor wrapped around him like a liquid, Charon recalculating in real time as I took a strike so powerful it sent off alarms.
And I responded with a burst of Psyka, filling the ring with my Aura and flooding my suit with a hundred times the power of my previous self.