2827 Water
Leonel had noticed the peculiarity of the salt water in the region instantly. However, he originally thought that it was just a method of warfare.
Even so, this explanation wasn't enough.
Salting the land seemed to be a bridge too far. Ostensibly, if the Sea Gods wanted to kill off the Human Race, they wouldn't be doing so just for the sake of it. Unless they were genocidal maniacs, there had to be a purpose.
That purpose should be their land, or else what was the point? But then why would they destroy this land at the same time?
If Leonel took a step back, then he might be able to assign the blame to this method to whoever might or might not be controlling the Sea Gods in the shadows. Maybe they were more interested in going scorched earth just to deal with this matter.
But that didn't feel like it made sense either.
The point of using an Incomplete World as currency was the resources you could gain from it. Taking an Eighth Dimensional world like this one and just running one of its best planets into the ground simply didn't make any sense, even if they were trying to capitalize on some fast money.
When you thought about the fact the Sea Gods certainly had the capital to just brute force their way in and destroy what remained of the Human Race, it made even less sense.
Why take this slow, methodical approach if they didn't have to? Especially when everything else was taken into account.
There was no Water Force in existence that was naturally salty either, so it made even less sense.
Back when Leonel was still living in the Dimensional Verse, he had made a great breakthrough in his Earth Force, one that helped him link some of his comprehension with Life Force as well. In fact, even to this day, it helped him quite a bit with strengthening his Metal Body.
That breakthrough, of course, was related to the minerals in his body, the realization that things like sodium, or magnesium, or potassium, or any other of the various chemicals and minerals the body used to stay in its top condition, were just different applications of Earth Force.
Leonel didn't know much about marine biology, but what he did know was that while there was a Venn diagram of creatures that needed water to survive, and there was some overlap as a result, the diagram certainly wasn't a circle.
Simply put, not all freshwater creatures could survive in saltwater. And likewise, there were many saltwater creatures that would die if transferred to freshwater.
What was interesting, though, was that after gaining control of Force and evolving through the Dimensions, such limitations shouldn't impact even regular fish, let alone a race as mighty as the Sea Gods.
So why?
Truthfully, Leonel didn't have an answer. But he would find out soon enough.
In the meantime, he'd just have to brute force it.
...
Thunder rolled through the skies, and the Sea Gods looked up.
Sashae couldn't help but frown.
Rain was a natural occurrence and it shouldn't have drawn any attention whatsoever. They were all in the Fifth Dimension at worst. Even if they were in the Fourth, it wouldn't be a huge matter.
But the problem was that it didn't make sense for rain to appear here.
All the moisture should be under their control, pumping these lands full of salty water until soon the entire planet would be submerged.
For it to be raining now didn't make any sense.
While Leonel expected them to eventually feel that something was wrong, he hadn't expected one of them to pick up on it so quickly. It could only be said that Sashae was quite sharp.
But that was the good thing about a brute force method...
It didn't matter.
The first droplets of rain began to fall, and soon it became a heavy downpour. Aside from Sashae, who had a frowning expression, everyone else didn't react much to this change. Only Talon picked up on the change and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"What's wrong?"
Sashae frowned and leaned away. Though it looked like she just swayed for a moment before standing.
She walked over to a puddle and dipped her hand into it. She pulled it back and then licked her finger.
It was still salty, but...
Her gaze sharpened.
The water should be gradually getting more salty, so why had it regressed?
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She looked up into the skies again. What was happening? Did the humans have such capabilities? Or was it that they were far too lax?Her mother had felt that there was a disturbance in this area, but what was it? Was it the cause of this?
Many who were observing Sashae's actions subconsciously repeated her actions, trying to see what was wrong, but in the end, they got nothing out of it. It was just normal, salty water.
If it was anyone else who did this, they'd think that they were insane. But Sashae had such a high place in all their hearts that they didn't have such thoughts at all.
"Prepare to attack. Within an hour, we march."
Sashae's voice called out.
...
The mobilization of the Sea Gods couldn't escape the humans, no matter how incompetent they were. There were guards on high alert at all times, and everyone was on edge about what the Sea Gods might or might not be doing.
When Leonel learned of this, he was quite taken aback as well.
'So soon?'
Emperor Fleeting Cloud felt no small bit of discomfort when he saw Leonel's reaction. He had just put the life and death of his Empire in this man's hands.
Everything was calm before, but the moment Leonel took action, the Sea Gods had had enough of waiting? Who would believe that this was a coincidence?
Had Leonel just sped up their race toward annihilation?
Leonel shook his head, smiling.
Wasn't this the exact reason that he knew plotting and scheming would be useless? It seemed that not only did he not have enough information, the Sea Gods also had someone of exceptional intelligence leading them as well.
"It will be fine. Organize your armies and bring your strongest commander here to see me."
...
It wasn't long before Emperor Fleeting Cloud had brought his best commander over, a man who had flowing blond hair and looked much more like a model than a warrior. He looked to be about in his thirties and he had a full beard brimming with what looked like Light Force, but felt completely like something else.
Both his flowing hair and beard had the same flickering runes that fluttered around him like butterflies. He looked far more deity-like than man.
Well, his looks were one thing. His strength, however, was another.
Leonel felt that he was stronger than the Emperor, which was good. But he didn't give him nearly the same pressure the Sea Gods did.
"This is him?" Leonel asked, looking toward the Emperor.
"Yes. This is my best commander, General Mayweather."
General Mayweather looked a bit confused, not sure of what was going on. But when he saw Leonel suddenly morph before him to become a mirror image of him.
"Give me your armor."
"What?" A dangerous aura began to emit from the General, but it was the Emperor that held up a hand.
"Enough."
"Your Imperial Majesty, this..."
"This is our last chance. Just do as he says."
General Mayweather had no idea what was going on, and he was even less inclined to follow through with Emperor Fleeting Cloud's commands.
Even though he was respectful to the Emperor, who didn't know that he didn't have to be? He was the strongest expert of their Empire, a true Overlord. Why would he-?
ROAR!
A familiar dragon appeared, coiling around Mayweather's body. The difference was that, unlike the Emperor, the man didn't collapse.
Mayweather had seen too many battles while the Emperor was long past his prime. Plus, the Emperor's mind had been chipped away as the stress of the fall of his Empire weighed heavily on his soul.
However, that didn't mean that it had no effect.
The General felt his body stiffen and his Force flow freeze. His mind went blank for a moment, and by the time it recovered, he realized that he would have died ten times over on a real battlefield.
"Enough of the bullshit. There's no time for this. Hurry up."
Every one of Leonel's words reverberated in the General's very bones and he found himself stripping down his armor before he realized it.
Leonel took the armor and shook his head. He would have preferred to build an identical one himself, but there was no time. It could be said that whoever was leading the Sea Gods was decisive enough.
"You will remain here."
BOOM!
The city suddenly began to quake.
The Sea Gods had just begun their assault, but they were quickly finding that the Force Art they thought they could easily crush had become far sturdier than they expected.
What they didn't know was that they had the heavy minerals in their "water" to thank for that.
Leonel strolled out with heavy steps, a serious glint in his eye.
He didn't feel happy about the success of his formation. This situation just felt that it was getting trickier and trickier by the minute.
