Another meeting.

Another in a long line of countless similar happenings, with the exact makeup varying from instance to instance.

And it was starting to get boring … but it was still necessary.

Not to mention that this time, there was an actual reason for me to be here, but I would also be able to spend most of it in the corner, fiddling with a project of mine, so it wouldn't be a total wash, compared to some of the others I'd found myself attending.

Logistics were vital, yes.

My portals were one of the cornerstones of our logistics.

Therefore, I'd had to sit in on and listen to quite a few meetings concerning them.

But that didn't mean it wasn't also boring.

This current meeting, though, was … well, it would decide the fate of the world, perhaps even humanity as a whole. The sixth challenge might still be ongoing, but it was also near guaranteed to not spit any more World Bosses at us, not after the Leviathan had been unceremoniously slaughtered.

As much of a mess as the world currently was, there were a few places that had been able to hold onto some semblance of order, and these were coordinating here.

Charlemagne was here, obviously, after all, it was his place, as were Dietrich and Ogier, with Fionn, Merlin, and Arthur traveled here via portal.

Drake was attending via his magical video conferencing Skill, an invisible screen hovering above the chair he'd have occupied had he been physically present.

And finally, Genghis Khan, Sundiata Keita, and the US President were attending via actual video conference, with Miller standing behind Lane in the shot, a silent presence in the Oval Office, ready to throw in his two cents, should that be required.

"So, I am given to understand we are going to be invaded at the end of the sixth challenge, and that said invasion will most likely function as the seventh and final challenge, extending beyond the 'year' that was supposed to contain all challenges," Genghis Khan began, "accidentally" preempting Charlemagne, who'd just barely started to open his mouth to start the meeting himself.

I groaned internally. I could get why he'd done that, but an explanation was not an excuse, and if this meeting turned into a Schwanzvergleich between the various ancients, nothing would get done.

"Correct," Charlemagne replied, glancing over to me, then flicking his gaze over to Merlin and Fionn, both of whom likewise nodded.

"Even with the System clouding my sight, I can tell we're going to be invaded in the British Isles the moment we hit the end of the year," Fionn confirmed.

Over the past few days, repeatedly trying to feel things out with [Catastrophe Sense] had also let me know that the coming disaster would be concentrated in that area … at least for a little bit, then it would begin to spread and eventually consume the entire world, I just didn't have a precise timeline on that beyond "after it starts, it'll keep going."

"Just call it what it is," Arthur threw in, before anyone else could reply. "The moment they can, the Fomorians are going to pour through Glastonbury Tor and any other connection to the Otherworld that exist, and we're going to be in for the fight of our lives.

"We can either wait for them to hit us … or we can strike first."

"I was under the impression that such worlds are sealed by the System itself," Sundiata asked. "Or can Excalibur breach that?"

"It can," Arthur said with a wry grin. "That's how we found the Fomorians in the first place. And since the breach isn't permanent …"

His grin turned savage. "They'll never see us coming. And they won't even be able to retaliate."

"Should we be attacking first?" Drake threw in. "I've had a lot of good experiences with the pacifist approach when it comes to the South American tribes. Not always, but not attacking at the first sign of aggression has prevented a lot of the fights most explorers wound up getting in."

Huh.

I actually remembered that. In fact, a lot of the time, he hadn't even issued exploratory parties weapons, just to prevent the temptation to open fire at any "dangerous-looking" natives, and it had usually gone well for him. But …

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"The Fomorians are Fomorians; that bastard came out swinging, and they trashed Avalon," Arthur growled. "I don't need prophecies and predictions to know they're in desperate need of an asskicking. And worse."

With him being the only one who'd actually run into the damn thing, and his (understandable) anger issues, I might have taken his judgment of things with a grain of salt. Or at least not taken it as seriously as, say, Drake's assessment of another culture.

However … even though I'd gotten used to the sensation by now, the icy fist of dread that clutched onto my heart anytime I thought about the date currently being discussed told me just how right his assessment of the danger was.

I swallowed, trying to fight against the sudden dryness in my mouth. Even so, when I finally spoke, my voice cracked.

"He's ri- … 'cough' … he's right," I said. "Whatever's coming, it feels more dangerous than even the World Bosses."

"I, for one, am not going to sit still and wait to get steamrolled," Genghis Khan announced. "At the very least, we should get a look at what is waiting on the other side.

"A defensive fort, set up in preparation for aggression from us is going to look very differently than an army setting up for invasion," he grinned humorlessly. "And I do believe we have enough analysis abilities between us to judge the level of danger."

Part of me wanted to comment on how q uickly things seemed to be spiraling into war plans … but deep down, I was certain that the "peace is everything, peaceful arrangements are always possible" idea stemmed from my upbringing in the old world.

Not the one I was currently living in.

The one person I was expecting to say something, President Lane, just … didn't.

Then again, much as I appreciated the way he'd kept his nation together, he was still the US president. The United States of America did not have the biggest military in the world for bragging rights; they did so because they expected to have to use it.

"So everyone is certain that this will be something we need to deal with?" Sundiata asked, raising an eyebrow. "In that case, I do believe we should work on integrating our forces. Logistics as well."

Yeah, probably.

I mean, getting the cream of the crop to work together during World Boss battles had been enough of a pain, with everyone directly controlling their own forces while trying to avoid getting in each other's ways.

Doing the same with actual armies … let's just say that I was very glad that fell solidly in the category of "not my circus, not my monkeys."

While it was important to have it done, it wouldn't be my job to make that happen, thankfully.

"So we're doing this, then? We're striking first and invading the lands of the Fomorians?" Drake asked, then shrugged. "Okay, let's do it, then."

And just like that, things seemed to be decided.

"As for while we're gone …" Charlemagne let the statement hang for a couple of seconds, only for the president of the United States to comment.

"Don't make a grab for power, don't try to impose our values on foreign cultures, don't fulfill any negative impressions about American imperialism, got it. I'll keep things calm," Lane replied, voice somehow simultaneously dripping with sarcasm and filled with sincerity, while also perfectly conveying exactly what he intended to do, which mostly boiled down to keeping relief supplies flowing to those who needed them, and slapping down any would-be "warlords," that word specifically referring to those who tried the whole "rule through fear" stick with mass exections and the like, rather than "anyone who isn't a democratically elected ruler."

I was suddenly very glad I couldn't be seen by the camera; that way, no one saw my faltering control over my expression. As long as I didn't laugh out loud, things would be "safe."

After a long moment of silence, Lane repeated himself.

"I'll hold down the fort."

And I, for one, believed him. On this topic, I wouldn't have done that with many other people, including most of the ancients. Given the chance to expand like that, they most likely would.

But that was the question of "what happens if the powerhouses go off to war" solidly answered.

Now, onto other topics …

***

The next couple of weeks were, to be blunt, rough.

Preparations were being made, just like with the World Bosses, but the overall focus was on "unifying" the world instead. Or at least ensuring that there were as few patches of lawless chaos as possible … for at least partially altruistic reasons, but also because having chaos just outside your borders could easily result in the same kind of chaos cropping up inside the borders.

But there were far, far too many places that were peaceful not because they were populated by people who'd managed to weather the storm that was the System's challenges, but because there weren't any people left to cause chaos.

With how both powerful individuals and population centers drew in monsters, there were probably a whole lot of small survivor enclaves out there … but the only large cities, let alone nations that had survived, had been shielded by ancients.

And of those, most were those of an ancient.

Frankia, which covered all of mainland Europe and spread a fair way into Russia and the Middle East, something that had a high chance of blowing up in the near future, once the whole "is the only reason any of you are still breathing" shine wore off.

Meanwhile, the Malian Empire had gobbled up most of Africa.

However, way I saw it, the single biggest powderkeg was the Mongol Empire.

Not because it was actually a bad place to live in, but because, well, Genghis Khan had a bit of a reputation … and his realm had gobbled up most of South East Asia.

Once again, it wasn't like there had been any intact governments remaining that he'd have overthrown; it had largely been a matter of "I'm going to protect you now, please do not resist," but people wouldn't be people if that was accepted as-was immediately. Or at all.

Granted, of everyone involved, he had the greatest experience with blending together multiple cultures and civilizations, and perhaps things would go better than I expected, but I didn't have a good feeling about the future.

All around, even if there were still quite a few places in this world that still "worked," for a broad definition of the word, things were still a huge fucking mess.

And by God, I would relish it when, tomorrow, we finally managed to be the first to act, rather than being stuck on the defensive, reacting to the punches as they came!

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