Immortal Kingdoms

It was like any other silent night to the lawful citizens of Star Territory's five towns. Some were fast asleep, some were up gambling, and some were indulging in the pleasures of the flesh with their significant others.

Two thousand slaves besieged the borders of each town, dressed in casual leather-fitting clothes as they stood in attention in front of a realistic projection composed of worldly energy. The same projection of the beautiful Pandora hovered in front of each other camp, speaking directly to the slaves below.

"Every one of you must have been updated on the rules for the following selection. I won't lie to you, it will be absolutely brutal. Out of the two thousand people before me, only two hundred will make it out alive today."

"Not one person more, not one person less. Actually, there might be a less headcount than two hundred by the time I'm through with you all."

"In front of you are industrial towns with hundreds of thousands of innocents; elderly and young. They have experienced an epoch of peace since the forlorn War of Dominion and until today, all because they have been fortunate enough to reside within a territory protected by an ancient pact of non-aggression."

"You will trample your way into the depths of their comfort zone and bring along a reign of terror that might outright flare up a spark of resistance and rebellion within the hearts of the bold, while the cowardly pack up and flee."

"Under no circumstances are you to open hostility against the weak and unarmed. Under no circumstances are you to commit arson, pillaging, sexual assault, and or all kinds of abuse be it physical, psychological, or visual through inflicting deliberate self-harm."

"All of the mentioned above with the inclusion of war crimes warrants a death sentence, no exceptions whatsoever. We have planted all sorts of cold weapons, armour kits, and medical remedies throughout the town. You will find them stored within hidden compartments marked by the emblem of House Grace."

"This way, you don't need to rely on a thief in order to obtain weapons, you merely have your skill and luck to back you up in this desperate battle."

Although this method of selection may seem novel and all to the people of this planet, Leonardo in all honesty simply introduced the battle royal video games with a bit of inspiration from the famous Hunger Games series from his home planet.

This was nothing close to creative, but it got the job done anyway.

"All of those from the first-cycle mortals advance forward, your selection will start at the first sign of dawn! On the following dawn, all second-cycle mortals will follow them regardless of the outcome! On the following dawn, and the dawn after, we will proceed in the same fashion!"

"You are not allowed to harm directly or indirectly those who are not in line with your cultivation cycle! Failing to adhere will result in death!"

"Each and every person will be assigned a pearl with a number within. That number is connected directly to the slave bracelet linked to your minds, and it will display the number of slaves on a similar cultivation cycle as yours within the distance of your respective towns. When you notice that the number has fallen to the following numbers, cease all combat!"

"Mortal first cycle; one hundred fifty-eight!"

"Mortal second cycle; thirty-two!"

"Mortal third cycle; eight!"

"Mortal fourth cycle; two!"

Pandora's projection went silent for everyone to register their safe number, with those on the lowest level of the mortal cultivation feeling relieved. They didn't expect that their prince would pass down the orders that would practically cripple the army.

They had no idea why the strongest of the slaves would have to go through the most brutal of the cleansing, especially the fourth-cycle mortals. Plus, with all these restrictions that would force them to keep a leash on their destructive behaviour and energy exertion, it would be even harder to operate normally.

Misaka, Kristopher, Andreas, Sitri, and Lucas were mostly calm as they were already aware of these harsh rules and restrictions. However, the rest of the fourth cycle mortals who numbered in tens if not borderline a hundred for each two felt stifled. A sense of crisis assaulted them, having their muscles and nerves tense up.

Pandora was relieved by this outcome.

Although she wasn't aware of the wisdom behind such decisions, she trusted Leonardo's acumen greatly.

That man's intelligence was borderline divine, and his actions had far-reaching implications. She figured she would sit back and watch the great culling play out for the upcoming week and try to see through his decisions.

Very quickly, the deep hours of the night slipped away and a silver ray of light erupted from the eastern horizon. With the flare of this light, hundreds of first-cycle mortals broke ranks from the formation and rushed into the town in a desperate bid to collect weapons and armour as soon as possible.

Back inside the massive palace, in a steam-filled wide bathing pool, Pandora and Juvia submerged in the hot water with relaxed expressions while observing the multiple screens hovering on a curtain of light.

Juvia had also engraved these transmission formations throughout the five towns to provide them with the convenience of relaxing while carrying out their duties. Far in the distance, Leona and Kieran were playing with water toys, mainly pistols and guns, in a small pool of their own.

Although Kieran's expression was stoic, there was a pleasant smile in the depths of his eyes as he constantly head-shotted Leona over and over. Amazingly enough, all of his shots landed on the same spot between her eyebrows, no matter how she dodged and ran around.

Eventually, the little girl gave up and simply sprayed the water torrent like bullets on her big brother in a bid of chaotic suicidal attacks. Leona's laughter was music to Juvia's ears, as the little brat had maintained a scaringly solemn silence for the past few weeks ever since the great journey.

"She's finally laughing again." Juvia sighed and sunk further into the hot water, fully content.

"That kid isn't half bad either, his accuracy and precision are a frightening talent." Pandora glanced at Kieran who was as steady and confident as always. She treated him as though he was her dearest little brother, and he was opening up mostly to Pandora, with the exception of Leonardo.

Juvia snorted when she saw how Kieran was basically bullying Leona, she couldn't help but feel a burst of maternal instinct kick in as she commented, "Talent? You want to speak in front of a ten-year-old who has already started cultivating a divine technique about talent?"

Pandora had no idea where this sense of unjustified competition came up. However, it did spark a long-forgotten rivalry between the two women that have long been suppressed by their fear of leaving a childish impression on their leader. Seemingly, this sense of rivalry now transitioned to land on the shoulders of the two siblings.

"So what if she had a five-year head start? Leader simply couldn't define a growth path for Kieran because, unlike his little sister, his options for a martial intent weren't set in stone upon birth! Moreover, the leader already explicitly stated that Leona's innate martial intent has little to do with combat! In fact, it might as well be her downfall if not taken care of properly!" Pandora snorted in a fairly reasonable argument as well.

"For cultivators, especially those with a divine talent, five years or five hundred years barely makes a difference! Oh wait, I wouldn't expect an elf from a backwater cultivation civilization to know that much about the realms of the divine and above."

"You little…" Juvia pounced on Pandora after having her sore spot rubbed so mercilessly. Of course, the two were conscious enough to not use any energy lest they hurt the children.

Of course, their friendly fight, accompanied by their charming laughter as they tickle-attacked one another, drew the attention of Kieran and Leona who were having their own fun in the distance.

Earlier, the two beauties were submerged shoulder-length in the water so there wasn't much to see. Now, however, Kieran was staring dumbly at the spring action in front of him, only to feel a soft little hand smack the back of his head.

"Pervert!" Leona shouted in a cute voice, her face flushed red.

And thus, on the silver ray of dawn, two battles of epic proportions erupted.

One in the open, and one in the depths of the Imperial Palace.