“Why!”

At the World Alliance General Headquarters.

Xuanwu raised his voice there.

Nearly a week had passed since the start of the world war.

“Even if the difference in forces isn’t three times, it should be close to two times. Why are we losing every single battle!”

The reports from his subordinates were always ones of defeat.

Byakuren was locked in battle with the Three Elites as well, and couldn’t spare any forces from her front.

“…We may have misjudged. The existence of Road Earthguard. No, perhaps he’s growing even now.”

Camille, who had been listening to the report beside him, pressed a hand to his forehead in thought and gazed up at the sky.

In the previous EU war, their forces had been inferior, so defeat was inevitable.

But what about now? With the EU, Asia Union, and Odin’s power combined, their forces outnumbered the enemy by nearly two to one.

Yet they couldn’t win.

Since the outbreak of World War I, the battlefields had spread across the globe, with localized fighting breaking out everywhere on Earthguard territory.

However, every one of those battles…

“To think we’ve come this far with total defeat in every engagement, unable to cross the border even once… At best, Byakuren and Thor’s positions are holding steady.”

Xuanwu didn’t know Road’s power.

The Asia Union had never gone to war with Earthguard.

But Camille knew.

The EU had been utterly defeated by that devil time and again.

“The talent of a single man… enough to swallow the world itself.”

Camille recalled that nightmare.

The past great war, where no matter what they did, they were always outmaneuvered and defeated.

No matter what strategies or clever ploys they employed, everything was seen through and surpassed.

That nightmare of a war.

“What is Odin doing! Where the hell is he! We should be deploying all of his forces too!”

The normally calm Xuanwu raised his voice.

His reaction laid bare his frustration.

Most of Odin’s forces had been cooperating with the World Alliance.

That was why no one had complained about his absence.

But with defeats piling up like this, they couldn’t afford to hold back any longer.

Then, as if he’d been waiting for the outburst…

“Lord Odin is no longer here.”

An Earthguard man who appeared to be one of Odin’s subordinates entered the General Headquarters.

“You… one of Odin’s men, are you? Care to explain? Where has Lord Odin gone?”

“No explanation is necessary. Lord Odin laughed and said everything is going according to plan. I have a message for you.”

“According to plan…? What the hell does that mean?”

And so the Earthguard soldier opened his mouth.

Knowing full well what would become of him afterward, yet faithfully carrying out his lord’s orders.

“The alliance is hereby dissolved… he said.”

…

“You’ve had a long journey, Lord Odin.”

Lirbelt greeted Odin upon his arrival.

Having ordered the dissolution of the alliance, Odin had come here.

It was Odin’s secret retreat, a place even Road didn’t know about.

A vast expanse within Earthguard territory, reserved solely as Odin’s private space.

Surrounded on all sides by mountains, over ten thousand KOGs stood ready in that location.

The forces Odin had let escape that day—all except those cooperating with the World Alliance—were stored here.

Of course, not directly, but via a circuitous route to avoid pursuit.

“Is the entire army prepared, Lirbelt?”

“Yes, of course.”

“He’s in Valhalla, is he?”

“Yes. According to reports from our subordinates, he’s still commanding from the General Headquarters.”

“I see. Just like him. He wants to remain a player until the very end.”

Reports from the subordinate he’d planted near Road confirmed he was still commanding from the General Headquarters room.

Wanting to focus, he’d entered the room alone and was issuing orders solely via comms since then.

“Yes. Valhalla currently has virtually no decent forces left.”

“Yeah, almost everything is out on the battlefields.”

Odin had been waiting for this moment.

In the war against the World Alliance, Road Earthguard—that genius—would bring them close to victory despite the odds.

Even against the massive combined army of the World Alliance and Odin’s own forces.

But achieving that would require deploying commensurate forces.

Odin understood the full extent of Earthguard’s military power.

That’s why he’d monitored every battlefield and confirmed that all of Earthguard’s forces were now committed along the borders.

And this place was Odin’s secret retreat within Earthguard, unknown even to Road.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

(Road. I have no intention of playing chess with you. You’re strong on the board. But precisely because of that, you have openings elsewhere.)

Odin knew Road’s weakness.

It had been the same during the Empire Sword Martial Festival.

Once on the battlefield, he was an undefeated commander.

That very confidence created blind spots, allowing Odin to outmaneuver him with indirect tactics.

“We’re ready to move out at any time, Lord Odin.”

And so Odin boarded the flying fortress.

The pinnacle of cutting-edge technology: a levitating aircraft carrier.

Odin’s trump card, developed to wage war on the world.

A massive vessel capable of remaining airborne for nearly a week thanks to the latest technology.

Its size rivaled that of an ocean-crossing carrier.

Odin had named the ship.

Floating Aircraft Carrier “Zeus”, the vessel fit for the world’s conqueror.

Its greatest feature was the energy cannon fired from a massive barrel over ten meters in diameter.

The God Thunder energy cannon could incinerate an entire town at maximum output.

It was Odin’s ace in the hole.

And Zeus took to the skies.

Ten thousand KOGs followed in its wake.

“Now, let’s go. To kill my foolish brother and show him who the true emperor is.”

Odin’s goal was singular.

Kill Road, seize back the throne.

And bare his fangs against the World Alliance, along with the Earthguard forces infiltrated within it, crushing them all.

To that end, Earthguard’s losses needed to be as minimal as possible.

Everything was going according to Odin’s plan.

To claim Earthguard, the world—everything—for himself.

“All forces, advance! To Valhalla! Target: General Headquarters! Annihilate Road and everything with cannon fire!”