"Morticia, why don't you control the elves and force them to attack Guzznad? As long as he is distracted long enough, this should be enough for us," said Delilah.
"I wish it were that simple," she replied.
"Even if they are not your believer, as the God of Elves, you should be able to influence them at least."
"Regrettably, these elves are the descendants of the High Elves. As you know, during the battle back then, they severed all bloodline connections with me. So, even if their bloodline is extremely thin, I still cannot influence them."
Delilah frowned as she remembered something similar had occurred back then. "What about you, Isambard?"
"I refuse."
"Why not?"
"I won't do something so cruel to my race," replied the Dwarven God.
"This is not the time to be sentimental," said Lifer. Unfortunately, humans are a particular species not bound by bloodline; this is one of the reasons that there is no Human God. As such, even if he was once a human and is now a God, he could not do the same.
"It wouldn't work anyways. The Dwarves in this Galaxy are nothing but a Tier 7 Civilization. Guzznad would wipe them out effortlessly." Isambard had a bottom line, and his race was one of them.
Delilah frowned as she knew the latter was just using an excuse.
"What about you, Ga'nar?"
"The orcs are scattered and cannot even be considered a proper racial civilization. Plus, the most powerful one is only Tier 6."
Delilah frowned. Not of them had followers remaining since Guzznad seemed to have targeted them.
"In that case, let's use the Intelligens."
"You want me to control their technology and have them attack Guzznad?" asked Isambard. As the God of Technology, he could achieve such a feat.
"That's right."
"This could work, but as you know, they've scattered after Guzznad's [Fall of Darkness]. It will take some time to regroup them."
"How long?"
"A problem a few dozen years. I could also secretly influence their technology and raise it to Tier 9."
"Excellent. Let's use this plan."
Milky Way Galaxy, Solar System, Planet Earth, Arcane Palace:
Edward sat at a table, enjoying a luxurious dinner. He spent more than 30 years inside the Time Dilation, optimizing the Floating City. Meanwhile, only a month passed outside.
"Here, try this," he said as he handed some new delicacy to someone.
"Thanks, Old Wizard King," replied Charmy, who closed her eyes to enjoy her food. "The new food in this world is delicious; so many things I've never rested before.
"I know how you feel. Every day, countless new recipes are created. Who knew slimes could be a delicacy," replied Edward, enjoying himself. Midway through their dinner, Amelia walked in.
"Who's this?" she asked.
"That's Charmy that I've been talking about."
"You mean you supposed adopted daughter?"
"Adopted daughter? I guess you're right, but I've never thought about it that way," replied Edward before looking at Charmy. "Do you want to be my daughter?"
"Do I get to eat delicious food like this?"
"Yes, and any time you want."
"Okay. You can be my Wizard King Papa," she replied while munching on some newly discovered chicken species. Edward caressed her head, amused by the title she gave, before continuing to eat. Amelia shook her head before taking a seat next to Charmy.
"Since you are now part of the royal family, you have to learn how to eat with the proper etiquette."
"What? That sounds boring."
"It is. But you still have to learn."
Charmy pouted, looking at Edward, her eyes asking for help. "You can eat however you want, but you have to learn first in case of an official event."
Charmy pouted but still placed the piece of meat on the table, holding her fork and knife. While Amelia taught her, she also sent Edward a document.
"What's this?"
"The bill for your Floating City."
Edward read the data while wondering why he was shown this data. Then, he almost spat out the food in his mouth.
"So much?"
"Yes. You almost broke the economic system of the entire Empire with all the resources you used."
"Where did we get so many resources?" Edward scrolled down to read the entire report. He was so focused that he never realized how much he used. But now that he was dealing with the situation, he realized the Empire could never provide so many resources.
"We acted swiftly and sent the other two cities to parallel dimensions to mindlessly plunder. We also sent a team equipped with World Gates to the Blank Realm, and there were many casualties."
"Was there any issue?"
"There was. Luna predicted an unknown danger and warned the team. However, one of the floating cities was attacked by an unknown entity, and it was destroyed in the process."
"Is everyone alright?"
"Don't worry. No one was injured."
"That's a relief."
"The point of me telling you this is you should be more mindful of this kind of thing in the future. Plus, be aware that we do not have enough resources to build another Tier 10 weapon."
"I see. I guess we should also temporarily stop traversing the multiverse."
"That would be wise."
"How is the war situation?"
"Guzznad seemed to be more occupied than usual. His forces have reduced their attack frequency."
"Anything I need to do."
"Yes, but before that, when are you announcing your return and beginning the new update to the library?"
Once the announcement begins, the Empire will enter a new era, an era where every citizen can use magic.
"We have to wait. The Universe Web has just been blocked, and if I suddenly announced my return, some people might be suspicious."
"It's always good to be cautious," said Amelia. "Although we have supposedly cut off contact of the outside gods with this galaxy, we cannot rule out they have other means of communication."
"That's what I'm worried about. You said I had something to do?"
"Yes. Luna made a divination. You have to go somewhere to meet an old friend of yours. That friend will be the catalyst for the dwarves to surrender to the Empire."
"An old friend? And a dwarf?" said Edward before remembering something. "Huki Ironflame?" Many years ago, he went to a famous mercenary bar in the Milky Way with Fleur, where he encountered a dwarf and an elf. The elf lied to him by his name and was very arrogant after Edward told him that Elven Enchantments were not that amazing.
"Luna did not give me specifics. She only said if you go to Planet Sop two days later, you will meet someone special. Then, events might unfold that lead to the integration of the dwarves."
"Alright. I'll go."
Edward tried to spend more time with his wife for the next two days, but everyone was busy and had no time for him. So, he had no choice but to spend time with his mother, father, and newly adopted daughter, Charmy.
His family loved her, but his mother started asking him when he would give her grandchildren. So, Edward had to run away from her after his explanation did not appease her.
He hopped on a spaceship at the scheduled time and headed to Planet Sop. Once he arrived, he quickly noticed this was a planet ravaged by a Second Commander from the Undead Legion.
Edward used a spell to scan the entire planet and located Huki in the process. The latter was in the midst of protecting someone with a group of mercenaries. And Edward also recognized the person they were protecting.
A screen appeared before him as he observed Huki's team. He realized the undead's target was the client these mercenaries were protecting and that they would not last long.
'So, this is what Luna meant.'
Without saying anything, he teleported above the group. His arrival alerted the group, making them think another enemy had arrived.
"Huki, is that you?" asked Edward.
The short, red-haired dwarf squinted his eyes, trying to remember this newcomer's face.
"Edward Bones?"
As soon as he said these words, everyone became shocked as they observed Edward closely. And the face belonged to the one they had seen before.