Tower of Heaven

Every single member of those six races knew that they would have to go to war again. The core of both alliances was the fact that attacking each other would make them weaker when the time for true war came.

Naturally, they shared information with each other. The fire giants and ice giants learned each other's weaknesses but could not take advantage of them.

The two different dragon species were diametrically opposed, but believed that they'd be able to defeat each other no matter the situation if they met again. The Neurics didn't need to learn about the Demons, but they had enough time to gather at least some information.

The Demons did their best to warn the other two races about the Khanii Neurics' might, but they did not listen. Both races were naturally prideful, so they did not take a species that relied on artifacts to fight seriously.

That was their mistake. It would come back to bite them in the future, but they were also not entirely wrong to assume that they were stronger.

Horgen's dragons looked weak in front of the ones Artemia raised, but they were nothing like that. When the war started and the first fleet of Neuric warships entered the continent's airspace, they were shot down with the exception of the Heaven Grade ship.

Every single one was hunted by a dragon and turned into scrap. It was a show of might that surely looked different from their performance in the last war.

The demons were prepared as well. They did not touch the Neurics who were their natural enemies and focused on the fire giants as well.

Giants were strong, but they were flawed. When they were faced with a race of beings that did not care about their honor, they broke apart.

The first collision was filled with wins and losses for both sides. Seeing the results, Atlas, Horus, and Artemia looked at each other.

"Should we just do it?"

"I don't know how much time passed in the real world, but I don't want to take too much longer."

"Very well. Then, let's just do it."

Rather than having a long, drawn-out war consisting of countless battles over the course of several years, they wanted to end it in just some weeks. All of those battles could happen concurrently even if both continents had to be destroyed.

With the time they had, both sides actually chose the same solution for the problem of innocents and civilians.

They were placed in subterranean worlds created to be absolutely safe regardless of what happened on the surface. They could sustain themselves infinitely in these worlds if they needed to, but they were only meant to be used temporarily.

They had all the space on their two supercontinents to use for battle, so why not make use of it?

The stage started on the opposing continent. The Khanii Neurics, Fire Giants, and Dragons invaded in full force, laying siege to their enemies.

The battles that took place were no longer so separated.

The Neurics fought against demons, giants and dragons. By their side, different races of giants and dragons attacked in waves, leaving not a single inch of space left untouched.

The Khanii Neurics faced new challenges in this war. The Cosmic Dragons had raw brutality that completely tore apart the defenses they'd been so confident in. Their Heaven Grade artifacts could survive, but what was the point if everything else was destroyed?

For once, they did not have the time to improve. They had to focus on quantity rather than quality.

But, rather than a hindrance, this circumstance allowed another piece of their strength to shine.

Their production capabilities were monstrous. With their entire population skilled in forging and all the other races under them happily working to aid them, they could produce any artifacts below Heaven Grade in extreme quantities extremely rapidly.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

For instance, an ordinary High Earth Grade Spirit Destroyer only took one month to produce from acquiring materials to having a finished product. As such, despite being rapidly destroyed, the Spirit Destroyers still stormed the continent in large quantities.

Of the three battles, only one ended without a win for Atlas' side, and even that was a tie. It was natural to say that they were going to win regardless of whether the three opposing forces came together or not.

When Neuric warships and dragons held the skies together, the inherent advantage of the Cosmic Dragons was completely shattered. The ice giants stopped caring about battle ethics and attacked as a group, but they were also helpless.

Artemia's dragons protected the Neuric warships, allowing them to lay siege to the demons and giants. Any that survived their assault were met by giants who were ready to end them.

Truly, the main point that dismantled the other side was cohesion. Atlas, Artemia, and Horus knew each other well. Their Gods got along, so they got along as well. They obviously had their differences, but they actively worked to overcome them during the time before the war.

On the other side, there was only tacit understanding.

"We are working together because we have to," was the mindset that led to their demise.

Still, they put up a good fight. The Neurics faced more losses than they had in several thousand years. With the help of the ice giants, the Cosmic Dragons were able to take more Heavenly Dragon heads than they ever had before.

The demons were everywhere on the battlefield. Any troop that happened to get separated from the larger groups was decimated by their tactics.

Halfway through the conflict, they even managed to push the war back to the opposing continent, sieging their enemies in their home territory.

Only, unlike them, the Neurics had completely fortified their continent. Any who reached its borders without permission were fated to die.

The dragons met massive cannons that shot beams of spiritual energy more powerful than any Spirit destroyer and the Giants and Demons met ballistae that could destroy entire groups of them before they ever got close.

Artemia and Horus' two races hardly had to do anything before their victory was decided.

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Drya sat back in her chair with a look of contentment. It seemed that she was happy with the performance of her demons against the other two races she faced. Horgen's face was much more sour than ever before, while Tyrion seemed to be pondering his own loss and looking for ways to improve.

The war ended in Atlas, Artemia, and Horus' victory, but the six of them were not yet transported out of the trial.

It seemed there was something else that still needed to be done…

Atlas had no idea what it was, but not everyone was as clueless as him.

"This part isn't really something we have to do. We just have to watch."

Just like the conclusion reached on the 30th Floor, the 40th Floor had one too. When all of the ceaseless wars ended and the six races involved in the trial could live as they pleased, what would happen?

They had grudges between them that didn't look like they could be resolved easily, but that also wasn't something time couldn't heal.

'This trial really is doing everything it can to make us feel empathy for the societies we raised.'

Unfortunately, not many were able to grasp its intent.

For most, this part of the trial was merely time to be passed.

So, other than Atlas, the rest engaged in conversation while the scene played out below them.