Chapter 256 (Patreon)

Chapter 256

Retesh Vorath’s unnatural, fleshy organs curled and unfurled randomly across his bones as the undead lich called a black mist from the ocean around him and flung the cloud at his pursuers.
Judith Marcina’s golden wings pulsed with energy, encompassing her in a shield of white light that let her rip through the cloud of necrotic gasses to tear her flaming sword through Retesh’s mount - cleaving off a wing of the large drake in a single go.

The two other undead drakes on either side of Retesh screamed in rage as their brother let out a cry of pain and started spiraling downwards towards the sea below, where an even more violent battle between the merpeople and his fleet of black ships were taking place.  Explosions of water and death, ice and storm, plague and rot all ripped and tore across the waves far below; while giant sea creatures - both living and dead - ripped and bit at one another frantically.

Retesh cursed as Judith’s high pitched laughter rang clear through the clouds, and the two drakes on either side of him diverted their attention to attack the angelic bitch as he summoned dark tendrils of death mana to his bony fingers.  

“Artun Regles Unimor!” He hissed while performing the needed hand gestures, still spinning out of control but barely able to manage the spell.

The tendrils tore out of his hands and grasped at the severed wing of the skeletal beast he rode on.  Reeling it back in, the wing was forcefully reattached and the drake quickly reoriented itself about a hundred yards up.

The eyes of a giant kraken pet of the merpeople glared up at him from the frothing sea underneath him, promising him a quick demise if he let himself climb too low, and the explosion of another black galley made him wince.  Winged nephilim in the sky battled undead gargoyles of his make, one of the drakes he’d raised into undeath exploded in an echo of celestial power to fall past him, and his hands trembled at the realization that he might actually die here.

These undead were monsters to the merpeople , and to Judith’s forces. To them, the undead were creatures to be purged.  But to Retesh, these udnead were just as eager to pursue a fulfilling life as any of those who would want to purge his kind.  They were his brothers and sisters, his sons and daughters, and they were being slaughtered for no more reason than for merely existing.  Just like on his last world before he’d been placed here on Panu, the living would never understand him or his people - and thus he would make them pay in the end.

If he survived this fight.

He screamed out in rage and pulled a medium-length stone staff off his back, causing it to light up with bright teal lights before turning back around at the incoming vengeful presences behind him.

Three high level nephilim decked out in valkyrie attire were gaining speed alongside Judith, swordings and wings aflame, and Retesh spat before holding his weapon aloft.

“YOU MAY HAVE WON THIS BATTLE, BUT IT IS I WHO WILL BE LAUGHING IN THE END WHEN I USE YOUR CORPSES AS SOLDIERS IN MY ARMY IN MONTHS TO COME!”

Judith summoned spears of white lightning that pulsed and snapped across the sky, only to meet an orb of death mana that deflected the blow.  The explosion caused a cloud of conflicting energies to roil up into a blinding cloud, and Retesh used that moment to shatter the stone staff in his hand.

He flung the shattered remnants of the object behind him in the path of his pursuers while using his own life force to infuse more power into the mount he rode on.  The drake underneath him doubled its speed in an instant, then pulsed into even faster speeds with a sonic boom, and the sky illuminated with a blinding flash of teal behind him.

Using a series of hand gestures to camouflage his escape, and keeping his course straight for Brightsville across the ocean, the guilt he felt for leaving his soldiers behind began to build.  

“I am sorry.” Retesh whispered, enraged - perhaps hypocritically - at the culling of his people, but he kept his head down and his mind set.  “Brethren, you will be avenged.”

***

[System Message from the Elysium Administrator:

Integrating planet: Panu - has been deemed lopsided during its integration phase.  Key outliers noted x5.  Stagnation of participants is highly likely.  Parameters have been changed to encourage growth.  Changes are as follows:

The Original Sin of Greed has been allowed to send a single agent to Panu in direct opposition to Gluttony.

World Quest total time limits have been expedited.  Time limit is now set to 3 years total before integration ends.  All time limits concerning quests and sub quests related to the World Quests of Panu have been reduced and expedited as well.

Expeditionary Forces are now allowed and granted, and will be paid for by myself.  Invitations for expeditionary forces have been granted to numerous empires across the multiverse, with different restrictions on given armies.  Each major faction across the planet, including invaders, will be granted a certain amount of tokens to allow for intergalactic troop movements based on the algorithm that would most encourage ascension.

You have been linked as a potential candidate to help put together one of these expeditionary forces.  To whom your forces will serve, should you accept: Allie Thane and Riven Thane of Panu.

Concerning where this comes into play for you, General Viku of the Blood Moon Requiem, it means that you have 7 days to put together an army.  A requirement for all chosen soldiers: will be that they not have ill intent directed towards Allie Thane despite her choice to shun The Blood God, and they will be vetted by myself to make sure the proper balance is maintained.  Your goal is to help finish the world quests within the 3 year time limit for your side, and then to conquer Panu afterwards.

Should you accept these conditions, you will be granted  40,000 tokens for Sarak slave soldiers from your controlled planet of Vartesh, 15,000 soldiers from the ranks of House Wraithtide, and 10,000 soldiers from the greater empire of The Blood Moon Requiem, all F-grade.  1 additional low E-grade participant may be selected as well.  No advanced weaponry in the form of ships or weapons of mass destruction will be allowed.  Your specific restrictions will be as follows: Your expeditionary force will be restricted to the continent of Umbra for the first year, before being allowed access to the rest of the world.  You will be allied with the forces of Negrada, a minor hellscape dungeon that has already accepted these conditions.

Upon victory conditions being met, The Blood Moon Requiem will receive one Elite S-Grade treasure, one Supreme A-Grade treasure, two Legendary B-Grade treasures, three Elite C-Grade treasures, and the potential for warp-gate access to Panu should the native faction decide to allow it.

You have 1 day to decide on whether or not you will take up this offer.]

The Wraithtide fleet filled the sky - sleek dagger-like spacecraft of black, red, and dark gray; and elites from all over the empire were flying in as the communication lines were abuzz with activity.  General Viku of House Wraithtide watched with the other members of his house on a balcony, alongside High Queen Nephridi, as the forces of the younger generation scrambled to organize themselves at such short notice.  Below them, thousands of soldiers were being geared up for battle.

This was a perfect chance to bring the queen’s great grandchildren into the fold, establishing a link between the empire and Panu, and even creating an outpost in an entirely separate part of the multiverse for the requiem to expand from.

The council for their part had been either absolutely enraged at the activity of the two Wraithtide children, or had applauded them outwardly, with mixed emotions from many after realizing what Riven had become.  What Allie had done was blasphemous by defying the patron of their kind, the creator of the vampire, The Blood God himself - but having Gluttony’s reincarnation on their side was something else entirely.  When Lillith herself, a figure of myth and legend, stepped out to dispel the ritual that would have stripped Allie of her prophecy - it made it very clear where Gluttony’s stance stood on the girl.

To the secret pleasure of High Queen Nephridi, she’d been especially pleased when Elder Thune’s possessed thrall had been slapped into a bloody oblivion by the archdemon; cackling all the way back home and for many days beyond that.

“Are you smiling again about how Elder Thune reacted to the notice?” General Viku asked with a sideways grin, seeing the high queen giggling to herself for the third time that day.  “I don’t think I’ve seen you in this good of a mood since your granddaughter was still around.”

Nephridi’s shoulders shook with continued giggling, her long brown hair swaying under the dark clouds that were ever present on the Wraithtide homeworld of Vartesh.  “Yes, things have turned out quite nicely.  The Blood God’s clergy have sent emissaries to speak to us about this matter and should be here soon, and though I am not certain of what they will say - I have it on good faith from my own bishop that they’ll likely forgive my great grandchild for her transgressions.  It will be an absolute order, should I be right, for I believe that he who created our kind also wishes to bring Riven into the fold.  Having the Reincarnation of Gluttony as a member of our empire would far outweigh any potential insult Allie’s actions have caused, and the council even voted to keep her status as princess intact after seeing the event transpire.”

General Viku nodded thoughtfully, his shiny bald head having been waxed twice in the last hour out of nervousness - but he kept his cool.  “Out of respect: Rippenvire sends word that they have withdrawn their bid from the planet entirely, when realizing The Blood Moon Requiem is becoming fully involved with these matters.  They were able to pay Elysium a tax to retrieve what remained of their forces as well, and are now completely absent from the planet as of an hour ago."

“I suspected they’d do so, yes.” Queen Nephridi stated with a sly grin.  “They are merely a vassal of one of our more competitive allies, but they could never hope to muster the kinds of forces to compete with our own youth.  The blood that runs through our lineages is far purer than that of Rippenvire, our affinities are greater, our training is better - and they know it.  In the beginning they’d hoped to secure the prince and princess as a way of saving face, and potentially gaining access to a royal bloodline through the right of vampiric conquest, but those aspirations are now over.”

Looking over his shoulder, General Viku caught a glimpse of the purple Serak man - Jeltuna.  The one Riven had appointed as ‘The Voice of the Sarak’ - to the disappointment and disgust of many of House Wraithtide.  Still, the slave held his head high, and he was proud to be here.  Nervous, but proud, for this was the first time a sarak had ever been allowed in the presence of nobility and royalty at this magnitude.  Usually he’d have been executed just for looking at the queen, but due to Riven’s proclamation she’d even made her way over to talk to the man - which had stunned everybody.  Even General Viku.

Lady Riska, Count Amestrius, Count Jaricock and Baron Orimus were just some of the many faces inside the small crowd of Wrathtide nobles - lesser and greater - and they all wore expressions of excitement as the Wraithtide name was on the rise.  With Riven’s ascent into his current position and the possibilities unfolding astronomically, with even many of the reclusive high grade demonic forces already having sent emissaries to The Blood Moon Requiem for a chance to speak to Riven, the prestige of their house was unlike anything it’d seen in its history.

But the hushed whispers of other House Wraithtide elites came to a quick close when the sounds of the doors behind them caused the general and queen to turn.

Walking out and bowing before the high queen, two of the younger generation led the way.  

First as Kathrine Vonsilla Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne.  Her usual black and red dress was replaced in thin, formfitting armor of the highest quality for her grade - decorated with their house emblem of a rose.  Her pale, beautiful features remained steadfast while she knelt, but beads of sweat were accumulating across her forehead with her mother and father standing proudly in the background with beaming smiles.

Beside Kathrine was the single E-grade they were allowed to send: a military genius and a combat veteran of the frontier wars: Crendir No-Name, an orphan of low blood born to no family that had made a man out of himself even in the eyes of the proudest nobles.  He was an undisputed choice for the lead of this expedition, and would be serving directly under Kathrine only in the public eye.  In private, he would be the true hand that guided the armies of The Blood Moon Requiem on this conquest of Panu for the sake of both Allie and Riven.  He had multiple scars along his otherwise pale face through the slits in his helmet, his eyes were a dimmer red than the many purebloods here, but he still kept his back straight and proud when the queen bade them rise.

“Hello, children.”  High Queen Nephridi then gave the Crushada parents a warm smile.  “Hello Lord and Lady Crushada, as always - a pleasure.”

They both silently bowed, but returned her smile in turn.

She gestured to the two younglings, and allowed them to join her at the railing where she and General Viku were watching the marching columns of soldiers come into play.  She snorted when she saw the untrained thousands of sarak being herded onto the fields, where vampiric commanders were - for the very first time - going to allow them to pick up weapons for training in what would soon become the first true soldiers the sarak had seen since this world had been conquered.

  “As leaders of this expedition, you must realize that you may not return to the empire - even if you win.” High Queen Nephridi stated solemnly, glancing at both Crendir and Kathrine with a sigh.  “We can only hope that Gluttony and my great grandson will decide to incorporate themselves into the empire through a show of goodwill, even despite what we nearly did to Allie not long ago.  It will be your job to maintain as good of a connection with the Wraithtide siblings as possible, to convince Riven to establish the gate when the fight is over, and - without question - to eliminate all other outside forces during the integration.  Help them complete the world quests, and dominate the planet.  But above all, gaining Riven’s approval and convincing him to join The Blood Moon Requiem is of utmost importance.”

Kathrine, who’d kept her lips pursed this entire time, gave a hesitant frown.  “I was under the impression he was already a prince of the empire?”

The queen chuckled.  “He is.  Again, we nearly stripped his sister of her prophetic abilities… I just want to be especially careful around this situation now, and to maintain our expectations of him - rather than lose him entirely.  Usually with an heir of royal blood that has the gift of malignant prophecy, if they strayed - we’d just capture them.  Or kill them, to keep the bloodline in our hands.  However, now that he is the Reincarnation of Gluttony, it drastically complicates things.  In the worst case scenario that I’d never wish upon any of the heirs, capturing or killing him wouldn’t be a viable option unless we wanted to make enemies of numerous demonic factions that would no doubt see that as a declaration of war on them.  With the rise of the commandments and the other sins soon to follow, and the eternal war between celestials and demons coming to our doorstep in the next century, we are going to be very sure not to put ourselves in the middle of it.”

A new, older male’s voice called out from the doorway where Kathrine and Crendir had just entered.  “Not to mention, it is the will of the founder himself that we try to bring Gluttony’s bonded partner into the flock.”

An aura of power settled down on the balcony as the voice spoke, making everyone there excluding the queen and general feel as if they were swimming in a thick, viscous pool.  It wasn’t oppressive or directed at them, thankfully, but most of the onlookers widened their eyes and bowed or even knelt as two esteemed bishops from the Blood God’s domain walked slowly towards High Queen Nephridi to pay their respects.

Each were shirtless, bearing the crimson tattoos of their order, while wearing long flowing skirt-pants and large flat-brim, circular hats that had red drapes covering the faces of each man.  They both bowed low, and the high queen returned their bow with one of her own in a reverent stances before all three lifted themselves into straighter positions seconds later.

“It is an honor to host such figures as yourselves, gentlemen.” High Queen Nephridi stated with a pleasant smile.  “To grace our trading hub of Vartesh is an honor to all of us.  What brings you out of your esteemed halls and to our humble planet, if I may ask?”

One of the priests turned to the other, and the second man chuckled from underneath his red veil.  “Come now, Queen Nephridi.  Let us not play games.  You know why it is we are here, your own bishop no doubt told you of our passage and what we expect to talk about.”

Nephridi raised an eyebrow and gave them an innocent, taken-aback look.  “I must say I am unsure of what it is you speak of.”

The bishops stared at her wordlessly.

She sighed.  “Fine, you’re correct.  But I must ask since you’re here, as it is the most pressing question I have… Will my great granddaughter be forgiven for her transgressions?  Or will she still be labeled as…”

Her voice trailed off.

“As an apostate?”  The first bishop asked, filling the word in for her.  “No, she is forgiven.  Speaking of which, we had one of our priestesses actually try to leverage Riven’s child, Gluttony’s child, as a token piece to acquire our forgiveness recently without our knowledge. I thought you should know.”

“Genua’s child?  The elf thrall?”  Nephridi’s eyes went wide in shock, then her face contorted into a horrified expression.  “Did… Did Gluttony take offense?”

The second priest scoffed.  “We intervened, apologized, and executed the priestess in front of Genua to make it very clear on our stance, The Blood God’s stance, concerning Gluttony’s progeny.  The traitor's head will be sent back to Riven as an apology, and the founder has decided on forgiveness concerning Allie’s status as an apostate.  She will be granted leniency, as long as Riven remains a loyal servant of the true path.  It is not ideal to let such offenses go, but the benefits outweigh the downsides.  I hear that you’ve already assigned our battle priests to the expedition?”

Nephridi nodded.  “We have a single unit of battle priests, without masters, from your order in our ranks.  Over 100 strong.”

The bishop nodded in approval.  “Good.  It will be a good opportunity to spread our religion to the frontier, a rare opportunity of expansion indeed.  Under your banner, of course.”

The man bowed low again.  “I must say that I am rather hungry, and was hoping that I could try some sarak blood while I’m here.  I heard it was quite a delicacy.  Is that true?”

He shot Jeltuna a glance, and the jarak man stiffened.

Queen Nephridi smiled.  “Of course!  But please keep in mind that this is Riven’s homeworld, and he has forbidden the slaughter of his slaves in favor of wanting to improve their lives.  Ridiculous!  I know!  But we still wish to honor his wishes, especially now that he has become a reincarnation of original sin.”