Chapter 412 375 – Multi-Front Warfare and the Concept of Reincarnation

Having come out on top in the earlier exchange, Kagali used the holographic projection to explain the current state of the Yuanlin Empire.

"We spent a single day constructing highways and tunnels leading throughout the forest.

"I also divided the infrastructure projects into different zones based on the various monster races living there."

"As for our next offensive routes, in accordance with your wishes, Master, we've decided to begin fighting on multiple fronts."

"However, among the nations currently bordering us… the Kingdom of Falmuth is the easiest one to deal with."

"Most of the others are territories ruled by Demon Lords. I'll leave the final decision to you, Master."

Kagali understood how powerful their forces were, but she still left the final decision to Takumi, even if it was merely a formality.

As his secretary, she knew better than to overstep her position.

Takumi swiped across the holographic projection in front of him and lit up all the surrounding nations.

This world was far too fragmented.

He needed to paint all of it the same color!

The Kingdom of Falmuth, the Forgotten Dragon Capital, the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania, the Skywing Nation of Fulbrosia, and the Puppet Nation of Jistav.

In one breath, Takumi decided to launch a five-front war and take every one of them.

"As for the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion, Kagali, send someone to negotiate with them."

"The queen of that kingdom, Elmesia El-Ru Sarion, has a cousin named Eren. She's that adventurer we met before. Since we at least have that connection, give them a chance."

Takumi added another instruction, explaining how they would handle the kingdom he had left out.

Seeing how aggressively Takumi intended to expand, Kagali's brows twitched.

If she hadn't already known how absurdly powerful the Shadow Demon Corps had become, she probably would have dropped to her knees and begged Takumi not to be so reckless.

Fighting on five fronts at once was the kind of idea only Takumi would seriously consider.

"This five-front war… Master, I still think we should reconsider it."

"If we rashly invade the territory of Milim, the Destroyer, and anger her…"

Kagali openly admitted that she had a psychological shadow when it came to Milim.

Back then, her father had practically gone out of his way to court disaster, ultimately causing their entire nation to be destroyed.

"Milim, huh… And there's also the queen of the Skywing Nation."

"How about this: leave Milim's territory alone for now. As for the Skywing Nation, handle it like the Sorcerous Dynasty—diplomacy first, force second."

After thinking it over, Takumi made a somewhat more cautious decision.

It wasn't because he was afraid.

The main reason was that he could sense Milim and Frey heading toward the Great Jura Forest.

If everything went smoothly, he might be able to bring them under his rule without deploying a single soldier.

If that was the case, why bother fighting at all?

After receiving that answer, Kagali immediately began arranging the empire's next phase of external expansion.

Reducing the operation from five fronts to three also eased the pressure on their side considerably.

Considering that brave "generals" such as Setsuna and Kureha were currently unavailable for battle, Kagali turned her attention toward the ogres and lizardmen Takumi had recently subdued.

"During the last campaign, I didn't fully understand our military strength. Now I do."

"Commanders… honestly, we don't really need them."

"The entire Shadow Demon Corps is an extension of Master's will. We can't actually order them around—we can only discuss things with them and ask them to act."

"Once we give them the objective, they'll come up with their own methods."

"So all we really need to do is incorporate the ogres and lizardmen into the combat forces as well."

After planning one war already, Kagali had become thoroughly familiar with the process.

Her [Planner] skill activated as well, allowing her to devise the simplest and most practical plan.

While Kagali busied herself with that, Shizue was still swiping through the holographic projection inside the conference room.

This was the first time she had ever seen such a direct representation of the entire world.

When she zoomed in, she could even see labels identifying each region's ruler.

She couldn't understand where Takumi had gotten all this information.

"My [Raphael, Lord of Wisdom] has gradually begun analyzing the Voice of the World.

"It's starting to understand the rules governing this world.

"That's how I know these minor details."

Seeing what Shizue was thinking, Takumi casually explained.

"…"

When Shizue stared at him in surprise, Takumi added,

"I'm not reading your mind. I'm currently designing [Pseudo-Hell], so [Raphael, Lord of Wisdom] is active. It just instinctively analyzed your thoughts."

"That's ridiculous."

After holding it in for quite a while, Shizue ultimately managed to squeeze out only those words.

Still seated where he was, Takumi turned his full attention toward manipulating [Pseudo-Hell].

At this point, [Pseudo-Hell] already contained more than a million souls.

Humans, monsters—there was basically every kind imaginable.

"Activate [Raphael, Lord of Wisdom]. Analyze soul structure and search for a viable method of creating souls."

"Constructing a reincarnation mechanism for [Pseudo-Hell]… At the same time, apply a mental anchor to every soul."

"The method of collecting [World Crossing Gate Progress] through soul worship is viable, but its efficiency is only one-third that of living beings."

"Seek a method to actively resurrect ordinary souls and unify them under a system of faith collection."

"Pure faith can be separated into divine power and can also replenish magicule consumption."

Countless streams of data seemed to flow through Takumi's eyes.

An endless amount of magicules and divine power was expended as [Pseudo-Hell] gradually began constructing a functioning rule of reincarnation.

At the same time, Takumi's understanding of souls deepened further and further.

Although he still couldn't create souls completely from nothing, freely manipulating existing souls had already become effortless.

Constructing an entire world was ultimately extremely difficult.

What Takumi was doing now was essentially shaping the laws of a small world.

However, he had taken a shortcut.

By relying on the abilities he already possessed, he avoided directly constructing conceptual laws and instead created a corresponding process.

The resulting "machine," however, still required his instinctive power to keep it running.

"Even if I'm taking a shortcut, my understanding of the Authorities of [Soul] and [Reincarnation] is still advancing."

"Time and space are the foundations upon which a world is created."

"Souls and reincarnation, meanwhile, are the roots from which conscious life is born."

Takumi estimated that if he could truly master these things, then he could begin mass-producing "believers."

Their faith and collective wishes could then replenish his [World Crossing Gate Progress], creating another self-reinforcing path where one step propelled the next upward.

"I don't know whether it'll actually work, but it's at least worth researching in that direction."

"The Shadow Demon Corps is already showing some signs of possibility in that regard."

Takumi's thoughts drifted toward the Shadow Demon Corps.

If he ever succeeded in creating souls, they would undoubtedly be the first subjects he used it on.

Although they were already capable of thinking independently, at their core they were still closer to highly advanced artificial intelligences.

It was only because they possessed [Great Sage] that they had become extraordinarily intelligent.

If they could continue evolving until they eventually developed true "souls," that would also be a promising direction for research.

For now, however, his priority was to revive the souls inside [Pseudo-Hell], turn them into his believers, and conveniently increase the population of his territory at the same time.

...