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The re-edit of Chapters 70 to 120 should alleviate this, for now I ask that you understand that I am aware of mistakes, ludicrous plot pacings and irrevant increases in military technology.

If you want to have a direct say in all of these upcoming changes, feel free to apply to be a core reader/beta reader for the rewrite. Free chapters without having to pay anything!

“We’re willing to pay as much as is needed,” Harrison spoke calmly as he picked up his cup of tea, sipping from it carefully. In contrast, the Josei diplomat opposite him considered the offer carefully.

“I’m already toeing the line by even coming here.” The Josei diplomat remarked, his eyes wandering across the vast landscape the castle’s office overlooked, the signature vast Versian plains under the towering mountains right behind.

“Even after fifty years of ‘isolation’?”

“As long as the Hwa Dynasty practices isolation, so will Josei.”

“Yet you require food, something Josei sorely lacks.”

The Josei diplomat glared at Harrison. “Do not push your luck. You may have familial ties with the Hwa Dynasty, but there are limits to what you can say.”

“Let’s cut to the chase, Mr Yong: we are both border states, buffer states between two superpowers. Your economy and society heavily rely on the Hwa Dynasty for food, while you are exploited for your metal and arcia resources. We, on the other hand, have abundant food resources but lack significant arcia mines. A natural partnership has already formed between our two states generations ago, but it was only in recent years that this ‘trade route’ has been cut off.”

Yong Jun was slightly ruffled at being referred to by his first name instead of his official title, but he focused on the topic. “What are you suggesting?”

“A closer alliance. Of course, the Hwa Dynasty shouldn’t have to know about this.” Harrison slid a paper across the wooden oak table, handing it to the diplomat.

“You just want to drag us into your civil war because you are losing badly, and your original ploy to supersede the government has already failed.” Yong scoffed, not even glancing at the paper.

Harrison was unfazed. “We have already been trading in secret through smuggler’s roads, whether you like it or not. And I’m sure your traders and my traders have already lined your pockets enough to make it worthwhile. Please, have a look at the plan.”

Yong finally relented, taking a closer look. His eyes sparkled as he saw a few terms and the goods being traded. This, the profits will be immense. But before he lost himself in his enthusiasm, he coughed slightly, reining himself in. “This amount of goods would not be easy to hide from the inspectors.”

“The clandestine network would be seen as a criminal organisation, not the work of the Versian state nor the Josei council. They may fault you for lack of enforcement, but corruption will be impossible to trace. Everything we do is by direct handling of coins, no paper traces or bank slips.”

The more Harrison explained the plan, the more inclined Yong was to believe him. However, there were a few more catches. “This entire plan hinges on you winning the civil war. As far as I can tell, ADCON has been purging your allies effectively, leaving only stragglers. This could be said to be your last stronghold.”

It was apparent that the industrialists were on their last legs to any external observers. Still, that fact did not seem to anger or panic Harrison in any way – instead, his smile only grew larger than before. It made Yong carefully think about what could happen. Harrison is a genius: he must have a plan up his sleeve.

It wouldn’t be wrong to classify Harrison as such: the man had more than five dozen patents registered, and his affinity for innovation far exceeded everyone in Versia, allowing him and his companies to skyrocket to the top over the last fifteen years since the revolution.

He was one of the main reasons why the standard of living in Tenar had increased so dramatically, with innovations in construction and utilities spurred by his learnings and education in the Hwa Dynasty, allowing him to accelerate the economy.

His skill in engineering was only made more apparent when he designed countermeasures to Kyle’s stealth hovercraft, improving with each iteration and levelling the battlefield. Harrison could be said to be the only reason why the remaining industrialists have yet to falter.

“We still have forces embedded all over Versia – just because the major cities have fallen does not mean our supporters are missing,” Harrison replied. “Dekar might have a strong following and popular support now, but that only lasts as long as their economy and society can hold together.”

Yong immediately understood what Harrison was planning, nodding his head. Reassured, he continued to read the plan, about to agree to it when he suddenly hit a snag on the last term. “Impossible. No one has obtained his services for the last three decades.”

“I understand mages are precious strategic resources – Versia too only has two mages, and they are in isolation now as well.”

“Then what makes you think you can meet him?”

“I doubt the elder of the Cult of Nona would take kindly to heretics spouting blasphemy in the streets of Versia, tarnishing the Goddess’s name.” Harrison himself had not believed it was a real religion in the first place, only having done his research after its original appearance, thanks to Kyle claiming he was a messenger.

“You’re planning to use him as a weapon.”

“Oh, not at all. Our goals simply align, and I see a potential for an alliance.”

Yong furrowed his brows for a bit, contemplating as he leaned back against the wooden backrest of his chair. “The Hwa Dynasty tracks his movements regularly. If he finds out you and I are the reason for his intervention in Versia….”

“The Hwa Dynasty would be more than delighted to claim prestige when one of their mages successfully overthrows a Yual invasion.”

“The new government is not a Yual invasion.”

“Ah, but Kris Greyborn is a citizen of the Yual Dominion. He is the entire reason why Dekar even got into power in the first place.” Harrison had long marked out his true enemy, knowing that he would need to focus all his efforts on defeating Kyle. It’s been a while since I had such an opponent.

Yong nodded in agreement. “If we can frame it as such, indeed… this plan may be feasible after all. But what if ADCON strikes Utul directly? Would you be able to handle the siege?”

“We will have more than enough countermeasures to deal with any threats, airborne or not. The real question is, will ADCON even dare to attack?”

Kyle had forgotten slightly how hard it was to train soldiers for orbital drops.

The man screamed as Kyle shoved them off the edge of the heavy hovercraft into the Keru Forest, though it was only two meters above the ground, a practice set up to let the men get a feel for stepping off the edge.

What’s the point of a surprise drop attack when you’re screaming half of the way down? Kyle almost facepalmed in desperation, though he held his disappointment internally, continuing to train the newly formed airborne troops rigidly. The sight of the men panicking over such a small drop reminded him of the heavy gravity human variants in the Galactic Era, who had a natural aversion to heights for a good reason.

As much as Kyle wanted to send both brigades right at Ulut to capture it immediately, he did not want to get bogged down in a siege indefinitely, especially when he knew that Harrison had already developed countermeasures to his stealth hovercraft. There was also the case of suppressing other supporters of Mornero in captured cities, as it has only been a month since Dekar took power.

The city of Ulut was a natural fortress, making it hard for Kyle to see a way in. Harrison had developed its defences considerably: preliminary observations suggest it was even more heavily defended than Tenar in terms of weaponry and defence systems.

Sneaking in would be almost out of the question as well – he had already tried to send a few former captured Nest operatives inside, only for them to be killed on the spot. It was to be expected of such a situation, with tight immigration controls.

More importantly, a few narrow passes through the mountain range were impossible to access without going through Ulut or scaling an entire mountain. Kyle could theoretically do that, but supplying the troops would be near impossible in such a scenario, especially with Harrison guarding the airspace.

Josei also remained a significant black box, with Kyle having no knowledge nor understanding of the country on the other side of the pass. If they are trading, it means a blockade siege is not feasible at all.

If Kyle were to take Ulut, he had to do it by storm and fast in a surprise attack. As such, the hovercraft needed to both go higher and be able to drop troops right into the city to disrupt the defence systems to allow the rest of the ADCON force to fight properly.

While Kyle continued to watch the flailing line of men jumping, Feldon reported updates on the ADCON troops to him. “We’re severely understaffed – the major cities that we have been taking over have yet to fall completely under our control.”

“It has already been more than two weeks for some of them. Have we not flushed all the rebel industrialists out?”

“There’s simply too many, and their former stranglehold and political capital give them plenty of leverage and financial resources to lure mercenaries and deserters into their private forces. We only have two brigades worth of men for now.”

“How many recruits are in the training camps?”

“Close to ten thousand, but I suspect only half will make it by the end of this month.”

“The longer we drag on the civil war, the less advantageous it would be for us.” Kyle knew that his victories were mainly attributed to both the professional rigour of his ADCON soldiers, better equipment and fast strike times, catching the remnants of Mornero’s supporters off-guard.

However, he was cognizant that the enemy was not static either – Harrison led the charge in innovation, which meant that Kyle was continuously losing the edge in terms of organisation. Kyle needed to strike hard as soon as possible, but as long as he did not have the requisite trained troops to assault Ulut properly, it was better not to rush things along until he had what he needed.

Another factor that reigned in his actions was the Wardens. Kyle still had no idea when or where they were going to show up, which is why he has not yet committed every single resource to a ‘final battle’ of sorts. Rayner had yet to appear for a month, making Kyle even more suspicious of what this mysterious organisation was.

If I were the association of System Users, I would never tolerate another rogue System User taking over the Keru Dungeon just like that. Kyle would have expected them to send even more Warden Drones or three high-level System Users to purge him, yet none of it ever happened at all. Instead, only silence. Not even Nox knew much about the Wardens, apart from Soren taking control of them only just last year.

“I would have thought you were one of them as well,” Nox remarked when Kyle asked him about the Wardens. “I was under the impression that a civil conflict was going on between transcendents.”

“Has there been one before?”

“Not recently, but there has been one in the folklore about the Heavenly War.”

The Heavenly War… Kyle recalled learning about it through the goblin kingdom in the Culdao Peaks. He knew that there had been a Galactic Era battle on this planet, but for what reason, between whom, and why, he did not know. The ‘Oracle’ did not have any information nor hints; the exosuits were all of a foreign make that he did not recognise from his past life.

There must be a critical reason why the Wardens are willing to give up an entire dungeon. I would have assumed they would also want it for the EXP gain. It was this ambient threat that made Kyle focus on both improving his troops and resources. Kyle was now mining the dungeon, scavenging for other arcia crystals in the various chambers as well.

On top of that, personal power was also a goal. Kyle had been grinding the dungeon, helping the workers clear out the rock spiders when he was not fighting in the field with ADCON. However, the EXP gain from the dungeon had significantly decreased. As such, he also had workers from Desham begin mining, clearing out the collapsed passageway from when he clashed with Soren to access more trials for EXP gains.

A well-trained force can only do so much. I need levels to counter whoever is coming to kill or stop me. Kyle tried to think hard about the Wardens’ overall objective and origins but could not come to a conclusion.

What exactly is their purpose?