The Empire had meant to crush the rebels completely, then pacify the south once and for all.
Tekular’s move had not been part of that plan.
Because of him, after the rebels were defeated, the strongest resistance force in the south was not gone. It had changed hands. The scattered rebel troops were gathered back one by one under Tekular, and his strength swelled at an astonishing speed.
By now, the rebels existed in name only.
If things continued like this, it would not be long before the resistance army fully replaced them and rose again.
The situation had changed too quickly.
Caelum guessed that the rebel upper ranks had most likely reached some kind of deal with the Empire. They had sold out the rebels in exchange for their own interests.
Cedran had said long ago that Imperial nobles stood behind the rebels.
The rebels were nothing but a pawn in the struggle between those nobles and the Empire. Sooner or later, they would be discarded.
There had never been any future for them.
Tekular had made his decision in time. At least his Second Regiment had not become a sacrifice in some hidden trade between the rebel leaders and the Empire. The strength to resist had been preserved.
Overall, it was about what Caelum had expected.
Not long afterward, the News Gazette published the Empire’s follow up actions in the south.
The upper ranks clearly did not intend to let the resistance army keep growing.
Imperial forces continued sweeping through the south, compressing the resistance army’s territory step by step, forcing Tekular to meet the Empire head on across the battlefield.
The result startled many people.
Tekular’s strength had improved greatly. He actually held back two Legion Commanders by himself and forced the Imperial army’s offensive to a halt.
The News Gazette also mentioned several core officers of the resistance army.
The name listed first was Cedran.
His title, Silver Sword, was becoming louder by the day.
In addition, the Imperial navy had successfully opened a new sea route and discovered a new sea region.
The upper ranks vigorously encouraged merchants to sail overseas for trade. Shipbuilding entered a period of unprecedented prosperity.
Going to sea for business looked immensely profitable, but in truth, it was dangerous.
The danger did not come from food or weather.
It came from the overlords living in the ocean.
The sea was far vaster than the land.
Countless marine creatures lived within it, and the number of Danger Beasts there was beyond imagination. The same was true for super class Danger Beasts. Their numbers far exceeded those on land.
In the ocean, Danger Beasts as large as mountains, even as large as islands, were not rare.
If a ship was unlucky enough to run into one, the entire crew might be buried at sea.
When the Empire first began exploring the ocean, the navy had paid a painful price in this regard.
Because of that, opening new sea routes was extremely slow.
And every route carried enormous risk.
Even so, once a new route was successfully opened, the gains were just as enormous.
Countless islands brought under Imperial rule meant countless taxes and new resources.
In the end, the price was worth paying.
Up to now, the Empire had not discovered a new continent overseas.
Occasionally, they did find lands with wide territory, but those were only larger islands.
The Empire remained the strongest nation and force in the world.
It occupied the largest continent in existence and held the broadest lands.
Swordsmanship Proficiency: 10100000
Observation Haki Proficiency: 2040000
Armament Haki Proficiency: 2040000
Conqueror Haki Proficiency: 2040000
After ten months of training, Caelum’s swordsmanship proficiency finally broke through 10000000 and stepped into a stronger, entirely new Realm.
His strength rose another level.
Just as Caelum had expected, after his proficiency passed 10000000, even without Conqueror Haki coating, his slashes could already split the sky.
The proficiency of all three forms of Haki had broken through 2000000, increasing their intensity by twenty times.
His Observation Haki could now see up to 204 seconds into the future.
More than three minutes.
Its perception range had expanded to a radius of 61 km.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Caelum could close his eyes and cut down a bird 61 km away with a single stroke.
With twentyfold intensity Conqueror Haki, Caelum was rather curious whether Kukured could have remained conscious before him now.
He estimated it was unlikely.
The gap was simply too large.
Black and red lightning erupted.
The ground beneath his feet split apart in an instant.
Caelum once again threw Crimson Moon into the air and unleashed an all out strike.
Swordsmanship powerful enough to cut open the sky.
Conqueror Haki coating at twentyfold intensity.
A single extreme slash, with every bit of strength focused onto one point.
Crack.
This strike finally surpassed the limit of the world.
With a crisp breaking sound, Demon Blade Crimson Moon snapped in two.
The two broken pieces fell from the air.
From that moment on, one of the legendary thirteen famed blades was destroyed.
Demon Blade Crimson Moon, forged from indestructible alchemy, had been cut apart by Caelum.
That also meant Caelum’s swordsmanship had thoroughly surpassed the limit of this world.
He now possessed the ability to cut through all things.
Caelum returned the broken Crimson Moon to its sheath.
Thinking back to that slash, he murmured, "Harder than I expected."
Only an all out strike with complete focus had allowed him to cut through Crimson Moon.
Compared with cutting steel, the difficulty was on a completely different level.
Caelum was not particularly satisfied with that result.
In short, he still needed to grow.
Only when he could cut alchemy as easily as breathing would Caelum feel satisfied.
That did not require waiting until his swordsmanship entered the next Realm.
It would be enough for his Haki to keep growing stronger.
As for breaking through to the next Realm of swordsmanship, his proficiency would have to reach 100000000.
Caelum made a rough calculation.
He would need to train for another twenty five years.
What kind of power the next Realm of swordsmanship would possess, Caelum did not know.
Perhaps by then, he really could cut this world open.
After all, the world of Legend of the Empire did not seem that large.
Perhaps it was only this one planet.
Surely it would not let players rush into the sea of stars.
A special series game world should not have a world setting that vast.
Imperial Year 1267.
Not long after Caelum’s swordsmanship entered a new Realm, a news bird landed in front of him and called to him in an unusually human way.
Caelum thought a new issue of the paper had been released and paid little attention.
Then the news bird pulled an old map out of its leather bag.
Only then did Caelum realize this was intelligence Sito had sent him.
"Caw!"
"Thanks."
Caelum placed 10 Sobi into the news bird’s money pouch.
The news bird nodded politely, then spread its wings and flew back into the sky to continue delivering papers.
What Sito had sent Caelum was an old map and a letter.
In the letter, Sito did not explain where the intelligence had come from. He only said that he had found the location of Dusk Island and had marked the exact place on the map in detail.
Strictly speaking, this was not an ordinary map.
It was a sea chart.
Several sea routes were drawn across it, along with many islands of different sizes.
Dusk Island lay right in the middle of a triangular sea region, very far from the Empire.
Unexpectedly, Dusk Island was overseas.