The Red King nodded when he heard Gravis' answer. "This time, I won't carry you since some other beasts might think I'm your servant."
"I don't mind," Gravis answered.
"Also, it would be better for you not to transform into lightning. I want that to be a surprise for the Empress," the Red King advised.
Gravis rolled his eyes. "Fine. I don't see the point of that but take my acceptance as some sort of parting gift. After all, the last five years weren't as bad as I had initially believed."
The Red King groaned. "You really don't know how lucky you are. Do you honestly believe that a breeder of the Empress would be held in some confined room or something? You will just join her Empire with a distinguished status. This means you can do whatever you want."
When Gravis heard that, his brows furrowed. "That really is different than I had expected. Does it mean I can also leave if I want?"
The Red King nodded immediately, surprising Gravis. This was completely different from what he had expected. Gravis thought that he would be some kind of breeding slave. Yet, if he so chose, he could simply leave the Empire?
"Wait, you're serious?" he asked.
The Red King sighed. "Yes. That's why I said you don't know how good you'll have it. The only rules that bind you are the rules that every member of the Empire has to follow. No one will suppress you."
"So," Gravis said slowly. "I could also choose not to join the Empire if I wanted to?"
"Sure," the Red King answered directly and calmly. "I'll get my reward either way. However, I'm very convinced that you will stay."
The Red King motioned for Gravis to follow him after he said that. Then, he started flying towards the north. Gravis followed him and used his full speed without transforming into lightning. The Red King simply looked at how fast Gravis was flying and adapted his speed to Gravis'.
"Why do you think I would want to join someone else's Empire?" Gravis asked.
"Because the rules in an Empire are different than the rules in a Tribe. Do you honestly think that an Empire lead by an Emperor wouldn't know how to create powerful beasts? The Empires are set up to produce as many powerful beasts as possible," the Red King explained.
"I know the rules of your River Tribe, and the rules in the Empire aren't much different. Though, there are a few more. For example, you can't just randomly kill a beast on your Realm. In comparison to the rules you've created, in the Empire, it requires both parties to agree," the Red King explained.
Gravis thought about this for a bit. "Then, as soon as I've proven my strength, I wouldn't be able to challenge other beasts that easily anymore?"
The Red King hummed for a bit, which sounded surprisingly melodic. Gravis guessed that this was because he was a bird, and birds had a particular talent to sound nice. "It depends," the Red King answered.
"On?" Gravis asked.
"Whom you challenge," the Red King said. "Some beast two levels higher than you certainly won't accept the challenge as soon as they have seen your power. However, a beast three levels higher might accept the challenge for tempering."
"Another thing would be a fight for status. Since everything depends on power, including status, you might get some beasts that want to replace you as a breeder. Of course, these challenges follow different rules. An average beast three levels higher than you obviously wouldn't be worthy of being the Empress' breeder, even if he managed to kill you."
"In order to challenge your status, a beast would need to fulfill the initial requirement of the Empress and then have the same level and Realm as you," the Red King explained.
Gravis sighed. "Sounds like a waste of time," he commented.
The Red King scoffed. "If any other beast heard these words coming out of your mouth, they would believe you have your head up your own ass. Every potential candidate for a breeder position is outstanding," the Red King said in annoyance.
Gravis only looked at him with his typical, even look.
After some seconds, the Red King groaned. "But yes, it would be a waste of time for you. At least, at your current Realm. If you can't learn any new Laws, sooner or later, the candidates will come for you."
"I know," Gravis said. "All my Battle-Strength is only temporary. If I don't stay at the forefront, I will sooner or later become average."
However, that wasn't entirely true. Gravis still had his unique status as the only human and was, therefore, the only one able to shift his body's powers around. This fact alone already guaranteed him the power to fight one level above himself.
One should remember that being able to fight one level higher than oneself was very impressive in normal circumstances. Yet, this wouldn't even be considered as meeting the requirements to become a candidate for the Empress. After all, the Empress was in the Law Comprehension Realm, which made her one of the world's most powerful beasts. She would only consider the very best of the world as potential mates.
Right now, Gravis was probably the most powerful beast on his level. Yet, there were a lot of incredible beasts out there. For example, Gravis had heard that there were Divine Beasts able to fight two levels above themselves. This was already very impressive.
Right now, Gravis was the strongest, but as soon as he relaxed, these impressive beasts would overtake him. This had already been the case when he had reached the Unity Realm again.
One should remember that Gravis had had some issues with dealing with level three Lords when he had been a level one Lord. Back then, his Battle-Strength had been just as powerful as these impressive Divine Beasts. Only after the fight with the Golden Dragon had Gravis' Battle-Strength grown to this degree.
Of course, another aspect was the soft-breakthroughs of his lightning, which allowed him to grow more powerful without reaching the next level.
Because of all these things, Gravis knew that he couldn't relax. He had to stay at the forefront and concentrate on understanding Laws. These candidates might not be a threat to him right now, but they might become a threat in the future.
Yet, instead of fearing such fights, Gravis welcomed them. Finally, he felt some pressure again. The threat of these candidates would push him forward to become more powerful.
The more Gravis heard about the Empire, the more he liked it. This sounded like a great place to temper himself. Yet, the breeding-part still weighed heavily on his mind since he really had no interest in making children right now. Also, he held no attraction towards beasts. He preferred humans.
"It actually sounds quite nice," Gravis commented.
"That's why I said that you were lucky. There are also places in the Empire that allow you to easier comprehend Laws," the Red King said.
Gravis immediately grew interested when he heard that. "There are?" he asked.
The Red King nodded. "Yes. Of course, you can't just go there for free, even with your future status. You need to earn Contribution Points," he explained.
Gravis hummed for a bit. "Let me guess, I can only get Contribution Points by fighting against sea beasts, correct?" he asked.
The Red King nodded. "That's right. The war with the sea beasts is continually ongoing, and it is the duty of every land beast to join the war. Yet, without enough enticement, most beasts wouldn't want to go. That's where these special areas for Laws come into play."
Gravis actually didn't mind this development. To him, there was no difference between killing land beasts and sea beasts. Joining a war or invasion might also give him some tempering. To him, the condition was a win-win.
"By the way, how will this whole thing with the Empress go down?" Gravis asked.
"I will present her to you, she will inspect you, and then she will test you. Of course, this isn't just a private meeting between us, but a regular meeting with the other subservient Kings. Nearly every King will have a candidate prepared for this."
"Usually, there would be one spot on a podium, and the candidates can challenge the beast on the podium until every beast had had a chance to fight. However, I think that this won't happen today. After all, you far outclass any candidate that might appear," the Red King explained.
Gravis had no more questions after this one. Staying in the Empire actually sounded way better than he had assumed. He might even decide to go there without the Red King forcing him to.
Sadly, the whole breeding-thing still laid heavily on his mind.
