"Ugh..." Dio slowly sat up in bed, his face blank with confusion. He rubbed his temples, then looked around the unfamiliar room, bewildered. "How did I get here?"
Perhaps his movements were too loud, because beside him, another figure slowly sat up as well. Dio turned toward the sound and his gaze locked with that of the Empire Diplomat. The distance between them was less than ten centimeters—close enough for Dio to kiss him with just a slight lean!
Dio: "?!"
Empire Diplomat: "?!"
Dio immediately leaped up in fright, scrambling off the bed. "Y-you! I... this...?"
His hands frantically patted himself down, especially his rear, but fortunately, he felt no discomfort. He paused, muttering to himself, "Wait... was I the one who...?"
The Empire Diplomat mirrored Dio's frantic movements, tumbling off the bed to check himself, but found no discomfort either.
As the two men stared each other down, the room door swung open and a Barbarian strode in, glancing at them with a casual greeting. "You're awake? How did you sleep last night?"
"I told you to sip the Sea God's wine slowly, but you didn't listen. You took one gulp and got completely wasted, staggering around with your arms around each other, babbling incoherently. We couldn't separate you, so we put you in the same room, on the same bed."
Upon hearing this, Dio and the Empire Diplomat frowned simultaneously, struggling to recall the events. They both remembered seeing the giant whale in the sky, taking a sip of celebratory wine, and then... everything went blank. They had no memory of anything after that.
Still skeptical, Dio retorted, "Me, with my arm around this guy? That's impossible!"
The Barbarian simply chuckled and set down the breakfast before turning to leave, leaving them with one final remark: "Sometimes, you think you like girls just because you haven't met the right guy yet. Seize the opportunity."
Dio's face crumpled. "That's not true! I didn't—!"
In awkward silence, they finished their breakfast, dressed, and left the lodging together, arriving at the outskirts of the Northern Territory Empire. It was time to part ways. They needed to return to their respective nations to report the findings of their Northern Territory investigation, and... to inform their leaders about the Four Nations Summit.
Before parting, Dio couldn't resist waving goodbye to the Empire Diplomat, saying, "Brother, let's hope we meet again someday, and that when we do, we won't be enemies."
The Empire Diplomat retorted, "Then you might as well just say you hope we never meet again. Because if we do, we'll most likely be enemies. And I won't show you any mercy then."
To put it bluntly, after enduring this day of shared hardship, both men's impressions of each other had improved considerably. It wasn't quite bromance-level, but they'd at least reached a semblance of friendship.
Before this, Dio had seen the people of the Dragon Ember Empire as rigid, brainwashed followers blindly obeying their Emperor's orders. The Empire Diplomat, in turn, had dismissed the members of the All Nations Alliance as a bunch of useless, chattering monkeys who squawked a lot but accomplished nothing.
Hence the nicknames "Empire dogs" and "Alliance monkeys." But after getting to know each other, they realized that neither stereotype held true. Both Dio and the Empire Diplomat were just ordinary people, not so different from each other after all.
However, even though Dio and the Empire Diplomat had seen through this illusion, it changed nothing. Their nations were still at war, and countless lives were being lost every moment.
The two men sighed simultaneously, then parted ways at the gates of the Northern Territory Empire, each heading in opposite directions.
Time flowed swiftly as both men raced back to their respective countries, eager to report their findings from the Northern Territory.
In the Dragon Ember Empire, a man standing between 1.8 and 1.9 meters tall, wearing a crown atop his head but clad in full battle armor, listened intently, his brow furrowed slightly, as the Empire Diplomat recounted the intelligence.
This was none other than the current Emperor, Gerald Bell. The surname "Bell" traced back to the empire's founder, whose name had become the hereditary surname of all subsequent emperors.
Gerard turned to the Empire Diplomat and asked, "So, the Northern Territory Empire is actually ruled by a True God?"
"Moreover," the Diplomat replied, "there may be more than one. The Imperator is said to be the God of Law, and they also worship a God of the Ocean. The Northern Territory's Wolf God actively responds to their sacrifices, potentially granting them the Wolf God's power."
"Beyond these divine forces, the Northern Territory Empire boasts at least one individual wielding a Divine Artifact: Arthur, the Legendary-grade Barbarian, and a Legendary Monk from the Eastern Ancient Kingdom!"
Hearing this, Gerald glanced down at the silver-white longsword at his waist—Dawn, the Divine Artifact of Warriors. Passed down since the founding Emperor of the Dragon Ember Empire, every subsequent Emperor had wielded this Divine Artifact.
After a moment's thought, Gerald turned to the Wyvern beside him. "Old friend, what do you think?"
The Wyvern chuckled softly, astonishingly speaking in human tongue: "What else can we do? While the Northern Territory Empire may lag behind us in overall national power and lower-tier combat strength, their high-end forces are already on par with ours. If they truly have three True Gods backing them, they might even surpass us."
"We must never underestimate this nation as a mere minor kingdom. We must treat them as equals. The Empire's internal situation is far from stable; we cannot afford to push them into our enemies' camp."
"Therefore, my advice is to attend this so-called Four Nations Conference. There's no harm in it."
Gerald pondered this and realized the dragon's logic was sound. "Very well," he declared. "While I'm away, suspend the offensive against the Alliance and switch to Static Warfare. We'll reassess everything upon my return!"
After speaking, Gerald turned back to the Wyvern and said, "Old friend, I'll need you to accompany me on this journey."
"Of course!" the Wyvern replied.
It had to be said, it was somewhat absurd to see an Emperor of the Empire and a... monster discussing plans here. Strictly speaking, though, this Wyvern wasn't a 'monster' at all; he was a 'hero'.
Just as humans sometimes give birth to prodigies with extraordinary talent—individuals who master advanced magic or become formidable warriors before reaching adulthood—so too could other races and creatures produce their own unique heroes.
When such exceptional individuals rise to meet great disasters, they earn the title of 'hero.'
The Wyvern named Thor was just such a hero. Unlike his kin, he possessed extraordinary intelligence from a young age. Possibly due to atavism in his bloodline, he could also wield various forms of magic, reaching up to the Eighth-Level!
Naturally, Thor became the leader of his clan at a very young age. Then, one day, he and his clan inadvertently provoked a true dragon—the most formidable of the Five-Colored Dragons, a red dragon—leading to a fierce conflict.
After paying a heavy price, Thor managed to slay the red dragon, but his clan suffered devastating losses, and he himself was gravely wounded. By sheer coincidence, Gerald arrived on the scene at that very moment.
Gerald had come to hunt the red dragon and steal its dragon egg. Stumbling upon this scene, he pondered for a moment before choosing to help Thor, treating his wounds and extending an invitation:
"Join the Empire. I will provide you and your clan with the living space you need and ample food. In return, you must swear allegiance to me!"
And that brings us to the present. After more than a decade of living together, Gerald and Thor could arguably be considered 'friends'?
Perhaps...
As for the All Nations Alliance, there's little to say. After Dio reported the news, all the High Councilors gathered to discuss who should represent the Alliance at the upcoming Four Nations Conference.
-
Time flew by, bringing them to the end of the following moon, the date Cerydra had agreed upon for the Four Nations Conference. At this moment, Cerydra was in Heinrich's private chambers within the Transmutation Tower, the Arcane Federation's capital.
Truth be told, the room was no longer very private. Four people were present: Anaxa, Hyacine, Heinrich himself, and Cerydra.
Heinrich gazed at the Magic Book in his hands, its pages filled with lines of text that appeared and vanished. This was actually a constant stream of reports from others—updates on the conference venue's preparations, the status of the Dragon Ember Empire's All Nations Alliance delegation, and so on.
As he scanned the book, Heinrich remarked, "Everything seems to be proceeding smoothly. During the conference, Cerydra, will you need me to publicly support you and speak on your behalf?"
Cerydra replied casually, "Up to you. Do whatever feels right."
A weaker nation might require others to bolster its standing, but Cerydra viewed the Northern Territory Empire as a formidable power in its own right. They needed no one's backing.
Heinrich understood this well, saying, "Then I'll play it by ear and improvise as needed."
As he spoke, Heinrich couldn't help but glance at Anaxa and Hyacine, who were also present. After all, he knew that the Northern Territory Empire was once part of Okhema, and the more he learned about Okhema's true power, the more terrifying it seemed.
How could so many gods all favor a single city?
Moreover, Okhema still seemed to be in a state where not all of its gods had returned. There were other deities whose whereabouts remained unknown. Yet even in this incomplete state, Heinrich felt that Okhema could easily crush the entire world.
However, having learned about the threats lurking beyond their world, Heinrich recognized that Okhema's growing power was ultimately a good thing.
During the battle at the Floating City, they had captured several corrupted, Demigod-level Magitech Products—those Magic Cubes. Just recently, the reverse engineering of these cubes had been completed, with Heinrich as one of the participants. The key breakthrough from this research was that they had successfully pinpointed the location of the Magic Cubes' Source World.
With the Magic Ship, a Divine Artifact, now fully repaired, Okhema could send forces across the sea to the Source World at any time. While it was highly probable that the Outer God had completely destroyed that world, if they could reach it, they might uncover some information about the Mother of Flesh, the Outer God they desperately needed to understand.
Understanding was the first prerequisite for victory, and currently, everyone's knowledge of the Mother of Flesh remained woefully inadequate.
Having learned the truth about the realms beyond their world, Heinrich's initial instinct would have been to fortify their defenses. But after witnessing Okhema's military might, he began to contemplate launching a counteroffensive.
As Heinrich pondered this, Anaxa suddenly opened his palm, revealing a ruby etched with intricate patterns. "It's ready," he declared.
By now, Anaxa had mastered approximately 99% of the Arcane Federation's magical knowledge. It was no exaggeration to say that, apart from a few particularly obscure, abstract, and niche spells, he had mastered virtually all known forms of magic.
In other words, Anaxa had already reached the pinnacle of magic. His next step was to forge ahead and pioneer new forms of magic entirely. The gem he was currently crafting represented a completely original magic he had created himself.
"Peace Domain," Anaxa explained. "Within this magic's effective range, no one will harbor aggressive thoughts toward others, nor will they be able to perform any harmful actions." He instructed, "Simply place this gem in a hidden corner of the conference room."
Hyacine nodded her small head, accepted the ruby, and scurried off. Among the four present—Heinrich, the Headmaster and leader of the Arcane Federation; Cerydra, the Empress; Anaxa, the Teacher; and Hyacine, Anaxa's student—she naturally held the lowest status and was assigned the task of running errands.
Heinrich, however, found this scene utterly absurd. Sending a Sky God to fetch and carry?
-
PS: Okhema has currently collected the following Divine Artifacts:
Bard Divine Artifact: Travel Book
Wizard Divine Artifact: Magic Ship
Sorcerer Divine Artifact: Air and Earth Element Crystals
Priest Divine Artifact: Polluted Faith Pendant
Paladin Divine Artifact: Nameless Holy Sword
Monk Divine Artifact: Polluted Prayer Beads
Barbarian Divine Artifact: Demon Axe
The remaining uncollected Divine Artifacts are:
Warrior
Rogue
Warlock
Ranger
Druid