SUPREME MAGUS

Chapter 3579: The Dangers of Peace (Part 2)

"I hereby request the Council’s help to find a way to isolate the lost cities or at least jam their communication system. Otherwise, sooner or later, the lost cities will join their forces against us and we won’t be able to deal with them with our current strength."

"A fair point." Maeve was as impressed as she was dumbstruck by the Lich’s wisdom. "Anything else?"

"Yes, can’t you see?" He pointed at the mostly yellow and red map. "As soon as the conflict is resolved and your people stop dying in droves, Jiera is going to face a famine. On top of that, birth rates of all species must be contained until we have the means to feed everyone.

"Without an external enemy to fear, our species will turn against each other for the smallest morsel of food and ensure their babies are the ones allowed to be born. We’ll go from war to civil war and at that point, all our defences will be useless."

"Good gods." Gyrwin turned pale from fright. "A Lich speaking sense is the sign of the end of times. We’re doomed. Mogar is about to end."

"That’s not funny!" Breganoth’s head snapped 180 degrees to stare at her. "They call me the Lich King instead of the King of Liches for a reason. I was a king before turning myself into an undead. I know how these things work."

"You were?" Everyone was flabbergasted.

"Yeah, until I understood that ruling over others wasn’t difficult so much as pointless. They are all idiots." Breganoth snorted. "There’s one more point I want to bring to your attention."

He had circles of light appear around the foreign settlements.

"We’d better start the negotiations about splitting our land right now, while the situation is still chaotic and unpredictable. We need to establish clear, firm boundaries that all the involved parties must swear not to cross."

"Right now?" The Jörmungandr echoed.

"You want to give our land and resources away to invaders?" Gyrwin’s tired expression turned feral.

"Yes, and yes." The Lich looked at the two representatives and memories of his last apprentice flooded his mind. The youth had been brilliant but lacking in common sense. "This is not our land, Gyrwin. Not anymore.

"We’ve failed to protect it and now it belongs to those who can. With our limited numbers and resources, there’s no way we can secure our territories from the monsters even in times of peace, let alone if we fight against our neighbours like morons.

"Remember that all it takes for a monster tribe to become a horde is a few weeks. Give it months and you have a tide. A single tide would bring us back of months and cause countless casualties.

"Can your humans ensure regular culls of all monster tribes across Jiera?"

"No." The human representative’s outrage faded away, replaced by helplessness and bitterness.

"Then you have your answer. Also, consider that with their Trans-Oceanic Gates, we can trade with Garlen for food and get master artisans who can teach our people all the crafts that have been lost after the plague.

"Art, bakery, engineering, every discipline we Awakened didn’t care to preserve can be regained if we stop considering our new neighbors as enemies and see them as a resource.

"Garlen will be vital in the phase between the eradication of monsters and the full restoration of our lands. You can’t expect everyone to abide by strict birth control laws, and unless you plan on going around to kill babies, we need emergency food."

At those words all eyes steeled. The representative knew that no matter their race or magical powers, parents would fight to the death to protect their children.

"As for your question, Aren, yes. Right now." Breganoth continued. "As you can see, most of Jiera is barren or incapable of sustaining life. Hence we must set now the following boundaries for everyone.

"The land belongs to those who restore and nurture it. No one is allowed to steal someone else’s work and any attempt to rob or sabotage will be punished by death. This way, everyone will focus solely on what they can control.

"All races will work hard to restore the land because it will be theirs. Our protection will ensure that no one monopolizes the fertile grounds and that those who care for Jiera will be rewarded. Bad behavior must be nipped in the bud.

"Our new society must be better than the previous, and to achieve that we must nurture merit and competence. On top of that, this will prevent any further territorial disputes.

"It’s easy to make claims on a fertile land inhabited by small and cute animals whereas it takes guts and brains to see the potential of a monster-infested wasteland and fight to make it bloom."

"These are excellent points." Fenagar was dumbstruck by the Lich’s foresight and sensible suggestions. "Your idea will help the elves and the citizens of Zeska feel at home and our people to recognize the struggles of those they now see as invaders.

"This should facilitate building a long-lasting peace and break the boundaries between the four races. All in favor?" The Leviathan raised his tail and soon four more hands followed.

***

Griffon Kingdom, Nestrar Region, Twin Axes Palace.

The life of Phillard the Lindwurm had been filled with hardships ever since he had left Lutia. At the time, Lith couldn’t help Phillard learn how to shapeshift into human appearance and had no knowledge of Spirit Magic.

The Lindwurm had travelled the Kingdom far and wide during the past seven years and learned everything about his new body and powers. Emperor Beasts had taught him how to shapeshift but Spirit Magic had remained a mystery for a long time.

Until the War of the Griffons broke out.

Then, Phillard noticed Thrud’s interest in Dragon’s blood and accepted the Council’s offer to train him in exchange for his service on the frontlines. The Lindwurm was no descendant of Leegaain but he had naturally evolved into a Lesser Dragon.

The Mad Queen’s emissaries were very interested in cutting him open and seeing how Phillard had achieved his current form while the other Lindwurms put their hopes in him. They welcomed him like a Brood Brother and took Phillard in their ranks.

After all, if a mere Kroxy possessed such raw talent to ascend to Lesser Dragonhood, maybe he would take one more step and become a true Dragon if properly instructed. Phillard appreciated their sentiment and avoided telling the Lindwurms he had no idea what they were talking about.

’I didn’t Awaken by myself.’ He thought. ’I was a victim of Lith’s experiments for months before I reached my current state and simply did whatever he asked me without even trying to understand what he was doing.

’Maybe Lith tinkered with my life force. Maybe his Dragon blood awakened mine. Maybe it was just dumb luck. Whatever the answer, I’m not the kind of reptile to turn down a free meal.’ And he meant it both literally and figuratively.

The Lindwurms fed his appetite for food as much as for knowledge. Phillard had never been much of a student but the War of the Griffons brought out the best in him. His survival instinct.

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