I Regressed With a 10,000x God-Tier Multiplier-Chapter 64: The Star-Kissed Artillery

The sun was high over the frozen ring surrounding the Citadel of Obsidian.

Lucifer stood on the cracked black-stone battlements of the outer wall. He rested his iron gauntlets on the parapet, looking out over the five miles of pristine, deadly blue glacier ice he had created the day prior.

The Cryo-Pylons stood like a silent, glowing forest of frozen daggers, their massive crystal orbs tracking the empty horizon.

It was an impregnable defense line. It was also a massive magical beacon.

"They are coming from the south," Elara stated. The Fallen Valkyrie stood beside him, her silver spear catching the bright sunlight.

Miles away, just outside the perimeter of the Absolute Zero curse, a massive, disorganized column of people was marching toward the mountain.

There were no banners of the Crown or the Lumina Order.

"Refugees," Lucifer observed smoothly. His eyes analyzed the slow, stumbling procession.

"There are thousands of them," Elara said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Why would civilians march into the frozen north? The capital is safe behind its walls."

Lucifer tapped his comms rune.

"Commander Celeste," Lucifer ordered.

"I see them, Warlord," the High Ranger’s voice crackled back instantly from her scouting position near the edge of the ice field.

"They are not royal citizens. They are survivors from the border towns near the Scourgelands. When the Crown’s scouts saw the undead were gone, the nobles didn’t send help.

They sent tax collectors to claim the purified land. The locals were driven out of their homes."

"Are they armed?" Lucifer asked.

"Lightly," Celeste reported. "Pitchforks, hunting bows, a few rusty swords. But there is a secondary group leading them.

They are heavily armed, moving with military precision. They are flying the tattered banners of my old Phantom Ranger corps."

Lucifer’s face grew serious. He remembered the history. After Lord Vorian betrayed Celeste’s group, a few survivors had hidden in the wild, living as rogue mercenaries.

"And the rest of the column?" Lucifer inquired.

"Elves," Celeste said. Her voice dropped slightly, laced with awe. "Thousands of them. They are pale, with silver hair. They are glowing faintly in the daylight. They look exactly like your garrison."

Lucifer turned from the wall.

"They are the Star-Kissed," Lucifer stated.

When he had shattered the Altar of Decay in the Lich’s fortress, he had freed the two thousand Dark Elves guarding the gates.

But he had also destroyed the mind-control bonds across the entire northern continent.

Every Star-Kissed Elf who had been captured and corrupted by the Cult suddenly woke up.

They had followed the magical resonance of the Warlord who had saved them.

They had found the human refugees fleeing the King’s greed and escorted them north, seeking the safety of the man who killed a god.

"They are walking straight toward the Cryo-Pylons," Elara warned sharply. She gripped her spear. "The automated targeting systems will not distinguish between refugees and an invading army.

If they cross the five-mile line, the towers will shatter them into ice dust in seconds."

"I know," Lucifer replied.

He opened his system interface.

[Base Status: Citadel of Obsidian.]

[Defense Grid: 10,000x Cryo-Pylons (Active).]

[Targeting Parameters: Hostile/Unauthorized Entities.]

Lucifer raised his right hand. He channeled his Void Arcanist mana, connecting directly to the massive grid of blue spires through his Warlord core.

"System Override," Lucifer commanded. His voice was a low, resonant hum of absolute authority. "Designate approaching column as Allied Faction: Pilgrims. Open a safe corridor through the southern quadrant."

[Command Accepted.]

[Adjusting Targeting Parameters...]

[Safe Corridor Established: Sector 4 Alpha.]

Out on the ice field, a deep, rumbling groan echoed across the tundra.

Five hundred of the towering Cryo-Pylons on the southern edge of the ring suddenly dimmed. The blinding blue light in their crystal orbs turned a soft, welcoming white. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The Absolute Zero curse in that specific sector completely lifted, leaving a mile-wide, perfectly safe path straight to the base of the Citadel.

The massive column of refugees halted at the edge of the ice field, terrified by the shifting towers.

Then, a single figure rode out from the treeline to meet them.

High Ranger Celeste sat atop a massive, armored dire wolf.

Celeste raised her hand, signaling the column to advance. She led the thousands of exhausted, freezing humans and elves safely through the towering blue spires, keeping them perfectly within the white-lit corridor.

Lucifer stood on the battlements, watching the massive procession slowly wind its way up the mountain path toward the main gates of the Citadel.

"You just adopted a small city," Elara said, her eyes scanning the weary faces of the refugees. "The Warlord does not run a charity.

These people cannot fight Aether-Steel Dragoons or Royal Knights. They are dead weight."

"I don’t run a charity," Lucifer agreed coldly. He crossed his arms over his dark armor. "But I do run an artillery base. And I am currently severely lacking in long-range gunners."

He turned away from the wall and walked down the stone stairs toward the main courtyard.

The heavy iron portcullis ground open. The first wave of refugees flooded into the Citadel.

They were in a miserable state. Men, women, and children wore torn, dirty rags and shook from the cold.

They fell onto the broken stone courtyard, crying in relief as Lucifer’s Starweaver Blessing, his amplified Starfire Aura washed over them, warming their frozen bodies and healing their frostbite.

Celeste rode into the courtyard. She dismounted her dire wolf and jogged over to Lucifer. She slammed her fist against her chest in a crisp salute.

"Commander," Celeste reported. "Three thousand human refugees from the border towns. Four hundred surviving veterans of my old Phantom Ranger corps. And eight thousand newly freed Star-Kissed Elves."

Lucifer looked past Celeste.

The Phantom Rangers were a hardened group of men and women wearing mismatched, battered leather armor.

They carried long bows and short swords. They looked exhausted.

Behind the rangers stood the Star-Kissed Elves.

They carried beautifully crafted recurve bows made of white ash wood.

The leader of the Elven column, a tall male with a striking, angular face and a long silver braid, stepped forward.

He walked directly up to Lucifer, his silver eyes locking onto the Warlord’s eyes.

The Elf dropped to one knee. He drove his recurve bow into the stone floor, resting his forehead against the wood.

Instantly, all eight thousand Star-Kissed Elves in the courtyard fell to their knees in perfect unison, bowing their heads.

"We heard the shatter of the Altar," the Elven leader declared. "We felt the death of the Rot Lord. We followed the starlight to the mountain. We are part of the freed children of Astrid. We pledge our bows to the Lord of Obsidian!"

[System: Faction Allegiance Confirmed.]

[The Star-Kissed Elves (Reinforcements) have joined your command.]

[Troop Count: +8,000 Elite Archers.]

Lucifer looked down at the massive, kneeling army of elite snipers. He had just tripled his long-range capabilities in a single afternoon.

"Rise," Lucifer commanded. His voice carried the heavy, absolute weight of his Level 50 core.

The eight thousand Elves stood up instantly.

Lucifer turned his attention to the four hundred Phantom Rangers standing nearby. They were watching the Elves with wide eyes.

"Celeste," Lucifer said smoothly.

The High Ranger stepped forward. "My Lord."

"You swore a Blood Oath to me for revenge against House Iron-Heart," Lucifer stated. He looked at her battered veterans.

"I killed Vorian. I shattered his vanguard. But the rest of his noble house still controls the northern trade routes. His sons still sit in the capital."

Lucifer pointed to the four hundred rangers.

"Take your veterans back," Lucifer ordered. "I am officially commissioning the Phantom Ranger corps as the Vanguard Scouts of Obsidian.

You are no longer hunted mercenaries. You are my eyes in the dark. I want you to integrate the human refugees into the Citadel’s logistics.

The able-bodied men and women will manage the supply lines, the Aether-Forge loading bays, and the armory maintenance."

He looked at the terrified, shivering civilians huddled near the gate.

"They will be fed, they will be housed, and they will be protected by the absolute laws of this fortress,"

Lucifer declared loudly, ensuring the entire courtyard heard him. "In return, they work. Nobody eats for free in my kingdom."

Celeste grinned fiercely. A true dangerous smile.

"It will be done, Commander," Celeste vowed. She turned to her rangers, barking sharp, efficient orders, immediately organizing the chaotic mass of humans into work details.

Lucifer turned back to the leader of the Star-Kissed Elves.

"Your people are master archers," Lucifer noted. "But bows and arrows are useless against heavy siege armor. I do not fight skirmishes. I fight total wars."

The Elven leader bowed his head slightly. "We shoot true, Warlord. But our weapons are light."

"Not anymore," Lucifer said.

He opened his Dimensional Vault.

He reached in and pulled out a massive, heavy, black-metal long rifle. It was not a standard bow. It was one of the specialized, magitech sniper rifles used by the elite Cryo-Vanguards.

The barrel was thick, lined with glowing blue runes designed to fire highly compressed, armor-piercing ice rounds at supersonic speeds.

Lucifer tossed the heavy rifle to the Elf.

The Elven leader caught it easily. He ran his pale fingers over the glowing runes, his silver eyes widening in shock as he felt the huge, raw destructive power inside the weapon.

"I have ten thousand of these in the armory," Lucifer stated smoothly. He looked out over the eight thousand new recruits. "You are no longer forest hunters.

You will man the walls. You will man the high spires. If anything hostile breaches my airspace or my perimeter, you will drop them from three miles away before they even draw a sword."

The Elven leader gripped the heavy rifle. The elegant, peaceful grace of the forest dweller vanished entirely, replaced by the cold, lethal focus of a sniper.

"We will shatter them, Lord of Obsidian," the Elf promised.

Lucifer nodded. He had seamlessly integrated twelve thousand new souls into his fortress in ten minutes. The logistics were settled. The artillery was armed. The scouts were deployed.

The ground shook.

It was a deep, rhythmic vibration that echoed from the very bedrock of the mountain. It wasn’t the hum of the Aether-Forge. It was the sound of massive, heavy footsteps walking up the spiraling, subterranean stairs.

Elara spun around, raising her silver shield.

Lucifer smiled.

The heavy iron doors of the lower keep exploded open.

Dwarf King Thrain marched out into the sunlight. He was covered in black soot and glowing silver sparks.

His red beard was singed, and his muscular arms were slick with sweat.

He dragged a massive, two-handed hammer behind him that pulsed with fierce orange heat.

But it wasn’t the dwarf that shook the ground.

Walking behind Thrain, ducking its massive, horned head to fit through the fifty-foot-tall archway, was an Arcane Sentinel Titan.

It was an incredible twenty meters tall. It was made entirely of black Star-Metal and smooth white dragon bone plates.

Glowing blue runes, powered by its core, ran through its huge limbs like veins. It held a massive twenty-foot broadsword made of Star-Metal that hummed with overwhelming power.

The Titan stepped into the courtyard. The ground cracked under its colossal weight. The sunlight reflected blindly off its pristine bone armor.

It was not a machine. It was a god of war forged in a dwarven fire.

Thrain stopped in the center of the courtyard, leaning heavily on his hammer. He wiped his sweaty brow and grinned up at Lucifer with absolute, manic pride.

"The forge is ready, Warlord!" Thrain shouted, his voice echoing off the high stone walls. "One is done. Nine hundred and ninety-nine more to go. The Legion of Steel is awake!"