Leveling up the World

Chapter 891: Open Challenge

Euryale has created the Land of FLANKER Level 1 on your behalf.

A Blade Spider has been designated as the lands guardian.

Defeat the guardian to change the lands destiny.

Two rectangles flashed before Dallion. Euryale had also joined into the action. Considering that she had been fighting the Azures considerably longer, that was unsurprising. The only thing she lacked was Dallions control of water and, by the looks of it, the ability to modify the shape of her domains. Because of their relationship, though, she didnt have to.

Dallion quickly took control of the new domain, leveling it up to a town, then creating a new landmass in the sea. All the time, he was mindful of the number of inhabitants on the move. Even with the battle mage gone, he had lost close to ten thousand. He could only speculate that the Azures losses were greater. Approximately a quarter of the initial fleet had been destroyedbut nowhere nearly enough for them to go on retreat.

Meanwhile, Grym was still engaged in a battle with Pan. The power of the two emperors seemed to be evenly matched, despite the limitations of the puppet. A thin layer of aether had covered the humans body, providing an almost perfect protection, but more importantly, it had also enabled him to cast a few spells.

Need help, Pan? Dallion asked through his realms connection.

Dont worry about the details, the copyette replied. Focus on the big picture.

Youre the main piece of the big picture.

Thanks to his two new temporary domains, Dallion had managed to cut off part of the battlefield. The ships closest to the coast were being successfully overrun by gorgon troops, who kept petrifying things on their way. Even so, the ballista fire kept on killing dozens at every strike.

Thank the Moons there was only one battle mage, Dallion whispered as he looked at the entire battlefield from the sky.

From such a distance, it seemed almost unreal, like a game taking place in real time. His perception trait let him see every corner of it in great detail. It was also there that he came to the inevitable conclusion that the nymph empress wasnt putting any real effort into it. There could be no doubt that she wanted to retrieve her sister, and she would have liked to gain a foothold in that part of the continent, but it didnt seem like a must. Other than the massive size of her fleet, there was no strategy. The ships were more or less evenly spread out, occasionally clustered in small groups, with no overall structure. It was as if the Azures were so confident in their control of water that they cared about little else.

She never cared about the troops, Dallion thought.

No, Giaccia agreed from her realm. They arent her troops and even if they were, things would hardly be different. She has a goal in mind, same as before. Until she reaches it, no price is too high.

There was no denying that. Having ones entire race banished for the sake of potential world conquest was a heavy price, but Tiallia had paid it gladly, and now had a good chance at success. The only person in her way was the Tamin emperor, who still refused to set foot out of his dazzling seat of power, leaving others to fight his battles for him. So far it had worked, but with the collapse of the Alliance hed have to take the active part and there was no guarantee he was up to it.

Dallion raised a new set of mountains in his domains, providing cover to his forces. With the number of them crossing the improvement threshold, he doubled the domain in size, trapping a dozen more ships on enemy land.

Of greater concern was a small cluster of ships to the side of the main conflict. Whoever was leading them seemed more competent than the rest, focusing on achieving landfall instead of aimlessly bombarding the gorgon forces with ballista bolts. Dallion immediately erected a few sets of walls at that part of the city and put Veil in charge of organizing the local defense. For the moment, there was no reason for Dallion to deal with matters personally.

Adzorg, how much do you think the emperor knows? he asked.

About you, dear boy? There was an unmistakable streak of bitterness in the mages voice.

About the war.

Oh. Well, its difficult to tell. There havent been messengers running around the corridors of the palace, if thats what you mean. I expect that hes aware of the Alliances fate. Thats hardly an event that could be kept secret. As far as I know, none of the archdukes have fallen, so things must be alright on that front.

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Just as it was before Dreuds betrayal

In all honesty, nothing in the capital has changed. People are still focusing on local issues, leaving the rest of the world to well, the rest of the world.

Youre a far greater topic of discussion. SomeoneI suspect an Elaznihas put out the rumor that you might be made archduke of the east. Theres also the usual discussion about the line of succession. With the emperor still being a bachelor and all, people are considering whether it would be appropriate for him to take a wife from the branch families.

The notion made Dallion shiver.

A few are even suggesting that it might be a good idea for the emperor to marry the nymph empress.

You must be kidding. Dallion couldnt keep himself from saying.

I agree, dear boy, but you must look at it from a different point of view. Hes powerful, shes powerful, hes male, shes female. In the minds of some, thats more than enough. It wouldnt be the first time warring sides have made up. The history tomes are full of such examples.

If it were anyone else, maybe such a union would be possible. However, Tiallia was an otherworlder with the aims of becoming a Moon. If there ever was a marriage, it would be followed by the inexplicable death of Emperor Tamin, at which point she would have achieved her goal. The emperor likely knew that.

What about the Order of the Seven Moons?

Im afraid youre the expert on that matter. They continue to be persona non grata. I doubt things will change during the current emperors lifetime.

Theyre what? Dallion blinked.

Persona non grata. Its a phrase that means unwelcome.

Dallion knew perfectly well what it meant, just as he knew that it had no place in this world.

It was invented by the first Tamin emperor after outcasting one of his close friends at the time. Supposedly, it was very popular three centuries ago. Nowadays, its mostly old academics such as myself that use it.

I see. Well, tell me if you hear anything interesting.

You used to have a higher opinion of me, dear boy. Adzorg sighed.

The war kept raging on. As Dallions network of domains slowly grew, so did the number of casualties. Despite all his efforts, coming into contact with the enemy led to many killed, and even Euryale wasnt able to prevent that. A few points of intense fighting formed near the citys walls, but didnt last long. Dallion had full control of the land and the moment they ventured into the citys domain, he could make full use of it, as could Veil.

Move everyone back, Pan told Dallion out of nowhere.

Why? Dallion focused on the flagship again.

As a result of the clashes between the two, there was nothing left of the ship other than its hull. Every piece of decking had been utterly destroyed and evaporated. Whatever crew and troops had been there were either dead or fled. Only two entities remained: Grym and a host of humans that were all Pan.

Im going to cast a destructive spell and I dont want to get the Moons pissed by killing our own.

The casual tone of the request was in huge contrast with the consequences of the spell. While the nymphs were the race favored by Galatea, it had been said that the copyettes had the most destructive spells thanks to their high mind trait.

Not knowing what to expect, Dallion didnt even ask his troops to retreat, forcefully pulling the landmasses away from the flagship, all the way back to the coast.

What are you doing? Euryale shouted. We have the momentum. If we lost it, we

The gorgon wasnt able to finish her sentence. A massive ball of cyan appeared just above the Azures flagship. Strands of purple circled it like ribbons on a bowling ball. The symbols on them were unlike anything Dallion had seen. Unlike the spell conventions he was familiar with, they composed one single pattern containing thousands of magic instructions along each magic thread. As a mage, Dallion couldnt help but admire the beauty of it all. At the same time, he doubted that Pan had asked for a troop withdrawal due to the spells aesthetic qualities.

A shattering pop filled the air, causing millions to cover their ears on reflex. Initially, nothing else seemed to have occurred, but as everyone familiar with magic knew: where spells were involved, the laws of nature were merely guidelines. In this case, the sound of the spell preempted its other effects.

The blast followed seconds later. The sphere ballooned to ten times its size. Like a white sun, it consumed the flagship, then proceeded to engulf the ocean beneath it. A feeling of dread emanated from anyone looking, as it steadily kept on growing to the point that it almost reached the coast itself.

Mega spell, Dallion thought. He had witnessed the stuff of legendsthe massive destructive power that world conquerors of the past had used while fighting. Larger than the effect of an individual Tamin rocket, it remained static for several seconds more, as if hesitating whether to go forward, then slowly started receding. The area that it occupied remained empty, as if even water was afraid to venture there out of fear it would be vaporized. A sphere of nothingness formed around the glowing center, remaining undisturbed for several seconds, until the ocean abruptly chose to pour in, causing massive waves to fill the entire bay.

Well, you dont see that every day, Adzorg said, making the understatement of the year. Even after everything hed been through in recent months, Dallion had to agree.

The ball of incandescent light kept on shrinking until it was no more. All the ships that had been within it were gone. The flagships husk was non-existent, although there were a few things that were left behind.

Not bad, Grym said as he floated in the air. Any armor and clothes had been melted off his body, leaving him stark naked. Yet, the layer of magic covering him had managed to fend off the effects of the copyettes spell.

Floating fifty feet away, a slime shifted form, regaining its clothed human appearance.

Youve grown rusty, Grym continued. According to the sagas, that spell had swallowed up entire kingdoms.

One has to factor in more than power when casting a spell, the copyette replied. Though Im always happy for an encore.

Im sure you are. Grym was no longer looking at him, diverting his attention to Dallion. I bet youre feeling very smug right now. You saved your puny city, broke my puppets and turned my sister against me.

New layers of purple light emerged onto the humans body, creating a set of clothes.

You cant even comprehend the mistake you made. Ill give you this battle, but itll be your last win. So far, you were just a minor irritant that my puppet obsessed on. Now, you have my attentionyou and the so-called Tamin Emperor.

Grym flicked his fingers. In a single instant, all remaining Azure ships sank into the sea like stones. There was no warning, no flashy effects, just a quick and merciless death of all aboard.

I dont like things that disappoint me. Next time I come for you, Ill do so with my own troops. Enjoy the brief rest youve earned, if youre able. As for you, Gia, your playing around is starting to get bothersome. Keep that in mind.

A portal formed a step away from Grym, then moved through him. Fractions of a second later it was gone, and he along with it.