Chapter 132 - 1386-1396

Chapter 1386 Esteemed Guests From Far Away

As the Flying Ship got nearer the capital city of Edelweiss, Shana thought of something funny.

"Ephemera, if this was like those telenovelas I watched a few days ago, you would undoubtedly be a secret Princess of Edelweiss, right?" Shana inquired. "Do you remember that T.V Show called, The Kingdom? That one has a very deep plot, don't you think?"

"Your imagination sure is something," Ephemera smirked after hearing Shana's words. "I am not a Princess of Edelweiss, but it is true that I am their distant cousin."

"Oh, so does that mean that if the members of the Royal Family were wiped out, you and your family could legitimately claim the throne?" Invidia, who had taught Shana the wonders of Fashion, commented from the side.

The corner of Ephemera's lips twitched because he didn't know if she should laugh or cry at Invidia's comment.

"Please, don't kill them off. I am happy with my current life, thank you."

"Mmm. It must be nice being embraced by the person you tried to kill in the past. You sure have grown a lot, Ephemera."

"Thank you, Invidia. Remind me to not lend you any Merit Points later to help you buy the clothes you had your eyes on."

Invidia giggled before giving Ephemera a hug.

"Don't be like that, sweety," Invidia stated. "Come, transfer some of the Merit Points that you gained from milking William last night. I promise to put them to good use."

"As if!" Ephemera tried to push away the shameless leech who planned to take her Merit Points. "Those who don't work, don't eat. If you want merit points so badly, let Will eat you first."

"Um, but he always eats me, you know? I supply him with blood on a regular basis."

"That's not the kind of eating I am talking about."

The members of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Heavenly Virtues had long gotten over their differences, and were now talking to each other like they were the best of friends.

Since Lira, Ephemera, Melody, and to a certain extent, Shana, were now William's women, it was only natural that all of them would get along with the rest of the Half-Elf's lovers. In fact, among the members of the Heavenly Virtues, it was only Audrey, Celeste, and Cherry, who were still not part of his harem.

Cherry was still young, so it was understandable. As for Audrey, her sisters were slowly preparing her to warm William's bed using subtle ways that would make it so she would be unable to escape the moment she fell into their trap.

Celeste, on the other hand, was a special case.

As the Virtue of Chastity, she couldn't lose her maidenhood because she would also lose her Divinity if William took it from her. She was also William's "Bride of Darkness", which everyone thought was funny.

? Wouldn't the groom be pitiful if he couldn't consummate their marriage on their wedding night?

For the most part, Celeste kept to her own business, and never made contact with William until it was absolutely necessary.

Knowing that the war that would decide the Fate of the World was near, Celeste was busy doing research on how to tilt the tide of battle in their favor.

A few minutes later, the Flying Ship landed at the port of Nivale, which was the Capital City of the Kingdom of Edelweiss.

To William's surprise, a red carpet was rolled out on the ground, giving them a grand welcome fit for members of the Royalty.

Well, technically, he was indeed Royalty since he was the Emperor of an Empire, but the Half-Elf would often forget this fact because he had never wanted to become one in the first place.

"Greetings, esteemed guests from far away," one of the Ministers of the Kingdom greeted William as soon as he disembarked from the Flying Ship and stepped onto the red carpet. "My name is Augustus Simmons, one of the Ministers of this Kingdom, and I have come on behalf of his Majesty to greet all of you, and escort you to the Royal Palace."

Augustus gave the Half-Elf his most amiable smile as the latter walked up to him and shook his hands.

"Greetings, Sir Augustus," William replied. "My name is William Von Ainsworth, and I am the Emperor of the Ainsworth Empire in the Central Continent. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Augustus, who didn't expect that he was shaking hands with an Emperor, felt humbled because the red-headed teenager in front of him wasn't acting like a Monarch, but a friendly teenager who was about to ask for her daughter's hand in marriage.

"Your Majesty, it is my pleasure to meet you," Augustus stated as he gave William a respectful bow. "Also, welcome Your Excellency Ifrit, Your Excellency Henkhisesu, Your Excellency Silenus. It is our great honor to have the three of you visit our humble Kingdom."

"Stop with the flattery and just take out to see your King," Ifrit replied in annoyance. "Don't waste my time, okay?"

"What Ifrit said is correct," Henkhisesu commented. "We didn't come here for pleasure, but for business. So, make haste and lead the way."

Silenus glanced at his two friends and shook his head helplessly.

"Forgive them, Mr. Augustus," Silenus stated. "My friends are just grumpy because it has been a while since they last left their Domains. However, both of them are happy to be here. But, since I know that you don't want to get into trouble, take us to see your King, so that you may be able to do your other duties."

Augustus gave Silenus a respectful bow before making a gesture for everyone to follow him.

Several guards lined up on the red carpet and raised their swords in salute as William and his entourage walked past them.

Fortunately, the King of Edelweiss was also expecting some of the other King's of the Gunnar Federation to visit, so the ceremonial guards, as well as the Red Carpet, had been prepared beforehand.

This was why, as soon as they were told that the Three Demigods of the Western Continent had come knocking on their doors, everyone scrambled to set up a proper welcome for their guests, so that they wouldn't get annoyed and smash their city to a pulp.

"Sir Augustus, a few of my girls plan to go sightseeing in your beautiful city," William said as he walked a few steps behind Augustus. "Would you mind asking someone to show them around?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," Augustus answered in a heartbeat. "I will ensure that your ladies will enjoy their stay here in the Capital."

William nodded his head in satisfaction and wondered if Augustus had a younger, or older brother. He believed that if there was someone like him in the Ainsworth Empire, things would be a lot better, because he could tell how competent he was.

Soon, several flying carpets descended from the sky.

These would be the artifacts that Wiliam and his entourage would use to reach the Royal Palace where the King was waiting for their arrival.

Medusa, Erinys, and Cherry, who were being escorted by Titania, rode on a flying carpet, alongside the female guide who was tasked to operate it.

Augustus talked to the lady who was controlling the Magic Carpet and gave her explicit orders on what to do, which the latter took seriously as if her life depended on it.f𝙧𝑒𝑒𝘸e𝗯𝗻𝘰v𝒆l.c𝙤𝘮

"Bye, Will!" Erinys said as she waved her hand. "We'll see you later."

"Bye, bye, Master!" Medusa waved her hand as well.

"See you later, Master," Titania said with a smile.

Cherry, who seemed to feel out of place, reluctantly waved her hand to William for a few seconds before stopping completely.

"Take care, and enjoy your sightseeing trip," William replied as he waved back at the girls who were eager to start their exploration. "I'll see you guys later."

A minute later, a single Flying Carpet broke out of the formation as its operator took the girls to the major attractions of the City of Nivale, while the red-headed teenager's delegation were taken to the Royal Palace in order to meet with the King.

Perhaps, knowing that the Demigods weren't in the mood for a leisurely trip, the Flying Carpets didn't make any detours and flew as fast as they could to the Palace.

From the sky, Will could already see several people waiting at the entrance of the Palace Gates, and one of them was even wearing a crown.

He was none other than Alexis Von Weiss, the current King of Edelweiss.

Ephemera had already told WIlliam everything she knew about the King, but seeing him personally made the Half-Elf remember his Grandpa, James, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

Alexis wasn't old. In fact, he was only in his early forties, and was still in the prime of his life. However, Ephemera warned him that underneath his benevolent exterior, was a sly fox, who would try to squeeze a person dry for what they were worth.

This was why the Half-Elf remembered his Grandpa, who liked to scam people.

Alexis was also the second King that William had met since his arrival in the Western Continent, and he wondered how he would react after he told him the reason for their visit.

Chapter 1387 Making The Giant Invasion A Reality

"It is quite a fascinating tale," Alexis said as he and William talked in private, without the Half-Elf's lovers or the three Demigods present to listen to their conversation.

Alexis made sure to greet the three Demigods properly, and took the initiative to invite William to talk in private to better understand his reason for coming.

Naturally, the Half-Elf told the truth, which made Alexis want to laugh and ask if he was joking with him.

However, as someone who had schemed against others in the past, he could tell that the Half-Elf wasn't lying, which made him wonder if he should give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Okay, let's say that what you're telling me is true." Alexis smiled. "Do you expect mortal armies to contend against a mighty army that is led by three Gods of Destruction? If you were in my place, what would you think?"

William nodded his head in understanding before giving his reply.

"What you're thinking, and what you're saying, is probably what the other Kings of the Gunnar Federation would think and say after hearing my story," WIlliam replied. "But, that doesn't change the fact that they will be arriving in two years. You can choose to close your eyes, and go to sleep, but the moment they come knocking on your door, sleep will be the last thing that you will think of."

Alexis chuckled because he could tell that William had already resigned himself to getting ridiculed by the other Kings of the Gunnar Federation after he told them of his reason for visiting their territories.

"So, since you already believe that none of us will take you seriously, you decided to enlist the help of the Demigods to prove your point, yes?"

"Right."

Alexis rested his chin on top of his intertwined hands and looked at the Half-Elf with a serious look on his face. There were no longer any traces of mirth in his eyes. Only a solemn expression that befit a Monarch, who was about to make a hard decision that would decide the fate of his kingdom, could be seen.

"So, what will you do if none of us partake in this Grand Alliance of yours?" Alexis asked. "Also, what is your reason for visiting me first? Are you planning to lay waste to our Kingdom if I refuse, to serve as an example to make the other Kings of the Gunnar Federation take you seriously?"

William shook his head. "Laying waste on your Kingdom would be going too far. Also, I have no intention of forcing you to join the Grand Alliance."

"Oh?" Alexis arched an eyebrow after hearing William's words. He thought that the Half-Elf would order the Demigods to destroy his Kingdom to scare the other rulers into submission.

"Then, what will you do if I refuse?

"Nothing. I'll just pack up and return to the Central Continent, and tell my Steward that I failed to convince you guys."

"That's it?" Alexis inquired. He didn't believe that the Half-Elf would really not use force in order to get his way. If he had the backings of the Demigods in the Western Continent, he would be able to move anywhere unhindered, and make the other Monarchs bow down to kiss his feet.

"Yeah. I'll leave the rest to my Steward," William replied.

"Your Steward?"

"Yeah. The same person that suggested that I should just extinguish the entire Royal Bloodline of the Kingdoms who refused to cooperate and choose a random beggar on the streets to become its new King. She's also the one that didn't bat an eye when it came to cutting off the arms of two of the Heavenly Virtues because they annoyed her. Although it is going to be a roundabout method, I'll leave this matter in her capable hands."

The corner of Alexis's lips twitched after hearing William's explanation. He didn't expect that the Half-Elf would shift the responsibility to other people, and the person he chose was someone who wouldn't hesitate to place a puppet ruler on the throne in order to get what she wanted.

"Okay, let's talk about the cooperation you want." Alexis sighed before leaning back on his chair. "What do you want us to do?"

After giving it some thought, Alexis knew that he would rather deal with the harmless looking Half-Elf in front of him, than deal with a dangerous woman who would not hesitate to exterminate his entire bloodline.

"The mortal armies will deal with the threat of Myriad Beasts, and anything below that rank," William said. "If possible, I would like all of the experts from the various kingdoms to sit down and share their technologies, so that we can create weapons that would allow us to deal a serious blow to these invaders from the Void."

Alexis rubbed his chin because he thought that this plan was quite feasible. The Dwarves and the Gnomes usually butted heads with each other, but that didn't change the fact that both races were capable of creating weapons that were efficient on the battlefield.

The mere thought of these two races working together to share technologies, and possibly build a weapon of mass destruction made Alexis shudder.

"Earlier, I thought that there was no hope," Alexis commented. "But now, it seems that there is still hope."

The King of Edelweiss started to warm up to the idea of letting the greatest minds of all the Kingdoms gather, and work together to create something that could give them a chance to win the hopeless war that they were about to face.

"Since this will be a battle for survival, I want all of the Kingdoms to draft all able bodied men and women to fight," William stated. "Their training should start as soon as possible because we don't have much time left."

Alexis frowned but he understood the logic behind William's words. The people that would go to war had a very low chance of survival. However, If they were to really lose the war, everyone would die, so those who didn't choose to fight would die as well.

"We will receive a lot of backlash from this," Alexis replied. "It might also make our people resent us."

"Don't worry, I have a plan," William commented. "We will make them understand the gravity of the situation. However, there is just one problem."

"And that problem is?"

"A part of this city will be destroyed?"

Alexis smiled after hearing William's words.

"Actually, the King of Quince and I had a little conflict a few days ago," Alexis said. "How about instead of destroying my city, you destroy a part of his capital city instead? Hey~ we can be considered to be allies already, you know? Why hurt your friends when you can hurt others?"

William chuckled internally but still nodded his head in understanding.

Before he started his war with Felix, Morax had invaded the Silvermoon Continent bringing Hundreds of Giants with him. He had captured these giants, and used the power of Darkness to corrupt them to become his slaves.

Some of these Giants were of the Demigod Rank, while the others were of the Myriad Rank. There was also a Pseudo-God Giant, but after it died, its rank regressed to the Initial Stages of the Demigod Rank.

Even so, a Demigod was still a Demigod. Since people didn't want to believe that the Giant Invasion was real, he would make it a reality and make them understand that the borrowed peace they were enjoying, would soon be trampled by the towering monstrosities that were locked up inside the Dungeon of Atlantis.

A moment later, the sound of laughter echoed inside the room as Alexis drafted a well thought out plan, that would make his good friend, the King of Quince, pee on his robes once he saw the calamity that was about to descend on top of his head.

Chapter 1388 Attack On Titans [Part 1]

Kingdom of Quince…

Kieron, the King of Quince was leisurely sipping a glass of wine on the balcony of his Royal Palace.

"Everything is so peaceful." Kieron sighed as he enjoyed the aftertaste of the best wine in his Kingdom.

In front of him, the majestic view of the capital city of Quince, Farhan, spread far and wide. He had seen this view countless times in the past, but even now, he still felt as if he was sitting on top of the world as he looked down on the city from the balcony of his palace.

"Has there been any news about that fart Alexis?" Kieron asked. "It has been three days since that so-called Emperor from the Central Continent arrived, right?"

"Our spies said that the Flying Ship is still docked at the City of Nivale," the King's aide replied. "There has been no news about what King Alexis and the Half-Elf had talked about."

"Hah!" Kieron scoffed. "If I don't know any better, I bet that Alexis is scheming something again. Hmp! Knowing him, he'd probably send trouble coming my way."

Kieron was quite annoyed after he heard the news that the red-headed Emperor went to the Kingdom of Edelweiss alongside the three Demigods, Ifrit, Henkhisesui, and Silenus.

The Demigods very rarely left their Domains, and whenever they did, a series of unfortunate events would befall any kingdom they visited.

However, it had been three days since the red-headed Emperor had arrived, and the Kingdom of Edelweiss remained peaceful.

Kieron had been smiling ear to ear when he heard that the three calamities had arrived at the Kingdom of Edelweiss, but his good mood disappeared when no news of destruction reached his ears.

'Just what are those Demigods doing?' Kieron thought. 'Can't they do something good for once and smash that bastard, Alexis', capital city?'

Just as Kieron was about to refill his wine cup, the sound of something breaking reverberated in the surroundings.

The King of Quince immediately stood up as he looked at the sky in disbelief.

From that crack, over a hundred Giants descended, and crash landed two miles away from the city walls.

The wine glass in Kieron's hand fell on the ground, breaking into dozens of pieces. The King of Quince stared in disbelief, as these towering monstrosities started to walk towards his city, with the intention of razing it to the ground.

"Sounds the alarm!" Kieron shouted as he pointed his scepter towards the city gates.

Immediately a barrier enveloped the entire city, shielding it from the sudden invasion that had appeared out of nowhere.

The sound of tolling bells spread across the City of Farhan, as its citizens wondered what was happening. However, their confusion was replaced by fear when they saw a giant boulder smashing against the barrier of their city, sparking wide-spread panic among the crowd.

"Giants!" a man on the street shouted. "We are being attacked by Giants!"

It was then when the people saw hundreds of Hippogriffs rise from the city barracks and fly towards the city walls in order to stop the Giant's advance before they could even reach the city.

Officers shouted their orders from the sky, telling the people to head to the nearest shelters to hide.

The Western Continent wasn't that peaceful several hundred years ago.

Wars were always happening somewhere on the continent, so each Kingdom had prepared emergency shelters in case that their capital cities were sieged.

Now that a threat had come knocking on their doorstep, the defenders of Quince took up arms in order to repel the Giants that were advancing towards their city at a leisurely pace. A few of them picked up giant boulders along the way and hurled them at the barrier, as if to scare the people, who were currently being herded to the shelters.𝑓𝑟𝘦𝒆w𝒆𝘣𝙣𝒐vel.𝒄𝒐𝙢

Kieron, who had given the orders to evacuate the civilians, hurried inside the castle to put on his Royal Regalia.

Right now, he needed to inspire his soldiers by fighting alongside them in the battlefield.

A few minutes later, a Gryphon soared towards the sky, and on its back was the King of Quince, prepared to do battle.

Originally, he thought that the giants were only Millennial Ranked. However, after gauging their strength from the sky, his face immediately turned pale when he realized that the majority of them were Myriad Ranked.

However, that was the least of his problems.

At the center of the Giant's formation was a giant, whose eyes were burning with a blue hue.

Just a glance was enough to tell Kieron that this giant was the leader of this invasion.

Thousands of soldiers had already positioned themselves on top of the city walls, as Archers and Mages prepared to unleash their attacks, the moment the giants came within firing range.

The barrier of the city had a unique feature. It allowed internal attacks to pass through the barrier, while negating external attacks completely. This was made by the first founder of Quince, who was a Saint-Ranked Runemaster, allowing his city to resist the siege of the Kingdoms that threatened its rule.

"Steady!" Kieron ordered his soldiers as his Gryphon hovered behind the city walls. Just like his men, he was waiting for the right moment to engage their attackers in ranged combat.

"Now! Open Fire!"

Thousands of arrows, and hundreds of spells rained down on the giants who were walking towards the city as if they were just taking a stroll.

Loud explosions were heard everywhere as the spells landed on the giants at the very front of the formation.

Dark smoke blocked everyone's view, but that didn't deter the defenders and they continued to fire arrow after arrow, and hurled spell after spell.

"Halt!" Kieron ordered, and his soldiers also stopped attacking.

The King of Quince narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the thick black smoke that was blocking everyone's view. He wanted to know if the countless attacks decimated their opponents, but his hopes were crushed when several figures passed through the black smoke, holding giant swords, axes, and war clubs.

Kieron's face paled when he saw the sneering faces of the giants who now started to run towards their city, making the ground, and the defenders' hearts tremble.

"Attack!" Kieron roared. "Do not let them enter the city!"

All the soldiers gritted their teeth as they once again unleashed a barrage of arrows and spells at the Monsters, who were shrugging off an attack that could already decimate Human armies.

Unfortunately, they weren't fighting Humans, but Giants, whose strength far surpassed the defenders that were stationed in the city.

Kieron watched in horror as the vanguard of the Giant Army started hacking away at the barrier protecting the city, making it tremble with each strike.

Shouts of fear rang out among the ranks of soldiers as they forced themselves to hold their ground and continue to use their strongest attacks in order to kill the enemies that were staring down at them as if they were ants, waiting to be trampled.

Suddenly, a cracking sound was heard, which made Kieron, as well as the soldiers defending their city, feel as if all of their blood had turned cold.

A moment later, the barrier that was holding the Giant Army at bay creaked, before shattering into thousands of pieces.

"... No."

A single word was muttered helplessly by one of the soldiers on top of the city walls, and yet, this was the collective thought of everyone facing the Giants, who were now poised to demolish, and annihilate everything that stood in their way.

Chapter 1389 Attack On Titans [Part 2]

"... No."

That one word was like a small spark that ignited the collective thoughts of everyone defending the Capital City of Quince.

Soon, the sound of laughter was heard as all the Giants started laughing. It was as if they found the expressions of the King, and his soldiers quite amusing, that they all just stood there and mocked the soldiers, who tried to desperately protect their homeland.

"P-Please… Please stop," Kieron said while his entire body shook due to fear, and panic. "W-We surrender. Please, stop this at once."

The Giants stopped laughing and glanced at each other. However, the next second another round of laughter ensued as if they found Kieron's pitiful plea for surrender the funniest thing that they heard in their lifetime.

Just then, the giant army parted as one of the giants, whose eyes were burning in a blue hue appeared.

The giant stopped a few meters away from the city wall, towering over it like an omen of death.

"No." the Giant stated. "We don't accept surrender. Now… Die!"

Without any warning, the Giant kicked the city walls, breaking them apart, and sending soldiers flying in every direction.

However, before these soldiers could fall to their deaths, a gust of wind picked them up and allowed them to land safely on the ground.

"Fall back. I'll take it from here."

A confident voice filled with authority and power said from the sky.

When Kieron, and his soldiers raised their heads to look in the direction where the voice was coming from, they saw a four-winged, snake-headed man, whom they instantly recognized as one of the Demigods of the Western Continent.

"Y-Your Excellency!" Kieron shouted in both joy and relief as one of the Overlords of the land appeared at the right moment.

Henkhisesui, the Demigod who wielded the power of Air, raised his hand and conjured hundreds of giant wind blades, which rained down upon the Giants, making them stagger.

Upon seeing this unbelievable scene, the soldiers cheered as they regained their courage after seeing that the Demigod was fighting alongside them.

"Support his Excellency!" Kieron shouted. "Men and women of Quince! Do not falter! Protect our homeland! Kill!"

""Kill!""

""Kill!""

""Kill!""

All the defenders were emboldened after Henkhisesu made his appearance, so they all fought with everything they had.

Unfortunately, on this day, they realized that courage alone would not be enough to defeat the hulking monstrosities who now all roared in anger.

The Giants no longer held back, and all of them smashed the city walls, sending people flying in every direction.

Henkhisesui waved his hand and all the soldiers on the ramparts were blown away by a powerful gust of wind, sending them at the very rear of the city, so that they wouldn't participate in his battle against the Giants.

'Now, let's see how strong you guys are,' Henkhisesui's expression became serious as he decided to fight with everything he had.

It had been many years since he had fought to his fullest, so he wanted to know just how strong these Giants were, and see for himself if the Half-Elf's fears were unfounded.

"Howl!" Henkhisesui roared as it swung its spear towards the Giant whose eyes were burning like hell fire. "Glaive of the East Winds!"

Several tornadoes materialized in front of Henkhisesui, pushing back the Giant Army, with the exception of the giant whose strength had reached the peak of Demigod.

Instead of being repelled, the Giant shrugged off Henkhisesui's attack, and charged in the snake-headed man's direction with his war axe raised high.

The Giant's name was Zotor.

He was the captain of the scouting party of Giants that came with Morax to Hestia in order to destroy it.

Zotor was a Pseudo-God in the past, but he was killed during the battle in the SIlvermoon Continent.

When William had raised him from the dead, his rank degraded to Peak Demigod, instead of a Pseudo-God.

Even so, he was still quite strong, allowing him to resist the tornadoes, and strike at the Demigod, who was calmly hovering above the city.

The air itself seemed to tear apart as Zotor swung his axe towards the snake-headed Demigod.

"Too slow," Henkhisesui said, as he nimbly dodged to the right, allowing the axe's strike pass him, or so he thought.

Just as the axe started to pass his body, Zotor stopped his attack mid-way and swung his axe sidewards, using the flat of its blade to hit Henkhisesui's body, sending the Demigod crashing towards the ground, destroying hundreds of houses along the way.

Kieron, as well as all the soldiers, stared in disbelief as the Demigod whom they thought was the strongest existence in the world, was casually swatted aside like a fly by the Giant who had a sneer plastered on its hideous face.

Blood dripped from the corner of Henkhisesui's lips as he propped himself up from the rubble.

'This bastard is stronger than I expected,' Henkhisesui thought as he wiped away the blood that had come out of the corner of his lips and once again rose towards the sky.

That first exchange taught him that he must not underestimate his opponent at all cost, or else he would lose in a show of strength.

'If that Half-Elf really wanted to conquer the Western Continent, it would be too easy.' Henkhisesui was starting to realize that William didn't really need them to make the entire Gunnar Federation bend their knees, and agree to a grand alliance.

All that the Half-Elf needed to do was to casually bring out these Giants from the Thousand Beast Domain, and let them wreak havoc across the land, and everyone would be on their knees, begging him to allow them to join his side.

However, William didn't do that. He'd much rather put up a farce, in order to make the Kings understand just what kind of enemy they would be facing in the future.

In fact, this battle wasn't just happening in the Kingdom of Quince.

It was happening in all the Kingdoms that belonged to the Gunnar Federation, including the Dwarven Kingdom of Beldaral.

Durren had already informed Eldon, according to William's wishes, and the Dwarven King surprisingly agreed to the Half-Elf's plan.

However, Eldon asked that the Giants make their appearance at one of the strongest fortresses of the Dwarven Kingdom, instead of their Capital City.

The Half-Elf agreed to this plan, and sent an adequate number of Giants to each kingdom, numbering just over a hundred.

When Morax and Zotor attacked the Silvermoon Continent, their force consisted of over a thousand giants.

One Peak Demigod

Thirty Demigods

Hundreds of Myriad Ranked Giants

That was the strength of the Giant Army under the red-headed teeanger's command. Originally, he planned to use them against Felix when he fought against them in the war.

However, he never had the opportunity to use them because his main forces were more than enough to overwhelm the opposition.

This also allowed William to keep their presence a secret, which allowed him to now use them to their fullest potential.

Right now, all the Kingdoms were being attacked by hundreds of Giants, led by three to four Demigods each.

Henkhisesui shrouded his entire body inside a giant tornado, and flew straight towards Zotor, who was prepared to meet his opponent's strongest attack.

A moment later, the snake-headed Demigod once again crashed into the city, destroying every structure it collided with, until it came to a complete stop.

Henkhisesui couldn't believe that his opponent had managed to withstand its strongest attack, and was even able to make a counter-attack.

If he knew that Zotor was a former Pseudo-God, he might have cursed William internally for going off the script, and making him look pitiful in front of the people, who thought that their hero had come to save them.

Chapter 1390 Attack On Titans [Part 3]

Fennel Kingdom…

"This isn't part of the script. Uh… good thing I managed to protect my handsome face," Silenus muttered as he tossed aside the house that collapsed over his body after one of the Giants had sent him flying with a palm strike. "I was supposed to be the Prince in Shining armor that was going to save the Princess from the Tyrant Giant, but this is just too much."

Silenus was currently facing four Demigods, who had now started to wreak havoc on their surroundings.

Just like what was happening in Quince, the Giant Army had breached the city wall and was currently destroying the structures around them.

Silenus had chosen this time to make his appearance to embolden the people, but after a short exchange, one of the Giants slapped him, sending him crashing towards the city face first.

"I can't disillusion the hopes and dreams of the ladies that admire me." Silenus casually flipped his hair as he looked at the four Demigods who made him look bad just a minute ago. "I guess it's time to use 100% of my power."

A devilish grin appeared on the Satyr's face as the ground started to shake.

"The hundreds of years that I spent living in peace have dulled my fighting prowess," Silenus muttered. "Still, William said that the Giants we are going to face number in the millions, and within those millions are thousands of Demigods, and hundreds of Pseudo-Gods… the future doesn't look too bright."

Silenus could now understand that this was certainly not the time to be living peacefully inside his forest because this kind of threat was about to descend in the world.

William told them that he would stage this battle to make the people of the Western Continent understand the dangers that they were about to face.

He then told the Demigods to try and stop this "staged" invasion, and see for themselves just what kind of foes they would be facing in the future.

Suddenly, the ground under Silenus' feet burst apart, and a Giant Ent Tree, that towered hundreds of meters, rose from the ground, carrying the Satyr on its shoulders.

"Crush my foes!" Silenus roared. "Rise, Amdusias!"

The Giant Ent then smashed its fist into the Giant's face, smashing its entire body to the ground.

A powerful explosion shook the entire city as Silenus used his trump card, whose power reached the initial stages of the Pseudo-God Rank.

The Satyr was an easy going fellow, and most people thought that he was the weakest among the four Demigods of the Central Continent. However, they didn't know that when the flirtatious Satyr became serious, his strength would surpass the power of his peers.

Giant vines rose up from the ground and wrapped around the three other Demigod Giants, holding them firmly in place.

The earth rumbled as the Satyr and his Giant Ent, fought with everything they had, laying waste to the city that they were supposed to protect.

—---

Kingdom of Zinnia…

"Sh*t!" Ifrit cursed as he unleashed a barrage of giant fireballs at the Giants that were pushing him back little by little.

After getting beaten up by Astrape, Ifrit had long wanted to vent his frustration on something.

This was why, when William devised his plan with the help of the King of Edelweiss, the Demigod of Fire thought that this was a good opportunity to finally let loose and show the Half-Elf that he wouldn't lose if it was a fight against Demigods.

However, contrary to what he expected, he was only fighting a single Demigod and he was actually getting pushed back.

The three other Demigods ignored him and started to smash the houses within the city like little kids that had somehow found a new toy to play with.

This ticked off Ifrit because he felt that the Giants were looking down on him, and thought that he wasn't much of a threat.

Because of this, he had unleashed his strongest attack to send his enemy to the afterlife, but contrary to what he expected, the Giant he was facing endured his blow, and even managed to counter attack by hurling a random house it had grabbed from the ground in his direction.

Ifrit didn't know that William had personally handpicked the Giants that they were going to fight against. The Demigods assigned to fight against Ifrit were the Giants from Muspelheim that had been born in the hottest regions of the planet.

Because of this, they were more resistant to fire more than anything else, allowing them to shrug off Ifrit's flames, as if they were nothing but water being splashed on their bodies.

When the town was half destroyed, a black lightning bolt hit one of the Demigod Giants and pushed it back outside the city. Several more lightning bolts descended, hitting all the Giants that had managed to reach the center of the capital city of Zinnia.

A moment later, hundreds of Wyverns appeared behind Astape, carrying the members of the Demon Race, who now hurled spells against the Giants, pushing them back.

The defenders of the Zinnia all cheered after seeing this scene. They thought that when Ifrit arrived, all of them would be saved. But, contrary to their expectations, the Demigod whom they revered was actually losing ground against his opponent.

After seeing that reinforcements had arrived, Ifrit roared as he clashed against his opponent and unleashed a flurry of blows using his full power.

"He lost it," Bronte commented as she erected a barrier to protect the rest of the city from the rampaging Demigod that was sending flames flying in every direction.

"True," Astrape commented. "This might have been a shock to him."

Before William initiated the plan he had in mind, he had made sure to set a limit to the destruction that was about to unfold.

The Giants were to only attack the city in full when most of the citizens had evacuated safely, and then they could slowly advance, destroying everything in their path.

They were also ordered to not kill any of the soldiers. This required great control, but since the Giants were under William's command, they reigned in their strength, making the defenders only suffer injuries that weren't life threatening.

To William's surprise, among the three Demigods, it was actually Silenus who managed to repel the invasion, which made the Half-Elf look at the Satyr in a different light.

However, there was a problem. The one that destroyed the city was not the Giants, but the Satyr who got carried away as he unleashed his full powers, almost turning the entire city into a forest that strengthened the power of his ability.

"Master, the attacks on all the Kingdoms have stopped," Opis reported. "But, won't they get suspicious because the Kingdom of Edelweiss didn't suffer during this invasion?"

"It's fine," William replied. "That's Alexis' problem now. Not ours."

The King of Edelweiss asked William to destroy the capital cities of all of his neighbors, so that all of them would know the severity of the situation. Of course, in order to not make it look like the Kingdom of Edelweiss wasn't attacked, the Giants destroyed one of its fortresses, which Alexis said that he planned to demolish and rebuild anyway.

Since the plan was to destroy things, Alexis insisted that William help him turn the fortress into rubble, so that he wouldn't have to hire people to do it for him.

In the end, the Half-Elf agreed to this plan because it was the same thing he had agreed to do with the Dwarven Kingdom.

Now that the entire Western Continent knew the real threat of the Giants, they would now be more than willing to join William's Grand Alliance.

Although staging the invasion took some time, it was still a worthwhile thing to do because it allowed the Gunnar Federation, as well as the Demigods of the Western Continent, to get a better understanding of what they would be facing in the not-so-distant future.

Chapter 1391 The World Ls Not Ending Just Yet

"Where are we going?" Maple asked. "Are we going to eat again?"

"Cinnamon has just eaten dinner, but I still have room for desserts," Cinnamon commented.

Right after dinner, William took the twins outside to take a stroll.

Maple and Cinnamon had become everyone's darlings, and had been spoiled silly by his wives, and lovers. They would feed the two girls food, as if they were their pets, making William feel as if a kitten was scratching his liver.

Just as the three were walking hand in hand in the palace gardens of the Kingdom of Edelweiss, a gentle breeze blew, and several pink butterflies that glowed brightly, flew in their direction.

Maple and Cinnamon who saw these butterflies both looked at each other in surprise because this was not the first time they were seeing these butterflies.

The butterflies were not actually living butterflies, but things created by using magic.

The two little girls let go of William's hands as they followed the pink butterflies that were now flying away from them.

There was an urgency in their steps because they knew that if they followed where the butterflies were taking them, they would find the person that loved them with all of her heart.

William smiled as he followed behind the two girls who released his hand as soon as they understood where he was taking them. Although he felt a bit sad that it was time to bid farewell to the two adorable girls, he knew that he couldn't keep them by his side forever.

A minute later, they finally saw her..

A pink-haired girl stood quietly beside the magnificent fountain that was found at the center of the garden. She had her back facing Wiliam and the twins, but even then, it was quite easy for the three of them to recognize who she was.

"Mama!" Maple shouted as she ran towards Chiffon.

"Mama!" Cinnamon ran as well with her arms spread wide.

After hearing their voices, Chiffon turned around and smiled. She then opened her arms wide and caught her two daughters who had thrown themselves in her arms.

A few seconds later, Chiffon showered Maple and Cinnamon with kisses, and the two kissed her back, making the heart of Half-Elf who was watching the scene melt.

It was impossible not to feel anything after seeing this happy moment, and the red-headed teenager hoped that, in the future, his pink-haired wife would also be able to shower their own daughters with kisses, just like the scene he was seeing right now.

"Are we going home?" Maple asked.

"Is it time to go back?" Cinnamon inquired.

Chiffon nodded and patted the heads of the two little girls whom she loved dearly.

"Yes. It's time for the two of you to go back," Chiffon said softly.

Maple and Cinnamon exchanged a glance before nodding their heads. They then turned around to look at William and waved their hands at him to bid their farewells.

"Bye bye!" Maple said. "We will come back again to play some time!"

"Bye bye!" Cinnamon shouted. "Don't miss us too much, okay?"

The Half-Elf chuckled before waving his hands back at the twins.

"See you soon," William replied. "Be good girls and listen to your Mama, okay? Don't make her worry all the time."

"Okay!"

"Un!"

Chiffon smiled before giving William a brief nod.

The red-headed teenager returned her gesture before turning around. He didn't want to personally see Maple, Cinnamon, and Chiffon leave right in front of him.

For some reason, he felt as if they were leaving him for good, and it was making his heart ache.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew past him, and Chiffon's words reached his ears.

"Smile. The world is not ending just yet."

Several pink butterflies circled around him, as if encouraging him to do his best. They lasted only for half a minute before they bursted into particles of light, telling him that the three pink-haired girls had gone back to their own world.

The Half-Elf closed his eyes as if immersing himself in the bittersweet feelings that were rising up in his chest.

Truth be told, the Half-Elf had been feeling very stressed as of late. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the Underworld to take his wives back, but according to Cathy, the time wasn't right just yet.

Because of this, he went to the Western Continent to take his mind off things, and focused his attention in making the Gunnar Federation part of the Grand Alliance.

But, after seeing Chiffon, he couldn't help but miss the pink-haired girl that was now stuck in Guttony's Paradise.

It was not only Chiffon that he missed.

He also missed Princess Sidonie, Morgana, Ashe, and Celine.

'Celine must have given birth by now,' William sighed in his heart. 'I wonder if it is a girl or a boy…'

In truth, William and Celine had talked about what to name their child if it was a boy or a girl. They came up with many names, and among them, two stood out.

Ciel and Kate.

These were the two names that William and Celine had approved of after thinking of countless names for their first child.

In order to have a proper childbirth, Celine was taken by her Patron Goddess, Lyssa, to the Elysian Fields.

A place where all those who had done glorious deeds when they were still alive went after they died.

It was quite similar to Valhalla, but the major difference was that those that went to Valhalla were all warriors, or had died fighting on the battlefield. The Valkyries would personally go down to take their souls to the halls of Asgard, where they would be reborn as Einherjars.

They were mankind's greatest champions, and the defenders of the Nine Realms.

During the battle of Ragnarok, these brave warriors fought tooth and nail against the Army of Destruction.

Everyone fought to the last man, and woman, leaving their bodies and weapons on the ground as they drew their last breath.

Now, this same scene would once again happen, not in Asgard, but in the world of Hestia.

"This time, it will be different. Is what you're probably thinking of right now, right?"

The Half-Elf abruptly opened his eyes as he turned around to look in the direction where the voice had come from.

Since he was lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that anyone had approached him. But, that didn't mean that he had let his guard down completely. If someone were able to get near him without detection, that only meant that their rank was as high, or higher than his.

"I found some good booze while I was taking a stroll," the old scammer of Lont said as he appeared in front of William with a smug smile plastered on his face. "Come, Will. how about we have a drink and you tell me what have you been doing while I was away scamming people?"

William's grandpa, James, walked up to the red-headed teenager carrying a plastic bag with the logo 7-EL-Heaven.

The corner of the Half-Elf's lips twitched because after not seeing his grandpa for quite some time, the latter came back carrying food and snacks that he had bought from a popular convenience store from Earth.

He didn't know where the old coot had gone during his absence, but after seeing his grandpa, the Half-Elf felt that somehow, his world started to turn once again.

Chapter 1392 Will.This Time,Let's Win

"I see," James said before heaving a sigh. "You have been through a lot while I was gone."

The old man filled William's cup with some cheap wine that he had bought from a convenience store before returning to Hestia from his expedition.

William took a sip and found that the "wine" that James had given him wasn't really wine, but grape juice.

"Men need to be sober when they are talking about important matters," James said as he poured himself a cup of the grape juice he'd bought. "We can get drunk as much as we want when the occasion calls for it, but today is not that day. Besides, I didn't bring enough cash with me to buy the wine I like. Apparently, Earth doesn't accept gold coins. So, I bought the next best thing, which is grape juice."

The old man chuckled before taking a sip from his mug. After that, he took some roasted salted peanuts and tossed them inside his mouth.

The Half-Elf couldn't help but smile after seeing his grandpa's antics, which made him feel a lot better.

"What are your future plans, Gramps?" William asked. "Are you going to take a stroll somewhere again?"

James didn't reply right away, and instead just ate more peanuts.

The Half-Elf wasn't in a hurry to hear his answer, and just sipped his grape juice sparingly, as if enjoying the taste of a beverage that he hadn't drunk for a long time.

"Each of us have a role to play in the grand scheme of things," James said softly as he stared at the moon in the sky. "No one is free from suffering. Even the smallest ant must work hard everyday to gather resources, so that their Queen will be able to give birth to more ants, and thus, make their colony grow.

"The same can be said for death. Everyone is dying, just at different speeds. Some people are born great, while some are born to be great. I am one of those people who were born great, while some are like you, who were born to be great."

The old bandit of Lont smiled as he closed his eyes.

He recalled a scene from thousands of years ago, when the heroes of Asgard rose up to answer the call of Ragnarok.

All of them were the finest warriors the world had ever seen. Some were born great, while others were born to be great, just like William, who had been on the front lines of the battlefield, when the world was bathed in flames, and his wives, and lovers, perished right before his eyes.

Odin remembered the time, when he sat in the great hall of Valhalla, toasting the brave men and women who had gathered to defend the Nine Realms.

The finest foods, and rivers of sparkling mead, flowed ceaselessly as everyone feasted to their heart's content.

James reminisced the words he had said back then, as he walked through the halls of Asgard, in preparation to meet the new day.

"What kind of a dream is it?

In which just before daybreak,

I thought I cleared Valhalla,

For coming of slain men?

I waked the Einherjar,

Bade valkyries rise up,

To strew the bench,

And scour the beakers,

Wine to carry,

As for a Prince's coming,

Here to me I expect

Heroes' coming from the world,

Certain great ones,

So glad is my heart."

So glad was he back then. Standing up above mortals, sitting on the throne of one of the strongest pantheons, if not the strongest pantheons in existence.

The bittersweet memories flowed inside James head, just as the grape juice flowed down his throat.

It wasn't as delicious as the mead he drank back then, but he appreciated it because it was made by mortal men. They had grown these grapes, and waited for the time to harvest them before sending them to the factories to process them and sell them to the masses.

It wasn't 100% natural, but James was fine with that.

This was why he decided to take it upon himself to cross the void, in order to prepare for the battle that once took everything away from him.

James wasn't afraid to die.

For he had died, and died, and died some more. Entering countless cycles of reincarnation, in order to fulfill a promise, for those who fought with him at the end of days.

"Will. This time, let's win."

Five words.

Five simple words, but they carried the fate of an entire world.

"Got it, Gramps," William replied. "We'll win, for sure."

James and William lifted their cups and toasted each other. They then drank it all down until no drop was left, creating a promise between men.

"I'm off," James said as he patted William's shoulder. "You are never alone. Remember this, and remember it well."

"I know, Gramps," William replied. "But, before you take a trip to the void, make sure to visit everyone. Eve misses you a lot."

James chuckled after hearing William's words. He originally planned to return to the void right away, but after hearing his grandson's reminder, he decided to delay his trip a few days, so that he could check up on his family members, whom he missed as well.

The old bandit whistled, and an eight legged horse descended from the sky.

William had seen such a horse before in Asgard, and wondered where his grandpa had found a similar mount.

If there was a herd of them, he planned to bring a few to the Thousand Beast Domain in order to rear them, so he could have one as well.

"Ah. There is one thing I almost forgot to tell you," James said. "Leave no stones unturned. Since there are many Forbidden Domains that are scattered across the land, make sure to give them a visit. We will need all the help we can get, and adding a few more Demigods, and Pseudo-Gods on our side isn't necessarily a bad thing."

William blinked once then twice after hearing James' words. He had completely forgotten about the Forbidden Domains that were scattered across the land. If he were able to conquer them all, he would be able to raise a sizable army in two years time.

"Thank you for reminding me, Gramps," William replied. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to visit every single one of them."

"That's my grandson." James smiled. "Regardless of what happens, I will promise you one thing. On the day those bastards come, I will be there."

James gave William a thumbs up before urging his mount to soar towards the sky. He still had places and people to visit, so he didn't plan to take any detours for the time being.

The red-headed teenager watched as his Grandpa disappeared from the horizon, while carrying the promise he had given him a while ago. A promise not only between grandfather and grandchild, but a promise between men.

To fight alongside him when the world would face its greatest threat, and ensure that this time around, the one who would be sent packing would not be them, but the invaders who dared to step into their home turf.

Chapter 1393 You Seem To Be Awfully Happy Today

"I can't believe I got a hangover from grape juice," William groaned as he buried his head into something soft and warm.

Sleeping beside him was a lady with short-blue hair, who decided to stay with him for the night after seeing him drinking grape juice in the garden alone and eating peanuts.

It was none other than the Virtuous Lady of Prudence, Shana.

When the Half-Elf opened his eyes, he found his head nestled on her soft, and tender breasts, which he found comforting despite the headache he had at the moment.

His relationship with Shana wasn't that of a lover, but more like a friend with benefits. At first, the Virtuous Lady was inspired by Invidia to enter the world of Fashion, and since then, she had been pestering William to give her Merit Points, which was used as currency inside the Thousand Beast Domain.

The young lady would often go look for William whenever she ran out of Merit Points after spending it all in buying the fashionable clothes in her favorite fashion store, Vickie's Secret.

"Why were you drinking here alone? How about you drink my blood instead? It is only ten thousand Merit Points, so you're getting yourself a bargain."

These were the words they exchanged last night, and before he knew it, one thing led to another as he drank his fill of her blood.

Shana was still a chaste maiden, not because she cared for it, but she felt that now was not the right time to let the Half-Elf go all the way with her.

Unlike William's lovers who always wanted his attention, Shana was a spirited individual. She went at her own pace, and didn't want to be tied down by a relationship, where she would have to compete with other women, in order to get the Half-Elf's attention.

Right now, the Half-Elf had so many lovers, that he could make love with a different woman every night.

Shana didn't want any part of that, and William respected this. However, since she had become a fashionista, she would often look for the red-headed teenager in order to get some Merit Points, by offering her blood in exchange.

Just as the Half-Elf was enjoying the soft warmth that was pressing against his face, he felt a hand brushing his head, making him look up to see a sleepy lady looking down on him.

"That will be 5,000 additional Merit Points," Shana said before kissing William's forehead. "Thank you for your Patronage."

William couldn't help but smile after hearing the young lady's attempt to squeeze more points than usual.

"Do I have to pay for the kiss as well?" William asked.

"No," Shana replied as she pulled the back of William's head closer to her chest, burying the Half-Elf on her soft peaks. "That one is a freebie."

William sighed in comfort as Shana continued to pat his head, while his face was immersed in her voluptuous chest.

Truth be told, the Half-Elf was also fine with the relationship he had with Shana right now. Everyone around him was either his wife or lover, so having the Virtuous Lady of Prudence by his side gives him a sense of balance that allowed himself to be rooted to the ground, reminding him that not every girl around him was his woman, and he was fine with that.

Half an hour later, with Shana's urging, the Half-Elf and her went to have breakfast together.

They were currently in the Palace of Edelweiss, which was going to be the venue of the conference that would be held to discuss the aftermath of the "Giant invasion".

Even the Dwarven King, Eldon, would come to participate, in order to discuss the Grand Alliance that would work hand in hand to fight against the common threat that all of them faced a few days ago.

To their surprise, they were not only ones who were early to the dining table, that was meant for honored guests.

Medusa, Erinys, and Cherry, were there as well, and eating pancakes that Charmaine and the Elves had prepared for them.

"Goodmorning, Master!" Medusa happily greeted William who sat across from her.

"Good morning, Medusa, Erinys, and you too, Cherry," William replied with a smile.

"Good morning," Cherry replied before quickly lowering her head. Although she was now getting more accustomed to seeing William, she was still unable to meet his gaze head on.

"Good morning, Will." Erinys smiled like a flower that was about to bloom, making the Half-Elf feel as if his hangover was about to melt away.

The group of five ate happily until all the pancakes disappeared from the table.

"Master, are you going to be busy today?" Medusa asked. "I heard from the others that the Kings of the Western Continent will be arriving tomorrow. Are you going to take part in the preparations?"

William shook his head. "King Alexis will handle everything. I will only take part in the conference once it starts tomorrow."

Medusa's eyes sparkled after hearing William's reply.

"Then, can we take an afternoon nap together like we usually do?" Medusa asked. "Bacon and Sharur miss Master's company. Of course, this time, Erinys and Cherry will be joining us as well. Are you free later?"

"Okay," William replied. "It has indeed been a while since we took afternoon naps together. Let's do it today."

"Un!" Medusa happily nodded her head after gaining William's agreement.

Erinys also smiled because it had been a while since he had spent some quality time with William. Because of this, she just used her "William Hug Pillow" that was custom made from Ama-soon whenever she slept at night.

Cherry didn't say anything and just tugged on Medusa's clothes, telling her that they should explore the other parts of the city that they hadn't been before.

After a little bit more small talk, the three girls went to do their daily excursion alongside a guide that the King had personally assigned to them.

"You are really loved," Shana said in a teasing tone. "Do you love them as well?"

"I do," William said in a confident manner.

"Even my sister, Cherry?"

"Don't tell me you are going to sell your sister to me for Merit Points?"

Instead of answering him, Shana just giggled. She never thought of doing any of the sort. Even though she liked to have Merit Points, Cherry was her precious sister. She didn't want to force her to do anything she didn't want to do.

After leaving the dining area, Will saw one of Alexis' trusted Aides, who seemed to be waiting for him to finish breakfast.

Knowing that it was now time for business, Shana bade him goodbye and opened a portal to go to the Thousand Beast Domain.

After the incident of William losing his memories, the other girls were barred from entering, and exiting his private Domain, which caused a lot of concerns. Because of this, William had given everyone the ability to freely enter, and exit his domain, whenever they wanted.

The portals would reject anyone, and anything from entering them without his approval. Those who forced themselves in would find themselves trapped in the Dungeon of Atlantis, staring at the corrupted giants that were now serving under him.

"Good day, Will," King Alexis said in a friendly manner. "My aides just finished compiling the damages that all the members of the Gunnar Federation received during the Giant invasion. Most of the cities only received partial damages, with the exception of three cities that belonged to the Kingdoms of Quince, Fennel, and Zinnia."

Alexis didn't bother to hide the glee on his face after saying that his rival, Kieron, the King of Quince, suffered a lot during the farce that he had concocted with the Half-Elf.

In truth, the capital city of the Fennel Kingdom didn't receive a lot of damage from the Giants. The one who was responsible for almost destroying half of the city was none other than Silenus, who got carried away in trampling the invaders that had dared to slap his handsome face.

"You seem to be awfully happy today, Alexis," William replied. "Are all the preparations for tomorrow's conference finished?"

"Not yet," Alexis admitted. "But they will be finished by tonight. Some of the Kings will be arriving at any time today, so I wanted to ask you if you wanted to meet them when they arrived."

The Half-Elf shook his head. Actually, he felt quite guilty about the destruction that he had caused the Kings of the Gunnar Federation.

Although rebuilding the city would take only a month at most due to the power of the Earth Mages that would help with the repairs, he still felt sorry that he had to resort to an extreme method, just to show them a taste of what the future held.

Alexis, who could see the guilt in William's expression, no longer insisted on the subject, and decided to discuss with him the details of the conference that would be happening the next day.

An hour later, a messenger had arrived in the castle, reporting that the King of the Dwarves, Eldon, had arrived.

"As expected of the Dwarven King," Alexis said. "He someone who doesn't like to make people wait."

The red-headed teenager nodded with a smile.

Although William didn't want to meet the other Kings of the Gunnar Federation, he didn't mind meeting his in-law, who had come to support him in the conference that would be held the next day.

The Half-Elf also wanted to discuss some important matters with the King of the Dwarves, so he decided to go with King Alexis to give the Dwarven King the grand welcome that he deserved.

Chapter 1394 The Three Sovereigns That Were Joined Ln The Hip

"Welcome, King Eldon to my humble kingdom," Alexis said as he shook hands with the Dwarf King, who was the first Sovereign of the Western Continent to arrive in his kingdom for the conference that would be held the next day.

"It is an honor to be here, King Alexis," Eldon replied. "I thank you in advance for your hospitality."

"I do hope that you enjoy your stay."

"I hope for that as well."

Alexis and Eldon held each other's gaze for a brief moment before the Dwarf King shifted his attention to William, who was standing at the side to welcome his arrival.

"William, I pray that you've been well since we last saw each other?" Eldon gave the Half-Elf a knowing gaze, making the red-headed teenager give his grandfather-in law a bitter smile.

"I've seen better days, King Eldon," William replied. "But, having you here puts my heart at ease."

The Dwarven King chuckled because he understood what William was hinting at. It had not been an easy journey going this far, but it had to be done.

Someone had to do it, and the Half-Elf decided to become the villain that will throw the dice.

He had been informed by the Half-Elf through Durren what the King of Edelweiss had planned, and after hearing it, the Dwarven King could only shake his head due to how ruthless King Alexis was to his neighbors.

However, since it worked, the Dwarven King decided to not say anything about it because, at the end of the day, something far worse would happen in the Western Continent in two years time, when the real enemies descended from the Void.

"I know that you're exhausted from your long journey," Alexis said. "Please, let us go to the Palace so that you and your entourage can have a proper rest."

Eldon nodded because he had many things to discuss with WIlliam and Alexis that were not meant for the public to hear.

Several minutes later, the three Sovereigns sat inside a private room, where food and refreshments were served.

They discussed the recent incident, and future plans for how they could combat a similar threat in the future.

King Eldon had already seen one of the Gods of Destruction in the Deadlands. Compared to that Godly presence, he'd rather fight Demigods and Pseudo-Gods all day.

King Alexis was both a wise, and sly King. Since William, who had the ability to command Demigods and Pseudo-Gods, was not intent on world domination, he understood that the red-headed teenager was looking at the bigger picture.

He had no doubt that if the Half-Elf wished it, the Western Continent would fall under his rule in just a few days. For William to even talk to them as his equal proved that the danger that they were about to face was real.

As someone who cared for his nation, King Alexis decided to give his full support to the Grand Alliance that the Half-Elf was planning to make.

"We definitely need to create weapons that will be able to kill Myriad Ranked Monsters," Eldon said as he stroked his beard. "As for weapons against Demigods… this will be hard to make. We need the technologies of the other kingdoms if we even stand a chance in creating these things."

William wholeheartedly agreed with Eldon's proposal.

The general consensus was that the mortal armies would deal with the Myriad Ranked Beasts, and below, while the Apex Fighters in their alliance would deal with the Demigods and above.

For the time being, this was the plan that they had in mind, unless the Grand Alliance, that spanned the Western, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Central Continents, could invent other methods to help them overcome the great disparity in the strength between two forces.

The total population of Hestia might outnumber the Army of Destruction ten thousand to one, but numbers meant nothing in the face of absolute strength.

"Well, even if we go down, we go down fighting," Alexis stated in a firm manner. "To think that I will be a part of an epic battle that will go down in the history books if we win, makes my blood boil. What a time to be alive!"

"Indeed," Eldon commented. "I just hope that after we survive that war, no more wars will be waged in this world. Let's make it the war that will end all wars."

Alexis grinned as he swirled the wine in his cup.

"Actually, if we do survive this war, let's just make William the Hegemon of the World," Alexis said. "As long as he is around. No one will dare to stir trouble. By the way, Will, I know that you're already married, and have many lovers as well.

"Since that is the case, adding a few more won't be too much of a problem. You see, my daughter has just come of age. She's quite the beauty, and she told me that she liked you. How about we set the wedding before the Giants appe–"

"Let's talk about that after we win this war," Eldon interjected in the conversation because he already knew where this was going.

Clearly, William was someone who could move unhindered in the World of Hestia. If someone were able to make such a man as their in-law, they would be set for life.

"Come now, King Eldon," Alexis said in a teasing tone. "William's heart and bed are big. He can add a few more girls to his harem. By the way, since the three of us are already joined at the hip, why don't you also have one of your daughters marry William? That way, the Dwarves would not fear anyone again."

pAn,d a-n0ve1 Eldon didn't reply and simply smiled at Alexis' teasing remarks.

𝑓𝑟𝘦𝘦w𝒆𝑏𝑛ovel.𝑐o𝒎

However, deep inside, he was snickering at the shrewd King of Edelweiss.

Before William had reached his current position, his granddaughter, Chiffon, had already become his wife. This position was unshakeable, which meant that even if the Half-Elf did marry other girls in the future, his pink-haired granddaughter had already secured a place in William's heart.

In order to prevent the discussion from moving down the wrong path, the red-headed teenager decided to stir it back to their current discussion.

"Tomorrow, my Steward in the Central Continent will also hold a conference," William stated. "Once we have finalized the details of our alliance here, we will join their conference, so that together the Sovereigns of the North, South, East, West, and Central Continents can openly discuss our countermeasures."

King Eldon and Alexis nodded their heads in understanding, but there was one big problem.

How would William be able to gather all the Sovereigns from all the continents to sit down and talk in the same conference room?

When King Alexis asked this question to William, the Half-Elf just smiled and said that he would give all the rulers permission to enter the Floor of Asgard, using the Bifrost Bridge.

The three kings talked about a lot of things, which lasted for several hours before they parted ways to rest.

Later that afternoon, Medusa, Erinys, and Cherry came to look for him as promised. As the four of them took an afternoon nap, the Kings of the other Nations started to arrive in the Kingdom of Edelweiss, one by one.

Chapter 1395 Those Who Play With The Lives Of Others

The next day, the entire Palace of Edelweiss was buzzing with activity.

Servants hurriedly walked the hallways, as they fetched things that were needed for the conference.

Guards were positioned in every corner of the palace to prevent anyone from harming any of the Sovereigns.

Each King had been given the right to bring two guards with them inside the conference room as their protectors. Since the recent incident had shocked the entire realm, they didn't feel safe without their own guards by their side.

William was one of the first people to enter the room, while waiting for the other King's to arrive. Standing behind him were his two friends, Sha and Zhu, who served as his two protectors.

William didn't bring any of his personal guards, namely Astrape, Bronte, or Titania, inside the conference room because he was afraid that everyone would just ogle them instead of focusing on the discussion at hand.

The meeting between Sovereigns was an important issue, so he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere by having beauties that could topple nations by his side.

William waited for three hours as all the Kings gathered inside the room. All of them looked dignified in their own right, and the Half-Elf could tell at a glance that they were true Kings, and not someone like him, who was crowned an Emperor because no one else would take its place.

"Welcome, dear friends," King Alexis said as a way to start the conference. "I know that you are worried about your respective kingdoms, so let's get straight to the point. Several days ago, we encountered a threat that we have never seen before nor heard about in the past.

"A threat that turned our peaceful world upside down. Fortunately, our Guardians, His Excellency Ifrit, His Excellency Silenus, and His Excellency Henkhisesui, came to our rescue in order to drive the invaders away.

"Unfortunately, they were unable to protect everyone. If not for the fact that his Majesty, William Von Ainsworth was here visiting my Kingdom, things might have gotten completely out of hand."

King Alexis glanced in the direction of the Half-Elf and the latter bowed lightly.

All the other Kings then glanced in William's direction. However, their gazes were not ones of gratitude, but contempt.

"So, this is our great savior," The King of Quince, Kieron, said in a sarcastic tone. "Must we thank you on bended knees?"

The other Kings stared at the Half-Elf as if dissecting him piece by piece. Silence descended inside the room as the Kings did nothing, but simply stared at the Half-Elf who had a calm and collected expression on his face.

"Do not think for a moment that we didn't find this call for a conference suspicious," Kieron stated. "I mean, if you are going to create a farce, you should go through with it until the very end. You're losing your touch, Alexis," the King of Quince snorted before continuing his statement.

"Imagine, only a day had passed after the invasion and you immediately sent a messenger to inform all of us to gather here in your Kingdom to discuss a Grand Alliance. Oh please… we were not born yesterday, Alexis. At the very least, you should have waited for a week to make it look like it was all a coincidence, no?"

All the Kings glanced in the direction of the King of Edelweiss. All of them wished that they could slap him silly until he coughed blood. Their capital cities were attacked, and yet, he only had one, old, and decrepit fortress destroyed as proof that his Kingdom was attacked as well.

This made all the king's teeth itch.

Since the Gunnar Federation was established, all of them had been fighting in the shadows. No large scale wars were held, and yet, each one would intentionally make things difficult for the others.

Even so, none of them went as far as to break the delicate balance that they had created for the past hundred years.

Alexis remained calm as if he was enjoying everyone's attention. A moment later, a laugh escaped his lips, breaking the tense atmosphere that had descended inside the conference room.

"As expected of my rival, you understand me well," Alexis commented with a smile that made all the guards standing behind their respective rulers want to draw their swords and stab him until he became a pin cushion.

"But, allow me to correct your little misunderstanding, Kieron," Alexis stated. "A farce was it? You call this a farce? Tell me, if William didn't send reinforcements to save your capital cities, do you think this farce would have ended with just a part of your city being destroyed?"

Alexis laughed once more, and this time, his laughter grated on everyone's ears, similar to nails scratching a chalkboard.

"Well, let's get straight to the point." Alexis finally stopped laughing and lightly tapped the table with his hand. "What you all experienced is just a preview of what is going to happen two years from now.

"If you think those hundreds of giants were already a threat to your Kingdoms, then what will you do facing millions of them? Tell me, compared to that farce, would you rather see the real deal? Oi oi, don't even think that you will get away with just a capital city being destroyed."

Alexis then snorted. "Fools, you should thank us for showing you such a farce. Because if we were serious, none of you would be standing here right now."

"Y-You!" Kieron roared as he pointed his finger at Alexis' face. "Who gave you the right to play with the lives of others?!"

Alexis smirked as if he had just heard the greatest joke in his lifetime.

"Play with the lives of others?" Alexis sneered. "Excuse me? Is there anyone inside this room who doesn't play with the lives of others? Are you that innocent? How did you become King then? Don't make me look down on you, Kieron. Just admit the fact that in the face of absolute strength, the schemes that you used to become the King of Quince were useless!"

The King of Edelweiss, Alexis, raised his voice as he stood up from his chair.

"Last year, the Granary that was newly built at the border of my Kingdom, which was meant to feed the villages near the Border, was burned down," Alexis said coldly. "Do you know how many people suffered last year? Do you know how many people went hungry?"

Alexis then raised a finger and pointed it in Kieron's face before his words, filled with restrained fury reached everyone's ears.

"Do you know how many people died?" Alexis asked.

All the Kings frowned, but none of them spoke. For them, this was just one of the many things that they had done to each other over the past hundred years.

"So?" Kieron asked back with a sneer on his face. "Do you know how many died when you built a dam, cutting off the flow of the water that went to one of the cities on my border as well? Do you know how many farmers lost their only source of water with which to irrigate their crops? Be grateful that I only burned a granary. I would have burned the villages along your borders if my wife didn't beg me to stop!"

Alexis snorted. "Exactly my point."

The King of Edelweiss sat down on his seat once more, and patted the top of the table twice.

"All of us are guilty of playing with other people's lives," Alexis stated. "The only difference is the severity of how we play with the lives of others. But, there is one person who is very different from us. An Emperor who rules an Empire whose lands far outstrip our own. And yet… he refused to play with the lives of others in order to get what he wanted."

The King of Edelweiss then raised his hand and pointed at the red-headed teenager, whose head was lowered.

"It is him," Alexis stated. "In order to make a Grand Alliance, he decided to meet with the Demigods and used force to make them bow down to his will. Those are Demigods. They're not a cabbage that you can see growing in your fields that you can buy in bulk.

"For what reason did he do that? Simple. He wanted to ask them to talk to you guys about joining an Alliance for the sake of defending, not only your people, but your kingdoms, and everything you hold dear. He did all that because what he wanted to protect was not just his Empire, but this whole world.

"Do you know? While talking to him, I felt extremely dirty. It was as if all the filth in my body was oozing from my very pores. If it were me, I would have gone on a quest to make this entire world bow to me. But, he didn't do that. He'd rather go and beat up some Demigods, so a peaceful resolution could be made."

Alexis took the cup of water by his side and drank. It seemed that all of the talking had made his throat dry. A moment later, he gently placed the cup down on the table and scanned the faces of the Kings inside the room, who were all looking at him with conflicted expressions on their faces.

"Now, let's stop talking nonsense," Alexis said with a determined look on his face. "Are you ready to fight the last war that we will be fighting in this lifetime? Or do you plan to run away and hide, until your cities, your kingdoms, and everything you cared for in this world, gets trampled by the very Giants that you faced a few days ago? Believe me when I say that the next time you see them, it will no longer be a farce."

A solemn silence descended into the room before Alexis said the words that everyone didn't want to hear.

"The next time you see them, it will be the real deal. And I hope that, when that time comes, you will be standing alongside me, in a battle not for our sake, but for the future of the next generation."

Chapter 1396 L Can Live With That

After Alexis finished his speech, no one in the room said anything.

They were fully aware that if what happened a few days ago had not been a farce, they, and their Kingdoms, might not be standing here today.

All of them felt bitter about it as they glanced at the red-headed teenager, who was staring at the table in front of him, and seemed to be pondering the meaning of life.

When they finally understood that those horrifying Giants were under his beck and call, they had no choice but to re-evaluate the Half-Elf who was probably the youngest Emperor in Hestia.

A few more minutes passed before someone broke the silence.

It was not any of the Human Kings, but the Dwarf King, Eldon, who wasn't part of the Gunnar Federation, who took the initiative to address the issue at hand.

"I'm sure that all of you are now aware of the dangers that we are facing," Eldon stated. "All of you may still hold grudges in your hearts, but that is fine. That is your right as Sovereigns of your own Kingdoms.

"Even so, we must make a decision now. What Emperor William wants is to unite the entire world so we can face this danger together. This proves that even he, with all the forces under his command, is not confident to win against these invaders.

"Believe me when I say that I do understand what all of you are thinking right now. If we can't even beat a hundred Giants, how could we hope to fight against millions of them?"

Eldon paused to allow everyone to focus their attention on him.

"The answer is simple. We can't fight," Eldon stated. "We can't win. There's no way that we can ever hope to overcome this hurdle. I mean, we are about to fight not one, not two, but three Gods of Destructions. If I look at this rationally, why should I even bother? Let's just enjoy these two years to the fullest, and face death in resignation."

The Dwarven King smiled. Truth be told, he really did want to enjoy those two years to the fullest, but after seeing Maple and Cinnamon, he began to hope.

Hope that there was a future when he would be able to hold those two adorable little Dwarves again.

For that future, he was willing to go all out, and stand on the front lines, commanding his troops to fight against Demigods, Pseudo-Gods, and Gods.

"That's actually a good proposal." Alexis chuckled. "Let's just enjoy our lives to the fullest and die without any regrets, shall we?"

Unlike Eldon, Alexis was quite serious with his words.

Even with the Grand Alliance, he believed that there was no way to win against such enemies. If he could enjoy those last remaining years in comfort, he might really have no regrets when he crossed to the afterlife.

The other King's kept their silence as they too, thought of just enjoying their remaining days in the pleasures of life. However, just as everyone was being pulled towards this way of thinking, a loud laughter broke the silence.

Everyone shifted their gaze at the King of Quince, Kieron, who nearly got into a fist fight with Alexis, due to their great grudge against each other.

Alexis smiled after seeing his rival laugh. It had been many years since he had heard Kieron laugh, and it made him remember when they were still young princes, who toured the Western Continent together.

"Okay, you cowards can go to the countryside and live in peace," Kieron said after he finished laughing. "Make sure to abdicate your thrones, and hand them over to me. Don't worry, I will promise all of you that you will be able to live a life of comfort for the rest of your days."

Kieron had a very casual smile as he said these words. It was as if his earlier outburst was just an illusion, that didn't happen in the first place.

The King of Quince then shifted his attention to the Half-Elf who was looking at him.

"Your name is William, right?" Kieron inquired.

William nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty?" Kieron chuckled. "An Emperor calling me Your Majesty feels weird. Just call me Kieron, and I'll just call you William."

The two exchanged smiles as if coming to an understanding.

"Okay, let me hear your plan," Kieron stated. "Since these morons plan to surrender their Kingdoms to me, I will take it upon myself to clean up their mess. So, William, what must we do to even have a chance at winning this war?"

The Kings gave Kieron the "Since when did we say that we are going to hand over our Kingdoms to you?" glare, which the latter ignored because he didn't mind, and they didn't matter.

"I plan to have all the nations share their technologies with each other in order to create weapons that can turn the tide of battle in our favor," William stated. "The armies will operate these weapons and annihilate all the Myriad Ranked giants and below. As for the Demigod Rank and above, I will deal with them."

Kieron nodded his head in understanding. However, his next question was what everyone really wanted the answers for.

A question that would ultimately decide if they could win the war or not.

"How do you plan on dealing with the Gods of Destruction?" Kieron asked. "Do you have a way to fight them?"

William shook his head. "Right now, I don't have a method for dealing with them."

A collective sigh was heard inside the room, as the Kings, as well as their guards, couldn't help but feel disappointed at the Half-Elf's firm reply.

"Okay, so we just bring down as many of these bastards as we can, decimating their ranks and prevent them from attacking other worlds after ours?" Kieron asked. "I can live with that."

Kieron's words may have been said in a casual manner, but the Half-Elf could tell that he was being serious. It was the mentality of a warrior to take out as many enemies as he could before he died on the battlefield, which could be considered as a victory in its own way.

"Very well, from this day onwards, I declare that my Kingdom of Quince will join your Grand Alliance," Kieron said as he stood up and rested his fist over his chest.

He was a Warrior king, and didn't shy away from battle. This was why he hated Alexis, who hid behind his schemes, instead of confronting him face to face.

"Now that we are in agreement, how about we talk more about the issue with this Grand Alliance of yours," Kieron stated. "You said that the Kingdoms in the Central Continent will be joining us as well, right?"

The King of Quince completely ignored everyone else, as if they didn't exist, making the other Kings want to slap him, and this included Alexis.

'This bastard,' Alexis thought. 'I was the one that cooked up this whole discussion and he's acting as if he is the one calling the shots? The nerve!'

William smiled before standing up from his seat.

"Let's go, Kieron," William said. "My Steward has informed me that the conference between the North, South, East, and Central Continent is about to start. Since you are the one representing the Western Continent, I will take you to the venue, so you can meet your new comrades, who will be fighting alongside you in the war two years from now."

Kieron grinned before nodding his head.

William then scanned the faces of everyone in the room before arching his eyebrow.

"Who else wants to go with us?" William asked. "Last call for a trip to the Central Continent."