The rest of the books revealed nothing useful beyond the history of the four dragon clans in the region, a few records about local traditions, several recipes for traditional cooking that the fire clan seemed strangely proud of, and a stack of magic control and expansion manuals Max quietly stashed away into his dimensional pocket.

Those at least were worth keeping. Even if they did not answer his questions about blue fire, Sky dragons, or that burned eighth figure, they still carried knowledge this world had spent generations refining, and Max was not foolish enough to leave useful things behind just because they were not what he had been searching for.

"Truly, if not for the system, one would think the children’s book was just somebody’s imagination..." Max muttered, holding the thin book in his hand as he looked down at its old, faded cover. "What a waste... I wish I could have found something more on the topic."

His eyes drifted out of focus for a moment, the thoughts inside his head moving faster than the silence around him, before they slowly sharpened again.

"Sadly, I’ll have to call it a day here..."

Max stood up, carrying the barely flickering lamp with him as he walked toward the exit. The weak flame trembled with every step, stretching his shadow across the old stone walls while the library behind him sank back into darkness.

Outside, the kingdom was already churning even without its king.

Waves of people were preparing to move farther into the region, pushing deeper toward the center where the capital city would eventually begin construction.

Carts were being loaded, beasts were being harnessed, and families moved through the fire clan’s lands with a mixture of fear, exhaustion, and hope that always followed people who had lost one home but were already being promised another.

The transformation of the fire dragons had shaken everyone, but life did not stop for mysteries, and a kingdom could not be built by waiting for every secret to reveal itself.

Clotilde’s letter reached Max after a couple of days, confirming her king’s successful agreement to his proposal of handing her over as a concubine. With that, the two kingdoms would form a temporary alliance without forcing Max to break the promise he had made to Nobunaga and Yukino.

For the first time in what felt like forever, a short breath of peace settled over the lands.

Nobody could really explain how they felt about it. Ever since Max began taking over the dragon clans, the region had never been given time to rest. One battle had followed another, one shocking transformation had led into the next, and before anyone could properly understand what had just happened, another problem was already waiting at their doorstep.

And even now, that peace was not truly peace.

Max had received the news that Oswald had politely offered him to go fuck himself and take his proposal straight to hell. The offer to submit and hand over the rest of the lands under Voidstar’s control had been rejected completely.

"I can’t say I didn’t expect this."

Max chuckled from Agnia’s old throne, looking down at Eberhard, who knelt before him with his head lowered respectfully. The old man’s face had gone pale as he relayed the message, and the weight of failure sat heavily on his shoulders.

"What do we do now, King Maximus?" Eberhard asked, his voice controlled, but not as steady as he probably wished it was.

He could not believe he had failed his very first mission. Worse than that, the other three family heads were all looking at him with barely hidden snickers, enjoying his humiliation far more than they dared to show openly in front of Max.

"What do you think we should do?" Max asked, steadying himself against Agnia’s old throne as his amused gaze remained on Eberhard.

He had expected a little more from the old man, but now that things had turned out this way, disappointment alone was useless.

Eberhard had once served Oswald, and Max needed to know what kind of loyalty now stood before him. Words were easy. Kneeling was easy. But when the time came to move against the man he once followed, that was when Max would see whether this old dragon had truly accepted his new king, or whether some part of him now belonged to Voidstar.

Eberhard swallowed hard, as if a large cork had been shoved deep into his throat. His fingers visibly shook against his knees, betraying the fear he was trying so desperately to hide.

But then, all at once, the trembling stopped.

He slowly looked up at Max, and this time, his eyes burned with determination. Fear was still there, deep in his chest, coiling around his heart like a cold snake, but something stronger had finally pushed through it. The old man had made up his mind. If he remained useful, he would live. If he hesitated, he would die as nothing more than a failed messenger mocked by the other family heads.

"Let’s invade the lands as a war mission to reclaim the sacred territory of the wind clan’s people," Eberhard said, his voice rough at first, but growing steadier with every word.

"We can paint Oswald as a mad emperor who abandoned his own people and twisted the clan’s future for his pride. We will spread the word that he rejected peace, refused unity, and chose to keep the wind clan divided while the elves slaughter humans and dragons alike. That way, not only will our actions be justified, but we will also be able to plant a seed of hope in the hearts of the wind clan. They will not see you as an invader coming to steal their lands. They will see you as the king who came to free them from a ruler who lost his mind."

A short silence followed his words.

"This way, you, my king, will become a hero instead of a tyrant."

"So, you think I’m just a tyrant?"

Max leaned forward, and the entire room seemed to sink under his presence. Void magic began swirling around him dangerously, creeping from his body like black mist mixed with threads of violet light.

The air grew heavier, colder, and the torches along the walls flickered as if they wanted to retreat into their own flames.

His eyes darkened for a second, taking on a black-violet shine in his retinas, and that single look was all it took to scare Eberhard to the point where his entire body froze like a rabbit that had felt a predator’s gaze lock onto it.

The old man’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

"Hahaha! I appreciate it. I know very well that I’m a tyrant. I’m not hiding it."

The tension shattered as Max’s laughter rang out across the throne room.

The other three family heads all breathed a quiet sigh of relief, though none of them dared to make it obvious.

But Max only laughed.

And somehow, that made him even more terrifying.

Eberhard himself could not even speak. For a moment, he did not understand whether he had already died and started seeing illusions, or if Max had truly fallen back against the throne only to burst into laughter like the entire thing amused him.

His trembling lips parted, perhaps to apologize, perhaps to explain himself, but Max lifted his hand before a single word could leave his mouth.

"I like this idea. Painting me as a hero... Even if nobody actually believes it, they won’t have a choice but to accept it with all the slaughter the elves are carrying out. Fear makes people desperate. Desperation makes them obedient. If Oswald is stupid enough to reject my offer, then we will make sure his own people understand that he chose pride over their survival."

His fingers tapped slowly against the armrest.

"Fine. We shall move toward the new capital. We can leave the people there to prepare for construction while I take the armies and swallow the entire wind clan. Spread the message ahead of us. Tell them I gave Oswald a chance. Tell them he refused unity while their people bled. Tell them Voidstar is not coming to destroy the wind clan, but to return their sacred lands to the people who actually deserve to live on them."

His voice slowed slightly, and his eyes shifted toward Arvid.

"And then... we will make sure to take over the Thunder Empire as well, completing Voidstar’s rise into a true empire."

Arvid’s expression tightened the moment Max’s gaze landed on him. He tried to remain calm, tried to keep his old dignity in place, but the slight twitch in his jaw betrayed him. He knew exactly what his king meant. The time had finally come to set their plan in motion.

"After that, nobody will dare to challenge us."

The faint smile on Max’s face slowly faded, leaving behind something colder. "And if they do... I will make them regret it."