When the sky above us returned to normal, along with the milky way and the night sky, that frightening declaration of the Gods finally ended. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Let's not even talk about the effects of Ayer's declaration. Everyone present could sense that a storm was brewing. Apart from Harloys, who had some prior understanding, even I didn't expect Ayer to be so decisive and resolute in his actions. It was obvious that he was breaking ties with the Holy Light system just like that.
"Consequences? Relations with the Holy Light? What's the point of thinking so much? Do whatever you want. I'll support you. "
After saying this, Aillé's incarnation vanished without a trace.
Sometimes, Aillé's carefree attitude rendered others speechless. But I had to admit that he indeed had the power to not be afraid of the Holy Light Faction turning against him. He was also quite insightful. Now was indeed the best time to make a decision.
The undead army had arrived, and the dimensional invasion was unstoppable. It could be said that the Holy War had begun on all fronts. Taking the initiative to declare war and seize the limelight was doubtlessly the most important thing.
Yep, since it was all for the limelight and attention, it wouldn't be wrong to say that it was for the headlines.
Outside of our forest, the current situation hadn't changed at all. The undead armies of the six Undead Planes had already successfully landed on the continent, and the Undead Calamity had already taken shape. No matter why the undead had come here in the first place, it was obvious what they would do next — war.
That's right, no matter whether or not their actions were justifiable, whether or not their actions were righteous in their own eyes, this was still a war, a war of aggression, a major war that was destined to be filled with rivers of blood.
The undead wanted to establish their own country, but there was no longer a country for them here. Time passed, and everything changed. This was now part of the Bardi Empire's territory. Indeed, the people who returned from their homeland didn't have the right to return to their homeland. In that case, wouldn't the people who had lived here for thousands of years have the right to protect their own homes and territories?
Oftentimes, wars didn't break out because of so-called justice or evil. It was simply because of the struggle for survival.
A king could allow his subjects to cooperate with dangerous terrorists, but no matter what, he could not allow his subjects to abandon their homes. No, this kind of words could not even be said. The moment he said it, all of his subjects would see him as their mortal enemy. No matter how loyal his subjects were, they would raise the flag of rebellion.
The Bardi citizens were willing to accept a small number of intelligent undead as upper-class nobles, but that didn't mean that they were willing to be ruled and enslaved by the undead. The mega empires had their own pride. The Bardi citizens were incredibly prideful, and it was impossible for them to accept being enslaved by other species.
I didn't know what Aso's original plan was, but by now, both sides had a fundamental conflict of interest. The conflict was already irreconcilable, and war had already broken out.
"I'm going back to the capital. I'm going to ask His Majesty Orloss for an explanation!"
After discussing a certain matter, Halent was still worried about the situation in the capital, so he absolutely needed to go back and take a look first. He also had a large dragon knight squadron with him. In order to strengthen his resolve to fight Orloss to his heart's content, I even casually gave him a research report on Kasolan's Tears, as well as information on the undead's possible schemes, such as large-scale undead transformations.
Of course, I also had some doubts about the Bardi Empire's upper echelons' slow reactions and illogicality. I also gave some suggestions on how to mobilize the masses if the situation turned bad.
"Halent, Nightrain City needs to make preparations for war as well. If the undead decide to directly attack Nightrain City after reorganizing themselves, you can consider contacting the Mage Country. Perhaps it'll be far more effective than asking for reinforcements from the capital. Right, since the enemy is the undead, don't forget about the Holy Church. They're such excellent cannon fodder. "
Halent hesitated for a moment after hearing my words, but he didn't retort. It seemed that he had listened to me.
Ever since the undead began their invasion, the Tark Republic, Bardi Empire, and Mage Country had become like three giant pythons tangled with each other, just as the System's Quest, "Three Snake Slaughter," had mentioned. They were like three giant pythons that revolved around each other, fighting for the right to live and the right to live. It was inevitable that there would be conflicts of interest between them.
The Bardi Empire and the Mage Country were already enemies. Meanwhile, the Undead Country and the Living Country had fought countless battles over living space. It would seem that each of the three countries was hostile to the other two. The relationship between these three countries was far too familiar with each other's relationships.
Stop them? Stop them with what? To use an old saying that might not be appropriate, in front of the wheel of history, anyone who tried to stop them would be like a foolish mantis trying to stop a chariot. The previous battles at the frontlines had been small in scale, so perhaps they were still manageable. But when two mega empires fully mobilized their forces, when the Tark Republic, which occupied six dimensions and had twelve SemiGod Undead Emperors, individual strength and even one or two armies would become meaningless. This was a battle between mega empires against mega empires.
In front of these three behemoths, my little foundation in the Northlands wouldn't even count as a fraction of what they had. Four ounces of strength would require at least four ounces of strength. Right now, we were nothing more than a pinky.
They still wanted to mediate? Wait until they had sacrificed enough to prove that they couldn't defeat their opponents in one fell swoop. Or, perhaps I could suppress the strength of these three factions and directly suppress them, forcing them to negotiate.
Of these three factions, Tark's undead were dishonorable invaders, as well as the mortal plane's enemy. And if they successfully entered the Bardi Empire, no matter if they massacred the Bardi Empire to create an army of reinforcements or a large-scale transformation of the undead, none of these would be acceptable to the mortal plane's residents.
Peace was what everyone wanted, but it seemed that it wouldn't be possible in the near future. In that case, let's first preserve a seed of peace.
Perhaps Aso had already seen through everything. Perhaps he had another reason for giving me these memories. Perhaps he wanted me to act as a third party when the situation permitted me to. And as Wumianzhe's God Envoy, as well as a former Undead Emperor, I would likely be the most acceptable mediator for both sides.
The best result that Aso expected would be to take over more than half of the Bardi Empire's territory, and then mediate to achieve diplomatic peace with the other factions. However, this goal would probably be unacceptable to the Bardi Empire, nor would it be acceptable to the citizens and nobles who had lost their land and loved ones. In that case, Aso would need to have a proper battle and use strength to make the Bardi Empire accept this.
The undead were still constructing defensive structures and organizing their armies. Judging from the undead's current behavior, it was quite obvious what they were going to do next. They would do their best to gather their troops and prepare for a major battle without disturbing a third party. And once they finished their preparations …
"With the speed at which the Dimensional Door reinforcements are increasing, it's only a matter of time before the current territory becomes insufficient. If the undead begin to expand their own territory, the Forest of Dreams in the west and Nightrain City in the east will likely become the frontlines of this war. Perhaps both sides will become quite lively. "
From a certain standpoint, not only was Halent's preparations correct, they would even play a critical role in the future. If the Bardi Empire prepared for a full-scale battle, Nightrain City would become the first line of defense against the undead's invasion.
"At that time, many Contract Warriors will probably join in on the fun. And on our side, the situation in the Forest of Dreams will change because of this … "
I doubted that the undead would have the courage to attack the Forest of Dreams at their current level. After all, even the Undead Emperors knew just how difficult it was to deal with a dimensional will. Surrounding the Forest of Dreams and not attacking was the best method. However, this didn't mean that the Forest of Dreams couldn't actively attack the undead! The Forest of Dreams wouldn't become a major problem for the Undead Empire.
The undead would definitely transform the area around the Dimensional Door into their own defensive territory. Their only blind spot would probably be the Forest of Dreams, which was already an independent dimension. Not only that, the Forest of Dreams just happened to be an incredibly famous harbor. The side of the Forest of Dreams near the sea was an excellent harbor, and the Mage Country was on the other side of the sea. The Forest of Dreams would be the most natural frontline.
No matter if it was used to defend against the Bardi Empire or against possible undead attacks, the Mage Country would definitely send people here. Perhaps two long-term sea routes would even appear for adventurers who didn't belong to any faction in order to prevent them from coming and going.
"The Mage Country will definitely come. Perhaps they'll even bring several armies. And with such an absolutely safe base, it'll definitely attract many future point hunters. "
No matter if it was the wood spirits' birthplace or the Holy War's frontline, this place would soon become prosperous due to the influx of people. Perhaps it would even become one of the most prosperous cities in the entire world due to the war between the living and the undead. But as the frontline where the living and the undead fought, this place would definitely be filled with battles as well. It seemed that the wood spirits were destined to grow in battle.
And speaking of the Holy War, my original target wasn't the undead that would suddenly descend. After all, even Aillé himself wouldn't be able to predict the undead's arrival in time.
My original target was the various elemental lifeforms that would awaken together with the Elemental Gods. The elemental lifeforms weren't particularly strong and would be suitable for training and novice adventurers. Eliminating them would also help to prevent the Elemental Tide from increasing, which would obviously be a good thing for the Holy War.
Most importantly, the weaker "novice monsters" would strengthen the connection between the "novice" and Aillé's faction, establishing a basic level of trust. The "closed beta" adventurers who succeeded in obtaining rewards would become legends in the eyes of other adventurers, which would attract more novice adventurers and gradually expand the footmen faction. The elemental lifeforms' bodies could even be used as materials to create magical items, which would help to recover the cost. That was why I strongly recommended the elemental lifeforms to be our primary targets in my report.
But now that the undead had voluntarily entered our territory, it would be impossible to not count them in. Still, both Nightrain City and the Forest of Dreams had solid defenses. If we couldn't defeat the undead, we could always run. We would at least remember our losses. There probably wouldn't be any pitiful situation where novice adventurers met a final boss and died on the spot.
The other major battlefield that had already been opened up was our old acquaintance, the Oro Empire's capital, Kagesi. The Sea Tribe there was currently engaged in a tug-of-war with the humans. The Sea Tribe worshiped Lady Storm, which was obviously the Chaos Faction. This was a perfect example of how to fight in a real battle.
Of course, when considering the Sea Tribe's combat strength in the water, it didn't seem to be any easier than the undead's defense line. Not having enough combat strength would basically be the same as committing suicide.
I had previously mentioned this to Heloise, and she was more open-minded about it than I was.
"… Danger? Only with high risk would there be high rewards. Otherwise, how could we possibly obtain the Gods' blessing? Besides, we're not babysitters. The warriors who dare to sign contracts with us are all adults who can take responsibility for themselves. You might think that our current enemies are dangerous, but won't our future enemies be even more dangerous? True warriors only need to kill their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Since we've already decided on an elimination system where we'll keep the strong and eliminate the weak, why are you hesitating? "
"That's right. Since we're already fighting on the frontlines for the Gods' blessing, it's not like we're commoners who haven't seen blood before. How could we possibly not be mentally prepared for this?"
From a certain standpoint, I had indeed underestimated the residents of this dimension. The environment here was different from the one in my previous world. Warriors who were adventurers had long since become different from commoners. Professional warriors who danced on the edge of a knife for a living would never rush onto the battlefield without any preparations. Reckless people who rushed into battle without even evaluating the enemy's strength would have long since died on the way.
Rather than thinking about such things, it would be better to think about how to deal with this war between the three countries, which was bound to involve a tremendous amount of trouble.
But, it obviously wasn't my style to do nothing at all.
"Samantha, it seems that your mother will need to sleep for a while longer. However, there are still some things that you can do."
"Temperance" Samantha was a wood spirit with bright red hair. She was the current leader of the wood spirits, as well as the oldest sister of the Seven Virtues. However, the strange thing was that even though she was the incarnation of a rose that represented passion, she always had a cold expression and didn't speak much.
Samantha was also of the rose genus like Rosa, and her appearance was extremely similar to Rosa's. It was as if they were identical twins. And for a long period of time, both of them had lived together with Amelia, so they had a deeper understanding of me. However, unlike Rosa, who was friendly yet timid, Samantha seemed to have a lot of opinions about me. Her expressionless face was considered good, while her scowl was normal.
"Speak."
"It's likely that you'll meet many visitors here soon. Most of their targets will be the undead. I hope that you can do three things. First, do your best to ensure that the visitors survive. Second, provide them with resources that attract them, such as fruits of the thick earth that can increase one's physique. Yep, you can exchange them for Justice Points or large amounts of gold coins, but make sure to limit the amount. Third, strengthen your communication with other species so that you can integrate into this world as quickly as possible. "
When it came to wealth, very few existences could compare to the dimensional ruler. This was just like how a small business couldn't compare to a bank. The former earned money, while the latter printed money. And the dimensional ruler was the one who printed money.
Special fruits that could increase basic stats such as Strength, Agility, and Constitution, as well as nectar that could recover stamina and mana, and antidote grass that could cure poison. I had already seen such miraculous items before. Perhaps there were alchemy substitutes for the latter two, but items like these that could completely change a person's basic stats and talent were incredibly precious. Just these local specialties alone would cause countless powerful individuals to risk their lives for the wood spirits.
Of course, this wasn't completely limitless. Fruits that could permanently increase basic stats would require a large amount of resources from the forest in order to be produced. There was a limited number of such fruits, and Amelia's Forest of Dreams was only limited to fruits and plants. She could only buff or weaken the creatures that consumed the fruits.
As the Holy War continued, it was likely that Justice Points would become even more valuable than gold coins. Perhaps the Goddess of Wealth would become even more powerful just by relying on this new concept of Justice Points and prosperous commerce. And this was only the beginning. I estimated that every single True God in the Aillé Faction would benefit from this mission.
At the very least, I knew that every contract and every fair exchange would make the Concept of Contracts and the Guardian God of Contracts, Wumianzhe, become even more powerful. And after Wumianzhe's declaration, the number of devout believers in Wumianzhe would increase day by day. Most of the other True Gods were the same.
"This is destined to be a long battle. Don't let your brave warriors die in vain. This is also for your mother's sake. "
I wasn't lying. The blood, flesh, and souls of those who died in this land would become nourishment for the Forest of Dreams. As long as there were enough sacrifices for this bloody battle, not only would Amelia awaken, she would become even stronger than before. That was because, in a way, the entire Forest of Dreams was her physical body, and the wood spirits were all her symbiotes.
Samantha nodded her head in agreement.
I heaved a sigh of relief as I watched Samantha silently leave. This little brat's expression when she looked at me was far too vicious. The resentment and anger in her eyes made me feel uncomfortable, as if I really owed her something. Whenever I thought about how all these little brats had probably seen me in the past, I felt a mysterious sense of guilt, which made me feel like I was a bad father who hadn't paid their child's upbringing fees.
"Sister Samantha is so happy. It seems that she's really happy that Father wants her to help him with something." Little Rosa jumped out to make fun of her older sister.
What? That scowling face was actually happy? I was greatly shocked and hurriedly asked Rosa how she could tell.
"Father, you can't tell? Don't just look at my older sister's expressionless face. She's actually quite happy inside. Look at the vines behind my sister's head jumping up and down, just like a puppy's tail … Wahh! "
Alright then, vines suddenly reached down from the trees and tied up Rosa. But when I saw the blushing older sister not far away, I felt like I could understand what these little brats were thinking.
Meanwhile, next to a small stream, the first man-made structure in the Forest of Dreams had just been completed. It was a small stone court that was only four or five hundred square meters in size and had seven or eight rooms. However, there was an emblem of a scale placed in front of its door. That's right, this was the Church of Law's branch church and court in the Forest of Dreams.
Apart from providing some Justice Points for future Contract Warriors to exchange for, it was also a place to spread the teachings of the God of Law. In fact, it was even a place for Law job classes. As the Divine Concept of "Contracts" became more and more complete, not only would traditional business transactions use contracts, adventuring partners and mercenary forces would also come to the Church of Law. "Team contracts" also became a bestseller.
As the branch church of the frontline church, its first regional bishop would naturally be incredibly important. She was …
"Kolos, are you ready?"
"Yep, those wood spirits are quite easy to communicate with. They also understand Law quite quickly. I estimate that it won't be long before our church will have its first batch of wood spirit Law job class members."
She had a smile filled with happiness. Apart from the fact that she would be able to do her favorite work in the elves' favorite forest, it was even more because the wood spirits had agreed to help her create a special plant potion that would change her physical constitution.
Alright then, everyone probably knew what that potion was. It would be nothing more than a plant version of the "Spring of a Drowned Man". This indeed matched the abilities of the Forest of Dreams.
However, the rules had already been set. Even Kolos would have to earn Justice Points to exchange for this potion. And if she wanted to specifically research and develop this potion, she would probably have to pay an additional research fee, which would be quite a large sum.
As I looked at Kolos who was smiling brightly and busily going up and down, I didn't tell her the truth that would lower her morale.
"Reinforcements from the Church of Law will arrive soon. With your popularity in the Church of Law and your strange fan club, I feel that even if you're willing to spend 10,000 Justice Points to research and develop that potion, your colleagues will be willing to spend 30,000 Justice Points to stop your research and development. Even if you succeed in developing the 'Spring of a Drowned Man', the Church of Law will have long since finished developing the 'Spring of a Drowned Woman'. "
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