Lord of Annihilation

Chapter 368: Plans for the Next Phase. Part 2

READ FIRST!!!

Due to a minor (major?) scheduling error, the order of this chapter was messed up! Did I try to correct it? Immediately.

Is it possible to be corrected? Unfortunately no.

Therefore, please read the next chapter 369 before reading this one.

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"It is an opportunity because we want Lucius' infamy to increase. The higher it is, the better!" Ka'lor'ah announced.

"Why?" The three ladies asked simultaneously.

Widening her arms to the sides, Ka'lor'ah replied while wearing a brilliant smile, "To get caught, of course!"

Hearing that answer only served to confuse the three women further. 

Anya stared at Ka'lor'ah and wondered whether the latter was right in her head. Reyna alternated her gaze between the faces of the different people within the room seemingly worried if she was hearing the same thing as the others. As for Olivia, she sunk into an expression of deliberation but did not seem to make any progress.

Looking at the cogwheels within the minds of the three women turning, Ka'lor'ah felt a perverse satisfaction. It was, in fact, one of her hobbies to watch as people suffered under her mysterious, nonsensical riddles.

Just as she was reveling in this perverse feeling, a cold voice cut through her happiness.

"Stop wasting time and explain it briefly," Lucius announced, his demeanor unchanged.

"Fine. Fine. What a killjoy," Ka'lor'ah grumbled before beginning her explanation.

"The three of you are aware of the political turmoil within the Grand Alcana Empire, right?" asked her to which the three ladies nodded their heads.

The political turmoil within the Grand Alcana Empire was the current hot topic throughout the Universe. In fact, it had been a hot topic for the last two years.

Every person within the Universe, as long as they hadn't been living under a rock for all this time, knew about the quarrel for succession that was currently ongoing within the Royal Family of the Empire with many joining the various factions to fish in troubled waters.

The Grand Alcana Empire was one of the largest organizations within the Universe, whose influence was inferior only to the Heavenly Sovereigns and the Abyssal Rulers, who were the respective leaders of the [Good] and [Evil] faction. 

The Empire possessed the power to retain its sovereignty and remain a neutral power, even against these two ancient Grade 7 races. Just this alone spoke volumes of their strength and influence within the Universe.

Additionally, the Grand Alcana Empire was the holy land of the Sigiler, craftsmen of the Runes! Not only did the Empire possess the largest number of Sigilers within their ranks, but they also boasted the most expansive and cutting-edge research within the field. After all, they were the inventors of the Rune System!

The utility and value of Runes were well known to every organization and powerhouse within the Universe. Not only did it immensely increase the power of an individual, but it also possessed the ability to single-handedly shift the power balance in any conflict.

To iterate, an individual with a full set of top-class Runic Armor and equipment, and Stage 3 strength, possessed the power to directly against a Stage 4 individual!

Stage 3 against a Stage 4! 

Even Lucius, with all his talent and experience, could not do that! But a relatively talented individual covered from head-to-toe in Runic Equipment could do so!

Now imagine an entire company or division of an army decked in Runic Equipment! Their battle capability was simply inestimable!

Explaining all of the above information, Ka'lor'ah directed her gaze towards the three ladies and questioned in her mentor-ly demeanor.

"Now do you know understand what this quarrel for succession represents?"

Being the most politically able amongst the three, Olivia answered with a serious expression, "The organizations and individuals behind the winning faction (i.e. whichever faction wins the political war and succeeds the throne) will be able to make use of the full strength of the Grand Alcana Empire."

"In other words, the current power balance within the Universe is fated to change!"

"Exactly," Ka'lor'ah nodded her head and smiled in response.

Hearing that answer allowed looks of realization to appear on the faces of Reyna and Anya. Their faces then suddenly paled as they realized the consequences of such an event.

War!

The [Good] and [Evil] faction have always been at each other's throats since times immemorial. However, with both factions relatively equal in strength, a delicate balance had been formed with neither being able to acquire absolute victory over the other.

But! 

If one of the two sides were to gain the full, unabashed support of the Grand Alcana Empire, that side would see an immediate increase in its power, breaking this delicate balance! This would result in total war, with each side going all out as they vied for the seat of absolute power.

After all, who didn't want to be the sole ruler of the Universe and swallow all of its resources?

Now, thinking a bit deeper, it wasn't just the two respective factions vying for control over the Grand Alcana Empire. Some of the larger organizations within these two factions also sought to control the Empire for their benefit.

Let's think about this for a second. 

The Heavenly Sovereigns and the Abyssal Rulers have been the leaders of the [Good] and [Evil] faction respectively for as long as anyone remembers. With them being at the top, many other organizations and races were beneath them, obeying every beck and call from the leaders.

Now, were these organizations and races satisfied with their identity as servants of the ruling race? 

Of course not!

No intelligent being with any inkling of ambition would be satisfied with being a mere servant. It was their instinctive desire to rise past their ranks and overthrow the natural hierarchy. 

After all, wasn't this the primary reason why many chose to cultivate? 

With a higher Stage came greater power which equaled greater freedom! The strong do not have to obey the orders of the weak! It was the birthright of the strong to rule over the weak!

The only reason the Heavenly Sovereigns and the Abyssal Rulers were the respective leaders of their factions was because of their power! 

No one voted to make them the leaders! They were the leaders because they had the power to be so! 

And now, what if there was another organization or race with more power than these two leaders? 

It was obvious. The long-stagnant status quo would change and the factions would see a change in their leadership. With a new leader in place, the political stance and set situation of the Universe would change as a whole.

With the respective intelligence levels of the three women, they were naturally able to reason out Ka'lor'ah questions and arrive at the above answer.

Watching the paling faces of the three ladies, Ka'lor'ah nodded her head in satisfaction. 

"No matter the result of the political struggle, war is inevitable. It is only a matter of who's fighting who and for what benefits."

"Are we going to participate in this struggle?" Anya, being the current military leader of the UEM, asked.

"Of course," Surprisingly, it was Olivia who answered before Ka'lor'ah. "Whether we like it or not, we have to participate. Mankind does not possess the strength to stay out of this war and maintain its neutral stance."

Olivia answered, creases appearing on her pale face due to her intense frowning.

"This girl gets it," Ka'lor'ah nodded her head and affirmed Olivia's statement.

Mankind was no longer the unknown, random race that it previously was. 

Due to the efforts of countless of its members, the UEM was publicly recognized to be one of the rising organizations with a rapidly growing influence within the Universe. They now possessed many connections with many of the smaller and medium-sized organizations within the Universe as a result of their trading. 

Some of the larger organizations and races have also taken note of the UEM and were interested in the items that they traded. Talks with these organizations had already begun a year or so ago, only delayed due to their leader, Olivia's, absence. 

As the situation was right now, Mankind could not back out of the war that was definitely going to occur, even if they wanted to! In other words, they had no choice!

Recognizing this, the fists of Reyna and Anya clenched. Even Iris, who was standing guard by the door, felt her heart grow heavier. 

'Was expanding and trading the wrong choice? Did we choose the correct path?' 

Naturally, such questions began to appear in the minds of Reyna and Anya. However, they were almost immediately shot down by their own reasoning.

'NO! There was nothing wrong with what we did! Mankind was utterly decimated and was on the verge of total annihilation. It was only due to the actions we took and the path we followed that we managed to avoid such a fate!'

'If we had remained stubborn and conservative to the changes around us, we would have sunk under the tides of change, becoming another one of those countless nameless races. It was only due to our radical decisions that we managed to come this far!'

'And the people who led us this far'

Reyna and Anya respectively raised their heads and looked at the figures of Lucius and Olivia. 

They deeply understood that if it wasn't for these two individuals, Mankind would've perished long ago; either under the hands of the Formicians or their own!

Recognizing this, boundless respect filled their hearts. They were incredibly glad and thankful for the presence of these two individuals. 

They were the true saviors of Mankind!

Meanwhile, Olivia who had been deeply thinking of another question entirely, suddenly raised her head and asked Ka'lor'ah.

"What does this have to do with Lucius' becoming a criminal and raising his infamy?" Her heart was solely worried about him.

Mankind? War? Savior?

Olivia couldn't care less for either of these things. In her mind, Lucius' safety took priority over all of these things. 

Hearing her question, Ka'lor'ah flashed a playful smile and replied.

"Oh, it has everything to do with Lucius becoming a criminal!"

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Author's Note:

What type of stories do I love reading/writing about the most?

Is it Action? Adventure? Sci-Fi? Mystery?

Nope! It's such politically-themed ones that have an MC building a kingdom/empire while navigating through a convoluted web of politics.

On that note, I guess I should take this opportunity to announce that my SECOND NOVEL 'Capital of Greed', which will be of such a genre, will be premiering on  1st January  2022. (two months later to be approx)

So if you're like me and have a great interest in Kingdom Building/Army Management/ Political Powerplays in a Magic-based setting, do give it a glance when it comes out.

I promise that it will leave you completely satisfied and coming back for more. (That's what she said!)