Jay quickly found Tribios and recounted his recent experiences.
Indeed, Tribios wasn't at Jay's side. Jay had opened the Century Gate himself to return to the Grand Duchy of Augustus.
Initially, Tribios had to be physically present to open the Century Gate. Later, she could leave a drop of her blood on the ground, infusing it with her divine power. Others could then pray to her to activate the gate.
By now, the Grand Duchy of Augustus had grown immensely wealthy, able to afford expensive magical materials capable of containing divine power. Tribios's mastery of divine power had also advanced significantly. She no longer needed to use her blood; instead, she could enchant these materials directly, creating items capable of opening the Century Gate.
For example, the ring Jay wore. By simply rubbing it twice with his finger, he could open a Century Gate. However, this gate could only transport him to pre-set fixed teleportation points established by Tribios.
Consider the trade teleportation points between the Grand Duchy of Augustus and the Kingdom of Ukel. Normally, travel would be limited to those two points. But Jay's ring allowed him to travel to either of them.
In a sense, this ring could be considered a "Divine Artifact," albeit a mass-produced version.
Getting back to the point, Jay said to Tribios, "Give up. I've already tried reasoning with them once, and even convinced them to abandon their attack on the Grand Duchy of Augustus. But that guy wouldn't listen to a word I said!"
"Those guys aren't heroes at all—they're just adventurers who took on a quest! I don't understand why, in the history you know, such a bunch of guys would be glorified as heroes!?"
Tribios sighed and said, "It's actually quite understandable. It's likely the victors of the war embellishing history."
Jay said, "Tribios, stop clinging to peace! Those guys are dead set on wiping us out. In my opinion, we should prepare for war!"
Ever since the rumor of the "Demon Lord's Birth" began circulating from the Kingdom of Green Eagle, Tribios had been working tirelessly to clarify the truth, such as sending people to the common folk to explain the situation. But as everyone knows, rumors spread like wildfire, while debunking them is an uphill battle.
Tribios also dispatched envoys to the other three kingdoms, attempting to express goodwill and avoid the formation of Allied Forces through diplomatic means.
However, the very existence of the Grand Duchy of Augustus posed an overwhelming threat to these kingdoms. Their royal families and nobles were no fools; they clearly preferred trusting their own judgment over Tribios's assurances that "we cherish peace and will never provoke war."
The clash of state systems and ideologies was irreconcilable.
Tribios sighed again. "Yet if war truly breaks out, the Grand Duchy of Augustus will inevitably be defeated."
It was precisely because this was predetermined by history that Tribios had attempted to prevent the conflict. But clearly, she had failed.
Jay fell silent for a moment. "Is defeat truly inevitable? Is there not even a sliver of hope for victory?"
The Grand Duchy of Augustus currently maintains a standing army of approximately 15,000 soldiers, nearly all of whom are Warrior Class Holders. They are exceptionally well-trained and possess an unwavering loyalty to the Grand Duchy. To put it bluntly, Jay had never encountered such a formidable army in any other nation.
Even though their numbers were small, Jay never doubted that the Augustus army would lose, even against enemies many times their size.
But since Tribios had said so, Jay paused before saying, "Then if there's truly no chance of victory, why don't we... just run away?"
Tribios blinked in surprise. "We... who?"
Jay replied, "Of course, everyone from the Grand Duchy of Augustus—all of us. If we all know we can't win, why fight? There's no shame in choosing to flee in such circumstances, right?"
"Tribios, in the history you recounted, the Demon Lord's Army was defeated by the Allied Forces, the Demon Lord was slain by the Hero, and the Demon King's City was ultimately destroyed. What if I told you I could use Illusion Magic to create a perfect simulation of the Grand Duchy of Augustus as it exists now?"
"You lead everyone to escape, and then let the Allied Forces destroy the fake Grand Duchy of Augustus and the fake Demon King's City I create. Wouldn't that mean we're not defying history?"
Tribios stared at him for several seconds, utterly stunned. "You can actually do that?"
Just a short while ago, Tribios had gone alone to the tavern for a few drinks. The landlady once again sat across from her and struck up a conversation. As usual, the topic centered on Jay, with the landlady doing most of the talking while Tribios listened quietly.
Toward the end of their conversation, the landlady suddenly produced a large bag of money and placed it before Tribios. Tribios asked, puzzled, "What's this?"
The landlady pulled a small coin from the bag and handed it to Tribios. "These are counterfeit coins created by Jay using magic. They're identical to real ones—I never could tell the difference."
"Only the first two times, the Princess secretly warned me that Jay had paid with fake money. After that, I didn't need her reminders anymore. I knew the first coins Jay offered were always fake, which is why I'd storm over to confront him every time."
Hearing this, Tribios took the coin from the landlady. Its icy metallic texture was unmistakable as she held it. She tapped the coin against the table, producing a crisp, ringing sound.
Only after she exerted a slight force, breaking the coin in half, did it slowly vanish.
She remembered when they first met, Jay had boasted that he was "the greatest wizard of this century," only to be ridiculed by Olivia: "The greatest wizard who only knows First-Level spells."
At the time, Jay, his face flushed red, had retorted: "I'm just laying the foundation! The other magic is too simple; learning it would be boring! I'm already inventing my own spells, you know!"
In truth, every word he spoke was true. The Illusion School's First-Level spell, Minor Illusion, was the cornerstone upon which the entire school was built. All subsequent illusion magic evolved from this foundation, making Jay's relentless study of it genuinely foundational.
The Old Loli Mage herself had personally declared Jay an absolute genius. She confirmed that certain Second-level and Third-level Illusion School spells were indeed too simple, lacking any challenge, which was why Jay had never bothered learning them.
And ultimately, he had indeed been researching and inventing his own spells. Just recently, he had finally succeeded.
Faced with Tribios's skepticism, Jay chuckled, thumped his chest with his fist, and declared, "Of course I can do it! Don't forget, you prophesied that I would become the greatest wizard in this world. Do you doubt your own prophecy?"
If Jay was telling the truth—if he could truly construct a complete 'Grand Duchy of Augustus' using phantoms—then when the Allied Forces stormed and destroyed this illusory city, history would indeed record the destruction of the Demon King's City.
Wouldn't that align perfectly with the historical accounts Tribios knew so well?
But another question remained: if they fled, where would they go? Their sanctuary had to be utterly hidden, undetectable, because historical records made no mention of the Demon King's City ever reappearing after its destruction.
Tribios unfolded a map, mentally recalling the future geopolitical landscape three centuries hence. She began to compare the present and future maps. By then, the Alliance and the Empire had carved up most of the territory. The remaining areas were the Northern Territory and the Great Southern Forest, but both regions were already inhabited.
Could she cross the mountains and reach the lands of the Eastern Ancient Kingdom? But that seemed impossible. The Eastern Ancient Kingdom was the only complete and powerful nation in that region, and they would never allow anyone else to establish a kingdom within their territory.
What about other planes? But aside from the Material Plane, all the other planes in this world were extremely dangerous and unsuitable for human habitation.
Tribios even considered venturing to other 'worlds'? Surely there must be countless worlds scattered across the 'sea' of the Outermost Plane? But the problem was, she had no idea of their coordinates, nor even how to locate them.
In the end, she had no choice but to keep studying the map before her. Because the five kingdoms, including Ukel, were relatively developed, the map of this region was quite detailed. In contrast, the map of the future Empire to the west was very blurry.
Suddenly, an idea struck Tribios. She stood up and said, "Jay, if you can conjure an entire city with your illusions, could you simulate a mountain range or a vast forest?"
Jay raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "Ha! Do you even need to ask? Of course I can! What's so difficult about mountains and forests? You're clearly underestimating me!"
Tribios nodded, opening a Century Gate beside her. "I'm going out to find a suitable place to relocate to."
"Then I'll prepare the Ritual Magic," Jay said. "We need to hurry. We don't have much time left. At the council meeting, they planned to assemble the Allied Forces in two months, but since I've been exposed, they'll know their plans have leaked and might accelerate the timeline."
As mentioned earlier, the Empire's terrain was predominantly mountainous and forested, unlike the Alliance's vast plains. Tribios recalled the future map of the Empire, systematically opening Century Gates to teleport to each of the high mountains and dense forests.
If there were a way for a nation to remain hidden for three centuries, simply hiding in some remote corner wouldn't suffice. It would require magical intervention, such as transforming a flat plain into a mountain range or a dense forest using Illusion Magic.
Therefore, Tribios decided to search the mountains and forests marked on future maps. If these places turned out to be plains, they would be the perfect hiding spots!
But even with a clear target, the task remained daunting. The sheer number of places to search was overwhelming, and Tribios had to be meticulous. Any oversight could spell disaster.
Two weeks later, Tribios' search had yielded no progress, but Jay's magic was fully prepared.
Standing in the heart of the Grand Duchy of Augustus, at the city's center, he raised his hands. A massive Magic Circle awakened, engulfing the entire city!
Because the Grand Duchy of Augustus had been steadily growing, its population expanding outward, the city had never been fortified with walls.
Otherwise, as soon as construction began on the city walls, with just the foundations laid, Tribios would bring in another wave of villagers, causing a housing shortage and necessitating further expansion. What then would become of the newly laid foundations? Would they have to be torn down?
At that moment, under Jay's magic, pitch-black city walls rose from the ground, encircling the entire Grand Duchy of Augustus.
Jay murmured, "Ninth-Level Illusion School... As for the name... I haven't quite decided yet. How about just calling it 'Jay's Illusions'? What do you think?"
Tribios simply stared silently at the strangely familiar walls before her, remaining silent for a long moment.
Jay continued explaining, "Since this is the Demon King's City, it naturally needs to be dark and imposing. Don't you think this style is quite fitting?"
He then resumed casting his spells. Soon, a towering, pointed spire suddenly emerged from an empty space within the city. "I've always wanted my own Mage Tower," Jay said. "Even though this one's just an illusion, it'll do for now."
Next, another tall building materialized elsewhere in the city. Jay remarked, "Tribios, haven't you been wanting an Administrative Building? But you never got around to building it. Look, I just conjured one for you in an instant!"
"And the barracks are too small," Jay continued, "I'll expand them a bit!"
Jay continued to refine the details tirelessly, while Tribios silently recalled, So the Grand Duchy of Augustus is actually the future Chaos City?
She remembered that when she first time traveled to this era of 300 years in the past, she had landed in a forest, some distance from the Grand Duchy of Augustus. But over the years, as the Grand Duchy of Augustus relentlessly cleared trees to expand, the city had gradually enveloped the very spot where she had first appeared.
These pitch-black city walls were identical to the ones she would see three hundred years later. The Mage Tower within the city was destined to become the Black Hand's stronghold, the Administrative Building the Death Church's headquarters, and the barracks the lair of the Barbarians.
The truth behind the "Divine Disappearance Phenomenon" in Chaos City was simply this: the Phantoms Jay had created, their Magic Power exhausted, had dissipated—nothing more!
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Spynote- Boom plot twist!