[Objective: Assist Anaxa in freeing herself from the Regency.]
That was the main quest for Stage 1-2. From helping Tribios inherit the Coreflame in 1-1 to the current phase, the design logic was clear , the main quests didn't directly test combat strength but instead served to restore each heroine to her destined worldline.
Inheritance of fire.
Breaking free of chains.
These weren't random missions; they were fated events.
As for the Special Story Scenarios, Aizen suspected they existed to fill the emotional gaps between relationships, resolving the "what-ifs" their original history left behind.
Still, with limited examples, it was too early to form a complete theory.
Regardless, Aizen's objectives were never limited to clearing missions.
Anyone who had ever played an RPG knew , according to how game designers structured progression, early story stages were crucial resource farming zones. Materials used to foster characters were scarce and extremely limited in overflow.
In extreme cases, one even had to calculate optimal leveling paths , deciding how far to train each unit before the next boss and carefully adjusting for compatibility.
Treating reality like a strategy game might seem reckless,
but if he didn't perfect-clear every early node, how could he expect to go punch-for-punch with Laegius, the Iron Tomb, or any of the Lords of Extinction later on?
So, the typical "take Anaxa and run" route?
Not even on the table.
Besides, he knew this ambitious woman wouldn't ever agree to such an escape anyway.
And honestly,
if she did choose that route, Aizen already had several ways to keep her around.
This whole map's resource hub was clearly the kingdom of Hypermion.
And what kind of world-conquering, resource-hoarding player ever walked past a harvest node acting like it wasn't there?
Anaxa had to join the party.
Hypermion had to be conquered.
Only then would things be balanced.
Of course, Hypermion was no Janusopolis;
it wouldn't be as easy as letting Seliose cut through everything solo.
This was a nation.
Sparse in habitable zones, yes , but strung together, it earned the right to be called an empire.
Solo-clearing it with one Gundam-level companion was off the table.
The only approach was to help Anaxa consolidate control from within.
The fledgling queen was miles behind Aizen in intel and foresight. In a few carefully disguised suggestions, she had already spoken the words he'd been waiting for:
"Very well. I shall join you and accept your terms of employment , but first, allow me to witness your strength."
"Witness our strength? And how do you propose we do that?"
Aizen smiled at Miss Caesar, this petite young monarch who was still far from the future tyrant capable of outmaneuvering the Okhema Senate and winning head-on. Her talent for strategy might've been awakened by her so-called "teacher," but political and military mastery took time , and blood.
According to the timeline, it wouldn't be long before Hypermion's regent, desperate to balance the books, would forcefully conscript mercenaries and push the queen to personally lead a suicidal campaign against Okhema.
But rather than kill her, as he intended, the little bird in the cage bit back.
Those very "budget-balancing" mercenaries she was meant to command into the abyss became her first private army.
She would march them on the rebel state of Luqueya, launch an ambush amid civil strife, handpick three thousand elite soldiers from its ranks, capture the famed general of Luqueya, and claim her first true domain.
From that day onward, the caged beast began to bare its fangs.
From Luqueya north to Ladon, Campa, Hypermion itself , and east to Kremnos, Okhema.
Over eighty battles.
Zero defeats.
And in the end, she forged a coalition spanning hundreds of states across both north and south , centered on Okhema itself.
"I require a mercenary company," she said calmly.
"At least five hundred proven veterans, fifteen elite longbowmen, and not fewer than thirty knights."
Over 500 elite fighters meant at least 3,000 total troops.
Amphoreus mirrored the Classical Era of Earth , no true professional armies existed, not even in Okhema, Rome's analogue.
The only exception was Kremnos, the "All Militia Kingdom."
Its people lived for combat, much like the ancient Franks , strong, violent, and proud. But their culture of plunder and moral recklessness made them pariahs in so-called civilized lands.
If he could hire a Kremnos mercenary company, it would meet Anaxa's demand easily , but their homeland was too far southwest to help in time.
Meanwhile, local options were limited.
Based on the maps and ethnographic data Aizen had recorded, only Ladon and Campa, Hypermion's neighbors, could field fighting forces capable of mustering 500 trained men.
Most promising was Ladon, descendant of the Sky People, who had brought down much of their aerial technology , including the secrets of gunpowder.
According to canon, in one of her signature campaigns, Ladon's forces already deployed fortress-based artillery units during city defense.
"That'll work," Aizen concluded after some thought.
If there was one thing Janusopolis currently had in abundance, it was money.
After looting the nobility and religious estates, the treasury was stacked with wealth like literal trash piles in the warehouse.
Hiring a mercenary force of even a thousand?
A drop in the gold ocean.
"A mercenary company I can provide," Aizen said, crossing his arms.
"But integrating them into the city , that's your job, Your Majesty."
Anaxa frowned slightly, contemplative for a moment, then nodded.
To be fair, she was still curious how these two strangers had even infiltrated her palace,
but now wasn't the time to ask questions.
If she could make this cooperation succeed, mutual trust would follow naturally.
Once trust was established... these two would tell her everything she needed to know.
A mysterious faction that seemed to know the world's stage in advance,
that sought to unite chosen champions across different fates...
If she could really join them... then perhaps,
Perhaps her ambition could finally be realized.
She smiled to herself, blue eyes sharp as the edge of a blade.
"Veni, vidi, vici."
I came, I saw, I conquered.