142. The Sincerity of the Bear Clan

In the Diamond Continent, the scale of the Dwarven weapon workshops has expanded once again. The reason is simple: a Dwarven master responsible for trade personally escorted a shipment to a buyer and, while passing through the buyer’s territory, discovered that piles of iron ore were simply discarded in the roadside ditches.

Upon investigation, he realized that smelting in this continent was a major issue. While they were skilled at crafting exquisite jewelry, they were utterly inept at smelting iron ore. Through years of constant warfare, they had long since lost such technical knowledge. Before the arrival of the Death Empire and the Bear Clan, they could only trade their fine jewelry with craftsmen from other continents, leaving the "useless black stones" extracted during mining to pile up in the ditches.

When the Dwarven master told the buyer that he would offer a discount on equipment if they shipped these black stones to his dock, the local lord’s eyes lit up with excitement. He agreed immediately, and by the next day, countless loads of iron ore arrived at the docks. Naturally, the lord received equipment at a price lower than usual. Word spread across the Diamond Continent, and soon everyone knew that these useless stones could be exchanged for cheaper gear. As a result, every trade mission brought iron ore and returned with equipment. The production of gear was no longer limited by the output of the Dwarves' own mines; the constant influx of ore piled up everywhere at the docks. Without expanding the workshops, they couldn't keep up with the demand.

The armies of this continent, hardened by years of war, had an endless hunger for such exquisite equipment. Even after fully outfitting their troops, they needed to account for attrition and maintain reserve stocks. Furthermore, in an arms race, if one side upgraded, the others had to follow, or risk being crushed. This competitive cycle kept the Bear Clan, and specifically Udos, laughing in delight, repeatedly exclaiming how worthwhile the partnership had become.

Those within the Bear Clan who had initially opposed the reconciliation with the Death Empire saw the constant stream of equipment arriving and the investments yielding returns many times over. They stopped speaking out against the cooperation, silently accepting Udos’s perspective and shedding their deep-seated hostility toward the Storm City of the Death Empire.

However, an even more unexpected development emerged after the cooperation began.

When Udos had sent the clan's last three thousand mages to support the Death Empire, only he knew the immense pressure he was under. Yet, he held firm and dispatched the mages. When these three thousand returned to Demon Island after the war, the entire Bear Clan was shocked. Every single one of them had significantly advanced their magical cultivation. Some had reached the realm of semi-Sorcerer Gods, and even the least capable had long since entered the ranks of Archmages. Without exception, they all said, "Compared to the sixty mages who were allowed to stay by the side of the Sorcerer God, our progress is insignificant."

"You..." Could there be something even more formidable?

"Under the guidance of the Sorcerer God, we achieved breakthroughs in three months that had eluded us for years. But those sixty lucky mages received even more instruction, and their cultivation has reached a level we cannot currently touch. It is no exaggeration to say that our three thousand mages might not even be a match for those sixty now."

"Ah!!!" A collective gasp echoed through the hall.

"They..." Could it be true? Three thousand could not defeat sixty?

"We learned so much from this great war. If this battle had taken place on our continent, it is hard to say if any of the Bear Clan would have survived. Yet the Death Empire, with only a million soldiers, crushed an invading force of over four million. Perhaps the enemy was even larger; compared to the enemy's casualties, the losses suffered by the Death Empire were negligible. Honestly, we no longer have the courage to fight the Death Empire. Don't blame us. Once you see the Death Empire defeat an enemy several times their size with the strength of a single nation, you will understand our feelings. Furthermore, the five strongest empires on their continent have formed a military alliance under the leadership of the Death Empire, with all their troops trained by the Empire. We saw the performance of those trained armies; while their individual combat ability is inferior to the soldiers of the Death Empire or our own warriors, when they form a line, they become a terrifying force—a force that makes the enemy pay an unbearable price. They are not opponents we can easily defeat."

The hall fell into a profound silence. No one spoke. They knew the Bear Clan’s greatest strength lay in these mages; the current status of the Bear Clan was built by their predecessors. Yet, after one trip to the Death Empire, these three thousand mages had not only improved their magic but had suffered zero casualties in such a massive war. This implied either that the Death Empire’s protection was impeccable, or something even more terrifying: the Death Empire’s offensive power was so great that no enemy had ever been allowed to get close to them. The information they brought back confirmed that while the Death Empire had sent heavy troops to guard them, the mages' own attacks clearly prevented any enemy from approaching. In previous Bear Clan battles, even with heavy protection for mages stationed in the rear, casualties were always inevitable.

In their past clashes with the Death Empire, the loss of mages had been their greatest pain. The fact that the Death Empire did not even deploy mages among their own offensive forces showed they did not fear enemy mages. In the Bear Clan's previous engagements with the Death Empire, the only successful attack they had launched was near the capital of the Flying Dragon Empire. After that, the mages never had another chance to strike; they were either killed before they could act or could never get close enough to reach their target.

"What are they doing now that they have defeated the invaders?" Udos, who had been preoccupied with the excitement of the diamond jewelry and equipment arriving from the Diamond Continent, had not been paying attention to the Death Empire's current movements.

"The Sorcerer God has issued an order for a retaliatory counter-landing operation against the enemy. They are currently intensifying the training of new combat units. Also, their Invincible Fleet has already set sail. They seized an enemy sea chart, and the Sorcerer God has dispatched a formation of six hundred Invincible warships to search and attack according to the chart, scouting the enemy's waters and routes for future large-scale operations..."

"They only have six hundred warships?" a Bear Clan general remarked dismissively. "We have tens of thousands; in this regard, they are no match for us."

"No, you must never say that." The lead mage, who had been summoned to the hall, grew anxious. He had fought alongside those Invincible warships against the enemy's massive fleet. He knew exactly what his own empire’s warships were like—fine for ferrying troops to shore, but compared to the Invincible warships of the Death Empire, they were no different from the wrecks he had personally watched sink, perhaps even worse.

"Why?" the general asked, puzzled.

"Even if we had three times as many warships, we would not be a match for those few hundred vessels."

"Nonsense!" the general roared in a rage. "Have you lost your nerve because of the Death Empire, or..."

"General," the lead mage retorted angrily, having never been spoken to in such a manner before. "Whether I have lost my nerve, you can test for yourself, without anyone's help. If I cannot deliver them to the Kingdom of Death before your army appears, I will commit suicide to atone for my failure."

The mage’s arrogance left the general speechless. Regardless of anything else, he dared not offend these mages with their miraculous powers; he had only spoken out of a moment of impulse.

"I am not exaggerating the war potential of the Death Empire. Those who went with me can testify. The Death Empire is not something the Bear Clan can defeat; this is beyond doubt. Ask our warriors who witnessed how formidable the Death Empire was on the battlefield. Even in the face of death, their soldiers would never let the enemy off easily. In that battle, their soldiers often faced at least three or even dozens of enemy soldiers simultaneously, yet they charged forward without fear of death. In that war, not one soldier of the Death Empire retreated a single step. Even the Dwarven crossbowmen, who are much less combat-capable, never retreated when the enemy closed in. Could our warriors do the same?"

The Bear Clan was no stranger to the Death Empire. The generals, hearing the mage’s words, dared not say another word. Back in the Flying Dragon Empire, their armies had suffered greatly at the hands of the Death Empire, with several entire legions wiped out. The losses were so unimaginable that later on, whenever their soldiers saw the black war banners of the Death Empire raised, they could no longer summon the courage to charge.

"So, what are we to do?" asked another Bear Clan general.

"What is there to do?" Udos laughed. "Look at us now. Our entire army is equipped with the standard gear of the Death Empire, and we haven't even spent any gold coins on it, have we? Look, that diamond jewelry keeps arriving here. If not for offsetting the costs of the equipment, we would have even more, wouldn't we?"

Everyone knew that under the leadership of Udos, the Bear Clan’s army had not only upgraded their gear, but their once-strained finances were now better than ever. On this point, they truly had nothing left to say.

"Tomorrow, I am going to visit my elder brother. Also, from now on, you must show my elder brother more respect." The generals present knew that the "elder brother" Udos referred to was none other than Emperor Mo Fei of the Death Empire. Seeing the emphasis Udos placed on those words, they understood exactly what it meant.

The Bear Clan would never again go to war with the Death Empire. At the very least, under the reign of Udos, that day would never come.

With the addition of the two most recent empires, the Death Empire was no longer a power that anyone could provoke without paying a heavy price.

As for Mo Fei, he had long since lost the interest to play with his magic. The sixty mages from the Bear Clan watched him busy himself and did not bother him. Every day, they divided into several groups, following the methods Mo Fei had taught them, practicing with the spatial magic array in the capital. Now, even a pair of them could successfully activate this massive array. At first, they could not maintain it for long, but over this period, they had become capable of keeping the spatial magic array open for an entire day.

The mage who had first grasped instant magic could even activate the large spatial magic array alone, though he could not sustain it for long. His progress, however, only solidified the conviction of the other mages to follow Mo Fei.

The Bear Clan's mages had always been an independent existence within their own race; they were only summoned to serve during wartime, and even the clan leader had to bow to them. Their status was transcendent, which was why they could choose to stay simply by informing the leader.

Having witnessed Mo Fei’s terrifying magical prowess during the war, they knew full well that even if all sixty of them attacked together, they would be no match for him. Therefore, they held Mo Fei in absolute awe and reverence.