The realm lord doesn't seem to be worried about the era of conquest but there is someone here that is very worried about it. Nothing the realm lord says will prevent mother high heaven from not worrying. She has to worry now that some random world god is even warning them to be prepared. She thought she was being paranoid before but it seems she has underestimated the trouble that is coming for them when the era of conquest begins.
The world god watched them go dragging the continent away. He saw how the realm lord gained control of it and it increased his longing for Authority. Unfortunately, he can't get it easily. Even this deal is just for an opportunity to get it. Getting it will depend on his efforts but there is a possibility of getting it where there was none before.
"It's okay. Anything important cannot be acquired easily." The world god said to himself then began to sink back into the space underneath the normal 3-dimensional world. Space rippled to make way for him. His large figure took some time to become fully submerged like a mountain sinking into quicksand.
Mother high heaven asked him. "Can we go now? Any more time you spend here is more time to create more enemies."
He replied. "I just need 8 more continents. Don't worry. I already have my targets marked. This time I'll challenge myself. I'm going to try and steal the continent without anyone finding out. That is the true mettle of a thief."
Mother high heaven groaned audibly. Simply stealing the continent is not enough for him anymore. Now he has to add challenges to make it more fun and also more trouble. Again, there's nothing she can do about it. So she will just follow him on his escapades and make her dissatisfaction known occasionally.
The realm lord felt underestimated when Mother high heaven groaned. He asked with indignation, "You don't believe I can do it do you? Fine then. If I fail, I will not cause more trouble for an Origin cycle. Each continent that I fail to steal without people finding out equals one origin cycle of peace and quiet."
She narrowed her nonexistent eyes at him. "What's the catch?"
Nothing this good can be cheap and one has to be careful when they are making a deal with the realm lord. Stealing an entire continent without anyone finding out is outlandish to think about. What about the people on it? What about the people that own it? Who will overlook the sudden shrinking and disappearance of a continent? It seems like a sure bet but Mother high heaven is not so naive as to jump at the deal without a massive dose of skepticism and the wariness of a trap.
"I can sense your distrustful gaze. You don't have faith in me. I'll show you how wrong you are. I'll do it for free. You don't have to give me anything if I do it successfully."
It hurts to be underestimated so much so he decided to do it for free just to prove that he can do it. Of course, it's impossible for the theft of a continent not to cause any disturbance. That's why the realm lord plans to kill everyone on the continent too. He will kill them all at once and make sure that no one knows that he stole the continent. Dead men tell no tales.
He succeeded in his act. The Origin gods that used to live on the continent were resurrected without the memory of who killed them. They came back to find that their continent has disappeared. They know the continent was stolen but they suspected world gods of committing the act.
News of the peculiar thefts spread throughout the upper realm. A certain disgruntled Sparkon claimed that it was the mad realm lord that did it. This Sparkon named Hancock told everyone that was willing to hear. Soon everyone had heard that the realm lord was the one stealing continents.
"So you failed to keep your theft secret." Mother heaven said to the realm lord.
They are in the process of stealing the last continent but the word had already spread around of his deeds.
"That Hancock is a fucking snitch. It doesn't count." The realm lord said through gritted as the 9th continent shrank.
"Just admit that you failed."
"Never."
She continued to tease him. "Come on. Don't be a stick in the mud."
He shook his head adamantly. "I'll admit no such thing."
They began to argue about the technicalities of the bet. Mother high heaven claimed he failed in his challenge since it has become known that he is responsible for the theft of continents.
The realm lord on the other hand refused to calm down. He said, "Hancock doesn't count. The ones on the other continents didn't know that I stole their continent and that is what matters."
"You didn't specify which continents were under the challenge that means all of them are and that means that Hancock's testimony matters."
"What testimony? Don't believe everything you hear. Anyone can say anything about anyone. Hancock is just slandering me. There is no proof that I stole the other continents. The fact that I stole his continent doesn't mean that I stole the others. There might be another criminal out there stealing continents for all we know."
Mother high heaven's non-existent mouth hung open figuratively and her non-existent eyes widened in shock.
She managed to say, "I was there when you stole them. You're the criminal that is stealing continents."
"Hmm. You were where? I have no recollection of this event."
She pointed at the continent in his hand. "You still have the last one on you."
"It is just a piece of rock that I picked up." He denied her accusations again and he did it with a straight face.
"This should change your mind. It is proof of you stealing the first continent and this "rock" that you picked up is very similar to Hancock's continent. Explain that."
She began to play a video that Hancock is spreading throughout the upper realm. It is a video of the realm lord stealing his continent and it shows a clear image of the realm lord and the shrunken continent in his hands. It is a replication of the realm lord's current posture.
By all that is sane and logical, this is conclusive evidence of the realm lord's guilt. There should be no way for him to wiggle himself out of it. The realm lord took one look at the video and said, "That isn't me. It just looks like me. I am being framed."
That shut mother high heaven up. She gave up on the bet. She knew he was never going to admit weakness but she was still shocked by how far he is willing to go to deny it. He is even denying his participation in the first theft.
She didn't say anything when he teased her.
"Come on. Don't be a sore loser. Think about the bright side. Now we don't have anything holding me back from causing trouble for the next few origin cycles until the era of conquest. It is going to be fun."
"Right." She struggled to say, "it's going to be fun."
THE END OF VOLUME 3: THE WAR OF CLONES