"Well, the thing is recently, a plague has suddenly descended on our continent," The Lancaster Emperor said with a serious expression.
"A plague? What do you mean?" Damien asked with a baffled look.
"Our lands have begun to die for real, starting from the central lands of the continent. It is still spreading, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. It would only be a matter of time before it spreads to the entire continent, and we all die due to the ethereal air around us getting robbed," The Lancaster Emperor said with a sigh.
"The center lands? They already died?" Damien looked at his women, who all were giving him confused looks as well since this was the first time they had heard such things.
None of them ever left the island, and Damien never strayed too far but only wandered around the imperial capital of the Gale Empire. He never traveled to the central lands. Otherwise, he might have seen what was going on.
"But if something that big was going on, why is there no news or rumors about it?" Damien asked since he was sure he would have heard people gossiping about something as big and unsettling as this.
Lands suddenly dying out of nowhere? Wouldn't everyone get uneasy?
Of course, powerful cultivators primarily relied on ethereal energy but in a way that also meant they needed lands that were not dead. If the continent dies, then the ethereal atmosphere would keep on depleting until no more ethereal energy would be present for cultivators to continue their lives.
Plants, trees, beasts, and so on all give back ethereal energy to the atmosphere. And if the continent dies out, all these would die out as well, resulting in everyone else eventually dying.
"That is because we are containing the situation. We evacuated the people silently, telling them it was for imperial business, but I don't think we can even do that for much longer. It is not that I want to deceive the people, but there is no point in causing a panic when I am still working for the best solution other than opening the gates. But so far, I can't see any other choice than to take our chances in the outside world. We will be dead here anyway," The Lancaster Emperor said with a grave face.
Damien now felt that the news he heard about people getting moved from the center lands made sense. He didn't give much thought about it before since he thought it was probably Ruthren and Daugmir trying to search around for any Forsaken members or him. The center lands were a good hiding place for criminals.
"This is bad…Common people would be the first to die. Lots of them," Lily mumbled with an empty stare.
"Something just feels wrong here," Reva said with narrowed eyes.
"Reva is right. I don't believe our continent can suddenly begin to die like that. Not without a good reason or some obvious signs we should have noticed a long time ago," Yuria said, feeling suspicious about the whole thing.
"Yeah. I also feel that as well. Maybe we should all take a look at what is going on," Damien said with a wrinkled brow.
"As much as I would like to let you all take a look, it is a very bad idea. If it was just my people, I could have still managed. But there are men from the Xeton and the Gale Empire watching over everything and making sure nobody wanders anywhere near. Even if a soul passes by, they will conduct strict checking, even for me. It is an agreement we all agreed to…To prove our identity whenever we come anywhere near there. So bringing you all four there will just put you all in trouble," The Lancaster Emperor said as he rubbed his eyebrow.
"Let me guess. Ruthren must have been the one to propose such strict checking, right?" Damien asked to which the Lancaster Emperor nodded, "Yes. But I thought it was a logical decision. Someone can disguise their way through, and this was the only way to keep them in check."
"Or make sure that the wrong people don't learn about what he is really up to. Okay…if we can't see it, can Your Majesty describe how bad it looks?" Damien asked to see if he could deduce something from his words.
The Lancaster Emperor nodded as he said, "This began to show up a year ago when we received reports from local farmers that their crops were dying out, their cattle unable to feed on anything on their lands since they were dying after eating the rotten, dead grass and all. In fact, animals were dying just because they ate from the parts where the land had died. When we got there, I was shocked to see what was left of the fresh green lands."
"All I saw and felt was…death. I can still remember the venomous smell of death, and the blackened, decayed surface of the lands. There was no way those fresh green lands could turn into such a horrible place so suddenly. But what I saw was the reality. Somehow it happened. Even I did not dare to stay on that dead land for too long. For some reason, it just…gave me the chills, even though I am ashamed to admit that. Still, I am telling this so that all of you can understand how dangerous this whole thing will grow to be," The Lancaster Emperor said with a stiff neck.
Damien and his women took a deep breath, not expecting things to be this bad. Damien could see that the Lancaster Emperor was very serious and worried about this. Otherwise, an emperor like him wouldn't admit to being terrified of something.
"Your Majesty, I understand that things are looking really bad. But considering the person Ruthren is, can you please hold off on cooperating with him for a while?" Damien requested.
"Well, the thing is recently, a plague has suddenly descended on our continent," The Lancaster Emperor said with a serious expression.
"A plague? What do you mean?" Damien asked with a baffled look.
"Our lands have begun to die for real, starting from the central lands of the continent. It is still spreading, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. It would only be a matter of time before it spreads to the entire continent, and we all die due to the ethereal air around us getting robbed," The Lancaster Emperor said with a sigh.
"The center lands? They already died?" Damien looked at his women, who all were giving him confused looks as well since this was the first time they had heard such things.
None of them ever left the island, and Damien never strayed too far but only wandered around the imperial capital of the Gale Empire. He never traveled to the central lands. Otherwise, he might have seen what was going on.
"But if something that big was going on, why is there no news or rumors about it?" Damien asked since he was sure he would have heard people gossiping about something as big and unsettling as this.
Lands suddenly dying out of nowhere? Wouldn't everyone get uneasy?
Of course, powerful cultivators primarily relied on ethereal energy but in a way that also meant they needed lands that were not dead. If the continent dies, then the ethereal atmosphere would keep on depleting until no more ethereal energy would be present for cultivators to continue their lives.
Plants, trees, beasts, and so on all give back ethereal energy to the atmosphere. And if the continent dies out, all these would die out as well, resulting in everyone else eventually dying.
"That is because we are containing the situation. We evacuated the people silently, telling them it was for imperial business, but I don't think we can even do that for much longer. It is not that I want to deceive the people, but there is no point in causing a panic when I am still working for the best solution other than opening the gates. But so far, I can't see any other choice than to take our chances in the outside world. We will be dead here anyway," The Lancaster Emperor said with a grave face.
Damien now felt that the news he heard about people getting moved from the center lands made sense. He didn't give much thought about it before since he thought it was probably Ruthren and Daugmir trying to search around for any Forsaken members or him. The center lands were a good hiding place for criminals.
"This is bad…Common people would be the first to die. Lots of them," Lily mumbled with an empty stare.
"Something just feels wrong here," Reva said with narrowed eyes.
"Reva is right. I don't believe our continent can suddenly begin to die like that. Not without a good reason or some obvious signs we should have noticed a long time ago," Yuria said, feeling suspicious about the whole thing.
"Yeah. I also feel that as well. Maybe we should all take a look at what is going on," Damien said with a wrinkled brow.
"As much as I would like to let you all take a look, it is a very bad idea. If it was just my people, I could have still managed. But there are men from the Xeton and the Gale Empire watching over everything and making sure nobody wanders anywhere near. Even if a soul passes by, they will conduct strict checking, even for me. It is an agreement we all agreed to…To prove our identity whenever we come anywhere near there. So bringing you all four there will just put you all in trouble," The Lancaster Emperor said as he rubbed his eyebrow.
"Let me guess. Ruthren must have been the one to propose such strict checking, right?" Damien asked to which the Lancaster Emperor nodded, "Yes. But I thought it was a logical decision. Someone can disguise their way through, and this was the only way to keep them in check."
"Or make sure that the wrong people don't learn about what he is really up to. Okay…if we can't see it, can Your Majesty describe how bad it looks?" Damien asked to see if he could deduce something from his words.
The Lancaster Emperor nodded as he said, "This began to show up a year ago when we received reports from local farmers that their crops were dying out, their cattle unable to feed on anything on their lands since they were dying after eating the rotten, dead grass and all. In fact, animals were dying just because they ate from the parts where the land had died. When we got there, I was shocked to see what was left of the fresh green lands."
"All I saw and felt was…death. I can still remember the venomous smell of death, and the blackened, decayed surface of the lands. There was no way those fresh green lands could turn into such a horrible place so suddenly. But what I saw was the reality. Somehow it happened. Even I did not dare to stay on that dead land for too long. For some reason, it just…gave me the chills, even though I am ashamed to admit that. Still, I am telling this so that all of you can understand how dangerous this whole thing will grow to be," The Lancaster Emperor said with a stiff neck.
Damien and his women took a deep breath, not expecting things to be this bad. Damien could see that the Lancaster Emperor was very serious and worried about this. Otherwise, an emperor like him wouldn't admit to being terrified of something.
"Your Majesty, I understand that things are looking really bad. But considering the person Ruthren is, can you please hold off on cooperating with him for a while?" Damien requested.
