Chapter 81

Inside the mountain cliff behind New Hope, Yara and several high-ranking military officials like Frod, Catara, Luca, Markus, and Ska’dur surrounded a round metallic table engraved with countless arrays. Depicted on its surface was an incredibly detailed map of the Grandsky Realm’s 1,000 zones.

“Look here,” The head of the intelligence department, a lean male elf named Toa, spoke as he manipulated a console to zoom in on the central zones. There, icons representing various infrastructures hovered. “After the Conceptual Dimension fell, the Elemental Dimension pulled back its forces and set up a sturdy defensive line to protect the zones under its control. With the top fighters of the Elemental Dimension keeping Monster King Tyranus in check, Tyranus could only send his minions to chip away at the Elemental Dimension’s forces.”

Toa glanced at everyone in the room as he zoomed out and changed the map to appear in three colors. “Today, the Elemental Dimension controls 250 zones, the Sin Dimension 320, and Tyranus 430. It is from this large territory that Tyranus uses his status as a monster to his advantage. He sends all the monsters that spawn in his zones to attack the Elemental Dimension’s forces, regardless of the losses. To him, it doesn’t matter how many die since more will spawn.”

Everyone turned grim from hearing about Tyranus’ strategy as Toa continued, “Although the downside to such a tactic is that the average level of the Elemental Dimension’s forces has skyrocketed over the years, they’re bleeding and bleeding hard.”

When Toa paused, Luca asked, “What about the Sin Dimension?”

Toa moved the map to the border between the Sin Dimension’s and Tyranus’ zones. “Guerrilla warfare. As a monster, Tyranus refuses to allow another monster to grow to his level, so the Sin Dimension has been nibbling away at his forces by relying on their numbers and the fact Tyranus can only be in one place at a time. When Tyranus tried to invade the Sin Dimension and massacre the demon populace, Wrath, Greed, and Gluttony temporarily joined forces and repelled him. The demons who replaced the slain sins are still too weak to matter.”

Luca nodded. “What’s the Elemental Dimension’s plan?”

Toa placed both hands on the table’s edge and answered, “They’re using Tyranus’ minions to nurture a group of elites in hopes of killing him by relying on numbers.”

Frod was confused. “Can’t Tyranus think of that, yo? Why he still be sending free experience their way?”

“He’s a monster. The System compels him to act,” Yara answered matter-of-factly.

Everyone fell silent and thought of the irony behind Tyranus’ actions.

A moment later, Toa continued, “Both the Elemental and Sin Dimension knows Tyranus’ days are numbered. What matters is the fallout from his death, as he’s guaranteed to drop transcendent grade equipment and skills, along with the Conceptual Dimension’s core. We’ve all seen the stats of the robe Fabric of Moonlight that Elaine had. Undoubtedly, whoever claims Tyranus’ loot has high odds of becoming the Grandsky Realm’s ruler.”

Markus clenched a fist and asked, “How long do we have before the other dimensions act?”

Toa took a moment to respond. “Through a few special innate gifts, we’ve determined that a major event will occur in ten years at most.”

Frod shook his head while Luca turned grim. Many had similar reactions. The Innate Dimension had just entered the race, yet they learned it would end in ten years. How could they catch up to the other dimensions in so little time?

Yara surveyed the room and observed that no one had much confidence, save for Ska’dur, who had bright eyes as he looked at the map like a kid looking at candy. Holding back a chuckle, she coughed to draw everyone’s attention. “After learning about our opponents, you all seem to have forgotten our advantages. The situation is not as dire as you believe. Toa, show them.”

Toa nodded and swiped the console, making the hologram of an array appear. “What you see here is a mythic grade Defense Strengthening array made by a renowned grandmaster from the Elemental Dimension with a skill level over 700. It can increase the durability of fortifications by 50% against physical attacks.” Toa switched the image. “In comparison, here is a similar array made by one of our grandmasters when they had a skill level of 500. It has an increase of 90%. As you can see, the difference is startling. And this isn’t an isolated case.”

Toa swiped from one image to another. “My department comprehensively analyzed the Elemental Dimension’s various professional fields, comparing their arrays, potions, equipment, military weapons, etc., to ours. There is no mistake: our technology surpasses theirs in all aspects.”

Toa glanced around and finished with one final sentence, “And that was before we entered the Grandsky Realm.”

While everyone was surprised and delighted over this revelation, Yara felt unprecedented satisfaction well up within her. The staggering difference between the Innate Nation and Elemental Nation’s technology was no coincidence.

When Yara began developing the Innate Nation, one of her priorities was education. She invested heavily in policies that incentivized the various professionals to share their knowledge and take on a teaching role. To her, it was a humbling experience to watch a society’s total knowledge grow from understandable to incomprehensible as people went from generalists to specialists. Toa’s report validated all her efforts, proving once again she was on the right path.

“Can your technology defeat level 1000s or Monster King Tyranus?” A dissenting voice came from Luca’s side, where a human woman with short dark hair fitted in sleek black leather armor stood with her arms crossed. The woman’s cold gaze contrasted greatly with her matchless beauty. Her name was Commander Rayel, and she was the only outsider at the meeting, as well as the leader of Radiant Glow, one of the Grandsky Realm’s top mercenary groups. Coincidentally, she had the highest level in the room, reaching level 889.

Following Yara’s capture of Pierson’s party half a year ago, the Innate Nation and Radiant Glow formed a secret partnership. What Rayel wanted was an opportunity to rise even further. As a member of the younger generation, combined with her common background, she had already reached the limits of what the top forces would allow, lest she completely devotes herself to their cause.

Her strategy of releasing broodmother-type pets into the wild to eventually harvest them was just one of her attempts at breaking the restraints imposed on her; she was constantly searching for more opportunities. That’s why when Yara, disguised as Elaine, sought her out, she didn’t hesitate.

Toa glanced at Yara before answering Rayel with a frown. “Not presently. Given time, however….”

Rayel was skeptical. “To be frank, there is no potion, array, or crafted weapon in the current Grandsky Realm that comes close to threatening a level 1,000. Let’s say you can create one. How long will it take to develop to that point? Decades? Centuries?”

Many felt aggrieved that Rayel looked down on their technology, though none refuted her. Yara turned to Rayel with a harmless smile, “Are you dissatisfied?”

“Yes.” Rayel lowered her head under Yara’s gaze, unable to take this legendary figure lightly. It was mainly because of Elaine’s reputation that Rayel readily accepted Yara’s offer. The deal was simple: Rayel would tell the Innate Nation the location of all the broodmother-type pets she released over the years and information about the current factions. In return, the Innate Nation would give Rayel the means to grow.

While Rayel had upheld her end of the bargain, the Innate Nation had yet to provide. Toa showing off their technology naturally led to her thinking that this was related to their payment, leading to her visible disappointment. She didn’t believe that arrays and potions would allow her to soar, no matter how amazing they were.

“You underestimate us,” Yara stood proudly. “We don’t need decades or centuries. Since you don’t like what you’ve seen, I’ll give you a glimpse at what technology can do.”

Toa took Yara’s words as the cue to bring up the hologram showcasing the Mana Body Frisk created a few days ago, accompanied by a detailed explanation of what it was. Rayel struggled to believe the stats she saw. They were too exaggerated.

Rayel clenched her fists and suppressed her hope and desire, asking, “Is this real?”

Yara chuckled. “Yes. We have several versions of varying quality. Which one you form depends on your talent and effort—a little warning: don’t aim too high.”

When Rayel nodded to show her understanding, Yara continued while the iron was hot, “The Mana Body is just one of our means. We plan to contend against the Elemental and Sin Dimensions and emerge victorious, so how can this be all we have?”

Rayel’s heart leaped as she asked, “What are you suggesting?”

Yara raised her pinky. “To tighten the knot between us even further. Your Radiant Glow just so happens to provide a suitable identity for us to infiltrate the central zones. With it, we can accomplish many things.”

Rayel fell silent. The risk involved had grown much too great. Ultimately, she replied, “I need some time to think.”

Shortly after, Rayel left, allowing the meeting to transition into a discussion on how they would move forward now that Rayel had provided them with the intelligence they needed.

Not unexpectedly, the upper echelons of the Innate Nation weren’t the only ones planning. Whether it be the leaders of the Elemental Dimension, Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, or even Monster King Tyranus, they all desired to be the final victor and become the ultimate ruler of the Grandsky Realm.

From a certain perspective, the Grandsky Realm was a chessboard with many players, and who was ahead or behind remained a mystery. The only referee was the System, observing and waiting for the next stage of the game.