Michael studied the Heads and Elders, as they called each other, intently. The Heads belonged to a faction of warriors who had been fighting the Supreme Human Alliance for centuries. They had only been in the Council for a few hundred years, but their influence was huge.
Their impression was much better than that of the Elders, who were generally known as more cautious members of the Council. The Elders were scholars and would much rather focus on their people and progress than fight the Supreme Human Alliance.
The Nest Leader didn’t tell Michael which faction betrayed them, but it was probably the Heads if he had to guess. The ‘warriors’ were powerful Awakened, but they didn’t strike him as trustworthy. On the other hand, the Elders felt more genuine. They talked to him respectfully, gestured to him to sit down, and were polite enough to offer him something to drink.
It wasn’t like he needed anything, but the offer alone was already good enough to put Michael in a better mood.
“Commander Leix told us about your offer,” One of the Heads said curtly, “But there might have been a misunderstanding.” freewebnvel.coɱ
An Elder stood up and smiled at Michael, “First of all, I wish to welcome you to the Floating Union. We are happy to welcome another Curse User into this sacred place. After the last…debacle, we would like to apol–…”
“We do not talk about this,” Another Head said, smashing his fist on the table before pointing back at Michael. Tell us your offer. I sure hope your offer won’t be as bad as Commander Leix indicated.”
Michael had no idea what Commander Leix said, but he was fairly sure the Altors Commander relayed the information correctly. ‘They are trying to play with me. There are at least a dozen Tier-8 Awakened, and every one of the heads is a powerhouse as well. There are six Demi-Gods, and one of them is creepy. Did he use the potential accumulated within the Void Ingot on himself?’
Michael shrugged inwardly but smiled on the outside.
“My offer is simple. The Altors Union is still struggling against the Supreme Human Alliance even after I removed the Texorian Meteorite Streams and dozens of Hyuman Fortresses, creating an unguarded border for the Altors Union to strike. Even the Cosmos Beasts changed their targets under my influence. Yet, the Altors Union keeps making mistakes.” Michael chose the blunt and violent path this time. There was no need to beat around the bush here.
“I killed more than a hundred Divine Lifeforms, tens of thousands of Higher Lifeforms, and I wreaked havoc all across their Galaxies, only for the Altors Union to mess up over and over again. Still, I’m giving you the option to survive against the Supreme Human Alliance. I offer 2,000 Soultrait Symbols 4-Star and 5-Star to those Divine Lifeforms who offer to become my Subordinates.”
One of the Heads, the same violent, smashed his fist on the table again. The table – also made of Void Ingot, for the records – shook but didn’t break. Michael ignored the Heads and smiled at the others.
“You can reject my offer, and I’ll leave right away. But let me tell you something interesting. I will not stay and replace your forces in the Novix Galaxy. I can move wherever I want and even pull back from the fight for a few years to watch the Titan War unfold without me. My strength is growing by the day, and I think the Elders have already concluded what kind of Curse User I am.”
Michael noticed how different the gazes lingering on him were. Almost all Elders looked at him with hope and respect. They were willing to listen to his offer with genuine interest. This is not only because they were trying to strengthen their rows of defense by empowering their Divine Lifeforms with multiple powerful Soultrait Symbols but also to create more reasons for Michael to stay and fight for them.
“Is that a threat?” The strongest of the Heads asked, his tone suggesting he was still trying to determine what to think of Michael, his offer, and his…existence.
“No, I’m not threatening you or the Altors Union. I’m merely saying that I won’t stay in the Novix Galaxy forever because it would lead more enemies to this place. Or do you want to fight a Primal once they locate me?” Michael asked, and the man shook his head.
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The other Heads looked at him with slightly wide eyes, but the Elders nodded as if knowing what Michael was talking about.
“If you want to use some of my power without facing the threat of the Primal, you should accept my offer. I won’t tell the Divine Lifeforms of the Altors Union to follow me wherever I go. They can stay with the Altors Union and fight for you, but they’ll have to follow a few orders. That is about it.” Michael shrugged.
“What orders?” The strongest Head asked.
“I won’t be specific but simplified, I want some things and offer the Altors Union to strengthen your Divine Lifeforms and a promise not to hurt the Altors Union as long as you do not betray me or my people ever again.” Some Heads were in anger, but the Elders smiled.
“That sounds great! We would love—….” The Top Head interrupted the Elder with a wave of his hand.
“We will reconsider your offer. Do you want to stay here and meditate? We will inform you about our decision in less than 24 hours.”
The Elders frowned, but nobody dared to go up against the Top Head’s comment. “Since it’s not taking that long, I will mediate a little,” Michael announced and turned around. He left the massive mansion and sat cross-legged in the wide-open area of the Floating Union. He started meditating but released enough True Extraction Essence into the surroundings using Insert to prepare for what was bound to follow.
[What are you preparing for? The Elders are on your side.] Fenrir pointed out, noticing that something was off with Michael.
[But the Elders have no power. Brother, your isolation turned you into a foolish man. Or is it the connection to Michael that weakened you? Maybe you acquired Michael’s foolishness while he progressed.] Jormungadnr joked. Fenrir growled and started a fight with his siblings while Michael isolated them from his mind. They could continue fighting while he focused on the task ahead. There was no reason to trust the Altors Union at this point. They’d betrayed the Nest, and the Heads didn’t strike him as trustworthy either.
The sole reason he offered the Altors Union more Soultrait Symbols was to acquire a few hundred Divine Lifeforms as Subordinates in the first place. His hope was that the Altors Union would gain some traction and distract the Supreme Human Alliance while Michael and the Super Awakened would travel the Supreme Human Alliance’s territory to eliminate a bunch of enemies.
In the first place, the Divine Lifeforms, who would become his Subordinates, were bound to acquire enough corpses of powerhouses, which Michael could then extract. The investment of 2,000 Soultrait Symbols was bound to be returned with huge compound interest. ‘Come at me and betray me. I will be prepared!’
