The minister continued to diligently explain the information his daughter had collected, not daring to miss a detail as the dead bodies were dealt with.
Any government would of course have spies from competitors. It was also unlikely that the Ragnors had weeded them all out, but that just meant that those currently in the room would be heavily monitored for the next hundred years – a policy put in place by the very first Odin himself.
However, they all also understood that simply by virtue of killing these spies, they would alert their enemies that there were likely to be large movements taking place in the near and not too distant future.
That said, there was nothing that could be done about this. It was better than didn't know what was going on.
The more the minister explained the more shocked the room became.
To think that there was such a treasure trove in their very own quadrant, yet they never knew. How long would they have spent in the dark had they not been forced into a corner on that day a hundred or so years ago?
The day that Vidar and Thor died, or rather, the day the previous wielders of their faith seeds died, was a black stain on the Ragnors. And shockingly enough, it wasn't their long-standing enemies, the Pakals, that were responsible. In fact, the Pakals suffered as well, losing their faith seeded genius, Asura, in the process.
At that time, the Ragnors had little understanding of what was happening, or even why these people attacked them. All they knew was that although their cultivation levels were similar, their foundations were incomparably pure and refined, to a level many of the Ragnors and Pakals couldn't hope to reach.
By the end, it was clear that they were looking for something, but couldn't find it. So, after toying Vidar and Thor to death, and realizing that Odin and elders like him were too much for them to handle, they leisurely used their escaping treasures to disappear without a trace.
However, before that, they had challenged hundreds of geniuses in the quadrant to battle, and not a single one but Hela, Loki, a genius of the Pakals and the current Uidah first Son of Sainthood survived. But… Surviving didn't mean they won…
They called themselves Dukes and Duchesses. But, it was clear that that was a ranking their respective universes gave them in acknowledgement of their talent… A title well deserved.
If it wasn't for them causing the Pakals and Ragnors to divert much of their resources into figuring out just where they came from, the Uidah would never had risen as far as they had. It was nearly impossible for three Emperor God Clans to appear at once, yet, that was what was about to happen.
It was only now that the Ragnors finally understood just what happened.
Those geniuses had been the participating members of the adjacent quadrant's Epistemic Tower. They had come here because they had noticed that no geniuses had emerged from this universe in a long time. Because of this, the directly deduced that either this universe didn't have geniuses capable of earning the tower's acceptance and were tossed out just like Alidor's companions had been, or that this quadrant had somehow neglected their Epistemic Tower.
In order to figure this out without revealing their hand, they decided to go around challenging geniuses. At first, it was clear that they were inferior, and many started to believe that it was the former reason. But, after running into Loki's tricks, and Hela's ferocity, coupling this with the Pakal and Uidah geniuses, it became clear that there were in fact members of the younger generation that were capable of earning the tower's acceptance. This left the latter option as the only remaining option. This universe had forgotten about its Epistemic Tower!
Having deduced this, those geniuses spent a lot of effort trying to find the tower. After all, if their quadrant could have two tower key holders, instead of one, they'd have an unprecedented advantage.
Unfortunately, because of their rampant and carefree nature, and overall carelessness, they had alerted the true experts of this quadrant. After that point, they had no choice but to return. If they had stayed, no matter how talented they were, it only meant death.
However, at this point, the Ragnors could only thank them. If it hadn't been for this Dukes and Duchesses, how would they have known to investigate other quadrants? It wasn't that the Ragnors never had any ambition to do so, but with so many enemies here, how could they divert their attention away unless they were forced in this way?
"Does Hela have any ideas on where our Epistemic Tower may be? We cannot allow the keyholder to be a Pakal."
"Hela made a few guesses, but there is one other thing of importance that must be stated first.
"Hela noted that the Pakals made the same moves as us, as well as the Uidah. It is likely that even with our counter measures, their own intelligence groups have learned what we have. In fact, it is because Hela fought with the 1st Son of Sainthood, the bastard from the Uidah, that she could no longer suppress her cultivation long enough to come home.
"Because of this, Hela suggests that we quickly find the tower, however we need to make concessions to the other power house clans as well."
A heavy tension filled the room. Everyone here understood Odin's personality. If it wasn't for the fact his son's father in law had said these words, Odin may have directly killed this minister for suggesting such a thing. However, this minister understood that this needed to be said.
"I apologize for my words, Lord Odin," The minister apologized sincerely, bowing his head. "However, a treasure of this caliber will result in nothing less than all out war. If we do not do this, it is likely that we will have to face both the Pakals and the Uidah. This is something we cannot afford."
