The Innkeeper

Chapter 1997: Undead discrimination

While Lex was having his ring fixed, and preparing to go to the Primordial Garden, the universe was not still. The countless wars happening in the many Major realms of the universe had not ended, and that was not such a good thing.

Ordinarily, anyone who controlled a Major realm had a tremendous advantage in that realm to the point that it was practically impossible to take the realm from them without paying a massive cost. In fact, the cost could sometimes even be so immense that it would not be worth it.

The only ones who could forcibly take a Major realm were those who already controlled a Major realm. For such forces, a matter of cost was not just about resources, it was also about time.

If, for example, it cost a force 1000 units of resources to take a Major realm, then for them to make back those 1000 units would take several billion years. The profit would only begin after that. But if they had never spent those original 1000 units of resources on invasion, and instead simply used them to nurture their forces for those several billion years, the return would naturally be greater.

After all, Major realms were not a consumable resource. They were tapped into the energy of the universe, and had mature, stable laws, meaning that they could endlessly reproduce their environment as dictated by their laws.

So, very literally speaking, it was more profitable to retain control over one Major realm than to try and control two. The time scale needed for such a venture to be profitable was so vast that it was impossible to predict if it would ever pay off, and it just didn’t make sense. It would actually be more feasible to invest those resources into forcibly mature an immature realm.

That is exactly what the Henali were doing with the Origin realm.

So, historically speaking, whenever a Major realm that was already being controlled by a force was invaded, the war would last a short period of time. Anywhere between one month to two or three years. During this time, the war would merely serve as a tool to put pressure on the target, or to make some political stance. Then, through backdoor agreements, a resolution would be reached and the war would end.

That was the norm. Now that so many Major realms had been invaded at once, many forces were waiting in silence, watching if any such agreements would be reached. The sheer scale, and the large number of wars meant that many forces could not even rely on their allies, or maybe their own personnel stationed in other realms. It was a precarious situation, and no one wanted to act rashly.

Some forces had already taken advantage of the chaos to unleash their own long brewing plans, such as the war between the Angels and the Seraphim in Eden. No one could say which of them had started the war, but it was a brutal one.

But, since the whole universe was embroiled in war, the Seraphim could not get aid and backup from other races like they did during their previous war, which had given the Angels a decisive advantage.

Other forces, meanwhile, were silently gearing up for the possibility that these wars might not end so quickly. In that case, it was entirely unpredictable how long these wars would last, and so it would be best to preserve their forces.

Meanwhile, the owners of the Major realms that were under attack were also beginning to plan for a long-term war, in case things did not go as expected.

"So what you’re telling me is that you are not, in fact, a fairy?" a border patrol officer in the form of a walrus beast asked, looking at Jack sceptically.

"I’m obviously a self aware zombie," Jack said, holding out his pale looking arm as proof. Longbeard had done a surprisingly solid job with the makeup, so even under scrutiny, Jack and the others still looked pale. "Zombies qualify as minor demons, and demons are property of the Devils. All I want is to return to Garvitz. If you could simply allow me to open a portal-"

"Impossible," the border patrol agent stated. "During war time, only portals authorized by head command can be opened, and all for military purposes. It’s quite unfortunate that you and your... sorry, who exactly are these again?"

The walrus pointed to Jack’s crew with his pen, looking at all of their pale appearances doubtfully.

"Quack," a grey looking Goldilocks said, angrily.

"My children. Naturally, since I turned them all into zombies too, they are my children," Jack explained for the umpteenth time. "Look, zombies don’t procreate in traditional ways, alright. We have a very diverse population and we are very welcoming of all races. All I did was bring my kids here for a small, family vacation before heading off to our next world invasion. It’s not a crime, and we’re protected under the Devil-Geneva convention as long as we don’t do any illegal or unauthorized conversions, which we have not done. I demand you let us out at once."

The walrus shook his head exhaustedly.

"Look sir, the situation with the war has made it impossible for anyone to leave. You will just have to stay. If you wish, you can join the draft and-"

Jack snorted.

"I’ve eaten more than enough brains to know when I’m being used for free labour. Not to mention, I saw the Rabid Starlet Snails were allowed to leave the realm without issue. This is discrimination against the undead!"

Bob, who had his mouth surgically, magically, and manually sealed by Ollie’s talons, nodded, as if to agree with the statement about discrimination.

The Devils had not, as of yet, made any major moves in the wars, which is why many forces and races were doing their best not to provoke them. Disguising themselves to be from their faction was the best way to avoid too much scrutiny.

"Look sir, the best I can do for you is a hotel coupon and a promise to inform you the next time there are any realm deportations. But just so you know, you have to sign a waiver saying that we bear no responsibility if you get attacked leaving the realm."

Jack snorted, but took the coupon. It was best to leave before Goldilocks, or the Crystal alligator, ruined their make up.