Red: Hostile nations towards Highserk and active war zones

Yellow: Territories under control of the Highserk Empire Army

Purple: Demonic Territory

Light Blue: Seas and waterways

Brown: Neutral nations and Mayard

Flesh color: Archipelago Countries

Blue: Meiris Republic

Green: Aleynard Forest Alliance

The Highserk Empire, using the funds brought in from the Karoloria Magic Silver Mine, proceeded with rearming and sought to reclaim the territories it had lost. Supplies and facilities abandoned during the escape were put back into use. The former Southern Front Army and former Eastern Front Army succeeded in joining forces, and the Highserk Imperial Army managed to recapture the Imperial City.

The scars left behind by the Flame Emperor Dragon were catastrophic. Mountains and valleys alike had been burned and collapsed, and the invasion route itself had been transformed into a new road.

The Highserk Imperial Army named these transport routes the “Flame Emperor Dragon Corridor” and sought to use them as trade roads leading toward the Mayard region. The Duchy of Mayard, which had absorbed the remnants of the former Western Front Army of Highserk, softened its stance toward the re-established Highserk as ties between them deepened. In order to counter the growing pressure from the Crest Kingdom, it formed an alliance with the Highserk Empire.

Meanwhile, the Libertoa Trade Federation and the Crest Kingdom incorporated into their own territories the lands of Felius and Highserk, both of which had collapsed as nations due to the Great Rampage. In some regions, entire commercial and agricultural foundations were seized, and refugees from the two fallen countries were used as human labor.

Aiming for the complete absorption of Highserk and Mayard, Libertoa and Crest sought to conquer them through military and economic dependence, avoiding the heavy costs of attacks while drawing them into their spheres of control. However, upon receiving information about the Highserk–Mayard alliance, they realized that these designs had crumbled. In response, Libertoa and Crest began formulating plans for active military invasion.

Though the Libertoa Trade Federation and the Crest Kingdom maintained the appearance of a honeymoon relationship, in truth they competed for dominance over the northern nations, checking one another while plotting further territorial expansion. The year and a half of fragile peace was on the verge of turning into nothing more than a preparation period for war.

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Here’s a bonus illustration of Walm that was made when the release of a manga was announced!

Translator – Lyxxna