Chapter 451 - Your Grace?
Kirill had one hand stretched towards Hal as though to welcome his inevitable acceptance but then Hal snorted and then looked directly at the sky before bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha hahaha..."
For a full minute, Hal laughed and it got so serious that he even began to gasp for breath.
However, whenever it seemed as though he would stop laughing, something would just crack him up again and he would be right back at it.
At the one minute mark, Hal finally stopped laughing and faced Kirill whose eyes were narrowed,
"Are you done? Are you done acting insane?" Kirill asked.
Hal wiped a bit of moisture forming at the corner of his eye from laughter before he said,
"The question is, are you done 'Grandfather'? Because if you are, I'd like to ask that you spare me all this crap.
Are you going to lock me up or do something else to stop me from leaving the Duchy?"
Kirill shook his head with a frown,
"No. Like I said it's your choice. If you leave the Duchy, I will not protect you but will continue to use your name to spur my faction on"
"Okay, prove it" Hal said.
"What?"
"Prove it is truly my choice and take me back to where you took me from. This view is nauseating" Hal said and suddenly, everything around him became a blur as he was wrenched from the mountain top.
When things came back into focus barely a second later, Hal was back in the courtyard of Emily and Amelia's joint residence with Rita and Karmen still standing there.
They were not worried per se since Hal had already informed them there was nothing to worry about through the telepathic connection, they were simply awaiting his return.
Once Hal saw familiar faces, he turned away from Kirill who was in the courtyard as well,
"Alright then, see ya" he waved without turning back.
The Ex-duke could not believe the amount of disrespect Hal was showing him and it showed in the tone of his voice,
"Boy, after all I've said, you will still leave the Doxon Duchy? You will put yourself in danger?"
Still without turning back, Hal shrugged,
"Hey, I'm going to war in a week, so my life will be in danger anyway" he said.
"War?" Kirill repeated but Hal did not bother to expatiate as he waved once again,
"Goodbye old man. If I ever see you again, it would be only too soon" he said.
Kirill sneered,
"Alright boy, enjoy your brief moment of enjoyment at my expense. It's not going to change anything anyway. Like I said, whether you like it or not, this is going to happen.
If you keep insisting on fighting a losing battle, So be it"
... And with those ominous words, Kirill Doxon vanished from the residence, heading out of Sensual palace entirely.
Once he was gone, Hal took a deep breath and then faced Rita and Karmen, who were now looking worried due to the words and expressions of the Doxon Patron, with a smile he said,
"What's with those expressions? It's not the first time I'll be threatened and it surely won't be the last"
"But it's the first time you will be threatened by a Saint. That counts as a big deal" Rita pointed out.
Hal waved her off as he noted in his mind that this was only the second saint to threaten him as the first was Isabella Dane,
"As I said, it is not the first time and it will not be the last time so why get so bent out of shape. Come on girls, we have some goodbyes to say before leaving."
...
The only one Hal felt obligated to inform of his departure was the Sensual palace head who gave him a sad smile that told Hal that he was well aware of all that had transpired between him and the Doxon patron.
Not really a surprise though considering Emily had claimed they were close friends and the second part of the conversation had happened right on his property.
Emily's brothers were there as well when he said his goodbyes but Emily and Amelia were not. They had no interest in making a show of the departure.
With that done, Hal left the Sensual palace swiftly and headed for one of the Teleportation circles.
By then, Kirill had lifted his ban on Hal leaving the Duchy.
He truly seemed to be ready to let him do as he wished.
However, Hal was getting processed with Rita and Karmen now in his Harem space when a Runemaster suddenly came inside the Teleportation building with a scroll that he presented to one of the attendant Runemasters.
When the Duchess' seal was noticed on the scroll, they quickly unrolled it and read the contents silently before they froze and looked up at Hal whose eyes were a little widened in surprise.
Was the Doxon Patron finally going to move to stop him?
That the scroll had the Duchess' seal did not mean all that much as Hal felt Kirill might have relatively easy access to it.
"What's the hold-up?" Hal asked to speed things along but all attendants who had read the scroll suddenly bowed to him while everyone else (not that many) who wished to use the circle after him looked confused.
They were not as confused as Hal though and when he was about to ask what the hell was going on, even though he could take a guess, one of them, who had come in with the scroll said,
"We apologize for the delay, Your Grace" they said.
"Your what...?" Hal asked and grabbed the scroll and quickly read through it to highlight a few points.
First off, Svetlana (she had written this for sure. Hal could not explain how he knew for sure but he did) had announced that Hal was her son and he was to be appointed a title befitting his status as the son of a Duchess.
He was to be called either Young Lord Hal or Your Grace. Both of which sounded incredibly annoying to the one in question.
Second, anyone who showed even a hint of disrespect among them would be dealt swift justice.
'Oh please, like I need you to intimidate people on my behalf. I can do that myself, damn it!'
Third, they were not to accept any form of payment from him to travel. He was absolved of all tax and the blue gems required to power the Teleportation circle would be provided by the Duchess herself.
Hal was guessing the Runemaster who had come with the scroll was with blue gems.
Of all the points, the third was the only one that actually appealed to Hal.
And it caused him to smack his forehead in annoyance at himself.
He should have tried to get a few million blue gems from the Doxon Patreon before he insulted him too much.
After all, Kirill had never taken care of him all his life and had nineteen years to make up for.
He wondered if he could go back right now and demand the Blue gems but eventually decided he had burned that bridge already.
It was really painful to think about.
Especially since the advancement of his ladies as well as his forces in Sapphire city was costing him a fortune in terms of upgrades of their techniques.
Eventually, he sighed.
'Oh well, at least I don't have to pay for my travels. The next time I return to the Doxon Duchy, I'll make sure to milk them dry'
Those behind him were murmuring among themselves.
Hal mostly tuned them out but he still caught a bit it the conversations,
"Your grace? Is that not a title reserved for a direct offspring of the incumbent Duke or Duchess?"
"It is"
"Then would that not mean, he's the Duchess' son?"
"He certainly has the looks"
"I agree, he's so dreamy"
"Your Grace, would you prefer a faster Teleportation circle? It will take you two days to reach Silva with this circle." Said the Runemaster who brought the scroll as he looked around,
"I was told you would have companions"
Hal shook his head,
"This one is fine. But wait, I'll be right back"
Chapter 452 - Are You Flirting With Me?
Since he was not going to be the one paying for the transportation then there was no point risking the raising of eyebrows as to how he could transport both Karmen and Rita without a Teleportation circle.
He found somewhere he believed Svetlana would not look into with her perception which she still tried her best to keep from snooping into the personal lives of the Duchy's Denizens.
Hal wondered if that was indeed out it consideration or if it was just that watching over every detail in the lives of the Denizens was much too taxing for her.
An overall and general view of the entire Duchy was, after all, much better than zooming in (so to speak) on everything that went on.
Any way,
He got Karmen and Rita out of the Harem space and together they went off into the Teleportation building where everyone made way for Hal.
The Runemasters were even refusing to process anyone until they had sent him off.
There were dignified people present who probably would have been upset with this had it not been for the fact that they were also not so adamant to leave just yet.
If they stayed, who knows how much more juicy details they would get.
When they saw Hal return with two beautiful ladies, it called for more interested looks.
Who knew Cultivators were such gossips?
When the Runemasters saw Hal return, they bowed once again, and Hal, ignoring them, made sure to state very clearly where he wanted to go.
He did not want to be taken to some outskirts of the Duchy again.
"The Silva Duchy capital is where I want to go. Let it not be said that I did not make myself clear"
Hal said and stepped on the Teleportation circle with his arms around Rita and Karmen's waist as the two pressed closer to him.
the messenger Runemaster withdrew the blue gems to be used in powering Teleportation.
The sight of the Runemasters bowing to him which he had to say, he quite enjoyed was the last thing Hal saw as three of them were sucked into the void.
While this was happening, the four newest addition to his ever-growing Harem were having mixed feelings about his departure but decided to dedicate their time until they could feel his touch again to cultivating as much as they could.
Hal had given them only one instruction which was also the only thing he had said to them after that night and he did so through the telepathic link he had with them; Don't Slack Off.
And they had no intentions to.
Needless to say, Dual cultivating with someone else was out of the question. There was not even a point as all four knew no one could show them even an inkling of what they had felt with him.
It seemed they would have to resort to conventional cultivation until his return.
In the meantime, they would also get closer to Amelia.
She was very clearly their senior now and would guide them right.
...
Anyway,
The three were moved smoothly through the void and when their eyes next saw something that was not endless empty space, they were inside the beautiful teleportation building of the Silva Duchy capital.
Not the same as the one Hal had used when he had left the Duchy but it was quite similar.
Once they stepped off the circle, they declined to state their names, and only their images were taken.
"That was... Interesting" Karmen commented about her first-ever journey through a Teleportation circle she had always been in the Harem space whenever Hal traveled through them.
"Did you enjoy it?" Hal asked with a light smile as he led the way out of the building.
"It was a little underwhelming" she said.
"What, did you expect fireworks?" Rita asked with a chuckle and Karmen actually nodded seriously,
"In a sense, yes" she admitted.
They were now in front of the building and the sun was setting just as Hal retrieved the Golden chariot from his inventory which Lillian and Olivia exited the Harem space, discretely, to steer.
Naturally, they drove the chariot to the mansion Hal had been afforded by the Branch Head of the Silva Duchy Alchemist Organization.
Once they were inside the compound, Sasha was walking right towards the carriage with her clipboard in hand.
When Hal stepped off, she asked,
"Where have you been?"
Hal raised his brow just as Karmen, Rita, Lillian, and Olivia alighted as well,
"Wait, am I supposed to tell you where I go?" He asked.
His question sounded like a simple inquiry but Sasha knew he did not mean it that way and she decided to choose her next words carefully,
"No, no, you are not supposed to tell me where you go. However, it would have been considerate of you to do so. I was under a lot of fire when I did not know where you were" she said.
"Why? Because you were tasked to spy on me?" Hal asked with a smirk as he walked closer to the mansion.
Sasha shook had head and answered without missing a beat,
"Of course not. It's just considerate to let the Organization know when you wish to travel so you won't worry anyone. You ARE an asset after all"
Most of this, Hal already knew as Arya had given him a rundown on the situation regarding him since he left the Duchy.
She had been asked many times where he went but she always told them she had no idea.
She did assure them though that he was fine and would return soon enough.
That was enough to stop them from snooping around the Teleportation buildings.
He was not kidnapped so there was no point.
After all, knowing where he went to would not actually bring him back.
They would take Alchemist Nadia's (Arya's) words for it.
Just then, a beautiful Carriage pulled into the mansion's compound and then the one steering it, came down.
The man who they could all see had the light gold eyes that were telltale of Dane blood, walked briskly towards Hal, and then said,
"I need you to come with me."
"Why?" Hal asked.
"The Patroness wishes to speak with you," the man said.
Hal was a little taken aback,
"She does?"
The man nodded,
"Yes, please come with me" he said.
Hal was a tad bit surprised with the polite tone of voice,
"Can I say no?" He asked.
The man shook his head,
"No, you can't"
Hal sighed,
"Fine. I was going to head over anyway so might as well go early" he said and boarded the carriage.
He did address Sasha though,
"In case his eyes were not enough information, I'm heading to the Dane territory. I'm just telling you 'cause I wouldn't want to worry anyone" he said and rolled his eyes as the Dane man entered the steering compartment of the carriage and steered it out of the Mansion's environs.
...
In half an hour,
Hal was inside Isabella's study, seated opposite the Dane Patroness who had her elbow on the arm of her chair while supporting her cheek in her fist as she stared at Hal's face.
Eventually, Hal broke the silence,
"You like what you see?" He asked her.
"What?" His question seemed to take Isabella by surprise.
"My face. Do you like it?" Hal clarified in a mild tone and a bit of gesticulation towards his face,
"What makes you think I have an opinion?" She asked.
"That's a yes" Hal said with a chuckle.
"No, it's not" Isabella sounded defensive.
"Yes, it is. If it wasn't, you would have said 'no' from the start" Hal said with a smile.
"Well then, No. There, I've said it now" the Patroness said and sat up in her chair.
"Hmm, that's a lie." Hal said.
"Excuse me, who says you can talk to me like this?" Isabella asked with her tone turning dangerous.
Hal waved it off,
"I was just stating what I observed" he said.
"Well, I didn't ask you" she said with a frown.
Hal shrugged and let a few seconds pass before he said,
"For the record. I like your face too"
Isabella's surprised expression was back,
"What?"
"Your face, it's beautiful. Age has been really good to you. And not just your face, it's more of an... All-round situation" Hal said and his eyes went a bit lower from her face before snapping back up.
Clear enough to show interest but quick enough to not seem too lecherous.
Then Isabella frowned,
"Are you.... By the gods! Are you flirting with me?"
Chapter 453 - Grand Ambition.
Of course, the Dane Patroness was not asking that question because she did not know. She might have only had one partner all her life but she knew what flirting looked like.
What made her ask was mostly surprise at Hal's audacity to actually attempt to flirt with her.
Hal shrugged and joined his fingertips together in front of his face as he told her with a smile,
"Yes, yes I do believe I am. And it's clearly having an effect on you" he said.
Isabella frowned but said nothing.
Hal broke the silence,
"Your cheeks are getting red"
While he said that, in all honesty, Isabella's face was actually still the same. While she might be a tad bit flustered, she was experienced enough to not let it show on her face.
The only reason she had not said anything so far was so she could collect herself before she smiled brightly and her eyes flashed,
"And what about my granddaughter?" She asked.
"What about her?" Hal asked as though he was confused as to what she was getting at even though he could already tell.
"You are still getting married to her, aren't you?" Isabella said and gesticulated as though she could not see how Hal was not getting what she was trying to say.
"Yes, I am. What's your point and what does that have to do with me rocking your world?" Hal asked with a slight frown while he was roaring with laughter on the inside.
"Rock my world? You are a few millennia too young to do that" Isabella said with a mocking chuckle.
Hal was unaffected,
"I'm pretty confident but we won't know until we try." He said with a shit-eating grin.
Isabella paused for a second as she was a little startled at the sheer confidence that backed his words and then she shook her head,
"A Doxon man through and through. Sleazy and lustful to the core. I can not believe I did not see it earlier" she said.
Hal sat up in his chair as he said,
"While I do agree with lustful and I could let sleazy slide, I absolutely oppose to being called a Doxon" he said with a natural face.
Isabella rolled her eyes,
"But that's what you are, is it not? Your eyes, your resemblance with a certain someone and this (she picked up a rolled-up parchment from her desk and unrolled it to show Hal its content) say that you are"
On the scroll was a painting of him but only his bust was seen and there was incredible detail on the painting which made it impossible to miss that it was him painted on it. Right underneath the painting red;
The Young Lord Hal Doxon, Heir Of The Doxon Duchess.
Hal's eyes narrowed but he said nothing as Isabella continued,
"Multiple posters just like this one were being plastered all over the Doxon Duchy about two days ago and an informant of mine over there picked this up for me.
Taking an Express Teleportation circle courtesy of me, he was able to get here from Doxon in a day."
Now Hal put on a confused expression,
"So... What? It's a crime to look so good in a poster?" He asked.
"No, no it's not..." Isabella said.
"So you admit I look good" Hal noted but Isabella merely frowned and ignored him,
"... However, you did mislead us. You claimed to have been born and raised in the Silva Duchy."
Hal shrugged,
"I didn't lie. Surely all your investigations should have shown that I indeed was raised in Sapphire city." He said.
"But you knew you were a Doxon, did you not?" Isabella asked.
Hal sighed,
"Once again, I am not a Doxon"
"That doesn't answer my question" the Patroness said and her eyes flashed dangerously.
Hal rolled his eyes,
"Actually, I had no idea" he lied through his teeth.
"That's a lie. Why else would you go to Doxon if not to reunite with your family?"
Hal chucked,
"No, I didn't go to Doxon for a reunion with 'my family'. It's only after I got there that I was met with the truth about my parentage. It was hard to ignore when everyone kept pointing out that my eyes were of the same shade as a Doxon" he said still very much at ease.
Isabella frowned.
If there was one thing that frustrated her about all this, it was the fact that she could not tell for sure if he was lying or being truthful.
"Why did you go to Doxon then?"
"To meet two ladies with whom I share an intimate relationship." He said with a sigh.
"In other words, two women you've slept with" Isabella said.
"That's a more direct and mildly unrefined way of putting it but, Yes" Hal admitted.
"And now we are back to you being Lustful and sleazy like the Doxon you are" Isabella said and Hal saw no reason to keep correcting her on his familial status.
Instead, he said,
"And we are also back to you feeling attracted to me and hiding it all behind that false bravado with a touch of intimidation"
"Get over yourself, boy. Not only are you too young to even attempt to seduce me, but you will also never be able to succeed.
No matter how old you become. My heart only ever beat for one man and that is as true today as it was when he was alive."
"And how long has it been since your husband died?" Hal asked in an uncharacteristically sensitive tone of voice that actually saw the Dane Patroness become vulnerable enough to answer,
"Over one thousand years ago" she said and then cleared her throat as her eyes cleared up,
"Back to the issue at hand. You're a Doxon. That changes things"
"How so?" Hal asked.
The Patroness shrugged,
"You have proven to not be a one partner man and my granddaughter seems quite fine with that, so quite frankly, while I do not condone it, I will accept that it is none of my business.
However, your union with Melinda is no longer just something I will accept just for your potential and because it's what that girl wants. Now it is a chance for the unification of two fundamentally different families." She said with a sly smile that Hal admitted in the back of his mind was very sexy.
That said, he was still confused by this turn of events,
"What?" He asked.
Isabella smiled,
"Do you wish to hear a story, Hal?"
"If it's going to be a long one, then no" he said with a shake of his head.
"Okay then, let me shorten it for you.
Long before the Continent was unified by the Harons, this region was known as the Dane Kingdom and as you can probably guess from the name, we Danes ruled it.
And when the Harons came with the proposal for unification, we were strongly against it. The Danes of old were ready to die but would not let themselves be under the Harons.
They were brave and ready to sacrifice everything.
Unfortunately for them, they were also too trusting and the very ones they relied on as part of their fighting force to repel the Harons turned against them.
That was the first Silva Duke.
A shrewd man with a maddening appetite for ambition.
They joined forces with the Harons and successfully killed the Dane King as well as several elders of the family. The then prince lost all determination to fight after that.
He could no longer watch the Danes get slaughtered and surrendered. The massacre stopped but rulership was given to the Silvas who along with support from the Harons made sure to oppress surviving Danes to avoid insurrection.
We laid low for millennia while building up our forces to be certified as second only to the Silvas.
Because of this, we are still under strict watch.
We are also far from being able to really stump the Silvas in terms of manpower.
Our plans used to stretch further into the future. Slowly building strength as well as merit. But with a potential partnership with the Doxons, we can move things up and act sooner than we thought."
"You want to rule the Duchy?"
"No, we want to rule the continent."
Chapter 454 - The Start Of A Marathon.
Hal furrowed his brow,
"I thought Danes hate Doxons" he said.
Isabella shrugged,
"Hate is a strong word but we do indeed dislike you all. The Doxon Duchy seems to be the very example of everything the Dane principles are against. That said, we now have a common interest. Or more accurately, there is the possibility that we have common interests."
"I don't think there is" Hal said and shook his head.
"You don't? Well, let me draw you a picture; If you do indeed marry Melinda and the Danes go to war with the Silvas which is just a pit-stop to our grand ambition, will you stand by and watch as Melinda fights for the sake of her family?" She said.
Hal frowned but said nothing.
.Isabella continued,
"And if you join in, will your family stand by and watch that happen without interfering?
Hal, I'm not about to become buddy-buddy with the Doxons but I am very ready to use your relationship with my granddaughter as well as your ties with the Doxons to my family's advantage."
Hal sighed,
"One thing though, I am not on the best of terms with the Doxons and I don't see that changing anytime soon."
Isabella did not seem remotely bothered by what he said as she pointed to the poster which she had placed on her desk,
"Along with this poster came the news that several elders of the Doxon family have been going out of their way to proclaim you as the next Duke. News of your cultivational prowess and genius has been going around the Duchy.
Many of the Denizens have even begun to sing praises to your talent.
For the most part, it seems any resistance to the situation is from you and you alone."
The Dane Patroness let a few seconds of silence pass before she continued,
"We have been building our forces diligently but it is far from enough to contend with the Silvas who have a stronghold on the Duchy having ruled it under the Harons for hundreds of thousands of years.
I am not thrilled to potentially join forces with the Doxon but outside help, especially help from Duchy rulers could be just what we need.
As long as you insist on being with Melinda, this will happen whether you like it or not. So there is no point fighting it"
Hal froze as that sounded very similar to what a particular shameless old man told him two days ago and in anger, Hal let out the pressure of his cultivation.
He got carried away and was quick to retract it since there was no point flaunting a Phenomenon realm cultivation in front of a Cosmic saint.
Meanwhile, Isabella was surprised when she felt the pressure he had been giving off.
It showed Hal was now at the peak stage of the Cosmic phenomenon realm when she could have sworn he had been at the Early or mid stage the last time she saw him which was two and a half weeks ago.
And he was not yet twenty!
How was he advancing so fast?
Hal stood from his seat and turned his back on the patroness as he made his way towards the door of her study,
"Where do you think you're going?" Isabella asked.
Hal turned his head a fraction and smiled lightly,
"You've discussed all you called me here for, haven't you?" he asked.
"Yes, I have but I did not say you could leave" the Patroness said.
Hal pulled open the door and rolled his eyes,
"Missing me already?" He asked with a chuckle but was out of the door and closing it before the Patroness could say another word.
He walked out of her residence and used a Teleportation circle to go to Melinda's.
The maids and guards he passed paid him no heed although, there was one female guard who stared at him until he was inside Melinda's room and out of her sight.
Inside the room, a hand gripped his and pulled him closer before his eyes could even adjust to the dim lighting but when Melinda's soft lips pressed against his, he no longer bothered to inspect the room.
Instead, he wound his arms around her waist that was covered in the flimsy material of her nightwear and pulled her closer so her ample breasts pressed against his muscular chest.
One of his hands went lower from her waist to her ass to grab one of her wonderful ass cheeks which he squeezed and caused her to moan into his mouth.
She also lowered one of her arms which had been around his neck to his half-erect cock and she rubbed it through his pants.
Eventually, their lips separated but Hal was still kneading her ass cheeks while she rubbed his cock as she asked,
"So how did your chat with my grandmother go?"
Hal answered with a raised brow while the only hand that had still been on her waist went to her long hair which he started to brush through.
Melinda rolled her eyes to him,
"I didn't know she would 'summon' you. Irma told me the moment you entered the Territory and told me you were here after being summoned by my grandmother"
"Okay, couple of things, who is Irma and why is she telling you stuff?"
"Irma is the spy my grandmother set to watch my every move. Been working to get her on my side. *shrugs* I figured I couldn't get rid of her so I might as well make the best of the situation.
So now, she uses her contacts gained from working for my grandmother to fill me in on certain things. Your arrival just happens to be one of it." Melinda said as she nuzzled into the side of Hal's neck before she asked,
"So how was it? What did you talk about?"
Hal smiled,
"A lot was said but do you really want to spend time talking about that right now?" He asked.
Melinda grinned,
"You're right. It can wait" she said just before Hal connected their lips again for a passionate kiss.
She stretched her tongue out of her mouth into his to begin a battle for dominance. A battle she seemed destined to lose.
While their tongues battled for dominance, Hal began to undo the little sash that held her nightwear close, and once he did, he created space between them, without their lips disconnecting, to slide the nightwear off Melinda's smooth shoulders.
She wore nothing underneath and had her legs spread a little in anticipation for what she knew Hal would do. And he did it.
Moving one of his hands towards her delectable pussy lips that were already moistening due to arousal and he began rubbing it slowly.
The mere feel of his hand there already causing Melinda to moan even more than she already was.
Then Hal placed his other hand on one of her naked breasts which he began to knead while also pinching her aroused nipples.
"Hmm, I've missed this so much" Melinda moaned as she separated their lips and worked to fish his cock out of his pants.
Hal chuckled,
"It's very clear that you have. Let's take this somewhere more comfortable." He said and opened a portal to the Harem space to admit them directly into his room in the space.
Then he brought out the piece of Primal fruit he had saved up and ate it after a brief explanation to Melinda as to what was and what its effects were.
Soon, he was naked just like her and she was kneeling in front of him to take his cock in her mouth while she stroked the part of it her mouth could not contain.
*Fap* *Fap* *Fap*
The sounds of her strokes announced the start of the sex marathon the two were about to engage in within this Time Warped mansion.
Chapter 455 - Sapphire City At War.
For three days which amounted to thirty inside the Harem space, Hal and Melinda frolicked without care of what happened outside of the room they were in.
It truly was a marathon, one in which the two only indulged in each other's bodies with Melinda making full use of the piece of the Primal fruit Hal had ingested while the effects he felt were minimal.
He had been unable to use the energy from that piece to advance to the Cosmic Aurora realm (which, let's face is good to curb his unending greed as he only just advanced to the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm) while Melinda had advanced to the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm.
Now matching his cultivation.
But that was hardly the main surprise of their little time together.
You see, during the brief breaks the two took, breaks that usually stretched for hours as they refined the essence gained from their intercourse before getting back at it, Hal shared the Fire crystal with Melinda.
From the moment she saw it, Melinda's eyes were glued to it and she went on to devote hours to it after which she successfully comprehended the Ordinance of fire.
At the time, Hal did not know how to react..
He was frozen for a few seconds and Melinda looked over at him with an apologetic expression as he had already explained to her prior as to how he had been unable to comprehend the Ordinance of fire.
"What's with that face?" Hal asked her with a chuckle.
Not because the situation was particularly enjoyable to him but because her expression was funny.
She seemed worried that he would take it hard but Hal did not see it as a blow to his talent.
It wasn't that he had not tried his best to comprehend it because he had. There was just something preventing him from succeeding, something he had a strong feeling was related to his 'connection with Order'.
He was sure Grimoire knew why but just did not wish to share it.
Melinda transitioned to a pout and Hal shook his head,
"Are you expecting me to be upset at your advancement? When your success is ultimately my success? How narrow-minded did you think I am?" He said before stroking her hair.
Melinda cracked a smile,
"You're right. I was being stupid." She said and with a clench of her fist, she ignited them with her newly gained insight into the Ordinance of fire.
However, unlike Red Beard whose flames had been red like his hair, Melinda's flames were white like her Cosmic Armament.
Hal did not doubt that she would be more dangerous with the Ordinance than Red beard ever was.
For one thing, she actually knew what she had.
"This might actually prove helpful to you sooner than you think" Melinda said.
"In what way?" Hal asked with a raised brow.
Melinda shrugged,
"I joined the military. Not the way I would have liked but I joined nonetheless. And with my further advancement to the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm, there is the possibility that I will get to join you"
"Really?"
Melinda nodded,
"Really. If there is a need for reinforcements on the battlefield, the squads of my barrack could be deployed and I could very well be one of those picked as part of the reinforcements."
"And how is the whole military thing going?" Hal asked now tracing circles on her naked, perky breasts.
"It's going well." She said in a short answer which Hal knew interpreted as 'I have oppositions but I am enjoying putting them down'
"That's my girl" he grinned and kissed her to announce the end of their break.
...
On the last day they spent in the Harem space, Melinda presented Hal with the Artifact she had gotten for him at the Paladin Trade union Auction.
It was an impressive broadsword with Rune markings on it. The Broadsword had a silver hilt and a gold handle.
Needless to say, Hal loved it.
What better weapon to slaughter with than such a wonderful broadsword?
"It's a low-tier Aurora grade Artifact. I decided to get an Aurora grade artifact cause I felt you would surpass a Phenomenon grade soon enough." She said.
Hal did not ask what her intentions for getting him the sword was, as he felt that was insulting to the gesture.
"How much did it cost?"
"250000 Blue gems" Melinda said with a grin.
Hal's eyes widened,
"Wow"
That was way above what he had paid for the Phenomenon grade Fan he had gotten for her at the Auction in Black lagoon.
"It was a high profile Auction so the price shot up quickly. Seeing as it's a weapon type Artifact, the starting bud was 100000 Blue gems. A group from the Silva Family really fought me for it. Do you like it?"
"I love it" Hal said with a smile.
In terms of something he could use in public without raising eyebrows, this Artifact was exactly what he needed.
Melinda smiled,
"I'm glad. And just so you know, 'They' paid for it" she told him and Hal knew the 'They' she referred to was her family.
Those who must not be named as family.
"I had it listed as a personal expense which was long overdue" Melinda said.
"I assume your father would be quite upset to see me use it" Hal said with a chuckle.
Melinda nodded,
"All the more reason for you to use it" she said as she put on her clothes in preparation for their return to the outside world.
...
Devon Dane called Hal to his study the day after Hal and Melinda exited the Harem space but the discussion itself was short.
Devon went straight to the point by appointing Hal to the Platoon he would be going to war with.
He was instructed to follow every instruction given by his lieutenant and as Hal took this to mean he was likely not to be in the company of this father-in-law of his for long stretches of time at the battlefield, he accepted the instructions with joy.
At the end of it all, when he was turning around to walk out of the study, glad that Devon had not made mention of his parentage, the Dane called out to him in a low sneering tone of voice,
"A Doxon huh, it's no wonder I don't like you" he said before returning his attention to reports on his desk.
Hal smiled to himself but left the study without another word.
He planned to meet Lucile before he left for war but the busty head of the Paladin Trade Union was away from the Capital on business.
"Oh well, I'll see her when I get back" Hal said with a shrug.
Little did he know, his return would not be as swift as he had expected...
...
Two Months Later...
Sapphire City...
As the Council had decided, so had they done.
They refused to pay tribute to the Barony and used the opportunity to announce independence.
First, the Baron attempted Diplomacy which was a fancy way of saying he sent his messengers to Sapphire city to threaten the council.
The council in turn decided to kill one messenger and have the second return with the news.
Thereby announcing that they would not take kindly to threats.
However, it was not all their decision.
They would have probably been ready to simply send the messengers back with a solid 'no' but the Priestess of the Sapphirine Prince's cult took the decisions out of their hands.
Selina Krast claimed she had been communing with the Sapphirine Prince and he had proclaimed they proceed with their plans of independence from the Barony with extreme prejudice.
They were not to pull any punches.
The Prime council members were ready to dismiss this as another one of her propaganda in an attempt to further push the idea of the Cult's legitimacy but they could not do so when they saw she had the full support of the Emissaries and Blood Knights.
They ( the Emissaries and Blood Knights) claimed that while the Prince had not spoken to them as he had done with Selina, they knew the instructions to truly be from him.
This left the Council with no other choice as it was a well-known fact that they had no power over Hal's forces. Only Hal could direct them.
And it would seem, in his absence, they were now rallying behind Selina.
Anyway,
Now, Sapphire city was at war.
At war with the Barony.
Things really got serious when the Baron requested help from all cities under his command. He had no intentions of underestimating a city that actually had the guts to challenge him.
As the Council as well as their fighting force faced the force the Baron had brought to their city grounds to force their surrender, they could not help but turn to Selina who was leading the Blood Knights along with their lieutenants, only to see her smiling.
She did not look the slightest bit worried.
Like she had a trick up the sleeves of her voluminous Priestess robes.
Then Baron Aaro said in a loud booming voice made that way due to the imbuing of cosmic energy,
"It's not too late. You can let go of this foolishness now and no one has to die. Because if you insist on this path, there will be many deaths... Many deaths indeed but I will still be victorious."
'Fuck you' Ford thought and smiled as he made to speak but a sneering Selina beat him to it,
"Oh, there will be many deaths all right. I can absolutely guarantee it" she said with a grin and suddenly multiple figures shrouded in dark fog emerged from either side of the Baron's forces and before the war could truly get started, the Emissaries were already performing multiple, successful surprise attacks.
Chapter 456 - Housing A Fraction...
The flanks of the Baron's army were quickly sent into disarray after the surprises attacks.
It was hard not to run in the face of dark fog-covered figures who exude terrifying fear.
"Hold the Line!" Henrik yelled in a bid to stop their orderly line from collapsing under pressure as he had come to wait as his brother's lieutenant.
When his brother suggested he come along, he was all too happy to accept since he was not actually having the best of times with his fiancee Eva.
She had been in a bad mood since that Hal from Sapphire city had come to Kirsten city but it got even worse after the war became official.
She and her sister, Baroness Camira were holding ground back in Kirsten city.
Anyway, while he said that, the forces of Sapphire city moved into action with the ones leading the charge being the Blood Knights.
The Council stayed behind the forces and would yell orders from behind and with them was Selina who was grinning at the scene with that 'I know something you don't look'..
Frank and Jack were by her aides in a protective manner.
The forces of the Barony dashed forward as well, mostly to get away from the fear-inducing fog cloaked figures tearing through their ranks.
However, as it turned out, dashing forward was not the solution to their predicament as the Blood Knights charging leading the charge of the Sapphire city forces was not in any way less terrifying than the Emissaries.
Their eyes had all turned Fiendish red and they were exuding the blood curdling presence of the Blood fiends that were.
If there was one thing the Barony's forces had in their favor, it would be their larger numbers which they were trying to make use of to overwhelm the Blood knights but it proved far from being as easy as they thought. Especially after the Blood Knights began implementing their fog's offensive abilities.
The rest of the forces from Sapphire city who were following the lead of the Blood knights could not help but feel awe at their impressive battle prowess.
Basically, the Blood Knights were taking care of most of the enemies, and their job was just to offer support and not become overwhelmed.
Ford's brows were furrowed because he knew that while things were going well for now, they were not going to remain that way.
From the pressure of cultivation the Blood Knights were giving off, none of them was past the Mid-stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm. Even the Emissaries were the same.
While their Blood fiend and Devil shroud abilities did well to cover up the deficiency, in a war where the force they were fighting against outnumbered them by at least two times, this advantage did not really make too much of a helpful difference.
The main highlight of the fight and the only way they could succeed would be to defeat the Baron but he was at the Peak stage of the Cosmic phenomenon realm and had capable lieutenants at the mid and late stage.
Especially after he had been able to get support from other cities.
Ford sighed.
He could not help but think to the fact that their strategy had not been to go with brawns.
When they learned the Baron would get supporters from other cities, the council planned to try espionage and somehow reduce the fighting force of those cities.
To do so, they asked the Emissaries who would be best for assassination attempts to rid them of these potentially troublesome experts but the Emissaries refused to act until the Priestess sought the mind of the Prince.
Then Selina returned with orders that they were to do no such thing.
Apparently, Hal had something planned.
What that plan was, Neither Ford nor the Council had any idea but judging from Selina's smile, she did.
It would seem the Prince was indeed speaking to her.
On the other side of the battlefield, Baron Aaro was conversing with his Lieutenants,
"Okay... So it would turn out they more secrets than we could have thought" Henrik said even as many more fell to the attacks of the Blood Knight and Emissaries while none of them had been killed thus far.
The successful attacks by the Baron's forces were all on those who were not Blood Knights and Emissaries and even then, the deaths were nothing compared to the losses the Baron's forces had suffered.
"You think?" Aaro snapped at him.
Henrik frowned but said nothing. He could understand why his brother was being so snippy.
"What we need to do is simple, we take down their council. The ones who really call the shots. If things keep going on like this, our numbers advantage would be useless." Said one lieutenant.
"I agree. From what we have learned, there is no one at the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm among the Council and this surprise from these forces aside, we still have a chance if we go directly to the council."
Aaro was about to say he totally agreed when a disturbance came from the other side of the battlefield.
Selina's eyes were closed and she had her arms outstretched on either side of her with Frank and Jack holding on to those arms as she shook violently.
Ford and the rest of the Council had no idea what was going on and Edvard actually took a step towards his niece in concern but Jack yelled to him,
"Stand back!"
"She has been training for weeks to be able to do this" Frank added.
The Krast lord froze with his hand still stretched towards Selina,
"To do what?"
He asked in an incredulous tone, just as the shaking stopped.
Frank and Jack let go of her arms and stepped back just in time for had they stayed closer, they would have been repelled by the monstrous pressure the Priestess began to give off.
A Black pentagram appeared beneath her feet and began to feed her energy that seemed otherworldly.
The pressure of her cultivation which was at the mid-stage of the cosmic Armament Realm became evident but it did not stop there and began to climb in explosive boosts.
*Boom!*
Mid-stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon Realm.
*Boom!*
Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm.
Then a physical manifestation of her monstrous pressure appeared behind her in the form of a monstrous shadow with Sapphire blue eyes that was grinning menacingly.
The manifestation was brief and soon vanished along with the pentagram but as soon as it did, Selina's eyes opened but they were no longer hers.
Not exactly.
The normally black sclera was now nightmarish black and her usually black iris became a striking sapphire blue.
Selina clenched and unclenched her first and said in a low voice,
"Interesting"
However, the voice did not sound like hers. It was not feminine.
It was a mellifluous male voice that everyone on this side of the battlefield recognized.
Selina turned to face Edvard,
"To do what, you asked? Well, your dear niece was training to house a fraction Of my power.
Speaking of which, why are you all still standing?" Said the Sapphirine Prince who it was now clear had possessed Selina and was speaking through her.
Of course, that was not exactly true.
Hal had discovered that it was possible to act by proxy through anyone who was connected to his Devil seed which was everyone in Sapphire city.
He chose Selina because it would further reiterate her position as his Priestess and would make even more of an impact when he acted through her.
Immediately, every one of them fell to their knees and bowed.
Chapter 457 - Let The Corruption Spread.
"My Lord..." Ford began but the Sapphirine Prince ignored him.
Instead, he walked forward towards the battle which had paused following the manifestation of his Phenomenon.
Then he smiled and imbued his voice with Cosmic energy so that it boomed so loud there was no one on the battlefield who could not hear him,
"You've fought well." He said to his Blood Knights and Emissaries who glowed with pride.
They did not care that their Master was speaking through a woman. They only cared that he was with them.
"As for everyone else who is not from Sapphire city, I will be honest with you, there is only one way you will survive the massacre that is about to befall you;
.You must bow and proclaim your undying devotion to me, The Sapphirine Prince."
There was no reaction from anyone at first and then Aaro spoke with his own voice imbued with Cosmic energy,
"Before this war began, I had heard the news of a false religion in Sapphire city. A Cult meant to trick the people. You must be that false god. And this must have been staged to further your propaganda.
I expected this"
As he spoke, Aaro as well as his lieutenants who were composed of capable people from the Cities he called to fur support walked from the other side of the battlefield towards the side of the Sapphire city's council where the possessed Priestess stood with a sneer.
Soon, they had left the battle behind and were now facing the Sapphire city council with only 15 feet of space between them.
"Oh, you expected it?" the Sapphirine Prince asked with a raised brow.
Aaro nodded,
"Yes, I did. I expected that a city with the guts to kill my messenger will have a hidden expert. That expert must be you, although I have to say, I did not think you would be a young lady."
"So you think this is all an act?" Selina asked.
Aaro nodded with a sad smile as though he pitied then for having to resort to such half-assed tricks.
"I have to admit, it was quite a smart idea. What better way to legitimize your false religion than to shock us with the presence of your 'god'. But you see, if all you have up your sleeves as a peak stage Cosmic Phenomenon realm expert, then I am afraid you have already lost.
Of all the lieutenants with me, there are many at the late stage even if I am the only one at the peak stage.
All your other mid-stage experts are tied up battling my forces and your council which I assume are your true elites are outnumbered"
He was not wrong.
His lieutenants did outnumber the Council in numbers.
However, the Sapphirine Prince burst into boisterous laughter,
"The Council is my true elite? Are you insane? These are only those aspiring to be my Elites. You can call them glorified caretakers of my city if you will. You want to see my true elites, look behind you" he said and gestured with Selina's delicate hand.
With furrowed brows, The Baron turned and came upon a sight that chilled him to the bones.
Every single one of the Blood Knights was now wielding a terrifying broadsword that now made it clear what sort of energy they were exuding; Demonic Energy.
Wherever the swords swung, lives were created in horrible bloody and gory manners.
The eyes of all the Blood Fiends were glowing Blood red as they enjoyed reading the Blood essence and advance their cultivation.
War was where they thrived and they could not be happier with the situation.
"Beautiful isn't it?" The Sapphirine Prince asked before he summoned a similar-looking broadsword and struck at the Baron's back.
Aaro leaped away just in time to avoid getting hit but he knew the strike had not nearly been as fast as it could be.
"What the hell are you?" He asked but the question was mostly directed at the whole confusing situation.
"Don't act like you don't know" The Prince said and vanished only to reappear in front of Aaro to strike at his midsection.
Aaro flicked his wrist and retrieved a silver shield from his spatial ring which he used to protect himself from the broadsword strike.
The Shield was a Phenomenon grade Artifact that belongs to the Kirsten family which had the ability to release a repelling force when charged with Cosmic energy.
*CLANG!*
The connecting hit gave off a ringing sound but a smile was still present on Selina's face as the Sapphirine Prince controlled get body to spin away from and strike this time at Aaro's side but the Baron was quick enough to defend himself with his shield Artifact once again as he summoned his sword Cosmic Armament.
While they battled, the council who had nothing against their Lord's words as they were indeed aspiring to become a part of his elite, began to battle the Baron's Lieutenants.
Meanwhile, the Blood Knights and Emissaries were still killing away while the rest of the Sapphire city forces were left with nothing to do. Clearly, they were out of their depth.
It further reiterated to them all that becoming a part of the Lord's forces was what really mattered. And it should remain their main focus.
Meanwhile, the Sapphirine Prince was still battling with the Baron,
"Do I still seem like a false god to you?" The Prince asked with a smile.
"Yes. While I admit that you really are something and quite impressive and have put a lot of thought into this scam of yours, this remains false propaganda" he said with a grunt as he repelled Selina by charging his shield with cosmic energy and she slid a few meters away from him.
"Is that so?" The Prince asked with a smirk and his eyes flashed as an authority began to seep out of Selina's form. An authority that was already covering the Baron's forehead with sweat.
Then he moved two steps closer to the Baron,
"Kneel" he said and Aaro shivered and tried to stop his knees from buckling but he found himself unable to.
*Whump*
His knees hit the ground and he was quick to raise his shield to defend against a sword strike but it was so heavy that it knocked the shield out of his hand.
Nefarious energy was passed into his body and it froze and made it impossible for him to move.
Then the Prince turned to the Lieutenants but spoke with a voice imbued with Cosmic energy that everyone could hear,
"I have your Baron on his knees... Powerless. Surrender now or die."
He did not need to tell the forces battling the Blood Knights and Emissaries twice as they were quick to fall to their knees and plead surrender.
But that was not enough,
"I want the pledge" the Prince said and to prove his point, A Blood Knight beheaded someone and looked more than happy to continue.
From the moment Hal had known he could act through a Proxy thanks to the Devil seed and the use of a Devil spell, he had planned something of this nature and that was why he really wanted this war to happen.
Once this bunch were 'converted' at the field of battle, they would take the gospel of the Sapphirine Prince to all parts of the Barony and his corruption would continue to spread.
"We Pledge ourselves. We pledge ourselves to the Sapphirine Prince" they proclaimed.
All the Lieutenants proclaimed as well. Henrik included.
As soon as they did, they felt the connection. They felt the tendril that joined them to the Devil seed buried in Sapphire city.
There was no need for Aaro to pledge as his defeat already made him a candidate to be connected to the Devil seed and he was connected as well.
With this, the ominous pressure that had been present all through possession faded and Selina swayed from lack of energy but was caught by Jack and Frank.
Her cultivation reverted to the mid-stage of the Cosmic Armament realm while the forces of Sapphire city began their chants of victory and praises to their lord which also announced the birth of a new order in the Barony.
"All Hail The Sapphirine Prince"
Chapter 458 - To End It.
Gelread Valley...
A barren land made that way from the many monstrous level battles that had happened there for hundreds of thousands of years.
After getting trampled on by so many cultivation Experts and facing the brunt of numerous missed semi saint and saint level attacks, the grasses had simply stopped growing. And let's be honest, who could blame them?
The Valley in itself was a very long stretch of land that was considered a neutral zone between the territorial boundaries of the Haron Continent and the Dystopian continent.
The dividing line preventing their boundaries from touching and every part of that piece of land had experienced battle.
Anyway, this particular Expedition had been organized when spies placed at the valley noticed movement from the Dystopian continent. Movement that told of a possible invasion.
.The weeks before Hal actually joined the expedition, there were Haron experts already at the valley and battling the occasional attempts to cross over into the Haron continent.
By the time Hal arrived with that platoon Devon Dane had assigned him to, the battlefield was already littered with bodies that were yet to be cleared and additional tents were quickly erected on the side of the Valley regarded as the Haron camp.
Especially a grand tent which was where Devon and his closest commanders would plan out strategies and tactics.
The moment Hal saw the bodies on the battlefield, his eyes sparkled and he realized the aspect of joining this expedition he had neglected to be excited about;
Prime Bodies to feed his Devil Beasts.
With the sheer potential of bodies that was sure to litter the battlefield all through the expedition, no matter how short it was, he might actually be able to feed his beasts up to a point that they actually became true Devils and even acquire the ability to transform into human forms.
He could not stop grinning and when the lieutenant leading his platoon saw the look, he instantly assumed Hal was a psychopath and he was never shy about showing what he thought.
Anyway,
Almost as though the Dystopian continent had been expecting this, the day after the Grand tent was set up in the Haron camp, one was set up in the Dystopian camp as well.
It was then it became clear what the true aim of this attack had been.
It was not just to attempt to Infiltrate the Haron Continent by taking over the Valley and begin an invasion, it was mainly about killing a general of the Haron empire.
Killing prospective experts such as the foot soldiers was good for planning ahead but killing a general went a step further.
First off, becoming a general was not so easy that the loss of one would not be felt. As impressive as the young generation might be, they were all still just that; young.
They did not have the experience and they definitely did not have the strength.
In the centuries it would take to raise another capable general to replace the one that had been killed, the Dystopian continent would have gained a stronger foothold.
Now imagine, they actually succeed in killing all the generals, Oh, how glorious the Dystopian victory would be.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. If it was so easy, both continents would not have still been held at a stalemate up till now.
Generals from both warring sides had died and neither had ever truly been able to take advantage.
Anyway,
Once it was clear what the Dystopian side was after, the battle got on but was far from swift.
The climax of the expedition had yet to happen.
The generals were yet to face one another.
Even after two whole months since the expedition began.
Instead, the whole force had been divided into companies made up of about three platoons and led by a cooperation between the lieutenants leading the individual platoons.
Then the Company would occasionally go out for battle.
Sometimes to lay an ambush for the opposition company or sometimes to answer a war cry.
Basically, they were to do all the grunt work while the general and his commanders stayed in the grand tent, dishing out orders to best suit their 'strategy'.
Hal hated it.
Don't get him wrong, he loved the killing and how it was making him a better combatant. It was also sharpening up his senses. Not to mention the dead bodies he was occasionally able to cart away into his Beast habitat was more than a welcome bonus.
What he hated was fighting for someone else's cause.
A cause he really could not be bothered to care about.
At least not without seeing how it could prove beneficial to him. To his goals.
...
The Grand Tent,
Devon Dane was poring over a map of the terrain. A map on which the locations of the Dystopian forces had been marked and not with the use of any type of sense.
Whether cultivational or Astral since both camps had precautions in place to avoid such snooping.
No, the locations were known thanks to spies sent to the opposition camp to source for information.
This was a dangerous task usually left to the weakest strength category of the Army which was the Cosmic Phenomenon realm late stage.
And sometimes they sent Cosmic Aurora realm experts but usually made sure their strength did not go past the mid-stage of the Realm.
Anyway, Devon and his commanders looked it over as they had done many times in the past two months that they had been here.
"They are waiting us out" said one of the commanders with silver hair and pale eyes that showed he was a Silva.
"I know that Aulich, but are we to continue this way?" Devon asked.
The one called Aulich shrugged,
"Well, you could just challenge their General and battle it out" he said and Devon shook his head,
"If I will face this general, it will be on the Field of battle" he said with furrowed brows and Aulich looked as though he was trying not to laugh,
"Am I to understand that the Dane Monster is... Afraid?"
As soon as the Silva man said it, the other commanders shared looks as they felt Aulich was going where he should never dare to go.
While the commanders on this Expedition were indeed under Devon Dane, it could not erase the fact that Silvas and Danes disliked each other.
That said, Devon remained calm as he said,
"Very well, Aulich, since I am so afraid, why don't you take over. Be the general and challenge the Dystopian general to showcase your 'impressive' strength and 'infallible' strategic mind"
That wiped the smile off Aulich's face.
The Silva man gulped and was without retort.
"Now that we have all been entertained by how, despite a sharp tongue, Aulich Silva is still a cowardly brat, let's move on to the matter at hand." Devon said.
"Well, insubordinate and rude as Aulich might have sounded, he does have a point" said another commander.
"How do you figure?" Devon asked him.
The commander shrugged,
"Well, we should end this now. And I don't mean you should challenge the Dystopian general, I just mean that we should provoke the deciding battle. No more ambushes. No more laying of traps. We all meet at the battlefield and we battle it out.
We end this and in the process, you get what you want, you meet the Dystopian general on the field of battle."
Chapter 459 - Provoking The Deciding Battle.
Devon nodded in agreement to a plan to provoke the deciding battle and it was not just him, all the other commanders, including Aulich, agreed that the idea was sound.
They had done enough poking around.
They had felt each other out enough.
Following their common agreement was how the 'provocation' was to happen.
First off, they had no intentions of announcing it to the Dystopians and give them any more time to prepare.
Already, even while they waited out their opponents, the Dystopian forces were sure to be battle-ready.
Ready to deploy at the order of their general.
However, simply getting strapped and yelling as they ran across Gelread valley to catch the Dystopians unaware was far from enough..
They wanted every bit of advantage they could get.
So they settled on a plan.
One similar to how they had gotten information on how the Dystopian forces were placed which was to send a company or two over to the Dystopian side to set up traps.
There were three classes of Experts (Excluding the special classes for commanders and generals) in the Haron army; the A-class, The B-class, and the C-class.
A-class referred to experts at the Cosmic Pagoda realm and the occasional experts at the Semi saint realm who did not hold commanding ranks which was rare.
Semi-saint was usually worthy of being a commander.
Anyway,
B-class referred to experts at the Cosmic Aurora realm while,
C-class referred to experts at the Phenomenon realm which was the lowest realm anyone who was part of the Haron Army could be in.
C-class were usually the ones sent for this sort of dangerous task that involved infiltrating the Dystopian side because they were easily overlooked.
Even though the Dystopian side was sure to have those at the Phenomenon realm in their Army as well, it did not change the fact that the true threat came from Cosmic Aurora and above.
And even then, there was only so much Cosmic Aurora experts can do when there are more powerful cosmic Pagoda experts to cause more trouble.
"A C-class company would be best." Said the commander who had come up with the whole 'provoke the deciding battle' idea.
Devon smiled lightly while his eyes flashed shrewdly,
"Good thinking, Gaige. I know one C-class company that just has to be involved in this"
...
Hal was in the tent he shared with many other experts in his platoon even though he hardly ever stayed there and always found time to slip into the Harem space to cultivate and spend time with his ladies.
Taking full advantage of the Time warping to continue increasing his strength and after this past two months (normal time) he could already feel himself getting closer to turning his cosmic phenomenon into an Aurora.
Anyway, he was cross-legged inside the tent when his platoon received orders along with the other two platoons with whom they shared a company.
(A company is made up of two or more platoons)
Then the Lieutenant In charge of his Platoon called on every member to present themselves for the reading of the latest order from the General and commanders.
When they all gathered, many of those present could not help but look to Hal who seemed the most casual of everyone here. Just like their lieutenant, they had all began to see him as a psychopath.
Albeit an impossibly good-looking one.
Many questioned why he was even part of the platoon.
As they were all part of Barracks in the Silva Duchy, they knew each other quite well and knew there was no sapphire blue-eyed young man in the Silva Duchy barracks.
Such features, few of them knew were reserved to be seen in the Doxon Duchy.
There was a rumor floating around that he was somehow related to the General.
As only the Lieutenant of the platoon knew he had been selected to join the platoon by Devon Dane personally, it was still an unconfirmed rumor.
Over the course of the past two months, their platoon had lost quite a number of experts and were not strangers to loss but Hal never showed a reaction that he cared.
And why should he?
He had not known those men.
He was here just to be part of the Platoon because of Devon and saw no reason to put on a display of false affection for men and women he knew nothing about.
He felt he was actually doing them a favor by not acting like he cared when he was just going to find a way to send the bodies of their companions into the Beast Habitat for his beasts to feed on.
Besides, he had not really given them a reason to complain. Whenever they were asked to go against Dystopian companies of a similar class to them (which was how they had lost those companions by the way) he was always fighting to the best of his abilities.
Showcasing his class as a peak stage cosmic Phenomenon realm expert as many in the platoon were. The Lieutenant included.
Without making use of his Bloodline of course.
"Some good news for all you homesick whinnies, the Grand tent have decided to provoke a Deciding battle after which you can finally return home.
Bad news for the cowards, of which I believe there is none present in my platoon, the Provocation will be spearheaded by C-class companies." The lieutenant announced to the hard swallow of many.
This provocation seemed far from an easy task to undergo.
The Lieutenant continued,
"This should not come as a surprise.
As C-class experts, we are usually tasked to undergo these dangerous missions because we are the easiest to ignore..." He said and Hal scoffed in his mind,
'Yeah that and the fact that we are the weakest class and hence Expendable''
Of course, it did not matter what Hal thought, this was still going to happen.
That said, he never planned to die for someone else's cause, and should things get too difficult to handle, he would be only too happy to retreat into his Harem space and wait the whole battle out.
-
That night, it began.
Hal's company began to move under the shadow of darkness.
Crossing the valley was far from being the difficult part of it all.
They moved in from different angles. Separating into groups of ten.
The difficult part came when they got closer to the Dystopian camp and regardless of how low their class was, the perception shield which not only stopped any outside perception from snooping into the camp but also picked up intruders, picked them up.
However, as expected since this was not the first time they were attempting something of this nature, it showed that they were all at the Cosmic Phenomenon realm.
As such, the ones sent to stop them while attempting to outnumber them with numbers were also of the same level of cultivation.
But it was not all the groups that were picked up by the perception shield.
The groups tasked with deploying the devices given by the grand tent (the devices being the traps) were making use of cloaking runes. Strong enough to hide them from the perception shield but was finite and could only cloak them for half an hour at most.
Not to mention that the cloaking runes would not make them invisible to physical eyes and physical contact which was where the groups picked by the perception shield were needed.
Their duty was to draw attention away from the group using cloaking runes by facing off against those sent to deal with the intruders.
It was in one of these groups tasked with the distraction that Hal was.
Chapter 460 - Can I?
It didn't take long before the group Hal was in became engaged in conflict.
The Dystopian Hal was facing on more of a one-on-one note was giving off the pressure of a Late-stage Phenomenon beast realm which would normally have meant he surpassed a human cultivator in terms of physical prowess.
Everyone in the Dystopian continent cultivated like beasts and hence used Demon Beast cultivation realms.
(It's not that different from the cultivation realms you already know but you can check the auxiliary chapter if you are unfamiliar)
They absorbed cosmic energy for the primary purpose of strengthening their body.
While they housed cosmic energy in their bodies like human cultivators, they could not harness it in the same way. They could not use skills, or cosmic attacks, or cosmic phenomenon attacks.
They could not form cosmic Armaments.
They could however imbue cosmic energy into the element they were naturally attuned with..
*Boom*
Hal had just struck his Dystopian opponent with a cosmic attack and said opponent grinned maniacally before leaping right at the attack without any attempt at dodging.
Thanks to his incredibly sturdy skin as per his nature, he (the Dystopian) did not suffer any damage from the attack.
But as this was not the first time he was saving a Dystopian cultivator, Hal knew what to expect and the cosmic attack had only been to create a cover so that he could summon his cosmic Armament and swing for a fatal hit.
*Bam!*
His sword cosmic Armament was caught mid-swing in his opponent's fist that was now coated with dark material that was a sign of his physical prowess. His physique if you will.
All Dystopian cultivators had Beast physiques. Whether they were born with human forms or they attained human form after they cultivated to the Aurora Beast realm.
Once a Demon Beast attains human form at the Aurora Beast realm, they still retain their beast forms which would have been enhanced further and can revert to it whenever it suits them or even merely use a hybrid form.
However, at that point, it is no longer referred to as a Beast form (at least not commonly) instead, it becomes a beast physique that can actually be stripped and cultivated by a human cultivator.
Take, for example, Brysen Holger (chapter 45) from back when Hal attacked the Holger estate, who had cultivated a Beast physique given to him by the master who we all now know to be Arya.
It was not just human cultivators who could cultivate beast physiques.
In fact, with the amount of detest the Haron continent had for all things beast-related, it was not common to see someone making use of a beast physique.
The Dystopians were the ones who stripped Beast physiques from one another but usually as a trophy for their victory over the one being stripped.
After all, they could have more than one beast physique.
Although, the more beast physiques a Dystopian acquires, the more evident the side effects.
Anyway, this particular dystopian as well as the others Hal and his group were facing were definitely not Demon beasts who gained human form since they were still only at the Phenomenon Beast realm.
No, they had been born with human forms.
Which meant their physiques were still undeveloped pending advancements to the Aurora Beast realm.
Anyway,
Hal smiled and pulled his sword which was in the fist of his Dystopian opponent and the opponent's eyes widened in surprise at the strength Hal possessed.
The strength that saw him successfully pull his sword away from his (the Dystopian's) grasp.
And yet, he was clearly still at the peak stage of the cosmic phenomenon realm.
The pulling of the sword had cut the inside of the Dystopian's fist but thanks to the manifestation of his physique which had covered his hand, the injury was minimal and could very well be ignored.
And then Hal vanished from his sights.
The Dystopian's eyes like many who had fallen prey to Hal's attacks over the course of the two months he had spent in this expedition was widened in surprise at that speed and when Hal next appeared, he was kicking the side of his face.
However, fast as Hal was, his opponent still managed to raise his hand and defend against the kick successfully with his hand still encased in his physique.
Or more accurately, the defense stopped Hal from kicking his opponent's head clean off his shoulders but the kick was still so heavy that it sent the Dystopian flying away and trying his best to attain stability.
By the time he was stable, Hal was already punching towards his face, and once again as he had done to protect his head, the Dystopian raised his arms to protect his face but that had never been Hal's target.
Why would he make his attack so obvious when his opponent had shown he was quick enough to defend against such?
No, Hal had spent so much time on the battlefield that he knew how to think on his feet.
He kept the right fist which had been moving more slowly than normal in front of his opponent's protected face to strike with his left fist charged with the height of cosmic energy and sink it into his midsection.
"Ack" groaned the Dystopian as he spat blood but his defense slipped enough for Hal to now charge his stationary right fist with Cosmic energy and sink it into his opponent's now unprotected face.
Smashing his nose and making it as bloody as it could ever be after a powerful one-hit strike.
As the Dystopian was sent back a few more meters thanks to the punch, another Dystopian expert who was among those not yet involved in combat and were awaiting the best time to overwhelm the intruders, looked shocked.
All the other Haron intruders were fighting with skills and cosmic phenomenon so as to avoid close combat which they all knew Dystopians excelled at thanks to their Physiques and this young man was making it as physical as he possibly could.
And he was not only holding his own against someone who should be more capable than him physically, but he was also absolutely decimating him.
The Dystopian decided this was as good a time as any to interfere and overwhelm this human monster but he had only taken one step towards the battling duo when something whooshed in his direction.
"Ack" he groaned as something connected with his midsection and he looked down to see a broadsword with a golden handle and silver hilt sticking out of him.
He had not seen Hal throw it.
The throw had been too fast for his eye to possibly follow.
But he knew,
With absolute certainty,
That it was the human monster who had killed him.
His legs gave out and he keeled backward mostly because it was the direction the force of the throw had directed him towards.
As he fell, Hal was also piercing his cosmic Armament into the midsection of the one whose face he had bashed in. Dousing the last spark of life remaining within him.
Then he straightened up and walked towards his second kill to pull out the Artifact that was a gift from his baby girl before cracking his neck and grinning at the rest not yet involved in the battle as he spoke for the first time since this battle started,
"What's with those scared-looking faces? Come on, that was dumb luck. A fluke. I can't surely defeat all five of you if you come at me together... Can I?"