Always Giving Time…

20 years weren't enough to change a whole Kingdom. Or at least that should've been the case.

After the announcement, leaving half the world wondering what the fuck would happen in 20 years, Heian Ciemnosc returned to cultivate. He wouldn't find it bothersome to spend 2 decades only cultivating and dual cultivating with Sara. His circle didn't need to be told what to do, they became used to entering the mansion and use Heian Ciemnosc's group cultivation method to meditate or cultivate. Heian Ciemnosc himself, and wherever he went, had become a natural cultivation paradise.

Of course, the entire Lsefattern Kingdom also welcomed the paradisaical lifestyle they saw in the Stormy Calm Sea first. Be it the settlements, forts, or support to the First and Second Step organizations, the Crimsonbreaking Faction territory spread it everywhere. Even the poorest 1* Regions were taken with warm arms into the territory, granting them lifestyles and cultivation resources to civilians and cultivators alike.

Let alone the 3* Regions, which became headquarters of the Crimsons’ forces for great quantity of troops, be it land forces, navy, or armada. The Crimsons’ armada became official at the 16 years of the Kingdom war. It only became stupidly solid afterwards, when the Crimsons didn’t have to worry about war breaking out anywhere near by a foolish enemy Region.

The auxiliary units’ numbers became too stupid, but it was necessary, just as much as the garrison units. After all, the Crimsons’ military reforms separated these from the main forces, but they weren’t denied its access in the future.

The auxiliary units could become soldier units after cultivating to the required realm and Step. The garrison units could also become soldier units if selected. However, this was only for the ‘ruling’ forces; in this case, the Crimsonbreaking Faction territory. The organizations, old and new after the Kingdom war, were only occupied with managing their territory and members as soldier units and auxiliary units.

Although their auxiliary units were the same as it is with the Crimsons’ forces, they can’t use garrison units unless there’s a situation like the Wrath Nihility Academy suffered in the Blackotia Kingdom more than 200 years ago.

Either way, as the Kingdom grew from their reconstruction, with hundreds of billions of auxiliary units taking their role across the Kingdom, the Crimsonbreaking Faction territory was recognized by the world. There was no such rumbling or call from nature like it did with the Wrath Nihility Academy, But since the Crimsons were also never slighted by the Entente, it became notorious.

Mother Nature didn’t ‘blame’ the Crimsonbreaking Faction territory for taking an entire Kingdom as theirs. Furthermore, the more the world thought about it, the more it made sense. After all, the Crimsons did prove their word to be true, and they got rid of the foreigner’s reaching hands here.

However, a Faction is not a generational organization. It cannot simply wedge war on other Kingdoms just because it can… because it already could when the 16 year Kingdom war occurred.

The only reason they thought nature hadn’t struck the Crimsons is because they were defending their Universal Land. This meant the rumored ‘abuse’ the Heraxle Clan’s people received in the border Kingdom wasn’t invented. Thus, the world’s eyes waited, while the Lsefattern Kingdom reconstructed.

… Heian Ciemnosc was sitting in his cultivation bedroom, alone. His progress increased, and with another 20 years with the quicker devouring group cultivation method, he could advance to the later level. It wouldn’t take long before he caught more corpses. After 20 years with the increased devouring efficiency, only a few dozen years worth of cultivation remained.

Naturally, this could change if he could gain another source of corpses…

As soon as Heian Ciemnosc woke up from his cultivation session, he walked to the Turtle Hiding Fortress’s central building, where he met with his people. They were ready, with only Tania, Ramirez, and Xue Yoler projected from holograms.

The meeting didn’t need much wording, or even to go into details. It went smooth. Did the Instranoff Middle Kingdom accept the Chief’s words and everyone turned to their side? No? Then, there was nothing else to discuss. The meeting didn’t last long, and with Heian Ciemnosc’s confirmation, the Crimsons were set into motion.

In the 250th year, 2nd month, 2nd week, and 4th day. The Crimsonbreaking Faction territory mobilized their troops. Across the Kingdom, the civilians bid farewell to their heroic soldier units as they could only see the spaceships fly towards the sky. From early morning to the afternoon, the Crimsons made a show for the world to notice and prepare for the upcoming showdown.

After all, only a Godhood Step organization could have enough range and potency to valid the Universal Conveyance’s useless in space for what a battlefield’s magnitude signified. When the evening approached the hours of every clock in the world, tens of thousands of spaceships flew towards the Instranoff Middle Kingdom.

This Kingdom was located forwards from the universal focus of the Lsefattern Kingdom. It was about 3 days away without using any sudden transportation ring. After putting on a show, the numerous news anchors millions of kilometers away watched from afar, transmitting everything to the Universal Conveyance as the Crimsons prepared and finally set off.

Finally, small and medium engines were put to use as the Crimsons employed battle array formations, enhancing their speed as they left the Lsefattern Kingdom behind. Of course, the orbiting space stations were fully armed and prepared, even directly forming a Kingdom-wide protective array formation of light green color for starters.

Finally, on the 7th day of the 2nd week, when the day barely started. The Crimson armada arrived before the Instranoff Middle Kingdom. However, they were still a few tens of millions of kilometers away. Heian Ciemnosc personally boarded one of the Cruisers he designed.

These were the same as any other, except for their occasional different outer appearance, but the interiors and everything important was the same. This was already immensely costly and what the world set as the universal model. Otherwise, it would be too much wastage just to be destroyed by dozens of missiles, many times cheaper than a Cruiser.

However, these were made with Heian Ciemnosc’s brains. When he entered it, he felt proud. It was just a Cruiser, but he made it, basically…

Heian Ciemnosc had already been contacted by the Heraxle Clan, telling him again what he’s going up against, and that the Heraxle Clan wouldn’t aid him. These words came from a Godly envoy, but it wasn’t Yok Kasau. Either way, Heian Ciemnosc showed he wasn’t afraid of the enemy. The Heraxle Clan simply let him continue as he pleased, not particularly interested in knowing more.

This could have been all, but Heian Ciemnosc patiently waited as the armada continued moving forward. When they had the Instranoff Kingdom before their eyes, their orbiting space stations and spaceships were already waiting for them.

These were the same that once skirmished with them in the Lsefattern Kingdom space territory. Forced to turn back because of their heavy casualties and damage in the first few hours. On the other hand, the enemy only managed to damage some orbiting space stations and destroy a few Frigates.

Back then, the Destroyers weren’t that many, and the majority were Frigates, with a few Cruisers throughout the Lsefattern Kingdom space territory. Now, however, the enemy was astounded silly to see the Crimsons with tens of thousands of Frigates, about 17,000 Destroyers, and a few thousand Cruisers.

Don’t they know how stupidly costly all of these are? And the people needed to operate them… it was a crazy, ridiculous expenditure. However, there they were, the Crimsons, flaunting them their richness and commitment. They were unwilling to face these many spaceships when not even all their Regions, with foreign funding, could form up these many. What’s more, even with the mercenaries, they couldn’t even match the Crimson armada in half.

“Please, stop. A moment…!” Suddenly, a voice sounded from space before spreading towards the Crimson spaceships. The enemy spaceships didn’t make a move, and the voice traveled to the Cruiser Heian Ciemnosc was in.

Heian Ciemnosc was in his VIP guest bedroom, meditating, when the little fly finally showed. He opened his darkest eyes, sent a message to the Cruiser’s Captain, and flew outside the Cruiser with his 2 meter dark tail helping him speed up through the hallways. He was careful to not hurt someone, or destroy something. The Cruiser promptly obeyed and opened one of their personnel hatches before Heian Ciemnosc showed up there. Thus, Heian Ciemnosc shot out from the Crimsons’ spaceships.

“!!!” The enemy spaceships were immediately alarmed. However, the person who shouted just now appeared, stopping them from acting as a concealment cloak smoothly left her face, and her body appeared. It was a mask, and the person, a beauty Snow Fox. When she reveled herself, although she was warned beforehand, she was still surprised to see Heian Ciemnosc not appear surprised in the slightest.

“… and word.” The beauty added. Her expression turned grave. Now, she understood the graveness of being sent here. Heian Ciemnosc calmly waited, not bothering to interrupt the envoy. His Spirit Sense caught the hidden spots of the other 2 from the Nation and Empire.

“This is Xue Po,” the beauty said. She gracefully bowed with her right arm extended downwards, followed by her bow as her black hair cascaded down dreamily. Heian Ciemnosc looked at this and nodded with a light grunt, “Hmn.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Mister, I would like to inquire about miss Xue Yoler’s… ‘state’ after all these years. She hasn’t been seen since… she was discovered aiding you in conquering the Lsefattern kingdom.” Xue Po said. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes narrowed. He didn’t have time to bicker and just thought, ‘What do these 3 want now? Playing me like this. Don’t they get bored?’

“… tsk.” In his inner universe, Sara looked at this and shook her head, disapproving of these antics.

“We understand she’s acting against her desires. But, mister, is it really necessary to treat our people this way? We are not enemies. Or, does mister wishes that could change?” Xue Po cautiously yet ambiguously asked.

“That miss your people want back so much is indeed half-forced, but that’s my problem. She’s mine. What happens to her is up to me, no? Well, let me at least tell you this. I’ll arrange the Xue family folk I’ve captured after conquering the Lsefattern Kingdom to trade for… ‘things’ only your Dynasty can grant me… Well, this is my first time speaking with Existential Sixth Step organizations. Perhaps you’re not the only one…”

“…?” Xue Po’s already strict expression twitched into a frown as she heard this. Heian Ciemnosc wasn’t subtle with his underlying words. However, their contents were important, and especially so for the ‘delicate’ matter. She immediately asked with a light yet stubborn tone. “Will miss Xue Yoler belong to one of the people you’ll trade for… ‘benefits’?”

“Of course…” Heian Ciemnosc said with an expressionless, almost dead-like, visage. However, his tone left an empty void, which he casually filled a second later. “Not.”

“… Mister black monster, you should know these things are not to be joked about.” Xue Po replied, feeling somewhat cold from the micro humiliation. She ignored it to the best of her intentions, but her fists still half-clenched. Heian Ciemnosc looked at her pensively for a second and nodded, tilting his head slightly to the left at the end of the motion.

“What have you come to waste my time here for, miss?” Asked Heian Ciemnosc. His voice suddenly became deep and cold. Xue Po’s eyes scarcely widened at this, feeling the change in the atmosphere. Knowing the atmosphere’s transformation meant something, she beat around no more bushes and laid it out. “Mister, if you’re willing to ‘bring’ Xue Yoler back and accept my family’s Dynasty, Bluenet Nation, and Est Soul Empire’s forces in your territory, we’ll grant you the Instranoff Kingdom and… we can discuss marriage options with miss Xue Yoler.”

“Ohoho,” Heian Ciemnosc guffawed, nearly scoffing. His arms crossed before his ribs as he felt tumultuous energy ripples from the other 2 hidden in space a few hundred thousand kilometers away. However, while the beauty also sensed it since she knew where they were, she ignored it. What brought Xue Po’s attention from caring about those 2 were Heian Ciemnosc’s reactions.

Then, Heian Ciemnosc smiled from the left corner of his mouth, slightly charming the beauty before him. His voice was calm, but the intent behind them was demonic and bloodthirsty. “I gave you time already, didn’t I?! I’m not making things up. I have really given you a time limit. Miss, do you think they cared about you when they sent you here, considering things?”

“Eh… what?” Xue Po blinked and retracted her neck. She could comprehend his words, but she didn’t want to. His attitude… he was joking, right? Unfortunately, she was wrong, and Heian Ciemnosc wasn’t finished.

“Moreover, here, where the world can listen to us, and you made sure to say your part… I, someone who originated from the Universitalities of Yore Universal Land, and you, as someone from another Universal Land, offered me a Kingdom from my home?” Heian Ciemnosc’s emphasized words drew the scenery of a tense situation… and growing danger.

“Time has been up for a few weeks already, miss. I suggest you stand away, and keep begging for your miss while your life was thrown away by your family.” Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes opened fully. He accommodated his head to its natural position. The motion raptured Xue Po’s breath and whole attention. It was as if 2 endlessly growing, darkest pools appeared before her, obstructing anything else.

His words echoed with a hoarse threat behind them, compelling her to want to wait for her death. However, at that time, she heard a voice… one that surprised her, making her feel glad was near. Similarly, she was utterly shocked by their contents.

“Father! Please, let her be. I can teach her to serve you. No need to kill her!” Xue Yoler’s voice echoed through space, contained around him by Heian Ciemnosc’s dark Soul, which blocked the numerous cameras focused on them.

“Yoler, it’s not your purpose to save every impertinent person just because they belong to your family.” Heian Ciemnosc calmly said, not bothered or annoyed by her daughter. Xue Yoler’s voice sounded again amidst Xue Po’s absurdly flabbergasted expression, captured by cameras. “That’s different. Xue Po is a person who didn’t harm me even when it could’ve benefited her. And it is as you’ve said, she was practically abandoned by the Dynasty. Let her come to you instead!”

“…” Heian Ciemnosc didn’t say anything else. Meanwhile, Xue Po’s expressions changed constantly. She couldn’t figure everything that has happened between them, but she understood Xue Yoler was saving her life… and felt grateful.

“Oh, whatever. Make sure she remains a good dog,” Heian Ciemnosc said, shrugging his shoulders and dismissively flinging his hands before his face. Xue Yoler’s voice sounded one last time, fully trusting her father’s words. “I will! Thank you, Father.”

“Gwuak!” Suddenly, when Xue Po wanted to say some trembling words as thanks to Xue Yoler, Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes glinted. The next moment, Xue Po, an adult Almighty God, was grabbed by her neck by a Universe realm 10th stage young man. Her body jolted upwards, and she could see as the Crimson spaceships advanced forth. They were slow at first but picked speed as they progressed towards the Instranoff Kingdom.

“I took 16 years to conquer an Upper Kingdom,” Heian Ciemnosc said, bringing her eyes away from the Crimson spaceships and the Instranoff Kingdom. Their conversation also returned to the news anchors and other ‘sneaky’ cultivators recording with their Universal Conveyances. Heian Ciemnosc’s face closed down on the beauty’s face below him, whose frame was incongruently smaller than his.

His dark, hoarse words echoed on Xue Po’s face and everyone’s ears to catch them. “How long do you think it will take for a Middle Kingdom to fall?”

Heian Ciemnosc casually lifted his left arm. He had already gone Claws Out, and his darkened right hand clutched the beauty’s neck. His left claw, on the other hand, had 2 different heads impaled on the index and middle dark claws, with a dark whip returning to Heian Ciemnosc’s left backside from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. Xue Po’s eyes widened and trembled when she recognized those decapitated heads from the Empire and Nation envoys!

“You’ll do for a little pet,” Heian Ciemnosc said, not bothering to hide the playfulness in his words. Xue Po suddenly felt like Xue Yoler was mistaken and accidentally sold her as a whore. But she didn’t have time to feel doomed as Heian Ciemnosc swung her backwards. Xue Po found her cultivation base shackled as if endless tendrils constrained her Dantian and Psychogenic regions. Her inner universe… was suddenly bleak and obscured.

Before she could understand what happened to her, with her cultivation base, and what would happen to the Instranoff Kingdom, Heian Ciemnosc had already eaten the 2 decapitated heads with his dark fangs opening wide, engulfing them in one go. Now, he sat cross-legged and watched as dozens of orbiting space stations were reduced to rubble, with rockets and missiles dominating the battlefield.

‘What a good thing those 3 are, they’ve sent me my first Godly subordinate, and 2 enormous feasts… I must save their pure energy when I attempt breaking into the Godhood Step.’ Heian Ciemnosc folded his left knee and placed his left arm around it. He leaned slightly to the right as he took chunks of flesh, bones, and organs from his Covert Space bags and ate them like snacks.

Meanwhile, the world watched from the news anchors as the Crimsonbreaking Faction territory’s first space battle commenced. Before, it was a situation where they could only defend themselves. Now, the Crimsons simply invaded enemy space territory and opened fire.

The Crimsons’ space battling capabilities were already so well acclaimed throughout the world. Now that they gave a show to the public, never better said, the watchful eyes experienced the Crimsons’ spaceship battles as the Instranoff first line of defense crumbled after just 2 hours.

Not only were the Crimsons many more in their number, and the black monster ate 2 of their leading figures while saving the other one for his sexual pleasure. They were also much more space battle proficient. All of this led to a quick defeat of the enemy armada, if it could even be called that.

Speechless, the Universal Conveyance’s viewers watched until the Crimson spaceships headed to the Instranoff Kingdom’s surface. Then, the black monster’s words echoed inside their heads. True, how long would it take for the Crimsonbreaking Faction territory to conquer a ‘measly’ Middle Kingdom?

As the armada moved towards the Instranoff Kingdom, the other Kingdoms, the Portable Memories Upper Kingdom, Eviscerating Mammoth Middle Kingdom, and the Adjacent Orange Upper Kingdom; they fell into a dilemma.

If they helped, and aided the Instranoff Kingdom, they could face the Crimsons together. However. More than one factor was at play. If any spaceships from any Kingdom moved, that’d mean the Kingdom is moving, not just a portion. If another Kingdom goes against the Crimsons’ goals, they’d betray their people, the Universitalities of Yore Universal Land.

Similarly, if they attack the Lsefattern Kingdom, ignoring the defenses the Crimsons must have already built in its space territory, not saving any piece of Stone or coin. What if the Crimson armada counts with mountable rings? They’re easier to use in space, so their distance traveled would be greater. Could they deal with that, even if they could break through the Lsefattern Kingdom’s space defenses?

With all these things considered, if they did nothing, the story would repeat itself. It was already understood that without joining hands, they couldn’t face the hella rich, intricately commanded Crimsons. Did they want that? Or was it their only choice? If they defeated the Crimsons in their Kingdom when the time came where they’d be invaded, they’d gain advantage from it and could contact the Heraxle Clan to put a stop to this. Right?

Furthermore, aiding the side the Crimsons normalized as criminal traitors would mark them. Even if the ending was optimal, and the other Existential Sixth Step organizations retreated to how it used to be, but with a meeker attitude towards the Heraxle Clan. They’d be branded as traitors. Who would survive under the roof whose one’s people betrayed?

Thus, at last, the Kingdoms came to a consensus and decided to… take their shot when the Crimsons invaded them. By then, they might be wasted by the other Kingdoms. The other 3 Kingdoms stared in each other’s direction, unsure who would be next, but hoping they would be last.

Meanwhile, the Crimsons set foot on the Instranoff Kingdom, spreading their land forces everywhere. As for the special force… it had already infiltrated the Instranoff Middle Kingdom 10 years ago. Even if it was a secure victory, the Crimsons wouldn’t just fight until defeating their enemies. That was… much unlike the Crimsonbreaking Faction and its force in the Lsefattern Kingdom, the territory.

…