Chapter 637 Appearance of the Interne (2/2)

The warrior was quite open-minded: he would not refuse what the kid wanted—as long as it did not overstep boundaries.

Then, bustling voices wafted from the city gates: many Moldavian citizens had already gathered by the gates and city walls to take a look at Zero-One.

”So huge!”

”What's that, a colossal armored golem? Looks really powerful!”

If it were any other time, they would certainly not dare to talk so openly in front of such a colossal supernatural creature, but with Joshua standing there, they would not fear an army of wyverns, much less a steel giant.

”Look, Zero-One. They are welcoming you.”

Joshua smiled as he watched those curious, suspicious, worshipful and envious gazes leveled at Zero-One. In a flash, he appeared over Zero-One's shoulder and said softly, ”Welcome home.”

”Bzzt-bzzt!”

***

After helping many of the onlookers up onto Zero-One's body and let it carry them as it walked around the outskirts of Moldavia, Joshua had very much helped Zero-One assimilate into the human world. He was also naturally aware that were scouts from other factions amongst them, but it would not matter even if they learned of the fact.

Joshua did not return to his mansion, and instead led Zero-One to the vicinity of Winter Fort Academy when evening came. As the luminous shrouds of the night shone with crystal clarity, the warrior rose above the world and overlooked the entire Mycroft Continent. The distant horizons slowly arched in his eyes the higher his rose, the shape of the world becoming more distinct, the radiance that engulfed the world turning clearer.

Now, there was peace around the world, just as there were some shift.

The Far Southern Kingdom was in a period of civil strife. Their royal family had spent too much power to resist the army of berserker dragons and fight the Lord of Falling Sleet in direct confrontation, which in turn prompted those with ambition to make false moves to replace them—even after the Royal Family had released its territories around the southern mountains of the kingdom for free development, there was no satiating their appetite.

Even so, Joshua knew that those movements would fail. A while ago, the old pope had spoken about the matter: the pontiff had already sent Roland and Saya to pacify matters—with the urgent need for the world to preserve their power and develop outwardly, any losses over internal troubles were unacceptable. This may be the moment that the holy knight slowly debuted after the fate of the world had been altered, nurturing his renown and reputation as the successor to the pope.

Meanwhile, the West Mountains were still in chaos just like the past hundreds of years. However, the strife unexpectedly maintained partial stability—as the cultists were slowly wiped out, along with the trade and interaction with subterranean civilizations, a circle of Extraordinary forces that held adventuring as their main staple slowly took shape.

Thanks to the high returns, most former war mercenaries and adventurers were more willing to accept missions to explore underground reaches compared to their previous life of combat. At present, with huge underground caverns as their starting point, countless mercenaries carried dreams and hopes as they dove deep into dark and deep abysses, searching for ancient ruins as they passed through cracks and passageways.

In the process, they may come across battles between dwarves and subterranean elves, or get lost in the deep abysses, unable to return to the surface… But there would always miracles that blessed certain others, and they would return, grandly rewarded.

It was certainly the truth: there had been a lucky party that discovered ruins from the Glorious Era, with the now-useless magical items and rather well-preserved classical texts purchased by various influential factions with sky-high prices. The party even became the important guest of a certain kingdom, allowing them to rise to the pinnacle of their lives—it hence prompted even more adventurers and mercenaries to explore.

For a faction, compared to sparing greater cost and capital so that they could venture down below, it was instead much better to post seemingly huge rewards—that actually was not much for a nation's treasury—to attract mercenaries and adventurers. Both sides found it worthwhile, and none would refuse that little capital.

While there was the occasional conflict between the Eastern Plains and the Northern Empire, there was nothing significant apart from the competition between different mage guilds and squabbles amongst nobility.

The Skypiercing White Tower had now poured all effort upon the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds. The Legendary champion Barbarossa had allegedly attained a portion of information regarding Giant God Warriors after communicating with the Will of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds that had long slumbered. As for the Northern Empire, thanks to Joshua's link with the will, they simply retrieved a damaged Giant God Warrior for research, with the technology contained within shocking even present-day gazes.

Furthermore, the popularity of Fairy Cards was nothing unexpected.

Thanks to the current environment, the Fairy Cards became widespread a little earlier than in the pre-existence. One could register a private account in the unique game with just one crystal card, and groom a sense of accomplishment in the trading card battle… there was no question that the bursting popularity of Fairy Cards was not random. It had now become a standard item for all taverns, and any taverns without a Fairy Card Table would undoubtedly be left behind.

In fact, Tempest the fairy had asked Joshua about a certain matter some time ago. She appeared intent on creating a card of the warrior, and had patted her little chest to assure him that it would be an absolutely powerful legendary card. However, Tempest did not know about the warrior's accomplishments, and was therefore unable to design it.

Still, Joshua was willing to tell her everything since there was nothing too shady. All that he did was justified, honorable and praiseworthy feats, although saying it all out was no different than boasting. After all, things such as saving worlds, standing against ten thousand foes by himself sounded fake even to Joshua himself, and it could only be said that he was now so powerful that he himself could not quite make sense of it.

”It's been a peaceful year, huh.”

Standing on the atmosphere within a line's breadth from the Void, Joshua overlooked the whole world and sighed genuinely.

But even as Joshua was left whelmed with emotion, he would never have imagined how huge the upheaval would come as all the difference he made to this world combined.

***

The Skypiercing White Tower: an entirely white skyscraper, as if built entirely of white jade marble that reaches to the skies, standing aloft in the heart of the Eastern Plains.

”Barbarossa—look, that huge magical network!”

”Heavens, we actually never noticed it for so long… The network is simply hidden so deeply, and we would never have discovered it if not for the codebreaker from the Giant God Warrior!”

The two Legendary mages Barnil and William were speaking to a solemn-faced bald mage in secret laboratory over a hundred floors above the tower, amidst bright white rays.

”Alright. Shut up, Barnil, I'm looking…” the bald mage muttered, ”By the truth, it's beautiful.”

He sighed a long breath after mostly noting the network's construct.

”Dazzling magical arts. Is that unparallelly perfect network natural or an inheritance, blessed upon us by the Glorious Era? If it is natural, the world certainly treats us well. But if it's an inheritance…”

At that, Barbarossa sighed softly, unable to stop himself from clenching his own fist. ”…When would we actually surpass our predecessors?”

”You're overthinking it, my dear Mister Hairless,” Barnil replied with a shake of his head, seemingly merciless after being told to shut up—although they were not really so calculating given their familiarity. ”How many years did our predecessor developed before the Glorious Era was accomplished? The Sage took hundreds of years to unify the powers of a continent, while our Starfall Era history isn't over a thousand and a hundred years old even after counting the dark ages now, is it?”

”But you're right. It's time to do some fine research on that massive magical network that connects the entire world, and adapt it for our use!”