118. Kane's Premonition 1

After Cain made arrangements for the subsequent retreat of the main army, he took the Death Cavalry and returned to the Empire of Death ahead of schedule. With the assistance of the sixty mages from the Bear Clan, Mo Fei no longer needed to remain at the docks. Under his personal supervision, Elder Aofu began preparing a manifest of goods for trade with the current continent. Tomorrow, Elder Wodun would accompany Mo Fei to the territory of Great King Yan to discuss the establishment of a bilateral trading post.

"Prepare more," Mo Fei said, watching as Elder Aofu continuously added items to the list. "Sell them everything our empire has, and bring out goods from the Elven Kingdom as well. Anything they lack here, we can sell to them."

"I wonder what they have here besides diamonds and platinum," Elder Aofu remarked, still preoccupied with the craftsmanship of the jewelry Great King Yan had gifted them. "Their jewelry craftsmanship is truly extraordinary; if only we could learn it."

"That is easily solved," Mo Fei said with a smile. "When we meet him, we can just ask to observe their masters at work. I believe that since I, as 'Your Majesty,' am asking personally, he will show some respect. Once that is settled, it will be up to you, Elder, to learn as much as you can."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly master their production methods. You can count on me," Elder Aofu replied, overjoyed.

"Bring more goods when we go. We shall see what else they have of value. Once matters here are concluded, we need to return home for a while, and it would be good to bring these items back to our continent for promotion."

"Haha, if Your Majesty brings back so many things, I fear their eyes will pop out when they see them."

"Ailin, you should also choose some to bring back for Mother; she will surely love them."

"Mm." Ailin, alongside Mo Fei, had spoken much less in these recent days, preferring to gaze at him with affection.

"Brother, I hadn't realized until you mentioned it, but we have been away for so long without visiting Mother. Are we going back after we meet Great King Yan?"

"Of course. I also want to see how our empire has developed. After all, that is our home. No matter how far we travel, our hearts remain there. When we return, we can see what other fine items we have in the kingdom; it seems this continent has nothing but diamonds and platinum, so our kingdom's goods should fetch a good price here."

"Princess, Your Majesty, perhaps you should also consider producing a little prince for our empire," Elder Aofu teased. "Look at the state of our empire—it is rare for Your Majesty to stay for any length of time, and the imperial throne is already covered in a thick layer of dust."

Vivian and Ailin were so embarrassed they buried their faces in Mo Fei's chest, causing him to burst into laughter.

Led by an envoy sent by Great King Yan, Mo Fei, accompanied by Ailin, Vivian, and Elder Aofu, set off for Great King Yan's territory with a troop of three hundred Death Cavalry escorting one hundred fully loaded wagons.

After Cain returned to the Empire with his troops, the soldiers who had returned with the warships also arrived at the Empire's only dock. These new-style warships were much faster than the old ones, and with the navigation routes already charted, the journey back was even swifter than the trip out.

Cain replaced the new recruits. These hastily conscripted soldiers had not yet undergone training; once replaced, they would immediately enter the imperial training camps. When they emerged, they would be the new generation of elite warriors. Of course, those who left through the back door were early discharges—some had been dismissed on their first day because their physical condition could not keep up with the training.

Since the founding of the Empire, the training of the Death Empire's soldiers had been conducted as if they were special forces. Less than 30% of those who entered the camps actually made it out, demonstrating the exceptionally high standards the Empire of Death set for its recruits.

For some reason, after retreating from that continent, Cain felt an inexplicable palpitation, as if something ominous were about to happen. Because of this, under a series of his orders, all imperial military forces, including the Death Cavalry, were placed on high alert just days after their return. The entire empire's forces were consolidated; instead of guarding every point along the borders, they concentrated their strength on a few key locations. The defenses of the major cities surrounding the imperial capital were reinforced, and by Cain's decree, all barracks previously stationed outside the cities were moved inside the walls.

Vader, deeply anxious due to his son's series of orders, rushed back from Storm City. Upon meeting, Cain spoke only one sentence that forced Vader to take the matter seriously:

"My instincts are very bad. I feel something major is going to happen. It does not seem to be a change regarding the young master, but rather our own continent. I sense an unusual aura; I fear a great crisis is imminent."

Vader had never doubted Cain's instincts. Cain had had such premonitions several times before, and the situation had always developed exactly as he felt it would.

Vader dared not disregard Cain's intuition. Perhaps it was a premonition of danger inherent to the Berserker race. During the days Vader had been back, he clearly sensed a similar unease among many of the Berserker guards. He decisively ordered the Dwarves living on the hills around the capital to move into the city immediately.

Without any resistance or questioning, the Dwarves packed their belongings and moved into the city upon Vader's command. There were plenty of empty houses in the capital, more than enough to accommodate them all.

At the same time, all Dwarves received another order from Vader to enter the imperial armories, which had transitioned to wartime production, focusing entirely on crafting crossbow bolts and other military supplies.

The tense atmosphere in the Empire of Death first spread to its allied nations. Vader informed them of the Empire's premonition. Although there was no concrete evidence, only an inexplicable feeling, the Dragon Rock Empire and the Goldstone Empire began to consolidate their forces for key defense as requested. The Goldstone Empire, being closest to the Empire of Death, had, at the request of their Emperor, received 16,000 troops from the Empire of Death, including 6,000 heavy Death Cavalry.

The only country where the Empire of Death did not station troops was the Dragon Rock Empire. In the Doma Empire, the Empire of Death had stationed 60,000 trained elite infantry. The Doma Empire's national strength was too weak, and after Cain's assessment, he had to accede to the requests of the Doma citizens to deploy elite infantry there. Cain had previously stationed nearly 10,000 heavy Death Cavalry in Doma, but they had all been recalled to support Mo Fei's campaign.

Suddenly, the entire continent watched as the Empire of Death and its allies entered a state of tense preparation. They themselves became inexplicably fearful and, coincidentally, followed the lead of the Empire of Death. The capitals of every empire became military camps; elite troops were garrisoned within the cities, and ramparts were filled with defensive soldiers. Mages in every empire were simultaneously placed on war footing, with every mage protected by at least twenty elite soldiers.

The Elven Kingdom in the Forest of Death was the first to receive the envoy sent by Cain. The Elven Queen, having narrowly survived the war that nearly annihilated her race, dared not disregard the news from the Empire of Death, even if it were only a premonition. The Forest of Death became a place where every tree and shrub seemed like an enemy soldier. Countless elite elven scouts were dispatched, and in every corner of the forest, elite elven warriors hid, eyes wide, watching every route that could lead into the forest. Any person or object bearing hostility would fall under their concentrated fire at the forest's edge.

The alarm bells of the City of Death had not rung for a long time. Upon receiving the warning from the Empire, the massive bronze bells tolled once more. The impassioned sound reached the territories that had formerly belonged to the City of Death. However, due to the Dragon Rock Empire's consolidation of forces, these cities lacked defensive strength. The residents who were reluctant to leave their homes organized themselves, determined to defend their land with their own efforts.

The City of Death sent envoys to these former territories, delivering weapons and equipment. The message was simple: if an unstoppable event were to occur, they could retreat to the City of Death at any time, and the City of Death would send troops to receive them.

The City of Death no longer had heavy Death Cavalry, possessing only fewer than 10,000 light elven crossbow cavalry. However, they maintained 20,000 elite Berserker infantry and 15,000 Dwarf crossbowmen, supplemented by 35,000 elven crossbowmen stationed by the Elven Kingdom. These forces were meant to protect the periphery of the Elven Kingdom and were not to be moved lightly.

In a short time, the entire continent had completed its wartime preparations. During this period, they constantly sent personnel to the Empire of Death to ask for the reason, but Cain's premonition could only be shared with his allies. If he were to tell the other empires that it was merely his intuition, he feared they would be frustrated and mock the Empire of Death for being overly sensitive. Thus, he had to claim that the Empire's intelligence system had detected abnormalities and that this was merely a standard defensive measure.

Unable to obtain definitive news, the various empires on the continent did not dare to easily withdraw their concentrated forces. For a time, the entire continent felt as if a storm were approaching, much like when the Bear Clan had invaded. A great war seemed ready to break out at any moment.