Chương 364: Power At Their Fingertips

"I hear that several small countries in the north have already summoned Unwanted Presences, and that tensions at the borders have already resulted in small skirmishes""Oh, you aren't aware, even with all your spies?"

"I was focusing on the small nations to the west, since they are the biggest threat to me and my people""Is that so? How is it going there?"

"Way worse than I had imagined, to be honest. Does Mara Nebulo make people go crazy? Is that one of her powers? I knew some of those guys weren't right in the head, but it is a collective hysteria in the west. They've already gathered their armies and are marching to kill each other right as we speak… The alliances they formed are obviously temporary as they already plan on betraying each other–They are unnaturally paranoiac""Could it be the effect of one of Mara Nebulo's nightmarish spawns?

Those awful things have been growing like weeds, it feels… They were fairly rare until about a month ago, and since then, they have been showing up en masse. It goes without mentioning those anomalous mechanical constructs that spread the Nightmare Plague. Several appeared in my damned bedroom while I was sleeping" A collective sigh rang out.

"What about the north, east, and south? Are they as bad as what I discovered in the west?"

"Absolutely, the north is in turmoil, but thanks to your assistance in rebuilding my kingdom, I have been able to keep things from tipping over the edge. That won't last for long. It seems like no one cares about reason and agreements made based on logic.

Absolutely everyone with the means to do so is trying to summon otherworlders, and with such an influx, it is all but guaranteed that we'll get at least one of the ridiculously powerful sort, but even if that doesn't happen, the sheer number of them will cause issues on its own""Should we slaughter those unwise little leaders?"

"That would only make things descend into further chaos, and it is possible to kill them all anyway. The continent is vast and small nations grow like mushrooms after a storm""What is there that we can do, then?"

"Bunker down, I suppose. Leton Nebulo has provided us with the alliance of mechanistry and magic. Our borders can become impenetrable, self-sustaining walls. It will be difficult, but amongst ourselves, we all share a border with at least one of the others. We can still trade and do business while the world outside goes up in flames""That is somewhat unlike you, Algo. You usually do your best to go for the greater good even if it has a cost""The cost is simply too high this time.

I can pay with what is mine, but to intervene, I would have to pay with the lives of my people. I believe you all feel the same, yes? It would indeed be best if the chaos could be contained. The well-being of the continent is our well-being too, after all… Unfortunately, this is not a problem that we can truly deal with""That's true… But it does leave a bad taste in my mouth that we have to cower when the enemy we have to deal with is singular. Just where is Mara Nebulo?"

"No one knows, I guess. She is quite the elusive creature, but she is certainly hiding within one of our borders, no? Won't it mean that we'll be locking down our borders whilst she is already inside?"

"She should be easier to deal with if she is within the borders. Leton Nebulo told me that once they are up, the barriers should prevent the apparition of anomalous mechanistry and nightmarish entities entirely. We'll still have to deal with those already crawling in the darkness of our nations, but that is nothing compared to the potential thousands that are all over the continent" There was a short period of silence. The constant back and forth ceased.

Amongst all the speaking, it had been difficult to tell who was speaking at any given time. Due to their status and experience, they all held the same professional tone and poker face, but around the table were the five greatest leaders of the continent. Algo Irmandelt Rootriska, the still youthful king of Rootriska, recognised as the leader of the Continental Alliance, even though he made sure to make it clear that everyone's voice was worth the same weight. Balayal Azt Mastras, queen of Beelmart.

Although her nation had been in a rather bad situation when she took over, the assistance from her newfound allies and her own skills allowed Beelmart to get back on its feet at a frighteningly swift pace. Valetiel Bestos Felinis, king of the beastfolk nation of Heldinot, the Felinis bloodline had successfully brought countless kinds of beastfolks together, allowing the kingdom to become impressively versatile and militarily powerful.

Argras Juliper Malka, king of the demonic nation of Malkazert, although the lack of wars had led many to forget it, he ruled over what was a strong contender for the most magically advanced country on the continent. Palux Aestherblood, the ruler of Aesther, and the newest member of the alliance. He was welcomed into the alliance following the return of his nation to a monarchy.

Although Aesther still bore deep scars, it nonetheless retained most of what had made it a contender for the strongest nation on the continent, with the production of heavy enchanted weaponry having restarted. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Without a doubt, these five ruled over the five strongest nations on the continent, and in this meeting that lacked any sense of grandeur or importance, they were deciding to cut themselves off from the bubbling chaos that was about to wash over the entire continent. Leton Nebulo had successfully contained the threat of the encroaching Great Realms, but somehow, the existence of his twin sister was what had pushed things to such a stage.

Her mere existence was a threat, but locating her proved to be impossible, especially since she started sprinkling decoys all over the place, and even more so when her nightmarish spawns began making their presence loud and clear. Even these five great leaders with the full might of their countries couldn't reasonably hope to solve the problem, especially when the entire continent was falling into mass hysteria. The rulers of small nations could see the writing on the wall.

If they couldn't grow enough for what was to come, they would be crushed, which in turn pushed others to do the same, leading to the current situation. Everyone was gearing up for war or already at war, hoping to rise above the ashes and somehow obtain the strength necessary to face the dreadful tomorrow. Of course, that was foolish. They would only weaken themselves by acting in this manner, but the time for rational thoughts had already passed, it seemed.

All of the leaders looked down upon a small device resting on the table they were gathered around. A big, red button. What would activate the refined alliance of mechanistry and magic Leton had worked on for a very long time… When it was pressed, it would further accelerate the panic that had stricken the rest of the continent. They shared a glance, and pressed it without hesitation.

The result of their action was nearly immediate. War broke out as many nations threw their freshly summoned otherworlders into the meat grinder. The results were unclear as chaos was everywhere. Only the cut-off countries of the alliance and a few select spots across the entire continent were spared the madness. In the darkness, the lambs of Mara Nebulo built their temples, churches, and underground spaces of communion. The many decoys she had unleashed found themselves at home on the many battlefields.

Unknown even to Mara Nebulo, the great mass of death, suffering, and destruction caused some of these possessed hunks of steel to undergo unexpected transformation. They bathed in the absurd amounts of negative energy forming as a result of the madness, and alongside them, nightmarish spawns surged in numbers. Outside the safety of the barriers, things rapidly spiralled out of control…

But apart from sensing a sharp increase in her intake of negative emotions, Mara Nebulo didn't pay further attention to all of this. She was busier with other things…

Since the upgrade to the music box ended up proving tougher than expected, Mari and I instead decided that it was best to focus on upgrades that would be easy to implement, and thus go for quantity instead of quality. … Mari had been keeping records of all the upgrades I had ever mentioned, and her status as Personal Mechanist also allowed her to know a lot of relevant information. There were limitations to the number of upgrades she could grant within a given time frame, but we had plenty of time to ourselves…

She decided to go down the list of upgrades she had written down. Flexible Joints - Your steel joints become more flexible This was the first one that was added after my return from the blood ocean, and it was indeed a simple one that didn't give Mari much trouble at all. It might not seem like much, but it really made movement much easier for my 'Base Form'. It was less useful for the 'Gynoid Form', but nonetheless warmly welcomed.

Hammer Head - Without damaging your balance, your steel skull grows heavier I had had my doubts concerning this one, as it had seemed like the kind of upgrade that had a rather esoteric effect. After all, increasing something's weight without doing anything else, yet not having any impact on one's balance, was rather unusual, especially in the field of mechanistry. However, Mari had insisted on at least trying it out, as making a body part of mine heavier was ridiculously easy for her to do.

She literally just needed to saw my head off and replace it with a heavier version she had already crafted in preparation. It actually did work, and on the first try at that. The upgrade manifested itself, and I indeed acquired a significantly heavier skull without having to deal with any balancing issues. If I swung this thing and bit someone, they would definitely feel it. Purple Flash - Your eyes grow exceptionally bright for a moment, emitting a blinding light I remember this one.

I had always had the intention of upgrading my eyes as much as possible since I couldn't help but notice the sheer quantity of upgrades having to do with them. It had always given me the impression that there had to be something powerful about them. However, my suspicions had remained as such, as they had nearly always had more attractive upgrades amongst the lists presented to me, and back then, I couldn't waste opportunities for upgrades to run experiments. In any case, I quite like this upgrade.

It is simple, but effective. It is like throwing sand into someone's eyes. Anyone and their grandmother can do it easily, yet it is a most effective manoeuvre to deploy. Unless you are dealing with one of those blind swordsmen or whatever, pretty much everyone relies heavily on their sight. So it is often very effective.

'Purple Flash' is going to see much use. I'll definitely use so much that my future opponents will curse me out for it. What can I say, though? It literally costs me nothing to do so. Unless I use 'Overcharge' or 'Overvoltage' to directly and specifically empower it, but then it isn't even sand in the eyes anymore. It would be more like throwing splinters. Oh, I can already feel that it will be very fun… And this is only one of the light-related upgrades.

There are several ways in which someone can be blinded, and by mixing and matching them together, I could definitely ruin someone's sight for the foreseeable future. Ah, I can't wait to have some poor victims to test things upon… Hehehe… I wonder if idiot kids still try to visit my old house? If I swing by, it could be very fun.