The scouts returned without incident. The road in the darklands was like a tunnel. After a certain point light just immediately disappeared and there was just inky blackness. The tunnel was regular blackness since whatever the road did pushed back the nearby energy effects from the zone.

I took the lead of the army as everyone moved along in two narrow columns there were stretched out. This was so people would stay away from the edge of the road and have a buddy who made sure they didn’t poke the level 4 zones.

I am sure that in time there would be idiots who were killed, but for now the army safely made it through. I left General Abdullah to sort things out and take the cities while I made my way back to Purgatory.

There was no need to monitor every step of the invasion, since there really was nothing, I could do. You couldn’t have an Emperor fighting worthless people and there were things I would rather spend my time on than butchering defenseless people.

We stopped in Qingdao on the way East for the night. “Back to Purgatory?” Captain Francis asked as I settled into the building that had been provided. The governor had set aside an entire building for me. A small investment, but pleasing your absolute dictator, or at least not giving him any reason to complain was important.

“Yes. Unless you had something else in mind?” I asked.

“No Michael. Just wanted to know if I should forward on a message to Clarissa,” he replied and I nodded at that.

“Do you regret the war ending?” I suddenly asked out of curiosity.

“No. It was terror every day. Especially with the Divine Empress out there. Meeting her with death. You having issues adjusting?” he asked.

“A bit actually,” I decided to confide in him. I trusted him with my life to a large extent, so it wasn’t a stretch to trust him with some of my thoughts. “My thoughts keep turning towards enemies that are no longer there. Everyone on my list is dead, and the one still left alive is suffering eternal torment.”

“It can be hard to adjust, but just take it one day at a time. It is different for everyone. Maybe take up an instrument or painting?” Captain Francis suggested.

“Writing. But there is a feeling, I can’t seem to escape. I just feel restless,” I replied.

“That is life in a way. You have probably been fighting, for what, years?” I nodded a this. “Take a vacation. A real vacation, not working one.”

“I wish. The only beach is death,” I muttered quietly.

“What was that? I am sorry, I missed what you said,” Captain Francis asked.

“Just saying, there is no good place for a vacation. So much similarity between zones, they aren’t that different. What would I even do? What can I do as Emperor?” I asked him, curious to see what he would come up with.

“Well, there are summon battles.” I perked up at that. “There is talk of creating a team in each city. You could play around with summons for a bit. People are trying to collect the best monsters.”

“That could be entertaining. What level 3 monsters?” I asked.

“Well they don’t have energy for a level 4 monster, but you do. Something to face against the championship team, maybe. Find the best level 4 monster, and capture it as a pet, or summon it. The rules are still being worked out, but you are the Emperor, you make the rules.”

The more I thought about this, the more I liked the idea. Get an awesome level 4 monster. Not something like the Cult of Doom, but something with more flair to it. The rainbow slime would be a great option. I could show my knowledge by countering attacks of enemy summoners.

I looked at Captain Francis. “I am assigning you the task of finding everything about these summon rules and seeing if facing off against a level 4 monster would be appropriate for the winning team. Maybe, I could make a team. Oh the combinations.”

“Of course Emperor Michael,” Captain Francis said with a smile. I was mentally thinking about the most powerful combination. Six monsters seemed like a good bet. Oh, I could have my protection detail manage them while not in use.

Small but powerful. I wanted the best of the best as well. Nothing stupid either or annoying. The Skittering Bladed Horror and the Bulwark Shield seemed like a great combination. Both floated and one was high in defense while the other was great in melee.

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I didn’t know that many level 4 monsters, but this added an entirely new dimension to combat training. Oh, the Ethereal Worm and the Rainbow Carpet was amazing as well. The Scatter Pyramid was a possibility.

The more I thought about possible monster combinations the more enthusiastic I became about the idea. Get the league set up. Then have the battles take place during the celebration on day 1,000. I would face the winning team by myself.

They would get a prize regardless, but it would be something fun I could do and was a bit of combat action. Captain Francis was really earning his pay by suggesting this idea. Everyone loved monster battles, since people weren’t dying it would be fine.

Level 4 monsters would be cheating, but that didn’t matter. I was the Emperor. Perhaps a single monster would be best, to give a sporting challenge. Or maybe a level 5 monster. The Rod of Taming had no limit, but the monster had be held down for 100 minutes.

The idea of having a level 5 monster was incredibly tempting, but also incredibly dangerous. Okay, level 4 monster it was. Still, I needed a single monster that showed how awesome I was that could easily crush an entire team of monsters. One that could both attack and defend with ease. It should be fast, nothing slow that could get entangled. I would have to find a good one and start working out which ones were the best.

This was a lot more mentally stimulating than trying to write a religious text. All the fighting I had done had left a mark on me. I couldn’t really let it go. Even if it would be by proxy through a monster, that was something I looked forward to a lot more than starting a religion which felt more tedious compared to this idea.

I had a limited time and level 4 zones were a pain to explore. Capturing a monster would also be a pain, but doable. The monster also had to be cool. Like the Cult of Absorption was decent, but it wasn’t cool enough.

Whatever monster I went with, people needed to look at it and nod at how impressive it was. I thought back to my first monster and pet, Abs. A mimic, oh that would be perfect for looking impressive and if it was a level 4 monster it would probably come with other unique abilities. Now I just had to find a level 4 monster like that.

That was a massive headache. Oh, I knew exactly who had the answer. If they gave me one, then I would let them off the hook for a deek. That would train them like a dog. If they answered questions they got rewarded. It was degrading for the Avatar, but I could care less about how much she was degraded.

I wanted an awesome pet to battle with. No level 3 monster garbage either. Level 4 was where it was at. Even if I had a team, none of them would be less than level 4. I wasn’t worried about the Avatar trying to lead me into a trap, since level 4 monsters weren’t much of a threat and I could escape them. It would just poison the well from me asking questions in the future.

That was one advantage I wasn’t going to give up to Clarissa. The Avatar was my prisoner. Only I got to offer her rewards for questions. No one else. Something incredibly awesome and that would just blow everyone else away and a mimic with a unique skill or two seemed perfect.

But there might be something cooler out there. I felt like a little kid again and felt a sense of peace as I tried to imagine what monster I wanted. I knew I needed to define cool. Maybe a dragon of some kind? Oh, the Reflection Spider, I had almost forgotten about that one.

That would be a great level 4 monster. But an arena wouldn’t be a good place for it to shine. Still, the idea of monster formations could make grinding go a lot faster in higher level zones. Especially if a monster could heal. I also needed to upgrade the city again and a super slime would be doable, maybe.

Level 5 monsters were tough, since they had such overwhelming attacks. I should have captured one from the tower. The Donkey! That was insidious and also amazing at the same time. I could also get a golem from that tower in the level 4 zone I had discovered while running away from the Divine Empress.

The possibilities were endless. Curse you Captain Francis, I can’t figure out what level 4 monster was the absolute best. Or if I should try for a level 5 monster to just be completely over the top. I forced that idea back. Level 5 monsters were off limits for now.

But a level 4 monster would be perfect. A dragon of some kind would be amazing. I would really lean heavily on the Avatar to find a dragon level 4 monster. The Skittering Blade was a kind of good choice, but I just wanted the best.

I smiled at the thought. Battling monsters really did get the blood boiling. I can’t believe I had missed something like this. I knew it was kind of a thing before the Divine Empress had shown up, but never knew it was taking off now.

Perhaps a ten million point prize to the winning individual and something similar for the winning team. We needed a team format and an individual format. Yes, this was perfect. Whoever was running this monster battling, I would have to talk with them and learn all the details. Once we got back to Purgatory, Captain Francis would have to hurry up.

Curse damage, resetting skills, all of that could go on the back burner compared to battling with monsters. Perhaps I would get a level 3 team myself to compete. Yes, I was going to compete for sure. Since it wasn’t my combat ability, it would be much more fair. I had never imagined something would be possible for real.

I wanted to fight all the matches I could. Perhaps my protection detail could put together a team to represent me. Then I could be the big boss at the end. The ideas were endless as I thought about what would be the best format and rule set was for monster battles.

Safety would also have to be taken into account. But I was going to take this over. It would be my pet project, so I didn’t step on Clarissa’s toes. I am sure she would be amused, but it was monster battling. And I could get the best monsters which would make it even better. Perhaps I could even sell level 4 monsters to people afterwards.

Oh, now that was interesting. That way people could grind level 4 zones and I could make a huge profit at the same time. The battles would just be a showcase, even if it was the best part. Captain Francis, you just earned yourself an Emperor point. You already had one for capturing the Avatar, but you just got another for bringing this idea up.