> @Gardevoir’s_Stockings: "My mom asked me why I was kneeling while watching the Grand Elder. I told her I had just witnessed the descent of a god."
> @Milk_Lover: "So, when the Trainers Association's website updated King Julian’s trainer rank earlier, it wasn’t a mistake—it was real."
> @King_Julian's_Wife: "My husband is a Champion! From now on, I’m the Champion’s wife!"
> @GeodudePlaysWithFists: "A 22-year-old Champion? How terrifying is that?"
The nation erupted. As the Grand Elder made the announcement, everyone in Drakoria who heard the news was sent into a frenzy. Those who hadn’t heard were quickly informed by their friends and family.
Only those in the wilderness or secret realms, cut off from communication, remained unaware.
The news spread like a hurricane, rapidly sweeping across Drakoria and beyond.
Babath, Wyvernia, Volkaria, Gallia, Anglia—even the chaotic regions of East Africa—soon learned that Drakoria had gained another Champion.
Since the news was officially announced by Drakoria’s government, and by the Grand Elder himself, there was no doubt about its authenticity.
As a result, countries around the world urgently convened meetings. Nations that were at odds with Drakoria panicked—even as they held meetings, they immediately contacted Celestria, demanding to know how they planned to respond.
Celestria’s reply? "We have already reached a series of cooperative agreements with Drakoria."
This almost made those countries cough up blood.
Wasn’t Celestria always the one that loved to oppose Drakoria? But now that Drakoria had gained a new Champion—making their total just two more than Celestria—they suddenly chickened out?
Fine, chickening out was one thing—but did they have to do it so decisively?
And could they at least have given everyone a heads-up beforehand, so they could have prepared?
Celestria had informed them of their comprehensive cooperation with Drakoria immediately after the announcement, making it clear they had known about Julian’s break through in advance.
Perhaps they had even tried something against Julian but failed, leading them to concede defeat.
With Celestria backing down, its allies had no choice but to call Drakoria quickly—to ask if they could still patch things up.
As for the countries already on good terms with Drakoria, they stood taller than ever, proudly boasting to others:
"Our big brother now has seven Champions, and the youngest one is only 22 years old. With that kind of potential, aren’t you scared?"
"Next time you dare to talk to me in a loud voice, I’ll tell big brother you were bullying me!"
The most thrilled—or perhaps pleasantly surprised—country of all was Wyvernia. After the incident of kidnapping Julian, they had not only lost their only Champion but their entire country had basically become Drakoria’s backyard. Even their beloved "godfather" had abandoned them.
Now, with Drakoria boasting seven Champions and their own country having that much of Drakoria's influence, their status had ironically risen higher than that of countries like Pannar in terms of support from Drakoria.
Who cares about Celestria? Drakoria was the real "godfather" now.
The most panicked country, however, was Babath. Due of their historical conflicts with Drakoria, their relationship had always been extremely poor.
And with Celestria backing them as their "godfather," they often enjoyed hopping around and provoking Drakoria.
But now things had changed—their "godfather" had outright conceded. Even though they hadn’t been completely abandoned, their current predicament wasn't hard to imagine.
Drakoria didn’t even need to lift a finger—just a few words, and Wyvernia would gladly act as their new loyal subordinate to strike Babath.
And other countries would naturally follow suit.
This was the perfect opportunity to repair relations or curry favor with Drakoria.
Just moments ago, many companies in Babath received notices from international partners terminating collaborations, and leaders from multiple countries kicked Babath out of their international group chats.
Now, both businesses and high-level officials in Babath felt utterly abandoned by the world.
Of course, many countries were also secretly banding together for warmth.
With Drakoria’s seven Champions making them the undisputed number-one superpower, several countries that had been at odds with Drakoria decided that the only solution was to unite.
Under this threat, their unity was remarkably strong.
Even though Celestria had publicly entered comprehensive cooperation with Drakoria—and appeared to have admitted defeat.
But in reality, they were the true leader of this alliance. Under their leadership, countries like Gallia, Anglia, and others—each with one or two Champions of their own—drew closer together.
Faced with the overwhelming threat of Drakoria’s power, their alliance grew tighter than ever.
If Drakoria were to target any one of them, the combined Champions of all these nations would number in the double digits.
Of course, unless World War III breaks out, why would Drakoria even bother attacking them?
Meanwhile, Celestria was mobilizing all its domestic resources to help one of its peak Pseudo-Champion trainer to break through to the Champion level.
If they could produce one more Champion, the gap between them and Drakoria would shrink to just one Champion, significantly reducing the sense of threat.
Drakoria gaining a seventh Champion had thrown the entire international landscape into chaos, only to be reshaped.
In the end, the world roughly divided into three factions:
One faction was naturally the pro-Drakoria group, consisting of countries like Volkaria, Pannar, and others.
The second faction was the neutral camp, primarily composed of underdeveloped East African nations. They knew full well that Drakoria wasn’t interested in them—even if they tried to curry favor, Drakoria would likely ignore them. So they simply chose to remain neutral.
The third faction was the cooperative alliance, led by Celestria. This faction had entered into collaboration with Drakoria.
On the surface, they appeared to be cooperating, but behind the scenes, they were banding together for mutual support, secretly focusing all their efforts on cultivating strength while maintaining a low profile—a strategy of cautious survival.
Of course, Drakoria was fully aware of Celestria’s intentions.
But did they really think breaking through to the Champion level was so easy?
Moreover, even if they poured all their national resources into producing another Champion, success was far from guaranteed. And even if they did succeed, Drakoria could do the same—with an even higher rate of success.
Using an entire nation’s resources to create a Champion came at great cost. In the long run, the drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
If this method was truly worthwhile, why hadn’t Celestria done it before? It was only because they were backed into a corner that they resorted to such measures now.
Once a country burns through its national resources, recovering them would take at least a century. Spending that much just to create a single Champion was hardly worth it.
But it was also clear that the current Celestria had already reached a state where they could no longer afford to keep their wealth and power in reserve.
Even though Drakoria hadn’t taken any overt action, this was how superpowers played the game—it was all about being prepared. If you weren’t ready, and the other side suddenly strikes, you’d be pinned to the ground and pummeled.
So, Celestria’s move was one of desperation.
*****
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