I, Necromancer Chapter 9

People change over time. Devils rarely do.

Those that do are those that are born in new eras. The majority of older Devils lived through a war that lasted more than two thousand years.

Then a Civil War to boot.

The children of Devils change, grown in eras of peace and mingling with the Reincarnated Devils that pollute Devil Cities with their Human Customs.

Zekram Bael found it all disgusting. Thoroughly so.

The New Satans were more accommodating towards outsiders of their Race than their own people, going so far as to change even the color of the skies of the Underworld just to help them fit in better.

Those young, foolish leaders were so busy pleasing these outsiders that Zekram was given free reign to bring more Houses beneath him.

Countless Lords and Ladies or even Heirs owe him more favors than they wanted to, the Rating Games having proved to be the perfect grounds to gain pawns from.

A thrown game here to promote a new Devil, make him a rising star… Give him a special offer, and raise him further if he accepts. Or make him lose all of his games from then on if he refuses.

The majority of Devils in the Top Ten of the Ratings Games Leader-board are all beneath his control, each granted control over the King Piece, a tool that enormously enhanced the power of the Devil wielding it.

All of these things allowed Zekram to earn countless favors over the years, further deepen his pockets, and gain immense amounts of blackmail that he can make use off anytime he wishes.

...And then the Gates appeared.

Countless favors were burned just like that. His resources are constantly being drained due to maintaining the massive army protecting his lands, and losses just keep on stacking up.

No one wished to admit it, but the Devils were on the back-foot. The Gates took more than Devils gained from each victory, with Superimposition Gates being among the rarest, and monster corpses and materials couldn't really be sold well.

The Devil House known for having a Clan Trait made for forging armor and gear was destroyed by the Archangel Gabriel during the Great War, turned into a smoking crater before anyone could react.

So these resources could either be used by inexperienced hands, or could be sold to other Faction.

Other Factions that absolutely detested the Devils, thus paying them even lower prices than normal. And the Devils couldn't refuse these deals, and could only try to uselessly barter for just a few more scraps.

Some of Zekram's closest and most prized advisors estimated a full collapse of the Devil Race within just a few decades due to dwindling resources.

But those numbers were off. Zekram knew, and so did his advisors.

For the Gates were becoming more frequent. More powerful. Slowly, but surely, more Ultimate Class Gates started appearing, when usually there was just one every few years… Then one a year… Then multiple.

And few dare even think about Gates above Ultimate Class.

Hence, for the first time in many centuries… Zekram Bael felt nervous. He needed more power, more connections, more favors- Not just from the Devil Race, but from other Factions, but that was wishful thinking.

For the longest time, he spent every waking moment thinking about how to make the Bael name everlasting, when more powerful ones were extinguished into nothing.

…Until one such name far greater than the Bael name resurfaced out of nowhere.

The Leviathan Scion, the youngest child of the Original Leviathan. The favored child too, unlike the belligerent and arrogant Tsuufame.

Fleurdelys Leviathan, the child for whom the Morningstar put the Great War on hold just so to witness her birth.

The child whom was spoiled by the uncaring and cold Mother of Devils.

The child whom he had groveled before while presenting a birthday gift in her youth, while under the terrifying gaze of the Original Leviathan herself.

He had thought her dead during the Great War, but that was foolish of him. Utterly foolish. He should have known something was amiss, and that some loyal servants made sure she would be hidden away while under the Devil Sleeping Disease.

Of course someone with His blood running through her veins wouldn't just die like that.

And of course someone with such a powerful name wouldn't come back and live a quiet life. No, she was starting to make waves, setting her plans in motions, and had now completely disappeared from her territory and Zekram did not know what for.

The letter he had sent her? Opened, then clearly discarded and destroyed. The Magic Seal on it reacted, then its signature disappeared, telling him everything.

She likely knew the power he currently wielded. The many connections he had built through these past five centuries.

Fleurdelys Leviathan just did not care, for he still stood beneath her. For he was still a worm within her eyes. The same worm who had groveled before her with a shaky smile on his face.

He couldn't use her… But maybe he could use what he knew about her. About her Bloodline.

He could spread the word, cause further chaos, and make the Old Satan Faction panic and try to reclaim her urgently.

No one cared about Rizevim, not even his parents. He was a failure, an utter moron with no ambition and just a bit of power. He may carry the Lucifer name, but no one took him seriously.

He would never be able to rouse Devils to follow him. Even if his personality changed.

But Fleurdelys was different. Power and ambition in spades, beauty and ruthlessness- She is what Devils crave and yearn for, what they aspire to be and follow.

Not the New Satans with their indecision and their constant bad choices or their meek approaches.

Not the Old Satans and their plan to lead Devil-kind to certain doom.

...Much less the Great King Faction, which clings to a name that now does not stand at the top anymore.

The hand gripping his fine glass of wine trembles, the glass cracks and slowly starts disintegrating within his hold.

Everything was falling apart. All of his plans, all of his favors, all of his hard-work, all because of two impossibly powerful beings shattering the Dimensional Gap and making it everyone's else problem.

A sigh leaves his lips, and his shoulders sag as all the tension and stress leave them.

He was worrying for nothing. Fleurdelys was young, prone to mistakes, and led by arrogance.

She'll soon make a mistake and be curbed by the New Satans, and then will understand that she needs his support.

The lure of having a King Piece for herself will make her crumble. Like it made everyone else crumble and salivate at the offer.

So he'll wait and watch as this new plan of hers crumbles, and the New Satans capitalize on it to finally put a leash on her.

And then he'll swoop in- Zekram blinks, his brows furrowing as one of his butlers approaches his side quietly and lowers himself to whisper in his ears.

"...The Tepes Faction was eradicated?"

Zekram blinks, then shrugs.

Not like anyone's gonna miss the Vampires.

~~XXX~~

"She is going to the Chinese Faction?"

Serafall furrows her brows and leans back in her seat, digesting the information Sirzechs had currently shared with his fellow Satans.

Information he gained from his sister, who was still madly furious with him due to recent events.

"How did she manage to convince them to accept her help?" She questions, just mildly irked at this new discovery, "We approached them, and they all but spat on us. She does, and they welcome her? This makes no sense!"

Ajuka cuts in soon after, voice quiet but sharp, "It does if the deal was in favor of the Chinese Faction." He points out, earning the attention of his fellow Satans, "We offered the assistance of our armies – not ourselves – in dealing with the Eternal Forest in exchange for a portion of its fertile lands."

Sirzechs nods, "Roughly thirty-percent of the land the Eternal Forest used to cover at the time." Then his brows furrow, "You think Fleurdelys asked for less?"

Ajuka shakes his head, "I think she asked for none of the land at all."

The room fell quiet, enough so that Serafall could hear the beating of her heart. "...What?" Her brows furrow even further, "Then what would be the point of helping them?"

Sirzechs sighs, "She is aiming for an alliance with them. Access to what the Chinese Faction has to offer." His hand comes to rub at the bridge of his nose, "What would she need some fertile territory for, after all? Best let the Chinese Faction use it so to further her own ends."

Serafall leans forward, "But that can't have been enough to convince them. When we offered to barter for less territory in exchange for our help, they just ignored us." She hated how hopeless each transaction felt when dealing with outside faction.

So much hate. So much judgment. All for things that happened in the past.

She and her fellow Satans were trying to make things better, but were turned away each time they tried to show they weren't like the Devils of the past. Like the previous Satans.

"She most definitely offered something else. Something that convinced them." Falbium spoke up, raising his head from the table to share his own insights, "Something even we would go crazy over."

Sirzechs blinks, "What is it?"

Ajuka hums, then his eyes widen a fraction in realization, "No Man's Land." He whispers aloud, silencing the room once more, "That's her target. It has to be."

Serafall finds her throat going dry at that, "Is she insane? Even we wouldn't dare carelessly explore those wild wastes!"

Falbium chuckles at that, "Yeah, but she has some expendable corpses to call upon, doesn't she?"

They all stilled, remembering about the powerful Necromancer that had become her Mutated Queen, and was able to bring back Ultimate Class beasts like they were nothing.

Entire armies of corpses, all expendable… Which can constantly grow ever more massive thanks to the uncountable numbers of beasts roaming within the endless wastes of No Man's Land.

If there was someone that could arrogantly brave those wastes, then it was Fleurdelys' Queen.

He could explore them, find prime targets, then even have the corpses move around any excavated ores brought in by the Superimposition Gates.

No Man's Land was a place of untold dangers, but also unspeakable fortunes. Many coveted it, but few tried to brave the beasts that swarmed it.

Ajuka had once speculated that there are already countless Maou Class Gates open all over No Man's Land, with chances of higher ranked Gates also being present.

Serafall shudders at the thought of a Heavenly Dragon Class Gate even existing. What kind of monstrosity would even lumber out of the damn thing?

"So she's aiming for the riches within No Man's Land…" Sirzechs muses softly, his face scrunched up in a heavy frown.

"And she's not going to give us even a drop of them." Falbium yawns out, straightening himself and crossing his arms over his broad chest, "Everything she gains? She'll sell it all to the Chinese Faction and use it to raise and equip her army."

And they won't see even scraps. Their resources were slowly dwindling, losses were stacking up, and soon enough Devils won't be able to recruit soldiers in their armies because they still required workers, farmers, cooks- So on and so forth.

The Peerage System was available only for High Class Noble Devils – And some may call it favoritism towards the Nobles, but this was like so in order to avoid making enormous waves of Devils sweep through Earth to enslave or recruit interesting people into their Peerages.

There weren't that many young Noble Devils, with the majority of older ones despising the Peerage System. In total, there were at most around two thousand Kings.

With their fertility so low, it was rare to have a Devil be born once a year. There was even a period of time after the Civil War where no Noble Devil was born for over two centuries.

Things changed in recent years, like with Rias, Sona, the many children from the Phenex House, those from the Agares House and the Bael House… But this slow birth rate is what is slowly killing the Devil Race.

"No, not just her army." Ajuka muses, his gaze narrowed, "She's planning something. Something big."

"Can it be prevented?" Serafall asks near instantly, then winches and mentally chides herself for this. She was being far too antagonistic, and she hated that.

Ajuka shakes his head, "Not if we want the Chinese Faction turning hostile on us." He admits, before turning his gaze towards Sirzechs, "We can only place our hopes on Rias, now."

The redhead frowns heavily at that, "I will not use my sister."

Ajuka huffs out a laugh, "Good thing that you won't be doing anything, then." The man stands, readying himself to leave, "We can only hope Rias manages to quell the anger Sona so recklessly roused within Fleurdelys."

Serafall winches at that, but doesn't come to her younger sister's defense despite really wanting to.

"Until then, any excuse and apology we throw her way will be empty. So we just wait. Wait and watch."

And with that, Ajuka takes his leave, leaving the room silent once more.

Until Falbium's head slams onto the desks, followed by his snoring.

Serafall groans loudly and slumps in her seat.

"What a cluster-fuck."

~~XXX~~

The site of battle for the horde of beasts lucky turned out to be a long stretch of land.

A few hills here and there, but no mountains to cut off our sight, allowing us to gaze all the way towards the horizon.

The air was rich and thick with immense amounts of Mana that my body greedily drank in, but I didn't put it to use just yet. I just finished refilling the reserves of my Ancestors and Rhapthorne, and of the other magic wielders under my rule.

Thus I put my Earth Ancestor to work in creating an enormous quagmire. Not ahead of us, for I know it won't last long, but on our sides, cutting off the Eternal Forest far behind us.

I have a plan to make all the beasts focus us, but I'd rather still be prepared in case some decide otherwise and try to go towards the forest still.

Hence, the quagmires. They'll be there to swallow up any creature that avoids us, and they are deep enough that they'll swallow thousands before they become useless.

I could make pitfalls and other traps, but I require the bodies to be mostly intact. It is why, even though this battle may be quite hard, that I still haven't created the Corpse Explosion Spell.

Right now I need as many corpses as possible to hold off the horde.

The army was currently helping the numerous Formation Sect disciples dig trenches and remove things like large rock while they worked, so to help speed up the creation of their ever-expanding Array.

The Eternal Forest is behind us, roughly a dozen kilometers away, just waiting for us to breach into it and lay waste to it so to draw its attention.

Up above, Rhapthorne is gathering Tension – something I wish to learn once I have some free time – and has already reached the third level, but I want him to reach the max, yet that clearly takes a great deal of time.

Everyone is doing their own thing, helping in their own ways, scattered around the large valley as I watch.

My army of Undead moved left and right, directed by the soldiers, dragging materials along or assisting in moving things that are too big.

The Gigantes and Trolls stood back together with the flying units, keeping an eye on the forest and on the horizon.

Sometimes, some powerful roars reach us even from this far away, making me quite excited to step foot in No Man's Land.

Once the quagmire is done, I have my Earth Ancestor move to raise huge platforms of stone in places that don't disrupt the Array, and have my armies of Moosifer and Archdemons move to stand on them, giving them vantage to launch their Spells from.

My Bodkin archers instead hang around me, as I'll soon turn them all into those Grafted Archers since they are quite powerful. I'll have them aim towards the strongest monsters in the horde to quickly kill them, putting their killing power to better use.

Though, maybe… I turn towards my Bodkin Archers, and all of the mass currently resting inside my Spatial Inventory. Flesh, bones- All kinds of usable materials I can put to good use.

With the Mana Array feeding me immense amounts of Mana, I decide to be daring and wave my hand, bringing out all the waste materials currently in my hold.

My Necrotic Mana washes forth, melting it all and having it flow the way I want. With Fleshcrafting further assisted by my new Grafting Skill, this becomes laughably easy to create.

Some of the Cultivators pale and move away as I work on my new grotesque creation, bones and flesh and meat snapping in place.

The Bodkin Archers are also ripped apart and devoured by my expanding creation, bone growing and expanding and turning into jagged, spiked armored plates protecting massive legs.

Four legs, an elephant like body, and a series of long trunks capable of spewing out immense amounts of Necrotic Flames to anything standing in its path.

The sides armored by overgrown bone plates have the upper bodies of the Bodkin Archers sticking out of it, constantly firing diseased arrows that burn with Necrotic Flames.

But the best of it all? Is how I've made it so that it walks forward, absorbing spilled blood and mangled, pulped flesh of monsters too torn apart to be resurrected.

The blood will be infected and turned into Necrotic Acid, which will be launched from the trunks, then set alight by the Necrotic Flames – did I just created Necrotic Napalm? – while the pulped flesh will instead be gathered within the chest of the lumbering monstrosity…

And will be reforged into a Grafted Monstrosity, which will then join the fight.

I step back, wiping the sweat from my brow as I stare at the lumbering, several meters tall Engine of Death. Yes, I just came up with that name, and it's very cool.

This wouldn't be possible if I didn't have Fleshcrafting and the Grafting Skill that work so perfectly together, so this recent Class Advancement came at the perfect time.

I am glad I played that very Democratic game in my previous life, which helped inspire the creation of this… Corpse Strider.

But this also confirms that I can likely create things like catapults from corpses that can move by themselves. Siege engines made by death itself… Quite lovely, and incredibly useful.

Now I have where to put all my waste into instead of having to hang onto it uselessly.

Though, just this Corpse Strider has taken half of my gathered mass, and the next one won't have any Bodkin Archer bodies on the sides – But I can replace those with additional trunks on the side and back, for further literal firepower.

...Slowly, I turn my head towards one of my Archdemons.

I can put one of them on a Corpse Strider.

I fucking love being a Necromancer.

Though, I'd rather have at least ten total Corpse Striders just to be safe. I'll work on other Engines of Death after those.

Bolt throwers, catapults, things like that. I can use masses of flesh I prepare beforehand as ammunition for the catapults, with said masses of flesh releasing Necrotic Miasma all over the area they land in.

Unfortunately, Rhapthorne can't heal right now, so I can tear apart my Flood Dragon but can only heal him once I have my fat meatball Sorcerer take action.

Each limb of the Flood Dragon is a Corpse Strider, so further creations have to wait until things kick off. Likely, I will still have plenty of time before the horde arrives, so there's that.

"Good thing I have this Mana Gathering Array around me…" I sigh out, for I know that without it I would have needed to draw upon Rhapthorne's reserves to finish my work on a single Corpse Strider.

"With all the resources that went into making it, it better be useful." A voice states from behind me, making me turn and look at a breathtaking white haired woman with golden eyes.

She is a bit shorter than me, her body clad in form-fitting white, orange and black clothes, which accentuated her very wonderful and wide hips, and her large chest, with an orange jacket wrapped around her shoulders and arms, but leaving plenty of cleavage out for view.

I hate how this world is stuffed with breathtaking beauties left and right. Makes it hard to focus.

"Pretty sure I offered the most valuable material myself." I point out with an amused smile, earning a snort from the white-haired beauty.

This whole Array is making use of my Flood Dragon's blood, as it is a valuable catalyst for this type of creations.

"You have, which I am thankful for." The woman nods, hand on her hips as he gaze flicks around to all the soldiers and Formation Specialists working together to expand the Array that already covered more than two kilometers. The optimal range would be ten times that. "Without it, this scale wouldn't be possible."

I hum, crossing my arms behind my back, "I presume the greater the scale, the greater the cost?" Sometimes its obvious, but other times such a thing isn't.

I know some barriers require lower cost the greater the scope for reasons I do not know, but usually those are barriers meant to detect intruders.

But there are odd cases too.

The woman nods, "Not just cost, but also requires perfection. Even the tiniest mistake can send the Array in… Well, disarray." We share an amused snort at that, "The flow of energy isn't right, or certain systems don't activate, thus the energy is wasted and a certain area of the Array does not work, so on and so forth."

I hum at that, "Fascinating." The ditches are being engraved with runes written with the blood of my Flood Dragon, together with Beast Cores and other materials I do not recognize. "I was wondering why each time they finish a section, they test everything more than ten times."

The woman laughs softly at that, "We can be quite meticulous, yes." She then blinks before turning towards me, "Apologies, I have not introduced myself." She smiles and extends a gloved hand towards me, "Yi Xuan, High Preceptor of the Formation and Talisman Sect."

Oh? So someone from the Talisman Sect did end up coming, after all.

"Scaith, but you probably already knew that." I shake her hand with a smile of my own, before noticing a sudden flash of interest within her eyes, "Something wrong?"

She blinks, regaining focus soon after, "Apologies, it's just… You have a shocking amount of Yang energy within you…" She muses, drawing her hand back.

I blink and lower my gaze to said hand, before calling forth my Necrotic Mana and creating a clump of light green flames on it, "It is probably due to my Necrotic Mana, a bi-product of my Necromancy."

Yi Xuan hums, leaning forward to study the flames with intense interest, "Fascinating… You could make some terrifyingly powerful Jiangshi with this."

My eyes widen at that, "Jiangshi? You mean like… Undead Cultivators?" She nods, a smile on her lips.

"Corpses tend to still Cultivate after death, especially if in a place filled with Yang energies. But they become known and feared as Jiangshi only after they form a Core with this energy." Yi Xuan shrugs, "It is quite a valuable Cultivation resource, especially for females."

I lean back at that, "But wouldn't this Yang energy within the Jiangshi Core be tainted?" I question, and her golden eyes widen.

"You know your stuff."

"I used to read a lot of Cultivation stories in my youth, so…"

"Ah…" Yi Xuan snorts, "They aren't fully accurate, but not fully wrong either… Aside from the ones that have Cultivators bust entire planets or travel to other galaxies." Yeah, those used to be quite bad, I'll admit.

Still fun to read when one turns their brain off, though.

"I still haven't been approached by a brazen Young Master, so my experience with the Chinese Faction was a bit disappointing, I'll admit." Yi Xuan bursts out laughing at my 'complaint'.

"Oh trust me…" The woman laughs out, "They are quite real, and just as bad. Spoiled rich brats…"

Ah, now I want to run into one even more! I want to have someone shout 'Courting death!' at me!

Bitch, I'm a Necromancer!

"Going back to those Jiangshi Cores…" I start, glancing towards my Flood Dragon, "Would it be possible to turn an already existing Core into one akin to a Jiangshi's, but with my peculiar Yang energy?"

Yi Xuan, now recovered from her bout of laughter, cups her chin in interest at my question, "You still require Qi to do so, though." She points out, "I have heard of Mages trying to create a Mana Core inside of them… And while they succeeded, they just ended up creating a large stone inside of their bodies."

Ah yeah, a Mana Crystal. "An Undead wouldn't really find an issue with having a stone within their body, though…" I point out, giving Yi Xuan pause.

"Good point." She smiles and winks at me, "The Cores human Cultivators and Beasts have are different. Beasts Cultivate through their blood, while humans through the spiritual energy that is Qi."

"Our Cores are intangible, but beasts have it within their body. I've never heard of a beast's Core turning fully Yang and bringing the corpse back as a Jiangshi, but…" The white-haired beauty pauses, nibbling on her lower lips, her golden eyes burning with a fervent gaze, "I would say that I am quite interested to see if it would work."

The System doesn't restrict me in learning other arts, so… Could I possibly learn how to Cultivate? It would be another form of power I can draw upon, and from the sounds of it, I could use it to make even more powerful Undead.

Undead that this time will have far more energy within them thanks to these Cores.

"Wait, you said these Cores are very useful for females… Why?" I ask, making Yi Xuan perk up.

"Hmm, how to explain it… How much do you know on how Cultivation works?" She asks, and I pause at that.

"I just know it's about absorbing energy and refining it within your body, or something among those lines."

She chuckles and does a so-so gesture with her hands, "Not wrong, but not fully right either." I shrug at that. My knowledge comes from novels, after all. "The refining part is accurate, though."

"The Qi of each Cultivator is different, and if it invades the body of another in a certain way – like through a blow or technique – then this Qi needs to be purged before one can start to heal, which sometimes can take quite a bit of time."

"The same is for the Qi surrounding us." Yi Xuan waves her hand through the air, "It is different. Foreign. But not malicious – except in certain areas."

"So we absorb it, and refine it into our type of Qi, adding to our own and using it to forge our bodies, our Cores, so on and so forth."

I hum and nod, "So I presume that certain types of Qi are easier to absorb than others?" Yi Xuan smiles, gaze shining in approval at my question.

"Both females and males have Yin and Yang Qi inside of them, but females have ninety-percent Yin Qi, with the rest being Yang Qi. For males, it is the opposite." She explains, sounding quite happy to have someone interested in such stuff, "A woman would absorb Yang Qi much faster than other forms of Qi, while the same goes for men with Yin Qi."

I snap my fingers in realization, "So that's how Dual Cultivation works!" Yi Xuan sputters, a fierce flush covering her cheeks at my words.

"Y-You're not wrong!" She states, laughing softly as her flush dies down, "But yes, that is why Jiangshi Cores are valuable for women – Once they are cleansed, of course."

This all sounds incredibly interesting. If I find something that can improve my Necromancy, then I do want to pursue it, though Cultivation may be a bit troublesome, as it might be a bit time-consuming.

"Are you interested in Cultivation?" Yi Xuan questions, clearly very curious as she studies my face.

"Can't say that I am not." I chuckle out, "I mainly wish to see if I can further improve my Necromancy with it."

Yi Xuan's smile gains an amused edge to it, "Passionate about your craft, are you?"

"Enough to go grave-robbing."

"...Seriously?"

I just smile, making her burst out laughing.

"Well, I better go before they start slacking off." The white-haired beauty sighs out, an amused smile on her face, "It was a pleasure, Scaith. I'll see you around!" She winks with a smile on her face, before turning to walk away, a slight sway to her hips.

I watch her go and try – and horribly fail – to not stare too much at that wonderful massive behind of hers within those tight black shorts and hum in consideration.

Could she be recruited in the Peerage? Maybe, but she has a high position. In two different Sects, no less.

For that, she must be insanely skilled in both arts. Plus trusted. I believe a preceptor is something akin to Law Enforcement, but maybe more private and based within a Sect?

And she is the High Preceptor too, and I doubt that's some empty title.

Oh well, I'll think about it more later, for now I best focus on making more Corpse Striders so to practice and experiment.

But first…

I glance around, then walk towards one of the towers of earth where my mages are stationed.

My Earth Ancestor makes the stone part at the bottom, allowing me to enter the small dark room I ordered him to prepare beforehand.

Light pours out of my chest with a thought from me, and soon three small golden cups materialize in the air before me.

A small stone platform rises, and I rest the three golden cups on them, a milky white aura enveloping them as they quietly rest, not releasing any terrifying Holy aura despite being one of the three Holy Relics that had the blood of Christ – ow – touch it.

I can't help but feel my mouth dry up as I stare at the three cups. The Sephiroth Graal, the most busted Sacred Gear there is, in my hands.

This is a dangerous tool. Insanely so. But it'll make me a very, very powerful Necromancer once I get things fully set up.

For now, I'll start with this simple plan of mine, for I cannot actively use the Graal and its capabilities without breaking my mind.

Hence, after this whole debacle is done… I think I must approach the Angels, and barter for a piece of the original Graal. Holding that will make the side-effects of the Graal disappear.

And I know just what to give them to make them happily give that fragment over.

After all, I can resurrect all of their fallen brothers and sisters.

….

Maximilian looked around at the army he was part of, the light of the sun above glinting off their scaled, polished crimson armor.

Both heavy and light, form-fitting and with no vulnerable gaps, flexible and comfortable. The weapons varied in types, made from the claws and tooth of the giant Flood Dragon they had all helped tearing apart for its materials.

Some went with swords, other with shields and maces, some with two-handed weapons- All manners of requests satisfied with impeccable quality by the Forging Sect with days left to spare.

The Queen of the Peerage, Scaith, had even let them test the weapon out on one of his giant cyclops, the toughest bastards they all fought against and struggled to even scratch the skin off.

Now, with their improved weapons, they could cut deep within its tough flesh, and some shield-bearers could even somehow tank one of those giant's blows.

They got sent flying across the field for that, but they survived and showed off the shield that didn't even dent from the catastrophic blow.

All this pampering had them feel giddy. Happy. Satisfied. Fleurdelys made sure they were all treated properly and given everything they needed to survive and show off what they were truly capable off.

She kept squashing away any doubts that she was like all the other Nobles, just using different methods to fill the ranks of her army… But if Zani trusted her, then they all decided to give her a try.

And then the Queen healed their crippling injuries, gave them back what they lost because of the mistreatment of other Nobles… Then just assured them that such healing was free and part of being soldiers in Fleurdelys' army.

Maximilian knew right then and there that the rest of mercenaries still hesitating would soon join and swear eternal loyalty to the Leviathan Scion and her Peerage. From the current three-thousand strong army, he highly expected it to reach the ten-thousand mark.

...He kinda pitied that giant Flood Dragon. The amount of times it was ripped apart for materials had gone way past the hundred a few days ago.

And now it was just laying there, missing its limbs and wings and tail because the meatball sorcerer was charging up high in the skies.

"Alright, everyone here?" Scaith calls out, voice enhanced by magic to reach over the whole field the army was occupying.

A chorus of 'Yes, sir!' followed his question, earning an amused smile from the lean Reincarnated Devil, "...Bet y'all now want to show off your new equipment to those arrogant Nobles, eh?"

Another chorus of less serious, and more amused 'Yes, sir!' followed his questions, bringing out a snort from the Queen quite a few Devils prefer calling 'beautiful'.

"Alright, let's get serious." He coughs into his fist and claps his hands together, "Your mission is both easy, but dangerous. You'll have an army of my Undead come with you, so do not hesitate to sacrifice them in order to save your lives."

Smiles bloomed on the faces of countless soldiers at those words, "Your mission is to find, and gather, a specific object. A large flower, roughly the size of a human." Scaith informs them, gaze serious and severe, "These flowers are what attracts the beast horde, and we'll have to gather quite a few of them. At least two or three dozen, just to be safe."

His hand raises, pointing at a large ditch excavated into the ground not far from their current position, "They'll be deposited there, where a Formation will cause the scent they create to be much more powerful at a close range, thus making the beast horde focus on this specific position."

His hand moves to the skies as a large flock of Gryphons rise in the air, circling above their group, "Cut the flowers and give the heads to them to take back. For the rest? Just lay waste to your surroundings."

"Go wild, set the forest on fire, tear everything apart with your strength and my monsters. Make the Eternal Forest panic and throw everything it has at you."

"You'll split in groups of one-thousand and five-hundred. One advances, the other provides support from the rear. When one gets tired, they swap position. So on and so forth. Understood?"

Another roar of 'Yes, sir!' followed, and Scaith nods, then sighs softly, "Zani should have been the one doing this, but she is clearly too lazy and had me do the speech…" A beer can smacks the back of his head the next moment, earning a chorus of laughter from the soldiers.

"Before we start, there is something else that will be provided to you all." Scaith steps to the side and beckons a beautiful pink and white haired woman forward.

The beauty bows towards the soldiers, a relaxed yet slightly nervous smile on her face, "Greetings, everyone! My name is Changli Phenex, and I recently joined Fleurdelys' Peerage as her Rook, and personal Alchemist."

The reveal greatly surprised the soldiers, and they all watched as several Trolls stomped forward, holding large boxes filled with small bottles.

Smiling, Changli waved to the palm-sized bottles, "These are Medicinal Pills, all refined by me. They will staunch bleeding, heal injuries, and expel any foreign object from within your body- Something that you'll require within the Eternal Forest."

The Trolls stomped forward with a wave of Changli's hand, "Please, take two bottles each. Each bottle has a total of ten Pills inside. Just focus your Devil Energy on the bottles to draw out a Pill from your pouches."

Following those instructions, each soldier took their share, obediently taking just two bottles. No one tried to sneak off with one or two more than usual.

"Do not be stingy with them and use them whenever you are in danger." The pink-haired beauty states, a gentle smile on her glossy lips, "I wish my creations are able to protect your lives in the coming battle."

The soldiers cheered, their roars shaking the air and growing louder as their leader, Fleurdelys, slowly descended from the sky.

Her gaze was calm, yet approving and warm as she nodded at them all, "I won't say useless words, just give you all an order that must be followed." Her voice was sharp and deadly serious, "Do not die."

No one cheered. They just smiled and solemnly nodded towards the one Noble who truly cared about them.

"Then let us start." Fleurdelys turns, her face blooming into a brilliant smile as her gaze lands on her Queen, "Scaith, if you will."

The Reincarnated Devil did not move, and just raised his gaze towards the sky. Everyone followed and looked towards the giant staff-wielding monster high above them.

So high he was just below the clouds, in fact.

The giant purple monster lifted his staff in the air, the raging pink aura around it intensifying as intense heat washed down on them all.

A flame sphere the size of a mountain scorched the skies crimson, then swelled and swelled, growing into a blinding star of pure heat and rumbling power.

Finally, the giant beast waved his staff towards the forest, and the colossal sun shot forth with a howl of super-heated air.

It flew and flew, disappearing from sight and going past the horizon, until-

A blinding flash lights up the distance, and the earth rumbles as a mushroom cloud of immense proportions became visible.

"Go!" The soldiers snapped out of their stupor and shock at the immense firepower and rushed forward instantly as that order rang out.

As they moved, the Sorcerer above waved his staff, causing orange and green lights to flash over the bodies of each Soldier, massively empowering their offensive and defensive power as they rushed forward.

Gigantes, Trolls, Hacksauruses and hundreds of flying units rushed towards the Eternal Forest with them, and soon started laying waste upon each tree and blade of grass in their way.

The Gigantes smashed down massive trees with their clubs, their roars shaking the air as the Devils set said collapsed trees on fire, then had the Gigantes hurl them far into the distance.

Plants and vines and even said trees started swaying as if alive, with each lashing out in their own way.

A soldier raised his shield, blocking a foul-smelling purple liquid sprayed towards him from a strange plant with mouth and teeth, which he swiftly cut down and set on fire.

The flying units cast their spells, gusts of air and large tornadoes sweeping through the surroundings, tearing everything to shred with sharp blades of air.

"Found a flower!" A shout came from ahead, followed by a Gryphon swooping down, then coming back up with the severed head of a large flower dripping with yellow dew.

More calls followed as they swept through the forest, setting entire acres of it alight mercilessly, causing the fires to ravage and sweep forth without care.

And soon, the parasites appeared. Mad roars and clicking sounds filled the air, alerting the soldiers to the arrival of strange crustacean creatures.

They looked like massive crabs with the lower body of a horse covered in dense, black chitin overgrown with plant matter, and a humanoid upper body with four arms, each boasting massive scythe like blades.

Its body was covered in plant matter growing out of the cracks in its hard, metal-like chitin and the spots in the helmet-like skull. Flowers and plants of all sorts covering its form, before it was swiftly crushed to paste by a Troll and its club.

And soon, hundreds of these crab monsters appeared, bouncing off trees or digging their way out of the earth, with their numbers growing without stop each passing minute.

The forest fought alongside its parasites too. One soldiers saw one of the Hacksauruses get yanked high into the trees by a pair of wines, followed by blood and torn limbs raining down seconds later.

Masses of them were trying to wrap around the advancing Gigantes, but the giants tore the apart with each movement of their body. It didn't stop the plants from burrowing under their flesh or inside their bodies through the eyes, mouths, ears and nostrils, rapidly growing and tearing apart at their insides.

Yet all of that barely stopped the advancing giants, each of their blows leaving behind immense ruins of a once lush yet terrifying forest eager to savor flesh and blood.

"Incoming!" A roar from up ahead startled countless soldiers as a colossal tree burst apart, a gargantuan beast covered in jagged spikes and armored chitin stomping into view through shards of plants and wood.

It was a far bigger version of the crustacean warriors, matching the Gigantes in height, and boasting eight massive scythes and pincers on each side of its colossal body covered in spikes.

With a roar, the giant beast collided against one of the Gigantes, squashing a Troll to paste with its advance.

The Gigantes shattered its club on the advancing beast, the sheer might behind the blow sending forth a colossal shock-wave that left a crater in the earth.

The club shattered into splinters, and the chitin of the beast was just cracked from the blow. Yet the Undead switched to its hands, headbutting the beast back, before lifting it up and smashing it back into the earth with colossal might, ignoring any blow, cut and flesh being torn from its body.

As the two giants battled and tore apart each other, more of them came charging over, aiming for the Gigantes and Trolls, and the fact that the soldiers were being ignored was working in their favors.

More and more flowers were sent towards the camp, with some soldiers using the advantage of being ignore the cut down some of the giant crustacean beasts while they were busy fighting the cyclops.

A precise stab into the head seemed to put them down for good, with there being plenty of openings within their thick armor due to the plant matter overgrowing out of their bodies.

By the now, the fires around them had becoming raging infernos, and they all could feel the sheer fury of the Eternal Forest with how more and more beasts started swarming them.

From crustacean creatures, to four-legged spiked beasts with several tails capable of shooting out sharp nails, to even massive spiders- So on and so forth.

Back at the camp, Zani sighs as she stands, finishing the beer within her can before squashing it and tossing it aside.

Her lazy gaze lands on the column of dark smoke rising far into the distance, bright flames having engulfed all of the forest visible to her eyes from her current position.

Then she glances at the pit as yet another strange flower was thrown into it, marking nearly fifty so far. The soldiers had likely lost count, as was expected due to the chaos the Eternal Forest was likely throwing at them.

"You're going?" Her gaze turns towards Scaith, who stood beside her, his peculiar eyes staring at her calmly, yet still held a hint of worry within them.

Her laziness melts away as she smiles back at him, "I'll make sure the forest goes crazy." She informs him, earning a nod from the beautiful man.

A playful smile soon spreads across her lips, her gaze turning flirtatious, "I expect a nice reward after all the hard work I'll be putting in!" His cheeks warm slightly at her words, but Zani soon whines cutely as a pair of hands reaches out from behind her to squish and pull at her cheeks.

"Will you stop tempting my dear Queen, Zani?" Fleurdelys huffs out, no real bite to her words as Zani escapes her hold, a lazy grin on her lips.

"You'll understand once you get a taste of him." Scaith sighs and pulls at his collar when their King throws him a very heated and hungry look. His hips barely survived her hunger, so Zani wondered if he'll survive Fleurdelys'.

Changli giggles at their banter while she approaches Zani, holding two bottles of Pills in her hands, "Here. Just to be safe." Zani nods gratefully and stores the Pills in her pockets, then sighs and cracks her neck.

"You better be careful." Scaith warns her, his giant Sorcerer above casting its empowering Spells on her, filling her with so much power that it was nearly intoxicating.

She grins at him, now more excited than ever, "Don't miss me too much." She winks, then turns and stomps on the ground.

The sound-barrier gives in as she speeds to the front-lines, her hair whipping through the air while the ground craters with each of her steps.

The world blurred around her, and within seconds she reached the battlefield kilometers away from the camp.

A giant armored beast was advancing upon a downed and torn apart cyclops- Before its whole upper body caves in as she smashes into it feet first.

The impact rattles the forest, and sends the creatures flying back like a cannonball, tearing through enemy lines and plants of all kinds with loud, rumbling sounds.

Landing on her feet, Zani hums and reaches up to undo her tie, pulling back her sleeves and wrapping the tie around her right arm as she glanced back towards the soldiers, "Form a wide perimeter five-hundred meters behind me. Kill any stragglers that make it past me."

She orders loudly, and the soldiers cheer as they retreat back.

Turning towards the army of taken over monsters devoured by plant matter, Zani exhales… Then lets her Clan Trait wash forth.

A clock appears within her pupils, and golden light washes forth out of her body, making her skin glow with a platinum-gold radiance, same with her long hair and horns.

Dozens of creatures pounces towards her like deranged beasts… Only for the plant matter making up their bodies to rapidly wither, causing them to twitch and crash to the ground.

All around her, trees and plants withered and died as their Time was stolen. Devoured by her.

Breathing in, Zani draws her fist back, and the arms of the clocks within her pupils rapidly spin, "One-thousand years." She intones before punching forward.

A blast of catastrophic light parts the forest, eradicating uncountable scores of beasts in its path, all having been aged to dust, leaving behind a long trench of bare, fertile earth for more than a kilometer.

A smirk tugs at Zani's lips at the sight. Her Clan Trait allowed her to empower herself by using her own lifespan, which would be robbed from her.

But she could rob it from any creature standing in a one-hundred meter radius from her. Be it a plant, or a monster, or even another Devil.

And now, this forest was basically an all-you-can-eat buffet for her. She could afford to throw around blows empowered by thousands of years worth of energy, and she'd just get it all back by walking around.

Straightening herself, her smirk grows dangerous as loud, powerful roars shake the forest, followed by earth-shaking footsteps.

The Eternal Forest had finally started taking them seriously.

~~XXX~~

"Advance, you bastards! Keep advancing!" The Sword Master roars at the top of his lungs, a large blade within his hands already dripping with the blood of the man-eating plants scattered all over the accursed forest.

Behind him, Cultivators of the Sword Sect charged forth behind their Sect Master, flying on swords while controlling dozens of other ones to cut through any obstacle in their way.

But they barely met any resistance. At most they had to cut down some of the vines trying to strike at them, or the venom-spitting gourd plants, or the ones with giant mouths trying to take a bite out of anyone that draws too close.

Yet they barely encountered any monster during their rapid advance towards the core of the forest.

"It seems the plans of that kid are working splendidly." The Nine Flying Swords Elder commented, floating forward upon one of his glowing and insanely sharp nine swords, "We've never made it this far without taking any losses."

The Sword Master grunts, throwing a glance back, making sure the figure hidden in thick robes was following closely behind them. "Let us not celebrate yet. The core is sure to be guarded by its most powerful parasites."

The Nine Flying Sword Elder nods, bushy brows crinkling together as they advanced forward. "We are getting close."

The core of the Eternal Forest was always very close to the Chinese Faction territory, and their presence was what made the Eternal Forest expand rapidly in other directions while trying to slowly grind them down.

This closeness, which had been a torn in their side for countless months, finally turned to their favor today.

The giant trees rapidly dwindled in numbers, and the Chinese forces rapidly advanced towards the immense clearing before them.

Within it, a mountain sized glowing light green sphere lay, protectively held within a cage of massive spiky roots.

Yet, before they could reach it, the lush earth around the pulsing green sphere burst apart. A serpentine body wreathed within literal gold tore its way out of the earth, extending for more than a hundred meters.

The lower body of a snake made of literal golden scales, with the upper body of a gray, curvaceous giant woman. Her gaze vacant, with plants wiggling out of her mouth, eyes and nostrils, her head being clad in a long mane sharp looking golden tendrils that moved according to their own will.

The appearance of the serpentine monster was followed by the appearance of a fifty meters tall crustacean beast boasting twenty scythe-like arms on each side, and building-sized spikes all over its body.

And finally, a third massive beast made its presence known. A massive Minotaur over twenty meters tall, with a colossal jagged war-ax resting on its shoulder and gripped by one of its large hands, its hooves shaking the earth with each stomp as its gray fur flapped through the air.

"Three Ultimate Class monsters…" The Sword Master growls out, eyes flashing dangerously as his grip over his blade tightens enough to make his knuckles pop.

This was beyond his expectations, but also within the range of things they could handle.

"Had we not killed two of them in our previous tries, then this thing would be guarded by five Ultimate Class monsters." The Nine Flying Swords elder muses softly, his other eight blades glowing with sharp white light flying out of the sheaths on his back.

"Brother, take the snake one. Your sharp blades are best fit for it. I'll take the Minotaur beast." The Sword Master commands, receiving a nod from the elder of his Sect.

"What about that crab monster?"

The Sword Master grunts, a grin on his lips, "Leave it to him." They share a chuckle, then pounce forward.

The Sword Master roars, no technique being shouted as pure and sharp Sword Qi pours out of body and blade, which he hacks down towards the Minotaur.

The giant furred beast roars and swings its massive weapon to meet the incoming blow, causing sparks to fly, together with countless shards of the now damaged war-ax.

The sight made the Sword Master grin viciously despite his arm having been left numb after the collision.

On his right, a storm of white flashing blades rains down on the serpentine woman with golden scales, each flash leaving behind deep cuts within that chip away at her gold.

Her sharp hair flap through the air trying and failing to swat away the flying swords flicking around faster than the eye could follow, filling the air with the sharp sounds of air being torn apart, and metal screeching across metal.

Their disciples formed a perimeter around the clearing, keeping watch for any monsters that may be called back to protect the core while their Elders battled the beasts.

Despite being pressed for time, the Sword Master was confident. The monsters taken over by the Eternal Forest were always far weaker than the original counterparts, for their bodies would keep decaying even as they are worn as empty shells.

So all the Sword Master had to do was destroy the weapon the Minotaur was wielding to achieve victory, and each blow tore the war-ax apart, piece by piece.

A wild, confident laughter poured through his lips as he watched the crustacean giant be caved in and sent flying across the clearing by a simple, effortless blow.

The chitin was shattered and laying all over the place, with the earth shaking wildly due to the giant beast landing on it with all of its weight.

This ended up earning the Sword Master an opportunity, as he fought the Minotaur while flying, and the shaking of the earth caused the beast to stumble- Thus, the Sword Master hacked down, his Sword Qi surging and cleaving apart the skull and chest of the stumbling beast, revealing all the plant matter that had long since devoured its insides.

Not celebrating his victory, the muscular Cultivator turns and hacks his blade through the air, "Your time has come, you vile creature!" He roars, sending forth a rending blade of Sword Qi towards the protected pulsing core.

A long cut was torn into its side, through the roots and the outer, seemingly soft looking layer, causing immense amounts of glowing green water to pour out and overflow the clearing.

The pulsing stopped. The glowing slowly faded, and the Sword Master could feel the sheer Life Energy contained within that strange water.

And it was then that he realized that what he just cut was not a Heart.

But an egg.

It all happened suddenly. The roots and outer layer of the egg burst apart as a pair of gargantuan wings spread, releasing forth an immense gust of wing that pushed all Cultivators away and tore apart every blade of grass on the ground of the clearing.

A deafening, horrifying roar caused the very skies to quiver as the full might of a Maou Class beast washed forth, a gargantuan light green Dragon now standing where the incubating egg once stood.

Beneath the Dragon lay a small, twitching corpse of a young hatchling that lacked any scales on its tender flesh just yet.

The immense Dragon bares its teeth, the fury of a belligerent mother causing its emerald eyes to shine as every tree in the forest started rising, swinging their roots and branches towards the invading Cultivators.

"An incubator, huh?" The Sword Master muses, sweating profusely before the catastrophic pressure of a Maou Class Dragon, its immense limbs shaking the earth, and its claws digging trenches through it. "All this forest, just to raise a single hatchling."

He gulps heavily as the Dragon's furious gaze lands on him- Only for the beast to flinch when an explosion suddenly erupts against its skull.

"We are here, you old coot!" A roar shook the skies as dozens of flying ships tore through the air, bombarding the living forest below with mortar shells and incendiary bombs, yet even all those explosions failed to cover the loud laughter of the Forging Sect Master.

"Hear my order, my disciples!" The old dwarf roars out, commanding the army of flying ships with a bloodthirsty gaze in his eyes, "Lay waste to this fucking thing and let's get back home to get drunk!"

His disciples roar in exhilaration, the cannons firing powerful bombs upon any moving target, assisting the Cultivators on the ground that had to start protecting themselves against literal moving trees.

"We can't be outdone by that drunkard, brother." The Nine Flying Swords elder grumbles out, earning an amused snort from the Sword Master. "But this will prove to be quite the difficult battle… These old bones of mine might not hold up."

Grunting, the muscular elder lifts his large blade with a grin, "Good thing we aren't alone." He turns his gaze to the advancing robed figure stepping past them and towards the Dragon, each step slow and arrogant.

"As domineering in death, as he was in life." The Nine Flying Swords elder muses, near fanaticism within his voice as he gazes at that towering back.

A lone halberd rests in the right hand of the advancing figure, who rips off his own cloak, exposing the old, mottled armor coating his massive muscular frame.

Long hair flap through the wind, and a face that barely lost the color of life regards the Dragon with a cool, indifferent gaze.

The Dragon bares its jaws and roar.

Lu Bu Fengxian roars right back.

His roar slams into the Dragon like a meteorite, his crimson Touki flashing like a storm of lightning and tearing the forest asunder, dispersing the clouds from the skies as the legend announces his return from death.

Furious, the colossal Dragon pounces forth, jaws bared to swallow the puny Undead whole, each teeth ten times bigger than the prey it was trying to swallow.

Scrunching up his face, the Undead Lu Bu lifts up his heavy halberd and grasp the very bottom of it, and lifts it high in the air.

His Touki wraps around his weapon as flashes of crimson lightning tear the land around him apart, leaving behind massive ditches as he stomps forward and hacks his weapon down.

The weapon struck true, and the air itself fled.

The blow slammed the Dragon into the earth head first, burying its whole upper body and creating a crater nearly a kilometer wide.

The flying ships in the skies nearly lost control from the immense shock-wave that slammed into them, but were able to swiftly regain control and right themselves.

Despite his shock, the Sword Master was able to notice something peculiar the moment the Dragon was struck by such a catastrophic blow.

Tens of thousands of trees all around them withered up and died.

"The Dragon shares its vitality with the forest…" He muses aloud, sharing a look with his fellow Elder.

"We just need to keep hurting it until it can't sustain itself anymore."

Easier said than done, but all they had to do was stall for time and keep the Dragon occupied.

The Alchemists were already setting the forest on fire, and the Formation Sect disciples had come back to assist them, having left the control of the Array on the beast tide side to the High Preceptor.

Soon enough, the Dragon will be surrounded on all sides. Maou Class beast or not, the Sword Master was confident that they could win this battle.

"To fight alongside the great Lu Bu is this old one's greatest honor." The Nine Flying Sword elder laughs softly as he steps forward, ready to buy time for the full force to arrive.

Rolling his neck, the Sword Master grunts and steps forward as the colossal Dragon burrows its way out of the crater it was smashed into, "Let us not give him a poor show, shall we, brother?"

The two elders step forward, flanking the sides of the towering Lu Bu, and watch as the Dragon rises, emerald eyes shining with pure madness.

And as one, the trio charges towards the beast even as Hell kept being rained down upon the Forest around them.

~~XXX~~

I pause, panting softly as I feel Lu Bu actively engage in a fight with a very powerful opponent.

He was the 'Plan B' brought up by the Sword Master. He gave me his body, allowed me to bring him back as my Undead Minion, then had Lu Bu join them on the attack against the Heart.

Which turned out to be an Egg, huh?

I shake away those thoughts and finish up the latest Corpse Strider, dozens of Flood Dragon limbs having been gathered into a small mountain beside me.

Small stragglers already started appearing from the horizon, but they were swiftly taken down and added to my army of Undead without problem, but their numbers are slowly rising.

Soon enough, a literal wave of them shall fall upon us.

I turn towards the Eternal Forest, which now couldn't be seen other than a tower of smoke rising far from the distance, having left behind scorched earth and flickering flames.

All of the Undead I sent into the forest are now dead aside from the flying ones, but luckily I still haven't received any report of any casualty on our side.

It has already been several hours since the battle started, and they've all been advancing tirelessly. I hope Zani isn't pushing herself too much…

I shake away those thoughts and focus on my work. I wanted just ten Corpse Striders, but I've already made twenty-four so far.

Mostly because I've put them to work into creating Grafted Monstrosities made out of the Flood Dragon parts. They are strong, tough, and each Corpse Strider pumps one out each minute.

I already have several hundreds of them, all scaled beasts with multiple clawed limbs but no heads. They are just meant to be expendable fighters, nothing of worth.

On top of each of my Corse Strider is the corpse of either an Archdemon, or Moosifer, so to have them launch Spells to cause havoc as they advance.

I go to create another Corpse Strider, but a sharp head-ache forces me to stop. I've overtaxed my Mana and mind, and it is clearly biting me in the ass right now.

A pair of soft fingers comes to rest on my temples, and a soothing energy washes away my pain.

I blink the spots out of my blurry vision and shake my head, then blink again when I see a worried Changli and Yi Xuan standing in front of me, with Changli being the source of the comforting energy. "Scaith, you should take breaks." The pink haired beauty advises softly, but not in a pushy way.

I sigh and stretch my body, "Apologies, I tend to get too focused on my work." Well, that's an excuse. I could feel the pain coming, I just ignored it to dish out as many Corpse Striders as possible.

"Still, this Mana Gathering Array is quite effective." I muse aloud, a light smile on my face, "My reserves have barely dropped below half even after all this work."

Yi Xuan snorts softly, a confident smile on her face as she rests a hand on one of her lovely hips, "We do have a Leyline beneath us, so that's the major reason behind how effective it is." Ah, that makes sense.

Guess I can use my Spell without fear, then.

Stepping forward, Changli fishes out a small bottle from her robes and has a violet Pill float out of it, before she offers it to me, her gaze still gentle and worried, "Here, take this. It's a Mind Recovery Pill, it'll help your mind feel well-rested."

I gratefully take the Pill – it tastes like candy – and release a content sigh as the effects wash over me, making me feel like I've had a night of full sleep, "You're a treasure, Changli."

Her cheeks flush slightly, but a happy smile spreads across her cheeks at my words, "I just want to be helpful." She shrugs, and I give her an amused look.

"You refined thousands of Pills for our army in less than a week, woman." I point out, and her flush grows stronger as she averts her gaze, "They've likely already used quite a few of them."

She shrugs again, a cute huff leaving her hips, "Just doing my share of the work." I shake my head in amusement at how she is trying to prove herself as part of the Peerage and make herself useful.

She's actually quite shy and nervous, it seems. Has she barely interacted with anyone while in the Alchemy Sect?

"Well, I'll just rest for a while then return to my work-" I pause, my eyes narrowing as I see what Rhapthorne sees, "They are here." Both women snap into focus instantly, and we swiftly move to our positions.

We all rush on top of a large pillar of stone Yi Xuan asked me to raise through my Earth Ancestor, with her using this vantage point to better watch over the Array she was controlling.

Waving her hand, the silver haired woman summons dozens of different colored runes as I lift my gaze towards the horizon.

There, just over its line, a tide of shapes that stretched wide kept moving, and advancing towards us. Through Rhapthorne's point of view, I can see an enormous tidal wave of beasts of all different types.

Monsters from other Gates would always tear each other apart, but clearly the intoxicating scent of these flowers was strong enough to make them stop fighting one another.

My monsters got into a line, with the massive Corpse Striders standing tall behind them, trunks ready to spew out Necrotic Flames all over the waves of monsters.

There's also countless flying monsters, but I am not worried about them, as I have a great deal of those.

I move to stand beside Yi Xuan, who crouches down on the ground as the runes flash around her, ready for her to activate them.

Changli instead summons her Pill Furnace and stands behind us, her gaze narrowed cutely, "Let me know when the Poison Pills are running out, Yi Xuan." The white haired woman nods, keeping her gaze on the approaching army of monsters.

Changli refined countless Pills that explode into paralytic poison, and were all placed within the Array, ready to disperse the poison whenever in dire straits.

Squatting down, I rest a hand on the ground and breathe out, letting the Land of the Defiled wash forth and expand to cover the whole area of the Array and beyond, using the Leyline below us to feed the massive range of the Spell.

Fleurdelys is flying high above us, near Rhapthorne, so to keep a watch over both battlefields so to move in when powerful beasts show up, or the army requires her help.

I let Rhapthorne charge his Tension to the third level once more, and I watch as the army of roaring beasts is now halfway across the empty plains, their roars growing louder and echoed by countless more.

"I'll position my army at the start of the Third Array Layer." I inform Yi Xuan as I remain crouched beside her, "Wait for the tide of beasts to smash into my monsters before activating the sound illusions. Once they pile up, release the Spirit Swords."

Yi Xuan nods, "They require quite a bit of energy, so make sure the wave of monsters is pushed back to the first layer." I nod in return, and have Rhapthorne cast his buffs on my army of Undead, further empowering them.

A thick, dark green Miasma starts to flow out of my Undead, and with them all so close to each other it instantly grows quite thick… Then Yi Xuan activates a Rune, allowing a slight gust of wind to push the Necrotic Miasma towards the wave of beasts, causing it to constantly build up and flow ahead.

The first beasts that reach it instantly start howling in pain as their skin burns and liquefies, then start vomiting blood when they breathe it in. Corpses start piling up rapidly, then return under my control, tearing apart the closest monsters before being torn apart themselves.

Death starts piling up, and through death and my Undead, the Necrotic Miasma keeps growing and growing. Some monsters manage to resist its effects and power through the pain it causes, but are swiftly cut down in turn.

The flying units are torn apart by my army of Gryphons and flying sword-wielding Gargoyles, adding them under my control and keeping the skies clear of trouble.

The Gargoyles sometimes cast their wind based Spells deep within the beast horde, tearing countless beasts to shred and causing havoc, but it is negligible damage.

Soon enough, the first wave of beasts smashes into my mass of Grafted Monstrosities – which are tearing through enemy ranks like they are made of butter – and try to climb over each to desperately reach the mass of flowers behind us.

My Corpse Striders set them alight with Necrotic Flames, and soon ghost-like swords flash through the air, stabbing clearly through the heads of hundreds of monsters within moments.

Said monsters join my army, flip around, and tear into the beast horde, pushing it back as the Necrotic Miasma grows thicker and thicker.

It now covers the ground completely, reaching up to a human's kneecap in terms of height, and it will only grow stronger as more death builds up.

Some of the beasts in the first layer have their sharp senses turned against each other, causing them to lose their sense of scent, regain their madness, and tear into each other when they lose focus on the flowers.

Charged up, Rhapthorne unleashes a colossal hurricane far into the enemy horde, which lasts nearly a whole minute and tears apart uncountable numbers of monsters, who blindly charge into it instead of going around, thus being drawn and smashed around by the howling winds.

Kaswoosh is really a bullshit Spell when not in the game, huh?

My Archdemons and Moosifers start raining down their Spells too, and I watch it all with critical eye, not relaxing one bit even with how good things are going right now.

"By the Heavens, you can't even see the ground anymore…" Yi Xuan whispers beneath her breath, staring at the beast horde with narrowed eyes, though she clearly isn't nervous.

Her fingers tap away at several runes sometimes, causing havoc within the First Array Layer, which always makes me gain hundreds of corpses and make the Necrotic Miasma grow more and more.

I check back with Lu Bu momentarily, and it seems their side found a way to deal with the Maou Class Dragon. But it is a very slow method, so we are both stuck grinding away at our own opponents.

Not that I mind. In the end, I'll benefit a lot myself. The more monsters I kill, the better.

If I can't level up, then I'll just find my own bullshit ways to increase my strength as much as possible.

….

The roar of beasts had, by now, grown quite annoying, yet I got used to it.

It's like hearing workers constantly drill at the asphalt outside of my home early in the morning. It pisses me off, but I can't do anything about it, so I just tune it out.

By now, several hours have passed since the start of the beast wave. The Eternal Forest was close to dying since the Dragon was taking one hell of a beating from cannons, Lu Bu and Cultivators alike.

Our side instead has seen an increase in monsters strength. There are a lot more High Class monsters, and a few Ultimate Class show up too, but those die instantly since I have Rhapthorne hit them with a full power Spell.

He is quite busted, and most definitely close to Maou Class thanks to his array of Spells, buffs and debuffs.

Every now and then I have him weaken the horde of beasts, making them very squishy, mostly when they push our lines back to the Third Array Layer.

A debuff, paralytic poison, and we are back at the first layer with a lot more Undead on our side.

I've even doubled the range of my Land of Defiled Spell, mostly because the Necrotic Miasma has reached peak density, killing immense amounts of monsters far away away from the range of my Spell, making it a waste.

By now, there are more than forty Corpse Striders stomping forward, raining down Necrotic Flames and assisting the front-lines in keeping the waves of monsters in check.

Yi Xuan sighs and slumps back, rubbing at her temples as her eyes are slightly bloodshot, "Handling an Array is always so tiring…" She grumbles softly, earning a small chuckle from me.

"You're doing amazing. This would've been ten times harder without you." She huffs out a laugh at me, a small smile spreading across her face.

"Keep the flattering coming, cutie. It'll take you everywhere." Why do I like being looked at like a big piece of meat?

Actually, why is she even looking at me like a piece of meat!?

Still, I raise an amused brow, "Oh? Would you join our Peerage if I keep flattering you?" I test her, making her raise a curious brow at me.

"Huh…" She huffs out, shoulders slumping in surprise, "Why the offer, if I may ask?"

I shrug and turn towards back towards the endless wave of beasts, "I asked some of the Formation Sect disciples before they left. You're the one that created this Array, and they were just following your instructions." I point out, taking a seat on the ground beside her.

"Considering where we want to build our settlement, a defensive Array would be wonderful." I then nod towards the horde of beasts, "Especially since exploring No Man's Land will force us to handle such hordes quite often."

Yi Xuan hums softly, "Can't say I haven't thought of leaving before." She reveals softly, "Me and Changli are quite the same. Beautiful women coveted by those around them. The more we shine, the less freedom we have."

"Sects are good places to grow and learn, but someone young shouldn't stay there their whole life." Her eyes narrow, but not in anger, "Much less be forced to bear such a high position." Definitely talking about herself.

I hum softly, "It seems the Chinese Faction knows how to raise powerful individuals, but not how to help them develop emotionally." Yi Xuan bursts out into a cute fit of laughter at my words.

"You aren't wrong!" She breathes out, relaxed smile on her face as her gaze turns towards Changli, who was focused on refining more Poison Pills for the Array to use. "I've always wished to get closer to her. Have a friend that understood my plight."

Her gaze turns warm as she focuses back on me, "If you guys didn't come here, I doubt I'd be able to ever enjoy a normal conversation with someone like her." The more she talks about it, the more Sects feel like they have an incredibly suffocating presence.

Expectation, dreams, coveting, lust, greed… They are common in the Supernatural World, but I don't think they are so apparent like within the Sects of the Chinese Faction.

"Well…" I start, giving her a light smile, "If you ever feel like you want to breathe real air, then just give Fleurdelys a visit. Talk to her, learn about our goals, and decide for yourself." I shrug, "Like Changli, you'd be very treasured if you join us."

Yi Xuan hums, her intense gaze focused on me for several long seconds, "You know…" She starts, her voice holding a strange tone to it, "You'd make a wonderful Dao Companion."

I sputter and choke on my breath, my eyes going wide as I gape at her, "Is that why you've been giving me the eyes this whole time!?"

"...Is this how it feels to greedily covet someone because of what they have to offer?" Yi Xuan cups her chin in thought, making me gape even more at her. "All that Yang energy of yours is like the finest elixir for a Cultivator like me."

I 'bashfully' cover myself with my arms and glare at her, "A frog wants to eat the meat of a swan!" I spit out, and Yi Xuan wheezes, falling on her back while holding her stomach.

"What are you?! A Jade Beauty?!"

I turn my nose towards the Heavens above and huff arrogantly, "I am the Jade Beauty with the Nine Revolving Heavenly Yang Body." The white haired beauty starts coughing from how hard she wheezed, and I spy Changli's own shoulders shaking as she tries and fails to focus on her Alchemy, our banter clearly amusing her greatly.

"P-Please stop…" Yi Xuan begs, tears in her eyes as she catches her breath while sitting up, "Oh Heavens, that was the best laughter I've had in a while…"

I relax my shoulders and offer a smile at her, then pat her back in encouragement, "Well, just think about it." I tell her, then pause, "About joining us, and not coveting me because I am some kind of elixir."

Recovering herself, Yi Xuan smiles sultrily and leans against my side, pushing her large breasts against me as she does so, "Oh? If you pick up Cultivation, this Senior Sister can…" Her lips draw dangerously close to my ears, "Ride you until you rapidly advance through several Realms."

I gulp heavily, then stand up, "Yup, women in the Supernatural World are dangeorus. Nope, nope, nope." I hate that I actually love being coveted in such a very hungry way.

I depart, leaving behind the laughing Yi Xuan and her victory over me, but I shall have my revenge. Someday, somehow.

I pause as I walk, watching through Lu Bu as Zani reaches the battle against the Dragon and delivering a devastating blow to it. Her Clan Trait is busted, and I am sure the Dragon's will rapidly now that she has joined the fray and is put under the onslaught of her power.

"Changli! You can burn the flowers!" I call out, deciding to make a split second decision to finally get rid of the flowers and the scent they produce.

The forest is mostly gone, so the monsters won't be able to become nutrients since it'll take them too long to reach anything that can absorb them.

Hence… I watch as Changli rapidly burns the flowers to ashes, and with them gone… The monsters will snap back into focus, and start tearing each other apart.

Minutes flow by, and slowly but surely, the monsters start slowing down, become confused… Then snap and attack the closest thing to them.

All over the valley, a battle royale of monsters starts as they tear each other apart, staining the ground red with their blood and allowing my army to march forward and finish off what remains, then sweep up the remnants for my Corpse Strider to add more Grafted Monstrosities to our ranks.

Within just half an hour, the field is cleared. No monsters in sight, other than just the stench of blood and my massive army of Undead more than several thousand strong, and still growing thanks to the Corpse Striders.

Rhapthorne and Fleurdelys descend from the air, with the beautiful horned woman smiling softly at the successful operation, "Looks like we are done here."

I nod, turning my gaze towards the scorched remnants of the Eternal Forest, "They are done too, it seems."

Turns out that Zani is the bane of this strange Dragon, which doesn't bleed… As it too is some form of strange plant, which rapidly withers beneath Zani's blows and within her Time Stealing aura.

Until, finally, the plant Dragon is weakened to the point where the Sword Master and Lu Bu manage to cave its skull in, claiming victory and bringing down the Eternal Forest once and for all.

I turn a smile towards my tall, beautiful King, "Looks like we just earned ourselves a wonderful alliance with the Chinese Faction."

Her smiles blooms and becomes breathtaking, "All of this wouldn't have been possible without your Necromancy, my beautiful Scaith." Fleur purrs out, gaze hungry and warm as she reaches out to rub my cheek.

Being surrounded by beautiful women is torture.

….

The sound of partying, cheering and laughter filled the air. The whole city was bustling with activity, a massive square filled with Cultivators, cooks, tables and food.

Mingling among them are our soldiers, all three-thousand of them. Some were injured, others lost limbs due to having to cut them off to free themselves from the parasites, but nothing Rhapthorne couldn't fix.

The Chinese Pantheon had some losses too. Heaven ones. The Sword Sect lost the Nine Flying Swords Elder.

Her burned his own life-force to deliver a devastating blow to the plant Dragon, forcing it to drain an immense amount of vitality from the forest to resist the damage.

I could bring him back for some good points, but I'd likely anger some Chinese God of Death, and risk going insane due to the Graal side-effects.

It was a nice party to celebrate our victory, and our alliance. I am sure words of all of this has already reached the New Satans by now, but I don't really care.

Or, well… I am too tired to care. I've left my enormous army behind to patrol the land left behind by the forest and burn any still living plant matter so to not have the plant Dragon somehow resuscitate.

Sad that it withered after it was killed, as I'd have loved to have a Maou Class beast among my ranks, but that's alright.

The door to the private room I requested opened, and in walked Fleurdelys, Zani and Changli. Zani looked dead on her feet, but still came when I asked her to instead of finding a place to fall asleep on.

"Ladies!" I give them a welcoming smile, then wave them towards the table in the middle of the private room. On it are three chalices, each covered by a small towel, "Thank you for coming. I have a present for you all."

Fleurdelys smiles, already knowing what it is, as I partially shared the plan with her before setting it up.

Changli instead perks up and curiously studies the chalice, "A present?" She questions, clearly both curious and excited.

Zani instead… She's trying not to fall asleep.

"Yes, a present." I nod, my smile growing wider, "Before you lies my newly acquired Sacred Gear." I reveal, and both Changli and Zani snap into focus, "The Longinus Sephiroth Graal."

Their eyes blow wide open, and I smirk, "A subspecies, to be precise. One that has three cups, instead of one." Reaching forward, I remove the towels covering each golden cup, revealing the milky white liquid contained within. "And that, is my present for you all."

Slowly, Changli brings the chalice up to test the scent of the liquid inside, but furrows her brows when she realizes it lacks any scent. "What is this?" She questions, staring at her hands and wondering why they aren't melting even though she is holding a Holy Relic.

"That-" I nod towards the chalices, "-Is basically concentrated Soul juice." I state with a smirk, "I've had the chalices gather and grind away the Souls of all the beasts we've slaughtered in the horde, then divided it into four equal parts."

Crossing my arms behind my back, I smile at the three ladies, "Drinking it will empower your Soul. Slowly, you'll find yourself growing stronger and stronger as your Soul digest this drink." I then shrug, "I know not how much stronger, but I know that we can only do this once, lest we risk our Souls getting messed up."

I can't wait to have the Holy Grail's fragment on me, so I can study how this all works without going insane.

By now, I can just do small things like this, and that still brings vicious headaches.

"And… You're giving it to us?" Zani questions softly, grasping her own cup with one hand.

I nod and smile warmly, "This is just one of the many gifts I'll be showering you ladies with. The rest will come once I can avoid going insane from using the damn cups."

Zani's gaze goes soft and warm, and soon she and Fleurdelys drink from their cups.

Changli doesn't hesitate after seeing them drink their shares, and swiftly downs her, "I-I'll make sure to finish my masterpiece soon and gift it to you all!" The pink haired beauty declares, setting the cup down with a fierce look in her eyes.

I just chuckle, deciding not to dissuade her from trying to impress us, or show us her loyalty. Though I will step in and reassure her if she starts worrying about her not fitting in with us.

Smiling warmly, Fleurdelys passes her cup over to me, and it soon refills with the fourth and last share, the one meant for me.

I drink it without hesitation, not even needing to gulp as it dissolves and is absorbed by my body the moment it touches my tongue. Cool, yet without taste, and I already start to feel a slow but constant increase to my reserves.

Again, I'll have to study the deeper changes better once I can do so without going insane.

Smiling, I set down the Holy Relic and smile at the three ladies before me.

I'm glad I decided to throw away my humanity for this.

~~XXX~~

Rias was… Deeply confused.

Why does this keep happening to her?

First Akeno, then Kiba, then Koneko… Just what the hell was her luck?!

Slowly, Rias reads the letter from Scaith again, then glances at the coffin in front of her. A coffin that had been dropped in the room of her club in Kuoh.

A coffin that held a sleeping Damphir woman in it.

"Had to momentarily kill her to free her from a curse. I think she'll fit right in with you! P.S. Her name is Valerie Tepes, take good care of her!"

That's it. That was the letter.

What was she supposed to do!?

A knock came from the coffin, followed by a quiet, confused voice, "Uhm… Anybody out there? I am stuck in here…" A cute voice calls out, and Rias sighs and palms her face.

More knocks follow, "Please, I have to go to the bathroom…"

...Well, at least she sounded incredibly cute.

And she might fit in with Gasper, too.

A.N. Decided not to kill off Valerie cause y'all would surely be super sad and angy at me, so there. Y'all happy?

The things I do for y'all, tch tch. Best be grateful!

Hope y'all enjoyed this chappy!

Until the next update!

Toodles!