The Witch Hunter System

Due to his growing interest, Emperor Varan continued to ask Kuvat questions about the moon base and pure mana. As such, he also learned about the Heavenreacher Project and the Space Station Project.

"I'm starting to wonder how Lord Vaan's mind works. It's already unbelievable that he came up with all these ideas, but… to realize them as well… How many people could do this?" Emperor Varan commented.

He had been the leader of a generation for many years. Standing above the masses and ruling over them was what he had always done. He was never beneath anyone, only above them.

However, learning about Vaan's ongoing projects made Emperor Varan thoroughly impressed.

Emperor Varan never thought there would be a day where he would willingly lower himself and serve another person above him. However, Vaan was fully qualified and deserving of all his respect and loyalty.

Only under Vaan's leadership would the human race of Pangea be ushered into a golden age of development.

Traversing among the stars was only a dream, but there was actually someone who could make it happen.

Emperor Varan couldn't help but look forward to the future miracles Vaan would show him as he followed his leadership.

"Shall we continue to discuss business, Emperor Varan?" Astoria suggested with some impatience.

"My apologies, Empress Astoria. Let us do that. It wasn't my intention to be sidetracked," Emperor Varan smiled ruefully.

Shortly after, Emperor Varan, Astoria, and Henrietta began to negotiate.

Emperor Varan wished to buy knowledgeable magic teachers from both the Holy Knight Empire and the Black Rose Empire to develop the Great Ratholos Empire's magic education.

However, Astoria and Henrietta outright refused him even if he offered them a high price. Their people weren't goods to be sold off like slaves.

At most, Emperor Varan could hire their services, which he reluctantly agreed to after taking a step back.

Nevertheless, Emperor Varan soon discovered he would need to invest a tremendous amount of mana stones to develop his country's magic faculty to an acceptable standard.

Furthermore, there was bound to be a severe shortage of healing potions due to the complete annihilation of the Sacred Tirtha.

The loss of so many Shamans and Witch Doctors struck his country hard.

After doing some rough calculations, Emperor Varan realized his country's current production of mana stone wasn't enough to support everything unless he made some sacrifices to the martial faculty.

Emperor Varan found himself conflicted.

"If you are short of mana stones, how about selling us the right to enter your country and use a section of your sea region, Emperor Varan? We will send people to procure the mana stones ourselves and pay taxes if necessary," Astoria suggested.

Since the Great Ratholos Empire's Eastern Sea was so rich in mana stone deposits, she was naturally interested in securing a few for the Holy Knight Empire.

It would certainly boost their development.

Alas, Emperor Varan couldn't help but smile wryly at her suggestion. He shortly replied, "That's quite the difficult spot you've put me in, Empress Astoria."

"Oh? Could it be that you don't wish to sell the rights to us, Emperor Varan?" Astoria asked.

"That is not the case, Empress Astoria," Emperor Varan sighed before saying, "If your people are willing to pay the taxes, I would naturally be more than happy to permit it, no matter how many people you send to mine the mana stones."

"However, as I've said previously, the Eastern Sea's deepsea region is very treacherous. Even Transcendent-level Body Refiners could perish easily in its waters. As such, you will only be sending your people to their deaths and suffering losses if I were to allow it."

"After all, your people don't even train in Body Refinement. It'll be very difficult for them to survive the deepsea region's dangers with aura and magic alone," Emperor Varan added.

"Why don't you tell us more about the dangers of the deep sea, Emperor Varan?" Henrietta asked.

"You should already know about water pressure, so I won't bother explaining its danger in the deep sea," Emperor Varan stated before saying, "The biggest dangers of the deep sea come from the sea monsters that dwell in that dark world."

"Not only are they strong and aggressive, they are also numerous and massive. The weakest sea monsters are generally found around the Transcendent rank, and the strongest ones we have encountered to date are believed to be Demigods."

"There may even be stronger sea monsters out there in the deep sea," Emperor Varan added.

"Transcendents are the weakest, and the strongest are Demigods? Furthermore, there may be even stronger sea monsters?" Astoria repeated with astonishment.

The strength of sea life far exceeded her expectations. It made her wonder how they grew to be so strong.

"That's right," Emperor Varan nodded and said, "I know what you are wondering, but you will not believe me if I told you – These sea monsters aren't just strong; they were born at least that strong."

"Is there a difference between the sea monsters you mentioned and the Sea Serpent Clan?" Henrietta suddenly asked with a frown.

"Is there a difference? Of course, there's a difference, Queen Henrietta. There's a big difference!" Emperor Varan felt a little speechless by the question, but he still patiently explained, "The Sea Serpent Clan is a sentient race of sea beasts from the Inner Sea. On the other hand, the sea monsters are non-

sentient beings from the Outer Sea."

"Furthermore, sea beasts aren't born as strong as the sea monsters, nor are they comparable in size. We can at least tame or reason with sea beasts if we expend the effort."

"Sea monsters only rely on their most primal instincts to survive. If you encounter one, you can only kill it or flee," Emperor Varan sighed.

After Astoria and Henrietta heard that much, they were even more astonished.

The Boundless Sea's Inner Sea was the region of non-toxic seawater surrounding the continent.

Everything else beyond that was considered the Outer Sea, a boundless sea region of toxic water capable of killing all life. As such, the Outer Sea was also known as the Dead Sea.

It was their first time hearing there could be life in such a godforsaken place.