The overwhelming power of Michael’s Untamed Awakened, combined with the support of the Untamed Army, was enough to defeat Olivia Blaze and her subordinates.
Once Olivia died, the Awakened tried fleeing. They scattered in all directions, hoping to survive, but Michael and his subjects didn’t let them. Leaving behind a single Awakened in the Sacred Desert could end badly. The survivors could recover, grow stronger, and attack Michael’s people as he expanded throughout the Sacred Desert. The chance was present, enough reason to slay the Awakened to remove any possibility of retaliation.
Conquering the settlement had been fairly simple, but the innocent citizens posed a problem. Michael was unsure what to do with them. He could slaughter them for their energy influx and the loot their corpses would produce, but killing the innocent after the battle ended didn’t mate him better than the Blaze Patriarch and his family members.
“How about you give them a choice?” Tiara asked, her fur drenched in sweat, blood, and body parts, “They can decide whether they want to become your subjects or if they want to leave the Sacred Desert. How about giving them some water and food – just enough to leave the Sacred Desert and rations for a few more days – before telling them to make a choice?”
Michael predicted that Olivia’s settlement had already more than one million subjects and that they had been summoned to empower Olivia’s Soultrait with soul power. Most civilian Summons were malnourished and thirsty. “If I’m not wrong, they’re not far from dying of thirst,” Michael mumbled, but he nodded slowly. He doubted they would like him for bombarding the settlement with a meteorite, killing thousands, but giving them a chance didn’t seem like a bad option. They could choose whether to leave the Sacred Desert or to come with him.
And, if they didn’t like any of the two options, they could always die.
Michael nodded and deployed some people to take care of anything. A handful of Awakened would stay in the settlement with many combatants of the Untamed Army to spread the word. They would explain what was about to happen and bring the civilian Summons, willing to join Michael, to the Path Fortress in Paradise Valley. Once in the Path Fortress, they would be cared for until Michael returned to establish a Link of Loyalty.
Michael ushered his orders to the people around him and nodded in satisfaction.
He wasn’t too worried about the safety of the people he would leave behind. None of the civilian summons was at a high Tier. Even if they were, they were merely civilians. Their combat prowess was below average – by far.
Following the destruction of the settlement, the death of more than 1,000 Awakened working for the Blaze household, and the death of roughly 100,000 combat Summons, Michael and his people moved on.
They used the momentum and knowledge – acquired from Olivia Blaze’s memories, both through Mind Reader and her Memory Orbs – Michael knew what he had to do.
The Untamed Army moved through the Sacred Desert without stopping. They were still full of vigor and ready to slaughter their enemies.
That was exactly what happened.
Michael and his people reached the next settlement after a sprint of more than a dozen kilometers. At their current level, even the weakest members of the Untamed Army could cross such a distance in no time. It was even easier for the others, especially Michael and the other High Awakened. They could run at top speed for hours if needed.
“It looks like they’re not expecting us,” Frederik noted in confusion when he saw the sentries strolling around mindlessly. They weren’t even trying to act like they were working. That was odd, even though it was the best solution for Michael and his people.
“Olivia didn’t notify anyone. The Blaze Patriarch must have noticed that his beloved daughter died, but it looks like he didn’t message anyone either. Or the Lord of this settlement, cousin of Olivia or something like that, doesn’t care. Maybe he is asleep or idling around,” Michael shrugged, only for Mika to intercept in excitement.
“Or he’s having fun with some women!” Mika was way too excited. It was understandable as the young Forest Elf was slowly but steadily inching closer to the Peak of Tier-3. He was not yet there, but it was only a matter of time and resources. The latter was something Mika could acquire easily once the Blaze household ceased to exist. The skirmishes with the Lords of the Blaze household were exactly what Mika and many Awakened and combat Summons needed to acquire a small fortune of Jungle Points.
Michael was certain that a bunch of Awakened would breakthrough the months following the Blaze household’s destruction, but that was a good thing. He awaited their progress eagerly.
“They didn’t bother activating an Advanced Protection Dome or the like. That was probably too expensive. Everyone must have focused on their military might to remove the remaining Lords of the Sacred Desert, ignoring their defenses,” Legion commented with disgust. A Lord who couldn’t protect his people was weak.
Michael didn’t know much about Legion, but he learned some things about the Silverfang Warrior since he summoned him. For example, it was easy to understand that Legion was similar to Berserkers in many ways. He loved combat and could be found training the Berserkers often. Legion was often more around the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs than his people.
At first, Michael didn’t understand what was going on. He had been certain Legion would stay by Tiara’s side and that he would never leave the Silverfang Princess again. Michael turned out to be wrong. Legion, who was around the Silverfang Princess for a while to protect her, turned away from Tiara after finding out that, while she might be at the top of the territory, she was not even close to becoming the Lordess and Ruler. The Silverfangs sought.
Tiara would never become like her father. Legion realized that and grew distant from the Silverfang Princess, who was happy with the way things turned out. She never wanted to rule over others and was satisfied like this. However, Legion wasn’t. Not at first, at least.
It took a while, but Legion warmed up to the other races of Michael’s territory, and at last, he got closer to the Untamed Awakened as well. He wasn’t buddied with Michael, but Michael could tell that Legion treated him like a Lord. It was almost like Legion found what he sought in Tiara…in Michael.
What exactly that was, Michael wasn’t sure. However, Legion’s Link of Loyalty was firm, and it grew even stronger by the day.
“Zeroa and I will teleport everyone inside. After that, we ca–…” Michael was about to give orders when his eyes fell upon the Golden Queen Bee and her army of children. The Behemoth Elephant and Minor Typhoon Rocs were also with them. Even Sun Demos and his army of evolved Blood Oath Demon Monkeys were present. 𝑓𝘳𝘸𝘰𝓋.𝒸𝘰𝑚
“Change of plans,” Michael licked his lips in excitement. It had been a while since his monsters had been given the opportunity to let loose.
This was going to be fun.