The scattered waves were gradually regaining their shape.
Nereis, capital of the Aqua Empire.
The blue cradle floating atop the surface of the sea had grown noticeably brighter in mood.
The flow of the waves had become gentle once more, and the maritime logistics corridors that the current designers had reorganized together with Sian revived the city’s pulse in a regular rhythm.
In the Blue Plaza, the citizens of Aqua glided along the waves, sharing laughter and lively chatter.
The waves that surged in periodically lifted the citizens coolly into the air.
They no longer had any reason to grow dizzy from irregular currents.
All of this had come about after the fall of Montanus and the restoration of relations with Silva.
“Now that the currents have calmed down, my heart feels calmer too.”
“Tell me about it. Until just recently, we were all losing our minds because of those damned clods of dirt and lumps of stone.”
“I heard they’re going to resume producing the slime cores they’d stopped making together with Silva?”
“That’s what I heard too. It’s a good thing.”
Within Aqua, rumors spread fairly quickly due to the ceaseless flow.
News about their relationship with Silva was no exception.
Of course, the soldiers’ morale had risen as well, and they threw themselves into training with vigor.
Among them, Naus was demonstrating a tactical simulation with the soldiers.
Near the fortress, Levian stood with his eyes closed, concentrating in order to feel the pulse of the ocean currents.
He slowly opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings with an expressionless face.
“Hard to believe. How long has it been since things were like this?”
The threat from Terra had disappeared.
Dialogue with Silva was proceeding smoothly as well.
There were no abnormal signs in the flow of the currents.
There was nothing to worry about for the moment.
“Things are remarkably stable. If it continues like this, then we too…”
Empress Nereia was also looking down upon her empire from atop the fortress.
Quietly, she engraved this restored peace into her heart.
After a long while, her voice rang out softly.
“The flow has connected once more. We must take this moment as an opportunity to deepen the deep sea even further.”
Signs of war were still arriving in various corners of this world, but for now, Aqua was catching its breath.
Like an empire of water, this was a time when it displayed greater strength in recovery than in battle.
At the restored border between the Aqua Empire and the Silva Empire in the northeast, production of slime cores had resumed.
The materials for slime cores were Aqua’s wave cores and Silva’s life cores.
Because Silva had begun providing life cores again, not only Aqua but Silva as well had become able to produce slime cores.
Of course, as the supply of slime cores increased, slime soldiers also began to be produced anew.
The slime barracks floating atop the surface of Aqua’s sea had remained inactive all this time, but now that stillness was broken.
Immediately after roughly ten slime infantrymen were produced, the slime barracks entered the process of transformation to the next stage.
“Slime barracks, begin stage-three deepening.”
At Sian’s command, the current designers converted the slime cores into slime and gathered it atop the barracks.
The blue-green slime was heavier and stickier than condensed crystals of water.
However, the designers handled the slime skillfully.
The method of deepening the slime barracks differed from Silva’s, but the types of soldiers it produced were essentially the same.
“Slime barracks, stage-three deepening complete.”
Before long, the deepening of the slime barracks was finished.
Since the slime core was already a dual-attribute core, unlike the wave barracks or life barracks, the slime barracks started at stage two from the moment of its construction.
Therefore, the next stage was naturally stage three.
Naturally, the slime infantry and Flexible Warriors, the unit types of the slime core, were treated as stage two and stage three respectively.
Levian asked,
“Can we produce Flexible Warriors as well?”
“Of course.”
Sian replied.
Levian inserted slime cores into the barracks.
Silva had been producing Flexible Warriors and deploying them to the battlefield for quite some time, but only now could Aqua finally match Silva’s pace.
The tactician Naus let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Flexible Warriors have finally come to us as well.”
The four newly appeared Flexible Warriors took shape within the flow of slime.
Their movements were also similar to Silva’s Flexible Warriors.
As their name suggested, they moved their bodies faster and more fluidly, and at times even stretched themselves out like liquid.
Perhaps because Aqua had produced them, they were bluer and more transparent in color than Silva’s Flexible Warriors.
“They’re certainly denser than us.”
Levian reluctantly acknowledged the performance of the Flexible Warriors.
Naus added as well,
“Their ability to absorb impact is also quite good, so they can fight more effectively against earth and rock. Of course, one could also say that the wood energy contained within the slime overcomes the energy of earth…”
Levian nodded.
“Our water may take a detour, but in the end it reaches its destination. The slime soldiers have that aspect as well. They will evade and bypass, but ultimately strike the enemy’s vital point.”
From the slime barracks, slime infantry and Flexible Warriors were newly produced, forming units.
They were beings made of a wondrous substance—stickier than water yet as hard as solid matter, and capable of flowing and moving like water as needed.
Sian said,
“It has been a long time since Silva sent us enough cores. If the supply remains stable like this, it seems possible to deepen the barracks by one more stage.”
After finishing his words, he gauged the reactions of the other retainers.
Levian and Naus gave no particular answer.
It was still something that had to be decided carefully.
In truth, what needed to be considered before the evolution of unit types was the deep structure that would support all of this.
Beneath Aqua’s fortress, a whirlpool raged quietly in the depths of the deep sea.
That place was the true root of Aqua.
Empress Nereia and her retainers gathered inside the fortress.
Levian spoke in a confident tone.
“Your Majesty, the slime soldiers are being produced smoothly. As expected of troops from a dual-attribute core, their power is outstanding as well. We should now be able to sufficiently prepare for any sudden actions from Terra.”
Naus then spoke as well.
“Silva had already begun producing stage-three troops some time ago, while we have only now started to do so. It is fortunate that we can match the pace of their development even now.”
Nereia nodded.
“You have all worked hard. From what I can see, there do not appear to be any major problems so far.”
Soon, Sian spoke.
“If I may be so bold, what do you think about deepening the slime barracks to stage four? Our storm beasts are already sufficiently powerful beings, but a stage-four unit type from the slime core, a dual-attribute core, should be even stronger.”
Levian and Naus looked at one another.
It was something Sian had brought up briefly earlier as well.
Nereia also did not answer immediately.
Only the clear surface of the water beneath the floor of the fortress rippled slowly.
Sian continued.
“It is possible. Silva has provided more cores than I expected. Even though we are steadily producing slime soldiers, the number of remaining cores is gradually increasing.”
After some thought, Levian slowly nodded.
“We could go further. However, there is one thing that concerns me: the direction. The deepening of the slime barracks was not part of our original plan.”
Naus added,
“To be honest, I think similarly. We only thought of increasing our slime forces; we had not considered deepening them. Even if the deepening were completed without issue, would what comes after not be important as well? If we are not careful, we may show a tendency to rely excessively on slime forces rather than our own troops. In other words, our flow could be altered.”
Nereia gently closed her eyes.
It was not as though she had no ambition.
With the atmosphere within the empire improving as time passed, and their relationship with Silva restored, now felt like the perfect opportunity to make an even bolder choice.
But greed that exceeded its proper measure could become poison that instead disrupted the flow.
Unlike Ignis, Aqua had pursued condensation and unity rather than expansion.
“We must not lose our composure.”
When Nereia’s voice was heard, the retainers looked at her.
“If the barracks are the hands at the front, the fortress is the heart at the center. If the center is not firm, then no matter how flexible the hands are, they are useless.”
In that instant, the droplets of water surrounding her scattered like spray.
From that sight, the retainers sensed her resolve.
“The slime forces are sufficient as they are now. The slime barracks shall be maintained in their current state. More importantly, we must deepen our fortress first. Do not forget our roots.”
The retainers bowed their heads at the same time.
“Yes. We shall obey your command.”
“The deepening of our fortress has only one final stage remaining. That process must take priority above all else.”
Having finished speaking, Nereia rose from her throne and walked to the edge of the fortress.
She quietly gazed at the waves flowing beyond the window.
Those waves were neither fierce nor slow.
They moved at a peaceful speed, like the current mood within the Aqua Empire.
After the meeting ended, Nereia left the fortress alone.
She rode the flow of the sea and swam above her territory.
When it was judged that enough slime soldiers had been produced, their production was halted once more.
The wave cores produced thereafter were accumulated in storage as they were.
At present, the empire was in the stage of gathering resources for the deepening of the fortress to its final stage.
Nereia closed her eyes to sense the currents.
When she felt no abnormal changes, her expression remained serene.
“How long has it been since the atmosphere was this quiet…?”
Nereia recalled the past.
The time when the empire called Aqua had been born in this world, then shifted the direction of its flow eastward, and first encountered the Silva Empire.
Back then, the situation must have been similar to now.
And now, their power was greater than it had been then.
They had suffered through many hardships until now, but those too had disappeared.
Nereia opened her closed eyes again.
She looked up at the blue sky.
As if reflected in the color of the sea, the sky too bore a similar watery hue.
“Am I making the right decision?”
She murmured to herself.
“Is there anything I have overlooked, anything I have grown complacent about? Is this flow still moving in the right direction?”
Nereia tried not to relax her vigilance even in this situation.
This quiet atmosphere now had merely been granted as an opportunity to reorganize and strengthen the unity within Aqua.
Threats still existed in this world.
No one knew when Terra might move again.
And somewhere, there might be some being even more overwhelming than Terra looking down on them.
Nereia quietly repeated to herself,
“We must deepen the fortress without fail. Only by strengthening our interior first can we turn outward.”
Meanwhile, the Silva Empire was planning tremendous growth by making use of its own pace of development.
“Now, for us as well, it will not be long.”
In the Chamber of Life, Empress Drian whispered as she stroked the stem of a tree.
A faint smile rested on her face.