The flames drew closer to the center.
They knew no hesitation.
Since summoning the Yellow Dragon Montanus, the Terra Empire’s borders had not changed.
Neither the towering stone walls, nor the deep fissures carved into the earth—nothing had changed.
But the temperature of the air was different.
Because the army of the Ignis Empire had reached Terra’s southern border.
“Halt. Stop the advance. Do not cross the border.”
Emperor Vulcanus gave the order to his soldiers.
The Ignis army, composed of the Crimson Flame Knights, a small number of Hell’s Destroyers, and Lava Infantry, was hot enough to scorch the surface of the earth, yet before Terra, they moved with unexpected caution.
To begin with, they had no pretext to invade Terra, and in order to attack Terra, they would have to use ember cores. Naturally, Terra would not simply sit by and suffer it.
Ignis lingered for a time before Terra’s southern border.
Varkas said,
“I thought Terra would react if we made a move. But they still show no response.”
“Hmm.”
Vulcanus let out a brief, heated breath.
“Terra has always been like that. As if they know no fear. That is precisely why we must not be careless. Just because they do not move does not mean they are defenseless. It feels as though they are saying, ‘Come if you dare.’”
“How about we try entering for now? Terra has no way to stop us, does it?”
Varkas asked.
“No, enough.”
Vulcanus shook his head.
“We ourselves are not yet fully prepared. There is nothing to gain from provoking Terra.”
In truth, Vulcanus was still deep in thought.
He turned his gaze far into the distance.
“Terra’s threatening opponent is Silva. And because Metallum could keep Silva in check, Terra must have used Metallum as a shield. But what can we offer Terra?”
His retainers could not answer easily either.
They did have a way to suppress Silva through golden cores.
But unless they invaded Metallum again, their supply of golden cores was limited, and until recently, Ignis had even reached out to Silva.
It made no sense to suddenly take a position of keeping Silva in check now.
Yet if they stepped forward to restrain Aqua, another enemy of Terra, then the one with the superior elemental affinity against Aqua was Terra itself, so Terra would have no need for Ignis.
Vulcanus stepped forward as though making a decision.
Flames rippled softly beneath his feet, but his gaze was calm.
“There is no reason to advance farther. But we shall leave a spark here.”
He did not order the army to retreat.
Instead, he chose to redeploy his forces along the border and gradually increase their numbers.
Before an unmoving opponent, they slowly began to burn from within.
“One day, we will leap forward. For now, we are catching our breath.”
Terra’s earth remained silent, but the air above it burned heavily.
“Neither negotiation nor battle will take shape through ordinary means. We need something that can shake this stillness. And in a most unprecedented way.”
Vulcanus’s eyes blazed.
But his flame was not the heat of destruction. It was a yearning that wandered in search of something, and an ambition toward new possibilities.
Meanwhile, in the Fusion Facility located south of Volcanium, the burning heart of the Ignis Empire, another heated discussion was underway.
The researchers of Ignis, who had already developed every possible dual-attribute core, were also searching for new possibilities in their own way.
The first to speak was Researcher Raxa.
“We’ve succeeded with all the dual-attribute cores, so doesn’t it seem like triple-attribute cores should be possible too?”
“Triple-attribute…”
Researcher Caltheon tilted his head and replied,
“I do not think it is impossible, but finding the method seems to be the problem.”
In one section of the Fusion Facility, a small number of cores from other empires that had not yet been fused remained.
Another researcher, Nexor, also spoke.
“We cannot experiment on our own, can we? His Majesty has not yet given orders…”
“Exactly.”
Raxa answered while looking at the remaining cores.
“It sounds simple enough. But the problem is that a mere physical combination will not be the answer. The cores we have fused so far each required different methods. We had to consider compatibility. But how can three attributes be fused at the same time?”
Nexor said,
“How about this? We add another attribute to an existing dual-attribute core. For example, if we fuse a Silva core into a geyser core…”
Caltheon shook his head.
“No, that has little possibility as well. The balance of energy would not match. To fully fuse one dual-attribute core, we need four single-attribute cores of each type. A total of eight cores are fused into one. If we try to forcibly fuse another core into that, it may end up being neither one thing nor the other.”
The discussion was not fierce, but it was profound.
None of the devices in the Fusion Facility were currently active, yet the atmosphere within remained lively.
Caltheon spoke as though grumbling.
“I would like to try something, at least. How can we know whether it is possible or not just by thinking about it?”
Raxa answered him.
“We can try. Limited to the cores left here. Though the quantity is small, they were given to us to use freely.”
The number of cores held by the Fusion Facility was small, but the types were diverse.
Earth cores, wave cores, and four kinds of dual-attribute cores.
Nexor asked cautiously,
“What would come out? If our core and Aqua’s core are fused, a geyser core is created. If an earth core is fused into that…”
Caltheon answered ambiguously first.
“How would we know? Until each of the dual-attribute cores succeeded in fusion, we could not predict what they would become.”
Then Raxa said,
“Could that perhaps be the same as fusing an Aqua core into a lava core? In the end, fire, earth, and water are being fused all the same, are they not?”
A fused body with earth added to a geyser, and a fused body with water added to lava—would the result be the same?
The inside of the Fusion Facility was once again swallowed by silence.
“Providing Terra with flame cores would not be particularly helpful either, would it?”
When Phellos spoke, Varkas answered.
“Of course not. Terra does not lead core fusion themselves. Though it does seem as if they guide it.”
Vulcanus, his retainers, and the army turned the direction of the flames toward ownerless land.
They were expanding their territory by spreading fire through the southern region.
They moved away from the Terra Empire’s border once more.
And the wind grew hot again.
Ragdor shook his head and said,
“As expected, directly touching Terra is not a good idea. It would only provoke a counterattack.”
Vulcanus silently looked at the Lava Infantry mixed among the army.
Lava, the fusion of fire and earth.
Their appearance was perhaps the result that might occur if fire entered the earth at the center.
After a while, Varkas said,
“If a frontal breakthrough is impossible, how about an indirect method? We use the power of another empire to pressure the center.”
Phellos raised his head.
“We are currently advancing southwest. This area is close to Metallum. Most of the surrounding region has also come under our influence, but there are still areas that have not been conquered.”
“Yes, there are still places the fire has not reached.”
Vulcanus replied as though speaking to himself.
The Metallum Empire to the west, which they were now approaching, had already been invaded four times by Ignis in the past. Yet the resilient Metallum had defended itself alone without receiving anyone’s support.
“If we can occupy Metallum, their energy will become ours.”
However, Metallum was currently focused on defense rather than offense, and was modifying its fortress to its final stage.
In terms of opposing attributes, Ignis held the advantage over Metallum, but they were by no means opponents to be taken lightly.
Alternatively, there was also the option of approaching the Silva Empire.
Unlike Metallum, Silva was not an enemy nation.
However, they still maintained an alliance with Aqua.
“Silva inherently possesses an attribute capable of threatening the center. Is there no way for us to make use of their attribute?”
Silva had once contacted Ignis first and provided them with life cores.
And Ignis had given Silva ember cores in return, even attempting to win their favor by keeping Metallum in check.
However, because that incident had once caused conflict with Aqua, Silva would not look kindly upon Ignis for the time being.
“We must find a new path, not a predetermined direction.”
Vulcanus spoke as he walked at the very front.
The group was still moving southwest.
Ragdor asked Vulcanus,
“Is it expansion, then?”
“You could say that. Toward places our flames have yet to reach. The more a place has not been reached by anyone before, the more likely it is that something no one has discovered exists there.”
Ignis spread wide rather than high.
Due to the expansion of the fortress, the soldiers came to finish their training even faster, but Vulcanus and his retainers were not yet considering expanding the fortress to its final stage.
Expanding their territory came first.
That was a movement befitting Ignis.
“Wait.”
Vulcanus suddenly stopped walking.
“What is that place?”
Before their eyes stretched a small blue-green forest.
“Silva…?”
Phellos muttered.
Then Varkas said,
“This is the southwest. Silva, which exists in the east, could not have come all the way here.”
“Hmm.”
Vulcanus nodded.
“It is much like that. When we moved toward Silva, we once encountered a lake. At first, I thought it was Aqua, but there were no Aqua forces there. Silva cannot be seen in that forest either.”
It was as he said.
Forests were quiet by nature, but this place was so still that not even Silva’s army or citizens could be seen.
The trees and bushes showed no particular response to Ignis’s approach either.
“Is this also a trace of tree energy that has existed since the distant past?”
The moment Vulcanus finished speaking, their flames suddenly flared up.
The fire energy had been positively influenced by the tree energy.
“Ohhh!”
A Crimson Flame Knight shouted.
“I feel as though my power has grown stronger!”
The other soldiers spoke as well.
“I think so too.”
“Our fire is growing stronger!”
Vulcanus, who had entered the forest region, felt the same power they did.
“Heh.”
He gave a sinister smile.
“How convenient. We shall make use of this forest as though it were ours.”
Ragdor asked,
“It is welcome news, but how should we utilize it?”
Vulcanus did not yet give a definite answer.
Instead, he spoke meaningfully.
“Perhaps we may not need to rely on Silva.”
The Aqua Empire, having restored its relationship with the Silva Empire, also maintained water’s original attribute: condensation.
The crystals formed by condensed water sought to bring about a new change at the same time.