Chapter 109: Twenty Years of Busy Life After the Unification of the Continent. ...
The relationship between East and Arip was openly discussed, but no one dared to say anything to them. They silently accepted it. Besides, with the mainland in such chaos, who cared about such harmless romantic affairs?
Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Two years is enough for many people on the mainland to be certain that the gods no longer exist.
With the help of the players, the threat of monsters has been reduced, but the momentum of vying for power and profit has inevitably been stirred up, and the situation on the continent is turbulent.
But this has little to do with East for the time being. In two years, with the help of Arebo, the Orc Plains have been fully integrated into East's territory.
Areber didn't actually become a canary in the palace of East. For a few days, a week, or a month, this kind of life was quite interesting and fun, but after a while, an eagle accustomed to the wild would find it difficult to adapt to peaceful and stable days.
East knew perfectly well what was going on. He knew better than anyone that he couldn't keep Aripal locked up for long. Aripal's obedient role as a canary for a few days was his own choice, but in the end, it was just an act, not reality. Aripal Sansette would always be Aripal Sansette, and that would never change. East didn't want him to change either. He wanted him to always be himself, because that was the person he loved.
So East released him so decisively that even Ariber became suspicious and asked, "Baby, are you tired of me and have been hoping I'd leave for a long time?"
East was engrossed in his official duties. The Orcish Plains had just submitted and were in complete chaos. East couldn't even relax for a moment. Hearing Areber's question, he turned his head in surprise and asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Arip leaned against the desk, looked down at East, tugged at the chain connecting the two of them, and asked unhappily, "Then why didn't you keep me here a little longer?"
Easter relaxed his shoulders and leaned back in his chair, looked up and met Arip's gaze, and said, "I can't bear to part with it, I really can't bear to part with it."
Tell me about it.
“Of course I want you to stay. I haven’t forgotten what happened a month ago. The thought of you leaving my sight makes me panic. I wish you could stay with me forever. I can’t bear to see you go,” Easter said slowly. “But your strength and talent shouldn’t be buried. The Arip Sansette who stirs up trouble outside is the real Arip Sansette, and I’d much rather see you being flamboyant and unrestrained. Besides, I’m too busy to spend time with you. There’s no reason to keep you by my side. That kind of life is boring. I can’t bear to see an eagle with broken wings. You should soar freely in the sky.”
The first thing I'm reluctant to let go of is Arriber; the second thing I'm reluctant to let go of is his unhappiness.
How could Aripelago not understand his darling's thoughts? If he weren't so busy, he would have kept Easter from messing around.
And so it was settled. For the next two years, Arebo didn't go anywhere else. He worked with the players to fight monsters in the Orc Plains, and also helped the human officials who weren't good at handling things to deal with the construction of the Orc Plains.
With Arebo's military might as a deterrent, the orc plains became much more docile.
The people that Arriber promised to send arrived one after another, but East didn't give them much preferential treatment because of Arriber's presence.
Those who wanted to stay were given the normal examination process, and then they were appointed or dismissed from their posts. Those who didn't want to stay were even easier to deal with; Easter never did anything to make things difficult for anyone.
But most of them stayed, and they shone in their respective positions, helping East a lot.
With the initial foundation laid, a reasonably capable workforce has been cultivated over the past two years. With more manpower, Ister should be able to relax a bit more. Unfortunately, recently, everything outside the Kingdom of Felix has been in complete chaos, and even Areber is too worried to leave and has stayed in the palace for more than a week.
Easter patted Arip's back, signaling him to let go; it was time for him to get up.
Aripo not only didn't let go, but tightened his grip even more, muttering, "Baby, I checked beforehand, there's not much to do today, stay with me a little longer."
Ester longed to succumb to temptation, but circumstances wouldn't allow it. He sat up and gave Areber a comforting kiss on the forehead, saying in a soft voice, "The news arrived last night that envoys from several races are coming."
Arip rubbed his brow and said irritably, "How come they always pick the right time?"
In fact, both of them knew that this was bound to happen sooner or later. The existence of the Summoned Creatures of East broke the balance of power on the continent for nearly a thousand years. No matter how strong a country is, it is impossible to produce an unlimited number of soldiers. But East has players, so it can. Now, the major powers are all preoccupied with their own problems and have internal and external troubles. They can no longer spare the energy to suppress other small countries and races. Naturally, they have seized the opportunity to find a new way out.
This has happened more than once or twice, but this time it has the biggest impact.
When Easter saw someone familiar, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, and he cast a suspicious glance at Areper. Areper also showed a look of surprise, and only then did he suppress his doubts.
"What? Not happy to see us?" Pearl said leisurely.
Xavier smiled and nodded slightly to the two of them. "It's been a long time."
"Ahem, Your Majesty, good morning." It was the demon who hadn't shown his face for two years. Now, he was less arrogant and unrestrained than before. His face was pale, and even his hair had turned snow-white. He looked like a "sickly beauty."
"Your Majesty King Felix, greetings. I apologize for my intrusion." The speaker was a dwarf who bore a resemblance to the dwarf Wistan.
Ister didn't know what expression to make. Mermaids, elves, demons, dwarves—the most numerous and famous magical races were all gathered here, and before that, they had even expressed their intention to surrender. No matter how you looked at it, the only word to describe it was horror.
Arip frowned almost imperceptibly, pulled Easter to an empty seat, tapped the table, and said impatiently, "Tell me what you're up to."
Asan covered his mouth and coughed lightly. "My attitude has always been clear: whatever Your Majesty desires, I will grant it. With me here, they dare not cause trouble." He then turned to Ister and said, "Besides, everyone can see that only by following Your Majesty can they find a way out and live a good life. Who would think of causing trouble?"
Ester's eyes were filled with worry. The demon had a backup plan, but a sacrifice was still a sacrifice. Only two years had passed, and judging from the demon's current state, things were probably not going well.
Asang smiled and waved his hand, "It's alright, Your Majesty, thank you for your concern." He was no longer sharp or arrogant, but peaceful and gentle, as if he had been given a completely different soul.
Aribo looked strange, inwardly marveling that anyone who didn't know better would think it was this demon whose soul had been reshaped.
Asan glanced at Arebo indifferently, his expression detached and arrogant. The wind and snow may have suppressed the volcano, but that didn't mean danger was absent.
Arebo chuckled inwardly. How could one's nature be so easily changed? But it's good that I'm still alive and well, and that I haven't gone to the point of despair and suicide.
Ignoring the subtle exchange between the human and the demon, Easter looked at the remaining three gentlemen with a troubled expression, saying, "My temple is too small to accommodate so many big shots."
They didn't understand what the words in the language of East were used to describe, but they could clearly understand his meaning.
Pearl shrugged helplessly: "Isn't there no other way?"
“The situation is chaotic right now, and we don’t want to be forced to get involved in the power struggles of humanity,” Xavier said calmly.
Easter pointed to himself, bewildered. "I'm human too!" When was he excluded from the human race? How come he didn't know?
“We didn’t say you weren’t human, did we?” Pearl was even more confused. “That’s why we chose you.”
Easter pondered those words, rubbing his temples. "How could you think so highly of me? And didn't you compromise a little too quickly?"
There's absolutely no need for these major races to get involved in human conflicts. What benefit would they gain from it? Nothing but harm.
“It’s messed up,” Pearl said bluntly. “It’s not something we can just stop interfering on our own.”
The monsters were watching them menacingly. In the past two years alone, the number of humans and magical races who had died could be counted in the hundreds of millions. The total human population on the entire continent was only five or six hundred million. The number of magical races varied, with some having large numbers and others small, but overall it was around two billion. Neither the number of humans nor magical races was particularly large, so the loss was enormous. Yet the monsters were still endless. This was only because of the players' help. Without the players, one can imagine what the result would be.
Everyone knows that alliances are necessary, but before an alliance even begins and the war is over, everyone is already calculating how much benefit they want. Such a loose alliance is worse than no alliance at all.
"You should know that my strength is what it is, and I'm afraid it's difficult to meet your expectations." East thought for a moment and still refused. He clearly knew that there are gains and losses, and he could not afford to pay the price to these families at the moment.
"Really not willing?" Pearl asked. "This is a rare opportunity. Don't you want to reconsider? You're our first target, but that doesn't mean we don't have second or third partners."
East shook his head again, "I'm already lucky to be able to take care of my own little plot of land, I really have no energy left."
Pearl turned to Areper and said, "Aren't you going to try to persuade us? Given our relationship, you should know how sincere we are in coming here."
Arip's eyes were full of tenderness as she said, "I'm now my husband's canary, only responsible for warming the bed and making him happy, and I don't care about anything else."
Pearl grimaced, pretending to have a toothache. Arip was getting more and more shameless. Suppressing her slight envy, she sighed, "Ister, we came with sincerity. You are willing to accept the Orc Plains, so why are you unwilling to accept us? The Orc Plains were driven to the brink of despair back then, and we were in a similar situation. Don't be prejudiced and treat us differently."
Easter asked in disbelief, "You guys shouldn't have fallen to this level."
“Gods,” Xavier was a synonym for beauty and vitality, but now one could sense a deep weariness emanating from him. “You may not know how crazy the continent has become.”
The gods permeate every aspect of the continent and are inseparable from its creatures. Their sudden disappearance drives many believers mad, and their suicides are perhaps the best possible outcome.
More often than not, they would drag others down with them, saying that the gods had abandoned this continent and them, that they were guilty and should die together so that the continent could return to chaos and the gods could come back.
Another faction refused to give up. They searched for various secret techniques and formations, hoping to reconnect with the gods. When the righteous path failed, they turned to evil. Black magicians were incredibly popular during this time, sacrificing whatever they wanted. Whether it was life or soul, human or magical race, many died at the hands of these madmen.
The thoughts of madmen are unfathomable; no one can guess what they are thinking. They can suddenly have a fit of madness and cause big trouble. The number of people who die in infighting is almost one-tenth of the number who die at the hands of monsters.
“Demonic energy,” Arebo said.
“Very likely,” Xavier agreed.
Of course, there are people who are inherently insane, but those who are insane to the point of being beyond measure must have been influenced by demonic energy. It has a knack for amplifying human desires and thoughts, and it does so subtly and gradually, leaving people completely unaware of what's happening.
“Felix is an exception,” Xavier said, his tone ambiguous, “which is one of the reasons we were willing to come.”
East thought of the mission issued by the system and the power of [Miracle], and fell silent for a moment.
“Baby, don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Arip said, squeezing Easter’s fingers. “Don’t put all the responsibility on your shoulders.”
East had expected this day to come, but he never imagined it would come so soon.
What could he say? This was a responsibility he had to bear. At worst, he could just quit after the demonic calamity ended and the world crisis was over. He had a vague premonition about that.
East looked up at the ceiling, peering through the roof at the sky, and said calmly, "Okay."
His nod marked the beginning of the unification of the mainland.
A year later, the most mysterious dragon race arrived, and the persuader they sent was Caius, who had half dragon blood. It wasn't that the dragon race didn't take them seriously, but rather that there were problems within their ranks. Dragon eggs and cubs had been stolen, and after investigation, it was discovered that a group of cultists were behind it. The dragons' power was enough to crush them, but these cultists were like cockroaches that could never be killed, constantly harassing the dragon race in every possible way. With fewer dragons, they found themselves in a dilemma and had no choice but to seek outside help.
Ister nodded again, opening the Dragon Island instance. The players were incredibly excited and enthusiastically went to help the dragon race.
Then five years passed peacefully. Ister got along well with the magical races, and the players were deeply involved in every aspect of their lives. They were very harmonious with them, and both sides were very satisfied. No one wanted to break the contract.
Of the four human empires, the Campbell Empire was the first to bow down; they were merchants who had a rather indifferent attitude towards power. Then came the Leroy Empire, a nation that valued military might and was always willing to submit to the strong.
As the country of East expanded, East was so busy processing the newly acquired lands that it barely had time to sleep. The system's core was even burning out due to the sheer volume of data processing.
Eastbourne was also afraid of the other two empires, fearing that they, like other countries and races, might be bewitched and willing to submit. Fortunately, they were very steadfast, holding out for ten years, allowing Eastbourne to sort out its affairs, establish rules, and for all races to integrate properly, developing thriving and everything moving towards a bright future.
The two empires submitted their submissions together, and at that time, the two empires existed in name only. If East had not been unwilling, unification could have been achieved a few years earlier.
The talent selection process had long been on track, and East no longer worried about a lack of personnel. This time, he let his subordinates handle the affairs between the two countries, focusing only on the overall direction.
Easter never imagined he would be so patient. Living the same way for twenty years is inhuman.
Easter buried his face in Aribo's arms and almost cried. Unification was only the first step, and there was still more to come. Just thinking about how many more years he would have to live like this made Easter want to die.
Arip hugged East's precious darling and coaxed him. It's said that East has been in power for a long time, and his aura has become more and more imposing. It's been a long time since I've seen him act like this, being so spoiled and clingy. It's quite a novel sight to see him like this.
Easter sighed. What else could he do? Life had to go on.
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Author's Note: There will be two to three bonus chapters later on. One chapter will feature the players' story, one chapter will feature the main characters' date, and one chapter will feature a party. These will all be marked in the bonus chapters. If you don't want to read them, you don't have to buy them.
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Thank you all for your support along the way. Writing this book was very painful for the author, and I'm sure it was painful for you to read as well. My work this year hasn't been going very well, and the book's performance hasn't been good either. So I've had to focus more on real life, and updates have inevitably been intermittent. I was overconfident when I started this book, and I couldn't control the pacing of this kind of writing at all. I've done my best to write this far. To the lovely readers who leave comments on this chapter, I will always send a small red envelope, no matter when.
Happy New Year! A new year brings new beginnings, and I hope to see familiar faces in the next book.
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