Austronesian Empire, Imperial Maharlika, Luzon, Manila, Underground Bunker Of Malacanang Palace.
2000, 4, 1st Week, January
The next day...
Television chatters fill the room. In front of the numerous televisions with faces of it were the People's Emperor Maximo. For the past few minutes now, the ashen look on his face has never taken a break nor left him.
There are many thoughts inside of his head that are better left unsaid, but one of the main things there is concern and worry.
He was concerned for the wellbeing of his people and worried about what might befall them if the Empire crumbled and was occupied by barbarians around them.
And so, the meeting continued.
The war against the demons had finally ended, though a small number still lurked in hiding throughout the nation. Consequently, a massive cleanup operation was launched. Fortunately, casualties were fewer than in previous reports.
Regarding the battle in Marawi City, the government was completely baffled to learn that the 19th Black Armored Division had survived with fewer than a hundred deaths.
As it turned out, the giant Angel they saw through the satellite feed might have something to do with it.
While some officials were initially disappointed, this military faction's usefulness and unique technology made them leave that thought.
But aside from that for now, there is another major problem that would threaten the lives of the people of Austronesia.
Slavery and the ravaging of the motherland would be inevitable if they did not act swiftly. For the greater good of Austronesia and humanity as a whole, the government must not fall.
Immediate recovery efforts must begin, with a strong emphasis on a national patriotic war to defend the motherland at all costs.
The civilian factories and, importantly, the military factories must be quickly rebuilt and expanded. Luckily, the motherland is rich in countless unimaginable resources, which they must exploit and take advantage of.
Given that their enemies consider humans in this world as inferior and slaves, they will not tolerate such a powerful nation such as them to exist. They may attack everywhere in every direction possible.
Therefore, recommissioning old warships is a must, especially as Austronesia is composed of thousands of islands. If the need arises, even those warships that haven't been refitted will be deployed to the battlefield.
As of now with the current state of things, they will be forced to rely on old military equipment, such as old firearms, vehicles, and other military assets. They must utilize everything they have available to hold their ground. Furthermore, they are sure that they will be invaded the moment their existence is revealed to the world.
Therefore, they would need to patrol the seas more intensely as never before, so that they could dispose of anything and neutralize any threats approaching their territory. Military warships and such will escort and protect civilian ships from enemy ships, sea monsters, and any foreign threat.
Maritime laws will become much stricter. Any vessel trespassing into restricted waters will be shot without hesitation, and they will also shoot those from the outside that trespass to oblivion, whether if they were military or civilian. Such stringent measures are necessary.
After all, you could never remove curiosity from people. There will and there will always be people who are daring enough to investigate into something that shouldn't be looked at.
Thankfully, according to the reports that they had received earlier, it seemed like that the oil wells on different areas of the oceans are intact and can be used. However, the major problems lie with the oil refineries.
The storm has severely damaged most of them, causing leaks that require immediate cleanup operations.
Additionally, they only have about a few months of fuel reserves left, and so they must restore those oil refineries into working condition as soon as possible.
Crude oil wouldn't be useful if it is not being refined into any usable oil products.
These were some of the major points that have been encountered at the meeting, which continues as the situation evolves.
"This is excellent, Your Majesty. Thanks to you, we have gained someone from this world that is willing to trade with us if we help her reclaim the throne in her kingdom," a politician announced.
"Shouldn't we just use her to blackmail the country?" one of the general staff suggested.
"If we do that, we are no different from them. We are a civilization that has been through countless tragedies. It is better to treat our partners with fairness. As a nation that was brutally colonized by the West, I believe we should all understand this," another politician responded.
"Fair enough," The general staff conceded defeat.
The emperor Maximo smiled at the conversation as he felt pleased at the end of its conclusion. He knew there is no long-term benefit if they treat their partners as someone lower or inferior to them.
They must, after all, treat them equally with dignity. However, if the other side treated them inhumanely and, most importantly, their people, then a counterattack is a must. They had treated them with dignity, and if it was rejected, they had to defend their own dignity no matter what.
"For the meantime, we should gather as much intelligence as possible on our adversaries. Furthermore, to rile up the masses for the upcoming war, I believe we should send some of our men into these other world countries and capture videos of them committing inhuman acts against our fellow kind," a general staff member suggested.
"Even though I don't like standing by and doing nothing, I understand that we have no choice as of the moment, so I will agree with you on that." a politician replied.
"Additionally, the videos and images that will be taken could be used to expand our influence and serve as justification for a national liberation war. We should proceed with this plan. Sooner or later, they will declare war on us, so let us just prepare those things for the masses. If possible, we should also mount a rescue operation for the humans in those countries," Emperor Maximo said.
After hearing the thoughts of their emperor, the others agreed to him, as what he said indeed made sense. This could indeed serve as a rallying point to rally humanity to the top once again.
"Then we should deploy all the nuclear submarines we have and send agents to each country to establish an intelligence network, too. Even though we have our remaining satellites above us, it is still much better to get it through firsthand."
"Now, the only thing we can do is to weather this great tragedy that has befallen us. We must use all means to survive in this dangerous world. For the greater sake of humanity, we must hold fast," Emperor Maximo declared.
The emperor and the other officials and general staff were all satisfied with the meeting and so they decided to wrap it up.
"I declare this meeting adjourned!"
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In an Unknown Location…
In a dark cold world, there stood a dark castle at the very precipice of a massive mountain.
The mountain was so massive that it made Mount Everest look like an infant. It is shrouded in darkness, and obsidian clouds floated ominously above everything.
Black grains of sand danced in the air as this single ominously gigantic castle elegantly sat at the heights of majesty.
Several massive houses and colossal structures declared the landmark at the center. However, no matter how grand or glamorous everything was, they were all submerged in inky black.
And the darkest of all... remained the castle.
Within the great structure, past its imposing gates, and inside the throne-room of absolute splendor, a being currently lay on his pile of treasures that formed a throne.
Multiple precious tones were mixed together with only the purest kinds of magic items that level worlds.
Purple crystals that radiate chaotic energy grew all around the absurd, yet immensely beautiful throne on which the great being was casually laying on.
The throne was vertically huge, but more so horizontally long, so it could contain the huge form of the one who occupied it.
It had a soft cushion, so there was no way they would get uncomfortable.
No one else was in the throne room except him, and due to his eyes being closed, it was clear that he was currently asleep.
However, the two eyes of the slumbering entity slowly fluttered open.
"Strange..."
As he opened his mouth, a deep voice echoed throughout the throne room, causing reality itself to tremble.
The glowing crimson eyes of this entity pierced the darkness, illuminating the room.
"One of my children is dead...?"
This being was what could be described as a demon, and not just any kind of demon.
He was the Demon King himself, ruler of the Dark Realm.
His current situation was a perplexing one, as one of his children had met an untimely death.
The reason he could detect it wasn't due to a strong paternal bond between himself and his children, but the 'Bloodline Connection' that all Monarchs had with their progeny.
He couldn't help but be connected to them, and once one life was snuffed out, he would instantly know.
"Which one was it? All of my childrens were Prince or Princess-rank. Hmm... ahh..."
It didn't take long for the Demon King to identify the one who was dead.
"Andrew Medium, right? That was his name... I think."
He squinted his eyes and his face frowned, almost as if merely saying the name of the deceased Demon Lord brought nothing but a bitter taste to his mouth.
That was how much he detested him.
'The weakest of my offspring. Shame upon my lineage...'
He had been so ashamed of his idiotic and lazy son that he couldn't keep him in the Netherrealm, so he assigned him a job as a miner in those weak and insignificant manaless worlds.
'He was a miner, if I'm not wrong. Ahh, yes... that's about right.'
The resources he got from these manaless worlds were quite subpar, all things considered.
Since mana didn't flow as densely over there or was simply lacking compared to the Netherrealm and other mana-rich worlds, it was a given that their resources would be of lesser quality.
However, since they were at least useful for something, the job that his useless son had made him contribute at least a little bit towards his kingdom.
'His death isn't really consequential. It's not like we won't live or function well without those riches. But…'
The Demon King narrowed his eyes, staring emptily into space as he growled silently.
The entire dimension of the netherrealm began to tremble in the presence of his almighty power.
'…How exactly did he die in a weak and insignificant world?'
Rage, mixed with disgust and disappointment, began to swirl within him,
He was embarrassed that he had a son like that. Even in death, the useless bastard continued bringing shame to the legacy of Chaos.
'He got himself killed among the humans? Is this some sort of joke?'
Sure, Andromalius wasn't the strongest of the Demon Lords, but he was still a Demon Lord, far above any demons below him.
His mere presence alone was enough to destroy a low-level world.
'Are there mana or any other races in that world? I don't think so.'
He sensed that the world beyond the Gate, which was collapsing upon his son's death and was created by his son's cult followers, was manaless. Manaless worlds were usually populated by humans, who often made such worlds their playground.
The truth was... humans were hilariously weak.
Regardless of whether the world was mana-rich or not, humans were consistently the weakest of all races in his record.
Even in a mana-rich world, they barely had any natural abilities or talents, and none of their features gave them any major advantage in battle.
They were nothing more than cannon fodder to be used when training weaker Noble-class demons.
A single competent Baron-rank demon could probably alter the entire scope of battle if they were sent.
He could have even sent his useless child, and the fool would have been able to annihilate most of the humans there.
'And yet… that idiot lost to them?'
The Demon King shifted on his throne, feeling the cushion pressed against his body.
'What a curious development. How did they defeat him? Did they gang up on him? Was it an ambush? Were there special circumstances behind it?'
The Demon King had to admit that he was curious.
As his eyes shone brighter, the six horns on his head became more pronounced.
'Is it possible that humans are way stronger there? Or rather... "he" intervened.'
Somehow, he doubted it.
'Either way, I think this is worth investigating.' He slowly closed his eyes and returned his posture to the way it was before.
As he got comfortable, he had one trailing thought.
'…I'll look into it as soon as I wake up.'
With that, the Demon King returned to his slumber.
This single act alone not only saved humanity from extinction at the hands of an entity of overwhelming power, but it also saved all of the inhabitants, including the Gods, in that New World.
They just didn't know it yet.
[End of Volume 1]
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A/n: Hello guys, this is the last chapter for Volume 1 of the First Light of a New Age. I hope you enjoyed reading this volume and don't forget to vote and write many Comments for it helps me stay motivated! Stay Tuned! :)