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"Is this... the power of divinity?" Eldrian asked, awed by the overwhelming feeling taking hold of his heart.

"In essence, yes. Divinity is but a more advanced usage of magic. However, it is not something you should be distracted by. Not until you have reached Tier 10 and have mastered both your auras."

Ziraili used the fragment of divinity she had gathered to form a podium with a map laid on top. The map showed the region surrounding Taurus, focused to the south and the land of their enemy more so than the empire of Floria. Only the edges of the Tier 2 kingdoms were visible, while much of the chaos lands were shown.

This map stretched somewhere around twelve thousand kilometers. Which was just insanity. That was the span of the entire earth, and yet an ocean was only barely visible in the southern corner of this map.

From side to side, a total of eight Tier 3 kingdoms stood behind Taurus, each with varying amounts of lands lost. Eldrian read their names, having heard of Tedal and Curia before, but never of the others. From appearances, Rorit, the easternmost kingdom, had suffered the most. Having only a sliver of land left that was protected by Ecruzia, their neighboring kingdom.

For now, Eldrian felt it best to memorize their allies and then the names of the kingdoms surrounding Taurus. As it happened, what they called the Chaos lands was apparently known as the Vetorkag tribes.

Asking Ziraili about this, she filled him in that the lands was apparently rife with chaotic mana. Which he himself had experienced.

While not to the point of causing storms, it is difficult for normal beings to live there, especially for extended periods of time. Doing so leading to mutations. As such, only sturdy creatures, or mutated ones, live in the Chaos lands. This was also why demons such as Night Terrors appeared there. Apparently, they fed on the chaotic energy.

Next to tribes was the drylands of Vrikolas, which would probably be renamed once the new lord of the vampires secured his throne. To Eldrian\'s understanding, Vrikolas was the previous vampire lord. Having an informant on the situation allowed him to somewhat understand the situation.

Then there was The Encroaching, a wasteland filled with undead and little else. Its border now included a portion of Taurus\' lost cities. According to this map, Trigora was now part of the encroaching. Eldrian had hoped the city would not fall so quickly.

Both the drylands and encroaching were larger than Taurus. In fact, they were each about twice Taurus\' size, with the encroaching being considerably larger, expanding around the chaos lands and Taurus, even reaching the border of Phallos, and its eastern neighbor Curia.

After studying the kingdom layout, Eldrian asked, "Is it possible to see the movement of their forces?"

"It is, but I don\'t think doing so would be allowed."

"Haven\'t you already decided to do whatever?" asked Eldrian, confused by her drawing the line here, seemingly arbitrarily. Had she not said she would not hold back?

"There is a difference in me answering your questions and outright giving you the positions of armies. It is not a problem with Miracle, but the other gods. If I do so, they will say I overstepped my bounds, which I would have. This might lead to them doing the same. Should that happen, things can become incredibly chaotic. You can just imagine how troubling it would be if the gods moved along with mortals."

\'Ah, so she can\'t, because the gods are keeping each other in line... Only interacting with those living on Gaia to a certain extent. I see.\'

"Then... can you explain the situation to me?"

Ziraili smiled. Eldrian\'s attempt to circumvent the limitations the gods placed on themselves was amusing, but ultimately pointless. "At this stage, knowing the movement of armies would be pointless, since there are none."

"That can\'t be right. I mean, just look at all the land that has been lost. How is there no army movement?"

"Oh, I do not mean the movement of the neighboring kingdoms, but rather that of the devils who live in Xolgronag. Here, next to the ocean." Pointing to the distant kingdom three Taurus\'s away from Taurus, Ziraili continued. "As of now, they have only sent the children they consider hopeless to cause chaos and lead armies."

"They consider this as a last opportunity for those deemed worthless to redeem themselves. Milgoroth, or Andreas, however you remember him, was such a son. While his mother loved him dearly, his father considered him nothing but a stain on the family bloodline. Despite inheriting both their bloodlines, he could not reach the level Azamud deemed necessary for his age."

Shivers went down Eldrian\'s spine as he thought back to his encounter with the devil who had disguised himself as Andreas. The one who had caused chaos in the forest of Avgi and even managed to survive the pursuit of the alicorns until his mother came to his rescue.

\'If that is considered worthless...\' Eldrian shivered as he realized just how strong the devils actually were.

No wonder they ruled the other kingdoms with an iron fist. No wonder the vampires and everyone else obeyed. Doing anything else was certain death if someone at that level, strong enough to rule a city, was considered worthless.

"The current stage of the invasion can be considered but a skirmish. And the southern lands here are unlikely to experience much worse for some time. Because of the ocean, a chaotic storm is unlikely to form without reason. Even after we removed our protection."

This sparked Eldrian\'s interest, but he refrained from interrupting and listened on.

"The devils will pounce when they find a weakness in the empire—not the kingdom." Ziraili paused. "I know it is hard, but it would do you good to take a step back."

"Visit the empire while training your auras. The experience will allow you to understand the vast difference between it and a mere kingdom. While extraordinary for a kingdom, Taurus is only on the level of the Tier 1 kingdoms around Floria. Nothing more."

"In comparison, in the empire, each city is ruled by someone at the level of Tier 10. And it would not be strange for each city to have multiple people at that level living in it. In fact, even towns would be have many people over Tier 7, and villages would be ruled by someone above Tier 5."

"A single city\'s forces would be enough to rescue or destroy Taurus if they were moved. However, the empire has near a hundred kingdoms to consider. In fact, Taurus is not considered part of the empire, bur rather a neutral force it allowed to exist within its borders."

"You recently lost all your items. Heading to the empire to restock would be an excellent opportunity for you to find some proper gear and also understand the scale of this world. You might also find some mentor there who can aid you in your struggle of mastering magic."

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