Northern District, Outer Gate 54545, Blazing Fire City.
The ruling Community here was Salamandra, a Community centered on Wyverns, inherited from the Taoist Star Sea Dragon King and the God of Tai Sui.
At noon, a Lizardman in armor, carrying a letter, hurriedly entered Salamandra's headquarters building, rushing into the Council Hall while shouting.
"Your Excellency, Acting Leader…"
"What issue is making you so frantic?"
A young man with short red hair, black dragon horns on his forehead, and dark skin expressed his dissatisfaction.
Mandora Doltrake, a descendant of the Star Sea Dragon King, a Dragon species. As the new leader was still young, he currently served as Salamandra's Acting Leader.
"A letter… a letter…"
Seeing his subordinate's panic, Mandora frowned and asked,
"What's with the letter? Calm down and then speak."
The Lizardman took a few deep breaths, then handed over the letter with a tense expression.
"An invitation from Arcadia!"
Mandora's face changed instantly. His hand holding the letter trembled slightly, not daring to open it.
The achievements of Arcadia's new Leader, Aslan, were now known to all, even after more than a week had passed.
Yet, Aslan still dominated the headlines of various reports.
The Heir of Canaria, the strongest Boundary Ability User in Little Garden's lower layers, the next Leader of the Great Alliance, the one who reclaimed Arcadia's flag, a master strategist in battle…
The higher Aslan's reputation soared, the greater the pressure it brought upon Mandora.
Carefully examining the letter, Mandora saw Aslan's name on it and gritted his teeth.
"Too careless… Who would've thought, after all that happened, a powerful successor could still emerge."
Just two months ago, Salamandra was still a member of the Great Arcadia Alliance, holding three permanent seats in the Alliance's Council Hall.
In other words, Salamandra was still an ally of Arcadia two months ago. Their relationship was very close.
In truth, Salamandra had long harbored a grudge against Arcadia. The Old Dragon King was gravely injured and passed away shortly after Sandora's birth.
The Another Cosmology Void Star · Tai Sui and the Sun Authority of the Dragon were taken to seal Azi Dahaka. Not to mention, many of Salamandra's original Fire Dragons were sacrificed.
Their bloodline deteriorated with each generation. Their Dragon Energy had been siphoned to maintain Azi Dahaka's seal.
A Floor Master of Little Garden's lower layers two hundred years ago. After allying with Arcadia, their inherited Gifts were lost, the Fire Dragon Legion vanished, and their home was even rigged with a nuclear bomb.
Who wouldn't hold a grudge?
So, after confirming that Arcadia had truly lost its flag and name, Mandora didn't hesitate to betray the alliance, leading Salamandra's members out of the Great Arcadia Alliance.
But in less than two months, Arcadia had risen from the ashes.
"We suffered due to a lack of information and connections." Mandora sighed helplessly.
"If only Father were still here."
"Who would've thought that Aslan, who recently rose to fame, was the backup plan Canaria left behind?"
It wasn't just Arcadia that collapsed after the tree fell; Salamandra wasn't faring much better.
The decline of a great power often came from multiple aspects: influence, strength, talent, combat power, connections, and information.
Salamandra was once a Floor Master, an undisputed Floor Master in the middle and lower layers of the Northern District. An unrivaled Fire Dragon Legion, a constant stream of talent, numerous subordinate Communities, and a Dragon King Leader with unmatched combat strength.
But once a giant fell, the impact was immense.
Like the Queen of England facing the decline of Britain. What once took a single word from the Queen, after the sun set, required vast resources and manpower.
Mandora experienced such a loss.
As someone who suddenly emerged from Arcadia's ruins after its collapse, Aslan never escaped the attention of Little Garden's other powers.
This naturally included former allies.
It was just that Aslan and they had a tacit understanding not to interfere with each other. They also wanted to see if Aslan had the capital to raise Arcadia's flag.
Like during Leticia's auction, if Aslan had no shame, he could've borrowed money from those former allies.
However, Aslan, newly arrived, didn't realize he could do such a thing. Moreover, he was actually Shiroyasha's person at the time, and his connection to Arcadia wasn't that close.
Borrowing money from Arcadia's former allies would've embarrassed Shiroyasha.
Those allies also saw it as a test. If Aslan could gain Leticia's recognition, they would allow him to inherit part of the Great Alliance's network from back then.
The Storage Cards, which sold like hotcakes across Little Garden, were quietly supported by them, also warding off many prying eyes.
The biggest buyers of the first wave of Storage Cards were Draco Greif, namely Garol Gundark and Sala Doltrake.
This was why Aslan allowed them to assist. Otherwise, with so many talented individuals and hidden Four-Digits at the time, why were they the ones who stepped forward?
Garol and Sala were clearly not strong in front of a group of Almighty Domain (Three-Digit) beings descending from the heavens and renowned Gods.
Mandora didn't know that Aslan was the new Leader of No Name after Arcadia's fall.
Though Aslan was indeed starting to stand out at the time.
And he foolishly betrayed the alliance.
Since No Name was inconvenient to report, Aslan's information at the time indicated he was the leader of a commercial Community.
It could only be said that decline was like a snowball. Once it started rolling, it was hard to stop.
Salamandra had been screwed over too harshly, so much so that Aslan couldn't bear to watch.
They weren't even entitled to know near-public information. No one even reminded them.
If just one former ally had warned them, Salamandra wouldn't have betrayed the alliance.
But this was indeed because Canaria was too ruthless. She screwed Salamandra over too cruelly.
Salamandra, in the Great Alliance, worked tirelessly without complaint, but in the end, they were left bleeding, sweating, and crying.
This was why Aslan sent the invitation: to help Canaria clean up the mess she made.
And to build an image for himself as someone who cared for allies, was magnanimous, and wouldn't use others as pawns to be sacrificed at will.
In many cases, especially in a world like Little Garden that emphasized personal strength, one's image was crucial.
"I can only hope Arcadia's Leader isn't here for revenge. Salamandra now can't withstand any more trouble."
With anxiety in his heart, Mandora opened the invitation sent by Aslan.
Mandora read the letter's contents.
Lily missed her playmate Sandora and specifically invited Salamandra's Leader, Sandora Doltrake, to visit Arcadia, to discuss re-establishing the alliance and returning Salamandra's former legacy.
What was that former legacy? No one knew better than Mandora.
The Another Cosmology Void Star · Tai Sui and the Sun Authority of the Dragon.
Mandora stared at the letter for a long time. He let out a heavy breath and said,
"Truly surprising…"
"He's actually willing to return it to us…"
He looked at the envelope, saw the date on it, and fell silent for a long time.
It should've been a joyous occasion, so why couldn't he smile?
Reclaiming the nearly lost inherited Gifts and restoring the former alliance with Arcadia.
It should've been a joyous occasion, so why did it feel like this?
A bitter smile crept onto his face.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
"Pass down my order."
"Yes, sir!"
"Inform Leader Sandora to head to the Eastern District three days from now to attend the celebration feast of Arcadia's Leader, Lord Aslan."
"Yes, sir!!"
Hopefully, this could make up for it a little… Mandora gripped the letter, his emotions mixed.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Southern District of Little Garden, Draco Greif, the largest recognized Community alliance in the Southern District.
In the meeting room.
Garol looked at the letter stamped with Arcadia's flag in his hand and spoke with deep emotion.
"Impressive. Who would've thought, in just a few days, Aslan has returned from the outside world and is preparing to rebuild the Great Arcadia Alliance."
At this moment, Sala, seated in the main chair, asked eagerly,
"Boss, are we lucky this time?"
If Salamandra completely mispositioned itself, Draco Greif had been keeping an eye on Aslan from the start.
A coffee shop near Arcadia was established by one of Garol's daughters, constantly monitoring Arcadia. If No Name had truly faced trouble back then, they could've helped.
This was why Draco Greif didn't miss the chance to take a stand.
"Not necessarily. Aslan may not have inherited the ideology of the old Arcadia." Garol poured cold water on the enthusiasm.
In truth, most of those who joined the Great Arcadia Alliance back then were drawn by Canaria's dream.
The dream of building the Great Floor Master Alliance, committed to peace in the lower layers, ensuring the lower layers were no longer threatened by Demon Lords.
Though Canaria screwed over many people, how many of them weren't willing to sacrifice their lives?
Interests were indeed strong but also fragile. At least pure interests couldn't have allowed Canaria to gather such immense power.
If not for the arrival of Absolute Evil, Canaria's dream of the Great Floor Master Alliance might've been realized.
Hundreds of Four-Digits in the Great Alliance were enough to maintain peace in the lower layers.
But just like when Leticia established the Floor Master system, the vampire race was attacked from within.
Canaria also faced Absolute Evil just as the Great Floor Master Alliance was nearly complete.
It's hard to say this wasn't some kind of conspiracy.