Book 3: Chapter 268: The Five Great Alliances

September, while Sylutia was still immersed in the study of profound knowledge and theory, scarcely noticing the passage of time, a major piece of news spread from the south of the continent.

The formerly scattered southern nations had finally completed their unification, forming five super-large allied nations. Each of them issued their own conventions and proclamations, formally appearing before all major powers and organizations.

These five great alliance nations were respectively the "Knight Sanctum," "Incantation Forest," "Golden Harvest Horn," "Redwood Marshland," and "Lion Covenant."

Among them, the Knight Sanctum was the strongest, formed by a union of 53 nations of varying sizes. The representative of each member nation would lead their own Knight Order to swear an oath before the alliance, upholding the interests of the Knight Sanctum. These 53 Knight Captains would then elect a "Model Knight" to serve as the alliance's leader, coordinating all parties, formulating policies that applied throughout the entire alliance, and acting as the supreme military commander during external conflicts.

The Knight Sanctum required all member states to implement the "youth cavalrymen" system, with all young cavalrymen serving as reserve combatants of the alliance. They had a rigorous and orderly promotion system, and by simply following the system and completing training and trials step by step, one could be promoted to a full knight, possessing their own Badge and fief.

After a knight's death, their fief would be reclaimed by the alliance, but their family and descendants would receive subsidies and care based on the knight's contributions and honors during their lifetime.

Regas, the kingdom where Sylutia had once been, was now one of the member states under the Knight Sanctum.

The Incantation Forest was an alliance of wizards and male witches. They laid layer upon layer of restrictions within the forest, using Incantations and witchcraft to bind power, achieving all manner of incredible abilities, commanding the dead and monsters, inducing amnesia and hypnosis, degrading living beings, stealing shadows and dividing souls. They were the terrifying masters of sorcery that the people of ancient times feared.

That allied nation was governed by the "Arcane Circle," and every member of the Arcane Circle was an Eighth Tier "apprentice wizard" or "apprentice warlock." It was said that behind the Arcane Circle, there were even traces of male wizards.

The Redwood Marshland was a union of jungle forces and swamp forces, comprising Lizardmen, beastmen, humans, and other races. They connected various regions through a dense network of waterways, reaching areas that ordinary people could hardly enter. It was said that deep within some swamps and jungles, remnants of ancient True Dragon ruins remained, and the upper echelons of the Redwood Marshland still passed down secret arts related to True Dragons.

The Lion Covenant was a union of mountain tribes, composed of beastmen, half-bloods, and humans. They revered raw, overwhelming power. Although they belonged to the same allied nation, war was not prohibited internally, only meaningless slaughter was restricted. Once one side emerged victorious, the defeated tribe would have to swear fealty to the victor. Under such a system of pressure and encouragement, every special resident of the Lion Covenant lived to fight. Even women and children had to learn to use weapons, ready to follow their chieftains into battle at any moment.

The territories of these five great alliance powers were distributed like interlocking fangs, each containing the other, each intertwined with the next. They competed and cooperated simultaneously. The Hidden Grove Alliance, entrenched within the Shadow World, mediated between the five powers behind the scenes, acting as the final arbiter and overseer.

Now that the integration of the powers was complete, everyone was eager to know what choices these five great allied nations would make going forward, where they would head, and what changes such circumstances would bring to themselves.

In October, delegations from the Mage Alliance and the Harp Flower Union visited the five great allied nations for preliminary negotiations.

In November, the delegation visiting the Golden Harvest Horn returned, bringing back a welcome piece of news. The Golden Harvest Horn had agreed to provide the Mage Alliance with large quantities of grain every year to help them through the difficulties of the Sinking Fog season. However, in exchange, the Mage Alliance would need to pay for the goods listed on a manifest.

That manifest included low-tier metals, gemstones, Mechanical Creations, scrolls, Spiritual Medicines, and so on. If converted at usual prices, the value of those goods would be 60 times the worth of the grain provided, a truly exorbitant price.

When this agreement spread through the Mage Alliance, it stirred up an uproar. Many people expressed dissatisfaction. Numerous mages of the Alliance stated that they could accept a price difference of three times, five times, or even ten times, but 60 times was simply too absurd.

"An Eighth Tier gardener from the Golden Harvest Horn can earn as much from this contract as 20 to 30 Eighth Tier mages combined. What gives?"

"Even if we lack grain, do we really need to stoop so low?" ℯℯ𝘭.

"If we truly need food, rather than paying them 60 times the price, we might as well use that money to arm our military and ramp up war machine production lines. Then what couldn't we take by force?"

A flood of agitated voices spread through the Alliance. In some places, stationed mages publicly declared that they would not accept such expensive grain, nor would they allow the products of their territories to be sold off so cheaply.

As public opinion rapidly expanded, the Alliance Council was forced to suspend the cooperative trade agreement, announcing that further consultation and discussion were needed.

...

"Winter has arrived," Sylutia said, sitting on the fleece rug in the room and gazing out the window.

"Would Hedra like something to drink?" From the other side of the room, Amelie came over carrying a teapot, filled with warmed tea and milk, along with a small amount of flower petals. It smelled wonderful.

This was Amelie's small room in the library. After their studies, the two would gather here. Sometimes Sylutia would even stay the night, sleeping together with Amelie.

"Just a little," Sylutia said, picking up a white porcelain cup, then watching as Amelie carefully and earnestly poured the milk tea.

Afterward, the two sat together on the rug, looking out at the snowy scenery through the window, occasionally whispering secrets to each other, then lying down on the rug to read or nap.

Although it was underground, no one else would come by except the two of them. The floor and the rug were both very clean, and when bathed in sunlight, they would give off a warm, cozy scent.

Lying on the rug, Sylutia flipped through the library's books, her legs occasionally kicking up. Her small feet, wrapped in white socks, looked lively and adorable.

On the other side, Amelie slept soundly, hugging a plush toy, her blue hair spread out over her nightgown and the rug.

Sleep held special significance for Amelie. She could use sleep to organize and comprehend the knowledge from the various books she had read. This amazed Sylutia.

Why hadn't she mastered such a special ability herself? She could only learn by reading as she went. This method of studying was indeed fast, but it was ultimately not as convenient as Amelie's.

However, she had also discovered something special about herself. Roughly speaking, when she slept under moonlight, her Mental Power would increase slightly, and the level of erosion would slowly recede. It was just that she had always been immune to Distortion's corruption, which prevented this ability from manifesting and caused her to remain unaware of it for a long time.

After studying together with the Named One, Abellid, for over half a year, the bond between the two had grown increasingly close. Now they were practically best friends who talked about everything, occasionally even bathing together.

The last person close to her age who made Sylutia feel such intimacy was probably Ilythia from their childhood. But back then, the two were still young, more like the unconscious play and laughter of children.

After finishing the books in front of her, Sylutia sat up, tucked a strand of hair that hung by her ear behind it, then stood up and put the books away.

It was getting late. Today she needed to go to the Mishil District to handle some accumulated affairs. She looked at Amelie, still sleeping on the side, picked her up, laid her on the bed, tucked her in, then quietly left the room.