Flames spread all the more upon wood.
The Ignis Empire established a new encampment near a certain quiet forest located in the southwest of the world, northwest from Ignis.
Additional troops reached the forest one by one, and the fire artisans gradually began constructing defensive walls.
A Crimson Flame Knight spoke as if in admiration.
“It really is amazing. Being in this forest makes me feel like my strength is increasing.”
Another Crimson Flame Knight nodded.
“Well, that’s because wood has that attribute, after all. From our perspective, it’s also the energy we need most.”
“Phew……”
The Crimson Flame Knight breathed out.
Stronger embers than usual spread from his breath.
“Now that I look at it, this place is close to Metalum, isn’t it? When those bastards invaded, if we’d made use of this place, the battle might have been easier.”
“True. But it seems they avoided this place when they came at us, too. Maybe we should have advanced this far first……”
There was no use regretting what had already passed.
All they could do was prepare so the same thing would not happen again.
Now that they had discovered this unknown forest, even at this point, defending against Metalum would become much easier.
Emperor Vulcanus walked through the forest with his retainers.
Hot flames surged from his body.
“I like this very much.”
Vulcanus spoke as if to himself.
“This forest makes our fire burn even brighter. With this forest, we will be able to kindle our flames once more.”
They remained in the forest for some time, but perhaps because the energy of wood was so strong, the trees did not burn black.
Though the forest was engulfed in Ignis’s flames, it maintained its original form well.
Barkas said,
“If we truly make good use of it, it will be of great help to our expansion.”
“Indeed.”
Vulcanus, who had been standing still, turned away.
“The most important thing is to place this energy in our hands. Seeing as the forest is not damaged even when we enter it, as long as no one seizes this place from us, we will be able to use this wood energy as much as we like.”
Vulcanus and his retainers left the forest region.
At the entrance to the forest, researchers from the Fusion Center were waiting.
Vulcanus commanded them.
“Try placing the wood energy produced in this forest into an energy core. If only that is possible, we too will be able to create the cores produced in Silva.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We will begin at once.”
Researcher Lexa bowed her head to him.
After Vulcanus and his retainers departed the forest, the researchers entered.
The three researchers, Lexa, Calteon, and Nexor, began examining the interior of the forest.
Calteon said,
“Wood is fuel to us. On top of that, this fuel appears to be something that is not easily exhausted.”
Lexa also peered closely at the trees that made up the forest.
“That’s true. Silva’s cores are more resistant to our fire than Metalum’s cores, but even so, their form changed. This forest doesn’t change even in the face of our fire.”
Nexor approached them and asked,
“Does that mean its energy is that strong?”
“Probably. Thanks to that, we can conduct our research with peace of mind. If we truly can make something like Silva’s core ourselves, then mass production of ember cores will also become possible.”
Calteon nodded.
“And the core we happened to need was Silva’s core, wasn’t it? The core we were going to fuse anew with the geyser core.”
Lexa continued examining the forest.
“Let’s see. His Majesty said that we should inject this wood energy into an energy core. His Majesty has the ability to create our flame cores from empty energy cores. But His Majesty is one who handles the energy of fire. Making the energy of wood, which is not our fire, something that we can handle—that is our role.”
Nexor said cautiously,
“When I try to think of a method, it feels rather overwhelming. Though the energy of wood helps us, it is fundamentally different from our own energy, so even with this energy right before our eyes, we cannot make it move as we wish……”
Calteon said,
“That is precisely the method we are now trying to find, is it not? I do not have any particularly good idea either. But that does not mean there is no method at all. We simply have not found it yet.”
Lexa was lost in thought.
She slowly began to speak.
“By ourselves alone, we likely cannot handle another energy. In that case…… we will need help from something else.”
Calteon and Nexor looked back at her.
Calteon asked in a murmur,
“Something else……?”
“At present, isn’t Silva the one capable of handling wood energy? Then we have no choice but to need Silva’s help.”
Nexor still did not understand her words.
“Do you mean we should ask Silva for assistance? That is……”
“No. Then there would be no point in us conducting research. And we already possess a part of Silva.”
Calteon and Nexor focused on Lexa’s words once more.
She continued.
“I mean cores. Silva’s cores are still remaining in the Fusion Center, aren’t they?”
Calteon said with interest,
“Ah, I see. But even with those cores, it seems there is nothing we can do directly……”
Of course, just because Ignis possessed Silva’s life cores, it was impossible for them to establish bases or train soldiers with those cores.
At present, they could only use the life cores as resources for fusing with their own cores.
“What about the ember core?”
Lexa answered his words.
“The ember core is a fusion of fire and wood. Since it has the energy of fire, we can handle it, and at the same time, it also contains the energy of wood, doesn’t it? Then if we make good use of that core, perhaps we can approach the energy of wood.”
The researchers’ ears perked up at Lexa’s words.
Calteon said,
“Ah, let’s bring one right away and test it. Then……”
He continued, turning toward Nexor.
“Come with me to bring the core.”
“Understood.”
Calteon and Nexor returned to the Fusion Center, and Lexa continued pondering as she wandered the forest alone.
Meanwhile, inside the citadel of the Ignis Empire, Emperor Vulcanus and his retainers had gathered and were holding a meeting.
Vulcanus said,
“I am reminded of something from quite long ago. Once, I had business in Silva and moved northeast, and on the way, a place where the energy of water spread out appeared. At first I thought it was Aqua, but it was a place where there was only water energy and nothing else. Do you remember?”
Barkas answered, reacting with surprise.
“Yes, that is so, Your Majesty! Like the forest we discovered, that place must also have been an unknown place without an owner.”
However, from Ignis’s perspective, discovering that lake at the time was not a pleasant memory.
Water was an energy stronger than fire, and because of that, their embers weakened just by approaching the vicinity of the lake.
When the surroundings fell silent, Vulcanus spoke again.
“Judging from that, it seems there are still more places in this world that have not been discovered. The discovery of the forest and the lake is only the beginning. We must find more places where such energies linger and make them our land, so that more and more energies will fall into our hands.”
At that moment, Ragdor spoke while gauging his mood.
“Your Majesty, however, the research on the forest has not yet been completed. Moving now to find another place…… may be too hasty a decision.”
Barkas added to Ragdor’s words.
“Furthermore, our forces have not recovered to their former level. If we rush only to advance in this state, our overall defensive strength will weaken by that much.”
Vulcanus’s gaze gleamed sharply.
“We have already suffered great damage because of those Metalum bastards. Because of them, our expansion has fallen far behind the other empires, and precisely for that reason, should we not be even more fervent in our expansion?”
Phellos did not say anything in particular.
Inwardly, he supported Vulcanus’s decision.
With only the energy of fire, there was a clear limit to the empire’s expansion.
That was why advancing in search of new energy might be an unavoidable choice.
Ragdor opened his mouth again.
“Your Majesty, how will you prepare for Aqua’s dragon? To us, Aqua’s dragon is more dangerous than Metalum’s dragon……”
Vulcanus was silent for a moment, then asked him in return.
“That…… Terra will block it on its own. Even now, that dragon is not leaving its own land, is it? What is there to worry about?”
“It is quiet now, but someday it may move……”
Vulcanus’s eyes blazed once more.
“Then should we not hurry all the more! Are you trying to say that we too should summon a dragon like Aqua? In any case, our energy is weaker than Aqua’s, so even if we summon a dragon, it will not be enough to oppose Aqua!”
The retainers all fell silent at once.
In truth, for them, the existence of a stronger energy in the world was something that wounded their pride.
However, Ignis had merely never encountered Aqua thanks to Terra; they had to admit that a weakness still existed for them.
Vulcanus continued in a somewhat calmer tone.
“Even if we summon a dragon…… it could be swallowed by water in an instant. That is why we must become a fire stronger than water. What makes our fire stronger is the energy of wood, and upon that wood energy, our embers will flare up again.”
The retainers remained wordless.
There would be no further bending Vulcanus’s stubbornness.
Vulcanus’s words continued.
“There is nothing to worry about. I believe the researchers are diligently following my orders even now. While the researchers fulfill their role, let us fulfill ours as well. That role is to move in search of new energy.”
Phellos carefully asked him,
“Then where will you move?”
Vulcanus rose from his throne and looked north.
“I suppose we should go to the center once. We have traveled that road before and encountered Terra several times, so if there had been any special place along the way, we would have discovered it long ago. However, the more familiar a place is, the more easily one can expand there. We will first organize the area around it, and then gradually widen our influence to places our flames have not yet reached.”
In truth, the reason Ignis encountered Metalum’s white dragon Aureus so quickly was, ironically, their indiscriminate expansion.
Because they had greatly widened their territory, the distance to Metalum had also shrunk, and so Aureus had soon reached Ignis’s borders.
After Metalum’s invasion, the Ignis territory that had stretched toward Terra had been reduced a great deal, and Vulcanus now wished to expand his territory in that direction once more.
Perhaps he wanted to reclaim the territory he had lost.