Noah kept on training as he reviewed the events that had happened in the world during his hibernation, as well as the details behind Elder Julia's offer.
The various forces had left the old continent untouched, but its constant decline was inevitable. The Portal in the Utra nation fed continuously on the "Breath" and nutrients of those territories, and the wasteland that it created kept on expanding as the passage remained open.
The central areas had never been famous for their rich density of "Breath" due to the massive number of cultivators in the Empire. The retreat from the new continent had worsened that already dire environment, which was slowly following the destructive trend of the regions in the Utra nation.
The only areas that still met adequate standards in terms of density of "Breath" were those inside the domain of the Council. The Papral nation was relatively abundant in terms of resources and regions where to raise cultivators, even if it was far emptier now.
The new gains in the new continent had pushed the Council to resume a slow but constant relocation of its assets. Yet, it didn't intend to move away from the old continent.
Differently from the Elbas family, the Council was a form of government that represented all the major sects in the nation. Its rule didn't set its foundation on the fear of a more potent force, but on a collaboration that would eventually provide shared benefits.
The Hive didn't have those sorts of problems. The Coral archipelago had become a testing area for the cultivators recruited through the Lutren nation and other channels, and its defenses were incredible.
So, the Hive could focus all its efforts on its expansion in the new continent. Its priority now was to turn those still barren central regions in sources of income and to recover from the losses suffered during the war against the Empire.
After all, it had lost countless human cultivators and hybrids in those clashes, and dozens of heroic cultivators had died too. The Hive had come out of the war with no more than thirty-five Elders in the fourth rank left as assets.
Yet, even if its losses had been immense, they were nothing compared to the other forces since they had seen casualties happening among the cultivators in the fifth rank.
The Hive wasn't famous for its high number of heroic troops but its elites. Monsters like Noah and talents like many of the Elders were existences that excelled among their peers. Also, the rest of the world was still unaware of the presence of the two Demons inside its ranks. The two of them were old monsters that had learnt to survive through unthinkable struggles and had been personally trained by a divine cultivator!
That feature didn't apply only to the heroic assets. In those eight years, more rank 3 cultivators had managed to survive their Tribulations and had taken their place among the other elders.
Most of those cultivators had fought in the war against the Empire and were experienced warriors, other than rare talents among the human ranks. It was only natural for them to experience their breakthroughs to the heroic ranks as soon as a period of peace arrived.
The Hive didn't focus only on its expansion and the grooming of those young talents in those years. The territories around the Divine Stele had required most of its attention since it had to decide which kind of restrictions to apply to the political system there.
The three invading factions were on peaceful terms, but they were still enemies in the end. Each one of them could receive the same treatment of the Empire if they allowed themselves to become weak. So, the meetings to decide how to build and divide the city next to the Stele had taken time.
They had concluded eventually and had started to build the city. Upon its completion, though, there were seats of power to fill before it could work as a trading center and as a training area specific for cultivators with a water aptitude.
According to what Elder Julia said in her messages, the troops of the Hive were already there, but they lacked a leader. The other rank 5 Elders were mostly busy with their tasks, and the Hive couldn't reveal the Demons just because it needed to show its power to the allied forces.
The Hive would rather slow down its expansion than revealing such powerful assets.
Noah was the perfect candidate for that role since he had never cared too much about the political environment of the various domains that he explored. After all, a rank 5 cultivator would be there just a deterrent against eventual revolts.
'They need a scarecrow,' Noah thought as he reviewed the description of the ambassador's role conveyed by Elder Julia. All it required was for him to be there permanently, but it didn't involve any task relative to the management of the city.
He just had to be there as a reminder to the other factions that they couldn't bully the Hive away from the Stele.
Of course, part of Noah had already accepted that offer when he heard about June. Still, his reasonable side decided to gather as many pieces of information as he could before making a decision. The outcome of that investigation led him to believe that becoming an ambassador would suit him.
He would have large training areas, specific quarters ideated only to make the static lifestyle of the existences in the higher ranks more comfortable and direct access to all the resources traded in the city.
That and the presence of the enemy forces right next to him would put him in a constant state of wariness, which could only sharpen his progress.
His underground quarters were too safe, and he had already cleaned the rank 5 beasts from the areas nearby. He needed a new home, one where he could go all out with his experiments and feel the pressure radiated by the enemy forces.
Noah contacted Thirty-seven before setting off, and the automaton decided to enlarge the separate dimension to continue working with him in the creation of living weapons. His interaction with Thirty-seven didn't stop there. Noah asked for more information about the Kesier runes too.
It didn't take him much to set off from his dome and fly in a straight line toward the opposite coast. New experiences were always well accepted in his mind, and he even needed larger training areas, as well as researches that were available only among the larger forces.
When he reached the region with the Divine Stele, he could immediately notice how the new city had been divided among the three nations. There were banners placed everywhere, with entire buildings relying on a flag or symbol to signal their loyalty toward a specific force.
As for the actual share of buildings and territories there, the three factions had divided them equally.