Amazon Apocalypse 6: Chapter 71 (Epilogue?)

Grand Sage Balencia, in the Capital of Camlaan.

"My family controlled the western roads leading to the capital since time immemorial! It is my right to claim them once again!" shouted a profusely sweating nobleman.

"You've done nothing but cower in the city since the start of the integration. It was one thing when your family had castles and knights aplenty. Now you have what? An estate with a dozen guards in the city? Don't tell me you're living out of an inn? My comrades and I can guard that territory far better," asked a more martial-looking man with a sword on his hip and armor on his chest.

He'd been minor nobility before the integration, but the guard had treated him well and he'd been making waves among the true nobility ever since he reached the C-Grade, making him only a bit weaker than the Sages of Camlaan themselves. If things hadn't been so dire, Balencia would have long since had him assassinated, but they'd needed his strength. At this point though, he had grown powerful enough as it was. The last thing Balencia wanted was for him to gain true lordship.

"I've heard both cases and shall grant a ruling. The lands outside the western gate shall belong to Lord Conolly, as they have belonged to his family since time immemorial. In this trying time, we should uphold tradition—" Before Balencia could finish her pronouncement, Sage Lydwyn interrupted her.

"Grand Sage Balencia, this matter must be brought to a vote. You gave up your emergency wartime powers, so things have returned to normal."

Grand Sage Balencia pinched her brows in annoyance. Things had been so much simpler before she signed that cursed treaty. Two weeks ago, when she told the other sages to jump, they did so before even asking how high.

In the end, the vote turned against her. Her position granted her three votes to the other sages' one, but that still wasn't enough to force sense into the ungrateful sages beside her. They didn't understand the finer points of politics and would steer what little was left of their ancient nation into the ground sooner or later.

After wasting her entire morning on something that should have only taken a few minutes, Balencia left the hallowed halls of the palace and took the ancient elevator down below to her personal quarters. The Grand Sage's quarters were small compared to the other sages, and off to the side. Most assumed it was practice in humility, but Balencia's father taught her the real reason when he handed off the position to her. This was one of the few places where the ancient ship spirit could still hear her commands.

"Ship, take me to the bridge," Balencia said, speaking the ancient incantation.

Even after all this time, the great ark that had established their civilization so long ago still lived deep in the ancient ruins beneath the city. She vanished in a burst of light, and when she reappeared she found herself on the deck of an ancient vessel familiar only to her and the Grand Sages before her.

"Ship, contact the Black Beast Sect outpost again," Balencia commanded.

One of the crystal stones before her lit. Most were no longer functional, but enough were that she could still use the ancient ship's ability to communicate across countless worlds. It had been a tremendous relief to her that she could still contact her otherworldly advisors even after the integration, even if they weren't entirely trustworthy.

"Ah... Balencia again? Karma treats us well today. I had in mind to call you," spoke a crackly and sinister-sounding woman on the other side.

"Have you spoken with the Order of Sorcery yet? Were they forced into a treaty as well?" Balencia asked.

"Indeed, and yes, they were. I must say, your family is full of talented schemers. Few would dare intentionally leak the secrets of cultivation to their people in order to create opposition to their own rule and drive the people into their arms. Even to this day, the fools think their Order of Sorcery arose by chance. Clever indeed," the woman on the other end let out a malevolent cackle.

"I need to come up with something on a similar scale if I am to restore what fate took away from us. Our world is gone, and what little is left is being taken away piece by piece by scavengers without and within. But the greatest problem is this otherworlder. This Carter Smith of Earth. His power is not something I can contend with directly," Balencia said.

The woman cackled again. "As karma would have it, that man is the reason I would speak with you. Certain benefactors of our sect are also interested in the timely demise of this Carter Smith and asked me to arrange for local allies. Can I include your name among such a list?"

Balencia smiled. Finally, some good luck was coming her way.

"Yes. Yes you can."

***

The Sorcerers of the Order of Sorcery, in the forest outside the Citadel.

"We've lost everything!" Sorcerer Firescour cursed. Flames licked his fingers, and he let out a wild strike that lit the ground aflame. Sickly pockmarks riddled his skin. Despite their best efforts, the poison that terrifying man had inflicted on them refused to heal.

It was some sort of strange void energy that only multiplied as time wore on. Firescour had to resort to burning off chunks of his own flesh to slow the spread, and the others had done something similar. Healing themselves completely would be a project measured in weeks. They had to avoid any serious fighting until then.

"Calm down, brother Firescour." Sorcerer Stonebreak gestured to the ground, and turned over earth to smother the growing flames. A forest fire would give away their position. Unfortunately, Firescour was as hot-tempered as the element of his spirit root, and his wounds were putting him on an even shorter fuse than usual.

"Mourningstar, that traitor! He and his daughter conspired with outsiders. We should have known he was up to something when he appointed a new Knight Commander and sent the bulk of our forces to train off in the wilderness. We knew he had some foolish idea on building an Empire. But the sages still live and..." His voice trailed off as a faint chirping emanated from somewhere.

He checked his bag of holding and came up with a crystalline device passed down in the Order of Sorcery for generations. This wisdom the voice on the other side of this device granted had given them the secrets to their magic, so every sorcerer knew that when it activated they should drop everything to listen.

Sorcerer Firescour activated the device as he and the other sorcerers gathered around.

"Honored benefactor, you've contacted us again so soon? It is a pleasure to hear from you," Sorcerer Firescour said. His demeanor had completely changed from the fiery rage of moments ago. In an instant he'd turned into a fawning asskisser.

"Young brats, I've got an opportunity for you." The old woman on the other end of the line cackled.

"An opportunity?" Sorcerer Stonebreak perked up. The last time they'd gotten an opportunity from the cultivators from beyond the stars, their power had surged as fundamental flaws in their cultivation techniques were repaired.

"Yes. You'll need to act fast if you want in on it. There's a fellow who wants to kill Carter Smith and wipe out all his followers. He's the guy who just kicked all your asses, you know," the woman said. Her sneer was plain in her voice, but the sorcerers pretended not to hear it.

"He'll help us deal with the man?" Sorcerer Firescour's eyes lit up in delight.

"Deal with him, his followers, and more. All he needs is your help."

The Sorcerers looked at one another, but it didn't take any words to see that they'd already come to a decision.

Sorcerer Firescour answered for the entire group. "Just tell us what to do."

***

Takano Miyamoto, on a small forgotten estate on Onibushi

Takano had been disgraced by his son and granddaughter twice over now. The integration should have been a tremendous blessing for his family, especially with how well his son Nakano had handled himself. Hell, even that half-breed granddaughter of his managed to latch on to a powerful man worth bringing into the family.

Their success should have brought him much face, though they showed the patriarch of their line little respect. Nakano had refused to submit the faction he built to the rule of the great clans of Onibushi.

That had been bad enough, but then his offspring decided to repeat the feat and take the perfectly functional colonial territory of New Kyoto and repeat their previous rebellious feat, liberating the natives from the influence of the great clans.

Instead of being a respected patriarch, Takano was a pariah. Let alone in the Miyamoto Clan, even in the wider high society of Onibushi, his family was known as one that had completely abandoned Oni ways and gone native after just two generations of being raised on a newly integrated world.

Takano had never liked the humans of Earth, and he'd disliked turning into one. Their sense of innovation and forward progress through scientific and technological understanding seemed pointless when all the good things had already been invented back home, and they would never reach the heights of the ancient Architects without access to magic.

The humans and their struggles would be pointless as soon as they were integrated with the Arcadia Multiverse anyway. But Takano had to grudgingly admit they were an industrious people on the whole, and well suited to being craftsmen. Given proper leadership and motivation, any sizable territory containing a large population of them on that newly integrated world was certain to bring great wealth to the homeworld.

Takano merely wanted one small piece of that very large pie. It shouldn't have been too much to ask, given how centrally placed he'd put his family.

His cousins in the Rokubi family had kicked him to the curb after declaring him a disgrace, and since then he'd been bouncing from house to house among various clan estates as a frequent guest, but never a permanent resident.

His clan stipend was enough to ensure he would never waste away on the streets, but it was modest enough he didn't have the slightest chance of maintaining the lifestyle he was accustomed to.

He hadn't been this poor since he was a student abroad studying in Germany shortly after arriving on Earth with a century to prepare for the integration. That was back when he'd been young and ambitious enough to take on a project like this. He'd met his only real friend while studying abroad there, a young aspiring painter from Austria. The man probably would have been accepted to art school if Takano hadn't distracted him so much with talk of politics.

So it came as a total surprise when his door creaked open and a representative from one of the clans active in the Kyoto colony project came to see him. Takano had been practically laughed out of his office before, but now the representative came bearing gifts and with a look of respect.

"Ah, Honorable Takano Miyamoto, I was told I could find you here. Apologies for that incident earlier, from your explanation, I thought you were insinuating the Ramataro Clan front the cost of an invasion. Not to worry though, your benefactor has straightened us out."

Takano went to scratch his head, but then switched to stroking his beard thoughtfully. It was a much more respectable and impressive look on a dignified clansman such as himself. Naturally, he had no clue what was going on. But this was the kind of situation where he could reap great benefits if he pretended he was key to everything.

"Ah, I'm glad that misunderstanding was cleared up. I suppose I can let bygones be bygones if the Ramataro Clan is willing to show some contrition." Takano wore a sly smile. He was never good at fighting, but he knew how to seize an advantage like this one when presented with it.

"Rest assured, we have prepared a seat of honor for you, sir. Along with quite a few gifts. You will be there when our clan patriarch finalizes our deal with your patron," the representative said.

"Ah, of course, of course. Um... which representative of my patron will your patriarch be meeting? My patron is a very busy man, you see." Takano kept stroking his beard, trying his best to look casual.

"Oh, we'll be meeting this afternoon with the one who calls himself the Chaos Wolf."

***

Eowyn, in a pocket realm far away...

Queen Eowyn stood regal in her throne room. Her noble gowns no longer fit her, and she still wore battered armor from her latest quest. Her power had grown once more thanks to frequent trips beyond her little realm. She had slain many monsters, and spent much time training when she wasn't fighting.

Within the tiny pocket realm, years had passed and the generation who knew the hero had already grown old and died. He was more myth and legend now, save for Queen Eowyn's knights who ventured to the wider multiverse with her to gain stats and levels.

"You're certain of this?" Eowyn asked one of her noblest knights.

"I am, my queen!" the young man said. "The System took my knights and me to a world far away to battle these horrible monsters of the void. We were beset from all sides and barely survived, but learned from the locals that their capital city boasted sturdy walls and strong defenders. We made our way to this legendary city. Its name was Crownhill, and while aiding in defense of its walls, I saw him. The hero."

"He was fighting for Crownhill?" Eowyn asked. There was a spark of sudden interest in her eyes.

"More than that, my queen. From what I could gather, he was their Emperor."

A smile spread across Eowyn's face. She'd finally found him. And he was already royalty. That made things easier.

"Now that we have a name, is there any way we can track this Crownhill down?" Eowyn asked.

The knight rummaged around the pouch at his waist. "There is, my queen. As a reward for our brave fighting, the System gave us this as a reward. I present it now to you."

Eowyn scrutinized the device. Here in her pocket realm, the System aided her reluctantly. But with enough of the right proficiency, she could get it to list the names of items for her.

Hero's Beacon (Divine)

This beacon guides the user to whoever she most needs. This item is currently locked onto the location of an existing beacon.

<Note>

Potential ending for book 7 here? I think this is a good place to stop. The length is right and it is a bit of a break point. We'll see. I've been sketching out Carter reaching A-Grade and unless I really rush it I think it's going to take about 15 chapters? Mostly because I have some other stuff to do before then.

Obviously I could just cram it in whenever, but reaching A-Grade should be a bit more special, I think. In most litrpg apocalypse settings, it's the final grade. And truthfully its the final grade here unless you are willing to mod the System.

I'll probably write the next 5 chapters now and if I don't see a better ending within sight of that I'll call it here.

Also -- joining in on an alien invasion of Earth is only the second worse thing Takano has done in his life.