Step by step, Billis had witnessed as Meryl rapidly grew in power. She was now at peak Second Grade and only one step away from Third Grade. Apart from her, there were also many weaklings in the clan that Billis had once looked down upon who were now quickly gaining on him. It seemed like they would surpass him any day.
Such incidents occurred over and over. Naturally, it provoked Billis tremendously.
For his own sake, and for that frustrated, restless insect heart of his, Billis had secretly visited Greem in hopes of finding an opportunity to advance through his master. Unfortunately, as a Fourth Grade adept, Greem had been too busy. He was so busy he had no time to think about the Second Grade bug adept who tirelessly waited for his attention.
Billis had just returned from the Black Forest’s depths and had further increased the scale of his insect army. At this point, Bug Adept Billis was an advanced Second Grade adept with a horrifying army of insects.
He now had over two dozen intermediate Second Grade Voidreavers, over a hundred advanced First Grade magical mantises, and thousands of insects at his command. If it wasn’t for his ‘weak’ Spirit holding him back, Billis could extend his command to a legion of insects larger than a human kingdom.
After returning to the clan headquarters, Billis immediately went to his room.
He had no apprentices or teaching assignments. Apart from his mission and room, Billis never went anywhere else or participated in anything else, let alone those crowded banquets.
In all honesty, growing stronger and evolving were the only two things that held meaning in Billis’ world!
However, before he could return to his usual, dull silence, a glowing fire rune appeared before his eyes and hovered silently in the air.
Billis’ heart moved when he saw this strange fire rune that represented Greem. He might not know what Greem had in mind for him, but hope rose in his heart.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he reached out with his strange insectoid arm and touched the burning rune.
Even though the rune clearly burned with bright golden flames, Billis did not feel his hand sear when he touched it. The golden flames roared, and the rune quickly extended to his arm and spread all over his body.
Billis was still confused when the golden flames completely engulfed him. Lights flickered before his eyes, and he could feel space tremble around him. When he once again regained consciousness, he realized that the golden flames had dissipated, and he was now in a wide hall.
Greem stood there across the hall, staring unblinkingly at him with his black eyes.
This place was Fire Throne!
Billis immediately understood.
The clan leader had used some sort of mysterious spell at that moment and had instantly teleported him here from over five thousand kilometers away.
Billis’ unusual, insectoid eyes only glanced at Greem before looking away.
It had only been an instant, but Billis had felt his eyes hurt as if they had been burned by fire. Greem had not even been actively using his powers.
Billis couldn’t help but feel his heart go cold at this.
Once, he had been one of Greem’s most powerful ‘assistants,’ closely following at his side. Now, even staring directly at his brilliance inflicted backlash on him.
The difference in power between them couldn’t help but make Billis dejected!
“Billis, do you know why I called you here today?” Greem’s voice was clear and crisp. His words lingered in the hall as if resonating with the environment.
“I don’t know! Please tell me, clan leader.” Billis hurriedly bowed, fearful and respectful.
“Take a look at this first!” Greem tapped his staff, and a rift appeared in midair. Half of a powerful creature’s corpse slowly flew out of the rift.
Those light green scales, those white, holy wings, and that terrifying aura that remained even after death. Billis gulped with some difficulty. His sickly green eyes fixated upon this strange corpse as an irrepressible voice within him was shouting, roaring ‘Devour it…devour it.’
It was the corpse of a high-grade magical creature. Even though the body had been split apart and only half remained, its overwhelming, domineering aura was still as strong as ever.
Billis couldn’t help but guess wildly in his heart when he saw this corpse. Was it Fourth Grade? Or Fifth Grade?
A power that Billis could not fully comprehend, so tremendous and profound, remained in the corpse, intimidating all who dared to approach it. However, as overwhelming as this power was, a dead creature was a dead creature, after all. The lifeless inactivity of the body was plain for all to see.
“My lord, this is…” Billis’ heart beat wildly. He suppressed the restlessness in his heart and behaved even more subservient that before.
“This is a spoil of war the clan brought back from the Seawoods Plane. It is the only native god of Seawoods Plane. It used to be Fifth Grade, but it fell to Fourth Grade due to specific reasons, which was why we were able to kill it!” Greem looked at the corpse calmly. “I called you here to ask you a question. If…I let you devour this corpse, how far could you go?”
Billis felt his entire mind go blank when he heard that, as if a bolt of lightning had blasted him on a perfectly clear day. After several minutes, he gathered his thoughts and focused once more.
“My lord, since this divine creature once reached Fifth Grade, it must possess an immortal body. If I devour it, my potential will rise from peak Second Grade to Fourth Grade. When that happens, my chances of advancing to Third Grade will be 100%, and my chances of reaching Fourth Grade will also be as high as 60%.”
Greem listened silently. The Chip’s assessment agreed with Billis’ evaluation.
Billis’ most significant problem currently didn’t lie with himself. It lay with the Queen Bug that had assimilated with him. The Queen Bug’s limit was once intermediate Third Grade. However, the forceful reversal of its assimilation with Acteon had caused its potential to fall to peak Second Grade.
With the corpse of this divine creature, it could raise its potential once again. That was well within the Chip’s calculations.
Greem had thought of asking the Death Witches to turn this corpse into an advanced Fourth Grade undead creature. However, the Chip had determined that an advanced Fourth Grade undead creature could not match the value of two future Fourth Grade subordinates!
That was why Greem had opened the doors to his treasury and used these resources to create loyal, high-grade fighters for the clan. Billis might be inferior to Arms when it came to individual fighting power. However, his unusual method of manipulating swarms to devour his enemies often had unexpected effectiveness in certain situations.
No other Fourth Grade adept would dare waste such resources on their subordinates before they could confirm their own advancement. Only Greem had such absolute confidence in himself that he dared to bestow his juniors with Fourth Grade resources, creating so many individuals with the potential of reaching Fourth Grade in the clan.
Even though it was a bit of a waste to hand over half of a divine creature’s corpse to Billis, a mere advanced Second Grade adept, it wasn’t a big deal. A small loss in benefits at the moment was more than worth it for the future of the Crimson Clan.
Greem controlled Arms through the dragonsoul contract.
Greem had to find a method of doing so for the bug adept as well. However, before he even came up with an idea, Billis had already hastily offered up a suggestion.
Bloodsoul combined with a Primal Voodoo Curse.
Methods of control that remained effective at higher grades all had to do with the soul.
This suggestion of using Bloodsoul and Primal Voodoo Curse from Billis was a combination of two spells that affected the soul directly. Judging from this, Billis didn’t seem opposed to having another person control his soul.
Greem had walked too easy a path. He had no idea of the despair and agony that Billis had felt for all these years, the pain of
never being able to improve. Without Greem’s help, Billis alone would never have found a way forward.
That was because the resources and items that could solve his problems were not things he could come into contact with at his level!
Rather than stay trapped at his current level and die of old age as a Second Grade, it was better to present his value and become a loyal subordinate beneath a powerful adept like Greem. Handing over his soul and offering up his loyalty with both hands was the best way to gain Greem’s trust!
Thus, it wasn’t a matter of Greem finding a way to control Billis; it was Billis trying his best to offer himself up to gain Greem’s favor.
In all honesty, a single word from Greem would have plenty of individuals willing to offer up their souls for the chance to advance to Fourth Grade. When that happened, Billis would no longer have such an easy opportunity to gain such valuable resources!
Chapter 1222 - Greem’s Home Life
After giving out most of the top-class resources, Greem could finally let out a breath of relief.
He intended to take this opportunity to slow down and accumulate power.
The growth of the Crimson Clan required time, and so did his personal growth.
Time was always on his side!
Thus, Greem went into hiding in Fire Throne and vanished from the public eye once again. This period of seclusion lasted for a long, eighty years.
…………
Fire Throne, fifth level.
After several magical expansions, the inside of this small tower had changed drastically.
As a base of development for the Crimson Clan, Fire Throne would still be too small of a space. It could no longer house the forces of the clan, now growing daily. However, as a private, sealed space reserved for Greem’s exclusive use, the tower’s area was frightfully large.
Apart from a dozen security and maintenance magical machines, Greem and Shadow Demon were the only ones who could access the fifth level and its tens of thousands of square meters of space. Even Mary, who had extremely high access levels, only came here to ‘visit’ every so often. She spent most of her time visiting on the fourth level, where Greem’s room was.
Meanwhile, Alice, who had similar levels of access, hardly ever set foot in Fire Throne. She was always busy with the cultivation and development of the Fate Witches in her Tower of Fate. Even when Greem wanted to get intimate, he was the one who had to run over to the Tower of Fate to find her.
The door to Greem’s room burst open in the morning.
Greem stretched his aching waist and rubbed his slightly trembling legs as he shambled past the steel doors, tired and yawning.
The luxurious room behind him was a complete mess now.
The lavish bedframe carved out of purpleheart timber was now a wreck. It hardly looked like a bed anymore. It was as if a terrifying typhoon had ravaged the room. Pieces of broken furniture lay everywhere.
Mary lay amidst this wreckage, her naked body as white and smooth as ever. Even though she was asleep, her unimaginable curves, radiant cheeks, and glowing skin were still incredibly seductive.
The ‘fight’ last night had been a little too intense. Neither of them had managed to hold back their strength. It was a fairly common thing. Their time together always ended up in a brutal ‘battle.’
Their excess powers and energy would radiate into the surroundings while they tussled together. This ordinary furniture didn’t stand a chance against the ‘might’ of two Fourth Grade adepts!
Greem’s base Physique had remained at 30 points ever since he advanced to Fourth Grade. Improving his Physique by even a single point was incredibly difficult. If it weren’t for the mushrooms he had brought back from the Spirit World, his Physique would still be at 28 points!
Meanwhile, Mary’s Physique had been rapidly increasing ever since she advanced to Fourth Grade. Her Physique was now at 24 points.
Those 24 points were a tremendous level of Physique. Only demon lords and legendary monsters spoken of by the mortals could have such incredible Physique.
It was this rapid increase in their Physique that caused the two adepts’ ‘battle’ to reach such intensity and last for so long.
Finally, after seventeen hours and thirty-six minutes of bitter ‘fighting’ and ‘melee combat,’ Greem won by a slight margin with his superior Physique and techniques!
However, by the time he walked out of the room, he was already stumbling and could barely straighten his back.
Greem dragged his aching body across the corridor and arrived at a bright hall. A large and long table had been placed at the center of the room above its shiny floor. All sorts of delicious delicacies and drinks had been placed here.
A strange, stone chair had sat at the end of the table. Four pretty and slender women waited on him at each side of the table. These women had dark skin that glowed with a healthy radiance. Their slim waists and figures might make them seem weak, but their bodies contained explosive power in truth.
The faint marks of magical brands could be seen through their loose, thin clothes.
They were members of the diverse elf race. They belonged to a strange branch of the higher elves known as night elves.
Greem’s muscular body was only covered by a light robe. The end of the robe dragged along the ground as he walked barefoot across the hall with his long, crimson hair rolling down his shoulders. His entire being was the very incarnation of pride and arrogance.
The night elves waiting on both sides of the table hurriedly pulled the heavy stone chair out when they saw Greem arrive. They helped him sit down and proceeded to carry the plates to him.
The night elves who could serve Greem here were all at least of the Second Grade. On the outside, they all could have been reputed fighters of their own. Here, they could only play the role of a weak maid, serving their one and only master to the best of their abilities.
Ever since they were sold to this tower, they had become eternal prisoners to this giant cell.
The secrets of the tower, the personal habits of the adept, and the defensive mechanisms of the tower were classified secrets that could never be leaked. As servants belonging to this tower, they would no longer be able to leave this place until their deaths.
Greem had purchased these servants because they were pretty, but also because he needed someone to take care of his daily life.
As a high-grade adept, Greem spent most of his time in the laboratories and on breaking in the artifacts sealed in the isolated dimensions. He had no time to deal with the trivial matters of daily life, such as eating or showering.
Naturally, these servants would help him with those things instead!
Greem was a Fourth Grade adept, after all. His every movement and breath carried with them an indescribable power. Terrifying elementium radiation would be left behind where he walked.
Ordinary human maids would have died a painful death from the overwhelming amount of elementium radiation if they stayed in such an environment for an extended period. Only servants like these, who had some degree of power, could last longer.
As such, the personal towers of most high-grade adepts would purchase or kidnap high-quality servants like these to serve them. Moreover, they were often treated as disposable.
In contrast, Greem gave all of them Talismans of Fire Resistance. He also created a living environment for the servants on the second level that resembled their former homes.
Such ‘acts of kindness’ were rare for high-grade adepts like himself!
Greem sat upon the stone chair, quickly cutting up a fire dragon steak with his utensils before putting it in his mouth, chewing, and finally swallowing it.
Even though the maids prepared many dishes for Greem of great variety, he still preferred such fire dragon steaks that were lightly flavored and simply prepared. Dragon meat, dragon tendons, dragon bones, and dragon marrow were either incredibly tough or contained an unimaginable amount of fire elementium.
Any other ad
ept who attempted to eat fire dragon steak would find, to their agony, that the meat was so incredibly tough it could rival enchanted leather armor. They wouldn’t be able to tear off even a strip of flesh, even if they ground their teeth to pieces.
The dragon tendons in the meat were even more miserable. It was impossible to bite through the tendons if you did not have sufficient jaw strength.
Meanwhile, the bones themselves could not be cracked or damaged without at least a Sharpening Spell of Second Grade and above.
Only high-grade adepts like Greem, with sufficient Physique and Strength–along with the aid of certain spells–could so easily tear and devour a dragon steak.
As for the other dishes? They might be well-prepared and more delicious than fire dragon steak, but the energy contained within them was comparatively lacking. After such a hard ‘fight,’ Greem would not be able to replenish his energy even if he ate a hundred kilograms of ordinary food.
At his level, the primal digestive system of humans appeared inefficient and troublesome. Eating as humans did was vastly inferior and ineffective compared to directly devouring energy crystals.
However, maintaining the loose connection between humans and adepts, keeping the form of a human, and some of their customs was something that high-grade adepts should strive to do.
While Greem dealt with the dragon steak with all his might and attention, a slender night elf with perfect etiquette reported the tower’s resource situation.
“There are only five tons of fire dragon meat left. I have already informed Lord Gargamel to hunt another Third Grade fire dragon.
“There are only three sets of furniture left in the tower. I have been meaning to ask you if all the furniture in your room should be changed out for obsidian furniture. Otherwise, the turnover rate is a little too high.
“Lady Meryl has sent an abyssal succubus over. She is only three hundred years old, a lifespan equivalent to a seven-year-old human girl. She’s waiting on the lower levels at the moment. When will you be appraising her?”
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