"How will you do it?" Hsiao-han asked Daz the following morning as she was seeing him and his people off of her island.

"Hmm? Take over Taiwan, you mean?" The girl nodded at his question so he answered, "Diplomatically, hopefully. Every person on Earth is valuable to me. The fewer I need to kill, the better."

"... If you run into Gǒng... Show mercy even if they attack you. They are misguided but they are still my kin," Hsiao-han requested sincerely.

'Huh. I thought she had no loyalty to Taiwan or her people since she seems happy living on this sealed up volcano island by herself. I guess there's more to her than meets the eye, though that's true of everyone, now isn't it?' Daz thought.

"I will. Killing fellow champions when I can make them work for me instead is incredibly counterintuitive," Daz replied.

Crusher who was listening in laughed. "As arrogant as always, eh, Uriel?"

"Is it arrogance if I truly believe I can do it?" Daz asked back.

Dorian puckered his lips in thought. "Well, if the system's taught me anything, it's that nothing is impossible anymore."

"When'd you become a philosopher, Ahab?" Crusher inquired as she jabbed a finger in his side, making him wince and retort back at her.

Ignoring the dynamic duo, Daz gave Hsiao-han a final nod. "Good luck with your part in this."

"I do not require luck but thank you all the same... And thank you for considering my selfish request." With that said Hsiao-han flew inland, leaving Daz and co on the western beach.

"She's a weird one," Crusher noted, earning her a look from Dorian.

"Pot calling the kettle black much?" he asked.

Daz only nodded in response to Crusher. 'Everyone with even a hint of strength is strange in some way. They have to be to have survived this long, especially if they are not relying on others like most of my citizens are.'

Dalton and Freddy approached the 3 of them. Dalton looked out at the stretch of ocean that separated Guishan Island from Taiwan and asked, "So, how're we all getting over there? You got a boat tucked away in some skill or something?"

Daz shook his head. "I do not. We have someone with us who knows some sort of ice magic. They'll simply freeze a path for us."

"Ah. Nice," Freddy said. "Magic must be nice."

"It has its uses," Daz acknowledged.

"War council?" Bruce asked as he made his way over to the gathering.

Daz shook his head. "Not really. I'll be going on ahead by myself to make contact with the Chinese. Crusher, I trust you, Dorian, Freddy, Dalton and Bruce can handle any surprises that may come up while I'm away?"

Crusher shrugged. "If you mean ambushes or monster attacks, yeah, I could go for some sport."

The 4 men present seemed to be in agreeance. "Good. I'll be back soon."

With that dealt with, Daz withdrew the Ridomochi's key from his Industrial Item Box and summoned the car with it. Not a moment later he was inside and speeding towards the northern coast of Taiwan.

"Crikey that's a belter of a car," Dalton noted as he lifted the brim of his large hat to get a better look at the quickly disappearing vehicle. "Wonder how much 'at cost."

"More than you could ever afford, hahaha!" Crusher chuckled. "Anyhoo, ice magic, yeah? Whoever's got that, go and get yer finger out of yer ass and get to buildin' a pathway!"

----------------------------------------

Captain Wang wiped his brow once more just to make sure he looked to be in perfect condition. Once he was absolutely certain that his appearance was fine and not sloppy in any regard, he accepted the transmission being sent to his holographic communication device.

"That took some time, Captain Wang," an older gentleman in his 40s said sharply as he narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, sir! It won't happen again, sir!" Captain Wang responded as he performed a perfect palm-down salute.

Frowning, the holographic man stood in the room said, "You don't need to be so formal with me, Captain Wang. I've known your parents for decades. What would old man Wang say if he knew I was being hard on his son?"

"Sorry, sir!" Captain Wang lowered his head in apology. "..."

"You don't need to wait for me to explain myself, Captain Wang. You can ask me why I called you, you know? The army isn't as rigid as it once was thanks to the world's recent changes," the older man stated. "With absolute and unbreakable control comes natural levity."

"Sorry, sir... Colonel Zhou. It's... difficult to act differently after so many years," Captain Wang admitted.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I know. Even for me, nothing's changed further up the ladder. Anyway, I called you for work, not for pleasure. How are things going with tower 3, Captain Wang?" Colonel Zhou asked as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Sir, yes, sir! Now reporting!" The colonel showed another frown at the formality but nonetheless nodded for Captain Wang to proceed. "We are still experiencing resistance from a few of the local cities in our Chinese Taipei-"

"You can call it Taiwan, Captain Wang. We all know what it is and what it isn't. Old world politics aren't exactly useful right now," Colonel Zhou informed his younger, lower-ranked colleague.

"Sir, yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" Captain Wang said with yet another powerful and proper salute. "Permission to continue my report, Colonel Zhou!"

"Granted, and stop yelling," the holographic projection said with a scowl.

"Sir, yes, sir. Some of the southern denizens of Taiwan still refuse our rule and have banded together to fight against us. Their primary force consists of half a dozen champions, 3 of which we have confirmed to be combat-oriented though we have yet to determine exactly whom they are champions of, sir," Captain Wang explained dutifully.

"Hmm..." Colonel Zhou stroked his chin in thought. "And what of the Indians?"

"... All attempts at contact have been met with violent retaliation. I have lost 3 units to their forces and learned nothing of their true strength or abilities. I apologise for my ineptitude, Colonel Zhou," the captain admitted with a downcast and bitter expression clearly displayed on his face.

"... Do they really know about the gate? They must..." the colonel mumbled before he nodded. "Is there anything else of importance to report, Captain Wang?"

"... Well... yes, sir, there is," Captain Wang responded in an uncommonly unsure tone.

"Oh? What's got you feeling so mixed? I haven't seen you like this since your 18th birthday party," the colonel laughed as he recalled how much a mess his friend's son was after professing his love to his serving of Peking duck.

"It's that westerner, sir. The one from the auction. He and about 50 other people have been sighted on the eastern shore of Taiwan. He split off from the others and is flying right towards us as we speak. The others are walking across the ocean from Guishan Island as one of them creates an ice path for them," the captain reported.

"Darenzo Hamilio, huh?" Clearly, the colonel was familiar with this man. "Do we have any inclination as to his intentions?"

"No, sir. He seems to be in a flying car of sorts and, as far as we can tell, it has no weaponry. Your orders, sir?" Captain Wang requested.

"Hmm... From what we learned at the auction, the general secretary's son fled our glorious nation to take shelter under Darenzo Hamilio's wing... There could be value in speaking with him first, assuming he isn't hostile. I need to bring this information up the ladder. I'm sure you understand how the general secretary feels about his son so I leave this matter in your hands," Colonel Zhou said, implying many things.

"Order received, sir!" Captain Wang responded powerfully with another picture-perfect palm-down salute.

----------------------------------------

Daz landed and stored the Ridomochi Final Model a few hundred feet away from the massive tower out of respect.

He felt it wouldn't be wise to approach in the car and neither did he think it would be smart to do so flying on Hamson.

Daz had learnt how that could go when he had first met Admiral Fudo in the Pacific Ocean. He had a feeling that the best option to show his intent would be to walk slowly towards the construct with his hands raised to show he was passive.

Daz, however, was a king. He was determined to act like one. Instead of approaching so meekly, he instead walked with pride and confidence, not faltering with his movements in the slightest even when he could feel several sets of eyes upon him.

'Crosius and Lyle wish for me to be a proper king, so be a proper king I shall. I can be less formal with my people but with those not of New Earth I am King Daz, not Daz the Reaper nor Darenzo Hamilio - I will never be that one again regardless of what the esper communities or my father think,' Daz thought.

The aura of natural majesty around him seemed to amplify with this solidification of his thoughts, however, nothing more happened.

"Shame," Daz muttered.

'What is?' Reika asked curiously.

"I was hoping I'd get an Ember from that since Crusher proved that shifts in your mindset can grant them. Thankfully, I was only hoping, not expecting. It's a mild disappointment at best," Daz explained as he stopped walking, having reached the gate that led to the tower.

This gate was a part of a large circular wall that encompassed the tower's perimeter. The tower itself seemed to be roughly 200-meters tall by Daz's estimations.

Daz looked at the two guards at either side of the gate. They were standing with their heels pressed together and with stony expressions on their faces though neither had a gun. "I trust that since I'm not being attacked that you understand I'm not here to cause a scene?"

"Officer Zhang greets the king of New Earth, Daz!"

"Officer Peng greets the king of New Earth, Daz!"

'Oh, fancy. Very well coordinated too. They bowed in perfect unison. I knew the Chinese had an exemplary amount of order in their army but I didn't expect this level of respect for what I presume they see as an upstart child marching towards what is likely an unimportant base out in the middle of nowhere,' Daz thought as he nodded.

"I assume your superior is expecting me. Where can I meet them? Will you be my escorts, perhaps?" Daz asked.

The gate opened and a tall handsome man with swept-back greying hair and low-rimmed glasses walked through it. "No, Your Majesty. That would be me. These men are here to protect the entrance, after all."

'Well, my instincts aren't warning me so this isn't likely to be a trap. That's good news. The Chinese government are notorious for lying, and the military is just one of Mu's father's many arms, after all,' Daz thought. "And you are?"

"Something of a quartermaster here. My official title though is 1st Lieutenant Chau," the man answered as he turned his back and gestured with his head for Daz to follow him.

Doing as implied, Daz walked through the open gate with the lieutenant as his mind ran in the background as it usually did. 'A low rank on the larger ladder but he's probably the 2nd in command here. Also, since he's using an old world title like that then it basically confirms that Mu's dad is alive and well and that China still uses the same army from before the apocalypse unlike the U.S.'s which has pretty much collapsed in its entirety.'

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. 'There are a lot of soldiers here but only about half of them have guns. It seems China has modernised to system weapons even if they're still using the same uniforms and ranking system. Interesting.'

"Something on your mind, Your Majesty?" 1st Lieutenant Chau asked with a short chuckle.

"... Nothing of importance," Daz answered plainly. 'Sooner or later they will fall under my banner and none of this stuff will matter. So long as they cannot do as the Truthians can then nothing can stop me from consuming all of Earth's forces and unifying our planet as one. Not even Father.'

With that serious and grand thought in mind, the pair of men continued walking through the base until they eventually reached the tower. It was time for Daz to meet this place's leader.