"A Peak Layer Mortal Overlord? That means, he isn't too far off from reaching the highest Stage of the Mortal Realm, right? If you say that he has his uses, then I will gladly take him," Ken replied. 'If a genius takes 72 years to reach that Cultivation Realm, how long will it take me?'
# Summoner, it might take you 30-50 Years to reach the same Cultivation Realm, depending on your own effort. This is not some kind of Cultivation novel where the Protagonist rushes to the Peak and beyond before he turns 30 while transmigrating with 31. #
'What, are you saying that I don't have the qualifications to be the protagonist of a cultivation novel? I have you by my side, isn't that enough.'
# Summoner, did you forget that you're not the only one with a System at your disposal? At best, you might be the protagonist in a novel it would be a kingdom-building one with cultivation on the sideline. #
'What?'
# I repeat, you are no protagonist, even if you would be living in a novel. #
'I get what you are saying'
"I already sent someone to get him," Galatris said.
"I am not sure, but 72 seems to be impressively young for this achievement," Shyla tried it with praise.
"I am sure that you will outclass him in long strides. You are already a 9th Layer Mortal Stage cultivator. How could you achieve that?" Galatris downplayed his slave's achievement instantly.
"Oh, that isn't my merit. My cultivation is linked to Ken, and his secret talent seems to be to level up while he's unconscious," Shyla replied.
A tall young man entered the room and kowtowed before Galatris.
The man had a strong and muscular body with long arms and legs. His face was handsome but not sticking. The short blonde hair, coupled with his green eyes that were deep and potent like poison further elevated his appearance.
"This slave is honored to be deemed worthy to receive the Great Ancestor's order."
"Stand up and greet the other people in the room," Galatris ordered.
The slave stood up and made a deep bow to everyone in the room: "This lowly slave begs pardon to disturb the guest of the Great Ancestor with his unworthy presence."
"Master, this is the slave I wanted to gift you. He may only be a Mortal Overlord, but I don't think that will pose a problem. His name is Fermont and his Talent is above mine. He has an affinity for the Water element, is proficient in sword and spear fighting and knows his way with the bow and the Wind element."
'Not that we would know what that means, without witnessing his power. If Suran says his skills are passable maybe he can become a knight. His elements might be the wrong ones but maybe it's his higher general Talent what makes the difference,' Ken thought to himself, but accepted the slave without really knowing what to do with him.
"Fermont, henceforth he is your new Master. Don't disappoint him, if you don't wish to disgrace my name. While in his service, you will have the chance to earn your freedom eventually. His plans are big, his ambition is great, and his Fate might be the greatest in all of Chaosia. Serve him well, and maybe someday you will have more power and influence than I have right now."
Fermont kowtowed three times: "I will do as you say, Great Ancestor. I shall do my best or die trying," then he turned to Keiren and kowtowed again, "Thank you for placing your faith in this lowly slave, Master. I will give it my all to fulfill your orders, or I will die trying."
"Yeah, you can stand up now. I much prefer talking respectfully with each other. I may own you, but that doesn't mean that you will have to fall on the ground every time you see me. That is not my cup of tea and frankly, I think it is annoying if I have to talk to the ground," Ken told the slave.
Fermont looked up in confusion, trying to discern whether his new master was joking or not. Meanwhile Galatris started to laugh as if he had just heard the funniest thing in his life. "Great, this is just great. I gift you a slave and in the span of five seconds you manage to have him question his entire upbringing. Fermont, what are you waiting for? Stand up."
Fermont immediately did that: "I thank the Master for his kind and generous order. I will try to act according to your demands. I'm afraid your desires are in great contrast to how I used to live, so I might slip-up from time to time. Allow me to apologize in advance for every mistake I will make in the future.
"Yeah, no problem, We are only two days in this universe, there are a ton of things we don't know yet, so let us just learn from each other. Say, Fermont, how does it feel for you as a Mortal Overlord to be gifted to someone who could pass as your biological grandson?" Kerum asked out of curiosity.
"... If I had to describe it, I would say it's a mix of frustration, anger, regret… but most of all confusion, since I can feel that Master is at the cusp of becoming a Mortal King."
"Kerum, you golden son of a bitch, shut up. How can you ask such a stupid question?" David reprimanded him.
Shyla stood up and slapped both of them. "You are both stupid. Kerum, this question was blatant disrespect, apologize to him. David, watch your tongue, it is a terrible habit from you, don't let it hang around so loose, or I will confiscate it. Don't let me hear you talking in such a way again. I am sorry for my brother and our friend. I have a question too if you don't mind answering. What is your goal in this lifetime?"
Both Kerum and David groaned in unison: "That's like asking a beggar who was starving for the last four days what he had for breakfast!"
"Well, you can kind of compare it that way, but not really." Galatris chuckled on the sideline.
Fermont bowed toward Shyla before he answered: "Mistress. My goal in life is to survive and become strong enough to earn not only my freedom, but also that of my family members. One might say that there is nothing to complain about that we are treated relatively well for humans in a Beast Clan, but we nevertheless desire true freedom."
"Let's say I would grant you and your family that kind of freedom right this moment. What would be your next course of action?" Ken asked in an unbreakable tone.
This question stunned Fermont to the core: "I-I… I honestly have no clue what I would do next. The idea of true freedom has always seemed as distant as the strength disparity between me and the Great Ancestor."
"Freedom is an illusion my friend, you are only as free as you are strong, and you only have the freedom to choose how you are walking into your doom. Let's do this, you work for me like all the others and I will treat you no different from them and when you figure out what you want to do in the future you come and tell me about it and after that, we will see if it is possible to fulfill that wish. What do you think?" Ken asked right from the liver.
"That sounds perfect. Thank you, Master. Thank you, Mistress." After his agreement, Shyla and Keiren ignored his presence and picked up their conversation with Galatris again.
Leaving Fermont confused by the situation, Suran grabbed him and pulled him beside her, whispering in his ear: "You are dismissed, stand by the side until you get further instructions but don't leave the room. The ongoing conversation might give you some insights about our Emperor if you listen carefully."
—
"We should discuss some things. First, what are you going to do once we are at the location of the city? Second, how do you plan to build the City? Third, how are you going to protect it once someone attacks you in the building phase?" Galatris asked Ken.
"I will build a fortress at an easy-to-defend location and simply build the city around it. You yourself said that there is a protected bay that could serve as my starting point. We can place a fortress in the Bay and summon some friends to help me protect it. I will wait and see how fast I can develop the settlement into a town, then city by summoning people," Ken replied in a calm tone.
"You place a Fortress in the protected bay? Do you know how long it takes to build a Fortress?" Galatris asked with more doubts than before.
'System, how long will it take for the Fortress to be built once a location is set?'
# Host, the Fortress takes 10,784 Seconds to complete once the location is set. It has a base Layout of around 250 square kilometers and is fully geared with Defensive and Offensive Array formations, Defensive Towers, and counter siege equipment.
#Furthermore, the fortress includes seven medium battleships for defense purposes and three Heavy Battleships to counter any enemy army. Besides the crew for these ships there is a 2500 strong guard team with one Mortal God cultivator and 4 high-Level Mortal Emperor cultivators.
#The fortress comes with a general population of around 25000 people for Daily operation. The Fortress will adapt perfectly to any given location and will make it as defensible as possible.
#To place the fortress requires around 11 seconds, and it comes with everything we will need if an enemy should try to attack us," Ken answered with a smirk.
"Wait, place? How can someone just place a fortress somewhere? It takes months, even if a team of Immortals decides to build it. Nobody can build a Fortress in 11 Seconds, one punch and it would scatter in the winds," Galatris ridiculed.
# Summoner, please tell this arrogant bird that even if ten of him came together and attacked it for a year, it wouldn't scratch this fortress. While you're at it, also tell him that this fortress is strong enough to hold off an Emperor Realm cultivator for days. Lastly, inform him that If he stays that arrogant, he can forget about me upgrading his Talent even by a single step. #
Ken coughed: "My system wishes me to tell you that it's sturdy enough to hold your attacks, even if ten of you would attack it for a year. In fact, it claims that it will be sturdy enough to hold off an Emperor Realm cultivator for days. Most importantly, it doesn't appreciate that you doubt its capabilities, so it has threatened to prevent me from upgrading your Talent, if you don't change your tone… "
The room became so silent that one might even hear the sound of a single pin drop.