assistirfilmes Chapter 164
Chapter 164
“What could possibly lie beyond the Eastern Continent?”
Lambus muttered to himself, staring at the sprawling map of the continents laid out on his desk.
Having recently read The Great Treasure in Manafia, he was deeply inspired. Growing up in the East, the sea was a familiar presence for Lambus. His father, a fisherman, often took him along on fishing trips. Each time, Lambus would gaze at the endless horizon, wondering what lay beyond.
"Stop thinking about nonsense. You’re not a merchant; there’s no reason for you to venture out there," his father would admonish him whenever Lambus expressed his desire to sail toward the distant horizon.
And his father had a point. Even in familiar waters, sudden changes in weather could claim lives. In the uncharted regions of the sea, surviving was close to a miracle.
“No one who ventured beyond the Eastern Continent ever returned,” he reminded himself aloud.
But after reading The Great Treasure, Lambus could no longer suppress his adventurous spirit.
“To reach the lands beyond the Eastern Continent, I’ll sail west!”
The western route remained an uncharted mystery. While there were merchant ships traversing the waters to and from the Eastern Continent, no one dared venture westward, a territory veiled in complete obscurity.
Debates about the world’s shape raged on: some believed the world was flat, as created by the goddess Gaia, while others argued it was spherical. Lambus firmly believed the latter.
"The stars don’t lie. The world is undoubtedly round," he thought.
As someone who worked the sea, Lambus could distinguish constellations based on the seasons. The gradual shift in the stars' positions through the year had convinced him of the globe’s curvature.
He had long asserted that to discover what lay beyond the Eastern Continent, one needed to sail westward. Yet no one believed him.
Until now.
"Navigator Wanted! Brave sailors needed to search for the Great Treasure!"
Rumors swirled that Rupert’s The Great Treasure hinted at real-world secrets, sparking a wave of investors eager to fund expeditions.
This was Lambus’s golden opportunity.
"I’ll be the first to reach the world’s end!"@@@@
Armed with his maps, charts of seasonal star patterns, and unwavering determination, Lambus left his home. He only needed one person—just one—to believe in him, and his journey could begin.
In Sylvanian territory, a crucial gathering of all kingdoms, excluding the Empire, was taking place.
The Kingdoms’ Alliance Conference, a historic assembly with centuries of tradition, was in session. The attendees—high-ranking officials, royals, and influential nobles—held sway over the continent’s balance of power.
“It’s been a while, Chancellor K’nak Sunamun.”
“Indeed, it has, Duke Hale.”
Before the official discussions began, a grand banquet was held. This time, the host was none other than the desert kingdom of Aramen.
“Aramen always leaves a unique impression, no matter how many times I visit,” Duke Hale commented, his gaze fixed on the performers on stage.
Draped in flowing garments, the dancers moved gracefully as aromatic incense wafted through the air, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
“It’s no surprise. Being in the desert, Aramen has developed a culture all its own,” Chancellor K’nak Sunamun replied.
“Did you attend the official tournament in Borus?”
“You too?”
The previous Empire-hosted King of Cards tournament had drawn significant international attendance, a testament to its explosive popularity.
For K’nak Sunamun, it was a headache. People who would normally scoff at anything from the Empire were now eagerly consuming its culture.
“It seems it’s not just our kingdom. The same is happening in Aramen,” K’nak noted.
“Is card gaming really that popular in your kingdom as well?”
“No, alchemy is.”
In the Kingdom of Labas, the craze revolved around The Steel Alchemist.
Discussions in Labas were dominated by fantastical elements from Rupert’s work.
“They say the Empire has perfected golem prosthetics for those who lose limbs!”
“Not just that—look at the transmutation circles in this manga. They’re leagues ahead of anything we’ve seen!”
“Do you think I could achieve that if I studied alchemy?”
Initially, Duke Hale dismissed the influence of books as trivial. However, the rapid cultural shift they sparked in Labas was undeniable.
What began as a trend with fairy tales and manga had evolved into an admiration—even envy—of Imperial culture.
“Our books are just endless knightly literature.”
“Why don’t we have manga like that in our kingdom?”
“The Empire truly is ahead of us in every way.”
Even the nobility, who should have set an example, were the first to adopt Imperial culture as a mark of sophistication.
“I feel like slapping every single one of these nobles!”
“You have my full agreement, Duke.”
Both men sighed heavily.
“Instead of being role models, our aristocrats take pride in being the first to embrace Imperial trends...”
“And that’s not all. Did you see what some of them were discussing earlier?”
K’nak recalled the scene at the banquet hall, where nobles openly flaunted their Imperial goods.
“Do you know what this is?”
“I’ve never seen that book before. Is it one of Somerset’s fairy tales?”
“This is the limited-edition Pinocchio storybook, sold exclusively in the Empire.”
“What? Even Imperial nobles can’t easily get that! How did you manage?”
“I spent a fortune, of course. But it was worth it—this is a treasure.”
Even at a conference meant to counter the Empire’s influence, attendees were proudly boasting about their Imperial acquisitions.
“It’s said you can’t hold a proper conversation in noble circles these days without something from the Somerset Workshop.”
“We have wealth too! We can’t let them outshine us!”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, K’nak had proposed a motion to ban the import of Imperial goods at this assembly.
Unfortunately, it seemed unlikely to gain much support.
“Has it already gone too far to stop?”
Their sighs deepened in unison. Both men understood that the Imperial cultural wave was spreading too quickly, fueled by something they could not yet fully grasp.
This pace... it’s far too fast.
K’nak Sunamun couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something behind this phenomenon—something they had yet to uncover.