I returned with Janet and Edward back to the Crystal Forest Dungeon and instantly received a warning from Ruiell that the Gryphon Scion was on his way. He somehow managed to announce himself to her. With just a single thought, I instantly teleported everything and everyone to Twilight Dungeon. I did it to make sure that the enemy scion wouldn't flee as soon as it spotted my forces occupying the Crystal Forest Dungeon. I couldn't believe my luck - if I managed to capture and convert the Scion the same way I managed to convert Lance, I would obtain an invaluable source of information about our enemy. I hid myself under an illusion and, for good measure, I teleported near the last spot where it landed last time. I hid in a fake tree and waited. The Gryphon landed arrogantly, almost one hour later, and I immediately recognised him.

  "Ruiell!" He shouted in fury. "This is your last chance to surrender!"

  "Battlefield of Armageddon. Limitless blades." I dropped my disguise and covered us under a barrier. "Tixlon! Long time no see!"

  "I don't remember being acquainted with a mortal..." He growled and looked at a large ring of my swords that suddenly encompassed us. "Who are you?!"

  "Oh, we’ve never met in person." I laughed and looked at the specific place on the barrier. "Whoever was following you, they are rather desperately trying to breach my barrier. Well... At this rate, they will probably need a few more months..."

  "You're bluffing..." Tixlon shot a nervous gaze at the barrier.

  "Whatever, man...umm, beast… umm, dude." I shrugged with a wide smile. "You have no idea how much easier you just made my life! And,” chuckling, “... one more thing,... I'm not a mortal, you see."

  "You..." Tixlon gasped in horror as I began to unleash my power. "Who... What are you?"

  "I'm the master of the Vampires that almost killed you the last time you invaded Arcadia. I see that you never applied for a visa..." I chuckled and saw the realisation dawn upon the Gryphon. I turned more serious. "I'm the Emperor of Arcadia," I pointed to the ground. "The very area you have dared to attack. I am the Lord of Ruiell."

  "I see... So she sealed her fate. Unless you are willing to surrender." He looked at me with ridiculous dignity. He was in no position to fight me.

  A fairly powerful presence appeared and demanded my unconditional surrender. But it was far less imposing than I expected after the stories about Vestargo. I felt his surprise which turned into shock when I responded with an even greater power, demanding his surrender instead. It was a silent contest of power that abruptly ended in a draw.

  "I didn't expect that..." Tixlon mumbled and took a few steps back. "I would never expect to meet another Ancient Lord..."

  "So what about me being a Mortal?" I flashed my teeth in a vicious grin.

  "I have made a huge mistake but it doesn't matter." The Gryphon eyed me grudgingly. "When we meet the next time-"

  "Oh, no. There won’t be a next time because you aren’t going anywhere." I interrupted him as Stella was teleported and appeared right behind me. To preserve Stella's power, my wives initiated her teleportation since my dungeon movement was restricted due to the presence of an enemy. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours."

  "What are you talking about?!" He reached for the barrier that stopped him and violently pushed. In shock at his powerlessness, Tixlon lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Just kill me!"

  He quickly stood up, changed his mind, and lowered his head, flapping his wings to propel himself towards us in a vain attack attempt.

  "Oh, hell no! Stella." I loudly snapped with my fingers and Stella cast her most powerful binding spells on the enemy scion. "I won’t allow a hair to fall from your head! My new little, precious, fountain of information! Oh, no, no, no! You can surrender to me, right now, and become one of my denizens. Or, you can surrender to me later after we break your spirit in prison; I don't really care, but I guarantee you that you will surrender in the end. It doesn't matter what it will take: time, inflicted pain, or any other forms of convincing..."

  "N-no! I won't betray my Lady! I-I can't..." I saw the panic in his eyes. He couldn't even move the tip of his wings under Stella's spells.

  "I knew you weren't Vestargo's scion..." I smiled as I approached him. "Tell me where she is."

  "Never!" He thrashed like a weak fish in the magic binds which made him look pathetic.

  "Only I can save her from Vestargo." I offered him a solution.

  "Your armies are powerful but you can't fight him..." He looked at me with hate. "But don't think the army that stopped us last time will be enough to even delay Emperor Vestargo! He will cover the entire world with his sacred forest!"

  "You have seen nothing yet... The army that you are preparing to attack my Empire will be destroyed long before it reaches the shores of Arcadia. They are as good as dead, thank you for all the mana I will receive." I said and saw shock that quickly turned into resignation. It was Tixlon who showed the army to Ruiell, after all. "I'm not concerned with Vestargo's armies. The only thing I'm concerned about is the time I will waste looking for that cowardly insect."

  "Don't worry. He is coming for you after what you have... shown... What... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" He cried in panic.

  "Ahhh... That must be Galahad!" I laughed seeing his shocked reaction. "Was it your Mistress's voice? She’s probably distressed..."

  "What are you doing?!" Tixlon tried to rise to his legs but the binding spells painfully burned into his flesh, causing him to fall again.

  "Woah! Slow down, boy. We don't want you to hurt yourself too much, do we? You arrived on my porch like a golden bird sent by the heavens." I gently smoothed his feathers as I poured a healing potion over his wounds. "One of my Scions just cut down the buffer zone in that sacred forest of yours so it means he’s established a foothold. From now on, it's Vestargo who has to worry where I strike."

  "He... He will destroy you!"

  "No..." I grinned. "But he will certainly try."

  "Please-"

  "Your loyalty is commendable and honourable, Tixlon. But I have told you already: I will only release you as my Denizen." I interrupted him. "It's not just a war between me and Vestargo. This war is going to determine the fate of this continent and, in the broader picture, the entire world. If I have to, his precious forest will burn and there will be nothing he can do to stop me."

  "Vestargo will never forgive you!"

  "Good! Because it would be a nuisance if he suddenly disappeared and holed up in some filthy cave, wouldn't it?" I chuckled.

  "You have no idea what kind of power you challenged! He’s trapped Gods within his labyrinth!"

  "I killed Jukk'nala and enslaved Hur'zhun, Tixlon. Do you think I am afraid of someone like Vestargo?" I shook my head. "Tell your Mistress that I can protect her. In fact, I will invest massively in her and change her into my bastion to fight Vestargo."

  "He won't let her go... He will destroy her if she even thinks about rebellion." Tixlon bitterly cried.

  "You are not the one who gets to decide. You are to, only, convey my message!" I raised my voice and used my Royal Authority skill.

  "She... She will consider your offer if you release me."

  "I will release you only if she surrenders to me. Otherwise, you will have to suffice..."

  "She can't do that now!"

  "Then, I can only encourage her to rethink her stance. I don't intend to kill any Dungeons needlessly, Tixlon. But I won't allow Vestargo to grow any more. I can let him live if he releases his slaves including the other Dungeons. But, if he wants to continue... I won't hesitate to kill him and everyone who serves him, willingly or not."

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  "I beg you..."

  "There is nothing more to discuss. Take him away, Stella. Make sure he is safe and, mostly, cosy. I want all of his knowledge."

  "Yes, your Majesty." Stella slightly inclined her head and teleported away, taking the Gryphon straight to prison in Avalon.

  I dissolved the barrier and pinpointed the location of that, frustratingly, persistent sniper after it tried to hit me again and again. I deflected the final magic projectile with a broadsword and summoned my Hunters. The enemy was so far away that I had to send Thor and Arani to hunt them down. Having two scions who served Vestargo would be extremely helpful. Hopefully, they can manage to bring it to me alive.

  "Ruiell?" I addressed her as I started bringing back everything I moved to the Twilight Dungeon.

  "Yes, my Lord?" She responded meekly and immediately.

  "Once we break Tixlon, I will let you have the option to create a Gryphon spawner. Your Flying Monkeys were beyond saving and I had to scrap them."

  "Thank you, my Lord! Gryphons are extremely useful and very powerful denizens!" She was delighted and fairly quickly warmed up to me.

  I looked around as everyone returned and I immediately summoned Jasper to begin building another Dungeon City. Pyonta and Terion were almost here so I focused on my Slime Maids and asked, through them, if any of my wives wanted to join me. After a bit, Tia appeared with her company of Praetorians and smiled at me.

  "I don't know if I will be of any help but everyone seemed busy... Irene, Luna, Aoi, Hestia, and Cahrona were very excited when Stella arrived with the enemy scion."

  "Well... Good luck to Tixlon when those five start interrogating him." I smirked. "You weren't interested?"

  "Maybe a little..." She slowly shook her head. "Luna is much better suited for something like that... I much prefer the straightforwardness of the Guardsmen Corps."

  "Life is rarely straightforward..." I sighed and offered her my arm. "So Luna finally gave you control over the Guardsmen Corps?"

  "I didn't want it..." Tia's ears flattened but she snuggled herself into my side.

  "Oh, please, my Kitten... Luna has her hands full with the Inquisition and Intelligence Agencies. I'm glad that you are willing to help her!" I said and Tia brightened. "Look... I know that this change was a huge one for you and Mia but your sister found something for herself quickly. I was worried about you, Tia."

  "It's just..." She puffed her cheeks and released the air in a loud sigh. "I thought that Luna was happy being the Commander of the Mortal Soldiers of Arcadia. I thought it was a very prestigious function until I learnt that Luna was also leading four, or possibly more, organisations! I have no idea how you were able to run the entire Empire before Amber, Irene, and Luna forced you to allow them to help you!"

  "A lot of processing power and using working templates. It's actually good you are here, Tia because we will need to greatly increase the amount of Guardsmen. I think at least four or five new regiments will be required but don't ask me where we will find enough people." I laughed nervously and teleported us into the newly built main castle in the middle of the Dungeon.

  "My Lord!" Ruiell welcomed me from one of her pedestals. She had several that were placed in various rooms of the castle. Her enthusiasm changed into confusion as she focused on Tia. "My... My Lady?"

  "Hello, Ruiell." Tia smiled as she sat on her throne. "Are you surprised?"

  "I... Yes." The Crystal Forest Dungeon Core confirmed with a fascinated voice.

  "Why?" Tia tilted her head. "Because I'm a Mortal?"

  "What? No! The Emperor can do whatever he wants." She was shocked by my wife's assumption. "It's just... I can't really say what race you belong to, Empress Tia."

  "Isn't that obvious?" The Nekomi smiled and her ears flicked in amusement.

  "Well... If you put it that way, the most obvious way to describe you would be as a daughter of Nekota."

  "You mean a Nekomi?" Tia corrected her with a smile.

  "A Nekomi is just a Beastkin that shares features with felines." Ruiell sounded as if she were rolling her eyes. I was listening to them with great surprise since I had no idea of the nuance of it. "You may say that children of Nekota should be Royalty among the Nekomi, however, that is not the case. Beings like you are extremely rare, my Lady... But you... You are something greater. Your auric presence is incredibly strong. Almost like Nekota herself..."

  "Hold on. Who is Nekota?" I asked as I put my hand over the slightly trembling hand of Tia.

  "She had many names but Nekotas descend directly from her and Nekomis are considered her people," Ruiell explained. "I knew her as Ailuros, the warrior Goddess and the Goddess of love and healing..."

  "Ailuros... That rings a bell." I said and focused. That name sounded Greek so it could have been associated with some ancient goddess; however, in my wildest dreams, I had not anticipated that my mythology memories would be useful and, that's why, I had no books about it in my library. Well, except for the things I still remembered. "Sooo... What kind of horrible catch is tied with that Nekota?"

  "I'm sorry? I'm afraid I don't understand..."

  "Look... Whenever someone drops a piece of news like that, I want to know what I have to prepare for. Assassins trying to hurt Tia? Or maybe some crazed cultists who believe that sacrificing my wife would bring back their goddess?"

  "Not really... I don't know if there are any dangers waiting for the Empress but she, herself, is a very powerful person. Much more powerful than the other children of Nekota I’ve met before." Ruiell chuckled.

  "What about my sister then?" Tia tilted her head in confusion.

  "That depends..." Ruiell started slowly.

  Tia popped away and reappeared quickly, holding Mia's shoulder. Idna, who, at that moment, was giving Mia a small pile of paper, was probably included in the teleport by accident but she remained calm.

  "Sister I don't really have time for... Oh, hi Theon." Mia looked at me with surprise.

  "Oh, that's just very interesting..." Ruiell seemed shocked. "I assume that you are my Lady as well, the sister of Empress Tia?"

  "Your assumption is correct. My name is Mia." Mia nodded as she looked around. "What's..."

  I raised my hand to stop Mia and let Ruiell continue who instantly hummed. "Indeed, you are both incredibly powerful daughters of Nekota but the third one is also another daughter. Less powerful, on par with those I met so long ago..."

  "Mr Fluffles once called me a child of Nekota but I wasn't aware it was something special..." Idna's eyes went wide.

  "It means that your potential is incomparable to other Nekomis, miss..."

  "Idna. I'm the Grand Master of the Arcadian Adventurers' Guild."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you."

  "All right... It looks like almost everyone is almost here, so I'm sorry, Mia and Idna, for interrupting you. You can return to your work unless you want to stay."

  "Not really. I have a lot of things to do at home. See you later." Mia smiled and teleported away with Idna, using her own Dungeon Movement skill.

  "There is so much I don't know about this world..." I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned onto the throne.

  "If you want to feel better, it was the first time I have heard about Nekota." Tia chuckled as the doors to the war room opened.

  Ten people entered the room and, while four of them took their seats, the remaining six were reluctant.

  "I'll be as brief as possible." I nodded towards Pyonta and her husband. "From now on, this is your new regional capital. I’ll leave you with Ruiell and the decision on what to name the city."

  "As you wish, my Lord." Pyonta nodded and looked at her husband. "We need to quickly move here, John."

  I started to continue but felt the train of my thoughts derail. I was certain that Lord Terion's first name was Jehaness. Well, I certainly wouldn't be arguing with his wife about that...

  "I expect you, according to your families’ traditions, to have a fully functional shipyard, similar to the one in Avalon, operational by the end of the month, Lord John. As soon as possible, you will begin replacing the ships of the Second Fleet with the Sabre class destroyers." I said and saw Pyonta's eyes sparkle with glee while her husband widely smiled.

  "As you wish, my Lord!" Terion bowed eagerly. "I'm honoured to be trusted with the production of the ships of the Royal Navy!"

  "You’ve proved your loyalty." I nodded and looked toward the holographic image of Elisabeth and Raphael who just joined remotely.

  "We are sorry for being late, my Lord," Elisabeth said and bowed to me with her husband.

  "I'm glad you managed to join at all. I know that you are busy but the war with Vestargo broke sooner than I anticipated." I said and pointed at the map. "Currently, Galahad with four Legions engaged in a preemptive strike. He secured an excellent position in the mountains where the Legions built a fort. According to his reports, it will be easy to reinforce it or build a castle if we need it. Using our new field artillery, called Crusader, Galahad began to level the Ancient Forest in the proximity of the foothold. This is our direct response to the invasion being executed by Vestargo."

  Everyone looked at me in shock and only Janet and Edward were calm, as they already knew.

  "I..." I almost stuttered when I received another report. "Galahad's forces were just attacked by some huge, mantis-like monsters. So far, they haven’t gotten closer than two kilometres to the fort but we can already confirm that we have Vestargo's attention. In the meantime, a task force consisting of Victory and nine other ships, mostly belonging to the privateers, will be tasked with destroying the invasion army. Don't take any risks, just destroy their ships and make a visible dent in their army. Jasper is tinkering with the range of your ships’ weapons Blackbeard but that's their last mission with this gun configuration."

  I presented them with the images Ruiell managed to reproduce from her memory. The entire bay was swarming with various monsters and large barge-like ships. I personally had my doubts about the capabilities of a barge to cross the bay, but they had thousands of them.

  "Gods..." Elisabeth slowly shook her head.

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!

  The map of Aderon is on the Discord :)

  https://discord.gg/G6SVrBeDdG