Collection 1

461-470

Chapter 461: You Dare Look Down Upon My Presence?

"Empress Sidonie, I am willing to give you what you want in order for you to ally yourself with the Hellan Kingdom," William said with a determined look on his face. "I am willing to give you…

"My babies!"

< Deal! >

'No Deal!'

Empress Sidonie used all of her willpower as if her life depended on it, to prevent her other half from taking over her body and accepting William's offer.

She would die of embarrassment if Morgana agreed to William's offer, using her own body and voice to seal the deal.

< Sidonie, listen to me. This is it! This is what we are waiting for! >

'This is not what I want! This is what you Want!'

< You and I share the same body. There's only a thin line between Love and Lust. As long as we do the deed, Darling is ours for the taking! >

'No means no!'

While the two beautiful ladies were wrestling with each other in their shared mindscape, the outside world had already broken out into chaos.

Because Empress Sidonie was currently preoccupied with her other half, her beautiful face was mired with a frown as she looked at William, who was also looking back at her.

Seeing that their Empress was frowning, Prince Jason, Prince Lionel, as well as the Young Officers all thought that she felt insulted by William's words. This gave them the excuse to gang up on William and beat him up to a pulp.

However, before any of them could even enact their plan, the Grand Archmage snapped his finger and a powerful gust of wind pushed the two Princes, as well as the Young Officers a few steps back from their location.

"This is a throne room, not a marketplace where all of you can brawl to your heart's content," The Grand Archmage, Evexius, said firmly. He then addressed the Young Empress who was still looking at William with a frown.

(A/N: You can read the Archmage's name as Eh-Vex-Sus or something similar to this tone. Don't read it as Eve-Zeus.)

"Your Majesty, the representative of the Hellan Kingdom, has insulted you. How should we deal with him?" Evexius inquired.

Empress Sidonie had just finished tying up Morgana inside their mindscape to prevent her from taking over her body when she heard Evexius' query. She immediately shifted her attention back to the throne room as she gave William a look of contempt.

"That was a funny joke, Sir William," Empress Sidonie stated in an ice cold voice that made the hearts of those who love her shudder. "I am not a loose woman. I would appreciate it if you don't mention those things again in the future. Otherwise… I will make you pay the price for insulting me."

William pressed his palms together and bowed his head in apology. "I apologize for my crude words, Your Majesty. It will refrain from saying the same things again in the future."

The red-headed boy was only half joking when he gave his proposal. He had a hunch since their time together in Antheilm that Empress Sidonie seemed to have a split personality. The reason he mentioned that he would give her his babies was to confirm whether this hunch of his was correct.

William wanted to know if he was dealing with a single person, or two people sharing the same body. He came from Earth, so he was aware that such conditions existed. The Half-Elf hoped that Empress Sidonie's other personality would overpower the main personality and agree to his request.

This way, the problem would be resolved without the need for bloodshed. Unfortunately, it seemed that his gamble didn't pay off and only earned him the ire of the Young Empress' dominant personality.

'Now we are back to square one,' William thought as he eyed Empress Sidonie with a smile.

The throne room descended into an awkward silence because no one wanted to break the ice.

Eneru, who was standing behind the elven

delegation, made a subtle hand seal that no one in the throne room noticed.

His plan was to finish off William because he felt threatened by his existence. The red-headed boy's mere presence was enough to make Eneru feel suppressed. He had already confirmed that the boy was a Scion of a God whom their race had once hailed as their Eternal Guardian.

Due to the Qilin's strong desire for freedom, he rebelled against the God of Shepherds and refused to obey his command. Because of this, their race was branded with a curse where they would be suppressed by the presence of those who served under him.

This curse was powerful enough to decrease their rank by one realm, which would make Eneru's strength fall to the Millennial Rank whenever William was around.

A Millennial Beast and a Myriad Beast were completely different from each other. Eneru decided to dispose of William because he was a threat to his life and sovereignty.

Suddenly, a snake made out of lightning materialized in front of William and lunged at him. Everything happened so fast that no one in the throne room was able to react on time to the sudden attack that came out of nowhere.

When the snake was mere inches away from William's neck, the red-headed boy lowered his head and… bit the head of the lightning snake!

This sudden development made everyone in the throne room look at William in disbelief.

William ignored their gazes and grabbed the wriggling snake, which was doing its best to break free from his mouth.

A crisp crunching sound that was similar to someone eating potato chips resounded inside the hall as William ate, and chewed the lightning snake's head like it was some kind of snack.

After eating its head, he then proceeds to eat the rest of its body like a pretzel.

< Experience Points Gained: 10,000 >

William burped as he glanced at Eneru who was looking back at him as if he was looking at a monster.

"Can you make a bigger snake?" William inquired as he smacked his lips in satisfaction. He was looking at Eneru as if the latter was a Seven-Starred Michelin Chef from a famous restaurant. The Half-Elf was also very tempted to seize and capture Eneru, but he knew that the Qilin was not someone that would go down easily.

Although his rank was suppressed, he had stayed in the Myriad Rank for hundreds of years and was a veteran when it came to life and death battles.

The people inside the throne room felt their liver itch when the red-headed boy ate the lightning snake as if it was a delicious snack.

Prince Jason frowned because this was the first time he had seen someone accomplish such a feat. He even wondered if what William ate wasn't really a lightning snake, but an illusion that Eneru had made on a whim.

Prince Lionel had a dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at William as if he was some kind of rare creature. He had already investigated many things about him, but the information he got didn't tell him that he was capable of eating lightning!

The Grand Archmage Evexius rubbed his chin as he contemplated whether or not he should also try eating one of the Qilin's Lightning Snakes to see if it was really as delicious as the boy proclaimed it to be.

The one that was surprised the most was Eneru, who was responsible for making the snake materialize and attack William. He thought that what had happened during Jekyll's escape was just a fluke, but it seemed that not only was the Half-Elf able to suppress his rank, his power was also ineffective against him as well!

While everyone was staring at William with bewildered expressions, there was someone inside the throne room who was not amused by the attempted murder of the person she secretly loved.

"You dare attack a guest of my Empire inside my throne room?" Empress Sidonie said in a tone laced with killing intent. "You dare look down upon my presence?"

Her heart almost jumped out of her throat when she saw the lightning snake lunge to bite William's neck.

Morgana who was currently tied up inside her Mindscape screamed in anger, and her anger was Sidonie's anger as well. For someone to attack the one she loved in her presence was tantamount to stepping on her pride and dignity.

Her eyes glowed with power as the power of her Sin broke out from her body. Elandorr and the rest of the Elves had to use all of their willpower to prevent themselves from being Charmed by her powers

Eneru immediately unleashed a stronger Aura to shield the Elves from the overwhelming power that flowed out of the Young Empress' body like a flood.

"You disappoint me, Eneru," a man who seemed to be in his late twenties appeared beside the last step, leading to the Empress Sidonie's throne with his arms crossed over his chest. "How could you sneak attack a junior like that? Don't you have any pride as a Myriad Beast?"

The man had broad shoulders, muscular arms and a heavy torso that seemed to have limitless strength. He looked at Eneru in disgust and his disgust was evident in his choice of words.

Eneru narrowed his eyes because he had recognized the person that appeared in front of him.

"You sure like to talk like you're someone important, Nero," Eneru sneered. "A little cat like you thinks you have what it takes to talk big in front of me?"

Nero, the white-haired man chuckled as he walked towards the Elven Delegation. He brushed off Eneru's insult like it was the whining of a loser, and eyed the Qilin with eyes filled with ridicule.

At that moment, two more people appeared inside the throne room, flanking Eneru and the Elves on both sides.

The newcomers were a woman with long, purple hair, and a teenager boy who seemed to be in his late teens.

Nero and his two acquaintances stood a few meters away from the Qilin who seemed to be preparing to use its ability to escape, and bring the Elves with him.

William felt a tingling sensation run down the base of his spine, because his appraisal skill had allowed him to see the names and the ranks of the three people who made Eneru feel threatened.

'Three Myriad Beasts,' William thought as he, too, raised his guard. Although Nero and his colleagues were only looking at the Qilin, Eneru, William could tell that they were also subtly paying close attention to him.

The red-headed boy knew that if he were to do something stupid in their presence, the first one to be struck down would not be the Arrogant Eneru, but him.

Chapter 462: Women Held Grudges As Well

'Drauum was right,' Eneru thought as he readied himself to take the Elves and flee at a moment's notice. 'There were more than two Myriad Beasts here in the Anaesha Dynasty.'

Nero smiled as he looked at the Qilin who was trying his best to keep a calm expression on his face. They had concealed their presence in the throne room in order to protect the Young Empress just in case the Myriad Beast decided to attack the Young Empress, as well as the Officers of the Kraetor Empire.

The woman with the purple hair giggled as she winked at Nero. "He said that you're just a little cat. Come here, kitty kitty~"

The corner of Nero's lips twitched as he pretended that he hadn't heard the woman's teasing. He stared at Eneru with a serious expression, as if he was deciding what to do with him.

When the three Myriad Beasts appeared in the throne room, Empress Sidonie regained her calm and forcefully suppressed her power, so it no longer leaked. She was still very angry, but since the Three Protectors of the Kraetor Empire had already arrived at the scene then there was no need for her to do anything anymore.

"Wait, your Excellencies," Alessio said in order to ease the tension in the air. "This is just a simple misunderstanding. His Excellency Eneru just wanted to scare the boy because he was very arrogant in front of the Empress Sidonie. Since the boy is unharmed, can we return to our discussion on how we can form an alliance between our two kingdoms?"

The teenage boy with light-blue hair nodded his head as if agreeing to Alessio's words. He was one of the Protectors of the Kraetor Empire and he was the Pacifist among the group. However, Both Nero and the purple-haired woman knew that once he got angry, even the two of them combined would find it hard to suppress him.

"Before we resume our discussion, the Qilin should pay an adequate compensation for his transgressions," the teenage boy said with a kind smile. "How about you give me one of your whiskers? I am very interested in crafting a whip made from the whisker of a Qilin."

Eneru glared at the teenage boy who wanted one of his whiskers. Qilins only had two whiskers. These whiskers grew when Qilins reached adulthood and symbolized their power and authority.

Although these whiskers would regenerate after a month once they were pulled out, it would be a very painful experience for them.

"Such audacity," Eneru growled. "You dare mock me?"

Eneru unleashed his full power as his eyes glowed with power. However, instead of being alarmed, the three Myriad Beasts looked at Eneru as if they were looking at something amusing.

"Um? Have you regressed or something?" the teenage boy asked. "Your current strength is only at the Peak of the Millennial Rank. I thought you were a Myriad Beast?"

The teenage boy glanced at Nero who just shrugged his shoulders.

Nero's true form was that of a White Tiger. His strength was on the same level as Eneru, so he was also surprised when he felt that the latter's strength seemed to be lacking.

Eneru's face paled because he had completely forgotten that he was under William's suppression. A Millennial Beast baring

its fangs against Three Myriad Beasts was just like a little puppy barking at a Tiger.

The teenage boy raised his hand and a powerful pressure descended upon Eneru, forcing him to kneel on the floor. Elandorr's, Alessio's, as well as the other Elves' faces paled when they saw this scene.

Clearly, they didn't expect their Guardian Beast to be easily suppressed by the teenage boy with light-blue hair.

"Are you giving me one whisker or should I take two instead?" the teenage boy asked in a polite manner. "Of course you can refuse. It is not in my nature to force others to obey my demands."

Although the teenage boy said this in a polite tone, the pressure that was pressing down on Eneru intensified, making the latter's head press down on the floor, while in a kneeling position.

Nero and the purple-haired woman didn't say anything. If the Elves were Hypocrites then the teenage boy was the King of all Hypocrites. What he said, and what he did, contradicted each other.

The teenage boy was the black sheep in their Trinity. Nero and the purple-haired woman had long given up on trying to straighten him out.

"I am the Guardian of the Silvermoon Continent!" Eneru roared as he slowly raised his head. "You bastards dare to make me kneel and bow my head, I'll fight all of you to the death!"

The teenage boy smiled and clapped his hands together. Eneru's eyes rolled up into their sockets as he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

"Violence doesn't solve anything," the teenage boy said in a sagely tone as he walked towards the unconscious Qilin who was still in his human form. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

The teenage boy then grabbed Eneru's hair and dragged him out of the throne room. Clearly, he still hadn't given up on his plans to take the Qilin's whiskers.

The corner of William's lips twitched when he saw the teenage boy, who was more shameless than him, yank on the hair of the unconscious Qilin as he dragged him to the exit of the throne room.

The Elves didn't dare to voice out any kind of opposition towards the teenage boy's actions because they knew that it was futile. Their Guardian Beast was defeated without any resistance. How could they possibly win against such a being?

"Your Majesty, His Excellency Eneru truly didn't wish to do you any harm," Alessio pleaded. "He just wanted to teach this Half-Elf a lesson for his vulgar words. Please, show your mercy, Your Majesty."

Alessio bowed his head because he knew that this was the only thing he could do for now. Acting subservient was below his dignity, but he would rather lose his dignity than lose his chance of survival.

The other Elves followed suit. However, Elandorr stood straight and refused to yield. He would rather die than grovel and beg for mercy.

Empress Sidonie nodded her head in appreciation of the Elven Commander's stubbornness. The anger she had earlier had already disappeared now that the hateful Qilin had been taken care of.

"Rest assured, although your Guardian Beast has acted out of place, I am willing to forgive him this once for his transgressions," Empress Sidonie said. "His life, and all of your lives, will be spared. However, remember that this will only be a one time thing. If this happens again in the future, I will no longer show any mercy. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Alessio answered on behalf of the Elven Delegation. "It will not happen again."

Empress Sidonie nodded and raised her delicate hand. "Let's resume our discussion. What can any of you offer to make me agree to an alliance? You should know that if I want to conquer the entire continent, it would be as easy as snapping my fingers."

The beautiful Empress lifted her slender leg and crossed it over the other, as she rested her face on her right palm.

"Give me your best offers," Empress Sidonie said with finality. "This will be your last chance to get on my good side."

Elandorr and William briefly glanced at each other before looking back at the beautiful Empress sitting on the throne.

The two Protectors of the Kraetor Empire stood by the side as spectators. They also agreed that taking over the continent was a risky move that could backfire on them. Nero was quite impressed that Empress Sidonie was someone who could see the bigger picture.

Now that she had given Elandorr and William an ultimatum, it was up to them to decide whether The Kraetor Empire would become their enemy, or their ally.

However, the two Protectors, as well as Prince Jason, Evexius, and the rest of the High-Ranking Officers of the Kraetor Empire was not aware that, even before the Elves and William had arrived at the capital city of Veritas, the beautiful Empress had already made her decision.

Morgana had also approved of it, and promised to work with Empress Sidonie to see her plan come into fruition. The two beautiful girls giggled within their shared mindscape, as they watched the handsome Elf and Half-Elf take their time to think of an offer that would please her.

The two sinful girls were also vain creatures. They liked it when handsome men did their best to please them, especially when one of these handsome men was someone who had firmly rejected her twice.

William was not the only one who held grudges.

These two women held grudges as well.

Chapter 463: Divide And Conquer

William leaned on the balcony as he gazed upon the city of Veritas. He was surprised to see that the city seemed more lively and orderly compared to the capital of the Hellan Kingdom, Gladiolus.

After that episode in the throne room, Empress Sidonie told them that she would meet them again in the morning. She also advised them to use their private time to think of an offer to win her over.

The teasing gaze she gave William before she left the throne room made the red-headed boy scratch his cheeks because it was clear that the beautiful Empress would make things difficult for him.

William cast these thoughts aside as he asked the System about their real purpose for coming to the Anaesha Dynasty.

'Are you sure about this?'

< Yes, Host. Aside from the three Myriad Beasts, there is a Pseudo-Demigod present here in Veritas as well. >

'It seems that the Kraetor Empire came more prepared than the Elves when they ventured to the Southern Continent,' William thought as he rubbed his chin. 'How about the teleportation gate? Is it somewhere in the city?'

< It's not. I am currently synchronizing with your King's Legion and constantly doing a sweep of the lands of the Anaesha Dynasty, but so far, any traces of a Teleportation Gate cannot be detected >

Before William had arrived at the capital city of Veritas, he had assigned the Angray Birds, as well as the Blood Eagle, Scadrez, to scatter in different directions so that the System could map the lands of the Anaesha Dynasty and look for traces of the Kraetor Empire's Teleportation Gate.

The Half-Elf wanted to know just how massive their army and hidden forces were. Both he and the System agreed that the current Top Dog in the continent was none other than the Beautiful Empress whom he had turned down in the Kyrintor Mountains.

If someone were to ask William if he regretted his decision the answer would be… Yesn't.

Yes, he regretted turning Empress Sidonie down because if he just nodded his head and accepted her as his lover then this powerful army would have been part of his strength in fighting against the elves.

No, because although the offer was very tempting. He couldn't possibly lie to himself. The Young Empress was indeed very beautiful. More beautiful than his lovers, but what of it? William wasn't someone who was easily moved by beauty alone.

Especially after being exposed to the Goddess of Lust, Eros, who could make William become lovestruck with just a simple wink from her mischievous eyes.

The reason he had turned Sidonie down was because of what the latter had asked of him. She wanted Love, and that was something that William doesn't do half heartedly.

In the past, he thought that having a Harem was the dream life of every man. However, he was wrong. Because he already had three lovers by his side, and one waiting for him back on

Earth, he understood more than ever that Loving someone and Lusting over someone were two different feelings.

Although two people could fall in Love over Lust, it would not be Real Love. Lady Eros made sure to indoctrinate this into William because she was the Goddess that represented Lust. Charming people and making them do her every bidding was good, but in the end, this affection was fake.

Eros didn't want her followers to gain Fake Love. She wanted them to have Real Love that would make Sidonie and Morgana feel happiness from the bottom of their sinful hearts.

'How many forces does the Kraetor Empire have in the Anaesha Dynasty?' William inquired after organizing his thoughts and feelings.

< More than thirty thousand. I'm guessing that some of their forces are stationed in the Kingdom of Freesia in order to maintain law and order. >

William nodded his head in agreement. In order to maintain the peace and order of the two Kingdoms under Empress Sidonie's rule, it was only natural that they leave a part of their army to oversee the affairs of the Kingdom in the East.

Also, this was a safeguard against the Elves who might also consider attacking the far away kingdom in order to acquire more lands of their own. Obviously, although the Kraetor Empire had the upper hand, they still didn't underestimate their enemies and made sufficient counter measures for the worst case scenario.

< Scadrez had reached the Northern Borders of the Anaesha Dynasty. There's no sign, or any traces, of the long distance Teleportation Gate in the route he took. >

< B1 and B2 have also arrived at their destination, and still no signs of any structures that would resemble a long distance Teleportation Gate. >

B1 and B2 where the nickname that William had given to the two dumb birds that had imitated his and his lover's voices back inside the Atlantis Dungeon. That episode was something that the Half-Elf would not forget anytime soon, so he grouped the two birds together and made them partake in this mission.

Actually, it was not only B1 and B2 that had been mobilized for this sweep of the Anaesha Dynasty.

All of the Angray Birds were currently soaring over Empress Sidonie's territory, allowing the system to map it. William decided to use the divide and conquer method, similar to the spies of the Ant Queen that had been scattered all over the Zelan Dynasty to monitor the movements of the Elves.

Although the ants were numerous, and allowed the Queen to see through their eyes. The System was in a league of its own. Not only could it synchronize with William's Legion to see what they were seeing, it could also emit a scan, similar to that of a radar, to check a three-mile circle radius around the member of the King's Legion, and could also penetrate underground.

This made William's System far superior, and a very effective spy satellite!

'Have you found any beasts that I could tame to add to our forces?'

< We have found several beast groups, but since the host had specified to only look for Class C Beasts and above, the numbers have dwindled drastically. Even so, I have great news because we have found a few strong candidates to add to the Host's Herd. >

'Excellent.' William grinned. 'Mark their locations on the map so we can visit them once we have finished our business here in the capital.'

< Understood. >

William knew that the beasts in the Hellan Kingdom wouldn't be enough to increase his army. Because of this, he decided to smuggle some beasts from the neighboring Dynasties and Kingdom to add to his private forces.

Empress Sidonie was not the only one that had the ability to command a massive army under her banner. What she could do, William could do better. After all, the Southern Continent was a vast land filled with many powerful beasts.

Among those powerful beasts were Herd Type Beasts

Herd Type Beasts that William could tame, so they could help him face all the obstacles that stood before him.

While William was checking the markers that the System had placed in his Status Page. A beautiful lady was watching him from a crystal ball.

Empress Sidonie who had returned to her chambers was currently monitoring William in the guestroom that was provided for him.

She thought that the latter would be wracking his brains out, trying to think of ways to get on her good side. However, what she saw made her and her other half, Morgana, disappointed.

< Why is he chuckling like a crazy person? Did darling lose some of the screws in his head? >

'…'

Both girls were not aware that the Half-Elf was just unable to hide his happiness when he saw the catalogue of beasts that were native to the Anaesha Dynasty.

Beasts that would soon belong to his Thousand Beast Army.

Chapter 464: If Only It Were True

While the Half-Elf was chuckling in his temporary residence, the Elves all had serious expressions on their faces.

Naturally, they all came in the Anaesha Dynasty with a plan and had already arranged the tribute that they were planning to give the Young Empress in order to gain her cooperation.

However, William's appearance was completely unexpected and had derailed their plans. What was more depressing was that their Guardian Beast, Eneru, had been taken captive by one of the Protectors of the Kraetor Empire.

This blow hit the Elves very hard. Although Empress Sidonie had promised them that the Qilin would be released, it made them realize that they were really at a disadvantage in the negotiations.

Alessio, too, had a frown on his face as he looked at the members of their delegation. He could still remember the hidden laughter in Berthold's eyes when they left the throne room. Clearly, his counterpart was enjoying Alessio's hardship, making the Elf feel extremely irritated.

"I'm afraid we didn't bring enough resources to use as bribes for an alliance," Alessio said after looking at the list that they had prepared beforehand. "If the son of the Saintess can offer the Human Empress a better deal then we will have no choice but to brace ourselves for an attack on two sides."

Elandorr's frown deepened because he was in agreement with Alessio's statement. If only they were able to retrieve the treasures in the treasury of the Zelan Dynasty then things would have been different.

Unfortunately, the treasury of the Zelan Dynasty was not inside the city of Briar Glen, or in any other human cities for that matter.

Since the kingdom was founded, the Treasury of the Zelan Royal Family had always been kept inside the Sanctuary of the Minotaur Race. This was why the previous, and current rulers of the Dynasty weren't worried that their treasure would be stolen from them.

After all, who had the courage to rob the Domain of a Myriad Beast?

"Do you think they will settle for oral promises?" Elandorr inquired.

Alessio firmly shook his head. "Oral promises are useless. At most, they will settle for a written contract signed by both parties. However, this will not be an ordinary contract. They might use a powerful enchantment to bind us into adhering to the conditions listed on it. If we break it then we might suffer dire repercussions."

Elandorr pondered before giving another proposal.

"Isn't a marriage alliance a very Human thing to do? How about we do that?" Elandorr proposed.

"Marriage alliances between two nations only happen between Royal Families," Alessio replied. "You might be a high-ranking officer of this expedition, but your Rank is nothing compared to the influence of the Royal Bloodline."

Alessio had already seen the subtle changes in Elandorr's stance towards the Human Empress and it made him very wary. Although he was confident that the artifacts in their possession had prevented them from

being Charmed, he could see that the human-hating Elandorr seemed to have other ideas about the Beautiful Empress who had complete control of the negotiations.

"Or, are you perhaps saying that we should marry, Her Highness, Princess Eowyn, to one of the Princes of the Kraetor Empire?" Alessio asked back with a serious expression. "I believe that the man that led the Kraetor Army in this expedition was a teenager named Prince Jason. Do you want to match the Princess with that Barbarian?"

"How absurd!" Elandorr immediately rejected the idea. "Our Princess is too noble to become the bride of a filthy, Human Prince. I will never allow it to happen."

Alession gave Elandorr the 'then why did you propose a marriage alliance?' glare, but he didn't voice his thoughts out loud.

The oldest among the Elven Delegation knew that now was not the right time for dissension in their own ranks. What they needed to do was to find a way on how to make the alliance work. If not, they would settle for a Non-Aggression Pact that would keep the Kraetor Army away from the newly acquired Elven Lands.

An awkward silence fell upon the room as all the Elves pondered on their next course of action. Their meeting lasted for two more hours before they reached a compromise.

——

An hour before midnight…

William laid on the comfortable bed and slept. Earlier, he was very tempted to return to the Thousand Beast Domain to sleep in his lovers' embrace. However, he didn't do that because he felt that he was constantly being watched.

Although the System hadn't detected any anomalies, William trusted his guts, so he decided to play it safe and remain inside the room, and not expose the Domain that belonged to him.

The experience with Cernunnos, when the latter had trespassed in his Domain without permission, had left a lasting impression on William. He didn't want the same thing to happen, especially since he was in enemy territory.

While the Half-Elf was currently dreaming of Asgard, the bookcase in his room moved to the side, revealing a hidden pathway.

Empress Sidonie emerged from it wearing a one-piece night gown, and stealthily walked towards the bed where the boy was sleeping.

Actually, the Young Empress was already in deep sleep. The events of the day had mentally exhausted her. Because of this, her naughty other half, took over her body and decided to give William a night visit.

Morgana had unleashed the power of dreams, to keep her beloved Half-Elf in the dreamworld, and prevent him from waking up in reality.

When she was sure that her power was in full effect, she softly brushed William's smooth and silky hair, before kissing his rough hands that were used to wielding weapons and doing hard labor.

She also kissed his ears, cheeks, and even his nose.

'I love everything about you, Darling,' Morgana thought as she gazed down at William who was sleeping peacefully.

Her soft, and delicate finger traced his lips, but she didn't dare to kiss them. She was afraid that if she gave in to her desires, she wouldn't be able to stop herself. Also, it might break the dream spell that she had cast and wake the Half-Elf prematurely.

'If not for Sidonie, I would have already eaten you up,' Morgana pouted as she laid beside William, pressing her body on him, and sharing his warmth.

Suddenly, a thought appeared in her head. She blinked once then twice before a mischievous smile took shape on her sensuous face.

She grabbed hold of William's hand and guided it towards her…

—–

Sidonie opened her eyes and stared dreamily at the space in front of her. Last night, she had a good dream. She dreamed that she was sharing a bed with William and the two of them were sharing a night of passion.

All her sleepiness melted away as the images from her dream appeared to her one by one. The Young Empress blushed when she recalled a particular scene when William's hand…

'No good,' Empress Sidonie thought as she felt her body heat up due to the sensuous dream that she had last night.

She reluctantly rose up from the bed, and headed towards the bathroom. The Young Empress still had to meet her Beloved as well as the Elven Delegation in a few hours, in order to hear their proposals.

'If only it were true,' Empress Sidonie thought as her left hand touched her chest, while the right hand moved downwards, stopping over her maidenhood.

She needed to quench the heat that had taken control of her body. The Young Empress was unaware that her other half was sleeping with a satisfied smile on her face, within their shared mindscape.

Dreaming of a wonderful dream, where her desires… had partly been fulfilled.

Chapter 465: Men's Intuition

The Grand Archmage of the Kraetor Empire, Evexius, looked at the list that was given to him by the elves, along with the ring that contained the items that they had brought beforehand.

The ones written on the list were rare resources that could only be found on the Silvermoon Continent, and the Grand Archmage had to admit that the Elves had given them an offer that was very hard to refuse.

Naturally, since it was just written on a piece of paper, it held no value whatsoever. However, if the Elves were to really prepare and send them the things that they had written on the list then the Kraetor Empire definitely profited from this exchange.

The Young Empress didn't even bother to look at the Elves' offer because she was confident that the Grand Archmage would be a better judge than her when it came to valuable resources. She might be smart, but being smart didn't mean that she was a walking encyclopedia who knew everything about the world.

Empress Sidonie was more than happy to use the resources and manpower in her disposal to get what she wanted. Since there were people more capable than her in appraising things, she would just let them handle what they were good at.

Besides, regardless of what the Elves' presented, her decision wouldn't change.

"This offer is good," Evexius said as he faced the Elven Delegation. "But since it is just written on a piece of paper, I cannot estimate its true value. However, since the elves are an honorable race, I take it that you will adhere to sending the resources that you have listed here?"

Evexius dangled the scroll in front of the Elves to determine whether they are serious or not.

"By my honor, I swear that the items on the list will be delivered as soon as our reinforcements from the Silvermoon Continent arrive," Elandorr stated.

The things that were listed down on the scroll were items that belonged to Alessio's branch of the Organization that was stationed in the Silvermoon Continent. It was a loan that would be paid in full by Elandorr's and the other Clan's Patriarch's, once their forces had stepped on the Southern Lands.

Empress Sidonie nodded in acknowledgement of Elandorr's vow which made the Elven Commander give her a nod of appreciation.

< This handsome Elf is trying to butter you up, Sidonie. >

'Well, he's not half bad.'

< True. >

After the meeting with the Elven Delegation ended, they were asked to return to their lodging to wait for the Young Empress' final decision. She had already told her guests a day ago that she would meet them separately.

This way, no haggling would take place. Empress Sidonie had made it clear that she would only give them one chance to convince her. If they failed to do that, there would be no second chances.

Five minutes after the Elves left the throne room, William walked in accompanied by two guards.

The Half-Elf had a dazzling smile on his face as if he had eaten something good for breakfast. Morgana's smile widened inside her and Sidonie's mindscape as she looked at the handsome teenager who made her night extra special.

"Did Sir William have a good rest?" Empress Sidonie asked with a sweet smile.

Evexius, Prince Jason, Prince Lionel, Priscilla, and the other officers of the Kraetor Empire noticed the Young Empress' subtle show of favoritism towards the Half-Elf who had come from the Hellan Kingdom. However, even though they had varied thoughts about it, none of them were voiced out loud.

They just looked at the red-headed boy and waited for whatever he had to say.

"Yes, Your Majesty," William replied. "The accommodations you gave me were very comfortable and the food was to my liking. Thank you for your hospitality and generosity."

"No need to thank me. This is what I should do as host." Empress Sidonie leaned on her throne as she crossed her leg over the other. "Making my guests suffer would be disrespectful to the hardships that they had to encounter by traveling long distances

just to see me.

"Now, Sir William, I would like to hear your offer for an alliance. I would greatly appreciate it if you don't mention about giving me your baby again. I can let it slide once due to our past friendship, however, I will not be lenient a second time."

The hidden warning in Empress Sidonie's words was enough to tell William that she didn't want others to know about her embarrassing past. Naturally, William also understood that it would be tasteless to repeat the same lines that he had said a day ago.

"This is a list that I have prepared for today's negotiation," William said as he took a scroll from his storage ring.

Evexius raised his hand and the scroll in William's hand flew in his direction. The Grand Archmage of the Kraetor Empire looked at the things written on it, and a look of surprise spread across his face.

"Are you for real?" Evexius asked in disbelief. "Are the things written here true?"

William nodded his head. "Yes."

Empress Sidonie became curious about what was written on the scroll, so she made a gesture for the Grand Archmage to hand it over to her.

Soon, the same dumbfounded expression appeared on the Young Empress' face. Although she was not too familiar with rare resources, the ones listed on the scroll were quite familiar to her.

What William listed on the scroll were the locations of undiscovered mines that the Anaesha Dynasty hadn't unearthed for hundreds of years. What was more incredible was that William had even added the size of the mines and even the maximum amount that they could gather that numbered in tons.

Silver mines, gold mines, magic crystal mines, spirit crystal mines, precious gems, and even tons of rare metals that were used for weapons and armors.

William had even added a mithril mine at the end of the list. Although the quantity wasn't much, they would still be able to mine half a ton of one of the rarest metals in the world.

Although mining was hard labor, Empress Sidonie didn't lack Worker Ants that could mine these resources faster than any Humans could.

The only problem was whether she and the Kraetor Empire could trust the things that were listed on the scroll that was currently in her hands.

Although the resources on the list were quite common compared to what the Elves had promised, the sheer quantity of the items was more than enough to make William's offer more appealing to them.

"Sir William, this is very impressive." Empress Sidonie smiled. "But…"

"But, you don't believe me." William finished Sidonie's words for her. "Well, this can be easily solved if you use your… manpower to see whether I am lying or not."

"And, what if I sent my Worker Ants and find nothing in these locations?"

"Then you can imprison, and torture, me for lying."

William's fearless stance made the Young Empress and the Grand Archmage feel that he wasn't bluffing.

"Let's say that I believe you." Empress Sidonie compromised as she looked at her beloved in a new light. "How were you able to find the location of these resources? Don't tell me you sniffed them off the ground?"

"Of course not," William replied.

"Then how?"

"Men's Intuition."

Prince Jason, Prince Lionel, as well as the other young officers of the Kraetor Empire were very tempted to drown William in spit. If Men's Intuition was enough to find Gold Mines and Mithril Mines then all of the men in the world would be swimming in gold coins.

"Your Majesty, it would be faster to send your Worker Ants to investigate," William proposed. "Although it will take them a few days to reach the nearest gold mine, all your doubts will be cleared up by then."

Empress Sidonie reluctantly nodded her head. Right now, no one could prove whether he was lying or not. However, if the Half-Elf was telling the truth then the winner of this negotiation would be none other than him.

"You can return to your quarters for now, Sir William," Empress Sidonie stated. "We will have a meeting to discuss which of the offers would be more advantageous to the Kraetor Empire. When we finally made our decision, we will call for you as well as the Elven Delegation to give our verdict."

"Understood, Your Majesty," William gave the Empress a brief bow before turning around to return to his room.

The two guards that had accompanied him in the throne room, followed behind him to ensure that the red-headed boy wouldn't wander anywhere in the palace.

William had a smile on his face as he walked towards his temporary residence. Thanks to his Divide and Conquer strategy that was meant to look for traces of the Teleportation Gate of the Kraetor Army, he was also able to find undiscovered mines along the way.

What the Half-Elf didn't tell Empress Sidonie was that the resources included on the list were just a fraction of the treasures that the System had located as the members of William's Legion scoured the territory of the Anaesha Dynasty.

B1 and B2 had even flown over a small Adamantium Mine that William had planned to keep for himself. Since these resources didn't come out of his own pocket, he didn't mind using them as bargaining chips in his negotiation with the beautiful Empress.

What William didn't know was that right after he left, a heated debate immediately broke out in the throne room. Empress Sidonie had already alerted the Ant Queen about the locations of resources that were written inside William's scroll.

'Just how did he do it?' Empress Sidonie asked Morgana who seemed to be preoccupied by her own thoughts. Right now, she was in her own quarters and sitting on top of her bed. She had left the throne room earlier because it had become too noisy for her to concentrate.

< Does it matter? Even if it's true, so what? Our decision will remain the same, right? >

Empress Sidonie nodded. Her other half was right. Now that they had come this far, it was time to execute the plan that they had in mind.

"Sorry, Sir William," Empress Sidonie muttered as she gazed at the scroll in her hand.

She then affectionately caressed William's handwriting as if it was a priceless treasure that she had won in an auction. "All is fair in love and war. In the end, I will be the one who will have the last laugh."

Morgana nodded her head, because she believed this as well.

Somewhere in the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods, a sensual Goddess chuckled happily. She was looking forward to how the Romance between the three Kingdoms would play out. Naturally, her bet would be on her followers.

After all, blood is thicker than water.

Chapter 466: Love Is Like A Stretched Rubber Band

Five hours later, the Elven Delegation, as well as William, gathered at the throne room to hear Empress Sidonie's verdict.

To their surprise, the Qilin, Eneru, was also present in the throne room. He stood arrogantly, just like he did a few days ago, but clearly, something in him had changed.

The teenage boy with light-blue hair stood between Nero and the purple-haired woman. He had a very satisfied smile on his face, which could only mean one thing…

William chuckled because he realized that the teenage boy had succeeded in taking the Qilin's whiskers. This act of ridicule earned him a hateful glare from Eneru.

'This is all your fault!' Eneru wanted to gnash his teeth in anger, but he didn't want to add more insult to his injury. Although everyone in the room was aware of what happened, all of them decided to respectfully remain quiet, with the exception of William, who didn't care for the Qilin's feelings.

Although he wasn't confident that he could beat Eneru in a one on one battle, escaping from the Qilin who was under his suppression was not a hard thing to do.

"Thank you for coming," Empress Sidonie said in a tone that matched her standing. "After careful consideration, I have finally made my decision."

The Elves' and William's ears perked up as they waited for Empress Sidonie's decree. The Decree that would decide who would become the second most powerful faction in the Southern Continent.

"The tributes I received from both parties are quite satisfactory, because of this, I have decided to… form a Non-Aggression Pact with both parties."

Elandorr and William exchanged a glance before looking back at Empress Sidonie. Both of them had calm expressions on their faces. Although an alliance would have been better, having a Non-Aggression Pact was the next best thing they could get from the current Overlord of the continent.

"Of course, this Non-Aggression Pact will only become effective if both parties are able to present the things that they promised," Empress Sidonie stated. "If the things that you've promised this Empress are not delivered then I will make you regret it."

Empress Sidonie made a gesture and Evexius nodded his head. The Grand Archmage produced a scroll and tossed it in the air.

The scroll unrolled itself and several words materialized in the air.

Just like everyone suspected, the scroll was some kind of contract. The contract stated that everything written on the list, that was given by the Elves, must be delivered in good faith to the Kraetor Army, a week after the Elven Teleportation Gate was operable.

Failure to do so would lead to the immediate deaths of the people whose blood would be printed on the scroll.

The powerful Divinity that the scroll radiated was more than enough to tell everyone that this particular contract had the blessing of a God. A contract that had the backing of a God was something no ordinary mortal would dare break.

Even Pseudo-Demigods and

Demigods would have no choice but to take this contract seriously.

"Please, offer a drop of your blood to this contract so that the deal can be finalized," Evexius declared.

Elandorr was the first to prick his finger to draw a drop of blood. He then flicked it towards the contract. A moment later, the contract glowed and a beam of light shot towards Elandorr's chest. It was the proof that the contract had now taken effect and the Elven Commander was obligated to uphold his part of the deal.

Alessio followed suit. Since he was the one that revised the resources written in the list, he was confident that he would be able to procure it.

One by one, the Elves followed suit and similar beams of light shot out from their chests. Even the Qilin, Eneru, wasn't spared, and he, too, was forced to draw his own blood. A Qilin's blood was very precious, especially a Qilin of Eneru's rank.

It had the power to strengthen a person's body, cure ailments, and was often used as an ingredient to make pills that helped warriors break through their bottlenecks in rising up the ranks.

Not only that, it also had the power to ward off miasma for a brief period of time.

The Qilin's purple blood glowed as it shot towards the contract, binding Eneru to it as well.

After the contract was finalized. Evexius took it back and presented another scroll, this time for William.

However, there was something different on William's contract. There was an additional condition that William would agree to one of Empress Sidonie's requests. This request wouldn't require him to kill, or harm anyone, whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

There was also an added condition that if William didn't really want to fulfill Empress Sidonie's request then he would not be forced to do so.

Although this added condition was strange, William didn't see any demerits in it.

William took a deep breath before flicking a drop of his blood towards the contract. After the beam of light had penetrated his chest, the negotiation between all parties had finally come to an end.

Elandorr and William once again faced each other and gave their parting words.

"The next time we meet on the battlefield, I will end your life," Elandorr declared.

"I won't bring flowers to your funeral," William replied with a casual smile.

Elandorr snorted before leaving the throne room along with his entourage. Eneru gave William one last hateful glance before taking his leave as well. He swore that if the opportunity presented itself, he would eat the hateful boy's flesh and drink his blood to vent out the humiliation he suffered at the hands of the blue-haired boy that took his whiskers from him!

"Well then, it is time for me to go as well, Your Majesty." William gave a brief bow to the Young Empress before turning his back to leave.

Empress Sidonie had to use all of her willpower to prevent herself from reaching out to him and asking him to not leave her side.

Morgana watched all of this with a sad smile because she didn't know when she would see William again. Perhaps the next time they would see each other would be when the war between the Hellan Kingdom and the Elven Army had reached a conclusion.

Just as William was about to take a step outside of the throne room he stopped and glanced back at Empress Sidonie.

"The reason why I said no to your friend last time was not because I don't like her," William said. "It is because I was afraid that I would hurt her feelings."

The red-headed boy sighed as he looked in front of him, however, he still didn't move from where he stood. Instead, he continued his explanation.

"Love is like a stretched rubber band. If their feelings for each other are true, neither of them will let either end go. However, if only one is putting effort into the relationship, and decides to let go of the rubber band on their end, the one who is still holding on will get hurt.

"If I survive this war, and your friend's feelings haven't changed after I reach my coming of age ceremony, tell her that I will consider giving her my babies. I'm sure that the smiles of our children would be enough to bring down a nation or two."

Although he said this in a teasing tone, his words also carried a subtle promise.

Empress Sidonie's gaze softened as she watched the person she loved walk away from her.

Morgana, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear because William had subtly told them that he was willing to give them a chance.

A chance was all they needed.

A chance to make the narcissistic Half Elf look at them with eyes filled with Love.

Chapter 467: Where Do You Think You're Going?

A few minutes after William left the throne room, the Three Protectors of the Kraetor Empire took their leave as well.

They wanted to see the interesting event that would happen shortly. As Myriad Beasts, they fully understood that Eneru wouldn't let William get away after he had suffered humiliation in his hands. He would definitely prepare to ambush him, as soon as he left the safety of the Royal Palace.

"Too bad, I kind of like that red-headed brat," the woman with purple hair said as she narrowed her eyes to observe the Half-Elf who was about to take his leave from the palace.

Nero and the teenage boy with light blue hair didn't say anything and merely spectated from where they stood. Now that they had formed a Non-Aggression Pact with both parties, they couldn't extend their help to either side.

Still, the three Myriad Beasts had no doubt in their mind that Eneru would be able to capture William and torture him to his heart's content.

"The Young Empress seemed to favor him," the teenage boy commented. "Should we not tell her that the Half-Elf she is interested in is in danger?"

Nero shook his head. "Let's stay out of this. Besides, isn't it more interesting this way? We get to see how a Myriad Beast bullies a child. Although I don't condone this behavior, Eneru is pretty pissed now that you've taken his whiskers from him."

The teenage boy smiled and nodded his head. He didn't think that he would be able to accomplish his goal so easily. Fortunately, Eneru was under a powerful suppression and was unable to resist him.

William walked without a care in the world and was even whistling as he headed in the direction of the Main Gate that led outside the city.

Naturally, Eneru and the Elves were already waiting for him there. They had even formulated a fool-proof plan in order to prevent the Half-Elf from escaping their grasp.

When William was only a few hundred meters away from the gate, he took a left turn and entered an inn. Naturally, this inn was no longer in business, and only served as a place where the Kraetor Army would spend their time leisurely when they're not on duty.

Eneru had already locked onto William's body using his powerful Spiritual Sense. As long as he was inside the City of Veritas, he wouldn't be able to escape his grasp.

'The brat is simply delaying the inevitable,' Eneru snorted. He was very tempted to capture the boy immediately, but he knew that the Half-Elf would fight back. If they were to rampage in the city, and destroy a few properties then the Kraetor Army would not sit idly and fight back.

Eneru didn't want to experience being handled by the teenage boy with light-blue hair again, so he was willing to endure and just wait for the Half-Elf to leave the city before he moved in to put him in his place.

'I'll make sure to torture you first before I end your pitiful life.' Eneru vowed in his heart.

William was an existence that threatened Eneru's safety. Because of this, he had already decided to kill him as soon as possible, so that

there would be no future complications. Although he would suffer a powerful backlash for killing the Shepherd's Scion, he wasn't afraid.

He'd rather suffer a backlash than forever be suppressed by someone's presence.

"All of you can go back to the Zelan Dynasty," Eneru ordered. "I am more than enough to deal with the boy."

"Your Excellency, I also have a grudge against him," Elandorr replied. "My greatest wish is to see him being tortured and die a very slow, and painful, death. Let me accompany you in dealing with that filthy half blood."

Eneru had felt Elandorr's genuine desire to see William's suffering so he agreed to let him stay. The other Elves were also on the same page, including Alessio, who currently had his arms crossed over his chest.

All of them were waiting for William to appear so that they could teach him a lesson that he would carry with him to the afterlife.

A few minutes passed…

Half an hour passed…

An hour passed…

Two hours passed…

William had still not left the inn and it was already making Eneru, the Elves, and even the Three Protectors impatient.

"Should I go in there and drag him out myself?" the teenage boy proposed. "I don't like waiting."

Nero and the purple-haired woman frowned. They, too, were not too fond of waiting, and the boy had already been inside the inn for two hours.

Fortunately, there was someone who was more impatient than them and decided to just get it over with.

Eneru entered the city and headed straight towards the inn that William had visited a few hours ago.

After setting foot inside the inn, Eneru scanned the crowd to look for the boy. However, he only saw the young warriors of the Kraetor Empire enjoying their food and drinks at their leisure.

"Did any of you see the red-headed boy that came in here a few hours ago?" Eneru inquired everyone inside the room. Although he felt beneath him to ask teenage Humans about the whereabouts of the boy, he had no choice but to compromise, since he could feel the pressure of the Three Protectors that were locked onto his body.

"Are you talking about the boy who went to the bathroom to take a dump?" One of the warriors answered. "Now that you mention it, he hasn't ever come out of the bathroom since then."

Eneru nodded his head and hurriedly walked towards the bathroom. Tendrils of lightning crackled in his right hand as he pushed the door using his left. He was about to unleash the concentrated lightning bolt in his hand when he noticed that something was wrong.

'He's not here!' Eneru's eyes widened. 'How could that be?!'

Ever since William entered the inn, he had focused his spiritual sense inside it and made sure that the Half-Elf wouldn't be able to leave undetected.

However, even with that, William was still able to escape from right under his nose!

The Three Protectors were also surprised. They had already lit a candle inside their hearts for the arrogant Half-Elf, but the latter was nowhere to be seen.

—–

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from the Capital City of Veritas….

A loud explosion reverberated in the air followed by a neighing sound filled with pain. A few moments later, a four meter tall, Dark Blue Horse, fell on the lake's surface, creating a big splash, and sending the rest of its herd running.

Even though it was in great pain, the Dark Blue Horse forced its body to dive deeper in the lake to escape the red-headed boy that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Where do you think you're going?" William asked as he summoned a hundred-meter long water whip that fished it out of the Dark Blue Horse from the water, before hurtling it towards the shore.

The Dark Blue Horse tried to break free from its binding, but William's Water whip held it in place. The red-headed boy then raised his right hand and aimed it at the struggling beast that was a few meters away from him.

"Beast Taming!"

An orb of light shot out from William's hand and collided with the fallen Beast, who had no power to resist. Soon its entire body was enveloped by a white light.

While all of this was going on, a certain Qilin was very close to unleashing a lightning storm in the City of Veritas in order to force William to come out from his hiding place.

The Three Protectors had also arrived and ordered the people inside the inn to evacuate. They were also there to investigate how the boy had managed to escape from their surveillance.

Empress Sidonie looked at the crystal ball in her hand, and watched the commotion happening inside the inn with a smile. Although she didn't know how William was able to leave the city undetected, she was still happy that the boy she liked was safe from harm.

If only she knew that her beloved was busy plundering the resources of her Kingdom, Empress Sidonie might have immediately ordered the Three Protectors to apprehend him and bring him back to the capital in chains.

That way, she could ensure that he wouldn't do anything mischievous behind her back, as well as keep him safe from a Qilin, and a few Elves, who were dead set on hacking him into pieces.

Chapter 468: Do You Have Good News For Me?

The Dark Blue Horse used its willpower to resist, but its injuries and William's suppression prevented it from dispelling the Taming Skill on its body.

This was the first time that William had used this skill after Ascending his Job Class to the Quick Shot Shepherd. William was very curious about how strong this taming skill was.

Soon, the light receded and the red-headed boy immediately felt a connection with the Malevolent Nightmare Kelpie that had the rank of a Class A (Low) Beast.

It was one of the Powerful Beasts that the System had marked when the Angray Birds had flown over the region. Since William was planning to add more members to his army, and was itching to test his Beast Taming Skill, he decided to visit it first.

After healing the Malevolent Nightmare Kelpie's injuries, William ordered it to gather the members of its herd. The Beast nodded its head and uttered a neigh that reverberated through the area near the lake.

Soon, members of its herd appeared to answer its call and they stood several meters away from their leader, while giving William a guarded look.

"Welcome to your new home," William said as he opened his Thousand Beast Domain to welcome the new additions to his herd. "I'm sure that you will find the Dungeon of Atlantis to your liking."

The Malevolent Nightmare Kelpie was the Alpha of its own herd, which allowed William to automatically gain over two hundred Water Kelpies to his King's Legion.

At first, the Water Kelpies were hesitant, but due to William's benevolent aura and the encouragement of their Alpha, they all entered the portal as they were told. The Malevolent Nightmare Kelpie was the last to enter the Domain, and William followed behind it.

There was already a lake inside the Thousand Beast Domain, so he didn't have to buy another. Also, after teaching them how to travel to Atlantis, the Water Kelpies were like fish in the water. Even the Malevolent Nightmare Kelpie was quite satisfied with William's arrangement because all of them were carnivorous creatures.

The Siokoys as well as the Nagas were the perfect beasts for them to hunt because neither of them couldn't outrun or overpower the water horses in any bodies of water.

After making sure that the new members of his herd were satisfied, William returned to the real world and asked the System about the matter in the Capital City of the Anaesha Dynasty.

"Are they still looking for me in the City of Veritas?" William inquired.

< Yes. The Qilin, Eneru, is currently above the city, frantically looking for your presence. >

William chuckled before sending a telepathic message to his, ever lively, spy that was currently inside the city.

"Aethon, good job," William praised the small bird who was always there to serve as his eyes during critical moments. "You can leave the city now. Make sure to fly towards the East, so that the stupid Qilin won't get suspicious."

"Chirp!"

After chirping its acknowledgement, Aethon flapped its wings and flew away. William would come to pick it up at a later time when he traveled to the Eastern Region of

the Anaesha Dynasty.

Before William entered the capital, he already knew that he would be facing danger. This was why he had thrown Soleil towards the sky, where it passed through the dark clouds and basked in the sunlight.

Since the weapon was soul bound to William, it allowed him to instantly teleport to wherever it was. This was one of the countermeasures that he had made beforehand just in case he needed a way to escape the capital undetected.

After discovering the location of the Malevolent Nightmare Kelpie, in the Northern Region of the Dynasty, William controlled Soleil remotely and ordered it to head in that direction.

William knew that Eneru and the Elves would do everything in their power to capture him. Fortunately, he had already anticipated this scenario. The red-headed boy even thought of using this opportunity to piss them off further, and delay their return to the Zelan Dynasty.

William then activated the ring that was given to him by Conner as a means for the two of them to be able to communicate with each other over long distances.

Since the two of them were in a temporary alliance against the Elves, William decided to set aside their grudges for the time being, and collaborate with him to put an end to the war that they had started.

"Do you have good news for me?" Conner asked as soon as the connection was established.

William nodded his head and reported the things that happened in Veritas. Conner was surprised when he learned that the Elves had also tried to form an alliance with the Kraetor Army.

"Fortunately you have arrived in time," Conner commented after hearing William's report.

Although he had already established in his mind that William and Empress Sidonie had a good relationship with each other, he still had misgivings about the Kraetor Empire's stance in regards to the Hellan Kingdom, and the Elven Army that was based in the Zelan Dynasty.

"How long do you think it will take before the Elves build their Teleportation Gate?" William inquired.

Conner pondered before giving a rough estimate, "At most we have a month's time. Although it is short, there's nothing we can do about it. I will continue to make arrangements for the defense of the City of Gladiolus. How about you? What do you plan to do?"

"Recruit more allies to fight by our side. I will keep in touch and return before the war reaches the walls of Gladiolus."

"Very well. If there is anything that comes up, I'll inform you right away."

William nodded. "Alright, I'll also keep in touch if anything happens on my side. Bye."

The red-headed boy cut off the connection with a sigh.

"After a month, the real thing begins. We don't have much time," William muttered as he looked at his status page. The markers where the tameable beasts were located flashed before his eyes.

"System, prepare for flight synchronization."

< Flight Synchronization Activated. >

William channeled his aura on Soleil and pointed its tip towards the East.

< Host, please, raise Soleil to match your eye level. >

William did as he was told and held the weapon in his hand steadily.

< Move its tip three inches towards the right. >

The Half-Elf followed the System's instructions obediently in order to prevent himself from flying in the wrong direction.

< Flight Pattern is now in Perfect Sync! All Green and ready for take off! >

"Quick Shot War Art Fusion Form…," William said with a serious expression.

"Blitzer Railgun!"

William and Soleil merged as one and shot out towards the sky. Their next destination was the Adamantium mine that the System had discovered.

Although the possibility was low, he didn't want Empress Sidonie's Worker Ants to accidentally bump into the Adamantium mine, as they traveled to the locations that William had written out for them.

William knew that he couldn't possibly gather all the other resources located in the Aenasha Dynasty during that one month period. Although he was traveling five times the speed of sound, he had no doubt in his mind that the Ant Queen would soon discover the smuggling expeditions he was doing around her turf.

In order to prevent conflicts from arising, he decided to target the most important resources first, before shifting his attention to the Herd Type Creatures that he could capture along the way.

William felt regretful about divulging the location of the Mithril Mine, but he also understood that it was needed to entice the Young Empress, as well as the high-ranking officers of the Kraetor Empire to look favorably at him.

If he only knew that the beautiful Empress, and her mischievous other half, had made their decision long ago. He would have definitely kept the location of the Mithril Mine to himself, and used it to forge weapons and armor for his army instead.

Fortunately, he didn't know that the two girls had one-upped him, or else he would have already spat a mouthful of blood, due to heart-ache and regret, for sharing so many resources with them. The list was long enough that it would have made his Grandfather, James, dance and laugh out loud for an entire day while shouting "We're Rich!" over and over again.

Chapter 469: Can't We Just Kill Him?

Two weeks after William and the Elven Delegation met with Empress Sidonie, all of the high-ranking officers of the Elven Forces gathered in an Underground Base that Drauum had built right outside the Capital City of the Zelan Dynasty.

"Open the Gate!" Drauum ordered.

""Open the Gate!""

The Elven forces shouted in unison as the Teleportation Gate came to life. They had waited for this day for a long time. They felt ashamed that they had holed themselves up in the city out of fear of being attacked by the Human rebels who had killed thousands

Drauum had personally aided in its building alongside the Elven Scholars, whose duty was to calibrate it to match the Connecting Gate that they had built back in the Silvermoon Continent, before going on an expedition in the Human Lands.

Since a Pseudo-Demigod aided them in its construction, the Teleportation Gate was finished two weeks earlier than they had estimated.

This development made Elandorr and Alessio sigh in relief because they felt pressured about the current affairs of the Elven Expedition. They thought that they would be able to sweep the land unhindered, but they had greatly underestimated the ability of the people in the Southern Continent.

Soon, an Elven Warrior dressed in light-weight armor passed through the gate. The moment the Elven Prodigies saw him, all of them immediately started cheering.

The Elven Warrior was caught by surprise, but due to his training, he retained the calm expression on his face and gave Elandorr a curt nod before walking forward.

Not long after, several other Elven Warriors passed through the gate.

Hundreds…

Thousands…

Tens of Thousands…

The men had various emblems etched on their armor, which represented the clans that they belonged to.

An hour later, the Patriarch's of the Rhys, Saleh, Nasira, Rhys, and Eroan Clans walked out of the Teleportation Gates.

The moment these Elders appeared in the underground base, all the Elves knelt like Knights paying tribute to their Sovereigns.

The only ones that didn't kneel were Princess Eowyn, Drauum, and Eneru.

The Patriarch's of the different clans bowed their heads respectfully to the Elven Princess and the Two Guardians standing by her side.

A middle-aged Elf stepped forward as he knelt at the Elven Princess' feet to show his allegiance to the Royal Family.

"It has been a while, Your Highness," the middle-aged elf said with a smile. "I pray that my stupid grandson had treated you well in this expedition."

Princess Eowyn returned the Elder's smile and nodded her head. "Commander Elandorr has ensured that I lived a comfortable life here in the Southern Continent. Please, rise, Lord Shafel."

Shafel nodded his head and rose up to his feet. He was the Great Elder of the Gilwen Clan, and Elandorr's Grandfather.

In the Silvermoon Continent, he was one of the respected members of the Elven Council and part of the Anti-Human Faction. They were the headache of the Conservative Faction who wished to happily coexist with their neighbors.

This recent expedition to the Southern Continent was done without any authorization from the Elven Council. Even so, everyone decided to turn a blind eye into it, even the Royal Family.

To ensure that cruelty against Humanity would not be a wide-spread practice, the King of the Elves had tasked his daughter, Princess Eowyn, to become a supervisor in the expedition. Unfortunately, the Elves in the expedition were smart enough to

agree with her on the surface, while torturing humans behind closed doors.

"Elandorr, step forward," Shafel ordered.

"Yes!" Elandorr replied as he stood in front of his Grandfather.

It was at that moment when a resounding slap echoed inside the underground base. A red mark appeared on the Elven Commander's handsome face, but he remained calm, and endured the stinging pain on his face.

"Your mission was to conquer the Human lands, and yet, you've only managed to acquire one Human Kingdom?" Shafel said in a cold tone as if he was talking to a servant instead of a family member. "I didn't raise you to be an incompetent commander. What do you have to say to yourself?"

Elandorr knelt on the ground and bowed his head in submission. "I have no excuse for my incompetence. I will accept any punishment that the Great Elder will bestow upon me."

"Since you admit to your incompetence, I hereby sentence you to…"

"Wait."

Princess Eowyn stepped forward and stood between Elandorr and Shafel. The Elven Princess stared at the Great Elder of the Gilwen Clan with a fearless expression.

"Great Elder, I have witnessed how hard Commander Elandorr had strived to make this mission a success," Princess Eowyn said. "It is quite unfortunate that we have underestimated the Humans that live in these lands. Even though we are far superior to them, their tenacity is praiseworthy. It is not the Commander's fault that the expedition failed. Our fault lies in the fact that we underestimated our opponents."

Shafel smiled and nodded his head. "Since Her Highness is telling me to let this matter slide then I will let it slide. Elandorr, thank Her Highness. If not for her, I would have already excommunicated you from our Clan due to your incompetence."

Elandorr raised his head and looked at Princess Eowyn with a guilt-ridden expression on his face.

"Your Highness, I thank you for speaking on my behalf. From this day onwards, I offer my life to always serve by your side and protect you from any harm," Elandorr vowed. "I swear this upon the blessing of the World Tree."

Princess Eowyn nodded her head, as she offered her hand to the kneeling elf. "Rise, Commander Elandorr. You still have a role to play in this war. You can atone for your mistakes by leading us to victory."

Elandorr took the Princess hand and lightly kissed. "It will be as you wish, Your Highness."

—–

"That was a fine performance, Elandorr," Shafel nodded in appreciation. "With this, you will be able to stay by Princess Eowyn's side as her personal guard after this war is over. You'd better not miss this chance."

"I will do my best, Grandfather," Elandorr replied with a smile.

The mark on his face had long disappeared after it was healed by one of the Elven Clerics.

The two of them were currently inside the Commander's Quarters where Elandorr relayed the current statues of the three factions in the Southern Continent.

"Having a Non-Aggression Pact with the Kraetor Empire is good," Shafel nodded. "If we captured all the lands in the continent, the various powers in the Central Continent would not sit idle. They may even find an excuse to launch a crusade to liberate the Southern Continents from the Elven Invaders.

"Although our race is superior, the Humans outnumbered us a million to one. We should not provoke them too much until we have found a means to threaten all of them."

Elandorr nodded his head. He agreed with his Grandfather which was why he had pushed for the talks between the Elves and Empress Sidonie during their High-Level Meeting a few weeks ago.

"The Saintess' Son…," Shafel muttered. "If we can capture him then he would be a good hostage to prevent the Saintess, and the Aenarion Clan, from exerting pressure over this expedition in the Human lands. We need to capture him at all costs."

"Grandfather, can't we just kill him?" Elandorr asked. "I'm afraid that he will be a dangerous person when he grows up."

"Kill?" Shafel looked at Elandorr as if he was looking at an ignorant fool. "You dare kill the son of the Saintess and the Hero of the Elves? If you do that, even though I am an Elder in the Council, Our Clan would not be spared from Aenarion's Wrath. Also, the Elven King owes that bastard Maxwell for saving our heritage. If word gets out that you intend to kill the Saintess' son…"

"Forgive me, Grandfather. I wasn't looking at the bigger picture." Elandorr bowed his head in apology.

Shafel was a man who specialized in schemes and deceit. This was why he had managed to become Alessio's backer as the latter built his connections in the Silvermoon Continent. He could tell at a glance that Elandorr truly wished for William's demise, so he decided to offer him an olive branch.

"We can't kill him now, but that doesn't mean that we can't kill him later," Shafel said in a volume that was only enough for Elandorr to hear. "We can administer a slow acting poison that will kill him within the year. This will prevent the Saintess and the others from tracing it back to us. It will be a slow and painful death, and I will give you the honor of personally administering the poison into his body."

"Thank you, Grandfather." Elandorr bowed his head for the umpteenth time. "Although I prefer to torture him myself, this is also good. At least, no one will be able to suspect our Clan and we can still have a good relationship with the Aenarion Family."

"As long as you understand then all is good. Now, let us put this matter aside and discuss the war preparations."

"As you wish, Grandfather."

Chapter 470: Diversionary Tactics

A black snake slithered out of the underground base where the Elven Teleportation Gate was located, under the cover of darkness.

When it felt that there was no one around it, it turned into a black mist and traveled outside the city.

Half an hour later, Ezio stood on top of a tree while looking at the capital city of the Zelan Dynasty. He immediately wrote a coded message on his wrist before sending it to both of his disciples.

After doing this task, he once again turned into a black mist and made his way back towards the city. He needed to gather more information about the current hierarchy of the Elven Forces. Ezio knew that this mighty army would head towards the Hellan Kingdom in a few days, and formally declare war on those that resided behind the walls of the City of Gladiolus.

—-

William felt an itch on his wrist, and knew that a message had arrived from his Fourth Master, Ezio.

A frown immediately appeared on his face after reading the message. He thought that there would still be two to three more weeks before the Elven Reinforcements would arrive.

"Sorry, but I'm short on time right now," William said as he raised his hand and aimed it at the Elusive Mist Wildebeest that was struggling to get back on its feet.

"Beast Taming!"

—–

"Are you sure about this?" Conner asked. "This is not a good joke."

He was currently looking at William's projection with a dumbfounded expression on his face. The Leader of Deus was just about to rest when the red-headed boy's unexpected call made his drowsiness go away completely.

"I wish it was," William replied. "Unfortunately, I have a trusted acquaintance that is currently snooping around the Capital City of Briar Glen. I trust him with my life, so this news is credible."

Conner clenched his fist in frustration. There were still so many things that he was working on, but this sudden turn of events made him feel helpless.

"How is the defense of Gladiolus?" WIlliam inquired. "Is it ready for a siege?"

William's question broke Conner out of his daze. Although most of the preparations are in their final phase, they were far from complete. Moreover, there was still one piece of information that he needed to share with William.

"The countermeasures for a siege are well underway, but I still need a few days to wrap things up." Conner admitted. "Also, I discovered that a member of the Royal Family is needed in order to activate the true defensive capabilities of Gladiolus. Unfortunately, Prince Lionel and Prince Rufus didn't know how to activate it. This was why I sent them to the Zelan Dynasty as hostages.

"I doubt that King Noah didn't pass this information on to someone of the Royal Bloodline. My guess is that he didn't trust his two eldest sons and didn't impart this information to them. Perhaps, the Youngest Prince knows how the defensive capabilities of Gladiolus were activated."

William was quite surprised by Conner's revelation, but he was sure that the Leader of Deus wasn't lying to him.

This was a crucial moment, so the latter was more open about increasing the defensive capabilities of the capital city.

'The only member of the Royal Family we can count on is Prince Ernest,' William thought. 'However it would take a week of travel from the City of Gladiolus and back from the Kyrintor Mountains. The Elves could arrive in the borders of the Hellan Kingdom in five days' time.'

While Wiliam was deep in thought, Conner also informed him that a member of the Royal Family was needed to deactivate the Teleportation Gates, which the Elves could use to speed up their travel towards the core of the Hellan Kingdom.

"Okay, you said that we need Prince Ernest's help to disable the operation of the Teleport Gates and raise the defenses of Gladiolus, right?"

"Yes."

"In that case, tell Prince Alaric to travel to the Kyrintor Mountains," William replied. "Brianna, the Daughter of the Great Chieftain will recognize him. Brief him of the dilemma that we are currently facing. I'm sure that he will make haste in his travels to bring Prince Ernest as soon as he can."

Conner nodded his head. He had long wondered where the Young Prince was hiding. Fortunately, they could use the teleportation Gates to speed things up, and get the Young Prince return as soon as possible.

"I will try to delay the advance of the Elves," William stated. "I might only be able to delay them for a day, but do your best to speed things up at your end."

"You will delay them?" Conner asked in disbelief. "Only you?"

William smiled, but didn't say anything else. Conner understood that he wouldn't be getting any more information from William, so he decided to end their meeting and mobilize Prince Alaric as well as the defenders of Gladiolus to double their efforts because they only had a few days before the Elves came knocking on their doors.

—–

After his dialogue with Conner, William gathered everyone in the Thousand Beast Domain to share the latest information that he had acquired from Ezio. Just as he expected, everyone's faces paled, with the exception of Celine and Kasogonaga, when they realized that they didn't have much time remaining.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Celine inquired. "Are we going back to the City of Gladiolus, or are we going to use guerilla tactics to delay the Elven Army's advance to the Hellan Kingdom?"

William looked at his Master and nodded his head in acknowledgement. He wasn't surprised that Celine had thought of this matter as well. Having her around gave William a certain confidence that they could buy enough time for Conner to finish the preparations on his end.

The Beasts that were listening in their conversation kept their silence and waited for William to elaborate on the plan in his mind.

"Erchitu, you are quite familiar with the geography of the Zelan Dynasty," William said. "Can you tell me which of these locations have teleportation gates in them?"

William projected a giant map hanging in the air for everyone to see. It was a very detailed map of the Zelan Dynasty's North West Regions that bordered the Hellan Kingdom.

Unlike the Hellan Kingdom who had invested heavily in the creation of teleportation gates to allow fast travel to the different territories of the Kingdom, the Zelan Dynasty had fewer teleportation gates.

If William could destroy them, he would be able to delay the Elven Army's advance drastically. The Half-Elf knew that if he was fighting against a regiment of Elves that numbered between a thousand up to three thousand, he might be able to fight them off.

Any forces that exceeded that number would be avoided at all costs.

If William had his way, he would just fight hundreds of Elven Soldiers at a time. That way, he would be able to overpower them with sheer numbers, and maximize the blessings of his Quick Shot Shepherd Job Class.

Erchitu pointed at several cities on the map where he believed that Teleportation Gates had been built.

"They're quite spread out." William rubbed his chin. He wasn't worried if there would be Elven Defenders there or not. Even if there were, he was confident that he would be able to take care of them without problems.

'The problem is that if we attack one of them, the other gates will be alerted, and more reinforcements will arrive,' William thought. 'If we do this, we have to do it simultaneously.'

William stared at the map long and hard , while the System helped him formulate the probable team compositions that would yield the best outcome.

After an hour of calculations, William presented the plan to everyone in his Legion. They would attack the four outer Teleportation Gates nearest the border of the Hellan Kingdom. This was the best they could do for now.

Once they succeeded, they would delve deeper in the Zelan Dynasty to destroy more of these Teleportation Gates.

William hoped that his diversionary tactics would be enough to delay the Elves from their advance, and give them a few more days to fortify the defenses of Gladiolus, where they would make their last stand.

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