I was split between letting them go or chasing the poor fools all the way back home and teaching Sadian another practical lesson. As fun as watching the carpet of angry bloodstained al-Mi'raj on steroids chasing fleeing knights across the countryside looked like, it was a waste of time. I had more important things to do than bash another crown into some foolish King's thick skull. Now that the real mastermind behind everything was revealed, I had no doubt the haughty lizards were coming for a showdown.
I had to prepare for a possible dragon invasion and the political revival of Windemere. Dismissing the remaining summons, I retrieved one particular piece of loot and checked the body. Half-dragons had no Core. Bummer. I revived him right there on the blood-soaked mud. Torgo's handler struggled against my {Force Bindings}
"Hey, Trogdor. Good seeing you alive and kicking again. Are you ready to intercede on your Broodmare's behalf?"
He glowered. I kicked him.
"Oh, right. It's Broodmother. Let's just call her the Salty Bitch, shall we?"
He spat his fire breath right at my face. My hair flowed with the blowing wind. That's why my spear's Dragonfire enchantment doesn't even bother triggering if the target is resistant to fire.
"Is this a good time to remind you I'm healed by fire? Or did they not even inform you of that? Look, there are two ways this is ending. Three, actually. One, you cooperate and I let you go. Two, I'll farm Exp out of your bleeding soul until you are weaker than a whelp. Or three, your Goddess deems you worthy of saving before I knock you all the way down to level zero and intercedes. You can pick option one or endure and hope for three."
"Go fu--"
> For Killing level 178 Dumbass Half-Dragon, you gained 747.6B Exp. (Base 2,900,757 x 3,125 fast-learner, x3,38 Favored Enemy, x3,05 Challenge x2 Rank x2 Rarity x2 Species).
>
> Soul Shepherd
"What were you saying?"
"You damn bi--"
> For Killing level 174 Spiteful Bastard, you gained 714.4B Exp. (Base 2,771,851 x 257,725 multipliers).
>
> Soul Shepherd
"Let's try it again, shall--?"
"My brethren--"
> For Killing level 170 Thick Skulled Half-Dragon…
…
...
"I admire your tenacity," I remarked. "How's the feeling of being level zero again?" The now Classless half-dragon whimpered.
I looked up at the sky. "Did you enjoy the show, dragon-bitch? You should've left Windemere alone and sent your brood after me. I could use a few draconic Cores. Now, the show's over. Send your lizards to Windemere and I vow to make them extinct. I'll scour all the continents, every nook and cranny of every mountain, and crevice. Cook your eggs for breakfast. Tan your hides. Mount your heads on my walls.
"Or you can just leave me alone. Your call, really."
She didn't deign to give me an answer.
The half-dragon, crashing from the sudden loss in Attributes and a huge stack of Ress Sickness, muttered, "Ku-kh-kill me. One last time. I shall not live in shame! Kill me or I'll forever hunt you and your kin."
I threw a random sword at his feet. "If you want to die, then kill yourself. How many centuries did you grind to earn your level? All gone because you were enough of a fanatic to throw your life away for your fool of a Goddess. At least you are not starting from zero. It seems you kept some Proficiencies."
He lost the automatic Proficiency gains from leveling up, but the ones gained from hard work remained. I suspected even his fast-growth points were re-calculated and applied. He had too many points. Feeling a rueful bad taste in my mouth, I withdrew to the Ethereal, leaving the half-dragon and the sword there. He should be able to fend for himself, this well-traveled area has little to no monsters. If you don't count the ones that walk on two legs.
----------------------------------------
Back in Windemere, news of the approaching army circulated on the grapevine. Everyone was tense, expecting an invasion. The silver lining was the dwarves circulating and trading freely among the people. At last, Windemere was united.
I stood on Locksley's statue and summoned a {Shadow Workshop} around me, with lecterns to write on. The people stopped what they were doing to shout at me, but I ignored them and surrounded the statue with an opaque cylinder of Force.
I furiously scribbled on strips of paper and sent {Messenger Birds} to all corners of the world. A copy of the general news went to the three Allied Kingdoms in southern Pekothas, Ackerton, Atlantis, the Auvani Empire, Lonid, Leondirac, and Ekar, among other nations. Including Sadian. Let the fools gloat before their routed officers return home.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
> The dwarven nation of Vugh Tarim was dissolved and rejoined Windemere a week ago. Sadian sent an army 100,000 strong, average level sixty, to attack Windemere. Current position as of yesterday camped 3 kilometers out of the western wall gate.
That should stir whoever was hiding and waiting for an opportunity to move. I only wished to see their faces as they read the messages.
I reshaped the workshop and surrounded the statue with scaffolding and a mold of what I wanted. Using Earth magic, I sculpted the statue to better match reality. Upon the feet of the statue, I left a pile of two dozen subordinate Tabards with a note on a wooden sign.
> True children of Windemere, know you are not alone. Claim your destiny upon your own hands. Do not hoard these gifts for yourselves but use them as a sign of mutual trust.
>
> -The Matriarch
That should stir the nation awake. Invisible, I watched as the people on the square noticed the changed statue and the pile of green-and-gold cloth at its feet. A curious raccoon-kin took one of the Tabards and shouted.
"Our [Matriarch] is with us!" He exulted and donned the cloth. "FOR WINDEMERE!"
The other tabards quickly found worthy wearers. Then a wolf-kin kid tugged the raccoon-kin man.
"Mister! May I wear the Tabard too?"
Greed froze the bandit-masked man for a moment before someone cleared their throat loudly and knocked on the sign. He read the mood and removed the subordinate Tabard. "Of course! If your heart is true, this is also yours!"
The kid put on the Tabard and shouted, "For Windemere!"
I turned on my {Progenitor Matriarch} aura. People would notice the Exp bonus once they gained something. By the tiny notifications I got, I knew Windemere's heart would ignite like wildfire. Since the cat was out of the bag, I also turned on my {Royal Exp Tithing} perk. More Exp notifications came from my sworn subjects all over the world.
From the square, I went to meet my agent. I'd sensed him in town and wondered if he already completed his mission.
----------------------------------------
"I got what you wanted," Raleigh notified me. The [Rogue] sounded tired and stressed. Maybe I should ask him if his employment conditions weren't to his liking.
"Already? Raleigh, I love you," I cooed.
There was a small wooden chest on a table. I sent him to find me a true dragon core but I didn't expect him to come back so soon, or come back at all. I had to re-evaluate him. I had no bindings on him aside from the ring he couldn't get rid of. I had no way of tracking the ring aside from checking if it had returned to the designated spot if he ever died.
"You should give me easier tasks if you really like me," he bitterly remarked.
I laughed, "Oh, c'mon. I give you exciting and challenging tasks. How much have your Proficiencies grown since you started to work for me?"
"More than I wanted. I almost died a few times!"
"Yet you are here. Death for you is just a sweet vacation, Raleigh. You could even kill yourself after, say, raiding a Royal Vault to escape in the ring. The first time you die every twelve years, you come back without any penalties."
"I'm deeply moved by your willingness to keep me in your employ," he sarcastically remarked.
"You are welcome to quit if you find someone paying more than me," I deadpanned. "Or a more prestigious employer."
He placed his hand over his heart and bowed, "All hail the Old Soul, Windemere's founder, Weaver of Souls, First Hero, Death Princess, and a ton of other titles. The everlasting visitor."
His words carried not a shred of joy or sincerity. I ignored him for a while and opened the box. A trap sprung and poisoned me. I took one of the needles and licked it. "Goblin's Redcap. Nasty little shroom. Causes hallucinations and convulsions. I like deathberries. Less messy and harder to resist. Didn't you disarm this?"
"I did, but the trap is magical," he sighed. "If you let go of this needle, it will teleport back to its casing and reset."
I let go of the needle and it vanished from my hand.
I clapped my hands, "Seriously? And the poison? Does it run out? I have to give you a bonus, Raleigh."
"I think the damn mushrooms grow inside the box," he explained. "There is too much room between the bottom and the inner compartment. I thought it was a hidden compartment but it is sealed shut."
I removed the Core from the velvety insides of the trapped box. "I'll keep the box. Thanks a lot, Raleigh."
> Blue Dragon Core - Level 152
>
> Value: 117 kingmetal coins.
>
> The Core of a young third-rank blue dragon. Grants 152 Attribute points minus the points from the previous Core if devoured.
Unfortunately, the Kythaurpódi Core was higher leveled than this one. But I didn't send Raleigh to procure this baby to get Attributes from it. I wanted to see if I could slot a dragon summon. I activated my ability. The Core vanished and Blue Dragon was added to my list of permanent summons. I could summon blue dragons with a wide range of levels, from 81 all the way to 200. The cheapest one cost me 430,566 Energy after all reductions, with a maintenance cost of 24,112 per minute.
But it was a dragon.
"Wanna see me summon dragons?" I asked Raleigh. "You can even spar against it. It's a unique opportunity."
"Oh, Gods. Forgive me for what I unleashed upon the world," He mumbled then stared seriously, "Let's do it!"
I shifted to the Ethereal with Raleigh and brought forth a level 81 blue dragon. Its body was the size of a minivan, with four meters of the neck and a thick tail on either side. The wingspan was more than thirty meters from end to end.
"Spar with this man but don't kill him or use any special abilities," I ordered the dragon. It didn't move.
I felt the intelligent creature mentally buckle and resist my command. Without formal training, I belatedly learned one of the major problems with summoning magic. Strong and willful creatures could resist and break free of the summoner's control. Thankfully the thought of using a lesser demon core (I had thousands) for summoning never crossed my mind.
Locked in this battle of wills, I tried to force the dragon to submit but I felt Divinity pouring into the creature. Someone was interfering with the control of my summoned creature.
> Flash Blink Step
I touched the dragon and the Divine energy siphoned away. The creature's resistance returned to what would be normal for a level 81 dragon and I bound it to my will.
"Problems?" Raleigh asked from a safe distance. The [Rogue] gut reaction was to bail the fuck out of harm's way.
"Yeah. There's a bitch that holds sway over all dragons. She definitely didn't like me taking control of one of her children."
"And by bitch you mean goddess," He stated.
I could use the dragon but only if I kept physical contact with it. The fact the brood-bitch could bless a summoned dragon to resist the summoner's control was troublesome. I dismissed the dragon.
"Definitely. I'll tell you one hidden secret of this world, Raleigh," I sighed. "The Gods are not as divine as they paint themselves, and most of them are too petty for their own good. That's why I had to kill two of them. Most of them are assholes."
"As are we all, my Lady," He sardonically stated the truth.