The thirty-three metallic hulks hung around the Never-ending Ocean for a few minutes, milling around the Dragon of Time and the two great gods’ Divine Kingdoms. For a moment, Gaius was worried that the Pinnacle would order the Locomotives to attack the remaining great gods, only to breathe out a sigh of relief as they veered away towards the Heaven-cleaving Fortress.

Whatever demons that had made it out were now small specks fleeing towards the horizon, towards the Wildlands. No one made any move to chase them…although Gaius could no longer see the need to do so.

With the Demon God’s death, the threat to the Five Lands no longer existed.

“Guardians. Troops of the Heaven-cleaving Fortress. Brave soldiers of my Mortal Light Dynasty.” The Pinnacle’s words echoed out into the world. “The threat of a hundred thousand years has ended. The Demon God has fallen. The innumerable sacrifices that served as the bulwark against uncertainty has borne fruit. Mortal minds have triumphed over divine design.”

The cheers that were echoing above the Never-ending Ocean intensified.

“For now,” said the Oracle, “let us return to the Heaven-cleaving Fortress. The War Council shall decide on the next course of action. Take a good rest and let the militaries of the Five Lands know of this great news.”

With those words, the assembled Guardians began to retreat.

Gaius watched them as they left. What he had originally thought would be a long, drawn-out war had turned into a short victorious one. Who could have foreseen such an ending? That the Demon God, the god that had struck down the God of Earth while outnumbered, would fall at the hands of mortals?

He could, however, foresee what came next. The Five Lands, emboldened and encouraged by such a victory, would press on to the Wildlands. They would invade it, conquer the unexploited territories, and then…

“And then what?” Isabelle tilted her head.

“Wait.” Gaius narrowed his eyes. “Did I speak that last bit out?”

“Uh-huh, why?”

“No, nothing. I’m just surprised at myself.” He glanced at Kolya and Galina, who weren’t all that far from him. From the looks of it, the two of them hadn’t heard his thoughts, which was a good thing as far as he was concerned.

“Looks like the conversation earlier really got to you,” Isabelle replied. “Well, if it’s anything to you, I’m quite sure the phenomenal success of the North will probably have a very strong effect on the rest of the Five Lands. They could probably decide how the world is to be run from now on, right?”

Gaius thought about her words, and then nodded. From what he could tell, the North didn’t really care about the Wildlands and the resources there — they were too far for these resources to be of great use anyway. Kolya and Galina were more interested in ensuring that the Wildlands and the demons would no longer pose a threat to their existence.

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However, would things really go this smoothly? Would the other nations accept the fact that the Mortal Light Dynasty could annihilate them any time? Gaius had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be the case. Given the frightening power the North’s Locomotives had exhibited, only fools would not be scared.

And fear was a very powerful tool.

In silence, the two of them returned to the Heaven-cleaving Fortress. The entire fortress was making so much noise that Gaius could hear it long before they actually arrived; celebrations were in full swing. The hundred-odd barracks that had been constructed to house the soldiers here had huge tables laid out in front of them, with giant bonfires burning. Soldiers danced in rings around them, while others cried madly.

Gaius eyed the uproarious crowds in the Heaven-cleaving Fortress, and felt a lip quirk up.

The celebrations had simply ignored the fact that the whole of the Wildlands had been covered by a semi-transparent black dome. From how some people were already sticking their hands inside it, Gaius could tell that people could actually enter and exit it, but still…

“Is this really a good time to be celebrating?” Isabelle wondered. “I mean, that thing does look dangerous.”

“It does look dangerous, but I don’t think it’s a weapon.” Gaius replied, before explaining what he had seen earlier to Isabelle.

The dome somehow reminded him of the bead of darkness he’d seen earlier. One half had shot towards the sky, while the other half had made a beeline for the Wildlands. From how this giant dome looked very much like the halved bead, it was clear that the Demon God’s final actions were to protect the Wildlands.

In a sense, the creation myth of Orb had repeated itself.

“What’s the point of allowing people to enter, though?” Isabelle asked. “If it’s as you say, this thing was clearly meant to protect the demons and the Wildlands. Why, then, would he let people enter it?”

“I wish I knew too.” Gaius sighed. He had a feeling that things weren’t as they seemed when it came to Orb’s creation myth. To be fair, it was to be expected, given that they were listening to the Five Lands’ side of things. “However, I think it’s not going to matter much now, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Those Locomotives,” Gaius replied. “Truly a great god, eh? To think that he came up with a countermeasure even in his death.”

The giant metal hulks that were responsible for the Demon God’s death had halted right in front of the black dome. One of them was inside…and was currently burning on the ground. That sight was enough for Gaius to understand what that dome actually did; it was something that could disable those metal hulks.

Maybe they could even disable artefacts.

That, however, didn’t stop soldiers from disembarking from the Locomotives. As the celebrations continued on in the Heaven-cleaving Fortress, the first of the North’s soldiers formed up, marching into the Wildlands.

With that, the Five Lands were now invading the enemy that had attacked them for the past three weeks. The War Council, of their own volition, was now beginning to shift their objectives for this war.

What would this mean for the mortals of the Five Lands? Gaius didn’t know, but as the two of them watched the North’s troops cross the boundary that divided the Five Lands from the Wildlands, he had a feeling that things were going to become complex.

His gaze cold, Gaius watched in silence as the Mortal Light Dynasty embarked on an invasion proper. Before long, the other nations would follow suit. Soldiers, who had volunteered to defend their way of life, would soon be ordered to crush that of the demons’.

What had turned into war for survival was now slowly transforming into a scramble for benefits.

The Abyss Sovereign didn’t like that at all.

[End of Book 12: Boundary Belligerent]