"The empire has already drained more than half its treasury on disaster relief, and the troops stationed along the borders have also mobilized to aid the stricken regions. But the empire can no longer sustain this effort alone. We gathered you here today not to force you, but to implore you to offer what little help you can, for our suffering compatriots and the empire we share. Whether money, grain, or clothing, please give generously, within your means.
"The empire will remember every citizen's kindness and will compensate you once the disaster eases. Please remember that we all belong to Karelia. We prosper together, and we suffer together!"
As his words fell, the square instantly erupted. People whispered among themselves, their discussions rising one after another until complaints and bewilderment filled the entire square.
"Why do we have to donate money? We only just paid last month's taxes, and we barely have any grain left at home!"
"Exactly! That storm only blew through here for a little while. It hardly affected us at all. Why should we donate money to other places?"
"My husband works in a workshop, and his wages are already pitiful. If we donate too, our whole family will have nothing but air to live on!"
"Wouldn't the officials have enough for disaster relief if they just took a little out of their own pockets? Instead, they insist on squeezing us commoners!"
Complaints and disgruntled voices rose one after another. Standing on the wooden platform, Afusi looked increasingly troubled. He waved his hand forcefully and raised his voice. "Quiet, everyone! Please let me finish!"
The people gradually quieted, their gazes turning toward him in unison.
"According to joint research by the empire's council of tower mages, this superstorm covered an entire half of the continent. It was no minor, localized disaster!
"Our Dawn City-State lies at the edge of the storm. We were spared only thanks to the shelter of the Magic Nexus Mountains. But other regions of the empire have become a vast expanse of floodwater. Crops have failed completely, homes have been destroyed, and countless compatriots are struggling amid hunger, cold, wind, and rain!"
There was a note of earnestness in Afusi's voice. "The empire has never forced any of its citizens. But now our compatriots are in trouble, and the empire is in trouble. If we stand by and do nothing, then when the disaster spreads, every one of us will ultimately suffer!"
The people exchanged glances. Their earlier discontent gradually faded, replaced by silence. They were not unreasonable; they were simply already struggling to get by, and the sudden request for donations was more than they could bear. Yet at the thought of their compatriots across half the continent suffering from the disaster, their compassion ultimately outweighed their complaints.
Nuoyaji stood in the crowd, his expression utterly grave.
He finally understood the storm's true scale. It had covered half the continent, wreaking destruction far beyond anything he had imagined.
At this point in his previous life, the continent had been peaceful, with no natural disaster of this kind. The empire's agriculture and industry had both been at their peak, and the wars among the kings had not broken out until several years later. Now, however, a superstorm had destroyed the crops across half the continent, triggering a food crisis in the empire. Economic upheaval and internal conflicts would inevitably intensify sharply. Every event and timeline he had known in his previous life would change drastically as a result.
His original plans had been completely disrupted, and his earlier preparations had lost their meaning.
"What a pain..." Nuoyaji murmured, filled with helplessness. The advantage of rebirth lay in knowing the future, but now that future had gone completely off course. He could only feel his way forward again, searching for a new way out amid this sudden upheaval.
Meanwhile, in an extravagantly luxurious noble estate in Starry Vault City, the capital of the Karelia Empire.
The estate's hall was built of pure white marble. Murals of the war of the gods adorned its dome, portraits of the empire's powerful ministers through the ages hung on its walls, and expensive carpets covered the floor. Brass magical chandeliers cast a gentle glow, while steam heaters kept the entire hall as warm as spring.
A stern-faced, middle-aged man in black brocade robes sat in the carved chair at the head of the table, tapping the tabletop lightly with his fingers, his expression indifferent. He was Hadrian, the empire's minister of military and political affairs. With vast imperial forces under his command, he was one of the most powerful men beneath the royal family.
Below him stood an elderly man in gray robes, bowing. He was the speaker of the imperial parliament, representing the interests of the nobles and consortiums. At that moment, his head was lowered, his expression respectful.
"So, what do the southern nobles and consortiums have to say?" Hadrian asked, his voice low and commanding, carrying the oppressive weight of someone long accustomed to authority.
"My lord, the Southern Consortium has stated that it is willing to contribute money and manpower, providing grain and supplies to the empire. It can even deploy its private steam workshops to help rebuild the disaster-stricken regions," the speaker answered hastily, his tone cautious. "But in return, they need the empire to agree to certain conditions."
Hadrian snorted, a mocking curl forming at the corner of his mouth. "Hmph. I knew those profit-obsessed bastards wouldn't pass up any chance to line their pockets, seizing any leverage they can use against the empire. But with the disaster this severe, the empire truly cannot do without their support. Tell me, what are their conditions?"
"They hope you will use your authority to help them obtain the mining documents for the Eastern District Magic Nexus Mine, transferring the extraction rights to that mana vein to the Southern Consortium," the speaker said quietly. "Beyond that, they also hope the empire will grant them tax relief for the next three years and relax its restrictions on the production of magical armaments."
Hadrian's gaze instantly turned cold. The Eastern District Magic Nexus Mine was one of the Karelia Empire's most important mana veins. Controlled by the royal family and the Tower Mage Corps, it was a core resource for the empire's mass production of super soldiers and development of high-tier magic. The Southern Consortium was demanding far too much.
But he also knew that the empire had suffered terribly from the disaster and its treasury was empty. Without the Southern Consortium's support, the people in the stricken regions would not last long. Once internal unrest broke out, the empire would be plunged into irreversible ruin.
"Understood. I will discuss this with the royal family and the tower and give them an answer as soon as possible," Hadrian said slowly, his voice full of resignation.
Meanwhile, within the Arcane Nexus Tower at the heart of the empire, an entirely different scene was unfolding.
The magical tower soared into the clouds, every floor covered with ancient magical inscriptions and crystal balls. Dozens of high-tier mages, and even several powerful figures of the hero domain, had gathered in the council hall on the top floor. Their heated arguments nearly lifted the dome.
"This superstorm was unquestionably caused by a surge of uncontrolled ley-line mana! The empire's excessive mining of magic ore in recent years destabilized the ley lines, causing mana to spill out and trigger this natural disaster!" A reformist mage slammed the table and roared, directing his accusations at the conservatives for allowing rampant mining.
"Absurd! Uncontrolled ley-line mana would only cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It could never produce a storm covering half the continent! As I see it, you reformists brought down divine punishment by obsessing over steam magic and upsetting the balance between magic and nature!" A conservative tower mage immediately retorted, his expression furious.
"Stop arguing! I detected an enormous energy at the center of the storm that does not belong to this world. This was neither a natural disaster nor an imbalance in magic, but a fluctuation in the power of some supreme being, comparable to the ancient gods!" shouted a mage responsible for observing celestial phenomena. A lingering image of the golden energy at the storm's center remained in the crystal ball in his hand.
"Impossible! The ancient gods perished long ago. Even the strongest beings on the continent are only ninth-tier legends. How could such a terrifying being exist?"
"Could it be... that the Demon God Seal has loosened?"
"Shut up! Master Valot guards the Demon God Seal. How could it possibly loosen?"
The mages each held to their own views, with conservatives and reformists blaming one another. No one could offer a firm conclusion. The cause of a storm that threatened the empire's very survival ultimately became a tool for factional struggles, and no one truly cared about the truth behind it.
The aftermath of the superstorm spread like ripples across the entire Yilisei Continent. Every nation and every faction was swept into this sudden upheaval.
At the western seaports of the United Kingdom of Victoria, dozens of Archon-Type Steam Mechs had been destroyed by the storm, and more than half the Royal Navy's warships had been damaged or destroyed. The industrial consortiums convened an emergency meeting, ordering urgent repairs to their armaments while seizing the opportunity to raise the prices of magical supplies and make a fortune from the disaster;
In the Kingdom of Shengjunxi, the Radiant Crown Dragon-Prancing Knights mobilized and rushed to the stricken regions to provide relief. The Holy Radiance Knight Pegasus personally took command at the border to guard against an attack by the Karelia Empire arising from disaster-induced internal unrest, while secretly gathering scattered mana ore to expand military armaments;
In the Vostok Empire, blizzards triggered by the storm buried the far northern frozen lands, and countless permafrost golems were damaged or destroyed. The emperor immediately ordered the expansion of the Frozen Ground Legion, forcibly conscripting serfs and turning the disaster into an opportunity to enlarge the army;
In the Marquisate of Bolundeng, the military government activated its highest state of readiness. The Iron Nexus Cross Guard rushed to the borders and sealed them, while mana explosive shells were mass-produced in preparation for expanding the country's territory amid the turmoil engulfing the continent's nations;
In the Liushan City-State Alliance, merchant associations dispatched trading vessels to sell grain and supplies to the afflicted nations at high prices under the guise of disaster relief, reaping exorbitant profits. Meanwhile, the Golden Marrow Alchemical Attendants secretly collected traces of the energy left by the storm;
In the Nordheim Kingdom, North Sea pirates seized the opportunity to raid Karelia's and Victoria's coastal merchant ships. The Frost Whale Wild Hunt Warriors swept through coastal villages, turning the chaos brought by the storm into an opportunity for plunder;
In the Zalan Khanate, the Azure Flame Wind-Rending Cavalry crossed the border and attacked the empire's frontier outposts, attempting to seize grasslands rich in water and pasture while Karelia reeled from the disaster;
And in the shadows across the continent, members of the Silence Society quietly went into action. White-robed figures moved through disaster-stricken regions, ruins, towers, and mines, gathering samples of the storm's residual energy, collecting documents on the ancient demon gods, and recording the turmoil in the various nations. Like hunters lurking in the darkness, they waited quietly for their moment to come.
On the coast, King Ghidorah stared at the azure projection screen, taking in the turmoil across the entire continent. All three heads gave a mocking growl at once.
Apekus asked cautiously, "Do you... find these humans troublesome?"
King Ghidorah swung his enormous wings, his golden eyes full of amusement. Watching the arguing mages, scheming nobles, bewildered commoners, and figures moving secretly through the shadows on the screen, he reflected inwardly.
Compared with the simple, brutal clashes between Titans in the MonsterVerse, the humans of this world are far too complicated.
And the storm he had caused was only the beginning of this vast upheaval.
"By the way, you can create clones, right?"