CHAPTER 337: CHAPTER 337 - ASSAULT LINEUP‑SET

Atlas quickly moved on to the Attack category, bringing up a new projection that listed the chosen candidates.

"For the Attack lineup, we have myself, followed by Lumea with her Spectral Legion (SS), an army multiplier type. She can summon spectral copies of her own forces, effectively doubling the offensive strength. Perfect for breakthrough assaults or large-scale overwhelming attacks."

"Next, Thaliera with her Heavenfall Pact (S). She can summon divine guardians capable of devastating fortresses or even enemy Lords directly. It’s a limited-use ability, but when deployed at the right moment, it’s absolutely decisive."

"For the fourth slot, Nysera once again with her Eclipse Dominion (SS)."

"And lastly, Katriel with her Predator’s Memory (S)"

He swiped the display once more. "For substitutes, we’ll place Luna and Rhaen."

Atlas leaned back slightly, scanning the list again. The lineup looked solid. The presence of two SS-ranked Lords and one highly reliable S-ranked one gave this team an impressive balance between overwhelming force and tactical adaptability.

They then moved on to the All-Out Confrontation category, the most intense and decisive of all.

"First, Thryssia with her Law of Dominion (SS). She’s perfect for this category," Atlas began firmly.

"Next is myself," he continued.

"After that, Arveline with her King’s Rebirth (SS). Then Lumea with her Spectral Legion (SS)."

"And for the fifth, Thaliera with her Heavenfall Pact (S)"

He paused, looking over the data projections before concluding, "For substitutes, we’ll assign Luna and Celestia."

This lineup carried staggering potential. One SSS-Rank and three SS-Rank Lords. If the Defense category was their fortress and the Attack team their spear, then this group would be their unstoppable hammer. The one meant to crush any resistance head-on.

Here, in the All-Out Confrontation, raw power, synergy, and strategic execution would decide everything. Atlas knew that in this field, they would be facing other Lords directly.

It would be overwhelming force against overwhelming force. And he intended to make sure his side was the one that wouldn’t break.

After finishing their temporary team arrangement, they moved on to discuss which opponent they would choose next.

Atlas began, "I believe the same principle applies here. Every alliance will look for an opponent they have the best chance of defeating. The system’s rules still stand, an alliance can only challenge another with an equal or higher average lord rank."

"So yes, no one can challenge those ranked lower than themselves. Still, everyone will aim for an alliance with certain weaknesses they can exploit."

He paused for a moment. "Any thoughts on this?"

Luna was the first to speak. "Within these two weeks, I’m sure the alliances in the Union will start gathering intel and deciding who to target. There are plenty of alliances involved here. But about your choice, Atlas. I’m sure you already have something in mind. I’d like to hear it."

Atlas nodded slowly. "From the information I’ve gathered, about Bolin’s Alliance. They consist of thirty lords in total. Five of them are ranked three, and the rest are ranked two."

He fell silent again, trying to gauge everyone’s reactions.

Tessa was the first to respond. "Are you planning to target them this time?"

"But they have five rank-3 lords," one of them added.

"We could still catch up if we have enough time. I mean, rank-3 isn’t that far off. At least we can match their levels even if we’re not ready to promote just yet," another member replied.

"In this Dominion Convergence, the reward rank points we’ll earn are huge. Enough to climb two divisions if we score well. I agree that our lord ranks need consistent wins to rise, but we can still work on leveling up in the meantime."

Someone else joined in, "Realistically, even though this is alliance versus alliance, we all have the same three-month window. And we’ll only battle twice during that time. That gives us enough room to improve our levels."

Atlas nodded slowly. "Once the event begins, we’ll have another month before we’re required to issue our first challenge. Though that comes with a risk. If we wait too long, we might run out of alliance targets where we actually have a strong chance to win."

Atlas fell silent for a moment. "If we want to take revenge on Bolin’s Alliance, we have to make sure our levels can match their rank-3 lords. Or we need to do something to weaken their alliance outside of the official lord battles."

He scanned their faces again. "With thirty lords total, they can easily send their best fifteen to the alliance versus alliance. And I am sure their top fifteen have serious offensive power and strong potential."

"This is a matter of time. We are really fighting the clock," Atlas continued. "But if we provoke Bolin and make them wait for the one month we need, we can use that time to build ourselves up and raise our levels. That is, if we are truly ready to take that step."

The discussion went on for quite a while. Atlas was a little surprised that almost no one in the alliance flatly rejected the idea. They were already fed up with Bolin and his crew, who had utterly crushed Brigid.

On top of that, Bolin’s group kept attacking Atlas’s alliance whenever they moved into the lower lands or visited unoccupied islands.

Bolin had been very clever in picking his targets. He was clearly trying to force Atlas to challenge them in the Dominion Convergence, and it just might work.

However, going up against an alliance stronger than their own was not something they could take lightly. Even though Atlas had lords with fairly high-ranked system abilities, their opponents still held the upper hand in both level and total military strength.

In truth, facing rank-3 lords in an all-out confrontation was a reckless move. Such battles were nothing like the strategic assaults Atlas had pulled off before in the Dominion Skirmish.

In an all-out confrontation, there was no room for tricks or traps. No clever maneuvers to outsmart the enemy. It was pure, open warfare, where both sides clashed head-on. That alone made things far more difficult.

Even if Atlas himself was ready with his overwhelming elite subordinates, the situation was different for the other lords in his alliance. They were not necessarily as powerful as Atlas and his forces, which made the risk even greater.

Once the initial preparations for the Dominion Convergence were done, the lords of the alliance quickly returned to their respective islands, where coordination would continue to be managed closely.

However... There was one pending matter for Atlas. Something he intended to settle soon, preferably within the next two weeks.

Fortunately, his current class advancement quest would not take as much time as his previous one. The difficulty was higher, yes, but if he succeeded, he could finish it in less than a day.

The second quest was titled:

[Leeching Tempest Massacre]

[Prove the worth of the Tempest Reaver by annihilating overwhelming numbers of stronger foes in a single, continuous assault.]

It did not specify how many enemies Atlas had to massacre in this quest. Let’s just say, the more he killed and the stronger they were, the greater the reward would be.

What if he aimed for a hundred targets at once?

Yet there was one crucial challenge. He had to complete the entire task in a single combo of skills!