Dyon was aware of this as well. He knew that it took much longer to produce a universe than the length of time his universe had lived for.
Furthermore, there were other differences between him and this Angel Clan.
While there were some mutations, none were as drastic as Dyon's. Most mutations were held to slight changes in color using white and black as a base – like Amphorae's father and his red tint. However, Dyon had drastically different colors. He had two white wings, and two black wings. None of those in the hall had such dichotomy.
The other clear difference was that even the most powerful Ministers here only had one set of wings, so why did he have two?
The last difference was just a bit petty on his part, honestly speaking. Whenever he used his wings, his shirt was ripped apart. However, it seemed that these Angel Clan ministers had a way around that.
Dyon placed this to the back of his mind for now. It seemed he needed to do more to understand this Angel Clan. He spent too much time trying to comprehend their people and culture, and not enough understanding what their history was. He couldn't believe he made such a mistake.
Only when you understand yourself could you look down on others.
Dyon sat back onto his throne. Minister Brodaya had his chains replaced by those reserved for powerful prisoners. Before, they had been fooled and used chains for saint experts on him, which gave him the opportunity to attack Dyon. Luckily, their King was a genius. However, that didn't stop those who captured him from feeling guilty. Dyon simply waved them away when they asked for punishment.
"Merchant Brinsop. Are you going to speak of your own accord, or would you like to experience a few more days of torture?" Dyon spoke out, causing the Ministers to stop their acts of worship and go back to their seats. He decided to first focus on the merchant because he could tell that Brodaya's story was complex. Also, for a man to be willing to betray the country his son lost his life to defend, it could be said that his conviction far surpassed the rest.
The "Minister Brodaya" in the stands that had been pretending to be the real man was captured immediately as well. With so many dao formation experts around him, he had no chance. Soon, he was kneeling amongst the prisoners as well, making the total of 8, 9.
"Just kill me." Minister Brinsop spit on the ground to stop the blood from filling up his mouth. He looked weak and defeated, but he also had no intention of betraying whoever it was sent him here.
"Interesting." Dyon smiled.
Seeing this, Amphorae felt a cold sweat permeate her back. Something was telling her this smile wasn't so simple. Maybe one day she'd be able to giggle at it like Madeleine.
The ministers could only sigh. They didn't have much hope for this interrogation. Someone able to infiltrate a clan for so long, with cultivation as weak as him, would obviously be ether very good at what he does, or have ample reason to keep doing what he was doing. In the worst case, maybe even both would be true. So, how could it be so simple to get answers?
Even worse, so what if they got answers? For one, how could they be trust worthy? Even if most of what was said had an air of truth, if even the smallest detail was twisted with sinister intentions, their supposed advantage could be wiped. Secondly, would any information they have truly be helpful? After all, no amount of information would change the fact they were facing an army of millions with tens of thousands.
However, there was a new-found respect for their King in their eyes. While Dyon may not understand why, they did. So, when they saw him smiling instead of frowning, they felt an unknown calmness come over them.
Dyon's hand flashed as a formation flag appeared in his hand. Ignoring the odd gazes he got, his hands began to work.
Formation flags in this time were made of the same material as array plates. Interestingly enough, they were of higher quality as well.
Array plates were made of special metals capable of conducting and housing aurora flames and thus had the ability to store arrays and release them at the will of their wielders.
Formation flags used this same principle to store higher cores of aurora energies at key points of large arrays. This helped stabilize them, something that was very necessary for the crude arrays of this time.
The moment Dyon saw the use of formation flags, he immediately realized he could use them to draw arrays to bolster the power of the army. Of course, he handed this task to the women of the clan to do. This was the second task he had for them, the first of which was making pills.
One might wonder why Dyon was using the array plate now. Didn't he freely use the aurora flames in the air already?
The difference here was that the arrays he wanted to use were on a completely other level. Some of them even needed to be used on dao formation traitors. How could he create such a powerful array in this state? So, he handed the job to Amphorae's mother, who was very eager to help. Although she too was dissatisfied with Dyon's treatment of her daughter, when she learned that Dyon wanted to give the women a true place in the clan, her eyes flashed with youthful vigor. With her soul power, creating a comet level array with Dyon's guidance wasn't a problem.
Dyon smiled, leisurely tapping the formation flag, "It seems you want to do this the hard way."
Merchant Brinsop shivered, but could do nothing as Dyon crushed the plate, forcibly flicking the array toward him. In mere moments, Brinsop was restricted by an array similar to the one Dyon used on the Uidah and General Mace, although much stronger.
At this point, the ministers still didn't understand what was going on. They had heard of techniques capable of enslaving people, even things like soul contracts existed in this time, but using an array to do so? It was unheard of!
Seeing Merchant Brinsop struggle so hard, shivers went up the spines of those present for what felt like the millionth time. This King of theirs had barely displayed much effort, and yet had made them all bow down in respect.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" Dyon smile faded, replaced by a cold glint. "Firstly, chop off your own finger if you want the pain to stop."
At first, the minister and Brinsop almost asked what pain? But, as time passed by and the merchant didn't listen to Dyon's words, a burning sensation filled his chest. It was as though molten lava was encasing his veins and meridians, coursing through his organs and searing them black.
Soon, Brinsop's cold sweat became heavy panting, and his heavy panting became the audible sound of his gritting teeth, and then screams filled the hall.
Dyon watched this expressionlessly, as though he was looking down on an idiot. Didn't I already tell you what you had to do? Tsk tsk.
Brinsop's agony raged onward. Eventually, the poor man started slamming his head against the ground, trying to kill himself to escape.
Dyon sighed, shaking his head. The wave of pain doubled and Brinsop's muscles seized. How could an array like this allow the slave to kill himself when he pleased? How ridiculous.
Brinsop pulled his hand up to his mouth, viciously chomping down on two fingers. Blood flew into the air as he collapsed, the pain finally disappearing.
"Well, that's one way to waste 10 minutes of everyone's time." Dyon shook his head. "I hope it's clear to you now that the pain will only increase as time passes and you will never reach a point where it kills you. You either feel more pain, or do you do as you're told. If you try to kill yourself, your energy flow and muscles will seize, and the gradual increase of pain will jump forward drastically. Don't waste my time again."
Dyon's voice was cold and commanding. Even looking down on the Brinsop who had clearly pissed himself, he felt nothing. The only thing he felt bad about was that Amphorae had to see this.
Brinsop grit his teeth, but the moment the pain started to spread again, he gave up. "Yes… King."
The Ministers all looked at each other, not knowing what to think. Such a large problem was solved so easily… But the question was, just how useful would this information be.
"Excellent." Dyon smiled. To him, these ministers were far too short sighted. Presence wasn't just about having a domineering aura, it was also about having leader and foresight. Dyon was well aware that they thought this interrogation might only bear useless fruits. However, he was of a different opinion. Any small bit of information was important.
"First," Dyon's eyes flashed, "who are you?"
Brinsop was stunned by this odd question, but he didn't dare to be slow in his answer. "My name is Brinsop. I am from a small branch family of the Moon clan. I have poor cultivation talent, but my management skills and intelligence managed to gain my family wealth. Unfortunately, without power, wealth means next to nothing. I understood this, so I tried to spread my influence, showing my worth to higher echelons.
"Eventually, I had enough power to be recognized, but that kind of political power means nothing in the martial world. In a manner of a night, everything that I had spent centuries building was claimed by the main Moon clan…"
"Then why aren't you dead?" One of the ministers couldn't help but ask. Dyon didn't mind this, of course. These ministers might also have good ideas for questions, by allowing this question to be asked without reprimand, it would let the Ministers relax and do their jobs better. He had gone through a round of instilling fear in them, but ruling by fear wasn't smart in the long run. He had to use a push and pull approach. A true King isn't the only talent in his Kingdom… A true King knows how to make the best use of those around him.
Brinsop sighed, "I believe it is because someone in the higher echelons found a use for me. At the price of a large part of my profits, I was allowed to live, but I had to make myself useful by infiltrating clans that were deemed as threats."
Dyon's eyes flashed as he inwardly grinned.
In this seemingly useless information, he had already grasped two things.
The first was that his opponents were clever enough to think of such a plan. Such planning and foresight… It didn't match the description of the current Moon Clan King. That meant Dyon couldn't plan based on his rashness. There was someone else in the background pulling strings intelligently.
The second point was even more important. Brinsop didn't say that he infiltrated just their clan. He said clans.
'I can use this…'
**
In the highest palace room, one reserved for only the King and Queen, Luna watched this scene on a reflective mirror silently, her heart shaking.
She didn't understand why, but she was moved by these scenes. For so long, her husband had been the shell of a man, hardly even treating her like a woman. But, recently, maybe because of the danger they were facing, he had become someone that she couldn't push out of her mind.
It was safe to say that the previous King did not understand Luna at all, nor did he ever truly gain her affections. He somehow thought that the way to a woman's heart was to constantly shower her with needlessly empty things, and protect her "oh so fragile feelings". Without a doubt, he was wrong. And the way he changed had even turned the Amphorae who did love him away from him.
But now, Luna felt her heart quicken. For the first time, she felt guilt… Even to the point where she didn't have the heart to report in yesterday…
"You've changed…" She said softly.
