The guardian deity of the earth awakens once more.
He, too, will follow the direction in which the world is headed.
Emperor Terramont of the Terra Empire and his retainers returned to their homeland after visiting the forest region of the Ignis Empire.
Before long, they arrived at the fortress of Montera, and each took their seats in the underground conference room.
Ratos was the first to speak.
“Your Majesty, when we were in the forest of Ignis, what you said was clearly a clue about the three-attribute core. Did Your Majesty know that Ignis had plans to fuse a three-attribute core?”
Terramont replied.
“Whether or not they were currently preparing a three-attribute core is not important. Even if not now, they would have begun someday.”
In truth, discussions about the three-attribute core had already taken place in Ignis’s fusion facility, and Emperor Vulcanus had heard that conversation and taken an interest.
Since it was Ignis that had opened the era of two-attribute cores, there was a high possibility that they would also be the first to begin the era of three-attribute cores.
Ratos silently repeated what Terramont had said back then.
For energies to intertwine with one another, they must be in balance.
A single energy can connect only with one other energy, so it is impossible for three kinds of single-attribute cores to fuse simultaneously.
However, a two-attribute core possesses two energies together, so with a two-attribute core, three energies can be fused as one.
‘Are the materials for a three-attribute core two-attribute cores?’
A two-attribute core could be successfully created without much difficulty simply by fusing two cores.
But fusing a three-attribute core was a difficult matter from the very conception of the method.
There was no place for a new energy to enter a two-attribute core in which two energies had already been fused, and it was also impossible for one single-attribute core to fuse simultaneously with two other single-attribute cores.
What method could solve these two difficulties at once?
At that moment, Gaia asked Terramont in a low voice.
“Your Majesty, are you not afraid of Ignis giving birth to a three-attribute core?”
Terramont’s tone remained calm.
“It will likely become chaotic to a degree incomparable to when the two-attribute core appeared in the world. But this is something we must take into account. We will be taking the path of integration. The path of integration is, by nature, long and complex.”
Gorban also spoke.
“You mean the integration of the five energies, correct? So it seems that empires like Ignis fusing three-attribute cores is part of that process… but it is somewhat regrettable that this is the only path.”
Terramont looked up at the ceiling of the underground fortress.
“Because the foundation must first be completed before the higher stage can be formed. That foundation is like the earth itself, which is what we are.”
Terramont’s plan was gradually becoming clear.
Terra no longer tried to stop the other empires from fusing cores.
Rather, they were guiding them to fuse the energies.
Ratos, who had been quietly lost in thought, slowly opened his mouth.
“I think it is still too soon.”
Gaia and Gorban looked at him.
Ratos continued.
His voice trembled somewhat.
“Even if Ignis has discovered the method of fusing a three-attribute core… they are lacking one material. And that is something Ignis can never create. If Ignis also realizes that fact, what action will they attempt to take?”
Terramont spoke quietly.
“We need only watch them.”
After hesitating for a moment, Gaia asked Ratos.
“If Ignis cannot make it, are you saying they will seize it through invasion? Or that people like Silva will provide support to Ignis…?”
“We cannot know that for certain. But has Ignis not almost always been that way? They attacked Metallum several times and seized Metallum’s cores. I imagine this time will be similar as well.”
This time, Gorban asked.
“Then what must we prepare for?”
Terramont replied.
“We need only collect the cores they have fused. There are still many two-attribute cores we have not acquired. I would like to fill those empty spaces now.”
Ratos’s gaze turned toward Terramont.
“We store cores in the core accumulation chamber. In practice, that means they are stored inside the fortress. Two-attribute cores are not naturally generated but are resources fused by the researchers of each empire. Surely we do not have to attack the fortresses in order to take those cores?”
Terramont firmly shook his head.
“If the quantity of cores they possess grows large, their fortresses will have difficulty handling it as well. There is a high possibility that they have prepared a separate space to store cores. Especially in the case of empires like Aqua and Silva, which produce large quantities of slime cores.”
“Slime cores…”
Ratos murmured.
“Among the two-attribute cores, that is probably the core with the greatest quantity. Next would be the golden core. In that case, Ignis will have no choice but to covet the slime core as well.”
Gaia and Gorban seemed to have grasped to some extent the meaning behind Ratos’s words.
The slime core was a core fused from Aqua’s wave core and Silva’s life core.
However, the empires could only fuse their own cores with the cores of other empires; they did not possess the ability to fuse cores belonging to other empires with one another.
If Ignis needed slime cores, the only ways to obtain them were to receive support from an allied nation or to attack and seize them.
“Ignis may attack Aqua or Silva…”
Gaia spoke to himself.
“I thought that might happen someday, but to think that time would be now…”
Gorban said to him,
“Surely, no matter how extreme Ignis may be, they could not possibly attack Silva. Who do they owe their survival to? But attacking Aqua would also be quite a shocking course of action. As we are positioned between them, should we stop Ignis, or should we let them pass?”
As an empire located in the center, Terra divided Ignis in the south from Aqua in the north.
When the retainers looked at Terramont, he replied.
“We and Ignis are in a relationship where we cannot harm each other. If they threaten us with ember cores, we will have to take a defensive stance as well, but pure fire only makes our land fertile.”
Terramont’s statement meant that if Ignis entered Terra’s territory with only the energy of fire, they could not stop them.
Ratos added to his words.
“I can only hope that the fire does not enter in excess. The sight of our center burning does not seem very appealing either. Even when Metallum once stayed in this center, there were not no voices of dissatisfaction, but Ignis… If it is fire of an appropriate intensity, it should be fine.”
Terramont rose from his seat.
“We endure it for a greater goal. If it is truly uncomfortable for Ignis to enter the center, then we can also cooperate with them in achieving their objective.”
The retainers were startled.
Gaia asked him,
“What do you intend to do?”
“I intend to summon Montanus back to this center now.”
The retainers looked at one another and all sprang up from their seats at once.
The second descent of the Yellow Dragon Montanus.
It was the moment the center sought to firmly establish the center once more.
Terramont and his retainers arrived at the altar before the Earth Barracks.
He stretched out his hand over the altar formed from several piled stones.
The underground interior of the barracks was still nothing more than an empty space.
Terramont spoke in a low voice, as if chanting an incantation.
“Guardian deity of the earth, Montanus. I summon you to this center.”
Rummble…
The sound of the barracks trembling could be heard.
“Hooo…”
Soon, the sound of breathing could also be heard.
Following that breath, dust rose from underground toward the sky.
“Grrrr…”
Now its growl resonated through the surroundings.
Before long, Terra’s soldiers and citizens had gathered around the barracks.
The citizens murmured among themselves.
“Is Montanus returning?”
“It seems so.”
“Then will we now see Montanus fight Aqua’s dragon…?”
“I’m not sure about that. In the end, it depends on Montanus’s choice.”
Montanus was first visible only as a shadow amid the hazy dust, but soon its form slowly began to reveal itself.
Yellowish rocks clumped together like scales, and eyes opened from between those rocks.
“Ooh…”
Even the citizens who had already seen Montanus before could not move from their spots at the sight of Montanus’s reappearance.
As Montanus stepped out of the barracks, the soldiers instinctively split to both sides, forming a path.
Terramont approached Montanus.
They stood facing one another once more.
“It has been a long time, Montanus. Your era has come again.”
“Grrr…”
Montanus looked at Terramont with yellow eyes.
“While you were gone, the world changed greatly. After you disappeared, the white dragon appeared in Metallum, the blue dragon in Silva, and the black dragon in Aqua. And Aqua’s black dragon, Marinus, is still watching the world from the sea in the north.”
“Grrr…”
Montanus quietly listened to Terramont’s words.
Terramont continued.
His voice was firm and composed.
“The world is still in chaos. At last, all two-attribute cores have been born into this world, and their power will gradually become stronger. No one can be certain what the power contained in those cores will bring forth.”
“Hooo…”
“But the direction in which this world must move is clear. Another way for the world to achieve balance and harmony is integration. We will embrace this world. By gathering together the energies that are moving in their own directions throughout this world, we intend for all of us to head together toward the ultimate destination.”
“Grrrr…”
Montanus’s enormous yellow eyes blinked.
Within its eyes lay a cold and tranquil light.
“Though the chaos of the world is intensifying, this chaos is inevitable. The path toward integration is long and complex, but in the end, it is a fate that no one can reject.”
Terramont took another step forward toward Montanus.
“I now entrust that role to you. Together with us, protect this earth. You must protect this center from the threats lurking throughout the world.”
“Grrrr…”
After Terramont’s words ended, Montanus slowly moved its body.
The dust it stirred up filled the surroundings.
Montanus turned its head and gazed into the distance.
The place where its gaze fell was a fortress glowing red.
The empire of fire, Ignis.
There was no great movement within the Ignis Empire.
Instead, in the ownerless forest they occupied, flames soared high into the sky.
“This is it!”
A researcher shouted.
Gathered in the forest, they had made an extraordinary discovery.
Ignis had been faster than Metallum.
As expected, they were the ones who sent great ripples through the world.