Chapter 537: The World Reaction
Countries that favor militaristic and decisive leadership have aligned themselves with the Qing Dynasty. Among them, many Southeast Asian countries, in addition to the Seraphine Isles influenced by the Qing Dynasty, also support the Qing Dynasty\'s agenda.
These countries are small, and their leaders are unaware of the existence of the Curtained World. Like the Seraphine Isles, they see only the surface and choose to support the Qing Dynasty, which clearly has more manpower and military strength than New Atlantis.
European leaders who are aware of the Curtained World remain neutral. Europe stays neutral because many of its influential figures are from Hightower and have issues with Daniel. However, they also understand how terrifying Daniel can be, as information about his power has circulated within the mage circles.
If they don\'t hate Daniel to the point of not being able to breathe the same air, they usually tolerate him and keep to themselves. Those who see Daniel as an obstacle to be removed don\'t dare to act openly, knowing they would be immediately targeted. They can only scheme in the dark and bide their time.
The USA, Russia, South Korea, Japan, and the Ming Federation support Daniel\'s independence because they have friendly relationships with him. They even hold press conferences in support of New Atlantis.
This action is like a slap in the face to the Qing Empire, whose citizens view Southeast Asia as their backyard. They are not happy at all with this development.
In the forum of Bluedit, the largest international forum discussing various topics such as entertainment, politics, and the military, the political forum has become quite active following the press conference of New Atlantis.
Mr. Bear: Folks, what do you think about New Atlantis? Will they become a new superpower? I think they have a great chance of becoming one.
QingForever: No, they will most likely be stomped into a meat paste under the weight of our soldiers.
Daddy_Bat666: Oh? I\'d like to see you try. Send those soldiers to us then. I haven\'t had a fulfilling meal in a long time.
QingForever: Of course, we will send them, and they will trample your island. Don\'t you know with just our piss we could drown your entire island?
LonelyHandsome: Er... guys... you don\'t need to go that far. You\'re making it hard for me to have breakfast here.
QingForever: Why? Are you afraid?
Mr. Bear: Rather than afraid, I think he\'s politely telling you about your language.
VodkaAddict: Yes... I\'m Russian, and my vodka felt strange when I read your post. Stop it.
QingForever: Russian? Don\'t you know that your home will be our backyard next? You vodka piss.
Moderator: QingForever has been banned for 30 days.
These kinds of discussions are happening all over the world throughout the internet, and many of them reflect the views of their respective country\'s leaders regarding the current situation.
Of course, all of these opinions on the internet are being monitored by Nexus Prime. He has been producing SD series robots as much as possible to prepare for the upcoming war. Based on the data he has gathered, the chance of war breaking out is as high as 87.5%, with the possibility of it evolving into World War III at 64.2%. The likelihood of it escalating into a nuclear war is 32%.
In addition to creating SD series robots, Nexus Prime has also improved the warhead interception system. He has already been informed by Daniel about the plan for New Atlantis, so he is working to complete this plan in tandem with the warhead interception system and the SD robot series.
— Seraphine Isles —
At the estate of Juan Carlos de Almeida, the Supreme Ruler of the Seraphine Isles, he watched the press conference of Daniel, along with those of Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the Ming Federation, with a smile. Several women attended to his every need, including his lustful desires. His left hand rested on one woman\'s waist while he sipped wine with the other.
The reason for his good mood and relaxation was the promise he received from Crown Prince Tianhao Zhisheng himself, who assured him that the Qing Empire would fully support the Seraphine Isles in becoming the dominant power in Southeast Asia.
"Who would have thought that idiot Daniel would blatantly declare independence and even insult the Qing Empire like that? It\'s clear that he\'s just a nerd who doesn\'t understand politics," Juan Carlos commented with a smile as he watched the press conference.
"Yes! That\'s right, Supreme Ruler," the women agreed, giggling alongside Juan Carlos.
Feeling confident, he continued, "Yes! Even if it\'s true that the Qing Empire supports us, blatantly saying so in a live broadcast is stupid. Other than provoking the Qing Empire, he didn\'t gain anything substantial. What a fool."
Juan Carlos then pondered how he could maximize his gains from this incident. Should he directly declare war in the name of justice for that puppet, Verus Justius?
At that moment, a brilliant, malicious idea struck Juan Carlos. Directly declaring war was too old-fashioned. He would do better than that! With this idea, he was certain that the Qing Empire would see him as a very useful pawn, ensuring he would never have to worry about his rule again.
—
While the world debated Daniel\'s press conference and the support he received from various countries, Daniel busied himself with another task: finding a suitable location to actualize the Clockwork Enclosure.
He wandered all over the city but couldn\'t find an appropriate spot since the city was full of people and buildings that he couldn\'t move or demolish.
In the end, he asked Nexus Prime to plan and expand the base so he could actualize the Clockwork Enclosure within the new space.
Daniel now stood in a vast area that Nexus Prime had prepared for him. With Nexus Prime in control, all functions in the Atlanteus base and the operations of metal scarabs and construction bots had become more efficient. Excavating and constructing a space like this, complete with electricity lines, only took a few hours.
A large elevator, capable of transporting several trucks, connected to the ground level per Daniel\'s request.
Daniel then sank his mind into the mindscape and began to actualize the Clockwork Enclosure.
—
Card Name: Clockwork Enclosure
Illustration: A vast, verdant landscape teeming with magical creatures, thriving within a separate, enclosed space containing various biomes that support a diverse range of life.
Rarity: Legendary
Type: Location
Description:
Clockwork Enclosure enters the battlefield tapped.
Tap: Add one Wood mana and one Water mana to your mana pool.
Tap, Pay 1 (Non-Elemental): Add one Light mana or one Water mana to your mana pool.
At the beginning of your turn, put a clockwork counter on Clockwork Enclosure. At the end of your turn, you may remove a clockwork counter from Clockwork Enclosure for each mana in the total cost of a non-undead, non-unique creature you control. Create a token that\'s a copy of that creature.
Flavor Text: A marvel of magic, created through the combined knowledge of the Clocktower and the Beast Master Gang.
—
As the motes of light gathered, a large spherical object composed of various clockwork gears and mana crystals appeared from the vanishing light. Numerous glass windows in a Victorian style adorned the sphere, revealing the vast landscape inside. A console connected to the sphere allowed the time acceleration for each area within it to be adjusted.
Daniel looked at the large sphere before deciding to enter it. Once inside, he was greeted by the sight of vast greenery and occasional forested areas. On the horizon, he noticed towering mountains that resembled the Alps, standing strong and connecting the earth to the clouds in the sky.
Though there were no creatures inside yet, Daniel knew that once he had collected various plants and animals, this place would become a great asset for his organization. The magical plants and creatures from the Hightower reservoir were nearly depleted because Envy had not stayed there to slow the consumption of rare herbs and magical creature parts.
Daniel was about to exit the enclosure when he remembered that he had a lot of creature cards that he hadn\'t actualized due to various circumstances. Either they were too large, he couldn\'t find a place to take care of them, or he was afraid that they would be caught by some mages who seek to use the magical creatures for their parts.
He looked at the vast land of the enclosure. Right now, he was in plain biomes and at the horizon, he saw mountain ranges that connected to the sky. According to the lore of this Clockwork Enclosure, its size is comparable to the continent of Australia and has diverse biomes to support various life forms.