CHAPTER 143: ESTIMATED COMBAT POWER

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  I glanced at the hologram displaying my status profile one last time, nodding with understanding before dismissing it with a casual wave of my hand.

  It seemed that my estimated combat power had already surpassed that of a 'Lesser Emperor' and was now encroaching on the realm of a Greater Emperor. Though, to be fair, it isn’t exactly right to call me a 'Greater Emperor' just yet. Since I still lacked severely in the department of defense, offense, Health reserves, Stamina reserve, and Mana reserves. Most importantly, I lacked a couple of [Ascension X] skills in my arsenal that a true Greater Emperor is capable of possessing.

  My defense, however, was steadily approaching that realm thanks to the initial formation of the [Indomitable Cereum Carapace]. Still, I wouldn't say that this skill alone reaches the minimum threshold of a hundred Zen in defense. More like... it would reach a quarter of that. If combined with the remaining passives I currently possess? Then perhaps it is doable.

  My destructive power was a harder variable to calculate. While I could unleash a force equivalent to nearly a hundred Zen with the help of [Mercy] in a desperate moment, which is nearly at the threshold of a Greater Emperor’s combat power. Still, I still wouldn't be able to unleash that force consistently. A move that powerful requires me to pour out fifty thousand units of mana, taking ten seconds at most to channel while also drawing mana from the atmosphere. Given the miserly amount of mana I possess right now, it isn't enough. Even if you doubled or tripled my 'mana reserves,' and it still wouldn’t be enough to nearly come close to a hundred zen.

  So, I reckon the normal destructive force I could unleash in a consistent manner would fall short, close to a single Zen. Or, if I put some more effort into it, like when I utilized the Bowsmaiden Valkyrie, ten Zen should be the estimate. But that takes too long.

  It needs three seconds to power up its bow, and another three to aim properly and shoot the infidel that dared to attack her master. Mana-wise, it’s only something I would prefer for a finisher attack. Still, it is a quite effective method to deter most 'stage 1: demonic beast,' but making it as my main attackers would basically dismiss the Valkyries defending the frontlines in exchange for three Bowsmaidens capable enough to obliterate the ranks of my enemies.

  Such a maneuver is risky. Since I could have two thousand five hundred Valkyries armed with spears to intercept incoming enemies, while two Bowsmaidens thin out their numbers. But the glaring weakness of this method is the lacking numbers that their formations needs me to have. Since I be needing 'ten thousand Valkyries' coordinating themselves.

  This is what the technique entails, only when ten thousand Valkyries are present can they work efficiently. Can they cover for their weaknesses, can they cover for their lack of strength, and coordinate their attacks as if they were one single entity. In doing so, they can annihilate any opponent without losing a single sister. And that is the true strength of the technique, but also its glaring fault. It is impregnable once ten thousand are present, but missing a single one, or having their coordination slip, makes the formation vulnerable to attack.

  Haaa... I guess I should solve my mana problems. And my stamina problems. Calculating their movements didn't just consume my mental energies, but my stamina as well. The burden put onto my brain or core transfers to the body, physically taxing it. My form isn't made of pure sand, nor is it undead. It is a body with a beating heart.

  So, the consumption of mental energy affecting stamina isn't an odd thing; it’s a pretty normal situation. Just because it’s 'mental' doesn't mean it won't affect the vessel. Your brain and body are connected. While it’s weird in the traditional sense, that stamina should only be drained once the body has moved into exhaustion, know that thinking too much consumes stamina without the body feeling lethargic.

  And before you argue that it’s mental fatigue, I say that it’s not a fucking mental fatigue, my boy. It is the fatigue of the body itself. It is the brain that thinks, not your spirit or soul, unless you’re a wraith or something similar. Then stop asking the obvious. Your brain drains your stamina. If not, wouldn't you be able to stay awake for years without taking a single hour of sleep, just sitting in a lotus position to 'recover mental fatigue' and continuing your day?

  Haaa... forget about me ranting at how dumb of a mortal you are. Let’s calculate how close I am to becoming a Greater Emperor. With the destructive power I could unleash in this moment, ten Zen, or nearly a hundred if I give it my all, I could say with certainty that I am too fucking far to become a Greater Emperor, much less a Zenith. But on the bright side, if I calculate my defense? That is certainly at the threshold of fifty Zen, which is halfway to a hundred, the bare minimum for a Greater Emperor. If I took all my skills with strengthening or defensive properties into account, I could at least say I am halfway there in terms of defense.

  However, I am not even close when it comes to the health of my body, along with stamina and mana. Those need to reach a minimum of a hundred thousand to be called a Greater Emperor at Stage 1. Solia already possesses this, but since she is a Stage 2 Sovereign, I bet she’s on the lesser side. Since she needs her health, stamina, and mana to reach the minimum of a million, while being able to unleash and defend against more than a thousand Zen of force.

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  That is the minimum for a Sovereign to gain the title of 'Greater.' So, if we discuss an Emperor, which is two ranks above that, I could say, don't compare the two. An Emperor basically excels in all places, be it stats-wise or skill-wise. An Emperor is that single being that carries their race to greater heights through sheer achievement, an impossible thing to replicate if you're not one.

  I stopped my musings and took a glance at the room. It felt too empty without the presence of Samantha. I sighed, then took a look at the state of my body. The mutations of the other passive skills I had recently acquired had begun. I looked at my shadow and noticed the root-like projections, small tendrils could be seen on my back. I could feel them writhing.

  I tried to lift my arm but failed, my limbs heavy due to the lack of nutrients. The hunger didn't subside when I had devoured a thousand 'Stage 1: demonic beasts' instead, it grew more ferocious.

  I sighed again, weaving my mana into my bones. I took control of my lethargic body, forcefully moving my hands to lift them, then clenching my fist to see if there were any faults in my application. I pushed my body from the bed, taking a step, then another toward the mirror.

  I took a glance at how deformed my body was in this moment. I sighed yet again, undressing from the white robe Samantha had enthusiastically dressed me in. I stared at the scars on my body, at the mismatched skin tone patched onto my flesh.

  "Is this the result of my arrogance?" I asked myself. As I clenched my hands, gazing at my once-beautiful face. It was now patched with mismatched skin, covered in scars, the bone structure telling a story of ruin. My spine was in a pitiful state, bent unnaturally like I had a scoliosis, while my femur was still snapped in half, unable to recover since I lacked the nutrients to repair it.

  I sighed, turning my head away from the mirror. I was unable to face myself. Contempt. Shame. Humiliation. I took a step, glancing at the ceiling to reminisce about the past. But before I could immerse myself in memory, I heard her voice.

  Shouting my name desperately. From tens of miles away. "ALISTER!!!"

  ---

  Meanwhile, tens of miles away from the ancestral residence of the Seashore Clan. Samantha could be seen surrounded by thousands of demonic beasts charging at her from all directions. Yet, instead of panicking, she merely smiled. As she pointed her revolvers at the demonic beasts, firing round after round.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  While leaping from the ground. She threw the revolvers behind her back, and they obediently floated there, suspended by her mana as they charged for a big attack.

  She grabbed her sword, her eyes glowing red. Her blades moved with cold pragmatism, striking a Horned Eel that daringly charged her. But she withdrawed her sword and stepped on its face to push herself away, as she let go of the sword then stepped on it's blade. As she grabbed the floating revolvers, before she pointed them at the swarm, a massive school of Horned Eels charging at her. Then she pulled the triggers.

  ZIIIIIIING... BOOM!

  A beam of light flashed. In the next second, hundreds of Horned Eels evaporated instantly. She turned the revolvers behind her back, pulled the triggers again to discard the casings, and let go of them. Leaping away from her sword to push herself into the air, she used her mana to retrieve the blade, placing it higher than herself to use as scaffolding. She stepped, leaped, and retrieved the sword again.

  SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

  She struck the empty air once, twice, thrice in a single second. Her speed increased with every stroke as she performed the techniques she inherited from her master. Though she was only at the entry phase, Samantha knew it was enough.

  She watched the charging Horned Eels being shredded into pieces as her blades released concentrated energy slashes that cleaved through flesh. Lightning projectiles rained down in droves.

  Without giving the leader of the Horned Eels a warning, Samantha smirked. As she let go of her swords. The muzzles of her twin revolvers were already pointed at the beast. Before it could sense or react to the danger it had brought upon itself...

  FLASH!

  A beam of concentrated mana tore through scales and bones, eviscerating it into dust. Samantha bit her lip, knowing how valuable its flesh was, but pushed the distraction to the back of her mind. As she pulled her sword, gripped it, and slaughtered the beasts in droves.

  An hour was all she needed to wipe out the entire species of Horned Eels in the forest. Samantha stored their carcasses one by one. Maybe it was because she was occupied, or perhaps the adrenaline had dulled her senses, but she didn't notice it. That a beast had already closed the distance. And only then did she notice, but before she could even react to the ambush, the beast had already gulped her down.

  But it couldn't swallow her in a single bite, since Samantha was too tall for that. The Whale clicked its tongue in annoyance, then bit down on her leg, pushing her body deeper with its massive tongue. It was confident that its digestive system would finish this woman who carried the aura of an emperor.

  Inside its stomach, Samantha merely clenched her teeth, enduring the agony of her leg being munched on, her ankle was shattered. But she merely, as she grabbed at the air for her revolver. But her hand closed on nothing. She couldn't find them. Then she remembered. The Whale had used its mana to neutralize her own, severing the connection that let the revolvers and sword hover behind her before it gulped them down.

  Samantha bit her lip, blood drawing from them, as she blamed herself silently for how complacent she had become just because she had killed some lesser creatures. She glanced down. Her skin was slowly melting from the acids in the stomach. It was despair that she felt, as she watched her battered ankle dissolve in the sludge. She bit her lip harder at the excruciating pain of her flesh melting.

  Then she remembered his gentle words, to call him when she's in danger. Though unwillingly, Samantha shouted with all her might. "ALISTER!!!"