[MA] 270. Calamity Protocols (Patreon)

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[A/N: Sorry for the delay (again).

Chapters this week: 3/3

Delayed chapters: 2 

Next release: In a few minutes]

Right after the notification, Shen got a red-titled explanation of those protocols.

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Calamity Protocols

Two or more S-ranks are currently waging war against each other. This is considered a Calamity.

Whenever the Multiverse Alliance undergoes a Calamity, countless lives are lost. For everyone's added safety, five procedures will take place until the end of the conflict.

1. S-ranks must only engage in battle in seventh-level phase space or deeper

S-ranks can easily destroy galaxies. That will not be tolerated within Alliance territory.

Should this rule be disobeyed, all neutral parties, including the Guardian System, have agreed to punish the perpetrators.

2. C-ranks Guardians and lower will be forcibly conscripted into the frontlines

Calamities are fought by S and A-ranks, and to a lesser extent, by B-ranks—be it individuals, races, or organizations. The frontlines will weaken, and many will fall.

The Multiverse Alliance needs everyone's assistance in this critical moment.

3. AP gain at the front lines will significantly increase

Anyone can take advantage of this bonus.

B-ranks and higher are highly sought after and encouraged to join the fight against the Void. Any B-rank and higher can also negotiate conditions to join the front lines.

Regardless of whether anyone was forced to join the front lines, their permanence will be obligatory until the Calamity ends.

4. Any who leaves the front lines will be considered a traitor

There will be no exceptions or mercy for deserters in such a critical moment.

5. All commoners will be put in stasis and teleported to the Multiverse Alliance's emergency bunker until the end of the conflict

The emergency bunker will be protected by all neutral parties.

The neutral parties beseech all war participants to resolve their conflict as fast as possible, preferably with peace talks. Every B-rank or higher the Alliance loses is a heavy blow.

S-ranks are already beholden to these protocols.

A-ranks and lower have ten Standard minutes to prepare.

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Shen found the protocols sensible enough. Indeed, if some of the most potent forces in the Alliance were distracted by internal conflict, it only made sense to fill the numbers in the war against external threats with weaker troops.

That said, Void Spawn of certain ranks could only be killed by warriors of the same level or higher. Depending on how many strong people joined the internal war—or Calamity, as the Alliance called it—losing some fights was inevitable.

Shen wasn't surprised by the news. The infinity-edgers weren't messing around, as proven by their killing of the A-rank deathwalker who disrespected the Summit's rules. They had no qualms about doing whatever was necessary to enforce their vision upon the Alliance—supposedly, to right some wrongs.

He was surprised by the stasis, though. How big was the Alliance? Yet, every commoner would be put in stasis. That sounded both like a significant expenditure and a very humane thing to do. Clearly, those protocols were from when the Alliance still cared, and the greedier races hadn't found a way to keep the privilege only for themselves.

The forced conscription explained Propriety's cryptic message about not going to Samir-33. Shen guessed by the context that it was the name of the frontline where the Queen of Spring and Autumn should be.

Shen's heart skipped a beat when he recalled her face.

She was just... perfect. If it wasn't for Liya's training him to withstand such things, even his willpower wouldn't be enough to resist the drive to see the Queen again. He wasn't sure if it was because of the Baptism or more carnal instincts, but Heavens, he wished to just be noticed by her one more time.

That last thought answered it for him: it was a side-effect of the Baptism. Shen was not someone who contented himself with crumbles like a look from a romantic interest. When he wanted someone, he wanted all of them.

He would make sure not to get close to that high elf for a very long time.

The system window explaining the protocols was followed by a red notification and another red-titled window.

| Guardian System Lockdown Engaged

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Guardian System Lockdown

Protecting commoners will greatly impact the Guardian System. Therefore, the Guardian System will have many of its functions limited.

From now on:

1. Teleportation

Only B-ranks or higher can teleport, and only to places under their allied forces' control.

C-rank and lower must prepare for conscription.

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Shen could see the wisdom there. Teleportations were supposedly costly enough that there were traffic jams now and then. Now that the Alliance would focus on the frontlines and protecting the commoners, there was no reason to "maintain the roads" leading everywhere.

It was unfortunate for the C-ranks who found themselves away from home or a safe space. They wouldn't have the time to return home. Yet, the teleportation system probably couldn't withstand the number of people wanting to get everywhere right now, in the first place.

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2. Communication

A-ranks and higher will keep their communication privileges.

B-ranks will only be allowed to send messages to officially recognized allies.

C-ranks will only be allowed to send messages to those in the same Chain of Command.

Every Standard month, B-ranks will be given 30 non-cumulative messages to contact anyone, and C-ranks will be given 5.

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Limiting communication felt like a side-effect of the teleportation limitation. The System would likely change its infrastructure to prioritize certain regions and functions. It should affect everything it could do.

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3. Guardian Store

Guardians can only make a single purchase every Standard day.

Every purchase will be limited to ten items.

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On top of saving resources, the third rule also felt like parents trying to keep their children from wasting money. The powers-that-be probably didn't want people to waste their AP when there was an emergency going on. People should focus on what mattered.

It would also slightly increase dialogue between people, who would be forced to negotiate among themselves. Networking would become more important, increasing unity in the front lines.

Then again, Shen guessed it might make things a little more chaotic, too. Theft should skyrocket in the front lines. What the System or higher-ups would do about it remained to be seen.

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4. Bounties

Only Void-related bounties or those acquired in the front lines will remain in effect. All others will be suspended.

Offenses committed on the front lines will immediately generate Bounties, no matter how minor.

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Shen supposed every fighter was valuable now that the Alliance was vulnerable, so their past would be temporarily disregarded.

On the other hand, if any such fighter decided to weaken the war effort against the Void by committing crimes against their fellow warriors, their value decreased. That answered his earlier question about how theft would be dealt with. Harshly, it seemed.

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5. Frontline Deployment

The rulers of each race have ten Standard minutes to decide where their entire race will be deployed.

Each race can pick up to three different locations to split their forces.

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That limit should be to save mana and maybe processing power. Sending people in batches to the same place was likely cheaper and easier than dealing with individual demands.

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6. Pre-War

All pre-wars will be suspended. Its participants will be forcibly teleported back to their home planets.

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That one was obvious. Pre-wars were a waste of time and resources when there was something more urgent to take care of, both internally and externally.

That was it for the Guardian System Lockdown. It had barely come out when Shen got a message from the drow leadership, a yellow-titled system window, and a yellow notification.

| Triarchy (B): Drow B-ranks will join the Calamity beside the Union of the Ancients. C-ranks and below will be deployed on Samir-33 with the high elves. They will remain neutral, and their A-rank leader is stationed there.

The Triarchy had decided quickly, though Shen had a harder time telling if it was the best for the drow.

On the one hand, when titans warred, ants were crushed. The drow should have no business joining a war between S-ranks, no matter how they felt about each side.

On the other hand, when the tides rose, all boats rose with it. The earlier an ant joined, the more it would be appreciated. Picking the winning side as quickly as possible could net said ants a bountiful harvest when the enemy titan fell.

It was a gamble, though. One that might decide the fate of their entire race. Why do that?

Shen's best guess was that Liya was more valued by the Triarchy than she had led him to believe.

He was drow, and going to Samir-33 was the opposite of his plans, but he didn't need to worry about that. The system got him covered.

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Multi-Race Conscription Deployment

You have two races: Earthen human and drow.

You can choose to be deployed with either race.

If you don't decide until deployment, you'll automatically join the race with the highest tier (drow, B).

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| Time until deployment: 9 minutes, 59 seconds (Standard)

To sum it all up, Shen was going to the front lines before expected, but it didn't change his plans much. He had already decided to head there after the Summit.

He wished he had more time to decide where to go but was okay with the current affair, too. The most significant issue was the lack of stronger combatants on his side because they would be occupied with the Calamity, but he could do nothing.

Now, humanity had to choose where to go. That was in Marzia's hands, and he guessed she had some sort of system window to help her with it. He would have to use some of his 5 messages to ask her to send at least him to any place other than Samir-33.

Shen had unlocked the Message and Inventory Subsystems when he ranked up to C but hadn't used either. He was about to when Liya teleported before him.

"We have no time, so just listen," she said almost before her body was completely formed. "Tell Marzia to send E-ranks and below to Samir-33. She and some trusted D-ranks should go with the E-ranks to lead them. The drow will assist her and her people. You and the remaining D-ranks should go to La'sing-2. Divided leadership won't work on the front lines; you and Marzia must stay in different places. You can train the D-ranks better than the drow will, and your race's strongest will be safer with you. This is the best arrangement for Earth. La'sing-2 is on the other side of the same universe, has mostly humanoids, and has a small cultivator population—Association cultivators. It should be the best place for you."

Shen could imagine the trouble if Marzia got in his way during an engagement. He also didn't want to have to play politics while fighting for his life. Liya's suggestion to stay separated sounded solid.

La'sing-2 also sounded good. Having contact with cultivators would be great now that he had no idea how to advance his cultivation. It was good that there were few cultivators there, too, which suggested it was either a place for elites, which Liya would've mentioned, or for people who didn't want to—or couldn't—stay with the more powerful cultivator forces. Shen would have an easier time maneuvering around weaker cultivators than any established forces.

While speaking, Liya took three drow armor sets that looked like his, only better, and seven spears from her spatial ring. She unceremoniously threw them on the ground.

"These are yours. Don't buy B-rank weapons before mastering a Law; it would be useless. B-rank armor might be good, but it depends. Research before purchasing anything. I suggest saving the Store Token to purchase the B-tier Learning Ability Upgrade after you rank up unless there's an emergency. " She stepped closer. "Shen, don't ever underestimate the Void Spawn. And don't trust anyone too much." She stared into his eyes. "Don't buy into your commanders' bullshit to sacrifice yourself for a piece of land. Our strongest will be fighting a civil war. The Alliance will shrink regardless of your actions. Prioritize your life at all times, no matter what." She stepped even closer and held his face between her hands. "No. Matter. What."

Then, she teleported away. At the same time, he got a new message.

| Carl Jones (A): I want to help and discuss some things with you, even if by proxy. Where are you getting deployed?

Before anything, Shen collected the items on the ground. The spears were all C+ ones with a Killing Weapon core. Liya hadn't been lying; Killing Weapon was indeed a common Law if she had that many spears with it as a core Law on her.

The spears were visually different but had the same C+ enchantments: Elasticity, Sharpness, Resistance, and Piercingness. No Self-Repair, which was likely the reason she had given him so many.

The three C+ armor sets were standard drow armor, futuristic-looking pieces that covered his whole body. They were dark grey with shining light green lines. They had no core Law, so they could support five enchantments: Self-Repair, Resistance, Agility, Strength, and Thinking Speed.

Shen immediately changed his armor and was glad for the C+ Thinking Speed enchantment. His mind was already at C-rank with C-tier learning ability, so it only made him think around 9% faster. It should still prove invaluable in tight fights or when he had to make split-second decisions.

Finally, he decided to answer the Immortal Emperor.

Shen didn't want to talk to the man. He wasn't sure about the Emperor's intentions. However, the Emperor was A-rank, and Shen knew better than to ignore or refuse an offer to talk from such a being unless they were declared enemies.

He wasn't the Immortal Emperor's enemy, though. They were something akin to a former employer and employee. The Grand Senator had said he would accept C-ranks from Earth who wanted to join his Republic. That meant C-ranks from Earth weren't part of the Republic. The Feng Clan was part of it, but Shen had been expelled. Therefore, he didn't belong there.

But before answering the Grand Senator, he had to check his destination with Marzia.

"Send a message to Marzia," he said, telling her what Liya had said. She replied quickly.

| Marzia Martino (D): No. Pick one, and we'll go together. You and I need to talk. Don't worry; I know my strengths and weaknesses. I won't interfere with your command in war.

Shen frowned. Her interference was irrelevant. Having two people in similar positions of authority automatically meant people would look for one when they disagreed with the other. Evidently, she had no idea what she was doing or was ill-intentioned.

"Reply to Marzia," he said. "We're already at war. You're already interfering by disobeying my command."

He put her at a crossroads. If she meant what she had said, she had no alternative but to do as told. If she didn't, she would reveal her true intentions.

[A/N: And so the Calamity Protocols Arc begins!]

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