A month later...
In the City of Arcana, at Maximus' Manor:
During this month, not much happened.
Maximus was still grinding energy in the Ancient Battlefield.
However, the frequency had been reduced from nearly the entire day to just a few hours.
It's not that he was losing; it's that he couldn't handle such a high-intensity battle.
Now, after the battle, Maximus would organize his guild and the empire.
"Huh? The Empire's array was upgraded to tier 4?" Maximus muttered.
Maximus divided all the missions into branches so he could monitor their progress down to the smallest detail.
Of course, he only discussed his ideas and had Tintin execute them.
"As expected of my Guild's members efficiency," Maximus remarked.
You know a tier 4 array is already a mid-tier array.
Furthermore, the array covered the whole empire, making it more time-consuming.
"Just in time, Cedric should be delivering the people today," Maximus thought as he planned to visit his empire.
...
In the Sun Sea Region, on the Curse Continent:
A large number of ships in formation were on their way to the Sunburnt Plateau.
Cedric was the leader of the Star Sea Traders.
During these past few months, due to the increase in pay based on the number of people bought.
Cedric had gone crazy and borrowed money to expand his sea caravan.
After all, for every hundred million people he acquired, their price multiplied.
The fewer people Cedric bought, the higher his losses would be.
Due to the expanding sea caravan, Cedric waged wars on the sea, merging various sea caravans.
Now, the Sun Sea region, also the place where the Sunburnt Plateau resides, has become his territory.
However, as the Star Sea Traders Guild sailed towards the Sunburnt Plateau, Cedric had a frown on his face.
Even the crewmates, seeing that something was wrong with their boss, hurriedly scattered away.
"Hey, why is life so hard..." Cedric sighed.
His business had just been booming, making money as if there were no tomorrow.
But the message he received from his token shattered this daydream.
"What a shit Westle family!" Cedric cursed.
The message was not only domineering but also extremely insulting.
The Westle Family asked him to be basically their slave.
The Westle Family accused him of illegal plundering of the population and then selling it.
To this, Cedric just rolled his eyes.
Who doesn't know that the Westle Family is the largest slave trader in the Curse Continent?
Furthermore, he was only providing transportation, moving people from one place to another.
Due to his alleged illegal plundering, he needed to hand over all his property.
Furthermore, he had to work for them for at least a thousand years to pay for his crimes.
"How dare they!" Cedric muttered gloomily.
The Westle Family Navy is one of the most powerful in the Curse Continent.
Their sea trading business is also extensive, basically occupying one of the top three in the continent.
The Westle Family didn't care about what Cedric was doing.
Furthermore, who were they to impose that someone's actions were illegal?
Even the Etherium Embassy didn't say anything about it.
All of this was just an excuse.
What they really wanted was him and control over the Sun Sea region.
Cedric occupying the Sun Sea region was commendable but also posed a threat.
Furthermore, after they have the Sun Sea Region.
The Westle Family will have more control over the Moonlight Empire.
It's not that they can't attack and invade the Moonlight Empire; it's just not the right time.
The Era of Imperial Domination was still brewing, and the top families hadn't squeezed all the benefits yet.
If the Westle Family dared to start a war with another empire and disrupt this false peace.
Empires all over the Curse Continent would besiege them
So overall, the Curse Continent is still peaceful.
Except for some unlucky kingdoms that are too close to an empire, basically, no one is affected.
As for the benefits of not starting a war, it's the Amalgamation of Will.
Faster training speed, talent nourishing, faster growth of treasure—there are many benefits.
It can be said that the Amalgamation of Will has omnipotent uses.
The only limiting factor is its quantity.
Thinking of the power of the Westle Family, Cedric couldn't help but sigh.
"What can I do?" Looking at the vast sea, Cedric thought of escaping.
After all, the sea is vast, and who can find him if he hides?
But when he thought of all the profits he would lose.
The foundation that took him thousands of years to build.
And the territory he had just conquered, Cedric is unwilling.
"So hateful!" Cedric clenched his fist.
"What about deepening the cooperation with Maximus?" Cedric couldn't help but think.
The banner of an empire is enough.
Cedric read about various histories pertaining to the era of imperial domination.
Basically, in the beginning stage, no one dared to touch anything related to an empire.
Once this terrifying whisker of disaster is touched, the possibility of complete destruction is certain.
"Hmm, this is feasible." Thinking of this, Cedric relaxed.
"I hope everything goes well...."
...
In Moonshadow City, at the Teleportation Array:
Maximus slowly walked out, seeing members of the Shadow Hunter's Guild lining up.
"Welcome, Guild Leader!"
"What's with this ceremony? I just came to visit."
"They just can't help but suck up to you, boss," Andrew said, rolling his eyes at these slick people.
As the first subordinate of Maximus, Andrew became the Vice President of the guild.
As for Silas, he was too lazy.
Managing the guild was cumbersome and a waste of time.
"Don't listen to him, boss, we're sincere."
"We just want to welcome the Guild Leader"
"Alright, alright, the contribution that you will get this time will be tripled."
"Hehe, the leader is indeed mighty," they praised.
They only came here to show their faces to their guild leader.
Who knew that Maximus would triple their contribution points?
"Just work hard; the future of the guild is up to you," Maximus encouraged.
After the formation of the guild, aside from them, there were no other people who joined the guild.
Ragnar didn't join the guild as promised, as his father dragged Ragnar to join his own guild.
As for Lilith, it's been a few months since they last met.
Maximus heard from Ragnar that Lilith was in a special domain, training with her sister.
Apparently, joining the Origin Arcana Institute was just to show the dean, Felan, some respect.
The other reason was to have Lilith's name recorded in the institute's records.
As for why?
Maximus asked Tintin this and was told that the Origin Arcana Institute had the World's Origin blessing.
All of its students, from seekers to official students, special students, core students, and even professors and teachers, have different tiers of protection.
This protection isn't within the Etherium realm but safeguards against external threats, such as the impending Abyss Realm.
...
Maximus flew around the empire, taking notes of various changes.
From the people, land, architecture, formations, and even the forests that are home to wild beasts.
The forest is the main hunting and training ground for his people.
Especially during this time, though it may seem peaceful for a moment.
Who knew when the world-shaking war would erupt?
While pondering, he unknowingly flew to Crescent Blade City.
This is the city designated for the Moonlight Empire army, where only soldiers are allowed to reside.
It's also one of the most advanced cities in terms of warfare and army training.
Looking at the tens of millions of soldiers diligently training, he couldn't help but smile.
"Your Majesty, you're here?" Johnson and Smith greeted Maximus.
"I was just wandering around."
Johnson and Smith, the slaves he bought from the beginning, had already become mighty generals.
These two were the pillars of the empire, holding the military power of the empire.
With unlimited training resources, the two had already reached tier 5, far surpassing him.
Of course, that's just their tier; in terms of strength, they're not even comparable to Maximus's finger.
Don't be fooled by him losing in the ancient battlefield from time to time.
The opponents he faces there have millions of battles under their belts.
Furthermore, their life experiences are no joke; they've lived for thousands to tens of thousands of years.
Sometimes even Maximus is fooled into making some mistakes.
"How is the state of the army, by the way?" Maximus asked.
It's been a few months since he heard the report from the army, so he inquired.
"It's great, Your Majesty! Due to the Amalgamation of Will, the army's training has become faster and smoother."
"By now, there are already hundreds at tier 4 and tens of thousands at tier 3."
"As for the rest, they are basically at tier 2 and tier 1," they reported.
"It seems that the Amalgamation of Will is especially concentrated here..." Maximus muttered.
Maximus let go of his consciousness as he felt a dense Amalgamation of Will doing their work.
During the formation training of a group of soldiers, this energy would transform into ropes, tying the group together like puppets.
If a soldier was going to make a breakthrough, the energy would transform into a gentle force, assisting in the breakthrough.
If a soldier was studying a technique, the energy would enlighten the soldier, making training easier.
Maximus was amazed by the various miraculous uses of the Amalgamation of Will.
Unfortunately, he couldn't master it now.
As for why, just looking at the required points made him sigh.
[Amalgamation of Will: Initial (1/100 quadrillion)]
The terrifying part wasn't just the quantity.
It was that, no matter what he did, the life points he added only increased his mastery by 1 point.
It seems that the Amalgamation of Will is a unique energy in this world.
Even when he allowed the system to filter through the World Myriad Mall.
All that popped up was related to the study of spirits and wills.
Furthermore, when he attempted to study it.
It was of no use and did not contribute to his mastery points for the Amalgamation of Will.
The only solution was to use life points directly to upgrade his mastery in the Amalgamation of Will.
However, with his current daily acquisition of life points, it would take billions of years.
For Tier 9 individuals who lived for countless epochs, it was just a blink of an eye.
But for him, who hadn't even lived for a hundred years, that amount was unimaginable.
"You go on with your work..." Maximus said as he continued to wander around the empire.
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