“You want me to make them into my Sworn?” David asked with a raised eyebrow and gestured to the Unitas siblings. “All of them?”
Lukas nodded seriously. It had been a while since they had spoken, and their relationship was not exactly at a stage where they asked each other for favors like that. If anything, David was more of Lukas’ boss.
“They want to help you after everything you have done to help them. Maja spoke with them about the settlements Zachariah marked, and they want to lighten the weight you, Maja, and the rest have to carry. The triplets want to do more than a handful of interrogations every day. Their abilities can be used for so much more, yet you ignore them,” Lukas explained.
David didn’t see it that way, but Lukas was not entirely wrong. He had been so busy with his abilities, the dozen requests he’d received from the Pantheon gods, and the many settlements they would have to relocate—if they were willing to move to Orhain in the first place—that he had forgotten all about the people in Orhain.
And while it was apparent that he couldn’t take care of everyone, the least he could do was guide those who could lead and protect others.
Their bonds were stronger than the norm by a large margin, and they continued to grow. Initially, the bonds showed David their doubts and suspicions; they did not believe he would help everyone for no reason. But they quickly learned that their first impression was wrong. The siblings did not regret moving Unitas to Orhain for a minute, and they supported his mission far more than others. Their bonds grew stronger as he and his people rescued more people, which was enough to speak volumes about their moral compass and persona.
They were good people, and they were willing to help him, whether they became Sworn or not. Making them Sworn was a good idea, even more so with the triplets by his side. He could make use of their powers and have the might of a Sworn amplify them for the greater good.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, checking if he had enough reserves to empower each of the dozen siblings.
Might be a bit close, but I can work with that.
***
Once the Unitas siblings joined his force as Low Sworn, they departed to help Maja with the relocation of a mid-sized town. A neighboring settlement, working in tandem with a group of Overlord Kobolds, attacked them and threatened to demolish the mid-sized town. Then there was also a Rift break of undead creatures nearby, which decreased the town’s chance of survival drastically—without the help of a dozen Sworn as well as Maja.
David considered helping them as well, but he had received too many requests from Pantheon gods to ignore. Plus, it would be overkill to help the townspeople when Maja and the Sworn were already on the move. He told Electra to join them as well and let them do their thing, while he did what he was best at: wasteland demolition.
What do we need the most? Titanium Alchario, Sap of the World Tree, Blood of a Cosmic Beast… David named half a dozen materials that were hard to come by—under normal circumstances, that is. Fortunately, his circumstances were far from normal, as he had more than a dozen Pantheon gods in dire need of his service.
His reputation spread fast in the days after he completely obliterated the nothingness rooted in Seraphine’s homeworld, and some gods from other organizations had requested his help as well. David offered them very similar conditions as the Pantheon gods, which included the restrictions and clauses that allowed him to form a bond with their world if their planet deemed him worthy of the bond. One way or another, David accepted another request when one of the Minor Gods agreed to his renewed conditions. He asked for all the materials needed to construct a high-grade portal device for the Tirac Artificer to work her wonders.
The materials materialized alongside the World Gate, and David left the Earthen Union once again.
No more than six days later, he returned feeling stronger than ever. A new planetary bond hadn’t been formed, unfortunately, but the Corrupted Divine Heart and the Divine Seed had been nurtured in those days. At the same time, his bonds had changed drastically.
[Divine Seed]
Rank – 2-Star (8.37%)
Affliction – Unique (Twin Paths)
Champions – 1x Primal Champion (Electra)
1x High Champion (Maja Petrosh)
Idols – 4x Guardians (Orhain – Firm Connection)
Sworn – 5x Peak Sworn
10x High Sworn
12x Low Sworn
Bonds – 102,478 (14 Neutral)
Path of Favor – 21,540 (159x Favorable, 2,509x Trusting, 8,939x Loyal/Follower, 9,372x Believer, 560x Devotee, 1x Zealot)
Path of Conflict – 80,924 (31x Negative, 42x Critic, 77,630x Dissenter, 3,221x Opponent)
Planetary – Earthen Union (Frail)
Tagarn (Frail)
Territory
Small Sanctuary – Orhain
Land – 502 km2
Roughly 100,000 bonds had been severed since he last checked the extended screen of the Divine Seed. It was saddening—or would have been—if the severed bonds weren’t bonds of Conflict. Since he had already anticipated the loss of most Conflict bonds given the high mortality rate of Goblins, he was actually surprised that the Conflict bonds were closer to six digits than four.
The steady increase of Favor bonds was a pleasant sight, especially the strength of each bond. The bonds were steadily growing stronger as more and more people moved to Orhain, where the presence of his territory and the Guardian Idols augmented the bonds passively.
Regardless, the most impressive points were the influx of Might and the Earthen Union’s planetary bond.
I have fewer bonds than I had in the last few months, yet the influx of Might is stronger than ever. The Aether density in Orhain has been steadily increasing as well.
The Aether generators he procured from Seraphine were most definitely responsible for that, but the atmospheric Aether was also much thicker than a week prior. That was completely unrelated to the Aether generators or the Aether-gathering arrays that had been installed all over Kamia.
The Earthen Union is on the finishing line, he mused. That also explains why the Earthen Union’s planetary bond provides more Might than ever, even though the bond was still ‘Frail’. The territory’s expansion strengthened the planetary bond, just as the help of thousands of people has, but the bond is not yet strong enough to justify such a drastic rise in the flow of Might.
As far as David could tell, the planetary bond of the Earthen Union was roughly three times stronger than before. A small portion of that increase originated from his hard work, the Sanctuary, his territory, and his people’s actions, but that alone couldn’t explain everything. It was also important to note that the Earthen Union’s bond was almost ten times greater than Tagarn’s Frail planetary bond. That had to mean a lot, since Tagarn’s bond was more potent than 1,000 fifth-level bonds of the Earthen Union, and that meant something.
It would be best if I could advance to 3-Star before the first idiots emerge to cause trouble.
The completion of the Earthen Union’s awakening wouldn’t open all floodgates right away. Ascendants would be allowed to step onto the Earthen Union, yet Minor Gods and those of greater strength would have to wait. At least, that was what Zachariah had mentioned a few times when speaking about the Weave’s restrictions and its rules.
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“I better keep my momentum rolling.” David grimaced, considering what to do next.
The more bonds he formed and maintained in the Earthen Union, the better the benefits. Planetary bonds with other worlds would be valuable, but it seemed his cleaning service would not always create one. Thus, the Earthen Union was his golden ticket to power. Why? Because the Earthen Union was more closely tied to the Weave than any other world. Zachariah had pointed that out often enough, saying they needed the Earthen Union to end everything.
Thus, doing what Maja had been doing for the last few weeks was what he should focus on. His cleaning service, while helpful, had to be pushed to the backburner until he needed more materials—or more Vitae, for that matter.
“Hmm… It doesn’t really feel like anything changed.” He let out a snort and teleported to the other side of the country.
***
“You want me to kill them?” David lifted an eyebrow as he looked at the settlement fifteen kilometers away.
Maja had found David the day after he returned from his last trip to another world and teleported him straight to a large settlement three countries and five counties away from Kamia. The settlement hadn’t been marked, but four places near it had been. Unfortunately, they no longer existed less than a week after Zachariah had traveled through them.
It hadn’t been a Rift break, or monsters demolishing the places occupied by thousands of people, nor had it been natives working alongside intelligent humanoids. No, the main culprits had been ordinary Classers—natives, but uncorrupted by intelligent humanoids. They were as evil as it gets, annihilating a small System Sanctuary that had been constructed no more than six months prior, as well as the surrounding settlements. Only one had survived—the settlement David was looking at.
“The region’s Aether density is not as high as Kamia’s, or anywhere else really, but these people are oddly powerful. I’m sure the Unitas squadron and I could deal with them… Then I found you in the Sanctuary, and I was like, ‘Why not ask you?’” Maja shrugged lightly.
“And here I was thinking you just wanted to see me.” David snickered, his eyes lingering on the settlement.
Strong life signals entered his field of vision, and he channeled pure Blood into his eyes to push [True Sight] and unfold more of the rabbit hole.
It took only one look to discover a dozen Classers close to the Platinum Rank. They were powerful and could probably face the weakest of his Sworn head-on. Then again, the weakest Sworn belonged to the Unitas squadron, a group of a dozen siblings at the Gold Rank. They were Sworn and rapidly growing stronger, but they had yet to advance to the Platinum Rank.
Regardless, there were many more powerhouses—albeit David’s focus shifted to the dregs caked in blood and dirt. They were malnourished, chained, and locked into cages. While it didn’t make David angry, it drew his attention because none of the prisoners were human.
Tiny gnome-like figures, dark-skinned dwarves, and many other intelligent humanoids from other races entered his sight. Some appeared to have been mutilated, their bones broken and their bodies a mess, but others looked unharmed. Their life signals were strong, some even displaying mountains of lifeforce that surpassed the strongest human Classers in the settlement.
“Did you talk to anyone, or did you come to pick me up before asking any questions?” David asked, relying on his modified eyes to analyze the situation more thoroughly.
“I saw the humans hit one of the dwarves when he didn’t answer their questions. Other than that—” Maja shrugged lightly.
“I see. Do you want to figure out what actually happened, or do you want me to barge into the settlement like a maniac?” He was fine with either, but he didn’t want Maja feeling guilty if they killed others by mistake.
She regarded David for a moment and nodded slowly. “Maybe it would be best to ask a question or two.”
The space around Maja distorted, and she teleported to the cages. None of the human Classers appeared to have noticed her presence, so she asked the prisoners a few questions. David couldn’t see everything, but he felt the creation of new bonds—bonds of Favor. Maja had yet to rescue the prisoners, but Favorable bonds had already formed. One of the bonds reached Trusting in the mere minute Maja spent with the prisoners, which was surprising. David focused on the emotions relayed through the bond and felt their despair, anxiety, and… hope.
It was no more than a ray of hope blooming in their hearts, yet the prisoners held desperately onto it.
A few minutes passed before Maja turned away from the prisoners. She pinpointed a young man sleeping in a house near them, teleported to him and forcefully warped him into her spatial ability. He failed to resist the Skill Rune, and they appeared next to David. Maja’s face was sour, and it was quite obvious that she wanted to snap the young man’s neck, but she held back.
“They’re disgusting,” she said, no more than that, and turned back to the settlement, her eyes glowing ever so slightly.
David focused on the young man who’d been pulled out of sleep and slapped him in the face when he woke up screaming.
“Shut up or I’ll kill you,” David said with a faint smile.
The young man stared back at him, looking defiant even though his eyes were quivering.
“What’s your name?” David asked, bending down before the young man. He regarded him with ice-cold eyes and waited patiently.
“Shibua, you fucker!” the young man growled while spikes of compressed soil burst from the ground. They barreled toward David, who could have easily evaded the attack, yet remained where he was. The earthen spikes struck him, but they cracked and crumbled into pieces without inflicting any damage. David wiped the dirt from his arm and conjured a small projectile of [Blood Burst].
The projectile contained barely any energy, but it was more than enough to deal with a cretin. However… was that really what he wanted? No, it wasn’t.
David released [Blood Burst] and pierced the young man’s foot. The projectile went through and through, digging deep into the ground with the remaining momentum before exploding at some point, although nobody paid it any attention. The young man screamed at the top of his lungs as blood spurted from his wound, and David took it upon himself to pierce his right shoulder as well.
“That was for screaming, Shibua,” David said coldly, while conjuring a dozen [Blood Burst] projectiles. “For every lie you’ll get shot. For every scream you… well, you will get shot as well.”
The young man’s scream died down as quickly as it rang out, but he was still staring at David with surprising defiance.
“What is your name?” David asked once again.
“Zeke S—…”
A bloody projectile pierced his chest before he even finished answering.
“That was a lie.” David sighed deeply and watched the man bleed to death before him.
He considered letting the notorious liar die and asking Maja to bring him someone more reliable, but he decided against it and cast [Transcendent Restoration]. One cast was all it took to heal all wounds. The young man’s eyes widened and his defiance cracked ever so slightly as realization dawned.
“Yes, I can heal you. I will pull your nails out, break your bones, pierce your vitals, and watch you die only to heal you when you think your suffering is finally over,” David explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “So, how about you answer me honestly?”
“What. Is. Your. Name?” He smiled flatly at the young man, the bond of Conflict forming and growing as the man’s hatred grew exponentially.
“My… my name is Misha.” The young man—Misha—answered, shivering like a leaf in a storm.
“Great!” David exclaimed exaggeratedly. “At last, we’re getting somewhere!”
Maja winced beside him, but she did not say anything, nor did she think about stopping him from continuing. She was uncertain if David was doing the right thing, or so the bond told him, but she was angry at the people in the settlement. She had seen things that infuriated her more than any amount of torture could.
He asked Misha a few simple questions, which were answered mostly truthfully. It required one more [Blood Burst]—to the heart this time—to break Misha’s mental fortitude. After that, he transformed into a wordy waterfall and answered all questions without hesitation. He shared all the nasty things he and the others had done, how their lives had transformed since the integration started, and that they were the strongest of the strong.
From the looks of it, some of those idiotic humans had a god complex. Others merely considered themselves superior to everyone else. Then again, there were also plain old jerks who wanted nothing more than to harm others. The pain of others excited them.
It was sick, to say the least, and David was glad Maja had brought him here. If she hadn’t brought the situation in several settlements to his attention, he would have never realized how messed up life in the Earthen Union could be. He and others were doing great in Orhain. Everyone was alive, and almost no one caused trouble in the Sanctuary. Most of the time, the troublemakers were removed from the Sanctuary long before they could do one-tenth of the things Misha and his people had done.
“I think I have heard enough,” David muttered coldly.
“Does that mean you will let me live?” Misha barely uttered the question before a projectile pierced his skull between his eyebrows.
His body didn’t even have the luxury to react before Misha dropped dead to the ground.
“Fucking predator,” Maja growled, turning to him. “I would have killed him if you hadn’t.”
“I know,” was all David said.
Misha was a rapist and killer, and had tortured people in ways that were even too much for David.
“He should consider himself lucky to have died so quickly,” he added, releasing Vitae to devour Misha’s remains.
Nobody will miss you, so you might as well become my strength.
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