"I am fine with signing such a contract—I don’t need demons’ help to do anything," Damian accepted Land-breaker’s terms.
The others thought for a while, and then the emperor accepted first, followed by the elves saying they would ask their queen. In the end, the Faerunians, eyeing everyone, also agreed to the new idea.
After a little more discussion, it was decided that the Faerunians would return the land they had conquered. All kingdoms would sign the mana contract for the hundred-year no-attacks clause regarding gaining more land. Damian had worded it like that on purpose, giving everyone the right to fight if someone tried ransacking the borderlands to cause trouble. There was no way the conflicts would stop, but with the contract in place, at least the fights wouldn’t be large-scale. In the meantime, Damian could progress his Sanctuary to a height that would become borderline untouchable.
Once his region was a level above all the others, he would have the power and authority to influence any conflict happening on this continent. They were right to fear his rising power—just not in the way they were thinking. To them, military power and offensive runic technology were all that mattered. The importance of quality of life, loyalty of people, and the power of simple, mundane individuals doing their work in everyday life was completely ignored. In this time without war, the better opportunities in his region would make the people of this whole continent realize how much they were lacking.
It was underhanded, but it was genuine. But then again, without an ambition and a goal to strive towards, what was there in life?
"We are already gathered here. We can attack tomorrow and end this," the emperor said.
"I will send the right people for the job," the Sea Snake said.
"I need to search for the lost Highswords. Mindseer will join you," the Land-breaker declared.
"Wait, what?" the emperor said. "Without you two, how are we to face the damned chaos dragon?"
"Aren’t you a dragon yourself?" Ilvanya said while chuckling elegantly, covering her mouth. That woman was savage.
"With him here, you don’t need me," the Land-breaker said, standing up from the chair. He did not point or use a name, yet all eyes turned toward Damian—including the Sea Snake. Damian felt like he was going to blush. Of course, his face completely ignored the weird emotion.
What was this shit? Why was the Land-breaker acting like his proud father? Should he call him Dad?
Sea Snake also stood up, with his daughter and the transcendent mage following behind.
The emperor looked toward Vidalia, who looked to the side—towards Damian himself. Was he deciding now?
"A day should be enough to prepare. We attack at dawn the day after tomorrow," Damian said, and all nodded.
"Our people?" the princess of Faerunia asked.
Damian replied, "After the demons are dealt with."
The princess looked at her father, who nodded slightly. Damian opened a waygate back to Edgeheaven for Land-breaker and Mindseer. His three sacrium mana cubes activated, floating beside him—all eyes in the hall were on the white cubes as if they were living ghosts. Alert and curious. None said anything, though—all of them had already seen the steel versions in detail.
Vidalia had stored her waygate dungeon relic while looking at Damian—he got the message and opened a waygate to Evrin for her and Ilvanya.
"Remember to take us with you the day after tomorrow.." she said before stepping inside the waygate as if he were her driver. Damian just rolled his eyes, to the elves’ amusement.
Finally, it was time for him to leave. Damian formed the waygate runic circle and was about to activate it when the emperor called him out.
Damian looked at the fake-smiling, middle-aged man walking toward him.
"Where are you from?" the emperor asked.
When Damian narrowed his eyes in confusion, the man added, "On Earth, where are you from?"
"USA," Damian replied. Then asked, "You?"
"I served the Great Qing," the emperor replied.
Damian’s eyes widened. "How did you arrive here?"
"I was a guard at the Yuanmingyuan when the Anglo-French forces came attacking."
The Old Summer Palace of China? Didn’t that get destroyed in 1860 in the Second Opium War? That’s over a century and a half in the past from where he was from.
"What about you?" the emperor asked, not noticing his surprise.
"I was a student in an academy."
"Yes, something like that," Damian lied.
The memories he had witnessed in the demon lord’s trap were not a hundred percent reliable. If there had been a man significant enough to launch whole-ass otherworldly summoning spells, the history of this world surely would have remembered him in some way or form. There were no notable mages excelling in space-time spells. The highest proficiency—if someone had that—was a scholar named Chrono from Eldoris. And the guy was merely a second ranker his whole life.
"So.. we are in a way related, don’t you think so?" the emperor said.
The hell was the guy getting at? Is this what knowledgeable folks describe as "sucking up to someone"? He had indeed progressed in life.
"I guess so," Damian replied awkwardly.
"Would you be open to the idea of placing a few more of those waygate points in the Old Empire and some of my cities? You will be very well compensated."
Ah, that’s what this was all about. Guess the barren land wouldn’t be barren if a waygate was nearby. The large desert filled with monsters would then just become a place for sightseeing. The empire’s biggest problem of population density would resolve easily with that. Damian had no issue helping him out—of course, not for free though.
"You want to have the biggest advantage my Sanctuary has for a simple price? What do you think could possibly entice me to do that?" Damian replied, not accepting or refusing outright either.
"Do not underestimate my empire, brother. We have made some interesting stuff over the years," the emperor said proudly.
Brother? Wasn’t it this very guy trying to kill him not so long ago?