The Situation is Settled

Chris Tiu has made some improvements in creating a method to increase Willpower. However, his research time was too short, and he had not accomplished significant results yet.

Luckily, he is determined, so he accelerated his school time, learning years of curriculum in a short few months. Give him a little more time, Chris will be on par with a graduate from Bones Advance School Magic.

With the royal family's support, he can swiftly become a Tier 7 Arcanist and finish his research.

Once that research is successful, the Empire can use the Abyss Imprint and the Advance Dragon Language and the use of Intent studied by the reincarnator named Bai to cultivate more Legendary Arcanists.

"If there are people looking for us in other planes, we must take precautions when we send people to use the Abyss Imprint," commented Olivier.

"It will be a problem if many Arcanists from our Empire become Abyss Lords in an attempt to study [Authority]," nodded Hermione. With so many people becoming Lords, it would be a surprise if they were not detected.

"Is it possible for you to let them borrow the power of the imprint?" asked Edward.

"Huh, it is possible," replied Hermione, thinking such a method was possible. Abyss Lords would never allow anyone–including their closest subordinates–to borrow their imprint.

Things like betrayal are too common among demons. It can be argued these demons do not have the word [loyalty] in their vocabulary. They followed their lords only because they were weak; in other words, out of fear.

So, if an Abyss Lord allowed his subordinate to borrow his Imprint–which is the symbol of his status and source of strength–he would hundred percent be betrayed and lose that position.

However, Hermione does not have the issue. She does not care too much about the status of Abyss Lord and would not care if someone betrayed her. Furthermore, Edward has already brainwashed these Arcanists to despise foreign powers like faith that the Gods rely on or this Abyss Imprint that the demons used.

So, even if they gave these Arcanists the imprint, 95% of them would only think of it as a foreign power. They would most likely try to study and replicate its power. Or, even worse, try to steal the power of the Abyss for their permanent use.

"The only issue with this plan is the Soul Flame Shield," continued Hermione. "It might alert the Abyss Will."

"So, did it try to do something sneaky?" asked Edward.

"Yes. While refining the Imprint, it tried to leave a secret imprint on my Soul Flame. Luckily, you provide me with the protection; otherwise, I would not be the wisest."

Edward nodded; he was always skeptical of any Planar Will–let alone one with such a terrible reputation as the Abyss Will. So, he did not let Hermione refine the Imprint without any protection.

"Can we try to deceive it?" asked Olivier. If many Arcanists borrowed the Imprint and the Abyss Will detects so many people who succeeded in preventing its action of branding their Soul Flames, it might alert it. So, the best option would be to deceive the Will.

"Deceiving the Planar Will is one the highest technologies we are trying to develop for future Planar Deployment and Conquest. As of now, we are so far from that level."

'"The Magus should have this technology. Do you want to search for it?"

"How likely do you think we would find something like that?" replied Edward. "Honestly, I don't want us to have too much connection with them. For such a civilization that has transcended Cause and Effect, having too much connection with them might not be a good idea."

"I can't tell if you're being too paranoid or something else. Anyway, it's always good to be cautious," said Olivier. "But this issue will be difficult to deal with."

"There is no need to hurry. We have plenty of time before we enter the Age of Legendary Arcanist. By then, we might have a solution, or the situation might not be as bad as we anticipated."

"Fine," said Olivier before archiving today's discussion. Many things from the Empire must be planned years ahead to prevent possible failure, danger, and backlash or ensure the Empire can develop at a faster speed.

"You came to see. Is there something?" asked Edward.

"Two things," said Olivier. "The first is that the war has become a two-party battle between us and Guzznad. All other factions in the galaxy are either now turned into undead or integrated into the Empire.

"Although a few people are hiding between the cracks, they are irrelevant to the general situation."

"So, the plan is proceeding smoothly?"

"Yes. As long as we defeat Guzznad and turn all the undead we can back to their former selves, we will be the rightful ruler of the Milky Way Galaxy. With our reputation, even if there are some people who call for their independence afterward, they will not pose much of a threat."

"That's excellent news. What about the integration of the undead?" Not all the undead can be reverted, so the rest must be integrated into the Empire.

"Wiz has been doing a good job. According to recent polls, people's fear and acceptance of undead has drastically increased in the past few months–especially at the center of our territory."

Edward was not surprised. The people on Earth and the surrounding star systems were not affected by the war and can only see how intense it was through videos on Skynet and the Universe Web. So, their acceptance of the undead is not on par with the other territories who had to watch their entire lives, races, and civilizations being annihilated by undead.

"Do you want to immediately get rid of Guzznad?" asked Edward.

"No, it's not time yet," replied Olivier. "The final victory cannot be too easy and swift; otherwise, people will not appreciate the end of the war. And certain people might become suspicious of why we did not eradicate him if we had the means.

"Furthermore, the outskirts of our territory has just been acquired and needs more time to fully integrate. Looming the war over them is a good way to control them."

"I'm glad you're taking your time."

"Is there a problem?"

"The Tier 10 Aether Core for the Fog is not finished yet. We can't eliminate Guzznad until it's deployed. Otherwise, I don't want him to do something stupid out of desperation."

He feared Guzznad would allow the Gods to enter before his death as an act of revenge. Or, open the gate to the Abyss and allow an Abyss Prince (Tier 10 Abyss Lord} to invade the plane.

"I was just going to ask about this," said Olivier, who also calculated this possibility as the war draws to its end.

"Do you have an estimate of when it will be ready?" she asked.

"If you take into consideration Time Dilation between parallel timelines, it should be about nine months," replied Edward after checking the progress reports the golems sent him.

"Of course, the time can be reduced if I can complete the Mana Grid Enchantment."

"And how long will it take?"

"I don't know. The thing should have been completed. But, it seems I'm missing an important piece."

Edward shook his head. He already had all the information needed for the enchantment from the Akashic Record, but he was still missing an important link.

"Well, we can wait a year. However, you have to expect more blackmail from Guzznad."

"It's fine. He will repay it ten-fold in the future," Edward sneered. "Anyway, what's the second thing you wanted to talk about?"