Chapter 231: Chapter 116: [Golem Divine Race]

Battle reports detailed the annihilation of the Lord of War, Joe Moriff.

The *Steam Daily*, the newspaper of the fledgling Otan Grelle Steam Empire, ran long and detailed reports about it.

It wasn’t just in the Otan Grelle Empire; the Imperial Alliance in the Southern Border Region did the same.

It was a resounding victory, one where they had heavily wounded the enemy’s core Sequencer. Naturally, this greatly boosted the morale of both factions.

On the surface, it was a pivotal victory.

In reality, the potential impact of this victory had yet to fully manifest.

Its effects would only grow more astonishing with the passage of time.

Others had not yet realized just how powerful the Lord of War, Joe Moriff, was.

But Zorn knew perfectly well.

If Joe Moriff had been allowed to reach the Upper Rank Level and accumulate more rare and powerful lairs...

...and combined that with the power of the Jade Realm...

...Joe Moriff could have destroyed the entire world by himself.

But with the end of the war...

...with his accumulated foundation of war and his personal Sequence foundation shattered, Joe Moriff would be unable to accomplish anything for a very long time.

It was even possible... that Saintisman would no longer invest heavily in his development.

...

「Several days later, inside Lady Sun’s mountain castle.」

A sizable banquet grew ever more intoxicating amidst the sounds of joyous laughter.

In attendance were not only Zorn, but also Transcendents from the Sun Church and several nobles from Ogrande City.

Naturally, Empress Isabella was also present.

The banquet was, of course, to celebrate the victory against the Lord of War.

Empress Isabella’s performance in the battle had been outstanding.

And Zorn had emphatically praised Empress Isabella’s contributions before the state council.

"Without the contributions of Empress Isabella, this arduous battle would have been impossible to win!" Those were Zorn’s exact words to the state council.

This left the other factions deeply dissatisfied, but they were unable to offer any rebuttal.

After all!

This time, it was Lady Sun who had gathered the forces.

Her people had already gotten their story straight.

This victory was enough to secure Empress Isabella’s position for a long time to come.

The banquet lasted late into the night.

As the other guests departed.

On a cliff beside the castle, Zorn stood in the night as a gentle breeze blew.

Zorn stood, gazing out at the sea before him.

Back in the living room, Lady Sun and Isabelle were whispering to each other.

Not long after, Lady Sun pushed open the glass door and walked over.

"I heard you’ve been making quite a few deals with the Blood Sail Pirate Gang recently?"

"I have."

Zorn nodded slightly.

"You know, those scoundrels have plundered a good number of our merchant ships," Lady Sun said.

"I’m aware. But I still need to do business with them in Ancient Porcelain Holy City. Furthermore, I plan to borrow their Pirate Gang to carry out some operations at sea. It’s a plan that will greatly benefit our Steam Realm."

"So... for the time being, it’s best not to move against them."

Zorn said with a smile, enjoying the serene, natural feel of the night wind.

"Since you’ve said so, we will contact them. As long as they don’t stir up trouble in Ancient Porcelain Holy City, we will turn a blind eye."

Lady Sun nodded, then asked with some curiosity.

"Lately, there have been quite a few scattered legends and stories cropping up across the seas about Demons and Upper Rank Powerhouses."

"Are you heading to sea to verify the rumors about Saint Nuoya’s Golden Island?"

"Yes!"

Zorn nodded gravely and said in a low voice.

"The times are different now."

"With the surging tide of steam, Transcendents from Exotic Realms are constantly arriving in our world."

"You’ve seen it at that old Witch Yudora’s castle—hordes of Exotic Witches on Magic Brooms flying around all day. Some of them even make their way into the city proper of Ancient Porcelain Holy City."

"Those Exotic Witches also capture young girls with decent Talent and turn them into Witches."

"Meanwhile... the Hidden Wilderness Sect is constantly sending people over. They’ve already opened several secret Spirit Realm laboratories in Ancient Porcelain Holy City."

"It’s even worse with Saintisman. They established the Jade Magic Ring Tree long ago."

"As for the Imperial Alliance in the Southern Border Region, though they’re far away, I’ve heard they’ve also made contact with Transcendent factions from other worlds."

"The Holy Relic World is integrating, step by step, into a brand-new Era Era."

"The collision of Planes, and even war, is already upon us."

"We can’t just pretend we don’t see it."

Zorn paused here.

"Preparing for this planar convergence ahead of time is the right choice!"

"And the most readily available resource to facilitate this planar convergence is—Demons!"

"And that is the main reason I am going to sea."

"I see."

Lady Sun nodded slightly.

"We will also work with other powers to initiate more contact with other worlds as soon as possible."

"After all... our world is indeed undergoing a drastic change!"

Gazing out at the deep night sky and the endless ocean.

Zorn’s eyes narrowed.

Both the Demons and Saint Nuoya’s Golden Island were only part of his objective.

What Zorn hadn’t mentioned was the great secret of the Plane’s [Cosmic Demon Pool].

Only by reaching the ocean and attaining Level 9 or Level 10 could one enter the [Cosmic Demon Pool].

This would allow him to be the first to obtain the "Plane-level treasure"—an item of immeasurable value coveted by even Divine Spirits and the great powers.

It was a unique item, the only one of its kind in the entire world.

And Saint Nuoya’s Golden Island was the key to entering it.

If Zorn didn’t act, the Demon Creatures would seize the treasure for themselves.

In the original timeline...

The Demon Creatures were highly likely to take the treasure.

But as a "Pseudo-Prophet," Zorn would not let those Demons beat him to it this time.

...

「A few days later.」

After settling various matters in Ancient Porcelain Holy City, Zorn boarded the Blood Sail Pirate Gang’s Sea Demon Ship and officially set out to sea.

Life on the ocean was far more leisurely and relaxed than life on land.

The reason was quite simple.

In the current version of the world map, the ocean was astonishingly vast.

When Zorn first obtained the world map...

...he spread it out and thought the landmass on the left was just an island.

Only after careful inspection did he confirm that the so-called island was, in fact, the Holy Land Continent.

The oceans covered over 97% of the entire world.

The landmass was a pitiful 2.6%.

Even so, the land area of the Holy Land Continent was by no means small.

It was, in fact, much larger than a standard world continent.

This vast ocean meant that sea voyages were incredibly long.

...

In the deep sea, shrouded in a dense fog.

The Blood Sail’s Sea Demon Ship was sailing through the intersection of reality and the Spirit Realm.

In one of the ship’s cabins.

Zorn was in the middle of his training.

[Star Trace Fighter]

Level: 7 (36%)

He had been at sea for a full month now.

Zorn’s Level had progressed substantially.

Of course, the most crucial progress was with the "Tree of the Magic Ring" within his Divine Kingdom.

During this time, the Tree of the Magic Ring had entered a rapid growth phase.

Zorn had deeply linked the growth of his "Ancient God’s Hand" to that of the "Tree of the Magic Ring."

As the Tree of the Magic Ring grew, the "Ancient God’s Hand" also developed at an astonishing rate.

His Tarktos’ Hand had previously been at 25% of Level 2.

In just one month, it had reached 62%, not far from Level 3.

Once it reached Level 3, and he had finished accumulating the experience for a Level 3 Ancient God Curse...

...Zorn could use the power of the [Tree of the Magic Ring] to advance the Ancient God’s Hand, a powerful Ancient God Curse, to Level 4.

Advancing from Level 3 to Level 4, especially using the [Tree of the Magic Ring]...

...would cause the Ancient God Curse to undergo a massive transformation.

After carefully reviewing his training progress, Zorn rubbed his brow.

’Currently, several of my Witchcraft spells are about to break through to Level 3.’

’Combined with the Ancient God Curse advancing to Level Three, and the Power of the Giant Dragon I’ve gained from continuously assimilating the Golden Dragon Blood Potion...’

’...once my Level advances to Level 8, I can’t say I’ll be invincible on the high seas, but I’ll pretty much be able to do as I please.’

’At that point, I’ll be able to get involved in some of the affairs between Planes.’

He clenched one hand lightly.

A halo of light spread from his Golden Arm as a terrifying power surged forth, enough to make even Zorn’s own heart tremble.

Layers of golden ripples could be seen slowly blossoming out from him.

Just as Zorn drank another bottle of Dragon Blood Potion and was about to resume his training...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

A knock came at the door.

"Mr. Zorn, the captain requests your presence. We’ve arrived at ’Golem Star Trace Island’."

"I’ll be right there after I prepare."

Zorn immediately responded.

’We’re at Golem Star Trace Island.’

Zorn couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

’This is a good place to make a stop.’

The Holy Relic World was already unique, and as the tide of steam surged, certain special areas began to slowly open up.

For example, the "Golem Star Trace Island" they were about to reach was one such crucial area.

Golem Star Trace Island contained an Ancient Ruins Gate that led to the Exotic Realm Plane, the [Golem Divine Race World].

However, this Ancient Ruins Gate had remained sealed for a very long time.

But with the surge of the steam tide, this Ancient Ruins Gate should have started to slowly open over a decade ago.

As the Ancient Ruins Gate gradually opened...

...the [Golem Divine Race] gradually made their way into the Holy Relic World.

But at this stage, the upper Level limit for passage through the Energy Gate probably wasn’t very high.

This allowed the Golem Divine Race to enter this world and occupy an island, but it prevented them from further expanding their power.

However, that was only common knowledge.

The more detailed intelligence, however, was this:

The [Golem Divine Race] were part of a famously powerful faction in the Star Realm: the [Titan Demon Tower - Ancient God Realm].

Although the [Titan Demon Tower - Ancient God Realm] couldn’t compare to the great ancient kingdoms...

...it was still a behemoth within the vast Star Realm.

Their martial might...

...still permeated regions like the Ancient Angel Land, the Abyssal Demon Realm, and the Exotic Ancient Ruins Battlefield to this day.

The various powerful Sequences within the [Titan Demon Tower - Ancient God Realm] were innumerable.

When Players entered the Star Realm, the [Titan Demon Tower - Ancient God Realm] was one of the powerful and reliable factions they could choose.

But things were still far from that stage.

Right now, here in the depths of the ocean...

...the Golem Star Trace Island, occupied by the [Golem Divine Race], was a major hub where the various deep-sea island factions converged and pirates conducted their trade.

It was also the designated gathering point for the many Pirate Gangs and other maritime powers involved in the current operation to hold their joint discussions.