The situation was so simple that it was complicated again. At least, that’s how Michael felt.
The memories of the two Lionheart Awakened showed Michael that the Adventurers in the Zentika Empire’s camps had been given special missions.
One of the special missions was to look for settlements in the Untamed Jungle and to watch out for the Lord of the Untamed Jungle while procuring food rations from the overflowing population of the Untamed Jungle.
Meanwhile, others were given other missions. For example, one of the Lionheart Adventurers heard from his friend to mark the Untamed Jungle with his Soultraits and install small magical objects that acted similar to the Orbs of Hostility and the Pillar of Territorial Awareness.
The quality and effectiveness of the magical objects were incredibly low, but that was what made it much easier to mass-produce them.
Michael compared the magical objects to security cameras in his mind, though they were not the same. The objects were a hassle, and it would be better to remove them soon.
It was a good thing that he knew what to look for with Spirit Eyes now that he got to know about the magical objects’ existence.
Interestingly enough, only Adventurers were given those special missions. That was what made it so simple to solve the situation; Killing all Adventurers would remove the threats.
Unfortunately, that simple solution was also what turned everything far more complicated than it had to be. Killing the Adventurers would attract the Zentika Empire’s attention. This was even more problematic since the Adventurers roamed around with the Soldiers of the Zentika Empire.
The Adventurers forwarded detailed information about their whereabouts and their movements for the day in case an ‘accident’ happened. That meant, killing more Adventurers would provide the Zentika Empire information about Michael’s whereabouts.
The Zentika Empire’s forces would slowly spread through the Untamed Jungle until they met with resistance, blocking them from further advancing. That would give them hints about potential locations of settlements, or monster hideouts.
‘Annihilating their camps wouldn’t be an issue, but the aftermath is not something I can handle. If the population’s morale decreases further, the council might make a move. I might be able to handle a few Tier-4 Adventurers with shameless cheating, but I cannot deal with the council’s members.’ 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝘮
Fighting Natives, or Adventurers at the 5th Tier was not something Michael could accomplish anytime soon. Therefore, he had to avoid pushing the Zentika Empire into a corner. It might be a bit easier to do something if the Savannah Region didn’t pose any danger, but that was not the case. The Regional War in the Savannah Region was growing more intense by the day.
‘If Sun Demos and the Demon Monkeys stir the predators up north it should be feasible to slow the Zentika Empire’s advances without exposing myself.’
Instead of exposing himself openly, Michael felt that it might be better to play with the Soldier’s psyche. He made a decisive decision by allowing the ordinary Zentika Soldiers to enter the deeper parts of the Untamed Jungle.
However, that didn’t mean that Michael would allow them to return safely. Not without causing some mental trauma, at least.
The Untamed Jungle was already renowned as a fiendish existence, a magical forest born from ill intentions.
Michael’s actions in the past, such as his merciless movements against the Jungle Expedition, the bloody murders at night, and the detonation of Chaos Pills that had terrific aftermath on the small city bordering the Untamed Jungle, had been more than enough to plant a small seed of fear in the hearts of the people all over the Zentika Empire.
Enraging the Untamed Jungle was not something the population wanted, but they would starve soon. The Zentika Empire had loans to pay back as well. They were in dire need of food, and resources. The Untamed Jungle was the perfect solution to all problems.
Michael understood their feelings. The Lionheart Awakened’s memories showed him precisely how everyone in the Zentika Empire felt, what they feared, and what they were hoping for.
He could use their emotions and fears against them by relying on the Greater Nature Spirit’s power, and the Elemental Empress’ Nature Affinity to his advantage.
Michael was going to play dirty.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
**
Several weeks passed since the large battle in the Savannah Region and Michael’s meeting with Sun Demos.
The members of the Savannah Expedition managed to grow stronger. Their teamwork improved and their combat experience skyrocketed. Most Holy Knights managed to increase their rank, and many members that had been stuck at the Peak of the 2nd Tier achieved their long-awaited breakthrough to Tier-3.
This was only possible because the Trilance decided to take advantage of the momentum and attack several settlements of the Council. They managed to destroy two settlements that had been constructed not too long ago, therefore, pushing the Council of Xylon further away.
The Savannah Expedition lost a few members due to unforeseen events, but the casualties remained on the lower end of the scale. They didn’t face another disaster like the death of 100 members either. The members of the Savannah Expedition learned from their mistakes.
Michael wasn’t idle either. He managed to use Zeroa’s Nature Affinity through Taming and Power Share. It took him a while to combine the Elemental Empress’ lesser nature affinity with the Greater Nature Spirit, but it was possible to control the Greater Nature Spirit’s roots to a certain extent.
His firm Link of Loyalty with the Greater Nature Spirit helped a lot. Using the firm Link of Loyalty and Zeroa’s Lesser Nature Affinity, Michael managed to kill a few dozen Awakened and inflict mortal injuries upon others.
The forces of the Zentika Empire were quite annoying. They moved around in small groups, using small magical objects that cast shrouds of distortion around them. The magical objects distorted their presence, which made it much harder for others to perceive them.
Even the Greater Nature Spirit had a hard time finding the forces of the Zentika Empire.
The only good thing was that Michael grew tremendously in the last few weeks. He managed to use trickery to hunt the Zentika Empire’s Soldiers and Adventurers. Roots burst out of the ground, swallowing Soldiers when they expected it the least, only for High Beasts to appear out of nowhere. 𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Michael didn’t hunt any High Beasts, but combining Extraction, the dragon might, and his natural killing intent startled some monsters enough to push them closer to the Zentika Empire’s forces. Startled, and enraged, the monsters attacked the nearby Soldiers and Adventurers.
It was a little bit difficult to control roots in the distance in the first few weeks, but with enough practice, effort and a lot of willpower, Michael managed to properly use his powers with the Greater Nature Spirit to attack the Zentika Empire’s forces.
At first, the attacks were merely meant to scare the Zentika Empire, ensuring that the seed of fear in their hearts would blossom. However, the initial attacks were not enough to scare most Adventurers.
They had to be struck, pierced, and whipped by the roots, clawed, and ripped apart by the monsters before they comprehended that the Untamed Jungle retaliated against their invasion.
Once the Adventurers realized that the Untamed Jungle worked against them, the seed of fear infested every part of their being. Their minds and hearts were filled together with doubts and worries, which created it easier for Michael to focus on other tasks.
The Greater Nature Spirit, the Forest Pixies, Sun Demos, his Demon Monkey Unit, Tatjana, and the rest could take care of the scared forces of the Zentika Empire, while Michael could lean back…and torture himself by training tirelessly.
Torture was the most suitable word for what Michael did to himself. He spend nearly 80% of the day researching his soul in-
depth before attempting to practice Sanctum of Life. Unfortunately, his soul was a lot more complex than expected. Even after weeks of research, Michael couldn’t practice Sanctum of Life without feeling constant pain.
Practicing Sanctum of Life wasn’t supposed to be painful, but Michael had to accept that flaw if he couldn’t comprehend the essence of his soul. And that was going to take a while.
IF he’d managed to comprehend the essence of his soul, it would require months, if not years of research. Why? Because his Soul was everchanging. Every single SoulStar Fragment channeled into the Sphere of Light or Soultrait Symbol altered his soul.
It was only a minuscule change, but the massive number of minuscule changes created a big impact. Even worse was the impact whenever he created a new Soul Socket, and upon fusing together with a new Soultrait. Even the Soultraits he’d removed from his War Rune had permanently marked his Soul.
Other than Sanctum of Life, Wisdom Breaker was also a self-
torture device. Michael felt stupid for being such a masochist, but he desired to develop stronger as quickly as possible. Thus, he cracked his mind, mended the wound, and cracked his mind all over again. The process was not physically painful, but it was mental torture.
The only advantage of cracking his mind and mending it all over again was the incredible effects of Wisdom Breaker. It refined his mind much faster than any other technique, mostly thanks to the additional portions of the Tekur’s Elite Class Technique, but it also strengthened his mind.
Michael was certain that his mind might be capable of blocking various mental attacks together with his indomitable mind. Wisdom Breaker’s intensity increased as his mind grew stronger, and more resilient, allowing his mind to develop stronger and stronger by the day.
Following the Mind and Soul refinement, Consirat of War was much more pleasant to practice, just like Primordial Pillar, Pantheon’s Dawn, and Leviathan Diffusion. The only other technique that was painful to practice was Breath of the Underworld. It was true torture, just like Wisdom Breaker and Sanctum of Life.
However, his strength was not the only thing that changed. His territory changed a lot as well.
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