Currently, there were billions of energy talent nodes within the energy kernel, but that was only possible because their fertility rate rose after their talent was snatched away.
Essentially, The Entity had actually helped the mortals raise their population to this level. If not for him, they would be lucky to have a Clan population in the tens of thousands after so many generations.
This was normal for the peak humanoid race of an era. The elves, angels, and titans had all had poor fertility. Even the weaker version of the elves today did. So this wasn't surprising.
Still, though Dyon was aware of this, he gently held his wife, teleporting to their bedroom in Soul Palace and laying her down as though he was afraid of breaking her.
Since Madeleine wanted a family, he would give it to her. Even if it took pouring everything he had into Eilei, he'd do it. Plus, this selfish reasoning would have benefits to it as well. If she could reach the God Grade and comprehend Star Qi, maybe the plight of the Dream Panthers could be fixed as well.
Dyon wasn't blind. He saw how happy Madeleine was after Junior was born. He also saw how well she treated Alauna. Her smile was never brighter than when Alauna called her Momma Madeleine.
But, even though Madeleine treated Alauna like her own daughter, there was a hard to explain barrier that remained. Dyon could understand that Madeleine wanted to hold her own child…
Of his wives, maybe only Madeleine thought this way. None of Ri, Clara or Amphorae truly wanted children. Though Ri sometimes joked about Dyon putting a child in her, Dyon knew that this was more so her vixen-like tendencies trying to arouse him than it was her true thoughts.
Though those three wives of his shared the same conclusion, they did so for different reasons.
Ri, though she tried to bury it, still held on to those years her parents had disappeared from her life. With how dangerous the situation they were constantly in was, she always worried that she might one day be forced to leave her child as well. She knew that she couldn't bear such a thing.
As for Clara, she had always been a tomboy. The idea of having swollen feet and be incapacitated for nine months was a massive turn off for her. So though on the surface her reasoning was similar to Ri's, Dyon saw through her.
Still, he knew that one day he would hold a child that was the seed of him and Clara. Even if she didn't do it for herself, she would do it for him. She had always been like that.
Then there was Amphorae. It wasn't that she was particularly turned off by the idea of being a mother, after all, with her memories as a Princess of the Angel Clan, she knew that it would one day be her duty to bear Dyon an heir. She had long since been mentally prepared for this.
It was just that she worried she wouldn't be a good mother. Being around children frightened her, she always worried about how they perceived her and was always fretting about accidentally hurting them.
She had a cold and blood thirsty aura around her constantly, and she enjoyed battle and killing too much… She was afraid that her child would hate her because of this.
Though Dyon made fun of Amphorae's nervousness around Alauna, he knew that it was rooted in a much deeper anxiety that would take some time to weed out.
In the end, Madeleine was the only one willing and wanting to have a child. On one hand, this made Dyon breathe a sigh of relief, but on the other, he was worried she may get her hopes up too high. For all he knew, it may take countless millennia before she finally got pregnant.
Dyon climbed into bed beside Madeleine, allowing her to shift into his embrace once more. There were still months until he had to handle the Federation matters, so after helping the Shruti out, he returned to his vacation.
"You don't have to worry." She said softly. "I know how low the odds are… But if I don't birth you a strong son, how could I have the face to call myself First Wife."
Hearing Madeleine joke around like this made Dyon feel better. He knew she didn't mean such a ridiculous thing. Dyon had no interest in having a 'strong son', Little Alauna could take over his mantle just fine. Even if others didn't like it, he would make them like it.
"You never answered my question. Clara was right… You're only getting more and more perverted these days."
Dyon grinned evilly. "It sounds like you haven't learned your lesson."
The dull ache between Madeleine's legs caused her to squirm as she silently pled for mercy.
Finally, Dyon let it be, feeling satisfied.
"… As for the Flaming Lily Sect… I just want to see what kind of face the Golden Crow Sect would have after they realize that their territory was completely eaten away by a Sect so much weaker than them. This Federation truly made things much simpler for me.
"I'm sure you've all been constantly drilled about the importance of this matter, so I won't bore you with the details, but do understand that this mission is strongly tied to the future of our Mortal Alliance."
Dyon stood with his wives by his side. Madeleine and Ri stood a half step behind him to his right, while Clara and Amphorae did the same to his left.
Before him, the carefully chosen geniuses of their Mortal Alliance stood with a mixture of pride and nervousness.
The second gathering of the Federation was in just a few hours, so Dyon took this opportunity to brief these youths one more time. How the next 100 years played out would directly affect the prosperity of the Mortal Alliance, so they all had to take this seriously.
"First, learn to control your emotions. I'm not a very good example of this, so do as I say, not as I do."
