System's POV
chapter-337-1

"He discovered an Empyrium Deposit?" the Monarch of the Griffin Clan, Douglas Griffin, asked Alexis, who was communicating with him through voice message.

"Yes, Your Excellency," Alexis replied. "It was technically Benedict Riggs who chose where to mine, but the one who took the initiative to look for precious resources was Zion.

"The Dvalinn Federation and the Leventis Family have already struck a deal. The latter will give twenty percent of the mined Empyrium to the Federation in exchange for adding security to the mining area.

"Before this deal, Zion promised Sir Benedict ten percent of the total yield of Empyrium, so the Dvalinn Federation will officially receive thirty percent of shares from the mining operation."

Douglas frowned after hearing his spy's report.

"How long did it take you to send me this information since the discovery of the mine?" Douglas inquired.

"Fifteen minutes, Your Excellency," Alexis answered. "I contacted you as soon as I could."

"Good job. You will be rewarded for your efforts. I need to cut the connection now, but make sure to contact me if something important happens."

"Understood, My Lord."

As soon as the connection was cut, Douglas Griffin pressed a button on the control panel in front of him.

A few seconds later, the projection of Arthur Leventis appeared in front of him.

"Good day, Arthur," Douglas said with a faint smile. "I heard that your grandson has discovered an Empyrium Deposit."

Arthur arched an eyebrow as he eyed the Monarch with great interest.

"I just got this news from my son a few minutes ago," Arthur stated. "You are the first one to contact me, and I'm sure you will not be the last. Your information network is good. So, tell me, what do you want to talk about?"

"I'll get straight to the point, Arthur," Douglas stated. "I want you to sell seventy percent of the Empyrium that the Leventis Family will gain from mining in the Rigel Continent to me. I am willing to buy it ten percent higher than the market price. What do you say?"

Arthur frowned because he didn't know if he should accept the offer or not.

Their family would only get sixty percent of the total yield of Empyrium because ten percent of it would go to the Central Government.

However, Douglas wanted to purchase seventy percent of their gains, which would only leave the Leventis Family with thirty percent of the mineral that could be used to enhance their family's military capabilities.

He wanted to reject Douglas' proposal, but a part of him didn't want to.

The reason why he was hesitating to reject the proposal wasn't because he was afraid of Douglas Griffin, who was a Monarch.

The reason why he was having a hard time deciding was because he was Human.

As a fellow Human, he understood that the Cygni Continent was preparing to fight against the invading Monsters from Solterra.

In order to succeed, they would need vast amounts of resources, and Empyrium was a resource that could potentially tilt the war in their favor.

Humanity had already lost the Continents of Antares and Rigel to the Jinns and Majins.

If they lost Cygni as well, only the Sirius Continent and the Aldebaran Continent would be left.

These two continents would become the last bastion of humanity against the monsters who wished to conquer their world.

Seeing his hesitation, Douglas decided to throw one more condition to make Arthur agree to his proposal.

"If you do me this favor, I will owe you a favor," Douglas said. "You can ask for this favor anytime, and I will honor it as long as it doesn't go below my bottom line. Arthur, I will be honest—I need that Empyrium, so please, sell it to me."

"Fine," Arthur replied. "Send your people to pick it up in the Rigel Continent. I don't have enough manpower to deliver it to you."

Douglas nodded. "Good. I owe you one, Arthur."

While the two of them were already discussing the sales of Empyrium, the spies who managed to infiltrate Zion's battalion were also reporting this incident to their superiors.

Just like Douglas, many of them were very interested in purchasing the Empyrium from the Leventis Family.

They knew that the Dvalinn Federation wouldn't let them have any because they would use it to reclaim their lands.

So, after talking to their spies, they tried to contact Arthur Leventis directly. They bypassed Michael, knowing that he didn't have the authority to promise them anything.

The Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families tried to offer good terms and payments for the Empyrium.

Unfortunately, Douglas had already beaten them to it.

When they heard that Arthur had already agreed to sell seventy percent of the Leventis Family's shares to Douglas Griffin, all of them were disappointed.

However, none of them tried to strong-arm Arthur into breaking their deal.

They knew how important the Cygni Continent was for the human race, so they didn't make any unreasonable demands or threats towards the Leventis Family.

They were just a little disappointed that their agents hadn't told them the news faster, allowing Douglas to reap the benefits this time.

In the end, they left a message with their subordinates who were within Thirteen's Battalion to report any incident like this in the future at the fastest time possible.

The Central Government had also initiated an emergency meeting to discuss the events that just transpired in the Rigel Continent

"He just arrived in Rigel, and this happened," the Field Marshal of the Central Government, Tristan Summers, said with a bitter smile. "Can't he just behave and not stir up any waves from the get-go?"

"It's such a shame that Zion only gave us ten percent," Colonel Fischer said. "But, if he hadn't called me beforehand, I'm sure that we wouldn't even get ten percent. The Dvalinn Federation surely would have kept this incident under wraps."

"Empyrium is an important mineral for the military," a General commented. "Maybe we should use a bit of our influence to ask for twenty… no thirty percent more. What do you think?"

"It's no longer possible," the Grand Marshal of the Central Government, Lawrence Seaton, declared. "I talked to Arthur Leventis before I called for this meeting. He said that Douglas has already asked him to sell seventy percent of the Empyrium that their family will gain from their mining operations."

Most of the officers of the Army were participating in this meeting through projections since they were stationed all over Pangea.

Despite being nearly complete, a silence that lasted for a full minute descended upon their meeting.

"Sir, why did you initiate this meeting?" one of the Generals asked.

"I called all of you here today to discuss an important matter," Lawrence stated. "After talking to Colonel Fischer, I finally understand one of the reasons why Zion Leventis wished to go to the Rigel Continent.

"He went there in order to mine precious ores and minerals. According to him, some of these rare ores form in places with high Jinn and Majin activity. The Rigel Continent has been under the control of the Jinns for many years, so it is teeming with resources like Empyrium and the like.

"The Dvalinn Federation and Douglas managed to secure important resources this time because they were quick enough to act on the situation. Right now, the only force the Central Government has in the Rigel Continent is Zion and his three hundred soldiers.

"If they find another mineral deposit, it's possible that the Dvalinn Federation will strong-arm them into sharing these resources with them. We can't let that happen."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

If Zion were to find another mineral deposit, the ones who would mostly benefit from it would be the people on the scene.

Even if someone from their side were the one to discover it, Zion was only a Rookie, and the strongest member in his Battalion was just an Initiate.

His Uncle, Michael Leventis, was a Champion and had enough authority to oversee such an operation.

The Dvalinn Federation couldn't do anything to the Leventis Family, so they decided to use the peaceful route to ensure that they would benefit from the discovery.

"We cannot send the Hero Team to the Rigel Continent since their presence is needed to raise the morale of the defenders in Cygni," Tristan stated. "However, we must send someone influential whom the Dvalinn Federation will not brush off easily.

"So, I have a suggestion. How about we send the Saintess there? I will also ask the Valkyries to personally escort her to Rigel and ensure her safety. If they are there, I'm sure that the Central Government will have enough influence to negotiate with everyone."

The Saintess was Tristan's daughter, so he had the authority to order her to go anywhere.

Everyone knew that the Valkyries were a special force in the Military, only accepting ladies into their ranks.

The General, who was in charge of the Valkyries, was also someone who couldn't be offended by just anyone. She was someone who was referred to as a Pseudo-Throne since her power was greater than any Champion in the world.

Tristan's proposal was accepted by the officers in the army. They even stated that they should also send their own mining equipment so they could act immediately if Zion found another mineral deposit.

What they didn't know was that Thirteen had already anticipated that the Military would act this way.

This was why he made sure that Colonel Fischer was present when the Empyrium was found.

He understood that the High-Ranking Officers of the army would feel an itch in their butt and wouldn't be able to sit still if such resources didn't fall into their hands.

Thirteen also understood that it wasn't only the Central Government who was thinking about these things.

In fact, the other Monarch Clans, as well as the other Prestigious Families, were currently debating if they should also send their people to collaborate with Zion in order to gather the resources, which were just lying under the surface of the Jinn-

infested lands of the Rigel Continent.