CHAPTER 203: The Void Inventory and the Seed of the True Law (Part 3)
The echo of Samael's laughter still lingered in the air of the immense Throne Room when the Patriarch resumed his imposing posture. The forty-five Sequences had just received a fortune in Contribution Points, but Samael knew that the loyalty and growth of his empire did not depend solely on them. His generals—the masterminds and primary executioners of the operation—had to be rewarded at a level fitting their divinity.
Samael fixed his violet eyes on the Silver Matriarch.
"Sienna," the Patriarch called out, his voice laden with absolute respect. "The undisputed MVP of the captures."
Sienna took an elegant step forward, her immaculate white qipao flowing with ghostly grace.
"For capturing Lord Volcanis completely intact after humiliating him and crushing his Inner World, and for having previously secured Saint King Xaloc from the Primordial Tomb. Moreover, Vexia informed me that the Xaloc golem acted as a devastating, highly useful hammer against the peaks of the Purple Cloud Sect."
Samael extended his hand, and the System processed the cosmic transaction.
"Your reward is 20,000,000 CP. Ten million for each Saint King delivered alive to the Clan's treasury."
Sienna neither smiled nor boasted. She simply nodded, performing a slight, flawless bow, accepting her immense fortune with the cold elegance that defined her.
Samael turned his face toward the woman with a strict military bearing and calculating gaze waiting beside the spoils.
"Vexia," Samael's voice grew more martial, recognizing his field general. "The tactical cleanup of the north."
The Grand Marshal squared her posture, bringing her right fist to her chest.
"For capturing Quasi-Saint King Ziyun before he could activate his desperate Sacrifice Array and ruin the quality of his own body and those of his disciples. And for the total, efficient capture of all Semi-Saints, Saints, and Grand Saints of the Purple Cloud Sect."
Samael reviewed the System's calculations, ensuring the reward matched the monumental logistics Vexia had managed.
"Your base reward is 7,000,000 CP, plus a direct bonus of 1,000,000 CP for your flawless, airtight tactics. A total of 8,000,000 CP."
Samael raised a finger, halting Vexia's word of gratitude.
"But that is not all for the leader of my soulless armies. You are assigned 100,000 Saint-Grade Crystals from the Tomb's funds to further upgrade the quality of the Dead Blood Legion's soldiers. Additionally, I grant you full access to our Empire's restricted facilities."
Samael's voice rang with dictatorial authority as he listed the permissions.
"You have absolute permission to use the 'Celestial Void Tempering Chamber.' Gravity multiplier from x2 up to x30. Increase the gravity and filter out impurities. There, you will forge the bodies and spirits of your new prisoners... if they survive the pressure."
Vexia nodded, her eyes gleaming with cruel efficiency.
"I also grant you access to the 'Five Paths Pavilion' for the mental conditioning of your elite troops. Use Floors 1 through 4, with mental time compression from 1 to 10. If you consider that any of your dead or living Saints possess the potential, submit them to Floor 5 (Law Zone - Fragments), or even Floor 6 (Domain Chamber) so they may experience the terror of a hostile Artificial Domain. You have those floors available for the equivalent of one year of internal simulation, which will be roughly four months of training out on the continent."
Finally, Samael smirked maliciously.
"And lastly, the 'Dragon Tower Pavilion.' The Qi flow is ten times denser there. Use it as a core to assimilate the new soldiers. The Kings and Patriarchs chained down below... are waiting for you."
Vexia pushed up her dark-framed glasses with a single finger. A genuinely sadistic, calculating smile broke through her stoic facade.
"It will be done exactly as you command, Patriarch," Vexia replied.
(At that exact moment, tens of kilometers away in the dark training grounds of the Mini-World, the thousands of undead soldiers of the Dead Blood Legion felt a violent shiver run down their rotting spines, despite lacking emotions or conscious thought).
Returning to the Throne Room, the martial tension dissipated when an imposing figure took an energetic step forward.
It was Lilith.
The Ashen Phoenix puffed out her chest, radiating absolute, shameless pride. She stood before Samael with her hands on her hips, chin tilted up, waiting for her well-deserved, astronomical shower of praise and millions for having defeated and captured the supreme leader of the mercenaries: the Stage 8 Grand Saint, Vargas "The Butcher."
Samael looked at her. Then, closing his eyes, he scanned the current state of the famous Butcher through his connection to Sienna's mirror dimension.
The mental image returned by the System was pathetic. Vargas was sitting on the cold crystal floor of the dimensional prison, surrounded by the other terrified prisoners. But Vargas wasn't planning an escape. He was drooling heavily, eyes rolled back, rocking back and forth erratically while babbling wet, nonsensical syllables. His mind wasn't just broken; it was molecularly pulverized.
Samael opened his eyes, slowly pinched his temple with two fingers, and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Beside him, Seraphina covered her mouth with a silk sleeve, letting out a soft, crystalline giggle. Vexia and Sienna, knowing the outcome of Lilith's "interrogation" perfectly well, also smiled almost imperceptibly.
"Aunt Lilith..." Samael began, his voice sounding strangely calm, like a man trying to reason with a natural disaster. "I asked you to bring them all back half-dead and functional to use as elite soldiers in the Legion. But when I said 'half-dead,' I meant physically. Not mentally."
Lilith's proud smile faltered for a fraction of a second.
"His Dantian is miraculously intact," Samael continued, crossing his arms, "but his soul and spirit are so disgustingly broken that we will have to turn him into a brainless golem instead of a thinking general. I leave that to you, Sienna. Have Cedric, Iris, and Orion assist you with the golem creation array, just like they did with the tomb king. Darius... try to repair that guy's mind a little, at least so he can understand and follow basic combat orders without drooling all over his own sword."
Samael leaned forward, locking his violet eyes onto the imposing Phoenix.
"And now, Aunt... what exactly did you do to him in that canyon?"
Lilith's pride crumbled like a castle of ash. The intense crimson color of her bloodline rushed to her cheeks, blushing violently. She averted her gaze toward the room's ornate ceiling, feigning a sudden interest in the architecture, and began nervously twirling a strand of her hair.
"He... he slipped, Nephew," Lilith murmured, her voice losing all its usual ferocity. "He was made of glass, I swear to you. So fragile. Besides... he looked at me funny. And he hurt my shoulder really badly with his giant axe—nearly cut me in half, though thanks to him I was able to improve even further and gained a new power. I just hit him with a tiny little bit of strength."
Lilith pressed her index fingers together in front of her chest, suddenly looking like a giant, guilty child.
"There was also a little bit of torture... but just a tiny bit. I swear on my fire. I didn't think a Stage 8 Grand Saint would be someone so, so fragile."
The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became and the brighter the blush on her face burned.
The excuse was so absurdly childish, sharply contrasting with the brutal, sadistic woman who had butchered half an army hours prior, that Samael couldn't hold back. He burst into open, genuine laughter. Seraphina joined him with elegant laughter beside him, while Vexia shook her head and Sienna covered her face to hide her amusement.
"Alright, alright... the verdict is as follows," Samael decreed, catching his breath, though his eyes still danced with amusement. "Base reward for the capture of a Stage 8 Grand Saint: 3,000,000 CP. However... administrative penalty for severe, irreversible, and unnecessary damage to Clan intellectual property: -500,000 CP."
Samael tapped the armrest of his throne.
"Your total, Aunt Lilith, is 2,500,000 CP."
In the center of the hall, the atmosphere was critical. The forty-five Sequences—the coldest, most lethal assassins the Clan had ever trained—were suffering the worst torture of their short lives. They had to bite their lips so hard that blood began to trickle down some of their chins. They were violently shaking from the superhuman physical effort of not laughing out loud at Lilith. They knew that if a single chuckle escaped them, the humiliated Phoenix would murder them all the moment they stepped out of the Throne Room.
The sound of Seraphina's soft, elegant giggle was the straw that broke the camel's back. Lilith blushed even harder, if such a thing were possible.
With her face still burning like a tomato, Lilith slowly turned her head toward the ranks of the Sequences. Her golden eyes no longer showed embarrassment; they promised pain, agony, and a thousand hells.
Her gaze landed specifically on Violeta and Eris. The two girls were trembling, holding back their laughter. Lilith narrowed her eyes. I never thought my own nieces would dare mock me, the Phoenix thought.
Then, her lethal gaze shifted toward Kael. The young void swordsman was coughing fake coughs into his fist, eyes watering from suppressing his mirth. This little rascal... I cleaned the blood off him the first time he killed, I took care of him, and this is how he repays me!
A small, dark, genuinely sadistic smile curled Lilith's lips. She slowly turned back toward the throne.
"Nephew Samael..." Lilith said, her voice dripping with a sweetness that triggered the survival alarms of all forty-five youths. "Could it be that, considering their battle 'wounds,' I might be the one to teach and train these poor, fragile kids for a few days before sending them on another mission? I need to make sure their foundations are... solid."
Samael, thoroughly entertained by the dynamic and knowing exactly what Lilith was planning, smiled with the same sadistic expression as his aunt.
"Of course, Aunt. I leave them under your exclusive care. Make sure they aren't 'hurt' and ensure that they are in absolute, perfect condition for our upcoming missions in Aethelgard. Show no mercy with their training."
In that instant, the forty-five young monsters froze completely. Their faces, previously red from holding back laughter, drained of color until they were white as paper. Pure horror seized them. They couldn't believe their own Patriarch had thrown them directly into the jaws of this vengeful demon!
The Sequence members who had personally seen Lilith torture Vargas—and who had described it to the others on the ship—knew exactly what that woman was capable of when she was in a bad mood. They all held a reverential fear of Lilith. She used to be the Clan's affectionate aunt, but now they knew with absolute certainty that they were going to suffer immense, agonizing pain over the coming days.
Violeta and Eris, bordering on panic, looked up toward the throne. They stared at their older brother, the great Patriarch, searching for a single trace of compassion. They pleaded with him through their eyes, hoping he would spare them from imminent torture at the Phoenix's hands.
Samael looked down at them from his throne. He gave them an exceptionally kind, warm, and brotherly smile... and then gave them a thumbs up, as if to say: "Congratulations on your points, and I hope you survive the week!"
Violeta and Eris's faces darkened completely. In that moment, the two sisters felt the deepest, greatest betrayal of their lives coming from their beloved brother.
Samael couldn't hold back anymore and let out one last burst of laughter that echoed off the black jade walls.
"Good, good. Everyone has been rewarded, and lessons in respect will be imparted in due time," Samael concluded, standing up as his dragon shadow enveloped the immense mountain of wealth in the center of the hall. "Now, it is time for you to see exactly what you can spend those millions of newly earned points on, and what celestial wonders and skills are currently available in our Pavilion. Open your eyes wide, because the true ambition of the Morningstar Clan... has just awakened."
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