With the battle momentarily at a standstill, only Duke Moustache and Tribios remained idle on the field.
Duke Moustache's expression hardened as he charged toward Tribios. With Tide blocking the exit, escape was nearly impossible. Tribios appeared frail and lacking combat prowess, making her an ideal hostage to threaten her allies.
Muttering incantations under his breath, Duke Moustache conjured a black, shadow-energy blade in his hand, clearly revealing himself as a Class Holder.
Tribios stood motionless until the Duke was almost upon her. Then, with a flick of her wrist, a Century Gate suddenly appeared before her. The portal's sudden appearance caught Duke Moustache completely off guard. Before he could react, he slid headfirst into the swirling vortex.
Meanwhile, the Fat Duke was tucking into a feast in the Grand Duchy of Augustus's "tower." Of course, having developed to this point, the Grand Duchy of Augustus had never actually built a proper tower. This "tower" was simply a newly constructed wooden cabin, unoccupied until now, surrounded by heavily armed soldiers who were holding the Fat Duke under house arrest.
However, due to the Fat Duke's remarkable cooperation, Tribios hadn't imposed overly strict restrictions on his movements. As long as he remained within the cabin, he was free to do as he pleased. Thus, the Fat Duke began ordering food. The soldiers outside brought him a variety of local specialties and even a bottle of beer.
"Whoa, this is a limited-edition masterpiece!" the Fat Duke exclaimed, taking a hearty swig. "Who knew you could get this in prison? Good stuff, good stuff!"
"This meat's pretty good too! Delicious!"
Just as the Fat Duke was savoring his meal, a Century Gate suddenly materialized on the ground beside him. Duke Moustache slid out in a perfect sliding tackle.
For a moment, the Fat Duke and Duke Moustache stared at each other, eyes wide. After a brief silence, the Fat Duke broke the ice with a casual greeting: "Yo, fancy meeting you here! This beer's pretty good—want a sip?"
Duke Moustache: "???"
The perspective shifted back to Tribios. Her gaze swept across the battlefield. Duchess Witch's Hat had already been successfully subdued by Jay and Half, the man and his dog, without even casting a single spell. Meanwhile, Duke Glasses, the man with spectacles, was pinned to the ground by Olivia.
At the entrance, Tide waved his hand, sending five more soldiers flying out the window.
Let's consider the three dukes first. Duchess Witch's Hat, despite being a wizard, was so easily subdued by Jay that she likely didn't even know basic spells like Trigger Spell, a near-essential for wizards. Her overall skill level was clearly limited.
Duke Glasses appeared to be a Ranger Class Holder, but he was no match for Olivia. As for Moustache Baron, Tribios couldn't immediately determine his class, but it was unlikely he was a wizard.
Finally, the soldiers at the entrance seemed to be no more than average Bronze-rank Warrior Class Holders. In Tribios's view, the average combat proficiency in this era seemed weaker than it would be three centuries later.
This was understandable. While some fantasy works often feature the trope of "the more ancient, the more powerful," in reality, the world naturally progresses, and "the further into the future, the more advanced" should be the most logical scenario.
Take magic, for example. In this era, there weren't even any formalized schools of magic. Three centuries later, while such schools weren't exactly commonplace, they were far more numerous. As the number of low-level wizards increased, the probability of exceptional talents emerging also rose, driving the advancement of magic in a virtuous cycle.
The same held true for other Class Holders. Only when structured learning methods emerged would the number of powerful practitioners in each profession grow. Thus, the generally weaker power levels in this era were perfectly logical.
However, considering this, the fact that seven Heroes whose strength far surpassed even Legendary status had appeared in this era seemed even more absurd.
As Tribios pondered this, she called out, "Don't linger! Grab them and let's get out of here!"
Jay hoisted Duchess Witch's Hat over his shoulder, while Olivia seized King of Augustus and Duke Glasses, one in each hand. The group swiftly entered the Century Gate through which Duke Moustache had just slid.
The instant they teleported, Tribios saw Duke Moustache charging toward her once more, brandishing a dark, sharp blade.
Without warning, a Century Gate materialized beneath Duke Moustache's feet, swallowing him whole. The exit of the gate appeared directly above the entrance, creating an absurd spectacle.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!!!"
Duke Moustache plummeted in free fall, his speed increasing with each passing moment. Olivia and the others who arrived later recoiled at the sight, especially Jay, who stood dumbfounded. "Wait, your Century Gates can do that?"
After Tide, who had been covering the rear, returned, Tribios closed the Century Gate to the Kingdom of Ukel. She didn't answer Jay's question but turned to the Glasses Man, Witch's Hat, and Fat Duke, her smile turning sweetly menacing. "Regarding your kingdom's unprovoked declaration of war against us, I believe we should have a proper discussion. What do you say?"
Though Tribios was undeniably beautiful and her smile was genuinely charming, the sight of Duke Moustache screaming as he plummeted endlessly behind her visibly unnerved the three Ukel nobles.
This is terrifying! Duke Moustache is nearly a blur now!
Duke Moustache, still plummeting, cried out, "Save me! We can talk, anything! Just save me!"
It's worth noting that a human's falling speed has a terminal velocity, roughly 55 meters per second. Due to air resistance, a person's descent stops accelerating once they approach this speed. Of course, hitting the ground at this velocity would be fatal for an ordinary person.
If Tribios were to cancel the Century Gate directly, Duke Moustache would surely die. After a moment's thought, she reversed the gate, turning the bottom into the exit and the top into the entrance.
Duke Moustache's downward plunge instantly became an upward "fall." Naturally, due to gravity, his ascent gradually slowed until, just before he stopped, Tribios deactivated the Century Gate. Duke Moustache crashed to the ground with a thud, immediately vomiting.
In essence, what Duke Moustache had just experienced was akin to a supercharged bungee jump.
As Tribios pondered this, she pointed to a small square wooden table inside the cabin. "While this table isn't as ornate as the round table you were using, I trust you won't mind?"
"Absolutely not! We don't mind at all!" Duke Glasses replied hastily, grabbing the nearest empty seat. Duchess Witch's Hat and Duke Moustache, who had just scrambled to his feet, followed suit.
As for the Fat Duke, he remained seated, engrossed in his meal, without even bothering to stand.
Meanwhile, the King of Augustus remained unconscious. Tribios pinched his philtrum, but whether it was due to Olivia's excessive force or the king's own frailty, he showed no signs of waking. Worse still, the Grand Duchy of Augustus had no resident priest.
Tribios sighed. We'll deal with the king later. Let's talk to the four Dukes first.
"Your nation rashly initiated this war," Tribios began, "declaring war without justification, seizing a large number of our Merchants, and subjecting them to brutal interrogations..."
Before she could finish, Duke Moustache nodded vigorously. "Indeed, this was our fault. We are willing to offer compensation!"
Though the Grand Duchy of Augustus had arguably provoked the war by attacking their prisoners' camp without justification, no one cared about such details anymore. With their lives in the enemy's hands, they'd agree to anything.
Tribios continued, "And you attempted to assassinate Jay, our Chief Wizard and Imperial Preceptor, causing him severe physical and mental harm. What if he can no longer come up with brilliant ideas or wield magic in the future?"
The others' reactions were mixed, but Duchess Witch's Hat stared at Jay with utter shock before turning to Tribios, as if to say, Are you kidding me? This guy is your Chief Wizard?!
The Chief Wizard of your nation fights by siccing dogs on people and picking enemies' noses?!
Even Jay himself looked at Tribios with stunned disbelief. Yet in a way, she was technically correct. Since Jay was the only person in the Grand Duchy of Augustus who could use magic, wouldn't that technically make him the Chief Wizard?
Tribios turned to Duchess Witch's Hat. "What? Do you have a problem with that?"
Duchess Witch's Hat shook her head frantically. "No, no! We're willing to pay compensation!"
Tribios pressed her advantage relentlessly, inventing bizarre reasons and excuses to demand the maximum possible compensation. Jay, standing beside Olivia, muttered under his breath, "Little Trib is usually so gentle, considerate, and understanding. I never imagined she could be so aggressively uncompromising."
In the end, a series of unequal treaties were hammered out and written down one by one. Ironically, the Kingdom of Ukel never surrendered; all these unequal treaties were framed as "negligence compensation."
The gist of it was that the Grand Duchy of Augustus had never attacked Ukel's prisoner camps. The prisoners had vanished into thin air due to an exceedingly rare anomaly called "Spatial Fluctuation," causing them to be swept away by spatial vortexes and lost without a trace.
In other words, it was merely an "accident." The Kingdom of Ukel, having bungled their investigation, falsely accused and declared war on the Grand Duchy of Augustus. Therefore, every clause in the unequal treaties represented compensation for this series of errors.
As for defeat and surrender? Who had been defeated? There hadn't even been a war! It was all a misunderstanding—a misunderstanding!
Tribios naturally paid no attention to these minor textual details. They were merely a fig leaf for the four Grand Dukes, though this fig leaf did serve a purpose: maintaining their prestige in the eyes of the populace.
After the unequal treaty was finalized, Olivia stepped forward to sign her name on behalf of the Grand Duchy of Augustus. The four Dukes were visibly taken aback. The Fat Duke, in particular, wore an expression of astonishment, blurting out, "This insignificant little girl is your king?!"
Tribios turned to the Fat Duke, her gaze sharp. "May I add another clause to the treaty on the grounds of 'insulting our king'?"
The Fat Duke immediately stammered, "R-right! Right! I-I-I apologize! I didn't mean to—it's just... she... she..."
The truth was, Tribios exuded such an overwhelming presence—beautiful, regal, and undeniably charismatic—that all the Dukes had assumed she was the true power behind the throne of Augustus (which, to be fair, wasn't far from the truth). They had naturally mistaken her for the Ruler of Augustus.
But who could have imagined that Olivia, standing guard with a sword like a sentinel, was actually the Queen?
Tribios pointed at Olivia and said, "Alright, she's technically a Princess who hasn't ascended the throne yet, but she's destined to become the future Ruler of Augustus. There's no real difference."
Then Tribios gestured toward Jay and Tide. "You already know the former—Augustus's Chief Wizard. The latter is Her Highness the Princess's Captain of the Guard."
"And what about you?" the Fat Duke asked, Tribios having introduced everyone but herself.
"Uh..." Tribios hesitated, but before she could answer, Jay slid up beside her, arms outstretched in a dramatic flourish, as if presenting her. "Listen up! She's the Holy Maiden of the Grand Duchy of Augustus, an Angel, a Prophet, the Teacher of all, the Demigod of Passage, and the peerlessly beautiful Lady Tribios herself!"
After this incident, the Grand Duchy of Augustus could no longer remain hidden. Stepping into the world, showcasing itself, and establishing diplomatic relations with other nations became inevitable, with the Kingdom of Ukel being its first diplomatic partner.
After all, the Grand Duchy intended to claim war reparations from Ukel and enforce a host of other treaty obligations. This necessitated establishing stable relations between the two nations. Moreover, any other country inquiring in Ukel would quickly learn about Augustus, the victorious nation.
Therefore, revealing her Demigod status to protect the Grand Duchy of Augustus had been Lady Tribios's own intention. She had originally planned to announce it herself, but Jay suddenly interjected with a torrent of praise, leaving her feeling somewhat embarrassed.
If anyone were to look down at her feet now, they would see her high-heeled toes curling slightly.