I Regressed With a 10,000x God-Tier Multiplier-Chapter 4: The Warlord’s Trial

The Obsidian Citadel was a fortress in name only. Decades of neglect, dwindling family coffers, and corrosive coastal winds reduced the once-proud stronghold into a miserable collection of sagging towers and crumbling curtain walls.

Deep cracks spread across the main keep’s foundation. The eastern ramparts entirely collapsed three years prior.

This left a gaping rubble-filled hole that any organized monster wave could exploit effortlessly. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Lucifer stood in the center of the courtyard. Elara and the rigidly disciplined ranks of his Cryo-Vanguard Snipers flanked him.

He surveyed the pathetic state of his inheritance. This ruined estate had been his tomb in his previous life.

A horde of Rot-Walkers simply marched through the collapsed eastern wall when the second wave of the Great Integration hit.

They slaughtered the remaining servants.

He would not die in this rubble twice.

Lucifer reached into the deep inner pocket of his leather coat. He withdrew a tightly rolled yellowed piece of heavy vellum. It was a Basic Restoration Scroll.

His father purchased it from a traveling mason a decade ago. Its intended purpose was mundane. It was a localized low-tier Earth magic spell designed to repair a single cracked stone wall or perhaps rebuild a small collapsed chimney.

It was a tool for minor architectural maintenance. It was wholly incapable of fortifying a military installation.

"Stand clear of the foundation lines," Lucifer ordered.

Elara stepped back. Her silver wings folded tightly against her back. Her starlight eyes fixed entirely on the simple parchment in his hands.

The Elven Commander of the Vanguard signaled his troops. The hundred snipers smoothly retreated to the very center of the courtyard. They kept their weapons trained on the sky.

Lucifer unrolled the heavy vellum. He pressed his thumb against the activation rune located at the bottom of the script. He pushed a surge of his multiplied mana directly into the paper.

[Item Activated: Basic Restoration Scroll (Tier-F)]

[Ding! Divine Talent: ’Apex Multiplier’ triggered on specific category ’Architectural Magic!’]

[Multiplying area of effect, material density, structural integrity, and runic fortification 10,000x!]

The vellum did not merely burn away. It detonated into a shockwave of blinding earthen-gold light.

Lucifer dropped the vaporizing scroll. The localized gravity of the entire estate violently shifted. The ground beneath their feet actively shuddered. It emitted a deep resonant groan that sounded like a sleeping titan waking up.

"Look," Elara whispered. She pointed her gauntleted hand toward the collapsed eastern wall.

The magic did not just repair the stones. It actively commanded them. Massive jagged boulders of shattered obsidian had lain dormant in the dirt for years. They suddenly levitated into the air. They glowed with intense golden geometric lines. The rubble flew backward like a violently reversed explosion. It slotted perfectly into place with deafening thunderous clacks.

The mortar did not just dry. It fused at a molecular level. The crumbling graying stone of the keep aggressively darkened.

It shed centuries of weathering and moss. It transmuted directly into pure polished indestructible black obsidian.

The transformation spread outward like a tidal wave of rebirth. The squat sagging watchtowers forcefully extended upward.

They rocketed high into the night sky. Their battlements sharpened into lethal jagged points. Thick heavy iron portcullises materialized and slammed down over the main gates.

Then came the runes. Veins of glowing pulsating crimson magic violently etched themselves across the entirety of the exterior curtain walls.

They were advanced kinetic-repulsion wards. They were capable of absorbing siege weaponry and completely nullifying low-tier magic attacks.

The miserable ruined estate was completely eradicated within less than sixty seconds. An absolute monolith of war stood in its place.

The newly reborn Obsidian Citadel was a towering flawless fortress of black glass and crimson magic. The structure rivaled the Royal Palace of the capital itself.

Lucifer stood silently. He absorbed the sheer terrifying scale of his own power. The atmosphere above the Citadel warped before he could speak.

The Soulbound Arcanum was the system governing the integration of the world. It registered the massive territorial anomaly.

[Territorial Anomaly Detected.]

[A Tier-1 Stronghold has been established in a contested Zone.]

[Calculating Threat Level... Recalculating... Assessing Host’s capabilities.]

[Mandatory World Law Event Triggered: The Warlord’s Trial.]

[To secure absolute sovereign rights over this territory, the Challenger must prove their right to rule through superior violence.]

[Objective: Eliminate 500,000 Hostile Entities within the surrounding biome.]

[Time Limit: None. Failure Condition: Death of the Host or Destruction of the Citadel Core.]

[Reward: Promotion to Tier 2 Warlord. Absolute Territorial Authority. Title Acquisition.]

Lucifer stared at the bloody red numbers hovering in the sky. Half a million hostiles. That number was a mathematically guaranteed death sentence for a nineteen-year-old noble on the first night of the apocalypse. It was a sick joke executed by a cruel god.

Lucifer did not tremble. He did not drop to his knees in despair.

He activated the Zephyr’s Grace Emblem. His body blurred. He instantly teleported from the courtyard floor directly up to the highest vantage point of the newly forged front ramparts.

He gripped the smooth perfectly cut obsidian battlements. The night wind violently whipped his coat around his legs.

Elara followed. She utilized her celestial wings to launch herself up to the wall. She landed heavily beside him. She tracked his gaze and looked out over the expansive dark treeline of the Whispering Weald bordering the estate.

The Great Integration had fully saturated the forest. The treeline was boiling with movement. Thousands of glowing red, yellow, and sickly green eyes pierced the darkness.

The guttural shrieks of mutated goblins joined the heavy earth-shaking footsteps of Plague Trolls. The unified howling of Shadow Wolves merged into a deafening roar of absolute slaughter.

They were massing. The system had marked the Citadel as a high-value target. The localized monsters were actively forming an ocean of rotting flesh and rusted iron. They prepared to crash against the black walls.

"There are too many to count," Elara assessed coldly. Her hand rested on the stone. "Even with the Vanguard, we cannot shoot them all before they pile their corpses high enough to scale the walls."

"We are not going to shoot them from the walls," Lucifer replied. His voice was terrifyingly calm.

He leaned forward and looked down at the sea of nightmares. The eyes of a veteran killer shone brilliantly in the dark.

He was not trapped in a fortress surrounded by half a million monsters. They were trapped in a biome with him.

His Apex Multiplier was thirsty for experience points.

"We are going to open the gates," Lucifer smiled. He wore a vicious predatory expression that caused the Fallen Valkyrie beside him to actually shiver.

"This is not a siege, Elara. It is a harvest. Have the Vanguard line up at the main thoroughfare. We march at first light."