Reincarnated with the Country System
Chapter 271 - 271: The Mandate

Alberto's stomach lurched as the vision shifted again. He saw himself—kneeling before the Guardian, accepting the glowing orb of the System.

"You asked why I chose you." The Guardian's voice was softer now. "It was not for your strength. Or your courage."

The orb fractured into a thousand shards, each reflecting a different Alberto—some triumphant, some broken, some draped in the flayed skins of gods.

"I chose you because you are the first in ten thousand years who would dare to ask for the truth."

Alberto's nails bit into his palms. "And what is the truth?"

"The bindings are failing. The Evils are waking. And the System..." The Guardian paused. "The System was never meant to save this world."

It leaned in. The light around it dimmed.

"It was meant to arm you—for the war to come."

Silence.

Then—

Alberto laughed. A raw, jagged thing torn from somewhere deep. "You're telling me I was bred for this?"

"No," the Guardian said. "You were unleashed."

Its eyes—twin galaxies collapsing inward—locked onto him. Light bent around that gaze. In its silence, planets had been born and died.

"You have seen," it said, and the words were not spoken but pressed into his skull like gravity, "the truth of creation. The origin of the Evils. The meaning of the Eclipse."

Alberto didn't flinch. He had walked through the memory of stars and screamed in the shadow of forgotten gods. His voice, when it came, was iron.

"Then tell me what I must do."

The Guardian's voice cracked like distant thunder. "You must take the world."

Alberto narrowed his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Unify it. By fire. By faith. By annihilation if necessary. There can be no compromise. One banner. One will. One engine of resistance."

Alberto's eyes narrowed further. "You mean conquest."

The Guardian did not deny it.

"Call it what you wish. But unity is not for protection. It is for domination. The Evils thrive on chaos because it mirrors their own. You must answer not with harmony, but with singularity. A world forged into a weapon."

A silence stretched, thunderous and deep.

Then Alberto asked, with hard clarity: "Why not you? You're a force older than time. You could wipe them out with a gesture. Why do you not destroy the Evils yourself?"

The Guardian's eyes deepened, like stars folding inward. Its voice came—not loud, but immense, like the first breath of the universe.

"Because I am not a god."

"I am the Guardian. I am purpose. I do not lead armies. I do not shape fates. I watch. I record. I maintain the balance between creation and destruction."

Alberto stared, uncertain.

"You see power and think it should be used. That is the flaw of mortals—and of gods. But I am not like them. I do not act because I must not. Not because I lack the strength... but because my strength would break the very fabric I was made to protect."

"Long ago, I tried. I stepped in. I shattered evils with a thought. I saved entire worlds."

A pause.

"And every one of those worlds crumbled when I left."

Alberto's brow furrowed.

"They became dependent. Soft. Waiting for a savior instead of becoming one. When challenge returned, they collapsed. Not because they were weak—but because they never learned to be strong."

Its gaze locked onto Alberto—quiet, absolute.

"Understand this: the Evils are not just enemies. They are a force of chaos, born from the cracks in free will, the consequence of a world that chooses its own path. To destroy them by my hand would be to undo that freedom. To break the laws that hold reality together."

Silence followed—thick and sacred.

"I am the Guardian. I do not rule. I do not destroy. I preserve the balance. If I break it, even to save you, I become the very thing I was created to stop."

It leaned closer, and though it did not move, the distance between them was gone.

"That is why it must be you. Not because you are destined. But because you can choose. Mortals must face the dark themselves… or the light becomes meaningless."

"I gave your kind fire once. Now I give you war. And only war."

"If you want the sky, tear it open. If you want dominion, seize it. There is no prophecy. No chosen one. There is only what you take—and what you burn to take it."

A pause. Then Alberto whispered:

"So it's to be empire."

"No," the Guardian said. "It is to be unity through fire. Build your legions. Burn down the old orders. Become the hammer that shapes the end times. Or fade, and let the Evils feast on the bones of your forgotten world."

He felt it then — not command, but burden. Crowned in ash and prophecy.

Alberto breathed once. A slow, final breath of the man he had been.

"So be it," he said. "The world will kneel. Or it will burn."

And the Guardian's eyes flared like newborn stars.

"Then go, Warlord of the Last Light. Your crusade begins now."

...

The light vanished.

Alberto gasped as the vision shattered around him like stained glass. He stood—alone—at his chamber.

Then—

「SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Vision Integration Complete」

[New Title Unlocked]: Warlord of the Last Light

Effect: All morale-based effects across your empire are doubled.

Allied troops gain +30% resistance to fear and corruption-based magic.

[New Core Ability Unlocked]: Flame of Unification (Ultimate Passive)

Effect:

Conquered regions gain +70% loyalty growth and resist foreign influence.

Special Trait: Converts dissent into loyalty over time based on Alberto's Charisma and National Unity Index.

Note: Loyalty-generated power contributes directly to national production and magical resonance.

[New Weapon Interface Unlocked]: World Engine Protocols

Access Granted to Planetary-Scale Constructs

Requires vast resources and time to build, but allows:

Terraforming

Weather Manipulation

Leyline Resequencing

Subterranean Fortress Construction

Skyborne Citadels

Unlocks Blueprint: "Cradle of Fire" — a mobile capital forged in a living volcano, capable of relocating across landmasses and anchoring entire regions under Host's command.

[New Special System Privilege]: The Flamebound Accord

Effect: Once per continent, Alberto can forge an Unbreakable Pact of Submission with a conquered nation.

Consequence:

They become spiritually bound to his dominion — immunity to coups, divine rebellion, or external mind control.

[System Trait Unlocked]: Dominion Over Faith

Description:

Religious structures and spiritual systems across your empire will now slowly reorient toward Host as the axis of worship.

Bonus:

Increases citizen happiness

Lowers unrest

Boosts mana-based tech throughput by 25% empire-wide

Unique Effect:

Once faith penetration exceeds 75% globally, Host may declare The Sovereign Revelation, enabling godlike global-scale effects (locked until future update).

[Mythic System Trait Unlocked]: Will of the Empire (Passive Global Buff)

Effect:

Host's thoughts directly shape regional law and governance across the empire.

Corruption decays at +3x natural rate

Regional governors now operate with semi-sentient system subroutines replicating Host's policy logic

Dissenting AI constructs or traitorous programs are now self-correcting or auto-exiled

System Balance Update:

Balance: 120,207,089,094 SC → 135,000,000,000 SC (Dominion Acknowledgement Bonus)

Experience: 884,639 → 2,750,000 EXP (New Quests Automatically Unlocked)

「GLOBAL ALERT: LEGENDARY QUEST AVAILABLE」

Objective:

Bring at least 3 continents under a single banner

Optional Goals:

Execute 5 Flamebound Accords

Construct the Cradle of Fire

Eliminate at least one Awakened Evil

Rewards:

+50,000,000 EXP

Access to Divine-Class Technologies

Unlock: Final Sovereign Form

System Evolution Triggered: Core Reformat Protocols

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