Chapter 568: Tracing Upward

At four in the morning, thick black clouds hung over the entire city of Atlanta, blotting out all starlight.

"Another super-scale divine war—it's just endless—"

In a bunker south of Wiltonsetenburg, Colonel Steid Wiltonseten, commander of the 22nd Armored Regiment of Wiltonseten, smoked a cigarette while peering into the distance through night-vision binoculars: "This year alone, there have been no fewer than twenty legendary-level battles in Atlanta, counting the Vanderlitz family."

"If you include them, it's thirty!"

Beside Steid, his chief of staff Dero Will shrugged: "I'm not surprised. Anyone who rises as fast as your family in just one year will face more conflicts and wars, not fewer. This is a supreme family that can directly confront the National Progressive Association! As far as I know, many in your family are as excited as if they've been injected with stimulants. You know Rashia? The commander of the 3rd Battalion, 27th Regiment, your kinsman. I saw him in a tavern yesterday. Right in front of us, he carved the letters 'Andre Wiltonseten' into his arm, then drank and shouted that the young Wiltonseten is destined to be the new king of your Hohenstaufen dynasty, and dying for him is our glory."

"There are indeed a bunch of muddle-headed idiots in the family."

Steid let out a sneer, tinged with both regret and sarcasm: "Restoring the glory of the Hohenstaufens? What era is this? The Hohenstaufens fell who knows how many years ago. There are no fewer than eight or ten surviving branches. A new king of the Hohenstaufen dynasty? Should we also restore the Holy Roman Empire on American soil? A bunch of fools whose brains are burned out by bloodline theory and so-called ancestral glory!"

"But sir, you seem excited too? Very—"

Dero Will looked at Steid suspiciously, noticing the flush on his face and his clearly hyper-excited state.

But wouldn't a normal person, facing a war that could cause massive casualties, feel at least heavy-hearted, if not fearful? Especially knowing that the enemy intends to expend their low-level combatants.

"How should I put it? You look like you're about to burst into flames?"

"Of course I'm excited! And I have every reason to be!"

Steid lifted his chin, his eyes glinting with a crimson light as he gazed at the area before the bunker, swept by searchlights: "Dero, you're not a member of the Wiltonseten family, so you can't understand."

"Understand what?" Dero Will's eyes showed confusion; he was even more puzzled now.

"Understand that feeling of blood boiling! Half a month ago, my bloodline awakened—"

Steid raised his hand, and a blue icy mist condensed in his palm, then formed a thin ray of frost that struck the wall beside him, freezing a twenty-square-meter section.

It was a crude spell, but Dero Will's pupils contracted: "Dragonblood sorcerer? You awakened a dragonblood?"

He knew his friend was extremely talented in the warrior path, having become a twelfth-level Outlaw before thirty. But in terms of the bloodline the Wiltonseten family prided itself on, Steid Wiltonseten had never been able to develop it effectively.

"Third-level dragonblood sorcerer! Awakened just half a month ago, at my age. In fact, in the past half month, at least twelve hundred members of our Wiltonseten family have become bloodline sorcerers, without exception! And all of them have the blue dragon bloodline of the Silent Dragon Patrick, or are Titan warriors. Some awakened as ninth-level bloodline sorcerers! My daughter is one; she's only seven years old. It's incredible! Do you know what this means, Dero?"

Steid Wiltonseten's lips curled, a somewhat neurotic smile on his face: "It's bloodline tracing upward! One of our Wiltonseten family members has strengthened his own blue dragon and Titan bloodline to the point where even distant relatives like me can awaken it. Can you guess who that is?"

"The Vice President, right?"

Dero Will nodded thoughtfully: "Only he and Chairman Conshuri possess both Titan and blue dragon bloodlines. But I doubt it's the Chairman."

—In Atlanta, this was common knowledge.

"So I can understand Rashia. Under these circumstances, how could he not be grateful to the Vice President? He's almost thirty and still hasn't become an Outlaw. He's taken many drugs to stimulate his potential over the past decade, and his lifespan is short. But not long ago, he met the Vice President, and his body almost fully recovered, then he crossed the threshold of the eleventh level."

Steid Wiltonseten put away the icy mist as he spoke: "Some speculate that young Mr. Wiltonseten has mastered the Domain of Life and Death, which is why he can directly repair hidden injuries and force the surrender of the vampires. I'm not sure."

"Force the surrender of the vampires?" Dero Will was hearing this for the first time.

"You didn't know?"

Steid Wiltonseten looked at him: "In the past two days, quite a few vampire units have joined us. The Tzimisce and the Toreador—do you think they would have come on their own just because they favor our Vice President?"

He didn't dwell on the topic: "In short, even the elders of our family council, those who consider themselves calm and prudent, have gone mad. A few days ago, they took out all their cash to hire more mercenaries and more legendary fighters."

"At this moment, I will support the Vice President no matter what. I've never cared about the glory of the Hohenstaufen family. But I believe the Wiltonseten family can become the master of America. If we survive this, then all forces and families on this continent will have to bow their proud heads before us!"

Dero Will shuddered at the fanaticism in Steid's words, yet he understood his colleague's state of mind.

He thought that if he were in Steid's place, his emotions would probably be even more intense!

…

At the same time, the 'Purple Gem' building in the north of the city was also brightly lit. Many key members of the Vanderlitz family and some visitors from the city gathered there.

On the wide observation deck, everyone stood by the windows, including Heinz Vanderlitz. Though his position offered an excellent view, no one stood within ten meters of him except for a tall, thin man.

"Whether the Wiltonseten family can become a pole in the American Federation depends on today's battle. If they survive, no one on the entire East and South Coasts will dare defy their will. But if they fail, then—"

"They will still be a member of the supreme families; they just need more time to accumulate strength."

The one who interrupted Heinz was the tall, thin man. His name was Alec Van Pitt. In Atlanta, the Van Pitt family had once been on par with the Howard family, second only to Vanderlitz and Wiltonseten in influence and wealth.

Mr. Alec Van Pitt's status was once equal to that of Alexandra Howard.

"Unless they can kill Andre, kill that sniper, and seize the Sky Scepter, but that's unlikely. That's why I'm here today, Heinz!"

Not long ago, the Van Pitt and Vanderlitz families were locked in a bitter struggle over the fate of 'Dragon Might,' even shedding blood. But the recent fall of the Howard family and the death of Philip I sent a chill down Alec Van Pitt's spine—so cold that he personally came to the 'Purple Gem' building today, seeking warmth from his former enemy.

"As you said, Lord Alec."

Heinz puffed on his cigar, his expression unreadable: "So I'm curious about your purpose. If you want to reach some agreement with the Vanderlitz family on the future situation, you're welcome. But if you intend to do something, then—"

"The National Progressive Association has contacted you, hasn't it?"

Alec Van Pitt interrupted him: "So I want to ask your opinion. Don't misunderstand! I certainly won't make any moves at this time, unless they achieve results that can change the situation in their campaign against the Wiltonseten family. I just want to hear your thoughts on another proposal of theirs. What do you think, Heinz? After the war, restraining the Wiltonseten family with only one family's strength is impossible."

"They did contact me, but I'm still considering."

Heinz hesitated briefly, then decided to show some sincerity to this future ally.

"At this moment, making a move against the Wiltonseten family in Atlanta would be unwise. However, their latter proposal does have some feasibility. Regardless of the war's outcome, the National Progressive Association needs to seek a balance against the Wiltonseten family's expansion. In Atlanta, no families are more suitable than yours and mine. They are sincere. But—"

"But we need to see how this battle goes, right?"

Alec Van Pitt's expression relaxed, and he didn't press further: "I think this is what the Easterners call 'great minds think alike.' I feel the same way. So let's watch together and see what the king of Atlanta and Georgia can achieve under the full assault of the National Progressive Association."

Just then, a phone rang on the wide observation deck. The sound came from a black-clad guard standing twenty meters behind Heinz Vanderlitz. After answering the call, he reported to Heinz with a grave expression: "Chairman, it's a call from Manhattan. Fighting has broken out around Anthony's villa, the 'Emerald City.' And it started at the divine-war level."

This immediately energized everyone present, and they looked eastward with anticipation.

Heinz Vanderlitz took another drag on his cigar: "Have them monitor the situation closely, especially Andre Lee Wiltonseten! If they can't contain that sniper of the Wiltonseten family, they won't be able to start this war in Atlanta."

…

In Manhattan, around Anthony's 'Emerald City' villa, a ten-kilometer radius had been forcibly separated from the material plane by the Manhattan Magic Tower Council, entering a demiplane state.

Just as Anthony Braden began attempting to break the curse seal imposed on his soul by Thomas Milan, a great battle erupted at the edge of the demiplane.

The first to engage was Li Mochen's subordinate, Odyssey Ventrue, and this King of Ventrue's opponent was the 'Star God' Isadora McCas, a subordinate deity of the Goddess of Magic.

She was a lesser deity who ascended through faith two hundred years ago. Having recently mastered the divine power 'Magic Astrology,' she was taken under the Goddess of Magic's wing.

'Magic Astrology' was undoubtedly powerful—powerful enough to interfere with or even block Li Mochen's use of stellar power, and to greatly enhance Isadora McCas's astrological spells.

However, this divine power was difficult to elevate. Isadora McCas's divine power rank was still elementary; she didn't even have the strength to establish a divine kingdom and remained in the mortal world. Her battle with Odyssey Ventrue was intense and spectacular.

She cast spells in rapid succession, wielding powerful stellar magic with ease. But her sixteen-story magic tower could not enter the demiplane; under the threat of the sixteen magic annihilation cannons at the 'Emerald City' villa and the many magic towers above, the enemy's magic towers had to stay outside the demiplane to avoid the villa's bombardment.

Odyssey Ventrue, meanwhile, kept trying to close in and assault, his body splitting and merging, his blood source power indestructible, easily tearing apart the stellar spells.

If not for his enemy's mastery of stellar teleportation, Odyssey Ventrue would have already cut Isadora McCas down.

But Li Mochen was no ordinary man. With his vast experience and accumulated insight, he could see at a glance that these two were slacking off. The seemingly brilliant battle was more of a performance.

Isadora McCas, whose combat power could rival a magic envoy, was indeed not going all out, and neither was the King of Ventrue.

Another Ventrue, Schroeder Ventrue, was doing the same. His chosen opponent was also from the Goddess of Magic's camp—likely a cardinal under the Goddess of Magic, a near-divine combatant using various divine spells granted by the Goddess to suppress Schroeder Ventrue, a vampire prince.

The latter possessed the intermediate divine power of 'Water,' making him extremely powerful. But the cardinal, with the Goddess's gifts, freely modified and twisted magic, creating incredible effects—one of the Goddess of Magic's powerful divine powers, 'Magic Shaping.'

"Two cunning fellows!"

Li Mochen glanced at them through his scope and couldn't help but chuckle.

But he made no move to reprimand or force the two Ventrues to go all out; he simply noted it mentally.

The Ventrue clan had undoubtedly reached an understanding with the Church of the Goddess of Magic before the battle. As a force now subservient to him, such behavior was indeed deplorable!

However, Li Mochen hadn't expected them to die for him wholeheartedly. Having them tie down two equally matched opponents was enough to achieve his purpose in bringing them along.

His dissatisfaction with them could be addressed later; he had plenty of ways to deal with them.

"Indeed cunning—"

Moses Tzimisce, standing behind Li Mochen, also smiled: "Or rather, smart. Fighting on the periphery should be the safest. That's the Ventrue nature. During the Dark Ages in medieval times, a saying long circulated among our Camarilla: the Brujah, the Gangrel, and the Tzimisce fight in the front, while the Ventrue stand behind them to pick up power and money."

"But now the one standing farthest back should be me, the boss."

Li Mochen had already moved his scope to other directions. By the time he finished speaking, dozens of demigods had begun dueling in pairs within the area.

The magical radiance illuminated the ten-kilometer demiplane as bright as day. The shockwaves and gusts from source power impacts began to ravage every inch of land in the demiplane.

Li Mochen did not target those demigods. He judged that he might only have one or two chances to act, so he had to choose more valuable targets to reduce Anthony Braden's pressure as much as possible.

He quickly locked onto one target through his scope: Thomas Milan's subordinate deity, the 'God of Processing,' Ivan Cote.

The conceptual divine authority of 'processing' was extremely powerful, and Ivan Cott had already entered the realm of gods in the field of alchemy. At this moment, his entire body was radiant with the glory of mythical armaments. As a result, his opponent, Corone, the 'God of the Erie Canal' whom Anthony had hired at great expense, was being completely suppressed by Ivan Cott.

The former had condensed his divine office using the 'divine authority of water,' but when condensing his divine spark, he dared not contend with the powerful water gods and sea gods; instead, he used the Erie Canal to gather the faith of sailors.

Although this deity possessed the mid-level 'divine authority of water,' when faced with Ivan Cott's numerous mythical armaments, he was hard-pressed and unable to hold his own.

If not for the Erie Canal being right next to Manhattan, continuously supplying him with divine power, this Canal God would have been slain by his opponent at the moment of engagement.

In Li Mochen's eyes, this 'God of Processing' was undoubtedly one of the greatest threats to Anthony Breiden. This person himself only held the divine authority of 'processing,' but through mythical equipment, he additionally controlled as many as six types of divine authority.

If the other party truly intended to use a pairing strategy as he predicted, then he must first sweep this person out of the battlefield.

"Next, I leave it to you, Moses. If that lady truly plans to participate in this divine war and make a move against me."

"Rest assured, my prince!"

Moses Rimore bowed slightly with a solemn expression: "I will ensure that your Destiny's Domain magic tower remains undisturbed by any external forces. Even if they are gods!"