Sovereign Air Force
At Luna's residence. This was still, by far, the most fortified home in all of the
Everyone already returned to the base, thanks to Luna's previous orders, so the leaders converged quite fast. As they all started pouring in, they couldn't help but notice Clemencia, who had already reverted back to her human form.
They knew Luna wasn't the type to have more than one lover, so could this woman be the reason why they were called in? What was so special about her? In the end, they didn't voice out their opinions.
General Leman, Paco, and Hans were the last to arrive. Noticing Clemencia by Luna's side, they were wondering who she was as well.
"Now that we're all here, we can begin," Luna said. He proceeded to announce the start of the discussion to everyone in the
Once enough Agimats were in place, he would need to prepare for a massive defense.
"Attention, Sovereign Nation, this is Luna speaking." He intentionally didn't introduce himself as 'the leader' and instead, used his first name.
"Today, we have a story of redemption and a backstory to all of what's happened so far. I choose to be transparent with you all because I do not wish to keep you in the dark. That will not serve our nation well. Today, I introduce to you, Clemencia. She was formerly what we would call, a Manananggal."
As soon as he said that, everybody reacted right away. Some, of the more ignorant ones already made their assumptions.
"Lord Luna, he brought one of those monsters in? Why?!"
Thankfully, due to how the foundations of the Sovereign Nation were set, there were more open-minded people than the ignorant ones.
"Hush! Lord Luna doesn't do things for no reason. Or do you think you can lead this nation better than him?"
As the discussion was ongoing, Luna who couldn't hear any of it, continued. "We have discovered that the creatures we once thought were mere monsters, are in actuality, the Fallen Angels of God."
This piece of news was even more shocking than the previous one. This prompted even more discussion.
"Due to certain circumstances, they have now been redeemed. Their leader, Clemencia, has vowed to follow me, and as a result, she, a Seraph, and over 5000 other Cherubim have agreed to become a part of the Sovereign Nation's Air Force."
People erupted in cheers. The news of actual Angels joining, to them, was an incredibly good omen. They worshipped Luna even more than before, and even some who had been a skeptic before finally started believing completely. It didn't matter if they didn't see the Angels yet, because common sense told them that there would be no way Luna would make such a huge announcement with nothing to show for it.
"She will brief you all on the origins of these events, and what we have to look forward to." Luna looked towards Clemencia and nodded towards her, signaling that it was her turn to speak.
"Greetings Sovereign Nation, I am Clemencia..." After introducing herself, she proceeded to tell everyone what she told Luna beforehand.
A lot of people didn't quite know what to do with the information they've known. Especially the ones that have been complacent.
Luna knowing that a lot of people would feel lost took the opportunity to serve as a guiding hand. "If you're all wondering what this means, it means that we do what we've always done. We do not get complacent, because there is no room for it. We all have a chance to surpass even those we call Gods. Only then can we contribute towards the survival of our world. I hope that none of you take that responsibility lightly. Once we install the Agimats Clemencia mentioned earlier, you can expect the further evolution of these zombies. We will play it safe and stay in our base while we observe them and what they're capable of. But before that, the new minimum level will be raised to 45. I will give you all a couple of months to reach it."
Truthfully, most of the soldiers were already 45. Those that weren't, were close to reaching it. It's just that the new allies they have the Angels and the newly tamed Mutant Beasts needed some catching up.
One of the most important details to why his plan gave them so much time, was that he intended to journey North. Boni had told him about the soldier that they arrested, and he finally received his message. Luna could care less about the corrupt officials, but he was aware that there still millions of his countrymen up there and they might not all be ready for the next phase.
This was also why he wanted to send an army towards the South to save as many survivors as they could. While just moving on to the next phase would be an effective way to cripple any possible opposition, Luna would not allow innocent lives to be murdered.
He was, after all, aware that the prerequisite to defeating the invaders from the Void was that they would all be united. Their real enemies had armies big enough to launch a full-scale invasion on multiple worlds.
Despite that, he wasn't naive. He knew that the Government had kept the citizens weak and their soldiers strong. This was something that they naturally did even prior to the new world. It was out of fear of an uprising. This was also why the Gods didn't use the Agimat of Attribute because they were afraid. They even delayed using it on Earth because they were hoping that the previous worlds would be enough to stop the invasion.
If the leaders cooperated with him, he would welcome them, albeit, still silently observe them. If they plotted against him, however, he would summarily execute them on the spot. This was proof that Luna still had morals, but he would not tolerate any schemes either.
After the meeting, they discussed their next course of action. He was transparent with the knowledge he obtained, but he wasn't going to spread out their battle plans too soon either.
"Paco, Eduardo, you two are going to accompany me towards the North. Sura, would you mind accompanying me as well?" It was evident that Luna didn't see Sura as someone under his command, but as a partner, and an equal.
"I'll come too, father! It'll be a good opportunity for me to tame beasts on the way!" Maxene volunteered herself. In truth, she just wanted to see different sights.
"Alright." He agreed. "Clemencia, you'll come with me as well, we'll power-level you on the way there."
"Yes, Lord Luna." She immediately agreed. She knew that Luna would prioritize her leveling on the way there. It probably wouldn't take more than three weeks of power-leveling for her to reach the new minimum. After which, it'll be her and the Cherubim's turn to return the favor and power-level him back.
After everyone had left, Luna was still deep in thought. Not too long ago, he also gave out the order for an army to accompany him along the way. They would remain inside Angry Bakunawa's inner world, and the moment the Government faction tried anything funny, he would unleash Hell on Earth unto them.
This was not only a countermeasure to any plot they might have in mind, but also as a show of power. Something that he didn't want to expose too much of. Although the man named Genesis already had somewhat of an idea, he didn't know too much, since he was imprisoned for the majority of his stay.
The next day, the Cherubim were assigned to different areas. This was to space out the area where they would be power-leveled in to avoid oversaturation. But besides that, it was a way to show the people that Angels truly were on their side.
Despite the revelation, last night, everyone's morale was higher than ever. The Angels had more potential than regular people, receiving a bit more EXP per kill. Something that came as a pleasant surprise, since they themselves didn't know what their body's and skill's specific parameters were before being blessed by the Agimat of Attribute.
An even more pleasant surprise was that it was applicable to the whole party. This meant that partying with an Angel wouldn't necessarily cut your EXP earned in half. Something that came as great news to Luna, who was going to eventually be on the receiving end of this benefit.