"Speak."
Leo looked at her calmly.
Fiona took a deep breath, carefully organizing her thoughts.
"In truth… I am not a native dragon of this universe."
"I come from… a world beyond a gate. It was an accident in an ancient ruin that caused me to drift into this universe."
"Another world?"
Lilith looked slightly surprised.
"Do you mean a world outside Aresia?"
"No, Your Highness Lilith," Fiona said solemnly. "I'm talking about another universe entirely."
A faint light flickered in Leo's eyes.
"The world beyond the gate…" he murmured softly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the branches of the World Tree, reaching into the endless depths of the cosmos—toward that silent, watching archmage far away.
If he wasn't mistaken, the "gate" Fiona mentioned must be the Gate of Oblivion.
And since she came from the world beyond it, perhaps she might know something about Lilith's mother.
After all, it was Lilith's bloodline aura that drew Fiona here in the first place.
"Fiona, tell us in detail what you know about the world beyond the gate…"
"As you wish, my lord, Your Highness Lilith."
Fiona's pupils filled with unprecedented solemnity.
"My homeland lies on the other side of that 'gate'—the Sakend Universe."
She paused for a moment."It is a world where the laws are incomparably stable, and the origin essence immensely dense."
"In that place, the starting point of power is far higher than here. A being of Truth Archmage rank isn't considered low, but by no means rare either. As for Star Core Archmage rank…"
"Forgive my bluntness—in Sakend, that is merely the threshold for exploring the world and ensuring one's survival. It marks only the beginning of the path of strength. Their number is as common as your world's Magus Lords."
Lilith's brow twitched slightly.
She was now a Truth Archmage herself—already considered a powerful existence in Aresia and even across the entire star domain. Yet in Fiona's homeland, that was merely the starting line?
Fiona turned her gaze to Leo.
"In Sakend, only those of Astral Emissary rank can barely be called 'masters,' having earned a place among the strong—but they are still far from being supreme."
"What supports Sakend's power, beyond its vast foundation, is its intricate 'Gate Network'—a system that connects countless perilous worlds. And the Void Zerg…"
A trace of dread flashed through her pupils.
"Those creatures are seen as apocalyptic calamities in this universe, but in Sakend, they are merely one of many powerful forces beyond the gates—by no means the most terrifying."
"The ancient dragon legacy warns us of what lies further beyond the gates: 'Void Abominations' that devour the origins of laws themselves… 'Conceptual Beings' that feed on the rise and fall of civilizations… and even the mythical 'Observers' who stand beyond creation, watching the myriad worlds unfold."
Her voice carried a weight of reverence and awe.
"My lord, forgive my frankness—but given the average power level of this universe, if the Sakend Universe were ever to come into direct contact with it… even if only a few entities from beyond cast their gaze here, the outcome would be beyond words."
"It would be like a primitive tribe, newly learning to wield stone tools, facing an interstellar civilization armed with planet-destroying and dimensional weapons—utterly hopeless."
Lilith's expression grew grave.
She had once believed Dalton's rapid rise was enough to meet any challenge, but now she realized how vast and perilous the cosmos truly was.
The strength Dalton boasted might, in the eyes of those higher existences, be as fragile as that of an infant.
Leo listened quietly.
Yet if one could see into the depths of his mind, they would find his eyes already calculating countless possible futures.
Fiona's words perfectly matched the fragments of destiny he had once glimpsed through astrological divination.
He had thought that with the system's aid, Dalton's rapid progress would allow them to secure their place in this universe and gradually face whatever threats arose.
But now, it seemed—
Time was far more urgent than he had imagined.
The enemy might come from beyond understanding, from a level of existence so high it was suffocating.
And Leo's greatest weakness since obtaining the system… was the lack of knowledge.
"Fiona,"Leo's voice cut through the silence of the courtyard."Your information is vital. It seems our previous pace… was far too gentle."
He rose slowly, and in that instant, it was as if he became one with the entirety of Dalton Town.
A vast, invisible will began to awaken and spread.
"Transmit my command!"
Leo's voice was calm yet carried the weight of law itself.
In an instant, it pierced through space—echoing in the minds of every core member of Dalton.
"Immediately initiate the Extreme Spacetime Acceleration Protocol!I have already pushed the flow of time to the utmost limit this universe's physical laws can sustain—One day in the outside world equals five thousand years in Aerial City!"
"All research institutes, key scholars, and production lines—move into Aerial City at once!Resources are to be supplied without limit, losses ignored—advance at full power!"
"Fully activate Project Warforge!
We need sharper blades, sturdier shields, and more warriors capable of deciding victory in the battlefields to come!"
The command rippled outward like a silent shockwave, sweeping across all of Dalton.
In an instant, everyone felt the world itself shift.
Citizens of Dalton Town found their thoughts accelerating severalfold.
Within Aerial City, time itself nearly froze—everything entered a state of hyper-accelerated motion.
The external forces allied with Dalton immediately sensed this earth-shaking change.
Marshal Otto of the Crossbridge Empire was reviewing an equipment manifest at his station when he suddenly felt a faint spatial distortion. Moments later, he discovered that the number of resource crates delivered had quintupled—and instead of ordinary mana stones, the crates were filled with pure energy crystals and stardust for enchantment.
"Th-this is…"Otto's hands trembled.
"Dalton… Dalton's planning to forge us into powerhouses with top-tier resources?!"
In the dwarven forges of King Thrain, the already deafening clang of hammers grew even louder—the entire district quaking as countless engineering golems and dwarven artisans raced through massively expanded workshops, receiving shipments from Dalton's central vaults.
"Wahahaha! Brothers, look!"
"Titansteel! Void Mithril!"
"So much—so damn much!"
Thrain swung his massive forge hammer, his beard bristling with excitement.
"The president's building a god-slaying army to sweep the Starsea! We dwarves mustn't fall behind!"
"Wake every brat up! No sleep, no breaks, shift rotations nonstop!"
"Forge till you drop! Anyone who slacks off—my hammer won't forgive them!"
At the Thunder Mage Tower, the tower master gazed at the decree in his hand—a personal order allowing him to select three hundred core mages to enter the inner sanctum of the Elemental Realm for accelerated cultivation.
Tears welled in his eyes as he shouted hoarsely to the assembled mages:
"Everyone! Dalton has opened the gate to higher ranks for us!"
"The coming war will sweep across the universe—it's both calamity and opportunity!"
"If you don't wish to become cannon fodder in that war, then fight with everything you have—Grow stronger!"
"All of you, apply immediately to join Dalton's Mage War Corps for full integration!"
The wood elves, giants, and countless other races all made their choice amid the surging tide of mobilization.
Requests flooded Dalton's administration—applications to enlist, to join the industrial expansion, to aid in the coming war.
Everyone understood—
Only by following Dalton's lead could they grasp even a sliver of survival…and the glory that awaited beyond it.