So the plan was carefully put into motion. The next day, the empire officially called the third prince to the throne room to supposedly speak with him about some important administrative matter. But they were violently attacked without warning—it was sudden, brutal, and seemingly came out of nowhere.
Evelin, apparently driven mad by her desire for the throne, unleashed devastating attacks that destroyed massive portions of the castle, leading to the tragic deaths of many innocent people caught in the destruction.
The Emperor himself was viciously sneak-attacked during the chaos, leading to him being critically and badly injured. When Evelin saw that her assassination attempt had failed to kill him completely, she had immediately turned and fled at maximum speed, escaping before reinforcements could arrive. With her now being officially seen as a traitor and enemy of the state, she fell under a severe 50% debuff within the empire's territory and no longer benefited from the 100% buff that citizens received.
Many people died that terrible day, including even the beloved and famous singer, Alara, who was reportedly caught in the collapsed section of the castle. The structure had been so catastrophically damaged by the overwhelming power used that even those with abilities to revert time or see into the past found themselves unable to. Due to the sheer magnitude of skills deployed, space itself had become fundamentally unstable in that location, ensuring that even powerful divination skills that looked into the past would see absolutely nothing useful.
***
"This truly annoys me to no end," a Russian man said bitterly, sitting before his screen and looking at video feeds showing the many world powers gathered for this conference. "You Americans were the number one global power before the apocalypse, and now you somehow stand as the number one power in the entire world once again."
This Russian leader was genuinely enraged for one simple but significant reason—North America had become completely united under a single banner. Unlike every other continent on Earth, which remained frustratingly divided among multiple competing powerhouses and factions, they had achieved total unity. To make matters worse, some continents had been completely overrun by organized monster forces.
Australia, for example, had a human population that didn't come anywhere close to covering its massive continental landmass. For this critical reason, they had been systematically overrun by the monster populations once the creatures began actively working together under unified leadership.
But even the mighty North America had faced difficulties of its own during expansion. As their forces reached further towards the far north, they encountered a harsh region where virtually no humans had ever lived permanently. There, the monsters had successfully united and formed their own organized empire with a clear hierarchy.
By joining forces with the other SSS tier talents from across the continent, the North American coalition had been able to eventually destroy the monster empire through overwhelming force. But that didn't mean they hadn't lost tremendous amounts of manpower in the brutal campaign. For this sobering reason, they had strategically stopped their aggressive expansion and instead focused entirely on ensuring that what they had already conquered and claimed was properly protected and consolidated.
"Your weaknesses and failures are none of my business or concern," Golden Lion stated calmly. That was the adopted nickname of the blonde-haired SSS-tier talent who had allied with Chu Yin.
Chu Yin herself wasn't physically sitting in this critical international meeting, as she still wasn't mentally stable enough for the delicate diplomatic task. So Golden Lion had naturally taken on the role of being the public face and primary representative of the newly unified North America, which they had officially renamed to The Eternal Empire.
"I didn't start and organize this meeting just to hear you all bickering and fighting with each other like children," an Australian man interrupted firmly, scanning everyone present with serious eyes. He was the sole ruler of Australia, meaning he was the only SSS tier talent on the entire continent.
"At the rate things are currently going, Australia will be completely conquered by the monsters within months," the man said calmly but with underlying desperation. "From there, this would become a massive continent where monsters are free to grow, breed, and develop without any human interference whatsoever, completely shielded from attack by the vast ocean surrounding it."
"That sounds like your problem, not mine. Where exactly is my concern in this?" the Russian man asked with a cold, dismissive smirk.
"Think strategically for once," a handsome man who bore a striking resemblance to Seth interjected, speaking lightly but firmly. "The less territory and land the monsters have available to grow and develop their forces, the higher humanity's overall chances become of winning this existential war. We had the critical upper hand for a long time, specifically because we started the battle with them when we were fully ready and prepared. Now the situation has shifted—they can start launching battles and campaigns when they are ready, not when we choose."
"I'm willing to step onto your continent and provide assistance under one condition," Golden Lion said after looking to the side for a moment, as if consulting someone off-screen. "I want Australia to merge with my Eternal Empire."
"What?" the Australian man said, his voice rising with anger at the blatant American arrogance. In the past, before the apocalypse, they were arrogant and domineering. And now they were being even more arrogant?
"Out of everyone gathered here today, only my continent is the only one that's fully united under a single government," Golden Lion said calmly, his tone reasonable. "I could easily shut myself off from the rest of the world and simply focus on stabilizing and strengthening what I already have. Yet here I am, taking the significant risk of helping you. Before all of this happened, your continent had a population of around 30 million people, correct? How much has that number dropped since then?"
Golden Lion's question made the Australian man grit his teeth in frustration, unable to answer without revealing how badly things had deteriorated.
"You might think I'm being arrogant," Golden Lion continued, "but am I not losing enough by leaving my own continent to travel all the way over there? Consider the massive resources needed to teleport across those enormous distances. The resources needed to support you and your struggling empire. The time and effort needed to help you recover."
Golden Lion spoke softly, tapping the table rhythmically while looking directly at the Australian man with penetrating eyes.
"I'm also willing to sign an official oath with you, using up one of my precious limited chances for this commitment. I will leave my own land vulnerable for this mission, all while you do what? Simply merge your territory with mine? That's me being arrogant?" Golden Lion asked pointedly.
His words left the Australian man quiet and contemplative, as he genuinely had not thought of all those factors from that perspective.
"The United States and Japan have been on good terms for many years before all this," a Japanese woman said, speaking up to shift the conversation. "I would very much like to continue our good relationship moving forward."
Her statement caused the other overlord of Japan to glare at her angrily for speaking without consultation. But she completely ignored him, keeping her attention focused on Golden Lion.
"Of course, I would absolutely like to rebuild the former relationship that the United States once had with Japan," Golden Lion said with a genuinely charming smile.
"Like we need American pity or charity," the man who looked remarkably like Seth said coldly, his voice dripping with disdain.
He gave a quick scan of the 12 people who had gathered for this meeting. There were a total of 5 other SSS tier talents they still had not found or made contact with. But they were definitely out there somewhere, because SSS tier talents were blessed by the system itself. They were shielded by Fate up to a certain degree. Monsters couldn't kill them easily.
"It's called natural selection and survival of the fittest," the Russian man stated bluntly. "I will not expend my precious resources upon something so pointless as saving the weak."
With those harsh words, the Russian man abruptly turned off his connection and disappeared from the meeting. What was left behind were the remaining Overlords who desperately needed help—mainly those in the poorer countries that had been severely overrun with corruption before the apocalypse.
"I will send manpower and resources to come in to help stabilize things in your regions," Golden Lion said calmly and diplomatically. "In the meantime, I have to go to Australia first to address the most critical situation. Once things ease up there and are under control, I will make my way to your lands."
For now, he wouldn't force everyone to merge with his empire immediately. Instead, he would play the long game strategically and let them see the benefits.
***
"What is it?" Chu Yin asked in obvious annoyance from within her bathtub, where she was trying to relax. She had no time or patience to speak with others right now and instead wanted some peace and quiet.
"The international meeting is over," Golden Lion said from behind the closed door. He spoke softly at her irritated tone, but went on to explain everything that had happened at the meeting in detail... she was the strongest, she had by far the highest combat power out of all of them, and was capable of fighting all 3 SSS tiers on her own. But she wanted them to be strong, so she had pushed them to get stronger, earning mainly Golden Lion respect.