Ronald rescued Koya from the seal.

Adding up the time spent traveling.

After this round trip, an entire day had passed.

However... reality always has a way to pull surprises out of its hat.

As Ronald was bringing Koya back to the oasis and was about to arrive.

He suddenly froze in the air, and even his flying speed slowed down considerably.

The reason was simple—

Because where the expedition team was originally stationed.

Ronald noticed that the number of people in the expedition had once again dramatically changed, and this time it wasn't just a simple addition of two city-state inspectors but an entire group of nearly forty people!

What's going on?

What is this for?

Ronald's face was full of confusion, but a thought quickly came to his mind.

The origin of these people was relatively easy to guess, after all, Zeno and Shiva, the two city-state inspectors, had already proved with facts that the North Pole could be easily reached by ordinary people now.

But this scale of people...

Could it be that the city-state lord of Liorsania really sent people here to expand the territory?

Ronald was filled with mixed emotions.

And Koya, who was beside him, was still completely clueless about the situation. The elderly Caster only realized that their flying speed had slowed down a bit by assessing the actual situation.

"..."

"Mr. Ronald, did you discover something?"

Koya naturally expressed her doubts.

And Ronald showed the Caster beside him a complicated expression that was hard to describe:

"Didn't I mention before—that the mysterious side of the current world no longer needs to hide its existence? And due to the massive spatial changes that occurred previously, strange paths that interconnect may appear anywhere around the world at any time..."

Koya may be old, but her rich experience and knowledge hadn't made her thinking too rigid.

Upon hearing Ronald's explanation, she was briefly stunned but quickly understood:

"So, someone arrived directly on the Arctic continent through such spatial connections?"

"That's right, that's probably the case."

Ronald nodded painfully.

Although this situation was somewhat unexpected, reuniting with his companions was still a necessity.

Thus, the Spell continued to activate, and he flew down with the elderly Caster beside him.

The height gradually decreased.

Everything on the ground became clearer.

The two could see that in the oasis, some fully armed soldiers were driving the expedition team into a corner of the oasis.

And at a relatively central position in the oasis, a simple wooden platform had been erected.

A fellow dressed in incredibly flamboyant attire, clearly a rural noble, was standing on it, holding a rolled-up parchment and making a declaration.

What could I say...

Ronald and Koya arrived just in time.

Because as they approached the right distance, the noble's speech had just begun:

"Now, with great respect for the illustrious King of Liorsania, and reverence for the Gods, I hereby announce—

This land, under religious and national laws, is an undeveloped area that can be developed by authorized pioneers!

Here.

On behalf of Sir Donster.

With the identity of a pioneering Knight inherited from his ancestors, I am marking the boundaries for territorial expansion here!

This authorization order signifies the immediate validity of this declaration!"

"..."

"Mr. Ronald, do you know these people down there?"

This time, it wasn't just Ronald; Koya, who had just escaped from the seal, was also speechless at the dramatic scene below.

If not for her age giving her a steady composure.

Seeing this farcical spectacle of an ancient pioneering Knight claiming territorial ownership, she might not have been able to hold back from bursting into laughter.

Not to mention the other issues concerning the Arctic continent.

The oasis they chose to establish a city on was actually a dead zone shrouded in miasma for half the year.

This is truly an immeasurably reckless act!

"Ms. Koya, not everyone is like this nowadays."

On the other hand, Ronald began to explain.

Because, on the way back to the oasis, he had specifically described to Koya the technological progress in Gride and how countries in the Northern Hemisphere were rapidly developing due to this influence.

But upon returning.

He and Koya encountered this outdated 'traditional custom'.

Even considering his own dignity.

Ronald felt it necessary to clarify the situation.

"In most Southern Hemisphere countries, local leaders continue to follow past stable systems, so in terms of social civilization and technological advancement, there is no difference from the ancient times."

"We mainly see this scene because of the spatial connection to this place."

"..."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing Ronald's earnest explanation, Koya instead chuckled.

"Mr. Ronald, rest assured, I didn't mean to mock you."

"This scene is so familiar to me that I even feel a sense of coming home from it."

Ronald also joined in the laughter with Koya:

"Anyway, you'll definitely witness the real changes in the world."

"For now, let's descend and cooperate with my brave expedition companions."

With those words, Ronald led Koya to continue descending.

Their goal was, of course, not the noble declaring territorial sovereignty, but their fellow expedition members cornered in the oasis.

Unlike the pompous proclamation over there.

Here at the expedition, some minor troubles were occurring.

It should be noted that the Absolute Sea Lantern Kostate held was still emitting its powerful energy in such a situation.

Though most of the soldiers who followed the pioneers were ordinary people, there were also Casters among them to maintain strength.

It was these individuals who had set their sights on the Absolute Sea Lantern in Kostate's hand.

Then, with their soldiers, they cornered them.

As Ronald and Koya hovered above them.

The fellow was eyeing Kostate's surpassing beauty and the powerful Divine Artifact in her hand with quite covetous eyes:

"Listen, woman!"

"Hand over what you're holding!"

"I know this treasure originally existed on this land. Now that our lord has declared ownership of this land, these items belong to us."

"Don't even think about resisting!"

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