Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

”The Oath of Treaty between all the Continents...we will be severing it.”

Sylvaris stated it with a calm voice and without hesitation, making every ruler widen their eyes except the Dragon Emperor, who seemed amused rather than shocked. He had already understood that this meeting was not going to be as simple as discussing the recent Monster incident, and now her first statement had confirmed it.

’Interesting...’

A tiny amused smile stretched across his lips as he looked directly toward Sylvaris.

The others didn’t share his reaction. They knew exactly how much value the Oath held for every Continent, because it wasn’t merely an agreement between the Ancients and the rest of the world. It was the foundation that prevented the Continents from openly waging war against one another. If it were severed, there would be nothing stopping one Continent from declaring war on another, and the situation could quickly develop into alliances between two or three Continents against another. Depending on how those alliances formed, some Continents could even be pushed toward complete destruction.

The Dragon Continent would most likely remain untouched because of the single Individual ruling it, but the same couldn’t be said for the Dwarven and Human Continents. Most importantly, the Human Continent would likely become the first target for the others because everyone present knew how shrewd its King was and what he had already done.

Even Thorsin knew that the recent Monster ordeal had been caused by Azarion, although how the Dwarven King had reached that conclusion was something that could be discussed later.

Solaris eventually calmed herself as she considered the consequences. ’Even if the Treaty is severed, the Elven and Angelic Continents will remain on friendly terms. As for Thorsin...’

She glanced toward the Dwarven King for a moment, ’Heh, I think he already figured out who to side with ages ago.’ Thorsin noticed her gaze and gave a small nod, which Solaris returned before looking back toward Sylvaris.

Eliana also relaxed slightly after seeing their exchange, but the person who appeared the most anxious was Azarion. His eyes moved across the room as he tried to understand how much the others had discovered. He knew they had somehow connected the Monster invasion to him, because otherwise there was no reason for all of them to have gathered here immediately after the incident.

The fact that the Human and Dragon Continents had remained untouched by the Monsters had made the answer even more obvious. The Dragon Continent would never be attacked because of the Dragon Emperor, but what about the Human Continent? Even a ruler with average intelligence could connect those two facts.

Yet despite the situation becoming increasingly dangerous, Azarion lowered his head slightly and smiled.

’Heh...What do you know? Think my bait worked as planned.’ The severance of the Treaty was exactly what he needed at this moment.’Once the Treaty is gone, I won’t have to worry about the restrictions anymore.’

He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the other Continents wouldn’t target the Human Continent after the Oath disappeared. In fact, he had already accounted for it long ago. The possibility of the other rulers attacking his Continent wasn’t a weakness in his plan, but one of the reasons he had worked toward this outcome in the first place.

His thoughts returned to the decision he had made long ago. He had deliberately avoided making it look as though the Human Continent had been involved in the Monster invasion, allowing the others to believe that the attack had originated entirely from outside their borders. He had wanted them to notice the obvious difference between the Continents that were attacked and the two that weren’t.

He wanted them to believe that the Human Continent was their common enemy.

That had been his plan from the beginning.

The Monster invasion and this sudden meeting hadn’t been part of his original calculations, but even those unexpected events had ultimately pushed the situation toward the same outcome. As long as the Treaty disappeared, the next stage of his plan would become much easier.’They think removing the Treaty means they can finally deal with Azarion Embersun without restrictions...’

A faint grin appeared on his face, ’But they don’t know that Azarion Embersun won’t be the one dealing with them to begin with.’

His thoughts shifted toward the underground laboratory where Project X was waiting.

’Veyron, is the process complete? When will I be able to begin the ”-----” with Project X?’ He sent the message telepathically to Veyron, who was currently inside the underground laboratory. The response arrived shortly after, ’It’s complete, Your Majesty. The moment you return, you can proceed with the ”-----” immediately.’

A grin appeared across Azarion’s face as he thought, ’The moment that happens...my centuries-long plan will finally come to fruition.’

Meanwhile, the silence inside the Basilica continued for several moments before Sylvaris finally spoke again, ”You might be wondering why we are severing the Oath of Treaty.”

Every ruler focused on her.

”The answer is simple ─ The reason for which that Treaty was created no longer exists, and the people who established it are long gone.”

Her statement immediately caused several rulers to frown. The disappearance of the people who had created the Oath wasn’t surprising. Those beings had existed so long ago that even their own Ancestors had been born generations after them. What confused everyone was her statement about the reason no longer existing.

As far as they knew, the Treaty had been created for one purpose: to prevent the Continents from directly going to war with one another and destroying each other.

That purpose still existed. If anything, the possibility of war was exactly why the Treaty remained necessary.

So, what did Sylvaris mean when she said its original reason no longer existed?

Before anyone could ask, Sylvaris continued, ”The Treaty was created to prevent the Continents from engaging in direct warfare. It was meant to ensure that disagreements between the rulers of this World could never escalate into a conflict capable of destroying entire Continents and eventually leading to world destruction.”

Her eyes slowly moved across the rulers sitting around the table, ”But what happens when someone learns how to exploit the very restrictions created by that Treaty?”

The room became quieter.

”Direct warfare was forbidden, but nothing stopped someone from acting through the shadows. Nothing stopped them from sending forces that did not officially belong to their Continent, manipulating other factions, or creating conflicts while ensuring that the source of those conflicts could never be proven.”

Her voice remained calm, but her words carried considerably more weight now.

”That is exactly what has happened.”

The rulers understood the implication immediately.

”The recent Monster incident is only the latest example. A Continent can now cause damage to another without ever declaring war, without moving its own army across a border, and without technically violating the Oath.”

Sylvaris paused briefly, ”Then tell me, what purpose does a Treaty serve when its restrictions can be used to protect the very people who intend to violate its purpose?”

No one answered as they simply had no words to say at this moment.

The Treaty had been created to prevent the destruction of the Continents, but the rules themselves had created a loophole. If someone was willing to operate indirectly, they could cause almost the same amount of destruction without ever committing the act that the Treaty explicitly prohibited. And they knew it as well. They had also seen this loophole long ago, but they had never thought that controlling the Monsters inside the ruins was even possible.

”And there is another problem.”