Chapter 141: He Still Doesn’t Know He Holds the Future
Old Josda’s overly panicked reaction startled both of them.
The Empress of Eternal Night, in particular, asked mockingly, “Oh? Old Jos, you’re someone who dares to gossip about the Goddess of War. Did she really crown an eighth god? Is that something that could scare you?”
Old Josda ignored the Empress’s sarcasm and said with utmost sincerity and seriousness:
“Tabera is just a little slut, best at trifling with emotions. But that woman plays with contracts. She’s the most terrifying vampire in the Multiverse, the kind who can easily send someone to the abyss and condemn them to eternal damnation…”
“Oh, vampires. I have disposal methods thicker than a dictionary for them. We always end up hanging them from lampposts,” Roger said, understanding Old Josda’s worries and expressing great confidence.
What Old Josda meant was that Naliner’s race was Angel, and her profession was Angel Investor.
And she was the most cunning and sharp-witted kind, adept at painting the most beautiful pictures and then hiding the biggest pitfalls for others to fall into.
She used her capital advantage and was proficient in financial laws, contracts, and agreements. While she seemed to be setting up gambles to give others a chance to turn their fortunes or get rich overnight, in reality, she never lost, and in fact, profited immensely.
This was the nature of the house, the most excellent capitalist under the God of Knowledge.
However, in Roger’s era, such vampires were everywhere, no matter how smart or insidious.
Vampires had become so numerous that they entered a red ocean era. Fools were no longer enough, and they ended up harming each other, resorting to any means necessary.
Even Roger, an outsider, was familiar with countless classic cases.
Compared to celebrity gossip, capital wars were a battle of gods, a high-quality match. Celebrity gossip, on the other hand, was a messy dinner party for bitches and dogs. Roger rather enjoyed the former to pass the time.
At least there weren’t so many instances of forced downplaying of intelligence.
In this World, Naliner had no rivals. But with her gambling-addict personality, if she were on Earth, she wouldn’t even need to go to Wall Street; she’d crash and burn in the A-share market.
Perhaps within three days, she’d lose everything and end up as a VTuber, trying to pay off her debts by pleasing otaku. Tsk tsk tsk!
If it were a supermodel-like powerful individual, Roger might not know how to deal with her.
But looking at Naliner’s profile, it was clear she had gone in a big circle and returned to familiar territory for us Earthlings.
Since you dare to come, don’t blame me for a dimension-reducing strike.
We don’t fear enemies who are too smart; we only fear enemies who aren’t greedy!
Old Josda might have suffered a loss himself, or he might have seen others suffer irreparable losses, which is why he had severe psychological trauma regarding Naliner and suspected Roger of bragging.
Looking at Shady beside him with vacant eyes, it was clear that a few gambling deals had truly enslaved her to Naliner.
Aren’t you afraid of the puppet master?
But at this moment, the decision wasn’t up to the two of them, but the Empress of Eternal Night.
She naturally admired Roger’s confidence and preferred an proactive strategy: “I support Your Excellency Roger’s entrapment plan. This empire is, after all, still my home ground.”
As native beings of this World, although they were restricted by it, being on home ground offered a significant advantage: there was an upper limit to the power that this World could accommodate.
Experts exceeding a certain limit simply couldn’t enter. Forcing entry would directly lead to the World’s rejection or even collapse.
Before, when Naliner wanted to descend into the Eternal Night World, she had to perform sacrifices in advance to enter an enhanced spatial barrier before attempting to capture the Empress of Eternal Night.
Under normal circumstances, even gods couldn’t fully enter the material Plane; they used projections or Incarnations, only able to exert limited strength.
Naliner schemed with Shady to gamble because she couldn’t yet skillfully use projections or Incarnations. To permanently stay in the Eternal Night World and gather information, a strong enough native body was a necessity.
The limit of power this World could accommodate was something the Empress of Eternal Night was close to reaching herself.
Every time she crossed to other Worlds and returned to the Eternal Night World, she could feel the World’s subtle rejection.
It was rare for an expert at her level, who had not yet reached godhood, to move their main body to their divine kingdom in pursuit of eternity.
Therefore, by referencing her own strength to estimate Naliner’s capabilities, the Empress of Eternal Night believed that no matter how terrifying the title “Time Shepherd” was, as long as she dared to come to the empire, she wouldn’t be invincible.
In a confrontation between spellcasters, preparation was enough to bridge the gap in strength.
With Roger devising traps to lure and expose Naliner’s mental vulnerabilities, creating an opportunity for the Empress of Eternal Night to strike;
And with the Empress of Eternal Night’s strength guaranteeing an advantage in firepower, the two of them cooperating would make it difficult even for the strongest Six-winged Angel below the gods to escape.
Seeing the two of them so resolute, Old Josda couldn’t dissuade them further and could only sigh mournfully.
As long as you’re happy. I’m just a prisoner, after all. What ill intentions could I possibly have…
…
…
Deep within the Kampsack Desert, at the former site of Skrena City, jubilant beastmen were carrying various building materials, restoring their former royal city.
Just three days ago, led by the beautiful and valiant Princess Tassika, they had won a great victory, driving away the people of the evil empire who had occupied it.
Of course, this was essentially a performance.
The empire had never intended to rule the barren desert. The mages of the Rommel Legion stationed there had created enough illusions to satisfy the beastman tribal coalition’s need for revenge against the imperial forces.
Then they quietly teleported away, in essence, returning the magnificent city on the desert to Princess Tassika.
While the spectacle was grand, only a few unlucky souls had broken their legs climbing the city walls too eagerly.
But for the empire, it was still a strategic surprise victory. Princess Datil led them to exploit a gap in the empire’s defenses, catching their opponents off guard and achieving extremely brilliant results!
The empire’s sweep through the beastman tribes had initially plunged the beastmen into despair, making them believe that hardship was imminent and the coming winter would be arduous.
However, after Princess Tassika arrived, she united the power of various tribes, gathered the scattered elite coalition forces, and vowed to bring a better life to the beastmen.
She didn’t just speak empty words. Through her own efforts, she brought order and peace to the desert, delivery of food and goods, and now, a glorious victory.
By reclaiming their former royal tents, her prestige reached a new peak.
Although there had been talk of a new Beastman King, Tassika had not actually claimed kingship. Her official title had always been the princess of the Bell Tribe and the commander of the coalition forces.
But all this changed after the capture of Skrena City.
After centuries, or even millennia, of internal conflict, the beastmen had been defeated in a single blow by the Azurevine Empire.
After Tassika reintegrated them, they had recaptured their lost royal city, showing these simple and strong people the importance of unity.
Of course, a crucial point was that the most ambitious among them had been eliminated according to Old Josda’s plan.
All the prestigious chiefs and high-ranking officials of the beastman tribes had been concentrated in Skrena City during the imperial invasion war. They were then sent to the Wheel of Death by the Empress of Eternal Night, their remnants becoming nourishment for the Yellow Sands.
Among the remaining large and small tribes, although there were temporary leaders, they either lacked ambition and desired peace, or possessed ambition but lacked the ability and seniority compared to Tassika.
More importantly, Tassika firmly controlled the beastmen’s most elite coalition forces. After a period of training and integration, and under the guise of improving combat effectiveness and emulating the strong armies of the Azurevine Empire, she had reorganized this coalition.
Clearing away internal and external resistance, the current beastman elite coalition forces completely dismantled the scattered formations that had naturally formed based on tribes. Instead, they were reorganized into three legions, each with 50,000 men, with every 10,000 men forming a division, in a somewhat chaotic organizational structure.
In this way, the term “coalition forces” was no longer appropriate. They had completely become a fighting force under Tassika’s command and could fight real tough battles for her.
Once the three legions were reorganized, they decisively captured Skrena City, strongly proving the effectiveness of Tassika’s military reforms.
At this point, the beastmen internally recognized Princess Tassika as a kind, brave, beautiful, and exceptionally talented leader.
Looking around the beastman tribes at this moment, there was no noble more worthy of their affection.
The Bell Tribe, already powerful, was now the main force of the First Legion, the most elite.
With most of the other royal families dead or incompetent, Tassika was the only candidate they could support.
Having endured so much hardship, the beastman tribes realized the dangers of disunity.
Their powerful neighbor to the east continuously exerted pressure, forcing them to unite to resist the invasion of the Azurevine cavalry.
Even the elders who had been observing Tassika’s integration of the beastman tribes began to believe that she truly represented the future of the beastmen.
After the capture of Skrena City, the temporary chiefs and shamans of those tribes jointly requested an audience with Princess Tassika.
Their request was simple: they asked the princess to claim kingship and legitimately rule all the beastman tribes, pledging their unconditional loyalty to the new king.
Tassika humbly declined, saying she was unworthy.
However, the advising chiefs and shamans were resolute, once again insisting that only the princess could save the beastman kingdom.
After a day-long meeting with three requests and three refusals, Tassika finally agreed to claim kingship.
Simultaneously, she broke the tradition of past beastman multi-tribal alliances and established a kingdom that safeguarded the interests of all beastmen, naming it Terra.
This was the meaning of “courage” in the ancient beastman language, and it was also the acronym for their current main deity, the Goddess of War, which gained the support of all beastmen.
Thus, the tribal disputes that had plagued the Kampsack Desert for a thousand years came to an end.
The blood feuds that had existed between tribes gradually subsided. Under the leadership of Queen Tassika, they began to center their efforts around Skrena City, seeking oases to build new cities.
They were transitioning from a nomadic people to a more advanced agricultural civilization.
The progress of civilization was supported by vast resources, new technologies, and sufficient military power…
An atmosphere of joy permeated Skrena City. They were busily renovating the city walls, rebuilding the imperial palace, preparing for the coronation ceremony of the Queen, and eagerly anticipating the Terra Beastman Kingdom ushering in a new era.
In a luxurious tent beside the imperial palace, Tassika appeared to be praying devoutly, but in reality, she had entered the mage camp to leave a message for Roger:
“Lord Charles, our plan has taken a significant step forward. The kingdom is about to be established, and the schemes to change the beastmen’s impoverished and harsh lives will be implemented successively. Your help is greatly appreciated. Furthermore, the road ahead is long, and Terra will require more of your guidance. – Your loyal Little Ta.”
After writing the message, she was reluctant to leave. She reread their previous conversations, a small, pleased smile appearing on her lips from time to time.
Although they didn’t chat every day, after breaking the ice with Duke Gancan, her daily communication with Roger had successfully resumed, and they could discuss anything, big or small.
The current action of the tribal chiefs and shamans voluntarily asking her to be the Beastman Queen was also a suggestion from Roger. He had guided her to arrange for her subordinates to stir up emotions and promise benefits, thereby orchestrating this grand play…
Without sufficient benefits, how could those old foxes willingly hand over their power to a young girl like her?
But with this request from below, her claim to the throne was unimpeachable in terms of legitimacy.
She would have sufficient justification to lead the beastmen in reforming the kingdom, and with Lord Charles’ guidance, the final outcome would surely be good, wouldn’t it?
Tassika did not receive a reply from Lord Charles that night. Although she was slightly disappointed, she wasn’t entirely discouraged.
She believed that time was on their side.
Whether it was the Azurevine Empire or the Terra Kingdom, they all had a bright future.
…
…
Roger returned to Charles Manor late at night.
The source of information regarding the Seven Gods wasn’t solely through capturing believers. The Empress of Eternal Night had also dispatched the Secret Arts Society to constantly scout the Astral Plane.
Although they hadn’t touched the core of the Seven Gods, they had gathered a considerable amount of information.
After emerging from the realm of inner demons, Roger had also had an extensive conversation with the Empress of Eternal Night.
In Roger’s view, the known intelligence and the current situation were not as dire as the Empress of Eternal Night believed.
The Seven Gods were more powerful than anticipated, their goals were unfathomable, but their threat was to the entire Multiverse.
The pressure on the Eternal Night World would not be significantly greater than before.
At least the empire currently had internal stability, its national strength was rapidly increasing, and the threat of the Tianming Army had been resolved.
It was basically impossible for the Seven Gods to disintegrate the Azurevine Empire without any damage and then control the Eternal Night World.
Admittedly, the Eternal Night World could not resist the direct power of the Seven Gods, but the Seven Gods could not possibly commit all their power to dealing with the Eternal Night World.
Their ultimate goal was the Multiverse. The amount of power they could allocate here and the time it would take to gather it were still questionable.
After much discussion, although there were no definitive conclusions, the path of strengthening the empire as a whole, and fighting wars between Mortals and gods with national strength rather than individual power, was still not necessarily correct, but it offered the highest chance of victory.
With their minds united, the next step was to proceed with investigation, development, and preparation for war.
After washing up and lying in bed, Roger noticed that a new day had begun and casually opened his system treasure chest.
A different special effect from the usual caught his attention:
Guaranteed drop!
After more than a month, the guaranteed drop rate had increased to over 40% before a guaranteed box appeared. This could no longer be considered lucky.
Roger looked at the item that had been produced.
[Source Sea Elixir: Repairs erosion from the Source Sea to a moderate degree. Uses: 3/3. (Automatically refills upon returning to the material world.)]
“Another one of these mysterious Source Sea series?” Roger complained irritably.
Even though he had obtained the golden trait “Legendary Recovery,” it couldn’t be used in the main World. He knew nothing about this Source Sea series.
What kind of sea is this Source Sea? The Eternal Night World doesn’t even have such a sea!
Does the dog system only give me these useless, chicken-rib items? Even the guaranteed drop is this junk!
After briefly reading the description, he tossed the item, which looked like a medicinal bottle, to the bottom of his system inventory.
Let it gather dust with the Source Sea Ark, Source Sea Lookout, Source Sea Anchor, and other junk!
At this moment, this young man still didn’t know that he held the future. In his inventory lay an item that would make even the God King drool with envy.
The gears of fate had long begun to turn, but from the outcome, it seemed as if they hadn’t.
