City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Crossing The Sea

As the Sacred Tree cabinet hushed down in the face of the Emperor’s outburst, the Minister of War spoke out, “If the Church of Glory does not appear, I fear we have no chances of winning.”

“An entire empire can’t beat a single lord?!” the northern duke started howling again. He would lose more than half his territory if this went through, which was why his resistance was so vigorous. However, he quickly swallowed his outburst and shut up, his head creaking as he looked down in disbelief just in time to see the Emperor twisting a dagger to rip his heart.

“You aren’t a lord of the Sacred Tree any longer, the Empire’s strength does not concern you,” the Emperor said coldly, prompting a bulging-eyed glare and a frothy mouthful of blood from the dying duke. He then looked around calmly at the rest of the northern dukes, “Are there any more objections?”

……

Richard’s demand for territory ended up going just as smoothly as expected. While the Sacred Tree Empire delayed for a few days, they eventually acquiesced as well. This would have been exactly what a new epic deserved, but most epics merely asked for territory within their own countries. On the other hand, Richard had conveniently taken land from all three human empires and even a portion of the coastline that bled into the Far North. The nobility of Norland had no choice but to accept his ways, either; the massacre of the Sacred Tree Army was a final turning point that ensured no one dared challenge the Archerons any longer.

While Richard still hadn’t built back up to a thousand rune knights, more and more powerful drones were emerging from the broodmother to take their place. His subordinates had spiked in power after the bitter war against the reapers, each shooting up multiple levels. He was the only one who had gone up a single level, getting to level 25 without much of a visible difference. Of course, that was because the changes were hidden deep underneath. He had possessed the power of an epic for a few levels now.

He continued to idle around, spending most of his time on Norland lost in thought. On the occasions where he visited his planes, he simply destroyed any creature that was an eyesore before returning home. He only completed a single grade 5 rune in all this time, and it was meant to allow land-based beings to control things underwater so they weren’t at too much of a disadvantage in the sea. The rune itself was a little strange, but many powerhouses were interested in it for its low capacity overhead and esoteric functions. Many people simply refused to explore underwater because it was dangerous, but this rune would change that scenario.

Faust’s aristocracy expected a grand rune convention showcasing a dozen new runes— Richard had thrown a mind-boggling number of designs into the reward point system— but he seemed completely uninterested in such a thing as he strolled around at his own leisure. One notable change was that the Archerons sent a legend and ten saints to the Land of Dusk, but instead of joining the offensive this force simply kept watch at the City of the Unsetting Sun. While they didn’t fight much, the current marshal welcomed their presence.

……

Three months passed in silence before the fleet at Floe Bay was finally approved for the sea by Perrin. Richard set out and inspected the ships before beginning his journey towards Lithgalen. The Millennial Empire had come through on its promise of envoys as well; in addition to Greyhawk, he was surprised to find Princess Mina coming along. It was a little annoying to have someone so frail wanting to come to Lithgalen, but he didn’t complain.

This trip was unlikely to be peaceful. Richard was determined to get a map towards Arbidis, while the high elves were famed for their arrogance even after being chased off the mainland. In fact, Lithgalen’s citizens actively despised all humans, and it would be great simply if a battle didn’t break out immediately.

Greyhawk was a very useful companion. Even Richard had to admit that a former Scholar was of great help. This was the same reasoning he had given himself for keeping Raymond alive at first, but despite the unfortunate turn of events he now knew just how much of a boon that was. Had everything with the soul repair project not gone awry, the broodmother would have succumbed to the reapers immediately.

As the fleet readied itself for its long journey, Richard received some expected news. Hasting’s troops had suffered a crushing defeat at the Black Vortex, and almost all of the drone soldiers were killed. The soul mage himself had suffered heavy injuries to flee; although his life was saved, his injuries would likely prevent him from getting to the legendary realm again. Tens of thousands of devilfish had surged forth from the fortress the moment the battle began, each only level 16 but combining in such quantity that they washed through the uncoordinated drones. While the devilfish army had been eliminated, the rest of the Daxdians had managed to clean up.

Richard sighed at the information. Hasting’s troops were powerful, and if one ignored the means used to acquire such a force the mage had made a significant contribution to Norland. While the Daxdians had won, multiple fortresses had been captured and their forces dwindled. For the next two decades, if not more, the Norlanders would be at an advantage. Considering this contribution, he decided to spare the soul mage’s life for the near future.

When it was time to depart, magic steam whistled resounded through Floe Bay as seven modified battleships left the port and snd sailed towards the distant Lithgalen. Perrin had changed them greatly in this time, leaving them looking nothing like the originals. Constructs that oozed reaper style were all over these ships, and the exteriors had faint barriers of different colours. As a touch of style, these ships represented the seven moons of Norland, with the flagship being the blue moon of Annihilation. These ships could actually make use of moonforce to power their functions.

Standing on the expansive bridge of the flagship, Richard stared into the sea as the Deepblue turned into a small dot in the distance. Even to those who had witnessed the magnificence of the void, the ocean waves would leave one feeling insignificant. The wind was sharp, but he welcomed it as he played around with the final destiny crystal in his hands. The thing hadn’t parted from his body for years, and as his power skyrocketed the opportunities to use it were few and far between. There were times he completely forgot, but it was more often the case that he simply wouldn’t have the ability to break the crystal if he was in a state where he really needed to. Still, the crystal gave him an unparalleled sense of ease, helping him know that he had a way out at the most critical of junctures. In fact, the slate had blocked energy beams from the reapers more than once, even deflecting bullets at times. In many ways, it was a lucky charm that had already saved him multiple times.

As he flipped the crystal around, Richard felt an exceptional sense of serenity that cleared his mind. It felt like he was holding fate itself in his palms, and that emotion helped him decide what he wanted to do.

After Lithgalen, Richard would use the passage in Arbidis to take a look at the alter world. From what he had gathered, the place was just as vast as the void. It would be near impossible to find Sharon in such a vast world, but he was determined to do so anyway. Even if he was destined for failure, he would never forgive himself if he didn’t try.