Chapter 147 – Signed

The next day, Dream, Luna, and Iris left the dome and boarded a ship, heading for the Mercenary Empire.

Upon arrival, they found that the Pope, Cardinals, and all the class 4's were already outside and waiting. Of course not absolutely everyone was there. There were a few Cardinals and class 4's of the Empire that would stay behind.

Dream's ship landed and the hatch opened. The Emperor and Pope walked over to him.

"Dream."

"Pope. Emperor. Everyone can come aboard. If it's too cramped, there's the other ship right there."

"Sure."

Nodding, the two came aboard, as did some of the Cardinals and class 4's. Though not wishing to stuff everyone in one place, half of the people went to the other ship Dream had prepared.

When everyone was loaded, they took to the sky. Their destination had already been decided, and they were headed to the Sword School.

Lounging around the luxurious ship, the Pope and Emperor turned to Dream who had a woman by his side and a fox on his lap. 

"Dream. Who might this young lady be?"

The Emperor asked about Luna, who was sitting there with her fox mask on her face. After her class advancements, even her mask had become exquisitely designed and didn't seem out of place on her face at all. It was like it was a part of her, which wasn't exactly false.

"This is Luna, my girlfriend."

"Wife." (Luna)

"Wife. Wait, fiance?" (Dream)

"Wife?" (Emperor)

"Ah, so you two are married." (Pope)

"There's marriage here?"

"Well, for those of the church, yes. It's not very popular elsewhere. I'm surprised you know about it."

"Mm. Well, I guess we aren't technically married. But she's my partner, mate, lady, misses, whatever you wanna call it."

"I see. And who's the fox?"

"Also my partner. Stop sleeping for a sec."

Dream patted Iris, wanting her to wake up.

"I'm tired."

"You're lazy."

"Guilty as charged."

"...You're watching a movie aren't you?"

"...Maybe."

"Well, pause it."

"No! It's getting to the good part!"

"*sigh* Nevermind."

Dream just sighed and ruffled Iris' fur. Hearing their exchange, the Pope and Emperor just smiled.

"Anyway. I've notified the class 4's at the School of our arrival. By the way, I've also prepared a batch of several thousand bracelets. Since the armies are at the Mercenary Empire, I figured we could begin distribution there."

"That's perfect. I'll let one of the class 4's know what to do."

"Okay. And in a few days, I'll start shipping them out en masse to everyone. I would start preparing a list of everyone who needs them on your sides."

Both the Emperor and Pope nodded. They had already begun preparing for this, in fact.

.......

In only half an hour, the ships had arrived at the Sword School. And despite having seen it already by satellite and drone, Dream was still impressed.

The main city of the Empire was another mega-city like the Spire, Mountain, and Mercenary Empires. This city has other cities surrounding it not very far away either. And outside of those were some kingdoms. This was how all the Empires were generally structured, except for the Mercenary Empire which had been nearly destroyed, of course.

This city though, similar to the Mountain and Spire, had its own style about it. It actually reminded Dream about Asian architecture with only a few differences. If he had to describe it, the architecture was like a modern-looking pagoda architecture. The buildings were pointy, and knowing that this was a hub for martial artists, he didn't find it surprising that they would develop this sort of architecture.

In the center of the city was a massive 1,000 meter tall and 300 meter wide pagoda that rose into the sky like a temple. It was majestic and simplistic. Outside of this building, similar to the Spire, were many other pagodas that covered land as far as the eye could see. Though none of them were as tall as the one in the center of the city.

However, despite the fact that this place was a city, there were lots of trees and plants around the place. It gave the city a very natural and peaceful vibe, unlike the more 'developed' cities like the Mountain and Spire.

Dream directed the ships to a huge plaza that wrapped around the largest pagoda. In this plaza were thousands of people. Some were meditating, some training, some sparring, some just walking around. It seemed like this plaza could be used for anything. 

But in this plaza, there was one place at the front of the pagoda that had been cleared out. This space was guarded by soldiers and there were 8 people standing there, waiting.

Knowing that this space was for them, Dream set the ships down right in the middle of it. After cutting the engines, the hatches opened and out came all the class 4's, plus some class 3's that would act as ambassadors.

"Emperor."

The man in the middle of the 8 came up to greet the Emperor, shaking his hand.

"President. Thank you for meeting us."

"Of course. And you must be the Pope."

The President went over to the Pope who nodded and shook his hand. 

"Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. We've already prepared a room to convene. Please follow me."

Turning, all the class 4's walked into the massive pagoda. 

After going into a section of the pagoda, everyone looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling. This hole went all the way to the very top of the Pagoda and provided access to every floor. And since they were all VIPs, they went straight to the top.

Upon reaching the top floor and entering a room through two grand doors, they sat down at a huge conference table. This table was the only thing in this room besides some statues at the four corners of the room. And to top everything off, the walls were windows, and one could see from here the entire city below.

Admiring the view, everyone went and took a seat. Besides the 37 class 4's, there were also some youths standing behind those class 4's from the School. There were class 3's sitting around the foot of the table as well, probably generals or upper echelons of the School.

Dream took a seat next to the Emperor, and next to him was Luna. Iris was laid across on his shoulders, her tails falling down in front of his chest so as to let him pet them.

"So Emperor. I've only been slightly briefed by Dream through the bracelet, who I should thank by the way. These truly are useful."

"It was no problem."

Dream nodded. He had delivered those bracelets to the class 4's of every Empire and made contact. This way, there was a network between all the most powerful people in this world. The security this brought to the safety of the Empires was immeasurable, and every class 4 had been using their bracelets frequently to talk about all kinds of matters with each other.

"So, please tell me about this declaration that you have already proposed and enacted."

"There's not much to say about it. 27 of us have signed this declaration of war against the demons. The reason we are here today is to gather more signatures from those who were absent."

"I understand that. What I don't understand, however, is why this declaration was created without a meeting between the alliance."

"Actually, President, as we had 29 people, all from different Empires, we decided that the presence was great enough that we could represent a majority in the alliance. No Empire was unfairly left out. In fact, of everyone there, only two didn't sign, one from the School and one from the Mountain. Everyone of my Mercenary Empire and even everyone of the Spire, besides those two old monsters of course, had signed."

"So you decided that the eight of us at the School, along with I believe 7 from the Mountain, who had been absent didn't hold enough of a say to warrant holding a meeting?"

"That is partially correct. Another reason is because of the arrival of the church, who have announced that they will be going to war with the demons."

"...Is this true, Pope?"

"It is. The church has prepared soldiers and combatants across the two continents to wage total war against the demons on their continent. And because those 29 people who were at the Mercenary Empire have decided to go to war, we will naturally support them as allies. In fact, unofficially, we are considering ourselves allies with all four Empires. The demons are a common enemy, and only by uniting can we effectively fight them."

"So you are here to announce this?"

"Yes. Although, we are also here to convince those who were absent to sign and commit to the declaration."

"On what grounds?"

"On the very fact that if you don't, the demons will either destroy us all, or should we make it through the war, those who cowered and backed out will be outcast from human and animal society."

"Outcast? You wish to 'convince' us with the consequence of being outcasts?"

The president narrowed his eyes. This was almost a blatant threat. He obviously didn't enjoy that.

"The demon threat is one that needs to be dealt with by everyone. They are our common and natural enemy. By cowering away from the war and withholding support, you are threatening the entire civilized world. And in that case, not only should you be stripped of your power and influence, but you should be banished from the civilized world that you didn't wish to fight for."

"..."

"Of course, I don't wish for anyone to have to be coerced into fighting. Wars are never desired by those who fight in them. But this isn't a simple war. It's a challenge to all sense of order itself. Should we fail and collapse, it will mean extinction. I hope, President, that you can see how urgent this matter is and not be swayed by fear or by material losses."

Everyone went silent, contemplating what the Pope said. 

Everyone who had fought against those demons knew very well how threatening they were. They lost 6 of their class 4's in only a single battle! Plus, this was still only the beginning. They would have to fight their way into the demon continent and destroy the demon race at its roots. It didn't take a genius to understand how dangerous and challenging it would be.

But if they waited, it would only get more impossible. So they needed to start acting. Now. And if it took coercion to do that, then so be it.

"...I understand your words, Pope. And don't misunderstand me. I've seen the most current intelligence and know what happened in your battle only a day ago, and I understand how dire the situation is."

"However, President, should we band together now, I believe that we will have a much greater chance at destroying the demons while minimizing losses."

At this time, Dream spoke up. Everyone looked at him, and the Emperor spoke.

"Dream has made extensive plans and preparations for this upcoming war. In fact, both my Mercenary Empire and the Church have pledged support for him. He will act as the head of logistics and guide all of our armies not only on this continent, but on the animal continent as well."

"The animal continent? How is he supposed to manage millions of people on two different sides of the world?"

"President, my technology makes it possible. I've already told the Emperor and Pope, but I plan on distributing millions of those bracelets to the Empires on both continents. These bracelets will go to the ones in charge of the armies and even high level citizens, and it will ensure that I and everyone who has a bracelet can transmit information to those who need it. I'm sure you know how important instantaneous communication across any distance will be to an army."

"...Indeed. Such logistical capability will be terrifying."

"Along with some other troops and bots of my own and I'll be able to manage the militaries of every Empire across the world. This will make us able to coordinate attacks on a global scale, and that way, we'll be able to use everyone's power to their utmost and slowly kill our way through the demon continent, destroying them once and for all."

"Because of his ability and willingness, he is doing many things to make this war easier. Without him, the Mercenary Empire would have been utterly destroyed in the past week, and of all the class 4's who had come to support, many would have died, far more than the 6 that did." (Emperor)

"..."

The president was quiet in thought for a while, as were the other 7 who had been absent.

"President, I hope you know that we must all choose a side. And the only side for us to choose is war. While this declaration is more of a formality, it represents your commitment. We hope that you, along with the others who were absent, will sign it." (Emperor)

"...Very well."

After pondering for a bit, the president spoke up. 

"I will sign the declaration. As for the others, I don't represent them."

"Of course. Those 7 of you who were absent, come up if you wish to sign. The document is right here."

The declaration page that held all of the signatures appeared in the Emperor's hand. He then handed it over to the President next to him, who signed it with his mana.

"I will sign it."

A man, one of those who was absent, raised his hand. The president passed it to him through the air, and he signed it with his mana.

After he signed it, the others also raised their hand. The declaration was passed around to them, and all 7 of them signed with their mana.

"I will also sign it."

Suddenly, a woman who hadn't been absent but had chosen to not sign raised her hand. She had changed her mind. But nobody was angry or upset, instead glad that another person was going to stand with them. The declaration was passed to her, and she signed it with her mana.

"With this, everyone from the Mercenary Empire and Sword School has signed this declaration. Now we need to go to the Mountain and do what we just did. President, I hope you will come with us as support."

"Of course. Other than 4 people, I'll have everyone come with use as well. Maybe we'll have another grand meeting at the Mountain this way."

"Haha, indeed."

Everyone chuckled. Only at the grand meeting had they assembled so many class 4's, and now they would do it again barely a month later.

"Excuse me, I have a question."

After the mood had calmed, one of the men from the School spoke out. The president looked at him.

"Yes, Tolsar?"

"Might I ask, what class Dream is?"

"I am class 3."

Dream spoke, answering for the President. The man, Tolsar, smiled.

"Are you a low, mid, or high level class 3?"

"Low-mid, I guess?"

"I see. In that case, I was wondering if you were open to a duel."

"...With you?"

"No, my disciple."

Saying so, a youth behind Tolsar stood out and looked at Dream. Seeing this, the President smiled.

"That would be a very interesting duel. Dream, Tolsar's disciple is a mid-level class 3. He's 32 this year. I think you two, being so young, would have a very interesting fight. What do you think?"

"Uhh, I guess?"

"Great! We have a dueling room on one of the lower floors. How about we all move down and watch?"

"Mm. I'm interested in this duel."

"I as well."

Both the Emperor and Pope spoke, obviously wanting to see this. Luna looked at him, secretly smiling under her mask. Seeing that teasing smile, Dream just sighed.

'I guess it wouldn't be bad to have a little battle. I've been a bit idle lately anyway.'