Soon a month passed, and the originally leisurely mood turned into worry.
“Maximus still hasn’t returned?” Denice muttered with concern.
She no longer cared about the wedding.
Now, Denice only wished Maximus could come back quickly.
“There is still no news…” Erica replied with worry.
“What about the Arcane Continent?’
“Have you contacted the relevant departments?” Denice asked in panic.
“We already have, but now new was found.”
“However, we were informed that Maximus’ contact signal suddenly disappeared exactly a month ago,” Erica replied.
“The same time the puppets attacked us?!” Denice exclaimed.
Suddenly, a light dawned upon them.
For this month, millions of puppets had still been grinding against the defensive barrier of the Empire.
Although these Tier 8 puppets were no match for the Empire’s forces, their sheer number still put pressure on them.
Remembering that the Westle Empire dared to attack them a month ago without fear.
It seemed that they knew something would happen to Maximus at that time.
Even, maybe they were one of those who orchestrated Maximus’ disappearance.
“Should we go?!”
“Let’s destroy that shit Empire and demand to know where Maximus is!” Denice clenched her fist, ready for battle.
“No, it’s too dangerous. It may even be a trap,” Isabella quickly held her back.
“What?! What if it’s a trap?”
“Unless there’s an Apex Sovereign, we’re invincible!” Denice said confidently.
Indeed, with ‘Origin,’ just their Tier 8 strength could already crush others, making them invincible in their realm.
“Don’t be too hasty.”
“An Emperor fighting for the throne of the Curse Continent wouldn’t be easy,” Isabella warned.
Although she was also confident in her strength.
She felt something was amiss with the Westle Empire.
“That’s right.”
“Furthermore, Husband warned us that in these times, we should prioritize our safety,” Hazel gently advised.
“Are you not worried at all?!” Denice asked angrily, feeling that they didn’t care about Maximus’s safety.
“We are also worried, but we believe in our husband!” Hazel said, hiding her clenched fist.
…
The months passed, and their worries deepened.
Maximus was still out of reach.
Even after contacting the relevant departments of the Origin Arcana Institute, no results were found.
The puppets defending the Empire also begin to suffer casualties.
The endless puppets still caused wear and tear, leading to its destruction.
… ᴛʜs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀ s ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛ ʙʏ o(v)elꜰre.et
In a training chamber:
“Huh~”
“Finally consolidated…” Skye opened her eyes, feeling her solid foundation.
Skye had only advanced to Tier 8 with the help of the Amalgamation of Will.
Although her strength was real, it was still shaky like a pulled-up seedling.
Skye didn’t have time to consolidate his foundation earlier because they had to return to the Etherium Realm.
Thus, after returning, she hurriedly went into seclusion, hoping to consolidate her strength.
“Hmmm, I wonder if Maximus is outside~,” she thought with a smile.
Each time she went out into seclusion, Maximus would always be waiting, greeting her with a smile.
Opening the door, her smile stiffened, not seeing a shadow of Maximus.
“Maybe he is busy…” Skye reasoned as she looked around.
Seeing the gloomy atmosphere, a bad premonition appeared in her mind.
“It can’t be…”
Skye flew around the castle, searching for the familiar mana signature.
“Skye!”
“You’re out of seclusion!”
“Congratulations!”
“Enough of that, where is Maximus?” Skye asked gloomily, noticing the fatigue in their eyes.
“That—” The room went silent as they didn’t know what to say.
“What happened?” Skye asked again.
“Maximus is missing…”
“What?! Missing?!”
“Did Maximus leave without notice?!”
As for Maximus being attacked, it didn’t cross her mind.
With Maximus’ strength, they would have already received news if he had been attacked.
As for being killed, that was impossible.
“We don’t know either. After going to the Arcane Continent, Maximus lost contact.”
“Then did you seek help elsewhere?”
“We asked the Dean of the Origin Arcana Institute.”
“But all we got is that this should be Maximus’ trial, and we shouldn’t interfere.”
“Hmph! That old man must know something…” Skye said, thinking of going to the Arcane Continent to confront the old man.
“Is there anything?”
“I also had my father come and help, but he didn’t find anything…” Denice muttered sadly.
After not receiving any news about Maximus, Denice hurriedly sought help from her father.
As an Apex Sovereign, it should have been easy to find some news.
However, after investigating what happened, it seemed that Maximus vanished into thin air after teleporting out of the continent.
Her father concluded that Maximus was either accidentally expelled from the Etherium Realm or trapped by some natural barrier.
Either way, it could only depend on Maximus whether he could go back or not.
This coincided with what the Dean said, that Maximus was undergoing his trial.
“Don’t worry, Maximus should be fine,” Skye comforted.
“We know, nothing will ever happen to him…”
…
Soon, Skye ventured into the Arcane Continent to uncover the mystery of Maximus’ disappearance.
Erica and the others persuaded her that there might be some trap.
But Skye was adamant and didn’t care about it.
After investigating, Skye didn’t find any clues.
The remnant energy functions only showed that Maximus had indeed teleported out of the Continent before he disappeared.
As for the destination, there was no way to trace it.
Skye also asked the Dean.
However, what she got was silence.
It’s seemed that the top powers knew something and acquiescent to it.
Fortunately, the Dean hinted that Maximus was safe.
Otherwise, she would show them her newly gained power.
After living in different dimensions in her lifetimes.
Skye knew some trick that could even reach the border of the Origin of Law.
Although it would cost her life, it should be enough to destroy a Continent.
…
Finding no clues in the Arcane Continent.
Skye went to the Shadow Hunter Guild and borrowed a Tier 9 ship and some manpower.
After advancing to Tier 8, Skye felt some unknown connection with Maximus.
She didn’t know if it was the ‘Origin’ or something else.
Regardless, Skye hoped to use this trace to find Maximus.
…
Meanwhile, in the Curse Continent:
A huge fluctuation of energy waves ravaged the continent as if announcing some news.
World-destroying tsunamis and earthquakes also appeared like a doomsday.
“What happened?!”
“Is it the end of the world?”
The crowd panicked, trying to stabilize themselves.
In the Moonlight Empire, all people froze and stopped what they were doing to stabilize themselves in the ongoing disaster.
“Not good, it seems that the Empire is merging!” A Tier 7 powerhouse muttered, observing the phenomenon.
Fortunately, all the buildings and architecture were high end so it didn’t get destroyed by the massive movement of the land.
Even important attractions and scenery were not damaged, as the disaster only caused the waving of trees and grass.
With the protection of the Empire’s Array, there was not much damage to the Empire.
“Merging?! How can it merge?!” the crowd shouted in confusion.
“I-I don’t know, I just have a wider perception than normal, so I saw the Empire merging,” the man said in embarrassment.
During this time, Although Maximus was somewhat passive, waiting for the Westle Empire to make a move.
He didn’t let the people in the Empire stagnate.
Using the Amalgamation of Will, those on the verge of advancing easily advanced.
Those who were talented became geniuses.
Those who put in hard work were guaranteed to receive their due rewards.
Basically, as long as you put in the effort or had a bit of talent, advancing was a matter of course.
With this move, powerhouses in the Moonlight Empire appeared en masse.
Being Tier 6 was quite common, and Tier 7 powerhouses began to emerge.
As for the Generals like Johnson and Smith, or the Chief Minister, Doran, they were already at Tier 8.
By the time Maximus returned to the Empire, they had already reached Tier 7.
With the help of Crystal Merits and especially the Amalgamation of Will, they easily condense their domain and advance to tier 8.
Maximus is not so demanding on their foundation like his family, so advancing is quite easy.
As the panic ensued, one of the knowledgeable historians in the crowd finally pieced the information together.
“It’s the Final War!” The historian shouted.
“What Final War?!” the crowd asked in confusion.
“I-it’s when there are only two Empires remaining on the Curse Continent.”
“All the territories of the said Empires would merge, giving a perfect platform for war,” the historian trembled as he explained.
“So, the phenomenon just now was really the whole Moonlight Empire merging?!”
“It is…”
…
In the Shadowcrest Imperial Castle:
The commotion also reached the castle as all the ministers jittered, not knowing how to solve the problem.
Their Emperor still had not returned, and now problems kept piling in, making them panic a little.
Fortunately, their strict training over the years made them instantly calm down.
“Quickly instruct all the official branches and calm the citizens,” Doran instructed.
“What’s more important right now is to calm down.”
“Further chaos would only lead the Empire to ruin.”
“Hurry up and move!”
After instructing his subordinates with specifics.
Doran went into the royal family residence to seek their opinions.
“I’ve met the Field Marshal!” Doran solemnly greeted upon seeing Isabella training.
“I already know what happened.”
“Prepare the soldiers.”
“Since it has come to this, then we have no choice…” Isabella said with a thick killing intent.
Isabella knew the history well.
Now that there are only two Empires remaining, it’s time to finally decide the winner.
This event also gave her get a glimpse of what truly happened to her husband.
Less than a year after Maximus disappeared.
The Westle Empire quickly conquered all the remaining Empires beside them.
How could this be possible?
It could only be with the help of an outside party.
Specifically, the Gods who trapped Maximus…
“Hmph! Let’s see if this Emperor has a bit of the demeanor my husband had…”