Under the blanket of the stars, a supposedly blank and desolate battlefield was instead emitting a blinding light lighting up everything. This light continued for a short while when it finally ceased. The previous screams and sounds of explosions were now replaced by deafening silence.
A man holding a holographic image of the battlefield was staring blankly at it. Everyone who saw the last sign of life disappears from the battlefield jumped up in joy and laughter. Butch cracked a smile but despite finally reaching the end of it he felt quite odd, he felt disappointed.
He had his own reasons for participating in this war, just like everybody else but no one had the same goal as him. He was obviously the strongest person in this war from southern Bran and he needed a challenge for him to overcome to get even stronger. Putting this together, he had the goal of fighting the enemy Underworld Envoy who has been crowned as the strongest Underworld Envoy.
He stood up and walked in a certain direction with a question in mind. After a few minutes of traveling, he reached the peak of a cliff where three people stood, an old woman, a young boy, and Adam. They were sitting at the edge letting their legs sway.
Butch narrowed his eyes and asked his question, "Adam, where is he? You definitely know he went."
Adam didn't turn back but still answered, "He already left besides you can't touch him anymore."
"What do you mean he left? He left his home? Just for what exactly?"
"Just give it up, bask in the glory and live your short life in peace, at least relatively speaking."
Butch stomped creating a paper-thin crack on the cliff, "I don't care, tell me where he went."
"You don't have to be so aggressive, I'll tell you. He joined the King's Alliance, that's all to it."
"King's Alliance? That bastard, I thought he knew better."
"Power does come with a cost, of course. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
Butch stared at Adam's back for a few more seconds before going down to the camp and joining the party. With everyone else having fun and drinking away, he decided to let go for today and deal with everything tomorrow.
The very next day, Butch was ordering people to recover what body parts they could find and properly bury them. It was an ordeal but one that needs to be done to pay respect to the dead. Meanwhile, news of northern Bran losing completely spread across the entirety of Bran, even spreading to the other kingdoms.
The day after that, they found everything that they could and gathered it all in the middle of the barren landscape.
With a few words of respect and prayer, they started digging a hole and started putting everything in it.
With this final act of burying the dead, Adam has finally finished his deal and decided to head back. Mira and Eve were waiting for the moment that they could finally head back, these few days have been hard to live through and they needed a place to get away from it, even the cold-hearted Eve.
Adam teleported the three of them back to his castle. They all went and properly rested from that entire experience. After cleaning themselves and once again eating food that was heavenly compared to what they ate, they returned back to their training routine.
While Mira and Eve were taking a well-deserved break, Adam was paying Zane a visit. Adam knocked on the door waiting for Zane to answer.
"Come in."
When Adam entered, he saw Zane moving around and doing his usual routine while he was in Maghim.
"Seems like you're doing fine."
"Doing better than ever, my body feels so light. I can even feel mana even more distinctly, watch."
Zane gestured his hands towards Adam, siphoning a small amount of mana around him. Though this amount of mana was essentially insignificant, it was a crucial step in progress in this mana technique.
Adam walked forward and touched Zane in the back. Adam inserted some of his mana into Zane and observed him.
"Yeah, as I expected, you broke through and finally reach 51% of progression. Right now, you're quite the monster in this wasteland."
"Speaking of progress, I want to check on Abel and Gabe."
"That's not an issue."
Adam snapped his finger causing Abel and Gabe to appear out of thin air. Abel was sitting and was apparently doing paperwork while Gabe was quite bruised but was smiling. Zane smiled wryly and caught up with them. Adam made sure to drop a magic circle behind them to bring them back. Seeing his goal achieved, Adam left and went outside.
Once again standing there was the same lean ominous figure from before. His badly scarred face and grotesque features were now in full view but despite this, he still bowed down for resolving the war.
"That's enough, so how many people tried to peek in?"
This figure obviously had difficulty in speaking but still tried his best, "... Four..."
"That's less than I expected, that's good, execute them."
"... Al...ready ... don... e..."
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"Good work, I'll be leaving for a few days for a little adventure. Take care of everyone here, especially Zane."
The figure bowed down and disappeared into the shadows once again, completely invisible to anyone who would've to see him.
Adam had finally taken care of everything that he needed to for the time being so it was time for him to get more materials to get his grand plan finally started.
"Three beacons and three mana cores. This is going to be tough with how sparse the resources here are. I can't venture off to the mainland since I haven't secured my safety yet. Now, first of all, getting the beacons ready."
He has already set up a beacon in Maghim with the doctor in charge, controlling it and responsible for activating it at a moment's notice. He had to set up a beacon in the Louga Coalition and in the Hoheim kingdom.
Adam went forward and decided on the Louga Coalition, a formation of multiple kingdoms aiming to bring down the kingdom of Hoheim, the acting barrier preventing them from going to the mainland, Heira.
He had one reason why he wanted to establish himself in the Louga Coalition and it was because Richard was in the Hoheim kingdom being treated like nobility since he saved an important figure while he was in the mountains. With Richard being there, the chances of failure are higher since he could possibly interfere with his plans.
Adam now had to interfere in the situation of the Louga Coalition making him use something he has yet to fully show, his strategical and analytical ability. The only way he could ever create a beacon in the Louga Coalition was to persuade them to let him. Force was out of the question since the Louga Coalition and Hoheim were near equal in military strength.
Though it was only considering the current situation since a few powerhouses left Hoheim to go to the mainland alongside the King of Maghim causing this equality. This didn't mean that the Louga Coalition didn't have its own advantages with some being higher quality materials such as ore, general goods, and quick production.
Adam had no other choice but to put up the guise of a merchant. Though he hasn't tackled this specific area, he does have some knowledge of business in general.
Now it was time to think of a disguise, there were a few people he could use as a scapegoat but none who could properly conduct themselves enough to be like him. Time wasn't on his side as the upcoming attack in two years will definitely severely endanger his beacon in Maghim.
Though it only took a few weeks to massively increase Eve, Mira, and Zane's strength, that was the fastest way to do it and it'll slow down in the future. Now, this process won't have a shortcut nor will be there any way he could force it. Adam will have to take his time and ensure he does it flawlessly.
Adam teleported to the edge of Bran with a carriage, he'll have to manually go there since he doesn't have a point to reference. Entering the carriage, he sat there and closed his eyes taking in all the information he gathered and tried to form an ideal plan with the time he has.
First of all, the Louga Coalition was primarily formed by a woman name Louga Winstren, a noble who fell from grace but rose up from the ashes. The main known goal about this organization was its sheer dedication to enter the mainland. With Hoheim preventing them from leaving, it became the sole enemy of the entire coalition.
There are five main kingdoms banding together to create this coalition with six major authority figures, with each kingdom having its own specialties. With how ingrained the kingdoms have been with their own products, eventually, their real names have been obstructed with the products they produce.
The previous Gerta Kingdom, now the Kingdom of Ore, having increased natural resources and refinery skills. They have secured their own fame within these lands creating weapons and armor of unbelievably high quality.
The once known Leoa Kingdom, now the Kingdom of Valor, with their own people having a natural affinity with mana and growing up in a quite physically-inclined lifestyle. They have produced warriors and knights alike, being the ones in the front line.
The luxurious Plume Kingdom, now known as the Kingdom of Luxury, they had quite the affinity with all things entertainment and class. They have the most delicious meals, the most satisfying plays and the most beautiful people in all of Garish.
The smoke-filled land of the Bewan Kingdom, now praised as the Kingdom of Clouds, having their own special abilities within the hidden land of this kingdom, multiple wizards and magicians being produced at a steady pace. With the strength of their spells, they provide the tide turning spells in the war.
Last but not least, the Kingdom of Kings, with a kingdom laced with an immense amount of wealth that even the streets are lined with gold. A major amount of its citizens are merchants making the daily traffic so much that you would need to schedule your arrival a few days in advance.
Right now he was on the route towards a smaller kingdom on the outskirts of the Louga Coalition. He was planning on gathering more information and verify the info he had.
After a few days of traveling, he finally reached the smaller kingdom. The first thing he did was ask the locals for some general directions. After receiving this info, he first went to a lodging so that he could finally rest after those few days of constant travel. He then went to the stables to let the horses rest.
As it turned to night, he then went to a local tavern. Using a mask that Mira and Eve previously used, he entered the tavern looking like a proper adult. He went forward and ordered a drink but went to a remote corner of the tavern waiting for some info to pop up.
A good amount of time passed when he finally heard something interesting.
"Hey, you know what I heard?
"What?"
"I heard that the Kingdom of Valor is starting to expand its influence by letting worthy fighters join their nobility! There are tournaments being held each month!
"Ha! I even heard that the person who gets first place can court their princess!"
Adam heard something interesting and decided that this was where Zane was going. Adam then waited for another period of time when he finally heard another interesting bit of news.
"Hey, you want to go to the Kingdom of Luxury? I heard the women there are top-class!"
"I don't know, didn't you hear? Apparently, there are some killings happening there by rival companies."
"Really? I guess even that place has some dark stuff going on."
After hearing this, Adam decided that he could offer Eve's services to the people there. After waiting for a bit more, he heard two more rumors going around in the Louga Coalition.
"Did you hear? The incredible genius from the Kingdom of Clouds is finally exploring the world! With his naive nature, I guess some girl will find the chance to take advantage of him!"
"Hah! Don't make me laugh! He's a man of quality! He won't be falling for anyone!"
"You never know!"
"Oh yeah! Did you hear the Kingdom of Ore is once again recruiting! This could be our chance to finally be rich!"
"Forget about it! You need to memorize too many techniques and need an insane amount of focus to follow through! Besides, you might be too drunk to remember that only kids under 20 can join."
"Shaddup! Can't a man dreeeaam?"
With that final sentence, the man fell asleep on the table causing the person he was talking to take him home.
Adam also decided to leave the tavern and go to his room. He formulated a plan on how he could get a hold of some influence using this information in mind. He assigned Zane and Eve to the Kingdom of Valor and the Kingdom of Luxury but abstained from letting Mira go to the Kingdom of Clouds since he didn't have enough confidence of letting Mira go free.
Adam would go to the Kingdom of Kings, using the resources he had coming in from Bran, he would be able to at least gain experience. This would leave the Kingdom of Ore alone but in terms of the grand scale of things, the Kingdom of Kings would be a better choice.
Getting influence in three kingdoms might be enough to create a beacon. Actually, thinking of how beneficial it would be to the Kingdom of Clouds, it would actually gain the favor of four kingdoms.
"This is going to be tricky but I think I'll make it."