Chapter93

Otherwise, such an extremely powerful divine artifact that could directly split three major cities would have already been used by the nation that possessed it to dominate the world. There would be no need for the current balance of power among the three major nations and various factions.

Moreover, such a powerful artifact, Elara also instinctively felt that people in this era could not possibly control or possess it.

If it wasn't a divine gift, and it wasn't a natural disaster, then what exactly caused this enormous, suddenly-appearing abyss?

It couldn't really be some kind of divine punishment sent from the heavens, the wrath of a god.

Even just using internal energy to probe, the deeper Elara went into the abyss, the more she could feel the overwhelming, freezing cold, as if it could spread from her spiritual body into her entire being.

Elara frowned. To prevent this extreme cold from invading her body, she finally stopped going deeper.

Her intuition kept sending warnings, telling her that at the bottom of this abyss, something extremely dangerous and malicious was lurking, something far beyond what she could handle right now.

After exploring the edge for a while and still finding nothing, Elara withdrew her spiritual energy and stopped going further. She just stared at the pitch-black abyss that seemed ready to devour everything and began to think.

This place originally belonged to the territory of the Salvia Kingdom. Did the Salvia royal family know something was wrong here?

After they lost the war, they fled to this place. Did they know that once they entered, the three cities would mysteriously be split off and sink underground? Or did they already know the secret here? Was that why they fled this way?

What is their current condition? Are they still alive, trapped in the eerie abyss below? Or are they already dead?

Was the reason behind Salvia's southern invasion plan also related to the secret of this abyss?

The three cities that suddenly sank underground happened to be located in the western region occupied by Elara, the central region taken by Prince Yu, and the northeastern region controlled by Prince Leland.

If one were to go further north past the areas of these three cities, they would reach the forbidden permafrost zone at the northernmost part of the continent.

Like the Forbidden Forest near the western border of the Plumera Kingdom, the northern permafrost zone was also one of the most mysterious and dangerous places in the world.

According to legends and all official historical records, no one from any nation had ever ventured deep into either the northern permafrost or the Forbidden Forest in the far west.

No one knew how vast or deep these forbidden zones were, what they looked like, whether anything lived inside, or what lay beyond them.

Everyone who had tried to explore the forbidden zones for any reason had never returned, and the cause was always unknown.

Elara sat at the edge of the abyss, gazing out at the seemingly endless snowy world in the distance, quietly thinking until evening.

After casually eating a few bites of the dinner brought by a servant, she finally received word from both Prince Yu and Prince Leland.

Their situation was the same as hers. No one knew why the three cities had suddenly split and sunk underground.

That night, Elara sat by the abyss deep in thought, using everything she could from the System, the map tracker, and every available method to search, but still came to no clear conclusion.

Early the next morning, she pushed herself up from the edge, stood up, and ordered the entire abyss area to be sealed off. She had a no-entry line set up five hundred meters out from the abyss.

From then on, without her permission, no one would be allowed within five hundred meters of the abyss.

Outside that boundary, she would build an observation tower every one hundred meters, so that the soldiers guarding this border could take turns monitoring the abyss daily.

After arranging everything, Elara took one last look at the vast, endless abyss, then turned and rode back toward the city.

No matter what, this northern campaign had come to an end at last.

There were still piles of matters waiting for her to deal with, so she couldn't afford to stay here too long.

When Elara returned to the main camp of the Plumera Kingdom army, a long-missed mechanical voice echoed in her mind.

[Ding ~ Congratulations. You have successfully conquered all the territories of a third-class major nation, about 754,000 square kilometers, and about one-third of the second-class minor nation Salvia Kingdom's territory, about 500,000 square kilometers.]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! Under your leadership, Plumera Kingdom has successfully stepped into the ranks of a second-tier nation in terms of territorial expansion!]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! Under your leadership, Plumera Kingdom's total population has successfully reached the second-tier national level!]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! Under your leadership, Plumera Kingdom's overall military power has reached the top level among third-tier major nations!]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! Under your leadership, Plumera Kingdom's overall economic level has reached the standard of a third-tier major nation!]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! You have greatly expanded Plumera Kingdom's overall territory and influence across all aspects! The total national strength of Plumera Kingdom has been significantly doubled and greatly improved!]

[Due to the high complexity and difficulty of your current conquest mission exceeding your original strength, the national fortune value reward coefficient will be doubled based on difficulty!]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Northern Frontier expedition campaign and received a total reward of 23,000 national fortune points! Your current total is: 24,174 points]

[The overall panel attributes of Plumera Kingdom have been updated as follows:]

[Plumera Kingdom]

[National Level: Half-step Second-tier Nation]

[Ruler's Gender: Female (status to be determined)]

[National System: Centralized Power - Nine-division System]

[Military Strength: Top level among Third-tier Major Nations]

[Economic Strength: Third-tier Major Nation]

[Population: Second-tier Nation (early stage)]

[Territory Size: About 1.674 million square kilometers (mid-level second-tier nation)]

[Territorial Location: Entirely in the western region of the continent, stretching from the central-southern part of the west straight into the Northern Frontier]

[National Status: Great Integration! Centralized authority, stable governance! National development is rapidly accelerating! The overall national strength has entered the upper-middle level across the continent. The domestic situation is flourishing, public support is strong, with great potential and a promising future!]

[Key Leaders: Empress Elara, Commander Shu, General Qi, Damon, and other important ministers in court (click to view individual profiles)]

[Key Powers: The Royal Family of Plumera Kingdom, Divine Medical Valley (Hidden), various aristocratic families in court, etc.]

[Vassal States: None]

[Suzerain State: None]

[Others: To be explored]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! You have successfully led Plumera Kingdom to break through the third-tier national level and taken a half-step into the second-tier ranks! Bonus reward of 4,000 national fortune points! Current total national fortune points: 28,174]

[Due to your rapid development of Plumera Kingdom, achieved in less than a year, you will receive an extra reward of five Selectable Beginner Technology Books (can be used to unlock unacquired starter technology books or upgrade existing ones to a higher level)]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! You have completed the mission "Make Plumera Kingdom's overall national strength reach the level of a mid-tier third-tier nation" and received the reward Complete Basic Education Manual on National Technology and Public Quality]

[Ding ~ New mission refreshed: Raise Plumera Kingdom's overall national strength to a third-tier major nation level. Completion reward: Initial Dock and Small Sailing Ship Construction Technology]

[Ding ~ Congratulations! You have completed the mission: "Raise Plumera Kingdom's overall national strength to a third-tier major nation" and received the reward: Initial Dock and Small Sailing Ship Construction Technology]

[Ding ~ New mission refreshed: Raise Plumera Kingdom's overall national strength to a second-tier nation. Completion reward: Basic Maritime Construction and Warship Building Technology]

[Ding～Due to your recent campaign greatly changing the power balance around the Plumera Kingdom, the national power relationship status has been updated!]

[Ding～Currently, the friendly neighboring countries and powers connected to you are:]

[Carnation Kingdom (Second-tier junior country): Close ally (5100 points)]

[Gladiolus Kingdom Hanhe (Second-tier medium country): Reliable ally (3700 points)]

[Carnation Kingdom (Third-tier medium major country): Divine guidance (1700 points)]

[Divine Healer Valley (Domestic power): Mutual support (1500 points)]

[Zhaiyun Pavilion (Foreign power): 1100 points (mutual benefit)]

[Lianyi Tower (Continent first-tier top power): Admiring connection (500 points)]

[Tiangong Pavilion (Continent first-tier top power): Willingly allied (370 points)]

[??? (First-tier major domestic power): Regularly watched (220 points)]

[Ding～Currently, the hereditary enemy countries and powers connected to you are:]

[Edelweiss Kingdom (Third-tier small country): No peace until death (-100000 points) (completely destroyed, can delete)]

[Periwinkle Kingdom (Third-tier major country): Coveting and swallowing (-3500 points) (completely destroyed, can delete)]

[Salvia Kingdom (Second-tier small country): Annoying to kill (-1200 points) (completely destroyed, can delete)]

[Jiasi Kingdom (Third-tier major country): Coveting and invading (-2300 points) (completely destroyed, can delete)]

[Narcissus Kingdom (Third-tier major country): Coveting and invading (-2500 points) (completely destroyed, can delete)]

[Sargassum (Third-tier medium country): Terrified and scared (-1200 points)]

[??? (Second-tier top major country including some first-tier major powers): Disgust (-250 points)]

[Blood Clothes Tower (Second-tier large power): Equal suspicion and disgust after mission failure (-150 points)]

[Golden Kingdom (Third-tier major country): Terrified and scared (-350 points)]

When the series of mechanical sounds rang out, the System was already excitedly setting off fireworks in her mind!

[Master! You are just too amazing!!]

Elara smiled and exchanged a few words with the System in her mind, then told it to stop the fireworks. She looked at the stream of panel data.

The overall panel for Plumera Kingdom had grown more than she expected, especially the evaluation of the national territory area. It turned out that an area of 1.5 million square kilometers could already be counted as a second-tier medium-sized country?

Unfortunately, the military strength and economy were still at the level of a third-tier large country. But there was no rush. This prolonged northern campaign was over.

For now, there were no strong new enemies disrupting her development. After returning to Marigold City, she would focus on developing the country's military, economy, and other aspects, so that Plumera Kingdom could soon enter the ranks of second-tier countries in all areas.

After reviewing Plumera Kingdom's data panel, she looked at the national power relations section.

Thanks to the cooperation among the three countries in this northern campaign, the favorability values between her and both Dahlia Kingdom and Prince Leland of Gladiolus Kingdom had significantly increased.

Each country's favorability had risen by about three to four thousand points, and the relationships had become close and reliable allies.

After this battle, Dahlia Kingdom had completely become a second-tier country, and Gladiolus Kingdom had also taken a step forward, returning to the status of a second-tier medium-sized country like in its ancestors' peak era.

Elara basically gained two stronger allies, which was very good.

Other powers in the friendly section also showed normal increases in favorability over time, except for the last column, which still read "???"

Elara stared at those three question marks for a while. Which first-tier great power had a liking for her despite never having met?

After thinking for two seconds and not finding any suspicious candidates in her memory, Elara stopped caring about those three question marks.

Her gaze shifted to the second page's hostile relations section. When she saw "completely destroyed" next to Salvia Kingdom, she asked the System in her mind:

[System, does "completely destroyed" mean the remaining royal members of Salvia Kingdom who fell underground with the three northern major counties are all dead? Or even if they are alive, do they have no hope of restoring their kingdom in the future?]

[Yes, Master! The System's judgment is based on a comprehensive calculation of all possibilities. Since the system relationship panel already concluded "completely destroyed," you don't need to worry about any escaping royal remnants of Salvia Kingdom. Even if they somehow survived against all odds, they will never pose a threat to you as the Salvia royal family again.]

Elara nodded and looked at other powers marked "already destroyed."

[By the way, after Edelweiss was divided and occupied by Dahlia Kingdom and Plumera Kingdom, Edelweiss's emperor fled north to seek help from Narcissus Kingdom, right? In this battle, was he killed by Dahlia Kingdom or by Prince Leland's Han He?]

[It was Dahlia Kingdom, Master. Edelweiss originally sought aid from Narcissus Kingdom, but since Narcissus faced Gladiolus Kingdom and Jiasi Kingdom faced Dahlia Kingdom, Edelweiss, relying on many years of warfare experience against Dahlia Kingdom, believed he understood Dahlia Kingdom very well. So he voluntarily went to Jiasi Kingdom and secretly informed the Jiasi emperor of Dahlia Kingdom's weaknesses, hoping Jiasi Kingdom would use those to defeat and capture Dahlia Kingdom and avenge Edelweiss's kingdom.]

[Unfortunately, how could Edelweiss's emperor outwit Dahlia Kingdom, who was like a sly fox? Most of the weaknesses he knew were intentionally leaked by Dahlia Kingdom. Dahlia Kingdom also anticipated Edelweiss's intentions after he approached Jiasi Kingdom. Dahlia Kingdom then turned the tables by exploiting Edelweiss's desire for revenge through betrayal, catching Jiasi Kingdom off guard, and ultimately capturing Edelweiss's emperor and his remaining forces alive, completely eliminating the Edelweiss threat.]

No wonder it was Dahlia Kingdom—so cunning and sly, always smiling like a fox.

Edelweiss was completely eliminated. Narcissus Kingdom, Jiasi Kingdom, Salvia Kingdom, and several other countries all vanished cleanly from the map.

Elara clicked delete on each one, making the hostile power section much cleaner, with only four countries left.

[Ding~ The current hostile nations and powers that hold grudges against you are:]

[Sargassum (third-tier medium-sized country): terrified and fearful (-1200 points)]

[??? (second-tier top-level great power, partially overlapping with first-tier powers): disgust (-250 points)]

[Bloodcloaks (second-tier large power): equal suspicion and disgust after mission failure (-150 points)]

[Gold Kingdom (third-tier large country): terrified and fearful (-350 points)]

Fortunately, she had changed her identity multiple times by disguise at the Hundred Nations Banquet, preventing these chaotic countries and powers from discovering her true identity. So even if they hated or were angry at her personally, none of those powers she dealt with at the banquet appeared in the hostile list concerning Plumera Kingdom in the southwest of the continent.

Except for Bloodcloaks… well, judging by the description of their disgust value, they probably didn't notice Plumera Kingdom either.

Whether at the banquet or inside Salvia Kingdom, she caused the most trouble and loss to Bloodcloaks. If Bloodcloaks knew she was the empress of Plumera Kingdom, they would never spare Plumera Kingdom. The disgust value wouldn't be so low either.

Most likely, it would turn into a never-ending fight like Edelweiss's fate.

Elara thought and quietly chuckled in her heart, then looked at the other powers.

Apart from that unknown great power she had not encountered yet, Sargassum and Gold Kingdom's disgust toward her had increased, and their relationship description had become quite interesting: "terrified and fearful."

Terrified and fearful? Was it because they saw her marching north to wipe out the formerly relied-upon countries like Salvia Kingdom, so they belatedly became afraid? Afraid she learned something and would come to their gates for revenge?

Elara stared at the three characters "Sargassum" for a few seconds.

Seeing Sargassum, she immediately thought of Leif.