Book 9. Chapter 37: The Hunt Begins
During their travel, they had hit the confirmation button for accepting The Burning Steps’ Conquest reward and began the merger. In the end, the cost was nearly one-third of the usual, faction-draining cost, and it would take a little more than three months.
During that time the Pelagos natives would be in stasis, and the water continent alone would be too. The water elemental was being nurtured by the Framework itself, and the native population was aiding in this cosmic repair as well. The world was already shifting, and the natives had already reported a gradual cooling of the heat. Sporadic storms were already starting to form throughout the world, as water mana started becoming more prevalent.
In all, Jake saw it as a complete success, this odd faith-and-terraforming repair his guild had completed with the help of the natives. The idea that his people had all the disciplines necessary to make this happen was rather exciting.
The Burning Steps would definitely become one of their stronger worlds, its Energy Rating rising far beyond the original estimate and close to the Third Tier. The natives would undoubtedly hold a lot of gratitude for Hearthtribe and Clan Hart for the specialized rescue. While it wouldn’t become a part of Jake’s Territory right now, he thought he just might be able to convince them to join the War Trial once the poll came out.
Eventually, Clan Hart arrived at their destination. Stepping through the portal from the HQ Tower of The Great Maw into the wilds was an exercise in extreme planetary whiplash.
The tower itself was an indestructible, gilded cage, the insides of which weren’t all that different from most Alliance HQs he’d been to. It was one of a handful of safe zones anchored across the world–a towering spire of black stone Framework shielding that couldn't be breached or conquered unless the entire planet was officially lost to Tartarus.
But you couldn't just walk out the front door and start marching.
During their week of preparation, Clan Hart had analyzed the brutal mechanics and mathematics of Beast Worlds, and specifically, The Great Maw. The planet was roughly ten times the size of Earth. It possessed over one hundred Mid-and-High-Grade Primal Dominion Nodes at any given time.
Capturing approximately twenty-four of the High-grade variants, or some combination including many of the Mid-grade, was officially required to enact the Battleground-like event that would allow the Alliance to claim the world officially from Tartarus’s grasp permanently.