Chapter 603: 603:What!Another War
Several months passed away and the situation inside the Arcadia Empire remained extremely heavy even after the war officially came to a halt, and although the people celebrated the ceasefire on the surface, the upper layers of the Empire were far from pleased.
After all...
Arcadia had still lost the war in the end.
Large portions of conquered territories had been ceded away, and countless soldiers had died throughout the long years of fighting while the Empire itself suffered enormous damage to its economy, military strength, and resources.
Entire regions had been reduced to ruins.
Many noble families had declined heavily.
And although the war ended before Arcadia completely collapsed, the losses were still severe enough to leave deep scars behind.
Because of that, the higher-ups of Arcadia naturally wanted to recover some benefits through the newly discovered cure.
Originally, they had planned to use the potion as a bargaining chip to gain huge amounts of treasures, resources, rare materials, and strategic advantages from the Demon Alliance.
After all, the curse affecting demon children was the very reason this entire war had started in the first place.
This cure had immense value.
It was something capable of changing the balance completely.
But unfortunately...Their plans were quickly crushed during the negotiations.
The other four human Empires immediately stepped in and started pressuring Arcadia heavily from behind the scenes.
They did not want Arcadia to gain too much from this situation.
Especially not after the Empire had already produced something capable of ending the war itself.
The other Empires were already wary of Arcadia’s rapid rise during the past decades, and now that the Crown Prince’s reputation had skyrocketed because of the cure, many people had become even more cautious.
If Arcadia obtained huge amounts of resources and treasures on top of that.Then the balance between the Empires would shift too much.
Naturally...
They would never allow such a thing easily.
Inside the negotiation halls, arguments broke out repeatedly while each side continuously tried to suppress the others and protect their own interests.
At one point, the atmosphere became so tense that several officials nearly started shouting openly.
"In such a human crisis, how can you people still think about profits?"
"That cure belongs to all humanity!"
"You cannot monopolize it!"
The pressure from the other Empires became stronger and stronger while they continuously pushed Arcadia backward step by step.
At the same time, even the Demon Alliance remained cautious and refused to hand over too many strategic resources despite desperately wanting the cure.
In the end...
After endless negotiations and political struggles...
Arcadia only managed to obtain moderate monetary compensation from the Demon side along with several trade agreements.
Large amounts of gold coins would be paid gradually in exchange for the cure.
But that was all.
No massive treasure reserves.
No ancient resources.
No strategic lands.
No overwhelming benefits.
Compared to what Arcadia originally hoped for...
This result was far from satisfactory.
Inside the Imperial Palace, many officials were deeply frustrated because they knew this had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strengthen the Empire greatly after the war.
Arcadia needed resources badly.
They needed treasures.
They needed rare materials capable of nurturing the next generation of experts after losing so much strength throughout the war.
But now...
Most of those ambitions had been forcibly suppressed by the other Empires before they could even properly begin.
The higher-ups of Arcadia naturally felt unwilling.
Because everyone understood one thing clearly.The current peace would not last forever.
Wars would happen again sooner or later.
And when that time came...
The lack of sufficient resources and growth during this recovery period could become a fatal flaw for Arcadia in the future.
Even Emperor Alaster himself remained in a grim mood after the negotiations ended.
Because although Arcadia had survived and although the war had finally stopped...
The Empire had still failed to gain the true benefits it desperately needed after paying such a heavy price.
Ethan saw through all of this clearly and could not help but sigh while leaning back against his chair with an irritated look on his face.
"Serves you right," he muttered coldly.
As far as he cared, they could continue fighting among themselves and screw everything up further if they wanted.
He did not want any part in that mess anymore.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince had already dragged him around enough.
First, they forcefully imposed punishment on him after the war, and then later acted generously by reducing his sentence instead of properly rewarding him for the potion that helped end the conflict.
And now, after failing to gain massive benefits from the negotiations, some people inside the Empire even seemed dissatisfied with the overall outcome.
Bullshit.
Now this was going beyond bullshit.Ethan clicked his tongue lightly while looking out from the balcony of his residence.He had already done enough.
Far more than enough.
Yet somehow trouble still kept following him one after another.
And just then...
Ethan received some "bad news."
No...
Calling it bad news was putting it lightly.
It was disastrous.
Only two days earlier, the four major human Empires had collectively declared war on the Arcadia Empire.
The news spread through the continent like a storm and immediately shook countless people to the core.
No one truly understood what exactly happened behind the scenes, but suddenly the situation exploded without warning.
And before anyone could even properly react the armies of the four Empires had already begun gathering near Arcadia’s borders.
According to the intelligence Ethan received through his own network, the four major Empires were preparing to join forces and divide Arcadia completely.
The previous war against the Demon Continent had only recently ended, and the result already left all five human Empires heavily damaged.
But among them Arcadia suffered the worst losses by far.
Nearly half of the Empire’s territories had been devastated by war, and several provinces had either fallen into the hands of Demons, Orcs, and Beastmen or had been completely ruined beyond recovery.
And the military losses were even worse.
Many elite troops had died.
Several powerful noble families had declined badly.
Countless experts were lost during the long war.
Even now, Arcadia still had not properly recovered from the damage.
If it were not for the remaining top powerhouses still standing behind the Empire, Arcadia might have already collapsed completely and ceased to exist as an Empire long ago.
But despite its weakened state...
Arcadia still possessed enormous wealth, resources, and fertile territories accumulated over countless years.
And naturally...
That attracted greed.
