The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Sean had considered many possibilities, but he never expected this situation. Queen Elto was sitting opposite Sean, her head propped up in her hands, staring at him with an admiring, or rather, wanting-to-take-all-them-and-get-his-own-it-all look.

To be honest, this was the first time Sean had ever wanted to ask his goddess and brother-in-law for help.

"What's wrong, prince from a foreign land? Why haven't you allowed your mighty army to cross my fragile border yet?"

Elto's voice was seductive. If there hadn't been some distance between them, Sean would have thought that Elto would have reached out and touched him directly. Just thinking about it gave Sean goosebumps. This feeling even prevented Sean from correcting the mistake Elto made about his identity.

"I'm getting so impatient! They've already made all the preparations, just waiting for your mighty army to march straight into my kingdom and reach my most important Albar Rocky Land."

Rosalind, who was sitting to the side, was also a little puzzled, but she still joined Elto in persuading him, "Yes, Lord Sean, since Fourth Sister has already chosen to cooperate with us, why not just let the craftsmen mine the magic stones?"

Looking at his younger sister, who had become more mature but still had an innocent look on her face, Elto couldn't help but laugh and said to Sean, "That's right, a prince from another country, just let your craftsmen in."

But Rosalyn said, "As for the engagement, we can talk about it later."

Hearing this, Erto frowned, glanced at his sister, and seeing Rosalyn still looking innocent, sighed and said, "I think it's best to make a decision as soon as possible, don't you think?"

"Of course, you can talk about it later if you want. Anyway, our relationship will be established when your army crosses my border."

This was the first time Sean had hesitated on the continent of Soren, but in the end, Sean said with a heroic expression, "I understand. I will arrange for craftsmen and troops to go to the Albar Rocky Lands, but... but everything must be done according to the contract. Soon, my men will draft a contract and send it to you."

Upon hearing this answer, Elto looked disappointed, but in the end, he still gave her a wink and said, "Don't keep me waiting too long."

After Alto left, Rosalind was still trying to imitate how her sister had given her that flirtatious wink, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it right. Looking in the direction Alto had gone, Sean sighed and finally shook his head.

"This woman is not as simple as she seems."

Regus stood next to Sean, stroking his chin, and said, "Her territory, like Domingo's, is on the border of Castile. And because it is close to the important Albar Rock, it can be said to be a battlefield. Many territories have been repeatedly bombarded by super-level magic and have become magic-free lands."

"If Domingo is prepared, she might be able to put up some resistance, but if a real war breaks out, her territory might fall even faster than Domingo's."

Sean nodded, recovering from the feeling of being watched, and continued, "For her, welcoming us is the only and best option. As long as she can learn some artillery technology from us, even if the Empire withdraws from the Solon Continent in the future, she can still establish herself on this continent with the magic-free land and artillery technology."

“The land without magic will not be a punishment, but will instead become her barrier.”

"So you really want to have a political marriage with her?"

Regus looked at Sean with amusement on his face.

"No, the empire hasn't stooped so low as to require me to have a political marriage."

Sean said with a helpless expression, "As for her wanting to curry favor with us, let her be, as long as she's willing to pay the price."

Elto Castile quickly sided entirely with the Empire, and after taking down two Castiles, the Empire seemed to quiet down for a short time.

Of course, the quiet was only true in other places. In the Albar Rocks, which consisted entirely of dry, red rock, a small team of gold prospectors was confronting Imperial scholars and engineers.

"You little brat, you've got some nerve. You've never seen anything like the Bloodstone Alliance before?"

The burly gold prospectors rolled up their sleeves. After all, they had never been treated like this since they started mining magic stones in Albar. They didn't know what an empire was. Even the Avars would get beaten up when they came to this chaotic and complicated place, let alone people from Castile.

They certainly have the resources to do so, because the forces behind them are very complex, including not only many professionals, but also the Dragon Church, since magic stones are a big business.

Sidney ignored the clamoring gold prospectors and instead looked at the magical landscape, saying to Myron beside him, "It seems my early thesis was indeed wrong; the formation of magic stones has no direct relationship with the environment."

"It's okay, you can rewrite it."

Myron took a Coke from his shoulder armor's mini-fridge and handed it to Sidney.

"No, let's leave these opportunities to the younger generation. His Majesty the Emperor once invited me to participate in the construction of the 'Well of Eternity,' which can continuously generate energy. I saw it, and it was very magnificent. However, this plan is still in the theoretical stage, and I am too old to complete it in my lifetime."

Sidney took a big gulp of Coke and instantly felt refreshed.

"The drink promoted by Her Majesty the Pope does taste good, but it's a bit too sugary."

Myron chimed in, "Yeah, it tastes better chilled."

At this moment, facing the clamoring gold prospectors, the Imperial soldiers had already led the newly trained recruits to the front.

“I’m getting old, so after organizing my theories, I handed over all my research results to Lisha. She’s still young, and maybe she can lead new scholars to complete His Majesty the Emperor’s grand plan.”

Upon hearing this, Myron laughed and said, "So the teacher of the Empire's chief runemaster chose self-exile and came to this place?"

The soldiers opened fire and engaged the gold prospectors in battle. Some of the gold prospectors' professionals also appeared and joined the fray. However, when the professionals behind Myron saw the professionals taking action, the Lars Knights also donned power armor and, propelled by powerful thrust, joined the battle.

"I wouldn't call it self-exile. Crossing the Sea of ​​Impermanence was a great opportunity for experimentation. With the help of the Empire's latest equipment and the knowledge His Majesty the Emperor learned from the Goddess, I've gained some new understanding of magic. It's been a worthwhile trip."

Sidney looked at the gold diggers who had been elbowed away by Knight Lars and continued, "Besides, I can't really be considered that kid's teacher. That title was only granted by His Majesty the Emperor because of the kid. I'm just a remnant of the old era. Let the new era be left to the young."

Just then, the dragon roared, and two giant dragons descended from the sky with a whooshing sound, seemingly having been prepared all along to protect the Albar Rocky Land.

"Haha, what nonsense are you talking about? I thought you were pretty good at fighting when you, old bones, encountered Knight Lars back then."

"Come on, let's take down those dragons."