Paragon of Sin

Wei Wuyin settled his turbulent emotions. The world had always been vast, piled with mysteries and secrets, not just about cultivation but about many things. The only way to grasp these truths, he had to continue his acts of cultivation, surviving the worldly dangers that sought to halt his journey, and snatch the rightful qualifications to know.

"This Battlefield..." Wei Wuyin didn't answer the War Spirit directly, merely considering a single item amongst the eighty-one items in the Commander's List. While most were currently beyond his means, solely for the Mystic Ascendants, there were a few useful tools similar to the War File and Map of War, which were very useful in gathering information for recruiting and having an awareness of the Battlefield's state.

The Map of War could pinpoint the location of each Soldier of War and Commander of War on the Battlefield. This was likely how Guan Yu found him. If it wasn't for his intentions to hide his in-depth knowledge of the Battlefield, he might've taken it out to hunt others.

The War File, however, wasn't complete. The first thing he did was purchase a War File. When he did, according to the War Spirit, he could select any Soldier of War on the Battlefield and grasp their merits and abilities. However, it was only the abilities shown on the Battlefield.

Guan Yu had likely inspected the War File shortly after meeting him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to face him after learning about the terrifyingly high number of premium merits he had earned in the Battlefield.

In the file, it lackingly described his Spatial Beast Bloodline. It was described as such, completely not specifying which beast or how developed the Bloodline was. It also had something that said: "Grenadier." He had no idea what that meant.

Fortunately, the War Spirit was telling him about the War File's contents, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to read these details. From the War Spirit, he learned it was a type of Soldier of War that used external devices, be it pellets or talismans, as main sources of combat strength. Considering his actions, this rang true.

There was also an item that intrigued him.

[Item]: Summons of War.

[Exchange Rate]: 50 War Souls.

[Availability]: Commander.

[Description]: Can not be used during times of active war. When used, it releases a bright signal to all Soldiers of War to gather. Those who resist the summons are penalized with summary execution.

When he first arrived and met Guan Yu, the scarlet-eyed sinner was shaken when Wei Wuyin suggested they were allies. Clearly, he was aware of this original purpose. And after hearing about the Nexus Battlefield details, Wei Wuyin's first decision was to summon forth the loose Soldiers of War into an organized army. Since the 10,000 Spirits of War were undefeatable existences to mortals, perhaps an army of them might have a chance. He later realized his thinking was incorrect.

There was no way even 100,000 Mortals would claim victory over an Ascended Legion of 10,000. It just wasn't practical. Clearly from Guan Yu's explanation, the focus and purpose of the Nexus Battlefield had become muddled after a long time, with Ascended no longer striving to arrive in the Nexus Battlefield and Soldiers of War sent here were actively slaughtering each other to accumulate enough War Souls to depart.

This item proved that the Soldiers of War were all allies. It was just unfortunate how viciously distorted the Nexus Battlefield had become.

It was truly unfortunate that it was limited to Commanders of War, and a Soldier of War like himself doesn't have the qualifications to gather and lead other Soldiers of War, according to the Nexus Battlefield at least. With that, even if he intended to gather all the Soldiers of War, even with the Map of War, convincing them and forcing them to submit wouldn't create a cohesive team.

When they start to get slaughtered en masse, they'll easily desert the army, fearful of losing their lives. The sadistic woman and Guan Yu's mentality offered him a glimpse into the thoughts of other Soldiers of War. They'll think it's impossible'”a fool's dream. That plan simply wasn't feasible.

"Soldier of War?" The War Spirit inquired, seeing Wei Wuyin pausing for an extremely long period of time. Its voice, however, was disguised at this moment, so it would've induced some dizzying temporal and spatial dissonance. As for the question itself, Wei Wuyin wouldn't have heard it, just aware that the War Spirit was seeking him out.

Wei Wuyin broke out of his thoughts, unaffected thanks to Kratos, asking directly: "Can a Soldier of War initiate the Nexus Battlefield?"

"Initiate the Nexus Battlefield?" The War Spirit actually questioned curiously, but its voice was still disguised. Clearly, it wanted to keep an all-knowing, imposing, and mysterious image. Wei Wuyin found it a little funny hearing the voice.

Wei Wuyin furthered his question, elaborating: "If I wanted to face the ten thousand Spirits of War in battle, to obtain the right to observe the Obelisk of War, can I do so? Is a Commander of War required to declare war?"

"..." The War Spirit was stumped. It wasn't that Wei Wuyin's question wasn't a logical one, but that it was one that no one had ever brought up, not even the creators of the Battlefield had thought about this. A Soldier of War? A mere cog in the grand scheme of things? Asking to declare war? When would this question have ever come up. Most would have a heavy laugh from just the mention of it, finding it an hilarious joke.

Fight 10,000 Spirits of War? All which were Ascended beings, alone? Declare war as a MERE Mortal?! The War Spirit truly couldn't even fathom the possibility of this occurring nor formulate a response.

"So it's never been considered. There must be some way to declare war. There's no item limited to Commanders for it, so it doesn't seem restricted to them. Can you tell me how?" Wei Wuyin deduced with a contemplative expression.Â

The War Spirit was still dazed by the question, unable to grasp a reason as to why this question even existed. However, it was trained to respond to Soldiers and Commanders of War, and there had been Commanders who had asked about this detail in their ignorance or to see if they could take advantage of the initiation.

"To begin the Nexus War, one must issue a declaration of war to the Obelisk of War. Then, the 10,000 War Spirits will be summoned. Afterwards, they'll fan out to the Zones of War. There is no restriction on the established rank to do so." The War Spirit's answer caused Wei Wuyin to frown.

He wondered if ancient members of the Battlefield tried to launch an assault at the time of their summoning. But that wasn't actually very smart at all. An army was at its strongest together, so it was foolish to face them as a singular whole. It would be better to divide and conquer if one had a proper army.

However, this meant Commanders had a choice. They could face them in direct battle or launch all types of warfare, such as guerrilla tactics, subterfuge, environmental manipulation, and various fielding movements of forces to gain an advantage.

It verified his own assumption, causing him to sigh with relief. If the Spirits of War were automatically dispersed through spatial shifting to populated locations, equalizing the battlefield like the original Battlefield, then summoning the Spirits of War would be a death sentence to everyone here and he'd be forced to escape.

He had two plans; neither worked if the Spirits of War were segregated from each other. This meant he had a window of opportunity.

"Next question: the Spirits of War, are they real beings? Are they subjected to exhaustion, confusion, frustration, incorrect decision making, real-time decision making, or vulnerable to energies, poisons, and hazardous environments?" This question was absolutely critical.

The War Spirit wasn't foreign to this question either. While most of the time it was divided, it hadn't skipped a beat before answering: "The Spirits of War are designed to react as Ascended beings would. There is no difference between them and yourself in the foundation of your weaknesses and strengths."

Wei Wuyin nodded elatedly. "Two more questions: Eliminating Spirits of War accrue War Souls, correct? And will I have the opportunity to use my War Souls after I observe the Obelisk of War?"Â

"Yes, to both." The War Spirit answered succinctly. It further added, "Claiming victory also rewards War Souls."

Wei Wuyin expected that, so he delved into his last question: "How many acts of killing allies forfeit my life?"

"..." This was the first time the War Spirit was asked this, and if Wei Wuyin could see its expression, he would be quite amused. On the Nexus Battlefield, all Soldiers of War were allies, and typically, killing your allies was a sin punishable by summary execution in an army. However, accidents occurred and friendly fire happened.

Thus, there was certainly leeway to the act. In the chaos of the battlefield, in the thick of the bloodshed, accidents were bound to happen.

The War Spirit, however, answered after recomposing itself: "The act of fragging is limited to eight times. Not counting accidental, honestly judged upon mistakes. However, the life of a Soldier of War and Commander of War has value on the Battlefield. They will not be subjected to punishment as long as they contribute to the Nexus War. In the case of their departure prior to earning contribution, upon submitting one's leave of the Battlefield, one will be judged. Then, the Soldier of War will be executed promptly."

Wei Wuyin wryly smiled. This was consistent with his own assumption. That sadistic woman or Guan Yu will likely be executed upon attempting to leave, but those outside would just assume they were killed by others. It was the distortion of the Nexus Battlefield, suffused with desperation, that led people to do this. That said, it didn't mean it was allowed.

"Most would escape, however," Wei Wuyin commented to himself. Killing the sadistic woman was sufficient to depart without any issue. As long as someone killed one or two soldiers that had killed two or one soldier respectively, one would be beneath the threshold even if they killed minimal War Soul new arrivals.

However, those who actively hunted others, such as Guan Yu and the sadistic woman were going to die. Considering Guan Yu hunted newbies, having over a thousand War Souls, chances are he was marked for execution.

Unless...he contributed to the Nexus War, fighting against the 10,000 Spirits of War. Which was another death sentence in and of itself.

"I seek to return to the Nexus Battlefield, War Spirit." Wei Wuyin hadn't bought anything, merely gaining knowledge of what was available. Why? Because he had too little War Souls at the moment, and the things on the Soldier's List weren't worth it in his eyes.

"Leave?" The War Spirit was stunned. It had spent all this time explaining things and listing out all the available items, then he sought to leave? Just like that? It was a little peeved. It harrumphed out, and this would've certainly induced a massive headache to Wei Wuyin, but due to the filtering, all he heard was an adorable little girl harrumphing in a minor tantrum.

It was unbearably cute.

Before he could react, he was engulfed by multicolored light.