The Neutral Lands. The New Land of Dreams. Alliance Headquarters.

Days had passed since Shin took on the Prince of Sand in a secret sparring bout just a few kilometres away from the Alliance Headquarters. Bit by bit, the congregations sent by the three superpowers turned up, each one bearing a wealth of resources and elite manpower. The New Land of Dreams, which was built to hold an army over a hundred thousand strong, was now being packed as their accommodations started to run thin.

Houses were built by the thousands, and weapons were mass-produced with jaw-dropping efficiency. Aether cars replacing the traditional horse carriages and lamps were being powered by the Paradise Heart generators. Reinforced bunkers with force field protecting them from any aerial assault had become the norm and most surprising of all… Many floating Payircis surrounded the New Land of Dreams, imitating the Tree of Darkness’ impregnable force field. All of a sudden, the New Land of Dreams morphed into the most technologically advanced city there was, drawing awe from any who stepped foot into the land.

Engineers and developers from each superpower took notes at how advanced the Alliance Headquarters had come and were eagerly waiting for the war to end so that they could deploy these assets for themselves. However, for those that were participating in the war, their excitement wasn’t as defined as their fellow peers.

Deus Citadel, the Alliance’s best advantage against the Black Masks, was anchored just a few kilometres south from the New Land of Dreams. Protected by the defensive Payircis that the Blacksmith’s League had developed, the floating fortress was the most ideal place for the top executives of the Alliance to gather. And therefore...

“Are we all gathered?” A bulky man seated at the corner of the highest chambers yawned.

“Not yet,” Alliance Head Raphael replied a negative. “The Kori Federation’s Saint Lyndis Virdove and Lantis Republic’s Saint Shenshe Zemin hasn’t arrived yet.”

“No, we can proceed without Lyndis.” An elderly man with sharp sword eyebrows and a ferocious glint in his eyes interjected. He glanced over at the other old man wearing red garbs who was seated next to the Himmel Ancestor. Sensing his gaze, the fellow Spirit Saint shot Saint Geom a friendly smile.

At that moment, all of the executives finally realised what was up. The three superpowers had been squabbling like chickens for thousands of years now. It wasn’t strange for their Spirit Saints to have beef with one another. Saint Firebird and Saint Lyndis were no exception to that rule. Though not many knew about their turbulent past, many among the executives consisting of Spirit Saints and leaders of their factions did.

“Saint Lyndis doesn’t really like crowds…” Saint Geom continued. “Also, there is a need for her to settle down the Kori Federation’s troops.”

“I believe so.” Saint Firebird nodded, secretly glad that the matriarch of the Emei Church had failed to show. Then, the old man quickly turned his attention to the Lantis Republic’s side, abrupting changing the conversation. “What about the Saint of Poisons?”

“Saint Zemin is meditating after observing the peculiar powers shrouding the Tree of Darkness.” Shin quickly replied, obliging Saint Firebird’s hidden request. “She won’t be attending this meeting as well.”

“Then I guess we’re all gathered!” Once again, Saint Thor slammed his fists on the table, drawing nods from all the executives’ faces. “Alliance Head, let’s get this over with. The sooner we get that dastardly tree out from the backdrop, the sooner we can go back to our peaceful lives!”

“Agreed!”

Not a single voice came out in contention against the Blacksmith’s League Spirit Saint. How long has it been since nine Spirit Saints and a plethora of Spirit Venerates gathered against one enemy? Possibly never. Once the Black Masks and the Allfather were eradicated, the world could go back to the way things were. Without the threat of constant death from the Allfather.

“Fine, let’s start.” Alliance Head Raphael smiled. He turned around and pointed out the glass window at the towering Tree of Darkness.

“For the past few days, the Alliance and Guardian Sword had been surveying and investigating Mythpoint Reach, as well as that tree that had taken over the former trade hub and we have come up with the following conclusions.” Raphael gestured towards his subordinates, who later faithfully placed some documents in front of all the leaders.

It didn’t matter if they were Spirit Saints or high-ranking members of their governments, they were all carefully examining every word given by the intelligence reports as if they were engrossed in a book. Well, all save one member. One silver-haired man folded his arms in akimbo, smiling with shifting his gaze between everyone gathered at the round table, which greatly perturbed the man seated next to him.

“Isadore? Aren’t you going to read it?” Shin questioned the head of his Hall of Whispers, who was busy looking at the reactions of all the executives.

“Why should I read it? I wrote the damn thing!” Isadore bragged, holding his chin up. “I bet none of them has ever read an intelligence report this comprehensive before. Hehehe… I can already smell the money...” The Master of the Hall of Whispers eagerly watched the elites in the room, waiting in earnest to see their reactions.

From a young age, Isadore’s dream was to establish the world’s greatest intelligence agency, one that surpassed that of his Himmel Empire’s Spion or any other. After years of struggle and millions of gold ingots spend, Isadore had managed to do just that with the Hall of Whispers, Guardian Sword’s exclusive intelligence agency. In fact, the Hall of Whispers methods were so advanced and complicated that it made the director of Spion cry with jealousy once. There was no doubt in Isadore’s mind that once the war was over, the Hall of Whispers would turn into the world’s most profitable intelligence agency and having the top executives of the world sample its capabilities was the perfect marketing tool.

“Where did you learn that from… Ah, you don’t have to tell me.” Shin snorted, turning his attention away from the grinning silver prince. Isadore may be the best talent when it came to collecting intel, but his business acumen was subpar at best. However, Guardian Sword consisted of more than one transcendental talent…

“Yeap, Elrin laid out the plan for Guardian Sword to thrive post the Black Masks! We’ll be rich, Shin!”

“Of course it’s that imp...” Shin rolled his eyes, though not chiding Isadore in the slightest. How could he blame Elrin when she was thinking about the benefit of their organisation? Furthermore, if everything goes as planned, Guardian Sword would become the premier organisation for Shin and the rest to seek refuge in, regardless of their affiliations.

‘Whatever, let’s just focus on the chips we’ve gathered.’