Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1472 - 1033: The Sea of Omniscience Has Been Blasted Open

Chapter 1472: Chapter 1033: The Sea of Omniscience Has Been Blasted Open

Anthony flicked the badge as he stepped forward and started muttering with the two Mourning Undead Soldiers. He even showed off several permits and authorizations he had snagged from the Great Speaker, alongside a makeshift plaque claiming "The Great Speaker Personally Present."

The two Mourning Undead Soldiers seemed visibly stunned, their postures slumping in deference. They exchanged bows and handshakes with Anthony, who reciprocated warmly. Whatever Anthony said next made the two Undead Soldiers nod repeatedly before breaking into smiles.

With cordial farewells, the Mourning Undead Soldiers retraced their steps, dashing off at a quick pace.

Returning to their original post, they were intercepted by a human priest who leaped out, shouting phrases like "Chairman Leo!" and "Broken promises! You can’t leave!" One of the Undead Soldiers slapped him to the ground without a word and simply stepped over him before running on.

When Anthony returned to the semi-submersible vessel, Negris couldn’t wait to ask, "What did you say to them? How did you scare them off? Is the ’Good Friend Badge’ really that powerful?"

Negris had always scorned trinkets like the "Good Friend," "Respected Guest," and "Friendly Individual" badges, believing them to be hollow gestures with no binding power or substance.

Yet Anthony and Silver Coin thoroughly enjoyed using these tokens. They relied on them to expand trade routes, pressure others through moral leverage, secure monopolies, or attract investment. Crowds would eagerly flock to them, transforming these empty titles into tangible benefits through commercial and diplomatic maneuvers.

Negris lacked such talents, so he dismissed these superficial tools. But seeing the reaction of the two Mourning Undead Soldiers made him wonder—did the Great Speaker’s "Good Friend Badge" actually carry some hidden authority?

Anthony shrugged. "It’s not the badge that’s powerful—it’s the Great Speaker. Can you believe they didn’t know the Great Speaker is back? Now that’s interesting."

"Interesting how?" Negris asked, confused.

Pressing his lips together, Anthony looked up and posed a question: "Silver Coin, if the leader of an organization returns and some members don’t know about it, what does it indicate?"

"It means those people have been marginalized. They’re nobodies," Silver Coin replied.

"Well, wasn’t that obvious? These guys don’t even have Chaotic Power—they’re clearly lower-ranked than the Mourning Skeletons stationed by the Great Speaker," Negris remarked.

Anthony shook his head. "Low strength doesn’t mean low importance. Your strength is pretty lousy, but who else has importance that matches yours?"

The backhanded compliment left Negris unsure whether to feel smug or insulted. Sure, it seemed flattering, but it also blatantly exposed his mediocrity. As for whether anyone’s value matched his?

Negris gave it some thought. "The Little Angel? The Little Zombie? The Little Sapling? The Little Ghost?" His voice grew quieter with each name.

Pretending not to hear, Anthony went on, "I showed them the Good Friend Badge and mentioned that we had just come from Table Mountain, where we met the Great Speaker, Bret, and Governor Leia. The moment I mentioned Leia, they immediately believed me. Bret’s name is widely known, but Leia is only seven hundred years old—practically young—and barely anyone outside knows about her."

"Table Mountain is under the watch of the Mourning Bone Dragon, so almost no one can get close. It’s been years since those Undead Soldiers returned there, and they had no clue the Great Speaker is back. I told them the Great Speaker was in perfect health, looking much younger, recently handling the Light Disaster, and asked if they had received the Tree of Life."

"They said they had and even planted it in many places to suppress the Light Disaster temporarily. But they didn’t know the Tree of Life came from the Great Speaker. Tsk, tsk, tsk, now that’s even more fascinating," Anthony exclaimed with a click of his tongue.

"Stop teasing and just explain, or I’ll spread rumors about your... inadequacies," Negris snapped.

Anthony froze. In the past, he never took Negris’ incessant grumbling seriously, but now even roadside Kobolds knew the Black Cord Mercenaries had captured a Prime Mourning Skeleton. No wonder His Majesty erased its memories—those rants were absolutely maddening.

Anthony, desperate not to end up as a "Prime Mourning," quickly explained: "The fact that those Mourning Undead Soldiers didn’t know the Tree of Life came from the Great Speaker means no one told them. Clearly, the Leo Faction doesn’t consider them part of their circle.

"In the Divine Light Alliance, there are seven major factions. Apart from the Great Speaker, the other six each command twelve Mourning Undead Soldiers. These Soldiers, nominally loyal to their respective faction leaders, actually lack mandatory Soul Contact. That means if they disobey, the factions can’t do anything to them.

"So essentially, they’re pawns strategically planted by the Great Speaker within each faction. The factions, aware of this, can’t directly retaliate, so their best course of action is to marginalize these Soldiers or send them to tackle challenging tasks.

"That’s why secret operations by a few aristocratic children receive protection from Mourning Undead Soldiers, and why unknown entities like Light Point Fortress become their responsibility to explore.

"My guess? They still believe the Mourning Undead Legion was lost in Light Point Fortress, unaware that it fell into a trap set by the Friel Empire.

"With rifts between them this wide, there’s plenty of room to exploit."

As Anthony mulled over the possibilities, Conise suddenly took flight, heading toward the group approaching from the distance.

Anthony followed his gaze and saw a gathering group pull up the priest who had been slapped down earlier. They apprehended him and began dragging him toward them.

This was a prime example of realism. The Mourning Undead Soldiers’ presence had driven the Holy Land’s guardians to Bonid’s side. Now, with the Undead Soldiers gone, everyone betrayed Bonid, dragging him down from the clouds to the abyss in mere moments.

But the way Conise had rushed off without so much as a word—a sudden lapse in self-awareness, perhaps?

Anthony frowned, though realization dawned shortly after, and his expression softened. He even gave an approving nod.

Seeing the shift, Negris growled, "Explain."

Anthony obliged: "With someone as cunning as him, he wouldn’t make such mistakes easily. If he acted independently, it must have been deliberate. As the reincarnation of the Lord of Omniscience, I can’t breach certain character settings myself. My guess is he wants to play the villain and place a clean church faction in front of me."

Proving Anthony right, Conise approached without hesitation and struck off Bonid’s head. Then, he sifted through the group, had some kill others, and selected a few from among the killers to bring back.

Anthony was pleased. Conise was heartless, shrewd, and adept at reading the room, unafraid of taking the fall for dirty deeds. This made him an excellent subordinate—someone who could handle the ugly tasks and preserve Anthony’s radiant image.

Just as Anthony was about to comment, Ange abruptly leapt forward and swung his arm.

The Lightning Spear vanished, losing its focus, but the immense accumulation of Thunder Power surged forth. With a deafening crack, it struck the ground, blasting open a massive Space Rift and revealing piles of glistening grain inside.

The Sea of Omniscience had been shattered.