Michael was unsure if Tiara could think straight in her current condition. The battle had consumed her rationality, and it would take a while before the effect of Silvarean Tiger would wear off. ‘I should wait until she’s a bit calmer. There is no way I can ask her about her brother like this.’ He looked at Tiara, covered in blood, intestines, and body parts. The wild glint in her eyes was enough to tell Michael he had to wait.
But that didn’t mean he had to postpone asking Caesus as well. Michael could tell Caesus, the former prince of the Silverfang Tigerfolk, was far from timid. He looked dignified and disciplined. His height of 1.9 meters was above the Silverfangs’ average, and so was the amount of muscles covering his entire body. He was extremely muscular, enough to consider him one of the Berserkers’ rivals, which was only friendly competition. He had a short three-day beard, sharp ocean-blue eyes, and his long hair was pulled back to a man bun.
It was unclear what happened before Caesus was summoned or before the Silverfang Tigerfolk escaped into the Origin Expanse. Still, Michael saw a strong, disciplined warrior with great strategic thinking when he looked at Caesus.
‘Maybe he is a bit foolish for attacking a Higher Lifeform at the 2nd Tier, but he is still alive, and he killed the Higher Lifeform. But then again, Daniel did most of the work, alongside the support of the other Silverfangs’ Boost Soultrait.’ Michael shrugged, his attention lingering on Caesus. Caesus was only at the 2nd Tier but had great martial mastery, including an exceptional understanding of most weapons. Still, it was rather stupid to fight a Higher Lifeform, even if he managed to land the killing blow, rewarding him with the energy influx.
Caesus would also be rewarded with Jungle Points for fighting at the frontlines and for every Awakened he’d slain, which could be transformed into more Soultraits or to upgrade his existing 1-Star Soultrait.
The more Michael thought about it, the more he liked Caesus. It was obvious, but Michael fought similarly to Caesus – above their weight class.
The gains from dealing with enemies stronger than them were too good to be true. At least, that was the case for Michael due to Extraction.
‘Is he desperate to change, or is that guilt pushing him to do something?’ Michael didn’t sense any fear or desperation from Cassus, and he was fairly certain that his assumption was correct. Caesus was calculative and volatile. It was questionable if the latter was a good thing, but Michael would leave him be as long as Caesus didn’t endanger anyone other than his own life.
It was a matter of fact that Caesus’ Link of Loyalty was strong. However, he was not connected to Tiara like the other Silverfangs. Caesus was only connected to Michael, and some Silverfangs – of the newest batch – were connected to Caesus, removing the burden of their Link of Loyalty for Michael.
That was already unexpected because Michael predicted Tiara would be the only one capable of carrying the burden of her race, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Caesus could do the same and more. There was no burden to his Link of Loyalty. Instead, Michael felt Caesus’ Link of Loyalty reinforced all Links of Loyalty with the Silverfang Tigerfolk. That also included the Links of Loyalty connected to Tiara.
‘Is he capable of strengthening his race’s Links of Loyalty because he is their rightful heir, or is it because of his Soultrait? His Soultrait is…unique…’ Michael tilted his head, having difficulty understanding everything about Caesus.
The settlement conquest concluded fast after the Blaze Lord’s death. More than 1,000 Awakened and close to 110,000 Combat Summons died on the Blaze Lord’s side, while the casualty rate on Michael’s side was insignificant in comparison. Nonetheless, Michael didn’t feel great. Almost 10,000 Summons and more than 100 Awakened died in the first two battles against the Lords of the Blaze household.
The majority of deaths were from the weakest Summons and Awakened. However, there were also some powerhouses who’d been pushed over the edge. They had been too confident in their capabilities and suffered greatly. Michael was displeased with the arrogance of some Awakened, but the deaths of their friends and comrades solved that problem magically. He wasn’t happy about the deaths, but they forced both Awakened and Summons of the Untamed Army to get their act together.
They plundered the settlement and told the remaining citizens to make a choice. Like the citizens in Olivia’s settlement, they were told to either leave the Sacred Desert, join Michael as his subjects, or die.
Michael didn’t force them to make the decision right now. He left some Awakened and Summons behind – primarily those who were too exhausted and unwilling to keep going and spill more blood for today. They wished to conquer the Sacred Desert slowly. Michael couldn’t accept that. Slow wasn’t acceptable in the current situation. Michael and his people had to conquer as many opponents as possible before the Blaze Patriarch would come their way. The fewer Tier-5 Awakened Michael left behind on the Blaze household’s side, the easier he could deal with them.
But before they left to conquer the next settlement, everyone was given one hour to rest. That was enough time to heal the wounded and organize everything.
Michael talked a little with the Starheaven Pharaoh, who devised a plan to deal with the Blaze Patriarch and his people. The plan was interesting, but Michael was unsure if it would work out. The Starheaven Pharaoh explained a few things, to which Michael responded by purchasing the Origin Watch.
Once done, Michael treated Caesus’ wounds. He nearly lost a limb fighting some Tier-3 Awakened but survived somehow. He had to be treated with great care.
“I want to continue fighting!” Caesus declared, “I’m not yet done.”
Michael raised an eyebrow when he arrived before the former crown prince and nodded slowly.
“Don’t resist me,” He said aloud, using River of Vigor to mend Caesus’ wounds while invading his mind with Mind Reader. Mind Reader wasn’t unleashed to the fullest, but that wasn’t necessary in the first place. Caesus couldn’t differentiate Mind Reader and River of Vigor as they affected him simultaneously. He didn’t block his invasion and openly revealed his memories and thoughts to Michael as his wounds healed.
Michael found out what he needed until Caesus was fully healed, and he decided…to ignore Tiara’s hatred for Caesus.
Caesus had only a 1-Star Soultrait, a Soultrait he didn’t know how to use properly just yet. The information influx he’d obtained mentioned a need for Descendants and Children for him to grow stronger. It was a power boost related to his bloodline. Unfortunately, at best, the power boost was minor as his Soultrait was only 1-Star.
That didn’t seem important at first because his Soultrait was why Caesus had been considered a failure since the day he awakened, but his Father never treated him like a failure. He trained his oldest son as the hidden heir while announcing Tiara as the official heir. Tiara never knew about that, but her father wanted to tell her. However, the Demis attacked the Silverfang Tigerfolk before he could, forcing them to retreat into the Origin Expanse.
Tiara last saw Caesus and their Father before she was pushed into the Runic Gate.
What she didn’t know and didn’t want to accept was that their father knocked Caesus out before throwing him into the Origin Expanse behind.
Their father died, but not without transferring all racial rights and the authority of the Silverfangs to Caesus, who realized what had happened only after he was summoned into Michael’s territory.
That was fair, but Tiara didn’t know about anything. She considered Caesus a failure. That was all he was in her eyes.
Michael was curious, but he shrugged. Their quarrel had nothing to do with him. Not yet, at least.
‘They can solve their sibling problems without me.’ **
Updatd frm frewebnov(e)l.com