Chapter 57: Chapter 57

The urban area of the Arlenheim Kingdom was relatively very small compared to its neighbors due to the harsh climate and the presence of wild monsters and Magical Beasts. The Kingdom only has ten walled cities that surround the kingdom in a fan-shaped formation that also served as fortresses to keep its territory in check.

Despite being considered a dwarf kingdom amidst the land of giants, the people of Arlenheim Kingdom were renowned for their resilience and had a long history of powerful warriors and mages in the past who conquered the Northern Region and united the people under the same banner. Legends has it, the founding fathers of Arlenheim Kingdom were coming from beyond the mountain range. The hellish place where only Rank 7 Magus and Warrior belong as they were in pursuit of True Immortality.

In the Azgaar Continent, becoming an Acolyte Mage or Warrior as Mortal Humans was very difficult and required a lot of resources and endless training. Oftentimes, many mortal humans were stuck at Rank 3 Acolyte for the rest of their lives. To become Rank 1 Mage as a Mortal Human, one needed to spend their lifetime fortune to buy the resources or train for a hundred years. Becoming Rank 6 Mage was considered a demi-god in Azgaar Continent.

As for Demons, Elves, Beastkind, and many other demi-humans species were gifted with one or two innate Magic Spell or Physical traits that allows them to become Mage or warriors. But it would also take years and they had to train from an early age.

The Central Alliance was situated To the southeast direction of the Arlenheim Kingdom outermost city riddled the central region with splendors and luxury.

Although their military force was small compared to the Kingdoms and Empires in the southern region, their strategic position allowed them to dominate the trade route between three major regions; The West, Central, and East Region. Granted, the nobles within the Central Alliance are filthy rich from the trades and whatnot.

On top of that, the Central Alliance was now connected with the Great Jungle after it was conquered by the Holy Church and its followers from the Southern Region.

This home of various Beastkind and Demi-humans alike spanned across the middle line of the Azgaar Continent from end to end, and it was riddled with unfathomable amounts of resources. Many had tried to conquer it but to no avail due to the jungle density, and extreme weather system of each area that was controlled by Magical Beast. Only Rank 2 Mage and Warriors or above were able to survive without protection. However, since the Rise of the Hero Party, the places which were seemingly untouchable by humankind were easily conquered, obstructing the balance in the process.

Meanwhile, beyond the belt of the Great Jungle, there was the Southern Region. It was the most powerful region of the Azgaar Continent with its hundreds of mighty Empires and thousands of Kingdoms with the Holy Church as the most powerful entity amongst them.

The Holy Church controlled the masses with its gospel, indirectly teaching the people to fear God and the Holy Church as God's instrument to shepherd them.

According to history, the Holy Church itself had been established on the Heavenly Mountain tens if not hundreds of thousands years ago by the First Holy Pope, Cephas the Holy Immortal Saint. The Heavenly Mountain stood tall amidst the Chaotic Seas east of the Azgaar Continent and remained untouchable to this day.

However, Pope Cephas went missing around two thousand years ago after countless years of leadership for unknown reasons. It led the Holy Church to be further strayed from its original teachings and corrupted over millenia.

After the fall of Diablo Realm in the southernmost region, the Holy Church dominated the regions and was currently planning the next crusade to conquer the Northern Region and gaining full control of the Azgaar Continent as a whole.

It's only a matter of time before the Southern Empires open up a highway through the Great Jungle and begin their conquest upon the Northern Region.

Aside from those giants, there was the Hero’s Party who had established their own independent small nation at the very edge of the Southern Region to oversee the Diablo Realm beyond the Bridge of the Damned. They made these decisive moves to prevent any Empires or Kingdoms from invading Diablo Realm without their supervision. This party of Rank 5 Mages and Warriors were renowned as the Six Children of God.

This little bit of trivia and myths made Alice think about what truly happened in the past. She couldn't wait to uncover the truth of this boundless world.

“Damn! Just how big is this world, actually? If this map is accurate, even the Azgaar Continent is just a small island relative to the whole planet!”

At this moment, Alice realized the significant change of her psychology. “Wait a minute, what is this sense of unquenchable wanderlust and the urge to conquer more lands? Is this what Goddess Lilithya meant by personality shift the older I become as a Demon Queen?! The true nature of the conqueror race is slowly developing within me.”

Alive chuckled to herself and stood up with both hands perched on her waist line as watching the falling sunset.

“I don't hate it at all, my goddess. Thank you for this second chance.” She smiled from ear to ear.

Shortly after, Alice heard a voice from below the boulder.

“Ah, there you are!” Momo pointed a finger at her. “I have been looking for you. Come down now, dinner is ready!”

“After you, love.” Alice folded the maps, putting them inside the Spatial Ring and jumped down. “What's for dinner?”

“I caught some fish in the river and foraged for some vegetables! You know, the fish has this weird orange-ish flesh, but it tastes really sweet when I tried it raw! Let's go!” Momo grabbed Alice’s hand while walking in front of her.

‘Eh… is that some salmon?’ Alice was so intrigued by Momo’s description.

By the time they arrived at the camp, Alice was stunned upon looking at the humongous fish that was being grilled with a slender and long tree trunk. Catharina casually flipped the fish on top of the bonfire from one side to another as if the fish and tree trunk weighed nothing on her hand. To ensure it cooked thoroughly, Catharina also used a little bit of magic on it.

From its shape, Alice was convinced that the fish was a salmon but ten times bigger than a  king salmon! It was as big as a great white shark.

“How did you guys get that fish?” Alice was bewildered.

“Momo caught it.” Catharina replied nonchalantly.

And then, Arya followed with a chime. “With bare hands! I never thought that big sister Momo was actually so strong!”