The last few hours left for the grand war passed by in a jiffy, and soon the guilds began to assemble one after the another in the designated area. All the participants gathered at a magic shop that was well outside the red danger zone, which was now completely taken over by the isons. In the beginning, this area was rather small, but now it was growing and expanding quite rapidly. One could see how this was soon going to be the fate of the rest of the world if something was not done about these isons. This was also the first time for many people to stand up against the isons and face them directly. So most of the guilds were very nervous and anxious and kept to themselves. The mood in the gathering was quite somber. Everyone mulled over these drastic changes just a few weeks had brought about after the apocalypse. If things were so difficult at this point, then what was going to happen in the future? Though quite a number of guilds had assembled, no one bothered socializing or anything of that sort. The groups mostly stuck to themselves. They murmured and whispered amongst themselves as they eyed everyone else from the other guilds. They were people of various nationalities, races, colors, and cultures assembled at the same spot, so it was interesting to see everyone's attitude in general. More importantly, everyone also observed the gear and equipment donned by the neighboring groups. After all, when in danger, sometimes one only needed to outrun the person next to him in order to survive. Everyone was busily assessing the items and weapon condition and guessing their allies' levels and classes. Some made very detailed guesses just from simple things like the speed at which someone walked or raised their hand to pick their noses. It was absurd, but this was a good chance to spy on the competition. Though they had all come here to collaborate, tomorrow, they would disperse once again and become simply acquaintances. Who knew who would throw down a guild war challenge and when? So it was best to assess and probe the various guilds while they had the chance. While fighting against isons was nerve-wracking in one way, everyone assembling together like this was also creating tension in its own way. The air was electric with this palpable mixture of both hostility and comradery. Besides, the Grand War, dubbed the war of the century, was going to start any minute now. This added fuel to the fire as everyone was restless and walked around on eggshells. The gathering as well started becoming bigger and bigger with each passing second. More and more guilds filtered in, and the place started becoming extremely crowded, with now more than 50,000 people gathered, all in the same area. When these many people had gathered, it was inevitable that some fights would break out as well. Things quickly started becoming rowdy. However, before things could take a turn for the worse, a loud commanding shout reverberated in the air. With this, about twenty tall and armored fighters walked out of the magic shop. These twenty were none other than the twenty Generals of the various United Nations guilds. Their entry immediately caught the attention of everyone assembled as all of them emitted a strong aura. This aura was naturally different from the innate powerful aura the Hive Queen or the Divine Temple Priestess exuded. This aura was more related to the eye-catching attire of these twenty Generals. From top to bottom, they were decked in glittering armor and several accessories. They also had huge weapons, shining in their brilliance and making the countless gathered populace extremely envious. One look at these Generals, and one could see that their levels were completely head and shoulders above the rest of them. They were superior to all others in every which way possible. Normally, this would have sparked insane jealousy, but right now, because of the imminent war, the presence of these powerful fighters only garnered awe and respect from the various guild members. With just a single notice, everyone immediately quieted down without any exception and stared at these twenty Generals with their eyes peeled open. Was the Grand War finally about to begin? 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 Everyone's heart hammered in nervousness as they waited eagerly for the next instructions to arrive. Their lives and the future of the planet depended on this! This seriousness quickly sunk in at the sight of the majestic twenty Generals. Of course, no one paid any attention to the other powerhouses who were mixed in with the crowd, even to the person who stood at the top above everyone else. Two Americans and One Japanese stood somewhere inconspicuously in the middle of the crowd. "Still no word from Crimson Abyss?" The Oracle, Caden asked indifferently. "No." Kouske shook his head. "I don't think that they will come. That guy is still busy in the dungeon, and without his say-so, I don't think the guild will act." "Hmmm…" Unsettled with the silence that he got as a reply, Kouske creased his eyebrows and asked again, "You don't agree?" Barrett slightly winced at this question as he felt that Kouske's usually polite tone was changing ever so slightly these days, and this time, he did not even show any respect. Or maybe he was overthinking things. He sighed and shook his head, once again paying attention to the conversation. But it looked like the Oracle was not in the mood to answer Kouske's question. A golden radiance flickered in the man's gaze every now and then as he seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, after a few minutes, he murmured. "Today… What is meant to occur shall come to pass, as destiny shall claim what is rightfully its own without any exemptions." "This… This…" Barrett looked shocked. Kouske, however, cryptically remained silent. There was a look of determination on his face and a confidence that screamed he will not be outdone. The three of them then continued watching the crowd as they slowly began to sort themselves out under the guidance of the twenty Generals. The different guilds stood together as different units, and the members of each guild stood in an ordered square pattern with stronger members at the front and weaker ones at the back. However, there were too many people to count. So the Generals started splitting the gathered forces into six different armies. One General took command of each of these armies. This distribution and rearrangement took quite some time, and after about an hour, the different armies looked finally ready to depart. Now that all the preliminary arrangements were completed, everyone silently looked at the Generals for the main event, the discussion of the battle strategy. How were they going to tackle the invincible isons? This was the question on everyone's minds. And just as one of the Generals was about to open his mouth… suddenly, another batch of people walked out from the magic shop. Of course, the various guilds had still not finished assembling, and people were continuing to walk out of the magic shop every second, so this was only normal, but this batch of people was too eye-catching to be ignored. They stood out from the rest of the plebeians as each and every one of them was donned in brilliant armor and equipment. Some of their items seemed to be even better than the ones the twenty Generals had on. This made their last-minute entry specifically stand out. The moment they stepped out of the magic shop, they commanded everyone's attention. Every single person turned to stare in that direction. In the midst of this silence, suddenly someone shouted. "Hey! Isn't that the Crimson Abyss? That's Alex Thornwood!" It was not until this person pointed out that realization dawned on the big army on the whole. Crimson Abyss was here! Compared to others, Alex was always a celebrity, so everyone immediately recognized her. The next second, a wave of uproar spread across the crowd, completely replacing the serious war atmosphere that was present just a second ago. The presence of the fiery redhead and the charming blonde prince standing next to her was simply too much of a shock! Not to mention they were decked from top to bottom in brilliant armor. The big broad sword in Alex's hand instantly became the envy of countless men. But this was before the rest of the group arrived. Right behind Alex and Rey were Shen Yue and Mei Mei. While Shen Yue took the crowd's breath with her mere presence, Mei Mei's Emerald Crown shone and sparkled with a luster that could only belong to a legendary item! As if these three beauties were not enough, Lan Fen and Kang Minah also joined them, making everyone stare at the group wordlessly. The army that was chalked full of testosterone became frozen for a moment, with all the beauties lining up one after the other. And in the midst of this dumbfounded crowd, one person alone licked his lips viciously. "You were right all along, big brother. My prey is here."