Chapter 135. Official Meeting
While Cedric is busy updating his world.
Since Lacius explored the elven and dwarven lands before returning, he traversed a different part of the mountain range that separated the continent, rather than the route he took to reach the elven territory and visit Elisa.
During his flight, he noticed something in the distance.
His curiosity was piqued, Lacius changed direction and spotted a long, flat valley stretching out like a line.
As he watched the flat valley, realization dawned on him, and his eyes widened.
He went to explore both ends of the valley and discovered that it actually connected human territory with the elves!
Unlike the mountain range’s rugged terrain and magical barriers that hindered movement for armies and traders, the valley, though quite narrow, is extremely flat. This makes it easy for armies and caravans to bypass it.
Lacius narrowed his eyes. ‘Only the creator can do something like this silently. But why? Did the creator think it's time for humans to mingle with elves and dwarves from the other side of the world? Yet, why not simply remove the mountain range altogether?'
Having witnessed the creator single-handedly raise the mountain range, Lacius believes the creator could flatten it entirely.
'Then, Is it to keep one side safe from the other? But both humans and elves should have roughly equivalent strength,’ Lacius pondered deeply, arriving at a conclusion: ‘The creator likely wants us to do small amount of exchange. Judging by their actions, the creator seem opposed to conflicts that lead to mass death. This valley probably acts as a barrier to prevent widespread conflict, especially since such a valley is ideal for fortifications. There might also be some reason like maintaining each race’s culture.’
Lacius didn’t doubt his conclusion. After all, he has lived for an extremely long time and has seen how cruel and crazy humans can become. At humanity’s current state, causing conflicts with other races seems inevitable.
‘But, to continue surviving and prove my worth to the creator, I suppose I should also try to rein in and suppress the chaos that will inevitably occur.’ Lacius has known about the demon king’s birth in the elves’ territory for a few hundred years.
The fact that the creator hasn’t summoned him to help makes Lacius feel threatened. He’s also someone in a ruling position, and one of the most common reasons he has stopped using a subordinate is because he no longer favors them.
Having reached a clear conclusion, Lacius stopped his contemplation. 'My immediate goal is to maximize my benefit while securing the creator’s favor. My ultimate aim is eternal life. Now that I have about ten thousand years of lifespan remaining, I need to prioritize my safety.’ Without delay, Lacius returned to the Temple and instructed the High Priest to gather people to build a fortress in the valley to serve as a defense and regulate the entry and exit of other humans.
The Temple's quick response drew attention from various kingdoms and empires, especially as they watched the Temple gather its forces.
While waiting for the people who’ll build and defend the fortress, Lacius commanded the High Priest to investigate the mountain range and look for more valleys in case there are more than one of them.
After two days, Lacius received a report that two valleys had opened a direct line from the human territory. Each line led straight to the elf and dwarf races, respectively.
While he flew to the second valley to find a suitable site for the fortress, Lacius suddenly felt a massive earthquake that triggered several landslides in the mountains adjacent to the valley.
He ascended higher into the sky and observed that the entire mountain range was affected. Some tall trees at the earthquake's epicenter had fallen, whipping up large clouds of dust.
Lacius continued flying toward the elven territory and noticed the ground was still shaking. The tremors grew even more intense when he reached the dwarves’ land.
Watching the earthquake cause several dwarves’ buildings to collapse, Lacius felt awe, shock, and fear. Compared to this kind of natural power, his ability seemed insignificant.
“If I wanted to live forever, I suppose I shouldn’t just focus on extending my lifespan but also need to increase my strength and gather more trump cards to protect myself from danger.” Secretly, he mused in his mind, ‘And also the Creator’s favor. Otherwise, if they sent something like this earthquake to my secret room, it would be enough to severely injure me.’
Lacius continued traveling toward the location with the strongest earthquake magnitude. He only stopped when the earthquake also stopped.
“Calculating the distance, the most affected area seems to be the dwarves’ territory. Based on the earthquake’s might, the human territory should also get affected. Which means this earthquake affected most of the world.”
“Is the world going to descend into another era of disasters like before?” Lacius recalled the series of disasters that had occurred a millennium ago and decided to take a wait-and-see approach.
If there are no more earthquakes, then he’ll proceed as planned and allocate most of the Temple’s manpower to build the fortress. Otherwise, he’ll use the gathered manpower for disaster relief.
After inspecting the valley and the earthquake, Lacius returned to the Temple.
As expected, the High Priest reported a massive earthquake that affected nearly the entire human territory.
Although the strength of these earthquakes was quite weak, their enormous extent caused panic among the nobles in the kingdom, the empires, and the Temple’s higher-ups.
Lacius adhered to his plans and adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Fortunately, until about two weeks later, when the initial group to build and defend the fortress gathered, no additional earthquakes occurred.
He dispatched them to the two valleys along with dozens of third-level blessed individuals and the current High Priest. Lacius also informed the High Priest about what awaits beyond the mountain range.
When the people sent by the Temple arrived, they discovered traces of dwarves and elves during their exploration of the valley.
After an initial surprise, the High Priest explained the situation to the other high-ranking priests who were close to him.
After hearing the High Priest’s explanation and introduction about other races, the construction of the fortress proceeded smoothly.
Meanwhile, the elves and dwarves also began building their own fortresses. Elisa and the current elven queen summoned many nature and earth elementals blessed to help construct a fortress to defend against human attacks.
Meanwhile, the dwarves also sent many blessed to build the fortress. After receiving Elisa’s warning about the danger from humans on the other side of the valley, the dwarves decided to send the excess cannons they had made to strengthen the fortress further.
They also shared some cannons with the elves. In exchange, the elves helped them add plant-based defenses and an internal communication system within the fortress.
Under Catherina’s lead, the Magic Association and Adventurer Guild also joined in on the fun.
Because of the valley, the Magic Association realized that its monopoly over the secret pathway to bypass the mountain range was no longer very useful. They then invested heavily in the fortress to gain some control over trade between elves, dwarves, and humans.
While all factions were busy constructing their respective fortresses, news of other races had already spread throughout human lands.
Those with acute senses have already released the potential benefits of the fortress and wish to obtain some rights over it.
After some back-and-forth exchange, they finally traded a lot of resources with the Temple in exchange for the right to use the fortress for trade with other races.
At the same time, the High Priest himself wanted to discuss the matter between humans and other races. However, he was stumped by the language barrier.
That was until a messenger from the elves sent a message written in the human language. The High Priest who received it read the message inviting a human representative to discuss the futures of the three races.
Soon, the High Priest, under Lacius’s order, sent a reply to the other races.
Before the discussion began, the three races decided to hold it somewhere between the human and the elves’ fortress.
When the High Priest and a few important Temple officials arrived, they saw many races gathered for the first time. Among them was Catherina, a talking dragon who made everyone gasp in surprise.
Next to Catherina, there are dwarves, elves, and even humans from the Magic Association and Adventurer Guild.
Catherina, having learned the language from all three races, has been selected as the mediator and translator.
"Greeting, my name is Catherina, and I will serve as the mediator for this meeting," she said slowly while comfortably lying on the ground.
Around her, representatives from every force sat at a table, umbrellas attached to their chairs, protecting them from the heat and rain.
With Catherina's word as the opening, the meeting began. The discussion lasted three full days before it concluded. Midway through, some representatives even resorted to physical violence, but Catherina easily subdued them.
It took a long time, but thankfully, they reached preliminary cooperation. All parties involved also signed a peace treaty that will last at least a decade.
***
In the Divine Space, Cedric watched the situation in the Crystal Cube world and nodded with satisfaction. Throughout the three-day meeting, Cedric remained tense, constantly monitoring the proceedings while preparing to purchase several [Divine Intervention: Urge] to ensure a favorable outcome for the world.
"Thankfully, the discussion bore fruit," Cedric muttered as he relaxed on a sofa he conjured out of thin air. For the following month, Cedric rested while observing the construction of the new fortresses.
Occasionally, he'll also check on the fairies, mermaids, kraken, and dragons.
A month after their creation, the new races have all adapted.
The mermaids have learned how to establish fish farms and several seaweed farms. Some of these fish and seaweeds are even magical species.
Using their strength, the mermaids quickly became the overlords of their territory. As their influence expands, it's only a matter of time before they encounter the krakens, fairy islands, or the continent.
As for the krakens, they have now split into groups of two or threedue to insufficientt food.
When they all jumbled together like a ball of entangled yarn, the food consumption of the herd is simply massive, almost causing some krakens to die from hunger.
After they separate into groups of two or three, the krakens still love to jumble together and reproduce with one another.
As a result, compared to the other new species, the kraken has the highest pregnancy rate. Approximately every two groups have a pregnant kraken, which means 20% of krakens are pregnant females.
Then, there are the fairies who are still busy playing around without a care in the world.
With their blessed power, the fairies loved to blast each other with their respective elements.
They also like to play around with the animals on their island.
Recently, the fairies also got interested in eating honey from bees. They have developed a strong bond with the bees, creating a symbiotic relationship. The fairies with nature-element blessed powers will grow numerous flowers and defend the bees from beasts, while the bees allow fairies to harvest a fair amount of honey.
Finally, regarding the dragon. Since being created, some dragons have started leaving the islands they created and have arrived on the continent.
Just like the dragon V.1, the V.2 also initially liked to put everything into its mouth.
In that regard, they seem more like a giant baby rather than a monstrous giant lizard.
Thankfully, their intelligence is much higher than that of the V.1 dragons. After a few days, they mostly learned which foods taste good and which do not.
As a result, they mainly embarked on a gourmet journey around the water near their island.
Recently, two dragons accidentally burned a giant tuna with their breath during a fight. When one of them curiously ate it, the dragon discovered a new world of delicacy and started roasting everything they ate.
From feathery birds to scaly fish, none are spared from the dragon's hunt for delicacy. They even munched on plants and trees after one of them found some delicious berries.
If things continue, Cedric believes the island’s ecosystem will soon be damaged. He wanted to warn them, but thought that allowing the dragons to keep the island's ecosystem might teach them not to overuse their resources.