Laterano Gets Singled Out; The Founding Ceremony / Sakura's Magical Talent-WTF, Which Sakura Are You?!...

Mobius said with mild boredom.

The Sky Pit outside Londinium, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, was still sitting right there. Surely, after witnessing such a spectacle firsthand, even the most irrational nations would regain their composure and consider the matter calmly.

"Indeed. Then there's one last question: what should the new country be called?"

"How about the Holy Terra Empire?"

Sitting in his chair, An Xiu calmly proposed a concise name that would also make the other nations of Terra bristle all over again.

Laterano Under Fire, Founding Ceremony

Victoria and the Ursus Empire were about to merge. The new nation would be called the Holy Terra Empire.

The founding ceremony was set to take place in Londinium, Victoria's capital.

As Talulah released the news, the upper echelons of every nation across Terra who received the intelligence wore grave expressions.

Had that Red Dragon Emperor finally stopped concealing her already obvious ambitions?

During this period, they had all been investigating the pillar of white light that had appeared in Victoria and been clearly visible across all of Terra. However, Victoria's complicated situation and tightly sealed borders had prevented them from making any progress.

But now, after completely taking control of Victoria, that Emperor Talulah had openly invited them to send representatives to Victoria's capital for the founding ceremony. This was undoubtedly a good opportunity to gather intelligence.

What exactly had happened within Victoria? Was Emperor Talulah's complete control over Victoria related to it? The answers to all of this could be uncovered through the founding ceremony.

Thus, the upper echelons of every nation hastily arranged representatives and intelligence personnel, sending them into Victoria under the pretext of attending the founding ceremony.

After all, even though the founding ceremony had not yet begun, it was only natural for a nation's representatives to set off several days early for such an important event. It also demonstrated their attention and sincerity, didn't it?

Besides representatives and intelligence personnel, the major nations of Terra also tacitly mixed some of their own experts into the delegations, intending to sabotage the grand event when the founding ceremony began.

What a joke. How could they possibly allow Terra's most terrifying war machine and Terra's strongest nation to merge so easily into some Holy Terra Empire? That galactic battleship assembled by the Red Dragon Emperor should obediently crash and burn!

And so, the delegations from the various nations of Terra encountered no obstruction along the way and all arrived smoothly in Londinium, the former capital of Victoria.

Then, without prior arrangement, they all silently stopped before the Sky Pit hundreds of kilometers in diameter.

W-What kind of joke was this? Was the scene before them real? Were they sure they weren't dreaming?

Looking at the enormous Sky Pit that had turned the once vast plains into a basin, the representatives from the various nations swallowed hard in disbelief. Their eyes were filled with terror as they trembled and repeatedly confirmed whether they had come to the wrong place.

The good news was that they seemed to have found the source of the disturbance in Victoria that day.

The bad news was that the situation was far too absurd. They would rather believe it was fake than accept that it was real.

Half a day later.

"What? A Sarkaz named Jibril annihilated hundreds of thousands of Duke Coalition Army soldiers in Londinium with a single strike, leaving behind a Sky Pit hundreds of kilometers wide? The earlier disturbance from Victoria was also caused by her attack?"

After receiving the intelligence gathered in Londinium by their people and confirming it repeatedly, the upper echelons of every nation looked as though their worldview had collapsed.

Could such godlike power truly exist on this land?

But the intelligence personnel embedded among the representatives were all professionals. They could not possibly fabricate such an outrageous story to deceive them.

Thus, after realizing that this might be true, the upper echelons of every nation felt a suffocating pressure, as though a python had coiled around them.

In other words, had a monster truly been born on this land—one that could fly above their heads at any time and wipe out them, their cities, and their armies together?!

Driven by this unprecedented fear, Laterano suffered.

That Sarkaz named Jibril could display such power. Did you Laterano hide some secret weapon of mass destruction? Confess immediately and be leniently treated; resist and be severely punished!

"What does this have to do with us?"

Evangelista XI, the current Pope of Laterano, said in exasperation.

Leaving aside the fact that they had never discovered when a Sarkaz named Jibril had appeared in Laterano, the disturbance in Victoria had clearly been caused by Jibril herself. It had absolutely nothing to do with Laterano, all right?

Taking a step back, if Laterano truly had a weapon of mass destruction on that level, would you even have the chance to question them? They would have blasted you all to pieces long ago. Did you really think they were so mild-tempered?

Unfortunately, the other nations did not believe such claims at all. After all, compared to believing that an individual's power could reach such a degree, it was far more likely that Laterano possessed some special weapon. Therefore, even if there was only the slightest possibility, they tirelessly made indirect inquiries and conducted probes, leaving Evangelista XI unable to enjoy even his favorite cactus tart.

Neither An Xiu nor Talulah paid any attention to the undercurrents flowing among Terra's nations.

After witnessing Jibril's power, Talulah was like a novice Doctor who had obtained a max-level Wis'adel right at the start. She had completely stopped using her brain.

Forget whatever schemes the other nations might have. If they dared cause trouble, Miss Jibril could simply take a flight over their country and they would behave.

Thus, with no need to worry about external threats, Talulah, Doctor, and the others threw themselves wholeheartedly into their exhausting work. After half a month, they finally completed every detail and procedure for the founding ceremony.

On some day in some month of Terra year 1090-something.

The entirety of Londinium was packed with people. Civilians, tourists, and representatives of nations and major factions from across the world walked through the streets, preparing to witness the founding ceremony of the Holy Terra Empire.

Within Londinium's imperial palace, Talulah once again changed into a solemn and magnificent ceremonial gown. As the Emperor of the Empire, she stepped onto the stage and completed the coronation ceremony beneath the watchful eyes of countless citizens, reporters, and national representatives. She formally announced the establishment and birth of the Holy Terra Empire, then delivered an impassioned and brilliant speech.

The citizens and representatives below were all won over by the Empire's lofty ideals as they listened to the speech. They raised their hands and cheered, while some were even moved to tears.

Of course, no one knew what those representatives truly thought. At least on the surface, all of Londinium was now filled with harmony and joy, and everyone celebrated the birth of a brand-new Empire.

As for causing trouble? Just look at the remnants of the Duke Coalition Army outside the city. Before they figured out whether that kind of attack could happen again, no nation dared act rashly. One could even say that as long as An Xiu did not continue making Talulah stir things up, all of Terra would enter an unprecedented period of peace.

While the founding ceremony proceeded smoothly, An Xiu opened the system shop interface backstage and began examining the discounted items refreshed in the new month's shop.

Surprise Blind Box (50% off): 2,500 points

Spiral Power (70% off): 300 million points

Endless Energy (50% off): 5 million points

"..."

Looking at the items refreshed in the discount section, An Xiu fell silent.

It was not that the refreshed items were bad. On the contrary, they were a little too good—so good that, aside from a Surprise Blind Box, he seemed unable to afford anything else.

PS: The update schedule is unstable mainly because the author writes every chapter as it comes, so whenever something happens, it affects the release time. For example, I originally planned to update tonight, but my mom suddenly called and asked me to go to my grandpa's house for dinner and help clean up the yard. So the time I had planned for writing tonight had to be pushed back until the middle of the night. These two chapters were written from 11 PM to 5 AM. I'll try to find a more stable update time later.

Sakura's Magic Talent, Holy Shit, Which Sakura Is This?!

Three hundred million for Spiral Power and five million for Endless Energy both sounded wonderful, but the problem was that An Xiu could not afford either one.

Even counting the 150,000 points obtained from conquering all of Victoria and wiping out the Duke Coalition Army, An Xiu only had a little over 500,000 points in total. That was still ten times less than the price of Endless Energy, let alone Spiral Power.

Previously, with more than 500,000 points in hand, An Xiu had thought he was somewhat well-off. But now, the two discounted items before him seemed to be mocking him: in the face of truly good things, his hundreds of thousands of points were not even enough for a fraction.

Seriously, were these two items supposed to refresh during the early stage? Shouldn't they have appeared in the late game, when he could grit his teeth and pull out hundreds of millions of points to strengthen himself? Especially Spiral Power, which could allow one to become infinitely stronger. Even across countless worlds, it was an outrageously overpowered power system. Having it refresh in the discount section was an incredible stroke of luck, and at the maximum discount too. If he could buy it now, he would save 700 million points in one go.

Unfortunately, no matter how turbulent his thoughts were, system points would not increase out of thin air. In the end, An Xiu could only look darkly at the one item he could afford.

"System, purchase the Surprise Blind Box."

After 2,500 points were deducted, a golden gift box appeared in An Xiu's system space.

As its name implied, a Surprise Blind Box was similar to a random draw. Anything could potentially come out of it.

At the top end, it could contain something like Spiral Power, worth one billion points at full price or even more. At the bottom end, it could contain a bundle of weeds, a pack of sanitary pads, or a box of toothpicks. There was no upper limit, and likewise no lower limit.

Looking at the golden blind box in his system space, An Xiu decisively chose to open it.

Perhaps because the discounted items had just dealt a blow to his mood, An Xiu did not hold much hope for what would come out of the blind box. After all, the chances of obtaining something truly good from its virtually infinite prize pool were simply too low. His standards were not high—so long as he did not lose out, it was fine.

He watched calmly as the opened blind box turned into light and vanished, while the system prompt sounded beside his ear.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained Sakura's Magic Talent."

Sakura's Magic Talent? Was it Sakura Matou from the Nasuverse?

Seeing the reward he had drawn from the blind box, An Xiu instinctively thought of Sakura Matou from the Nasuverse setting. But he quickly sensed that something was off.

What he had obtained was Magic Talent. Shouldn't Sakura from the Nasuverse be described as having magecraft talent?

Wait, which Sakura's talent had he drawn?

After swiftly scanning the item description, An Xiu's eyes instantly widened.

"Holy shit, Cardcaptor Sakura?!"

The magic talent of the First Generation Moe King—the Sakura who surpassed the greatest magician, Clow Reed, before even finishing elementary school, with a guaranteed individual upper limit of the multiverse?

He had drawn something like this from a blind box worth 2,500 points?!

"Invincible."

In an instant, the gloom from being unable to afford Spiral Power and Endless Energy disappeared completely. An Xiu only felt an unprecedented sense of comfort throughout his entire body.

What One-Punch Man? What Demons and Lumberjack? What gods from DanMachi and KonoSuba? Were they still problems now? Once he Materialized Sakura and let her develop for a while, everyone would know their mistake when the First Generation Moe King stood there.

"System, I want to Materialize a clone."

"Ding! Materializing clone Sakura Kinomoto requires 500,000 points. Confirm?"

"So expensive?"

Hearing the system's price, An Xiu raised an eyebrow. He already possessed Sakura's Magic Talent, and the Sakura he intended to Materialize was a basic Sakura without Clow Cards. Even so, it would cost 500,000 points?

Still, it was understandable. A body capable of bearing magic talent with a multiversal upper limit was naturally expensive.

But that meant that if he Materialized Sakura as a clone, all the points in An Xiu's possession would be emptied in one go.

Yet compared to the returns Sakura could bring him in the future, this cost seemed negligible.

"I definitely have to Materialize her, but not in this world."

The Arknights World was too chaotic and unsuitable for Sakura's growth. Therefore, before Materializing his clone, An Xiu planned to switch worlds first.

The Jujutsu Kaisen world was too leisurely with Makima stationed there, and the upper limit of its cursed energy system was not particularly high. One Punch World was likewise not suitable for Sakura's growth, and the bizarre Stand abilities in JOJO World had the same issue.

After considering his options for a while, An Xiu decided to choose either DanMachi or Konosuba World as Sakura's development location.

"DanMachi, then."

It was not that DanMachi was particularly good. Rather, An Xiu was interested in the Favor System used by the Gods of DanMachi.

The Favor System could contract others as one's Familia members and allow everyone to break through their own potential and continuously grow. If possible, An Xiu wanted to get his hands on it.

That way, he could bring Talulah and Doctor, the two people he had a good relationship with in the Arknights World, into his Familia.

However, An Xiu clearly knew nothing about the Favor System on his own, which was why he needed Sakura's assistance. Once Sakura was Materialized, analyzing a Favor System should be effortless with her talent.

With that in mind, An Xiu contacted Mobius and asked her to keep an eye on the Arknights World for a while, as he would be leaving temporarily. He then opened the system's traversal option and activated a portal to DanMachi.

DanMachi, the Dungeon city of Orario.

In an unnoticed corner beside a street, two figures silently appeared in this world.

One of them was naturally An Xiu, while the other was Seele.

Considering that Makima's army of Cursed Spirits in the Jujutsu Kaisen world meant Seele did not need to keep hunting Cursed Spirits there, and that Sakura might need some protection during her early days in DanMachi, An Xiu simply called Seele over. He planned to have her form a team with the Sakura he was about to Materialize.

"So that's The Babel Tower. It really is quite impressive seeing it in person."

Looking at the towering structure at the center of the city that pierced through the clouds and shot into the sky, An Xiu sighed before turning toward Seele beside him.

"Let's go. We'll find somewhere to Materialize Sakura first."

"Mm. I'll listen to An Xiu-ge."

Seele naturally had no objections to An Xiu's arrangements. The two stepped onto the street and formally merged into the city.

New Clone Sakura, Arrival in DanMachi

Orario, the Dungeon city, was a massive city built above the Dungeon and known as the center of the world.

With the Guild, responsible for managing the city and the Dungeon, at its core, this city gathered all sorts of races, including humans, Elves, Beastmen, and Dwarves.

These races gathered under different Gods, accepted the Gods' Grace to become Familia members, and made their living in various ways. The most common was for Familia members to become Adventurers and conquer the Dungeon.

Since the Dungeon endlessly produced Monsters and was the primary threat faced by this world, powerful Familia took pride in conquering deeper floors. Weaker Familia could also make a living by eliminating weak Monsters in the Dungeon and selling Magic Stones and other materials dropped by monsters.

In a city like this, strength undoubtedly earned great respect.

However, although both An Xiu and Seele could be considered very powerful, nobody in this world knew them. After all, people in this world largely judged strength through the simple and direct Grace Levels.

From level 1 to level 9, ordinary people who received Grace from God could improve their attributes through training and battle. Once their attributes reached a certain level, they could advance through Great Feat. After advancing, they would gain greater power and a new status panel, repeating the process over and over.