Death... and me

Chapter 3943: What Will You Do?

The war in the Green Cluster shouldn’t have lasted over fifty years. Since the continents barely left any defenses behind, and many deserted to the enemies’ sides, conquering the Green Cluster was a smooth sail.

After just twenty-three years, the last continents at the center of the Green Cluster fell, and the various continents surrounding the Green Cluster got ready to execute their plan.

Let’s not forget that the war wasn’t just so they could conquer the Green Cluster. Instead, it was a war to destroy the Elemental Nodes, which made the Green Cluster such a rich land at the expense of all the other continents around it.

However, things didn’t play out as expected. With the Green Cluster in their hands, some of the continental alliances began to consider taking the Green Cluster Region for themselves and leaving the Elemental Nodes intact.

Of course, doing such a thing would also mean the continents around would suffer more and more as the years went by. The further away continents, which had just begun to feel the effects of those nodes, would undoubtedly fall over time as their own environment deteriorated.

The greedy ones wanted something obvious: move their entire forces into the Green Cluster and ignore all the side effects caused to the continents around it. But would the others let them do it?

And that’s why the war in the Green Cluster lasted over fifty years instead of just twenty-three. Those who wanted to move into the Green Cluster and keep the nodes clashed against those who wanted to destroy the nodes so their own land wouldn’t be sacrificed.

From what was available in the Werdlem Network, the side that wanted to destroy the nodes ultimately won. After all, only the nearby continental alliances could reliably move everything into the Green Cluster. The continental alliances from further away weren’t even bordering the Green Cluster, so moving there was just too unrealistic.

The continents bordering the Green Cluster were numerous, but definitely not as numerous as the other alliances that joined this war from further away. There were several attempts to reach an agreement and to keep the Elemental Nodes intact, but they all failed.

Those who attempted to keep the Green Cluster as it was lost, the nodes were destroyed, and the effects they had over the regions outside the Green Cluster would now disappear as time went on.

Of course, the surrounding continents were being affected by the Green Cluster for countless years. Their regions wouldn’t just recover in a day or two. The same went for the Green Cluster. It wouldn’t be a resource-rich region anymore, but it would take a long time until the effects of all these years disappeared as well.

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Almost imperceptible in the middle of all that tension was the Verjansy Country, a place that couldn’t even be considered an ant in the grand scale of that war. As the pressure escalated on both sides, the Verjansy Country had to navigate carefully to avoid having the country destroyed as a result.

That’s the sole reason President Bugel stayed behind, to try to keep the country as intact as possible. For that, he also deserted to the side of the invaders when they got far enough into the Green Cluster. It was already very challenging for President Bugel to maintain order while the invaders still shared a common objective. Once the invasion was concluded and the mutual agreement broke apart, it became even harder.

Bugel received countless requests from both sides, telling him to send reinforcements to help protect the Elemental Nodes or destroy them. How could he select a side? Regardless of which one he picked, the other would come after his country as a result. After all, the Panpasin Continent, where the Verjansy Country existed, was located quite deep into the Green Cluster.

The worst part was that once he selected a side, that side wouldn’t really put much effort into protecting his country. It was simply not worth it to send too many experts to Verjansy, just a single lonely country among tens of thousands.

So... Bugel did not choose a side. If he did, his country would suffer; if he didn’t, his country would suffer the same way. At the very least, by stating he wouldn’t take a side when the division happened, his country wouldn’t be considered a main target.

Of course, Bugel did indeed lose his position as president of the country at some point, and he even had to go into hiding. Nonetheless, he continued to support the people the best he could from the shadows. In contrast, the battle over the destruction of the nodes continued.

Many died, the Verjansy country was at times controlled by those defending the nodes, and at other times by those trying to destroy them. But because Bugel continued to exert his influence from the shadows, neither side truly ever got a good grip of Verjansy. Above all, as mentioned, it was simply not worth it to spend too many resources to solidify that kind of control, so neither side did.

Finally, after the fiftieth year or so, the nodes were destroyed, and that war was truly over.

Still, the Green Cluster would be a resource-rich region for many centuries as the elemental nodes’ effects gradually disappeared. There was no doubt that many different powers would come from outside to establish themselves.

Sure enough, the Panpasin Continent, named after the Panpasin Sect, was one of the territories overtaken by a rising power known as the Lugou Clan. They had to fight their way in, contending with others also vying for control of the continent. However, their strength prevailed, and they ultimately established a successful foothold there.

The few countries that survived were called forth, and Bugel, now able to come out of the shadows, was reinstated as the president of Verjansy. In exchange, he had to accept the new rule, taxes, and all of that.

For Bugel, that was already a huge victory. Two wars happened, one to take over the Green Cluster, and another one to decide whether to destroy the Elemental Nodes or not. Over 30% of the Verjansy Country population perished while the country navigated those turbid waters. But in the end, Verjansy prevailed.

Now, Bugel finally had the chance to contact everyone he sent away to Galantes Country. He didn’t do that straight away, only contacting Ruberto and telling him the situation. Bugel still wanted to wait a few years before making that move, just to make sure their country was indeed safe enough for their talents to come back.

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Those few years passed quickly.

Back in the Divine Military Academy, Wisfreya was training when suddenly, her CD activated. She took it out and saw it was a call from Ruberto. Ruberto always checked on her and the various other youngsters of the Verjansy Country, so it wasn’t anything surprising to see Ruberto calling again.

Of course, this time, the reason for contacting her was different. "What?! We can go back?!"

-Yes,- Ruberto confirmed. -That’s why I’m calling. I want to know your position after all these years in the academy. You lived longer in there than you did back in Verjansy, after all. So... What will you do?-