"Killing Squad. 20 members. Three Advanced Crushers. 17 Major Crushers," Star Genesis said to the team as everyone stood around a table.
She put the declaration of battle from Killing Squad on the table, and everyone took a deep breath.
That was too much.
They couldn't possibly win against such an Organization.
"What are the options?" Swamp Dragon asked.
"Lethal battle. Non-lethal battle. Tribute. Absorption. Refusal," Star Genesis said.
It was obvious what all the options meant, except for the option talking about absorption.
Absorption, in this case, just meant that Explosive Karma would join Killing Squad as Elders or Disciples.
"So, refusal or tribute?" Kyle asked awkwardly.
"Tribute," Star Genesis answered. "We can pay their tribute. The good thing is that they can only change the terms every century. They won't send us another declaration of battle before then. If we manage to advance, we might be able to put up a fight in a century."
"Is everyone fine with that?" Star Genesis asked.
Kyle just sighed and nodded.
Swamp Dragon and Manny also nodded.
Star Genesis put the declaration of battle to the side. "Luckily for us, this was the strongest power that sent a declaration of battle."
"The Primal Crushers didn't send one?" Manny asked in surprise.
"They didn't," Star Genesis said. "They want to strengthen their Disciples with True Battles, and we agreed to their war zone. We are already giving them what they want."
"Dodged a bullet there," Kyle said, releasing a breath.
The Primal Crushers were no joke.
They even had a Fulfilled Crusher.
One had to remember that a Fulfilled Crusher didn't only have more Energy but also more powerful Laws.
A Fulfilled Crusher needed to know a Level Four Law. It didn't matter if the Law was Pure or Complex.
The Primal Crushers were located above Explosive Karma.
It was important to remember that their territories were three-dimensional, not two-dimensional. While there was an agreed-upon definition of north, east, south, and west on a cosmic scale, territories also stretched up and down. In these cases, it was just called above and below.
Killing Squad was below Explosive Karma.
The Primal Crushers and Killing Squad were their most powerful neighbors. For example, the Primal Crushers owned over ten Planet Systems.
Killing Squad only owned four, but they were still quite powerful.
Their other neighbors were not so brutally strong, but they were still quite powerful. Star Genesis took out the next declaration of battle.
"The Untainted," she read. "Ten members. One Advanced Crusher. Nine Major Crushers."
Kyle took another deep breath.
'No wonder the Deep Thorn Sect paid tribute to everyone,' he thought.
"What are the options?" Swamp Dragon asked.
"Lethal battle. Tribute. Refusal," Star Genesis answered.
Only three options.
This time, the team didn't immediately decide on how to proceed.
In the last 20 years, Star Genesis and Manny had become Minor Crushers. They had been Crushers for a bit longer than Kyle and Swamp Dragon.
Swamp Dragon and Kyle still needed about ten years to become Minor Crushers.
During the last battle, the Momentum of the entire team had increased drastically. On top of that, two of their members were more powerful.
Star Genesis could probably fight two Major Crushers on her own, and Manny could maybe control three people at a time.
On top of that, Star Genesis created several more Formation Arrays in Explosive Karma.
One had to remember that the battle would take place on the home turf of the defending organization.
The Formation Arrays were not amazing, but they could maybe keep one person busy for some time.
Their power had improved, but the battle would still be extremely tough.
"I would say we should refuse," Kyle said. "They can have a bit of Karmic Luck, but if they declare battle again in a century, we are going to smash their faces in."
Swamp Dragon nodded. "I agree."
Star Genesis nodded as well. "Then, we are going to refuse this battle."
Star Genesis infused the declaration of battle with her Energy, and moments later, the declaration of battle vanished.
For now, nothing happened.
The drain of Karmic Luck would slowly happen over the next century.
Most likely, Explosive Karma would lose an entire level of Karmic Luck.
"We have one more declaration of battle," Star Genesis said.
"Only one?" Manny asked.
"Only one," Star Genesis said.
"Please don't tell me it's the Farmers," Manny said.
"It's not," Star Genesis said. "The Farmers rarely declare battle. They specialize in killing beasts."
Manny sighed in relief.
The Farmers were scary. On paper, they were just a bit weaker than Killing Squad, but their two Advanced Crushers managed to reach that level by killing Peak Crusher Beasts.
That said a lot about their power.
"It can't be Bright Side, right?" Manny asked.
"They are too busy defending their own territory, " Star Genesis said. "They only have ten Major Crushers and no Advanced Crushers. If they declared battle on us and won, they would receive two additional Star Systems and several new neighbors. With ten Crushers, they can't defend such a large territory."
When Manny heard that, a glint appeared in his eyes. "So, it's Sparkling Sky, right?"
Star Genesis nodded and looked at the last declaration of battle. "Sparkling Sky. Seven members. One Advanced Crushers. Six Major Crushers."
Kyle noticed that Manny seemed quite interested in Sparkling Sky.
"Why are you so interested in Sparkling Sky?" Kyle asked.
Manny smiled a bit. "It's because of their Advanced Crusher. I suspect she has a similar Complex Law to mine."
"Illusions?" Kyle asked.
Manny nodded. "On paper, they are as strong as the former Deep Thorn Sect since one Advanced Crusher counts as two Major Crushers, but they even took down a power with ten Major Crushers before. That's also why the Deep Thorn Sect didn't want to battle them."
"They also have two Planet Systems, and they're not having any issues in defending them."
"On paper, they are weaker than the Untainted since they have three more Major Crushers, but in reality, they're probably a bit stronger."
"What are the options?" Swamp Dragon asked after Manny was done talking.
"Lethal battle, non-lethal battle, tribute, absorption, refusal," Star Genesis answered.
When Manny heard that, he looked at Kyle with an excited smile. "How do you feel? Are you up for it?"
Kyle scratched the side of his head as he thought about the potential battle.
'I mean, I can deal with Manny's illusions, but I'm not sure if I can deal with all illusions.'
'It's been a while since I had the constant visions, and the Seekers around me are getting stronger. It's also becoming more difficult to see through Manny's illusions.'
Kyle sighed. "We can't refuse all battles. That would just lead to stagnation."
Kyle looked at Star Genesis. "We could enter an all-out war with them. It's worth a shot."
Star Genesis looked at Swamp Dragon, who nodded.
"Then, it's decided."
"Another war."
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