Chapter 621 - 47: Year 7743

Chapter 621: Chapter 47: Year 7743

Nightmare World.

"This is like drinking poison to quench a thirst."

Murphy said.

Rodrick froze for a second. "Drinking poison to quench a thirst? Sir, what does that mean?"

Murphy looked at him.

"In the Holy Scripture, there is a passage: ’Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.’"

"What the Empire is doing now is exactly that. You divert the Chaos Law to other Outer Planes, making them bear the cost of Nightmare Transformation for you."

"The natives of those planes, like people who have drunk poisoned water, will struggle in agony and then perish."

"But the problem is, after the Nightmare World devours more worlds, it will continue to expand. The total amount of Chaos Law won’t decrease; it will only increase."

"With every world it devours, the Nightmare World’s power grows stronger. The pressure it needs to release also becomes greater."

"In this repeating cycle, the Empire needs more and more planes to bear this pressure."

"But the number of planes is finite."

"There will come a day when the Empire can no longer find new planes to invade. When that happens, the power of the Nightmare Law, having expanded to its limit, will rebound upon the Empire. The Imperial homeland will disintegrate in an instant."

Rodrick was silent for a moment.

"You are correct, Sir."

He paused, his voice tinged with an air of stating the obvious:

"But so what?"

"According to the Empire’s estimates, that’s something that will happen ten thousand years from now."

Murphy’s gaze flickered slightly.

Rodrick continued.

"Who knows if the Empire will even exist in ten thousand years? Of all the great figures sitting in the Senate right now, how many will live to see that day?"

"Even if they could, it would still be ten thousand years away."

"A thousand years ago, the Empire hadn’t even been founded. Ten thousand years from now, the Empire might exist in a completely different form."

"Sir, for those of us living in the present, what happens in ten thousand years is simply too far off."

Murphy fell silent.

After a few seconds, he finally spoke slowly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"You’re right. Ten thousand years is indeed a long time from now."

"So, Rodrick, what are the official channels for me to join the Empire?"

Rodrick looked at Murphy, a flicker of an imperceptible, complex emotion in his eyes.

As a long-standing member of the Imperial People, he harbored an innate repulsion in his very bones for creatures from the Outer Planes.

Even now, under Murphy’s control, even while maintaining the most deferential posture on the surface, that deep-seated belief that ’Imperial People are naturally noble’ could not be completely erased.

’He understood Murphy’s intentions all too well.’

’He saw the Empire’s power and prosperity and wanted to join, to share in the benefits that came with it.’

’He’d seen far too many creatures from the Outer Planes just like this.’

’Every person from an Outer Plane who came to the New Realm was like this at first.’

’They were awed by the Empire’s might, drawn in by its splendor, and would do anything to claw their way in.’

Rodrick took a deep breath, forcing himself to think rationally.

’No contempt. No disgust.’

’Those negative emotions would trigger the mechanism Murphy had left on him, plunging him into that state of self-loathing that was worse than death.’

’He had to remain calm. He had to remain rational.’

’Look at him like a rock, like a tree. Objectively analyze and assess Murphy’s thoughts, and then express his own.’

"Sir," his voice was steady and respectful, "the King of Wizards recently signed a new immigration decree."

Murphy looked at him. "Does the immigration decree have any requirements?"

Rodrick organized his thoughts before speaking.

"The immigration decree has several types of requirements."

"First, if your power reaches that of a Second-Level Wizard, you can basically obtain permanent residency. After a three-year observation period, if there are no major issues, you can become a full citizen."

"If your power reaches the level of a Third-Level Wizard, it’s a different story. A Third-Level Wizard can directly obtain an Imperial citizenship certificate, no observation period, no waiting. It’s processed and effective on the spot."

Murphy was silent for a second.

"What about a First-Level Wizard?"

A trace of unconcealable surprise flashed in Rodrick’s eyes.

"Sir, are you saying... you want to enter the Empire with the power of a First-Level Wizard?"

Murphy looked at him.

"Is that not allowed?"

’Enter the Empire as a First-Level Wizard?’

’Among the creatures of the Outer Planes, that was the most common, most ordinary, most unremarkable way to do it.’

’Those who were truly powerful, the Level 2 and Level 3 beings, would never take this path.’

’They would enter directly with their high-level status and enjoy all sorts of preferential treatment.’

’Only those who lacked power, or were overly cautious, or were just plain timid would choose this method.’

Rodrick quickly suppressed the contempt in his heart.

’This Murphy was far too cautious.’

’He clearly had the power of a Third-Level Wizard, yet he insisted on entering the Empire under the Disguise of a First-Level Wizard.’

’Why bother?’

’With the Empire’s greatness, it couldn’t care less about these Outer Plane People.’

’What difference did one more or one less Third-Level Wizard make?’

’Even a Fourth Level or Fifth Level Wizard couldn’t stir up any trouble in the Empire.’

’And yet, he was still so cautious.’

Rodrick scorned Murphy with cold logic, forcing his voice to remain as steady as possible:

"Sir, of course it’s possible."

"It’s just that the process for a First-Level Wizard is more complicated. First, you must report to the Immigration Administration to apply for a temporary residency permit. Then you need to work within the Empire for twenty years and continuously pay the full amount of your rank-based tax before you can obtain a permanent residency permit."

Murphy listened quietly, his expression unchanging.