On the far reaches of the north, where the continent splits, is another continent. Home to the most powerful creatures that have been left alone for millennia. This continent has been sleeping soundly for generations upon generations and kept to itself until just recently. A certain tremor made its way towards the continent and stirred up many such creatures that had the capacity to feel the very fluctuations of mana. The monsters that were sleeping soundly began to toss and turn to pinpoint the location of a possible threat or a possible challenge in their now boring lives. The continent of monsters was never given a name, and so it has remained as it was, untouched by man. It had volcanoes straight out of hills that spew out lava in a regular basis. More sulfur than air in the atmosphere which made the whole place look yellowish when facing the sky and from the sky. When looking at it with a level sight, one would find that it looks reddish-yellow close to orange but not quite so. The vegetation was non-existent. The minerals though, were abundant and so a certain race that lived here for the longest time has adapted to the environment. They never set foot on the flourishing continent neighboring this one from the start as they were born and raised and struggled in this very continent. The dwarves, master of smithing and craftmanship were the only seemingly sentient beings in this continent. They were not too affected by the sulfuric air in the atmosphere because they have dug so deep into the earth that they did not even care what happens above. All they had pa.s.sion for was mastering their crafts and strengthening their defenses against those that threatens their peace.

Aboveground, where the gates to the dwarven empire lay, was possibly the tallest mountain there was in Alleucanth. It stood taller than Everest and the mountain range that came along it was expansive. Although it was bare of anything, it still stood tall and proud unaffected by the coming and going of all transient life. At the foot of this unnamed mountain was the gates to the dwarven empire they called Erida"an. The dwarves never bothered to name the mountain since it was nothing but a mountain anyway, and there was no need to name landmarks since there were no other sentient life here that would benefit from it except them. They also don"t come up to the surface only to die miserably from being toyed with by the monsters that rule above them, on the surface.

This continent of monsters that was home to well, monsters, and the dwarves who own a mountain to themselves was stirred up by a mana signature that was strong enough to be felt crossing the entire continent. And the mana fluctuation could only be felt from so far away by creatures that were sensitive to mana, while the rest couldn"t even feel a tiny bit of breeze for their lack of sensitivity towards mana.

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Roars filled the air the moment the fluctuation happened, and the continent became active, it seemed as if the volcanoes wanted to erupt all at the same time, threatening to split the continent yet again. While some of the mountains moved and trembled because of what was laying underneath them. Gigantic creatures that would make a man look like an ant, literally, also stood up. Ancient creatures that have been laying asleep for millennia also reacted but ignored it after opening their eyes then closing it in no time at all.

***

Beyond the far reaches of the south where the Dodecagon Beastman Prairie, lay an Island that lacked any activities when looked on from the skies above. The green trees, gigantic ones, that populate the whole island the size of one big chunk of the main continent, were unmoving, seemingly unaffected by the flow of time and free from the influence of civilization. Its tranquility belies the underlying chaos underneath the canopy of trees. For underneath them was a civilization that was so ancient that even the six G.o.ds could not detect them in their own turf. Technology that far outstrips any race in Alleucanth, these ancients have lived for longer that the Six Pillar G.o.ds, themselves. The strength of these ancients was not to be trifled with; they could not be under the influence of any G.o.d.

The sound of constant fighting and screams of hurt, resounds under the vast forest. This forest was called Ysa, and its inhabitants were the ancient High Elves that rule mana, like it originated from them. Different from the Elves of the main continent who for comparison"s sake were more of barbarians that the civilized elves, from the Forest of Ysa.

The screams come from the training area where the High Elves train themselves in all manners of combat. Magic was almost second nature to them, so as the millennia came and pa.s.s, they also resolved to master other forms of combat. Like the Spartans of earth, young men, looking like children, were trained in hand-to-hand combat and were being punished for mistakes. Wounds all over their body were proof of their dedication and discipline, as they continued to undergo such intense and extreme training. If they were asked what they were preparing for, that they had to train like mad men, they would tell you nothing. However, as they knew history better than those of the main land people, they are preparing for what"s to come since the invasion of false G.o.ds into this Alleucanth. G.o.dhood was merely a t.i.tle for those who "ascended" to it. They knew this and have stopped mingling with supposed people of G.o.ds. What they prepared for has already come and they felt it. That kind energy fluctuation can only be from those champions that the G.o.ds have prepared to have fun amongst themselves. They knew it. So, they prepared for it. People of Ysa will never succ.u.mb to the rule of the G.o.ds.

***

On the far reaches of the west beyond the empire of the dragonkin, lay a small island that has a small hut erected at the center. From above the skies it would look like a simple straw hut, because it is. The island was only a kilometer in diameter. It had nothing but coconut looking like trees and somewhat of a port extending from the straw hut towards the sea. And a man sat on a comfortable beach bench while holding unto a fishing rod that had its line extended towards the depths. The man was fishing leisurely and felt a fluctuation of mana from the mainland, or so the people outside the main continent seemed to call it. This man though, altogether ignored the fluctuation that he felt and said softly to himself, "It"s not enough. You"ll be reaching the cap for mortals soon, and you"ll be like us. Stuck to the realm of mortals, unable to ascend. Such a shame." He had a straw hat on and pulled it closer to his nose to cover his face while still waiting for a bite in his fishing line.

***

As Clay was helping the Beastmen Prairie to recover from the damage he caused, the rest of his retainers did what was necessary to conquer the whole human territories. They were already encroaching the Empire that had no troops left to fight for them. And the three, Caltec, Mor, and Jon already arrived inside the city without much resistance. Isaac was coming late because of another matter that angered him greatly. What they heard from Clay as orders were so chilling that they involuntarily kneeled to the ground and could not answer even after a while when Clay"s contact was finished. They could surmise that some foolish king in a kingdom they left whole tested the waters and tried to hurt the people in the Village. That was tantamount to angering the sleeping lion inside the territory. Their Lord Clay was not so fond of his people being threatened, especially those who could not fight back or the innocent.

So, the next thing that the four of them did was not to talk to the leaders of each kingdom. Instead they overwhelmed them with might, individual might at that. They killed the leaders even those that tried to negotiate with them. Some of the n.o.bles were resisting that kind of method, and so a clean up was done and most n.o.bles who took pride in themselves died a grave-less death. Useless and unbeneficial for anyone. The blood on the hands of the retainers could cover the sky by now. They also replaced the leaders with those they could control. Isaac, as wise as he was, made use of medicinal concoctions the Pharmacists of the Village that were basically poison. He fed them to the leaders he placed in position and told them he would give them antidotes every month. It was effective in retaining their "loyalty." He also suggested this method to the other three and they also agreed and so the kingdoms that resisted had their leaders replaced and controlled. By the time they reached the Imperial Capital, the leaders were already mounting a defensive struggle from them. However, no matter the military might of the Empire, the four of them dominated them like taking candies from children. It wasn"t so hard. And so the emperor and the rest of the people who resisted openly towards the rule of Lord Clay, had been eradicated.

There was a goal that was achieved and should be a cause for celebration, however, the four of them could not celebrate fully because of the blood they took for the unification. They did understand the sacrifice necessary for this unification but doing it themselves have opened their minds that really, power takes everything. They also understood that if they got complacent and proud, only corruption awaits them.

"There"s nothing else left for us to do. We should go back and handle the matters that happened in the Village while we were away. Lord Clay would need us to be there to clean up the mess. And properly manage the whole Village and the United Continental Empire ruled by Lord Clay."

"Isaac"s right, we should go and not linger anymore than necessary. If these puppets know what"s good for them, they should do what we had them do. If not, when we visit again, they"ll be in for a lot of trouble."

"Uncle, how about Jon and I stay here for a while to supervise them from the shadows. So that everything goes smoother than antic.i.p.ated?"

"I agree with Mor. We both should stay and handle the affairs here covertly so that Lord Clay can rest easy."

In order, Isaac, Caltec, Mor and Jon spoke in turns. They made a consensus about what they needed to do to further the Lord"s plans. And they were sure that Lord Clay was already moving towards the other territories of the leaders of each race so that they can do better than just become followers of the Lord.

"Alright, Caltec and I will go back and make sure that everything is in order in other kingdoms that we annexed. Send us reports from time to time so we don"t walk blind. We"ll go after a good night"s rest. Running back there should take us a bit more than just 3 days."

Isaac decided resolutely. As Mayor of the city, he had that kind of authority towards his peers as retainers. They also understood that Isaac was the one who used his brains more that they did, so a consensus was easily established.

Now the curtain rises for another chaotic undertaking for Clay.