On the island of Fuerteventura, where the Tiamat excavation site was located, a strangely shaped plaza was being built by countless robots under the command of a hunchbacked figure in a black robe.
In the center of the plaza stood a tall tower, rebuilt from the core of the original dig site.
Surrounding the plaza were four majestic temples, each with a powerful statue of a black panther, a gray bear, an eagle, and a giant wolf.
The figure in the black robe was none other than the troll high priest, Malacrass.
These temples, which looked like sacred places for worship, were actually cleverly designed prisons for several beast-type dimensional gods.
If all went according to plan, when these gods sent their consciousness down to Earth, they would be trapped inside the statues.
At that point, not only would the gods themselves be captured, but their entire dimensions would become nearly endless sources of energy.
There was even a chance that the gods' actual bodies could be summoned into the real world.
And Josh wasn't worried about anything going wrong—even if Malacrass made a mistake, it wouldn't matter.
Because buried deep under this land was the real powerhouse—Tiamat, a Celestial.
Of course, the Celestials weren't invincible. There were many dimensional gods stronger than Tiamat, but the Black Panther goddess Bast definitely wasn't one of them.
"...With such a big setup, if I didn't already know your plan, I would have thought you had betrayed Tiamat and started worshipping these evil gods," Xu Wenwu said as he appeared behind Josh on the tower and looked down at the busy square.
Ever since getting together with Jiaying, Xu Wenwu had handed the Ten Rings over to Ouroboros, turning it into a sub-branch under the larger organization. He and Jiaying then moved here and began a peaceful, hidden life.
Although Fuerteventura was a volcanic island, it had nice weather and beautiful scenery, and it was expected to become a popular tourist destination in the future.
Also, with Tiamat hidden beneath it, the island was a high security zone for Ouroboros, making it extremely safe.
What happened in the movies—where Wenwu was attacked after retiring and his wife was killed—would never happen here.
As for why they didn't live on the moon—well, it was boring and empty. It might be interesting at first, but after a while it just felt boring. Earth was much more comfortable.
"Worship some wild beasts? You'd have to be really dumb to do something like that. But if possible, maybe we can use Malacrass' methods to get ourselves a few stronger mounts," Josh said with a slight smile.
"…Actually, riding a brown bear sounds kind of awesome," Xu Wenwu said, stroking his chin as he looked at the giant bear statue in the temple.
"Sir, a report from Vienna," a robot servant walked over and handed Josh a document.
"What happened?" Xu Wenwu asked.
"Just a small matter. The French have made a proposal to the European Council. They are proposing to put all the coal and steel production of France and Germany under a common organization that other European countries can join. All trade in coal and steel between members would be free of tariffs. They've also invited several countries to discuss this plan," Josh said with a dismissive laugh after reading the file.
This was the famous Schuman Plan in history, which marked the beginning of the European Coal and Steel Community—the predecessor of the European Union.
"Sounds like a decent plan, but I bet Austria wasn't on the invitation list," Xu Wenwu said with a nod and a mischievous smile.
"Just a bunch of clowns. They can barely feed themselves and still dream of leading the world again?" Josh shook his head. The Coal and Steel Community and even the future EU might sound good on paper, but in reality they were huge traps.
It looked like breaking down borders would help industries grow across Europe, but in reality it only made the strong stronger and the weak weaker.
That's because of the siphon effect. Without borders, both people and companies want to move to better countries and cities—just as in big countries, people from small towns all rush to the big cities.
All the best resources get sucked into the countries with the best environments.
In the 21st century, countries like France and Germany were strong in the EU and had the most advanced technologies, while weaker countries like Italy and Greece were falling behind and had to survive on debt, eventually causing a serious European debt crisis.
The UK's decision to leave the EU was also influenced by these problems.
In the end, the EU wasn't a real country. This siphon effect only helped a few rich nations and didn't really make life better for all of Europe.
"But I know you won't just sit back and do nothing, right?" Xu Wenwu asked.
"Of course not. Even though the Schuman Plan is a trap, it is still wise to use this opportunity to become stronger. As for them not inviting us... heh, I'm not interested in playing with them either." Josh tossed the file to the robot attendant and ordered, "Tell the team in Vienna to send invitations to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Morocco. If France wants to form a European community, we'll form our own Mediterranean Trade Alliance."
Trying to form little cliques? With what resources does France think it can compete with us?
Especially since a major part of what used to be West Germany—Bavaria—was now part of Austria. That so-called European community was hardly worth noticing.
"Nice idea. France messing with you is really their bad luck," Xu Wenwu said with a grin. He knew about Josh's old grudge against France when they first met.
Once the power struggle between France's European Coal and Steel Community and Austria's Mediterranean Trade Alliance started, if France couldn't fix things quickly, not only would their alliance fall apart, but what little reputation they still had would vanish, and they would truly become a third-rate country.
Of course, Josh's actions against France weren't just about personal revenge. France's location was too strategic. If Austria wanted to dominate Europe, France was one of the biggest obstacles.
As for whether the U.S. or Russia would try to stir up trouble, they didn't have to worry. The two were too busy fighting each other for global power. Between a declining France and a powerful Austria, both would rather work with the stronger side.
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