In the City Lord's Mansion of Xilan City, in Viscount Clever's territory in northwestern Dani Province, Clever Islet sat in the seat of honor, holding a secret letter from the Royal Capital with his brows tightly furrowed.
Word had come from the Royal Palace that His Majesty the King intended to select suitable candidates from the royal family and the provinces under direct royal administration to support the God-Bestowed Count's endeavors on the New Continent.
He had also heard a little about the New Continent mentioned in the news.
According to what he knew, new land had appeared in all four directions around the Xenops Subcontinent.
But the distances were far beyond anyone's reach.
Hundreds of thousands of kilometers lay between them, along with hunting sea beasts, disaster zones, and other regions harboring unknown dangers.
One option was to rely on Legendary beings to explore inch by inch, spending years charting safe, reliable sea routes.
The other was to expend human lives, forcing a route through at any cost.
Neither option was within the reach of minor powers.
Thus, this feast of territorial division was limited to a handful of powers with such ambitions, such as island nations unwilling to remain in the deep seas, or Legendary powers on the subcontinent seeking to establish independent kingdoms.
After reading the letter, Clever set it on the table to his right and began considering why the king he served had ordered such news to be released.
In the past, he might simply have assumed that someone in the palace had been loose-lipped and accidentally leaked the information.
But after experiencing the war the king had launched against the Graylight Wasteland, he could only suspect that His Majesty was laying plans.
As for his true purpose, it could only be to test the