Chapter 1263: Reformed Chessboard
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the end, Rhode could only head home. His plan to defeat Ion had failed, and he could no longer divide the Dragon Soul Continent like before. Fortunately, at least he managed to rescue Erin, and the plan for her to inherit the Dark Dragon’s soul power had also succeeded. This result calmed his anger greatly. But that wasn’t the end of the situation. Even though his plan failed, everything he did weakened the strength of Chaos, forcing Ion to not dare to act rashly. For the time being, Ion wouldn’t be launching another attack on the Dragon Soul Continent through the Order barrier. But Rhode was clearly aware that after Ion gathered sufficient forces, he would make a comeback. When that happened, both sides would clash again. And now, be it Order or Chaos, both sides were gathering forces for the next commencement of war.
As the five Creator Dragons came together, the situation in the Dragon Soul Continent changed drastically. Taking the brunt of it was Erin. Although she inherited the Dark Dragon’s power, Rhode’s attack could be considered to have divided the Country of Darkness into two-thirds, causing Erin to only rule over one-third of the territory that she inherited. In an instant, the one and only Country of Darkness shrunk by a whole lot. Judging from this point, the Country of Light and Country of Darkness were as if in the same boat. The former fell apart from the cannon blasts of the magic fleet that Rhode led. Apart from the region that was directly under Lilian’s jurisdiction, the rest was in a state of disorder. As for the Country of Darkness, even though they were stronger than the Country of Light in terms of discipline, they took a huge blow to their power during the period Ion was influenced by Chaos. The elite troops were either under the influence of Chaos or turned into ashes by the deity wardens. Thereafter, although Erin tried her best to gather the scattered survivors, the number was limited. The only consolation was that ‘The Conqueror’, Garcia, survived unscathed and the island he was in was lucky enough to avoid the disastrous attack from Rhode. Thereafter, as the Chaos barrier expanded, Chaos, which lost their back up, had a smaller presence. Garcia seized the opportunity to bring his trusted aides to eliminate the undead army that surrounded his territory. Then, he received an invitation from Erin to become her subject.
Other than Garcia, Angelina also returned to being Erin’s subject. As a vampire, the young lady held a strong desire to restore the honor of her family. However, as she had already submitted to Rhode, she had no choice but to bury this thought in the bottom of her heart. Ever since Erin inherited the Dark Dragon’s soul, this thought of Angelina’s intensified. As a result, she embraced herself and made a request to Rhode. But what surprised Angelina was that Rhode agreed to her request without hesitation. This left Angelina overjoyed. She wasn’t aware that Rhode already had this thought. Angelina’s desire for authority was really strong. But in terms of race, she didn’t have many chances for development in the Void Territory. Now that the young lady wished to return to the Country of Darkness to develop herself, Rhode was more than willing. Besides, with Angelina by Erin’s side, Rhode could also gain intelligence of Erin easily; just like Sonia with Lilian.
But all in all, Rhode felt like he was at a loss this time. Because after this huge battle, the strength of the Dragon Soul Continent was once again weakened.
It was especially so for the Country of Darkness. More than half of the undead creatures were gravely hurt or dead, and two-thirds of the territory were gone. Besides, from a geographical standpoint, the Country of Darkness would be the first to take the brunt of the upcoming attack from Chaos. With the current state of the Country of Darkness, perhaps it would be wiped out completely.
The Country of Law didn’t have it any better either. More than half of the Elf Forest was razed to the ground by the undead army and one-tenth of their elves were sacrificed in battle. If it weren’t for Rhode who sent the Moon Blade Guards to a.s.sist them, perhaps there would be more casualties. Although the twin dragons were powerful, with a limited number of forces and with them having a different opinion from Rhode, perhaps it would be hard to get anywhere even if they cooperated.
As for the Country of Light, it was in a state of disintegration. Only one out of ten survivors of the huge battle against the Country of Darkness, during which the Void Territory destroyed the Country of Light, were young men, while the rest were young or old. The Country of Light was fortunate that the Void Territory was there to provide a.s.sistance against the Country of Darkness, if not the Country of Light would have become a dead s.p.a.ce.
Even though the Void Territory took the upper hand in the war, it was a pity that its weakness was that it was founded too soon and lacked forces. The Void Territory solely relied upon high-end forces. But if their high-end forces were held back, relying upon the small army would be insufficient to resist Chaos, not to mention retaliate against them.
It could also be said that after this battle, the loss that the Dragon Soul Continent suffered was worse than during the Creation War. If they were to face the upcoming war in this current state, it would definitely end disastrously. In this situation, Rhode had no choice but to gather the dragon soul heirs and discuss the following issue.
“I think all of you are aware of the current situation in the Dragon Soul Continent.”
Sitting by the round table, Rhode crossed his arm and supported his chin, staring at everyone. Seated on his left was his younger sister, the former Void Dragon. On his right was the Light Dragon, Lilian, followed by the Dark Dragon, Erin. The final two were the Judgment Dragon, Nalea, and the Ruling Dragon, Siena.
The six Creator Dragons came together, which could be said to be the first time in the history of the Dragon Soul Continent.
“We’ve calculated; the current situation isn’t looking favorable, everyone…” Nalea maintained her usual, relaxed smile as though she didn’t know how unsettling her words sounded. “Based on the current situation, we only have three months. After three months, Chaos will strike again. When it happens, perhaps even Her Majesty Erin’s moonlight barrier won’t last for long.”
“Do you have any good ideas, Your Majesty Nalea?”
Upon touching this subject, Rhode was filled with anger. He leaned back on the chair, staring at Nalea with a false smile. If it weren’t for the twin dragons, why would they even be troubled over such trivial matters?
Wasn’t it the two of you who caused this issue?
“Siena and I don’t have any great ideas. Sorry about that, Your Majesty Rhode.”
Facing Rhode’s questioning, Nalea remained calm and replied with a smile. On the other hand, Siena’s expression stiffened, and she turned away after letting out a snort. During the earlier battle, a grudge was formed between her and Rhode. If it weren’t for the fact that the twin sisters were Creator Dragons, perhaps Rhode would have captured and thrown them into the underground prison, forcing them to understand his standpoint…
“Three months, huh… Apologies, Your Majesty Rhode. I’m afraid with the current strength of the Country of Darkness, we will be unable to form an army strong enough to resist Chaos in three months.”
What Erin said wasn’t an excuse. Currently, in the Country of Darkness, the most survivors were the humans under ‘The Conqueror’, Garcia. It was a pity that these humans were unlike the humans in the Country of Light or the Void Territory. Most of them existed and served as slaves and food for the undead creatures, so they didn’t understand much about battle strategies. That was why they were useless even if they were sent into battle. Fortunately, back then, when Ion was influenced by Chaos, some of the ancient families that realized that something was amiss already fled. Now that Erin took over the throne, the ancient families immediately returned to seek protection from her. However, the ancient families basically valued quality over quant.i.ty, so while they seemed capable in their high-end forces, they didn’t have any advantage in quant.i.ty.
But Rhode already knew that on the other hand, the Country of Darkness wasn’t exactly devoid of hope. According to news from Angelina, after returning to the Country of Darkness and gaining Erin’s support, Angelina was like a fish back in water. She recruited the surviving vampires and decided to convert more humans into vampires to ensure the battle strength of the Country of Darkness. As for the rights of those humans? When did the Country of Darkness ever consider that?
“Big Brother Rhode… On the Country of Light’s side, I can order the immediate guards to provide a.s.sistance. But in terms of number, I can’t guarantee…”
“It’s enough that you are offering to help, Lilian.”
Facing Lilian’s answer, Rhode smiled, extended his arm, and caressed her hair. With the Country of Light’s current strength, all Lilian could do was show her genuine concern.
Even though the current situation wasn’t favorable, Rhode didn’t seem nervous. On the contrary, he revealed a vague, proud smile.
“Indeed, everyone is aware of the situation now. We don’t stand a good chance against Chaos. Even if we succeeded in stopping Chaos, how long can we do that for? One year? Five years? 10 years? 100 years? What is the purpose behind that? The power of Chaos is infinite. The only thing we can do is to rely upon the dragon soul protection to separate and isolate Chaos. But this is far from enough. Chaos infiltrates every opening it gets. Even if Ion isn’t influenced now, it will only be a matter of time. In that case, why don’t we resolve the problem once and for all?”
“Resolve the problem once and for all?”
Siena, Nalea, and Lilian were taken aback. It might sound simple, but as a matter of fact, to accomplish it would be harder than ascending into heaven. The reason was just like what Rhode mentioned—the power of Chaos was infinite, and Order could never resist Chaos head-on. That was why the Creator Dragons created the Dragon Soul Continent to evade the attack of Chaos back then. If they were able to resolve the problem once and for all, why would they be beating their brains out for a countermeasure?
Unlike the three of them, Erin and his younger sister’s eyes glinted upon hearing Rhode’s words. They understood what he meant straightaway. After all, this wasn’t the first time Rhode discussed this issue with them.
“In that case, may I know how you intend to resolve it, Your Majesty Rhode?”
Nalea asked curiously. Even though Siena and Lilian didn’t say a word, they also turned to Rhode curiously. Upon noticing their gaze, Rhode let out a proud chuckle and replied.
“Simple… Just transport the Dragon Soul Continent out of this world.”
“Huh…?”
Nalea, Siena, and Lilian were stunned.
“Out of this world?”
“That’s right. Even though Chaos reigns supreme in this world, it isn’t so in every other world. I suppose you’re also aware that in order to rescue Erin, I headed to another world. In that world, the clash between Order and Chaos isn’t as brutal. Besides, Chaos also hadn’t developed self-will and isn’t as threatening. That is why as long as we break through the plane barrier and transport the Dragon Soul Continent to that world, we can resolve the problem once and for all.”
Rhode declared with confidence. He had discussed this same issue with his younger sister and Marybelle several times. They owned the Door of Akasha and received the plane coordinates. The only thing to do next was to get their hands on the Order Star, activate the isolation barrier, separate the entire Dragon Soul Continent from Chaos, and leave this place. He would then seal off the channel and destroy the plane coordinates, leaving Chaos to play on its own in this G.o.dforsaken world.
With this confidence, Rhode dared to wipe out more than half of the Country of Darkness. From his perspective, this part of the Country of Darkness would be abandoned sooner or later, so abandoning it earlier wouldn’t make a difference. According to his plan, for safety’s sake, he would draw a divisive line inside the Dragon Soul Continent. This way, after activating the isolation barrier, every other region apart from the core of the continent would be cut off entirely. Meanwhile, h.e.l.l and the outer regions of the Dragon Soul Continent were no exceptions either. As h.e.l.l had an overly-close relations.h.i.+p with the Bottomless Abyss, Rhode decided to give up h.e.l.l and only bring along the four main elemental planes and Seven Fantasy Boundaries to the solar system.
Rhode had decided to discuss this with Nalea and the rest after his return. But back then, he felt uneasy about Ion, and the plan itself required the coordination between all Creator Dragons. That was why Rhode didn’t mention a word. Now that the truth was out—Ion didn’t inherit the dragon soul power and Erin became the Dark Dragon—Rhode had no more concerns. That was why he gathered everyone here and informed them of his major plan.
“I see…”
After hearing Rhode’s account, Nalea and the rest were rather tempted. Indeed, if it were as he mentioned, they didn’t need to worry about Chaos invading and devouring them. But…
“Your Majesty Erin, is that world dangerous?”
Siena twitched her brow slightly, turned to Erin, and asked. Upon hearing her query, Rhode and his younger sister exchanged looks, but eventually remained silent. Facing Siena’s question, Erin pondered for a few moments and answered.
“That world isn’t dangerous, but there is a place called Earth that we need to take note of. There is only the human race in that place, and they are also capable of creating amazing weapons for war, so we need to be wary.”
“Are they hard to deal with?”
“From our perspective…”
Erin pondered, lifted her head, and swept a glance at everyone.
“It shouldn’t be too hard for us. Among them, I think their most powerful forces are weapons at a level similar to spells from legendary spell casters. Besides, they have to collaborate and operate using magical machineries. As soon as the magical machineries are destroyed, they will be defenseless. Apart from that, they are nothing more than a group of free-range chickens.”
Standing from Erin’s standpoint, she wasn’t wrong at all.
“We won’t be connecting with them.”
Rhode continued after Erin’s sentence. As a matter of fact, this was the case. Even if they transported the entire continent to the solar system, they would need a long time to recuperate. Besides, due to the cultural characteristics of the Dragon Soul Continent, they basically wouldn’t be interested in s.p.a.ce and other affairs. On the other hand, Rhode had to worry about those idiots on Earth and whether they would discover a whole new ent.i.ty in the planetary orbit and send out a satellite to check on them. When that happened, they would be in another trouble.
“That’s good to know. After all, we’re outsiders. If they do not pose a threat to us, we’ll just ignore them.”
Siena nodded as though she had the same view. But…
“Your Majesty Rhode, according to you, we need to set up isolation enchantment fields as quickly as possible, search for the Order Star, and defend against the invasion of Chaos. But now, our forces aren’t enough to support our objectives. If we make use of the dragon soul protection only, we will be fine. In terms of setting up the isolation enchantment fields, we can send an army of elites to handle them. But in the face of Chaos, we’re still lacking numbers…”
At that moment, Siena finally lowered her head and admitted to Rhode’s suggestion. However, it was normal for her to feel worried. Even though Chaos wasn’t strong individually, it could offset all disadvantages with its quant.i.ty. On the other hand, while the Dragon Soul Continent had powerful beings, they were in small numbers. There were less than a thousand people who were in the Legendary Stage, not to mention of the same caliber as the four legendary generals. Even if they were to gather them, it would be useless against the waves of Chaos. But…
“Don’t worry about manpower; leave it to me.”
This time, Rhode’s answer was filled with confidence. The corners of his mouth perked up into a prideful smile.
“I guarantee I’ll give all of you a surprise.”