Chapter 28: Chapter 31 – Border Acquisitions

With Elder Virgo back, the five elders of Oceanus were solidified:

Elder Virgo, head of the Virgo territory.

Elder Jezebel, head of the Jezebel territory.

Elder Aries, head of the Achilles territory.

Elder Capricorn, head of the Capricorn territory.

Elder Gerald, head of Oceanus City.

These elders were spearheaded by Elder Theseus, the strongest member of the council and founder of Oceanus. Each Elder had an equal vote on the Elder Council, but they controlled their territories independently, as long as they followed the Oceanus policies as set by Theseus.

It was a good attempt at freedom, but Theseus was still calling the shots. Everyone knew it, yet they appreciated Theseus trying to disperse his power evenly. Obviously, he didn’t want the responsibility, as shown by the fact that he entered seclusion after dumping his responsibilities on Gerald and Virgo.

It was strange for the residents of Oceanus and the Virgo Territory to see Virgo back from his supposed imprisonment, and it was even stranger seeing his changed persona. Some even thought Theseus was pretending to be Virgo in disguise and Virgo really died.

Regardless, the apparent change in the Oceanic Realm did not go unnoticed.

***

Lord Taurus frantically tried to contact Lord Capricorn, her other neighbor apart from Lord Scorpius and Lord Darkin, but was met with silence.

“Damn it all! If Scorpius doesn’t invade, Oceanus will!” Lord Taurus wasn’t the weakest Suzerain Lord, but he wasn’t the strongest either. At the lowest possible level of the D Rank, Taurus was not a match for Scorpius nor Darkin but could beat any other Lord besides the deceased Lord Achilles.

Without an ally, he desperately reached out to Lord Darkin and was surprisingly met with an invitation to Darkin’s palace.

“Enter.” The rich, dark voice of Lord Darkin announced.

Taurus entered with five of his Captains, scared of Lord Darkin, who laughed.

“Do you come at me with your army, Lord Taurus?” Lord Darkin mocked. The Captains of Lord Taurus shuddered.

“Lord Darkin, I am here about urgent matters. Lor-“

“Stop, Lord Taurus. I know why you are here.” Lord Darkin cut off Lord Taurus.

“I’ve been paying attention to Lord Theseus and his band of traitors. Since my Captains bothered to bring it to my attention about a year ago, I knew they wouldn’t risk their lives to tell me without a valid reason.

Lord Theseus claims to be an arbiter of freedom. He claims his Oceanus Territory is a place where the sins of Suzerains can be forgiven and cleansed. What an idiot.” Suzerain Lord Darkin laughed sinisterly and continued speaking.

“Lord Theseus, a man with unfathomable power for his realm, is a threat to the Suzerain order. My spies witnessed firsthand a battle where he used seven powerful spells of the F Rank consecutively. Even my foundations are not that deep, but his territory faces a large problem.” Lord Darkin paused, awaiting a response.

“And what would that problem be?” Lord Taurus was forced to ask.

“His ideals brought change too quickly. Those afraid of change have all fled to my territory, the strongest territory. In size alone, my territory is double the size of the second largest, which is Lord Scorpius’s.

Although impressive, Theseus has taken the borders of small territories with dysfunctional rulers.

Lord Virgo, the inheritor of my father’s power, went mad and let upstarts like Aries take control. His territory was already one of the smallest to begin with because of my father’s decline.

Lord Jezebel, the betrayer of Lord Ahab, is but a transitory ruler meant to fall. If Theseus never appeared, I predict Aries would have killed her and taken her medium sized territory for himself.

Lord Achilles, an arrogant shade who jealously sought my power, underestimated, and ignored the signs Lord Theseus gave off, leading to his downfall. His larger sized territory is now run by Aries and makes up the bulk of Oceanus’s land.

Finally, Lord Capricorn, the merchant was allowed to live thus far by the others because of her trade deals. Her territory was puny, and she ran it more like a corporation than how a real Suzerain Lord should.” Lord Darkin paused.

“These four fools were destined to fall, while you and Lord Scorpius have deeper roots. Those who cling to their sins have fled to our three territories, and now, we greatly outnumber Oceanus. On paper, they have five Lords, including the irregular, Theseus, but the Captains, soldiers, and civilians who fled to us are not small in number.

You used to have about seven Captains, but now, I guess you have double that.” Lord Darkin guessed.

“You are close to the real number.” Lord Taurus complimented.

“Exactly. I have about two dozen Captains now, while Oceanus in total has about that number. I alone could take on Oceanus. Soon, so soon, I will reach the C Rank, and my foundations are strong. Even though Theseus’s methods are unique, I am prepared. Even if he reaches the D Rank with the same foundations, I will win.” Lord Darkin arrogantly declared.

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“That leaves you, Lord Taurus, stuck. You can’t beat me, Scorpius, nor Oceanus. The last Suzerain Lord without a team, trapped and cornered like a rat. That’s why you’re here right? You want an alliance.” Lord Darkin mocked.

“Yes, Lord Darkin.”

Lord Taurus was truly desperate to come to Lord Darkin, the strongest and vilest Suzerain Lord.

“You won’t get your territory’s power back, but what choice do you have? After your war with Scorpius, I will also convince that battle lusting fool to join our side. Together, the final three Suzerain Lords will oppose the blasphemous Oceanus.

Are you willing to sell your soul to the Devil to survive?” Lord Darkin’s black teeth shimmered in the darkness of his secluded throne room.

“Yes.”

***

Theseus and Darkin were on the same wavelength. As both of their territories prepared for the decisive war, Lord Scorpius and Lord Taurus would buy much needed political time as they fought meaninglessly. While they scuffled, both lay in seclusion to face the other.

“Theseus, doesn’t this bring back good memories?” Leo asked. They were both living in their old cabin, and after fixing it up and adding some new features to it, they went right back to living their lives as they did before Oceanus. That is, besides the rigorous training. Asking Gemini to come to his cabin, he built a small cabin nearby for the apprentice.

Also building a training ground and front yard, Theseus, Leo, and Gemini trained at their vacation home. Gemini had the idea of building a standing gate to walk through with the inscription,

‘Path of Authority,’ which Theseus allowed.

The fifth year of Theseus in Hell officially arrived, and the trio trained while the other Elders built up Oceanus. With a total of twenty Captains, Theseus diligently memorized their skills and abilities. His biggest obstacle was not being able to use the Shade skills but turning himself into a Shade was undesirable in the long run.

Adapting to becoming a Shade was dangerous. If his core went out of control, he could end up destroying Oceanus or going crazy like the former Lord Virgo. None of his Captains nor Elders could stop him, so he ruled against that option. Even if he was careful in his Shade Ritual and its preparations, he still ran the small risk of a flawed Shade Core. At this juncture, Theseus had more confidence in his ability to create new skills even though most rational people would argue that it was more dangerous than becoming a Shade.

Leo was stuck at the S Rank Sage Realm and was frustrated. His physique wouldn’t allow him to go any further, and the Spirit Cultivation had a minimal improvement on him compared to Gemini and Theseus, probably because he was a beast. Under Theseus’s tutelage, Leo was advised to build up his foundation instead of forcefully breaking through to the next realm. After all, he was a beast who only learned about skills a few years ago.

To Theseus, Leo was already way too strong for his knowledge and current aura accumulation. He would rather Leo be at the S Rank Mortal Realm with Gemini because it was harder to grow foundations at a higher realm. For this reason, Leo’s advancement will be frustratingly slow for years, as long as Theseus had a say in his development.

Theseus on the other hand exploded in growth because his development had been germinating for decades, summiting with his development of the Oceanus Founder skill. His Authority Path skills would only get more ridiculous from here.

“Theseus, how strong is Lord Darkin?” Asked Gemini.

“When I face him, the C Rank is likely, and with the rumors of his foundation, facing him will be like facing multiple C Rank Kings at once.”

“Will you be able to stop him? You’re as strong as seven F Rank Kings.”

“No, I can’t beat him. Even if I have seven D Rank Kings within me, three or more C Rank Kings within Darkin will stomp me into the ground.” Theseus told Gemini.

“Then how do you plan to stop him?” Gemini was shocked Theseus admitted defeat.

“I’ll tell you through a story. Lord Virgo wanted to change the Oceanic Realm as well but failed because he was all alone. I will probably get to the D Rank, but I will also have my friends and subordinates.

Seven D Rank Kings can’t defeat him, but with the four other former Suzerain Lords following my training, I will have four more D Ranks to help me. With twelve D Rank Kings and Queens on my side, we can’t lose.”

“Twelve? Who is the last D Rank. That is only the equivalent of eleven D Rank Kings and Queens?” Gemini counted.

Theseus stared back at Gemini with a smile.

“Me?” Gemini screamed in shock. He was still just a S Rank Mortal. If Theseus’s timeline was correct, there were only a few more years until the war between Scorpius and Taurus started and ended. Once the war ended, Lord Darkin would make his move.

“Yes, you. Why do you think I invited you and Leo out here? You two are about to undergo the most brutal training I could come up with. You will reach the D Rank, and Leo will reach the F Rank.”

“How is that possible?” Thought and spoke both Leo and Gemini.

“The Authority Path and the Natural Path. Hand in hand, they will build your vessels.” Theseus smiled.

Theseus used the Natural Path almost exclusively in the past and had the longest practical experience working with it. Before their seclusion, Theseus gathered extensive herbs from the territories to temper their bodies, including his own. Is was a painful endeavor, but Theseus was ready to train his ghostly body, which was the weakest aspect at the moment.

Leo and Gemini looked at each other suspiciously, this was bound to be difficult. The moment Theseus mentioned their vessels, they knew that this training would be cruel, brutal, and inhumane.

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