2504 Are We Going to Pay or Not?
This matter attracted a significant amount of buzz a few decades ago, but the Freedom Federation did not give these weak and small federations any apologies.

Rather, they continued to remain headstrong and went on to take over and absorb such federations’ meager resources. As a result, many of these federations were wiped off of the maps of history.

If the Radiance Federation did not rise up in power, it might have ended up falling prey to the Freedom Federation just like the Clean Burning Federation had.

Iron Prison was extremely taken aback after he received the news that the Moon Empress wanted him to liaise with the Freedom Federation’s envoy group. Such matters never fell into his hands!

Iron Prison seethed with anger but had no outlet to vent his emotions. Fortunately, the Moon Empress had just provided him with the perfect punching bag to release all his frustration.

Recently, people from other federations wanted to sneak into the Radiance Federation.

At first, all the Radiance Federation’s officials did was instruct the City Guards from the various cities to register these people.

But after some time, while investigating some crimes, the City Guards discovered that many of these crimes had been committed by outsiders.

There was no guarantee that these outsiders were all harboring wicked thoughts.

Life outside the Radiance Federation was riddled with threats. In the Divine Wood Federation, a person could be killed for merely blocking the carriage of an elite. Moreover, some who ventured into the wilderness to hunt ended up falling victim to passing bandits. Those accustomed to such environments would likely struggle to adapt to the security and peace found within the Radiance Federation.

Hence, the Radiance Federation started to go after these people in order to ensure the safety of the Radiance Federation’s citizens.

Over the past year, there had been an increase in illegal immigrants smuggling into the Radiance Federation. This surge in activity had significantly burdened Iron Prison with more work.

Iron Prison had a habit of handling everything himself and never being careless, no matter the scale of the matter.

He was accustomed to using force in his work, so negotiating with envoy groups from other federations was outside his comfort zone.

Iron Prison couldn’t fathom why the Moon Empress had given him this opportunity. He believed Cicada Song would be better suited for such a task.

During previous imperial meetings, the royalty had already determined their stance toward the Freedom Federation. Cicada Song, confident in his abilities, felt he could handle any job without succumbing to pressure.

Upon thinking about all the harm the Freedom Federation had inflicted on the Radiance Federation, Iron Prison’s anger threatened to boil over.

With the Moon Empress’ disciple now in control of the marsh world and abyssal world and possessing power surpassing the Freedom Federation, they were virtually unstoppable.

…

The Mirror God and God of Fools had anticipated that the Radiance Federation wouldn’t easily agree to help the Freedom Federation. However, they hadn’t expected the Radiance Federation to corner and complicate matters for them.

The Radiance Federation went as far as demanding that the Freedom Federation compensate them for all the resources they had invested in constructing the mirror cities in the abyssal world. The sheer quantity of these resources was unimaginable.

For the Mirror God and God of Fools, it was clear how massive this demand was.

It wasn’t that the Freedom Federation couldn’t afford the necessary resources—it was just that doing so would affect the profits of the members of royalty.

Constructing mirror cities in the marsh world would offer all members of the Freedom Federation the opportunity to create new lives for themselves. It would be a blessing for all citizens within the Freedom Federation.

However, the Freedom Federation’s royalty would have to contribute the resources in order to create this blessing. This went against their profits.

Hence, the Freedom Federation did not do so despite clearly having enough power.

Back then, the Freedom Federation’s royalty convened a meeting to calculate the cost of constructing mirror cities in the dimensional world. As a result, they were well aware of the substantial demand made by the Radiance Federation.

Having already suffered significant losses, if they were to comply with the Radiance Federation’s resource demands, it would take the Freedom Federation at least four to five decades to recover.

While the Freedom Federation’s expedition into the dimensional world had ended in failure, the same could not be said for the Radiance Federation.

Should the resources be provided to them, the Radiance Federation would be able to make rapid progress in the abyssal world.

The calamities faced by the Freedom Federation and Azure Federation served as stark warnings to the Radiance Federation. They now understood the perilous nature of the dimensional worlds.

Rather than establishing roots in the dimensional world, the Radiance Federation would swiftly harvest its resources.

With their swift pace of development, they could close the gap between themselves and the Freedom Federation in the next 40 to 50 years, and perhaps even surpass them.

Considering the Moon Empress’ level as a Creation Master, it was possible that the Radiance Federation would produce its second or third spirit-fire expert in the coming decades.

In actuality, the God of Fools was also a Class 6 Creation Master. He had become one even sooner than the Moon Empress did. He was capable of creating a few more spirit-fire experts for the Freedom Federation within a few decades.

However, he had only helped the Mirror God to increase his power.

The Goddess of Mercy also had the opportunity to break through but had been denied time and time again.

The Mirror God and God of Fools wanted to keep all the authority to themselves. They never allowed a third or fourth spirit-fire expert to appear in the Freedom Federation.

But now, the two of them were filled with regret.

If only they had nurtured the Goddess of Mercy instead of butting heads with her. She would have already set her spirit fire alight by now!

If the Goddess of Mercy had received help from them, she would never have chosen to betray the Freedom Federation, regardless of how hedonistic she was.

However, there was no cure for regret in this world. There was no point in feeling regretful now.

The Mirror God asked the God of Fools bitterly, “Brother, the Radiance Federation has made its demands clear. Should we pay or not?”

In the past, the Mirror God would have flown into a rage at such a request, seeking revenge against the Radiance Federation. However, as he and the God of Fools were spirit-fire experts, they had no choice but to agree with the Radiance Federation in order to save the Freedom Federation.

The God of Fools took a deep breath, his voice raspy and cold as he asked, “What does the Azure Federation say?”

The Mirror God also took a deep breath and replied, “The Azure Federation stated they would support the Radiance Federation, no matter what.”

Black and gold flames erupted around the God of Fools’ body, emanating a terrifying aura that scared the other members of the Freedom Federation’s royalty.
They had no clue why the God of Fools was so upset, but none of them dared to ask.