The New King and War Preparations
Amidst the swirling yellow sand, Lister and his entourage traversed the landscape.
After witnessing the extraordinary sight of monsters making way for them, they encountered no further danger.
The closer one gets to the Lost Land, the more desolate and silent the surrounding area becomes.
Only endless sandstorms swept through, and after being in this environment for more than half a month, everyone felt as if they had been forgotten by the whole world.
No wonder the canyon at its very center is called the "Lost Land".
"Is this the Lost Lands?"
The one who spoke was Wang Yue, yes, that's the real name of the "Devious Theft," simple and unpretentious.
Through their interactions over this period, Lister also learned some about her past.
Her biological father's surname was Wang, but unfortunately he didn't name her; she was indeed abandoned at birth.
The word "joy" was chosen by her after she became wise, hoping that she would always be happy.
Despite his "Duke Zhenguo" face, Wang Yue's gaze towards Lister still held a hint of wariness.
Compared to his past carefree attitude, now that he has witnessed Lister's strength again, he is consciously holding back.
"Yes, after crossing the canyon, it will be less than a month before we reach Lucian."
Lister answered casually.
Compared to Wang Yue, he had an incredibly easy time throughout the journey, and the situation between the two sides was completely reversed.
A vast, seemingly endless canyon stretches across this desert, with a wide, dry riverbed at its bottom, creating a sense of utter desolation.
No one would have guessed that what lay beneath was actually the ruins of a First Era alchemical civilization.
As Lister spoke, his gaze drifted inexplicably to the riverbed below.
I was somewhat curious about Kavin Diehl's current whereabouts, wondering if he was still in the alchemical ruins below, or if he had already returned to Lucian.
With so many people around him, Lister couldn't go down to investigate himself.
Ultimately, the priority is to speed up and traverse this Lost Land.
System notification: Congratulations to the players for successfully repelling the monster tide, Defend Jiangling Prefecture, and making a great contribution to the stability of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty.
Notification: Your Main Quest - Defend Jiangling Prefecture has been completed. Congratulations! You have received the rewards of 200,000 experience points, 3 free attribute points, 1,000 gold coins, and the item rewards have been sent to your Inventory.
As expected, it happened.
Lister had been planning for this for the next few days, and things were exactly as he had expected.
System notification: Act One has ended. The game "Divine Revelation" will soon undergo maintenance. Act Two will open in three days! Please look forward to it...
System notification: Players will be forcibly logged out soon! Countdown: 60, 59, 58...
Notice: Auction House services are now closed.
Notice: Public chat and the friend system are now disabled.
Within minutes, a series of announcements were issued, and most of the system's interactive functions were canceled.
After seeing "Chen Shanqiang's " avatar turn gray in his friend list, Lister glanced at his experience points.
[Experience Points: 31,020,232]
We've reached 30 million experience points again! Looks like players have gained quite a bit of experience from the monster tide!
Unfortunately, after the first act, the time left for players is too short. Even with the main storyline rewarding 200,000 experience points, there isn't enough time to manage the character or continue upgrading Merrick Saber Technique.
Lister's true reward would come when the second act began.
Unfortunately, the three days notified by the system were for the corresponding player, not for the actual world of "Divine Revelation".
Lister was powerless to do anything about it and could only try to push forward Lucian's main storyline as quickly as possible.
Congratulations, you've leveled up.
[Level: 60 (0/60000) (Reached the limit for first job advancement, cannot be improved!) (Available for second job advancement quest)]
[Overall Rating: S→A Lord Tier]
Congratulations on receiving the job change quest. Would you like to accept it?
"No!"
As they approached Lucian's territory, Lister stopped suppressing his level, since he already had enough experience points, and leveled up to 60 directly.
Unfortunately, the level increase only adds 20 free attribute points, but does not improve overall combat power.
Even in terms of overall evaluation, it has fallen from the Overlord Tier to the Lord Tier.
More than half a month later.
They're finally back.
Looking at the familiar City of Bode before him, Lister couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.
He has now truly integrated into the world of "Divine Revelation". After being away from Lucian for more than a year, returning now feels like coming home.
Compared to his slight sentimentality, the members of the Sixth Guard behind him were truly excited, with several guards already in tears.
Even Rolf, standing to the side, was trembling slightly with the hand holding the reins.
It's not just because they're going home; for the Sixth Guard, the fruits of their year-long mission are finally beginning to ripen.
Is your Kingdom of Lucian currently at war?
Looking at everything before him, Wang Yue couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"It seems so. We'll find out the specifics when we get to the palace."
The outer city of City of Bode is now vastly different from what it used to be, filled with armored soldiers.
The armor they wore was not of a completely uniform style, and they were divided into various groups of different sizes and backgrounds.
There were groups of a dozen or several dozen people, and even groups of over a hundred people.
This was likely due to the gathering of soldiers from noble families in various regions.
Many military buildings were being constructed in the outer city, and from this perspective, it certainly looked like a place in the midst of war.
However, this tense scene was limited to the outer city; once inside the inner city, everything remained familiar.
Apart from the guards of the royal city, there were no soldiers coming and going inside, the roads remained clean and tidy, and there were no military facilities.
The nobles still visited in steam tricycles or traditional luxury carriages, and the pedestrians on the road did not walk in a hurry, and most of them seemed to be leisurely.
Lister entered the royal palace's administrative area without any hindrance.
After being reported by several clerks, the news was relayed up the chain of command until it reached the King.
Perhaps due to the tense domestic situation, Lister waited a long time before finally being led in by his attendant.
This was Lister's second visit to the inner palace area.
Wang Yue, standing beside him, was observing everything with great interest, despite their drastically different styles.
It wasn't until he reached a side room that Lister finally met the new king.
That's right, the old King Kerry passed away last month, and the original eldest prince Hughes, has succeeded to the throne.
The entire process proceeded smoothly, with no dissent from any of the royal heirs.
Even though he had only been in power for less than a month, Hughes's impression of Lister had changed significantly.
At over sixty years old, he seemed to have experienced a second spring, brimming with energy and spirit, even displaying the drive unique to young people.
He then waved for the two to sit down, and a waiter quickly poured them some black tea.
"So... you really found the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty?"
Even with the "Duke Zhenguo" right in front of the new King Hughes, he still couldn't be sure.
His eyes kept darting around to examine the "Duke Zhenguo" and the red chainmail he was wearing.
"Yes, it's on the other side of the Lost Lands."
"This is Chen Tuo, the Duke Zhenguo, an envoy from the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty."
"These are diplomatic documents and tokens. If you have any questions, you can ask the guards of the Sixth Guard."
Since it was a private meeting beforehand, Hughes didn't pay much attention to formalities.
Or, to put it another way, once a king becomes king, those with ambitions and a desire to accomplish something tend to act more arbitrarily.
He quickly took the document from Lister and directly asked the Duke Zhenguo about the basic information of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty.
As he listened, he would occasionally glance at Lister, trying to verify whether what the other man said was true.
Only after thoroughly understanding everything, including getting satisfactory answers to several key details, did Hughes finally nod in conviction.
His facial expression was somewhat complicated, showing surprise but not much.
"Duke Zhenguo, welcome to Lucian."
"You must be tired from your journey. Please rest in the city for a few days. The official will discuss the formal diplomatic relations with you in detail later."
After a few words, he dismissed the Duke Zhenguo, but kept Lister behind.
At this moment, his face no longer showed any surprise; instead, it became extremely serious.
"Based on your assessment, the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty is stronger than our Lucian?"
"In terms of territory, population, and military strength, they are indeed much stronger than Lucian."
According to the original process, the unified Lucian Empire would then be on par with the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty in strength.
Currently, Lucian is merely a kingdom's Lucian, and in every respect, he is inferior to the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty.
"I thought that even if the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty existed, it would at most be about the same strength as Lucian, but I didn't expect it to be so powerful!"
"Looks like we don't have much time left for Lucian!"