When the plot-skips players into the game world

"I actually suspect that this so-called 'Alai' is Avalon's 'Aleister.' The one who caused His Majesty to burst into a thunderous rage recently,"

General Karl by the window suddenly spoke, "The woman who removed the spies we had planted in Avalon—my intuition tells me this."

"You mean that fatso Drost?"

Count Leipzig chuckled softly, his face's gentle smile unshaken, "He's irrelevant. His Majesty treats him so well only to set an example for the Avalonians who have abandoned Darkness for Light. His preferential treatment won't last long."

"You have inside information?"

General Karl turned around.

"Not really inside information. Or rather, it's something many people are aware of."

The red-eyed gentleman with elegant manners smiled and was particularly flattering towards General Karl, "It's just that you disdain interacting with those 'noblemen of the wine table,' hence you haven't heard these rumors. But I'm sure it won't be many days before it reaches Karl Manor. Your grandson is quite active."

"Hmph, that fellow..."

Old Karl snorted lowly, his face full of disdain, but his words betrayed a hint of pride, "Relying on his young age to have reached the Fourth Power Level, he's starting to make connections with the grown-ups as if he were one of them. Doesn't he think whether it's his turn? Those people are really of no value to befriend, nothing but a bunch of leeches sucking the kingdom dry, sources of trouble that attract disputes, and waste that can merely make enough noise."

"If you ask me, he should be sent to the military. The battlefield is where the bloodiest, cruelest, and most desperate places are, and only there can he gather enough power. In this world, strength is the only truth—"

As he said this, his eyes, which burned like molten gold, fixed on Albert, causing him to tremble involuntarily.

The old man lectured, "You too, Lieutenant Lorey.

"Don't reinvent the wheel. You managed to make the Armed Gargoyles because you had luck on your side. Your invention just happened to meet a demand. But are your other flesh and blood creations useful? You need to see the battlefield for yourself. You need to encounter problems, then be able to question and ultimately resolve them—listen up, these are life experiences."

On hearing he was to be sent to the battlefield, Albert's face immediately turned bitter.

—I don't want to go! If it wasn't for the need to graduate to accept sponsorship personally, I'd rather stay in the Spirit Summoning Tower and continue learning...

I still want to pursue a Ph.D. in biology...

"There's no rush," Count Leipzig said, trying to console, "Albert is a genius. Geniuses always receive some leeway—rather than sending him to the dangerous battlefield before his potential is exhausted, it would be better to let him rise to his limit in the rear and then seek inspiration."

He disregarded the old man mumbling by his side, "There's no danger on the battlefield of Star Antimony," "If he can't survive at Fourth Power Level, he won't at Fifth Power Level either," and directly shared the gossip he had just heard to distract their attention, "Drost won't last much longer.

"Once we completely consume Avalon, that will be the end of him.

"But that small island of Avalon holds no value for us. What we need are population, talents, resources—we're after the descendants of knights favored by the Silver-Crowned Dragon, and the technology and qualifications to tame Gryphons. Star Antimony doesn't have enough people to station in Avalon, so in the end, we'll have to let the Avalonians rule Avalon.

"And when that time comes, Drost will become the sacrifice pushed forward to appease the anger of the Avalonians—people from one faction of Star Antimony like to use underhanded methods, while the other group is quite upright. The upright ones will attract the noble Avalonians, then settle accounts with the evil faction and the traitors who betrayed them... This is a script the knights will surely love."

"... You're talking about the Alchemists?"

The old general caught on.

Speaking of the current core crisis in Star Antimony, it's the power struggle between the Demon Scholars and the Alchemists.

And without a doubt, His Majesty is on the Demon Scholars' side.

However, with the Alchemists holding considerable sway, the royal family isn't able to explicitly pick sides. They can only maintain silence, indulging those increasingly arrogant and satisfied Alchemists to provoke public discontent.

Their initial goal was to emulate the Iris Flower and complete a constitutional monarchy transformation.

Because, undeniably, the war is basically over now... As symbols of the war, the status of the Demon Scholars is naturally beginning to decline. The Parthian Ancient Country certainly can't be defeated, and the people of Star Antimony aren't interested in the desert; the Trolls in the South are not to be feared, and the dwarfs of the northern mountains are a disorganized mess.

That leaves only Avalon and the Iris Flower.

And the Alchemists and Necromancers are gradually starting to take over the role of the Demon Scholars on the battlefield. In other words, the now highly developed Alchemy has an absolute advantage in various areas, both military and civilian, in Star Antimony.

Star Antimony can't do without them anymore.

So under these circumstances, all the Alchemists need to do to gain decisive influence is to prove that they "don't need to rely on Demon Scholars on the battlefield."

And over the past three hundred years... including the conquests that swallowed up the Narcissus Duchy and the Black Hawk, were made possible by the Demon Scholars. This has led to the rise of many nobles with military achievements in Star Antimony.

Like General Karl, for instance.

In this situation, the Demon Scholars are sure to be completely adversarial to the Alchemists. But within the increasingly radical group of Alchemists, there's a moderate faction that sympathizes with the Demon Scholars and is loyal to the royal family.

And they are undoubtedly the ones worth winning over.

"So, His Majesty plans to let the Alchemists do as they please—let them initiate a war and unify Avalon themselves. And then, when they attempt a coup, that's when to stop them. By carrying out a war to suppress the rebellion, they will be eliminated, and ties with them severed. Then these criminals will be handed over to Avalon to give them a bit of relief."

"If the plan proceeds smoothly, we will not only safely obtain Avalon, but also be able to eradicate the extremist factions within the country in one fell swoop. This is His Majesty's plan,"

Count Leipzig explained softly.

The old general frowned tightly. "Why bother with such complications? And what if it goes wrong?
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"Those alchemists are developing too quickly... Perhaps after some time, we truly won't be able to defeat them?"

The vampire count shook his head. "Because nobody knows how the Silver-Crowned Dragon views Avalon, so we can only use these indirect methods to absorb Avalon."

At this point, he smiled proudly, "This is why... I said Miss Alai would definitely come. Because once I mentioned the Rose Cross Society... her Shadow Demon will certainly tell her what the Rose Cross Society is. She will come for sure, as it offers an advanced inheritance of demonology, just like the Holy Nation has an inheritance of priests. As long as she comes and has a chat with me, I have ways to convince her to pledge loyalty to us."

"Are you that confident?"

The old general scoffed, "I, on the other hand, think that she's already with the Avalonian royal family. I heard she has a lover there, a descendant of the Founding Families. I've also heard that Her Majesty the Queen is planning to give him a ministerial position... Such an important person is already well-matched for her."

"Not a match."

The vampire count shook his head calmly. "For a Transcender, the ambition to ascend is an everlasting desire that cannot be eradicated, just as the instinct to betray cannot be uprooted. She is a genius, and being a genius means she is closer to reaching the limits. The Rose Cross Society has a special secret technique... under the right conditions, it can elevate a demon incarnation at the Fifth Power Level to the Sixth Power Level."

"...The Sixth Power Level?"

Albert widened his eyes. "Isn't that... only in legends...?"

"The Eternal Pope, right."

The vampire count smiled elegantly and said calmly, "But do you know?

"—The Sixth Power Level is actually not the limit of this world."

Upon hearing this secret, Albert and General Karl both held their breath.

But suddenly, Karl grew wary.

He remembered how completely fallen and evil the Son of the Moon appeared in his dream... Despite being a longtime friend with Leipzig, also known as the Son of the Moon, he now felt an ill foreboding.

Count Leipzig raised a hand to his lips and whispered enchantingly, "This is a secret. [Please do not disclose it.]"

It was a kind of ability similar to Word Spirits. It was also one of the reasons why he called himself "Prohibition."

"—'Ring of Ouroboros.' This is an ancient stone tablet recently unearthed by the Rose Cross Society... It records a ceremony that allows a powerhouse at the limit of the Fifth Power Level to forcefully rise to the Sixth Power Level without going through the ascension ritual, just like the Eternal Pope.

"To activate the power of this stone tablet, one must complete a special ceremony that steals the power of the Fallen Celestial Marshal. This ceremony can only be performed once... so we need to absorb all the Fifth Power Level demon incarnations and use this ceremony to elevate everyone all at once.

"The Holy Nation has just one Pope and yet can become a permanent neutral state. But if Star Antimony had five, six, or even a dozen Popes, wouldn't we be able to rule the world with ease? This is why His Majesty did not hesitate to stand with us."

The vampire count spoke calmly, "The preparatory factors for the ceremony are ready, and it can begin at any moment. It hasn't started yet because the president wants to maximize benefits and minimize problems. So no matter how much those alchemists struggle, it's in vain. They are doomed to fail, and we are destined to succeed—the only thing that could lead to the ceremony's failure is probably the enmity of the Pillar Gods.

"Therefore, we must make the Silver-Crowned Dragon approve of our actions and ensure Avalon becomes part of us before the ceremony begins. Otherwise, if we suddenly birth a dozen Sixth Power Level beings, Avalon's royal family might use their final trump card, call upon Angel Envoys for a massive descent to the Lower Realm, or cause other unknown difficulties. That's also a factor we must consider.

"But if by that time Avalon has already become part of us, none of this will happen. All the plans of the kingdom at this moment are nothing more than preparatory steps to 'maximize the ceremony's success rate.'

"And if this ceremony is successful... we might even have the chance to reach the non-existent [Seventh Power Level].

"—If the Sixth Power Level is the Eternal Pope, then tell me, what is the Seventh Power Level?

"Without a doubt. We will become gods. This is the essence of [Star Antimony]—'Triumphal Chariot of Antimony' expounds on the refinement and sublimation of animalistic nature, reminding us that if done right, anyone can become divine."

The vampire count's words were extremely provocative. "Don't you understand? It will represent eternity and glory."

Albert couldn't help shaking as he listened to this vast and great plan.

While the old general next to him furrowed his eyebrows even tighter. He felt something was wrong, but perhaps because he hadn't read much, he couldn't quite articulate it.

Yet, they were both keenly aware that the people of Star Antimony were standing on the threshold of a new era.

Step over this threshold, and it would be an unprecedented new era.

"...What's the name of this ceremony? Or rather, does this plan have a name?" Albert asked tremblingly.

"Of course."

The Crown Prince smiled, his eyes gleaming with a hope as vast as the universe. "The president has named this ceremony...

"—Ring of Ouroboros."