Lord Capricorn entered Lord Achilles's castle.
"Lord Achilles, are you aware of what's happening with your neighbors?" Lord Capricorn asked sternly with three Captains behind her.
"Lord Capricorn, I have been evaluating the situation from afar. I don't think it requires my attention at the moment. Is that all you're here for?" Lord Achilles asked dismissively.
"Lord Achilles, are you not aware of the rumors? Lord Jezebel went to Lord Theseus's capital where he seduced her into submission! Now, two territories are breaking the Suzerain Treaty. This cannot stand. An unknown Lord none of us know has now taken another Lord for his concubine!" Lord Capricorn roared out. The rumors were far from the truth, but to these two Suzerain Lords, Lord Jezebel appeared to have become Lord Theseus's new play thing.
If Theseus could hear their conversation, he might've passed out from shock.
"It's time we stand up for what it means to be a Suzerain Lord, Achilles. Drenched in sin, violent, and lustful. Do you oppose the Suzerain Treaty?" Capricorn appeared malevolently righteous.
"As the representation of Pride, I must agree with your points, but according to my sources, Theseus has a Captain of the F or D Rank. This shouldn't be possible. How can I act with such rumors?" Achilles resented his weak aura realm.
"That is why I am proposing a temporary treaty with you, Lord Achilles. If we can convince Lord Jezebel to give up this pathetic husband of hers and turn on him, we can split the Virgo territory three ways."
"That's what this is really about, hmm," pondered Achilles. Capricorn was a shrewd businesswoman, but she was possibly the weakest Suzerain Lord in battle, right beneath Lord Jezebel.
"We both know Taurus and Scorpius are fighting their own battle while Darkin is idle. Now is the time for us to make our move." Lord Capricorn urged.
"I will arrange a meeting with Lord Jezebel." Lord Achilles agreed.
***
"Lord Jezebel, Lord Achilles is here!" One of her five Captains told her. The reformation of her territory was astonishing to its inhabitants. All sorts of rumors flew about regarding her meeting with Theseus. Some said she was now a vassal of Theseus, some said she was seduced by him, while others thought they made a strong alliance.
"Bring him in." Jezebel said, unamused. She was wondering when this dog would show up.
"Lord Jezebel, it's always good to see you." Achilles bowed with two Captains behind him. Jezebel stayed quiet.
"I'm here about the rumors. Did this Lord Theseus really seduce you?" Achilles got straight to business.
"What?" Lord Jezebel's face turned red.
"Is that not why you're breaking the Suzerain Treaty?" Achilles looked at the embarrassed Suzerain Lord curiously.
"Lord Theseus is great man, who will bring change to the Oceanic Realm, Lord Achilles." Lord Jezebel told Lord Achilles, composing herself. It was Achilles's turn to be chagrined.
"What?"
Theseus had to have seduced Jezebel for her to be changing her policy like this.
"You heard me Lord Achilles. I changed my policies and am aligned with Lord Theseus because of his high ideals and that reason alone. I am not his vassal nor his husband, sadly. He showed me the error in my ways, so together, we will stand up to the impending evil of Lord Darkin. Join us." Lord Jezebel tried to sound mature.
"Lord Capricorn and I have an offer for you. Backstab Theseus and invade his territory with the two of us. If you join us, I can promise you that you can keep this Lord Theseus as a pet if you so desire." Lord Achilles ignored Jezebel's statement of justice. This lustful broad never acted like this in the past!
Lord Jezebel's eyes flashed with a brief look of lust, but she looked at Zamani, who shook his head. A look of disappointment appeared on her face, and she responded with regret.
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept this offer. Lord Theseus and I are allies, and I think meaningless invasions will hinder our territories in the long run. Join us and prepare for Lord Darkin's invasion." She declined the offer robotically.
"What in the world did Lord Theseus do to you?" Boomed Lord Achilles.
"That's it. I will invade Oceanus with or without you. After my next seclusion ends, I will breakthrough to the D Rank, and then Lord Theseus and his subordinates won't stand a chance. Lord Theseus will fall with or without your help. Join me or perish. I can just call Lord Scorpius for help instead and take your land too." Lord Achilles threatened.
"Don't doubt Lord Theseus. If you dare lay a finger on him, I will gut you and your Captains." Lord Jezebel counter threatened viciously.
"Choose your side Lord Jezebel. Lord Capricorn and I will even align ourselves with Lord Scorpius or Lord Taurus if necessary." He got up from the meeting room and left dramatically. Lord Jezebel didn't tell him, but her Soul Contract alliance with Theseus was already solidified.
***
According to Aries, a normal territory had around five Captains ranging from the B to S Rank Greater Spirit Realm, and Theseus had five Captains:
The Shade Aries, the F Rank King,
Leo, an S Rank Sage Beast,
Centos, an ex-Captain of Lord Virgo at the A Rank Sage Realm as well as a water mage,
Naiad, another ex-Captain at the A Rank Sage Realm, who uses wind magic, and finally
Vodyanoi, the last ex-Captain that decided to stay in Oceanus. This last Captain was a troublemaker, a B Rank Sage, and a Shade under Aries.
Three other ex-Captains of Lord Virgo defected to other Suzerain Lords after Lord Virgo's downfall. The three that happened to stay were also the three that witnessed Aries's fight with Lord Virgo firsthand.
With these five, Theseus had a solid foundation that was slightly above average compared some of the other Lords' armies.
Under Aries, Vodyanoi and Naiad served as his underlings while Centos and Leo helped Theseus with his daily activities ranging from paperwork to domestic and foreign affairs.
On this day however, Aries entered Theseus's office alone and requested no one else enter.
"What is this about?" Theseus questioned.
"It's about time I told you the truth about what Captain Justus and I were doing in the Phaunus Forest when I first met you."
"What do you mean, weren't you patrolling the area?" Theseus asked.
"Do you really think a territory needs two Captains to be on patrol? We can have normal soldiers do that."
"I guess you're right; I never thought about it too deeply after Oceanus became a territory."
"Well, there's a bit of a lesser-known secret in the Oceanic Realm that I think you need to be aware of. I learned recently of your establishment of an Adventurer's Guild to tame the edges of the Phaunus Forest, correct?"
"Yes, Elder Gerald of Oceanus City came up with the idea."
"Well, neither of you knew, but there is a lurking danger in Phaunus Forest." Aries admitted.
"What kind of danger? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Theseus freaked out. Were they sending innocent adventurers into a slaughter house?
"Calm down brat! It's deeper in the forest, at the base of the Moirai Mountains. There is a cave system full of strange monsters."
"What do you mean?" Theseus was confused; weren't monsters in caves normal?
"These monsters are special; they belong to an organization."
"What kind of organization?" Theseus felt another headache coming on.
"There are beings in the mountain that rule the cave systems that these monsters call the Three Moirai, one to represent each mountain. The Three Moirai are rumored to be absurdly strong, at the High Royalty Realm or maybe even higher."
"How does nobody know about this?" Theseus was shocked.
"Only four of the seven Lords know about the Moirai: Lord Darkin, Lord Scorpius, Lord Virgo, and Lord Capricorn, the four Lords with territory bordering the three Moirai Mountains. Every other Lord should have surface level information that doesn't really matter."
"Interesting, do these monsters not come out of their caves? I've never heard of such a rumor." Theseus admitted.
"No, they treat the mountains like a dungeon, The Moirai Dungeon. They sometimes dare Suzerain Lords to conquer the mountains if we get too close to these caverns. The Lords have kept a closed cap on all information regarding the Moirai Dungeon because of a fear of a panic, but if we are sending adventurers near the mountain, they deserve to know the risks," explained Aries.
"Fine, tell the adventurers not to approach. I don't care if we make enemies of the other Lords anyways for leaking this. Lord Jezebel sent a notice to us saying Achilles and Capricorn were thinking of attacking us." Theseus updated Aries.
"Capricorn must've put Achilles up to it; she's a sly one." Aries contemplated.
"You seem to know all of these Lords quite well," remarked Theseus.
"I was Lord Virgo's right-hand man at one time." Aries smiled weakly. It was a dark time in his life; he didn't like to talk about his past.
"You have to understand Theseus, what you're doing here is radical. Every territory treats their people like garbage. They don't call this Hell's Dungeon for no reason. Murder, slavery, rape, theft, and every sin you can think of is glorified by the Suzerain Lords. Once the other Lords confirm the rumors, they will come for us." Aries didn't like Theseus's casual attitude. Then again, Aries was unaware of just how powerful Theseus was now.
"Let them come. We will expand into the forest and take anyone willing into our alliance, but we will show no mercy to those heathens." Theseus spat out. Aries wondered why Theseus was being so brazen.
"These Suzerain Lords need to be taught a thing or two about proper leadership. They sit on their ivory towers and bully the weak, but in the end, they act like a bunch of spoiled brats." Theseus said and despised the Suzerain Lords and their methods greatly.
"You're one to talk, you brat." Aries teased.
"Shut it, Shade. I know I'm radical here, but in the real world, these dictators are the radical ones. The Suzerain Treaty corrupted these spirits and tearing it down is the only way to bring substantial change to this broken realm." Theseus ranted.
"Sadly, you sound exactly like Lord Virgo once did. I joined his faction because he used to have high ideals, even higher than yours." Aries admitted. All along, Aries's rough exterior was a front, as Theseus came to learn. Aries was a violent Shade and a pessimist, but he secretly wanted to bring about Theseus's policies and enforced them passionately.
"What happened to him?" Theseus wondered. The Lord Virgo he met was a hollow hypocrite who ruled with an iron fist.
"His Shade Core was too unstable, and his personality was corrupted. It's as simple as that." Aries stated flatly. Shades were highly volatile individuals, partly because their personalities were commonly shifted by their intake of exterior souls. It made sense that the once righteous Virgo would be corrupted by the addicting and all-consuming Shade Path.
"If I ever go crazy, promise to kill me," Aries half-joked.
"Don't say that, Shade. You may be violent, but you're a good guy, somewhere deep down." Theseus teased.
"Shut up kid. You're lucky I even bothered to warn you about the Moirai Dungeon."
"A Dungeon within a Dungeon, how peculiar…" Theseus wondered.