Extraordinary Voyage

The long night hasn't passed yet.

In a room within the residential area of Hatrafa Port, a soft candlelight was glowing.

"Did you see the burning skull flag, the blood-stained sea, the blooming tulips, the lost treasure... Anything else? Like hearing any strange sounds?"

"Sounds? Hmm, it was like a torrent, or maybe the roar of some kind of sea monster.

But it was just a background, one couldn't get any concrete information from it."

At this time, Aiven was in Milan's room, sitting across from him with a crystal ball placed on the desk between them, sharing some experiences that others might find unbelievable.

After the changes in the Spirit Realm had concluded, faced with the overwhelming onslaught of giant locusts, Aiven had no time to greet his new neighbor.

He returned immediately to the "Life Tree" that served as a beacon and used "Activated Spiritual Light" to create a massive rock dome, encapsulating the entire "Life Tree."

Obviously, regardless of the world, locusts have consistent habits and showed no interest in this stone city. The vanguard forces, not finding any food, continued to migrate to a farther place.

But even so, Aiven stayed inside the rocky shell until his stay time was over, still able to hear the rustling of those large insects outside!

One could imagine what a massive pest army this was, and probably only in a vast place like the Spirit Realm could they be sustained. In the Material World, they would likely have devoured everything completely.

The first Spirit Realm Exploration thus came to an end. Besides uncovering the tip of the iceberg of the Lost City Poseidya and slaying a group of [Black Insects], an accidental encounter with an explorer from the Material World was the only gain.

However, Spirit Realm Exploration is inherently a long-term activity and an essential part of a wizard's research career.

Aiven never thought he could achieve success in one go. Taking it slow and steady would eventually bring rewards.

And after a few more tries, naturally, he could also decipher the essence of the "Spirit Communication Potion" and, like the "Frenzy Potion" and the "Wise Man's Potion," transform it into some kind of magic ability, significantly reducing the cost of traversing (mainly because the Dust of Evil Spirits is too rare).

However.

Just as he slowly ascended from the deep layers of the Spirit World through the "beacon," re-crossing the human collective unconscious, he unexpectedly saw, no, perhaps using "see" isn't accurate.

Rather, with his spirituality, he unexpectedly received some information diffusing from the human collective consciousness!

But Aiven's knowledge reserve made him find it truly strenuous when trying to decipher these symbolic signs.

Because every image represents countless possibilities, combining these possibilities would yield countless meanings, even starkly opposite and self-contradictory.

So after completely detaching from the Spirit Realm and regaining sobriety, Aiven first found Milan, the "Prophet," to help him decipher, wishing to understand the core of these messages and the true secrets behind them.

He instinctively felt these messages were extremely important and might even have a significant impact on his future life!

"Every intelligent being may, through their connection with the Spirit Realm, unexpectedly receive some higher-dimensional information, some directly related to them, others concerning the historical processes of the world...

This is an encounter every prophet dreams of, bringing endless benefits to their path.

For a wizard not on the path of destiny, it's somewhat wasted. They, sluggish as always, only realize it when things actually happen.

Then regret it profoundly, realizing they've glimpsed the hem of the Goddess of Destiny's gown all along, tsk, tsk, tsk..."

The candlelight flickered in the room, Milan's hands gently caressed the faintly glowing crystal ball, his head bowed, casting a shadow on his face. Like a self-styled wizard set up at the roadside, he conveyed these words.

"Oh, so now what? Are you going to say something like 'follow the guidance of your heart' again, great 'Prophet'?"

With arms crossed, Aiven glanced sidelong at the guy putting on airs again, scoffing.

Actually, he also knew that even a "Prophet" only had a higher likelihood of deciphering the secrets behind the symbols, not guaranteed to be one hundred percent accurate.

He hadn't pinned much hope on it, merely wanting to determine the general possibilities from Milan for some mental preparation.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the words left his mouth, Milan, still staring at the crystal ball, suddenly raised his head, frowning intently into Aiven's eyes, and said:

"I can't see the complete information, but at least part of the imagery points to this: a colossal treasure encountered an accident, and its owner lost it because of the blood-stained sea!

Though I am only half confident, the 'Crystal Ball Divination Skill' indeed told me this."

He paused slightly before continuing:

"At this moment in time, the most likely enormous treasure from the secular world is..."

Without needing Milan to continue, a sharp light flashed in Aiven's eyes, and he spoke in unison with Milan:

"The Great Treasure Fleet of Hilus that just returned from its voyage!"

"This is just the most superficial part of the phenomena interpreted. The only thing we cannot determine now is whether it will happen in the present or the future."

Milan added finally.

Teng—

Aiven suddenly stood up.

Although the capsizing of the Great Treasure Fleet is a low-probability event, considering their encounters on the Southern Continent during the first hundred years of the Great Navigation, this situation has occurred four times in history.

Since the establishment of this system, such an event has happened roughly once every fifty years.

Moreover...

Aiven certainly had not forgotten why he and the "Storm Horn" had originally come to the New Continent; wasn't it because after the "Black Sea Goddess" resurfaced, the nations feared She would pose a threat to the oceanic routes?

Calculating the time, Her recovery has already been around six months.

Back then, She didn't immediately strike, but now it is entirely possible that She has already completed preparations such as recruiting troops and gathering strength, clearly ready to engage in a fierce battle with the beloved of the "Mother of Sea Monsters"!

If the Great Treasure Fleet were to just happen to collide with them at this time, what would happen is quite predictable. After all, the Treasure Fleet is not a Battleship Fleet; if you peel back the outer shell of the mainly merchant ship-composed Treasure Fleet, inside is nothing but crab roe oozing with oil.

And then... if this has indeed happened, what impact would it have on me? Or what benefit can I gain from this incident?

"Fleet, fleet..."

Aiven muttered to himself as he paced around, almost grasping how it related to him, yet feeling there's a missing link preventing it from forming a cohesive whole for the time being.

.....

At the same time.

Far away on the Old Continent's Alfonso Peninsula, the jewel of the Hilus—Royal Capital of Santa Cruz.

In the "Dome Palace," the residence of the King and the Royal Family, countless court ladies, attendants, and distinguished guests from all directions are preparing for a grand engagement ceremony.

The ceremony belongs to the great Hilus King Philip II, and the sole daughter of the Habsburg Clan, Princess Mary Teresa, who inherited the Imperial Crown of the Holy Rosar Empire!

Even though this is His Majesty the King's second marriage...

Comprising the lavish ceremonial hall, music hall, banquet hall, gallery, stables, gardens, sculptures, monuments, and the royal chapel, the Dome Palace is filled with laughter and joy, showcasing precious treasures and artistic gems from around the world.

No matter their true thoughts, at least for now, every face is beaming with delight.

Because this union will turn a new page in the history of the Hilus and the entire continent!

Soon, the Hilus Kingdom will ascend to become the great Hilus Empire! Philip II will also become the most esteemed and the only legitimate emperor on this continent!

In a time long past.

The ancients of the Nimaster people, primarily white-skinned and golden-haired, defeated the Holy Rosar Empire, then representing advanced civilization, and occupied the entire empire.

However, civilized assimilation always means advanced civilizations assimilate barbaric ones, regardless of the outcomes of the wars. Soon the Nimaster people, occupying this land, fully embraced the culture of the Holy Rosar Empire.

These Nimaster people, and their hundreds of subsidiary entities, including duchies, marquisates, counties, free territories, etc., jointly formed the new Holy Rosar Empire.

Due to the location of the capital when it was established, the new empire was called the Western Holy Rosar Empire, enjoying the only imperial title on the entire continent.

The initial emperor of the empire wielded real power.

However, as local feudal lords grew stronger and the central power weakened continually, the so-called Western Holy Rosar Empire gradually evolved into a loose confederation where all lords only acknowledged the emperor's supreme authority superficially.

And the Sak Kingdom, occupying the original empire's capital Mania, audaciously began to claim itself as an empire, yet had no legal basis, without acknowledgment from anyone.

Since then, the imperial title was no longer hereditary and had no fixed capital but was elected among seven Elector Princes eligible to campaign for the emperor, with every Elector Prince being a mighty great lord in their region!

Until four hundred years ago, the imperial title fell into the hands of the Habsburg Clan, who employed a series of means to hold onto it hereditarily till now.

But the area currently under their actual control only includes their direct Frisia Kingdom, which is insignificant compared to the now-thriving Hilus.

Moreover, at this time, Hilus has, through two centuries of outward expansion, reached the southern borders of the Frisia Kingdom. Regardless of whether the Habsburg Clan wishes it or not, it is clearly already out of their control.

Most importantly, the contemporary head of the Habsburg Clan, King of Frisia, Emperor of the Holy Rosar Empire — Maximilian is frail and ailing.

It's anticipated that after completing this union, Philip II will soon be crowned as the new emperor!