Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Mo traveled through Leithanien, Victoria, and Gaul in succession.
As he helped the Infected and established wartime shelters, Mo continuously learned about the conditions of each nation, gaining a deeper understanding of the various powers that ruled this land.
The first nation Mo visited was Leithanien.
Leithanien was the nation of Casters and towers, ancient and elegant.
Its Originium Arts were unrivaled across the land, and the Witch King was the strongest Caster in Terra’s history, having even touched upon the truth of Originium.
“Praise the great Witch King.”
In Mo’s impression, the Witch King was a ruler worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as existences such as the King of Kings and the Nightmare Khan.
He stood at the pinnacle of Caster arts on this land.
The final period of Leithanien’s prosperity began during the first ten years of the Witch King’s reign.
At that time, the Witch King was hailed as a wise ruler who appeared only once in a millennium.
But after that, Leithanien gradually entered an era of high-pressure rule.
By the time Mo arrived, the social conflicts within Leithanien had already become extremely severe.
Having personally been beaten up by the Witch King, Mo knew the root of the problem.
For the Witch King, the threat from the desolate regions was undoubtedly a far greater concern.
Leithanien’s attitude toward the Infected was relatively tolerant.
After all, it was the nation of Originium Arts.
However, they were quite disdainful toward Mo, who couldn’t use Originium Arts.
Whenever he encountered such people, Mo would usually reason with them emotionally before persuading them through physics.
Although progress was slow, the results were surprisingly effective.
“No wonder Degenbrecher had to leave this place for Kazimierz.”
“Seriously, does not being able to use Originium Arts mean I’m eating your rice? You’re all just a bunch of glass cannons.”
At some point, however, it seemed that Mo’s actions had received authorization from the higher-ups.
The relevant departments became unusually proactive in assisting him, eliminating many of the difficulties he had originally encountered.
As for this, Mo guessed that the “old timer” in the tower had probably pulled some strings.
After all, he was a Wendigo.
It was only natural for Fremont to look after him.
After leaving Leithanien, the second nation Mo visited was Victoria.
Victoria was a constitutional monarchy.
However, compared with the Emperor of Ursus, Victoria’s monarch was much closer to a figurehead, with their authority heavily restricted by Parliament.
How much actual power the monarch possessed depended largely on the monarch’s own abilities.
For a long time, this relatively enlightened political system had been regarded as one of Victoria’s major advantages.
It prevented the nation from suffering enormous losses simply because of a monarch’s stubborn decisions.
However, as Parliament grew stronger and royal authority was gradually squeezed, it was only a matter of time before the monarch became little more than a figurehead in practice.
“Sigh… It seems that the Victorian monarch being hanged is only a matter of time. They can go find their heads alongside Louis XVI.”
“It’s just a pity for our Vina. She has to shoulder all of this at such a young age. I’ll feel sorry for her for two seconds.”
Victoria’s attitude toward the Infected was fairly typical of the nations on this land.
The Infected were considered inferior, but they were at least still treated as people and were not specifically targeted.
As long as one didn’t attract the attention of those powerful Dukes, things would generally be fine.
After all, the difference in power was simply too great.
If one became a Duke’s target, they could easily be toyed with to death.
Unfortunately, Mo eventually attracted the attention of a Duke.
Her name was Anferis Wendermeer, better known as Duke Wendermeer.
Being targeted by Duke Wendermeer had been unexpected for Mo.
But after thinking about it carefully, he realized it was actually inevitable.
Mo had entered Victoria from Leithanien, while Duke Wendermeer was the Great Duke responsible for guarding Victoria’s border with Leithanien.
It would have been strange if she hadn’t taken notice of him.
Fortunately, Duke Wendermeer was much purer than the other Dukes.
She was loyal to Victoria, had no interest in usurping the throne, and acted straightforwardly, just like the sword she wielded.
A Duke like that was much easier to deal with than the other old foxes.
Speaking of swordsmanship, when Mo first met Duke Wendermeer, she was still very young and full of fighting spirit.
She constantly tried to find opportunities to challenge Mo to a duel.
As for the result…
After Mo could no longer refuse and finally fought her once, Duke Wendermeer never mentioned a duel again.
Honestly speaking, Wendermeer’s swordsmanship was extremely impressive.
It was truly worthy of being called a swordsmanship capable of severing towers.
Through their interactions, Mo and Duke Wendermeer quickly became familiar with one another.
Mo would often help her resolve matters that were inconvenient for her to handle personally, while Duke Wendermeer provided considerable assistance for Mo’s activities within Victoria.
During his time in Victoria, Mo basically remained by the Duke’s side.
With her assistance, his work in Victoria progressed extremely smoothly.
After all, Mo had never intended to do anything excessive in the first place.
Once he completed his predetermined goals, Mo bid farewell to Wendermeer and headed toward the final destination of this journey—
Gaul.
Gaul had very little presence in the Arknights storyline, having already been destroyed before the main story began.
Mo didn’t know much about the nation.
All he knew was that Gaul’s Originium technology was extremely advanced—advanced enough to pose a genuine threat to the surrounding major powers.
Hearsay was never as convincing as seeing something with one’s own eyes.
After arriving in Gaul, Mo finally understood why the other nations were so wary of it.
Gaulish was the working language of diplomacy among the nations, much like English in the modern world.
The Gaulish currency, the Livre, was also one of the most widely accepted and practical currencies, somewhat comparable to the US dollar—or perhaps gold.
Militarily, Gaul conscripted all eligible men into its army.
It possessed abundant manpower as well as a highly developed military system.
Technologically, Gaul possessed Originium-based weapons that were ahead of their time.
Many of these weapons later became technical prototypes for strategic weapons developed by other nations.
For example, the Ursus Imperial Artillery Mortar was said to have been developed using Gaulish technology as its foundation.
Economically, the “Second Economic Reform Act” promulgated by the Gaulish Emperor, Corsica I, established Gaul’s economic dominance.
And when it came to leadership, Corsica I was a gifted military genius.
He possessed both the ability and the courage to launch wars.
At its peak, Gaul was practically a hexagonal warrior with almost no weaknesses.
It could be said to be the most prosperous and influential nation on the entire land.
It would have been strange if the other nations weren’t wary of it.
Mo spent a considerable amount of time in Gaul.
In fact, he stayed there for almost as long as his time in Leithanien and Victoria combined.
A nation as powerful as Gaul naturally wouldn’t tolerate anyone openly speaking ill of it, so most of Mo’s activities had to be carried out in secret.
Beyond that, Mo also spent more time observing and understanding Gaul.
After all, there wouldn’t be another opportunity later.
Mo remained in Gaul for a long time.
Until the moment he sensed that war was approaching.
Only then did he finally leave Gaul and begin making his way back toward Leithanien.