# Chapter 3: Burning Ambition
After reviewing his character card, Joshua casually looked at a few other functions.
An achievement list, a lord system that he couldn't remember when it had activated, a mission log, and something that had turned into garbled code—he had no idea what it used to be. There were many entries, all sorts of things.
Since he rarely used them—in fact, he could say he never used them at all—Joshua only now discovered that these seemingly existing options could no longer be opened. They were completely sealed off. Only the character card was still functional, though it had some glitches as well.
The system was on the verge of collapse.
Although he had no evidence, the warrior could be certain that this system, which had accompanied him through his transmigration, would completely disappear in the near future.
But whatever—Joshua didn't care at all about the system's origin or truth. He quickly pushed the matter to the back of his mind and began thinking about the Divine Calamity Mist.
The Divine Calamity Mist, which originated from deceased deities, should logically only appear in the later stages of the [Saint's Descent] alongside the Divine Seals of the various races. They would manifest where the Boundless Heaven overlapped with the Mycroft Continent, disrupting the normal functioning of a region. There had even been cases where an entire city was submerged by the mist, dragging hundreds of thousands of people into illusions.
But in reality, those were all residual imprints of the major gods. Because they were too powerful and extremely difficult to eliminate, they were remembered by the world. In the early stages of the Saint's Descent, there had also been a meteor falling to earth, causing the mist to spread. However, the masters of these mists were all minor subordinate gods from the Era of Radiance. Although they were still deities, their power could not compare to true gods like the Earth Mother Goddess. It was precisely because their imprints were not stably integrated with the Boundless Heaven that they fell off directly in the early stages of the Great Magic Tide and descended into the mortal world.
In his previous life, the Divine Calamity Mist of these subordinate gods had not caused much commotion. It had only created a number of experts who inherited the legacies and divinity of lesser deities. With Joshua's current realm, he had possessed the qualifications to ascend to godhood even during the Era of Radiance. These subordinate gods' legacies and divinity were like chicken ribs to him—useless and worthless.
But whether the warrior himself could use them was one thing; whether his subordinates could use them was another matter entirely.
The 'Iron Wall Knight Order,' subordinate to Black Forest Fortress with one hundred and fourteen members; the 'Frost Dragon Knight Order,' directly under the Lord's Manor with fifteen members and eighty reserve members; and the two hundred and fifty-five teachers and students of Winterfell Academy—even without counting the scattered feudal knights across the territory, the officers in the city guard numbering several thousand, the hired adventurers, and the three thousand private soldiers that hadn't been fully recruited, the warrior now had nearly three hundred Silver-rank and several Gold-rank experts under his command. Their strength was barely sufficient to enter the mist for trials and gain some benefits.
Even if they couldn't completely clear the trials and obtain the final legacy, experiencing a deity's trial would still bring them tremendous benefits. This was why Joshua said that a piece of Divine Calamity Mist falling in the Northern Lands was a good thing. As a public 'dungeon,' it could rapidly improve the practical combat abilities of his subordinates and prepare them somewhat for the coming turmoil.
"Let's return to the city first."
Having already made his plans, Joshua nodded and continued leading the group toward the main city of Moldavia not far away.
To train these young people behind him, he had specifically asked Pope Eagle to teleport them deep into the Ural Mountains and then have them trek across the wilderness. Now it seemed that people who could survive in the apocalypse indeed possessed certain wilderness survival skills. Even the youngest child could keep up without falling behind. Of course, this was also because the warrior had designed the most suitable breathing technique for them.
Under the care of Ying and Lin, these thirty-plus young people from the Grandia World, though somewhat tired from the long journey, were all in high spirits, showing no anxiety or impatience.
Until now, they still didn't know they had arrived in another world. How could people who had grown up in the southern wasteland without receiving any education understand the connections between worlds and the mysteries of space-time? They only felt that a powerful mentor had brought them to a place very, very far from their homeland—a place without Death Shadows, where the sun was bright, where all living things were full of vitality, and most importantly, where they could eat their fill every day and didn't have to worry about death suddenly arriving when they slept.
That was enough. They were content.
Beyond that, they had no other thoughts.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital.
Israel and Nostradamus stood atop the Three Mountains Aden Fortress. "If he dies, I'm next—whether it's going to the front lines or sitting on the Emperor's throne."
A gentle breeze blew, creating unstable air currents between the towering three mountains. The pine needles and branches among the clouds swayed in the wind, causing a rustling sound like ocean waves to come from the drifting clouds and mist.
"He didn't come back, and I went to the battlefield."
After a long silence, the Emperor spoke thus. The legendary expert's tone carried no fluctuation, only faint nostalgia: "At that time, my pursuit was that after the war ended, I could sleep soundly, without having to think about anything, without having to be on guard against orc assassins' surprise attacks, without having to be angry and helpless every day over the deaths of relatives and comrades—I didn't want to be Emperor at all. I only wanted to kill all the orcs as quickly as possible, finish everything as fast as I could, and become a free adventurer, strolling along quiet forest paths."
"But you couldn't." Nostradamus didn't turn his head to look at his student. He still gazed at the sky, calmly responding to the other's reminiscence: "After the war ended, you were the Empire's strongest."
"Yes, I couldn't. That pursuit was too selfish, too narrow."
Israel took a few steps forward, arriving at the edge of the city wall. He extended his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and spoke in a tone that suggested it was only natural, as if things could only be this way: "I am the Empire's strongest. The blood of the Diamond family flows in my veins. I killed three orc Grand Generals. The Empire's great army is firmly in my grasp—Father has passed away. Who besides me can suppress the Empire's nobles? Who can lead this undefeated army? This is my responsibility. I must bear it."
"A person's pursuits can change, Teacher."
He turned his head, his eyes burning brightly, as if some light was surging and boiling deep within them: "Not long ago, because of my hidden injuries, my pursuit was merely to pass the Empire smoothly to the next successor, to prevent this vast realm from shaking endlessly due to my death. But thanks to Lord Radcliffe, that is all in the past now."
The old mage smiled silently, saying nothing, while the Emperor laughed loudly: "They all say that you delayed advancing to Legendary because I wanted absolute control over the Empire's discourse, so I wouldn't allow you to advance."
"They all think that because Lord Radcliffe obtained the power of the First Flame and advanced to Legendary, I can't tolerate this young genius."
"But they're all wrong. My vision is far greater than that. The more experts there are within the Empire, the happier I am."
Nostradamus watched with satisfaction as the Emperor, without any pretense, revealed the truest thoughts in his heart. He recalled the youth who had once followed him, learning the ways of governing the Empire.
That occasionally timid and shy youth was gone. What remained now was an undefeated, orc-exterminating, noble-suppressing sovereign who had pressed thousands upon thousands of nobles under imperial authority, making the Northern Empire flourish and display an unprecedented golden age.
The controller of the Empire bared his teeth. He spread his arms toward the sky, as if wanting to embrace the starry river: "One Legendary? So what if there are two, three, or even ten? The Great Magic Tide is coming. The world's experts will be countless. How could I be worried about such trivial matters and suppress talent? As an Emperor, how could I be so superficial?"
He looked toward the high heavens. In Israel's eyes burned an unprecedented ambition. The light of divinity shimmered on his body, like a layer of blazing, burning flames.
"My pursuit lies far beyond this sky and starry heavens."