Meanwhile, she figured out through experimentation that by creating ice with far greater drawbacks and negative side effects, she could dramatically increase the ice's positive effects in direct proportion to the drawback. So by intentionally increasing the pain she experienced, she could grow substantially stronger as a result.
"Empress," Shadow said softly and respectfully, approaching the Empress who sat regally upon a massive throne constructed entirely of crystalline ice. A look of deep, intense concentration was imprinted on her face as she repeatedly tapped her fingers against the armrest in an almost hypnotic rhythm.
It was a sight that genuinely scared Shadow to witness. Ever since Seth had left through that dungeon gate, she had become noticeably short-tempered and easily annoyed by even the smallest inconveniences or interruptions.
That volatile, dangerous mood was the main reason she constantly endured such intense pain from her ice —it effectively distracted her troubled mind from the fact that she was severely sexually frustrated and had no outlet for it.
She was a dragon by nature, proud and dominant. Since when did a dragon ever have to simply sit around passively and wait while they were sexually frustrated with no way to satisfy those needs? Yet here she was, deliberately using the chilling, agonizing cold pain of her own power to forcibly distract her mind from those biological urges.
If simply playing with herself and taking care of things manually had actually worked to relieve the tension, then she wouldn't be stuck in such a persistently foul mood all the time. But something about Seth specifically, something unique to him, made it so that no toys or substitutes or any other methods could bring her even remotely close to the same intense level of pleasure she could experience while actually with him physically.
"What is it?" she asked sharply, her tone cutting and impatient, making it clear she didn't want to be bothered without good reason.
Shadow visibly shook and trembled slightly at her harsh tone before gathering his courage to continue.
"We have successfully brought a complete and comprehensive map of the entire United States territory for your review," he began carefully, choosing his words with care. "We have successfully conquered and brought under your control approximately 25% of the total landmass, which equals roughly 327 thousand square miles under your direct rule. The other remaining 75% of the territory is currently divided amongst three other major powers and factions, which collectively take up a combined total of 50% of the available land. The remaining 25% belongs entirely to various monster factions and wild territories, which are actively growing their territory every single day."
He delivered the strategic information as concisely and clearly as possible, hoping to avoid prolonging her irritation.
"So?" she asked bluntly and dismissively, not immediately seeing why she should be particularly bothered or concerned with this specific information right now.
"The problem we face, Empress, is that the other major powers would soon see and recognize that we hold the single largest territory by a significant margin," Shadow explained patiently, trying to help her understand the political implications. "They might start making coordinated moves and forming alliances specifically to suppress us before we become too dominant and unstoppable. There is a natural balance of power is emerging. We should make our aggressive move soon to ensure that when that balance finally comes and settles into place, we are firmly positioned as the most overwhelmingly powerful force that cannot be reasonably challenged."
His explanation caused her to click her tongue sharply in obvious annoyance at the political complications.
She desperately wished she could just personally enter any enemy territory she wanted and slaughter everything in her path without consequence or limitation. But she couldn't do that freely anymore because of the significant debuff that severely affected and reduced her strength whenever she operated outside her own controlled regions. And also because of the undeniable fact that those damn monsters were no longer the weak, pathetic pushovers they had been in the early days.
They were now actively dealing with dangerous tier 8 monsters that had been born naturally in this world rather than being spawned or summoned. Some particularly vicious and intelligent monsters had even discovered they could actively consume and devour their own kind to grow dramatically stronger through cannibalism.
While the standard spawned tier 8 monsters had a baseline combat power of around 150 thousand, those monsters that were born naturally in this world instead possessed combat power of at least 300 thousand right from the moment of their birth.
The strongest individual monster she had personally encountered and battled so far had possessed a truly terrifying combat power of 700,000—a threat that nearly matched her own current strength level… of course, she won even while suffering a debuff that made her far weaker than the monster.
"Have God's Eye set off and take position," she commanded decisively. "His wish to have the Sharingan and all those other powerful anime eyes fused together to form the ultimate God's Eye ability is genuinely good and impressive. They would make excellent kings to manage this particular region of dense fog and treacherous mountains. I want them to also expand their territory aggressively towards the west."
As she spoke those words, she created a perfectly formed ice eyeball, which she carefully placed over a specific region on the map to mark their designated territory.
"Next is Flash," she continued, moving her finger across the map. "His wish for the speed force is legitimately good and suits him perfectly, but keeping him too close to me would significantly limit his potential. I want them to manage and control the eastern regions instead."
She created a crackling lightning bolt made of ice, which she precisely placed on a region that was notably flat and open—perfect terrain for those who enjoyed running at extreme speeds.
"Third is the Shadow Monarch," she said thoughtfully. "He is essentially a one-man army all by himself; someone like him should naturally stand at the front lines of expansion. So where exactly should I position him strategically?"
She paused, speaking softly to herself as she considered the options, before her eyes shifted downward towards South America on the map. She would want him to conquer all the land leading down in that direction, so selecting the southern region made perfect strategic sense. She picked up a pair of crossed daggers made of ice and placed them there to mark his territory.
As for the last person, she wanted to pick Superman, but he was still just a kid. So, to head towards the north, she picked The Pirate King, who was someone who wished for a One Piece Template. All of the 4 she picked were powerful SS-tier talents, and were the oldest and people she considered born leaders.
"They can each take a total of 7 S-tier fighters and 3 SS-tier fighters with them to help manage, defend, and expend their respective regions," she said softly but firmly.
Shadow nodded respectfully in understanding while turning to leave and report this matter to the designated kings.
With the strategic division of her vast land into distinct regions under capable rulers, things became far easier and more manageable for her to deal with on a daily basis. Each king would help her effectively defend her land and expand their borders.
She had high hopes that these 4 Kings would go on to eventually bear powerful bloodlines through their descendants, which would greatly support and strengthen the empire in the future.
But she was also realistic—there were a total of 14 SSS rank talents currently on Earth, so she knew full well that things would not remain easy for her forces for very long. But she wasn't particularly worried about the competition, because she was sure and confident that she was the strongest individual currently alive.
As she expected would happen eventually, soon a formal report landed on her desk—a diplomatic request from the three other major empires, all wishing to meet with each other over a video call conference.
Although she was not remotely in the mood for political games, she reluctantly agreed to join the call. She would meet with the other three overlords who were ruling North America alongside her, conveniently ignoring and excluding the monster factions from the discussion entirely.
However, she had no intention of revealing her true appearance or identity. She created an ice clone to join the meeting in her place, deliberately having the clone take the shape and appearance of a random, unremarkable human to avoid them learning too much about her true nature and capabilities.
"Well then, let's begin by introducing ourselves properly to each other," a red-haired man said with a confident, calculated smile as he scanned the screen, studying each participant carefully. "I'm the one who originally asked for this meeting to be arranged. My name is John, but now I'm going by the name Zero. It's a genuine pleasure to meet you all."
"Nice try with that obvious manipulation tactic," a blonde-haired man said lightly, his tone casual as he rested his fist against the side of his head. He was handsome, with his long blonde hair, which almost looked like the mane of a golden lion.
"By getting us to share our names first, you're clearly trying to use that information to look into our past histories, or perhaps even use some kind of skill or ability to analyze our capabilities and weaknesses. I seriously doubt John is even your real name to begin with." He said calmly