18

Pef spent his next month in his alchemy lab, struggling to create a storage ring, and the printing press. Not a simple metal plate, but mobile letters.

Brass was very useful for that, although his experiments with inks were not yet successful.

Still, after a month of constant failures, he managed to produce a small paper book, bound in leather. It contained the constitution of the Empire and its first written laws.

Nothing very complicated, but a few thousand of years more advanced than this planet has seen so far.

Jian and Qin had joined the other wives in the cellar, enduring their awakening with tears and suffering.

Pef visited them twice a day, bringing divine meals and a kind word. Then he ran away, before he started crying as well. Like this morning.

"Our method sucks. Well, the painful part, I mean..." Mia grumbled as Pef came out of the cellar wiping his tears.

Pef cupped her face, and kissed her gently. "I think today. I'll take the day off, and help you reach Spirit, beloved wife."

Mia's eyes opened wide, perhaps not expecting this. "I wonder what magic I will get..."

Pef nodded. He wondered the same thing.

Soon they were flying towards the forest, Mia driving the airship of course.

Pef stood at the prow, his senses scanning ahead for a target. A few hours later, he located a

clearing in the forest, where a pack of wolves is feasting on a beast.

'I notice a Spirit ranked beast ahead, Aspirant. It's a Wind Runner Dire Wolf. And 6 more weak ones' the glove whispered in his mind.

'Okay then. It would work. If Mia can beat it'

'She can't. Well, unless you help her'

Pef smiled and grinned. "Honey, I found a Spirit beast!"

"Really? You're the best, Pef!" Mia exclaimed excited.

Pef embraced her and folded the airship, beginning to glide towards the clearing. Tall trees formed a majestic arena, and the wolves had their snouts red with blood.

"Errrr. It's a pack of wolves, husband. I'm scared" Mia Quing Xi admitted with a shiver.

"You'll be fine. Just don't let the wolves hamstring you" Pef whispered and pushed Mia away, letting her fall on top of one Core ranked wolf.

The forest resounded with a crunch, as the spine of the Core beast broke under Mia's knee.

'That's cheating, Aspirant. But the low ranks aren't the problem...' the glove muttered in dismay at the breach in protocol.

Pef drew his bow and began shooting arrows while still floating down.

A hundred arrows later, Pef touched down and grinned again.

The poor wolves had their limbs pierced by arrows, and even the Spirit rank had received a lucky shot, with the arrow lodged in its right paw.

Mia danced between the crippled beasts, slicing necks and spines, and kicking, until only the Dire wolf remained.

A piercing howl infused with qi emerged from the Spirit wolf, and Mia faltered.

'See? That's what beasts can do. Special abilities.' the glove snickered as the wolf pounced on the paralyzed woman, and tore her legs while she couldn't move. Blood spurted and showered the grass in a fountain of red.

Pef sighed, and began firing more arrows. A hundred shots later, he managed to hit the wolf again, in its left leg.

Mia had began recovering from the qi attack, and rose to her knees while in deep pain.

'Come on love. One hit...' Pef whispered in encouragement.

The Dire wolf howled again, but weaker this time, and Mia wobbled, almost losing consciousness.

The beast approached slowly, itself weakened by the qi expenditure and its wounds.

It pounced and Mia's sword strike missed, the wolf biting hard on her sword arm. The sound of crushed bone made Pef grit his teeth.

Then Mia yelled, and began stabbing with her left hand, using her dagger. It took two dozen stabs, but in the end the beast slowly fell to a side, its neck torn apart.

A burst of qi descended for heavens, raising Mia over the peak and into Spirit rank.

'Huh, lucky woman, your wife. It was close for a moment'

'That howl...even I felt the first one' Pef admitted with some worry.

'Because you're a weakling. Crying over some pain. Soldiers do not cry!' The glove spouted some more propaganda drivel.

Pef ignored it as he rushed to dress and bandage Mia's wounds.

Under his eyes, Mia's flesh began healing, a bit slow but effective nonetheless. Unless foreign material remained in the wounds, she would heal perfectly, with no scars.

Well, no scars except the trauma.

That will need some work to overcome. But such was the way of the Legion. One gave his flesh to defeat the enemy. Enduring the pain, swallowing the tears and growing stronger.

Mia woke up later, as the airship was circling to land back at Smithtown Airport.

"Pef, I can feel the wind..." the Spirit ranked woman whispered with visible joy.

"Nice! You can fly around and carry my orders now" Pef said with a straight face.

"Idiot husband. You're banished for three days!"

"Three?"

"Well, two days. You need to consider my feelings, you dumb brute"

"Ah, I'm doomed. Two days without my dashing wife! Who am I gonna share the tasty wolf steaks with?" our hero cried to the heavens.

"Fine! Two hours. Now get me down. I want to wash this blood off me" Mia grumbled while patting her hungry stomach.

Si and Lin watched them descend with wide smiles.

"Sister, you formed your Spirit!" Lin yelled running to hug Mia in friendly joy.

Si hugged Pef and whispered "What did you get me?"

"Dire wolf fur" he whispered in a very low murmur. He got kissed thoroughly by the fashion creator, and even got molested a little.

"Spirit beast eh? How do you find them, I never find more than Core ranks?" Lin grumbled in self wallow.

"Dunno, I'm just lucky I guess. So, we're having wolf steak tonight. But you don't have to, if you don't like meat..." Pef said in a mischievous voice.

"Oh, I like meat quite a lot" Si replied with a wistful face.

Pef waited a few days to see the new fur tunics being created, then announced he needs to leave.

A few days in Lacrimosa to arrange the new government statute, then back to Port Li.

Time was running out for Miss Fang, and he hadn't forgotten. He would try to give the woman at least two more decades. Maybe she could raise a child and live a normal life, if a shorter one.

Lin drew him into a hug and a kiss. "Don't send me even more wives, you horny boy. They will miss you, and suffer even more"

"Yeah, I know, Lady Lin. They just happen, I swear." Pef said with a helpless shrug.

"Heh, I know how it happens, silly boy. You're just too kind, and try to marry every woman you love, so they don't feel abandoned, like your mom. You have a good heart, Pef. But think with your upper head more" The smith whispered as she hugged him tight.

Pef nodded then jumped away, reaching almost 300 meters high, before landing in his airship.

'Hey dear glove, did I grow in qi levels a little?' Pef asked in confusion, as this jump was much higher.

'You did sort of showered your wives with love, past month' the orange glove snickered.

'Right. I kinda did that...' Pef admitted with a grin.