The First Magic World War

Charles's forces consisted of four factions: his original followers, the Black Phoenix nobility who joined him, the New Worlders who recently surrendered, and the Ghost Fleet.

When the Mecklen Duchy was first established, over a hundred Black Phoenix nobles turned to Charles, most of them lacking loyalty. During the aggressive attacks by the New World Conference, more than sixty Black Phoenix nobles surrendered to preserve their lands and riches.

As they reclaimed territory, the surrendered Black Phoenix nobles, fearing retribution, almost entirely sided with the New Worlders. Charles thus seized the opportunity to strip these individuals of their lands and incorporate them into directly governed districts.

However, a portion of the Black Phoenix nobility, when faced with the attacks of the New World Conference army, abandoned their lands and heeded Anne's call, bringing their entire families into Black Phoenix City to fight alongside the Westwind Knighthood.

Representative figures were the Count of Nottingham, Count Barnett, and Viscount Angelo.

Charles was not stingy towards these individuals and granted them lands and wealth. In time, these Black Phoenix nobles were certain to blend into the Mecklen Duchy and become his loyal subjects.

When Charles was preparing to strike back, he did not include these former Black Phoenix nobles. After all, those who had surrendered to the New World Conference were closely related, even possibly relatives. It was likely they might act out of sympathy. He instructed these former Black Phoenix nobiles to return to their domains to recuperate, a very thoughtful gesture.

As for the recently surrendered New Worlders, Charles did not trust their loyalty at all. He had Mocher take a group to another of Anne's domains— the Duchy of Mosley. After all, Anne's territory was also short of people and lacked a Sacred level presence, making these New Worlders a fitting choice.

Hmm, the loyalty of the Ghost Fleet was beyond doubt.

As Charles assessed his available forces, he secretly mused, "The stream of New Worlders is unending, and they are adept at harnessing the power of the Evil God. This war may last a very long time."

"Maybe I should change tactics, deploy fleets to intercept the New World ships and recruit them before they can join the New World Conference."

"The New Worlders are not unbreakably united."

Just as Charles arrived at this thought, the Dreamscape in the Mirror World shattered. Idhela withdrew her power of the dream, as she found she could not defeat "Charles" in the Mirror World.

Idhela gently tapped and shattered the Magic Mirror she had been holding, though she knew this action was futile because Charles's Mirror World was too vast. Even destroying all the mirrors would not seal him in the Dimension Void.

Charles did not constantly hide in the Mirror World, but stepped out, openly and with a slight smile, "Avesh initiated the war, but you hadn't reached the Old Continent at that time. We harbored no hostility!"

"You just need a piece of land, and we have a solid foundation for cooperation."

Idhela revealed a charming smile, "Do you plan to offer your duchy to me?"

Charles shook his head, "You should know about Song Spirit Island and that it has few inhabitants. I have a good relationship with the Inglima Royal Family, and I could persuade them to lift the immigration restrictions on Song Spirit Island. Why don't you consider settling there?"

This proposal from Charles was very tempting, but Idhela decisively rejected it, "Inglima is an old empire, and they won't open up the three Inglima Islands to us. If it were really possible to move to Song Spirit Island, guess why we would go to the New Continent?"

Charles sighed. He knew that convincing the Inglima Royal Family to open Song Spirit Island would be difficult. Although the population on Song Spirit Island was currently low, Inglima could develop it gradually. However, if a group of New World migrants moved there, they might choose to declare independence within a few decades.

Inglima originally exercised lenient control over Song Spirit Island. If there was an influx of completely uncontrolled migrants, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Charles continued to suggest, "Or perhaps you could go to the Agres Sea. There are many islands there, and there is no shortage of land..."

Idhela chuckled dismissively, not even bothering to respond.

Charles also knew that if they could settle in the Agres Archipelago, they wouldn't continue to the New Continent, nor would they cross the Agres Sea back to the Old Continent. He sighed and said, "There must be other ways to solve the problem."

Idhela smiled thinly and said, "Your Mecklen Duchy has thirteen major districts. Just give us five or six of those, and that will be enough to settle the migrants."

Charles shrugged and said, "If you are willing to become my subjects, it is not impossible."

Idhela, of course, knew that the people who had left for the New Continent had done so to escape the political and economic oppression of the various empires. No one was willing to become the subject of a country again. The people from the New Continent had grown accustomed to their freedom and were unwilling to return to being ruled.

Moreover, she didn't think Charles had the ability to defeat the current New World Conference.

Both parties knew that the conflict couldn't be pursued. Charles couldn't do anything about the level 24 Dreamwalker, and Idhela couldn't capture Charles, who could retreat into the Mirror World at any time. They both understood that an agreement was out of reach. Idhela exchanged a few words with Charles and then, as lightly as the wind, stepped back and returned to Arcadia Port.

Romios smirked slightly and asked, "Is this kid tough to deal with?"

Idhela replied, "The Mirror World is the most marvelous escape secret technique. There hasn't been a battle above the Sacred level where someone has managed to kill a member of the Van Gaal Family face-to-face."

Romios said indifferently, "The secret techniques of the Blood Clan are not invincible. We happen to have someone who can restrain the Blood Clan."

"Abelia! Go take down this Duke Charles Mecklen!"

The original New World Conference was led by three presidents: Avesh, Mocher, and Montblanc. Now, the New World Conference had changed to seven presidents, with Romios as the President of the Council, Idhela as the first president, and poor Avesh had fallen to the third president.

The other four presidents were also well-known powerhouses of the New Continent. Among the seven presidents, Abelia was one of only two women, her origins mysterious, with no one knowing what Special Abilities she was proficient in.

When Romios named this female powerhouse, Avesh seemed unconvinced and asked, "Can she really take down Charles? This guy's strength is average, but he's extremely cunning."

Romios smiled slightly and said, "You should also know, the Blood Clan has a nemesis—Protagora. The Transcendent secret technique practiced by Abelia is from the Protagora scrolls. Her mastery of Bloody Glory overcomes all Blood Clan."

Avesh was greatly surprised. The fourth president of the New World Conference silently rose into the air. She was an extraordinarily glamorous beauty...