Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3008: Decision

The conversation drifted easily at first—old battles, old friends, and the years that had slipped by since they had last sat together.

Gradually, it turned to weightier matters.

Thrax set down his cup, his expression growing serious.

"I’ve made my decision," he said. "I’m returning to the frontline. It’s been ten years. It’s time I started contributing to the faction again."

Emery gave the matter careful thought.

The warning from his future self resurfaced in his mind. At the same time, the reports crossing his desk had grown grimmer with each passing year.

Beside him, however, Klea gave a slow, reassuring nod.

"I think it’s the right move," she said before explaining.

"There’s the matter of our merit debt. We have a little over five years remaining on our obligation. At first, we thought the upcoming Tartarus mission would be enough to clear the entire balance in a single operation."

She let out a quiet breath before turning to Emery.

"But nothing about that mission is certain. We don’t know what awaits you there, how long you’ll be gone, or whether it will reward the amount of merit we’re expecting. Betting everything on a single uncertain expedition would be unwise."

Her fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop.

"It makes far more sense to steadily accumulate contributions on the frontline while we still have the opportunity."

She continued, her tone calm and methodical.

"More importantly, two things have changed."

She raised one finger.

"The greatest threat in scourge warfare has never been the monsters. It has always been the infection. That threat has now been reduced dramatically."

Since the outbreak five years ago, the advanced resistance pills had not only been perfected, but mass production had also made them widely available. They were no longer reserved exclusively for elite cultivators, allowing ordinary frontline forces to operate inside contaminated zones with far less risk than ever before.

She raised a second finger.

"The second is Dawnstar itself."

"When we first set our foundation on this planet, the city was unstable, our authority uncertain, and enemies surrounded us on every side."

"That’s no longer the case."

Dawnstar had become secure. The faction’s authority was firmly established, its allies dependable, and its foundation stronger than ever before. For the first time, they possessed enough depth to project real military strength beyond their own borders without leaving their home vulnerable.

She finished her assessment before turning to Emery.

"With both of those in place, I believe this is the perfect time to join the frontline—allowing our forces to gain valuable experience while steadily earning the merits we need." She paused. "What do you think?"

Emery leaned forward. He found himself quietly impressed and nodded in agreement.

Thrax’s grin returned in full.

"Now that’s what I wanted to hear."

They began at once to discuss the gathering of troops, and quickly ran into the limits of what they had.

Kayelin, Soltz, and Feanor were all out. All three would be accompanying Emery on the upcoming Tartarus mission, and none of them could be spared for the frontline.

The next strongest fighters they could field were Morgana and Varkul.

Beyond them, the rest of their available Grand Magus were all One Cosmos.

Klea considered the problem aloud.

"I could probably convince the Marquess and the Red Dawn faction to join us. Or perhaps the insectoid faction. But they fight under their own banners. If they contribute under their own names, the merits would be divided. That’s far from ideal, though it would greatly improve the safety of our forces."

Thrax, having far more frontline experience than anyone present, shook his head.

"A larger, united force has its own advantages," he said. "It gives us the credibility to take on greater responsibilities, which leads to more independent operations and higher merits. More importantly, having reliable, trusted allies beside you on the battlefield is invaluable"

All were great ideas. Still, Emery believed they needed a powerful Three Cosmos expert to ensure the expedition’s safety. The memory of his battle against the dark elf Agis the Red Demon during his last mission on Valaryn still lingered in his mind. That encounter had taught him just how much difference a single Three Cosmos Grand Magus could make on the battlefield.

Slowly, his gaze turned toward the figure who had been standing silently in the corner the entire time.

Typhon.

The hybrid, who had listened without saying a word, immediately shook his head.

"No. No, no." He met Emery’s eyes flatly. "Unless you’re joining the battle yourself, I have no reason to go anywhere."

Emery answered with a small smile.

"That settles it, then."

The words made both Klea and Thrax straighten in surprise.

"You want to go to the frontline?" Klea asked.

Emery turned his gaze toward his light avatar, who was seated quietly nearby.

"Not me," he said. "Him."

Then Emery explained.

For the past year, the light avatar had been trapped in a stubborn bottleneck. The long-awaited breakthrough to the eighth layer of the Pagoda seemed no closer than it had been a year earlier. During that time, the avatar had devoted itself to other pursuits, spending countless hours in the apothecary refining its divine sense through delicate, precise craftsmanship.

It had been useful.

But it had not led to a breakthrough.

The duel with Thrax, however, had awakened a new line of thought.

The way Thrax had shattered his spiritual restraint through nothing but overwhelming will had lodged itself firmly in Emery’s mind. It reminded Emery of something he had long overlooked. The soul, like the body, could be tempered.

Willpower was not strengthened solely through meditation and comprehension. It was forged in battle—in life-and-death struggles, under relentless pressure, and against opponents who sought nothing less than your death.

In recent years, Emery had spent relatively little time on true battlefields. His strength had come from comprehension, cultivation, and the slow accumulation of insight gained in seclusion.

Perhaps that was exactly what was missing.

The crucible of the frontline.

At the same time, the expedition itself would benefit enormously from having a powerful spirit master among its ranks.

The reasoning aligned perfectly from every angle.

Thrax slammed a fist onto the table, unable to hide his excitement.

Klea offered no objection.

After all, she understood better than anyone that with Khaos’s gate, Emery’s light avatar would never truly be in danger. On the contrary, its presence would greatly improve the safety of everyone fighting alongside it.

A plan quickly took shape.

A departure date was agreed upon.

Over the next three months, Thrax gathered and trained a new expeditionary force while the Earth faction poured resources into expanding its military fleet, upgrading weapons, and stockpiling supplies for what promised to be a long campaign on the frontline.

There was, however, one complication. Preparing a suitable body for the light avatar proved more difficult than expected. Although Emery could technically recreate a clone body and send them through the Khaos Gate every few weeks, those temporary vessels were far from ideal for prolonged combat. If the avatar was to fight on the frontline, it needed a far stronger body—one capable of enduring repeated battles without collapsing under the strain.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

On the day of departure, Neo Terra’s massive military hangar was filled with disciplined ranks of soldiers.

Three hundred Magus and a thousand Saint-realm warriors stood in full battle armor, their banners fluttering beneath the enormous steel arches. Every formation stood perfectly aligned, every face carrying the same mixture of excitement and determination. For many of them, this would be their first deployment beyond Dawnstar.

At the very front stood Thrax.

He would command the expedition.

Serving beneath him were the returning hybrid Anpu, Morgana, and three newly recruited Grand Magus who had joined the Earth faction in recent years. Quietly among the commanders stood Emery’s light avatar, while Typhon looked thoroughly unimpressed.

The former Infinity Champion wore heavy crimson armor, his legendary spear resting beside him. His imposing figure alone was enough to silence the restless murmurs of the crowd.

He swept his gaze across the assembled force before raising his voice.

"ARE YOU READY FOR BATTLE?!"

The answer came like thunder.

"YES, COMMANDER!!"

The entire hangar shook.

A broad grin spread across Thrax’s face.

"Good!"

He swung Gaelbok onto his shoulder and pointed toward the waiting fleet.

"Board the ships!"

Waiting beyond the hangar doors was the largest fleet the Earth faction had ever assembled.

At the center floated the newly upgraded flagship, Gilgamesh, its reinforced black hull covered in newly engraved defensive formations. Rows of spirit cannons lined both flanks, while arrays of crystal-powered engines pulsed beneath its armored plating.

Beside it hovered a second heavy warship bearing the crimson banners of the Red Dawn.

Personally commanded by the Marquess himself, it carried the combined elite forces of Dawnstar’s allied clans.

Three transport vessels waited behind them, each filled with five hundred insectoid Magus under the command of the Insect Queen’s generals. Completing the fleet were five mid- and small vessels tasked with reconnaissance and long-range patrol.

Ten ships in total.

A combined expeditionary force of over 5,000 personnel, almost half of them Magus-realm cultivators, led by two dozen Grand Magus.

It was not a fleet capable of conquering worlds.

But for the Earth faction, it represented decades of growth.

After a grand ceremony — banners, speeches, and the roar of the assembled city — the ships rose, and their engines burned bright against the clouds.

Emery watched from the palace balcony beside Klea as the fleet climbed into the sky and shrank to distant points of light.

And as the fleet vanished beyond the horizon, Neo Terra settled once more into the steady rhythm of its development.