Victoria and the Ursus Empire were about to merge.
The name of the new nation would be the Holy Terra Empire.
The location of the founding ceremony was set in Victoria's capital—Londinium.
As Talulah's announcement spread, the leaders of nations across Terra all received the news—and without exception, their expressions grew grave.
That Red Dragon Empress… had she finally stopped hiding her already blatant ambitions?
Over the past period of time, they had all been investigating the pillar of white light that appeared in Victoria—so conspicuous that all of Terra had seen it. However, due to Victoria's complicated internal situation and the tight border lockdowns, they hadn't managed to obtain any concrete information.
Now, after fully securing control over Victoria, the Red Dragon Empress was openly inviting all nations to dispatch representatives to Londinium to attend the founding ceremony.
This, unmistakably, was an excellent opportunity to gather intelligence.
What exactly had happened within Victoria?
Did Empress Talulah's complete control of the nation have anything to do with that phenomenon?
All of it could be unveiled through this founding ceremony.
And so, the various nations hurriedly arranged their delegations and intelligence personnel, entering Victoria under the pretext of attending the ceremony.
After all, although the ceremony itself hadn't begun yet, such a monumental event surely justified sending representatives a few days early. If anything, it would only demonstrate their nation's sincerity and importance, wouldn't it?
In addition to official delegates and intelligence agents, the nations of Terra—without prior coordination—also slipped some of their own top-tier combatants into their delegations, preparing to sabotage the ceremony once it began.
What a joke.
How could they possibly allow Terra's most terrifying war machine and Terra's strongest nation to merge so easily into some so-called Holy Terra Empire?
That galaxy-class dreadnought assembled by the Red Dragon Empress had better crash and burn before it ever set sail!
Thus, the delegations of Terra's nations encountered no obstruction along the way and all arrived smoothly at what was once Victoria's capital—Londinium.
Then, without exception, they all stopped dead in their tracks before a crater hundreds of kilometers in diameter.
W–Wait… was this real?
Were they absolutely certain they weren't dreaming?
Staring at the colossal pit that had reduced once-vast plains into a sunken basin, the representatives from various nations swallowed hard, their eyes filled with terror as their bodies trembled. Again and again, they questioned whether they had come to the wrong place.
Good news: the source of the disturbance that had shaken Victoria that day had seemingly been found.
Bad news: the situation was far too absurd. They would much rather believe it was fake than accept that it was real.
Half a day later.
"What?! A Sankta named Jibril annihilated hundreds of thousands of the dukes' coalition troops in a single strike outside Londinium, leaving behind a crater hundreds of kilometers wide—and the earlier disturbance in Victoria was also caused by her attack?!"
After receiving the intelligence gathered by their agents within Londinium, and after repeated confirmations that there were no errors, the leaders of various nations all wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Such power sounded like something straight out of mythology.
How could something like that possibly exist on this land?
Yet the intelligence agents embedded within the delegations were professionals—there was no way they would fabricate something so outrageous to deceive their own nations.
And so, once they realized that this might actually be true, the leaders of the nations felt a suffocating pressure wrap around them like a giant python.
In other words—
Had Terra really given birth to a monster that could, at any moment, fly over their heads and erase them—city, army, and all—in a single stroke?!
Driven by this unprecedented fear, Laterano suffered the fallout.
That Sankta named Jibril—wasn't she from Laterano?
Were you people hiding some kind of weapon of mass destruction?!
Speak now and receive leniency—resist and be punished!
"W–What does this have to do with us?!"
The current Laterano Pope, Evangelista XI, was nearly losing his mind.
Leaving aside the fact that they hadn't found any record whatsoever of a Sankta named Jibril originating from Laterano, just looking at what happened in Victoria made it obvious that Jibril had done it through her own power. It had nothing to do with Laterano at all!
And even if they did possess such a weapon of mass destruction—would they really wait for you people to question them before using it?
If that were the case, they would've blasted you all long ago. Did you really think Laterano was known for its patience?
Unfortunately, no one believed them.
Compared to believing that individual power could reach such a level, it was far easier to assume that Laterano was hiding some special weapon. And so, even if there was only the slightest possibility, the probing and pressure continued without end—until even Evangelista XI found his favorite cactus tart utterly tasteless.
As for the undercurrents surging among Terra's nations, neither An Xora nor Talulah cared in the slightest.
After witnessing Jibril's power, Talulah was like a rookie Doctor who somehow obtained a max-level W in the tutorial stage—she had completely abandoned thinking altogether.
Whatever schemes the other nations were plotting didn't matter.
If they dared cause trouble, Jibril could simply take a flight over their country and they'd behave.
Thus, free from the need to worry about external threats, Talulah, the Doctor, and the others threw themselves wholeheartedly into tireless bureaucratic labor. After half a month of nonstop work, all preparations for the founding ceremony were finally complete.
Terra Calendar, Year 109X, Month X, Day X.
Londinium was packed shoulder to shoulder with people.
Civilians, tourists, and representatives from nations and major factions all filled the streets, heading toward the venue to witness the founding ceremony of the Holy Terra Empire.
Within the royal palace of Londinium, Talulah once again donned a solemn and magnificent ceremonial gown. As the Emperor of the Empire, she stepped onto the stage and—under the gaze of countless citizens, reporters, and national representatives—completed the coronation ritual.
She formally proclaimed the establishment and birth of the Holy Terra Empire, followed by an impassioned and stirring speech.
The citizens and representatives below listened, utterly moved by the Empire's lofty ideals. Cheers erupted, hands were raised high, and some were already in tears.
Of course, what those foreign representatives truly thought in their hearts was anyone's guess.
At least on the surface, Londinium was bathed in harmony—everyone celebrating the birth of a brand-new empire.
As for stirring up trouble?
Just take a look at the remnants of the dukes' coalition outside the city.
Until it was clear whether such an attack could happen again, no nation would dare make a rash move. In fact, as long as An Xora didn't continue letting Talulah go on a rampage, all of Terra might very well enter an unprecedented era of peace.
Meanwhile, as the founding ceremony proceeded smoothly, An Xora—backstage—opened the system shop interface and began browsing the newly refreshed monthly discount items.
[Surprise Blind Box] (50% off): 2,500 points
[Spiral Power] (70% off): 300,000,000 points
[Infinite Energy] (50% off): 5,000,000 points
"..."
Staring at the discounted items, An Xora fell silent.
It wasn't that the items were bad—on the contrary, they were too good.
So good, in fact, that aside from the Surprise Blind Box, he couldn't afford a single one of them.
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