Chapter 399: Guidelines


    Edward walked on a red carpet with two ambassadors behind him. At the end of this walkthrough stood a woman with beautiful dark skin and eyes that reflected the cosmos itself.


    He was momentarily dazed as heid eyes on her.


    “There are rumors that Queen Katura is one of the most beautiful women in the gxy. It seems these rumors have not done your majesty any justice.”


    “And it appears the rumors about your highness being a womanizer is true,” the Queen replied with a smile.


    “Unfortunately,” countered Edward, not embarrassed in the least. He motioned to the ambassador, who opened the box he carried, revealing vials of potions. “My greeting gift.”


    The Queen walked down from the slightly elevated podium where two thrones rested. Usually, she would have one of her ministers take the gift. However, Queen Katura understood it was not time to y political games since she was before an Empire that was even more powerful than hers.


    She looked at the potions, and a slight surprise shed across her eyes. With quick divination, she could tell this potion was to heal her previous injuries. What’s more surprising, this potion was perfectly tailored to her race’s physique.


    “Star Magic is fascinating,”mented Edward. ording to the Empire’s study, stars can emit two other unique types of energy besides mana or sr energy: cosmic energy and star energy.


    Sr Energy is used mainly for Fire Spell, or what the Eastern Arcanist called Pure Yang Spells. Cosmic Energy has more versatility, but it remains somewhat of a great mystery. The Empire has machines that can wield Cosmic Energy, but it is harder for any individuals to wield, let alone form an Arcanist Sub-system.


    As for Star Energy, it is the main energy the Starskin races use. It can be used for various spells like controlling the weight of the stars, teleportation, light magic, or use astrology for divination and other magic-rted activities. By studying the Starskin race’s ability to convert star energy into mana, the Empire has benefited greatly in the field of Star Magic. And when Edward brought back Zuriel and Yuno’s star magic, the process was elerated.


    Queen Katura paused for a moment before opening the potion and drinking it, ignoring the apparent horror of her minister. As soon as she finished, a powerful aura emanated out of her body.


    Then, her long braided hair reverted to the glistening ck from a dying white. Her sickplexion returned to a normal level, making her skin shine more brilliantly like the stars at night.


    “The root of my injuries has been healed,” she muttered. Queen Katura could feel she was notpletely healed, but her biggest injury problem was dealt with. In her current state, she could use that forbidden item once again without killing herself.


    “Thank you, your majesty.”


    “No need for formality since it is simply a gift.”


    The two then proceeded with this meeting. And as expected, the Starskin wanted to negotiate their terms of surrender. Mostly, there was no trouble in the negotiation, except for the issue of Kinghood.


    The Empire does not grant Royalty Position. However, Edward agreed to give the Queen a title with some benefits. However, the title will not have any actual power. If she wants to represent her race in the Arcane Empire’s Council, she has to be elected appropriately.


    The title will also not be hereditary. However, there will be many other benefits regarding resource allocations, security ess, and certain privileges. Since the Starskin race was a group with many Diviners (not all of them were but a good portion), he was willing to make some concessions.


    The issue of Royal Title could not be agreed upon in one day, so the delegations agreed to continue the next day. However, Queen Katura invited Edward for a personal meeting since she wanted to tell him something.


    Queen Katura served a beverage unique to their race, and the only way Edward could describe it was it tasted like stars. Stars are nothing but massive pieces of celestial bodies, yet, he could taste them.


    “Before everything is settled, there are a few things I would like to tell you about our race,” said the Queen. “Do you know the existence of the Astral Realm and other nes?” She had to ask since she knew the Empire was less than a hundred years old despite its advancement.


    “We do. We’ve even begun our first exploration,” replied Edward.


    “Well, our Starskin is from another ne: the Luminary ne,” she said, observing his response. “You don’t seem surprised?”


    “After discovering the Astral Realm, one of our Think Tanks theorized this possibility. After all, your race is truly special,” replied Edward before sipping his drink. “What I want to know is how did you enter this ne?” From what he knows, this ce has been closed off for billions of years to prevent foreign invasions.


    “I see,” nodded Queen Katura. “We were a peaceful civilization, living lives to ourselves. Then, another Tier 9 ne, the Moon Demons, invaded our world and waged a terrible war. In the end, we lost, and our ancestors were forced to use a ne Gate left by the Magus Race toe to this ce, abandoning our home.”


    Edward let out a soft sigh.


    “Is there a problem?”


    “My apology. I was just thinking how everything recently seems to involve the Magus Race in one way or the other.”


    “This statement is more true than you can imagine.”


    Edward sighed before changing the subject. “I’m guessing you want help taking back your ne. Since it is a Tier 9 ne, it should not be a problem.”


    “Have the Arcane Empire developed Reincarnation Magic?”


    “What does this have to do with anything?” asked Edward, confused by this out-of-nowhere question. Then, Queen Katura looked at him strangely, “Don’t tell me you have not heard of the nar Warfare Guidelines?”


    “No, I have not.”


    Queen Katura did not waste time and used a spell to summon a book from her library and handed it to Edward, who used another spell to absorb all the information in the book in a short period.


    nar Warfare or Invasions are serious matters because of the existence of nar Will. The nar Will will attack anyone who enters a ne, and the invader has to resist.


    Now, the issue of tiers wille into y. If a Tier 8 Mage invaded a Tier 7 ne, they could take some time to fight the ne Will or use brute force to destroy the ne. But if they attacked a Tier 8 ne, they would most likely be suppressed because the ne Will can borrow the strength of every individual it contained, not to mention the other Tier 8 entities.


    The suppression from any ne is the most disgusting thing any individual has to deal with; it is a mechanism that makesrge nar invasion extremely difficult. So, there are a few ways to deal with the issue–besides using a higher tier to a lower tier ne.


    The first one is Consciousness Hiding Technology. As the name suggests, it is a method where the invader coat themselves and their legion with an aura that hide their identity as invaders, allowing them to do as they please in any nes they attack.


    Unfortunately, throughout history, only two civilizations have developed this technology: the Magus Race and the Abyss ne–a few Abyss Lords still have this technology in the modern age. Edward theorized a few Faith God might have got it from a Magus Race inheritance.


    The second and mostmon method used to deal with ne Wills is sacrifice. By sacrificing arge poption of the invaded ne, the invaders can coat themselves with the aura of the ne, passing for its citizen and evading the ne Will.


    However, this method has an issue: all invaders are immediately suppressed the moment theynd, so where would they have the time or opportunity to sacrifice arge portion of the poption?


    ording to this guideline, other tactics are required. The first tactic is to possess an habitant of the invaded ne. However, this method has too many ws since the ne Will could still easily detect invaders who tried this.


    The second tactic is to have a native summon the invader and form a contract. Then, the invader can use loopholes in the contract and the situation to have the contractor conduct the Sacrifice Ceremony. This tactic is often used by cunning creatures or civilizations proficient in Soul and Contract magic.


    The final tactic is to use Reincarnation Magic and be a “citizen” of the invaded ne and take it down from the inside.


    Edward took a moment to analyze all the information he had received. He needed to pay attention to two nes because of their uniqueness; the Cosmic Faith ne, which was his home, and the Abyss ne.


    For example, the Abyss ne Will did not suppress any visitors. On the contrary, it encourages more people to visit. The Cosmic Faith ne used to be the same. However, things changed after the disappearance of the Magus Race.


    Edward then used his watch to contact his wives and have them check on Hermione’s expedition.